The "weekend off" Einstein had promised Felicity had lasted for the better part of three years, but in the life of a Grandmaster, even peace has its own gravity. The "Seed" icon on Einstein's phone—a gift from the Syndicate—had grown from a flickering notification into a steady, rhythmic pulse. It was a call from the Andromeda Galaxy, specifically from the M31-Core Cluster, a region of space so ancient that its civilizations had forgotten the meaning of "beginning."
The Syndicate, now acting as a cosmic logistics partner rather than a predatory creditor, had officially requested Einstein's presence. They were facing a "Liquidity Crisis of the Soul." In the Andromeda Cluster, a civilization known as the Aethel had achieved such perfect technological efficiency that they had inadvertently deleted their own "Resonance." They were immortal, wealthy, and powerful, but they were fading—literally turning into translucent ghosts because they no longer had the "Jacob-Pulse" of struggle to anchor them to reality.
"They're suffering from Static Perfection," Einstein explained to his inner circle at the Lake District cottage.
Maya, Silas, and Omega stood around the kitchen table, which was covered in holographic star-charts.
"If we don't intervene," Einstein continued, "the Aethel will dissolve into the Void. And when a civilization that large dissolves, it creates a 'Gravity Sink' that could pull the Milky Way into a collision course five million years ahead of schedule."
The Departure: The Void-Skip
Einstein didn't take a fleet. He took Maya, representing the "Green" growth, and Omega, who understood the "Void" better than anyone. Felicity remained on Earth to lead the Global Councils, and Silas stayed to guard the Lake District "Source."
To travel two and a half million light-years, they didn't use engines. They used the Void-Skip. Omega acted as the "Navigator," opening a fissure in the fabric of space-time, while Einstein used the "Jacob-Pulse" to create a bubble of reality that protected them from the entropy of intergalactic space.
The journey was instantaneous and eternal. One moment they were breathing the mossy air of Cumbria; the next, they were standing on the "Silver Spires of Aethelgard."
The Ghost City of Aethelgard
Aethelgard was a masterpiece of impossible geometry. Buildings made of "Solidified Thought" spiraled toward a white-hole sun. But the streets were silent. The people—the Aethel—looked like beautiful, glowing statues. They moved with a slow, agonizing grace, their bodies so thin and translucent that Einstein could see the stars through their chests.
"They've lost their Internal Pressure," Einstein noted, his "New Human" biology immediately sensing the lack of resonance. "They have no hunger, no pain, and no desire. Without the friction of life, their souls are simply evaporating."
They were met by the Archon of Aethel, a being who appeared as a pillar of shifting light. "Grandmaster Jacob," the Archon spoke, the sound like a distant, dying echo. "We have attained the Summit. We have solved the riddle of the universe. But we are... vanishing. We have no more stories to tell."
The Audit of Perfection
Einstein didn't offer a speech. He offered a Challenge.
"The reason you're vanishing," Einstein said, his voice a resonant boom that caused the silver spires to vibrate, "is because you've stopped paying the Tax of Entropy. You've built a world where nothing breaks, so nothing needs to be fixed. You've forgotten that the 'Hero' is only born when there is a 'Zero' to overcome."
He looked at Maya. "Maya, show them the Green Friction."
Maya stepped onto the polished, silver floor. She didn't grow a garden; she grew a Weed. A simple, stubborn, terrestrial dandelion. The plant's roots cracked the "Perfect" silver floor, its leaves jagged and imperfect.
The Aethel gasped. To them, the crack in the floor was a catastrophe. To Einstein, it was the beginning of a cure.
"That crack represents Struggle," Einstein said. "It represents something that is not according to your plan. To save yourselves, you must learn to love the crack as much as the spire."
The Infusion of the Pulse
Einstein led the Aethel to their central "Core of Thought"—a massive crystalline lattice that regulated the entire civilization's consciousness.
"I am going to inject the Jacob-Pulse into your network," Einstein announced. "But it won't be a gift of power. It will be a gift of Limitation. I am going to re-introduce the concepts of 'Time,' 'Effort,' and 'Loss' into your biology."
The Aethel were terrified. The idea of "Loss" was a biological horror to them. But Einstein didn't flinch. He placed his hands on the Core. Beside him, Omega reached into the Void, providing the "Depth," and Maya provided the "Growth."
"25th Level: The Universal Re-Set!"
Einstein didn't just sing; he Roared. He poured the memory of his five years of being "unproductive" into the Aethelgard network. He poured the smell of the London rain, the ache of a long day's work, and the sweet, sharp joy of a hard-earned cider.
The Awakening of the Senses
The effect was cataclysmic. Across the Andromeda Cluster, the Aethel suddenly felt something they hadn't felt in a million years: Weight.
Their translucent bodies became solid. Their hearts, which had been beating in a faint, digital rhythm, suddenly thudded with the heavy, powerful "Jacob-Pulse." They felt the cold. They felt hunger. They felt the overwhelming, beautiful anxiety of a future that wasn't guaranteed.
The Archon fell to his knees, his pillar of light condensing into a tall, silver-skinned man with eyes that were now filled with tears.
"I feel... everything," the Archon whispered, clutching his chest. "I feel the air against my skin. I feel the... the fear of death."
"That's not fear, Archon," Einstein said, helping him up. "That's Value. Now that you know you can die, your life finally has a price. Now, the audit can truly begin."
The Trade: The Andromeda Dividend
Einstein didn't charge them money. He brokered a Knowledge-Equity Swap. In exchange for the Jacob-Pulse, the Aethel gave humanity the secrets of "Deep-Space Anchoring" and "Stellar Synthesis."
"We are no longer the same species," the Archon said as the silver spires of Aethelgard began to change, the silver becoming textured with organic growth and "Planned Imperfection." "We are the Jacob-Aethel. We will be the guardians of the Andromeda Gate."
The Return: The Burden of the Grandmaster
The journey back to Earth was quieter. Einstein sat in the center of the Void-Skip bubble, staring at the distant Milky Way.
"You did it again, Ein," Omega said, his own grey skin looking more vibrant than ever. "You took a god-like race and made them mortals. You're the only person I know who thinks a promotion is a demotion."
"A god-like race is just a stagnant pool, Omega," Einstein replied. "Life needs to flow. It needs to hit rocks. It needs to evaporate and fall as rain."
When they landed back in the Lake District, the sun was setting. Felicity was there, waiting on the dock with a basket of apples.
"How was Andromeda?" she asked, as if he had just come back from the grocery store.
"Expensive," Einstein joked, taking an apple. "I had to spend a lot of memories to get them to understand the value of a sandwich."
The Evening Reflection: The Expanding Ledger
That night, Einstein sat in his cellar. The "Seed" icon on his phone had changed. It was no longer a seed; it was a Galaxy.
He looked at the balance.
Current Balance: 1.0 (Aethelgard Unit)
In the new cosmic economy, a single "Aethelgard Unit" was equivalent to the energy output of a thousand suns. But Einstein didn't feel like a trillionaire. He felt like a man who had just finished a very long shift.
He looked at the "Galaxy" icon and realized that the Andromeda mission was just the beginning. The "Jacob-Pulse" was no longer a terrestrial secret; it was a Universal Standard. Other galaxies were starting to "Ping" the Earth. The "Liquidity Crisis" of the universe was vast, and Einstein Jacob was the only one with the "Currency."
"Rhea," Einstein called out into the Neural Sea.
"Yes, Grandmaster?"
"Start training the second class of the Choir. We have a lot of deliveries to make, and the Andromeda cluster just requested ten thousand 'Green-type' gardeners to help them plant their first forests."
"Already on it, sir. And sir? The villagers in Grasmere wanted to know if you're coming to the pub tomorrow. It's 'Sovereign Saturday'."
Einstein laughed, looking at Felicity as she walked down the cellar stairs.
"Tell them I wouldn't miss it for all the silver in Aethelgard," Einstein said.
He closed the app, put the phone in his pocket, and took a sip of his grandfather's cider. The "Andromeda Consultation" was over. The ledger was balanced. And the Grandmaster was ready for a very, very long sleep.