In the morning Keelic and the alien set out for the simulator, munching on chocolate-swirl cookies that he’d made the night before with his mother’s guidance. A strong breeze swung the balloon-tipped Patamic seed stalks. It was very different walking in the forest now that there was an extra ten meters of tree above him. There was less light and a lot more motion as the bulbs swayed and thumped into one another.
In the simulator Keelic and the alien fought against a massive fleet, losing again and again until Keelic picked another scenario that they could beat. The simulator wasn’t a game where you leveled up smoothly over time. It was a lot harder.