LOG 1 Figured I may as well start writing down some thoughts every now and then, even though no one's going to read them. Might be neat to look back on a long time from now, though it's not as if time means much to me.
I named myself Teros, and for as long as I can remember I've been floating around in some kind of void, circling something bright I've never gotten a clear look at, with a ton of other bright things way farther away. I think I'm fairly big? There isn't much to compare myself with other than tiny rocks that sometimes fall onto me. Doesn't help that I can change my shape, which is what I do every now and then when I'm bored.
Sometimes I make big stone spikes jut out from my surface, liquids in indents, or cracks that go deep into me. One time I made an opening that went all the way through to the opposite side, but that felt weird, so I sealed it and haven't done that again since.
Over time though, that's been getting less effective at entertaining me. There's nothing else to do, and I think it's helping that I've never known anything else, but I can tell this won't work forever. I need to come up with something to occupy myself, and soon. Well, "soon" is relative, but you know what I mean.
LOG 2 I've circled that glowing thing a few more times, and then something occurred to me: All the time I've existed, I've never seen something like me. Something that can change, and grow, and actually choose to do something aside from float aimlessly. So, I've begun some experiments, and pushing myself to see what the limits of altering my body are.
It's been hard to think of where to start though. Something simple, for sure, but... This isn't really a simple task. The thing needs some way to get energy, I know that much; I think I do too, and the heat inside me seems to take care of that. I eventually settled on finding a way to use the light from the glowing thing, since it doesn't seem to be going anywhere. I'd rather not have something draw from my own energy... Though I did make some space with dirt instead of rock, maybe that'll make them more comfortable or something.
I'm starting small, basing my first thing on those stone spikes I like making. This one is much smaller, flexible so it can grow without me manually altering it, and making it able to use that light has made it green. It... Sort of works? I can sprout them out, and they'll stay for a while, but then they'll turn brown and brittle, and they won't change after that. I'm clearly missing something, but I have no idea what.
LOG 3 Figured it out! For some reason, those green things stay the same color if they have access to water of all things, and I've seen them grow! With that down, I've branched out into making a bunch of other growing things like that: Tall hard things, small colorful things, even some that are meant to be under water.
There's no intelligence to any of them, but it's nice to watch things on me move without me doing anything. Some of the colorful things open and close depending on whether the light is on them, and they all sway in that wind that's always happening on me.
Admittedly, I might have gotten a bit carried away with making these... "Plants", I've named them. I'm quite a bit more green than I used to be, there's some blue on me as well, and I've replaced a lot of my rock with dirt. I've still kept about a third of my surface rock though, so I can play around with altering myself without messing up the plants. Hopefully all this will keep me entertained for a good long time.
LOG 4 Well, it's been a few dozen more circles, and I've gotten a little bored again. Named all the plants I've made, as well as a bunch more things, but those plants not doing much has been getting to me. Some can at least move their seeds around in interesting ways - usually gliding on the wind, although I did make one that sort of explodes, which was funny for a while - but I have to be able to do more than this.
So, I put some thought into it again, and I'm working on making something new. Once I figure it out, this thing will be able to move under its own power, have intelligence, and if all goes well, maybe even make its own entertainment I can enjoy!
It is NOT easy though, it's taking a lot more tries than grass did. There's WAY more stuff I have to do just right; they need more different things than plants do, they need things inside them to hold and process those, things to moves those around their body... It's not just water and light these need to live, but a couple dozen things! But, I'm not giving up. I've got as long as I'll ever need, and once I'm through the trouble of starting this, it'll start going a lot easier, just like with plants.
LOG 5 About 5 more circles have gone by, and I'm getting closer, but still haven't quite got it down. Nothing's survived more than a few minutes yet, and if they have any intelligence they haven't shown it. Only really updating because a huge rock hit me, it damaged a fairly significant amount of forest. Never seen fire that I didn't make before... But, I put it out easily enough. Thinking I'm gonna keep that rock for now instead of absorbing it like usual, it's a neat sight.
LOG 6 I DID IT! My newest attempt has been alive for long enough they've gone through a few nights, and they're still going strong! I was honestly just throwing stuff in to see what'd work, so they've got 3 legs, a long tail, a couple vine-like appendages so they can hold things, and green skin. I've taught them how to keep themselves going, and invented neat little packets of everything they need, which I'm calling "food". I've set up some trees to make it - "Fruit", with a few different kinds - but when they can't do it themselves I just make them some.
They can talk, too! It was actually pretty funny though; they learned how to do that before I did! I had to just use text until I figured out how to make noises in the right way to form words, it's hard without a mouth like they have. They obviously don't really have much to talk about, but I've been telling them about the world I've made for them, and they seem excited to explore.
With that breakthrough of creating life, I've been making more creatures for them to interact with - friendly ones of course, I don't want anyone getting hurt. They're nowhere near as intelligent, but that's on purpose, I want this first one to be special for a while longer. At least until they ask for a companion, which I'm sure will happen at some point.
LOG 7 Yep, they did. So, made them a friend, a little different but still the same species. The two hit it off pretty quick! I let them talk for a while while I tried something I'd been thinking about; far away so they wouldn't find out, I forced my own mind into an animal I'd made, and I was able to directly control it! It felt SO weird, freeing but restricting at the same time. I could move around, but alterations to the environment still had to come directly from me, not them. Thankfully I could still control my real body at the same time, so it was no actual loss of power.
After releasing them, I checked in with the two intelligent ones again. They asked me for a home, so I made them one; a pond for water, a good amount of food sources around, and some shelter I made through messing with some of the trees. With that, they seem to be doing well for themselves, so I've decided to leave them alone for a bit, though of course made it clear they can call me if they need me.
I'm watching them right now, and it looks like they've come up with some clever ideas: They're working together to make things themselves! It didn't occur to me at ALL that they could do that, but they're learning quick. Who would've thought that my own creations could actually teach ME things...
LOG 8 I made a bunch more people, there's exactly 100 now, spread around that forest. I've helped them get settled in, led a few lost ones to meet each other, and about a quarter of them all have decided to actually live together, working on a sort of community as I'm writing this!
The original two were certainly surprised to see others, but I don't think they mind. They might have been starting to get a little bored. I gave them and all the others directions to that community, and most have gone, but some are preferring to have fewer people around. I don't really blame them, they can't just shift their focus somewhere else like I can.
Seeing that community has given me an idea of what the next step I should take with them should be... It's not time yet though, I'll give them a few years first. For now, I've made myself a proper avatar to interact with them through, something a similar shape to them but made of rock. It's a big hit so far, they're happy to actually be able to see me, even though I've made it clear to them a few times now that they're literally always seeing me.
LOG 9 Well, the years have passed. I've been trying to keep them safe, though putting less and less effort into that over time, so that they'll learn to take care of themselves without relying on me constantly. It kind of pains me to do that, but when there's a lot of them, it'll be hard to keep track of them the whole time... Because I do plan on letting this go much farther, so the communities get much bigger.
Today though, I gave them the news. Gathered up everyone in the village, got the attention of the others as well - a few joined the village after all, but not everyone - and told them that, until this time next year, I will not be helping them at all. There were protests, like I expected, but they mostly calmed down when I explained it's to help them learn to survive without my help.
I felt kind of awful, but it's done. I left my original avatar in the center of the village and let it go inert, to show that I'm sort of still with them, and I've fully retracted my presence from my surface. It's strange to think that this used to be normal for me, but I used that avatar for long enough that walking on myself had become second nature. I hope my people will be okay, and that I won't end up going back on this experiment with them...
LOG 10 I made it, and so did they. Only most of them, though. At the start, I could tell the mood had gotten a lot worse, but also that me having left my avatar behind seemed to have helped. Some of the people would tell it how things were going every now and then, but I couldn't respond without messing up that sort of trial I was doing. I heard every word, though.
At one point, there was a pretty bad food shortage, and not everyone survived it. The originals are still okay, though the second almost starved as well. That was the closest I got to giving up and just making food for them... But, by the time I came back, it'd been resolved; they turned to hunting the animals I'd made, which felt kind of gross to me but I knew not to stop them, and they also learned to "farm" as they called it, setting up ideal conditions for plants to grow and make more food than wild ones. Pretty impressive!
They kept track of how long it'd been, and everyone gathered around that avatar I'd left when the big day came, even the people that weren't part of the village. I don't know how I missed it, but apparently some new people had been born! It was surreal to see them, even I haven't seen young versions of them before.
Once it was time, I finally reactivated my avatar, and everyone started cheering as soon as I made it move again. I've missed this more than I expected, it feels great to be talking to them again after so long. We're all taking some time to catch up right now, and I've met the newcomers as well. Those ones are interesting; like the others, I can feel their presence and I know I could control them, but they feel a lot different from the ones I manually created. Hopefully they don't lose that connection through their generations, I don't know what I'd do then.
LOG 11 It's been about 20 years since the last log I made, and now that a third generation is beginning, I can confirm I'm not losing my connection with them. I of course haven't been idle, I've been terraforming myself to make lots of new environments to be explored... And new species to live in them, even other intelligent ones!
I've been giving them a similar start to how I did with the first ones, including that "No help for a year" trial as well. One actually failed that and nearly went extinct before I bailed them out, and I actually worked with the survivors to alter their bodies and make them more able to live on their own. When I repopulated them and tried again it went better.
Today, I'm only reserving a quarter of my surface for experimenting, and some people have actually found that area. I made it pretty clear they shouldn't try to settle there, and while they can explore if they want, they shouldn't bother making maps of it.
LOG 12 For the first time, one intelligent species met another! They weren't really as excited as I'd been hoping though... They actually seemed to kind of dislike each other. I suppose that's natural, they're pretty different, but it just feels weird that something I made isn't a fan of something else I made. I don't think it can be helped.
Anyway, the land-based parts of my surface are fairly full now, and anything more might get a bit crowded... But then I remembered, I've been neglecting my oceans! Made some new life there, with the usual few intelligent ones as well - less this time, though - and ran the trial on each, which they all passed. Starting them off led to a unique and funny issue: My usual stone avatars are too heavy to swim. Instead, I made the aquatic ones out of packed sand.
I challenged myself again with making aquatic animals; the first few breathe air like usual, including one of the intelligent species, but then I started looking into how to allow them to breathe without surfacing. It actually wasn't too hard this time, I came up with "gills" that let whoever has them breathe water with them. They don't work on air, but I'm letting the ones I've given them to figure out what to do about that. They're as clever as ever, they'll come up with something.
LOG 13 Something... Concerning, has happened. Those two species that met up before hate each other, and I've actually had to break up fights sometimes. It's just not right for intelligent things to fight each other! I made my stance on that clear to both species, and they've stopped for the moment, but I'm worried it won't last.
So, I came up with a little trick. I've created one extra member of each species, and told them to spread the word that violence isn't going to help with anything, while also acting as if they didn't come directly from me. It feels weird to be going behind their backs like this, but if it stops the fighting, it'll be worth it. If it doesn't... Maybe it's something I just need to let run its course, like with the trials.
It's given me another idea, at least: What if I made things that are meant to be fought? I'll obviously be keeping them far from where people live, but it might give a good way for people to deal with some pent up aggression. That reserved area I've made would likely be a perfect spot.
LOG 14 That trick helped, but the hostility is definitely still there. So, made things that are meant to be fought, which I'm calling "monsters", and populated the reserved area with them. Made a few caves and fake ruins for them too, I figured it might be fun to have people explore them while they're there. I wonder if I'm the first to think of that...
That sort of reminds me... Am I really the only source of life? I still haven't met anyone that I didn't create, directly or otherwise, and there's no sign of anything living in the void around me. Surely I can't be the only one... If something else is out there, I hope I meet them, no matter how long it takes.
Anyway, at this point I've started taking a more hands-off approach with managing all the life on me. It's becoming less and less common that I use my avatars to guide people, because there's just not much that people need to learn any more. I do still hang out with them too, but there's always that barrier of them not being able to relate to me, and me to them. There's religion now, and people consider me a god, which I suppose I am in a way, and I've never truly known what it's like to be like someone I've made. Now that I think about it though, there is a way I can learn...
LOG 15 I've begun my biggest experiment yet: I've made an organic body for myself, and I'm using it like an avatar while not telling anyone it's me. It's exhilarating! There's so many sensations I've never felt before, I have to eat and drink and sleep, and I have to actually travel to get anywhere - I'm not letting myself cheat for this. My goal is to visit every species, and I've picked one that seems neutral to all of them for that.
Although, something happened that kind of distracted me for a while... I got news that the original two I made so long ago are close to dying of old age. On one hand, I'm thrilled that they've made it so long, but on the other... I'm going to miss them. I won't stop it from happening; I know life always has to end, I've seen it a lot by now.
That's gotten me sad enough I don't even want to continue this log...
LOG 16 It's been a couple years since this newest experiment started, and I've actually finished it! It was a bit tough to visit the aquatic people, but I made it happen. Technology's getting pretty impressive at this point, that creativity I love is far from running out. But, even with the experiment done... I'm thinking I'm going to keep up the life of that organic avatar. It's been fun!
But, with no major issues having happened in a long time, I think it's going to be time for me to formally step back soon. No one really needs my help any more, and people are starting to be used to not seeing me for a long while now. I'll wait a few more years to be sure, I don't want to have to go back on this.
LOG 17 It's bittersweet, but it's done. I gave a global message, to every single intelligent being, that apart from a handful of aspects, the world I've made for them is now entirely their own. I'll continue to maintain the reserved area - people have been enjoying hunting in it - and I'll reactivate an avatar to visit every few years, but very little more. Of course, I haven't told them about that secret living avatar I've made, and I never will, as it's still fun to live like them.
This might actually be my last log for a pretty long time... Funny how time actually means something to me now. All because of a whim I acted on to entertain myself, close to a century ago. What a whim it was.
LOG 18 BIGGEST EVENT EVER OH MY GOD
So, about a decade's gone by, without things being all that eventful. Just the usual messing around with the reserved area and using the living avatar - it has a family now! - and then something AMAZING happened!
I saw some weird metal thing flying in the void, somehow actually moving and turning on its own, and it flew onto me and slowly landed... And people came out of it! Like, people I didn't make, I couldn't even feel their presence like with everyone else!
I made a typical stone avatar to meet with them, being careful since they seemed kind of nervous, and after they made some weird noises they started actually talking to me! Apparently they're from a completely different world, which means I'm not the only life source! I showed them around, and they pretty quickly figured out that I am the planet they were on, which they were pretty excited about, since that's apparently not normal. I suppose I probably won't be meeting the world they're from, sounds like it's not like me...
When they were leaving to make some kind of report, they offered to let me - or I guess that avatar - onto the metal thing they arrived in, which they called a "ship". I obviously agreed, and as they left... Well, I lost my connection to that avatar. Probably should've expected that. Still, maybe they like that they got some stone from me. I hope they come back soon, I have SO many questions.
LOG 19 They came back! And, I did something I never thought I'd do... I opened up a way into the chamber deep inside me where I've been keeping these logs. They want to learn about me, I want to learn about them, so we've agreed to trade knowledge. It's surreal to have people reading these - they're literally watching me write this one right now - but I suppose these are the people that should know most of all. I was a little worried at first that they'd reveal the identity of my living avatar, but then it occurred to me that I've never actually described it in these, so the secret's safe. I did make them promise they wouldn't reveal it exists, though.
I've learned SO much from them! Apparently their world's technology is a lot more advanced than mine's, but their world also isn't alive, so I'm not really sure how much better it could really be... If it allows for visiting other planets though, it can't be that bad. That report they mentioned has apparently made me pretty popular back at where they're from, and they've given me a copy of some kind of information that's been recorded about me. I'll add it here, than continue our conversation. There's still so much more to know!
Planet name: Teros Classification: Anomalous Has life: Yes Has sapient life: Yes Description: An earthlike planet with 10 known sapient species, all early in development of civilization, roughly at the equivalent of the bronze age. The planet itself is alive and sapient despite its mundane appearance. Through means unknown even to the planet - it has stated it can just "do" things - it can perfectly manipulate any material native to it, and produce water from an unknown source.
The planet, which goes by "Teros", is friendly and exceptionally curious of other cultures; offering up information it doesn't know seems to quickly gain its friendship. It strongly dislikes violence, but not enough that it intervenes in fights, and roughly 25% of its surface is dedicated to allowing natives to fight creatures it has specifically made to be fought. The planet has stated that it created all life on it roughly a century ago, but cannot provide an exact date.
Efforts are underway to ascertain the origin of the planet's life, sapience, and capabilities.
Even if you've never known anything different, it can be pretty boring to be stuck on your own for a long time. A certain being would definitely agree... But with the power they have, maybe they don't have to be alone?
![[NMA] squirtlerocks07's Storytober 16-20](https://sf.ib.metapix.net/images80/overlays/writing.png "[NMA] squirtlerocks07's Storytober 16-20"){kind=small}
