In Greenstone, when Jason felt frustrated like this, he would go on a monster hunt. Moving from town to village in the delta, clearing out every adventure board notice and moving on. At least there he could channel his pent-up aggression into something that helped people.
Until he had access to the proto-astral spaces, that was not an option. Opening an aperture would not be a challenge for his current understanding of astral magic, but he would need to tap into the Network’s detection grid. For the moment, seeing the Network people was not a good idea.
He’d snapped on Asya, who had done nothing more than exactly what he wanted and deserved none of his ire. She could not mask herself from his aura senses and he had felt both her sincerity and her attraction, although he only needed one of them. His life had complications enough.
Only when he thought he could see a member of the Network without dangling them from a building and demanding answers did he emerge from his spirit vault, although he did not leave his cabin on the houseboat. Shade was waiting to report.
“Your brother, your mother and your sister-in-law all wish to see you, Mr Asano. They have many questions, although your sister felt that now was not the time.”
“That doesn’t sound like her.”
“She has been watching some of the recording crystals you redacted from the main collection. I believe she has a greater appreciation of what you have been through and how you have been affected. She had the others direct their questions to your uncle and your father, who is also aboard, as well as herself. She has now left, however, to pick up Miss Emi.”
Jason frowned and left his cabin.
“Where are they?”
“The media room.”
Jason took the elevating platform down and went into the media room, where Hiro, Cheryl, Kaito, and Amy were in a heated discussion. When the mist door evaporated to admit Jason, they fell silent.
“I know you have a lot of questions,” Jason said softly. “Unfortunately, this is not the time for answers.”
“Not the time?” his mother exclaimed. “If you think…”
Cheryl was quieted by Amy putting a restraining hand on Cheryl’s arm, but Amy’s gaze was locked on Jason, searching his expression and body language.
“We’ll come back another day,” Amy said firmly.
“Amy, are you kidding?” Kaito asked.
She turned to her husband.
“I don’t know what’s going on with him, Kai,” she said, “but today is not the day to push.”
“Thank you,” Jason said as Kaito gave his wife an unhappy look. “Shade, please show our guests out.”
Ken had been elsewhere, playing with his granddaughters. The children were delighted by the spongy cloud house, which was also pleasantly child safe. As they left, Jason returned to the elevating platform and back into his cabin. A cloud chair rose from the floor, and he fell into it.
“Alright, Shade. What have you managed to turn up?”
“Still very little. I’m sorry.”
“Should I have had you send more bodies?”
“I would need to send most of them to have a significant impact,” Shade said. “Sending them all to France would hamper my ability to react to events locally. In any case, the problems I’ve encountered over the last several days are not ones that numbers could solve. I need to be wary of the magical protections around Network facilities, as well as being careful of their silver-rankers. It means I have to primarily seek information from the lower-rank members, largely outside of their work hours.”
“Which has limited value,” Jason said.
“Indeed,” Shade agreed. “The Lyon branch practices excellent operational security. While I have heard mention of the site in which I believe your friend is being held, the location seems to be a closely guarded secret, even amongst branch personnel. I believe that with persistence, I will catch them moving staff to the site. It is likely to take more time than you are willing to accept, however.”
“I figured as much,” Jason said. “I need to get stronger, Shade. Strong enough that no one would even think of acting against me.”
“There is no strong enough that no one will defy you, Mr Asano. The Builder possesses power beyond your ability to conceptualise, yet you defied him and you won. Twice.”
“Speaking of great astral beings,” Jason said, “why would the Reaper let Farrah go? Doesn’t that directly contravene his agenda?”
“All the great astral beings are allowed to make exceptions with their power,” Shade said. “It is the only currency they can trade with one another, for what else is denied them? It may seem, from a limited perspective, that this world and the events you are caught up in are important, but there are more universes than you have names for numbers. There are countless strange events and exceptional circumstances. At every moment, each of the great astral beings is taking countless actions. The Reaper making an exception like this has never happened in all the time humans have existed on your planet. If you looked across the cosmos in its entirety, however, you would find the Reaper is releasing souls at every single moment of every single day.”
“Why?”
“For his greater purpose. Individuals do not matter other than as representatives of larger trends. I believe that your friend was returned as part of a bargain with the World-Phoenix. She makes sure that you don’t become a revolving door of resurrection and he provides you with someone to aid you in whatever agenda she has in mind.”
“I don’t think I’m that important,” Jason said. “And coming back from the dead isn’t a dance craze. People can’t just start doing it because they saw me.”
“You are a small piece in a machine so large that you will never see its mechanisms in action,” Shade said. “A brick cannot hold back a flood, but a wall can. But I would advise against trying to see through the actions of beings whose scope and age may not even have limits, be that into the future or into the past. Except for the Builder.”
“What’s different about the Builder?”
“He is an ascended mortal,” Shade explained. “For reasons unknown to me, the original Builder was sanctioned. I do not know what that means, other than that the old Builder is gone and the great astral beings raised a mortal to take the vacated position.”
“Wow,” Jason said. “That might explain some of the behaviour. Still, he was awfully Thadwicky for an immortal being, raised up or not. Did the vessel impact his decision making?”
“It’s possible,” Shade said. “While I cannot speak with knowledge as to the Builder’s own circumstances, I am, myself, multifarious in nature. I occupy multiple bodies, which perhaps allows me some insight. On rare occasions, one of my bodies has become partially isolated and subject to conditions that have altered its behaviour. Each time I have reincorporated such bodies, I endured a period in which I would consider my judgement compromised. I cannot speak to a great astral being experiencing the same as a regular astral being like myself, however.”
“So, the Reaper just taped Farrah to my soul on the way through the astral?”
“Yes,” Shade said.
“And that’s a normal thing?”
“On a cosmic scale,” Shade said. “On the scale of even the two worlds you have inhabited, it is exceedingly rare.”