The MP exchange hall was the only building within the entire game that was restricted for everyone beside players to access.
NPC's walked past it without ever developing a desire to come inside as to them the place simply did not exist.
As Leo entered this building, he felt extremely emotional as he felt his usual composure go up in smoke.
When he left Earth alongside Luke, the two brothers had decided to say good-bye to their mother, forever. However, then they met Cervantez, who gave them hope that perhaps with enough MP the two brothers could bring their mother over to this arc ship.
Hope...
It was like an addictive poison, as ever since Luke and Leo had the hope of reuniting with their mothers, they worked harder than ever before, not spending a single MP for the luxuries of life, but rather saving it all for potentially calling their mother here someday.
While Luke could have visited this building sooner, since he lived in the capital, Cervantez told him that there was no point in him visiting without having a significant collection of MP, as his request was bound to cost tens of thousands of MP.
Believing the guild masters words, Luke did not visit the building, however, on his very first day at the capital, Leo did make a visit there, for the sole purpose of knowing the cost of bringing her mother here.
As he entered the building, he found it to be 90% empty, as there were several telephone booth-like slots made inside the building and the few people that were inside, all seemed to be placing a call on one of these booth phones.
There were no NPC inside the building, no-one to guide Leo on what to do, as just by observing others Leo assumed that walking up to a booth and picking up a phone was what he was supposed to do, as everyone else seemed to be doing exactly that.
Walking up to an empty booth himself, Leo picked up the telephone, as immediately he heard a semi-human accent speak from the other side of the phone "Operator speaking, what request do you wish to have fulfilled today?"
Immediately, Leo matched this accent with that of the arc ship announcement that he heard sometimes, as Leo understood that the individual on the other side of the line was either the only, or at least one of the many ship operators in real life.
' Alien….I'm talking to one of the aliens' Leo realized, as his breathing quickened.
"I have a mother back on Earth, her name is Elena. I want to inquire how much MP it will take to bring her to this ship.
I also wish to know if there is an organ regrowing method available, for her to regain her lost kidney.
Finally, I wish to know if it's possible to bring her to this ship and not have her face the cruel living conditions of sector E or D-" Leo said, his voice slightly emotional as he put forward his three pertinent questions.
For a moment, the individual on the other side of the line was silent, but he then said-
" Do you wish to pay 3 MP to reveal the answer of the three questions that you have asked?"
Leo frowned, he did not want to pay MP to have his question just answered, but since he did not have any option here to decline, he silently accepted the cost.
" Alright, please tell me the answer" he said, as 3 MP were deducted from his balance.
" The cost to bring your mother to this particular arc ship will be 26,500 MP for this month and shall go up by 1000 MP for every month that you delay making this choice.
If you don't wish to bring her to this particular arc ship, but just on planet Terra Nova, then her simple extraction from Earth will only cost 12,000 MP, which will also increase in cost by 200 MP for every one month that passes by.
To regenerate a kidney, within an arc ship, it will cost you 500 MP, but should you wish the operation to take place on earth, it will take 5000 MP.
Finally, for her to not start her life on the ship as a Sector E worker and a new player, you need to pay 200 MP a month in rent, to allow her to reside in whatever sector you are living-" The ship operator answered, as Leo felt his eyes widen in surprise at hearing these prices.
On the positive side, Leo was happy that bringing his mother to this ship was indeed possible!
That Cervantez had not lied to them and with enough MP she could be brought here.
However, the cost of bringing her to this ship itself was very costly for some reason.
In hindsight, Leo could see it as to how their distance from Earth was increasing every passing minute and hence the logistical cost to bring his mother here should increase as well, however, under such conditions Leo felt as if no matter how hard he worked, he would never be able to collect the money needed to bring his mother here.
Bringing her directly to planet Terra Nova was another option, that way they could reunite on that planet, however, Leo felt like even that was a risky choice to make, as he did not know if her mother would receive the same sort of training that him and Luke were getting on these arc ships, and whether she would just become a useless relic of old times on planet Terra Nova if she did not receive the player training of an arc ship.
Finally, the cost of replacing her lost kidney was very reasonable if the operation was performed inside an alien ship, which was a big relief since Leo still felt extremely guilty for her losing her kidney to send them kids to space.
" Is there going to be a second round of arc ships departing Earth? How long will the planet still survive?" Leo asked, as his brain began racing fast, trying to come up with creative solutions.
" The question will cost you 2MP, do you wish to pay?" The operator asked, as Leo confirmed with a yes.
" Yes, four more arc ships will leave Earth in about 3 months from now, around the one year anniversary of the first round of arc ships leaving.
That will be the last round of ships to leave Earth as about 4 months down the line, Earth will become a lifeless planet with a 99.99% wipe-out cataclysmic event looming over the horizon" the operator answered, as Leo felt his heart jump into his mouth when he heard those words.
Just moments ago he was thinking about how he would gather the necessary MP to bring mother here in the next 6 months to One year, and just now he realized that he did not have the luxury of waiting 6 months to save her.
In four months time, Earth was going to become a dead planet, with almost all sentient life going extinct.
The end…. Was near.