“So what does this mean, HC?” I asked enthusiastically.

  “Do we have real friends on the Special Streaks server? SassySword? GingerBollox? Were they augments trying to tip us off?”

  “Tip you off, maybe,” HC rubbed his beard. “They never directed anything odd at me. Just those parroted chats in general. I didn’t get the DMs like you. How can we tell who was helping?”

  “Is there a chance it’s all humans and not actually NPCs like we thought?” Rhoda wondered.

  “Oh god, I’m gonna go crazy trying to analyze this,” I moaned. “How do I know who was friend and who was foe? I’m not wrong, am I?"

  I looked at Pitch, then Bitsy. “You two knew all of this, right? About the augments on the inside?"

  Bitsy’s eyebrows rose, “Knew? I couldn’t know anything by reading Discordant, Sam. I might be a telepath, but I can’t see the hearts and minds of every single person in the Known Cosmos."

  I rolled my eyes, “You two seem awfully good at evading uncomfortable questions, and yet you want me to publish my story as part of your series. You might as well shoot straight with me for once. You insinuated all of this is connected, Bitsy! And I put the pieces together. I just want to know if I actually have real friends in Discord. Is that a possibility?"

  Her face softened, “Samantha, you have your own Talents. Use them. When you think about Discord and the people you care about there, how does it feel?"

  I closed my eyes, remembering. “Sometimes it felt mean. Like they were picking on me. But other times. . . like I had friends. People who were glad I was there. Who liked my poetry. Made me laugh. I really wanted them to be real. And HC turned out to be a good person, so maybe . . ."

  Someone took my hand, and I opened my eyes to find Cora looking at me intently.

  “Think about it, Sam. If you were an augment, trying to do something from the inside—good or bad... What would you need to do to hide your identity? You’d have to look like an NPC—or like you were playing for the other side. So you don't get caught,” she said confidently.

  My face fell, “God, Cor, that’s fucked up."

  But it made sense.

  “It’s like poker and a chess game in one, but so much more complicated,” Cora said. “Probably fun for them, to be honest."

  Unbidden, an image popped into my mind.

  “That dream Ryst had,” I looked at Pitch. “A chessboard with black pieces. Only they were melted together into clumps, and she couldn’t figure out how someone could play the game with the pieces messed up like that."

  Pitch looked thoughtful.

  I nodded to Rhoda, “You’re right. It’ll be a devil of a time trying to decipher who is who. For now, I think at least some of them were friendly."

  “But—“ I hesitated. “Bitsy, do we really go public with this?"

  The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  I shook my head, thinking about my parents and what I’d already declared I’d do.

  “It’s not just outing that the augments can hack their cybernetics and control tech with their brains. It’s that they’re actually inside apps we’re all using day in and day out. This conspiracy is ballooning. . ."

  I looked at Pitch again.

  “You two already knew, didn’t you? About the augments playing both sides? Did you want me to write these books to show the Known Cosmos that this is actually what’s going on in the shadows? Bring it all into daylight because I lived it, totally ignorant of what was going on behind the scenes?"

  Had they been maneuvering me this whole time?

  Pitch’s face was soft. Not apologetic. Not denying anything.

  Just… welcoming.

  That would’ve been annoying, but he looked so sincere.

  What was he after?

  I sat down crossed legged in front of him, looking into his face.

  Studying him.

  Bitsy said she couldn’t know the motives of everyone in the Cosmos, but what about her own intentions? Her son’s?

  There was something here.

  Looking into his eyes, I could tell Pitch knew more than I did. But he didn’t know everything.

  To him, I was a puzzle piece. Someone he needed.

  Without me, the picture was incomplete.

  “You need me,” I said softly.

  Bitsy knelt beside me.

  “We don’t have all the answers, Sam. No one does. We know our story, and it intersected with yours. We can’t tell you the next move on the board. All we can do is try to figure it out together."

  “Alright then,” I whispered.

  Then stronger, “I'm pretty sure I had friends inside Discord. And enemies. But the ones that I really like? Well, Bitsy, how can you do it? Have this Sanctuary full of information that could get people killed? Like my parents? This can’t possibly be safe! I don’t wanna accidentally expose my friends and hurt them!"

  “I can’t tell you there’s no danger, Sam. But the people on the inside? They already know the risks. They’re living with them every second,” she said.

  Pitch’s right eye twitched at that.

  Bitsy continued, “But I can tell you that I don’t spend every waking moment worried about the knowledge in this Sanctuary. There’s nothing like it anywhere, as far as I know. But we aren’t alone. My family focused on the Press and recording our personal lives, but there were others. You met them in the pages of our books."

  She pointed to the colorful volumes next to us. "Borden and Annika Sloan didn’t just colonize Five Spheres. Do you remember that he was in the Ministry? Manufacturing?"

  I nodded.

  Bitsy went on, “The Sloans were friends with Sorchen Duvald, the Shurwinn historian. They set out to restore the unity between the spheres of the Plebrum system. There are ten worlds here—all colonized by Earthens at the same time as Shurwinn. But their shared history was forgotten over time. Sorchen, Borden, and Annika reminded these spheres of their roots, and a lot of people learned about the Talented and augments. The information is already out there for those who want to find it."

  My shoulders relaxed, tension releasing.

  “Some of it's in the Press’ cartoons and graphic novels,” HC reminded everyone. “I found out about Five Spheres decades ago, and I bet lots of other people did too."

  Bitsy nodded, “Of course. Loads of them have already migrated from other galaxies. That doesn’t mean there’s no risk. It’s not unified here in Plebrum like it is in Five Spheres, so I feel safer at home in Nineton on Uno. But I don’t feel unsafe here.”

  She paused, sighing. “And the truth is, Sam. Those augments? If they didn’t want you to out them, then why would they get involved with a writer? They made their choices, and you can’t be blamed for what comes of it."

  Rhoda extended a hand, pulling me to my feet.

  “See, Sam, it’s not all on your shoulders. To be honest? I think it’s comforting that we don’t know who is who. Because if we don’t know, then they don’t know. Isn’t that good?"

  I smiled. Rhoda always had a way of taking the sting out of the awful.

  “Annnnd,” she said dramatically. "I think I’m seeing another chess piece on the board. The Sloan family—"

  She cut off, looking around the room, and I swore the look on her face was gleeful. She practically bored holes in Bitsy’s face.

  “You’re hiding another truth, aren’t you? For some reason, you’re obsessed with not telling us the secrets outright,” she accused with a knowing smirk.

  HC grunted, “Apple. Tree. She’s god-damned Slydar Joon’s daughter. Slippery. The whole family!” he ribbed.

  Pitch grinned.

  Okay, Rhoda was definitely onto something.

  I went with it, “So, Rhoda? You’ve figured something out? Care to share with the class?"

  She laughed, “You’re gonna love this one, Sam!"