A light mist filled the office of Xe’Shara. It gently coated and refreshed the mucus membrane covering his pulsating cranial sac and oral tentacles as he studied a holographic projection. Complex characters scrolled across the screen, providing the Chairman of Newly Initialized Systems for the Galactic Confederation data on the most recent planet to begin its Initialization.

“This can’t be right,” Xe’Shara said. His voice sounded bubbly, like each word came out of a bubble popping out of a viscous liquid. “Corantha, Get in here.”

The Chairman’s Assistant slid into the office on a trail of slime. She looked like a cross between a centaur and a slug, sporting an upright torso, two arms small head with two eyestalks attached to a slug’s body.

“Yes Chairman?” she asked.

“This report on PXRT-271,” he re-read the local designation, “Locally called Earth. There are several abnormalities showing. Did you confirm the reports accuracy?”

“Yes, sir. Those reports are direct from the observation station located just inside the Oort cloud. The Analysists authenticated every data point before sending their report seven local days after Initialization began.”

The Chairman’s bulbous cranial sac swayed as he shook his head. “You are telling me that not only did nearly thirty percent managed to survive, but that they started with almost eight billion Sapients on a size three world?”

“That is correct, sir,” the assistant answered.

“Pull up all the archived System data we have access to. This planet doesn’t make sense. With that high of a population, the planet should have been initialized centuries or even millennia ago. Whoever developed the System, at least they left access points for us to pull information from. I just wish we could access its core functions.”

“Right away sir.” The assistant said before hurrying out of the office.

Xe’Shara pulled up the communications function on his terminal and sent a message to the council to have them gather soon. Once he was able to go over the archived data there would be some decisions to make.

* * *

Xe’Shara took his seat in the council chambers, through his terminal he logged in and activated the projectors. One by one, each council member appeared around the large table.

The council was made up of members of every major galactic government, spanning dozens of species. Not every species was represented, as most governments annex Initialized worlds after the required time has elapsed. 50 galactic standard years, 103.4 local years for the newly Initialized Earth, must pass after System Initialization has been completed before any foreign involvement is permitted. Only the minimal, and monitored interactions via the System Marketplace may occur without System enforced Punishment.

“Thank you for joining me,” Xe’Shara said to the gathered council.

“This had better be good, my offspring’s ritual hunt is going to start soon, and I promised my mate I would attend this one,” said a green skinned being that could only be described as an Orc.

“There are currently forty-two planets the System started its Initialization process on. Of those forty-two, all except one are proceeding within the standard deviation or projections.”

“And? What’s your point? We cant do anything with them for the next fifty standard years or so. We can’t even begin accurate planning for at least forty-five,” the Orc like being said.

“I understand the Sharteek Empire representative has places he wishes to be. But the concern is with the forty-second planet, the most recent one to begin Initialization. There are numerous abnormalities with it that need’s to be brought to the Galactic Confederation’s attention according to article 76, section delta, subsection 47.”

A series of groans chirps, warbles and other sounds of dissatisfaction emitted from the various council members. They didn’t like to be bogged down with referencing the Articles of Confederation. The document was thousands of pages long, written and mediated by the Bentick, the most detailed, analytical and pedantic species known to the universe. They were practically a race of lawyers.

“Well, be on with it then. The sooner we are done the sooner my offspring can be blooded,” the Orc said in resignation.

“The first point of irregularity is the planet’s population. The population of PXRT-271 consisted of 7.753 billion Sapients at the moment of Initialization. Of that, nearly thirty percent survived Stage 1.”

“Are the Sapients of PXRT-271 some kind of insectoid species?” an Elven looking Representative asked.

“No, they are in fact Mammalian, a species of Evolved Primates that call themselves Human. This species reaches maturity in eight to ten standard years and can produce between two and four offspring each standard year for another fifteen to twenty standard years. In optimal conditions, according to these estimates, each mating pair can produce over fifty offspring over their lifetime. Fortunately, their lifespans are fairly short, a mere thirty-five standard years on average pre-Initialization.”

The council members were shocked into silence over the reproductive capabilities of the Primates on PXRT-271. The average member of the Confederation didn’t reach maturity for at least twenty standard years, and only produced a single offspring every two standard years, often far longer.

“That is just the first abnormality. The second involves the Paths of Power Available to this Species.”

“Which Path did they receive?” an anthropomorphic Mollusk asked.

“That’s the thing, they didn’t receive one… they received three. And after Stage 2 Initialized, a fourth one was unlocked,” The Chairman said.

Instead of silence this time, the entire chamber erupted. Everyone was talking over each other. Four Paths of Power during Initialization was unheard of. The most any species had access to during Initialization was two Paths of Power, and those were only for the most chaotic and self-destructive species. What kind of sentient being has access to four?

Once the chamber calmed down enough, one of the other representatives asked, “What Paths of Power did they receive?”

“Of the three they started off with, two were fairly normal Paths. Path of Mana and Path of Ki. The odd Path out is the Path of Faith. This is an extremely rare path. The only sapient species that we are aware of that received this Path of Power, wiped themselves out before the System Protection period ended. The Final path, the one unlocked after Stage 2 began is the Path of Blood. This last one seems to mimic the Draculean race’s abilities. A parasitic race that draws power from the lifeforce of other beings to fortify and increase their own power.”

“Parasitic paths are not unheard of. The Path of Chimaera is somewhat similar. Using beast parts or cores to meld them with their own bodies and take on some of the beast’s powers. What concerns me is this Path of Faith. It is not uncommon for newly initialized Sapients to worship some kind of fictitious divine beings. But they never gain actual power from it,” the Elven representative said.

“That brings me to the next issue with PXRT-271. After going through the archives, we have access to, we discovered that the System tried to Initialize PXRT-271 once before. Approximately ten thousand standard years ago the Essence on PXRT-271 had sufficient density to trigger Initialization. However, when the System attempted Initialization, the planet’s Energy State was too powerful to be penetrated. It rebuffed the System and the system was forced to abandon the planet.

“Before leaving, the system catalogued everything it could and it had surprising and concerning results. In the archived file, the System found Divine energy. The Sapients were converting Essence to Divine power on their own. the Sapients known as Humans, all had a remarkably strong affinity for divine energy, elevating many of their number to deific status. They literally created their own gods.

“Something happened between when the System failed Initialization and now. The Divine affinity is no longer commonplace among these Sapients, but they do have a microscopic remnant of that power. They each contain a spark of divinity that, if cultivated, could bring about another age of Living Gods on this planet, potentially before the System Protection expires,” The Chairman finished.