The CircleLos Angeles, California, USA – 2025
Ben started with the homeless. He would repair their bodies but still didn't feel confident in attempting to adjust anything with their mental health. There would need to be an extensive delve into the chemical balance of the human brain. Once their body was in better condition he would move on to their supplies. Oddly enough it was easier to recreate medication than it was to heal the mind.
Quite a few banks in various other dimensions were cleared out to fund the things that would be too conspicuous through magic. Lifetime Movies came through once again. He purchased a series of motels then started to house those who he could find. Each place had a dedicated staff of doctors, security, mental health services, and job training. Money was its own kind of magic. A few extra hundred dollars to an underpaid clerk made the proper forms filled and filed.
There were plenty of empty warehouses and worn hotels to choose from. It was much, much easier to create living spaces than it was to adjust human physiology. He used his godly abilities to repair the buildings and create independent utilities for each location. Water, power, and other such things were simple to arrange with his growing abilities.
He created what was essentially a small city for the formerly homeless population. It wasn't perfect, but it was a good start. With that completed he moved on to the next city along the West Coast of the USA. He had a constant flow of worship with each person he helped. It might not be exactly religious, but it counted all the same. He repeated the process as he moved from one city to the next.
Ben made sure to add some public clinics along the way as well. Each location received a few million in starting funds and made sure to pay the staff quite well. These he made sure to place in small towns as well as the cities. They provided more faith than he had expected. Apparently, when a patient thanked god it went to him.
Moving from the coast to the interior of the country provided another issue to treat. He did more for the drug problem in a matter of weeks than ever done via government programs. Addiction was harder to treat than injuries as it had a mental aspect of it. His godly powers, especially those focused on healing, had grown since he started his mission. He still didn't feel confident in making changes to the brain.
Ben did his best to repair the infrastructure along the way. Any roads, bridges, tunnels, and pipes he came across were repaired to perfect condition. He had no idea how long it took him to complete his trip to cross the country. His progress was slow. He moved from East to West and North to South for each portion of the trip.
His final stop was Newfoundland in Canada. The price for food was ridiculous. As such, Ben created a greenhouse for each home as well as a larger on per town. It would help eventually, but he wanted to provide a more immediate option. A bit of jiggery-pokery bending space and time relocated a few local mom and pop stores from across Canada were quasi-relocated to multiple towns across the land. The buildings didn't move. He connected the doorways with a cognitive dissonance field. It was a slight adjustment to the godly cloaking he regularly used. The buildings were empty shells that were connected to the original locations. Anyone looking through the windows would see the shop. Those that got the bright idea to break into the stores would find the building empty. It was a win-win situation. The shops got a new source of income, and the locals now had access to food at decent prices.
Ben checked a newspaper for the date. It had been three years. Meaning the time across all of the dimensions he had visited had progressed by three years. It was well worth the investment. He now had 'worshipers' across the country. His godly powers had noticeably increased. Shapeshifting to other humanoids was easy. Animals were still a bit tricky. He used the godly version of invisibility every day. His skill had progressed to the point that he could choose who could see him.
Three years and he still hadn't figured out how to create a separate demi-god version of himself. It had been a fulfilling stretch of time, but he had had enough charity work. Sticking to one dimension for so long had started to get boring. He had spent long enough in a mundane world.
There were other places in the world that he could continue to repair. The main point stopping him from continuing on was that things were rarely simple. He didn't want to stroll through a country thinking he was doing good when in reality he was messing things up. It was one of the reasons he switched from direct healing to providing care and improving the quality of life. He wouldn't accidentally heal someone who should be or deserved to be dead.
He was stalling. Ben knew it. In truth, he had no idea what to do now. His idea to gain power through faith and worshipers had been successful. It just hadn't unlocked the skills he wanted. He needed a vacation. Something fun. If it's not fun, then something less intense.
It was time to move on.
CUBE
Ben adjusted his power to match the Lizard-folk from the Demi-Plane. Now all he needed to do was figure out where he was going.
~~~Note:Another short portion of a chapter. Will continue once I figure out where he's going. Put it up to a vote maybe?