One year later

  Calista’s sleep capsule dinged softly and the Artificial Intelligence for Domestic Assistance bid her good morning. She rose gracefully, the capsule immediately fixing her long, straight, black hair and morning makeup, so when she showed her face to the cameras, she’d look like she woke up with natural perfection.

  Calista’s Pet detached from its little slot in the capsule and hovered by her face, beeping to say ‘good morning’, and nestled into the belt installed in her sleep suit. It connected to her chip and powered on the UI for her.

  Calista Elise Medley

  SociaLights Leader

  Level 367

  REP: 35/100

  SB: 65%

  EB: 60%

  MB: 88%

  Mental Battery at 88%? That wasn’t good. If one went below 85% MB, it was cause for concern. Then again, how would a Medley girl like her ever feel mentally healthy?

  The UI added:

  Flaw Level 24

  FP: 3/10

  Still over halfway to a Flaw Reveal; Level 40 would mean the end of Calista’s reputation, career, and pretty much her entire life. She had to find some way to reduce that level, especially when she was going to the New York Women’s School of Social Arts this coming Fall.

  The last time her weakness showed was because she hadn’t fought it enough. She had been severely affected by Irenna Kalley’s murder, and seeing that girl attack her little sister brought out the monster in her. It had been at Level 38, nearly maxed out.

  Her mother had worked for weeks to delete the bad data that had resulted from that incident at the Sociapalooza. Any show of violence was unacceptable, no matter the circumstance. Her Level had gone down as low as 201 during the whole week. It likely would’ve gone even lower if she hadn’t delivered on that choreography she’d rehearsed for months with her channel members. It had been impressive enough for the crowd to focus on it, but it was still a massive rep hit for the firstborn daughter of the two-time Miss Milky Way winner.

  Her Pet started feeding her reminders and notes from her mother as she brought her feet out of the capsule, nestling them into her fuzzy pink slippers, and turned to get down on her knees. Her mother’s note stopped her: ‘Skip morning prayers from now on. Say something related to ‘luck’; that’s getting pretty popular with most species, and it’s Whitley Geanna’s slogan.’

  She hesitated. She only had a few seconds to come up with something. She breathed in deeply through her nose and said, “A beautiful day means a beautiful way.” She inwardly cringed, but that was the best she could come up with off the top of her head. She hated when her mother threw her curveballs like that. She’d told her many times that social improvisation was not her strong suit.

  Thankfully, it worked; her Charm sub-stat got some points, which also slightly increased her Charisma Level. It used to be nearly maxed out, but after that incident, had lowered to Level 25. Now it was at Level 30; only ten levels until max.

  She couldn’t pray at all anymore? Her family wasn’t religious, but personally, she would feel a sense of comfort and security when she prayed, and she was relieved to have it as part of her routines. Now she had to hide it completely? Why was it suddenly offensive?

  It was as if Earthians found something new to hate every week. Last week, she couldn’t wear loose sweaters because it implied she was ‘hiding her body’. For the longest time, she couldn’t wear red or pink because they had become the representing colors of the Natural Birth movement— and in the Socializer world, natural Earthian births were a travesty to an otherwise perfect body.

  Once, her mother had her and Calista’s hips intentionally widened and their skin tinted green to support Paeseoan people with Bone Enlargement Syndrome. Only a month later, they had to thin them back in a Mod Spa and revert to their original skin tone because some famous Paeseoan said something (maybe) mean about Earthians. No one could ever be happy.

  She tapped on the wall across from her capsule, where her clothing selection was located, and scrolled through the outfits. The selection always randomized so she wouldn’t wear the same outfit every day, and as homework, she needed to design at least three new outfits every week, so her closet was never empty. With how much the family made, there was a seemingly endless supply of fashion needs to make their wardrobes. They really needed it, considering how often the trends changed.

  Calista already knew her assigned outfit for the day, but she scrolled through, pretending to decide. Her outfits were one of the few things her mother let her do herself, and she had to plan her weekly fashion schedule in advance. As far as her fans were concerned, she had such a sharp fashion sense that she always picked the perfect outfit to wear on the spot.

  She did have a sharp fashion sense, but not that sharp.

  She felt impatient as she changed her hairstyle, makeup, and jewelry. She wanted to update herself on the latest news, but she couldn’t do that with the cameras. Her best bet was to go into the blind spots, but she doubted she’d have long enough before her fans would wonder where she was, and the action alone would increase her Flaw Level. It wasn’t worth the risk.

  She stepped into the changing circle and the lasers replaced her silk, strawberry-patterned, pink sleep suit with a frilly yellow crop top and bell-bottom jeans. She included the gold, emerald-studded ‘CM’ initial necklace her mother liked to see— it was like a charm that put her in an instant good mood. She paused… a few seconds wouldn’t hurt much, right? She needed to know something.

  She estimated about ten seconds until she had to go to the first floor. While the lasers worked for those few seconds, she secretly brought up her Pet’s Hub screen and mentally input ‘Versus Games most recent updates’.

  She quickly stepped out of the circle and did a few poses for the daily freeze shots, which would likely be used in the Socializer Hub and commercial fashion Hubs for promos. Any fashion company the Medleys and Zybens were partnered with could easily project their own outfits onto her, using her poses and famous face to attract people.

  The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  Charm +2

  Glow Score +2

  Fashion Sense +3

  In her mind, she started the ten-second timer and ducked into the blind spot corner, which was between her holo-call desk and her window. She opened the hovering holo-screen and quickly looked at the latest article. She had a feeling she wouldn’t like what it had to say, but she needed to know for sure.

  Harrison ‘Cheater’ Smith takes the 10th-ranked Student Coach position at Fistborn Academy

  After a controversial win of the fourth-place podium in the 2346 Games, Smith was conceded the 10th-ranking position at the Versus Fighting School, a huge step-down from his original 1st rank in the entire country. That position has now been given to Reilly ‘Clocker’ Campbell, who has upgraded from his previous rank of 4th…

  As expected. Of course they’d do a thing like that.

  Was it so inconceivable that an Earthian would make it that far in a fighting competition? They weren’t complete weaklings. Other species were naturally more powerful, but that didn’t make Earthians completely incapable. Harrison deserved so much better… but after Lisa White won in 2338, no higher species would ever let an Earthian outshine them again, and this proved it.

  She left her blind corner before the ten seconds were up and went through the darkened portion of the baby pink wall that was her doorway. Today was another day of dance rehearsal with the SociaLights. Somehow, her mother found a way to turn something she loved into something she hated. Dance was something she would do to relax and enjoy herself, but had now become another source of stress and exhaustion, all to please the crowd.

  The dance was for their new student presentation at NYWS. Every year, the new freshmen would show off their stats in front of all the upperclassmen, which would give them a head start in stat-building. The more they leveled up, the more popular they’d be. If they weren’t good enough on their own, they’d have to prove themselves good enough to join a channel. If they were still unpopular, they’d likely be expelled.

  The SociaLights had a considerable following, launching off their mothers’ popularity. The four channel leaders: Calista, Danica, Rebecca, and Elizabeth would be attending NYWS. The rest of their channel members were really just helpers who followed them around like lost Aelkets in hopes of getting a spot on the leadership team.

  Elizabeth was one of those fans who got lucky. Calista had overheard her singing and decided she was a perfect fourth member of the team. Danica and Rebecca hadn’t been too happy about it, but with Calista being the head of the channel, they couldn’t say much.

  After the incident at the Sociapalooza, however, Danica had taken Calista’s place as the top girl on their channel. She didn’t kick Elizabeth out, but she made sure to shove her into a corner where she couldn’t display what she could do. She was really there as a placeholder to keep the ‘fantastic four’ vibe they’d had going since she joined. Calista didn’t have much influence anymore.

  She teleported into the dining room, where her mother was waiting. “Good morning,” she said with a kind smile. Calista gave her a hug and a kiss, displaying wholesomeness, which earned her some more Charm points.

  Unlike most days, the viewer counter was displayed between them; invisible to their public, but very visible to Calista. It showed how many viewers there were watching their live broadcast, how their mood was, and how much REP-P she was getting out of it.

  Her mother only brought that stupid counter up when she wanted Calista to ‘behave’, like a gun to her head. Meaning, she was about to make her do something she wouldn’t like.

  Calista’s breakfast appeared in a flash on the table; a heart-shaped, strawberry pancake with berries and sugar-free syrup. Her beverage was a vanilla latte with Malleable cream— it enabled her bones and muscles to be flexible so she could integrate with body mods easily.

  She took a dainty bite and asked her mother, “How do you think we’re doing with that choreography?”

  “That’s what I wanted to talk to you about.” Her mother laced her hands together, her long fingernails glinting in metallic pink.

  Calista prepared for the bad news. Did she want her to change the whole performance? Kick someone out? Change the finale? While Danica was in charge of presenting (doing nothing) and Rebecca was on fashion, Calista was on choreography.

  “Well, it turns out that the day you’re presenting at school is the first day of Balloon-Arm Awareness Month,” her mother told her. “So, what we’re going to do is mod your arms to be bigger and more…” She imitated balloons on her shoulders.

  “But… that’s a Seeyastian condition.”

  Her mother looked at her with mild surprise, as if she expected her to instantly agree. “Well, yes… and Seeyastians are allies of Earth, and they’re getting more visibility in our community. We’ll get them modded in a couple weeks. In the meantime, you’ll all practice with prosthetics so you get used to it.”

  “It’ll change the whole dance, though-”

  “You care about people with this syndrome, too, right?” Her mother’s emerald eyes sharpened, glancing subtly at the viewer counter, which was starting to change in mood.

  Calista’s UI indicated:

  Flaw Risk: Mod Resistance

  She quickly changed her tune. “Of course! I’ll be happy to do this for them. I want to show everyone that I care about those outside our planets and that I’m willing to spread awareness for people who aren’t seen enough on Earth.”

  Her mother brightened up, flashing her perfect smile. “Uber-perf.” She went back to eating her strawberry pink porridge.

  Calista didn’t want to eat anymore, but she kept going anyway. Another body mod… and one of the worst. Inflating one’s shoulders was very painful and uncomfortable. It constantly hurt and was very sensitive to touch. How on Earth was she supposed to dance with that?

  Her body had undergone transformation after modification after addition and removal for the past few years. Almost every day, she felt weak, tired, anxious, and depressed, but she had to hide it all under a happy fa?ade. The worst part was that as much as she wanted to scream the truth, tell everyone how much it really hurt… she couldn’t.

  If Calista didn’t do all this, her little sister would pay the price, and she would rather die from overmodding than let Katelyn or even Quinlan have their bodies constantly grown, shrunk, poked, and prodded. Katelyn had the freedom to stay in her room making holo-blueprints of new structures, only having the micro-cameras in her room to worry about. Even so, she was an excellent hacker— another secret that was practically bursting out of Calista’s mental vault.

  “We also need to plan your big 18th birthday party,” her mother continued. “As everyone remembers, your 16th was like an open house so girls could get a chance to join the channel, and we got thirty new members. An uber-success.” Calista couldn’t see it, but she knew that the viewers were watching a quick recap of her overblown Sweet 16 and the new girls’ reactions to the invites to become SociaLights.

  In fact, that was the day Calista met Elizabeth. She had personally recommended her for membership and rapidly promoted her to the board, loving her sweet personality and genuineness, a breath of fresh air from the usual masky people Calista spent her time around all day. Now, she worried that true personality was stifled; Elizabeth was becoming more like the other girls every day.

  “What do you have in mind for next year’s party?” Calista asked, worrying about how excited her mother looked.

  “I’m thinking… let’s make it the most exclusive party of all time.” Jennifer rubbed her hands together in excitement. “Have your girls compete to get the highest Level all that month, and the top thirty get an invite! Even better, the top ten get to perform with you.”

  “Are… the other channel leaders included in that little competition?”

  “Hmm… up to you. Personally, I think Elizabeth should show she earned it.” She winked. “What do you think? You want that for your birthday?”

  It sounded like an option, but Calista knew it wasn’t. She glanced at the viewer counter, seeing the excitement from the fans. If they wanted it, she didn’t have a choice.

  “Yeah, that sounds perfect! We can start planning right away.”

  Mini-fireworks erupted from the counter screen, and she saw a large pop-up in her UI:

  +33 Rep-P

  She finished eating and her plate teleported away. “Should we get going?”

  “Yes! I’m really excited to see your dance with balloon arms. They’ll be a lot more impressed if you perform like that. You’ll look so pretty.”

  I’ll look ridiculous, she thought, but smiled excitedly and nodded.