Thomas accessed the interface one more time, conjuring a heavy, steel safe modelled after the bank vaults of Earth. He placed it behind the bar and set a six-digit digital code. It felt absurdly out of place on a wooden ship, but it gave him a much-needed sense of security.
"And now... I'm broke."
He looked at his Qi Point reserve: barely ten points remained. It was a bitter pill to swallow, but he knew this was the "seed money" for his empire. However, as he looked at his three servants, he realised they hadn't moved. They were standing exactly where they had manifested, staring blankly into the fog.
"Right... Logic Gates."
In this system, a servant without an Automated Rule was just a mannequin. To make them function, Thomas had to write the "Script." He spent his final ten points to program their behaviours, feeling a wave of exhaustion as his reserve hit zero.
