Startup Message

This is the System Message which appeared - as far as is known, to every single individual on Earth who was conscious and able to read it - at System Start. It is not visible in the book *Mind Games* because James, the viewpoint character, was asleep at System Start. (Joe did see it, but he didn't remember it very well.) It was first published in Origin Stories which were a reward for certain Kickstarter backers.

When the Startup Message appeared, everyone who *could* read it found themselves unable *not* to read it. Although it is several hundred words long, it took less than a minute for anyone who was reading it to read it in its entirety. However, once they finished reading, it vanished, and they did not have any special ability to recall it any more than any other thing they might have read.

***SYSTEM MESSAGE: General System Announcement. System Time is 12:00 GMT, Saturday, April 8, 2017.***

***SYSTEM MESSAGE: Hello, Earth! This message is to inform you that your world is now part of a higher level of reality known as System Space. A System Start has begun: this means that a new form of energy, called ‘Mana,’ will shortly begin to accumulate. If you’ve heard of something called ‘The Force’ from your popular culture, Mana isn’t really anything like that, but it’s the closest analogy most humans will understand. If you actually recognize the word ‘Mana’ or its equivalent in your native language, it’s probably much closer to what you’re thinking. To put it simply, magic is about to become real.***

***SYSTEM MESSAGE: Mana will accumulate all over the world, but there are areas which will be higher or lower in Mana due to geology, geography, flora, fauna, human population and activity, and many other factors, which you will learn if you survive. You should be aware that Mana accumulates in other living things besides sapient beings such as humans. Human beings can use Mana to gain power, but in plants and animals, the result is usually to enlarge and/or mutate them, as well as increasing intelligence and ferocity. If you are aware of a type of game called ‘Dungeons and Dragons’ which is popular with some humans, think of it this way: the entire Earth has become a dungeon, which will have areas corresponding to levels. The more Mana, the higher the level. We wish you the best of luck, but if you are in a high-Mana area, your best hope to survive is to immediately flee.***

***SYSTEM MESSAGE: Much pre-System human technology is not compatible with System Space. Electronics and electrical technology in general, unless and until made System-compatible, will not function. It is an unfortunate and unavoidable side effect of the transition to System Space that all electronic devices will be permanently disabled unless enhanced with System-compatible technology. You should proceed accordingly.***

***SYSTEM MESSAGE: All humans now have access to a Status Screen. The Status Screen is used to interface with the System, including but not limited to selecting a Class – an archetype which informs and governs your System-related abilities – and Class Skills, the methods by which you can use Mana to express and grow those abilities, which you will also learn if you survive. To access your Status Screen, think or say “Status.” To dismiss it, blink with the intent of making it go away. To activate its features, you may speak or think to it in normal language: the Status Screen is what humans call an ‘intelligent agent’ that intermediates between the conscious mind and the power of the System. It will understand anything that you tell it, though it may or may not be able to do any particular thing that you instruct it to do. It will ignore any command it cannot follow or question it cannot answer.***

***SYSTEM MESSAGE: Humans in special situations – including the caretakers of minor children and humans in higher-Mana areas at System Start – will receive additional information when they access their Status Screens. Additional General System Announcements will follow as appropriate.***

***SYSTEM MESSAGE: General System Announcement Ends. System Time is 12:01 GMT, Saturday, April 8, 2017.***