Adrian sat alone in his cabin, staring at the RealmLink dashboard.
Six new realms were in negotiation. Two had approved pilot deployments. One had requested a full infrastructure rollout. The numbers were promising. The growth was exponential. But something gnawed at him.
Was expansion always good?
He opened a new interface: [Ethics Monitor].
It was a diagnostic tool designed to track unintended consequences—blessing imbalances, cultural erosion, dependency risks, and systemic bias. The AI flagged three alerts:
In Solara, a caste-based city had begun using [School] to reinforce social divisions—only nobles had access to advanced modules.
In Viremont, merchants were manipulating [Trade Beacon] to create artificial scarcity and inflate prices.
In Eldoria, a noble-sponsored Shared iMonster had become a symbol of elitism, excluding lower-class contributors.
Adrian frowned.
His system was empowering—but it was also being exploited.
He convened a virtual summit with Lucy and Zane.
Lucy proposed emotional feedback loops—apps that tracked user sentiment and flagged distress patterns. Zane suggested adaptive challenge scaling—[Fear Trial] would now adjust based on privilege and access, not just skill.
Adrian approved both.
Then he added a new feature: [Ethical Pulse].
It was a realm-wide diagnostic that measured fairness, inclusion, and empowerment. Realms with low scores would trigger intervention protocols—interface redesigns, blessing redistribution, and community audits.
He also launched [User Voice], a feedback platform where mortals could report abuse, suggest improvements, and vote on ethical reforms. Every report was reviewed by the Internet Pantheon. Every vote mattered.
The system began to shift.
In Solara, nobles were forced to open advanced modules to all citizens. In Viremont, price manipulation was curbed through transparency updates. In Eldoria, the Shared iMonster evolved into a multi-form creature that reflected all contributors.
Adrian's Divine Power dipped slightly.
But his influence deepened.
He wasn't just expanding.
He was refining.
And with [Ethics Monitor], he had made a quiet declaration:
Growth without justice isn't divine.