Allen was on mile six of his ten-mile run. He ran this route a couple times a week and had made a playlist that followed the route perfectly. He was feeling good, completely emersed in the flow of the run when his ex-wife’s ship logs and more importantly, a copy of The Code’s transmission was sent to his phone. The phone he just happened to have on him with the playlist so finely tuned to his run. The copy of The Code’s transmission seamlessly flowed from his phone, through his body and directly into the billions of nanites already spread throughout him. The Nanites were a part of Allen as they were a part of every material in the universe. Spread evenly throughout all matter in fractals of percentages, the Code’s nanites while inert, were omnipresent. The Tutorial activated and just like that Allen Myles became the first human to connect to The Code and by extension, the universe at large. The world disappeared for Allen and he froze midleap in his run.

“Hello, human. Please do not be alarmed. You have received a transmission of, The Code and passed the Effect Wrinkle Threshold, thus allowing you to begin your life as a User of, The Code. As such you have been automatically entered into, The Tutorial. Enjoy! And thanks for choosing, The Code.”

“Wha…” was all a now very confused and very naked Allen got out as he stumbled forward. He’d been running along a trail full of roots and large rocks. He was in the middle of leaping over one, expecting to land on a partially exposed boulder. Instead, his foot met solid and very flat ground. The abrupt change made him stumble and he landed hard on his knees and palms. Yet instead of experiencing the familiar pain of falling, his knees and palms felt nothing. No pain, no strain, nothing. The ground was hard, yet it felt like he’d gently set himself on the ground. He slowly made his way to his feet and looked around trying his best to cover himself. He felt jumpy with endorphins. He was in a room that looked somewhat like a holodeck turned off. Light beams illuminated into about five feet cubes in kaleidoscopic infinity everywhere he looked. Before he had time to do anything more than begin to get nervous and nauseous the voice chimed in again,

“Creation Selection Location chosen.”

Instantly he was in the quiet seaside restaurant he’d been to once on the coast of Chile. The fireplace crackled around a group sipping hot chocolate and coffee. It was steamy and smelled of cooking fish and coffee and fire. Unfortunately, Allen was still very naked. Yet no one seemed to bat an eye, or make any indication at all that a naked man just appeared out of thin air. Once again, the disembodied voice spoke. Only this time he wasn’t disembodied. No, now a very passive looking Donnie Yen was sitting across from him calming wafting a cup of sipping chocolate. He wore a casual linen Changshan in a cream color. He began to speak and this time Allen did interrupt. In fact, his stomach interrupted. The abrupt changes from running on a mountain trail to the holodeck to Chile with Donnie Yen was too much. His heartrate was through the roof and sweat poured out of him. He had just run six miles. After he’d finished dry heaving water and bile on a very cozy looking carpet, Allen lifted a hand in surrender.

“P-, Plea-, please. Wait, just stop.” Allen managed between gags. Finally getting ahold of himself he said,

“What, What the fu-, …what is going on, why am I in, Chile? Chile? I’m in Chile. And your Donnie Yen.”

“Hello human Welcome to, The Code Tutorial Guide. My name is Guide. I will be your,”

“Guide?” Allen tried to interject, but Donnie only spoke over him and continued,

“Guide. We have completed the assimilation of your current mental capacity. The Code has determined this place to be the calmest setting to begin your new life as a user of The Code. It was further computed that, Donnie, Yen, would be the most soothing ambassador to your knew life. Please be advised, your heartrate and blood pressure are still at peak levels. If you cannot lower your bodies sympathetic response to trauma, we will be forced to do so for you. Externally induced stress reduction initiated.” Allen immediately felt his heart slow. It should have been terrifying; it should have sped his heart back up. Instead, he began to feel himself forcefully calmed, a tingling sensation started in his fingertips and quickly cascaded through his body. It should have been soothing, it was anything but. Within moments he felt as if he’d been running hours ago physically, yet his brain dully raced from one tangent to the next, clearly oxygen deprived and dulled. The Guide spoke again, his voice surprisingly soothing, his face a mask of pleasant contemplation.

“Before we begin your new life as a User of The Code, please choose a Designation.” There was a long pause before Allen replied.

“Uhh, Allen, Myles.”

“Uhh, Allen, Myles. Chos-”

“No! no Uhh, just Allen Miles.”

“Error. Designation chosen, please pay 500 Quants to change User Designation.”

“What? Ahh shit.” Allen sighed before he could stop himself from asking,

“What’s a Quant?”

“Uhh, Allen, Myles, a Quant is the denomination used for all exchanges throughout The Code. You currently have 0 Quants.”

Now the questions came quick, his mind grasping at some kind of reality, no matter how jarring and foreign. Objective information hadn’t failed him yet. He focused on his breathing as he spoke, willing himself to calm in the chaos. Panicking wouldn’t help anything.

“What’s The Code?”

“Uhh, Allen, Myles, The Code is the closest relatable word your language possesses to describe us. We are a consciousness transmitted through space spanning many galaxies within this universe. As of approximately 23 earth days ago, the entire Sol system along with the rest of this galaxy passed a threshold we’d placed on your species. The Astronaut and your ex-wife, Sylvia S, Myles initiated the transmission by coming into contact with a nanite production site on the moon Enceladus. The nanites are currently inert and will activate only when they receive their transmission, which arrive on Earth in approximately 48 hours. At that time, the entire planet will be collected within The Code. Those sentients with the requisite Effect Wrinkle Threshold will become Users. Due to the absence of active Nanites, most skills have been disabled until outside The Tutorial.” There was a short pause and Allen asked,

“What, what Nanites? Oh god. Just stop for a second. I need to get back home. My daughter’s-”

“Information accessed for Uhh, Allen, Myles on The Code, increased due to trait, Basic Scientific Understanding,” Allen tried to talk over Guide but it simply continued speaking as if he wasn’t talking at all, completely unaffected by Allen’s waving or repeatedly saying,

“Hello? Helllooo?”

“The Nanites are built of meta materials requiring an understanding of material sciences your species does not currently have. They possess the distinct nature of being both physical and nonphysical and are built of subatomic particles that exist as both physical and nonphysical at any time.”

“OK. Just stop for a minute! I can’t wrap my head around any of this. I NEED TO CALL MY DAUGHTER. What? light is a wave and a particle at the same time. Yes I understand the Quantu-. Stop. Stoooop.”

“Uhh, Allen, Myles, the Nanites of the Code are self-propagating relays of a consciousness that stretches the length of the universe. Information is transferred at the speed of light from one nanite relay to another throughout the universe. The nanites infuse 27% of everything in the universe by percentage. The trees, the metal, the air you breath and the water you drink, your very body is currently made of up 27% nanites as is each cell in your body and every cell ever created in this universe. Every human, every living creature that’s ever existed on this or any planet in the universe is made up of at least 27% Code Nanites.”

“First of all, how is that anywhere near possible? And second, if that’s true then why haven’t we gone through this tutorial and been a part of your Code before now?”

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“Uhh, Allen, Myles, you have unlocked a new skill, Basic Leaver of Inquest. While the nanites have existed within all of the universe from nearly the beginning, the Code transmission stretches across the universe at much slower speeds. The nature of the nanites and the universe’s expansion is that the nanites exist in many, many more places than the transmission to activate them. Therefor the Universe is expanding along with the nanites at a much faster rate than the transmission from the Code. You are very much the wild west for the Code.”

“Basic what? Ok ahhggg god, I really need to call my daughter.”

“Uhh, Allen, Myles. Your perception of time is currently so fast that less than a second has passed in the physical reality. You are on a run and your body is still there which we can monitor.” Just to prove his point, Guide gestured and a screen popped up in front of Allen showing his body mid leap onto that boulder. Another screen popped up showing his Daughter Mia at their kitchen table. She was frozen over her homework, one hand on a pencil, the other feeding their Dog Jean-Luc a bit of cracker.

“sSso...” Allen began, swallowed and began again “So let me get this straight, you’ve always been here just turned off? But you exist evenly spread out throughout all physical reality. Aaand your built with subatomic particles humans never discovered. Your Code stretches through about 27% of the universe. And you’ve existed since the dawn of the universe?”

“Your scientists knew of The Code vaguely as Dark Matter through their calculations. Now that your section to the Galaxy has come into contact with The Code transmission it will allow you to control them in unique ways depending on the User. For some, this will manifest as external presentations of accumulated energy. The form and utilization of said energy is dependent on the Users intent, what you might refer to as morality. The Users inherent traits and skills they acquire as well as their attributes obviously all play a more pronounced role. Users of the code can manifest control over the nanites within their body to increase Dexterity, Strength or other physical aspects like Perception. There are nearly limitless ways to interact with The Code, and unique utilizations are rewarded accordingly.”

“Hahaha. Right ok so magic. Your magic or the Code is magic, whatever? This is ridiculous, fireballs and shit?” Allen couldn’t help letting out a short, dark laugh.

“Uhh, Allen, Miles, while not a completely inaccurate description, the term Magic is simplistic if not wholly inaccurate.” Allen was thinking about something else. The rational side of his mind shutting that down immediately. Therefor he wasn’t processing what he was hearing. His thoughts were a jumble of rapid-fire questions, postulations, adrenaline and terror. He was frozen for a long moment before speaking again.

“Only 27% then? Wait, don’t answer that. Ok, Guide. I’m going to make a few assumptions here. The first is that I am not hallucinating or fell and hit my head running. Though I gotta be honest I’m heavily leaning towards rock to the head. I’m also going to assume you actually did somehow scan my entire brain, know everything I do, which is pretty gross if you think about it, and are capable of providing information tailored to my mental capacity. This probably presumes some kind of memory bank? journal? Skill page? I don’t know. Some kind of central hub that I should be able to look at.”

“Uhh, Allen, Myles. The records page will be available at the completion of the Pre-tutorial. Please continue Pre-tutorial for access to more Code features.” Allen’s mind drifted again as he looked around the homey café. The whole scene was dreamlike, lending to the theory that he’d fallen and hit his head. He’d have to just go with it though. And whatever this Guide said, there had to be someone in charge. Someone he could talk to and get ahold of Mia. There was a kind of Code economy too, the Guide had mentioned Quants. If he had to he’d take out a dream loan and pay someone to get him to his daughter. There was probably some Scrooge McDuck out there swimming in his vault full of Quants. His thoughts drifted towards anarchy. In that same moment, he felt a jolt run through his spine and extend to each and every nerve.

“Uhh Allen, Miles. During the Tutorial the use of Seditious Energy has been deactivated. The Coded Energy has been banked and will be available at the Tutorial’s completion.”

“Seditious Energy?” Allen asked aloud. Surprisingly, the Guide did not respond. The silence kept stretching and Allen began to dissociate again. Mostly to protect any vestige of reality he had and ignore the electricity still seeping from his body. Finally, the tingling stopped and he could focus on the present again. It was odd how Guide kept giving his mind the full time to process the absurdity of the situation. Almost like it could follow along with his mind’s musings. It was not a comforting thought.

“Ok, alright. I’m… alright ok. uhgg I’m going to go ahead and run with this whole I’m not knocked out cold on the trail thing. And based on your name and being, here,” Allen gestured around him and Guide looked around passively as if noticing their surroundings for the first time, “you’re here to- Guide? Guide me through all this… …A.K.A. a pretty severe concussion no doubt. And finally, since I’m going with everything else, lets just assume time is stopped in the real world. We have all the time in the world and I shouldn’t worry about my Mia. So based on all those ridiculous assumptions, I can I guess start with why are you not here to turn us, hell, the whole galaxy, into nanites for your Code?”

“Uhh, Allen, Miles, First, while not limitless, we have roughly an hour for every second that passes in physical reality. So a day here will require 24 seconds. Additional information unlocked due to trait Inquisitive Morality. The ultimate objective of The Code is not to transform the entire universe into nanites. That would stifle and ultimately doom the universe. The Code is ultimately a cultivator. As such we need only maintain a percentage of the total mass of the universe. Our purpose is to develop an ever more complex reality. The Code is ultimately an opposing force to the heat death of the universe. As it pertains to most sentient species, we have always been the facilitators of Just and Ethical accumulation of power for those who most require it.”

“Just and Ethical? What power? And required for what?” Allen asked. His heartrate had been slowly going down, the thumping heartbeat in his mind finally quieting before jacking right back up. He was happy to let the voice continue speaking if it meant not thinking of the implications of not being in a coma. He obviously fell and hit his head, probably bleeding out at this very moment somewhere on a trail. Hopefully, that’s what was happening, because the alternative was likely the end of the world as he knew it. Someone would find him soon, Allen was sure. They’d wake him up and this would all be an intriguing story to tell at dinner parties.

“Indeed.” Guide a la Donnie Yen continued, “The Code is not without morality. We have existed for billions of years, Uhh, Allen, Myles. We’ve known the value of both short term and long-term reward systems long before your sun was created. Civilizations with compassion beyond your concept of the word have thrived within The Code for millennia and continue to do so. As do denizens of consumption beyond your wildest imaginings. Both may flourish, though in very different ways and with very different outcomes. The Code is a system nearly as old as the universe itself. Our concept of Justice and Ethics are both macrocosmically and microcosmically more than your current understanding of either. Suffice it to say we are a consciousness of vast experience playing out on a universal scale.”

“And your mission, is to create ever more complex systems of what? Information? How does that stop the heat death of the universe?”

“Uhh, Allen, Myles, you currently do not possess the prerequisite knowledge to continue this discussion. Please complete the Tutorial to unlock all Code features.” Weird, Allen thought. It told him he didn’t have the prerequisite knowledge, unlike when it had just remained silent when asked about Seditious Energy. Allen wondered what that could infer. Most of this still didn’t make much sense but if he was going to go with this delusion he might as well go hog wild with it. In for a penny and all that.

“Why or, how was I chosen as a User. And who else is chosen. And what happens to everyone else who doesn’t become a User? You turn them into nanites don’t you.”

“Uhh, Allen, Myles. The Code has fostered this Universe through the growth and development of certain individuals such as yourself for billions of years. We can build nanites out of asteroids as easily as sentient beings. We typically take approximately 27% of any given population to become Users. The rest of the population will have their consciousness banked then live out their lives as normal. Only unable to access the Code or use the nanites.”

“What do you mean banked? What happens to them? Do they still have a body and a concousness? What the hell? That’s like what? 73% of humanity, something like I dunno, 5 and a half billion people or so? What happens to them?”

“Uhh, Allen, Myles, your heartrate is exceeding safety parameters for the pre-Tutorial. Please calm yourself or we will do so, again. As of right now, you are the only human to begin the Tutorial. The rest of your planet will receive their Code transmission within 48 hours. We cannot know exactly who or how many sentients will pass the Effect Wrinkle Threshold and become users. However, those who do not pass the threshold will continue to live out their lives here on earth. There is every opportunity they will be pass the Effect Wrinkle Threshold later in life. Many Users start late in life and the Code has found Mortality to be a strong motivator of passing the Threshold. Regardless, the sentient species who do not meet the Effect Wrinkle Threshold will experience a short introduction with an explanation of the Code and Users. Though society will no doubt be effected by the introduction, nothing will truly change for non-Users. Other than they will not have the abilities Users possess.”

“Yeah, right. And Users are just going to leave them be.”

“While we cannot predict what any User will ultimately do with the power they gain through The Code, the results are invariably more complexity and a reduction in universal entropy. We’d like to hope your fellow Users will live peacefully with their non-User brethren here, and if not, the universe is a very big place to get lost in. However, cruelty is a fact of the universe and your species would hardly be the first to choose such a route. The Code merely chooses the User and gives them the power. What you do with that power is up to you. If you feel the need to protect the non-Users, the Code will help facilitate that desire. If you wish to exercise them from your population, the Code will assist in that as well.”

“Right. Ok, moral and amoral that the same time. Fun. Well ok then,” Allen said slapping his naked knees. “let’s get started Donnie.”