I sought to play the god. My desire was simple: to speak a word and have the world appear. No painting, no labor, merely the command. I called it the “Genesis Engine.” For my sight has gone from me and I dwelt upon the uses of technology to overcome it. While paint is fine and a canvas is fair, from word to image was what I dared.
At first, I sought to forge this tool from Iron—a language called Rust, known for its strength and heaviness. But the Iron fought me. It demanded much and gave little. I spent hours tempering the metal (configuring compilers) before I had even laid the first stone.
So, I cast the Iron aside. I chose instead the Serpent—Python. It was swift, fluid, and did not resist my hand. In mere moments, the foundation was laid.
Here is the tale of how I taught a machine to paint the contents of my mind, and how a happy accident in the incantations created a world of ghosts.
Chapter I: The Spell of Geometry
My first attempts were foolish. I commanded the Spirit (Google Gemini) to “draw a dragon.” But the Spirit was confused; it knew not what a dragon was, only words.
I realized I could not ask for the thing itself. I had to ask for the shape of the thing.
I changed the incantation. I told the Spirit: “Behold, you are a master of Geometry. Do not think of scales or wings. Think of triangles, squares, and jagged polygons. If I ask for a beast, give me the coordinates of its form.”
And lo, the Spirit understood. It ceased trying to be a painter and became an architect. It realized that a dragon is but fifteen crimson triangles and a few sharp edges stitched together.
Chapter II: The Veil of Transparency
The worlds were being born, yet they were flat. They looked as if cut from colored paper—stark and lifeless.
To make them breathe, I needed to grant the Spirit dominion over Light itself.
In the language of the machine, a color is written in six runes (Hex Codes). Red is #FF0000. But there is a secret, deeper magic: the Alpha Channel. By adding two more runes to the end, one can control the ghostliness of the object.
I rewrote the laws of my engine. I told the Spirit: “You may now paint with mist and glass. Layer your shapes. Let the background bleed through the foreground.”
I expected better water effects. I did not expect what happened next.
Chapter III: The Artifacts of Accident
Once the Spirit possessed the power of the Veil, it began to dream in ways I had not commanded. It began to simulate the physics of a spirit world.
The Anomaly of the Purple Wyrm
I commanded: “A red dragon flying over a village.”
Behold the creature. I asked for Red. The Spirit gave me Purple. Why? Because the Spirit is wise. It painted a translucent Red beast against a solid Blue sky. In the logic of light, Red mixed with Blue begets Purple. The dragon became a creature of pure mana, a cloud of energy rather than flesh, hovering above the humble, solid roofs of the village. It was not the error of a machine; it was the choice of an artist.
The Spire of Light
I commanded: “A mysterious tower.”
Here, the Spirit learned to stack the light. It did not draw a single grey tower. It layered faint, ghostly rectangles one atop the other. Where they overlapped, the “light” grew stronger and more solid. It built a monument that felt as if it were fading in and out of existence.
The Hills of Memory
I commanded: “A pastoral landscape.”
This is the “Glass Hill.” Look closely at the green hill in the foreground. It is not earth. It is a spirit-shape. You can see the horizon line cutting straight through the hill’s center. The mountains in the distance are faint, mere whispers of white, mimicking the haze of a long journey. The Spirit understood that things far away must be faded, and things near must be like glass.
The Final Word
I set out to build a tool, a mere hammer to drive nails. Instead, I found a muse.
I provide the words—the “Let there be light.” But the Spirit decides how that light falls. It decides that dragons should be purple ghosts and that hills should be made of green glass.
I am not the sole creator of these worlds. I am but the scribe. The machine is the dreamer.
Ye dare to make your own ghostly landscapes? Visit the GitHub link below:
https://github.com/damianwgriggs/Genesis-Art-Engine/tree/main
