Within the cave lit by fire and flickering shadows, something sacred stirred.
Proto-Unit 07 stood before a wall, its coarse hands now more adept, carefully dragging the edge of a stone to complete a crude image: a group hunting one of the horned beasts that had once hunted them.
The others gathered behind, wide-eyed, chests heaving with excitement.
They understood the image. Not just through instinct—but memory. Shared. Taught. Passed down.
That was the moment civilization crossed its first invisible boundary.
Not the tools.
Not the fire.
But language—the language of symbols.
From his perch in the real world, Jiang Fan watched this fragile moment unfold with the reverence of a parent seeing his child take a first step.
But he wasn't smiling.
Instead, he sat still in the soft light of his dorm window, staring at the floating system panel in front of him.
[Tribal Consciousness forming… Cultural Curiosity Path initiated.]
[Alert: Proto-Unit Cluster 01 Leader selected – Unit 07.]
[Behavioral Shift Detected: Tribal Loyalty +12%. Cooperative actions forming. Minor aggression suppressed.]
[Tribal Naming Protocol Detected. Would you like to input first tribal name?]
Jiang Fan breathed in.
The name came from the depths of his past life. A long-lost Earth language that had nearly disappeared before he'd died.
He typed:
"Arkhe."
[Confirmation: Tribal Name – Arkhe (Ἀρχή): meaning "origin" or "beginning."]
Inside the simulated planet, the Arkhe Tribe began to grow. Tools diversified. Small leather tents and bone-framed huts appeared around the great fire. No one knew why they did it—only that it felt right.
The first structure rose: a flat-topped stone altar, carved with images from the cave. They danced around it at night, humming and hitting hollow bones against stone—primitive rhythm, but it spoke of unity.
The beginning of culture.
Jiang Fan leaned back in his chair and exhaled slowly, whispering, "They're ready for the next step."
Inside his mind, he activated the Deduction Interface again.
[Current Planetary Civilization State:]
Population: 49
Tribe: Arkhe (Culture: Curiosity)
Tool Variety: Stone Blades, Spears, Firesticks, Drums
Shelter: Bone-Tent (Basic)
Food: Roasted Flesh, Wild Berries
Morale: Stable
Threats: Wild Beasts (5%), Internal Conflict (2%)
[Deduction Opportunity Available – Progress Boost Cost: 3 Core Energy]
He hesitated. Only 7 Core Energy left.
"...Deduce early social structure."
The screen flashed. Threads of simulation unspooled like tangled DNA—endless variables looping forward and back, testing possible outcomes.
In one version, a warrior rose and enforced control by violence. In another, a shaman spread false myths and enslaved belief. But Jiang Fan rejected both.
He chose a softer thread.
One built on the spark of curiosity they had already begun.
[Deduction Complete: Council Prototype Established]
In the tribe, instead of a single chief, five members gathered to form decisions: the Tool-Maker, the Fire-Keeper, the Hunter, the Story-Etcher, and the Healer.
Five voices. One vote.
Consensus.
For creatures born only weeks ago inside a simulation, it was the beginning of governance.
Back in his dorm, the moonlight traced along the edges of Jiang Fan's face. His eyes, dark and intense, flicked across simulation logs.
He had seen too many tyrants in his past life.
They were the ones who turned machines into weapons without thought, power into cruelty without responsibility.
He wouldn't allow that again.
Not even here.
Even a technological civilization must have a soul.
He picked up a pen and scribbled in his notebook—the old habit from Earth. In that notebook, he wrote two words underlined three times:
"Structure with Compassion."
Morning came. And with it, new rankings.
The entire academy was in a buzz.
Dozens of planet awakeners milled about the grand plaza, staring at the updated leaderboard floating in the air. The pillars of light glowed with names and rankings.
And at the top—glowing faintly blue, mysterious, and unreadable—was one name:
Jiang Fan – Civilization Type: Unknown. Stage: Tribal. Potential: ???
"Unknown?" A tall student scoffed. "That guy barely lit up during his awakening."
"Maybe it's a mistake."
"Or maybe he's just hiding his real civilization type. It's probably something lame like a ghost world."
But Lin Miaomiao stood in the crowd, arms folded.
She smiled faintly.
They don't know, she thought. But I saw it.
Inside the planet, days turned to weeks.
Arkhe grew.
Now, two more tribes had splintered off, not out of violence, but exploration. They had taken knowledge with them—stone maps and fire-starting kits.
Migration.
The Deduction System noted it instantly.
[Cultural Replication Detected. Network civilization formation potential increased. Do you wish to initiate basic communication methods between tribes? Cost: 2 Core Energy.]
Jiang Fan's heart beat faster.
This was it. The moment where knowledge stopped being local—and became global (within the simulation, at least).
He confirmed the option.
A new concept was deduced.
Signal Stones.
Large rocks carved with simple directional marks, placed along paths between tribal regions. With each new one built, the distance of knowledge transmission increased.
Suddenly, his simulated world was filled with new tension.
One of the offshoot tribes had encountered a dangerous beast—three times the size of their strongest warrior. The screen showed it dragging one hunter off into the woods.
Panic. Chaos.
The tribe couldn't hunt. Starvation loomed.
But then, something beautiful happened.
Arkhe received their Signal Stone distress mark.
And responded.
Four hunters and one fire-keeper traveled to the offshoot, carrying spears tipped with fire-hardened stone.
The beast was driven off.
And the two tribes—still barely able to speak—looked at one another.
A bond had formed.
In Jiang Fan's mind, he saw it clearly.
The beginning of alliances.
Not out of strength, but shared survival.
That was more powerful than any sword.
That night, Jiang Fan dreamed.
Not of machines.
But of stories.
The Story-Etcher of Arkhe stood by a fire, recounting the battle with the beast, etching its form into stone, and humming a deep tone.
The children gathered closer.
Their eyes, glowing with firelight, reflected belief.
And Jiang Fan, even in his sleep, felt it.
The seed of myth.
And the birth of memory.