The Voice's Story

Jessica smirked at Carson. "No, it suits you," she lied.

They gathered around and touched the circlet, feeling a little unsure of what this was supposed to achieve. Suddenly though a sharp tone emanated from the crown and Carson felt a momentary pressure from it. "Leader Selected for Group Twelve", spoke a bright, emotionless female voice, similar to the one the vending machines sometimes used.

Various screens briefly flicked on around Carson showing all kinds of information about the team such as their current health, balance and location, amongst other things - presumably he could recall them at will, the same way most of the other devices worked. He soon realised, however, that he couldn't take the circlet off - it was fixed firmly to his head, although apparently not by any adhesive. Amongst the controls on the screens were options to change the circlet's appearance, or turn it invisible- presumably by the same kind of holographic wizardry that made the screens possible, but while projections such as masks were possible, the system wouldn't allow realistic faces or anything beyond the vicinity of the head, so the holograms weren't much use for disguise.

Jessica withdrew her hand. "I guess you're the leader now. Now what?"

"Time's up!" spoke the Voice. "That was the end of Round 3, the first Voting round! Congratulations to those of you who could decide on a leader- you are eligible to participate in Round 4! Those who couldn't... I'm afraid you'll have to find other ways to amuse yourselves for now, although you will be able to re-join the competition later."

"Round 4," it continued, "is a Trading round. You see, Round 2 left a number of participants... disqualified, which means their powers have been returned to the mainframe. Likewise, a number of groups failed to choose a leader, which means their team balance has been confiscated. However, their loss can become your gain! Simply proceed to a team departure pod, and further details will be explained."

The lights in the pod dimmed, and the voice spoke.

"As stated, this round you'll be 'trading' for leftover powers and tokens. The method is simple: Auction! You've been anonymously bundled with two other participating groups, who'll be competing with you for each lot. However, this isn't quite a normal auction, so listen closely!
1. Bidding is blind. You'll be able to see how many other people are bidding on a lot, but not how much they're bidding. You can discuss your bid with other team-members, but it's also possible to conceal it from them if you wish.
2. Once everyone has named their price, the bids are compared, and the highest bid wins the lot.
3. Bidding is on an individual basis; you bid with your own tokens, and if you win, you get exclusive property of the lot. However, the team leader can 'boost' a team member's bid (or their own bid) using tokens from the team's account. They can also assign their personal resources to other members' bids if they wish.
4. You can bid more tokens than you have, but then you risk going into debt. And that's generally a bad idea!
5. You can also wager your powers in a bid- for the purposes of this auction each power wagered is worth 100,000 tokens, no matter what kind of power it is.
6. Most importantly! You ALWAYS lose resources wagered in a bid, even if you don't win it! So don't bid carelessly or you could end up with nothing at all..." The voice cackled menacingly. "One more thing. You can communicate with the other teams via these terminals." A pair of holographic screens and keyboards lit up on the side of the pod. "There are two terminals: each terminal goes to one of the other groups on a separate line. If you have any questions, ask them now, and they might be answered. Stand by for the revealing of the lots!"

"You're not required to bid on anything if you don't want to!" spoke the voice. "However, if you want more powers and tokens, this is an opportunity to get them without putting yourself in any danger! As for how many tokens you have, that's simple..."

Images of the pod's occupants flashed up around the walls, with their token balances.
Liliana Victoire: 12ʉ (plus 119ʉ in team account)
Aphrodite LaFont: 121ʉ
Mikhail Krupin: -4ʉ
Azzix Le'Nard: 10ʉ

"You can also check your balance at any machine terminal in the complex. One other thing I should mention- you can bid more tokens than you have, but then you risk going in to debt like Misha here! And that can have... unpleasant consequences."

"Bidding will begin soon. Ah! Here are the prizes!"

A list was projected on the pod wall:
Power: Shadow Extrasensory
Power: Cannon Punch
Power: Iceworks
Tokens: 113ʉ

Lily turned to Misha. "You wanna bid on this? I'm not even sure what these powers really are... But I suppose it can't hurt to try..."
She asked another question to the disembodied voice. "For the powers... Will we get to know what they actually do?"

"I'm afraid not; we wouldn't want things to be too easy! This round is all about risk, after all. But as it happens, these powers are pretty much what they sound like."

A panel lit up showing the team's balances.

Carson Warner: -1ʉ (plus 134ʉ in team account)
Jessica Moore: 18ʉ
Aarón Nieto : 118ʉ
Roselyn Shault : 14ʉ

"Ah, it looks like the lots have been assigned! Here's what you could win:"

Power: Shadow Extrasensory
Power: Cannon Punch
Power: Iceworks
Tokens: 113ʉ

"Unfortunately we can't provide any further details about how the powers operate until they're in your possession. However, I'm sure the names have given you some idea as to what sort of powers they are! You may want to discuss your bidding options with your teammates, bidding on the first lot will begin soon! Lot order is random, by the way."

"The first lot, chosen randomly! Lot A: 113ʉ! Not the most exciting of lots compared to the powers up for grabs, but remember, the winner will be awarded the lot as soon as all bids on it are in!"

The lot appeared on the screen, the bidding interface lighting up expectantly.

One of the consoles blinked.
We're only interested in Iceworks, read the screen. "We're willing not to bid on this lot as long as you promise not to bid on that."

"Chosen at random - Lot A shall be the account balance! 113ʉ shall be instantly awarded to the winner! Do you wish to bid?"

A message arrived on one of the consoles.
"As we've told the other group, we have no interest in this lot. We're willing not to bid on it if you can do something for us in exchange."