Anna
Anna and the others in her group all saw the system messages within their minds. Before anyone had a chance to react, they were blinded by a deep red light. Anna felt her body begin to slip away, or perhaps it was her mind. Her senses were stripped one by one until all that remained of her was a single point. Her new body, a mere speck of dust in a vacuum of information, fell until it felt a current begin to pull it along. As she moved through the current, her sense of touch began to expand. She felt thousands, billions, and then trillions of other specks float along with her.
Several specks began to vibrate with Anna’s, each oscillation bringing them closer towards the edges of the current. They were deposited into what felt like an ice cold bucket of water, jolting Anna back to reality. She was still in the forest clearing, except she was now alone. No signs that she, or anyone else, had once been there were left.
“Welcome Ms. Pand!” Anna heard from behind her. Turning around she was faced with a clone of herself. If Anna couldn’t still see and feel all of her usual bits, she would have assumed that she was having an out-of-body experience. Her clone wore the same loose fitting brown pants that Anna was, but her shirt was a sleeveless black tunic, while Anna’s was full-sleeved and white. “Don’t worry, I only look like you in order to facilitate a quicker learning experience. It helps put a candidate at ease to see themselves reflected by me.” the clone said.
“Sure, but what actually are you? An illusion? Or shapeshifter? Maybe you’re just a hallucination and I’m currently high? Also, what was with that current? Were those all people?”
The clone seemed unfazed by Anna’s questions until she mentioned the current. “You experienced the stream! How much did you see?” It interrupted Anna’s questioning to ask one of its own, then, it changed its mind and resumed its friendly demeanor. “Nevermind, this is a good sign. I’m glad that I’m getting better at selecting candidates. I’m The System. Your body is still in the forest, although your soul is missing, currently, an artificial soul is keeping you upright during your integration process. Your soul, here with me, is in a place of my own creation, specifically designed to bring in and integrate new souls and guide them during their crash course. Think of me as your mentor!”
“Great, you can tell me why you’re holding us hostage. My husband and I were promised that we’d be here together, yet clearly, he’s not here. Why the hell are you locking knowledge of where he is through your quest conditions?”
“Unfortunately, the conditions of this crash course limit the information I may give out.” The System’s voice, for the first time, lacked any inflection and sounded monotone.
Ah damn, it’s some prerecorded crap. In order to confirm her suspicions, Anna asked, “So did you set these limits on yourself?”
“Unfortunately, the conditions of this crash course limit the information I may give out.”
“Can I be told what I’m allowed to ask? I’m taking stabs in the dark here.”
“Unfortunately, the conditions of this crash course limit the information I may give out.”
How is this in any way helpful? This is just cult brainwashing with extra steps. “The only information you shall receive is what I deem you worthy enough to receive, peasant.” What a load of…
“If you have no further questions, please confirm your desire to begin your first crash course in Dharma and start on your integration process. Please know that during integration, you may experience severe headaches.”
“Do I have a choice here? Can I refuse?”
“Sadly, integration cannot begin without your confirmation.”
“So… if I don’t consent, then nothing will happen? Do we just stay here for eternity?”
“Eventually, your quest timer will run out and death will occur as your soul is currently not connected to your body.”
“Why is my ‘confirmation' even necessary then? Couldn’t you have just forced this information into my brain?”
“Great question! You are, now that you have entered this universe, a Karmic being. Your actions, and your choices, are yours and yours alone. The choice to act must be taken by a willing soul.”
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What an exhaustingly long explanation, just say, “free will,” and be done with it. “So I can choose pain or death. How is that in any way a meaningful choice?”
“I do not believe that you were ever promised meaning in the choices offered to you. Simply that you will have a choice.”
Sighing heavily, Anna resigned herself to what was probably either a painful and confusing information dump, or a painful and useless informational seminar. “Yeah, go ahead. You have my permission.”
“Fantastic! Welcome to your first crash course on Dharma. Please seat yourself comfortably as this may take some time.” As the System began speaking, a large velvet lounge chair appeared by Anna’s side.
Sitting down, Anna felt her mind become hazy, a slight throb of pain began at the base of her spine and moved towards the crown of her head. Strange, if my real body is elsewhere, why am I still feeling pain? Do nerves not matter or exist here? The origin of the System’s voice split, coming from every cardinal direction.
We are currently in the 103,119th universe. Your body was transported to a newly formed world, roughly 100 times larger than the planet ‘Earth’ you came from. Your former universe had only weak ties to Dharma and The Divine and thus, you were never properly integrated.
Dharma is universally applicable, personally achieved, and eternally present. Some describe Dharma as universal law, what IS and what will BE. Others believe Dharma is the defining of how one ought to live, the morals, values, duties, and responsibilities of all Karmic beings. You may believe either, as they are both equally correct and insufficient. Throughout your life, through your perpetual pursuit of enlightenment, you will come to define and understand Dharma on your own terms. It may be useful to think of it, for now, as acting in accordance with your goals or journey towards enlightenment.
To fulfill your Dharma is a short term and long term endeavor. For example, a woodsman may complete her Dharma by fulfilling her obligation towards the town she trades with giving them wood, in return for some sort of compensation. However, her Dharma can also be completed by teaching an apprentice her methods, thus ensuring that the supply of wood remains uninterrupted after her passing, as well as her responsibility. Ultimately, Dharma may be served in a variety of ways that rely, in part, on your interpretation of your duties and responsibilities, and also on what the universe demands of you.
As the System, it is my duty to help guide and support you in your pursuit of Dharma. Occasionally, I will provide you and other Karmic beings with quests, obstacles, and rewards that reflect your Dharma. The quests themselves are not Dharma, as that is not something in my, nor anyone else's control. The completion or failure of my quests may provide a measure of completed Dharma, although the word ‘measure’ ought to be taken with a grain of salt. Dharma is not something passed or failed, but judged on a relative scale. As you pursue your Dharma, you will be rewarded, or punished through Karma.
Alright, painful and confusing it is then. Anna tried opening her mouth to ask questions, but her muscles didn’t respond. The pain in her head amplified every time she focused intently on the words of the system, forcing her to take a passive approach. Her tongue sagged, and she was thankful that she was at least sitting straight up, so that she didn’t choke on it. The system continued droning on and on about the purpose of Dharma and quests, often contradicting itself or providing examples that came with dozens of exceptions, further muddling the point. After several hours of torture, The System granted her a brief respite.
This concludes our Dharmic crash course. We will now begin our Karmic crash course.
Not even a damn minute to get my bearings.
Karma is a reflection of one’s success and failure in fulfilling one’s Dharma. When Dharma is successfully fulfilled, you receive Karmic points, shortened to simply Karma. The relative success or failure of your Dharma is reflected in how many, or how little Karma you receive. Karma can be spent on a number of different things. The first, is the improvement of your Karmic vessel, or being. The next is the gaining of new skills related to your path and vocation. Finally, on the creation of new skills by fusing or evolving existing skills.
Karma can also be lost as a punishment for failing your Dharma or going against your path. In the event of a Karmic deficit, there are increasing and random punishments that may befall you. Some common punishments are: loss of stats, loss of skills, or increasing difficulty in quests.
In order to help support you, all Karmic beings have access to a status menu that can be viewed during meditation. You can use this menu to view quests, spend Karma, and obtain new skills.
The rest of the crash course blurred into itself as the pain Anna went to increased in sync with her anger. The Systems ramblings now simply contained pointless tips on maintaining good Karma such as: Be an upstanding citizen! Do the right thing! Don’t kill excessively! Hold the fuck on, what the hell does it mean by ‘excessively?’ Is there an appropriate amount of killing? Wouldn’t having good karma automatically entail not harming people? Anna realized then that the System was purposely omitting key information. Am I supposed to figure it out on my own? Is that meant to be part of my Dharma? That’s so….
System Alert:
Gain a deeper understanding of life!
Dharma fulfilled, Karma increased by 1!
The system paused in its explanation to stare in smug satisfaction at Anna. You have already begun to understand your Dharmic path! Congratulations! A good student is often a reflection of a great teacher so I am not too surprised. As you have already shown your ability in understanding the basics of Karma, we will move on.
We have now concluded your Karmic crash course! For our final course, we will wait until your integration has completed to begin some hands-on training.