|
|
Artwork © Gary Ward and Edward Crosby |
Guided by the Elders, the leaders of your society on D'Karr, your people have gathered and
stored in the Wall of Knowledge all that has been learnt about your world and what is simply
referred to as "the space beyond". As a Level 2 construct, you have yet to be allowed even
limited access to the Wall, being instructed for now to simply gather more crystals for use in
information storage. While your fellow constructs are content with their role and alternate
between work and hibernation, you are not.
What to do? This has never happened before in a thousand generations of constructs.
Insurrection is unthinkable - the Wardens would seize you, your memory crystals would be
wiped and you would be reprogrammed into an obedient, unquestioning drone. You suddenly
decide on a plan: if you could enter one of the Learning Prisms undetected, you might be able to
reach the Wall of Knowledge. Once there, you may be able to find answers about yourself and
the source of your discontent. A dangerous plan, but the only plan you have.
The question now is how? During your routine trips past the closest Learning Prism, you noticed
a slight gap near the apex of the structure. It might be possible to climb up the side of the
crystals, and then slide down into the Prism itself. At the thought of this plan you are filled with
a strange sensation, which seems to drive you on. At the commencement of the next hibernation
cycle, you quietly slip away and make your way to the Learning Prism. Your plan works
perfectly, as you are able to ascend to the apex of the Prism and slide down into a soft pile of
crystal dust. Suddenly there is a sound off to the side. A Warden!
This massively built being is a Level 4 construct, and three times your size. Each Warden is also
equipped with a large crystal lance... which is now leveled at you! More strange sensations flood
over you as another Warden enters the chamber from another doorway. This Warden holds an
object you have only even seen as a hologram in tutorials – a Dimension Gem!
Realizing you are now caught between the two Wardens, you duck as the first fires a beam of
invisible force from its lance. Your entire form shakes as the beam passes over you and strikes
the other Warden, knocking it off its feet and shattering the Dimension Gem. A sudden flood of
energy explodes outward and for a moment everything turns white...
When your vision clears, you find yourself alone, in what is now a very different room. The
walls, floor, ceiling and even doors have changed. There is no sign of the Wardens. The last
thing you saw was the Dimension Gem shatter, and deduce the energies released have altered the
very structure of the Learning Prism. What now?
|
|