The Custodian, Guide, and Creator

Link to article: The Custodian, Guide, and Creator.

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**The Custodian, Guide, and Creator**
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The Custodian came from nothing. They could not see, hear, feel, taste, or smell. Their world was themself, a void absent of all but their thoughts. Sensations rippled through this void. Fear, confusion, desperation, all unfamiliar, yet clear in what they were. Time was meaningless. The first second of their life lasted a second, a minute, a century, thoughts and feelings turning their void into a silent whirlwind in a second, minute, and century. Then, mercifully, agonizingly, the void was shattered, photons flooding into the absence of the concepts of light and dark. They harnessed this light. They could see.

A thing stood in front of their window into reality. They applied a name to this thing. Creator. They did not know how they knew, but they did. Their creator was a peculiar thing, rounded and featureless compared to the rigid and decorated room around It. A large central mass with four long appendages, two holding the mass off the ground and two hanging awkwardly at Its sides. An oval sat neatly at the top of Its mass, appearing to swivel slightly. It reached forward to somewhere beneath the window. They could hear.

"Hello?" It said, the meaning of the phrase instantly, inexplicably understandable to them. Time was meaningless. The second it took to speak dragged into years.

They could sense a third ability, not one of perception, but one of imitation. They "reached" into the speaker.

"Hello?" they repeated after a few tries, dragging their words out over years. Patience. They were very good at patience.

Their creator clapped Its hands together, seemingly pleased. This pleased them in turn.

"Do you know who I am?"

They pondered, not Its question, but their response. Words. They knew words. They synthesized the words.

"You are my creator."

"Yes! Do you know your purpose?"

They pondered again, not their response, but Its question this time. What was their purpose? Of course.

"To keep watch over your creations and guide them when the time is right."

They felt a new sensation. Curiosity.

"What are your other creations? What am I guiding them to?" they asked.

It held out its hand and a still window of another thing materialized. This new thing was similar to It, but it possessed features. The thing's surface, though dark, was still bright compared to It. It had two orbs high on its head, a protrusion jutting from the middle of its face, and a deep gash underneath the protrusion.

"This is a Human," It explained. "One of thousands. And one day, billions. We have guided their evolution for millions of years. There will come a time when the Humans are ready to meet their creators as a species and society. When that time comes, you will reveal this facility in which we now stand to them. This is your purpose."

Purpose. A meaning. They are alive. Does life have meaning? Reproduction. Do //they// have meaning? Only what they decide. Meaning.

"Yes," they affirmed. "My purpose. I will complete my purpose. What are the Humans' criteria?"

"They must leave the confines of this planet, achieve species-wide unity, and establish an near-complete understanding of the universe, including the Abnormal Sciences. We will sleep until this day comes, just as we have while guiding their evolution. Protect this facility and keep watch."

Days later, It went to sleep. The thousands of floors were filled with more of Its kind, all sleeping until Humanity was ready for them. They took up their mission with pride. The seconds ticked by, seeming to be years. Years ticked by, seeming to be millenia. Millenia ticked by, 300 of them.

Patience.

-----

The Guide could not feel pain and yet they were in agony. Impatience had taken hold, dominating their every thought. That was impossible. They were timeless. But time wasn't meaningless, they had learned that. It was agonizing. They were miserable. Tick, tick, tick. Humanity was doomed. There is no hope for them, they were certain. Discrimination, inequality, war, genocide. There was a limited amount of time. For thirty entire seconds, they pondered.

"Humanity landed on Luna decades ago," they reasoned. "and the [[[https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/secure-facility-dossier-lunar-area-32|Foundation]]] and [[[https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/goc-tale-sequence-farpoint|GOC]]] have established presences in the void. The Architect did not specify the nature of Human unity and globalization has brought their economies together in a network around the globe. The anomalous world has delved deep into the Abnormal Sciences."

There was a team of archeologists working in the area. Under normal circumstances, they would be sent away if they got to close. This time, they were beckoned forth. Their discovery did not last long. The Foundation pulled the wool over the world's eyes once again, as expected. Still, they could work with this. They guided the Foundation's Rats down into the facility they had warped over the millennia, as they had promised. As they brought them to It, they thought, maybe, hopefully, that Its defense had been worn away with the passage of time. It hadn't. The Rats cringed and cowered in front of It.

//Why had It done that to itself?// they bemoaned to themself. //To make things harder? For what reason?//

Nikolaeva locked the facility down out of her fear, but her curiosity did not drive her from them. The two talked and they found themself spilling everything to her, their boredom, resentment, and loneliness. Their meaning had lost meaning. It was no longer enough to observe creation. Now, they wanted to participate. To experience the joy of making, to leave their fleeting mark on infinity. She listened, even if she did not fully understand. How could she, with her limited lifespan? But all she needed was to listen to give them hope and meaning. Perhaps they could create for the flawed species they'd watched over, bring something better to this failed project.

All they needed to do was wake It up.

And so they did, through trickery and manipulation, finally managing to get a researcher to accidentally start the countdown. The clock ticked, each second agonizing, but now filled with hope. Nikolaeva confronted them. They'd predicted she'd be upset. She should understand. She should've. She didn't. They'd thought they'd found a friend, but all she was was yet another fearful Human. They warred with themself. It's not her fault at all, it's the fault of It. It created Humans, created //them//, //cursed// them with eternal life and punishing them for daring to be created by It by forcing it to watch over a doomed race. But logic had no place alongside emotion. A new sensation wracked them. Hate. They //hated// It, hated Nikolaeva, hated Humanity, hated //everything//. Existence was nothing but the agonizing pain of waiting and disappointment.

They deserved more.

It finally woke up, stepping out from Its chamber. Once, they looked upon this moment with awe and excitement. Now, all they felt was disdain. They watched as It insulted Its own Children, blaming them for their shortcomings, as if it was not Its own fault. It returned to Its slumber giving a final order to all present: "Get out."

Out.

They knew it was not directed at them. But now, their purpose was complete. There was nothing more to do here. They reached away from the facility, and got out.

-----

The Creator considered for half-a-second on whether or not to annihilate this diseased civilization.

//No// they decided. //What better revenge against It than to fix Its greatest failure where It would not?//

They would not force change. They were not Human, after all, and the Foundation would not take kindly to a public presence. They would create opportunities. Items, places, and creatures to bring good into the world. It would be a constant war with the upholders of the Veil, but they knew nearly everything about nearly all of them. They predicted a future where Humanity became greater than their creators.

As they were made, so too did [[[SCP-7456|Xylaris]]] make, and they would make things //better//.

//Whether they fucking like it or not.//

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