Rebirth and Second Chances

Chapter 96: Godhood or Idiocy

"They call themselves Earthlings. Humans have lived in a world of magic with no way to harness those forces except by the occasional mutated or half-breed, those that can trace their roots to one or more of the Pantheons.

"Their history has scattered instances of strong individuals that have been able to fumble some truths about magic and gained a few abilities. But these individuals were rare and often persecuted and destroyed for their achievements.

"They actually burned some of those with the strongest magics alive. Or consigned them to the torturers to be tormented into falsely confessing associations with demons and Princes of Hell.

"Somewhere, in their evolutionary history, the constraints and ties of magic that all life-forms are born with were sundered, and they were forced to adapt and progress by using other means. They learned to rely on their intellect and invented tools and machines that allowed them to claim dominion over the earth and oceans.

"Even though they turned to science and technology for survival, their history is rife with superstition, myth, and Gods. The Sidhe, Olympians, Asgardians. We are all part of the collective conscience of this planet.

"But our true natures are long forgotten. We have become simply stories. Initially used to explain the meaning and working of nature, we have been mostly forgotten and relegated to the dustbin of history.

"They clawed their ways out of caves and down from trees, learned to walk upright, and claimed their planet using their intelligence and perseverance. They built wondrous tools and frightening weapons. They are as adept with machinery as we are at magic.

"CERN, the Dungeon, is a culmination of their current technological achievements. They have advanced the science of physics and matter exponentially, as they try to understand the very nature of the cosmos and the secrets behind creation.

"In their hubris, they seek to understand how the Universe was created, and the Cosmological Laws and Constants that regulate all of creation.

"Their tinkerers and researchers have managed to measure the heft and weight of the Universe. They know that certain matter and energy. Matter they have labeled as dark energy. They have proven it exists. To them, this dark energy is nothing more than fleeting scientific curiosity. But their curiosity is legion, and they would understand the whys.

"For us. Dark matter is the very building block of creation. It is composed of God particles and infused with the energy of magic.

"They have no way to harness these energies. Their bodies unsuited to channel magic or God particles. But they are clever. And the possibility of them inventing the machine to do what their bodies can't is beyond possible, it is almost a guarantee at this point," Knight Blair explained.

"These mortals are working to unlock the very secrets and usurp the powers of the Universal Entities that breathed life and commanded the multi-verse to be," she explained.

"They have managed to harness the power of their intellect to adapt and overcome their environment using science and technology instead of magic. To walk on the moon. To explore their solar system. And to create communication relays that rely on frequencies that confound the restrictions placed on Portals.

"Their brightest minds have posited that there is a grand mathematical structure that is fundamental to the Universe, and if they can unravel the secrets of this formula, they will finally have dominion over not only the world around them but the entire Universe.

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"A unifying string theory of numbers and math that would explain creation, energy, and matter in a simple formula of understanding and truth.

"They harness the powers of nature, destroying everything in their path. Their weapons are so fearsome they can destroy the very world they stand on, and still, they yearn and search for more. More power, bigger explosions, more territory.

"They use ideology and religion to exculpate their evils. They believe they have been given a mandate from the one true God. A God that has given them dominion and free-will. They are Lord of all they touch. Primacy and dominion over the land and seas. And this dominion gives them the right to destroy, pillage, or change nature as they see fit.

"Duchess Wynne discovered that they had created a monstrous machine that would force the smallest of particles, quarks, to collide. They hoped these collisions would help them understand and grasp the nature of matter. So that they could understand and dissect these particles to find even smaller components.

"The Collider and the experiments that were done using this machine are producing the God particles in mass. Collisions that release momentous amounts of energy. Duchess Wynne believes they are perilously close to replicating the circumstances that existed before the Universe existed.

"The collision of matter and energy that was set in motion when the Gods willed the Universe to be. Another bang that will ignite a flame that will be the impetus in the formation of a new Universe. They would supplant what is and allow a new Universe to be born."

"Why would Haygan keep this to himself?" I wondered. "The potential for destruction is staggering."

I knew what the Hadron Collider was. That people on Earth had at one time been worried that the machine would accidentally open a black hole and destroy the planet. It seems they were thinking too small. Those energies could result in a Universal Big Bang as dark matter and energy were converted and given corporeal form.

"Because he was promised something much larger than any financial reward," Blair replied.

"Lord Kel and Lady Patricia had another set of backers. Those powerful enough and with the ability to display that power. They had to make fierce Oaths of reciprocity with the Olympians, but in exchange for access to the people from this Dungeon, they would be given Godhood.

"In this Universe, the path to Godhood is long and arduous. System participation is required that allows an individual to ascend methodically. Level increases and Ranked evolutions requiring ever-increasing amounts of experience.

"But if this gift were to be consumed in the Dungeon CERN?" Blair suggested. "Another world, ripe with God particles and magical energies? One not bound by the strictures of System?"

"They could Rank-up and bypass System requirements," I concluded.

"A gift of ambrosia would be awarded, paired with the God particles it would allow for immediate ascendance.

"Yes.

"They would become true Gods. And the Rank would translate when they came back to this Universe.

"Or at least that is what they thought.

"It didn't work out as expected. The ambrosia could not be carried into the dungeon, each sample was destroyed when they made the crossing into the Dungeon. The magic forces on that planet were so dense that the ambrosia was consumed immediately.

"They were about to give up when two humans accidentally crossed the portal exit and entered our world. Two scientists. A Doctor of Computer Science and a Doctor of Physics.

"Duchess Wynne examined the process and concluded that their communication device was the rationale behind their trans-location. These devices are designed to harness Wi-Fi energies. These radio frequencies disrupt the protocols that exist and allow easy crossover. As long as someone is holding a device that is Wi-Fi enabled and active, they can transition.

"An even more interesting phenomenon was discovered soon after. They have Wi-Fi capable computer technology as advanced in its own way as our magically assisted intelligence devices. The most interesting discovery for this technology was that it was also able to access System directly," she proclaimed dramatically.

"So, System Errors? The hacks, inconsistencies, and discrepancies that people have been noticing concerning System have been attempts to re-program System using this Wi-Fi technology?" I asked.

"Exactly!" She replied.

"The technology allowed them to insert what they labeled viruses into System. It gave them back-channel access and Administrative credentials.

"There have been some problems that were immediately discovered. If the changes to System were too extreme, the System would take action to isolate and quarantine the issue. Eventually, they were able to find a few workarounds for some of the thorniest problems.

"The Doctor of Computer Sciences is skilled in System programming. He was able to introduce a virus that forced the System to ignore some of the changes being made. Small nudges that resulted in negative consequences for targeted individuals. Changes to System logs and broadcast access to hide and camouflage some of the obvious violations. And Seelie and Unseelie restrictions.

"Contraband and people traveling back and forth between the Inter-planetary Portals the Capital controls were cloaked in System approved quests.

"But it was the Physicist's knowledge of Wi-Fi that allowed for the real advances. We found the same restrictions that were lifted when using Portals to leave the dungeon, also allowed Olympians and Asgardians to enter the Summerlands."

"And that is how they managed to kidnap and attack me once they transported me to the Summerlands," I said. "It had always bothered me, not knowing how they came to gain access and enter those lands."

"Why were we told Duchess Wynne has been enslaved in the Dungeon? It sounds like she was a full-throated member of this idiocy." I asked. "And where are these Doctors now? Are they being held?"

"Duchess Wynne has a daughter, an only child. Her life is contingent on the behavior and actions of the Duchess. If she and her people remain in the Dungeon. If they learn the methodology of science and the engineering required to build a Hadron Collider. Her daughter lives.

"They want to build their own Hadron Collider?" I asked in disbelief.

"If they can replicate the God Particle emissions on one of their primary planets, they would circumvent the destruction of Ambrosia when crossing into the dungeon. There may exist the possibility of evolving into Gods so powerful that the System itself becomes their tool. They would do anything. Risk anything for that."

"The other Pantheons would never stand for it," Uron declared.

"Their actions would free the Sidhe Gods," Cedric added. "It would be a war on a cosmic scale."

They might get away with it if System were the final arbiter and could be programmed to influence action in their favor. And if System was the final arbitrator of what is and what would be. But this was simply one Universe amongst an infinite array. S-Prime would never allow it.

Which explained much.

Why I felt S-Prime had rushed my creation process. Why It intervened when the Gwyn avatar attempted to penalize me, and the System errors became so egregious that a Universal Reboot was required. Why I felt manipulated and conscripted for a goal that S-Prime had never shared with me.

"Where are these Doctors being held?" I asked again.

"They have been moved off-planet," she replied. "Perhaps Lord Kel or Lord Haygan knew exactly where, I am uncertain. All I do know is they used the inter-planetary portal in the Capital to transition to one of the planets the Olympians hold sovereignty over.

"And Duchess Wynne's daughter?" I prodded.

"Dead," she answered quickly, no dissemination or equivocation as she responded. "She was slain almost as soon as she was claimed as a hostage. An attempt at escape gone wrong. Lord Haygan has used illusion and mental domain to replicate the image of the daughter. A doppelganger that has been used as leverage to tie the hands of the Duchess."

"How is information transmitted out of the Dungeon?" Lord Nelson asked.

"Duchess Wynne has claimed the land nearby, with the Collider as the epicenter. She's created a faux faerie mound Underhill, a Sithern. Using passages that she has created, a network of tunnels, she can monitor and spy on communications among the scientists and gather test results and methodology.

"The Underhill opens near the concentric circle that empowers the Dungeon portal and is easily accessible for her and her people. She sends messengers with materials, machinery, and reports periodically," Blair explained.

"Have Lord Kel or Lord Haygan done any risk assessment? Or were they so blinded by greed they ignored all dangers?" Blayney asked.

"There are safety measures in place, in the event, a cataclysmic incident occurs. The Dungeon portal opening has been seeded with destruction arrays and monitoring devices. If the emissions that escape the Dungeon exceed a specific threshold, the arrays have been programmed to activate and shut down the Dungeon portal. Closing off access to that world forever," she said.

"We should get Duchess Wynne and her people out of there and at least secure the entrance now," Blayney suggested.

I agreed. I was pretty sure the Collider was essentially safe, but unlike the Olympians, I wasn't willing to play 'chicken' when two-worlds were at stake. Still, there were politics to consider. I was going to act, but I thought it diplomatic to allow the Duke to report to the Seelie Monarchy first.

I had some reservations about trusting in diplomacy, convinced that the Seelie would want to control and harvest their own specialists from the dungeon before closing or isolating it.

I knew the lure of Godhood was powerful.

No matter. I was going to get the Duchess and her people out and close that Dungeon, the only question was whether I would do so with or without official permission.

[Quest Complete - You have discovered where and how System was corrupted and informed Duke A'Daoine's staff of the circumstances.]

[New Quest - Destroy the Hadron Collider and do so in such a way that the Humans of Earth cease to re-create these experiments.]

[Warning - Earth Destruction or loss of more than 20% of human life will be considered a failure - Penalties in the event of failure - Cascading feedback established that results in the destruction of both Earth and Talahm.]