You haven’t seen him work

  The Space-Station was eternally frozen above the ter of the Allworld’s night side. Luke floated towards it and watched the Allclub shimmer at the ter of a hemisphere made of every nighttime setting and sario anyone could ever imagine, and thought of something Rory had said.

  “They made it to trap the new souls. Like a maghey get born, dreaming about something, and it’s already right here on the ball, so that’s where they end up. I bet we used to all start out in the bck, in our own realms. Then whe each other ohs, we met each other with power. They couldn’t have that.”

  Looking at it now, he doubted it was that simple, but realized that, ultimately, he didn’t care. If this was a well-crafted hell or an actal heaveill had to find his way in it, and it would never again include her.

  He floated down towards the Space-Station and was immediately reminded of the old pipes ssaver. Sor panels and module tubes and even some geodomes meshed together into something that had roughly the same outline as a snowfke no matter how it turned.

  The eponymous restaurant bar erched at the top of the rotational axis. It looked like every rotatiaurant oh bleogether and hit with a dash of early 00s Sci-Fi el. Luke gave his name and was escorted past the pulsing crowds to a dim upper level, where most of the tables sat in dusty shadow and the few ers were shrouded in a cloud of haze, like a digital blur effect that flowed out of the hanging table lights.

  They gave him a seat at the rim ached the crafts fly in and drank a coffee that somehow burst with the real pop of caffeirying tet about her.

  About an hour or so ter, as he sat there beating back bliss cravings with reminders of Car-Crash’s loyalty, Philip sat down across from him.

  The extractor was very careful. Luke knew Dr. X would go back over it at the end, ging names and identifyiures and ing info intnizable vagaries, but the best way to protetel was to never collect it. Philip’s face was shrouded in blur. His real name never even came to Luke’s mind while he was in the seat. It felt like Luke was casting a py based roughly on the meeting, and the guy at the table was just some actor. Only the dialogue was essentially unged.

  “So you’re looking to ditch Ace Tactical and work some real jobs. I got a spot on my squad, and from what I’ve seen you could fit right in. But first I hree things. One, kick the fug Bliss habit, and I mean really kick it, because I’m gonna have you look a friend of mine in the eyes and tell him you kicked it, and if you’re lying he’ll know it. Two, get your mind right with being otom, because you might be hot shit with A.T., but on my team yonna start out eating shit and liking it. Three, the ime we meet will be in the Hardworlds, and if you drop in through some fug A.T. box or anything like that, you won’t see me then or ever again. Got it?

  Luke had been waiting for a pause to say something like “Oh, who says I want to join your team? What’s so great about it? Sell me on it.”, but from the guy’s tone and posture and everything else, he khat would probably only get him ughed at.

  And besides, the st part had sent his mind w in overdrive.

  “How do I get in without a box? You mean with one of those, uh, segments?”

  “You mean fragments, and no. Those are for dropping into a Hardworld without waking up in your jammies. That’s beyond you and probably will be for years. I mea in the Hardworlds on your own.”

  Lightbulbs went off. Strange phrases and versations remembered from the Freed and overheard all over the Other rolled over and showed themselves anew.

  “I get in the Hardworlds on my own? How?”

  Philip had ughed, smiled, and got fortable with his cigar and tainer of sour Altoids, having seen in Luke’s rea a genuine curiosity and desire he must have been looking for.

  “You just wish it real hard. Imagine a door. Or a pill, or something that will wake you up, so to speak. Just vince yourself whatever it is will wake you up in the Hardworlds, and there you go. I guess ss-faced friend fot to mention it to you.”

  “And that will work?” Luke couldn’t believe it wasn’t some kind of prank. Everything he had read and heard told him the Hardworlds had been inaccessible for years, and that getting to them was still a specialty skill. How could it be that easy?

  “That’s the big secret. They’re anyone’s worlds.” Philip smiled o time, then got serious.

  “But don’t think just cause its simple that it’s gonna be easy. It still takes an act of willpower. Your advantage is you’ve already been inside.”

  Luke nodded repeatedly, already trying to get his mind around how he would do it. Philip blew smoke at the table in a final way and started to rock to his feet.

  Luke heard his mention of Car-Crash as a kind of echo, the way words often hit with a dey due to his attention deficit, a out a nagging question.

  “So, is he getting like a finder’s fee?”

  Philip stopped, taking a moment to figure out what the fuck he meant, then ughed again.

  “Fuo. He owes me more than he could ever pay back.”

  “He gonna be on your team?”

  Philip paused, got settled again, and leaned forward.

  “I ’t tell you who is or isn’t on it till you do those three things. Got it? Now any other questions I answer before I fuck off? Any st little nagging doubts? Cause I don’t want to hear shit besides yes sir and gunfire once we get started.”

  Luke almost let him go, and then for some reason,

  “Does it ever stop being fun.”

  “Fun?”

  “Yeah, you know, not like the waiting around and all that, but like, I guess not fun, but does it ever stop, uh,”

  Lucky for him, Philip kly what he was trying to say.

  “You mean do you ever stop needing it?”

  “Yeah.”

  “No. And any smug asshole you meet who tells you otherwise, that they’ve moved on or prefer ma or some shit, is lying through their teeth.”

  “I wonder if it’s the being someone else.” Luke had half said it to himself, and was afraid for a moment Philip would ugh at him.

  But instead, Philip had looked at him like it was the most serious topi the world.

  “Is that how you feel, really, when you’re in there? Do you really feel like someone else?”

  Luke thought about that for a sed, and the out.

  “No. I feel like I’m more me than me.”

  “Bingo. That’s the real you. Not this shit out here. Not this sad sap addicted to a drug that doesn’t eve.”

  Luke froze and gathered his words without breathing.

  “You ever see a off of it? Bliss?”

  Philip surprised him by ughing softly.

  “Yeah. Despite what they tell you, it ain’t super heroin. Everyoalks it up cause their selling it or they just ’t be bothered to not do it.”

  Luke felt so much shame at hearing his mind vice addi reduced to an act of carelesshat he just stared at the table.

  “Let me ask you this,” Philip tinued. “What do you expect to happen when you touch that light?”

  Luke couldn’t think it ossible to be more embarrassed in front of the guy, so he answered holy.

  “Wake up.”

  “You wake up every fug day!” Anh.

  “But I don’t remember any of this, so,” Luke felt awkward expining something so obvious to what he had immediately sensed was one of the most worldly people he had ever met.

  Philip saved him with another cackle.

  “You wanna remember this shit?! What, you think that would make real life easier? Fuck, I don’t. Spend all day w if I was the real me or some Self stu a Hardworld. The worst thing you could do to the Real you is tell him about this shit.”

  Luke was shocked by this. Every word from the guy seemed like a revetion. Like he had looked under every y iher and just said “Ok, yeah, so? Who gives a shit?” and fucked off to the Hardworlds.

  And that’s exactly what he had done.

  “Well, I’ll leave you to think about that one. Here’s my card. See you in the Hardworlds or not at all.”

  And like that, he was gone, and Luke was left watg the Allworld drift out of frame through the window, suddenly looking smaller than it ever had.

  Is Philip as immuo the pull of the Other as he seems? ime, Luke finds a eam, and the dark tunnel of his Spiritual path brightens at the end. episode, Wake up call.