An hour later, the hundred official Widows and almost two hundred trainees who were older than ten years were all gathered in the main atrium at the heart of The Sanctuary, which was built after remodelling the old fortress to resemble a somewhat more open compound that would make things seem a little less mechanical and soulless. Of course, the structural integrity had no compromises despite the slight renovations, and the fortress could still comfortably fly in the stratosphere.

Yelena stood atop the stage to address the three hundred something widows.

“We have spent almost a year on this planet now. I understand that some of you undoubtedly wish to go back home, as is your right. But naturally, I can’t just send you all back instantly and leave The Sanctuary understaffed. Which is why I am now going to introduce our new currency system for you all. Gaia Credits are the currency that is widely used by all planets that join the Gaia Federation. You are already aware that the entity that backs us is the leader of the Gaia Federation. He has decided that we will be incorporated into that system as well from now on. While others require special devices to interface with that system, your chokers have it built into them. The number should appear in the corner of your vision and become clear if you try to focus on it, similar to how your progress bars used to appear when we had daily abomination quotas.”

As she paused, the crowd started murmuring; it was mostly the kids responsible for that, but the widows were also sharing silent looks after focusing on their numbers.

“The experienced among you already have some credits allocated to you. These are indicative of everything that you have done while on this planet. Killing abominations, going on escorting missions, training the new recruits, and more. Everything has a certain number of credits that are given to you after you successfully complete your task. These credits can be exchanged for money, perks, special things, and more. Just for reference, a single credit has a value of ten thousand US dollars. Every credit is very valuable. I will share the exchange list with you all soon, but I will be telling you about some of the prominent things beforehand. Any questions for now?”

“Will I have to pay with my credits if I want to go home?” One of the women asked with a frown. She was one of the ones who were lobbying the hardest for a vacation.

“No, as long as your credits cross a certain threshold, you may return home, but that return quota will be limited to those who have the highest credits among the applicants. I can’t afford any more than ten widows to leave at a time. Of course, if you are really desperate, you can pay to be able to exceed the quota, but don’t get your hopes up for that; the number is higher than any of your current Gaia Credits. Finally, you will temporarily lose the privileges of your suit if you choose to return. It will serve as a simple black choker at that time, just like it does for the girls. Anything else?”

“Is this like a cryptocurrency? How does this work?”

“It’s a central currency used all over the two primary planets in Gaia. The dollar value comparison I gave you is dependent on its buying power there.”

“How would I get my credits converted to dollars if I choose?”

“Some select banks will have representatives from Gaia who can access their system. They will be able to help you convert your credits to dollars if you choose to return. Though I will discourage doing that unless you need to. Credits have a lot more value than just ten thousand dollars for us.”

“Is there some kind of reward chart that tells me how many credits I get for what tasks? What about a statement of transactions?”

“The payment chart will be shared with you alongside the full exchange list. The credits are added automatically by the rudimentary onboard AI that your chokers possess.”

“For how long can I go home on my quota?”

“For one month every year, regardless of how many points you possess.”

There were a few more similar questions that Yelena patiently answered before moving on.

“Since no one has any more questions. I will introduce the first special item that you can exchange for credits. The Revital serum. A single dose can pause your biological clock for one year.”

“What?!” One of the Widows lost her composure and exclaimed. With her, the murmurs resumed—much more prominent. The widows were the ones who were excitedly discussing with each other.

“Calm down, I haven’t introduced the price yet. Its production costs are astronomical, so we can’t just give it away for free. So, if you do want it, you will have to pay with twenty-five thousand Gaia Credits. Plus, for now, there will be a limited quota of fifty doses for this year to be divided among almost a hundred of you. The kids have no need for this stuff just yet. Another thing, this hasn’t yet been released to the public in Gaia, but when it does, it will be priced at at least a million credits, equivalent to ten billion dollars. Even the richest of the rich will have to sacrifice a limb if they want this serum.”

“That’s more than what I made in the past year, Miss Yelena,” one of the widows said. “But if I choose to buy it, then what about my return quota? Will I still be able to go back?”

“If you fall below twenty thousand credits, your eligibility to go home is revoked,” she said. “Of course, you can buy the serum after coming back. I won’t stop you.”

“Is this serum reusable?” One of the Widows asked.

“Yes,” Yelena nodded. “Virtually, as long as Gaia has the resources to keep making this serum, we could indefinitely pause aging for every single one of you.”

“Currently, we have cleared out most of the abominations in the surrounding areas. Logically, they should be the highest sources of these Gaia Credits for us,” another widow said. “Without them as our enemies, how are we supposed to earn enough to sustain such consumption?”

“Glad you asked,” Yelena smiled, making the widow shuffle. “One of the ways to earn points is hands-on mentoring. Instead of taking turns teaching everyone generally, every single one of you will randomly be assigned four of the new recruits. Those girls, whether infants, adolescents, or anything in between, will be your responsibility. Every month, they will go through a comprehensive evaluation. Their physical stats, their personalities, their happiness and satisfaction, everything will be evaluated and rated by the onboard AI on the chokers. Based on that evaluation, you will be given a generous number of credits. You will all share a reference document of dos and don’ts to teach and train your wards. If the evaluation of your trainees is satisfactory, then you will have enough points to buy the serum when the next lot comes in. Below satisfactory, you won’t be able to afford it. Exceptional, and you will be able to afford both the serums and everything else in the special items tab in the exchange list.”

“What if we get a mission? Do we have to take the kids with us?” Another widow asked.

“That’s up to you, but keep in mind that it will impact your rating. If you take your ward or wards, your rating might increase or decrease depending on whether they are ready to witness such an experience or not. At the same time, if you choose to leave them here, your rating will also be impacted, depending on whether you’ve made appropriate arrangements for them. Your rating will also factor in your intent. You have to genuinely care about the well-being of your wards if you wish to receive a good rating at the end of each month.

“Can we choose our own wards? What if we are attached to one of the girls?”

“That will be taken into consideration when the girls are all assigned. We want to give everyone a fair chance at getting a satisfactory or above rating. That means a mix of the problem children and the smart ones. If any of you have a genuine issue with the wards you get assigned, you can appeal to me.”

“Can we take our wards to Earth? Our…Earth.”

“Yes, you can. But you will be the one having to explain to them why they can’t stay there forever when you come back.”

Once Yelena answered a few more questions, everyone, including her, was assigned their respective trainee widows. With how deeply Alex observed everyone connected to him—even his tertiary hosts like the widows—and the huge amount of processing power he possessed, it was child’s play for him to assign the best possible wards for every widow. At the same time, Yelena was assigned some of the extras who held more importance than trainees, but also weren’t official widows. Kamala, Laura, and Irene. These three were going to have Yelena take care of them.