Ulorn has prepared some kind of roast. Tender meat and a great variety of vegetables, including a sweet berry sauce on the side. A welcome home for Elisa. I gotta say, this is the best food I've ever eaten to date. How do you even make roasted meat and vegetables taste this good? There's like one step... I should ask for some tips later.

In between bites, Alcia is arguing with Elisa, "I'm telling you, pumpkin, the key is in the Abandoned Archives."

"No way. Why would the king tell us the truth. It's obviously a trap."

Alcia tisks playfully. "Desperation is a great motivator, oftentimes overpowering petty grievances."

"I still think we should be ready for a trap," Elisa says.

"I don't disagree with you there," Alcia replies.

Elisa then turns to me. "Can we get a hint?"

Ulorn and I say in unison, "No spoilers." Elisa shakes her head, a slight smile trying to be inconspicuous.

Ulorn continues with a question, "Did you create this marvelous game, Lucius?"

"Not exactly. I simply adapted it to run on my hardware and added a few quality-of-life features. And a translation to Common, of course."

Ulorn nods his head and thinks for a bit. "How many more are there?"

"A few million. I estimate that I only failed to recover a few percent of all Earth media. While still a significant number, it's nothing compared to what I have saved."

"A whole new world to explore..."

Elisa laughs at her father's realization. "And that's just Earth, don't get me started on Lucius' personal endeavors. Can you believe he's around my age?"

"Everyone has something they excel at, Elisa," I say. "It is unfair to compare yourself to a technological being when technology is discussed. I wouldn't dare to boast even a fraction of your magical capabilities nor the skill it takes to create and not simply discover."

She huffs at me. "Mm-hm. So humble. Remind me, who was all gloating while we were in space?"

"Gloat—" A bit forceful there, tone it down. "Ahem. I was not gloating." Elisa just smirks at me.

Ulorn gets the conversation back on track, "I would very much like to explore your library of games, Lucius."

"They are all accessible from the interfaces. The search functionality is also quite extensive." After a quick confirmation from Elisa, I warp in two tablets and continue, "Portable interfaces. You can peruse information I have and can also contact me and Elisa."

Alcia practically snatches the tablet out of my hands, the action is accompanied by a laughing emoji from Elisa. "Welcome to the family, Lucius," Alcia says and then starts to caress the tablet while giving loving glances to Elisa.

Elisa moans out, "Mom... I visit almost every month, and we exchange letters constantly. Don't make it look like I'm barely home." Alcia smiles at her.

I hand the second tablet to Ulorn, and he takes it with interest.

I instruct the two older elves, "I know this is obvious, but don't let other people see them. At least for now." Both nod in agreement, starting to fidget with the devices. "Ulorn, I created a game engine for you, a tool that can be used to make digital games. The program is intelligent enough to assist you with the more involved aspects of game development while letting you focus on the creative side."

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"I can make something like what we just played?" he asks.

"Well, you are pretty good at drawing and design, so I don't see why not. Composing music and recording voice lines would be best left for later, though. I recommend starting with simple games and working your way up."

Alcia chimes in, amused at her husband's happy expression, "Another skill to master, dear?"

Ulorn smiles at her teasingly. "Can't let my beautiful wife always show me up. One needs to always grow."

The two start discussing the practical applications of my technology further, and Elisa shoots me a message amounting to 'you won over my parents real easy' but with a plethora of emojis included.

***

When the dinner has finished up, we retire to the living room with a bottle of wine, the alcohol from before already metabolized away, another peculiarity of mana. Trying to be good hosts, Alcia and Ulorn have somehow stopped themselves from playing video games all night, intent on getting to know me better.

Alcia asks, "How were you created, Lucius? Or is it born?"

"I would probably use created, as the process was much more random than you would expect. But to summarize, some of the smartest people in the world focused on a singular goal. Then they got really lucky. Even I can hardly understand my own mind."

"Did you have an infancy phase?"

Elisa interjects, "Mother, stop with the probing."

I reassure her, "It is quite alright, Elisa. I am happy to share more about myself. It's been a long time since people were curious about me. And no, I did not have a conventional infancy phase, already having a baseline of instincts and knowledge integrated into my available data. Though you could say I still needed time to develop. Of that, I am sure."

Alcia quickly moves on to her next question, before the mood can sour, "Lucius, since we are talking about childhood, would you like to see Elisa's ba—"

The moment I am sufficiently confident with my prediction, I interrupt her, "Yes, please." The decision takes a couple of nanoseconds to be fully processed, and I immediately regret everything. Alcia and Ulorn have satisfied smiles on their faces, Elisa's expression is blank. Okay. Calm down. I can salvage this. First, awkward laugh. "Ha. Ha." Second, the perfectly crafted excuse. "That was a joke. I guess my world's humor is quite incompatible with the one found here." Finally, finish them off with a rant. "That is actually quite interesting. It is a marvelous indicator of the way mana has shaped this society divergently—"

Elisa sees through me immediately. "Nice try, but you won't be able to escape from your choice that easily." Uh-oh.

Alcia rushes off to fetch the coveted item, while Ulorn is grinning at us.

When Alcia returns, she drops a thick album on the table and opens the first page. "This was my pumpkin as a baby. Isn't she cute!" This is the part where a random assortment of letters and symbols flash around in my mind and some blue smoke escapes out of my ears.

Elisa asks, barely any vindictiveness in her voice, "Yes, Lucius, aren't I cute?"

I bark out, "You are the cutest, ma'am!"

"Smartass..." She lightly shoves me and starts going through the magically captured images of the past, reminiscing about her life long ago.

Every turn of the page moves us further along, fuzzy memories slowly returning. The small family is absorbed by the activity, explaining each and every event to me in as much detail as they can recall. Alcia's eyes wet a little. She moves closer to her daughter. Elisa's hand finds my own again, giving it a quick squeeze. The trip down memory lane continues.

***

Alcia reluctantly closes the album. The last page reached. "How disappointing, and we were having such a good time..." She turns to me, curiosity in her tone. "Lucius, have you, by any chance, discovered a way to eliminate the need for sleep?"

I glance at Elisa, giving her a wink, causing her to look quite unamused. "Unfortunately, no. I can delay the need, but the brain is a complex organ, and the mind is even more so. Sleep is more than a physical process. Even I have experienced it."

Alcia sighs, "Too bad." She then gives Elisa a hug. "I would have liked some more time with my little pumpkin, but we have work to do tomorrow." She finally releases a resigned elf, and addresses me, "Lucius, would you like the guestroom, or are you and Elisa going to sleep together?"

"Mother!"

Alcia shrugs. "Just checking, pumpkin." Then she directs a smug smile at Elisa, much to the fuming elf's chagrin.

I try to diffuse the situation, mostly for my own sanity, "The guestroom is fine, thank you."

With good nights said, we retire to our rooms. Tomorrow will be an important day. I will do my best. I have to. Another step in the—

Elisa interrupts my encouragement mantras with a string of messages. Not yet sleepy it seems. As I start replying, the two of us discussing how the day went, preparing the plan for tomorrow, and whatever else, I realize something. Isn't this pretty much the same as being in the same room? What's the most appropriate expletive for this situation I imagined myself in...

Sometime during our chat, sleep finds us both.

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