"So, this is all?"
"It's what we have, commander. Things should be easier from here."
Martinez looked at the strange, pale, 10-sided dice shape in the vacuum chamber before him. Astra was looking on from a projector nearby, with both sisters as well as Akashi there to run things and Shangri-La to record what happened.
Astra threw a look of slight distaste to the carrier as she took out a journal and pen.
"There are more efficient ways to record data, you know?" She said.
"I know. I'm just observing. It's the instrumentation's job to record, isn't it?"
Astra's form flickered, as it did when she was flustered or taken aback. Martinez wondered if it was a natural response or something done on reflex to hide her embarrassment. She cleared her throat and adjusted her headset.
"S-shall we proceed with the tests?"
Martinez grinned a bit. "Go ahead."
The recording equipment switched on, and then a laser was shot at the prism. The readings on the screen by the chamber began to increase.
"So, what's happening here?" He asked.
"The prism is being stimulated by the laser, causing it to radiate a harmonic field."
"And what's that?" he asked.
"Harmonic Resonance is a phenomenon encountered when prisms, like this one, are stimulated by electromagnetic radiation. It formed the core of much of the siren's ancient technology. It is crude, effective, and most importantly, easily workable with the existing technology of you humans."
"Sounds like just what we need."
Martinez and the others present observed the readings from the prism.
"Ok, I get the point of what it does, and what it can do… but what if I tried venting air into the chamber?"
Surveyor shrugged. "You're… welcome to do that. At least, I can't think of any extreme consequences for doing so."
Martinez found the button to let the air back into the chamber and pressed it. A low hiss filled the air around them, and as it faded, a low humming noise could just barely be heard.
As he turned to look at those assembled, Akashi's ears twitched idly as her eyes went vacant, and Shangri-La stopped writing as if she had lost her focus. The field the prism was giving off clearly was affecting them.
Astra noticed this and shut off the device remotely through the system. "I should have accounted for that…"
"For what?" Martinez asked.
"Harmonics fields, when in atmosphere, can have a variety of effects on wisdom cubes, and by extension, kansen, depending on the structure of the cube. It's something we should look into. Carefully."
Martinez looked at Akashi and Shangri-La, who seemed to have recovered.
"W...What was that? It was like I couldn't track my own thoughts anymore…"
Akashi simply muttered under her breath, clearly unsettled.
Martinez thought about what he'd seen, and like most of what he'd encountered so far as a commander, he decided to wait on passing judgement.