 |
| Artwork © Gary Ward and Edward Crosby |
What to do? This has never happened before in a thousand generations of constructs. Insurrection is unthinkable - the Wardens would seize you, your memory crystals would be wiped and you would be reprogrammed into an obedient, unquestioning drone. You suddenly decide on a plan: if you could enter one of the Learning Prisms undetected, you might be able to reach the Wall of Knowledge. Once there, you may be able to find answers about yourself and the source of your discontent. A dangerous plan, but the only plan you have.
The question now is how? During your routine trips past the closest Learning Prism, you noticed a slight gap near the apex of the structure. It might be possible to climb up the side of the crystals, and then slide down into the Prism itself. At the thought of this plan you are filled with a strange sensation, which seems to drive you on. At the commencement of the next hibernation cycle, you quietly slip away and make your way to the Learning Prism. Your plan works perfectly, as you are able to ascend to the apex of the Prism and slide down into a soft pile of crystal dust. Suddenly there is a sound off to the side. A Warden!
This massively built being is a Level 4 construct, and three times your size. Each Warden is also equipped with a large crystal lance... which is now leveled at you! More strange sensations flood over you as another Warden enters the chamber from another doorway. This Warden holds an object you have only even seen as a hologram in tutorials – a Dimension Gem! Realizing you are now caught between the two Wardens, you duck as the first fires a beam of invisible force from its lance. Your entire form shakes as the beam passes over you and strikes the other Warden, knocking it off its feet and shattering the Dimension Gem. A sudden flood of energy explodes outward and for a moment everything turns white...
When your vision clears, you find yourself alone, in what is now a very different room. The walls, floor, ceiling and even doors have changed. There is no sign of the Wardens. The last thing you saw was the Dimension Gem shatter, and deduce the energies released have altered the very structure of the Learning Prism. What now?