Chapter 13

Before they all headed off to bed, Perry had to busily construct a few things they would need. He made an outhouse, along with the portable hand washing station you would find at most campgrounds and outdoor activities. He also managed to construct a fridge, not by asking for a fridge to be made, but by finding an object in the database that would serve the same purpose. He became intrigued by the possibilities that suddenly presented, what else could he make that would be convenient. But, it was a task to be left for after he got some sleep.

Laying down on the bed felt eerily familiar. It felt exactly like his bed back home, which in all honesty, wasn’t that comfortable. It even smelled the same. When he asked for it made, the reference that he thought of was the one he slept in almost every night.

He awoke the next morning. Or, whatever time of day it was, there weren’t exactly windows. Just the strips on the wall emitting a type of mood lighting that they liked in night clubs. He left the room he claimed ownership of, back into the main room where sparky was accessible. Heather, and only Heather, was already awake, sitting on the couch and eating what looked like a sandwich.

“Hey, I couldn’t sleep much,” Heather greeted. “That bed has a weird smell.”

“I slept alright.”

“We’ve got to talk to customer support.”

“Good morning to you too.”

“They might be able to get us out of here.”

Perry nodded. It made sense, both Fibby and that other guy mentioned customer support. But, given how those two treated them, he wasn’t super hopeful.

“Ask sparky how we contact customer support. I tried to get it to respond to me, but I guess it only takes orders from you.”

“Alright, sparky, how do we contact customer support?”

Sparky light up just a little bit before responding. “You need to access the intergalactic communicator, I can provide you directions.”

“Can’t you just make one for us?” asked Perry.

“No. The technology requires unstable elements that I can’t materialize. We have designated areas where they were already constructed, they are free of charge to use.”

Wait a minute, thought Perry. Free of charge? “What currency would that communicator charge if it did cost money?”

“That question doesn’t make sense,” replied sparky.

Heather made an annoyed look while tapping her foot. “Ask it generally about currency. Say something like, what’s the common currency here. Also, be sure to ask if our team has any.”

“Sparky, tell me about the currency in use here and do we have any of it.”

“The currency in use here is intergalactic credits, same as everywhere else in the galaxy. I have access to your sponsorship account and that is currently empty. Other than that, I don’t know how much you have in your personal accounts, you should know that.”

“Yeah, I’m gonna go out on a limb and say our personal accounts are empty too,” said Heather.

So they were broke. But that didn’t actually matter. They could make anything they needed, although it took some finagling with Sparky to get it to make what they wanted, and the communicator they needed was apparently free.

“Should we wait for the others?” asked Perry.

“No. Except for Shane, the rest of them are useless. It’ll be easier just the two of us.”

“Agreed. Before we leave though, we should leave a note. Sparky, make a sign saying ‘Heather and I have gone to contact customer support. We’ll be back.’” A beam of light created the wooden sign on a pole in the middle of the room made to the specifications. “Heh. Just like Minecraft.”

“Let’s get going,” prodded Heather, getting up and standing by the main door.

“Sparky, lead us to the intergalactic communicator.”

The sprite moved to the main door, waiting for one of the two to open it before floating out into the hallway. They followed it through the twists and turns around the facility, up a slanted area that Perry thought was their society’s replacement for stairs.

They passed a creature that looked like an insect version of a centaur. A human-like torso and head, but before the body of a cockroach. The top portion however was green with giant black eyes, and the arms were more like the pincers of a praying mantis. It must have been nine feet tall. Perry and Heather tried to make themselves as small as possible as they crossed each other’s directions and went their separate ways without any interaction at all.