World Building

James floated among a galaxy of whirling stars with his eyes closed, peacefully oblivious to the eons of time that flew by around him with every passing second. Supernovas and black holes blinked in and out of existence like cheap fireworks, all while trillions of simulated lives played out their roles, over and over again.

This franchise was far more complex than his first and James felt like he'd spent centuries within his mind over the past few days. If not for the system, he didn't know how long he would've spent designing the thousands of planets, dozens of species, and billions of AI that made up this universe.

Yes billions, plural. Each with their own carefully designed dreams, ambitions, and motives. If the system hadn't handled 99.99% of it, then James would probably have gone mad.

He was currently simulating the history of the universe, poking it here and there to ensure it doesn't collapse in on itself. He'd completed the 'real' universe a few days ago and put it in a sort of stasis, like he'd done with the Pokémon world.

Yes, outside a select few AI, neither of these universes would see the light of day until the release of [Full Dive]. Only those smart enough to ask knew that the worlds they currently praised so much, were stocked with nothing but VI's. After all, James wasn't dispassionate enough to subject sentient life to the random whims of players.

Only in a 'real' world, with real consequences in place, would he allow players to interact with them. Until then, they'll remain paused, blissfully unaware.

"Sir, I came to notify you that the first Pokémon League tournament on the multiplayer server will be starting in two days," Queen's soft voice flowed through his mind and broke the man from his stupor.

He left the universe to run through a few more iterations on its own as he descended to meet with his assistant.

"How long was I away," James asked as he arrived.

"Around a week this time sir," Queen answered. "The longest this month, but nothing compared to the first."

James nodded in agreement, the initial set up would always take longer. Now, he could've sped up his time to the point where he completed the entire project in less than a second, but seeing how he wasn't in anything more than a self-imposed deadline, he didn't really see the point.

"Did you like how the trailer came out?" He asked, remembering having sent it to her before this last session.

"Yes sir. When you replace actors and sets with a real recording of actual events, it's hard to imagine anything coming close," the AI nodded, before grimacing. "Your other project however…"

James laughed seeing her expression, "You know you loved it too. I'm thinking of having them own two bars on the franchise's Hub world, right across from one another."

Queen sighed but she couldn't argue as it was a brilliant idea, "Are you still planning to release the seasons as you were originally? Don't you think that's a little rough on the players?"

"No, you were right," he replied while shaking his head. "I changed it to one per game, instead of one per series clear. After thinking about it, it would just take too long to find 18 different people willing and able to complete that slugfest. Maybe if we were linked to another world or two it'd be doable, but not right now."

Queen hummed in agreement before asking about another topic, "Who did you appoint as the GM for that universe?"

This was important to her as she was the one who interacted with them the most. While not apparent at the moment, Queen wasn't actually designated to manage the individual worlds. She certainly could, but James didn't like the idea of making her do everything.

"Hah, the GM?" James smirked. "It's GM."

Queen rolled her eyes, "Is that your hobby now that you've created so many 'children'? Turning them into fuel for dad jokes?"

The man paused, then nodded sagely, completely unashamed.

The AI sighed and disappeared, followed shortly by the man who opened his eyes to a bright moon shining down an island of grass.

James looked over the edge, down and into what should be the Marvel multiverse as he pondered this new life of his. He lifted a hand to his face and for the first time since waking up here, realized why he hadn't felt the need for sleep, food, or water.

It hit him like a bolt of lightning and roared through his mind like thunder. His body wasn't a body at all, it was like the astral form that Dr. Strange had punched out of Spider-Man.

All the times he 'felt' something in this new life, were they all just hallucinations? Bloody Hell, was he even really here? Or was he still back in London, paralyzed from the neck down and waiting for the sweet release of death?

James began to panic, his heart pounding in his chest, which just further drove him deeper as he didn't know if that was just another hallucination.

Just as he was about to reach a literal tipping point however, a familiar screen appeared in front of him.

[Parameters overridden…]

[Mission created…]

[Mission: Create yourself a new body.]

[Unlocked: [Body] tab…]

[ERROR: [Body] tab requires [System Shop] to function…]

[Recalibrating…]

[Notice: [Body] tab has been locked until prerequisites are met.]

[Notice: 'Mission: Create yourself a new body,' has been temporarily suspended.]

James froze as he read the notifications and slowly, his 'heart' calmed back down.

He reread them multiple times, waved his hand through the screen, and even went back into the VR to ask if Queen could read them as well. She was a little concerned upon doing so and attempted to ask James about it, but he told her he'd come back to do so later and returned to his island.

James walked over to the stone pile and sat down while taking a few deep breaths, ignoring the obvious contradiction. Finding himself centered once again, he asked a question aloud, "System, is there any information related to my body that I could access now?"