ALL NOVEL Chapter 15: Building a Leyline
Virgil, who Walker could tell was greatly annoyed by the sound of his voice, showed him how to find the magical tab in his entity subsystem.
He clicked on The Spirit Tree, it being the only magical entity in there, and watched as it appeared on the whiteboard. He looked at Virgi, who began bouncing on the pads of his feet, so Walker knew he wouldn't have to ask if he was ready. He pressed the materialize button.
The system didn't recognize it as a unique lifeform as he was just using the base form of the Spirit Tree and thus got a D-grade and his materials back. But there was a bigger problem than his grade.
They couldn't find it.
"Ummmm, where is it?" Walker asked.
"Oh shoot, I was so excited I did not think about this. It is a Spirit Tree, Spirit trees start as seeds, so it has been planted randomly by the protocol. In the future, we can use the evolution chamber, linked to the temporal subsystem, to make them materialize fully grown. But, for now, we do not know where it is."
Walker looked out at the small planet, with all of the soil put back where it belonged, and thought, Fuck
"So we have a super-powered magic tree growing and we don't know where it is, or if it's already evolving and fucking everything up."
Virgil hummed before saying, "Yes, that is correct."
Walker tilted his head, "Are you saying that just so you won't say the word indeed?"
Virgil looked at him for a second before looking away, "I do not know what you are talking about Walker."
"Hah!" Walker said, pointing a finger at him, completely ignoring the fact that he may soon lose control of things again. He knew he was still distracting himself from what had happened only hours ago, but he was learning that; when things go wrong, you can let it take you down or you can take it in and not let it happen again. Walker looked back at the world, palmed his chin, and tried to think of what to do. After several minutes passed by, he had two solutions. One, he could remove all of the soil and find it somewhere on the planet to deal with it then, or he could accelerate time, find it as it grows, and take care of it with the hope that it wouldn't randomly evolve. He mentioned both to Virgil.
"One uses temporal resources, the other does not. I also do not believe that removing the soil around it will cause an evolution. Evolutions tend to be keyed by either great agitation, a focus on said evolution by a powerful being, or with the addition of magic...chance."
"So taking away the soil wouldn't cause it to be agitated? And what do you mean by chance?"
"It should not as it is not directly causing any form of damage. For chance, you would call it luck. With magical evolution, it can be stimulated by the first two, but luck is always a factor. Look at The Slicer. It destroyed the tree and was not trying to evolve....yet it was...uh...lucky."
"Gravy." Walker replied. So soil removal was the only way to go, as, if he just pushed forward in time, there was a greater chance that the tree could evolve into something else. He felt like fate was riding his shoulders again, but this is what being a Creator was about. As the old saying went, no risk, no reward. He made his choice. Walker stepped into the World Editor and zoomed in deeply. With slow movements, he began to remove all of the soil. When he had taken away over a fifth of what soil Symphony had, he saw a small brown dot sitting on the pale grey of granite his world sat upon. He looked at Virgil.
"Do you know how you want to do this?" Virgil asked.
"Yep" Walker confirmed. "But it isn't the way I want to do it in the future. It'll work now, but it may not later."
"Okay, I trust you."
Walker clicked remove, and in a straight line a little larger than the seed, he began deleting from the bottom of the planet moving up. Once he reached the seed, it dropped straight through the planet and floated out into the darkness. He made a mental note to ask why there was no gravity on the bottom of the planet like there was on the top. Walker clicked the monitor ability and they watched as a seed floated into space. It had a series of whorls carved in a circular fashion throughout a deep brown-colored shell. The harsh cold immediately went to work on it, the shell beginning to crack as a cyan light grew progressively brighter from the inside. The further the cracks went, the more the light bled out of the seed until it started to pulse in small waves. Walker's overlay lit up.
Evolution Occurring.
The Seed of the Spirit Tree is evolving!
.....Scanning.....
Error!
.....
Walker felt like his stomach was turning, but relief came as the cracks widened in the seed before it ultimately imploded, releasing a wave of cyan-colored particles out into empty, dark space.
.....
.....Scanning.....
The Seed of the Spirit Tree will no longer evolve as it can no longer be found on Symphony.
"I guess that is one way to say it's dead." Walker commented.
"Indeed. But, now we can make modified spirit trees in the evolution chamber." He rubbed the palms of his paws together. "We are going to make some magic....literally. Do you still want to have different environments set up from the center of Symphony to your corners? Like you had it before the incident with The Slicer"
"So we're calling it the incident now?"
"It seemed appropriate."
"Fine."
"Coming back to the question, is that what you would like to do? Different environments for each corner?"
"Before I answer that. Were we missing any that should be added?" Walker asked.
Virgil sighed, "You could add more mountains." He responded in a grumpy fashion.
"Okay, we'll get to that with the...next, next, landmass. Otherwise yes, I plan on having different environments from the corners that we can build up and out of, but leave the spaces between the corners for grassland and soil like we do with the center of Symphony right now."
"Why?"
"Simple, the expansion of food. We don't know what our populations will look like as we go, so why not be smart and plan ahead for an easier area to farm? Plus, I already have the next landmass figured out. I'm going to make a very thick, very durable, huge block of metal. Then I'm going to merge it into the stone of Symphony deep underneath the top half. No more monsters exploding out of the bottom."
Walker paused, giving the empty space above him a glare, willing The Slicer to feel it.
Virgil just nodded, knowing nothing else on the matter needed to be said. He understood that it was best to just move on from the incident before he allowed it to affect Walker's psyche any more than necessary. "So, if you are going to make potentially extreme environments, we will need to modify each spirit tree with exact specifications, to allow for them to not only grow but survive in those environments."
"Makes sense. So a form of heat resistance AND cold resistance for the Desert. Too many people don't understand just how cold it is in a desert at night. Then, modified Spirit Trees for the mountains that can weather oxygen deprivation. Stuff like that."
"Almost. Mana Trees do not survive off of oxygen or water as the trees in your original world do. Their sustenance is found internally as they harness their own energy and breakthrough to a denser form, or grow.
"So....they're cultivators?"
"You could say that, but we are getting sidetracked. First, we will want to plant somewhere in the center of the grasslands as that will be the most temperate environment possible. We need to see what interactions the modified spirit tree has with Symphony to gain an understanding of whether or not this plan works. Also, do not worry, I will copy the modifications for future use as I did with the Muys."
"Cool. I'd like to work with you if possible, so I can see how it's done."
"Of course, also, can you give me access to the temporal subsystem, please? I need control of its connection to the evolution chamber so we can age the modified Spirit Tree before placing it. No more seeds."
"I give you formal access to the temporal subsystem."
Virgil nodded before saying, "Thank you." Then he moved toward the evolution chamber at a quick hop, excited to get started. They pulled up the seed of the Spirit Tree and discussed what changes they wanted to make. Virgil had the system put a seed in the evolution chamber, then explained how to make entities that cannot evolve, magically or not. The first step was to modify the Spirit Tree so it couldn't reproduce, that way they never had to worry about genetic variation. The next step was to make sure that there weren't any instincts for self-preservation, and if there were, to take them away so that it wouldn't feel any form of agitation. To counter magical evolution, Walker learned that you had to make its cells unable to maintain any kind of magical or spiritual power, which seemed like a misnomer as magic was what they were after. When he asked about it, Virgil responded with a question.
"When an electric eel attacks something, does it shock itself?"
Walker shut up after that as he was not a scientist, and Virgil was a Universal advanced robotic assistant shaped like a giant squirrel. Sometimes....he'd just have to say Wizard shit. Virgil did further explain, however, that extreme magical variance, like a bomb of some kind, could override the changes they were doing to the Spirit Tree's cells, but the odds of it were small. Even if a Spirit Tree did evolve, it wouldn't be anywhere near the level of The Slicer, more along the lines of gaining sapience or toughening its bark. With those three modifications, the Spirit Tree was now unable to gain anything from the system Walker planned on putting into place, and they moved on to how it was going to spread magic across Symphony.
In his mind, Walker saw the Spirit Trees spreading magic like an umbrella across the surface of his world, similar to the atmosphere they had to repair, or the indefinite magnetic field they had gained with their rewards. When it was needed, it would be there. So Virgil asked a few questions such as: did he want the magic attuned to anything in particular, like elements or ideas? Another was, if he wanted the Spirit Trees to have interconnected roots. Walker said no to the former and yes to the latter. The tree had to be pure and free of any influence for the system to attune itself after it linked to each entity, but the idea of having all of the spirit trees connected through a root system, balancing out the world's magic so it wasn't too heavily concentrated in individual areas, was a good idea. With that, Virgil demonstrated to Walker how he was grafting funnels into the roots of the Spirit Tree, where it would ground itself into the planet and stretch them out, carrying magic toward any of its fellow trees it can find. Then he had Walker himself, after a heavy explanation on what to do, graft funnels from the roots toward the central magic production kernel in the center of the tree. Afterward, Walker made more that reached from the kernel and toward the leaves, while also extending the length that the branches would grow. Virgil told him, that once the Spirit Tree was fully grown, he had modified it to be over 100 feet tall.
"That's ten stories tall.", Walker said. "That is a tall ass tree."
"Mmm, yes. But it also means that you do not have to produce as many of them, as they will be magic factories rather than batteries. Based upon what I project its magic production rate to be, you should only need two in each territory for magic to sufficiently encompass Symphony. With each new landmass, you will want to build a Spirit Tree immediately, meaning they will have a lower magical output until the tree has grown and connected to the rest of the root system. We will allow this one to only be a few years old, so that it has time to sink its roots appropriately, and I will modify it to search for others like itself, thereby creating a magical network, or leyline, as your world likes to call them."
"So, I figure, with the four corners, The Crater, and Symphony's center, that's twelve spirit trees. At two years a piece, you're talking about spending twenty-four years out of our time resources." Walker said.
"Not necessarily. With the evolution chamber, we can just finish our design with it at two years old, copy it, put a new one in, and do environmental modifications from there. That is why I wanted to start with the center because it is a blank slate for the rest. That is also why it is imperative that we gain a perfect design on our first rendition"
"Smart, smart. Okay, let's do it. How long will these live?"
"Even without modification, Spirit Trees gain their full size at one hundred years of age and then age no longer. It will shed its bark from time to time, which is a potent magical resource on its own by the way, and it will need to reproduce damaged leaves, but otherwise, it is an evergreen. It will always have leaves and will always produce magic. That is why I became so excited when I saw it."
"How will the magic reach the atmosphere and spread?" Walker asked.
"There is a certain Je Ne Sais Quoi to magic it-."
"English pleeeassee." Walker complained.
"I recall your feelings on the French, but you need to move past it."
"It really isn't all of the French.", Walker said in defense of his character. "It's just the French people I have met have been.....assholes."
"Whatever. You are not exactly Mary Poppins, Walker. And that attitude toward a Nationality of your own species is beneath you."
"Fair."
"As I was saying." He paused and gave Walker some side-eye, daring him to interrupt his magical speech again, before continuing. "There is a certain Je Ne Sais Quoi to magic. Once it enters a world, it wants to spread. It needs to spread. There is no mind to it, but there is an instinct found within all magic to move and interact with anything it can. The Spirit Tree will make an aura around it, that will be filled with magic. By connecting the roots and increasing its size dramatically, we are also increasing its production and area of effect, thereby filling the entirety of the world with magic. As long as we place each in the right location that is."
"Okay, I got it now. This really seems like it will work."
"Yes, I do believe so. We have done a great work here. Everything should work out just fine."
Walker grimaced, shook his head, then glared at Virgil. "You never say things like that. Ever."
"Do not be superstitious Walker."
"I'd just rather not have Fate punch me in the dick again." He said soberly as he looked around himself dramatically. "She's always waiting."
Virgil ignored him and advanced the basic model of their Spirit Tree within the evolution chamber by two years.
"Please materialize it Walker, but I do have one suggestion."
"What's that?"
"Link your monitor ability to the evolution chamber. This way, and I should have said this before, sorry, but this way it will be planted where you are currently viewing rather than anywhere on Symphony."
"Oh, smart. Good looking out."
"Indeed."
Virgil showed Walker how to link the monitor with the evolution chamber. He simply had to drag the ability over to the evolution chamber in his vision, accept a prompt that appeared, and they were good to go. Walker pulled up the monitor, zoomed in to an area on the left side of the center, and after getting confirmation of that being the spot they want, clicked materialize. His overlay lit up.
.....Scanning....
Task updated!
- - -
Entity task complete: Create three new unique entities: Part 1
New unique entities created: 3/3
Reward upgraded due to the presence and advanced use of an evolution chamber.
Reward given: Diverse
....
New entity task: Create ten more unique entities: Part 2
Diversification allows for growth. The further down a genetic line that organisms move unchanged, the greater the loss of potential genetic resources. You have made three unique entities, now make ten more.
New unique entities: 0/10
Reward for completion: Diverse
.....Scanning.....
- - -
As your entity is modified from its original form, please name it.
Naming it wasn't difficult. Walker had his favorite books and games all wrapped up neatly in his head. He was sure that Virgil would understand.
Entity: The Mana Tree is named.
.....Analyzing.....
Entity named The Mana Tree analyzed.
Size: medium.
Entity category: Magical.
Organism type: Plant.
Modification: Extreme.
Ability to evolve: No.
Age: 2 Years.
Extra marks earned for being the 4th creator to extremely modify another Creators work in the 4AA alpha protocol: Modest Reward earned.
Grade: B+
Rewards calculated.
- - -
Reward for completing the first entity task:
Congratulations Dante! You've unlocked the Combiner ability!
Not all entities can be built from one strain of genus, and the alpha protocol recognizes this. The combiner ability allows the creator to combine elements of already produced entities in order to form something new.
Limit: Use of the combiner ability is restricted to once per day regardless of results.
Upgradeable.
Considerable reward for completion of a B+ grade entity:
Congratulations Dante! Your creation instrument has upgraded twice!
As evolution is the key to a powerful entity, technology is the key to a vibrant and dynamic landmass.
Modest reward for being the 4th creator to extremely modify another Creators work:
Congratulations Dante! You've gained a subsystem assistant!
Although your primary assistant should be all the help that is necessary to complete the alpha protocol, experience has shown that gaining a second assistant that has a specific focus can be a positive turn for any creator. This assistant, unlike the original, will not have the memories of its Creator to look upon. Training a subsystem assistant can show increased gains over time as they gain more system autonomy and knowledge. Further subsystem assistants can be gained.
- - -
.....Scanning....
Optional tasks updated!
Optional tasks assigned to creator Dante:
Subsystem Assistant Task: Train the assistant: Series 1
A subsystem assistant can be difficult to work with. If they are not allocated a creator's memories, they come as a blank slate with only the universal translater applied and a low amount of knowledge. To gain the most use out of your assistant, train them in how to use their specific subsystem and encourage them to gain their work autonomy so you may focus on other work.
Subsystem assistant requirements:
Assistant is assigned to a subsystem: No
Assistant is autonomous: No
Assistant completes work continously without calamity: 0/7 Days
Reward for completion: Gain a second subsystem assistant.
- - -
Time remaining until next battle: 90 hours.
"I don't understand." Virgil said immediately.
Location: Earth Time: The moment of Walker's translocation
He was caught completely. While the Creators were immersed in the Alpha Protocol, all of time had stopped across the multitude of universes. There was no talking, no movement, no time at all. An ordinary-seeming stick pulsed red in a homeless man's hand, and suddenly he took in a deep breath before coughing.
Time slowly started to move again near him, spreading out to the world in a disjointed pulse. But because time was reasserting itself at differing levels, catastrophe was also spreading. Walker's world was being shocked to life as people were unfreezing in a chaotic and unorganized way, often with only one leg being released at once. They could feel as time slowly lost its vice grip on them, and it caused a series of cascading problems planet-wide. Cars were driving off of bridges, surgeons were making mistakes in critical moments at the operating table, and the more nefarious of the population were taking advantage of this time suddenly given to them.
Chaos reigned and it all centered on one man.
Mr. Harrison, as Walker called him, drew in another deep breath and pounded his staff into the ground, his robes reapplying to his body and his formerly filthy body now pristine. "Finally." He said with a pearlescent smile. As he knew it would, his overlay lit up.
.....Scanning.....
.....
Omega Protocol Initialized