Chapter 1: Light

  Ken rolled out of bed and quickly reached for his water on the bedside table and downed it. He got out of bed in the pitch bck predawn. He unlocked the door, and exited his room. The stars shined overhead, as he sat on the stoop of his tiny, two room log cabin. After finishing off his steel water bottle, He stood up, and started doing a light calisthenics routine. When the sun had finally risen Ken was washing his sweat off n the nearby stream and watching the sunrise.

  The hermit lifestyle agreed with Ken. He still got lonely, but that’s what pets were for! Out here, he had a storage shed full of food, and with all his needs met, he could do whatever he wanted, without a soul in the world to bother him. Even though he didn’t have running water, and had to shit in a hole, a few sor panels and the newest satellite data device was enough to have access to the only invention of the modern age he actually cared about: the internet.

  With a ptop and internet access, combined with the great outdoors, Ken could never be truly bored, which with the skills he had developed over the years, was the main danger he faced at this point. With the combined knowledge of the 22nd century world at his fingertips he was able to keep his mind stimuted, for as long as it would st. It wouldn’t be that long.

  Although Ken was only twenty four, and supposed to be in the prime of his life, he lived under the looming shadow of a rapidly advancing neurodegenerative disorder. Doctors had told him he wouldn’t make it past thirty, and should have a caretaker in case his seizures got worse, bh bh bh. Not happening.

  Ken sat peacefully in the clearing behind his cabin, admiring the sunset with another day of peaceful study behind him, but was astounded by a strange sight on the horizon. A wave of opalescent light was covering the sky to the north, and rapidly approaching. He wasn't even able to finish hastily dressing before the light smmed into him, and he bcked out.

  Congratutions! Pnet: Earth has reached the First Domain!

  During the 1 USTI adaptation period, Earth’s qi density will rise from .00034 USQI to 10 USQI!

  All beings of Consciousness Level 1 and above will enter closed cultivation during this period.

  Ken was shocked at the words appearing in his mind. He was sitting in a small room with glowing white walls, in his birthday suit. This kind of shit only happens in books. Where am I? What is a USTI? What the fuck is a Consciousness Level?

  You have entered Earth’s Mind Pace.

  USTI is an acronym for Universal Standard Time Increment. This period of time is roughly equivalent to 90 days of the Earth calendar.

  Consciousness Level is a measure of an organism’s progression in the 3 pilrs of cultivation: Body Mind and Soul. Organisms achieve Consciousness Level 1 when they show the ability to cultivate any of the Three Pilrs regardless of progress or aptitude. Subsequent Consciousness Levels are calcuted as: (Pilr Cultivation Level / 3 + 1).

  Ken understood that whoever was sending these messages could read his mind as it had answered all his mental questions in order. He focused on slowing his breathing and calming down. He needed to be able to think clearly. After meditating for a few minutes, thinking of nothing besides his breathing, he started asking questions again.

  Who are you, and why are you speaking to me?

  I am the Earth Information System. I am a construct of Earth’s mind energy. I was created to assist Earth in cultivating. Fostering the Primordial Savage race is one of the crowning achievements of Earth’s cultivation journey, and thus I am here to assist you with information.

  Ken took another minute to calm himself down after that one. He breathed in and out rythmically, and his mind once again fully focused. Ken felt an inspiration strike, as it often had for him while meditating.

  Who am I?

  Personal Status: Ken Enderson

  (Consciousness) Level: 3 (Soul: 3 Mind: 2 Body: 1)

  Race: Primordial Savage

  BE ADVISED: Your genetic variance is 2 standard deviations from the mean genetics of your race. Because of your extreme mutations, certain normal range racial capabilities may have effects that differ from the normal range up to the Anomaly range.

  Qi Domain : Base (Adaptation)

  Skills: Marksmanship-(Novice 3) Visualization (Novice 2) Hunting- (Novice 2) Meditation-(Novice 2) Foraging-(Novice 1)

  Talents: Language (Uncultivated)

  Gift: Insight

  To update or view this information again think “Personal Status”

  Before Ken could spew out another boat load of questions, EIS spoke again. This time the mechanical voice spoke louder, and it was imbued with something that felt to Ken like emotion.

  BE ADVISED!

  Ken blinked, his eyes burning as soft white glow of the strange rooms walls transformed into gring sunlight. He was sitting on a goddamn pyramid in the middle of the desert, and from his quick look around, so was the entire world. The walls of the little white room had been overid with some kind of scene. He felt he wasn’t really in the desert, and more that he was in some kind of virtual reality.

  Ken looked around and drank in his surroundings. Ken and everyone on his “step” of the pyramid, were sitting lotus style knee to knee with about a foot in between them, and he could see through the gaps to catch a glimpse of his surroundings. Around the pyramid on all sides that he could see, there were people. Elbow to elbow, like an ocean sized can of sardines, stood… everyone. Ken heard a loud cough, and whipped his head around towards the top of the pyramid. Immediately several things stood out to him. He was on the third step from the top, and the two steps between him and the top were not packed together at all. He could see about two dozen people on the step above him, although there were probably more on the other side, out of sight. However, on the final step before the ft area at the top, there were only two people that he could see. A man and a woman who looked to be of Asian descent, besides their elevation, what stood out to Ken was that they weren’t sitting in the lotus position, but rather that they were kneeling and bowing with their foreheads touching the ground. At the top of the pyramid stood a being that looked somewhat human. Except he was almost eight feet tall, looked to be about a thousand pounds of muscle, and was hairier than any human had any right to be.

  “Primordial Savage” Ken thought, then the being spoke. Well, he didn’t really speak, he just stood there smiling but Ken felt meaning flowing into his mind, the same way he felt it with EIS.

  “Greetings citizens of Earth and welcome to universal society. I am L’Raksha one of the nine leaders of our race. I am here to give information before you enter Celestial Closed Cultivation. As your pnet cultivates through the First Domain and beyond, your way of life will change drastically because of the amount of qi in the pnet’s core and atmosphere. Throughout the universe, Celestial Closed Cultivation caused by a pnet or star’s breakthrough is a watershed moment for the races living in its vicinity. Your increment of closed cultivation is a precious gift to you from Earth. During this time every being will gain benefits relevant to them. The old will gain vitality, the sick will be healed. The talented young cultivators will gain valuable knowledge and training, and even the untalented may have a chance to grasp Pilrs. This is all to prepare you for what awaits you when you leave: a new world.”

  “Earth will give you whatever resources it can to help you survive, but still the new world bears new dangers. The flora and fauna of Earth, both conscious and base, will be changed by Qi. Previous basic infrastructure will not survive these changes, and many will lose what they had once considered their entire way of life. Citizens of Earth, you must stand up and face these new challenges. You must explore your world once again, and you must cultivate. However, you are not alone, although universal society cannot assist your pnet in the physical realm, we hope that by spreading information about cultivation, that we can show you a glimpse of the infinite possibilities that y at your feet.”

  “The Great Universal Societies are groups of beings from all races and paths of life that come together to pursue a certain path of cultivation. If you are interested in, or wish to join a Society, ask your pnetary information system for more information. Entrance is not free, or easy, but if you succeed you will gain a wealth of knowledge to help you thrive in this new world.”

  “Last but not least, Citizens of Earth, look to the pyramids. Look and be amazed at the potential of our race! These are the cultivators of Earth!”

  The giant ape man ughed, Ken was fully focused on retaining all the information that had been given. He had a million questions to ask EIS. He was also expecting the giant to ugh like a superhero vilin, and less like Santa Cus. L’Raksha seemed filled with mirth and genuine delight as he gazed down at the pyramid and continued his speech.

  “Those on the pyramids have reached at least the first level of a pilr of cultivation without access to qi or a pnetary information system. In the old world they may have been doctors, scientists, soldiers, athletes, or engineers. In this new world, they will be able to cultivate to new heights, and propel this world forward. Citizens of Earth, these fellow members of our race are not above you, they are before you. May you follow in their footsteps, yet find your own path. Cultivate and grow, and bring glory to Earth!”