Now I was completely lost.
It was thirteen years later, in the universe I’d created. The expedition had returned, to a tearful and happy reunion. Tastka’s friends were changed, some scarred, and they brought back some tales that seem amazing.
But was that worth doubling the input again? Was something else going on here that I was missing? That feeling that I’d forgotten something gnawed at me again… tickled the back of my mind.
I’d known that a quest to go somewhere would generate energy, but this much? It seemed like a pittance compared to the ten thousand I’d started with, but it was a huge amount when I considered that the boost was all elf-driven… and all three subspecies still numbered only several hundred thousand. Less than a million was a pittance, which is one reason why they hadn’t spread very far.
The dwarves grew slowly as well, but they had entirely different constraints. My core-eaters and insects? They were exploding. Despite a much later start, they were each already passing the elves in population. By the time their cultures started stabilizing and diversifying, they’d probably be well over the million mark.
I’d been expecting this. I ‘clicked’ the approval and turned to face the door with a sigh. I wanted and didn’t want this meeting, but it was time to get some questions answered.
Again with the perception filter. Once more, the smartly-dressed office lady strode into the room, carrying the omnipresent clipboard. It belatedly occurred to me that this might be how I was viewing her interface, even though she didn’t seem to consult it often.
“You don’t look surprised to see me,” Orpheus said, and I saw the faintest hint of a smile. Did I imagine that?
I crossed my arms. “I figured with the spike in energy production, you’d want to take a closer look.” I paused and tilted my head. “Are you sure you need that perception filter? I handled Diamon just fine. And does it include a scale filter?”
Orpheus tsked and clasped her clipboard in front of her, tugging it to her chest. “Indeed. Let us cover the perception filter first. I do not need a scale filter, because my native geometry simply does not interact with your own in the same way. You might say I am the ideal size for interaction in whatever space I am in.”
She tapped the back of her clipboard lightly. “This also explains why I still use the perception filter. Once you are of higher rank, you may be able to grasp my true form. However, my native form is from outside the Cluster, so it does not conform to very many baseline assumptions of your own experience.”
One hand lifted to adjust her glasses as the High Administrator looked me over. “Fortunately for you, I have been an Administrator in this Cluster long enough that I am familiar with your geometry, and can take this form easily enough. I do wonder at the aesthetic choices your mind makes, though.”
That was an interesting mini-lecture, and I filed that info away for later. Orpheus hadn’t explicitly said she took over, but telling me she was from another cluster was an offhand comment I hadn’t expected.
“Now, on to the major topic to discuss,” Orpheus continued, unaware of my thoughts. “I never thought I would say this, but your abnormally high energy generation, if it continues, could be… problematic.”
My thoughts ground to an abrupt halt. “Wait, what? It’s too much? Am I about to cross another Administrator Rank too early or something? I thought you wanted high energy output?”
Orpheus wrapped her arms around her clipboard and sighed. “Yes, we do, but yours is behaving… strangely. Initially, I thought that this surge was another fluke and a temporary condition. Such things are not a concern. But Diamon’s report, and my own analysis, show something else is going on. You’re creating at least ten times the amount of energy you should be for this population level. That is something that could save the cluster, but the early explosion is something I’m not sure we are ready for yet.”
I held up my hands and lashed my tail in agitation, letting out a breath. “Okay, slow down and back up. I think we need to tackle this a little at a time, because now you’re confusing me. First, I’m making more than expected? I thought I was behind schedule.”
The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
A mildly annoyed gesture with the clipboard had Orpheus waving off to the side. “You both are and aren’t. You were making more than expected for your population size, but at this stage your population should be quite a bit larger than it is. Half the species you made are slow to propagate, and those are also the first ones. It would have been far more efficient to have made them multiply faster, then you’d be getting even more.”
That, I couldn’t argue with. I flinched, because I’d come to the same conclusion not that long ago, but now it was risky to add more because of the Reality Point costs. If I’d thought things through better before, I’d be rolling in points, wouldn’t I?
“While I am critiquing your design,” Orpheus continued. “Your division of the world into two halves is interesting, but not very productive early on. I’m sure when they finally do make contact, the two halves will produce an explosion of energy, but at this early stage you need everything you can get. The concept was good, but usually it’s better to try something like that when you have more experience.”
“Hold up,” I protested, and did indeed hold up a hand. “I appreciate that now, but didn’t you want new ideas? And speaking of that-” I cut myself off. “No, that can wait. Let’s stay on topic. For now, my two questions are…”
I held up one finger. “Why am I making so much energy?”
A second finger went up. “Why is this a bad thing?”
That got Orpheus to pause, then release another sigh. “Yes, I do apologize. We have a lot to talk about.”
She turned and flicked her hand at my single empty wall, causing an overhead view of world to appear. This wasn’t like my interface, it was more like a fancy overhead projector, but it worked to demonstrate as she zoomed in on the part where the elves lived.
“This is where your boost comes from… for now,” she explained. “Soon enough, the rest will also provide more energy, but you’ve gotten a massive boost that is compounding now.”
She made another gesture, and symbols appeared above the half-tube she’d zoomed in on. I recognized them as some of the symbols the Calen used for writing. Tastka had learned to read them, but the nomadic tribes had yet to really invent administrative bureaucracy, so they mostly used them to mark areas and shelters.
“As is common, you have already experienced an event known as the invention and spread of symbolical representation.” Orpheus looked at me. “This is something that generates a great amount of energy, because it is a Foundational Event. What that means is, it massively changes how a species interacts, and has a further compounding effect throughout the remaining history.”
Orpheus started to explain further, but I flicked my tail in annoyance. “No, I get that. The population is small, so the big boost isn’t all that big. But it keeps contributing steadily, as the population grows. There’s diminishing returns but it’s still something that slowly stacks up.”
“Good, yes,” Orpheus agreed, brushing away the symbols. “So what you have done is a little different, and it took me some time to understand. Your dragons make decisions that influence this system you have created, which gives you an unsteady boost in energy because that involvement is major.”
The entire population of elves lit up on the wall’s display, and she continued. “What I did not account for was obvious once I realized. This system is used by every sapient being, and the changes are propagated instantly. Every time a dragon changes or creates a new name, it has a ripple effect on the population for generations to come. Each one isn’t on the scale of the invention of symbolic representation, but how often do they do it?”
I started to shrug, then froze. “Hundreds, maybe thousands of times a cycle…”
Orpheus nodded. “Exactly. Even at a fraction of the return, it is a constantly-updated reference which is always being used by the entire population. This is why you were generating more than expected for your population size. Roughly twice as much as expected… but this is a compounding effect in more ways than one.”
Now, she moved to the wall and traced a finger along the route Fisk had lead the group along. It snaked through elf territory, then to the edge of the continent, followed the coast, found a land bridge, and continued on in that manner for the entire trip to the dividing mountains… then back.
“It is not unusual for an early civilization to make an exploratory trip,” she explained. “However it is rarely of this difficulty and magnitude. Nevertheless, people tell the tales of these journeys and the strange sights found there, and it forms the basis of heroic myth. Not the first one, in this case, but the most grand.”
I scratched at an ear base, staring at the route in puzzlement. “Yeah, I expected to get some energy from it, but not that much. Are you saying it’s because it is becoming a heroic myth?”
Orpheus shook her head. “No… but also yes.” She tapped the origin point of the journey. “Your Quest system multiplied it greatly. The trip was not done out of necessity, but by a direct, deliberate choice. One which rewarded the dragon, and in turn those who took the journey. This journey also developed more abilities, which needed named as well, and all of that is directly linked to this Quest.”
She moved her finger back and forth between the origin – where the dragon had issued the quest – and the end point. After doing this a few times, she dismissed the image and turned to me.
“You created a feedback, as this naming then introduced new names to the entire culture, as they too began to spread and encounter greater challenges.” She clasped her clipboard to her chest again. “That foundational moment caused huge ripples, further reinforcing it and adding more importance to it.”
Orpheus heaved a sigh. “You made so many mistakes, and not a single decision lead to this… but blindly, you stumbled upon something that multiplied your return.”
I wasn’t sure this was correct. It seemed to me that while the quest might incentivize people to do things, it shouldn’t have that great an impact. Yet if that is what Orpheus thought, then it gave me what I needed. A little leverage.
“Wasn’t that the point of you throwing me into the deep end without a life jacket?” I asked. “Your whole plan was gambling on me doing exactly this. And now you’re telling me it’s – what was the word? – problematic?”
Orpheus shuffled and frowned, and she looked distinctly uncomfortable. It was a very human expression, and it made me wonder how good this perception filter was, to translate that… especially since I wasn’t even in a human shape.
“Yes, well,” she finally mumbled, pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose. “That… that would be my fault. I made a small miscalculation…” She took a breath. “In the long run, it may save us. In the short run… it draws the wrong kind of attention.”
Wonderful.
What is Reality?