Chapter 2: Information Overload

  I pointed at myself. "Wait, you mean me?"

  I wasn't an idiot. Despite the tone of my voice indicating surprise, I could read the room and all of the hints that Orpheus gave were fairly clear that that's what she wanted. I just wasn’t sure that was what I wanted. In fact, I knew it wasn’t.

  Orpheus chuckled and held up the glowing World Seed.

  “That’s right,” she said. “We wouldn’t have much need for you otherwise.”

  I realized that sounded dismissive of me… but it was probably hard not to be, when you’d been in her position for so long.

  I sighed and rubbed the bridge of my nose with a finger again. Definitely some kind of habit that I hadn’t lost.

  “Look,” I said, “I can’t just make a world where everyone fights and kills each other. I wouldn’t even know how.”

  “Not to worry,” Orpheus reassured me. “Nobody starting out knows how to do this. We don’t want to give too much guidance, because we want that sort of creativity – to try new techniques. Just don’t make anything too boring.”

  “You don’t have to make a world that kills everything. In fact, that would be too lethal… everything would die out. But you also can’t make an absolute paradise where people want for nothing. Some kind of potential for conflict needs to exist, or else the people will have nothing to strive for.

  “Some do this by making brutal worlds. Others find more creative ways to encourage it. But it’s true that conflict and war tend to be the most successful means of drawing out the potential of individuals.”

  I grimaced, then muttered softly, “When I saw the throne room and was standing before a goddess, I suppose I had hopes that I’d be a hero… not someone writing the questlines that needed one.”

  To that, Orpheus let out a light, lilting laugh. Her lips curled into a lovely smile, “Is that how you see me? Interesting.”

  Feeling self-conscious now, I looked down at myself and patted my chest and sides. I was fairly lean, but not well-muscled. Actually kind of… average-looking, at least my body. "Is this how I looked when I died? I don't look that bad, I guess."

  The goddess waved her free hand in a casual dismissal of my worry.

  “You see yourself as you think of yourself… partially. It is likely a reconstruction of a mildly idealized version of your old body, perhaps set at an age where you felt more comfortable. If we plucked you from a time when you were older… well, I can select you but not view your memories, so I do not know what your age was upon death, but most likely you made yourself young enough to avoid the pains of age.”

  She clucked her tongue, taking a moment to think.

  “Of course, you can always take on a new identity, if you want. Given enough time, you may stop thinking of yourself as so tightly coupled to your old body. But that will be some time from now. It has nothing to do with your current task.”

  I frowned, but I could also see that Orpheus wasn’t going to be much help in getting me grounded. She was here to make sure I did a job. I might as well pump her for some information while she was here.

  “You still haven’t explained how I’m supposed to build a new world. If I have any sort of powers like this, I’m not aware of them.”

  The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

  Going back to this topic, as I expected, made Orpheus smile again. She gestured once more, making an image appear above her hand. This time, it was a middle-aged man sitting at a desk, writing in a large tome.

  “Once this meeting has concluded, you will find yourself in your sanctuary,” Orpheus explained. “It will be barren at first, but as you work, it will personalize itself to your desires to some degree. Once you are there, you will also gain access to some means of initiating and guiding your world. What manner of shape that takes is dependent upon the individual. This one here writes in a journal that continuously updates, and he also uses it as a reference.”

  Her fingers closed and then opened again, another image appearing… this time of a young woman, hair pulled back in a ponytail, sitting cross-legged on the floor. In front of her a spread of cards was laid out, and she carefully moved them about while dealing more from a deck at her side.

  “As you can see,” Orpheus continued, “the interface can vary widely. Each Administrator shapes their interface subconsciously, drawing on their own mental habits… writing, drawing, building, even play.”

  Again she closed her hand and reopened it. This time a bizarre green creature materialized – something that looked like a slimy octopus. It was constantly tapping and turning a shining purple sphere in front of it.

  So it seemed that I would have something to work with. I wondered if Orpheus even knew what my interface would look like, so I just nodded. “All right… so I’m supposed to build a world and populate it. I guess I’m still at a bit of a loss.”

  “Not to worry,” Orpheus assured me. “I will provide a fragment of myself to provide some limited guidance through the first three epochs and initial setup of the fourth. While I will not be able to provide you with outright suggestions, I can clarify things you may ask me about that the interface does not explain clearly.

  “You will be responsible for setting up the initial tendencies of whatever intelligent species you choose to populate your world with, as well as their general diversity.” She closed her hand, moving it to the other to cup the World Seed, still glowing within both.

  “However, be aware that your ability to set the parameters of their behavior is limited,” she warned. “This entire system does not work without free will. You may choose to make your beings ambitious, but that will not prevent some individuals from being less so. You can merely adjust the frequency. But these beings are thinking beings… as you should know, since you were one of them.”

  “Can I change parameters after setting them? It feels risky to be thrown into a universe and just told to figure it out.”

  Orpheus nodded. “Yes, you may, although changing parameters after they are set takes more energy, especially if they’re something that has already built up a kind of inertia. It is best if you manipulate them indirectly. When it comes to intelligent life, this is especially important. You are outright forbidden from interfering directly, even if you should make yourself an avatar. Should you choose to do that, the exact rules of how the avatar can interact with the cultures you create will be given to you.”

  I had meant to ask about the ability to interact with the world. It was something of a relief to learn that I could create an avatar. Somewhere in my memory I knew what that meant – that I would create a body and actually interact with the world. At least, I assumed that’s what it meant. And if the translation effect that seemed to be going on was working correctly, it was likely that this was the case.

  “That makes sense,” I said aloud. “Going in and mucking with everything directly does seem like it would cause chaos and interfere with the whole free-will thing. So I should save some energy for future adjustments.”

  The goddess nodded her head. “Yes. Keep some energy in reserve in case of emergencies. Once the Fourth Epoch begins, your world will start generating soul energy. Most of the soul energy will flow back to us, but a portion will recycle to you for maintenance and adjustments. If you do well, you'll even go over the cap, and that excess can either be saved or sent to us as a bonus.”

  I let out a sigh of relief. “Okay, so I’m not locked in permanently. But I should still try not to make any stupid decisions. I got it. What else should I know?”

  Orpheus held out the World Seed as I asked that. “Your interface should handle any further questions. I’ve covered all the basics you need to know… except one.”

  She stopped just short of handing me the World Seed. “This is important. While you cannot refuse this job, it is possible to fail. If you run out of energy before reaching the Fourth Epoch, or your Fourth Epoch proves to be net negative in energy for too long, you will be reassessed and possibly retired. You should avoid this. While we do reincarnate your soul back into your original world, we have to strip away all of the extra power you’ve gained as an Administrator. This process can prove stifling and even somewhat damaging, and it can take several cycles of reincarnation before your soul reaches its previous purity.”

  She gave me a faint shrug. “Then again, you won’t remember it happening, so perhaps that is less of a concern.”

  She dropped the World Seed into my hands just as I asked, “Wait, what!?”

  But the moment that warm energy tingled through my body, the entire room faded away.