While Walker received his rewards, including twenty-four identify abilities, twenty-four monitors, and twenty-four other abilities he already had, the Multiverse moved ever onward.

  Even though the Creator of Symphony was now richer in resources than he’d ever been before, the rest of those not so blessed were forced to struggle day by day. Food. Water. Basic shelter and jobs. Even the right to breathe clean air was decided by a mixture of birth, name, and location. The Evolver-verse was not the most comfortable or giving of places. The greater the wealth for those in lofty positions, the less it was spread to those struggling to eke out their next meal.

  But from the darker corners of the multiverse, a flickering candle had been lit. It had started in an arena led by an unlikely source of rebellion. A man with everything and nothing to lose. A Creator who, unknown to the lower echelons, was a powerhouse in the newest rendition.

  A contradiction of being who craved power if only to give much of it away.

  What had started as whispers and chatrooms written in the dark was now something else entirely. The Liberated Ones had begun humbly with several thousand members to the trillions in existence. Those several thousand had spread to other planets, who then spread to more, and more, the beast being fed by anonymity and a friend of a friend. Until, now, though still acting with shadowy power, they had a member on most planets in the multiverse. Though it had only been days, the need for release from the Evolvers was incessant. A parasite crawling behind the eyes. A dared upon dream called equality of opportunity.

  The power of the one was rising.

  And it had reached Luck’s Haven.

  Walker came back to Sonata with a bug up his ass. It was not a literal bug, some creepy crawly trying to find a warm place, just a supreme annoyance at how the rewards from the fourth battle had worked out.

  He didn’t want all of those Creators wandering around Sonata. He didn’t want half of the new abilities he’d received, some being so overtly violent that he shuddered even to use them, let alone finish reading their descriptions. He just…didn’t want additional baggage, but he’d gotten them anyway. He’d voted for the everything bet because resources were resources, but that didn’t mean he had to like what came with them.

  Besides, his vote wasn’t for him, but for Symphony. It was all and always for Symphony.

  The time he’d spent locked up in the darkness with his reward screens was long. Very long. As if the council hadn’t wanted to let him go. But they had, and time moved on at a pace. Walker just needed to accelerate his ideas to keep up.

  Time remaining until the next battle: 25 hours.

  As he’d left, so he returned. Walker stretched his back, sitting upright from the lotus position he’d departed from, a migraine pulsing him into oblivion as Athena quickly moved from the wall and came to his side.

  “How did it go?” She asked with a worried expression and a soft, reassuring hand on his arm.

  “We won,” Walker replied with a crooked smile as Virgil spoke up.

  “What is all of this?”

  “They bet everything again.” He said with a tone of finality.

  “Walker…”

  “I know Virgil.”

  “Walker…do you see how many planets we now have to-”

  “I know! I did the math. Ninety-four new planets, seven of them gargantuan. Have you looked into what our options are for them?”

  “Uh-huh,” Virgil replied with an oddly breathless voice, “I was looking into it due to our acquisition of Mirail’s worlds. There are several options.”

  “Such as?”

  The Supreme Assistant cleared his throat, “Ahem. You can continue to collect your taxes for perpetuity, allowing the citizens to continue life as is. What you would call the hands-off approach.”

  Kind of, but not really, doing that with Luck’s Haven already.

  “What else?”

  “You can sell the planets through a specific marketplace. It has a dark history, and, knowing you, it would not be an action I suggest unless we run out of all other options. You can also absorb uninhabited planets for resources, like we had planned for a few of Mirails.”

  Walker accepted a hug from his fiancee and a whispered welcome back as he said, “I had a meeting with one of the Council Members during the fourth battle.”

  “Really?” Virgil replied, pausing long enough to look away from his screens. “What was said?”

  Walker quickly recapped the fourth battle from the beginning to the end as Athena and Virgil quietly listened. Selecting the Symponians who would participate, the bets, his odd conversation with the stitched man, the win, and what was said by the Council at the end, including his forthcoming titles.

  Virgil hummed when he finished, “You now hold thirty titles, Walker. That already places you as a High Lord within the Evolver faction.”

  “No kidding,” Walker sighed, not wanting to think about it.

  “So,” Athena said as she leaned back on her heels, the lack of her warmth leaving a chill in Walker’s body, “This means you can’t simply bring over all of the people who want a second chance, at least, not without riling up the council.”

  Virgil shook his head, “According to what he has just told me, he cannot.”

  Walker’s body went still, “But what if we could?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I don’t mean to Symphony, but to another place. One I know well enough to get them there and, immediately after the final battle, bring them here.”

  “You cannot mean the Earth,” Virgil said in a heated voice. “They are in the midst of the Omega Protocol. We do not even know how many of your people have survived.”

  “While that’s true, it would only be for a few hours. There’s very little time left until we all have to fight for our lives.”

  “Against an impossible scenario,” Athena commented.

  Walker looked over at her as he spoke in a firm voice, “Yeah, but do you plan on losing?”

  She shook her head, “I do not.”

  “And you?” Walker said as he looked at his oldest Assistant.

  “Of course not. But Walker, the Earth is in a precarious position. If we lose, not only will you be damned to a destroyed Earth, but you will also be damning all of the people you bring with you from this planet. While the treatment of these people is unduly harsh, they are, at the least, still alive. You cannot guarantee that should they be brought to your previous homeworld.”

  This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

  “How many applications are you going to approve?” He asked, curious about what the numbers came out to be.

  “The application team and I are prepared to approve a little less than eight percent of those who accepted the offer.”

  “Which is how many?”

  “Eighteen million.”

  “What?” Walker said with a gasp, “That’s way more than the people we have on Symphony. By a factor of,” He started to do some mental math when Virgil did it for him.

  “Ninety times greater, yes. However, each person’s psychological analysis showed an extreme need to leave the planet and start somewhere new. Each also demonstrated an ability to adapt based on how they answered the questions, and they are prepared to take the next step, regardless of where that may land them. These are an oppressed people, Walker. One who has been trapped in misery and monotony for all of their lives. There is no upward ceiling to break for them, only a stone wall built on tradition, rules, and money.”

  “Well said,” Walker replied with a nod, still trying to think of how he would do all of this.

  “Thank you.” Virgil gave a rare smile, “I have a lifetime of your speeches in my mind. It is helpful to bring them out every so often.”

  Athena waved off their bromantic moment, “We can’t leave them there.”

  “No,” Walker said, making a hard decision, “No, we can’t. Were there any other options with the planets?”

  “Yes, one. You can gift the planet to the populace. It has not been done often, with only a few records I can recall of it occurring, but it is something within your rights. That is not to say that the planet would always be protected from an Evolver lord coming forth to claim it, but there would be a delay between their freedom and eventual capitulation.”

  Walker’s mind traveled over his plans, connecting the dots of what the fifth councilmember had said, his expectations of the final battle, and his current placement amongst all the Creators of their rendition. There was still so very much to do.

  “What are you thinking right now?” Athena with a canted head.

  “That there isn’t much time.”

  She gave him a sad smile, “There will never be enough time, Walker. That is the burden of rulership. As one fire goes out, another rises in a new location. You need to prioritize what matters most to you.”

  “I concur,” Virgil replied.

  Walker got a similar feeling from the Book of Souls. He asked for a moment, then closed his eyes and thought about what he wanted to focus on. This was the final battle with the final timer to go along with it. If…no, when he won, impossible scenario or not, he would have to face down the Alpha Protocol Council and make a decision. Join them, or return to Symphony.

  Pssch. As if he would ever join that group of malcontents.

  But it required further thought. Anything he did now, as the seconds counted down, would be the end of the Alpha Protocol one way or another. All the decades he’d now lived through would come to a head soon. All the pain, the anxiety, the fear. It was all the marbles in a bag.

  He was in no way the same angry, depressed man he’d been at the start of things. He’d changed. Evolved. Become something else entirely. Someone he felt his father would respect and be proud to call his son.

  A wise man once wrote, with great power comes great responsibility. But Walker preferred to think of it as, with great power comes difficult choices. He wasn’t a monster or a lord, no matter the titles they bestowed on him. Nor was he a god. He was Walker Reed.

  Thinking back to his alternatives, he considered everything again. He could slow time around Symphony, perhaps gain another year or two. Somehow, however, he knew they wouldn’t let him. Symphony had already gained all the extra time they were going to allow. Or perhaps only Sonata had.

  The feeling from his soul was that he couldn’t simply ignore the lottery, not that he would want to anyway. Even if his oath would let it go, those people needed an escape, and he could provide one.

  There were many systems still needing activation, not the least of which was the Soul system he’d built some relative time ago in the Ulysses-verse.

  And all the abilities he’d absorbed.

  And the loose Creators running around his moon at the moment.

  The Egyptian tasks were still unfulfilled.

  Whatever Primigenials might come out of the Tree of the Gods next…

  His new planets…

  Spaceships…

  Walker shook his head. Too much to do…delegation is what I need.

  He opened his eyes and immediately went to work. The first step he took was to gather all of the failing Creators' assistants. After a brief discussion with them, getting an idea of what kind of people they once served, he branded each, removing the protocol’s hold on them and making them one with Symphony. He didn’t need them reporting back on his every movement.

  The second step he took was to gather every assistant in the Tower for a final rundown meeting. They looked to him as Symphony’s Creator. But he was just one man with too many tasks to fulfill. Standing still, hands on his hips, he smiled at a few waves directed his way. There were as many assistants in the mix as there were varied heights, colors, and jobs. Some managed systems, others managed their fellow assistants, and the eclectic few adopted as battle spoils were unassigned. But they wouldn’t be for long.

  “From the beginning, The Alpha Protocol labeled me as a Creator. But what does that mean? The definition of creation is the act of bringing something into existence. But isn’t that what you all have done with the systems? Is that what you continuously do?” He paused to let that settle, then said, “In my mind, we are all Creators. As such, I no longer wish to be called that word. If I am a Creator, and you are a Creator, then using it as a title makes no sense. We’re all, all of us, Creators. For now on, please only call me Walker.”

  Saying so, he waved a hand, a screen appearing beside him, “The following are your assignments for the next twenty-four hours, all the time we have left before the final battle. Because of the amount of work I’ll have you doing, many of you will gain access to systems you didn’t have before. That will come with upgrades and information. Please use it wisely. For those of you worried you won’t have enough time with me to get the work done-”

  He stopped himself as two dozen versions of himself appeared, “Please speak to any of my reflections, and I’m certain they will inform you of my wishes. This is the end of the Alpha Protocol, my friends. Let's use our time well. Thank you.”

  As they left to their jobs, Walker called over Virgil, Athena, Rimi, Cagna, and Neus.

  Athena gave him a look, “you’re leaving again?”

  Walker nodded, “But it’ll only seem like a short time for you. There are…things I need to test out, and things we’ll still need before the final battle. Virgil, I’m going to create a system that absorbs the System Linker ability. If I do it correctly, it will allow you to choose which systems to sacrifice abilities to. Should help us in the last battle.”

  Virgil tried not to show his excitement, “I understand.”

  “I also want you to absorb every single unoccupied planet we have, and for the occupied ones, activate the lottery system immediately.”

  Virgil’s eyes grew large, “But Walker, that would mean-”

  Walker interrupted him with a smile, “No, I’m not taking all of them on. The initial phase of the Lottery system has been modified. They don’t know it yet, but those we deem worthy are about to be rewarded with their own planets. For Luck’s Haven, I have no choice but to take them on. For everyone else, the least I can do is shift the balance of power from the haves to the deserves.”

  As Virgil absorbed that, he turned to his first three subsystem assistants, “Now. You are my most knowledgeable assistants after Virgil. While your assistants are working on their tasks, I need you three to do something else. Rimi, I want the Lore system up and running immediately.”

  “Really?”

  “Really really,” Walker said with a nod, “If there’s anything in there that may help our people with what I’m about to do, they’ll need it.”

  Virgil blinked, “What are you about to-”

  “Okay!”

  Walker smiled, then it shifted to a frown as he turned to Cagna, “I’m sorry, but since Milestones are going to take a backseat for some time, I’ll need you to manage the Creators we now have here. I’m planning on releasing them from their contracts, but I can’t do that until the moment the Alpha Protocol ends. It’s too dangerous to let them wander.”

  “Can I take some of the new assistants with me?”

  “Absolutely. Also, one of those Creators is like Mirail; I’ll need you to get him to start donating crystal like his fellow Cerulean.”

  “Got it,” The pink squirrel said with a nod.

  Lastly, Walker turned to Neus, “Territories are going to be slow going as they’re designed to build up over long periods of time. Because of this, I was hoping you would be interested in helping to construct some spaceships with our new Cerulean friends.”

  “Yay!” The green squirrel said with a leap, “Does this mean I’ll get a new system to play with?”

  Walker shook his head, “Not for this. But I’ll try to find something else fun for you to do.”

  Athena stepped forward, “What about me?”

  Walker sent off each assistant before turning to the goddess of wisdom and his betrothed, “Walk with me.”

  Together, they began the long climb to the unique portal at the top of the tower. As the doors opened, revealing the permanent portal within, Walker looked at his fiancee, “I’m sorry we haven’t had a chance to have our ceremony yet.”

  She shrugged with a smile, “It’s enough to just be together, to be near one another. Getting married always seemed to me like a formality in love. Nice to have, but not necessary.”

  The portal turned on as she looked at him with a big grin. She didn’t receive one in turn, causing her smile to tilt as he said, “That’s what makes this all the worse.”

  “Wha-”

  Walker shoved her through the portal. On the other side, a burst of gold came through as the woman stood quickly, looking back at him with a betrayed expression. Walker stilled his face as he said, “I can’t lose you. I’m sorry.”

  He shut the portal off before locking it, then walked away with his eyes on the steps to come.

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