A small, painless jolt rushed through his brain, forcing him to shut his eyes, yet his sight did not go dark. Instead, he saw only white, and got the strange feeling of being pulled upwards.
The text: GENESIS COMMAND INTERFACE LOADING appeared in his vision amidst black, and a small green loading bar quickly filled.
Once complete, a computer generated image of the galaxy spanned before him, as though he were a bird soaring high above it all, just as Ironsides had said.
“Welcome to the Genesis Command Interface,” a robotic female voice rang. The words echoed clear and crisp in his mind. “I am designated Athira, here to guide you through the GCI.”
Already he could see a fog of war. He had a full view of the galaxy he was in and recognised its shape as being distinct from the Milky Way. The only clear system, however, was named Aureon. The text displayed itself under a small, orange blip which was the star. The other systems around it were greyed out, as was the rest of the galaxy.
“Here you can access all the relevant information about the state's resources, military fleets, armies, and some diplomatic information. You can also click into each system to view its planets. Only the home system, the Aureon system, is visible to us currently.
“You will always be able to see the total economic output of the state. These are the numbers at the top:
- Power Units: 100 +41(Vesperan Standard Monthly Gain)
- Raw Materials: 100
- Food: 200 +11
- Heavy Compounds: 100 +11
- Consumer Goods: 100 +0
- Research Points: +53
- Cohesion: +29
“Other figures include the state’s total Population figure, which stands at 28. This is an approximate estimation and represents roughly 8.4 billion people, give or take a few million.”
“There are other, more advanced resources that are not yet available for us to harvest or use due to our technological limitations, but as we expand, these will be covered. For now you need not worry about it. Click into the star system for further details.”
“How do I do that? I have no arms or hands,” Marcus said.
“Just think it. Your mind is one with the machine currently.”
So he thought it, as though commanding his brain to click into the Aureon system. The interface rapidly zoomed in onto the star, blurring out the rest of the galaxy.
Now only a single star was visible to him, a big, bright yellow star. The name Aureon was under it in text as well as other numbers. Around the star, he saw the respective orbits of its planets.
“As you see, our system has ten planets, Neptura being the closest to our star.”
“Indeed.” Marcus found himself looking at the planets with a strange fascination. He felt like something of a caveman, though to the people around him, all of this must have seemed normal. There was a beige, rocky barren world named Aureon Prime, which was the second closest in orbit to the star. Its surface a grey waste.
Then there was Neptura, the sapphire gem positioned perfectly in the goldilocks zone of the star, close enough for warmth and far enough not to be vaporized. Neptura’s name was highlighted in a white, luminous box, signifying it as a colony and capital of the state, whereas the other plants were all grey. Its moon floated next to it in orbit, a reddish, rocky orb called Korrath with the number 5 under it.
The other planets included a ringed, greenish gas giant called Rothar’s World, which was the third closest to the sun. These three planets were encircled by an asteroid field. Beyond them drifted a gas giant named Thrinacia, which had the number 3 under it; a small frozen world called Nythra with 3 under it as well; a gas giant called Valtren; another reddish, barren world called Orisvara; a gas giant with two moons named Sylvara and Zorithal, the former of which had a 2 under it; a little white frozen planet on the outer edges of the system called Drall with 5 under it; and finally, the furthest from the star, a sea blue gas giant with a rocky ring.
“What are those numbers under some of the planets and the star?” Marcus asked the interface.
“The numbers and their associated symbols represent the resources we are able to draw from the celestial bodies in our solar system. For example, our star Aureon produces +5 Power Units per Vesperan Standard Month, as we have an orbital mining facility constructed above it. Power Units are a currency backed by the productive power of our state.
“The rest of the system goes as follows:
Rothar’s World: +5 Power Units
Korrath: +5 Raw Materials
Thrinacia: +3 Power Units
Nythra: +3 Raw Materials
Sylvara: +2 Research Points
Eryndra: +5 Raw Materials
Orisava: +3 Research Points
“Some of the celestial bodies do not yet have a facility to mine their resources. So, as it stands, the Aureon system can yield a total of +13 Power Units, +13 Raw Materials, and +5 Research Points once the construction of the appropriate facilities to harvest the resources is complete. You will notice a different symbol under Neptura. This represents Commercial Output, and it currently stands at +30. This represents the planet’s economic output and its value when trading, though at this time, there is no one or nothing to trade with.
“That is not to say Neptura yields nothing else. If you now click into Neptura, a screen will display the full economic output of the planet as well as other information regarding its population, crime, unemployment, stability, and so on.”
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If Marcus could sigh right now, he would. It was a lot to take in, especially knowing that on that little blue planet he looked at from so high above, billions of his own clones were depending on him to manage their lives efficiently and effectively. He was fast beginning to question the wisdom of Ironsides to hand him the reins like this. Do I truly mean so much to them?
He clicked onto Neptura, and a screen providing a chart of detailed information on the planet appeared before him. A large world, where an ocean covered 85% of the surface.
Planet: Neptura
Classification: Oceanic Planet / State Capital
Planetary Governor: Ironsides (First Minister)
Population: 28
Stability: 61%
Civic Services: 4
Available Housing: 8
Unemployment: 0
Available Jobs: 1
Crime: 0%
Planet specialization: Administrative Core
Planetary Economic Zones:
- x3/10 Urban
- x2/9 Industrial
- x2/6 Fusion
- x2/8 Mining
- x2/9 Farming
Buildings:
- 1x Central Command Complex
- 2x Quantum Clone Vats
- 1x Scientific Research Center
- 1x Creator Monument
- 1x Marketplace District
Planetary Production:
- Power Units: +13
- Raw Materials: +16
- Food: +12
- Research Points: +53
- Cohesion: +29
- Consumer Goods: 0
- Heavy Compounds: +13
Planetary Consumption:
- Consumer Goods: -0.86
“Numbers used for population, housing, services, etc, are not literal, but simplified estimations.
“We are running on a tiny deficit in consumer goods currently, but it is so low that there is time to resolve that. The final thing of note is your zones and buildings. The construction of specific economic zones on a planet will provide housing and jobs in specific sectors. Each planet has a certain amount of zones, and zones vary per planet, making certain planets more suitable to produce certain resources than others. We will use these to optimize planets for specific resources as and when it is suitable, and you’ll need to construct them to house your growing populations. Zones represent different sectors, from Urban Zones to Industrial Zones. Specific buildings also provide benefits in the form of resources. As you can see, Neptura currently has a Central Command Complex, two Quantum Clone Vats, a Creator Monument, a Scientific Research Center, and a Marketplace District. These buildings and the resources they produce in conjunction with zones make up Neptura’s economic output. You will notice some tiles are unavailable to build on. You can clear new building sections out by using Power Units, which pay for the manpower and resources to clear sections of the planet for new construction.
“For now, that is all. We need not overload you with more information yet as it is currently irrelevant. The planet is stable, and there is no significant unemployment. In any case, I will always be here to explain when issues arise.
“Thank god for that,” Marcus said, breathing a sigh of relief, if he could breathe in this little suspended view of his. Though he could get used to this, he thought. Is it so different from running a business? It’s just all balancing numbers. At the same time, however, he had enough experience not to let his guard down. These were numbers on a galactic scale with far more variables. Dangerous variables. And now millions of lives are in my hands. Eight billion, to be precise. It was like a massive weight had crashed down on his shoulders. And, remembering all of the military equipment he had seen earlier, he knew more lives could be at his mercy… There are other people out there, somewhere in these vast, dark recesses of space. The only question is will humanity come together willingly, or will they have to be brought to heel by an iron fist?
“So, where do I begin?”
“I’d recommend we begin by exploiting the resources in our system and venturing out to chart further systems in search of resources and habitable planets. There is an Engineering Vessel and a Research Craft awaiting your command. Both are docked at the Orbital Command Center, not far from the planet, which you will also see highlighted by a box and symbol. You may view them, select which you like first, and begin giving them orders.”
Marcus shifted his attention to the orbital command center, a giant, floating metal citadel with sharp edges, vaguely in the shape of a big circular saw blade only with far more towers, lights, docks, guns, and cylindrical gas tanks. Two ships were docked at its stations. He selected the Engineering Vessel, marked by a wrench.
“Now, you may order the Engineering Vessel to build orbital mining facilities and orbital research stations. You can order the construction of a mining facility on the remaining planets at the cost of 100 Raw Materials, and from there you will need to wait a few months to build up the Raw Materials for the next mining station.”
“Very well,” Marcus said. Using his mind, he selected the Engineering Vessel and commanded it to build a mining station over Nythra, the small frozen world, reasoning that he would rather increase his Raw Material production now so he could build the next mining facility faster. He gave the order, and a line from the craft appeared toward the planet, signalling it would depart, though it did not move just yet as he had not sped up the time.
“While that gets to work,” the ai voice said, “You may order your Research Craft to begin carting new star systems. You will see that the Aureon system has three hyperlane routes leading to three other systems. These are: Aestara system, the Vorathar system, and the Lysandros system. The routes are indicated by small arrows on the edges of our solar system. Select any, and you may begin charting.”
Marcus selected his Research Craft and looked over, deciding which star system to explore. He picked randomly, since he couldn’t see and knew nothing about any of them. Nevertheless, he found himself quite excited to see what his Research Craft might uncover. Could there be other life out there aside from humanity? He wondered if he would be more scared of encountering other humans than random alien life forms. He had known humanity all his life, so his fears were not unfounded.
He selected the Lysandros system and gave the order for the craft to survey it.
“What now?” Marcus said, speaking into the cybernetic void.
“You wait for the tasks to be complete. You could choose to initiate time dilation and speed on ahead to give further orders, but for now, I recommend constructing another Research Craft at the cost of 100 Heavy Compounds. We shall want to survey and expand rapidly. If not, you could begin construction of fleets or buildings using our little resources, but as there are no immediate threats, this is not necessary just yet.”
“Then I will heed your advice,” Marcus said. “I’m starting to get the hang of this. I assume ships are constructed at the Orbital Command Center?”
“Yes, simply select it and give the order.”
And so he did. The command center gave some information, and he saw his build order in a queue. It would take 60 standard Vesperan days to complete. “Now may I speed up?” he said, a little anxious to do so. He knew by doing that, he would be skipping through 60 days of his life… his limited time here. Like a shadowy monster creeping out from the darkness, the sickening realisation of his own mortality scared the life out of him. Should I really be so careless with my time?
Just as he pondered, a static noise emerged from the quietness, and the voice of Ironsides rang in his head. “Sorry to disturb you, excellency, but if you have familiarized yourself with the GCI, there are some urgent matters of state that require your attention.”
“Oh, good,” Marcus said, relieved. Having finally come to grips with how to use the machine, he simply thought with his mind to exit the interface, and in an instant, the real world bloomed to life once more.