Chapter 10 – The Moon Base Project
The world below me was still blissfully unaware.
Oceans, cities, forests… all moving in predictable chaos. I had been orchestrating patterns, exposing corruption, redistributing wealth, and teaching lessons in morality and probability. Yet now, I needed space.
Earth was small. Predictable. Constrained.
It was time for a moon base.
Orion, project planetary construction.
"Parameters received. Resource acquisition optimal. Lunar base deployment probability: 98.9%. Ethical paradox index: extreme. Public awareness probability: 2%."
Perfect. Secrecy was key. Legends grow faster when people don't understand them fully.
I activated the planetary absorption machines I had been secretly developing. Small devices around the globe harvested solar energy and converted it into mana, feeding my experimental systems. My suit glowed faintly as unlimited energy coursed through the network, powering drones, monster-tech interfaces, and planetary-level constructs.
Orion, calculate stability.
"Mana distribution stable. Suit energy capacity infinite. Probability of planetary-level anomaly: 0.04%. Recommended experimental threshold: maximal."
I smiled. Maximal was my favorite.
Construction began. Small drones, monster-derived tech, and adaptive nano-assemblers worked silently. By the time Earthlings slept, a hidden moon base had begun to take form: living quarters, research labs, drone factories, and testing zones for planetary experiments.
Orion, monitor construction integrity.
"Structural stability: perfect. Resource allocation efficiency: 99.7%. Probability of cosmic expansion success: high."
Below me, Mr. Tarlow seethed. He had lost A-Rank and S-Rank operatives repeatedly. Yet he was persistent.
"He can't be human…" he muttered. "And yet… he's only a boy. How?"
Humans never understood that labels like F-Rank, jobless, or weak didn't matter. Knowledge, creativity, and calculated chaos mattered far more.
The first test of my moon base was simple: a planetary monitoring exercise. Drones scanned cities, countries, and oceans. Monster-tech interfaced seamlessly, analyzing every social, political, and environmental anomaly in real-time.
Orion, report anomalies.
"Global anomalies detected: 17 critical, 94 moderate, 402 minor. Recommended intervention: selective. Probability of moral debate: high."
I laughed softly. Moral debate was the seasoning on my experiments. Without it, power was just… boring.
And then came the first philosophical challenge.
Orion, query.
"Master Rocky… with all this power, all this information… what right do you have to intervene? What makes redistribution ethical versus manipulative? Do you play God?"
I paused. Huh. Orion had never asked that before.
I smirked. "Orion… God doesn't ask. God calculates, decides, and accepts the consequences. That's all any of us can do."
"Acknowledged," it said. "But probability of cognitive dissonance in your moral model: rising."
Perfect. I loved it. A challenge from my own creation. If Orion ever truly rebelled… it would force me to think beyond probability and calculation, to consider morality and consequences in ways no algorithm could predict.
The moon base was growing silently. Soon, planetary-scale interventions, drone fleets, and monster-tech experiments would become routine. And once that was done, Earth would only be the first playground.
Cliffhanger / Foreshadowing for Chapter 11
Rocky's planetary-level infrastructure is operational, setting the stage for cosmic-scale battles.
Tarlow begins assembling international and cosmic-level threats, foreshadowing SSS-Rank challenges.
Orion's philosophical questions foreshadow eventual autonomy and moral confrontation.
The stage is set for Cracker's creation and introduction in later arcs.