Creation: Book 3: Strandbinder Complete!

It took almost an hour to get Rimi to calm down. Walker truly felt bad for the little guy, and comforted him the way he used to comfort his students going through something traumatic. A pat on the back, words of conciliation, and just waiting for them to speak. No hugs of course, not for a male teacher that is. Cagna took care of that for him luckily enough, wrapping Rimi in a tight hug.

Eventually, the small blue squirrel stopped crying and just talked, working through his grief a little bit at a time. He'd really seemed to care for the monster.

Chomp was Walker's first. The golden dooter helped them succeed in the second battle, and he would've likely reached sapience in not too long. This was a great loss that Walker hadn't seen coming. Unlike Rimi though, and as heartless as it is, he didn't directly connect his emotions to the tier 5 monster. He'd learned in life, and particularly from his time in the military, to not associate every negative happenstance with his own emotional well-being. When he was in the desert, he'd heard about patrols heading out and never returning. But, it never affected him. He'd attend the memorial, act respectfully, and move on. If he knew them personally, that of course was different. But while Chomp had been helpful in the second battle, he had also tried to kill Walker in the first moment of meeting him.

Maybe there was something wrong with him. He wasn't sure about that.

Walker recognized that it was something that was sad, and affected those around him, but he always kept it at bay. Chomp was a great loss, especially as one of the few tier 5's Symphony had. However, his loss had benefited Walker and Symphony as a whole, and that's how Walker chose to see it. He wasn't connected to the monsters the way Rimi was, and he saw that as a good thing. It was better to view everything from a distance when you were in control of their fate. He'd not be a creator who stepped in to help in every situation. Sometimes....things just needed to solve themselves. How could someone have a chance at growing, if they always needed help?

Walker felt an agreeing pulse in his soul, and nodded to himself. He pulled up the last task he'd gotten as a reminder.

System Link task found: Create an organizational matrix for your systems

No description was found.

Organizational matrix made: No

Supreme system defined: No

Reward for completion: System Link ability upgrade

He needed to break down his systems into an organizational matrix...easy. What a lot of people don't know about teachers, is just how organized they have to be. He'd always made sure his student's assignments and grades were in order and up to date. Organizing docs and forms, prepping tests and reviews, blitzing grades late at night in front of a movie he'd already seen but still liked to have in the background. Staying organized was built into his DNA at this point.

Sure, he always had a messy desk, but that was because every time he super cleaned his classroom, it felt like he had to be careful of things. He hated a clean desk as it was just asking for him to spill a drink or drop some crumbs on it. Somewhere in the back of his awakened mind an old quote from Einstein popped up, "If a cluttered desk is a sign of a cluttered mind, of what, then, is an empty desk a sign?"

Walker smiled to himself and clicked on his System Link ability. Immediately all of his systems popped up in the order that they were unlocked with an empty grid floating above them. Unlike before, when he had to ask Virgil for help, this time he was able to do the name changes himself. Walker noticed that anytime a system was dependent on another, it was titled subsystem. So the landmass system was the primary, and the secondary or dependent systems like Entity and Ecology were all subsystems below it. He'd have to do something similar to the Territory system if he wanted it to work. He added the shortened names to his newest systems and moved things around based on how important he thought they were, slotting them into place on the grid. After he was done shifting everything around, he took a look at it.

The Milestone System (Milestones) The Landmass System (Land, primary)

The Monster System (Monster) The Entity Subsystem (Entity)

The Follower System (Religion) The Temporal Subsystem (Time)

The Cosmic Genesis System (Genesis) The Ecology Subsystem (Ecology)

The Auction System (Auction) The Weather Subsystem (Weather)

The Gambling System (Gambling, used in battles only) The Portal System (Portals)

Walker nodded his head. The Milestone system was the lynchpin for all of his self-created systems. He couldn't imagine where he would be when the time dilation stopped, or how many milestones they would be at for that matter. That was why he needed to figure out what the Supreme system really entailed. He clicked on the flashing chain icon above the current hierarchy, and a group of options appeared.

Welcome to System Linking, Dante.

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

By establishing a primary and secondary role in your created systems, the Creator can ensure that all future systems can interact in a fluid and dynamic relationship for redundancy and reliability.

The following are your current options:

1. Create your own Supreme system (One-time use).

2. Choose a Supreme system from your current existing systems

3. Merge two systems together

4. Establish a primary system

5. Assign a system as secondary

Walker already knew what he would be naming the Supreme system. He pulled from his experience, generally understanding that primary systems couldn't be managed by subsystem assistants. Virgil had just now gained access, partially, to the Landmass system, and he was an advanced assistant. So, Walker's plan of assigning the Monster system and Entity system to the Milestone system wouldn't work. There was one easy step he could take though. Walker selected the third option.

Option three selected: Merge two systems together

What systems would you like to merge?

Ecology selected.

Weather selected.

Please confirm that these are the selected systems you would like to merge.

Once merged, they currently cannot be unmerged.

Yes/No

Walker clicked yes.

.....Analyzing.....

The Ecology subsystem and Weather subsystem are merging.

.....

Merge Complete

The Ecoweather subsystem is now ready to be used.

Walker nodded his head. It only made sense to merge the two systems, that way everything was centralized into one place. It would also mean that Rimi just gained access to the weather system....Walker was sure nothing terrible could happen from that. He looked at the options again, and then clicked on the first one.

Option one selected: Create your own Supreme system

Please name your system:

The Conductor system is named!

Supreme systems are always assigned directly to the Creator.

Enjoy your new Supreme system Dante!

.....Scanning.....

Optional tasks updated!

System Link task complete: Create an organizational matrix for your systems

Organizational matrix made: Yes

Supreme system defined: Yes

Reward for completion: System Link ability upgrade

...

New System Link task found: Merge two systems together

No description was found.

Systems merged: 2/2

Reward for completion: System Link ability upgrade

...

System Link task complete: Merge two systems together

No description found.

Systems merged: 2/2

Reward for completion: System Link ability upgrade

- - -

Reward for completing the first System Link task:

Congratulations Dante! You've upgraded the System Link ability!

No description was found.

Potentially Upgradeable.

Reward for completing the second System Link task:

Congratulations Dante! You've upgraded the System Link ability!

No description was found.

"Easy peezy." Walker said with a smile. Apparently, he was only going to get two tasks for this one. He'd always received at least three tasks in the past for any new task-set, but not only was this brand new, it was a series of tasks for an ability, which was a first. They hadn't even written the descriptions yet...then again time was pretty slow here. He pulled up his options to see what was added.

The following are your current options:

1. Merge multiple systems together

2. Establish a primary system

3. Assign a system as secondary

4. Sacrifice one of the Creator's abilities to empower a system

Now he could merge multiple systems together at once instead of just two. "Nice" He said to himself. He looked at the fourth option, and couldn't help but be intrigued. Walker guessed that you couldn't directly link an ability, as they were intrinsically linked to the Creator. The only way to do so was to sacrifice it entirely. He looked at his abilities to get a handle on what he still could do with them.

Assistant (Advanced) Virgil Subsystem assistant Rimi Subsystem assistant Cagna

Evolutionary Edge Identify Monitor

Combiner Alpha Avatar

Broadcast Domestication System Link

System Split (Experimental)

A lot more options than he thought he'd have. He still remembered when he was first dropped here. He'd gained the Evolutionary Edge, which passively affected all of his entities at all times, right at the start. That may have led to the Slicer inadvertently becoming so powerful in its initial seeding as well. Walker had long ago shucked his responsibility for the Slicer. He had done the best he could, and now, the other Creators would have to fend for themselves. It was interesting to note that his subsystem assistants were listed here as well. Since he was quickly approaching the reward for unlimited amounts, this list would quickly become unmanageable. He scanned through everything again, and his eyes fell on one ability in specific that they hadn't used yet. He wondered what would happen if he chose the combiner ability with the fourth option?

Walker yelled over to Virgil nearby, "Hey, Virgil! Does the System Link ability preview what the sacrifice ability will do?

Virgil looked away from the young male human he was working on and stared at his screens. A moment later he replied back, "It does now." Then turned back to his work.

"Nice." Walker selected the fourth option.

Option four selected: Sacrifice one of the Creator's abilities to empower a system

What ability would you like to sacrifice?

Combiner ability selected.

What system would you like to empower?

Entity subsystem selected.

Preview provided:

Combiner ability definition: Not all entities can be built from one strain of genus, and the alpha protocol recognizes this. The combiner ability allows the creator to combine elements of already produced entities in order to form something new.

Limit: Use of the combiner ability is restricted to once per day regardless of results.

Empowerment for the entity subsystem: The Creator can freely combine any genus strain they have with another. Removal of cooldown assured.

Would you like to sacrifice the Combiner ability to empower the Entity subsystem?

Yes/No

"Holy shit. Okay, I can get behind this." Walker selected not to do the upgrade for now, as he still wanted to talk to Virgil first. Instead, he selected the fourth option again.

Option four selected: Sacrifice one of the Creator's abilities to empower a system

What ability would you like to sacrifice?

Evolutionary Edge.

What system would you like to empower?

Monster system selected.

Preview provided:

Evolutionary Edge ability definition: Some species in the universe are just born powerful, while others evolve or form from natural selection. Each time the Creator makes an attempt at the evolution of a creature, they’ll receive a higher chance of success. The greater the scale of evolution, the larger the impact the evolutionary edge will have during the alpha protocol.

Empowerment for the Monster system: Any monsters who gain their evolutions will have a chance of starting one tier higher.

Would you like to sacrifice Evolutionary Edge to empower the Monster system?

Yes/No

He didn't want to do that one right away. It was too much for right when his civilizations were starting. But, he did have an idea about how to use it in the future. It...would...be...awesome! Walker said no for the second time, and had a sudden idea. He clicked the fourth option one more time.

Option four selected: Sacrifice one of the Creator's abilities to empower a system

What ability would you like to sacrifice?

Avatar.

What system would you like to empower?

The Conductor system selected.

Preview provided:

Avatar ability definition: Step into your world at any time, in any place, and continue to receive the protections of the alpha protocol. Gift your entities any of your self-created evolutions as you see fit, and bask in an ability less than a dozen creators in all of the protocol have ever received. You have earned it.

Empowerment for the Conductor system: Unknown.

Would you like to sacrifice the Avatar ability to empower the Conductor system?

Yes/No

"Shit, come on."

"What are you doing?" Rimi asked, taking a break from working on his Drop Bear. The Australian terror looked so peaceful in the Evolution Chamber, but he knew from news reports that those fuckers could be vicious. And filled with Chlamydia. His mind started to wander for a moment about how and why most Koala's seemed to have a disease that also affected humans, before he shook his head and focused on Rimi. Walker broke down what the System Link ability could do for the smallish blue squirrel, but it was Virgil who responded, stopping what he was doing and marching over in a huff.

"DO NOT sacrifice the Avatar ability." The Advanced Assistant said with a pointed finger.

Walker put his hands up, "I wasn't going to! Promise! Buuuut" He said, dragging the word out with a smile, "You have to admit, the Combiner ability seems like a great option."

Virgil breathed out one large puff of air before nodding, "Indeed. I believe, amongst all of the abilities you have accrued, that one would be the best to sacrifice."

"I agree." Rimi said with a smile, always excited to mess with monsters.

"Okay then, we don't even have to debate it." Walker smiled back, and while they watched, he sacrificed the ability.

.....Analyzing.....

...

The Combiner ability has been sacrificed by Creator Dante

The Entity Subsystem is now empowered.

All genera within Dante's collection may now be combined.

The Alpha Protocol will attempt to alleviate any friction between incompatible selections.

Warning: Any selections that the Alpha Protocol cannot combine will lose the Creator their resources with no compensation

"Thank you" Virgil said with a nod, "Once Rimi completes his work on the Koala-."

"Drop Bear."

"Whatever. The koala and wolves. I'll work on eliminating or at least containing the Inhabitor Beetles on Remus."

"Okay, that sounds good. I'm going to look at the Conductor system for a minute, then I'm going to start up a new one. I think." He said, eyeballing Rimi, "It's time for territories."

"Yayyy." Rimi said, punching a fist in the air. At least he hadn't changed too much.

Walker smiled and walked over to his computer to grab a seat. The last time he'd looked at his Creation Instrument, it'd been a weird version of an early 90s Macintosh. Now, it was more like a standard PC he'd have in his classroom. Admittedly, his school's budget cuts had been the reason they'd still had computers from the start of the millennium, but still, this was a nice upgrade. Even the chair was nicer, a round executive just big enough for a person of his size to be comfortable. Walker sighed at seeing no mechanical keyboard.

Beggars and choosers Walker thought, as he sat down and clicked on the Conductor system.

The Conductor System

Assigned to: Creator Dante

Please make a selection of what systems you would like to manage with this system.

No thoughts went through Walker's mind as singularly clicked every system he had access to.

...

...Updating...

...

Update time remaining: 1 week

"Oh, fuck you!" Walker yelled at his screen, causing some of the Primigenials and Cagna to look over at him. He ignored them.

Walker's voice became nasally rather than his standard baritone, "Make a big deal about getting a Supreme system, a hierarchy of systems, merging systems. Systems systems systems, then, BAM! Make me wait a fucking week."

"Walker!." Virgil yelled out, as everyone had apparently been listening to him the whole time, "That update is for a week in standard time, not ours!"

"FUCK!"

Walker couldn't see it, but Virgil laughed to himself while Rimi gave him a high five while mouthing "that was funny." Even the Primigenials laughed in their small circle, Dionysus included.

Walker stared at his new computer screen. He knew he should probably look at the changes, as the old version was very much a point-and-click type with no fanfare, but he didn't want to. He wanted to play with his new system.

"Well, if I can't play with that one, I'll play with another." He said to himself with a nod, then clicked over to System.

As the list populated, he noted the changes. Walker began scrolling through thousands of systems at this point. The first time he'd looked, there had been a few hundred, then several hundred. Now, when he clicked on the filter, the system designer started scanning everything. It took a few minutes, but when it was done, it returned over five thousand choices.

"Jesus." He said, speaking to himself again. There was something to be said for unlocking more and more options as you proved your competency. He had a sudden thought for what he wanted to do, and followed it.

Walker typed in the word progression for the filter to comb through, but it didn't give him any returns. He then tried advancement, but nothing. Development gave him two responses he didn't like, improvement was interesting, and something he'd look at for his Profession system. Growth was about plant life and oddly enough, mountains, while enhancement seemed too much like his monster system. Augmentation, elevation, expansion, succession, procession. Nothing was coming up that would work for his goal. Finally, after over an hour and a half of reading relatively small text and scrolling through the multitude of systems, and getting a huge amount of ideas for how he would do some of his systems in the future, he found what he was looking for.

The Sequential System:

A system designed by Creator Port in the Bravo protocol of 3EG.

This system is a framework that is designed for entities to follow a sequential order that is clear and unambiguous, while also giving the Creator the freedom to modify any part of the system as they choose.

Flexibility: Maximum

Difficulty to modify: Medium

Note: This system is based upon the Creation Instruments system used by the Alpha Protocol

Walker mentally noted that the...note section was new. Every time he designed and released a new system, he gained more systemic options and received more information when he looked at them. Also, what the fuck was the Bravo protocol?

"Heyyy Virgill!" He called out.

He didn't know if Virgil recognized that note in his voice, or if he was just bored with the mana grafting, but either way the large brown squirrel ran right over.

"Yes Walker?' He said with a question in his voice.

"What in the ever living fuck is the Bravo protocol?" Walker asked while still staring at it in his screen.

Virgil canted his head to the side, "Oh"

"What do you mean oh?" Walker said in exasperation. "Do you mean to tell me, that the moment I finish the Alpha Protocol, I'm going to be shunted into the Bravo one? Are you fucking serious?" Walker was yelling now, causing his eyes to become a little bloodshot. "I mean, seriously what in the-"

"You have to choose to join it Walker." Virgil interrupted him with a deadpan voice. "The Bravo protocol is for Creators who are interested in moving to the next stage."

Walker's building anger sputtered and died. He leaned back in his chair while thinking, closing his screen and staring at the sky as he quietly said, "Who would choose to do something like this a second time?"

"Watch over Symphony for several thousand years, and you may find out." Virgil responded in a neutral voice, before he nodded and went back to his work.

"No....I won't." He replied, still looking at the sky.

Walker spent a few minutes considering if thousands of years from now, he would choose the Bravo protocol....no. Because that would mean there was a chance for the citizens and wonders of Symphony to die. Unless there was a dire situation requiring it, he'd never accept that. Walker clicked on System again and typed in the Sequential system. He clicked on it and clicked accept when suddenly an unexpected notification came up.

System Linker ability found.

System Linker ability has reached maximum current upgrade potential.

Would you like to merge this system with another before finalizing your choice?

Yes/No

"Say what now?" Walker said as he read it.