Cael sat alone inside the shelter pod.
It was the only place left that felt like his—not theirs, not shared. Not yet.
The interface floated in front of him, the prompt blinking steadily:
[DRAFT FIRST CITY MANDATE]This directive will define Hearthcore's purpose.Effects:
Influences morale response to crisis
Shapes blueprint availability over time
Becomes visible to all system-linked individuals
Submit only when certain.
That last line felt more like a warning than advice.
He tapped open the options.
Suggested Templates:• Protection at Any Cost• Prosperity Through Order• Unity Above All• Survival Through Innovation• Freedom to Adapt
Each one was bold.
And wrong.
He closed the template tab.
Blueprints, numbers, walls—those he could master.
But words? Words shaped people.
And people broke.
He thought of the Tunnelstalker. Of the survivors now lying on bedrolls made from tarp. Of Edena's vines. Althis's silent tests. Foundation's stern silence.
Each pulled him in a different direction.
Then, slowly, he reached for the keyboard panel.
[BEGIN MANDATE DRAFT]
He typed:
"We do not build because we are strong.""We build because we remember what broke.""Hearthcore exists to hold the line against forgetting."
"Every stone placed must mean something.""Every person sheltered must have the right to shape what comes next."
"We do not survive alone. We design together."
He stared at the text.
No borders. No conquest. Not even a promise of safety.
Just intent.
He hit Submit.
The system flared to life.
[CITY MANDATE ESTABLISHED]Codename: Memory and Meaning
Settlement Alignment: Adaptive Communal
Trait Activated: Blueprint Co-Creation
Residents with input privileges may suggest aesthetic or functional modifications to civic blueprints
Trait Activated: Memory Walls
Design unlock: "Monument Panel" – a passive structure that records events, honors fallen, and stabilizes long-term morale
Outside, a bell chime echoed—system-projected, not real metal. Still, the survivors heard it. They gathered near the edge of the camp.
Cael exited the pod.
Projected above the new boundary wall, in luminous script:
THE FIRST MANDATEHearthcore is built not on power, but memory.Every stone is a voice.Every voice is a part of the plan.
For a moment, silence.
Then, a man in the crowd—grey-haired, limping—nodded once.
"I remember when cities were just noise," he said. "This one sounds like something else."
Others murmured. A few uncertain. But no one objected.
And one of the children knelt to trace the projected text with her hand—committing it to memory, even if she couldn't yet read.
[MORALE INCREASED]Community Alignment: 56%Resistance to Despair: Moderate
Trait Evolution Path Unlocked: Civic Identity Formation
Cael watched as the words faded into the wall's surface—etched in light, not stone.
But permanent, all the same.
For the first time since he woke beneath the Deep, he didn't feel alone.