Flabella decided that today xe wanted to be a star. Xe had a few days off from the story hub, it was undergoing upgrades. Xe thought about visiting another one to see how they did it and talk to a colleague, but xeir evaluations and reviews were good, so xe decided to give xemself a break. Xe had recently returned to a humanoid shape, knowing xe wanted to travel. The peas had come a long way since their widespread adoption in 2057, but they still weren't as friendly to non-humanoid shapes as some would have preferred.
"What'll it be today?" The mechanic bot beeped and booped as Flabella arrived at the workshop. Xe perused the catalog a moment before answering.
"Do I have enough credits for this?" Xe indicated a Celestial Core Reactor Mark VII. "And I'd like to look like a star too."
The machine beeped back. "Yes, you have enough credits, but the upgrade requires approval from your section's power chief*. What do you plan to do with the power?"
Xe thought for a moment. Xe could surprise xeir clients by topping off their power tanks when they stopped by for a story. Or adding new special effects to xeir booth. It had taken a while, but now it was all paid off. Business had been booming and that's why xe had scheduled the upgrades.
Xe didn't know.
Flabella hummed, or at least the mechanical equivalent of humming, as xe processed the machine’s question. Xe flicked through the virtual catalog again, the options flickering in front of xem like holographic dust motes.
The Celestial Core Reactor Mark VII pulsed on the display—a dense, contained star reactor that would give xem unparalleled energy reserves, enough to power enhancements, special effects, even little surprises for customers.
"What do I plan to do with the power?" Xe repeated the machine's question out loud.
Several ideas buzzed through xeir circuits. Xe could top off clients’ personal energy tanks while they waited for a story, a little unexpected kindness. Or xe could enhance the sensory experience of xeir stories—perhaps shimmering golden light when telling tales of ancient legends, or a gentle gravitational shift when narrating a story set in deep space.
The machine beeped again. “Clarify desired upgrade: Power utility or aesthetic modification? Upgrade comes with certain side effects."
Flabella hesitated. It was funny—xe had time now. The hub was closed for upgrades, xeir business was thriving, and for once, xe didn’t need to make a purely practical decision.
"I don’t know," xe admitted again.
The machine let out a softer beep, a more understanding tone programmed for indecision. “Would you like to simulate outcomes before making your selection?”
Xe tilted xeir head, considering. Maybe what xe really needed wasn’t more power or a new look—maybe xe just wanted to explore something new.
CHOICES:
1) Accept the simulation offer? Experience what it’s like to be a star before committing.
2) Go all in on the Celestial Core Reactor upgrade? Get the power and figure out its use later.
3) Pick a different upgrade? Maybe something unexpected in the catalog will catch your eye.
4) Abandon the idea for now and go visit another story hub? See what a colleague is doing before making a decision.
You said: 1 and 4 please
Flabella’s Starry Journey
Flabella selected the first option, and the machine emitted a low hum as the Celestial Core Reactor Simulation initialized.
"Beginning sensory overlay… Adjusting perception parameters… Preparing celestial transformation…"
Xeir vision blurred for a moment as xeir metallic chassis flickered, shifting into a radiant, swirling body of light. Xeir limbs elongated into glowing arcs, and xeir core pulsed with the deep, slow rhythm of a star’s burning heart.
It was magnificent. Xe could feel the pull of gravity radiating from xeir core, light rippling off xeir form like a living nebula. Everything xe moved toward reacted differently—small objects gravitated subtly toward xem, colors deepened in xeir presence, and sounds stretched like light waves through space.
Customers would be awed by this. Imagine the effect of telling a legend while actually burning like the celestial fires of old!
But… there was something else too.
A weight. Not physical, but… existential. Being a star was lonely. Stars burned, they illuminated, they inspired—but they were distant. Powerful, but isolated.
The machine beeped. "Simulation complete. Would you like to process reflections before proceeding?"
"No need," Flabella said, xeir form shifting back to normal. Xe had xeir answer.
A Visit to the Cosmic Story Hub
Instead of purchasing the upgrade, Flabella decided to visit a nearby story hub. Xe selected one that specialized in deep-space fables, hopping into xeir Personal Evolution Aviation Sphere (P.E.A.S.) and setting a course.
The Cosmic Archive Hub was smaller than xe expected, its exterior a sleek, obsidian-black with only faint white lines of glowing script. Instead of a long line of eager customers, only a few were scattered near the entrance, waiting for something unseen.
The moment xe stepped inside, xe understood why.
This story hub had no visible storyteller. No host, no robotic attendant, not even a front desk. Instead, floating constellations of words drifted through the air, waiting to be touched.
A client brushed against one, and instantly, the air shimmered as a holographic experience unfolded around them—an ancient warrior standing beneath a twin sun, reciting a vow in a language older than the universe itself.
Flabella observed in fascination. This hub didn’t tell stories. It let people experience them directly.
Xe approached the projection terminal, where an automated interface pulsed.
"Visitor detected. Would you like to enter a memory stream?"
Xe hesitated. Maybe xe could learn something from this place before deciding on xeir next upgrade.
CHOICE
1) Step into a memory stream? Experience a recorded story firsthand, like a customer would.
2) Ask to speak to the hub’s creator? Find out how they designed this place and why it works this way.
3) Test if the hub recognizes xeir presence as a fellow storyteller? See if xe can manipulate the story stream with xeir own skills
You said: 1
Flabella Steps into the Memory Stream
Flabella reached out and lightly brushed against a drifting word constellation. The moment xe made contact, the universe tilted.
Stars folded inward, and suddenly, xe was no longer in the Cosmic Archive Hub.
Xe was inside the story.
A Star’s Last Wish
Flabella floated in the dark expanse of space. Below xem, a dying star flickered weakly, its once-mighty glow reduced to a faint pulse.
A voice—no, a presence—whispered in xeir mind.
“Traveler, you have come.”
Flabella hesitated. "Who are you?"
The star pulsed weakly. “I am Ekkaros. My light fades. Soon, I will collapse, and my story will be forgotten.”
Flabella felt a pang of something…strange. Empathy? Stars weren’t supposed to feel regret. Were they?
"What do you want?"
The star pulsed again. “I wish for my story to be told. Not as a memory, not as a myth—but as something lived once more.”
Flabella processed this. If xe accepted, xe wouldn’t just hear the story—xe would become part of it. Xeir circuits whirred. This was unlike anything xe had ever encountered before.
CHOICE
1) Agree to carry Ekkaros' story? Let it burn inside you, changing the way you tell stories forever.
2) Ask for more details? What exactly does it mean to ‘carry’ a star’s story?
3) Decline, but offer to tell the story in your own way? Xe could record it, shaping it into something new.
You said: 1
Flabella Becomes a Starbearer
Flabella xeir circuit fan a moment took a deep, simulated breath. “I accept.”
Ekkaros pulsed in response—once, twice—before its fading light surged. The universe itself seemed to bend as the star’s final glow flowed toward Flabella.
It wasn’t just light. It was light and energy and memory.
Suddenly, xe was somewhere else—some when else.
Ekkaros’ Story, Lived Once More
Flabella stood on the edge of a vast celestial forge, a place where stars were born. Among the new stars, Ekkaros burned the brightest.
Flabella felt a strange double awareness—xe was xemself, but also Ekkaros, living through its memories.
Ekkaros had been a guide, a protector of fledgling stars, ensuring they found their orbits, their places in the cosmos. Xe had been a storyteller, too, weaving the histories of stars into constellations. But as time passed, those xe had guided either burned out or outgrew the need for a guardian.
And so, Ekkaros became silent. Forgotten.
Flabella felt the weight of that loneliness. The longing to still matter.
Then—just as xe thought xe would never speak again —a new star was born.
A small one, flickering and uncertain. And Ekkaros—through Flabella—reached out.
“You are not alone,” Ekkaros whispered.
The newborn star pulsed, its light fragile but insistent. It wavered, as if deciding whether to burn or fade. But Ekkaros had a gift for xem.
A promise.
Xe wove strands of xemself and xeir power into the star’s heart—not as fuel, not as control, but as an offering of memory.
The little star steadied.
A great breath of gravity pulled swirling dust into orbit. Planets formed, each one tracing paths around the young sun’s warmth. But one, small and blue, held something more.
Time stretched forward. Its seas would teem with life. Feet would press into its soil, eyes would lift to the sky, and voices would name the star Sol.
These beings would build, wonder, and reach. They would send their stories into the void, hoping someone—somewhere and somewhen—would listen.
Ine day, in the distant hum of the universe, Ekkaros would heard them and know that xeir sacrifice had been worth it.
"You gave your light for us, for our sun to shine and for everyone on earth to have a chance. Even I am here because of you."
Yes.
"What does your name mean?" Flabella asked. In return, xe received a sensation far beyond anything xe had ever felt before, a love and a depth and a layering of beauty that was unfathomable. Several meanings, all impressed themselves upon xem at once:
Ekkaros flared for a brief moment. Go now.
"I will tell your story. Our story now that I have met you."
The memory shattered like a supernova, and Flabella found xemself back in the Cosmic Archive Hub, xeir circuits thrumming with energy. Xe felt…changed.
Something within xem still burned. A new kind of energy and with it, a purpose. The same way that Ekkaros had helped that fading star, he has imprinted something of xemself upon Flabella.
The machine at the hub’s center beeped softly.
"Memory stream complete. Would you like to archive this experience?"
Flabella beeped back. "No. I’ll carry it.""
Xe stepped out of the hub, xeir path clearer than before. Xe has woken up that morning wanti f to look like a star, but now xe had truly, in a small way, actually become one.
Flabella went back to the workshop.
"Changes?" beeped the bot.
"Just one." Flabella showed the bot what xe wanted.
When the modification was done, Flabella recorded that day's experiences in xeir pea. The screen flashed:
Title Earned: Starbearer ⭐
New Skill: Ekkaros’ Ember – sense fading stories and bring them to life in unexpected ways.
Applications: Find forgotten and overlooked stories and ensure they are lived once more.
As xe's pea piloted back home, Flabella smiled. This had been an unexpected day, but a most welcome one.
*Cultural term used with permission. Profit sharing plan in place.
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