Chapter 1: The iX Program

This is the first chapter in iX Chronicles. It tells of how Alina and Gomamon meet Tres and join the iX Ark.

Chapter 1: The iX Program
"What?" Alina cried in disbelief. "What's the Digital World?!" "It's an entire world that exists within the computer network," Ikkakumon explained. "All Digimon, which I am one of, are created from data on computers, unintentionally. This is the Bay of Tropikei, and we're going to Goma City, a city in the Tropikei Isles, a part the Ocean Zone, on the Continent of Net, which in turn is part of the Land of Secrets." Alina nearly fainted, but was jolted back awake.

"We're here," Ikakkumon smiled. Alina waded to shore while Ikkakumon returned to Gomamon form and swam. They both stepped onto the shore. A huge dinosaur-like monster came out from the jungle. A boy was on its back. "WHAT IS THAT?!" Alina shrieked. "If I'm correct," Gomamon said thoughtfully. "I have no idea!"

The monster stopped, and the boy jumped off its back. "No need to worry," he said. "This is just Dynosmon, my Digimon partner. I see you have a Gomamon. My name's Tres." "Like, the French word tres?" Alina asked. "Yes," Tres smiled. "And you are?" "My name is Alina," she held out her hand. But apparently Tres didn't want to shake it. "Why are you here?" Tres asked. This time Gomamon answered. "Tres, you may not know this," he began carefully, "but the Digital World is a wreck. At least the Land of Secrets. The Memory Wipers are trying to wipe out a majority of the populace, the Yggdrasil Army is trying to wipe out a majority of the populace, and those are only the ones I know about! It's a messed-up world. In addition to that, I've managed to tap into the Net Database-" Tres looked at him like he had done some horrible, forbidden, inhumane thing "-And, after doing some research, I learned that the number of Headhunter Digimon on the Continent of Net has increased by over 700% in the last three Lifespans. Lifespans are much shorter than your human years, so that is quite terrifying. And I also discovered that while the Headhunter Digimon number has increased, the Digimon population has dropped by over 50%. There is something unworldly wrong about that. All Digimon are 'reincarnated' so to speak, when their Lifetime ends. Their data is dispersed and regathers in the form of an egg. Simple data transfer. This applies to each and every Digimon.

"So, it is impossible for the Digimon population to decrease, is it not? Then it dawned on me. Something is eating their data, assimilating the individual Digimon. So, really, the population hasn't changed at all. It works like this: The population of Digimon is measured by the number of individual 'living' Digimon bodies, not the souls. I say 'living' because Digimon are data, and therefore not entirely alive, while still capable of independant thought and action and feeling. They are also never really dead, unless their data is deleted. However, that happens very rarely, not enough to make the population drop 50% in only three Lifespans. The real population, however, is measured by the number of Digimon Souls. I'm saying Digimon Souls because Digimon and humans have completely seperate and unique souls. Human souls I can read like a book. Digimon Souls are a bit more complicated, because of the whole Digivolution concept. And so, I am brought to my conclusion that the population hasn't dropped 50%, it has merely dropped a much smaller percentage and the remaining portion of that 50% has been combined together into one huge mass."

Both Tres and Alina- Alina more so than Tres- at Gomamon's huge speech. "Are you serious?" Tres screamed. "You tapped INTO the Database of the entire Continent of Net?! That information is for Yggdrasil and Yggdrasil alone!" "Don't you see?" Gomamon snapped. "Yggdrasil is plotting to destroy each and every Digimon that does not have the iX Program! The population of individual Digimon has dropped so severely, and the number of iX Digimon is so low, that doing so would leave the Digital World a barren, lifeless place!" "Well my Digimon are good," Tres said. "They both have it. Dynosmon is normally Agumon iX. And I also have Gaomon iX, but he's back at the base. Come with me."

Alina and Gomamon followed Tres and Dynosmon back to a large, well-protected hut full of computers and other technological items. "This is the base of iX Ark," Tres said happily. "And you two are both members now."