Tales of PulchraGea, Vol. 1

Chapter 3 (Rough Draft)

Chapter 3

"You must understand," Gavin told me, "that you are merely an avatar, the manifestation of God's will in this place."

We walked into the town proper, where all the stores were. It was a beautiful day outside and the festivities celebrating my arrival continued. Gavin was overseeing my transition into Argentean citizenship, which included education, a house, and a new wardrobe. We were currently headed to what I took to be the PulchraGean equivalent of Wal-Mart.

"You receive God's will and relay it to the people," he continued. "Simultaneously, you protect them from any threats."

The natural response was to question what could threaten a virtual utopia, but my mouth remained closed.

"How do I 'receive' this will?" I asked. "God doesn't seem to talk much."

Gavin scowled deeply at me.

"He speaks constantly,"the King chided," but you're too thick-witted to listen."

"Sounds about like me," I nodded.

Before me lay the store, which looked like a smaller Wal-Mart. Gavin led me inside. There was no door, but the doorway was covered in a sort of blue haze. As I walked through i felt a tingle on my skin, felt cleaner than before.

A woman bowed and greeted us. Her eyes were an electric blue and her hair a gentle curly chestnut. Like all the women I had so far seen around Argentum, she was particularly well-endowed.

She led us through a surprisingly normal-looking store: clothes in one section, food in another, hobbies, hygiene, electronics, et cetera. We stopped in a section for Men's clothes. Here there was a machine I was ushered into. Something like a scanning laser passed over me a couple of times, followed by a chiming sound.

The young woman materialized one of those holographic datapads. The words that displayed were in a romanized form, although not exactly english characters. She studied these words intently for a moment before leading me to a holographic display and giving me instructions on how to swipe through different styles of different types of clothing. The display projected a realistic image of my appearance in thin air.

At the time I was 5 feet and 11 inches tall, lean and scrawny with a pale complexion. My hair was the color of wet sand, my eyes about the same with flecks of green and a darker brown. Although not exactly homely I didn't consider myself anything special to look at.

I picked an outfit that was familiar: jeans, t-shirt, and something akin to skateboarding shoes.

Robin White stood on my doorstep, her platinum hair blowing in the breeze. She wore a miniskirt and a tight t-shirt. Her tennis shoes stood out, as they were a tropical shade of pink.

I opened the door.

"Get dressed," she instructed. "We're going to a new town to start your training."

The sun had yet to rise over the top of the Barricades. I was still mostly asleep as I dressed. I continued sleeping as we walked through downtown Argentum to the southern edge of town. I was sleepy enough to barely register the airfield we entered, or the exotic aircraft that resembled starfighters from a sci-fi movie, or the blocky aircraft resembling a shipping container with rockets strapped to the side. I was almost -but not quite- awake enough to register entering the massive vehicle.

Robin produced one of the ubiquitous holographic pads, this one no larger than a smart phone, and stroked the void, causing the screen to materialize like ripples on the water's surface. She tapped a series of icons and the doors to the aircraft opened like the ramp of a cargo-plane. Another set of icons and the lights and engines roared to life.