Cosmic Editor

"What? I thought my edits turned out better with higher-quality products; was I wrong?" David asked, surprised by the AI's statement.

[If it worked like that, then there will be nothing special about the editor; you only need a base to edit and nothing else… Said base could be of any quality.]

"So, I just wasted about a million naira for no reason at all?"

[Yes, you have.]

"If it's so, then it doesn't need an edit anymore. How can it take such an amount from my account and still expect me to waste an edit on it".

[Sir, those choices were all yours to begin with and even if they are very smart objects, they are still inanimate objects… they aren't expecting anything.]

"No, I don't…" David said as he tried to explain but just sighed.

"Do you want me to make them match your hardware or what?"

[It would be preferrable that that they are able to match my natural hardware; it would be useful in the future.]

"Okay, then here we go" David replied as he focused his ability on the server racks.

Since he had figured out that his powers worked primarily with his intent, it was easy for him to make it recognize the entire room full of servers as one object. It was also the same way that the Earth itself is recognized as an editable object rather than the sand he had been looking at then.

As soon as he did so, the now familiar holographic screen and keyboard appeared before him, and he immediately began inputting all he could think of into them. Like when he had created Nous, he planned to make the most out of the servers after all it would cost him, one whole Edit.

…

Editable Object: IBM Power S1024?

Durability: ???

Description:

A set of devices created the Editor for the purpose of supporting the entity known as 'NOUS'. Possessing unlimited storage capacity, unparalleled processing capacity, and several other unknown capabilities.

Features:

Domain: Inbuilt into the Editor's main domain, it possesses access to and a level of control over it through the Editor. All recognized by the Editor within the domain shall experience effects determined by the Editor, these effects could be temporary or permanent as per the Editor's wishes.

Absolute security: serving as a center of control for the Editor's main domain, it possesses the ability to protect and secure the environment, whether virtual, physical, or spiritual, from any form of attack.

Never Fail: Backed by the Editor's power, it possesses the capacity to always complete its task and will never fail unless stopped by the Editor or other authorized figures.

As a creation of the Editor, the devices and all their components are fiercely loyal to the Editor. Any attempts at insubordination shall result in automatic deletion from reality.

Cost: 200 years

…

Looking at the screen, David's eyes nearly fell out of their sockets. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. Well, he could; after all, he was the one who had input all the details.

"Two hundred years?!" David shouted in shock.

He expected something ridiculous, but nothing prepared him for two hundred years. Even creating an omniscient being had only taken twenty years off his lifespan, but this was taking two hundred years off his life.

[Sir, you are immortal now; that shouldn't be worth worrying about.] Nous commented.

"So… this is pure daylight robbery. What next? A thousand years when I want to edit something next month?" David asked.

[Sir, you and I both know why the cost for the Edit is this high.]

"Okay, if you put it like that.." David said as he quickly calmed down.

He did truly know why the Edit cost so much compared to the last one, which was clearly of a higher grade considering that Nous was born from it. For this Edit, he was merging the servers to his mountain.

This simply meant that he was turning his entire mountain into a server that would allow the servers to perform the duties he had given them, and since it would cover the entire mountain, it would also be the best form of security ever.

He also used the chance to grant it abilities that allowed it to grant effects, or, as gamers would call it 'buffs' or 'debuffs' on the people he chose. Basically, this meant that as long as he was on the mountain, he could simply add an immortality buff to himself, and he would literally live forever.

"Wait, is that how mountain and land gods came about?" David asked.

[Should I answer that?] Nous asked.

"No," David replied.

Without further hesitance, David immediately clicked on the 'Yes' icon. As soon as he did so, he immediately fell to the ground as his body began to shrivel up.

"Arghh!!" David screamed in pain as he rolled on the ground.

His body was shriveling and shrinking until he looked more like a mummified corpse. His body got so tiny that he looked like a literal shadow of himself; however, as soon as it started, it also ended.

White light covered his body as he immediately began to grow in size to match his previous size. The pain stopped, but he had long since lost consciousness.

Apart from his transformation, the servers too were undergoing a change as time froze and the server racks melded together to form a large liquid ball in the air.

The ball fell to the ground, splattering everywhere as the liquid immediately began to spread itself around as though it were alive, trying its best to consume all in its path.

Seconds passed before things began to return to normal, the liquid returned and began to regrow into the familiar server racks that once stood however now, they all looked completely different.

[Sir, the Edit is done.] Nous replied as it forced the unconscious David, awake.

Opening his eyes, all he saw was the bright lights on the ceiling and immediately a look of regret appeared on his face.

"I'm beginning to regret accepting this Editor, power" David said as he stood up.

[You can't have possibly thought that the Lifeforce absorption process would be painless just because you now have immortality] Nous asked.

"Well, don't blame me; I'm new to all these things," Davd said in anger.

Like Nous had pointed out, he truly had expected it to be painless, but then again, he should have known better. If drawing just a syringe full of blood could cause him pain despite having around five liters of blood,

If that could cause him pain, why did he expect taking two hundred years off his lifespan to not be painful? Even if he had infinite years to give, it would still make sense that he would feel the pain.

[It all gets better with time,] Nous said, trying to console him.

"Somehow, I doubt that" David replied as he finally focused on his Edit.

Looking around the room, David was surprised to still see the servers standing as they were before. He could clearly see the changes, but they shouldn't be standing here.

"Why are they still here?" David asked

[Where did you expect them to go?]

"Well, I merged them to the mountain; they should have become one with the mountain itself."

[Sir, not everything works according to the laws set up by fiction.]

David examined each of the servers, surprised by their presence. He may be confusing fiction with reality, but it was still common sense. If he merged two things together, it made sense for him to expect them to actually fuse together.

"Oh well, as long as it works... Are you connected to them yet?" David asked

[I have no access until given permission.] Nous replied

"Okay, then how do I do that?"

[It's simply, just say it or even think it]

"Okay, then I permit you," David replied

[Thank you] Nous said as the servers slowly began to light up one after the other and a soft hum filled the room

It was obvious that Nous had taken her place in the servers. David, it's creator watched and noted the lack of loud noises as well as the aesthetically pleasing look of the servers.

[Connection established, would you like to try out the other functions]

"Specifically, the Domain ability," David said

He would love to try the absolute security part, but at the moment he didn't have the means to test it out.

He couldn't exactly attack it himself; he was the administrator for its systems, and besides, he trusted Nous to ensure that they worked perfectly.

Instead, he was more interested in the domain part. The main point of it was to give him the ability to give himself abilities that would help his growth.

Of course, he would try to give himself advanced superpowers or the like, but he felt that would be petty and not suitable for him.

He was the Editor, it was not just a title; it was also a seat of power, and somehow, he felt that if he cheated his way to power, he would regret it later on.

[Okay, then, the Domain feature is up and active; to use it, simply think of an effect you want to add to something and it will happen.] Nous said

"Just like that?"