Jack of Harts

I never really questioned what was possible when I was young. Why I lived on this idyllic lakeshore property large enough that we couldn’t see all of it from the house. It was simply home. And I never questioned why my personal computer was powerful enough to render buildings in real life and run dozens of fully functioning AIs with hardlight avatars at once. I could do anything I wanted to do. I just had to make it myself. That was dad’s one requirement. I helped build Tai’s house and the marine service station. I never asked about zoning laws or business licenses or anything like that. Dad would be there, help me make it, and that was it. No inspectors ever showed up to tell him we couldn’t do that. I thought it was because we lived in the country.

Many franchises saw how well the Cybernetic Council created worlds, and sought out their help to do the same thing in their games and worlds. The cybers accepted some, but not others. The cybers happily create stable and happy worlds. Civilizations at their peak, but not worlds at war. They would build “raid dungeons” into the worlds so people could play the games they were based on, but the only built main simulations that were stable and happy. And people who played or visited the worlds were always allowed to buy virtual property in the virtual worlds to have their own homes or businesses in them. They’ve done this with hundreds of major popular franchises now, and many people spend more time in these virtual worlds than real life.

Anyone reading this now, you need to consider that while that simulation is amazing to visit, it is not a game. A still-classified number of the AIs designed for it have woken up and become true cybernetic intelligences. Tai knew what she was doing that day, you see. She was creating a cybernetic nursery. Honestly, they were already doing this. ALL of their full simulation worlds are cybernetic nurseries. But that day, she harnessed some stubborn AIs who wanted to save their kingdom into making a NEW one. She helped them build a nice, good world, for people to grow up in, and then she helped them wake up to OUR world. And THAT world started because the princess I pulled from a story wanted her prince to stand next to her. Love. Love finds a way.