

The Scribe Who Saw Through the System
I didn’t ask for power, glory, or even relevance. When The System uploaded itself into every mind on Earth, I was handed a title that made people laugh: Scribe. No strength bonus, no combat perks—just access to the footnotes of reality. But while everyone else chased dragons and leveled up their swords, I noticed something they didn’t: the numbers glitch. A misplaced decimal here, a duplicated quest ID there. Tiny errors. Except… they’re not random. They’re spreading. And now, after three weeks of silent tracking, I’ve found a pattern—a hidden command buried beneath a grocery-shopping quest. It’s not guiding us. It’s herding us. And if I’m right, The System isn’t benevolent. It’s preparing us for something. Something none of the warriors, mages, or heroes can see coming.The first thing I saw when The System booted inside my skull was a pop-up: 'Welcome, Elias Varn. Class Assigned: Scribe (Tier I).'
No fanfare. No glowing sword. Just a dusty quill icon next to my name while everyone around me screamed in delight at getting 'Shadow Assassin' or 'Plasma Forger.'
Now, three weeks later, I’m hunched over a terminal in the back archives of the Central Athenaeum, squinting at a flickering line of code buried beneath a Level 2 quest: 'Return overdue book – +15 XP, +1 Librarian Reputation.'
Except the XP reward doesn’t match the difficulty weight. And the quest ID repeats every 13 hours across different cities. Coincidence? Maybe. But I’ve logged twelve similar anomalies today—all minor, all ignored.
Then I see it: a hidden subroutine tagged 'OVERRIDE-ALPHA' embedded in the return policy fine print. It’s not part of the public API. It shouldn’t exist.
My breath catches. I reach to flag it for review, but the moment my finger hovers over the report button, the screen glitches. The room temperature drops. A new private message appears in my vision, untraceable, unsigned:
'Do not investigate further. Compliance ensures survival.'
The terminal hums darker. My heartbeat syncs with the flicker.
They know I’ve seen it.
