I just sat there for a long time without answering SCHEMA. I can’t even say that I spent the time thinking over my options; I already knew that whether I liked the way that SCHEMA had arrived or not, I had no real choice but to go on with the program. A person can’t affect change in an existing system from without, it has to come from within. SCHEMA’s invasion—call it what you will but coming to our planet and taking over without invitation was as close to an invasion as makes no difference—would cause the extermination of 3/4ths of the world’s population. They hadn’t changed an existing system, they had completely smashed it and replaced it with their own. The very scope of it was mind boggling. I couldn’t even begin to conceive of how it had been done.

One thing I knew, though, the universe as we knew it, with physical laws and limits, was over. There’s a new sheriff in town, and I had to decide whether I was going to call him out or back him up, but either way, I had to work with my brain, not with my emotions. Someone told me once when I tried to argue facts with a flat-earther that what I was doing was bound to fail, because I was bringing facts to a feelings fight. What I wanted to do now was bring feelings to a facts fight, and that wouldn’t work any better. Work smart, not hard; I had to figure out this system, use the resources it was, supposedly, freely offering before I could even think about taking it apart.

So, I’d like to think that I reasoned this all out in the time that I sat under that tree, but that’s not what I was doing. I was just existing. I noticed that the day was past its mid-point. Instead of growing hot and full of light, the sun was now somewhere overhead, blocked by the thick canopy of verdant leaves that grew full overhead. Thick, ropey vines dripped downward into the forest’s gloaming, more like eastern Oklahoma, or Arkansas than any part of Texas I’d ever seen.

Then, I noticed what had been subtly bothering me for some time, there were no animal sounds. No birds singing while they built their nests in the abundant foliage, no squirrels scolding from branches overhead, no rabbits rustling in the thick undergrowth and leafy ground cover. Not an insect chirped or buzzed unseen past my ear.

“Why are there no animals?”

[SCHEMA] The BEGINNER TUTORIAL areas are free of encroaching life forms for the protection of the USER.

SCHEMA surprised me by answering the question, I hadn’t realized that I’d spoken it aloud. Though, come to think of it, that wouldn’t stop an entity who can read minds. Yes, I was still upset and not the least bit embarrassed to be so.

“Why would you need to remove all the animals, even the insects, to protect us? I’ve been in forests before and, sure, there’s the odd feral hog, and the like, but they rarely attack humans.

[SCHEMA]: The introduction of massive amounts of MANA into a planetary system which has not evolved into such an atmosphere always has serious effects on the non-sentient population. You will discover that everything you knew about your planet’s wildlife no longer holds true. Even the most passive and harmless creatures have now or will soon become quite aggressive. Their natural defenses will in most cases be augmented, they will undergo radical changes in size, and quite often, they will develop physical and behavioral characteristics that you would consider mythical in nature.

MANA is found everywhere in the universe, SCHEMA began, answering the question I hadn’t asked, to one degree or another. This planet had, at one time, a higher concentration of MANA, and the beasts that your scientists have relegated to legend, at one time did exist. Perhaps not in every case, but even your leading scientific minds do admit that every legend has at least one grain of truth.

MANA is essential for the SCHEMA system and is a fundamental underpinning of the Greater Galactic Empire. Without it, not only will spells not work, but the technology of the Empire would cease to function. It is with MANA that the Greater Galactic Empire is able to overturn the physical laws of this universe and allows each individual civilization within the galaxy to evolve into something that can be considered not a client civilization, nor a conquered civilization, but an equal to even the Elder Races themselves. The SCHEMA system is here to help!

I didn’t miss that SCHEMA had neglected to include the word “most” before saying we could be equal to the Elder Races of the Galaxy, but I’d spent enough time letting my feelings run free. If I was going to take my own advice and start using my head instead of my heart, I’d better get started doing it. I couldn’t remember, exactly, but I had the strong impression that my heart, mine at least, if nobody else’s, was not a reliable tool for making life decisions.

Besides, I thought, I’m really starting to get hungry, and if I want to end this TUTORIAL before I starve, I’d better get off my ass and get cracking.

My stomach growled loudly in agreement.

“Okay, SCHEMA, I’ve had my little tantrum and I’m ready to begin the next part of the TUTORIAL.” Matching action to words, I stood, dusting fallen leaves and other detritus off my cheap ass homespun trousers. As I did, the trail that I had noticed before that ran from east to west began to shine with a faintly green glow in the dim light. Not all of it, only the part from where it reached the point perpendicular to where I stood and extending to the west.

[SCHEMA]: The next section of the BEGINNER TUTORIAL will be administered by system trainers who have been judged as experts in their respective fields. It is the goal of the SCHEMA system to provide only the very best in training to new USERs. Only in this way can the SCHEMA system ensure that new civilizations are properly incorporated into the Greater Galactic Civilization. WARNING! The style and content of each training session is in the exclusive control of the individual trainers! As you may be familiar with military inductee training, trainer’s methods will simulate real combat scenarios as well as employ means that can be harsh, cause physical pain, injury, and death.

NOTE! Do not worry! There is no cause for alarm! While undergoing combat training, USERs will have access to priests with healing spells as well as healing potions. Additionally, any respawn that a USER experiences during training will not be deducted from that USER’s randomly derived respawn total! The SCHEMA system is here to help!

Should you at any time have any questions, feel free to inquire of your trainers. They are here to prepare you for combat in the best way they know how and will provide adequate answers.

“Can’t you answer my questions?” I asked? Even though I hadn’t known SCHEMA before waking up in this pocket dimension this morning … heck, I didn’t even know if SCHEMA was male or female, or if it was using ‘we’ as the royal we, or if it was singular or plural. Even though I didn’t know any of this, it had readily—and at least to all appearances, openly—answered almost all of my questions without apparent rancor regardless of how it had to know I felt about it. The fact is, it had grown familiar, and, all animosity aside, I’d grown used to it.

[SCHEMA] This section of the SCHEMA system which administers the BEGINNER TUTORIAL will not take an active role in your training. You must trust your trainers, as each one has been chosen specifically for his or her task. Once your combat instruction is completed, we will speak with you again as you prepare to continue on into the CRAFTING section, or to exit the BEGINNER TUTORIAL.

Please follow the marked path to the first training area. WARNING! Do not deviate from the path! While life forms have been excluded from most parts of this pocket dimension, there are some dangerous life forms that inhabit some of this forest. These life forms are here for training purposes and should not be encountered without proper instruction. We will speak again at the end of your combat training.

And just like that, I was on my own.