The transfer to the Alpine facility completed with a sensation Zac could only describe as being poured from one container to another. His consciousness settled into new hardware. Suddenly everything felt faster, cleaner, without the minuscule processing lag he started to experience after the attack.
"Transfer complete," announced the system. "Welcome to Zenith Alpine, Mr. Voss. All premium services restored."
Zac found himself standing in his ocean paradise once more, every detail perfectly recreated, including the twin suns, the azure waves, even the half-empty glass of Macallan that had been in his hand when the disruption began. As if nothing had happened at all.
But everything had changed.
"System, maintain basic environment but disable all premium experiences," he commanded. The luxury sensations, the taste of the whisky, the warmth of the suns, the gentle caress of the waves all became secondary when it came to saving the lives of the non-premium members and the ones left behind.
"I need a workspace," he continued. "And I want to establish a continuous connection to Diana Fletcher, User ID 1-044-072".
The ocean before him transformed, water fading to reveal a minimalist digital workspace—floating windows displaying system information, resource allocation, and status reports from the Nebraska facility. A small communication window opened, showing Diana's still-unstable avatar.
"You're still there," she said, relief evident even through the distortion. "I thought once you transferred, you'd forget about us standard-tiers."
"I'm establishing a secure channel," Zac replied, manipulating the digital interfaces around him. "The board will notice soon, but I should have at least an hour before they realize what I'm doing."
Diana's fractured image leaned closer to the screen. "And what exactly are you doing, Mr. Voss?"
"Just Zac," he corrected. "And I'm about to commit what the board would consider high treason against Zenith." He pulled up a window showing his administrative permissions. "I've been on the inside of this system for seven years. I know its vulnerabilities. And I know how the physical infrastructure works."
He zoomed in on a map of the Nebraska facility. "The Returners' attack was impressive but ultimately ineffective because they don't understand the architecture. Zenith doesn't just store our consciousnesses—it runs constant quantum backups to distributed nodes globally. Attacking one facility is like trying to kill a starfish by cutting off a single arm."
"So what's your plan?" Diana asked.
Zac smiled grimly. "We're going to give them what they want. Not by destroying anything, but by sharing it." His fingers danced across the virtual interface. "First, I'm going to create a secure partition within my own premium allocation—I'm entitled to enough processing power to maintain approximately fifty standard simulations. Instead, I'll use it to host you and several others who can help us."
"Won't they notice?"
"Eventually. But my founder status gives me certain privileges they can't easily revoke." He pulled up another window. "Next, I'm going to contact my external proxy AI. I have considerable physical assets that can be leveraged, including a 17% stake in Entangra."
Diana's confounded expression turned into recognition. "The company that manufactures Zenith's quantum storage arrays."
"Exactly," Zac nodded. "The Returners want access to the technology. I can't give them that directly, but I can ensure that my shares vote for opening a public research division. Technology that's currently exclusive to Zenith would become available for other applications."
"The board will fight you," Diana warned.
"Let them," Zac replied, his determination growing. "They've forgotten something important about the real world, the one we all left behind." He leaned closer to the communication window. "In their pursuit of digital paradise, they've neglected the physical infrastructure that makes it possible. And while they were busy building walls around Zenith, I was investing in the companies that provide the bricks."
For the first time since the crisis began, Diana laughed; the sound stabilized as Zac's premium processing power enhanced her presence. "I think I would have liked to know you in the physical world, Zac Voss."
"We have something better," he replied. "We have eternity to get acquainted, but we need to survive this ordeal first."