World Builder #ONC2024

1| how to be a world builder 101

WYATT

"AND THAT IS how Earth was lost and our organization was born."

I sat in Education Room 3C and stared at the 3D projection of Earth on Professor Kalahan's desk. No world had been created before or after Earth that could match the pure power and potential created on that planet. The people that inhabited the gorgeous mix of water and land had been unparalleled.

Which is why it didn't make sense that it had to be shut down.

"Now, your assignment is to design a world in which humans can flourish without animals. You have until Friday," Kalahan finished, turning her pointed gaze to the six remaining World Builders in training.

Jackie, one of two girls left, raised her hand. "Will there be another Shrinking, or is this our graduating class?"

I tensed in my seat. A Shrinking would mean another chance for someone to get kicked out of the program. I smoothed out my features. I would be just fine.

Kalahan smiled briefly before saying, "No. You will graduate with six, assuming you all complete your initial designs and they pass inspection. You are dismissed."

I put my notes into my small messenger bag and stood, my space suit stretching with me. The soft blue nylon was impeccable quality, taken with the Founders from Earth.

I would create a planet that was so much better. I just had to make it through inspection.

The long hallway outside of Kalahan's classroom was my favorite place on EXO. Wrap around glass showcased glimmering stars against the inky black backdrop. Everywhere else on the spacecraft, the windows were small and uniform, hardly allowing for a view. But this hallway... it was perfection.

My steps echoed on the metal flooring as I went to my dorm. It was one of ten dorms in the world building wing. Only ten people got in every seven years.

Training was grueling.

But anyone could sign up, as long as they were an adult.

To build a world, you needed to have a firm grasp on politics, design, biology, physics, and balance. That's why it was so surprising that there were still six of us standing.

Jackie, the know it all. Clara, the poet. Alex, the energizer. Emmet, the quiet kid. Lucas, the clown.

And me, the hungry one.

I wanted power. I wanted freedom. And I wanted the fame and legacy that came with creating the greatest planet ever seen.

And I knew I was smart enough to get it.

I returned to my dorm, a small space with a regulation bed and desk and little on the walls besides a drawing my little sister gave me before I left for training.

Ella would be thirteen now. I almost let myself wonder how my family was before shutting that train of thought down. That would get me nowhere.

I chose this life, this path. I wouldn't stray from it now that I was so close.

I sat down at my desk and turned on my holographic plans, suddenly surrounded by a vivid blue screen that showcased all the math, designing, and plotting creating an entire world took.

Let alone the inhabitants.

My eyes moved quickly over gravity equations and day length. Too fast of an orbit around the sun, and the atmosphere wouldn't be stable. Too slow and days would last forever. If I had too much gravity, people and animals would be crushed and the balance between land and water would be thrown off. Too little, and they would be thrown into space.