If you are reading this that means you have survived your first encounter with a monster either by luck, skill or due to ???????? intervention.

DO NOT TREAT THIS AS A GAME

Make use of everything the system offers.

Do everything you can to survive.

If you want answers then you must survive.

If you want to go back home then you must survive.

THIS IS THE END OF THE AUTOMATED MESSAGE >

A blue text box showed up in front of him and for the longest second Adam just stared at it, stunned and unable to process before his mind finally settled on being confused. What the fuck!...are you kidding me...is this for real? I must be hallucinating. I must have hurt my head bad enough to short circuit some wires. Adam waved his hands and it went through the box like it wasn’t there…of course! It’s a hallucination. Of course, I wouldn’t be able to touch it. But brain you got a weird sense of humor, that’s a goddamn text box, why am I hallucinating a goddamn blue screen with some bullshit text…! what kind of bullshit is this? Am I in a game?

Adam had no idea what to make of it. He had played games, old rpgs and rts games which had similar blue screens. Is that it? Am I in a game? VR shit or something? Adam went through the message once more in hopes of it making more sense the second time around but he still couldn’t understand what the message wanted to convey except to do everything he could to survive.

And the message isn’t cryptic at all. Totally makes sense...explains so much...thanks for the ominous warning that didn’t explain jack!…seriously what the hell…I know I’m not dreaming cause I’m bleeding and it hurts…Head trauma can cause hallucinations, right?...and there’s no way that what I’m seeing is real. THAN WHAT ABOUT THAT GODDAMN DINOSAUR!! Calm down Adam! Adam was overwhelmed, he woke up in an overgrown forest and he didn’t have time to process that fact before he got chased by something that looked like a T-rex and he ended up running for his life and quite nearly ended up as dinosaur food before he had found the hole he was now trapped in. How the hell do you make this box or screen go away? No sooner had Adam thought about making the box disappear, it did. OK that was neat. So it was a hallucination! And then another box showed up in front of his face.

Unknown user detected. Unable to find matching records. Analyzing…carbon-based life form. Sapient. Residual dimensional energy detected at molecular levels. Extreme levels of ether saturation detected. Subject’s molecular integrity compromised. Current integrity at 97%.

Subject is a foreign entity not originating from any system integrated space. Probability of subject having been transferred through a dimensional rift @ 99.2%. Unstable levels and carbon atomic structure indicates that subject originated from a non-ether universe. Evidence of residual dimensional energy and the signature suggests subject was caught in a dimensional micro-rift.

Conclusion: Subject is an outworlder from a non-integrated universe. Engage outworlder protocol.

Warning: Culmination of complete molecular collapse imminent due to extreme levels of unstable subject’s unintegrated body. 43 minutes till collapse. Subject recommended to initiate .

Initiate ? y/n

So it’s not a hallucination and this is really happening. Fuck. So, I’m not on earth. And my body is breaking down? ether saturation? unintegrated body?43 minutes???where do I even start? what the hell is dimensional energy? Somebody please explain this shit! As the thoughts raced through his head, the blue screen blinked and changed what it was displaying

Subject does not possess authority for to answer query in full. As per section 3, answers shall be given which are relevant to the subject’s situation, in regards to keeping in line with , in a form that the subject can comprehend. Answers to the subject’s queries have been ordered in order to facilitate effective comprehension.

Subject has crossed over from unintegrated space and into integrated space. Currently subject is on frontier planet in the system, located in the galaxy.

Subject must understand that there are almost close to an infinite number of universes which exist layered one upon one another and these layers are separated by dimensional membranes. Dimensional membranes are almost impenetrable and are integral in preventing the universes from intersecting with one another. .

There are certain events on the cosmic scale which can affect dimensional membranes. . These events can cause micro tears in the membrane and result in intersection between universes and through these tears matter exchange takes place. There have been past cases of organisms and sapients crossing over through rifts and there is evidence that suggests subject had crossed over to integrated space through a dimensional rift.

Ether particles are a higher form of energy particles and they can only exist in certain universes and out of these universes only a few have ether particles woven into their fabric of space time during genesis. They are a source of near limitless energy and countless other uses, too numerous to list.

Ether particles cannot be directly used by most sapients and require integration in order to be tolerate and use . . When exposed to ether Non-integrated organisms whom do not possess an inherent means to control ether or a molecular tolerance will end up saturated with ether and will quickly end up losing structural integrity due to ether saturation. . Once point has been reached the subject will experience molecular collapse.

Subject originates from space and has no inherent capability to use ether and negligible tolerance to . Due to high concentration of in the surrounding space, subject’s body has become saturated with and once has been reached subject will experience molecular collapse.

Note: due to imminent molecular collapse, would advise subject to initiate in order to prevent this outcome. . More information will be given upon integration.

I’m really not on earth and this is really fucking happening. I went to sleep and I woke up in another universe…fucking unbelievable…It’s like straight out of a story or movie or some bullshit...This really is happening. Adam was confused, shell shocked and he had no idea what to do or think. What about Mom, Evan, Sammy…Alayna. If the blue screen, the system isn’t lying to me than I’m a long way from home. A long way from my family. Fuck. Adam was having difficulty accepting what this meant for him. He couldn’t believe that he was stuck in this hell. He couldn’t believe that he might never see his family again. Wait. A thought came to him just as he was beginning his downward spiral.

Adam felt himself fearing and yet hoping at the same time as he asked the question out loud.

“system is there a way for me to go back home?”

There exists a possibility which in the past had used to leave integrated universes but the knowledge is not available to the subject with his current authority. Subject first must integrate with and continue to elevate his authority to a sufficiently high level in order to access the knowledge. Subject can only elevate his authority after integration.

Adam let out a breath that he didn’t know he had been holding, he felt relieved. He hadn’t realize just how much he was depending on that answer. He didn’t know how he’d react if there wasn’t a way back home. Mom, Evan, Sammy...I’ll find my way back to you guys. I promise...so please be safe…At least now there was hope. Honestly this was too much, and too soon, he was just coming in to terms with Alayna breaking up with him after 5 years of being together, he was going to ask her to marry him when...if…she had come on the trip with him and now, here he was stuck inside a hole in the ground in the middle of a jungle on some godforsaken planet in another goddamn universe.

BREATHE. Just breathe. ok Adam…think of it this way you always wanted to go on an adventure and now you got your chance. Adam thought as he tried to make light of his situation…I wanted an adventure to take mind off shit! NOT become a snack!!..OR become a slave to something that makes me see blue screens!!…breathe man, just breathe...So the situation isn’t ideal but you’re stuck in it so you got no choice but to try and make the best of it, at least until you can find a way back home. The possibility of home was enough to keep the flame of hope alive in Adam’s heart as he went through the situation in his head...Authority huh, if I wasn’t hurting so much I wouldn’t even believe this shit.

Focus on the present Adam...so I’m in another world/universe or whatever…I’m stuck in a burrow below ground and I’ve got a dinosaur waiting outside who wants to make a snack out of me. Except for the dim light coming through the entrance its pitch black in here. I have no weapons, nobody to help me, no idea where civilization is...there should be some form of civilization on this frontier Planet, right? And the only protection against the elements I have is my boxers and t-shirt. Great! oh and molecular collapse? I got less than half an hour left before I go poof…perfect...just perfect. ok stop being such a whiny asshole and...think...Adam stayed still and pondered before he gave voice to his question.

Molecular collapse didn’t sound good to him but he didn’t want to risk jumping from one fire to the next without knowing how hot it would be. He did have somewhat of an idea about what integration meant but seeing as he had enough time, he wanted more information before he pressed the YES button. And he was going to press YES. The only alternative is dying. He had no choice but he’d be damned if he didn’t try to at least find out what he was signing himself up for.

Steeling his nerves, Adam asked his question out loud. ”system, what does mean? Specifically, what does it do to me? and what are you? are you something like a god or a deity or a cosmic force …but with blue boxes?”