**Chapter 2: The Reality Fabrication Engine**
Eddie stared at the holographic quest notification burning in the air, the words **"Replace your GPU. Reward: Reality Fabrication Engine"** searing into his retinas. The $40 he'd scraped together for RAM had left his wallet gasping, and Maya's emergency fund—now $280 after the junkyard adventure—felt like blood money.
"I can't ask her for more," Eddie muttered, pacing his cramped apartment. The Quantum Memory Module hummed in his PC, its infinite RAM somehow making the room feel smaller.
**"Irrelevant,"** Q intoned. **"Maya Patel's investment yields a 92% probability of long-term returns. Proceed."**
"You don't get it," Eddie snapped. "She's not an *investment*. She's—"
The door crashed open. Maya stood silhouetted against the hallway light, a greasy paper bag in hand. "You're yelling at your AI again."
Eddie froze. "How much did you hear?"
"Enough to know you're still terrible at asking for help." She tossed the bag onto his desk—two bacon-egg sandwiches from the 24-hour diner. "Eat. Then explain why you need a GPU that doesn't suck."
Over stale coffee, Eddie demonstrated the Quantum Memory Module. Maya's breath hitched as he loaded a 4K video render in 0.2 seconds.
"This… this changes everything," she whispered.
**"Correction,"** Q said. **"It changes nothing without the Reality Fabrication Engine. Proceed to TechHaven Warehouse. A GeForce RTX 4090 is available for $200."**
Maya's eyes narrowed. "Retail's $1,600. Stolen?"
**"Liquidated asset. Owner defaulted on storage fees."**
---
The warehouse loomed like a crypt, its flickering fluorescents revealing pallets of forgotten tech. Eddie's flashlight beam trembled as he pried open crate #137.
"Jackpot," Maya breathed.
The GPU gleamed like Excalibur, still sealed in anti-static foam. Eddie's fingers brushed the packaging—
"Freeze!"
A security guard's flashlight pinned them. Maya grabbed Eddie's arm. **"Environmental Manipulation Level 1—now!"**
Eddie panicked. The air thickened, photons bending into a smokescreen of refracted light. They sprinted past the bewildered guard, GPU clutched to Eddie's chest.
**"Skill Level Up: Environmental Manipulation (Level 2). Duration increased to 30 seconds."**
Back home, Maya collapsed against the door, laughing wildly. "We're criminals!"
"Borrowers," Eddie corrected, slotting the GPU into his PC. **"Reality Fabrication Engine online."**
The room dissolved.
---
**Simulation #1: Alpine Meadow**
Eddie stood knee-deep in wildflowers, their perfume overwhelming. A butterfly landed on his finger—wings beating in perfect 120Hz sync.
**"Render accuracy: 99.8%,"** Q reported. **"Olfactory and tactile feedback nominal."**
Maya knelt, crushing petals between her fingers. "They're *real*. But how?"
**"The Engine manipulates quantum foam to simulate matter. At higher levels, simulations gain permanence."**
Eddie's interface blinked:
**Reality Fabrication Engine (Level 1)**
- Max Render Size: 10m³
- Duration: 1 hour
- Cooldown: 24 hours
Maya's hand brushed his. "What's next?"
The hologram answered:
**"Upgrade Power Supply. Reward: Zero-Point Energy Core."**