Creation: Book 3: Strandbinder Complete!

“Ulysses…”

Walker looked around again, still unused to the universe’s thunderous words. Each time the being formerly known as David “spoke”, Walker’s body felt like it had been through an earthquake. And even though he was from California, the land of such phenomena, this still unsettled him. Shrugging his body, he spoke aloud, “Ulysses is nice, but-”

“It is from Dante’s Inferno, Walker. Just as Virgil was the guide of Dante himself, Ulysses was the being who wanted to see the vastness of space and explore new worlds.”

Walker reached into his memories, filtering the story through his mind and finding everything the universe had spoken of as true—except for one big point: “Didn’t a divine storm destroy Ulysses?”

“Just so,” The universe rumbled, “and yet, I still find it an apt description of who…no…what I am. I feel myself changing, Walker. My mind is expanding. Growing. Into what, I do not yet know. But I do know that this name is more fitting than David.”

“But David means king.”

“And I am beyond that now, Walker.” The rumbling expressed in an explosion of space, “You do not know what it is like to be….expansive. Eternal. Although there is something more here.”

“Something more?”

“Yesss…” It said with a drawn-out crashing sound, “As if, the more that I expand and grow to better understand my body, the more I feel myself growing weaker. It is difficult to describe.”

Walker scratched his chin as he thought about that. For the third time, he felt the awareness of the being he’d created, a universe itself, leave him for the moment. It felt like that itchy feeling you get when someone is watching you, but you can’t see them, only magnified on a whole other level.

He’d felt it the first time when coming to grips with what he had created, and the second time when they’d argued about Orion. Each time the universal figure came back, his whole body tensed up. Like it was waiting for an attack it knew it couldn’t defend itself against.

Although the universe was formerly a reflection of himself, after its battle with the godeater parasite and eventual takeover of the universal crystal, who knew how much of David was left? That made him worried. It wasn’t too long ago that he’d decided to rely on his instincts more than his brain. And now, as he did so, those same instincts told him to be careful. That one wrong move could spell disaster for him and his people. That gave him an easy reply that would get him back in the cosmic life forms good graces.

“Ulysses is a, uh, nice name. Yeah, I like it.”

Nailed it

Walker felt the Universe re-focus on him, causing him to internally freeze up a little. It also reminded him at that moment that he was just about out of oxygen. Looking at the empty bag in his hand, he asked a very important question, “You, uh, can’t make an atmosphere. Can you?”

“No, Walker. I cannot. And I agree with the name Ulysses. It is accurate.”

Thinking quickly and trying to conserve as little oxygen as he had, Walker spoke in a clipped and direct manner, “I can’t make a world, here. No Cosmic Genesis. Need O2 soon.”

For once, Ulysses didn’t reply immediately after Walker stopped speaking. The Creator stared out into the darkness of space, the unnerving lack of stars touching his soul for a moment as he waited for the greater being to speak. When he did, it was with a simple solution, “You still need to place the Cosmic Life Engine, Walker. And if I’m not mistaken, I need it as well.”

“Why do you need it?”

Another pause.

“I am unsure. Call it a feeling, if you will. It is similar to feeling as if something is missing. I can reach out and touch the fourth rendition; in fact I have already done so, although I received no response from that Universe’s soul. I am considering, as I know your goals, if I can influence some parts of it from here. But there’s something lacking within me. Something I need to continue forward with your-our plans.”

“And you think it’s the engine?”

“I do.” Walker felt as Ulysses left again, and pulled up the description of the engine a second time.

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 felt as his overlay dinged off of something. Looking away from the text in front of him, he watched the purple overlay create an outline on the crystal in front of him. Ever since Ulysses had been born, for lack of a better word, he hadn’t really paid attention to it.

But now that he looked a little closer, it seemed almost diminished. Smaller. Like it was being drained. Maybe that’s what Ulysses was feeling. If a Universe was an engine, as he’d theorized before, then what was its fuel? Could he be running out of…universe juice?

Maybe he was right after all. Maybe the Cosmic Life Engine was the big solution needed for both of them.

He needed answers, and an easy solution to that was to use the guide token he’d received. Walker pulled it up in his abilities and attempted to click on it, not knowing exactly what would happen. What he didn’t expect was a red color to flash over the ability.

Error

No connection to the Omniverse is found

“Well, shit.” Walker said as he scratched his chin. It looked like he’d have to go into the dark, literally, with no information yet again. Just once it would be nice to be ahead of the curve, knowledge-wise. For another moment, Walker wished he had brought Virgil with him. But the large squirrel wouldn’t be able to manage the Temporal strand. It might even kill him, and that, Walker couldn’t afford.

Knowing what he needed to do, Walker pulled up the overlay again. As he moved it over the crystal directly, the yes command also gained a border, further reinforcing that this was what the system wanted. But it made him nervous. Could this be another trap he didn’t understand? Sure, it was the Omniverse this time and not the Evolvers, but still. That didn’t mean they were all sunshine and daisies. He was sure that a place boundless enough to call itself the Omniverse had plenty of people who would love to fuck over him and his people. It was only logical.

But he didn’t have time to theorize the ways things could screw him over. Ulysses was being drained, likely by his own growth, and Walker was just about out of oxygen. It was this or nothing.

So, with gritted teeth and a single clenched hand, Walker clicked yes.

Command recognized

Cosmic Life Engine is being transported

Please wait…

Waiting isn’t exactly something I can do right now, Walker thought to himself as he felt the oxygen in his system grow further depleted.

A minute passed, then another. He felt Ulysses focus on him for the first time in a few minutes.

“What are you doing?” The voice boomed out.

Walker mimed, pointing at his eyes and then at the crystal.

“You activated the Cosmic Life Engine over the crystal of my birth?”

Walker nodded, too afraid to speak as he’d just lose more oxygen.

Ulysses went quiet for a time, before saying, “This was the only option, was it not?”

Walker nodded again.

“I see. Okay then, I suppose we have no-Ouch.”

A hole ripped open just above the crystal. Walker clicked into the System viewer and found what he’d expected. The lines that made up Ulysses underlying framework were disrupted as a massive grey machine appeared in front of him, slowly exiting from the hole beyond. While blank parts of the universe were black, and there was a series of green lines extending everywhere, the machine itself appeared as a large white object. What that meant, he didn’t know.

Just past the machine, Walker spied an incredibly bright light. Switching out of the system viewer, he found his eyes squinting as the light began to push through the connection between wherever the machine came from and the new universe he had only created mere hours before. A system update arrived as the machine exited the hole, slowly floating towards the crystal. Just before he read the message, he mentally noted that even though the machine had arrived as promised, the hole in the universe did not, in fact, go away.

Loading Omniveral welcome package…

…

Hello Dante, and welcome to the Omniverse.

With your wise decision to include the Cosmic Life Engine in the framework of your budding universe, you’ve unlocked several new options and upgrades.

Congratulations.

Adapting package for unseen species…

Adaptation complete…

A screen popped up in his overlay, taking over his vision. As the Symphonic universe, the living body of Ulysses, faded into the background, a man with bright teeth and neon green hair appeared on his screen surrounded by a pure white space. His body was covered in a blue and white-striped tracksuit of all things, and he vigorously waved at Walker as he appeared.

“Hello, Dante!” He said with the most excited inflection to the English language Walker had ever heard. It was like every kindergarten teacher grew into an amalgamation of false cheeriness and had this person as their child.

“Welcome to the Omniverse. I’m not really a member of your species, of course, but rather an adapted program that has taken in some cursory information from your overlay in order to communicate with you as best as I can.” He waved a hand again, and Walker’s screen disappeared.

As it faded away, Walker saw that the massive machine had moved closer to the universal crystal. Looking it over, he noted a hole near the bottom of the machine and recognized that it was going to lower itself over the heart of the universe as it grew closer.

Mentally, he knew the machine was large, but he had little to compare it to except the crystal itself. Looking at the crystal, if he had to guess, he’d say it was maybe thirty or forty feet tall. Using that as a standard, he looked again at the machine about to drop on top of it.

Thousands of crystals could fit inside it with room to grow.

His vision faded back into the screen with the smiling man, “Now, I’m sure as an uninitiated universal creator, you have plenty of questions. If you haven’t already used your guide token, please consider doing so at your earliest convenience, as it will speed up your integration.” The smiling man seemed to scratch his cheek, making Walker wonder why it was doing so. He shrugged it off as the image was still speaking.

“Now, as a first-time Creator, you will receive a few items to help you, as well as a few optional rewards that you may choose for your own convenience.”

“But I’m not a first-time Creator,” Walker said with confusion. After all, he’d been a “Creator” for the last several months. The neon man continued talking as if it didn’t hear him.

“Firstly, you will have the option of seeding the universe with genera you already have. Of course, it will take thousands of years for them to grow to fruition, not to mention the growth of your planets and stars, haha!” He said with a drawn-out laugh, seeming very strange to Walker with just how long it lasted. Like the program had watched old re-runs of cable television and was trying to imitate the fake crowds that had sprung up in the 80s.

“You will also have the option of creating your own homeworld in the center, and we suggest you do not allow other worlds to encroach in here as well. Consider it your territory, if you will.” He gave a thumbs up, “You wouldn’t want just anybody in your territory, now would you?”

Another extra-long laugh followed, causing Walker to unknowingly grimace.

The Creator experienced a profound moment of mental disconnect as he continued to watch the screen. In one second, the man's bright teeth reflected in the image, laughing in a slightly bent-over fashion, and in the next, he was standing up straight, “Oh, it looks like we’re ready.”

The vision faded, and Walker watched as the machine settled, hovering just over the crystal. He took a moment to really take in the machine a second time. Although the Omniverse called it an engine, Walker wouldn’t associate that word with it at first glance.

It was large, with grey walls and a strange pointed section near the top. As he watched, it rotated, so the pointed section aimed directly at the bright hole it had entered from. A few moments later, a sound like a gasp rang out, and it slowly dropped itself on top of the crystal. Walker looked at the green center of the universe one last time before it disappeared from his vision.

The screen took over again, “And just like that, your universe is now in safe hands.” He waved a single finger in the air, “Don’t you worry a bit. I’ll have this setu-oh.” He paused and seemed to stare straight ahead for a long moment. Long enough that Walker began to grow worried that he’d be stuck like this forever. A somewhat-man, low on oxygen, with his vision permanently taken over by a neon-haired program staring at him. But luckily, that didn’t happen, as the man smiled again at him.

“It looks like your universe sustained some damage in its initial inception. Not to worry, that will repair itself over time as we get things going here. Take a look at yourrrrr futureee!” He said with a grand gesture, small fireworks going off behind him as Walker vision returned.

The light at the edge of the hole could no longer be contained. A thin stream of it reached out, grabbing a hold of the pointed section. Immediately after, a thick pulse rang out from the light, and the stream grew until it looked like nothing else than a braided rope. Walker felt, rather than saw, Ulysses completely surround the area with his consciousness.

“Yes, this is what I was missing.” The air thundered out. But Walker didn’t have time to respond as his vision swapped.

“Oh-ho, you already have a universal personality. How rare is that, yes yes.” He nodded to himself with a big grin, “It will make things much easier to have a partner. No waiting around for countless years in the hope that one will develop.”

“Who are you?” Walker asked the program, hoping that he’d receive an answer.

“Ah, I’m being told you are asking who I am? Yes. I am the Cosmic Life Engine. I have a very, very limited scope in what I’m allowed to do or say, so please keep your questions to yourself.”

“Fuckin rude.”

But the engine didn’t respond, rather it just continued to stare straight ahead. Walker heard Ulysses’s voice in the background, “Ahh, that feels so much better.”

He tried not to think about what that necessarily meant.

“Now,” The green-haired man said, “As you’re an uninitiated, you’re probably wondering what that white light is.” He shook a finger at the screen, “But I’m. not. going. to. tell. you! No sirreee! You don’t have the rank to gain that kind of information. Just know that it will help your universe stabilize itself, as well as make a connection to the Omniverse as a whole. Yes, that is enough information for you to go on, right?”

Without waiting for an answer, he continued, “I see that you’re a System Administrator, but that’s not a high enough rank to hold your own universe, so we’ll just have to bump that up in accordance with the Omniversal ruleset for Architects.”

Congratulations Dante!

You’ve gained a promotion within the Omniversal order.

System Administrator -> System Architect

Please speak with your guide to better understand what your new rank affords you.

The green-haired man slapped his hands together as if he didn’t just throw Walker completely for a loop, “That’s done! Now, we need to go about making your territory seat. Hrmm, humans are so fragile, although I see you’re a Primordial Human at that. That should make this easier.”

“Primordial human?” Walker nudged, knowing he wouldn’t get a response.

He was right.

“So you still need Oxygen? Not very high ranking, then. That will slow me down for a moment. We could use the-” A sound played as he said a series of words, masking exactly what was said. The program continued on as if it didn’t know what had occurred, “and they wouldn’t likely mind. Hrmm.”

Walker made a face. Even though he was talking directly to a program designed by the Omniverse, they were still blocking any knowledge of them. He’d even been promoted, and still, they didn’t want him to know anything about what things were like. It only further reinforced his need to use the guide token, although he hadn’t quite figured out how to do so. It had never worked in the past. But then again, he had just connected to the Omniverse, so perhaps things had changed.

His further train of thought was derailed by the Neon green man smiling loudly, if such a thing were possible: “And there we have it. You need an ecologically reproductive environment. How quaint.” He flashed his hands, and the screen changed to show a planet not unlike Earth’s. Only Walker could tell this one was designed to be that way instead of naturally forming. The rivers were too straight, and the mountains were too perfectly rounded.

Then again, who's to say the Creator who made Earth had allowed it to naturally form that way?

“This has everything you may need, Architect Dante. Clean water with a powerful self-managing and repairing filter. A series of crops growing at an accelerated rate, in case you have any company.” He gave an extra-exaggerated wink that made Walker feel gross about himself, “A heated environment covered by a magnetic shield and a domicile worthy of your rank.”

“Of course, as an Architect, you can likely make all of this yourself. But we of the Omniversal Order prefer to get our Creators set up from the very beginning with everything they might need. It is imperative that you are treated well and that your welcome to the greater verse is as pleasant as possible. We wouldn’t want another Creator war, now would we?”

The Neon-haired man looked around, which Walker knew was just a show as it controlled the projection in its entirety. After a moment, he sighed, then said, “Now, at this time, I would ask if you have any questions, but as you’re an inductee and a low-ranking one at that, I’m afraid I cannot help you.” He gave a big smile, “Sorry! However, please peruse your personal interface at your next free moment to look at any other necessary announcements.”

The man spread his arms wide, the white space around him changing to a carnival Walker had memories of from when he was a kid. Only, there were no people, just a series of rides going through the motion while loud noises played in the background, “Welcome to the Omniverse, Creator! Make us proud!”

The screen faded away, and Walker had another moment where his mind blanked out

Make us proud…

Walker’s notifications were pinging so hard it was distracting, but he looked around instead. In a quiet voice, he said, “Ulysses, are you there?”

His voice came from all around him, but this time, it didn’t feel as harsh, “I’m here, Walker. Thank you for activating the Engine. I’m feeling much better.”

“Yah?”

“Indeed,” Ulysses replied, his inflection making Walker smile.

—---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Within the control room of the Alpha Protocol Council

Staring at their screen, a subsystem assistant sat and combed through informational updates as they continued forward.

Subject One was still terrorizing Rendition 4AA, but luckily enough, Subject Three had disappeared and stopped destroying Creator’s worlds. The moment it had disappeared, a large amount of the S.A.’s work had fallen away, causing a great amount of relief to build inside of them. Even when Creator Dante had caused those strange portals to appear, the Council had assured the S.A.’s that it was all a part of the plan.

That is, until their partner, whose job was also to watch the informational updates, was taken away by a scary Supreme Assistant only a few days ago. Now, each moment felt like a blessing and a curse as they constantly worried they’d be next.

An insistent notification began pinging on the screen in front of them. With trepidation, the S.A. clicked on it and felt their three jaws drop as they read the dire update.

Warning:

There is an authorized breach of Rendition 4AA’s system architecture.

Warning:

An Unknown connection has been made with Rendition 4AA

Warning:

An Unknown greater being is affecting Rendition 4AA’s systemic membrane.

The S.A. couldn’t believe it. This was tantamount to nothing less than an invasion, and in a Rendition that has proved to be more volatile than any other before it. The council needed to be warned. The Creators needed to be warned! Everyone needed to be warned!

The alarm must be rung; otherwise, it could spiral out of control. Who knew how much damage rendition 4AA had already taken? And if things were as bad as the S.A. assumed, this might even spread to other renditions. It could reach across protocols and affect the very Center itself.

Staring at the screen while liquid continued to pool and eventually drop from its jaws, the S.A. finally detached its eyes and looked over at the big red button to its side. In the writing of a language long ago fallen by the wayside, it stated, “Only press during an invasion.”

Reaching a thin reed for a limb towards the button, images flashed through its mind. Its partner, looking back at it, terrified, as the Supreme Assistant took them away.

Was this a part of the plan, too?

The Subsystem Assistant didn’t know. But it did know that it didn’t want to be recycled. Its knowledge was too important for the Localized Assistant Database.

After performing a quick update to the Subsystem's utilized database, it relaxed its limb and went back to watching the screen.

The warnings faded away after being acknowledged.