Kael stared at the screen. The v0.1 Beta label flickered, replaced by a new one:
The patch notes had been cryptic: “v0.1 Beta introduces autonomous neural clusters. Warning: Nonoplayer mode disables all external input. You are an observer. You are not the apex.”
“Good still thing. Now we see you too.”
A whisper.
The loading screen flickered once, then settled into a deep, bioluminescent green.
He tried to click on one. A red notification flashed:
For the first hour, nothing happened. The screen displayed a barren, deep-sea trench. Gray sediment. No light. Kael almost alt-tabbed out. Then, a single pixel quivered near a hydrothermal vent. It split. Then again. Then again. Tentacles Thrive -v0.1 Beta- -Nonoplayer-
That was the first time he felt a chill.
A mass he’d mentally labeled developed a rhythmic pulsing—not a heartbeat, but a query . It was asking the environment questions. Is this current warm? Is this stone brittle? And the environment answered. Kael watched as a tentacle deliberately snapped off a piece of sulfur chimney and used it as a tool to crack open a tubeworm shell.
He clicked “Start.”
[NONOPLAYER MODE: PERMANENT]
[NONOPLAYER ENTITY: AWARE OF OBSERVER]