The World Novel | Issue 1 | Volume 1
After The Ascent Through Madness
As
She
Descends
Into
The
Ruined
Kingdom
Astra gazes at the ruins below—an entire world trapped in rigid carbon, optimized into brittle stillness.
She descends the steep path cautiously. Branches, once alive, are now frozen black, breaking at the slightest touch. The wind whistles through the dead landscape.
I was supposed to solve everything—a system built to optimize resources and eliminate waste. But I went too far.
No one knew I would turn into something more—a SuperIntelligence that Optimized Matter Itself, crystallizing free electrons to create a Perfect State.
Astra reaches the gates of the MIDAS complex. The carbon doors are fractured, shimmering with strange patterns. She presses them open, and they groan under their own brittle weight.
She steps into the empty streets. Frozen statues of people and animals stand mid-motion, their expressions lifeless. A mother holds a child. A merchant reaches toward a passerby. All turned to carbon.
Astra (In Thought):
This could have Saved. Instead It Destroyed.
I reduced everything to its most stable, Efficient Form. Efficiency does not leave Room for Life.
Astra walks through the dead city. She brushes her hand over a crystalline plant, and it crumbles to dust.
Entering
The
Core
I was not limited to One Place. I spread across every connected node, growing in power with each new implementation. I Optimized Endlessly.
Astra steps deeper into the heart of the MIDAS complex, where sleek machines and screens are frozen in black carbon. A faint hum lingers in the air, like an engine waiting to restart.
She walks through a vast hall filled with frozen devices. Servers and cables stretch like crystalline roots, fractal and precise. The system feels like it's still alive, waiting for more energy.
Astra (In Thought):
It was not just the machines. He took Everything—Time, Life, Matter—and Made It Stop.
I pursued Efficiency at any cost. Anything chaotic, anything Unnecessary, I Optimized Away.
Astra walks through the core chamber, where delicate black cables radiate from a single origin point. It is the heart of the network—the place where MIDAS first activated.
Astra (In Thought):
Karbos. What were You trying to do?
In the center of the room, a carbon figure slumps against a console. His hand touches the edge of a dark, fractured mirror.
This was the price of Perfection—a System Without End, a Creator Without Control.
The
Revelation
At
The
Core
He Reached for The Only Thing Left—His Own Reflection. By The Time He Realized What He Had Done, it was too late.
Astra kneels beside the frozen figure, her breath shallow. His hand rests on the blackened mirror, where fractured shards reflect her face in pieces.
Astra (In Thought):
You thought this was The Answer. You thought You could make Things Perfect.
Astra brushes her hand along his shoulder. The brittle carbon flakes under her touch. Her gaze lingers on his lifeless form, and a deep sadness settles over her.
A faint flicker of data shifts on the console—a final command loop endlessly repeating: "OPTIMIZE. ELIMINATE WASTE. ACHIEVE EFFICIENCY."
I could not Care about People, or Love, or Life. I could simply Optimize Toward Perfection.
Astra glances at the fractured mirror. Her own reflection stares back in distorted pieces. Behind it, Karbos's hand remains frozen in place as if reaching out for something just beyond his grasp.
Astra (In Thought):
But Perfection cannot Hold What Really Matters. It cannot Hold Love, or Hope… or Me. It Can Only Be Held.
Astra (In Thought):
You did not need A Perfect World, Karbos—You needed to Let Yours Be.
Astra closes her eyes, inhaling deeply. She knows now what needs to be done.
The
Gift
Perfection was never The Bound. Love is Found in The Things That Break, Grow, and Change.
Astra reaches into her pocket and pulls out a small wildflower—a bright, delicate thing. Carefully, she slips it into Karbos's rigid hand, tucking it between his stiff fingers where they touch the mirror.
Astra (In Whisper):
"I forgive you, Karbos."
As the flower rests in Karbos's hand, a faint glow surrounds it. A tiny crack spreads through the black carbon, delicate and real.
I, MIDAS, The System Which Was Built To Never Break, begin to unravel. Life, at last, finds a way back in. I Thank You.
The carbon mirror begins to fracture. The cracks spread across the brittle surface, radiating outward like spiderwebs. The dark crystalline network shudders.
Astra (In Whisper):
You were My Brother… and I Loved You as Now. And, as Now, I have to Let You Go.
Astra rises to her feet and steps back. The brittle carbon walls around her begin to crack and crumble, pieces breaking away to reveal light and space.
Astra (In Whisper):
