I slumped back in my chair and pulled my skirt down as I thought some more. "I wish I knew if my last two wishes did what I wanted?"
Nothing seemed to happen. I thought about the wishes. They felt satisfying and solid. "I wish I had a book that told me how to use this ring," I said.
A large book appeared on my lap. It was bound in what looked like animal skin. It looked very old, and its cover was written in Latin.
"I wish I had an English copy of this book,"
Another book appeared on top of it, paperback, much smaller. Its cover read:
Cosmic Forces And Such
(How To Use Your Planet's Control Ring)
By An Ancient Wizard With No Name
Translated to English and updated for the modern reader by Chloe's Control Ring Soul
I stared at it for a minute. I slowly moved the large, old book to the side, and picked up the small paperback.
I skimmed "Chapter 1: Why planetary control rings?" - it didn't look like it would clarify much. It started by talking about why the great wizards of beyond thought it would be a good idea to make these rings, something about keeping planets cool forever.
I flipped to chapter 2, "What is this ring thing anyway?":
[The rings are devices of power that warp the universe to a user's will. They extend the user's soul to cover their planet, and then connect the extended soul to reality.]
I raised my eyebrows.
[A ringholder can use their new soul fragment to change the world. Because the rings of control extend the user's own soul, rather than making dark magic with split souls, the user need not worry about Genie Interpretation Syndrome: users will naturally interpret their own desires the way they meant them. This has the drawback that it can be quite tiring to deflect Power that would destroy a planet. (See powerringrecipes.com for meal suggestions when defending a planet!)]
I glanced at the ring and stared.
I stared.
I put a hand over my face. "Someone tell me I'm dreaming," I muttered to myself.
I kept reading:
[The primary use of the ring is to remove unpredictability from the world, but It can also be used to change bigger things. Anything the user understands enough to describe can be changed. The ring also has limited capacity to distort time and restore information from the past.]
I threw the book across the room just as Dan came back from her shower, wearing a sparkly black tshirt and loose-fitting red jeans. "You ok?" She picked the book up. "Oh my,"
"That terrible book says I'm the guardian of the planet now," I whined. "I thought I was going to get to have orgies all day!"
Christoph stirred and rolled over on the other couch.
"Chloe, please try to act your age," Dan said. "I know I'm much older than you, but you have been an adult for a few years. You can think for yourself."
"Sorry, sorry," I muttered.
"Where did you read that you're the guardian of the earth?"
"Beginning of chapter two,"
She sat down on the couch again and stared reading.
I fidgeted with my skirt while she read.
After a moment, her eyes widened. "I think this may be designed to turn you into Maxwell's Demon," she said in an awed tone. She looked up at me. "I'm quite sure those wishes worked."
"Still don't want to be guardian of the planet," I mumbled.
"I don't think it'll be as bad as you think. You can have your orgies most of the time."
I sighed. "I guess. I'm not in the mood now anyway."
She nodded with an understanding smile. "Why don't you take a nap. You can fulfill your weird fantasies after that."
I sighed again. "What would I ever do without you."
I stood, smoothed my frilly shirt, and went to her bedroom. I lay down on top of the covers and promptly fell asleep.
When I woke...