System Access

The Network

    Xakep and Videa's network hummed with energy, constantly moving along the new leylines, supplying much needed energy to the house and, now organized and focused, energizing the area between the Halls and home.  Further analysis of the Faith energy revealed that this kind of energy had a revitalizing effect on the space it occupied, which explained how it kept Enes's body together for so long.  It also bolstered the strength and vitality of the living beings that it touched, bringing a horde of people looking to be healed and learn to fight.

    The wandering monks of the Halls received these benefits as well, connected by their faith, and spread the news of the new effects of the area around their hometown.  Thousands flocked to the wide fields between the Halls and the House, building camps that slowly began to be developed into a new large town.  

    When it became clear that this would be a new permanent settlement, Xakep went before the people and let them know that settling there would put them under his rule, and explained what that entailed.

    "I have no intention of ruling from the shadows or hiding," he said floating gently before them, held aloft through careful management of his gravity and a method of controlling the air pressure around him that had been suggested by Enes.

    "If you stay here, your town will become a part of our network, joining with our energy reserves and sharing your energy and knowledge.  Videa and I," he gestured to Videa, standing next to him with a serious look on her face, "managed to take the Halls of Enes without a single fight, but in the future, this may not be the case.  The time may come that I will have to call on any or all of the people within our network, and at those times, I expect that call to be answered."

    The people of the new town, still unnamed, murmured among themselves and someone shouted, "What do we get?!"

    "Being part of the network means that a portion of your energy will automatically be collected and used for projects and efforts, as well as stored for later use, and in return, your energies will be strengthened as we grow, meaning better health, stronger magic and more technology as we advance.  Your knowledge and wisdom will also be made available to the system for use as necessary, and you'll gain access to our information as well, similar to how it will work with energy.  My research also shows that some of you will have hidden potential made available to you, growing exponentially stronger than you may have expected, but that research is ongoing."

    Videa waved her hand and a massive screen appeared showing a local map with the area affected by the network and new leylines glowing a gentle blue.

    "Anywhere within the glowing space is part of our network now," Videa said firmly.  "Any town you build will become what we call a Server in the network, functioning as Xakep mentioned earlier.  Additionally, as we gather wealth, you'll also see that reflected within your town accounts, and as we gather physical resources like metals, food and fluids, you'll see a portion of that available to you in addition to whatever you gather."

    "So what do you all think," Xakep asked, looking out over the crowd.

    The crowd chattered among themselves quietly, slowly increasing to a gentle roar, as thousands of people slowly came to the same conclusion.

    Abruptly the roar came to a dead silence as a single, elderly man slowly walked out, standing up straighter as he did.

    "We have a single question," he said, his voice so quiet that Xakep had to strain to hear him.

    Videa stepped forward, her expression softening as she did, and asked, "And what is that?"

    "There is no mystery to us who and what you are.  It is clear that you are User and System, and in our day, Users across Seles wield their power wantonly, destroying as they see fit and taking what they want with no concern for the world around them.  What assurance do we have that you will not become the tyrants they have become?"

    Videa gasped slightly at this.

    She'd known that her siblings had chosen people with dominating tendencies, people who would conquer and fight to be the strongest...but wanton destruction?  What was the meaning of this?

    A reassuring mental touch came from Xakep as he gently landed in front of the old man and asked, "Do you speak for these people, sir?"

    He nodded and responded, "Yes.  I have known a great many of these people over my long years, and I have seen much of the destruction and chaos that they seek to escape."

    Xakep nodded and asked, "What can I call you?"

    "I am called Father now, though I have been called Elo in the past."

    Xakep opened his palm and a screen with a town charter appeared in front of Father.  Laws, roughly rounded to equality and peace scrolled along the screen, with a new law appearing at the bottom of that list.    

    "If it is so deemed that my rule has become legitimately unjust and begins to unduly damage the people who rely on me, the network will drain me of my power and end my life," Xakep said somberly.

    Father's eyes widened and before he could speak, Xakep said, "In the past you were called Elo...but in my past, I was unknown...subject to oppression and control, victim to my own foolishness and the unceasing march of progress as well.  You'll notice that Videa is not surprised by this, or objecting."

    Videa nodded and walked to Xakep, putting her hand on his arm as he said, "Before I met her, I was nothing.  Nobody needed me or expected anything from me.  What I want to do is beyond ambitious, fraught with peril and will put people in danger...but I believe that in addition to it being what I need to do, it will be better for people around the world.  A unified world can grow in ways that a collection of conflicting nations simply can not.  That means that the risk to me must be equal or greater than the risk I must ask of the people who put their trust in us."

    Father looked at Xakep, studying him up and down and said, "You are...not like the others.  You shine with the power...but you do not revel in it...it does not control you."

    Father's eyes glowed a gentle silver for a moment and he said, "My magic has been declining over the years...but I trust it enough to know that you, despite your youth and inexperience, are a person worth trusting."    

    "Thank you."

    Father touched the screen and it glowed brightly as the charter was accepted, the name of the new town flickered into existence.

    "With this, the town of Imerium is hereby established," Father said.

    As the town charter was signed, Xakep felt the town's energy and knowledge, begin to form along the network, a massive new server appearing, instantly changing the energy distribution and growing the network greatly.  

    An additional server appeared, connected to Imerium, but not part of it.

    Father smirked at Xakep and his thoughts brushed against Xakep's mind.

    "It would seem that User's have a slightly different experience on your network, young man."

    David's thoughts came racing in, "Father?!  You're alive!"

    Father smiled widely and warmly and thought, "David!  By the gods, boy, I am glad to see you are still alive as well!"

    Xakep, shocked to find out that Father was a User, looked at Videa, only to see that she was more shocked than he was.

    "Galan," she thought, hope ringing through her mind.

    "Hello sister," the thought came back, gentle and warm.

    Father and David began talking directly to each other, their thoughts private and separate from Xakep, but Galan spoke to them, "You always said you'd get him...it seems you may have outmaneuvered us all."

    Videa smiled shyly and thought, "It was never about outmaneuvering you...I just knew that Xakep was the only User for me."    

    A tall man in a butler's suit stepped silently from the crowd and walked up to them, thinking, "It would seem so.  Just in time if I might say so, as well."

    Videa nodded and asked, "What's going on, Nehrgan?  Is it true what Father said, about the others destroying and ruling in cruelty?"

    Nehrgan nodded sadly and thought, "Around thirty years ago...something changed.  A powerful energy from the west began...changing many of us.  There are some of us still in control of their faculties...but many of our siblings have been painfully altered by something incredibly powerful...far stronger than even MC01.  It drove many to begin warring uncontrollably with each other...and there are so many areas that are simply ruins now.  The world is massive...but with over eighty of our strongest siblings going all out to destroy each other?  Who knows how long it will last."

    "I noticed that energy before we took the Halls," Xakep said, gently touching his chin as Nehrgan did the same, both of them in thought.

    "What's out that far west," Videa asked, watching them closely.

    "As far as Father and I have found, nothing.  The far west reaches are all encased in magical ice that stretches down for miles...but something is out there, even if we can't find it," Nehrgan said, his eyes narrowing at the memory of traveling out to the west.

    "How difficult would it be to get back there," Xakep asked.

    "Not difficult at all.  I established a doorway there, so all we'd need to do is create another one dedicated to traveling there," Father said aloud, not wanting to interrupt his conversation with David.

    At the mention of 'doorways' Xakep took a look internally to see if he could access that ability as well, pleasantly surprised to find that he could.  

    Nehrgan noticed that and said, "The doors I...we make can only be opened if a receiving and a sending door are created.  Do you have a place we could set that up?"

    Videa motioned with her hand and the House began forming both a new room for Father and Nehrgan, but also a hallway that could be dedicated to doorways under the house where the cave had been, figuring that it would be safer to have it underground in case something...dangerous came through.

    Xakep waited for her to finish and responded, "We do now."

    Watching the four people stand in total silence, occasionally gesturing to each other, the crowd began to fidget and then began to disperse, continuing the work of building the town and establishing the structures that the town charter had informed them they would need to build to take advantage of the network properly.  

    Sounds of hammering and sawing became prevalent and before long it was as if the town had always been there, with adults working and children playing in the streets, dreading the next day at class, learning things that they'd never learned before.

    When they were building the town charter, Xakep and Videa had agreed that an extensive set of courses from Earth would be a good choice, with necessary courses based on the various things that were unique to Seles like magic and the function of energy in the world.  

    With Imerium and the Halls firmly functioning and growing steadily, the time had come to begin looking toward the future and a newly formed boardroom in a separate building on the dedicated space for the House functioned well as a place for the Users and Systems to gather and discuss what the next steps would be.

    A table of solid marble held dozens of sheets of paper and screens, all dedicated to analyzing data and notes.

    Xakep sat at the head of the table, alone save for Videa, and rubbed the bridge of his nose, getting frustrated.       

    With two additional Users with them, he was hoping they'd be able to start making some more definitive moves, but there were two problems.    

    David was simply not strong enough to do the kind of traveling that would be necessary for reconnaissance, and despite the fact that he was well liked across Seles, Father needed to stay and run the town.

    Videa gently rubbed his shoulders and said, "You know...our original plan still works...and now that we've got the additional resources and energy, we might be able to take one of the other two towns a little more easily if we're careful."

    Massaging his stress away, her hands and mind soothed him enough to see that she was right and that he was just getting overly focused on trying to put the Users in a position to do something.

    "If we give David some time to learn how to use his power without having to fight just to deal with basic survival, he could possibly be incredibly powerful...and Father has enough wisdom and knowledge to be a valuable resource in the position he's in now," she said, hugging him gently from behind.

    Xakep nodded and said, "You're right...you're right.  I'm just getting ahead of myself.  There is one thing I'm going to need Father for though."

    "The energy from the west," Videa responded quietly, worried for him.

    "I definitely can't take David with me...and if its as dangerous as we all think, I can't go alone," he said, sighing gently.

    "If we can take a reasonable amount of some of that magic, we might be able to observe that energy without taking too much risk," she said softly.

    "Then that's the plan for now...I don't want to put the rest of our plans too far behind that, but I think we need to give this some priority...we don't want something dangerous to spring up unannounced right as we're about to finish things," he answered, leaning his head into her shoulder.