Potential

“So... what you're looking at here is, essentially, the source code of the universe.” Devon paused a few moments to let that sink in with appropriate gravitas.

“What, like the Matrix?” Elene asked. She popped her bubblegum and looked distractedly over the walls, lined with runes and arcane drawings.

Devon sighed and restrained himself from rolling his eyes. Children. “No, not like the Matrix, Elene. This is not a simulation. This is not a computer. This is the inner workings of the very reality in which we live. From here, with the proper knowledge, you can change anything and everything. Remake the world to the limits of your imagination.”

“So, like, I could make my hair pink all the time?” Elene asked. At least Devon had her attention where it belonged now: on the book in his hands.

“You could raise up the downtrodden. End poverty forever. Make humankind immortal.” Devon inhaled at the rush of ideas. This child had so much potential. He could see it in her, the ability to not just read what was written here, but edit it, change it. She could be like a god and it would all start here. “Anything you have ever dreamed or wished could me made true. And with my guidance –”

“I could make my hair pink, then?” Elene asked.

Devon turned his eyes down and closed their lids. “Yes, Elene, you could make your hair pink.”