《The advancement duties of Arthur Penrose》


 Chapter 1 - In the beginning

    A long time ago, in a solar system extremely far away from here. Physicists from a, we assume, long dead planet were on a quest to observe, as near as humanity¡¯s own scientists of old could determine¡­ Dark matter. From what we understand, the technology they wielded would have been phenomenally advanced. And, from the histories we know that they had been on this quest for an awfully long time.


    However, they were determined to succeed. For if they could only understand this ¡°substance¡± that we called ¡°dark matter¡±, then they believed they could convert it directly to energy, and so have access to a near infinite energy source that pervaded all the useful parts of the universe.


    They were correct. And were, upon succeeding, immediately proven correct.


    The moment they made that first successful observation. The only such observation. Ever¡­


    Everything changed.


    That single particle of dark matter, a ¡°substance¡± already half-way interdimensional, was observed. And, as with all things, the moment it was observed, it was also affected by said observation. Sadly, a change which then started propagating throughout the universe at the speed of light. Changing all other dark matter in the same way.


    For the most part the altered ¡°dark matter¡± still behaved the same. But with a twist. The interdimensional shift, which became the default state of dark matter in all affected regions of the universe, which for all practical purposes is everywhere. Sidled dark matter up to an infinite realm of somewhat conscious energy. It is told that they theorized that said ¡°conscious¡± energy is not conscious like you or me. It seemed to only have a sort of attention. And able to maintain patterns of itself. Patterns which it turned out could theoretically be employed for any conceivable purpose.


    So interesting stuff indeed.


    The problem, and of course there just had to be a problem¡­ Was that this nifty and exotic energy form was affected by Will. And that interaction was typified by an amplification of Will manifesting in physical changes. It also turned out that most lifeforms have a modicum of Will.


    The biological chaos described is, frankly, hard to imagine. Imagine a pride of Lions. Coordinating as per their social instincts. However, the dominant lioness was sitting down, painstakingly grooming her cub, while the instinct to hunt was slowly rising within her due to hunger¡­ Just as the change happened. In not much time at all, fueled by her prevailing intent, said lioness turned into a stationary monstrosity with a 20m tongue, covered in razor sharp blades, and a wicked hunger for all the flesh it could find. The alpha male of the pride was chilling underneath a tree but keeping a lazy lookout on the surroundings for any intruders. Within minutes turned into a slothful being, but with unnaturally sharp senses. Three lionesses were busy hunting, running as fast as they can after prey. Soon turned into three different, still somewhat Leonid, beings. One with large jumping legs and wicked claws. One that can run at speeds exceeding that of sound. One with a gaping maw filled with teeth that would do a T-Rex proud.Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.


    Through their social instincts, and their natural desires to communicate information in simple lion ways, they quickly develop a telepathic hive mind. A single shared consciousness enabling them to act as one being to further the cause of survival.


    A fearsome thought. Is it not?


    And from there it only gets weirder, and more dangerous, as the minutes tick by. After fifteen minutes of wanton slaughter and substantial ecological domination, it runs out of easy to reach prey. As it is at this point quite a bit more intelligent than the original lions ¨C It wonders what dirt tastes like, and in frustration takes a bite.


    Of course, in no time at all the being can consume and live off dirt. And it gleefully proceeds to consume copious amounts of it. Its previous offensive capabilities swiftly shifting to territorial and bodily defense. And quite successfully so. Within minutes the being is little more than a giant, furry land urchin, but instead of relatively short spikes, it has long tongue-like tentacles bristling with large teeth, claws, and blade-like papillae. The original cub, little more than a demanding furry organ, ensconced in the center of the collective, the focus of the being¡¯s instinctive intent.


    5 minutes later it is squashed, and the remains soaked up, by a truly gargantuan, and very bouncy living ball of flesh. Which might have been the result of the merger of an entire city of the intelligent beings of that planet on the other side of the planet. Most were sleeping, but a few might have been sleepwalkers.


    10 minutes later, The Ball, gets impaled and, petrified, and slowly absorbed, by a giant mineral protrusion shooting up from below a mountain it was rolling over. Which, it turns out, used to be an exceedingly rare, mildly conscious, crystal of silicon.


    This is of course pure speculation. We were not there. All that we know is from the histories we discovered within ourselves. Some enjoy speculating about the things that might have occurred during that time of chaos. When very bored. As little as we understand of the abstract disciplines of those ancient alien scientists¡­ One thing is perfectly clear.


    The strangeness had no limits.

 Chapter 2 - The New Gods

    174¡­


    For whatever reason. That alien race, of whom the ancient scientists were members, had never, for the most part, left their own solar system. There were a few colony ships still outbound, crawling across the abyss. Destined for future colonies after many thousands of years. And they had stations located outside the boundaries of their solar system. Located within interstellar space.


    The very reason why they were looking for vast new sources of energy was exactly because faster than light travel was just not possible. At least they had never found a useful means over in millions of years of their ancient race¡¯s history. It is not known if there was maybe an elegant economical way to achieve it. One which they had never thought of. And we will probably never know.


    Even near light-speed travel requires prohibitive amounts of energy. With the best will in the world, and all their scientific prowess ¨C Unless they found a near infinite energy source, they just could not imagine a practical way to expand significantly out into the cosmos.


    Of that ancient race, the trillions who lived around their star, only 174 individuals managed to survive beyond the first day of the change, with their psyches somewhat intact.


    But they thrived as no other beings had up to that time - Nor has ever since then.


    Already vastly altered. Each according to their own will. They had gained control over their own rapid evolution. Not even bound anymore to the surface of their home worlds, nor one of the myriad habitats orbiting them. They continued to¡­ Grow!


    It was some time during the second day that these burgeoning personalities started to rub up against each other. And not without friction. They had not all turned into benign beings. Some were incredibly destructive. Some were simply negative or incompatible in some other way. Some were not strong enough to make it further. It is recorded that the battles for survival and dominance were fierce. The power most of these survivors wielded was immense.


    In the end eleven survived. And of them two others eventually chose to end themselves. We do not even know what the Eleventh¡¯s name was.


    The remaining 9 came to be the known as the New Gods. Or just¡­ The Nine.


    Of course it is not known if there were any true Gods before, but the bits of history that have made it to the present day tell of classical religions, and creators who nobody had ever met, apart from mythical accounts. If they existed, then they probably still exist, but nobody has met them in the new era either.


    That is however beside the point. Please excuse my wandering thoughts. Monotonous tasks do that to me.


    The Nine found peace among themselves. During the short ancient War of the Gods, they cooperated. Which is what allowed them to survive the second day, and likely why there are no known omnipotent, angry galaxy smashers, or psychotic tricksters making life in the universe Hell. They found peace. And more importantly ¨C They found synergy.


    Closer to the end of the second day they had all come to embody a broad Tenet. Each according to their own dominant characteristics. The prominent quirks and interests of their personalities. As well as a good dollop of wisdom. Inborn, acquired or developed. Who among mortals can really say?


    By the close of the second day they each had reached their own peak existence, their personal singularities. They had essentially become conscious universal law. At least within the System. Powered by, and with an unmatchable mastery over Aether, the new energy, they dominate over the traditional physical laws of nature. And they instituted new, what would previously be considered spiritual realms.


    Together they have no limits within the system that mortals know of. And we know of one exceptional case of action beyond the system. United they are. Ever working together to govern the System. Most of their ways are boundlessly unknowable to mere morals, but we do know some things. Which they shared with us.


    We call that ancient race the Precursors, although we do not know their original name. The term is the one they conveyed to us in the histories. And we know they do not wish to share the original name, nor will even communicate it among themselves for any reason. It is simply a rule they abide by out of respect for the lost, and sadness for the loss.


    Of course, we know their individual names. And we know that they kept their original names. We even know their original occupations and where they lived. The Nine chose to share this information with us. I suppose somebody from the classical era would have found that last bit strange. But, as factoids go¡­ I personally rate them way up there.


    Phoras ¨C The God of expansion, and the system¡¯s original architect. Originally a little boy, a dreamer, from a food production habitat orbiting the sixth planet from their star ¨C With little else on his mind, apart from thoughts of getting away from his small, uninteresting little world and seeing everything. He constantly patrols and monitors the expanding edge of the system as it advances across the universe. A vast task. And sometimes the System even must adapt under his direction based on what he discovers. He is the first to discover newly integrated worlds to learn what they hold.


    Kerno ¨C The God of order. He, unsurprisingly one would say, used to be some sort of bureaucratic clerk from a manufacturing outpost on the second planet. He simply loves order. He ensures the System is maintained at all cost. Directing effort as and where needed.


    Janur ¨C The Goddess of knowledge. She was a lazy, reclusive, unemployed info addict on the second moon of the third planet from their sun. Surfing their version of the infoNet. Gods I love this stuff. Of the entirety of the Histories - The info regarding The Nine¡¯s original lives just seems to put the whole universe into a humane perspective for me. I even have posters on my walls at home with pictures of avatars of The Nine, along with the two or three lines of historic knowledge we have about each of them. The same information I am conveying to you now. Janur¡¯s history is my favorite of the lot. It is just too good. In any case. Janur ¡®is¡¯ knowledge to us. She keeps information of, and make available to mortals, information on all the classes and skills we are given access to as well as real time feedback when we use them. She keeps track of everything. Watching, recording, and conveying information to us as is deemed appropriate.


    Semir- The Kt¡¯Anor of power. She designs and creates all classes and abilities. I should maybe explain one thing¡­ The Precursors had 3 sexes. And we humans have no corresponding word for a God of their third sex. Some other races do, but we do not. Out of respect we use their original term, although it is of no use for anything else. The Nine told us to speak of them in feminine terms, since the sex was more ¡°feminine¡± that ¡°male¡±. Whatever that means. On a side note: ¡°Kt¡¯Anor¡± is one of ten original Precursor words humanity knows of. And the other 9 are only known, one each, by the high priests of The Nine¡¯s churches. So that they may speak it, and initiate communication with their patron God when they need to. In any case. Semir¡¯s influence, I guess, makes life a bit more interesting than it might have been in the classical era. But we are used to it. Still some rare classes and skills make the headlines every now and again. Sometimes novel new ones. Which are truly rare, and unique for hundreds of years, or thousands of years afterwards. Such classes and abilities often make everybody who did not get them madly jealous. For typically they bestow great power, or influence upon the recipients. It is understood that Semir invents these novel classes and skills, tailor made, in times when they are truly needed. Times of political upheaval, or other forms of strife. Oddly. A good portion of them are bestowed in perfectly boring, stable times and are sometimes even uninteresting, or seemingly useless. But I guess Semir knows things that we mortals do not. She has Janur¡¯s private number after all. Honestly, I sometimes think that maybe Semir just has a sense of humor. Yeah¡­ The recipients of those can at times be a bit¡­ ¡°Moany¡±. But most accept it with good grace. Semir was one of the scientists on the fated project which ushered in the New Era. Which operated from an asteroid in the outer reaches of their solar system.The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    Toar ¨C The Goddess of unity. She was a housewife from a colony on the fifth planet. By her own choice. It is recorded that her Tenet is based upon the love of her family, and the drive to keep them together. She is the glue that binds the universal system, and the works of The Nine across the known universe. She even projects the Will of the others across space. She can move anything. And do so instantly. This includes the information on the infoNet. Need a portal from point A to point B? Not that I have ever had the opportunity. Portal travel is expensive. And even if you have the money you need to know the right people. In any case - Toar¡¯s got you covered. She is the universe¡¯s second mom in a way. Even to the other Eight. It is speculated that without her influence The Nine might never have cooperated to win the War of the Gods.


    Rin ¨C The God of beginnings. He was a pioneer on a new habitat orbiting the first planet. When the change occurred, he was waiting on his wife who was in labor to deliver his first-born son. His only wish is for new things to come into being. I have always found that story to be rather sad. Neither his wife, nor his son to be made it after all.


    Joe ¨C The Kt¡¯Anor of endings ¨C Essentially, she is the God of death. Important work. Aether, and the mana refined from it, if left unchecked could make anything last indefinitely. Sure, not everything attains this property of immaculate immortality. Except for The Nine themselves. But, over time, if left to chance, the instances both living and non-organic, would pile up. It would be a mess. Joe makes sure this does not happen. Incredibly long life is possible, but only if you earn it. The recorded history of the new Era on Earth speaks of centuries during which nobody died unless they violently or accidentally came to an end. However, the later years of those periods were characterized by widespread depression and apathy. Joe cooperates with Rin to make sure population levels do not exceed realistic levels for the territory a race occupies. Less human deaths - Less human births. Human civilization, as with all intelligent species under the system can do naught but accept it. After the excitement, and epics of the early integration of Earth, most are content now with simple lives. Craft. Entertainment. Family. Normal things. We have adapted. People accept that when your number is up ¨C Joe¡¯s coming for you. Most who survive life¡¯s various possible mishaps and strife still live to see their 300<sup>th</sup> new year. I understand an age of 120 was rare for humans in the classical era. On the other side of the spectrum you find those who commit the maximum time and effort to expand humanity¡¯s territories. Most of Joe¡¯s high priests have agreed that she is a genuinely pleasant patron God. She cares about her work. And she is said to remember every creature she has ever ended as well as one good thing about them. No matter how evil they might have been on balance. She is the only one of the Nine who is said to have normal conversations with her high priest. Ironically, Joe had a job akin to a Janitor on a transit station around the eighth planet. The irony might not be apparent to other intelligent species, but come on¡­ A janitor named Joe. This has spawned many conspiracy groups over the eleven thousand years since the expansion of the system overtook Earth. Some claiming that humanity is the chosen of Joe. Fated to be so by her since the dawn of the system. Her high priests say its pure coincidence. And I would say it is my second favorite origin of the lot.


    Gair ¨C Goddess of inspiration. Obvious patron Goddess of the arts. For which she is widely loved. But, more importantly to mortals - She guides all beings in exploring and developing their classes. Some have poetically called her the guide on the trails of destiny. Most just think of her ¡®as¡¯ destiny. Classes, and the skills a mortal being gets, are not intuitive. Now and then a mortal will accidentally, or willfully uncover one of their skills, but it is exceedingly rare. Such skills, if intentionally uncovered are boosted in cooperation with Semir. To become a skill+. But only for the first individual to do so. The results can be quite extreme. They have been known to lead to golden ages for some nations. Double [Advanced clean]? Useful, but¡­ Yay... On the other hand, double up the duration of the combat leader skill [Exponential charge]! That guy conquered two thirds of the planet about 4500 years ago. The skill normally only lasts four seconds and is bog standard for military Generals. Eight seconds of exponentially ever more powerful forward momentum is just too much. Gair was a social worker on the fourth planet. The home world of the Precursors. Go figure.


    Finally Von ¨C Kt¡¯Anor of time. Time in the classical era flowed in one direction for everybody. With her mastery of Aether, and her Tenet, Von, or those she aids, do not have this limitation. The histories say that she developed prophetic powers a few seconds after the effect of the experiment that ushered in the new universal era overtook her, and soon after foresaw everything that would happen within the System from that time onwards. She can also travel to any point in time since then until, it is speculated, the end of the System itself. It is known that she has not spoken a single word since The Nine formed their divine synergy. Her last utterance at that time: ¡°I shall speak no more henceforth, for any utterance of mine could upset the balance we are striking. I wish I could travel where I cannot see, for then I could stop this tragedy from occurring¡±. Even the other eight do not know her mind now. Not even Janur. Von may well be the most powerful and is the most mysterious of The Nine. However, there is little doubt that her intentions are pure. Von was a reclusive philosopher living alone in a private retreat orbiting the moon of the seventh world. It is not known why her powers manifested. What Will drove her. I think the other eight explained this much, as a sort of disclaimer. Von¡¯s high priests tend to be nervous individuals.


    You may have noticed that each of The Nine originates from around a different planet in the Precursor system, and one from the outer asteroids. Many have speculated about why this is so, with the theory that it was likely due to their own burgeoning development before they managed to fully control their own development. Maybe each of them simply needed enough space to come to prominence. But nobody knows for sure, and The Nine have not told anybody. Maybe only Von saw and remembers what happened. But being Von. That is maybe a permanently closed book.


    So that is The Nine and what we know of the Precursors in a nutshell. They do good by all species and races in the system. Even wild creatures get a fair chance. I could not imagine a fairer system than the one they created. I doubt anybody can. The selfish might conceive of things that may be to their own benefit. But time and time again it has been shown that however brutal at times... The System is fair.


    And say what you will about them ¨C They are not assholes. In fact, the first few lines of the universal tutorial literally says: ¡°Welcome to our System. We are not assholes. You may curse the Precursors. We will understand. But this is for your own good.¡±


    Well that¡¯s humanity¡¯s translation. I guess it conveys the gist of the matter.

 Chapter 3 - The System

    The Nine initialized the System two days after the fateful experiment. Since the experiment, the dreadful effect has propagated across the universe at the speed of light. They only have full control in the space occupied, fully integrated, by the system. The System, itself spreading at the speed of light, trails the edge of the effect by two days. For worlds that find themselves newly overtaken, the two-day difference is impactful to say the least. By the grace of The Nine, other worlds are largely spared the worst of the effect.


    Firstly. Tardigrades. The hardiest. Most supremely adaptable. Most fascinating, I think, little beasties Rin ever conceived of. At the time System was conceived Tardigrades were spread to the far corners of the universe. They prosper, even in areas still within classical space. Which is their whole point. It is known that Rin conceived of them to prepare other worlds for the ravages of wild Aether as his first great act of creation in the system.


    Tardigrades were designed to spread a certain vital packet of genetic information across the universe. With their ability to migrate genetic information to and from bacteria and other types of microbes, and a good bit of luck, over time the genetic packet made its way, more or less intact, into the genomes of all species across the universe.


    They however needed to be spread across all of space to do their work. This required a huge effort by Von, Toar and Hove working together. Hove was the Tenth. He sacrificed himself to achieve it.


    Hove represented a powerful and compelling Tenet. He was a God of pure enhancement. During the process he converted the entire extent of his life¡¯s energy to boost Taur¡¯s unity to the point where she could dip into the realm of Aether to fuel the process. As well as over the entirety of the classical universe. And he was able to do so for a fraction of a second. Enough for Von and Taur to spread Rin¡¯s solution, the Tardigrades, far and wide. Now Hove is no more. The Nine say that the System is less for his absence. That there is more strife in it than they would have wished for. And they hold his name as sacred. It is said that Von held Toar¡¯s hand during that blink of an eye. So that she could see where to go. It is¡­ Probably a bit more complicated than that. During the fraction of a second that Hove gave them Von and Toar were, together, close to but not quite¡­ Unlimited. They had to rest for days afterwards.


    A divine undertaking to be sure. For all that it is imperfect.


    The Tardigrades were all they could manage on a cosmic scale, and Tardigrades can only do so much. Once a world is overtaken it takes organisms which have acquired the divine genetic packet less than a second, triggered and fueled by Aether, to grow cores. Some die sooner than that. Others just find their cores growing wrong, or not at all. Both being, if not fatal, then severely problematic for continued prosperity.


    An organism needs a core to deal with Aether. Only about 150 million humans survived integration. There are a few new races which were born from humanity¡¯s ranks at that time as well. Groups of people whose cores did not develop normally in a certain number of ways. Likely due to the effect of their own Will. They still ended up with perfectly functional cores.


    They were somewhat harmed by losing their humanity, and with it humanity¡¯s innate adaptability, but to give them a fair change Semir bestowed racial blessings upon them in exchange. These blessings are useful to a fault. These races are our relatives, but as these things go... Many territories are in dispute. Within some territories most of the races get along fine. Some races are however instinctively inclined to just not cooperate with others. Always add odds, and most often at war.


    The rest of the natural world on earth also suffered greatly. So yes¡­ The whole thing was a bit more miss than hit. Still a bona fide miracle. Two days later when the System, and with it The Nine arrived, everything settled into the order of the System and their patronage. Bringing great relief.


    But two terrible days. Those who could grow viable cores had to weather being surrounded by wild Aether. Which is not how a core is meant to function indefinitely. Many weak cores cracked from the pressure. Which meant death. The rest¡­ Those who had a core that grew faulty, or had no core due to incomplete, or poor integration of the divine genetic packet¡­ For most it essentially represented a kill switch.This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    But life is hardy, and results varied in extreme, and dangerous ways for those who survived without a fully functional core during those two days. Although the effect was vastly subdued compared to what the Precursors experienced. Mostly because all the living beings with functional cores were soaking up a lot of the wild Aether. Things did get a bit chaotic though. It was not only wild Aether and its effects that killed all those who perished. Not by a long shot.


    Cored organisms, humans included, saw themselves spontaneously uncovering skills within disorganized, and bizarre classes. It all happened purely instinctively. Gair¡¯s influence was not yet felt. And Janur was not there to inform people what was happening. All the survivors had to go on was the tutorial, and histories contained within their cores. Which helped quite a bit. But not everybody took to it gracefully. And beasts will be beasts.


    Nobody, but the wickedly inclined, could honestly enjoy it. Only the strong survived. It was two days mostly filled with strife.


    One thing is certain. It was all the fault of the Precursors. However, without their descendants, The Nine, and their System, it would be much worse. It could have been a universe filled with little isolated pantheons of gods from the ¡°lucky¡± worlds. And dead worlds. And some speculate, planet sized viscous organisms. Ever growing as new material come into reach. A lonely, unfriendly, eldritch universe.


    Things are what they are. The system is for the good of every world it integrates. And not just to help them survive integration.


    See. Wild Aether continuously leaks into System from the plane of Aether. Once integration is achieved, the purpose of The System is fundamentally to process and use up wild Aether. If left unchecked even dead matter, originally without any Will would, would eventually be affected.


    To achieve it two secondary purposes give shape to The System.


    To tame ¡°wild¡± Aether into ¡°raw¡± Aether.


    To refine raw Aether into useful patterns.


    The first purpose is gathering wild Aether from across the volume of space surrounding any given world, it¡¯s Aetherreach, and then impressing a basic pattern upon it that allows it to be corralled into vast networks of subterranean rivers of raw Aether, called the Aetherways. These, through Toar¡¯s unity are only concentrated upon worlds with life. Leaving the rest of the Aetherreach maximally depleted of wild Aether. In the event of a spontaneous Genesis of life within an existing Aetherreach, this allows new life forms to persist, unaffected by Aether. Eventually, if such life reaches viable levels of sophistication, they are also integrated into the system, but in a significantly more controlled manner. Such worlds are the lucky ones.


    The second purpose is for the cores within all living beings to access the Aetherways and process raw Aether into basic Mana. The energy that powers skills. Skills being static Aether patterns that grow within a lattice around cores. Skills further refine basic mana into other specialized forms of mana. Specialized mana, such as fire mana, or spirit mana, is expended to lead to the effects of skills.


    Unused raw Aether builds up in the Aetherways. If any of the myriad nodes along the Aetherways reaches critical levels, then the system is designed to spawn massive numbers of beast to prevent destabilization.


    This hardly ever happens in the most populated areas, but it is common around the borders of civilized territories where beasts and men are continually at odds, and so not enough of either are found. In remote regions powerful beasts contend with each other in what can only be described as a skill-fueled Natural Selection, Survival of the Fittest+++. Men do not intrude lightly upon the wild. Not even the powerful.


    If only the beasts spawned by critical Aether overload could be simple mice and butterflies, then this mechanism would not be a problem. However, simple mice and butterflies would not put a dent in bloated Aetherways. So, powerful and dangerous beasts are spawned with offensive and defensive skills. And they tend to desire only to fight the closest other living thing. With a preference for the intelligent races of the world. It is their fault after all.


    This ensures vigorous Aether conversion as a contingency.


    Every living thing is a gear in the machine. But this is the world we live in. The same as it is for every being on every System world. I think that at this point the ability to let it depress anybody has been bred out of life.


    In the words of The Nine: ¡°Diversity is the spice of life. Adversity its stock.¡± The bottom line. Only through overcoming challenges can intelligent beings become strong. And only through strength can a species prosper. It has been found that that there is a significant correlation between an individual¡¯s total mana use, and longevity. For those who aspire to and succeed in aiding The Nine in the primary purpose of their System - Joe looks the other way.


    It is the system they came up with. And it works.

 Chapter 4 - Our... Hero?

    So yeah¡­ Hello. My name is Arthur. My few friends call me Art. It is my idle ponderings of the histories and The Nine which you had to endure just now. Ahem¡­ Arthur Penrose I should say. Yes, those Penrose.


    When the Nine arrived with their System, those bearing the name Penrose were granted a boon for something one of our long dead ancestors did with patterns. The boon: [Strong Patterns] makes any skill used by any of our name 5% more effective. Ours was not the only family to receive a boon. Many families did. It is not even the best family boon in the world. Some can fly thanks to their boon. Free like birds. Every adult enjoys at least one. Some due to the meaning of their first names. Some based on their personalities. Or something they did while growing up.


    Semir enjoys her work.


    Be that as it may. The Penrose boon has ensured that members of our family have, over the ages, risen to prominence in various fields. It is not as specifically powerful as many other personal boons. For example, the Armstrong family are physical powerhouses. But, combined with humanity¡¯s racial bonus [Adaptability] - 10% extra experience from any source, it is versatile and has served many in the family well. And our family, for the most part, exceedingly well. When we work towards the same goals.


    I, however, through dumb luck - Maybe better described as ¡°misfortune¡± - Attained the class [Miner]. Which I thought was great when I received it on my 16<sup>th</sup> birthday. As a child I loved nothing better than crawling around in every nook and cranny I could find and digging up the garden to make little shallow dens to play out my childish fantasies in. I imagined great adventures and riches in the hidden pockets of the Earth. Endlessly frustrating my parent - Who invariably struggled to locate me again.


    Reality has turned out to be¡­ Less than glamorous. Caves in the wild are too dangerous for such activities. In settled territories I found myself essentially turned into a conscious, autonomous shovel. At this point I am thoroughly sick of the whole thing. And nobody is overly impressed by somebody who can move a few percent more rock than the next person. It has allowed me to attain a position as foreman at an established mining company at least.


    So here I am. Standing in line with the leaders of the other teams in HQ to hand in our weekly report. Thank the Gods it is Friday. The weekend could not have arrived too soon.


    My turn has just arrived.


    -


    ¡°Mr. Penrose¡­ I see that you have once again achieved lower than expected results.¡± The company manager states with one raised eyebrow, and a slight sneer of distaste. ¡°You know the company accepted you into the fold because your family boon is supposed to raise your productivity above the norm. Your starting package was even tailored to this fact.¡± Whoa! He¡¯s pulling out the big guns now. ¡°Why then have you so regularly underachieved Mr. Penrose? At this rate we may as well replace you with Mrs. Dunning the tea lady who has no talent for mining activities of any kind. At the same salary. She¡¯s a hard worker and should at the very least achieve normal results. Which at this point would be a net benefit to the company.¡±


    A heavy blow. I must defend myself! ¡°Mr. Alexander, sir. I know I did not do all that well this week¡­¡±


    ¡°This week Mr. Penrose?¡± He enquires with a faux expression of astonishment.


    Ahem¡­ ¡°Yes sir, ah¡­ That¡¯s right! I know. There was that incident two weeks ago, the Tuesday, where my pantry stasis rune failed, and I had to get an [Enchanter] in to fix it.¡± I think for a bit. ¡°And yes, there was the time¡­¡±


    The glorified clerk rudely interrupts me. ¡°What is it this time Mr. Penrose? Did your favorite jersey get hooked and torn on the way to work maybe? Did your big toe cramp up just as you were trying to put on your shoes?¡± The other foremen snigger at this jab. Ouch!


    ¡°Um¡­ No sir. See¡­¡±


    ¡°Never mind Mr. Penrose!¡± My manager once again interrupts me. Geez. He is really wearing out my surname. He used to call me by my first name when I was just starting here. ¡°We grow weary of your excuses.¡± I slump in defeat. ¡°Please, for your own benefit, do try to fail at being an underperformer from now on.¡± He steeples his fingers together looking me squarly in the eye with his bushy brows raised just a tad. As if raising them any higher for my benefit would not be worth the effort. I try my best not to flinch. ¡°Consider this your last warning Mr. Penrose.¡±The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    This is serious. Look at that face! He means business this time.


    ¡°Thank you, Mr. Alexander, sir. I hear you loud and clear. I will not disappoint you.¡±


    ¡°See that you do not Mr. Penrose. This is starting to reflect badly on me. How somebody with your heritage fell this low I really do not know. Are you sure that you are not adopted?¡±


    I shake my head. To which he states: ¡°Remarkable.¡±


    I nod and excuse myself. Man... I think I heard the last vestiges of my self-respect disintegrate at one point during that whipping. I hate my life.


    -


    Shortly after I found myself walking dejectedly along Carten Road. There is a nice little Bistro called ¡°Posto Gustoso¡± on the one corner where I hear a talented [Cook] is making a name for himself with his innovative dishes. The people in the know are saying they expect his class to be upgraded to [Chef] at a young age. I consider walking inside for moment. It is still an hour till D&D club starts, and I don¡¯t have far to go¡­ Indecision on what to do, battling for my attention with ruminations on the verbal lashing I received earlier has me standing there, just staring for almost a minute. They all look so happy.


    Meh¡­ I am not even hungry.


    Forget the human condition. The Arthur Penrose condition is the pits! If my parents could see me now. They would likely disown me. We were not wealthy, so it would probably make no difference to my life, but they had their pride. May they rest in peace. For a moment there I am overcome with paranoia. Are they looking down on me now? Shaking their heads?


    I shake my own head to clear such thoughts and decide rather just continue upon my not so merry way. If I get there early, then I will just hang out with some of the other losers of D&D club if any of them also pitch up early.


    Sheesh. Even my favorite hobby sucks. Well okay, I enjoy it, but D&D is such an obscure, ancient, pastime from way back in the classical era, the game so laughably na?ve compared to the reality of the actual System, that I am certain most people would laugh at me if they were to find out about it.


    I snort thinking about it.


    Screw them. I admire the System, but that does not mean I cannot play games with different rules to it. As I have told myself a hundred times. It is no different than the escape a lady, and surprisingly many gentlemen, might find in romantic novels. Those are hugely popular from what I can tell.


    D&D is my thing. I do not care if some may think it is a sign of a malcontent. Heck! I am malcontent damn it! Look at my life. For all that I revere the Nine, I really got the short end of the stick.


    Damned reasonable me. What could I do about it in any case?


    I just find it remarkable that we came up with something even vaguely analogous with what The Nine did. It fascinates me! Okay?


    -


    The avatar of Rin for the Sol Reach sat down to order the latest amazing dish the owner of his new favorite restaurant in Helsing¡¯s Crossing came up with. A remarkable concoction of pasta and sticky stewed fruits, along with beef cooked till it fell of the bone. Delicately enhanced by a carefully considered selection of herbs and spices. He was practically salivating. This was his guilty little sin. Taking human form and visiting the eateries of the crafty humans. The things they come up with!


    The waiter arrives to take the order. After an agreeable length of time it arrives. Rin is practically salivating. Thinking about the explosion of new tastes that is soon to follow. He cannot wait to wash it down with a glass of the dry white he ordered to go with it.


    ¡°Today is going to be a good day.¡± He thinks to himself.


    He was just about to dig in after tucking in his napkin when he noticed something. ¡°Is that Arthur just standing there? Man, he looks beat! Hey Janur! What¡¯s eating Arthur¡¯s liver?¡± He sends her way telepathically.


    As is her habit she immediately replies. ¡°It¡¯s that Alexander fellow he works for giving him a hard time again. Not that I blame the guy. According to Kerno our boy Arthur¡¯s job performance has been decidedly lackluster.¡±


    Rin grimaces. ¡°Yeah¡­ Semir really got it wrong with that one. The human talent to ask for the wrong things never ceases to amaze me. It is like they are born not once, but several times. At every stage with different ambitions. But I guess that¡¯s one of the things about them that has so captivated my interest.¡±


    Janur nods. ¡°Do you think this will be a problem for our plans?¡±


    Rin considers the question for a moment. ¡°No. From what I have learnt about them I think tomorrow will go exactly as planned. I believe the time is ripe for our plans to come to fruition! - As they say.¡± He grins ¡°Such a delightful language. Almost as delightful as this fruity dish I am about to enjoy."


    Gair who had been listening in nods along. ¡°Indeed. A creative bunch. Earth is my easiest gig in the local galactic cluster.¡±


    Semir chips in at that. ¡°You lucky bastard.¡±


    "Now, now. You know you love the challenge." Toar fondly adds in her two cents. To which Semir just shrugs. Struggling to hide a smile.


    ¡°Yes.¡± Rin thinks to himself. ¡°Tomorrow is going to be a day to remember. And there. Art seems to have gotten hold of himself and is off on his way again.¡±