Chapter 20: Broadcast Beyond Borders
Two days had passed since the Hades stream—and Cal was still reeling from the aftermath.
[New Milestone Achieved: International Reach – 22 Countries Affected]
[Passive Point Gain Enabled: +3 Points/Hour]
[New Function Unlocked: "Global Viewer Map"]
His dashboard shimmered with bright clusters of light. Japan and the US pulsed the strongest, but now scattered signals blinked across South America, Eastern Europe, parts of Southeast Asia. Brazil, Indonesia, France, Australia.
It was spreading faster than Cal had anticipated.
The clips and reuploads were out of his control now. "GhostFrame," "ChronoCaster," "FutureGamer"—nicknames were flying online. A cult following had already begun to form around his consistent 4K streams of unheard-of titles, impeccable game mechanics, flawless anime upscales, and cinematic editing.
And his voice.
"People are starting to memorize my speech patterns," Cal muttered, sipping instant miso soup. "Should I start filtering?"
[Optional Feature Available: Voice Obfuscation Filters]
[Warning: May Reduce Viewer Immersion]
He clicked "No."
His voice was part of the identity now. He was no longer hiding behind a gimmick. Slowly, carefully—but certainly—Cal had become a voice of the future.
Tonight's stream was different.
He'd spent the afternoon browsing archived release dates from the future: 2022, 2023, 2024. Game after game lined up like a golden catalog. But tonight, he chose something genre-defying.
"Stray" – The indie cyberpunk cat adventure.
He could already imagine the chat.
"Wait, we're playing as a cat?"
"The animation… that fur detail?!"
"This isn't an animated movie??"
"I need this game in my life NOW."
He prepped the stream early, setting the title:
LIVE: "Stray" – A Journey Through Neon Alleys (4K Gameplay)
Within seconds of going live, the view count ticked from 0 to 57... then 143... then 382.
Faster than ever before.
By the ten-minute mark, the stream had over 3,000 live viewers in the alternate 2010.
And they were entranced.
The low synth ambiance of Stray, the believable weight of the cat's movements, the realistic alley environments—it all felt like some kind of surrealist short film. A lot of viewers just watched in silence, stunned. Others began theorizing in real time.
"Are these robots? Are humans gone?"
"How's a game this beautiful even exist?!"
"You're lying. This isn't real-time. That's an animated movie."
Cal chuckled and tilted his webcam down briefly to show his controller.
"Nah, it's real. All of it."
He cut across a rooftop, leapt down a dumpster lid, and curled up on a warm vent.
"He's sleeping! A sleeping mechanic!"
He heard himself laugh on the stream and quickly muted, covering his face.
Elsewhere, across the world in 2010…
A 16-year-old Indonesian artist stayed up late, sketching neon slums and robotic alley cats in her journal.
A Canadian music student downloaded the stream audio and started sampling the soundtrack.
A Russian tech blog wrote a full post trying to analyze the ray-traced reflections visible in a puddle, concluding: "Either a hoax, or someone is testing ultra-futuristic rendering technology on the public."
And a young Japanese animator named Hayato Asano, working night shifts as an in-between artist on late-night TV anime, finally clicked the thumbnail that had been haunting his forum feed for weeks.
He watched in silence for thirty-five minutes.
Then he closed the window, opened his sketchbook, and began drawing a dilapidated future city where cats roamed among memory-wiped androids.
"I don't know who you are, GhostFrame," he murmured, "but you're creating something real."
Cal ended the stream after two hours.
[New Peak Achieved – Concurrent Viewers: 5,301]
[Live Clip Saved: "Stray – Rooftop Symphony" – Ranked #1 in Game Moments – JP Region]
[You have gained: +2,900 Points, +3 Timeline Echoes]
[Influence Notification: An Animator has been Inspired by Your Broadcast]
[Optional Trigger – Timeline Interaction Available]
He hesitated.
"Interaction?"
He opened the menu.
[You may anonymously submit a moment of inspiration to a chosen Echo.]
The system highlighted the Japanese animator's profile: Hayato Asano. Age 23. Working as a junior keyframe artist at Studio Kuuma.
Cal took a deep breath and typed:
"The world is more than just humans. Keep dreaming about the future. Someone's already drawing it with you."
He hit send.
The next morning in 2010, Hayato found a sticky note posted on his desk.
It hadn't been there when he left last night.
Black ink, clean brushstroke letters.
"The world is more than just humans. Keep dreaming about the future."
His fingers trembled slightly. But a grin slowly crept across his face.
Back in his own time, Cal received one final update before logging off.
[New Stream Category Unlocked: "Inspired Realities"]
[System Note: The world is bending around your broadcasts.]
End of Chapter 20