Chapter 18

  Back when Wes was getting tutored by a subpar tutor, he was given glimpses of many things through that tutor. One that stuck out to him was the fact that his tutor always had at least one helper come along with him. At first, he thought he had hired someone new every time he came. And although that was technically right. It was not the whole truth.

  Wes would come to find out that his tutor would bring one of his children from one of his many wives. With how the human side of the universe was structured, when troublesome individuals got in trouble, they were usually sentenced to the frontier worlds. The jobs they would have to do would range from physical labor to terraforming worlds if their ability set permitted. Many things could land you in one of these roles, but his tutor never illuminated him on the finer details of what had landed him in his particular neighborhood of the universe.

  It had taken his teacher years to even let his name slip. Or more accurately, one of his kids to let his name slip. Wes had always known him as Elder. It was the only time in his life up to that point that anyone had required him to call them that. So it irked him for many years.

  After his tutor's son let slip that his name was Morton, along with a common title that was associated with him, he began to try and extract more information from him.

  Through his many years under the tutelage of Morton, he had come to find out quite a few things with well-placed questions for his children or even Morton himself when he was not around.

  One of the things he found peculiar was that even though Morton was required to make his rounds to different planets to teach the populations, he was still able to charge the people of whatever planet he was on for his service. He would have to adjust his rates to meet the economy of whatever planet he was on, but he was still allowed to make a profit. The other thing that he had come to learn was that Morton serviced well over one hundred planets. Which Wes found to be accurate with how seldom he would visit their planet. He would be gone for a season or two, only to return for a short burst of time. All students, including himself, would cram as much learning as possible in those few days he was around. The students under him would be excused from field work and chores for the days he was there, and the following days after, allowing the students to absorb the knowledge he would provide as well as complete any assigned work for the next time he would come.

  Wes had found the days a nice reprieve for him, at least. Elder Morton did not never assigned additional work like other teachers had, for when he left. He kept his teaching within the confines of the days he was there.

  The last and most important thing that Wes was able to suss out about his teacher was that he was barred from teaching certain things. Even the most mundane things could be barred. Something as simple as asking what life was like at his previous stop on his route would be met with a look that signified he could not talk about it.

  Thankfully, one of the things that Elder both enjoyed talking about and was allowed to talk about was his many children and, in turn, his wives. Morton would use every opportunity to highlight whatever child came along with him. He would gush over his helper, and occasionally, he would mention something about the child's mother. A name or the age he met their mother would help Wes to differentiate the women. And over the many seasons he met with his tutor, he would ask a question here or there to try and find out more. It became more of a hobby for Wes than it should have. He would find himself thinking about it while working in the fields. At one point, he theorized he had over forty wives based on all the differences he could pick out. But it could’ve been as high as triple digits if he had been paying attention sooner.

  That being said, the single most important thing that Wes learned from Morton was that a Marriage is registered with their status. That would have been interesting enough, but he also let slip that hierarchy was built into the status. No hierarchy between spouses, hierarchy between Married individuals. He never illuminated completely for Wes, only saying that his wives were his supporters. It took many seasons to ask the right question. But eventually, either Elder Morton forgot or he got tired of Wes’s attempts to find out more. Only saying that, “there must always be a primary and a supporter for it to register with the system.”

  Wes pulled himself back to the women around him, not being able to help himself, he asked, “Dozel, Phony, would you mind leaving me and Nia alone for a bit?”

  Phony bowed to Nia and Wes before exiting. Dozel was a little slower on the uptake; she bowed as well to both and followed Phony through the front door of his personal pavilion.

  After he was left alone, Nia leaned over toward him, “What's on your mind?”

  “I am ashamed to admit I let my desires from my old life get the best of me.”

  Wes explained what he had been thinking to Nia. She sat and took in his words, only offering the occasional nod here and there. When Wes finished, she said, “I see. You have some things right and some things wrong. Mainly, some planets outlaw more than one spouse, while others, marriage altogether. Some encourage more than one spouse. Usually, those have low populations, though.” Nia stood up and walked over to the edge of the platform furthest from Wes and continued. “When you agree to marry another, your status populates with a new tab called relationships. In there, in fact, you will also find your pledges. Why it does not create the tab before you marry someone is one of the peculiarities of our status screens. Marriages go under the relationships section. Along with your children.”

  Nia pivoted back around to look over to Wes. “I am sure you picked up on Phony’s reticence prior to finding out about your cheat traits.”

  Nodding, Wes agreed.

  “That was not because of you personally. That had to do with the fact that when you enter into a marriage with someone, you agree to be either the primary or the supporter. In Phony’s case, she has to consent to being the support in your relationship. A long, long time ago, it was found that whoever the supporter was. Their trait would be less likely to be passed on. In turn, this allows an increased rate for the Primaries trait to pass on to children.”

  A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  Wes kept nodding along as Nia walked over to the side where Phony had sat. He watched as Nia gently touched the air where Phony’s chair had rested, as the chair that had been flung off the platform in Phony’s astonishment materialized where it had been. To Wes’s eye, it looked like she was caressing the chair in place of her daughter's shoulders.

  “That is not the only sacrifice a supporter in a relationship must make. Far from it. Aside from our civilization adopting these standards. She loses her own personal voice in service of yours. She will have to live her life for you and her children if they are important to you, or face penalties to her status if she chooses to neglect her duties. ” Nia finished.

  “Why would anyone agree to this, then?” Wes asked.

  Nia laughed, “It's simple, Wesley. By agreeing to be a support in the relationship, you get a boost to your experience gained across the board. Would it surprise you to know that most gods are the support in the relationship? Most High Gods are exclusively the support in their marriages.”

  “Are you?”

  Nia laughed again. “Of course, Wesley. And thanks to you allowing me to mend my relationship with my poor Argy, I’ve regained a not-so-insignificant amount of my strength.”

  Wes nearly gasped at the realization of their first meeting. “You mean you have been penalized since your argument? How severe are these penalties, and how do they work?”

  Nia poked at her chin in thought. “It's hard to say, Wesley. To put it as simply as I think I can. My fight with Argy was not the reason for my penalty to my status. My penalty was because I did not support Argy. I am, after all, in service of his desires.”

  “I still can’t help but feel that the penalty is too great. If it's based on the whims of the primary, isn’t that a little too unfair? I mean, a primary could be a sick individual who likes to murder kids, and the wife would have to support that.” Wes poked.

  “Fair point, that is why arranged marriages are the rage. The family tends to keep the primary in line.” Nia pointed at herself before continuing. “But even that can be tricky. If you wished to go to war with me and Phony did not support, and you died, she would be greatly penalized. Both her current stats and her future gains would be penalized. Her growth would all but stop, and her life on the path would be over. But if she supported you wholeheartedly and you died, then she would be rewarded with an even higher growth rate. Near double from some accounts. I don’t know because I still have my beloved Argy.”

  “Does that mean that most High Gods have lost their spouse?” Wes asked.

  “Not necessarily. You are forgetting about talent. Don’t get me wrong, there are quite a few that lost a spouse or two, but you can’t game the system. It always seems to know when it is being played. Many have tried and failed to game the system. And many have cripled their growth permanently. Our status does not take kindly to people who try to cheat. There is also one other thing I must mention. It is a bit of a two-way street. Not exactly, but you will find out about that in time.” Nia pulled out Phony’s old chair as she finished and sat down.

  “One last question. Is there a benefit to having many spouses?” Wes asked

  Nia nodded. “As a primary, you get a boatload of benefits. Aside from an army of people on the path who are willing to do your bidding. Supporters tend to deal with headaches for the primary spouse, and as a result, the primary tends to get to focus on their goals. Other minor ones, but those are the big two.” Nia paused before cautioning him. “I feel I must caution you, though. Don’t take on too many spouses early. You have responsibilities too. You will never be the support in a relationship unless that spouse is a fool. But your responsibilities could mount up.”

  “Responsibilities?” Wes asked.

  “You are going to have to find that one out yourself.” A smiling Nia replied.

  “Okay, really last question then. What is stopping Phony or Dozel from having a bunch of different primaries?” Wes asked.

  “Jealous are we. A little early to be controlling, don’t you think?” Nia laughed.

  A flustered Wes stumbled over his words. So Nia continued, “Although a support can have more than one spouse, it is usually never done. Remember, a supporter has to try and make their primary happy. What do you think would happen if a supporter had multiple primaries with opposite agendas?”

  “They wouldn’t be able to make either of them happy.” Wes shot out.

  Nia pointed and touched the tip of her nose with her index finger. “Correct. The penalty they would get could end up being double.”

  “Thanks for answering my questions. I appreciate it.”

  Nia smiled, “Anytime, my poor boy. But let's not make a habit of this. I would rather not answer questions about this going forward. You will, after all, be responsible for my lovely daughter, and I’d rather not interfere in her relationship going forward.”

  ___

  Dozel and Phony sat in the office that Phony had picked out. Phony sat behind the desk, looking at Dozel.

  Phony sat in a big chair that dwarfed her body. “Quite an upgrade for a servant. Don’t you think it's a bit silly for him to be handicapped by being associated with you?”

  Dozel didn’t want to answer, but Phony waited in silence. “I was asked to serve.”

  “By who? What fool wanted you to be his mistress?” Phony asked.

  Dozel winced. “Goddess Nia asked me to serve. Even I did not want to, but she told me I would not regret it.”

  Phony acted as if she did not insult her mother. “Still, it's a little much to have you be an official partner. I think it would be better if you withdraw yourself from consideration. Nothing good will come of him being tied down to you. It’s better they know he only uses you while you're on your back.”

  Dozel winced again. “I am sorry you feel that way, but I have given my word and I intend to keep it.”

  Phony clicked her tongue loudly in disappointment. “Fine. Let's move on to how we will divide our duties. You take care of the house, and I will take care of him.”

  “No.”

  “No, that is how this will go.” Phony shouted.

  “I will not allow my children to be looked down on as lesser than yours. We will divide our responsibilities completely. Alternate days if that's what it takes.” Dozel shouted back.

  Leaning forward, Phony smiled, “I am going to enjoy breaking you.”

  Dozel didn’t reply. A sudden realization crept across her mind. As soon as it finished sweeping across her conscience, she relaxed and offered a smile back. Her posture eased, and she sat back into her chair and crossed her legs. “We may not have anything in common, and I may be considered a third-class citizen here on this side of the universe, but we are now equals going forward. I intend to serve Master Wesley to the best of my abilities. My hope is that eventually you and I can come to an understanding or perhaps be friends. But if that never happens, that is fine by me. And if that is how you end up wanting it to be, then know that I will always treat your future children with respect. I hope you will do the same.” As she finished her words, Dozel stood up and walked to the office on the other side of the hallway.