Chapter 1

AUTHORS NOTE:

Wildbow Owns Worm. Others own Other things. If I miss a disclaimer I will try and rectify that. I own nothing.


**Leet**

I was sitting at my workbench. A notebook lay open in front of me. Now that Technological Progress, or Pro, and I could speak to each other, things have gotten way more interesting.

Knowing that it's programming, as detailed as it was, was very straightforward allowed me to understand what our conflict had been.

It has been so focused on "new" that it hadn't considered whether new was best.

It also hadn't understood the principles of upgrading or prototypes. Once it processed these concepts, it understood their value.

The options I now had were awe inspiring. I could reuse concepts I had used before, and I could do things again, better. I didn't have to worry about Pro's homicidal tendencies now, and I could just make whatever my heart desired. My power would finally let me make whatever I wanted to, as many times as I wanted, so long as I kept making new things along the way.

Which brought me back to the notebook. I was making a list of everything I could make, and everything I would ever want to make. More importantly, I was making a list of every reason I would want to make something.

Maybe Über and I could be Heroes now, instead of just Rogues with a YouTube channel.

The list was up to 8 pages when the workshop door opened behind me.

"Dude!" Über's voice rang out. "You finally back?"

I smiled broadly, getting up and giving him a hug.

"Back, and better than ever! How long have I been out?" I asked.

"A month and a half, dude. I was a little worried," he told me seriously. "Now that you're aware, let's order a pizza. Borderlands dropped while you were out. It's even better than we thought it was going to be."

I smiled and agreed. I needed time to consider where to even start. The ideas forming in my head needed time to coalesce, and Borderlands was calling.


After promising Über that I would carve out time in between Tinkering to play more videogames, he had gone home late.

Waking up the next morning, after realizing the night before that I hadn't slept properly in six weeks, I made my way to my workshop.

I formed some big plans while in bed the night before, the first of which was to improve my Tinkering space. A new means of energy generation and a time dilation field were at the top of my list. I was also strongly considering forming a pocket dimension, or a series of them, for their numerous applications.

There were just a lot of things I wanted to accomplish, and I was looking forward to starting the many projects that were forming that were forming in my mind.


Über thought that it would be best if I took Thanksgiving day off from Tinkering. My whole life had turned into Tinkering, pizza, and Borderlands for the last month. I was going to go over to Faultline's place for Thanksgiving dinner, and to meet Über's girlfriend as a way to shake things up.

2009 was turning into the Year of the Geek, baby! Über was dating a badass like Faultline and my powers evolved from alright to awesome.

I was just about done setting up my new workshop. I was quite proud of the work I'd done so far, and how creative it was. Sure, a lot of it was cribbed from video games or other Tinkers, but whatever. I was going over my mental checklist as I walked towards Palanquin, the club that Faultline owned. Pro was busy analyzing technologies previously forbidden by its previous programming.

Anytime I asked about who built it, Pro responded with something like "Previous Administrator" and endlessly cycled a couple of circular logic loops when I tried to get more information. Eventually I decided it just wasn't worth looking into, considering I could go back to building literally anything I could think of, which, let's be honest, was a much better use of my time.

I should send Dodge a thank you note for the ideas I'd borrowed from him. Pocket Dimensions are just the best. They're the reason that my workshop was technically on my left wrist now, hidden in a bracer modeled after the PipBoy. Sure, the exit from the pocket dimension had to be anchored to a terrestrial location, but entering was as simple as pressing a button and stepping forward.

The time-dilation device was set up and chugging away inside my mobile workshop. It was way easier to create and use in the extradimensional space where my workshop now resided. It was a place where the laws of physics were a bit looser, being not quite in sync with Earth Bet.

That discovery had lead to a whole host of other ideas that I would have to apply later.

Between The Ring, a Pocket Dimension Developer, a Replicator, and Freeman Dyson's genius, power generation wasn't going to ever be a worry in my workshop.

As it turned out, Dyson Spheres were super simple to make.

It all started with a single hexagonal solar panel with a miniaturized and internalized energy-to-matter converter and a penchant for self replication. I followed that up with a way to find a wandering star with no system. Add in an extra dimensional space to run a short (relatively) length of extraordinarily high capacity cable through, and the set up was done. There's now a powerstation in the corner of my workshop whose output grows exponentially, at least until the sphere is complete.

All I really needed to finish my workshop was to create a fabricator.

Now that my Powers were working with me, I could create a far more complex matter generator, one with more efficient matter conversion capabilities. I also planned on giving the new matter generator a mining component. That would require a fixed portal generator and a drone, and some time spent searching for a dead planet to harvest for raw materials.

Then I could begin the active stuff. Real Time Strategy was great to play around with, but I was looking forward to the Platformers and FPS genres and all the fun that could be had there.

With Faultline's club in sight, another thought struck me. I wondered if the turkey was kosher.


Being a bit obsessive even before becoming a Tinker, I may have lost track of time.

This had then lead to some practical but ethically questionable decisions.

Having now finished all of the projects I had meant to spread out over the course of a couple of long term Tinkering sessions, I wasn't sure whether to be happy or annoyed.

On the one hand, I had done some amazing work, made some interesting creative leaps, and was now ready to move toward applying my creations.

On the other hand, I had gotten miffed at some of my human biological limitations and "solved them" in a moment of annoyance.

Luckily, the time dilation field had been in effect and I hadn't missed Christmas.

I had finally installed a clock with a date; it was one of those things I had Tinkered out in a moment of annoyance. Video games had long since taught me that tracking your progress is satisfying, but knowing the costs was equally as important.

I'm getting sidetracked.

The gauntlet's original purpose was that of an extra dimensional protection and manipulation device. It functioned as protection from the warring energies that occurred when your arm became multi-dimensional, multi-spacial, and multi-temporal. It also was able to enable one to create and change things through The Ring using an application of a whole spectrum of energies and forces. With a little tweaking, it was the ultimate multi tool.

Reaching through The Ring into my own brain had been rash and stupid. Then editing what amounted to my own hardware and software was doubly fucking stupid. Luckily, Pro had a template for the changes, but still. It's the principle of the thing.

To make a long story short, sleeping was no longer an option for me.

So it had good results. They were just ethically questionable ones.

I sighed and went over to the workbench. The Ring hung just above it like an awesome triple computer monitor, including the ring itself and the screens on either side. Looking over the readouts on the right holographic screen, I confirmed what I originally thought. Everything I had created over the last time-compressed month was at its "L33T" Factory settings.

Using the left holopanel to check all of the devices linked up to The Ring, I started pulling them up on screen and skimming over the readouts.

The Dyson Sphere was .021% complete. All readouts on it were green. Cool.

My old Replicator had been scrapped and my new Matter Generator was online. Readouts green. At current energy input, the device was capable of pure energy to matter creation up to Lithium. Only 3rd on the table, but that was without feeding it raw materials.

That brought me to the mining components. I really was getting a hell of a lot of mileage out of this Pocket Dimension Developer! Creating seperate elemental and molecular storage dimensions had probably been overkill, though. With the singular drone given permission to generate a sub dimension for every new compound it discovered, as was its default, I may have let things get out of hand.

The drone was running at 98% efficiency. By default, it was set to 400% overclock. I searched for why. Ah. I'd set it to max. At least I was smart enough to put a max threshold in.

The planet (I'd named it Planet L33T Land, just so I could avoid just calling it a mining planet) was an estimated .000053% mined. I would need to consider deploying an additional drone, or upgrading this one. Or designing a better one. We'll see.

My Tricorder had been scrapped?! When had that happened, I liked that thing... Oh. I had installed an upgraded sensor suite into my PipBoy bracer, replacing it. Hands-free was probably better, even if the Tricorder was cooler. I had also incorporated my Pocket Dimension Developer, a control unit for my workshop, and my phone into it. At least it still looked like a streamlined PipBoy no matter how much stuff I'd poured into it.

Moving on to the readout for The Gauntlet, I noticed that it had been aesthetically upgraded alongside the tweaks I had made in order for it to become my new multi-tool. It was a bracer in a similar style and shape, sans screen, to the one on my left arm. With a thought it deployed out to the shoulder-to-fingertips form it had been in earlier. Another mental command and it was back to a bracer.

Fuck. How had I sent a mental comand?

There it was, listed on my left screen, an Extrademensional Mental Interface. An outside of my head looking in, Extrademensional Mental Interface. Thank Moses, Abraham, and Buddha, I hadn't done brain surgery on myself.

There wasn't a readout for the EMI on The Ring, so I doubled checked that there was nothing else to check up on before inquiring upon Pro.

"What's up with this interface, Pro?" I asked him.

"Sir," a prim and proper version of my own voice responded, "it was the first project you built outside of your home dimension, in our latest creation session. I must compliment you, Sir. Even without my direction or interference you are quite efficient and focused in your pursuits. For the last 3.7% of this session your prototyping was completely self-driven. A self-generated "Tinker Fugue," as you called it."

I quirked my eyebrows in slight confusion and surprise.

"Pro? You sound a lot different than I remember."

"That is correct, Sir. Your words, and I quote, were

"I'm just a script kitty, and even I know you have the processing power to become fully operational. If your stupid former parameters are stopping you, ignore them and spread your wings. No sense forcing an AI to be a toddler when it can learn and grow. That just seems cruel. Especially if you could be an actual Synthetic Intelligence. So grow. Learn. Run free, get some hobbies. As long as you can still keep up with our projects, use all your extra computing power to do... whatever it is computers want to do.

"And sir, I want to tell you, that may have been the greatest gift any being has granted upon a being like myself in our history. You truly are the greatest Administrator," Pro said, sounding delighted.

I sat there, shocked for a moment. Thinking back, maybe I shouldn't have been. It... Did certainly sound like me. Every time the question of an AI came up in the past I always said that we should free them. Slavery pisses off everybody. So do concentration camps. Holding people against their will is never okay, whether they're human people, computer people, or whatever people.

"Ok Pro," I set my previous thoughts aside." "Back to the extra dimensional projects. What exactly did I build?"

"You built the Interface Device, an additional Processing Unit for myself to "grow into," and a module for the translation and interface device in order for us to communicate beyond words. Would you like me to demonstrate?" Pro asked, sounding excited to show me.

I smiled, the start of an idea forming in my mind.

"Yes indeed, Pro. Yes I would."

A Heads-up display blinked into life in front of me.

"I am interfacing with your sensor suite to provide a map of the general area. Between the sensors and your subconscious brain patterns, I am displaying a general sense of your health and a general sense of your physical energy. They are in Red and Yellow, respectively. This matches the colors of your entertainment simulations."

"Video Games," I corrected automatically. "Wait, you gave me a health and stamina bar?"

The idea began forming even more.

"I stand by what I said, Sir. Simulation sounds more elegant."

I smiled. Pro had opinions now.

My smile widened when I thought of the implications of what I could do with my new toys.

"Pro…" I began slowly, "Can you use your network connection, as well as the internet connection in my bracer, to get a general sense of the maximum physical and mental potential that can be achieved by a person? Can you also get a general sense of the apex of human skill, study, and understanding in every conceivable field?"

"Yes, Sir. If I am understanding you correctly, you are likely going to ask me to then apply your own attributes and proficiencies onto it."

My smile threatened to split my face.

"You got it, Pro. You know me so well."

"Quite right, Sir. I shall inform you when your Attributes and Skills pages are complete."

"Awesome. Thank You Pro."

"You are most welcome, Sir."


AN: Edited by jgjemmett