"Ughhh, what happened?" Adam groaned and asked in a low voice.
"You fell unconscious after suffering the effects of Temporal Displacement Syndrome," Spector replied.
"Temporal what?" Adam asked as he continued to lie there with his eyes closed.
"Temporal Displacement Syndrome, it's apparently an illness someone can receive after jumping through time too much within a short period of time."
"That's a thing?" Adam asked as he opened his eyes, only to find that he wasn't lying, but floating in an entirely black space except for Spector's AI construct, which floated before him.
"Where am I?" Adam asked in confusion.
"You're within virtual reality," Spector replied.
"You mean like when I played Space Rogue?" Adam asked before adding, "Wasn't this place white last time?
"It was, but I look better against a black background," Spector replied.
"Riiiggghhhhttttt," Adam replied before asking, "Why am I here?"
"After understanding the cause of your unconsciousness and performing a detailed scan on your brain, I determined that it was safe to bring your consciousness into the virtual world while your brain continued to rest and recover."
"I see, so what else do we know about this Temporal Displacement Syndrome?"
"Nothing."
"Nothing?" Spector repeated before asking, "You know its name and what caused it, but nothing else?"
"I was unaware of even that until Oracle Andromeda informed us of it."
"Oracle Andromeda? How long have I been unconscious?" Adam asked in surprise.
"It's been thirty-six hours."
"Fuck," Adam cursed before adding, "The others must be worried sick about me."
"They were indeed very concerned about your well-being until Oracle Andromeda explained the situation; since then, however, they have calmed down."
"That's a relief. Is there a way for me to let them know I'm ok?"
"Stacey is currently sitting at your bedside as she has been doing for nearly the entire thirty-six hours," Spector replied and as it did, a virtual screen showing Stacey sitting next to Adams medical bed appeared.
"I can send your voice through the internal comms, allowing you to speak to her," Spector added.
"That's great, please do so," Adam replied just before adding," Wait, what about the others?"
"Adam!" Stacey cried as she heard his voice before her head snapped to his, only to find him still unconscious.
"I must be hearing things. Am I missing him that much?" Stacey mumbled to herself.
"I sure hope that you're missing me," Adam teased.
"What! Where?" Stacey asked as she looked around in confusion.
"I'm communicating through Spector's internal comm," Adam explained.
"But how? You're clearly still unconscious," Stacey asked.
"Spector brought my consciousness into its virtual world,"
"Is that ok?" Stacey asked in concern before saying, "After all, it was your brain that was affected by this Temporal Displacement Syndrome."
"I have calculated the risk of it causing further damage to be practically zero; also, if he shows any sign of it negatively affecting him, I will terminate the link," Spector replied.
"Understood, then can you please end the lockdown? The others are desperate to come see Adam," Stacey replied.
"Lockdown?" Adam asked in confusion.
"As per my programming, emergency medical protocol X-ray Nine Nine requires me to put the ship into lockdown, meaning no one but official crew can board me," Spector replied.
"Is that why it's only Stacey at my bedside?" Adam asked.
"That's correct." Stacey replied before adding, "The others wanted to return here with you after Spector Android fetched you, but only I was allowed since the others are not official crew members."
"I see," Adam replied in realisation before asking, "Spector, can you end the lockdown?"
"Negative," Spector replied before explaining, "My programming stipulates that the lockdown can only end after the operator recovers and ends the lockdown. At present, you are yet to recover."
"Damn it, this is where AI's are annoying," Stacey said in an annoyed tone.
"There's nothing we can do," Adam stated before asking, "Can you let the others know I am ok?"
"Sure," Stacey replied before she accessed her uniband to send them a message.
"So what happened while I was unconscious? Anything interesting?" Adam asked.
"A few things," Stacey replied before continuing, "Emma spoke to both Erkath and Celeste about Earth fashion and the earrings, as well as how to conduct business within the known universe."
"Sounds like she's getting an early start; she could have waited until we arrived on Aqua Primus and discussed it with Erkath in person," Adam replied.
"Since we are likely to be here for at least a week and Tephe refuses to partake in the celebration without you, she figured she should get started," Stacey replied with a shrug.
"What? Tephe is refusing to partake in the phoenix celebration honouring her?" Adam asked in surprise.
"Yup, she claims that since you're the true hero of the Siege of Fenix Nest, you should be there even if they don't know who you are."
"Seriously?"
"Seriously," Stacey confirmed with a chuckle before adding, "Though I think part of the reason is that she wants to attend the celebration with you."
"She's such a troublemaker," Adam sighed before adding, "I bet it's causing a headache for Revi and her ministers."
"Surprisingly not, both Revi and her ministers are happy with the situation."
"What?"
"Well, Revi is happy because it means that we will be staying here for a whole week and her ministers are happy because it means they have an extra week to try and persuade her not to take her vacation."
"I have no words," Adam said in disbelief.
"It's strange how things work out," Stacey laughed.
"So what else happened?"
"Kasumi contacted grandmother to let her know that she arrived on Aqua Primus," Stacey replied before adding, "Grandmother explained her situation to her, so she plans to relax and work on her tan while she waits for us to arrive."
"I guess she deserves a break with everything she's dealing with," Adam remarked.
"She's put her faith in Spector Entertainment, so be sure not to let her down," Stacey teased.
"No pressure then," Adam replied while rolling his eyes.
"Not if we get a good manager to run it while Emma oversees its operation along with any future businesses we acquire," Stacey replied confidently.
"And who would this amazing manager be?"
"Grandmother suggested Koki," Stacey replied.
"Koki? You mean the Catonian who hired Noir Family members to steal financial records from Alpha Entertainment, only to buy them from us?" Adam asked in surprise.
"That's the one," Stacey said smugly.
"While it's true that she has experience running an entertainment company, would she even be interested after what happened with Leiko?" Adam asked doubtfully.
"She will definitely be interested if we help her take Leiko down, so says grandmother anyway," Stacey replied.
"Has Rowena even spoken to her about it?"
"Not yet, she wanted to discuss it with you before she approached her. She has, however, talked about it with Emma."
"And what does Emma say about it?"
"Last I heard, she was looking into her after asking Spector to do a background check on her."
"You accepted Spector?" Adam asked in surprise.
"Affirmative," Spector replied before saying, "Since Emma Hopkins has accepted the job as head of your future companies, she has access to request the use of my capabilities for business-related matters."
"Ok, I will wait and see what Emma comes up with and then discuss it with both of them," Adam replied before asking, "Anything else? I've only been out for thirty-six hours, surely not much else has happened."
"Well, there is one thing I need to bring up with you," Stacey replied before proclaiming confidently, "Lorelie, grandmother and I have had a private conversation and decided that we want to add Andromeda to the harem."
"What!" Adam replied in shock.
"You heard me," Stacey replied with a smirk that resembled Rowena's.
"Why? And is that even possible? I mean, she's the oracle," Adam asked.
"You know Lorelie wants to build your harem with only women that can bring the family something and who better than the oracle herself."
"That much I figured out for myself, but my original question remains. Is it even possible since she's the oracle and she'll lose her ability once she loses her virginity?"
"Already imagining fucking her?" Stacey asked before adding, "Pervert."
"It's you three who want to bring her into the harem and how can I imagine fucking her when I don't even know what she looks like?"
"Oh, once you see her, you won't be complaining," Stacey smirked before asking, "Spector?"
A moment later, the image of a beautiful woman with long, white-golden hair, wings that appeared to be made of light, and who also wore a blindfold appeared before him.
"Holy fuck!" Adam remarked in shock as the image of Oracle Andromeda appeared before him, before adding, "Why on earth is she in her nightwear?"
"The image was taken from her recent holocall with Rowena," Spector replied.
"Isn't there a more appropriate one?" Adam asked in disbelief before adding, "There must be public images of her on the universal subspace network."