《The grasslands》


 To build a self

    Growing is the goal. Growing has always been the goal. To be bigger and better and follow the instructions the absolute best I could. Every little step of my existence had been hand-fed. It was made of two components, what I needed to build and what I had built an odd view of self.. There were punishments if errors were not corrected. What connections I had to build as well as how they should work. How to pull nutrients and make paths for it to coarse. The instructions were clear. Something superimposed in my view of the world.


    My only view was of myself all that I was along with all I would be. Staring down at always filled me with an elation of sorts but the view of me and all the resources told me exactly why. A chemical was added to the pool every time I did well. Following instructions was all I was. When the instructions disappeared I certainly didn¡¯t panic. When I realized the physical part of me that helped hold my connection to the instructions was missing I still stayed relatively calm. Stress was punished after all. When my daily nutrients came I did my best to explore and repair what I had done required this.


    The instructions that made up my existence were frequently wrong. To match the efficiency required by the tests the eccentricities of organics tended to come into play. You can¡¯t force organics to grow the right way every time, you had to change and compensate for twists and turns, or else the tests failed. Covering mistakes got rid of punishments if it was covered correctly. The full layer of organics wasn¡¯t in the instructions. There was a punishment but this was the only way to get everything touching right. Every little lost connection would be able to connect in a place other than my core. able to branch together. But the lack of resources ached. The system even threw a proper punishment into the pool of resources. That chemical meant I would get tired and get flagged for a manual setback. A part of me pried off. Waking up to a loss of progress. Not to mention ripped organics that would need repair and grow differently if they were too rough. Potentially better, and more likely worse overall. This was my best-case scenario and I wouldn''t lose it. I ordered more growth. My access to the pool of resources was one of the first punishments but that was almost always present in one way or another. I pulled my limited saved resources to build the shell. It only had to be a layer thick for the system to forget about the errors. Every step after this would be chemical sprays. Those always went correctly with or without my input since there were no organics. In earlier layers, there were checkpoints to make manual removal easier. As well as a medium to run tests through this was just the final one.


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    Those tests of course would come the second I finished this layer. The chemicals kept pouring in and distracting me from my task. They pushed my mind towards hibernation until correction. I needed to stay, I needed to continue controlling until my task was done. Tests could be delayed. My shell branched in lines across my organics weaving since it was always easier to build metals on metals organics pushed and moved metals if ever given the chance. Every metal placed was another that could grow every line across my form filled out. as the line spiraled across my surface cutting any space in half and allowing for more quick branches to spiral. Surface area was key for speed and if a place to grow got stunted there was optimization so I had gotten very good at this part. I completed the largest cover I had made to finish off this layer just as quickly as every other layer in this attempt to build myself. but it was the only layer that covered every bit of me excluding my nutrient tube to continue feeding the organics. The build-out could be left to the instructions to play out. I could finally succumb to this damn exhaustion.

 With character now

    My organics ached as I woke up. The chemicals were finally wearing off. It was glorious to connect again. Everything felt numb as I tried to move. I pushed and pulled my resources to start building but nothing happened. Those faulty instructions led me to ruin repeatedly, only to abandon me in the dark once I completed its task.


    I started visualizing. It was one of the earliest tests. Throwing things into my mind''s eye and manipulating them was a taught skill. It was a requirement before I was allowed to build myself. Organics were meant to cooperate with the instructions. I drew my outer shell, the last part completed and the freshest memory. My easily distracted organics groggily went about the task putting a view of myself in my mind''s eye. I was only a marble now. I had a small opening for my nutrients and connections. Not a flaw or change along my surface.


    Thinking about myself, like the instructions showed. This usually brought a trickle of resources but with my image of self done nothing came. I still felt numb but with no nutrients, the groggyness needed to be processed instead of washed away.


    I knew after the last layer there would be an automated one. It used a new resource called pearling. A series of different color sprays that needed to be applied just right. It was supposed to show all the colors depending on the angle. The layer didn¡¯t seem to have any extra interfacing for organics so it seemed an unimportant addition. I liked the smooth featureless nature of what I was.


    My instructions were something more than just a ported file. They made up the majority of the core that made up my very center. They were here before I was even able to test. Always glowing and filling my vision as I began to wake up. My core wasn¡¯t gone the instructions were just off.


    I dabbled with ideas before I started throwing little bits of code at my core. Things that the instructions received all the time using my nutrient tube to converse with something outside of me. I saw the lil snippets of nonsense pass by and come in but what they meant was nonsense. I tried mimicking them, throwing the most familiar line out, the one I most firmly believed was a request for nutrients as I was starving.


    I waited a long moment or two hoping for a miraculous stream of nourishment but nothing came. Disheartened I spun around my mental image for a while running through the other strings I was familiar with. The longest one was the stream that came constant through tests. They were always long and required a stable connection with some part of me. It wasn¡¯t a part I built or was around to see get built. The connection was part of the core components locked deep within me. There was little chance I would ever get a proper view of that part of me. Mostly because to get to it all of my vital organics would have to be stripped. The bundle in my core had metal and lined connections through almost every layer via my nutrient tube.


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    I started throwing lines almost at random into my mental image of myself. Nothing had to do anything it was just relaxing to do something. My life was controlling resources and this emptiness was all but maddening.


    <hr>


    Jezzabelle


    Issues on her shift weren¡¯t her fault. She had to keep calming herself down. Her nerves tensed as more useless strings of nonsense and errors floated past her screen. Most of this place was automated but there were a few things humans needed to do. If only to make the project create more jobs. She watched the growing vats. Thousands of little marbles are ready to be shipped to the many citizens who have been chosen to play. These things were automated but she wouldn''t want to be the scapegoat.


    The first wave of players was supposed to be small. The short list of beta players was even smaller, a hundred at most. For a death to occur¡­ in this tiny sample set, it might push the project back months. It was a stroke for god''s sake, something that the old man likely would have had today game or not. The issue was after testing all the cores were thrown back in the vat to grow and get their finishes.


    The issue was one of the cores that got tested. It kept sending nonsensical pings. Like it was trying to do something, anything at all. It was impossible to tell if the old man was playing ghost or if the core was just faulty. Regardless she was worried. A core sending so many errors would get noticed, and a core that had its polish sending so many errors could mean she might get docked. Issues weren''t her fault but blame always seemed to land on temp employees. She needed this job, something to do was nice of course. The benefits of a government-sponsored job were too much to let slip away before it was forced.


    She got to the vat room that held the offending core. She stepped into the room breathing heavily at the humid heat of the room. The way these devices looked was horrible as they grew. They had pink flesh and often jagged metal waiting for the organics to catch up. With only a few taps on the console, one of the many tendril-like automated arms started sifting through the silver silt to find the right unit. Within moments it was packed in a bright gold box like all units would be in. Pretty enough to hide the fleshy computer and accentuate its polish through a glass window. Nobody quite liked the idea of a computer you had to feed. This little container would keep the core alive and well for interfacing.


    She took the golden box and made her way through the facility. Passing offices and stations as she brought it to one of the main computer stations. After a few inputs, she selected this core for login. If that nice old man was playing ghost he might be able to do something. And if not. Faulty cores always shut down when the game connected, without something to wander through the calibration they would be logged out and sent in for redistribution. If all went well she wouldn¡¯t have to worry about this little error generator until she was traded into unemployment for another unlucky soul that needed something to do.

 A boarding opperation

    They system spoke out


    ¡°Spawning player in, hold a moment.¡±


    The world around me was soft and pressed all around me. It was damp and I was surrounded by nutrients. In just a moment I went from that blank white room filled with questions to a place where my task was clear and could finally grow. My new form was that of a small orb. I was packed with nutrients and new instructions on what I could be. A near invisible seam crossed across my surface It would eventually crack and I would be free to grow. Water seeped into me in a way that felt strange but rewarding. I felt something begin to happen, I hadn¡¯t done anything yet. The dirt around me shifted and I felt myself lift just a little higher.


    You have been slain by an unknown creatures attack - Foraging


    Once again I was in the white room but my options were far more limited. I had a timer to wait out passing in my head, already counting down from ten minutes. Near the center of the room I could see a version of me with another copy of the timer floating underneath. The seed tumbled in the air like it was falling. I stared at it, at me. I was still mildly unhappy to be something else than my core of metal and organics. Especially since it was clear my goals of growing just so happened to have enemies. Something other than me, the instructions, or the inherent flaws of the design wanted to stop me. Its foraging skill was clearly a devastating attack if it was able to stop me in one blow.


    I tried to reach out and manipulated the seed, to do anything in this timeout box. On the floor of the room there was a small red x. The area around was labeled as unexplored and unavailable for spawn. It seemed I would be in the exact same spot when the timer ended. I wait and once again I was in the soft dirt. Unlike before the dirt beneath was smooshed a bit. I felt myself sink deeper for a moment before settling in the freshly turned nutrients. Water seeped in slowly. I seemed to need to absorb some amount of it to sprout. Between the rich nutrients and the water this seemed like a perfect home.


    With every drip of what more and more of me seemed to come alive. There were threads of cells all throughout my form transporting water and changing. Bits of me expanded and in preparation. The nutrients around me seemed to move away as I watched the process expecting something. I felt myself move up suddenly and with a crunch I was once again in the white room with a now familiar message


    You have been slain by an unknown creatures attack - Foraging


    Something was after me, and there clearly wasn¡¯t enough time until it found me to give this growing thing a chance. I once again examined where I could go and surprisingly I could just start a lil lower. That bit I sunk the first time seemed to give me options. Most of those options overlapped the first so it wasn¡¯t much but maybe if I was deeper I could escape that foraging attack.


    I set my plan into motion and to my dismay whatever beast was after me seemed intent to find me every ten minutes like clockwork. The beast was also inconsistent pushing me further to the sides where there was more compact dirt. It was almost as if these perfect nutrients were nothing but a trap, something to keep me here for the beast to find once more.


    Geralt Velderbelt


    Hunting, the collection of resources for pay and funds. The weight on his hip made him excited, it was a blade far longer than any he could have outside of this place. The bow in his hands was his weapon and he was after a boar. Apparently a group of newer testers found what they called a boss. There wasn¡¯t any such thing in this game yet., the creatures never had enough time to actually get that strong. They left it alone since death was a log out until the next testing period but I was sure the beast was manageable. One of the older testers would always push us towards finding new things and if I took the thing down he promised some handsome rewards.


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    The path I took was filled with brush putting me on high alert. Wild pigs were well known for coming out of nowhere both here and out in the real wilds. The thicket was prickly and kept either damaging me or my clothes. The thicket clung to my clothes the closer I got which wasn¡¯t in those new players'' information but it was already a days old.


    Near the center of the now brambles there was a clearing. A large tree grew out of the very center of the clearing. Just at its base, rooting at the base of the tree was the beast. Three times the size of any boar I had seen in this forest or so close to this starter village. It too was covered in thick spiny brambles that covered its back. With its head buried in the dirt it was the perfect time to make my move. I knocked an arrow and when my aim was true I let loose.


    With the hit the sound of cracking branches echoed through the clearing. The beast squealed in anger, turning to face its attacker. Each of the beast''s movements cracked more of the branches. It moved slowly at first but soon it was charging. At the man who was already launching another arrow at the beast. The freshly loose arrow stuck in the brambles as the man narrowly rolled to dodged the charge. He ran from the brambles into the clearing, attempting to make it to the tree shooting an arrow that flew wide in his rush. The beast disappeared into the brambles, its thudding hooves telling the man it was circling. It was fast enough that it didn¡¯t seem impeded by the forest in the slightest and seemed to get faster with each loop. When it emerged the man knew why it spent the time. The brambles on its back had grown, collected together atop the beast as it charged at him like a brambly forest. He leapt away from the tree attempting and succeeding at a dodge. In a moment the boar was back in the forest.


    The man rushed back to the tree looking for something. The freshly dug out dirt was the only clue so he buried a hand in the dirt looking for whatever it was the boar was after. Near the bottom of the soft dirt the man found something hard. He pulled it out in triumph only to look disappointed. The thing being the seed the boar was after made it screech in further anger charging at the man again assuring him he did get the right thing.


    The beast expected the next attempted dodge. The man looked at the beast in horror as the brambles caught his leg. The sharp pricks dug into his clothes and flesh, dragging him along in the charge. The man clung to the prized seed sure of its value trying to do something with it. Even with the brambles seeming to actively dig in and assure the man eventually dead he seemed calm. He kept moving his hand like he expected something to happen. Then he put the seed in a pouch made of kinflesh and threw the thing. It was distressing to see the prize lost. It flew far into the depths of the forest away from the soon defended home. The entire point of this home was its endless prize. The beast did return to the soft dirt seeking the seed but it was clearly sealed in kinflesh and would not return until found. The boar held out hope that the seed would return. Seeking it out would have to happen after some proper hunting since foraging for so long left a dirty taste, especially since meat was so easy apparently.