I woke up.

The rays of the rising sun warmed my face and brought me slowly out of a deep slumber. The ragged edges of a dream snagged on my awareness like a tattered piece of silk that I’d once run across my callused palm. It seemed that there was something there, some sweet memory, laughter and a feeling of happy well-being. I couldn’t remember, now, what the dream had been about. A face. A kind word. Home, I think, but why slipped away until there was nothing more.

My eyes opened up.

The ray of sunlight that had awakened me had shifted away from my eyes, but still spread glorious golden light through the trees. Trees. I was in a forest, I guessed, or at least a patch of woods, somewhere. The trees were very tall, from my position lying on the ground looking up, I could see how their straight trunks rose a long way before the first branches spread and interlocked, blocking out any view of the sky, creating a striking patch of darkness that contrasted perfectly with the illuminating rays below. I could see motes of dust sparkling in the light, they almost seemed to dance in the still air.

I sat up.

I had been lying in a soft bed of fallen leaves on the forest floor. I brushed the ones which clung to the sleeves of my rough-woven shirt. I had no jacket and no blanket, but I wasn’t cold; I thought it must be late spring, or maybe early summer. I looked down at my legs and saw they were covered in long pants that appeared to be a coarser version of the cloth of which my shirt was made. My feet were thickly wrapped in the same fabric and tied all around with twisted cords.

I stood up.

Immediately as I stood, there was something in front of me that hadn’t been there before. I looked at it curiously, wondering where it came from, what it was. Words. I realized there were words floating in front of me. It didn’t occur to me to be afraid at their unexpected appearance, or to think it odd in any way that words were floating in the air. I wondered if I could read the words, and then I did.

[SCHEMA]: Welcome Traveler! Do not be afraid!

It hadn’t even occurred to me to be afraid until just that moment; the warm feeling left behind by my dream and the idyllic forest setting had filled me with peaceful happiness. I felt it still, but now there was just the slightest tingle of unease in the pit of my stomach. I darted a quick look to each side, but all was as it had been. I looked down at my feet and considered the situation.

I thought, the words told me not to be afraid, so that must mean that I am not to be afraid. I should probably listen to the words. They are words, after all.

Happy once more, I looked up.

[SCHEMA]: Your world is now part of the Sentient Civilization Hastened Evolution MANAgement Alliance or SCHEMA. The world as you knew it was incompatible with the Elder Races of this galaxy. In an effort to preserve as much of your uniqueness as possible while simultaneously allowing your race [Human] to compete with the other galactic races, SCHEMA, a coalition made up of representatives of the most Elder Races designed the system which will guide as many as survive as humanely as possible.

My pulse sped up.

The niggling spark of worry that I’d felt before hadn’t gone away, after all. It was still there, but now it was pushing aside the feeling of well-being. I wasn’t in a panic, yet, but it wasn’t looking likely that I could avoid it if the news got much more alarming. Looking around, I realized that I didn’t know where I was; nothing looked familiar, but at least nothing looked threatening, either. I tried to remember some place that did look familiar, but nothing came to mind. It was as if I had just been born, here in the forest.

[SCHEMA]: Do Not Worry! There is no cause for alarm. This is a normal transition that millions of life forms from thousands of planets have experienced.

Somehow, I wasn’t convinced.

[SCHEMA]: You may have noticed that you have no memories before waking up. This is for your protection as many life forms on other worlds have become panicked and taken actions that led to their own harm.

Not helping, I thought.

[SCHEMA]: The SCHEMA is your guide to developing yourself and your civilization; following the recommendations of SCHEMA will help you grow and become strong. We’re Here to Help!

You are now in the Beginner Tutorial.

This tutorial will teach you about your [MENU], voice commands, movement, conflict, and leveling up.

WARNING! Do not move from this place until you have completed the instructional part of the Beginner Tutorial, SCHEMA is not responsible for any accident or injury should you decide to ignore this warning!

To begin: Please think or say [MENU] now.

“Menu,” I said, because I wanted to hear what my voice sounded like. It was kind of shaky, I thought, but at this point I didn’t have much to compare it with.

[MENU]

Select by thinking, saying, or touching one of the tabs below:

[CHARACTER] [SKILLS] [SPELLS] [INVENTORY] [CRAFTING] [JOURNAL] [MAP]

“Spells,” I said, because that sounded pretty neat; I’d always wanted to do magic.

[SPELLS]

Spells are learned from scrolls [common], trainers [common], observation [uncommon], or experimentation [rare]. Spells are separated by level, once you reach the required level, you may learn the spell by one of the above methods. Other requirements and limits may apply. Once a spell is learned you may cast it, depending on each individual SPELL’s requirements, by thought, word, or gesture. Spells require MANA, a renewable resource available to various classes of magic users, or SPRIT, available to various nature or religious classes depending on the specific requirements of each spell. MANA and SPRIT are deducted from your total pools of each, and a spell cannot be cast or learned unless your pools have a sufficient quantity. You can learn more about your MANA and SPRIT pools, as well as how to increase the size of your pools and the rate at which they renew in your [CHARACTER} tab.

You have no spells.

Well, that sucks, I thought, and my heart fell a little.

Even though I was sure I hadn’t ever been in this situation, or known anything about magic before, the information seemed familiar, or expected. I wasn’t sure which, or why I felt that way. I also had the feeling the information I was getting was pretty basic.

“Character, then.”

[CHARACTER]

NAME:

TITLE(S):

RACE: HUMAN

SEX: MALE

AGE: 16

LVL: 0—0/100

CLASS: NONE

LIFE: 10/10 [1/10]

STAMINA: 10/10 [1/10]

MANA: 10/10 [1/10]

SPRIT: 10/10 [1/10]

STRENGTH: 1

DEXTERITY: 1

CONSTITUTION: 1

INTELLIGENCE: 1

WILLPOWER: 1

CHARISMA: 1

LUCK: 1

ABILITY POINTS: [LOCKED: TUTORIAL]

Select a Pool or Ability for more information.

Some of them, like RACE seemed pretty self-explanatory, but looking at the list, I couldn’t shake the feeling that my intelligence was pretty low, for some reason, so I thought I should probably look at each one anyway, just to be on the safe side.

*DING*

[SCHEMA]: CONGRATULATIONS! YOU HAVE INTUITED FOR THE FIRST TIME! +1 WILLPOWER

Immediately, my WILLPOWER number jumped from 1 to 2. Interesting. Evidently, every action—and even every thought—had the potential to raise my abilities. It appeared that I’d done the right thing, and I determined to pay attention and try to learn everything I could and see if I couldn’t keep on raising my attributes.

*DING*

[SCHEMA]: CONGRATULATIONS! YOU HAVE RATIONALIZED FOR THE FIRST TIME! +1 INTELLIGENCE

My INTELLIGENCE number ticked up by one. Immediately, I felt more clear-headed. I realized that my mind had had a kind of fog over it, but it was clearer, now. Time to learn more. This time I reached up and touched my selection. The word felt slightly cold to the touch and gritty, like it was carved out of stone.

NAME:

[SHCEMA]: A person’s name on that person’s character sheet is what that person is known by to himself, and to the SCHEMA. Each inhabitant of every world that transitions into the SCHEMA leaves who they were behind and has the opportunity to start fresh. Citizens have two names; the first or given name is the name by which an individual is known by members of his family, the second, or group name is the name by which all members of his family are collectively known. You may share your name with others or you may choose to keep your name to yourself. The decision is yours.

WARNING! CHARACTER sheets, in whole or in part, may become visible to others! This is accomplished by joining a group or otherwise creating a temporary or permanent link to another individual or individuals, various spells, skills, items, by right of conquest, or to leaders to which you are beholden. NOTE: It is possible to hide or obscure one’s CHARACTER sheet from such individuals who would otherwise be able to view its contents. This is accomplished by various spells, skills, or items.

In the greater galactic civilization, it is considered wise to remain circumspect with the contents of one’s CHARACTER sheet, and therefore it is common to discover that the name by which an individual is known differs from that inscribed upon his CHARACTER sheet. It is suggested that you keep your own information private, whenever possible, but be aware that some individuals may still learn the truth.

[SHCEMA]: What is your name? You may choose the with which you were born, or you may choose another. The decision is yours to make

“Tom,” I answered immediately. The name just popped into my head, though I couldn’t have said whether it had been my name before, but it just felt right.

[SHCEMA]: What is your second or group name? You may choose the family or group name into which you were born, or you may choose another and start a new family or group. The decision is yours to make.

I just stood there for a moment; I didn’t know what to say. I could feel the place where my last name should be, but it was as if it had been taken from me, like I didn’t deserve it. In my heart, I knew I was a man without a family; no group wanted me. I was a nobody.

“Nobody,” I said. “I’m a Nobody.”

[SHCEMA]: Your name is Tom Nobody.

And so, it was.