[System initializing…] [Working…] [Known Gods and Demons identified…] [Building database…] [Determining beginning stats…] [Building class selection…] [Adjusting Rank requirements…] [Introducing Dungeons…] [Adapting planetary resources…] [Restoring Landmass designation: Atlantis…] [Creating safe zones…] [Progress 57% complete…] [Absorbing waste materials…] [Building monster and beast lexicon…] [Creating Zone Levels…] [Populating zones…] [Modifying physical reactions of matter…] [Inhibiting Nuclear and Explosive reactions…] [Modifying Electrical and Communication Grids…] [Progress 97% complete…] [World Broadcast - Please take precautions. All electrical and communication devices will be disrupted in 60 minutes and will be offline for 24 hours as System integration is completed.] A digital countdown was displayed after the system announcement. I wasn’t sure why my decision to dedicate an altar had made such a drastic impact on Earth. But if System protocols were equivalent to those on Talahm then System would expand to become a Universal construct. What would that do to the larger scheme of things? Events may become apocalyptic as humans were forced to confront their new reality. This Universe was based on laws and physics that precluded magic and levels; I wondered if this change was part of S-Prime's initial intention. A way to copy, clone, and grow the rule-set that System was modeled after. Change without breaking some Cosmic imperative that precluded direct intervention. Time hadn’t exactly paused as the System began the process of integration, but it was peripheral. Flashes of HUD, status screens, and noticeable scans as System indexed and claimed the accumulated knowledge, wealth, and resources that Earth and the local Solar System contained. [You have dedicated an altar to the Sidhe Pantheon. Claim Earth as your Kingdom and dedicate that Kingdom to the Gods of the Sidhe pantheon?] [Yes/No] [CERN Sithern has adapted and wishes to bond with you, do you wish to claim the CERN Sithern?] [Warning - Failure to claim sithern may result in Sithern destruction.] [Yes/No] It seemed too good to be true. I was being offered Earth on a silver platter. As a Sidhe, that was tantamount to proclaiming me Emperor, theoretically forever. To say I was conflicted would be an understatement. I didn’t know what to do, or what would do the least damage. If doing nothing or not claiming the planet and the Sithern would culminate in even more drastic System actions. The System may require some input to create a framework and construct something workable, something to fill the void my refusal may entail. A method to base and enforce rule-sets and archetypes. A hierarchy that Earth and the people would be constrained and bound to adhere too, something similar to the Ranking and Power system the denizens of Talahm followed. Additionally, the Sidhe Gods had agreed to enter sleep and only claim Talahm as part of a treaty with the other Pantheons. Did that treaty carry forward into this multi-verse? Certainly, any action that would wake those sleeping Gods there would have significant ramifications. Repercussions even direr than the evolving changes to Earth were going to have. Ragnarok on a multi-universal scale was not something that could be ignored, and I did not want to be the person responsible for destroying reality in both Universes. I’d planned on controlling the weft and weight of the God Particles using the Silinium to create a miniaturized black hole. A black hole that destroyed a small part of the CERN area as a method of closing the device and scaring human scientists from participating in any other endeavors that might trigger further catastrophic events when using the Collider. Silinium was unique because of the ability to hold enchantment and contain magical directives. The seeds I’d gathered would be enchanted with arrays that would become part of their matrix. Arrays that would monitor and detect God Particle emissions. If the Humans made any further attempt to build a new Collider and restart these experiments, the Silinium that I would seed in Earth’s ley-lines would activate, seek out, and destroy any new machines, methodologies, or prototypes. A black hole every time a Collider was activated should eventually teach even the most idiotic that this field of study was to be abandoned. That plan was moot now. The System was certain to change Universal Laws enough to make the experiments impossible. “What did you do?” a voice asked angrily interrupting my musing. She was intimidating and bristling with rage, her anger glorious as the very plants parted as she stormed towards me. Her power seething with complexity and largess that afforded her a gravitas that was more than any person I had met. She was larger than life, vitality and magics visibly funneling towards her to fuel her anger. I would be surprised if she was taller than two feet, and she was proof that size didn’t matter. She was a fully fleshed incarnation of what I expected a Gnome to look like. Pink hair swept up and back in a tight and severe bun. Her almond-shaped eyes were over-sized, giving the appearance of youth and innocence to her face. Her mouth was clenched as were her hands, the anger and fear unmistakable. Energies crackling in counterpart to the throbbing vein on her forehead, a visible testament to just how furious she was. She was shapely, breasts that were evident, but the shape was boxier than hourglass. And she was dressed in a baggy tunic. Puffy pantaloons flaring at the hip before being tucked into boots. She was glorious in her fury, eyes flashing and breasts heaving as she fought to contain her rage and not attack me. My perception immediately identified the aura and power she was exuding. This diminutive woman was a powerhouse. The strongest Sidhe I had met other than Gwyn ap Nudd. She could only be Duchess Wynne A’Ogma. A daughter of the God Ogma. The Celtic God of knowledge. One of a trilogy of brothers, they are often referred to as Tri dee Dana, three gods of skill. As God of wisdom, his descendants embraced those characteristics that related to the gathering and hoarding of knowledge, becoming great tinkerers, inventors, and poets. “I didn’t realize dedicating an altar would result in a System response,” I said answering her question calmly. “You didn’t realize? You have broken a proscribed observance that has lasted millions of years. You didn’t realize,” she said voice dripping with disdain. “Why is dedicating an altar proscribed?” I asked still uncertain why that action would have such far-reaching consequences. “Do you think the Gods entered sleep because they feared the other Gods or Ragnarok? “They entered sleep to maintain balance. To keep the Tuatha de Danaan from warring and destroying itself. Seelie. Unseelie. Light. Dark. The balance must be maintained or the Sidhe will destroy themselves before the other Pantheons could even make the attempt. “By dedicating that altar, no matter which side you chose, Seelie or Unseelie, you may have tipped the scales and empowered one side or the other to take that first step that will begin the final battle.” “I didn’t dedicate the altar to either Seelie or Unseelie,” I said attempting to defend myself. “What? “That is impossible. We all felt the powers of nature and Sidhe released. The World Announcement clearly demonstrates that you have changed the rules that define this world. “It was bad enough when we felt the dungeon exit close, realizing we were trapped on this dying Planet, adrift and separate from kin and family. But you worsen the pain and knowledge of that event by compounding that calamity with something so horrendous there is no way the permutations and ripple effects of this deed won’t be spread across the multi-verse. “The Summerlands are tied to all places and all times. We are creatures of the Summerlands and I assure you this trigger, this thing that you have done that you didn’t mean to, may shake the very foundation of Balance and Creation.” “I realize that the Earth paradigm does not mesh well with magic and System. I understand this perhaps better than anyone. But you are wrong about one thing. When I dedicated the altar, I did not choose Seelie or Unseelie. I choose Sidhe, in all, it’s permutations, foibles, ugliness, and beauty. I choose to dedicate this altar to what we could be, what we should have been, what Danu, the Mother Goddess aspired and dreamed for all of her children to become.” “That doesn’t seem possible,” she said uncertainly. “How would you be able to do something like that? A Seelie Prince dedicating a place of worship to those Gods that embrace the Unseelie?” “I am more. More than a Seelie Prince. I am Seelie/Unseelie. Both or neither. The blood of Beleros and Cyronax have managed to resolve their dispute within my blood and created a truce that allows me to be other. “I do not choose one over the other, I choose harmony. A blending of the Light and Dark. Good and Evil. You can not have one without the other. “And I do not elevate one species. All Sidhe are equal under the eyes of Danu. It was this balance and confluence of ideas that I embraced when dedicating this shrine,” I declared emphatically. “That may be enough to preserve the balance,” Wynne said thoughtfully her anger lessening as she considered my words. “But what of this world? System integration will change the way the natural world order operates. These people have no idea how to use magic, how to survive without the comforts that modern science and innovation, the quest for instant gratification has provided. “They have learned, striven, and fought horrible wars, seeking out often at the cost of life itself, every advance, every morsel of advancement that has allowed them to improve their circumstances. They have achieved much as they embraced the scientific method and as they have turned from superstition and supposition. “They have sparked knowledge that burns so bright it beats back the night and destroys the uncertainty and fears of the unknown. They have learned to deny those nightmares and fears in an attempt to understand and achieve dominion over that they do not understand. “And you have changed all of that. In all of this new world, it may be, that only those Sidhe gathered in this Sithern have the knowledge and ability to lead them into the light and turn back the tides of uncertainty and upheaval that they will now need to face,” she warned. “I believe,” I said unsure if I was right, “that the changes to Earth will not be as drastic as you believe. Or I hope not. “I have a mandatory generated quest to shut down the Hadron Collider without destroying the Earth and with a casualty rate of less than 20% of the Earth’s population. “System integration and the requirement for this planet to transition from science and mechanics to magic and mechanics should be a gradual process. The announcement said electricity and communication would be out for 24 hours, that should mean there is something, some kind of transmutation that will adapt or replace current energy production and communication technologies.” “A pretty delusion. And even if that is the case. These people are going still going to be thrown into the mix as dungeons and monsters start rampaging across the planet,” Wynn pointed out. “I think you will find they are more prepared than you expected. They have crafted illusion and games that follow very closely the strictures of System. There will be those few, a great majority actually, that are familiar with Status screens, spell affinities and skill lists. “If communications are re-established, they will be able to organize their national militaries and System game-play experts to take advantage of this change. And even if the rules concerning explosion and combustion are modified, their smaller weapons, guns may still be effective. “Some will die,” I agreed. “That is inevitable. But it may not be the apocalypse we fear it might. And I have been offered a choice. To claim Earth. As a Seelie/Unseelie Prince, that claim will allow me to set in motion protections until they have evolved and understood what System paradigm means for them and the world.” “The question is, should I make that claim? Or allow Earth to create a System that is tailored to these people?”