Chapter 99: Pain
🕑 Added 2024-07-05 20:56:04 +0000 UTCFor Walker, the time between his overlay shutting off and turning back on was only seconds. He hoped that it was the same for everyone else.
He didn’t notice much else that was different. He assumed that meant when the Omniverse first connected to him; it had already upgraded everything. Of course, he didn’t want to discount the idea that Creators already had slightly upgraded overlays, but giving any credit to the Evolvers just didn’t sit right with him.
They had intentionally been shitty to their citizens. Restricting their ability to communicate with others and not allowing for a greater breadth of abilities. Maybe that was just the Creators again, but he didn’t think so. They were about me, not we. Spending resources on upgrades for their citizens probably wasn’t even a thought for them.
The more he thought about the Evolvers and what they put people through, the angrier he grew. It got to a point where he had to stop thinking altogether just to contain himself.
But just as quickly as the anger had risen, it faded away. He had work to do, and he’d already had a break.
After staring into the darkness for a few minutes to get his emotions back under control, he pulled up his inventory. It was time to test something out.
Omniversal Manual: The Bounty system
Walker clicked on it. Instantly, a book appeared before him, gently drifting into space. Walker grabbed it, feeling his body get pulled a small amount by the action, and looked it over.
It was thick and ranged in hues from brown to black, with red writing on the cover that his translator picked up on. While it did its thing, he also noted that it was worn out. Some of the pages appeared slightly torn, and he briefly wondered if this was an Omniversal hand-me-down and who might have held it before him.
The translator came through, the chicken scratches on the cover changing before his eyes until it appeared to him in English.
The Bounty system
Tsk’ing, Walker spoke to the emptiness around him, “Not very helpful,” He clicked on Identify next.
The Frayish guide to the Bounty system:
An all-inclusive guide to everything the Strandbinder needs to know about the Bounty system. This book holds over twenty-five thousand pages of information, such as how to include it into other systems, how to modify and add items, and the proper way to treat your heroes.
Twenty-five thousand pages? He thought, turning the book over, Where?
Walker opened the cover and found a small inscription on the left.
May this guide help you and your people to prosper—waste not that which death has taken.
Walker appreciated the sentiment, as it was something he considered to be very truthful. He’d gone hunting with his family in the past, and while he hadn’t enjoyed the feeling at the time, his father had made sure they used every part of their kill. It seemed this system had something similar built into it.
He looked at it again. There was no way it had twenty-five thousand pages in it. By comparison, it was half the thickness of a standard dictionary back in his world. There was something fuckey going on with this book. Real wizard shit.
Walker skipped a few pages and read the title at the top of the page.
Attaching the Bounty system to individual entities
“Alright, fair enough.” He skipped toward the end, scrolling through until he found another chapter title.
Reputation: The ill seeds of unearned tales
“Cool turn of phrase,” He said, closing the book. He wasn’t here to read twenty-five thousand pages. Instead, he would use a skill he’d chosen over many others. Something that should pay dividends for the rest of his life, however long that may be.
Walker clicked into his overlay and tried to find the Universal Translator. Of course, it was near the bottom of his eclectic system-granted abilities. When he clicked on it, it asked if he’d like to change the name to Omniversal Translator, stating it would do so for the Communication system in both versi at no cost. Walker chewed on it, then decided not to. He’d already changed a lot for everyone, it was better just to leave this one be.
He looked at the Extract’s description.
The Extract upgrade:
An upgrade to the Universal Translator, this ability allows the esteemed member of the Order to scan documents and extract them in their entirety.
Warning: There is a pain threshold attached to this ability. The greater the threshold, the more that can be extracted at once. Further expansion of the mind, or Primordial limits, will raise the threshold accordingly.
Walker noticed two things right away. The first was it was talking about an expanded mind.
But how did one expand the mind? Could it have something to do with strands? Consciousness or something along those lines, maybe? He knew he didn’t have one, at least, not to his knowledge. He’d have to keep thinking about it.
The second thing he noticed were the words Primordial limits. Walker reached back in his memory. Primordial energy, of course, he knew well. But this was the second time he’d seen it spoken of differently. Finding the memory and placing it in a new category for Omniversal information, Walker focused on what the Cosmic Life Engine’s A.I. had said.
It had called him a Primordial human. Was that because he was a lower life-form? No, it couldn’t be, or Primordial energy wouldn’t have such an impact across the versi.
It was something powerful, that was assuredly true.
Walker thought back to his closest interaction with Primordial energy, the collider. That was where he’d gotten the Origin from. The same material that Alma had implanted in all of the gods.
Right now, he was in the third stage. From the talk of the Primigenials, he had thought that the fourth stage was the last. But he didn’t think so anymore. Maybe that was just as far as they’d been able to go. With his own infusion into them, it was likely that their limits had been further raised from what they understood. Could Zeus hit the fifth tier now? Had he inadvertently started to empower all of the Primordials to higher levels?
He’d just wanted to remove the stain that Kwaya and Alma had left behind. But instead, he may have just created a bigger issue.
Always more to think about…
To counter that thought, he clicked on the Extract upgrade again and clicked on the book before him. It was time to test his limits and see if the third stage was high enough for this to work.
…Analyzing…
…
Warning:
The knowledge contained within is expansive. New terminology and concepts will challenge your current understanding of the world, strands, and your connection to both. Pain will occur at a higher level than you can adapt to.
It is suggested that you extract the information in pieces.
Another screen popped up.
100% Extract: Death likely
75% Extract: Death likely
50% Extract: Mental damage likely, information lost
25% Extract: Mental damage possible, information lost
10% Extract: Pain likely, Nominal retention
Please select from the options available:
“What would’ve happened if I wasn’t at the third stage? Two percent?”
Walker looked down at the book. There was no way it had twenty-five thousand pages in it. But even if it did, that was only…he did the math on his fingers… twenty-five hundred pages. How long would it take him to read that much? A couple of days? Instead of losing that, he could just click a button and have it downloaded into his brain. Pain would come, sure, but it wouldn’t be the first time he’d gone through a little pain to save time.
Making his decision, Walker clicked on ten percent and accepted.
The book glowed with a golden sheen in front of him, and as it did so, his own Book of Souls pulled itself from his chest, a black glow accompanying it. Walker’s back arched as something punched into his brain. It felt like that time he’d had two shots of tequila after already being drunk on vodka. Thoughts and images cascaded around, other people’s writing and conjectures feeding into different parts of his brain. It felt like small parts of him were being pushed down. Important memories. Critical moments. Valerie.
His mental catalog, which he had now spent a good amount of time building, was being pulled apart by a third-party ability that had no qualms about what was important to it. When it finally stopped, Walker heard a voice speaking in the background.
“Walker, are you okay?” A small rumbling came out, Walker’s barely lucid mind recognizing that Ulysses’s voice had better pitch control than before.
A throbbing pain echo’d from multiple parts of his skull just as he tried to speak. It was as if his catalog was getting an update, only one put together by the worst programmer in the world. He was greatly worried about what he had now lost just to save this relatively small amount of time.
As he slowly recovered and sorted the new information into his brain, new thoughts and combinations appeared unbidden. The consciousness strand, which he’d only used a little in the past, had a whole new range of capabilities he’d never considered. As did Soul Constructs…..and potential energy. He’d barely even touched potential energy, but as it appeared in his mind, different combinations reached out and spoke to him. Guided him. Told him that everything he’d been doing was not only blind but dangerous.
Another combination made the connection, and Walker reached out a hand, placing a small amount of kinetic energy in it.
“Walker, what are you doing now?”
“It’s okay, man. I…absorbed a big book. It had a lot of stuff in it that’s going to help us out.”
“Okay. But how do you know they weren’t lying to you?”
Walker stopped after moving kinetic to his left hand, “You think they’d lie?”
“I think everyone lies, Walker.”
That was a worrying thought. How did he know that the Omniverse wasn’t just fucking with him? It wasn’t too long ago that he’d said no to the Supreme A.I. just because he thought it was a trap. But still, he….felt, that this was right. But could he trust his feelings? Or was that just the extract fucking with him? It was a worrying proposition and one he didn’t like to consider. The parts that he had lost in the extract, were those the parts that protected him from making bad choices? He didn’t know.
As Walker started to worry about the ramifications of what had just happened, the Book of Souls floated into his eyeline and opened up its pages to one sheathed in green—his own. His eyes found the page, and like a thirsty man in an oasis, he drank in the pages it was showing. A moment with Valerie at a park as they watched a bunch of kids playing on a swing set.
A psychology class that focused on understanding teens and all of the hormonal changes they go through during puberty.
That time he’d watched Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World and decided it was his favorite movie ever.
Each memory re-inserted into Walker’s mind as he looked through each page. When he pulled out of it, he looked at his Icon, floating in front of him. It warmed up a little.
“You held onto my memories, didn’t you?”
The Book of Souls sent over a simple image. One of Walker looking in the mirror as he prepped for a speech. Only one word came over, “Yes.”
That time, it didn’t even hurt his head. Not that he could tell with the dull throb the extract had left behind. Walker gave a weak smile, “Thank you. I appreciate you looking out for me.” It warmed up again and slotted itself back into his chest.
Feeling better about not losing himself, he combed through the combinations that were coming to him. Anytime a new thought appeared, he shifted his mental catalog, pushing it into the Omniversal category, with a label marked Frayish. Each combination presumably had something to do with the Bounty system, although he still wasn’t sure what. He’d assumed the ten percent mark would allow him to absorb it sequentially, from start to finish, but he didn’t think that’s what had happened.
Walker clicked on Extract again while still holding the manual in front of him.
100% Extract: Death likely
75% Extract: Death likely
50% Extract: Death likely
25% Extract: Death likely
10% Extract: Mental damage likely, information lost
Please wait until all information has been duly processed.
He snorted, then ducked his head as it caused the throb to explode in pain. Squinting one eye open through what felt like the world's worst brain freeze, he clicked on his inventory and found the option to absorb the manual back in.
Walker sighed as it disappeared from sight and temptation. If only ten percent gave him a bunch of ideas about how to better create strand combinations, one hundred percent would be powerful indeed.
As the throb ebbed, he wondered why they had strand combinations in a manual about a system. Considering it, he made a logical leap. His idea about combining strands into the skill system wasn’t unique. In fact, it may just be something that the Omniverse does as a matter of course. Again, Walker wasn’t breaking ground. Sure, he was in the Evolver verse, but not in the greater versi.
He gave a light laugh at himself.
Oh, poor Walker. You only made your own universe and created a civilization from nothing. Boohoo, you’re not special enough.
“Why are you now laughing? You were in pain a moment ago, yes?”
“I’m fine, Ulysses,” Walker said as he waved a hand to show he was okay.
“And the Kinetic energy?”
Walker looked down, just now remembering it was still there. Strange what you can get used to. He’d only put a few resources into it, and already it looked like it had faded. The energy wasn’t sparking as fast as it normally was.
Interesting
Not wanting to waste the resources, he considered again if he could trust the combination. It seemed straightforward enough. Kinetic plus Dimensionality. What could go wrong? He laughed again, then stopped as the throb returned. Looking out at the darkness, he waited on the throb again, then explained his experiment to Ulysses so he wouldn’t be caught unaware.
“I see. Yes. I believe, from my own limited understanding of those two strands, that this should work. I….feel it.”
Walker nodded, “Me too. So, we ready?”
“We are.”
With the approval of the one being who might be more affected than Walker himself, he began. Holding Kinetic energy in his left hand, Walker took Dimensionality in his right. This was the first time he’d be testing what would happen when combining strands from different strand categories—Dimensionality from Cosmic, and Kinetic from Energy.
Remembering how much pressure it took to create the double strands in the past, Walker took them both and immediately brought them together. This wasn’t just a test of combining strands across categories, but also a small test of reliability in the information he’d just extracted from the manual. Both had major implications moving forward, and he needed to see if what they’d taught him was true.
Dimensionality and Kinetic should make gravity. But whether that was going to happen or not was still up in the air, as pushing the two strands together was…impossible. Neither strand wanted to work with the other. It wasn’t like it was when combining the doubles of the past. They just bounced off of each other, rather than the small connections he’d felt during his Cosmic testing.
While Walker’s face turned red from the effort, Ulysses spoke up, “Walker, would you like some help?”
“Help…how…” Walker got out through ground teeth. He couldn’t let up the pressure, as he wasn’t sure what would happen if they disjointly combined.
Suddenly, Walker felt an enormous pressure descend on both of his hands. It felt like a god had grabbed his arms and pushed them together.
“Just a little help.”
The Space around Walker’s hands seemed to crack, small tears appearing in space as Ulysses calmly said, “Whoopsie daisie,” just before Walker’s hands met in the middle.
Two things happened then. The strands combined, Walker feeling great pressure from the now double strand sitting in front of him. The other thing that happened was the reason it was sitting in front of him instead of in the palm of his hand. Both of his hands had shattered from the pressure, and a great amount of blood now leaked blood into the darkness covering him.
“FUCK!”
“I said whoopsie daisy,” Ulysses not so contritely responded, “it's your fault for being so…breakable.” The tears in space around him disappeared a moment later, “See. I learned how to fix tears in my own body; you should do the same.”
Looking at his mangled hands while trying to hold back a scream, Walker then looked up at space, “You’re kind of an asshole.” He said through gritted teeth to keep from screaming. His eyes found the double strand again. It looked like nothing less than a rotating ball of energy, its lightning form changed to an orange gas. The fringes of its coloring tapered off into white as it continued to move in heavy circles, seeming to dance with itself in an empty universe.
He felt as it started to take a greater hold on him, dragging him towards it. “Fuck me, I’m not going to be able to put this in my resources.”
“Then don’t,” Walker felt as Ulysses seemed to shrug. “It will be good for me to study it. Here,” the double strand looked like it was gently slapped, and a moment later, it flew out to the darkness of Ulysses' body. “Now you don’t have to worry about it.”
Walker sighed as his painful work floated out to the emptiness, “Well…shit.”
“It seems that your manual was right.” He paused, “What else did it talk about?”
Walker waited until a few of his fingers fixed themselves, the joints painfully straightening as he held his hands to his chest. Breathing a sigh of relief at the pain lessening even a little, he looked up, “It talked about different methods for expanding system A.I. I thought, if we could do it for system A.I., couldn’t we do it for you as well?”
“What do you mean?”
“What I mean is,” Walker said, holding for a second as another bone slotted itself correctly, “How would you like to be my guide?”
