Creation: Book 3: Strandbinder Complete!

As they faded in, Virgil said with an unexaggerated slowness to his voice, "Brace yourself Walker."

"Wha-" Walker's overlay took control of his vision.

Congratulations Dante for completing the preliminary creation system!

Full creation system unlocked!

World editor subsystem unlocked!

Task descriptions unlocked!

Tasks updated!

Optional tasks unlocked!

Optional tasks updated!

Timer unlocked!

Timer updated!

- - -

Tasks assigned to Creator Dante:

New World task: Expand your landmass to twice its size: Part 1

While quality is more important than quantity for the alpha protocol, there still needs to be room for growth. Double the size of your landmass and expand your world.

Current increase in landmass from the original size: 0%

Reward for completion: The Monitor ability

New Entity task: Create three new unique entities: Part 1

The creator has the power to modify and evolve entities. You have created one entity for use in the alpha protocol, now make three more.

New unique entities created: 0/3

Reward for completion: Diverse

New Evolution task: Evolve an entity: Part 1

Your genetic makeup allows for evolution and the power it can bring to your world. Evolve an entity and show the alpha protocol you were the right choice for your world.

Evolved entities: 1

Reward for completion: The Identify ability.

.....Scanning.....

Evolution task complete: Evolve an entity: Part 1

Evolved entities: 1

Reward given: The Identify Ability

....

New evolution task: Evolve an entity: Part 2

You've evolved your first entity in the alpha protocol and seen the power of evolution. Evolve two more and watch as your world evolves with them.

New evolved entities: 0

Reward for completion: The Alpha ability

New Temporal task: Build a localized temporal anomaly: Part 1

Growth can take time and the alpha protocol understands this. Contrary to what many believe, time is fluid and can be shifted forward and backward at the need of the creator. Build a localized anomaly and use it to further grow your understanding of the world.

Localized anomalies built: 0

Resources allocated for completion: 50 years

Reward for completion: The System Link ability

- - -

Optional tasks assigned to creator Dante:

New Civilization task: Build a basic civilization: Series 1

The alpha protocol focuses not only on creating unique worlds, but unique societies as well. Provide your entities with the intelligence and tools to start their own civilization in its basic form.

Basic Civilization requirements:

Settlement founded: No

Social structures or government established: No

Continuous needs met: 0/7 Days

Reward for completion: The Disciple Subsystem

New System task: Design a system: Series 1

While other creators may rely on survival of the fittest or technological expansion, the alpha protocol has provided you with the means to create your own path toward gaining strength. Build a system that encourages your entities to grow.

System requirements:

System is found to be balanced and consistent: No

System allows for growth: No

System is applied to world continuously without calamity: 0/7 Days

Reward for completion: Gain the ability to create a second system.

New Ecology task: Build a small functioning ecosystem: Part 1

The alpha protocol requires worlds that are self-sustaining over time and is required for any evolving world. Build a small functioning ecosystem that will maintain a part of your world.

Small functional ecosystem built: 0/1

Reward for completion: Magnetic field provided indefinitely

- - -

Reward for completing the first evolution task:

Congratulations Dante! You've gained the Identify ability.

The alpha protocol can be quite difficult for a creator to keep up with. The identify ability allows the Creator to independently analyze anything within their world and receive a brief description.

- - -

Time remaining until next battle: 100 hours.

Time remaining on alpha protocol assistance for first landmass and entity: Two hours.

"I know it is a lot of information Walker" Virgil said above him without mercy, as Walker had collapsed from the information overload and his system notifications blinding him. "But you do not have to complete them in a particular order."

Walker had only had a moment to look at the words as they scrolled by.

"I need a minute" He said.

"Of course."

Walker looked at each task and tried his best to internalize the information the way he'd learned in college. Read the material, repeat the material out loud, and read it again. He'd found this trick his second time in college and managed to increase his memory retention. But if anyone were to be watching him right now, they'd see a man staring down at the ground mumbling to himself and swiping the air with his fingers. He found a digital clock counting down in his overlay next to his identity. It said they had 100 hours and Walker extrapolated that to mean they had that much time left before the next battle. It also showed the two hours remaining for the protocol assistance ticking away.

"Okay, I think I got a handle on most of it. Why is it out of order?"

"Are you not overwhelmed by the responsibilities presented with fully unlocking the creation system and the tasks involved?" Virgil asked.

"What else am I doing here? This is what I'm here for."

"Indeed. I am impressed Walker" He said with a golf clap.

"Thank you. So I'll ask again, why is it out of order?"

"What do you mean?" Virgil asked with a tilt of his head.

"I don't see an organizational structure to how it placed the tasks. The only thing I can figure is, it is set up by priority. Like, you should do x before y."

"Yes, I believe that is true. As the priority structure shows, it will be difficult to complete almost all of the tasks without first increasing the landmass size. But there is a problem."

"What?"

"Let us have a look at your newly upgraded creation instrument." Virgil said, waving his hand toward where the blackboard used to be.

They walked over and Walker said, "I've seen the whiteboard. Did you not think I saw the whiteboard? There is not a lot out here for me to look at man. The moment the system upgraded the blackboard it was easily seen."

"I had assumed you had seen it Walker, but more specifically where is the chalk?"

In place of the chalk, there was now a single black marker. Virgil pointed at it as he said, "That is all of the material you have to create your next landmass. I am allowed to tell you that, as you create it, your grade for the new addition will decide how many more markers or creation instruments you will receive. That is also true of your entities." He added, pointing at a green marker. "That green marker will be all you can use to modify your entities until your points update, although you can cheat with the evolution chamber now."

"Heyyyy, I'm a teacher. We don't cheat."

"Tell that to the news scandals constantly happening. Regardless, it does not leave room for error. Chalk can be erased, but do you see any of the erasers you used in the classroom here?"

A spike of panic hit Walker as he understood what Virgil was implying.

"You're saying, it has to be perfect from the start."

"Correct in a way." Virgil said with heavy emphasis. "The time for errors is over. Every mistake you and I make, will be recorded on Symphony, meaning your plans of harmony will be out of the window. Balance must be enforced with each move we make from here on out, and I am still restricted from helping you with creating landmass. However, you have a new subsystem."

Walker nodded, "Yeah, the notification said it was called the World Editor."

"Correct. You cannot add to Symphony from it, only take away...for now."

"When will I be able to work directly with the world and stop having to draw on this whiteboard?" Walker asked with desperation.

"Once you have earned at least a B on the landmass point-scale."

"Okay, a B. A b-b-b-b. I can do that. But wait, what about the spirit tree?"

Virgils whiskers twitched upon hearing that. "That is an excellent point. The genetic blueprint for the tree, and what it holds, is now found in your entity subsystem. The moment we finish working on expanding your landmass, and completing that task, we will focus on entities and the spirit tree." He concluded, tail swinging behind him.

"Okay, just one question then as I know the longer we talk, the less time I'm working on the landmass-"

"And I the ecology subsystem." Virgil reminded him

"Right, and you the ecology, which means we're not working on the spirit tree."

"Okay, shoot".

"You said it was magic, but how does that work?"

Virgil put his squirrel arms behind him in an attempt to look like a soldier at parade rest, only ruined by his arms being too short to connect. "Spirit, magic, or as your world's video games called it, mana, are all the same idea. Sorcery, enchantment, and arcana or arcane are all wrapped up in the same idea. It is a spiritual force that allows for wonderful things to happen and for entities to evolve in unique and diverse ways. Like the alpha protocol, it is neither good nor bad, but a tool to be used. The root of it goes all the way back to the first rendition and a particular genius who now sits on the alpha protocol's ruling council. Some worlds use things like radiation to evolve, others see their societies evolve through law and technology like your own, as human beings have. The Blitzburg you met in your first battle had a deep and thorough understanding of magic, which is the word I'll use from now on. It is a force upon which, when introduced to entities and different civilizations, everything changes. Take the Slicer for example."

"What about it." Walker asked cautiously.

"While you modified it and made it quite the vicious killer, that was on a physical and non-spiritual level. The moment it destroyed the spirit tree and absorbed its magic, it evolved the trait for advanced adaptive properties. I will cut to the chase so you do not have to use your identify ability on it; essentially the slicer now has the ability to choose its own evolution and modifications based upon the environment or threats it finds. That means the more it is attacked and successfully defends itself, the more powerful it will become."

"Fucccckkkk."

"Indeed. But magic takes that a step further, and injects an element that was not included before. Not only will it simply grow larger or more vicious, but it will also gain abilities that allow it to perform feats the likes of which you have never seen. There is no telling what it will become before the end of the alpha protocol. Magic is a special ingredient that, when added to your powers of creation and entity modification, allows for organic growth over shorter periods of time, and further expands upon what you will be able to achieve within the Alpha Protocol. While it affecting the slicer is....not the best situation, the addition of magic from the Spirit Tree cannot be discounted in your ability to succeed moving foward."

"So how do we kill it?" Walker asked.

"Kill what?"

"The Slicer damn it. How do we kill it!"

"That is the big problem. I believe the more attempts we make on the slicer, and the more we fail at said attempts, the more powerful it will become. Thus, I told you at the end of the previous battle, we should just cage it. I will focus on our ecology subsystem task to create a peaceful environment for the slicer....as peaceful as I can that is, and keep its food going. While I am working on that, you build the landmass."

"Couldn't we just let the countdown run out and watch as it suffocates?"

"You could, but you would also run the risk of the slicer adapting to not only the potential solar winds produced in space as other creators experiment with their powers, but also the cosmic radiation. I do not believe you would like to see the Slicer with cosmic radiation power."

Walker shuddered, "No, no you're right. I'll get to work on building Symphony up right away"

"Before you do that though, I do have one favor."

"Sure, no problem. What do you need?" Walker said automatically. Virgil hadn't steered him wrong yet, it was his own modifications that changed the Slicer and caused this whole mess.

"I would like access to the entity system so I may create food for the slicer. But that means you have to create the original versions before I am allowed to modify them with the evolution chamber. It also means that your first couple of entities will gain low grades, but I should be able to create a self-propagating ecology that keeps it quite busy, as well as happily exploding fish."

"Okay, that sounds good. So what suggestions do you have?"

"Looking at the Slicer, it will eat virtually any entity from the Osteichthyes family. Please produce one from your entity subsystem unmodified."

Walker pulled up his overlay and clicked on Entity. He clicked the search bar and, after Virgil spelled it for him, typed in Osteichthyes. A large assortment appeared and he selected one at random, filling up the board. Curiosity won out and he lifted the green and black markers, noticing a difference in their weights.

"All done Walker?" Virgil asked.

"Yep."

"Please click the materialize button."

After doing so, a yellowtail snapper appeared in the water at The Crater, unknowing of its imminent doom. Walker's overlay lit up and described the fish as a D specimen, only giving him back the ink used to make it in the first place.

"Now that it is seeded, I can modify their base genetic structure in the evolution chamber. Can you please give me access to the entity subsystem."

"I formally give you access to the entity subsystem."

Virgil's cheeks puffed out as he smiled, "Thank you, Walker." As he finished, a yellowtail snapper appeared in the evolution chamber.

"What are you going to do to them?" Walker asked.

"I'm going to change their diet to something easy to work with, then I am going to make it so they not only breed quickly, but grow quite fast as well. I am also going to save the blueprint I am using here so you may apply it later to other entities."

"Sweet, that's smart thinking."

"While I do that, I suggest you create your second landmass. Please remember to make a series of mountains that completely contain the Slicer"

"No problem" Walker replied. "I'll be over here working on the landmass. I'd like you to look at it before we push it through."

"That is acceptable." Virgil said before taking a few steps over to the evolution chamber and looking inside.

Walker headed toward the whiteboard and felt like Bob Ross without the poofy hair. He put his thumb out towards The Crater and tried to decide how Symphony should look.

It should allow for all environments. I need snow, I need mountains, swamps, and rivers. I don't want the world to feel limited, it should be boundless and unrestricted. The only limit I have is the markers. I need to be able to work with an upgraded version of the World Editor, so I need a B or better on this next grade, but I only have so much I can do. I think....I think I can just make a starting point for different environments, all at once, and force the system to recognize the diversity. The mountains are necessary but I don't need tectonic plates nor do I have the time and resources to make them....or the know-how. Virgil could probably do it but this is part of the main system and he can't use it. I also have to make it so that when it materializes next to the crater they don't ram into each other and let the Slicer out of his cage. Thankfully they forced me to make a perfect shape on our first landmass, so I just have to make a crescent that fits directly against The Crater, and leave a circular gap in the bottom of my new land for the granite below the surface.

Walker planned out a few more things before Virgil said, "How is it going over there?"

"Pretty good" Walker said with some confidence. "I think I have a plan that'll not only contain the Slicer, but also allow us to get access to an updated version of the World Editor. How did you know about that by the way?"

"Once you fully unlocked the Creation system, quite a few of my restrictions were lifted. Similar to how I was able to tell you about the Alpha Protocol council, I can also tell you about how a good grade will get you in the world editor."

"Gotcha, I'm gonna start drawing."

"Good luck. I believe I also have a solution for feeding the Slicer. Please let me know when you are done."

"Will do."

He started by outlining his new landmass. This would be the center of Symphony and had to be done just right. He moved his hands slowly so his dysgraphia wouldn't get away from him, and tried to keep his fingers loose and relaxed the way his old occupational therapist used to suggest. He started by outlining the crescent and making the gap for the round outline of The Crater. Then he clicked continued until the size was three times what he had originally made. While the new creation instrument didn't allow for mistakes, he had more to work with as the chalk had burned away quickly, and as a former teacher, he had more of an understanding of just how much ink the marker held. Walker finished the outline, then made small deletions and reconnections for where the worst of his shakes had hit him. Once he had it perfect, he started to work with the mountains that would align against The Crater by just placing the drawing over them. Walker was not a wonderful artist, but he believed once he filled in the material making up the mountains, it should balance itself out. Once he finished the mountain's outline and added the symbol for rock to it, he looked at his time and saw that he had about an hour left.

You can do this, you can do this. Walker repeated to himself mentally. He really didn't want the Slicer to gain even more power.

"Can't we just drop a meteor on it?" Walker asked Virgil with hope.

"Nooooooo" Virgil said, working with something in the evolution chamber.

Mumbling to himself about the unfairness of the situation, Walker went back to his task. He added a box shape of the soil symbol near the center of his newest landmass, so the entities could grow food overtime if they decided on living the farm life, and started making long angled dashes in sets of two as grass for the remainder of the center. On the top left he added a circle with an s in it multiple times to represent a swamp, and the top right he made a star for snow. In the bottom left he used a circle with a d for sand, and the bottom right he added water, connecting the two with sand throughout although one would be a desert and another a beachfront. Then Walker reworked the rest of his illustration, deleting what was in the way, as he realized that none of them had a river. He made a few smaller lines for creeks and stepped back. He called Virgil over to take a look.

"So this is your solution" Virgil stated after looking at the illustration. "Can you please tell me what each symbol stands for so I can associate it with the system?"

After Walker broke everything down for him, he asked if Virgil thought it was good enough for a B.

"It should beeee."

"Haha" Walker responded sarcastically.

"You do have to remove the grass though, as altogether the grass is considered an entity which is interconnected not dissimilarly to a hivemind."

"Okay, I'll just make it more soil then." Walker said, making the changes quickly as he was on the clock.

Virgil strolled around, observing the illustration from various angles, before he stopped and said, "That is a nice workaround for making the alpha protocol recognize your diversity and allow for a higher grade."

"That was my thought. I did have to do some changes once I realized that I didn't have water going throughout the landmass."

"Yes, based upon your genetic makeup, your entities would have likely died of dehydration."

"Yeah, that was a close one."

"But you caught it in time Walker. Do not be so hard on yourself, we still have very far to go. I am sorry I was harsh earlier."

"No, you're right, you're right. Is there anything else you see that should be done?"

"This is still part of the main protocol and I can have no true input, full release of the Creation System or not."

"Fuck"

"Indeed.

"I think...I think it's ready." he said with loose confidence.

"Do you know what you would like your mountains, soil, sand, and water to made of? If you do not choose, the alpha protocol will make its best guess and choose for you"

"Oh shit I didn't even think of that. I think I'll let it choose for me to be honest. You can't help me and I'm not a professional at this"

"True. Then please click the materialize button."

The button popped up in Walker's overlay and without fanfare, he clicked it.

There was no meteor this time. The landmass as he'd drawn it appeared in space next to The Crater and slowly moved of its own volition towards his original like two weak magnets attracting each other. When it was close, Walker heard a click and the movement stopped. Walker could see the water and beach, which from as far away as he was, seemed like perfection.

"We're going to have to find a way to make the water recycleable and another way to make it clean, as the system will not provide that kind of assistance anymore" Virgil said as he looked at it. "Also, you do not have snow forming as you do not have clouds. I believe I have a lot of work ahead of me." His eyes lit up as he finished speaking.

"Yahhh, sorry about that." Walker said, not sounding apologetic in the least as he knew how much the squirrel liked to work.

His overlay lit up.

New landmass recognized!

Please name your landmass.

"Easiest thing I've done since we've been here."

Landmass: Symphony is named.

- - -

.....Analyzing.....

- - -

Second landmass creation named Symphony analyzed.

Size: Medium.

Biodiversity: High Potential.

Versatility: Medium.

Age: 0 Years.

Extra marks earned for creating a landmass with high potential biodiversity: Moderate reward earned.

Grade: B.

Rewards calculated.

Moderate reward for completion of a B grade planet:

Congratulations Dante! Your World Editor has upgraded!

The way to build worlds isn't to take away from your perceived mistakes, but to find the strength in the differences. With the new landmass modification options, the creator can change their world without going through their creation instruments.

Moderate reward for creating a landmass with high potential biodiversity:

Congratulations Dante! Your landmass can now occasionally form ore deposits!

The alpha protocol is a grand believer in the evolution of all things, that includes the seas that have yet to be sailed and the mountains that have yet to be delved. Ore deposits will develop over time, and with the right tools and know-how, can be mined for their riches.

.....Scanning.....

Task Updated!

- - -

World task complete: Expand your landmass to twice its size: Part 1

While quality is more important than quantity for the alpha protocol, there still needs to be room for growth. Double the size of your landmass and expand your world.

Current increase in landmass from original size: 156%

Reward given: The Monitor ability

....

New world task: Create atmospheric conditions that allow for natural weather: Part 2

Building a world in the alpha protocol is more than just dropping in land, seeding entities, and hoping everything goes well. Build sustainable weather patterns for your world.

Continuous weather applied without calamity: 0/7 Days

Reward for completion: The Weather System

- - -

Reward for completing the first world task:

Congratulations Dante! You've gained the Monitor ability.

Not all creators are blessed with high visual acuity in the alpha protocol. The monitor ability allows the creator to create a screen at need for their viewing needs.

- - -

Time remaining until next battle: 99+ hours.

Time remaining on alpha protocol assistance for first landmass and entity: 20 minutes.

"Okay, that was a lot again."

"Yes, but you did it! Now you can really dive in and change up your world Walker. On your second try you nailed it, and you did it by thinking in a creative fashion. Well done."

"Thank you."

"Now we only have a short time until the atmosphere disappears, so we need to get to work. I do have to ask though, how long did it take you to etch in all the symbols on the landmass? You did it quite fast, but I thought you would have done it a lot faster with the copy ability."

"Oh God damnit."