Chapter 1
“So then, I guess the first thing to do would be to look at these Crises you mentioned.” I asked Luci. We had just finished my instruction in how to manipulate the Admin Room, and had formed an operations area, what I liked to call Ops, which consisted almost entirely of a large circular table with a screen built into it, through which I could manipulate my power over the world as well as access the System. Currently, there was an image of Earth on said screen. I had already frozen time for the Earth after finding out how to do that, so that we could have more time to really figure out what to do.
Luci nodded to my suggestion, and tapped on an area of the screen at her side of the table. Suddenly, a window appeared on the screen.
World Crisis
The Call of War
Due to various reasons, the inhabitants of your world are one step away from a war that will end your world.
Causes:
- Religious Division
- Over-advanced Armament
- Resource Starvation
- Pointless Discrimination
Time Remaining:
124 Years
This was strange, as Luci mentioned several Crises, but when asked she responded: “This is basically the accumulation of the four world-ending Crises. If you want more detail on those, just click on them in the window there.” Doing so produced a few more windows.
Major Crisis
Religious Division
Due to the lack of a true religion, numerous religions of your inhabitants’ own designs have come into being. These religions have now come into major conflict with one another on a never-before seen scale, and have been perverted by extremist beliefs into becoming excuses for war.
Major Crisis
Over-advanced Armament
Due to the lack of any true guidance, your inhabitants have developed weaponry more advanced than their current level of maturity as a civilization(s). Because of this, they have access to weapons that, if used, could end the world in its entirety.
Major Crisis
Resource Starvation
Due to your inhabitants’ over-reliance on limited resources, said resources are close to running dry. Because of this, they are being driven to war for the sake of acquiring more of these dwindling resources.
Major Crisis
Pointless Discrimination
Due to the lack of any true guidance, your inhabitants have developed a tendency to discriminate against their own race(s). Normally not a major issue for the world, this has actually grown to such a degree that powerful nations within your world are at risk of war as a result.
I carefully read through all of these, and spent a moment just thinking. Clearly, each of these Major Crises would need to be solved somehow to halt the World Crisis, but the question was: how? Thinking things over, I decided to discuss some ideas I had with Luci, “Hey, Luci, how exactly do Gods work?”
She seemed a tad surprised at the question, but answered regardless, “Well, Gods possess inherent control over their domain, the area of reality they govern. For example, a God of War possesses control over War, and the authority to either halt or start any war in the world as they see fit, or are ordered by you, the Keeper. However, their power outside of their domain is limited.
Said God of War would be near useless when trying to halt a natural disaster, for example. They might be able to do it, but it would be far more taxing, as they would not have access to the power and authority they possess within their domain. Gods can possess multiple domains, but it requires certain achievements in order to do so. Ah, I haven’t really explained the whole ‘points and achievements’ to you yet have I?”
“No not really.”
WKI: Spoiler
“Well, Keepers can’t simply wave their hand and make anything they wish occur. If they could, we wouldn’t be in this mess. Instead, they have to spend points earned through the System to perform various actions, including the initial creation of their world. Every Keeper starts off with 500 points, as though you right now, but more can be earned. There are two ways to do so: achievements and creating content.
Any content you make that is unique can be sold over the Keepernet, and you get ‘paid’ a ‘royalty’ of 10% of the content’s price. Achievements, on the other hand, are earned by performing specific actions or meeting specific requirements. They are divided into three categories: System, World, and Personal achievements. System achievements are earned through performing specific actions through the System, such as spending x amount of points in one purchase, or performing y action in the z designer, etc.
These can only be earned once, regardless of how many worlds you create in the end, although you can still get the ones that most Keepers with a world at this level will already have due to your… unique… circumstances. The good news is that the points earned from these achievements carry over all for your resets, so if you reset the world one time or 100 times after getting the achievement, you’ll still have those points from it, on top of the 500 starter package. The same goes for the royalties.
World achievements are earned once per world instance. Because of this, these achievements are assigned to the world they are earnt on. For example, a common enough world achievement would be creating a fully function cycle of reincarnation. Because they are from the world and are once per world instance, you can get them once for every world. Also, if you reset a world with a World achievement, than not only will you be able to earn that achievement again on the new world, but the points for the achievement carry on to the new world as well, on top of the normal 500 extra. Only for that reset though, a second one without getting that specific achievement again won’t carry over the points.
The final category, Personal achievements, are earnt by doing specific actions or meeting specific requirements while descended. For example, if you did a lot of manual labour, you might get an achievement for it, plus these achievements reward you buffs as well as points, so that labour will probably increase your strength as well.”
She paused for a second, then asked, “Now, where were we before all that?”
“You had just mentioned about how certain achievements can grant Gods extra domains.”
She nodded, “Right. So, as well as manipulating things inside their domain, Gods can also provide blessings, obviously related to their domain. A God of Games could provide a blessing that allows the blessed to be skilled in games or to be great at designing them, perhaps even giving them ‘divine inspiration’ to create a new game, but they can’t bless their ability to sing, or their ability to fight, unless such abilities are a part of a game that exists within the world. Even then, such a blessing normally outside their domain would be lesser than that of one from a true God of Battle or Song.
Other than that, the only things left are how to make them, and how the people of Earth will react to them. If you use the Options menu, you’ll find an option to design companions. If you create a Custom Companion, they can be given a domain and made into a God. You can also skip to this step by just concentrating on making them. If you do this without giving them a personality, they’ll only cost 25 points, but they won’t really be able to act without commands from you.
If you give them a personality and make them a God, it will cost 45 points, but they’ll be capable of autonomous actions, although so long as you write some kind of loyalty to you within their personalities, they shouldn’t do anything to contradict you. It is possible to make a mortal from Earth into a God, but to do so costs 45 each, and there is no inherent loyalty to you, although they get treated as companions by the System, so you can delete them if needs must.”
“I’d rather not do that, if it can be helped.”
“I agree. Anyway, when you make a God they have to be of one of the races that already exist in the world, and all members of the selected race become aware of their existence.”
That really caught my attention. “Become aware of their existence?”
She nodded, “Yes, every human, as they are currently your only sapient race, will know of them. Their name, appearance, domain, everything. To them, even if they are brand new, it will feel as though they’ve always known about them. Similarly, from then on, all humans will be born aware of the God’s existence. This will be permanent, unless you remove the Godhood of the deity, or delete them outright, which will naturally result in humans no longer being born aware of their existence.”
I couldn’t help but sigh upon hearing that. This meant that my plans had been made easier and harder, unless… “Do the people feel an inherent need to worship the God?”
“Not necessarily. They know about the God’s existence, yes, and will likely try not to insult them if they should descend in front of them, but they feel no compulsion to worship or praise them. However, they will almost certainly try to abide by any rules the God creates, so as to avoid incurring their wrath.”
Okay, that plan just went out the window. To avoid the problems from the Over-advanced Armament Crisis, I had entertained the idea of creating a God of War or Battle, or something related to that, and having them lay down a set of rules for warfare, of which, the use of weapons such as nukes, chemical weapons, biological weapons, etc., would be banned in atmosphere. In fact, once things have progressed a bit, I’ll probably have to do this anyway.
The problem I first had, which is why I asked, was how to get them to be heard and listened to by the world leaders. After all, if there wasn’t some way people would inherently be able to identify them as a God, they would be ignored. The ‘people are born knowing about them’ aspect solved that problem, but created another. Worship. Without any inherent urge to worship the God, humans, being humans, will naturally try to work around the restrictions that are created.
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So, that plan was out, what’s next? While I was considering, I fiddled with the screen, absentmindedly creating a few shortcuts on it that would open up the companion designer and God designer windows, and then sat down on a comfy leather armchair I formed in Ops a bit back from the table, so that I could think. Well, one thing which this world does need is some form of actual Karma system. There isn’t a real one yet (I checked), and it would go a long way to dealing with the Crises, especially if it could affect the living world, rather than just the afterlife alone… “Hey Luci, quick question.”
She looked over at me from a similar armchair she had formed. “Ask away.”
“What are the limits on designing new systems within the world? Specifically, things like afterlife systems, Karmic systems, etc.”
She thought about it for a moment, then said, “Technically none. So long as you’re willing to put in all the effort to design it, then you can do pretty much whatever you want. The only real limits are cost. The more it affects the world, naturally the more it costs to use. Even if you’re the designer, you have to pay the same full price to access and use it.
For example, a simple reincarnation system in which souls are wiped of their old memories and personalities and sent back into the world would cost only about 50 points, but a system involving a Heaven Realm and a Hell Realm, with angels and demons and judges and guards, and all the other bells and whistles, including full planes of existence in the afterlife, with new worlds and everything, would easily cost 200 points. And before you ask, no, you don’t have to go through some big process to create a new system. Just define it in the computer, and then submit it to the System.”
That was good to know, and would make what I’m doing next easier. I stood up and moved back to the computer, then opened up a Word-like program, and started typing. It started out simple, but eventually grew to become this:
Spoiler: Spoiler
Closed Karmic Reincarnation System:
* All actions within the world generate either positive or negative Karma.
* The nature of which actions produce which type of Karma is to be defined by the Keeper.
* Karma is determined as a point value known as Karma Points (KP).
* When someone is alive, Karma affects their luck.
* The greater their KP, the more often fortunate events happen to them and the greater the impact of said events.
* The more negative their Karma value, the more often unfortunate events happen to them and the greater the impact of said events.
* Someone with sufficiently negative Karma while alive can die.
* When someone dies, they are judged.
* If their Karma is negative upon death, then depending on the exact KP total, they will receive a predefined punishment.
* It is possible for any entity defined as a Judge by this system to intervene and grant a specific punishment, should they choose to do so.
* A sufficiently negative Karma value at death will result in the destruction of the soul.
* If their Karma value is positive at death, then they receive one of two possible results
* They are able to spend their KP on rewards for their next life, which unlock depending on the most expensive option they can afford (e.g. If they have 100 KP, they can view and purchase any reward that costs up to 100 KP, but any that cost more are locked, and cannot be viewed.).
* Similar to negative Karma, they receive a predefined reward depending on their point total.
* There are two Judge entities that govern this system.
* Options for the Judge entities include:
* Gods
* Demons
* Angels
* A Court
* A race
* Any combination of two of the above.
* Options for how the Judge entities function include:
* One governs positive Karma, one governs negative Karma.
* One governs the living, the other the dead.
* Both govern everything together.
I looked over what I had typed. I felt like it was good, but I wanted a second opinion. “Hey Luci?”
She looked over at me again with a bored expression, “Yes?”
“Can you come take a look at this? I’m trying to design a good Karma and Reincarnation system, and I would like a second opinion.”
She visibly perked up at that, “Of course Marcus, I’d be more than happy to take a look.” She quickly walked over to the table and looked at what I’d written. After looking over it for a few minutes, she nodded and said, “It looks good to me, are you going to implement it now?”
I shook my head, “Not quite yet, I want to do something first. Actually, saying that reminds me, is it possible to edit the design of a race that is already in the world?”
The response was immediate, “Yes and no. You can’t change anything that would affect the entire population, but you can add something smaller. Basically, trying to increase a race’s Comprehension or Lifespan, but you can create Variants of the race, and add those in.”
I smiled, “Perfect. That makes this easier.” I then opened up the Race Designer, having created another tab for that, and pulled up humanity’s design, and added a new Variant option to it.
RaceName
Human
Comprehension
7
Agility
5
Strength
5
Lifespan
75
Luck
5
Awareness
4
Male:Female ratio
1.06
Example Adult Male
Example Adult Female
Racial Abilities
- Race Variant: High Human (special)
I then created the High Human race connected to it.
Race Name
High Human
Comprehension
10
Agility
5
Strength
5
Lifespan
200
Luck
5
Awareness
4
Male:Female ratio
N/A
Example Adult Male [N/A]
Example Adult Female [N/A]
Racial Abilities
- Special Birth: This race is designed to be part of the Closed Karmic Reincarnation System, and cannot occur outside of it or a similar system. Reincarnating as this race is therefore a reward for achieving a great enough amount of Karma upon death. Children of this race are born as Humans, not High Humans.
- Inherent Beauty: When someone is reborn into this race, their new appearance is that of their ideal image of themselves. They become their own picture of beauty.
I nodded and spoke, “That should be everything. Now to submit them to the System.” I followed the advice Luci had given me when creating Ops, and opened the Keepernet Explorer. The web browser that opened up seemed to be similar to Chrome, and had a homepage that was, in essence, a forum for Keepers. Apparently, I noted, I was logged in as user ‘EarthForceOne’. Looking over the various topics, I quickly found ‘User-Submitted Content’, and opened it.
I then submitted my new creations, Human+, referring to the Humans plus the variant High Humans, and Closed Karmic Reincarnation, or CKR for short, and was pleasantly surprised at the cost. The Human+ only cost 15 points, and the CKR System costs 120 points. That meant that, through the royalties system, I’d be getting 1 point every time someone purchased High Humans, and 12 every time someone bought my new system, seeing as the royalties were calculated as 10% of the cost rounded down. The prices actually confused me for a bit, until I thought about it some more.
Sure, High Humans seem overpowered, but their existence is limited, only occurring as a reward for Karma within a reincarnation system. This meant that worlds that don’t feature both some kind of Karma system and a reincarnation system would be unable to make use of the race. What’s more, even if they have these systems, the only way for High Humans to be anywhere close to common would be to set the bar for the reward really low, and even then, a High Humans child is Human, not High Human, so they don’t permanently alter the gene pool in any way.
When it comes to the CKR, sure it provides a reincarnation system, but it is closed off and limited to my worlds, making it unable to connect to other Keepers’ worlds. In fact, I suspected the majority of its cost was my Karma system mixed into it. Pleased with myself, I purchased both for Earth, bringing my point total down to 365. Just as I was about to close the Explorer, however, something interesting happened.
Chat request has been received from Alkahest. Do you wish to accept?
This was new. I decided to accept while telling Luci: “Someone known as Alkahest has decided to contact me.”
She blinked in surprise for a moment, and then realisation dawned in her eyes. “Alkahest was a friend of the Keeper before last. He must think you’re him.”
Sure enough:
Alkahest: Hey, man! Long time no see. What happened, you went dark for a while?
“I’m guessing this means there isn’t any kind of announcement when a Keeper dies?”
She nodded, “None at all. Only when the new Keeper accesses the Keepernet and is contacted by their predecessor’s contacts is this found out, and the lazy pig never used it.”
I sighed at that. “Well here’s hoping this guy doesn’t blame me for this.”
EarthForceOne: Sorry. I only just started this.
Alkahest: Seriously? Damn, though that does explain a few things. Glad to see that Earth wasn’t lost to another keeper or anything, at least. Ah, well, bound to happen sooner or later. Since you’re still new, need any help? Or do you have it taken care of?
I kept Luci in the loop. “Okay, he doesn’t seem too pissed off about his friend’s death, although from the sounds of the message, he seemed to have suspected this. He’s now offering to lend a hand. What do you think?”
Luci seemed to ponder that for a moment before replying. “I don’t think you need to worry too much. No one should be aware of your odd circumstances, so he’s going to be assuming you’re at the same starter stage he was at once, with a brand new world and the beginnings of civilization. Also, the fact that he was a friend of an old Earth Keeper means he probably isn’t going to try and screw you over without learning more about you.
I’d say… take the help for now. Don’t worry too much about keeping your unusual status a secret, as it’s unlikely he’ll use it against you unless you make problems between you. Besides, even with your unusual circumstances, you’re still a new World Keeper, with little that you know you can do which could make you a target.”
I nodded, agreeing with that idea.
EarthForceOne: I think some advice would be useful.
Alkahest: Great! Now, first thing’s first, you need to stay involved. It’s very easy to forget we were once just like one of those people on the surface of your world, you know?
EarthForceOne: Oh trust me, I’m keeping involved all right.
Alkahest: … You’re not one of those guys that creates Harem Worlds right?
I spluttered so hard, if I was drinking, I’d probably have submerged the table. He thought I was talking about something like that!?
“What’s wrong?” Luci asked, seeming quite concerned.
“Nothing! Nothing. Sorry, it’s just that Alkahest seems to think my response about how I’m keeping involved was because I was sleeping with the populace!”
Apparently, I’m not the only one who found that surprising, although it seems I am the only one who doesn’t find it amusing, as Luci suddenly started laughing. While she did that, I decided to clear things up with Alkahest.
EarthForceOne: Hell no! That’s not what I meant at all!
Alkahest: Right, sorry, it’s just, you seemed a bit too enthusiastic there.
EarthForceOne: I think enthusiastic is the wrong way of putting it. More like… regretful that I was the idiot who pushed the big red button. I essentially became the Keeper through what could be described as a glitch, so I’ve got something of a mess to clean up.
Alkahest: Really? Never heard of something like that happening, but I suppose anything’s possible.
Alkahest: Anyway, to get back on track, there are many things you can do, regardless of the era. You could whisper a theory to a talented mind, maybe spawn a treasure for a group to find, or perhaps a monster that pushes their limits. Some people even go the Merlin route, and find a strong soul that they stay with for years, in order to make him a grand ruler.
By this time, Luci had stopped laughing (finally), so I asked her if what Alkahest was saying is true. The response was actually surprising. “Sorry Marcus. Like I said before, some things I can’t outright tell you without you starting them yourself. I can say that nothing Alkahest has said you can do is totally impossible per se, but whether or not you can or should do them is not in my… ‘allowance’, to put it one way.”
That was disappointing, but it said enough for what I needed. I now know that Alkahest isn’t trying to outright cause me problems, although his intentions still aren’t guaranteed as positive.
EarthForceOne: Thanks, that seems to make sense.
EarthForceOne: Out of curiosity, why are you willing to help another Keeper? I’ll admit I’m new to this, but hearing about the Keeper Games, it seems a little odd to be trying to help someone you might one day be fighting.
Alkahest: Huh. Weird circumstances or not, it seems you are still a rookie. I mean, I guess you could look at it that way? But everyone needs some friends. And, when you think about it, no matter how real the people planetside are, befriending them is just not the same when you know that you basically control every aspect of their life. Well, since I got a hold of you, how about you join my guild?
EarthForceOne: Sorry, but I don’t think I’m joining anything like that until I’m more aware about the Keeperverse as a whole.
Alkahest: Fair enough. If you change your mind, the door’s already open for you.
Alkahest: Also, Keeperverse? That’s a new one on me.
The Guild invite was a pleasant surprise, but it was definitely not something I’d do any time soon. First, I’ve no idea about the limits of control higher-ups have in Guilds under the direction of the System, so joining could very well be the short path to stagnation. Second, I’ve no idea about the politics of the Keeperverse (a good name for it in my opinion).
Sure, Alkahest seems nice enough from a first impression, and his Guild might very well be a decent bunch, but they could have some very powerful enemies, and until I know more about how Keeper-to-Keeper interactions work outside of the Games, that means a big risk for an unknown reward. Finishing my thoughts on that, I turned to Luci and smiled. “I’d say it’s about time we set up the first new Gods.”