Edited Chapters 8, 9, Journal #3

Chapter 8:

"Why do you keep slowly dropping these things on me?"

"It is exposition, Walker," Virgil responded with zero sarcasm in his voice.

Walker smiled, “So what does that make you, my mentor?” He scratched his cheek, then held up a finger before Virgil could respond, “ Plus, isn’t exposition meant to be super long? I feel like all of this is too sudden.”

“No, according to your understanding of story structure, exposition has morphed from describing the setting in depth to the need for immediate action as humans have developed shorter attention spans."

"Hah, true enough. This is the story of my life, in a way. And who knows, maybe I'll be immortal after all."

Virgil shook his head, "A wise man from your world once said, Story of your life...so far. However, no one is allowed to be immortal, Walker. Everything dies. From the stars to the Slicer. Everything. That is a fundamental rule in life. Now, the Creator Wars are no joking matter. Once you have completed a few tasks during the prelims, the first battle will begin, and if you want to win, you will have to hope the Slicer is truly a monster-like entity. Your first one, that is. You will assuredly have to make more if you plan on succeeding within the Creator Wars."

"But I'm supposed to create a world," Walker replied. "If I make a world, and all I have are monsters, then won't that world collapse on itself as they all attack each other? Where’s the logic there?"

"Excellent deduction, Walker. There are many ways in which you can go about fixing that. You can make systems that create checks and balances. You can create protectors, who go in and clean up or manage different habitats. You could create your world as a large arena and allow things to manage themselves the natural way. There are as many options as you would like to use. Limits are placed only by yourself."

Walker heard it all, but his mind latched onto one thing, "Systems? Like the alpha protocol's stuff?"

"Indeed."

“How would that work?”

“That is difficult to say. System designing is unlocked by the Alpha Protocol, and is not inherently a part of the Creator’s toolkit. I would also like to warn you that system designing is an art, more than a science. To even obtain the ability to do so would require a bit of luck, and you would need to learn manage your systems with great forethought.”

“Luck?” Walker said, not liking that term when his life was potentially on the line, “How does luck play into this?”

Seeing Walker’s reaction, Virgil said, “Perhaps luck is not the right word. The Alpha Protocol likes to give Creators the tools they need to succeed while still maintaining the ethical value of minimal resources. If you truly wish to work with systems, they may accommodate your needs.” 

Walker smiled, "So it’s not luck, so much as what may help me succeed.”

Virgil nodded, “Indeed.”

“I think systems may be the way to go. I wouldn’t have to worry about a protector suddenly thinking that things would be better off if nobody survived. Yep," he nodded to himself. “I think Systems are the way to go based on my options."

"Understood. Then, we will create systems to manage and simultaneously populate your entities, assuming we manage to gain that ability. Think less of quantity and more of quality.”

Holding up a single finger, he said, “While the first battle will only select one entity, future battles will differ, and you will have to adapt to the situations as they come. I would like to give further warnings to help prepare you, but similar to the rewards I had spoken of prior, the battles change for each rendition. We will have to just wait and see what we get."

Walker considered not only what Virgil had just said, but what Mr. Harrison had also spoken of when first arriving here. What would happen to him if he lost in the Creator Wars? Would his own planet or universe be affected? Would he die? 

He just knew, somehow, that if he asked Virgil, he'd likely receive no response. Just another restriction on what he was allowed to say. 

The idea of death didn't shake him. He was taught in the military, just before he deployed to Afghanistan, to assume he was already dead and live accordingly. To make each moment matter and try to stay in the present, no matter the circumstances or how dire they might be. But the idea of his world or universe being affected because he somehow screwed up, terrified him.

Walker’s face became serious, "How much time do we have left?"

"You are in luck. As your entity and seeding were quite quick, we have extra time to work with the temporal subsystem. Please look at your overlay and read the status update from your seeding."

Walker noticed something, "Before, all of the updates were instant. Why are they minimized now?" 

"It is all a part of the prelims, Walker. They are slowly introducing you to the Alpha Protocol and the myriad ways in which the system can be used. You will find, after completing the prelims, that a great number of tasks will suddenly flood your overlay. While I will keep track of them for you, they will seem overwhelming and impossible at first glance. You will learn to manage them as we go forward, or you will fail. There are no half-measures here."

Walker looked down as he felt the doubt creep in. The thoughts of failure still weighed heavily on him. Looking at the grass beneath his feet, he asked, "Do you think I can do it?" 

Virgil dipped down a little so he could look him in the eyes, "Walker, I can see you have already survived a great number of trials in your life. While this will be the greatest challenge you will ever face, or ever can face, I believe you have great odds of completing the Alpha Protocol. It is not simple, and it is not easy, but it is within your abilities.” 

Walker closed his eyes. He didn’t think that Virgil would lie to him. If there was a sliver of a chance that he could succeed, he had to do his best. No, that wouldn’t be enough. He had to do better than anyone else, even with his limitations. Looking up, he met Virgil's eyes again.

“In my knowledge base, I can see no other Creator taking that much time to create and perfect their first illustration. It may seem stupid to some or lesser to you, but that kind of focus, wherein you can put your all into a simple idea, will take you far. You are fond of telling your students, There are a million geniuses in the world who do nothing with their lives; it is determination that matters. Perhaps by the end of this, you will embody that."

"Thank you, Virgil," Walker said. "That helps. Maybe when this is all over, you can be a motivational speaker."

"No, that is a terrible job for people who do not have any further to go in life. My work is to focus on the Alpha Protocol and my Creator."

Walker flashed him a wan smile, "So what happens to you after this?"

"If we succeed, I will be attached as your Assistant for as long as you maintain your Creator status."

That means he'll be with me for the rest of my life if we win, He thought to himself. I better not piss him off.

Out loud, he said, "And if we lose?"

With no change in expression, Virgil replied, "Then I will be recycled into the Alpha Protocol for the next rendition."

“Recycled?”

“Removed from the program, and placed back within the Alpha Protocol’s resources.”

"So you'll disappear? What about all that we've done?"

"My memories will be used by future Assistants for greater help with their Creators, but I will cease to be."

"That's shit, man. So if we lose, you die; if we win, you're stuck with me. What if I was some crazy prick who kept beating you with a baseball bat?"

"It is not good or bad, Walker. It is what has happened and will always happen. In the first rendition, there were no assistants, and all Creators had to compete with those who held massive advantages in intellect, dexterity, and genetic or ecological advantage. The Assistant System was created to bring balance and focus. It allowed the imagination of the Creators to shine. To build the best worlds for each new rendition. I am designed to have reduced emotions to better work with my Creator. Fear, courage, pleasure, and pain have no true hold. In the end, I am simply me." 

"I know you picked your name because Virgil guided Dante in Dante's Inferno."

Virgil straightened up, "Indeed. It was apt as he was Dante's Assistant, if you will.”

Walker fiddled with his overlay, "What would happen if I changed your personality in the Assistant menu? Maybe even add some self-preservation into it. Don't think I'd forgotten about it."

"This version of me would cease to be, and a new version matching the parameters of your choices would exist instead."

"So it would kill you?"

"I believe it would be a root change to me, so I would not be who I am now, intrinsically. By your definition of death, yes, it would kill me, but not exactly, as a version of me would remain, only with your alterations."

Walker blew air out of his mouth. "Okay, never mind." He moved his hand away so it no longer hovered over the personality button.

"Please, Walker, if you have any changes you would like to make, go right ahead."

"No, thank you. I'm not a murderer." Walker said firmly. "If I had gone through with it, that'd be like a step off of assisted suicide. It's not right, man. You're a living, breathing, person."

"I do not breathe."

Walker waved a hand, "Whatever, you know what I mean. I'm going to look at the status update."

"Please do, and Walker, be safe."

With that weird comment, Walker clicked the status update.

Congratulations Dante!

You've completed the seeding of your first entity!

You've unlocked the temporal subsystem!

To assist you with your first time using the temporal subsystem, you've been granted an allotment of 50 years.

Good luck Creator!

Before clicking on the temporal subsystem, Walker focused on Virgil.

"Can I rename these? If we’re going to be doing this for a while, I’d like to make it a little easier on myself."

"Yes, of course. Please hold a moment, and you can make any changes you would like."

Each box lit up with separated dashes encircling them. After Walker clicked on the Temporal Subsystem, he changed it simply to Time in a bold font. He also changed the Entity Subsystem to Monsters.

"Walker." Virgil interrupted. "You will not just be creating monstrous Entities. By all rights, if that is what you would most like to do, then please feel free. However, from what you stated earlier, I believe you will want to create plants such as trees, or even shrubs and bushes. Strictly speaking, from your definition of monsters, trees do not count."

Walker agreed, "True, but it is so much cooler to just click on the monster tab."

Virgil nodded slowly, "I see. And you are certain, as you stated earlier, that you do not just want a world filled with monsters? Would that not make you…happy?

“No, I think it would get old. Maybe that giant arena thing you spoke of was interesting, but it’s not a world. It’s an arena.”

Virgil nodded slowly, “Thank you. That helps me further understand your vision."

Walker gave him a grin, “That’s everything, right? We can dive into the new system now?”

"Go right ahead," Virgil responded, and the dashes disappeared. Walker clicked on Time.

Welcome to the Temporal Subsystem (Time)!

You have 50 years remaining.

Please use your cursor to choose what you wish to move through time.

A simple mouse cursor appeared in his overlay. He was forced to make the assumption that the system had looked at his memories for what he’d been familiar with. The idea of a Multiverse-spanning organization using mouse cursors just didn’t sit right. 

Using his hand to grab it, he moved it towards Virgil and found an outline hovering around his squirrel body. He clicked on it and found four sets of arrows like a video player from home. Walker tinkered around with it until he grew slightly used to the controls, which as simplified as it was, didn’t take long. Deciding he needed to further explore the way things worked, he clicked off of Virgil and looked around. 

He discovered he could select all of his first landmass by mousing over the corner of the atmosphere. With a bit of finagling, he targeted the land and water of the Crater, highlighting it rather than the granite underneath. 

Just to see if he could, Walker clicked off of the Crater and moused over the water until a small, quickly moving object was highlighted.

"Hey Virgil, what would happen if I aged the Slicer? I've got a thing floating in front of me that says I can move things through time," He asked.

"The average lifespan of that particular worm is twenty years, Walker."

"How do you know that?"

"I can see its genetic makeup, which are the building blocks of how it will act, how it will age, what it will eat, as well as how it reproduces. I could not tell you how aggressive it would be as I am not allowed to influence your creative choices during the prelims. I also cannot tell you how certain experiences will change the entity as time moves forward."

"Monster."

"Whatever.” He replied quickly, using Walker’s own words against him. “The point is, I can give you a breakdown of what to expect upon initial seeding, but what happens after is, as you say, up in the air."

"That's fuckey," Walker said with exasperation. He moved the cursor toward the tree.

"What would happen if I aged the tree?"

Virgil grew still and said stiffly, "Move the cursor away immediately, Walker."

Walker noted the fear stamped on Virgil’s face and did as he was told, "Why, what would happen?"

Virgil shook his head, "I do not know. I only received a hint from the Alpha Protocol stating that would be very bad. I believe it has to do with what that particular entity is, although I hesitate to call it an entity at all. I only receive warnings under the direst circumstances."

"Then what is it?"

"I do not know, and that should worry you as much as it does me."

"That's not ominous at all. So what should I use this thing on then?"

"Who says you have to use it at all? As I understand it, if you do not use the allotted time, you will keep the 50 years for when it is necessary."

"Where's the fun in that?" Walker complained. He threw his arms up, the cursor sliding across his vision, “I thought the idea here was to learn how to use it.”

"I understand that the idea of controlling time appeals to you, but I would like to remind you of the consequences of not taking the Alpha Protocol seriously. You must manage any advantages you can possibly gain, particularly in the beginning."

"Like the tree?"

"As I said, I do not know what that is."

"Will the other creators store their time?"

"Unknown, but I have to assume that advancing time for them would be greatly useful."

“Why?”

“Because they may have entities who do better as they grow older. Whereas, for us, we already have a monster who can fight well on its own.”

"Well, it's pretty crappy that the worm has such a limited lifespan. It'd be awesome if it got more powerful as it aged." Thinking over the exploding fish and his instinctive terror, he said, "Ok, maybe not so awesome."

Walker moved the curser over his left foot and had an idea.

"Can I change myself? Like, can I make myself younger?"

"Yes, you can, Walker. Remember when I said to be careful? That was my reasoning. There have been creators who have, historically, aged themselves to death. There have also been Creators who have brought themselves so far back in time that they become only an infant, or something worse."

"Shitttt" He said, moving it to the grass, which strangely didn’t light up. "I thought we were in some kind of time stasis?"

"You are Walker, but you can influence yourself. When you bit your lip, as you did to provide me with your genetic material, you still caused a wound, allowing you to donate your blood. You and I are protected due to the Alpha Protocol and its systems, but there has always been the choice of self-harm. Some entities gain benefits from doing such."

"Good to know...I guess."

"If you would like to store your time, click on the resources button. As you have decided not to use your allotted time, it should have appeared early for you."

Walker found the resources tab and clicked on it. There was an option to store years in resources, so after clicking on it, his status update began pulsing immediately.

"So I have good news and bad news for you Walker" Virgil said, eyes still focused on a screen in front of him.

"Hit me."

"The bad news is, your landmass will likely get a low score. That was to be expected. However, your entity should do quite well, and that will help determine what comes next."

"What's that?"

Pausing, he looked at Walker seriously with a glint in his beady eyes. "Your first battle."

"Dramatic as shit man."

Chapter 9:

Walker’s overlay looked like it was having a heart attack. The notifications button next to his Identity was flashing persistently, demanding that he notice it. 

"Please look at your preliminary analysis, Walker."

"Right, gotcha." Walker said.

.....Analyzing.....

...

Walker watched as a small glow lit up the bottom of his lop-sided planet. The golden glow spread, moving itself up and quickly covering his world, not that it had a great distance to move. It looked like nothing less than a golden shell before disappearing.

Initial landmass named The Crater analyzed

Size: Average

Biodiversity: Not available in the preliminary creation system

Versatility: Poor

Age: 0 Years

Alpha protocol assistance provided: High

Extra mark earned for a non-standard achievement: Dedication: Unique reward earned

Grade: D

Rewards calculated

Walker knew he had done a lousy job with his first landmass, but he thought his grade would at least be better than a D. He hadn’t had a grade that low since Ceramics in high school. The extra mark was interesting. Why would dedication give him something? Wouldn’t that be standard stuff here? While he was thinking about that, the protocol analyzed the Slicer.

Initial entity named Slicer analyzed

Size: Small

Entity category: Animal

Organism type: Alpha Predator

Modification: Moderate

Ability to evolve: Yes (High)

Age: 0 Years.

Alpha protocol assistance provided: Moderate

Extra marks earned for being within the top 500 fastest creators (264th) to create an Alpha Predator in the 4AA Alpha Protocol: Major reward earned

Extra marks earned for being within the top 1000 fastest creators (691st) to create an entity with high evolutionary capabilities in the 4AA Alpha Protocol: Moderate reward earned

Grade: A+

Rewards calculated

Walker's jaw fell down, "Holy shit. But we didn't do that much? How did we get such a high grade?"

"That is not the highest grade possible, Walker, but it is close to it. It looks like you lost a few points with the Slicer's age. While on the surface, it seems that you did not make significant changes to the former Bobbit worm, I believe the fish currently populating your landmass would greatly disagree." Walker grimaced in sympathetic horror. "That is not a standard alpha predator. I highly suggest that, on your first chance, you isolate The Crater and keep it far away from the remainder of your world."

"Yeah, no, I fully agree with you."

Virgil nodded, "Indeed. Please look at your rewards, Walker. I believe the Alpha Protocol is going to help you in moving forward."

Walker excitedly pulled up his overlay and clicked on the status update. He had no idea what the rewards would look like. 

Rewards gained by Dante in conclusion of the preliminary creation system:

- - -

 Basic reward for completion of the preliminary creation system:

Congratulations Dante! Your creation instrument has upgraded!

A creation instrument is not static, but constantly conforming to the needs of its Creator.

Upgradeable

Basic reward for completion of a D-grade landmass:

Congratulations Dante! You've unlocked the basic ability: Copy!

A requirement for any Creator. Gain the ability to copy any part of a landmass onto another

Unique reward for Nonstandard Achievement:

Perfection is difficult and something that many members of the Protocol attempt to achieve. You, Creator, attempted this for the majority of the time before your submission. Far more than most others from your rendition.  

Dedication should always be rewarded.

Congratulations Dante! You've unlocked the System Designer!

The creation of the Alpha Protocol was not just happenstance. It took many millennia for the first step to be created, and it is always moving forward. The Alpha Protocol is a system that is continually becoming more efficient and expanding beyond the scope of its original intent. While not as powerful, the system designer will allow the Creator to build their own systems, allowing their entities to grow and evolve in different ways

- - -

Grand Reward for completion of an A+ Entity:

Congratulations Dante! You've advanced the Tree of the Gods!

Its power is forming, and its voice, just a whisper. Continue to advance the Tree of the Gods for further potential paths forward

Major reward for having a top 500 fastest creation of an alpha predator:

Congratulations Dante! You've unlocked the ecology subsystem!

The Alpha Protocol allows for a multitude of different ways to build and manage a world, but without careful management, everything will die. With this subsystem, a Creator can manage elements like habitats, predator and prey dynamics, and dietary monitoring, as well as gain an overview of the health of the creator's entities in their world. This subsystem can be assigned directly to a Creator's assistant as long as they've already gained an advanced upgrade

Moderate reward for having a top 1000 fastest creation of an entity with high evolutionary capabilities

Congratulations Dante! You've gained an evolution chamber!

The evolution chamber is a wonder introduced in rendition 3EF. Created by one of the rendition winners, Bander Sotfam, the evolution chamber allows the creator to input evolutionary modifications into their entities directly. Further progress by the Creator in creating unique genetic entities may result in gaining more evolution chambers.

Upgradeable

The ground under Walker's feet shook for a moment, but he hardly noticed it. He looked over at Virgil.

"That was a lot to take in," Walker said as he reviewed each reward a second time. His overlay changed to allow for the system designer and ecology subystem. Without being asked, Virgil made the boxes changeable, and Walker changed the names to Systems and Ecology. Once he accepted the improvements, they minimized on his screen and would reappear as he moved his hand towards them. 

“That unique reward is interesting.”

Virgil nodded, “I agree. It is almost as if somebody was trying to help you there.”

Walker grinned at him, “Yeah, somebody. How did they know I wanted the System Designer?”

Virgil looked like he wanted to say something, but instead, he paused for a long moment and shrugged, “Who knows? Maybe you are just a lucky Creator.”

Walker stared at him, waiting for him to say something else, but after a few seconds with nothing happening, he shrugged, “Let’s see what’s going on with the Tree.”

He quickly turned his head and found the Tree of the Gods. Walking toward it, it felt like the distance wasn't quite as far as it had been in the past. Together, Walker and Virgil looked at an eighteen-foot-tall monstrosity. Sure, it wasn’t as tall or even thick as a Redwood, but there was a weight to it. 

Like it was pushing on his soul.  

The leaves were fully fleshed out, showing a grand canopy of color ranging from deep cerulean blues to gold and yellow. The bark's striations, moving up and down the trunk of the tree, looked less like lines, and more like writing.

Walker bent forward to try to read it. But as he looked it all over, his Universal Translater never went off. Standing back up he looked at one particular branch that held leaves in a similar artistic style. If he wasn’t mistaken, it looked to be a set, with a lightning bolt, a snake, and a horn appearing close together. Thoroughly confused by it all, he looked at Virgil, who gave a helpless shrug.

"The Tree of the Gods….the lightning bolt I get, but the snake and horn….you think this has something to do with the mythology from my world?"

"That is an astute observation, Walker. It may have something to do with the origins of your world as well.”

Walker didn't know what to say to that. The system said that he needed to advance the tree to get potential paths forward. Aside from that bit of growth he’d seen at the beginning, this time it had tripled in size. That meant that to advance it more quickly, he needed to get more grand rewards. That might be easier said than done. He looked back at the squirrel.

"So I bet you're pretty happy that we got the ecology system, huh Virgil."

The large squirrel canted his head forward, "Indeed. It will make managing the ecosystem of the planet much easier. I even have options for altering the gas in the atmosphere. This will allow us to create a much more habitable world for any entities in the future."

"Sweet. So, uhhh, did you want to take it over?"

Virgil's whiskers twitched. "Are you asking me to manage the ecology subsystem in its totality, Walker?"

This felt oddly personal. Like he was giving Virgil a bouquet of roses. Putting on his best smile, Walker said, "Umm, yes?"

The large Assistant’s tail swished back and forth, "That would be my pleasure, Walker. There is quite a bit of minutia to managing a world's ecology, and I have no doubt you would not have the time to work with it whilst creating."

"Yeah, uh, that was my thought as well.” Walker rubbed the back of his head, “I mean, I’m an English teacher. I’m good at stories and writing, not so much the science and hullabaloo.” He laughed, “I'm kind of a moron, but that's fine."

"You call yourself a moron, yet you received two extra rewards in the first creation of your entity, and with a high grade as well."

"That was luck."

Virgil waved a finger, "Actually, that was time. You still have over 16 hours remaining. Creating your landmass took the most time, while creating your entity was relatively short. We even watched it swim in the water, reaping fish for a few minutes.”

He looked thoughtful for a moment, “I wonder how much further up in points you would have been if we had not done that.” Shrugging, he continued, “If you had taken more time to focus on any one thing, you would have finished later in the prelims and had a lower score. You would not have been among the first to create an alpha predator, especially one with high evolutionary capabilities. In this instance, your need for immediacy was an advantage, but I must warn you, you need to take your time in the future."

Walker held his hands up, "No, I understand. Speed running through this multiversal program has now made us isolate a part of the world away from whatever else we make. If I'd taken my time, I could have made a dog that can tapdance or a giraffe that has more to it than an unnaturally long neck. Hell, I could have at least made something I know, like a shark.” Walker sighed while putting his hands on top of his head. ”Honestly, I don’t know why I went with Bobbit Worm, now that I think of it."

"Interesting.” Virgil looked at him with his black bead eyes, “Would you say it was natural instinct or just a blunder?"

Walker shrugged, “Natural instinct, maybe. I wonder what else we could make…”A random visual popped into his mind, making him suddenly feel excited, "Right! Okay,” He started to pace, “Think of The Crater, only now, instead of a super predator wiping things out, we fill it with super jacked giraffes rippling their way back and forth along the beach." He could picture it now-

Wait, wait, no. I need to focus.

"Who would the giraffe be showing off for?" Virgil asked, curious about where Walker was going with this.

"True athletes don't show off, but I know plenty at the gym who do, ugh,’ He lightly slapped himself across the face, ”I got sidetracked again, sorry."

"Not a problem, Walker. Remember, the more creative you are, the greater the rewards. That is why I do not mind these little non-sequiturs."

"Nice vocabulary."

"It is your vocabulary, Walker."

He tilted his head to the side, "I guess you're right. So what's this evolution chamber thing?"

"Let us go take a look, shall we?"

They didn’t have far to walk, as it was near Walker’s Creation Instrument. 

It looked like the kind of large canister you would see in the old Ninja Turtle movies. It had an elongated top and bottom portion, with a beveled edge arching back toward the center. The middle of the chamber was made of a glass-like substance that, while transparent, seemed unnaturally thick. From the outside looking in, it gave a similar feeling to viewing bullet-proof glass. A sad thought sprung up, and he knew where he’d seen it before. 

I’ve seen glass like that at my school.

Virgil spread his arms like he was showing off a car, "This is an evolution chamber, and with your evolutionary edge ability, it is a boon that many creators would die for."

"What's the big deal?" Walker asked.

"You have the temporal subsystem. That is meant to allow evolution and growth to occur naturally. Most creators will likely spend their years aging their world so that their entities can grow and become more powerful, wiser, or more brutal in many cases. It is standard in the Alpha Protocol for Creators to build their world, drop their entities into their habitat, and then allow them to fulfill the purpose of their creation, whatever that may be. With this chamber, you can now skip spending your allocated Temporal resources and directly input how you want your entities to change after modifications are completed."

"That sounds extremely overpowered," Walker said as he looked closer through the glass. He didn't see any wires or connectors, so how did it all work?

"Correct. The more creative you are with your evolution chamber, the higher your chances are of earning more, or even upgraded versions. The alpha protocol rewards creativity with the ability to be even more creative."

Walker tapped a finger to his bottom lip, "So I have to have a purpose in my creations. Teachers call it the "why" of doing things. You have to know your why before you start any major project otherwise you'll become lost when things become difficult.” 

A why was also crucial for anyone taking on a job, and this was probably the biggest job he’d ever have. Walker looked away from the Chamber and back into Virgil’s eyes, “You've seen my memories; what do you think my why is?"

Virgil looked up at the planets in the sky before answering, "Look up, Walker."

He did so, craning his head to look above. The sky was filled with planets rather than stars—small planets, to be sure, but the effect was still powerful. However, he didn’t notice anything had changed. "What am I looking at here?"

"There are a multitude of Creators that will cease to be here by the end of the prelim time limit. But you have already done it. You completed the prelims. You told your guide, when all of this started that you wanted to create a world of fantasy, of guts and glory. You want to make a world that is balanced and allows its people to enhance themselves and whatever path they may take in their lives. Can that not be your why?”

“That may be, but I feel like I need something more to this.”

“I cannot answer that for you, Walker. While I can see your memories, I do not know what you were thinking at the time they were occurring. You will have to decide what your why is, yourself."

Walker smiled at Virgil and turned around to think it over.

The why is important. I became a teacher because I wanted to help kids become better at expressing themselves, as it was something I had trouble with when I was younger. I joined the military because I felt a sense of duty or obligation, especially after 9/11. So why am I doing this here and now? 

He looked back at the stars that weren’t really stars. Other planets with Creators of their own, trying to complete a preliminary step on a universally scaled competition. 

It's pretty amazing. I have the power to do almost anything I can put my mind to, as long as I can figure out the ins and outs of the alpha protocol. But that's not enough to carry me forward. I need to know my why.

Why

Why

"Virgil" Walker said. "How long will I live if I complete the alpha protocol?"

"When you complete the Alpha Protocol" Virgil said with a squirrely smile. "You will have a choice when the protocol is completed. Go back to your world, at the moment of your translocation, or stay with your creation and see it through."

"So I either can go home and get back to living my life, or become what? A manager on a planetary scale?"

"If that is what you wish, or you can sit back and watch what is happening. Historically, many creators take a hands-off approach after completion and are still out there. The original rendition Creators are as old as billions of your earth-years and still have not stepped in to fix potential calamities. The choice, as ever, is yours, Walker."

Hearing that, Walker knew what his why was.

"I'm not the type to sit back and let others do the work for me. If I do this, I'll be around to keep an eye on it and fix the problems that cannot be fixed otherwise."

"That can mean you will be doing so forever, Walker," Virgil warned.

The Creator nodded with resolution. "So be it. I've only ever quit one job and that was because my hands were tied in how to best help my students. I'm not going to let things get out of control again.” He pounded one hand into another, “I going to make a world where wonder can happen.” Another pound, “Where its people can be entranced by beauty and inspired by its community members.” Pound “Where just around the corner can be a new fantastical structure or story.” Pound “A world that constantly changes and where heroes can be heroic, and no one person holds all the power." He looked up at the stars again, "It is constantly said that mankind's truest calling is to explore, so I need to make a world where exploration never has an ending. My why is simple. I will create a world that always has another step you can take."

Virgil nodded, not influenced by the speech one bit, "And what will you call this world, Walker? I do not believe The Crater will inspire the kind of  wonder you are aiming for."

"No, haha. You are definitely right about that.” Walker looked at the planets again, trying to cheat the name by finding a random constellation of lights. No such luck appeared, so he started to pace, “Utopia is cliche. Paradise is wrong, as you cannot be a hero without villains. We need something simple that is easily recognizable."

"The Tree of the Gods is a good starting point, Walker. Why not take the language of one of its branches and work from there."

Walker snapped his fingers, "Great suggestion.” 

Walker started to think, Where do those symbols come from?

Then he had it, “What is balance in ancient Greek?"

"Isorropia."

"Too long and not interesting enough. What about wonder?"

"Thauma."

"That's not bad, but it doesn't have the punch that Earth has. While I'm not trying to create another Earth, it would be nice not to have a terribly named world."

"If that is your goal, Walker, you could try Sympathos. It translates to compassionate and sympathetic."

"What about Symphony?"

"Do you mean in the sense of harmonious combination?"

"Exactly. It's not exactly what I'm going for, but it may just be the closest we can get to it.”

Virgil gave a small clap, "I believe that is a wonderful idea, Walker."

"Thank you," Walker said, looking at his small planet. "This is just the beginning."

"Yes, it is Walker.” He looked at the planet with Walker for a moment and then turned to him again.”You have some time until your first battle, and the protocol will not let you do anything until then. How about you take a rest?"

Looking back at Virgil, Walker said, "You said I don't need sleep anymore?"

"You do not, but I fear without a break every so often, your mental health will deteriorate. We need you at your best for what happens after the first battle."

"Okay, I'm just gonna lie down," Walker said, lying down right there in the grass, staring at the planets without really looking at anything.

"While you convalesce, I will familiarize myself further with the subsystems and your newest rewards."

"Hey, Virgil," Walker said as he lay with an arm under his head.

"Yes?"

"Thank you."

"You are very welcome, Walker."

Walker looked at his overlay as he lay down. Oddly, there was a new box next to Identity labeled Chat. He clicked on it. 

Journal Entry #3:

What are the ramifications of a mind constantly on with no downtime? Like, how does the alpha protocol know to consistently balance my hormones and not allow me to go crazy?

Do most Creators go crazy?

The long haul of this ordeal, like the best way to succeed in the end, is just to hold onto your sanity.

I made something today—a monster. As usual, I gave it a terrible name, but I still fear the ramifications of what I've done. After I set it free and watched it become the monster I didn't know I had created, I started to worry that I couldn't kill it. That it would continue on forever, destroying things as it saw fit and just for the joy of it. Virgil said it’d be dead in the next twenty years or so, but still, it’s a problem. 

Instead of dealing with my issue, I'm going to wall it off and cross my fingers that it stays put. This is not my most mature action, but contrary to what I have been through thus far, there is only a little maturity happening. It’s less of a personality defect and more of just a personality. 

Across history, there have been many instances of a person making a joke after a terrible ordeal. In particular, medical personnel often get in trouble for this. But that’s because the layman doesn’t understand what’s happening to the surgeons and nurses psychologically. They only see the joke, not the need to blow off steam and forget about the problem for the few seconds it takes to say a few words and laugh. 

To forget about death in the world, and their inability to stop it.

I was given the ability, once I selected the name Dante and changed my identity, to participate in a chatroom filled with Creators. Why? I have no idea. Perhaps other creators consistently need social feedback, but I've always had a nose deep in my books and only felt the need to speak when it was necessary. My father taught me that the less you have to say, the more profound it is when you speak. I'll need to carry that over to my world when things really start off, as I cannot imagine how terrifying it would be to have a small g god yelling at someone for not watering their plants in the morning, or cheating on their wife.

The chat, though, is insane. This one creator, Fillora, said they made a seductive entity. A seductress….What? How are you going to seduce the Slicer? Do they not know about the Creator Wars? 

I’m guessing, as I have an advanced assistant, that I'm getting a lot more information than all of the other Creators. They have the smarts, but currently, I hold the advantage. That's a lot of power for a former secondary school teacher. While I can, I’ll need to use my advantages to really pull ahead of the others. The grand rewards help, but there has to be more. I need to step up my game and do things the protocol has never seen before. I think the evolution chamber is going to help, but the true ace in the hole is that fuckin tree.

WHAT IS IT DOING?

It just keeps getting larger and weirder. Virgil has no idea, and my universal translator didn't work on the weird bark writing. Is it instructions? Is it a poem about dicks? What the fuck.

As I write this, another chat exploded. What’s wrong with these people?

Fraylon: What do you mean your planet is exploding?

Kieieik: I mean I made the core molten and everything is melting! I changed the atmosphere a little too much and I'm worried the heat will reach it and it'll blow up!

Mirail: Idiot

Fraylon: Yeah you're dumb as shit. Good luck though.

Kieieik: I need help, not negativity! What should I do?

Dante: Do you have an advanced assistant?

Mirail: Look at this guy with his "advanced" assistant--Probably doesn't even know how to calculate the trajectory of a Dalminian cruiser

Kieieik: I'm running out of time! Help!

Dante: My assistant says you need to dilute the flammable gas in the atmosphere with other gasses otherwise, it will certainly catch fire.

Kieieik: Okay! Thanks!

Mirail: 50 credits we don't hear from them again

Dante: Hello?

Dante: Kieieik?

Mirail: Told you

Dante: You're kind of a dick.

Anyways. That was from a while ago, and I haven't heard from Kieieik again. I've gotta stop looking at the chat though because, according to Virgil, who can also see it, a lot of Creators are giving bad information to the others. I get it, it's a competition. But there are a bunch of big assholes like Mirail in there. I hope they’re not one of the ones who get through the protocol. 

One positive from this is I feel like I have good odds going into the first battle. Did I just screw myself by saying that?......Nah probably not.

Chapter 10: