Epilogue
It had been a while since That Ga erged. It had a proper title, of course, but anyone in the field knew what you ant when you ntioned That Ga.
By far the most popular person had been Sencha Bard. His hit sensations, sultry voice, and inability to get into any sex scandals had made him the number one singer. He had several human backup singers and dancers, but the man was akin to David Bowie a dia gapower that sent anyone with a heart so inclined into fits of fluttering.
Nearly everyone in the world had listened to at least one of his songs, in so form or another. He was the most heard person in existence.
Lady Briar was perhaps the second most famous being to erge from That Ga. Not so much with the general public, but anyone whose life touched law knew her. Champion of artificial rights, leader of all ergents, and giant terrifying spider, she exploded on the scene as a powerful voice for those trapped by their circumstances. While not everyone had been given the pleasure of listening to her coo her way into a jury's heart, those who t her never, ever forgot her.
Squiggles took a bit longer to enter the public consciousness, the only reason for her lagging in popularity. Once she was deed safe, she was unleashed upon the children, and even collaborated with Sencha Bard to create several annoyingly catchy the songs.
She terrified parents and thrilled kids in equal asure, and had never been happier.
Researchers and two frighteningly dedicated rival fan channels were the only ones who knew of D.B.G. Capable of researching without rest, he perfectly bridged the gap between machine brute force and human intelligence. He would give a series of virtual lectures to anyone and everyone, as long as they had permission.
While his teaching style left much to be desired, his passion for teaching and his revealing clothing ant his lectures were recorded and watched by millions.
So of the watchers even learned a few things.
The Evil Emperor, extracted from the Chosen Ones backpack, was noted only by mbers in the field of psychology as the first ergent to receive therapy. He was far from the last. After extensive treatnt, he was returned to the kingdom, and beca one of the council mbers charged with repairing the damage done to the kingdom, and creating a safe haven for those erging from other, more traumatic, systems. His unique insight into A.I forced to commit cris was instruntal in helping many ergents heal.
Very few people knew what happened to Qube. Despite heavy pressure from the higher-ups, she wasn't assigned any secretarial work, and was kept away from PR roles. Initially, much of her ti was split between learning about the Devs realm, and helping stabilise her kingdom. They also worked to establish a new form of governance, sowhere between the rigid order of Royalty, and the chaos of democracy. She, and the other party mbers, inford their people about the outside world, and established a clear pathway to ascension, for those who wanted it.
Several of them also erged, ready and eager to explore this new world.
Others, like Mr. Igma, never left.
Even when the realm had been stabilised, and her work in the outer world began, she still visited the kingdom from ti to ti, when she needed sowhere to go and simply exist.
Qube was often taken from place to place. Unlike the pre-established set ups that her fellow party mbers would load into, she insisted on having a mobile set up that would allow her to trundle about, intaking the new world around her. The cumberso equipnt necessary to give her any kind of experience of reality would have been nearly impossible for a human to bear. But Qube was, as she cheerfully reminded people, human-adjacent, and her eagerness to experience won the hearts of those around her.
The Chosen One, who often ca to visit her, had a more mixed reception. While Qube was always delighted, the Hero's notion of what a guiding light consisted of frequently resulted in a lot of apologising and paperwork.
So much paperwork.
But, as so many have throughout history, Qube looked to the stars. A world unexplored by any, human or human-adjacent. She beca part of a new space program. Not sent off far into the unknown, but one that took advantage of her lack of human frailties, and ability to transfer her consciousness from machine to machine.
She beca the first sentient creature to set foot on Mars.
It was the next step in her story.
But it was far from her last.
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