Matthias pushed his father’s wheelchair along the canal, warm rays of the sun fading as the glowing orb slid beneath the horizon. Some leaves fell from the trees, the first of that year, and he sighed, looking upwards.
“Father, what should I do now? I’ve taken care of you all my life,” He choked on his words, closing his eyes briefly, “I don’t know if I’m ready to go off on my own, to make my mark on the world.”
Matthias paused, waiting for a response as the air temperature began to drop. He scratched his tanned arms, clenching the handles of the wheelchair tighter for a moment.
“I’ve taken your lessons to heart father, I know what you meant, I understand what you believe is right, and I believe it too. Ever since mother died, it opened my eyes to the reality of the world, to the people who live and suffer at the hands of others, and I want to stop this.” Matthias stared forwards, his pace increasing as he nodded to himself, “I will help those in need, but I don’t know how, I need a plan father, and you were always the one who came up with the best. Without you,”
Matthias came to a sudden stop, hunching over slightly as tears threatened to escape, “Without you,” he grit his teeth, choking on his words once more, “Without you father, I’m lost. I don’t know the way forward.” Standing straight, he paused, straightening the crumples in his shirt. “I will find a way though, you will be proud of me father, I promise.”
Matthias looked down into the empty wheelchair, and his tears began to flow. He began to sob, quietly so as not to disturb the peace by the canal. Shaking, he lent on the wheelchair, before collapsing to the grass. Ignoring the evening damp he lay there, tears leaving salt on his face as they dried.
It grew dark and Matthias began to shiver, and was shocked out of his grief by the sudden chill. He pushed himself upright and was about to stand when a voice echoed along the river.
“Beginning transfer of Sol-Three to Parallax system zero-one-one.”
He paused, weight on his hands, frowning, he briefly thought someone was trying some kind of social experiment, but he shook his head muttering to himself, “I don’t have time for anything like that.”
“Connection to Parallax established and locked, initialising interface for native species.”
A shock, like when he had brushed a live wire as a child, ran though his brain, and blue light blinded him for a second before his eyes adjusted. Matthias couldn’t bring himself to believe it, a blue screen hovered in the air in front of him.
Welcome to the Parallax Interface system.
Your planet is currently being transferred into the Parallax, an extra dimensional universe that acts as a sanctuary for planets and their inhabitants.
This transfer will complete in:
00:01:13
Matthias barked out a laugh, and spoke aloud to the air, “I can’t believe I’m losing my mind so soon, I’m only nineteen.” He smiled grimly, “I’m sorry father, it looks like I won’t be able to complete what we had planned.”
He closed his mouth and slumped back into the grass, the blue screen resolutely moving so that he could still see it. The timer slowly ticked down to zero, and Matthias’ mind began to wander, did the screen mean there would be aliens?
At zero the screen disappeared and the sky blurred, the stars fading and being replaced by a dark navy blue before finishing as a purple so dark it was nearly black. A bright light pierced through the darkness, followed by another, returning day light to the world.
Matthias gasped at the two suns in the sky, and clasped a hand over his mouth as a massive moon slowly passed into his field of vision. His shock was replaced with horror as he realised the planet really had been moved, before he could process any thoughts, the blue screen returned.
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Congratulations sentients of Sol-Three! Your planet is now safely within the Parallax and you have been granted limited access the Interface system.
Confirm?
He scanned the message, it confirmed his previous thoughts, but he was still confused as to the Interface system. He reached out towards the ‘Confirm’, resulting in the screen being replaced.
As you just discovered, you can interact with the Parallax through the Interface system, these screens, by physically manipulating or focusing your thoughts on them.
Next.
He focused on ‘Next’ with his mind, and the screen changed.
The Parallax quantifies every quality and skill you have into an intuitive interface, that allows you to manage your growing power easily.
Growing your power requires gaining Potential, an energy generated by a multitude of actions within the Parallax.
Next.
Matthias was stunned, mind whirring before he voiced his thoughts, “Am I simply a bunch of numbers, or data to this Parallax thing?” He felt a flutter of panic in his chest but forced it aside, moving to the next screen.
The Parallax will now analyse your body, soul and mind to produce a Status Summary.
Analysing…
Error.
Unexpected energies detected. Sol-3 analytics failed on Sol-3:01189998819991197253.
Requesting universal analytics.
Request granted.
Analysing…
Analysed
Generating Status Summary.
To view your Status Summary say or think ‘Status’.
Name: Matthias Jackson
Race: Human(Ascendant)/Void Elemental(Greater)
Strength: 6
Toughness: 6
Endurance: 6
Dexterity: 7
Creativity: 7
Logic: 5
Willpower: 7
Charisma: 8
Matthias closed his mouth, eyes flicking along the sentence, before deciding. “Status.”
He studied it for a few seconds, before his eyes widened in shock. According to the Parallax, he wasn’t completely human. A new screen replaced the Status Summary once he’d understood that, but he panicked, “No, no! Back! I need to see that again! Status! Status you stupid Parallax!”
The screens ignored him, continuing to show a new screen.
A series of Skills, Abilities and Traits have also been generated based on your mind, soul and body.
These can be viewed by saying the respective words once full Parallax Interface is unlocked.
Next.
He slumped, before gesturing at the screen to continue.
Your planet is currently in a grace period. Once this ends, full access to the Interface will be unlocked, Monsters will spawn, Dungeons will form and other species will be able to arrive on this planet.
Make sure to grow in power.
Grace Period:
00:13:13
Matthias watched the timer tick down in a state of shock, staring blankly forwards as he struggled to come to terms with this new reality. Two thoughts kept coming back.
“I’m not fully human? Did my father know, did you know father? Dad?” He faintly hoped for an answer, but his father was dead. Matthias paused, looking to the side as he realised something. “If this system somehow recognised what my other half is, a Void Elemental,” He rolled the words around his mouth, before nodding, “Perhaps I can find out where it comes from, within the Parallax.”