Creation: Book 3: Strandbinder Complete!

Walker looked at Neus, then waved it off, "Please produce three quivers for me."

He quickly scooped them off the table and the tier six one off the floor then gave a fast goodbye before exiting the Territory system.

Heph was quietly speaking to Caddy when he came out, "I know, but do dey appreciate what we do? No, of course-...Creator!"

Walker gave him a smile and a wave, "Sorry about that. I just had to test a few things. So, let's look at these clothes you've made."

Heph handed one package to him while Walker handed over the quivers.

Set of Premium Leather Clothing (Fine)

Item Tier: 4

Crafted by: Hephaestus, the god of Crafting, and Samuel the Founder

Description: This item was created using a new sewing method, allowing each piece to connect with the others through an ingenious clipping system. It is designed for comfort while still maintaining a protective shell.

"Where are you getting all of the leather?"

Heph stopped looking at the quiver Walker had imbued, "Are you sure you want to know?'

"I mean-"

The god of crafting sighed, "We have a monster pen not too far away. Elder Rimi brings them in, our Founders get a chance to train against them, then weh use the leather and meat provided."

Walker made a face, "So you're just creating monsters for slaughter?"

He put his hands on his hips, "What did yah think was the point of the Conservatory?"

The Creator made a hushing motion with his hands, "Sorry, you're right. But still, it feels a bit...wrong."

"S'only temporary, Creator. Once they're on the Conservatory they'll be able to trade back the meat and leather as needed."

"Yeah....shit, yeah. Ughhh," He said, slapping his forehead, "I still need to make the Currency system."

"The what now?" Heph asked as he looked up from the quiver a second time.

"Don't worry about it. Look, can you get me....I don't know, a hundred of those leather outfits?"

"A hundred!" He said as he stumbled backwards.

"Yeah. Wait, I'm stupid." Walker walked up and grabbed the ten sets, "these are all the sizes, correct?"

"Aye," Heph said, still confused about what was happening.

They disappeared into the air, the god of crafting no longer shocked by these odd moments. Then Walker popped out and back in a moment later, throwing a hundred sets on the ground in neat stacks. "There you go. I'll need a bunch of different arrow types, weapons, maybe some plate mail and cuirasses...."

"Plate mail?"

"Oh, and you'll want to see if the other Primigenials will donate some of their soul to a few of your best items. It's gonna be great!" Walker gave Heph a thumbs up then ran out of the building while the god of crafting cursed behind him.

He made his way over to Rimi and asked if he was able to make a few things for him that he wanted to surprise the Founders with, then did the same with Cagna and her milestones. Rounding out his needed rewards, Walker spoke to a few Primigenials and then he was off to build some systems in his cabin.

Sitting down, he briefly considered just making a system from scratch using his new System Administrator powers but decided it wasn't the best idea. He didn't know if they'd figure out it was him making all of these changes now, and the more times he did this, the greater the odds that he was figured out. That needed to only be done when he had no other choice.

He clicked on Systems and looked deep into the system designer. Finding the one he'd discovered last time he'd had this thought, he pulled it up.

The Currency System:

A system designed by Creator Locke in the Alpha protocol of 3DG.

The Currency system allows the Creator to make and assign differing levels of value to virtually anything in their world.

Flexibility: Extreme

Difficulty to modify: Low

Note: This is based on a now-defunct system in the Alpha Protocol

There were no administrator notes on it, so without further ado, he picked it.

Would you like to merge these systems with another before finalizing your choice?

Yes/No

Walker selected yes, then picked the Adaptation system, as it had become the main system he liked to use in anything that needed to be run autonomously. He clicked the prompts that popped up, and read through the preview that merging the two systems provided. There wasn't a great amount of change between it and the original, with only a new section describing the AI self-managing it. A moment later, it was done, and he modified the name to Currency.

Clicking on it, Walker was transported to the same dark room he always was when first creating an AI, dreading what was coming next. Then, he had an idea. Instead of using his blood for the system to comb through, he formed his intent and put a very small amount of darkness on the tip of his finger. Touching the glass in front of him, he grew excited for what changes might occur. A moment later, a huge golden chamber appeared on the screen. Coins were dripping and spilling over themselves as the image settled. His chair behind him was also gold now instead of the standard green he'd grown accustomed to, with the standard American dollar sign adorning the padding.

After he recognized all of this, a large golden coin with two legs and two arms walked toward him on the screen.

"What have you done?" It asked.

"Ummm....I uhhh....don't....know?"

The coin felt its body, "This doesn't feel right."

Thinking on his feet, Walker waved a hand at it, "You're fine.....right?"

"I....do not know...."

"Did you gain all of my memories like the previous AIs?"

"Yes, I did."

"Then....I guess it's fine, right?"

"Wait a moment.....do I feel strange because you didn't want to donate your genetic material? Is that why you used your soul instead?"

"Whattt?" Walker said, feigning incredulity, "Absolutely not, no."

The coin put his hands on his hips, "Walker, I can see your memories."

He waved a hand, "Neways. Your name is...Pennybags."

"What? Pennybags?" The AI somehow managed to make its face look insulted, even though it had two dashes for eyes and a straight line for a mouth.

"Yep! I need you to do some things for me, Mr. Pennybags."

The coin turned around, showing Walker its back as if it was considering rebelling against him. When it did so, Walker noticed that his own face was stamped in place of a great figure from his worlds history. Internally he laughed a little bit at that. Spinning back around, Mr. Pennybags said, "fine."

It only took him about ten minutes to explain the Note system and that he'd be working with John, the AI for the Territory system.

"Any questions?"

Mr. Pennybags held up his hand, which only held three fingers, but Walker got the point, "One. How am I to work with John if AI systems are enclosed?"

Walker smiled, spent a few seconds forming the intent for connection in his mind, and then fired some darkness at the screen. A moment later Neus popped up next to him with the Territory system's forest screen and resident smart Cardinal. Neus screamed and jumped out of his chair, hiding behind it.

"Well, this is unusual," John said as he noticed the screen buttressing his own.

"I thought this would make things easier, plus you can work with Mr. Pennybags here all that you want in the future, John."

"I...see...Hello Mr. Pennybags." The Cardinal chirped out.

"Who are you talking to?" A shaking Neus asked, shaking behind the chair.

"Hello, John. It's nice to meet you."

"Okay then!" Walker said, waving his hands in the air to get their attention, "You're the first of many. Once I realized I could do this, it just became a matter of time. I'm tired of having to jump into every system. This way, we can all work together to push Symphony forward. Do you have any issues with this?"

"I do not." The Cardinal said.

"I do not either, as it is better than being alone." The Coin replied.

A single green arm raised in the air, "I do."

"What's your issue?" Walker dutifully asked.

"I don't have access to the Currency system."

"Interesting," Walker said with a hand on his chin, "So, what are you seeing right now?"

"I see you, standing in the darkness with nothing around you. Like you're floating."

"Okay...okay....hey John."

The Cardinal turned away from looking at the Coin, "Yes, Walker."

"When the Founders and entities of Symphony start coming here, they're not all going to see each other, are they? I'm worried it'll mess things up."

"No, Creator. Each will receive an individual and unique identity created from the root of the system within a contained area. The only reason you can see us both here is that we are the cores of each system as they are. You will not have to worry."

"Nice!" Walker said with a smile. He quickly went into his overlay and assigned Neus to the Currency system, then had to wait a moment for the small green squirrel to be a little less small.

After Neus opened his eyes from the download, Walker asked, "How about now?"

Neus gave him a thumbs up, which he returned with gusto.

"Why have you connected us?" John asked, interrupting the pure moment.

"Because I need the donations that people make to the Territory system to have a numeric value. We built that in some time ago, and now it's time to get it all working together."

"I see."

Walker explained how Notes and weekly stipends would work for a second time. He also included that a large stack of Symphonic Notes, or money for his solar system, would be called Sheets. He had a good time explaining the theme behind it, but nobody seemed particularly interested in listening.

Neus worked with him to create a bonus system based on total donations given, and Mr. Pennybags worked with John to create a series of smaller programs that allowed Territory holders to grant bonuses and move their currencies around as needed. It all interconnected, and he had their promises that they would keep an eye on things moved along. Apologizing for interrupting their work on the rewards needed going forward, he left.

Walker stepped out of the joint system feeling refreshed and ready for the next step, which, of course, was when he realized he'd never included the Exchange system in the original system linking.

Swearing to himself, he pulled up the information in the system designer.

The Exchange System:

A system designed by Creator JP in the Alpha protocol of 3AM.

The Exchange system allows for the donation of items for equivalent exchange with a pre-designated value.

Flexibility: High

Difficulty to modify: Low

Limits: The pre-designated value must be in place for this system to work.

Note: This is based on the Reward system of the Alpha Protocol

Again, he checked for any notes from Kwaya, but they were empty. It was likely that the longer ago the system was created, the greater the chance there would be additional information contained within it.

Sitting on his bed and staring at the screen in his cabin, Walker was upset with himself. Rather than merging the currency system with the adaptation system, he should have just created it, set up the note system, and then created the exchange system after the fact. He didn't do so, and it confused him, as he'd always done things in order in the past. The exchange system was necessary, as right now nobody could create donations except for himself. The entire Item system was a house of cards that would tumble without it.

Rather than connect everything again with another secondary AI, Walker clicked on the System linking skill and looked through it.

System linking is the ability of the Creator to manage and assign systems for dependency

Looking to the side, he found a note and grew a little excited.

System Administrator's page:

The System Linking skill was the first program I created outside of what was included in the package drained from the Origin. It's tricky to mess with but very adaptable.

The ability itself is connected to every system the Evolvers have. To modify it, you need to work with your System Editor, but I'm not entirely sure if you should.

Breaking this can have ramifications as the Evolvers also hold this skill. It's all automated by a mixture of Advanced AI's and the new assistants they just came up with.

Make your choice, Awakened, but don't come crying to my grave when you fuck up your multiverse.

Walker snorted while shaking his head. He clicked on the System Editor and filled his eyes with darkness as he looked at the ability in his list. While the metaphysical realm had shown a series of grids, when he looked at these abilities, he instead saw blue nodes. Some, like the Subsystem Assistants, were interconnected, with long threads reaching out into space. While others, like the Life-Giver ability, sat on their own and looked....misshaped. As if they weren't built correctly.

He reached his hand toward the screen, pulling even more darkness out of the depths of his soul, and grasped it. As he held onto the node, he pushed the last bit of his soul's darkness, willing his mind to connect with what was happening inside.

Walker closed his eyes, moving and feeling by pure instinct. As he did so, he felt strange pushes and turns in his mind, like he was moving through a maze that had no end. As he reached each section, a general feeling overcame him of its purpose.

This area controls the system identifier

This area provides information to the Creator based on their overlays

This one tells the council when a change is made...

Without thinking, Walker snipped that part, opening his eyes and looking at the node as he absorbed the small piece of orange origin that had been holding it together. After he did so, the other parts shifted and moved, the node growing slightly smaller in his hand and turning minutely red before settling.

Walker continued to move around, identifying all of the different parts that made up the ability. When he finally found the part that limited the linking ability to only those systems that could be found in the designer, he didn't erase it but instead started to plan out a very small change. It was annoyingly difficult to form his intent in his mind while also keeping it from spreading to his soul. He mentally commanded his Icon to hold it back while doing his best to get it right. A moment later, when he felt that it was as it should be, he pushed it into his darkness-covered hands.

System Administrators can link to any existing system whenever they feel the need. Make sure a prompt is attached for confirmation.

The node grew in his hand, shifting pieces around as it did so. Walker grew alarmed as it bulged on one end, but he was worried over nothing as the node changed from a bright red back to the blue of its fellows. He also noted that the node was almost the same size as it had been before he cut out the alarm system. He looked around for a moment, the expectation of potential calamity held with his breath.

No announcement came, and nobody popped up on Sonata to eliminate everything he'd built. Inhaling with a shake, he felt his soul achingly low on energy. He hadn't done a great job in holding off using it, after all. It made him wonder how the other third stage Awakened managed to not drain themselves constantly on Earth. Another question he'd have to ask when he had more time.

Walker clicked on Systems, then clicked on his abilities and the System Linker. A moment passed, and then he hopped back into the joint system.

"How's it going in here?"

Neus stood another inch taller than the last time he saw him, "All is well, Walker? Why?"

"Let me explain." Walker spent a few minutes breaking down how the exchange system would work. Then, he told them that they would have to include a way for Territories to create their own currencies and credits. When they asked why, he told them it was simple.

"Agency. The more limits we put on them, like Notes being the only currency, the more they'll want to rebel and start coming up with their own way of doing things. We want them to create territories. We want them to innovate and build their own professions. The greater their ability to be free, the greater our chance of seeing a truly remarkable world."

"So, what is the purpose of Notes? If they're going to create their own currency anyways, why have it at all?" Neus asked with a raised hand.

Walker scratched his chin, then replied, "I want to use Notes as a reserve currency. That means that when, I don't know, Flurbos run out in a major city, Notes are still able to be used." He looked over at John then at Mr. Pennybags, "That means we'll have to regulate Notes strictly to ensure nobody can create a monopoly on it. Notes need to spread across our worlds and always be accepted anywhere they might be." The coin said it would be done. Walker then asked Mr. Pennybags to explain what banks and interest are to the green squirrel before abruptly leaving again.

Hopping out, he went over to meet Heph, who was back in his smithy as expected.

"Hey, buddy."

Heph looked up from a hammer he'd been staring at, Caddy just behind him, "Hello Creator. Twice in one day, that is quite the feat for me."

"Hah! I bet Neus would never say that," He said with a laugh. "I was just wondering if anything new had popped up in your overlay?"

"Me overlay? Hrmm..." He looked off into space, "Yah know, there is something there. What's changed, what is this?"

"It's an exchange system. Now, you'll be able to donate your own items for some money and reproduce them at almost no cost using the Territory system. Don't go too crazy, though, or you'll use up all of the magic in the area and I'll have to figure out a whole new problem."

"Bah!" Heph grunted as he threw his hammer down. "Yah cannot just copy things all the time. Materials need to be crafted, not produced from magic, as if their creation didn't mean a thing. You'll take the heart out of tha thing."

Walker shook his head, "I disagree. I agree with you that truly special items shouldn't be copied as if they mean nothing at all, and the drain on the magical area is quite intense from my own practice with it. But, for things like nails and screw? A basic piece of leather?" He shook his head again, "There's no reason we can't provide a little help."

Heph shook a fist at him, "Yah mark my words, there will be major problems in your world if anyone can grab anything whenever they want."

But Walker didn't hear him. His eyes locked entirely on Heph's fist shaking in the air in front of him, an orange and red glow permeating the air around them. His chest began to burn, then his vision went dark. A moment later, he opened his eyes and the world had changed. The god of crafting was on the ground, spitting out blood, while a noticeable dent had come to the side of the building. Walker's fist was currently stuck to the Book of Souls, which was wobbling in the air.

"What?.....What happened?" He asked.

"Yah went damn crazy is what happened. If it weren't for yur Icon there, I'd probably be a dead man."

"What?" Walker said as he looked at the Book of Souls. It slid into his chest a moment later, and he truly felt the drain from his Origin.

Walker collapsed to his knees, then turned his head and spit out a thick glob of blood.

"Fuck."