Creation: Book 3: Strandbinder Complete!

David gave him a funny look, “Look, I don’t have much time here since we made me with only a few resources. What the fuck are you talking about with the universe thingy.”

“In that memory of Mrs. Rodriguez destroying Ms. Filler, she called her ass an ever-expanding universe-”

“Shit, she was right. The size of that thing was enough to warrant two seats on any plane ride.”

“-then she quoted Stephen Hawking. There were a few more memories where he’s mentioned, but they weren’t in-depth, so…this is what we have to go on.”

“Okay, alright,” David clapped his hands together, “So, let’s break this whole thing down.”

Walker mimicked him, and they looked at each other, “Okay, riff off. I go, you go.”

David nodded, “Right. So, theoretically, the baby universe we punched a hole in is an ever-expanding universe-”

Walker picked up the next line, “One that took in the resources we gave it and somehow absorbed it into itself-”

“Expanding those resources infinitely into greater resources than it was given-”

“While it itself expands. The resources we gave it-”

David held up a single finger, “Kinetic”

Walker snapped his fingers in response, “Right. Kinetic is energy. It’s-”

"Force, velocity, speed-”

“Power. Then we have…well-”

“Our soul,” David scratched his chin, “How’s that going to work?”

Walker shrugged, “I have no idea, but somehow it’s been multiplied just as much as the Kinetic strand we’re see-”

David popped, his time running out without warning. Walker scratched his chin, “Gotta be a better way to set them up than that.” Walker took a very small amount of dimensional resources and combined them with days of temporal. A moment later, a very hazy version of himself floated while looking at him.”

“Before you ask,” the new David’s voice said, his voice sounding as if he was speaking from the end of a long hallway, “I feel weird.”

“Weird, how?” Walker replied.

“Weird, as in I absolutely can’t feel anything. You realize you made me for days and you likely won’t be here that long.” He adopted a stern expression, “I know I’m you, and I did this. But you won’t suffer the ramifications of it, only I will.”

“Mmmm, the ramifications of the philosophical discussion here are big.”

David nodded, “Yeah, but you don’t have time.”

Walker sighed, “As always. Sorry, man.”

David waved it off, “My bad too. Alright, fuck it, we’ll deal. As we were saying, our soul is spread across this universe, and based on what we’ve seen so far-”

Walker picked their conversation back up, “It’s everywhere. Meaning, people, if they can get into here, could technically absorb large quantities-”

“Of Origin, as that’s what’s influence our soul.” David ran semi-transparent hands down his face, “Fuck, man. We seriously created an Origin battery, or something. That’s gotta be bad.”

Walker frowned, “Yeah, it can’t be good. We’ll have to deal with it when we get there. My soul is about halfway, hopefully we can find an uh,” He searched for the right word, “recharge station, or something.”

“At least we won’t have to kill anymore Crystal Nomads.”

Walker looked at him in surprise, “You’re right. We don’t have to have anymore of those awful hunting trips.”

“Yeah,” He shook his head, “didn’t feel right.”

“Yeah…maybe we can still be with Athena too.”

“I don’t know, man. I feel like, while obviously, we care a ton about her, it’s not a situation that should be reviewed lightly. I mean, if we get hungry once and can’t get back here in time, who knows what might happen.”

“That fucking parasite.”

David nodded, “That fucking parasite. I mean, what did it first say when it popped up?”

Walker looked in his memories, “It said that Unknown changes were occurring-”

“Which only happens when it’s something from the Omniverse.”

Walker nodded, “Then it said it was beginning the Godeater system.”

“So, it’s just another system. But that means it’s something that another System Administrator designed.

“That only brings up further questions.”

“Like that the designer might be someone from beyond the Evolver multiverse. Maybe even further than the Origin.”

“Maybe,” Walker agreed. He looked out at a universe devoid of stars and planets before returning to his reflection. “I’m betting that someone from the Omniverse somehow got over here and built it for them.”

“Or something,” David pointed out.

“Yeah, maybe. It’s all guesswork, but we have to follow where the logic leads us. I mean, what do we know so far. We know that the Evolvers were using Godeaters before they’d even grabbed Kwaya. The timeline tells us that she was snatched up right before they took off to build the Center with whatever that machine was.”

“Which looked weird and old as shit.”

“Yeah. So, that tells us one thing. There may be another player in this game.”

“Someone who works with the Evolvers against the Awakened.”

Walker shrugged, “True. And history, Human beings or not, is a guideline we can follow to see what is likely to happen. A third party has been here all along. If the Evolvers have someone out there helping them, someone who has access to the technology and systems of the greater Omniverse-”

“Then why start the protocol at all?”

Walker shook his head, “I don’t know.”

“You do have to consider one more thing.”

Walker looked at him curiously, “Oh? What’s that?”

“You’re a third party.”

Walker scratched his chin for a moment, “Yeah, I guess we are. Does that mean we’re against the Evolvers, or the Awakened. Either?”

“Mmm. The Evolvers are pricks, that’s for sure. But Kwaya wanted to sacrifice us against them, and she’s a pretty powerful representation of their faction, being the second disciple of Alma.”

“So you don’t think we should rule it out?”

“No,” David shook his mostly transparent head, “I think you need to consider what we’re doing here. Everything. Is for our own survival. We’re already trying to keep things hidden from the Evolvers as much as we can. Why not just add on the Awakened?”

Walker nodded, “That makes a certain amount of sense. What would our faction even be called?”

“The Walkers?”

“Haha,” Walker sarcastically replied. “You don’t think we should just go by Symphonians?”

David shook his head, “No. The Evolvers have what looked like hundreds of planets. Universes. Symphony is the location here. And yes, we’re trying to build it up into something special, but who is to say that this is all we’re going to build? I mean, we just built a fucking universe from nothing-”

“True.”

“So, we need a different name. Something that stands for us symbolically.”

Walker grabbed his head with his hands, “Fuck man. The Unending Summit, Symphony, now a third one. Does organizing things always have to be this complicated?”

David shrugged, “I guess. It’s just how things go over time, only, we’re at an accelerated rate. Turns out when you fuck with time, time fucks back.”

“Most people would think you’re insane for saying that when it’s just related to naming something.”

“Thankfully, we’re not most people, now are we?” David smiled at him, which he received back in turn.

They spent some time talking out what name to use for their burgeoning faction. It had to be both powerful, and a good representation of who they were trying to be as a people. They didn’t speak of who would represent them, their cause, or anything else. For now, it was just the name that mattered. After all, names have power all on their own. It was a spirited discussion with many back and forths, but no name came out.

After a prolonged moment of silence, during which both Walker and David considered what name to go with, a simple word flitted across his consciousness. He spoke up, startling David out of the complete silence of the area.“Well, our collection of worlds is called Symphony. We say Symphonians whenever we talk about them, right?”

“Right,”

“So, what about this?” He put both hands together and pulled them apart slowly, like he was tightening a cord, “The Luminary”

“Luminary?” David paused “That’s a weird one.”

“It means to give light,”

David frowned at him, “I know what it means, Walker. I’m just saying it doesn’t roll off of the tongue. It’s gotta be powerful, descriptive, and catchy.”

“Google isn’t catchy man,” Walker pointed out.

“Google isn’t creating an Omniversal Faction from scratch, either.”

“Point, David,” Walker said, scratching the air with a single finger, “I was also considering the Circle, you know. Because life is a circle and-”

“So we’d be Circles…”David interrupted as he tested out the word, “Yeah no.”

“Well fuck, man. I thought of Luminary because…I don’t know,” Walker made a face, “I just wanted to give people a chance to be their own…hero. Expand on the definition of Protagonist, so everyone lives their story the way they want.”

David laughed, “You’ve got main character syndrome.”

“I do not,” Walker said, “Don’t think I can’t kick your ass.”

“I don’t think you could even touch my ass,” David jiggled a transparent ass-cheek at him.

“Two points,” Walker said in frustration, “What if we just went with the Protagonists?”

“Not everyone is versed in that word, translator or not. There’d be a ton who don’t understand the meaning.”

“It’s not like the Awakened is much better. Is everyone not a part of the faction, sleeping?”

“Point, Walker.” David replied, scratching his own finger across space. Walker took a breath from his bag, then slid it over to David so he could fill up. The reflection looked at him, “Bag’s getting a bit low.”

Walker slapped his hands against his bare thighs, “Great. So I still might choke to death out here.”

“No, it just means we may have to table this discussion, although I think we were making progress.”

“Yeah…yeah.” Walker looked around space, “So, our soul and Kinetic energy are spreading from the center of the universe.”

“Yep,” David said, looking around with him, “and time.”

“Wait….wait….look at how empty everything is.”

David gave him a look, “Dude, I’ve been staring at this for a while now. It’s fucking empty as shit.”

Walker began to grow excited, “I know, that’s my point. Look, it’s all starting at the middle of this universe right?”

“Right, what’s your point?”

“Time, man. Time. When we first landed here, Kinetic energy was everywhere. Our soul wasn’t, but that’s probably moving in pockets, not unlike the the orange lightning we saw. But if Time was added as well, then there are pockets stuck in the middle of the universe with slower time. If we can get there, we don’t have to worry about losing so much time on the outside.”

“Mmmm, I don’t think that’s how it’s going to work.”

Walker deflated a little, “Why?”

“Because the Universal strand, which you still need to rename by the way, was composed of Time, Space, and Dimensionality. I’m betting when it absorbed all of the units that were covering us, instead of it being in pockets like our Origin and the Kinetic strand, it instead accelerated things here to a higher level. Meaning, everything we’re doing right now, and in the future, as long as we’re in this universe, will be faster.”

“How fast do you think?”

“Well, my thoughts align with the idea that a Universe, being ever-growing, is kind of like an engine. Whatever you put into it upon creation, it continues to spit out once it’s formed its own space. So even though it only absorbed, what? A few weeks is what we had on us when we made it?”

Walker nodded, “Yeah, about that much, I think.”

“Okay, but that’s still fuel for the engine. You see what I’m saying?”

“Wait wait wait,” Walker waved his hands in the air, “Are you saying we can engineer and design our own universes using the strands?”

David smirked at him, “Did you even look at your notifications yet?”

“Noooo. No, I did not.”

“Why?”

“Because they keep throwing stuff out that I have to analyze. I figured it would be better to wait until we get all of our stuff done first.”

“Hah! When are we ever going to get all of our stuff done? Skill system, Mastery system, the Conservatory. It’s always going to be one step in front of another man. I think we need to stop thinking this way. You fucked up Symphony with the Slicer, and that got you thinking less like it was going to be one big world, right? That you could attach things individually.”

“True.”

“We fucked up Romulus and Remus, and that gave us an alternative to eating the Primigenials. Now, we fucked up a universe, and that gave us another means of expansion and control over our parasite.” David shook his head with a laugh, “You pointed this out once before to Virgil and the crew. It’s our greatest strength, my guy. We adapt. That’s humanity's greatest strength. Something they can’t really take away from us.

Walker said something that was on his mind, ”The Evolvers don’t really evolve, do they? They just pick up abilities and throw them at the wall, seeing what sticks. I feel like they took the name Evolver as a form of superiority. To show that they were going to become the pinnacle. But that’s not what they currently are. Just something they’re trying to do, to be.”

David shrugged, “That’s why they need us. We adapt and overcome. Humanity's greatest strength is our own evolution. It’s not something given to us, but something earned over a great amount of time by our ancestors.”

“The Adapters?”

David tsk’d, “Terrible. Just think about it. I’m sure you’ll have a big Eureka moment, and everything will become clear. Anyways, look at your notifications, damn it. I want to know what you get for making a universe.”

Walker did as he said and clicked on the flashing icon.

... Analyzing …

…

Database connected...

... Searching Database ...

New information gained from Original source ...

... Analyzing ...

Designated Universe not recognized

Adjusting future rewards

...

...

...

Rewards adjusted ...

Congratulations Dante!

You have created your own Universe for the first time!

Would you like to name your Universe?

Yes/No

“Well!” David asked with genuine excitement when Walker looked up.

“Zumm, I have to name this Universe.”

The smile on David’s face slid off in the most depressing manner Walker had ever witnessed. As if a candle were burning at the speed and intensity of a blowtorch, the waxy manner of David’s face morphed directly into an angry look, “FUCK!”

“Yah, boy. Fuck indeed.” Walker replied with a wan smile.

“Fucking…fuck it. Name it Universe 1.” David replied, waving him off as he refused to look back at him.

“Nah. I’ll go with what I know David.”

Walker smiled as he went in and named, potentially, his first universe.

Universe Symphony is named

As the first citizen of the established Evolver multiverse to create a universe using Strandbinder methods, you’ve received an enhanced reward.

…

Congratulations Dante!

You’ve received a Cosmic Life Engine!

“Huh,” Walker said aloud when he saw the reward.

“What?”

“It only gave one reward…that’s…weird.”

“Only one? That is strange,” David replied, “What’d you get?”

“A Cosmic Life Engine? Whatever that is…”

“What did the description say?”

Walker didn’t reply, remaining silent for a moment. David spoke up after waiting a sufficient amount of time, “You didn’t look did you?”

“Ummm…”

“You fucking idiot. Read the goddamn thing.”

Walker gave him a salute and clicked around, trying to find it. Obnoxiously, it was listed within his resources tab.

The Cosmic Life Engine:

A thoroughly advanced and gargantuan machine designed to allow life to flourish and thrive throughout a newly designed universe. This engine holds elements of the latest feats of Omniversal engineering, biotechnological breakthroughs, and greatly restricted artificial intelligence.

Activating the Cosmic Life Engine is necessary for any newly established universe to connect to the Omniverse itself, and subsequent activations may lead to further rewards.

To activate the Engine properly, please proceed to the center of your Universe’s Origin point.

Would you like to activate the Cosmic Life Engine now?

Yes/No

Walker clicked No and exited the screen. He explained everything to David, then looked in the general direction he believed to be where they entered. Just in the far distance, he could see spouts and clashes for roaming Kinetic energy.

“Well shit,” David said, looking in the same direction. “We’ve gotta get through a veritable minefield of Kinetic energy just to get to the center man.”

“Yeah…the Center….did you notice that?”

“What?”

Walker repeated the exact description he’d just read. David looked thoughtful, “The Center of the Universe’s Origin. Hah!”

Walker grinned, “Yep, they have troubles with names just like us. Bunch of dumbshits.”

“Morons.”

“Pieces of shit.”

“Alright, alright,” David said, waving it away, “We’re just compensating for what we don’t want to do. We’ve gotta get through all of that Kinetic energy, fast, or we’re fucked. That’s the basic idea here, right?”

“Right.”

“So, how do you want to do this?”

“Well, I was thinking about that, and-”

Walker was interrupted by a Kinetic storm quickly approaching them. Before he could think about what to do, a bolt the width of a Volkswagon reached out and slammed into them both. Walker was tossed away so quickly that he couldn’t see how David was doing. The energy from the bolt sparked and clashed across his skin, causing him to grit his teeth and wait for his body to heal before attempting to get closer to David. Even though he’d spun out a good distance, his memory let him recall exactly how long and what direction he’d traveled after the strike. He quickly returned to where they were hit and found David looking bored as he stared upward.

He looked over at Walker right as he got close, causing the original to speak out, “What the fuck?”

David shrugged, “I dunno. It didn’t seem to do much to me. I’m guessing that making me from very few Dimensional resources has an effect on my metaphysical state.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, I mean. It hit me, don’t get me wrong, but it’s like my body was here and not here. No pain, just poof, and I’m fine.” He pulled at his hair, checking to ensure it was real, then shrugged.

Walker stared at him for a long moment, many long and serious thoughts going through his mind. He put a little force into his feet and drifted over gently.

David canted his head as he inspected Walker’s odd expression. " Why are you looking at me like that? What are you doing?”

Walker responded in a deadly serious tone: “Just relax, man. It’s going to be fine.”

Several minutes later, Walker was inspecting his memories as he pushed his Kinetic strand-covered feet against the metaphysical state of the universe. They were making good time, as he estimated he’d only floated away from the center by a little over thirty minutes. He couldn’t guess the speed at which he’d traveled, but he believed they were heading in the right direction.

“I don’t like this at all!” David protested loudly yet again.

“You’re fine; quit being such a baby,” Walker replied evenly as another bolt of Kinetic energy crashed upon David’s form. Walker was holding his reflection’s arms behind his back, barely able to keep any semblance of a grip on the semi-metaphysical reflection.

They made a sudden turn as Walker’s memory pulled up a very slight kinetic bolt, having pushed him in the opposite direction in his screaming past. As they did so, three more bolts struck David, having no effect as they continued on toward the center of the Symphony universe.

“Walker! I lied! This does hurt now!”

“Huh, who knew? Is it a bad pain, or-”

“It hurts, man, but it’s not, like, terrible. It just feels…I don’t know. Feels like I'm becoming more physical the more I absorb.”

“Interesting. Let me know if it gets too much, and I’ll make another reflection for us.”

“I’d give you a thumbs up, but you’re holding them,” David replied as a bolt just missed them overhead.

They traveled like this for another ten minutes before approaching what Walker felt was the center. All around them were hundreds and thousands of bolts crashing across the area. It was a beautiful orange nightmare that would forever stand out in his memories. As they grew closer, a dozen bolts fired in different directions, some striking David, and a few even touching on Walker.

They were knocked back and to the side a good distance before Walker could regain control. David sighed, as they slowed down a few miles away.

“Walker, I’m fairly certain I’m just about fully on this plane now. I'll be taking full damage from the strand.”

“Shit.”

“Yeah. Sorry, man.”

“It’s okay, I’ve got a plan.” He let go of David, spinning him a little so they could face each other as another bolt just missed them.

“Okay,” His reflection said, “What’s the plan, we’ve gotta be quick”

Walker gave him a grim smile, “You’re probably not going to like it.”