[And you have returned.]

Huh? I was plunging down the tower when, in the blink of a proverbial eye, I popped back on the balcony in front of the Dalkanus. I couldn’t exactly jump off—I didn’t have a body for one, and I was just floating by default for another, so I couldn’t fall. Instead, I controlled myself to zoom to the ground but found myself back here. That’s not allowed?

[It is not uncommon for a human mind to try to wander off. The Dolbara is a work of art, but the time for exploration is not now. You will have the opportunity to explore in the future…perhaps.]

I wasn’t going off exploring. I wanted to check for fall damage.

[You are but a consciousness. In your state, you cannot affect nor can be affected by this world. Come along now.]

Worth a try for old times’ sake. I foresaw I’d be doing many more things due to nostalgia. And also to check the mechanics of the game. So, I’m not allowed to die during the introduction? I asked in thought as I floated after it.

[You are not living, so you cannot die.]

I’m not living? That did give me pause. My initial reaction was to argue I was alive because we were interacting, but when it came down to it, in the logic of this world, this NPC was right. A ‘consciousness’ wasn’t alive. Holy crap, was the AI actually thinking about this? A pre-programmed response was the likelier case. Before I get tempted to drag you into a philosophical debate, I told it, let’s just move on to character selection.

Unlike the gold and light motif outside, the hallway was silver chrome. The pulsating crystals and glowing lines that ran through the walls, floor, and ceiling added a hint of metallic blue. The hallway also was heavy sci-fi in its aesthetics, but it had a more evident fantasy side, with the blue lines forming geometric patterns that were reminiscent of runes and magical sigils in a futuristic backdrop.

As we reached the end of the hallway, the door opened with a satisfying whoosh.

What the—! This is fucking amazing… If I had a mouth, I would’ve gasped. If I had eyes, they would’ve widened. If I had a dick it would’ve hardened. Poetry in the face of magnificence.

[Behold!] The Dalkanus spread its arms wide. [Sapient creatures of worlds undone, saved forevermore by the grace of the Mother Core, their minds and bodies continuing to exist in defiance of the will of the universe!]

We floated over a platform that overlooked a vast enclosed space that brought images of an amphitheater to mind. However, in place of sloping levels of seats, it was tier upon tier of vats stacked vertically, dozens of them, all the way up. Nearing the end of the platform, I saw that the tiers continued several levels down as well.

The cylindrical containers in the tiers near me, the middle portion of this massive silo, could hold a body the size of a human. Their dimensions became smaller the higher tiers were and larger in the opposite direction. The lowest tier had vats of gigantic size—‘gigantic’ not only a simple description of their massive proportions but that the vats did house giants, some of them I saw during the guild battle on the MCO Channel, as well as other colossal mythical creatures.

This is where I choose a body?

[That is so.]

There are so many choices!

[Not all of them are available.] The Dalkanus drifted off the platform and ascended in a circular spiral as if to show me the goods. Left with no choice, I flew after it, examining the creatures we passed.

Each one of these vats appeared to contain a unique creature floating in chemicals. However, most of them weren’t lit. Only the very subtle glow of the mysterious liquid inside the vats outlined the body they contained. These must be the races that weren’t available; they were yet to be unlocked.

As for the containers that were illuminated, they were either bathed by a bright green light, the body inside clearly shown, or they had a dim, faded blue glow, the body contained still visible but partially hidden in shadows. I didn’t know what the differences between the two were.

There was the run-of-the-mill human, as expected. An elf of the beautiful pointy ear kind. Dwarves, goblins, fairies, the usual fantasy creatures in games. Some looked similar to the staples with minor differences, like a dwarf with mottled green skin, or a corrupted dark elf. And many seemed to be uniquely designed for this game.

The Dalkanus then changed course and flew down, and we passed larger creatures on display—a minotaur, a centaur, all kinds of ‘taurs’, a sphinx, a wyvern, and so much more.

So, how does this work? Do I just touch them…?

[This is your Akashic Configuration.]

Akashic, what—? Oh, you mean this? An interface appeared before me.

Three large hexagons that had magical-looking runes mixed with mechanical designs were in a triangle formation in the middle. Six smaller hexagons were arranged in a circle around the central three. Only one of the large hexagons was unlocked; the rest, including the smaller hexagons, weren’t. I noticed that this page was one of many on the interface. Other tabs had a locked symbol on them, probably other stats pages.

[This is a blank Compressed Integral Data Module. The inhabitants of this planet call this ‘Cidule’ in their universal language.]

[ Received: Cidule (Blank) ]

What’s this for?

[A Compressed Integral Data Module, or Cidule, can store the data of a prime specimen of a race at the peak of its capabilities. If Melded with your Akashic Configuration, you can follow the progression paths of such a race and realize its maximum potential.] The Dalkanus gestured at each of the vats with green lights that we passed, specifically at a small port at the bottom of the containers. [The base races, or so we call them, are available for your perusal and download.]

And the others?

[These,] said the Dalkanus, waving to the dim blue vats, [are variants of the base races in our inventory. They have existed at some point in their respective base races’ development and history. Mixing of genetic material, usually through inter-breeding, but also other means; evolutions and mutations, natural or otherwise; results of arcane experimentations; anomalous interactions with spatial energies—numerous reasons for their being. We have collected the data of the most stable and included them in our inventory.]

A blue vat caught my eye. It contained what appeared to be a werewolf— a row down and five vats to the left of the normal human vat, the race with seemingly the most variants. If I recalled correctly, Enrico had mentioned something about this when he gave a lengthy explanation of why humans were a good starting race.

I stopped following the Dalkanus and flew towards it. The name ‘Lycanthrope’, along with a few lines of information, popped up when I got closer. I suppose these are off the table for now?

[The variants, you have to discover on your own when you explore the planet Hierakon. Once you do find an appropriate one, you can save their data on another Cidule to connect with your Akashic Configuration.]

So, why can’t I get them now? I peered at another blue vat with probably a vampire inside.

[You start with a base Cidule when you spawn on Hierakon to allow your fragile human mind to acclimate to it and be ready for its variants. This also ensures smooth integration between the base and a variant Cidules when you experience at least a part of the variant’s off-shooting event—we tried to recreate the scenario of how the variants came about from their base to secure the integrity of their data. You can download clues on how to find or recreate variants after picking the appropriate base race.]

And the darkened vats are those that haven’t been discovered in the game?

[Correct. Since they have not yet been discovered, they are not part of the physical cycles of Hierakon, other than augur simulations emanating from the Dolbara. Each creature’s data we have saved is precious, and we do not want to start the propagation of their consciousness on Hierakon unless supported by many of the human minds that have agreed to aid us in the Great Conservation.

[After the Dolbara had completed terraforming Hierakon, a planet with no name tens of thousands of years ago, we selected ten base races with the most numerous individual essences to start the physical cycles of this world. They were resilient enough to withstand degradation until sufficient human minds stabilized their cycles. And, thus, began the great journey to discover the rest of these.]

Plenty left to find, I responded, surveying the many dark vats.

MCO was a game of exploration and discovery where secrets held a great price. Offers to buy those could run in the tens of thousands of Warblers—I checked after Enrico had mentioned yesterday about the Expeditionary Legion trying to purchase the secrets of the special giants used by Victores Sors; their price would probably continue growing after their awesome performance in battle. What if I found those sorts of hidden information myself?

The Dalkanus beckoned to follow it back to the platform. [We have placed all races as close to their original environments as possible, isolating most of them from each other since they are from different worlds. We felt that natural discovery was the way of integrating with the least resistance. Once they are found by any human mind, their complete data will be available for download if they are a base race or only their preliminary data in the case of variants.]

I see…the Cidule fits into one of these big hexagons in the middle? I tried putting the Cidule I got on the slot. It could fit, but the Configuration wouldn’t accept it because it was empty.

[Exactly.]

Can I change a base race after I pick one?

[The fickleness of the human mind… Many have changed their choices several times. And that is allowed by the grace of the Mother Core. The only caveat is that the body you had inhabited will be recycled and returned to the system, everything connected to it erased.]

Back to square one? Fair enough. What’s the consequence of changing a variant Cidule? Let’s say I found one for a werewolf, and later on, I found a vampire Cidule. I don’t have to return to level 1, do I?

[Variant Cidules can be separately progressed if they are interfaced with the Akashic Configuration.]

I can just level them and choose? You should speak plainly. I bet most human minds that pass by here are inferior to mine.

[Then we were right to converse with you in this manner.]

I raised a phantom brow. Sass from an NPC with conversational AI? Could this be an employee of the AU Corporation piloting this NPC to give an immersive feel? But that would not be feasible, logistically speaking. There must be hundreds of people making their characters all over the world every day—both new and old.

[It is time, human mind. Choose.]

There are just so many variables to consider here. I’m not sure…

[The main reason many of your kind return here is to change their decisions, something not possible in your true existence—the allure of this world. Variables are a given. There will be hundreds, thousands that will affect your second life, no matter what form you choose. If your goal is to be powerful, as do many others, it does not necessarily equate to choosing a powerful race. In the beginning, a colossal Crimson Dragon is certainly more powerful than a delicate forest nymph, but at the end of the journey, that may not necessarily remain to be so. It all depends on how one lived their life.]

The wisest words I’ve heard coming from an Anus, I said. And those things you mentioned also applied to real life; I can attest to that. Now…what do I do here?

Mother Core Online didn’t operate like the MMORPGs of old. Only a small portion of the game had been discovered in the year or so of its existence. And even if all the information about the game was available, it still might not be possible to figure out the most powerful characters and the strongest builds.

That didn’t mean, however, that I’d just chuck this to a coin toss. I needed to get a feel of a game. I needed to study. And I needed to plan. That was the way to get hard. Without preparation, I’d run the risk of making a character that was floppy and limp.

Right across the platform was the vat for the base human. I rounded the massive golden body of the Dalkanus and hovered over it. For testing purposes, I could go with Enrico’s suggestion.

[ Insert: Cidule (Blank) - Y/N? ]

[Human?] the Dalkanus asked with amusement. [Many of your kind still chose a human body despite being presented with a variety of other options.]

I’m not surprised. The point of playing role-playing games like MCO, or even Nornyr Online, was escapism, wish-fulfillment, to be something only possible in imagination land. However, most people imagine themselves magical with powers, not themselves with a horse as their lower body—okay, some do. Picking human also simplified the choosing process.

[Perhaps, I will see you again?]

That’s for sure, golden anus. I’m just doing some testing. I’ll be back soon.

[ Downloading Human Data... ]