69 Magical Instruction
I watched as Aisha carefully arranged the components on her transmutation circle. This was by far the most complicated transmutation she had ever attempted, a fact anyone could tell by the complexity of the design. Even when working in a training room designed to specifically facilitate alchemy with the benefits of the boost from her pocket watch, it was clearly a challenge.
She checked the measurements of the design on final time, looking to me for confirmation, then turning away before I could reveal anything one way or another. It almost seemed like she wanted to turn to her watch and call up her designs again. Uncertainty waivered over her before she shook her head and turned adamantly towards the circle.
The elaborate geometric design was over three feet wide, covering most of the work table. Inside the circle sat a collection of material samples and partially assembled parts. I could have worked from nothing but feedstock, but Aisha struggled with the Law of Natural Providence. There needed to be some connection between the properties and makeup of what was being transmuted and what she was trying to produce. It turned a project I could have accomplished in a single step with a basic Alkahestry pentagram into an elaborate multi-step process leading to one final transmutation.
Aisha took a breath and placed both hands on the edge of the circle. There was the briefest pause before the design suddenly flared to light. The radiant blue glow from the circle cast harsh shadows around the room and left her in a dark silhouette as she focused on her work.
In the center of the circle the collection of materials and half assembled components began to shift, then flake away. Matter split off as the transmutation effect deconstructed the materials, then recombined them into a new form. The process was slow, almost excessively careful, but that was understandable. This wasn't battle alchemy, it was something more important.
Finally, the last of the matter vanished. The energetic effects persisted for a moment as the flaky surface of the finished product slowly smoothed into a perfect construction. With a gasp Aisha's shoulders slumped and the glow vanished from the circle.
She stared at the item in the center with a look of near disbelief. Slowly, I approached the table and smiled at her. "Well, aren't you going to try it out?" I asked as she looked up at me.
"Um, yeah." She looked back at the finished product. About half the size of a shoebox, it sported a concave dish on the front and a simple control interface near its handles. The design was basic and lacked the flair that I was currently incapable of excluding from my own work, but was decidedly functional. Really, it was a collection of components with a casing around them, assembled in the most direct way possible.
Just what you would expect from someone's first creation.
She carefully picked up the device and angled it away from us. There was a pause before she looked back at me.
"It's alright, isn't it?" She glanced down with an apprehensive look on her face. "I mean, I didn't mess anything up? It's not going to explode when I turn it on?"
"Aisha, it's your design. You should know it's safe." I said calmly.
"Yeah, I also know how much energy the plasma circuit has, so can you just check?" She pleaded.
"It's fine." I assured her. With a gesture I called up a hologram of the device's interior. "And you know that. You literally just assembled it on a molecular level. If there were any flaws you would know, but yes, it is safe. The scans all check out."
"Right. Right." She took another breath, then pointed the device at an empty section of the room.
Carefully, she adjusted the controls. It had a direct set of analogue controls since fully assembling a pre programmed computer interface was a bit beyond her. Managing something like this by hand was a tall order, but it was definitely possible. I had been teaching tinker tech principles, and not every tinker device was controlled digitally. Really, the versatility of what could be accomplished with my tinker power, and what could be taught to others, just drove home how bullshit tinkers actually were.
With a final check Aisha steadied her grip and activated the plasma circuit. The micro-reactor in the device engaged, sending high energy plasma cycling through precisely designed manifolds. The dish at the front of the device energized and there was the slightest flicker as a slightly curved forcefield sprang to life.
Aisha sagged with relief. The slight shift in the position of the projector caused an energetic flicker where the field intersected with the floor. She quickly steadied her hands, then carefully adjusted the controls. I could feel the shifts inside the device, directed plasma channels and magnetic containment altering the patterns of energy that played out across the deflector dish. The field strengthened and contracted, forming a static filled disk that hovered a few feet in front of the projector. The intensely concentrated EM barrier buzzed with projected energy, standing as both an incredible defensive measure and, based on the slight scoring where the field intersected the floor, a rather effective improvised weapon.
"Fuck." She breathed, releasing the controls and letting the field flicker out. "I really did it. I mean, I though it would work, but fucking hell." Her face lit up. "I made a force field!"
I nodded. The accomplishment couldn't be understated. Sure, I could knock out something a hundred times as powerful and one tenth the size, as well as something with multiple enchantments and a wide variety of fiat backed effects, but that wasn't the point. This was Aisha's work. She had taken the principles gained from hundreds of hours of intensive study and applied them to a device of her own design. The science of Star Trek adapted through the applications of my tinker power and taught to her in an accelerated space.
More significantly, it was a project that stood along. I didn't rely on any of my assembly powers or the use of rare or exotic materials that could only be found in my lab. It didn't include any magic or supernatural effects. It was a piece of pure tinker tech, and a testament to what Aisha could accomplish.
"Jesus." She said again, turning the blocky device over in her hands. "I don't even want to think about how hard this would have been without alchemy."
"By my guess, three months in a lab, provided you had access to the right machinery for material refinement before fabrication." I said.
"Yeah." She nodded slowly. "God, if there was even a slight impurity in the plasma conductors…"
I nodded slowly. Her concerns about an explosion weren't completely unfounded, at least if the project was approached with conventional tools. My Miniaturization and Efficiency power might be able to break down Star Trek principles into something that could be assembled with conventional technology, but the material requirements were exceptionally stringent. Not really a problem in a society where everything is replicated, but in the absence of that the tech became a lot more dangerous and unreliable.
Unless you have an ability that could basically address the replication issue, provided the person in question had enough scientific and material knowledge to pull it off.
And Aisha did. This was proof, proof even beyond her early success with basic transmutations. There was a world of difference between assembling carbon crystals and essentially willing a piece of tinker tech into existence. Something that she would be able to do anywhere, with only conventionally available materials and her own skills.
I could see the excitement in her eyes as she examined the device. There was a curious gleam to them as she turned it over in her hands. "Coming up with some more ideas?" I asked, starting her out of her contemplation.
"Uh, yeah." She said, "I mean, it's great that it works, like as a proof of concept or whatever, but improvements, yeah. Controls could be better, more precision on the effect. Could scale it up, or go for better coverage. Probably some offensive options if I try out those tractor beam principles." She paused, then shook her head. "God damn it, I'm going full nerd, aren't I?"
"Aisha, you have the equivalent of multiple college degrees by the standards of a civilization hundreds of years ahead of Earth's technology. You just completed molecular assembly of a portable forcefield device that you designed in an immersive computer environment between debates about the mechanics of magic as depicted in a children's animated series. I think we passed the 'nerd' threshold a long time ago" I said with a grin.
"You take that back." She shot back with a smile of her own. "I'm above that. You can't infect me with your geekdom."
"Of course. So, I guess that means you don't want to get into advanced programming techniques for control systems during our next session?" I asked. A conflicted look crossed her face that quickly morphed into frustration, which was interrupted by a tremor passing through the Workshop.
"Uh, was that…" She made a nebulous gesture.
"Yeah, workshop addition. Personal reality." I reviewed the new connection to that constellation, then checked the records from the Workshop's sensors. "Come on, you'll want to see this."
Aisha's reactions to the changes to my storage space proved me right.
"Holy shit." She said, looking up at the concrete ceiling. Before it had stood ten meters above the floor, but now it towered like the roof of a stadium. "How big is this place?"
"A hundred meters to the ceiling, eight hundred meters on each side. Same area for each section of water." I replied.
"So, just under half a mile? Well, point four nine seven-ish." She said, shaking her head. "You had no idea it could expand like this?"
"No clue." The power that arrived was called 'Extra Space', and it certainly lived up to its description. The storage area had expanded by a factor of ten in each direction, going from an impressive amount of storage to something that was practically its own geological feature.
"Well, at least you've got a decent beach now." Aisha pointed to the strip of sand along the 'salt water' side of the room. What had been a tiny patch by the water's edge now stretched for over two hundred meters of pure white sand, looking like something you'd see at a Caribbean resort.
"Beach, Mariana, coves, wetlands…" I listed, looking around at the modified space. The main area was still sparse concrete, but the left and right sides of the space were lush and vibrant, the result of my earlier powers.
"And this can happen again?" She asked, turning back to me.
I nodded. "That power can repeat. This space can keep expanding."
"Shit." She said, "It's going to get difficult to get around." She looked up. "Though at least there's enough room to fly now." There was a smile on her face as one hand rose to the amulet that contained her armor.
"On that note, we should head outside and meet up with Tybalt and Tetra." I checked the Workshop's records through my implant for confirmation.
Aisha deflated slightly. "They're done with their battle alchemy stuff?"
I nodded. I could sense them directly through the glove on Tetra's hand, though it was still a bit disjointing having something that both was and wasn't part of my body. "Do you want to get some more practice on that?" I asked.
She slumped slightly as we made our way out of the storage space and to one of the interior portals. "It's a good idea, but arrays are hard, and Alkahestry…"
"Don't beat yourself up over Alkahestry. It's more art than science, not something you can just learn from first principles." I assured her.
Even Survey was struggling with that, despite desperately wanting the additional information that could be gained from a sense of the Dragon's Pulse. It was a point of moderate frustration for her, particularly considering it had only become an option once she got her own body. The rate of her development in all other areas had run into a roadblock when encountering a skill that had to be trained and developed through experience and understanding.
"Chi training will help with that, which will help with magic and other combat arts." I continued. "And Tybalt can help you get a sense of transmutation arrays as well."
Tybalt really was invaluable when it came to combat training. I could explain the principles of just about anything, but that didn't help when trying to put them into practice. That wasn't a problem for him. Any combat art was instinctively understood and could be cultivated in others with minimal effort. He also enjoyed it, which made things a lot easier. I wasn't dumping work onto him, he actively sought out opportunities. It was a shocking display of how far his divine powers actually extended.
"Do we have time for that?" She asked. "I mean, everything that's happening in the city, and I know you're trying to get me ready…"
I shook my head as she trailed off. "Honestly, there's no level of preparations that I would consider to be 'ready' for everything that's out there, much less what we could cover in a day or two." I explained. "But, providing things don't immediately blow up on us, we should have enough time."
"But things are going to blow up?" She asked. I nodded reluctantly.
"No way around it, really. Someone's going to pick a fight with the Teeth, and that's not likely to stay contained. Maybe for the first few skirmishes, but cape conflicts are designed to escalate. Eventually it will get out of hand. Besides that, you have Dragon's situation, the inevitable territory clash between the gangs, the possibility of more outside interference, and a few threats that Survey is still trying to quantify."
The moment she was outside the Workshop she had begun substantially more aggressive data acquisition. The kind of hacking and sensory powers that would have compromised the Workshop's security curtain could be deployed freely while still acting as Garment's legal representative.
Really, it was the combination of her divine authority and her information warfare skills that made her so shockingly effective. For Survey, the sheer joy brought about by the new abilities of her physical body was only matched by her frustration at the limits of only having a single physical body and thus needing to direct it at one thing at a time. Survey could run hacking operations on a thousand fronts at once with no effort, but her technology sense could only access one system at a time.
Fortunately, that direct attention was sufficient to directly access any information on that system, regardless of security measures. Information like access codes and passwords. Once she had directed her divine powers to a system for long enough to unlock its secrets, the rest of the work could be done independently of any supernatural assistance.
Well, it usually could. That was certainly the case for conventional systems, and even most of the PRT's systems. Basically, anything that wasn't under the direct supervision of a tinker. Unfortunately, there was a very capable tinker in the city who was very diligent in her supervision. As a consequence, Survey didn't have quite the free rein of the city's networks she normally would and had to rely more on her divine sense that she would have preferred.
There was also the problem presented by the local PRT actually practicing some level of information control. On one hand, it was good that they had finally recognized the gaping holes in their management of confidential information. On the other hand, they were instituting policies just in time to inconvenience me, but not soon enough to actually make a difference in the disasters that had hit the city. They were also using brute force measures, mostly consisting of limiting what information was available and keeping it out of official records.
Detailed assessments of the Celestial Forge were being handled through direct briefings rather than any circulated reports. Survey was limited to what was provided in official documents, which did mean that I had a full breakdown of the press release ahead of time. It was surprisingly neutral in tone, probably thanks to it originating from outside the city.
The release was fairly sparse on details, only citing broad power categorizations and some rather nice pictures of the team. Posing and aesthetic powers and done their work, turning a surveillance photo into something that wouldn't look out of place on a movie poster. Everyone who attended the summit had been named, though the official release danced around the details of that meeting. It did mention my commitment to the stability of the city during the recovery period, though it was stated in general terms rather than as some kind of agreement.
The documents provided to news stations also included a full breakdown of the other forces who were active in the city. The Protectorate was giving basic notice about the Dragonslayers, Lost Garden, and the Travelers, but the main focus was on the Teeth. Understandably, they were providing a great deal of assurance that the situation was being managed and that the Celestial Forge was not in active conflict with the Teeth. Considering the level of concerns that were fielded at the summit, I didn't know how much comfort the PRT's assurance would actually provide.
The Teeth were something that would need to be closely managed. Unfortunately, Survey hadn't been able to route them out just yet. Her divine awareness was absolute, but she needed to know where to direct it. If she didn't know about a system she couldn't just pull its location from the ether. Additionally, the gangs were a lot less networked than the Protectorate, and the Teeth were even less connected than usual. There might be some isolated laptops or cell phones that Survey could find, but she would need to find a trail of breadcrumbs that somehow led to one of their devices.
It was something we were working to address. Detection magic, scrying spells, psionic abilities, and even deployed stealth drones were all being considered. As much as I didn't like putting her in danger, Aisha's power was just about the best investigation option available to us, at least once we had narrowed things down to a location. There was a risk involved in any aggressive action, particularly with Dragon and various Protectorate thinkers focused on the city, but the risk had to be balanced against the possible consequences. I'd seen what could happen to this city if I ignored a building crisis. I'd rather deal with the aftermath of some major action from the Celestial Forge than hand the initiative to the city's villains.
That was likely to clash with whatever Tattletale's plan was for dealing with their boss. She had messaged me, letting me know to expect a call later tonight, but the sense I got from the summit wasn't particularly encouraging. She was scared, even with all the power that was on display. A show of strength should have been reassuring, something to let her know that we were ready to move against Coil. Instead, it drove her to near panic, more than the arrival of my team should have. There was something else going on, and I doubted she would just up and explain what the problem was.
But that was a problem for tonight. Aisha followed me through one of the internal portals, gates made possible thanks to Simple Scientific Solution's mastery of household problems, taking us from the entry hall to the observation platform at the Skyforge. The Toolkits constellation missed a connection as Tybalt and Tetra rose to meet us.
"Hey." Aisha said in reply to Tybalt's meowed greeting. "So, what's the plan?"
He meowed and hefted a set of broomsticks in front of him. He set one on the ground and with a sharp meow it shot into his hand. Aisha beamed at the display.
"So, we finally doing quidditch?" She asked with bright eyes.
"Not quite. This is just to verify things." I placed a broom in front of her. "See if you can-"
"Up!" She said sharply, causing the broom to jump into her hands. With a wide smile she tested its stability, causing it to bounce slightly but still keep its position in midair. She smiled widely and moved to mount the broom before I stopped her.
"Hold on. Okay, things verified." I said. "But we aren't practicing boom flying right now. Plus, Fleet would never forgive me if we had your first lesson without him."
Aisha glanced to the edge of the observation deck where a tiny jeep peaked out from behind a bench. Upon being noticed the vehicle quickly reversed out of sight. Fleet was fully aware of events in the workshop through his assorted vehicles and core iteration on the central computer, but had become rather keen on in-person instruction since getting a physical body.
"Okay, so what are we doing?" She asked.
"You remember what I told you about striker units?" I asked.
"That they boost magic? And maybe powers?" There was a hopeful edge to her voice.
I nodded as one of the Workshop drones approached with a set of collapsed striker units. "That's what we'll be testing out today. Tybalt and I already know how to use them, so we can help if there's any trouble. Tetra has the same type of magic as was originally used for them, so she'll be trying them out as well. Strikers are basically an advanced technological version of brooms, so if you can use a broom you can probably use a striker."
"And this is going to make my powers stronger?" Aisha asked.
"Maybe." I said. "Parahuman powers, even basic ones, are already pretty high up there in terms of magic. Like, just trying to emulate your power in a magic system would be a legendary undertaking. I'm not sure a regular striker would make enough of a difference to be noticeable."
"But these aren't ordinary, right?" She asked, taking the set of ankle boots from the drone.
"Not even close." I said with a grin. "Normal strikers run off a small internal combustion engine. These are using a substantially more advanced power plant."
"How advanced?" She asked with genuine interest.
"Something that wouldn't be out of place on a starship." I replied. "There's a limit to how much can be converted and transferred, no matter how powerful the engine, but it's about as strong as I can make it."
Which was a serious statement. Still, given the power source that parahumans actually drew from, it would take a lot to meaningfully impact things. Passenger Space exploration was still in the early stages, with Survey's compressed program still transferring through the quantum link, but the sheer scale of the place was telling of what I was actually dealing with. Parahumans didn't operate with even a fraction of their power's full potential. Working around or enhancing those limits was a substantial challenge, but fortunately one my work could address.
"There's also the other concern for striker units…" I said a touch awkwardly.
"What, the 'no pants' thing?" She asked. When I gave her a surprised look she just smiled at me. "Garment showed me her designs for working around it." She said, "She does really good work with kilts, and those Greek skirt armor things."
"Pteruges." I corrected with a grim expression. Well, at least she hadn't gone full Barbarian Chic.
"Though her barbarian stuff is really the best of the bunch." She said with a mischievous gleam in her eyes. "You know, if you like loincloths."
"Anyway." I said sharply. "It's not a problem if the clothing is fitted enough. The soft-suit beneath your armor should do the trick."
"Fine." She said, abandoning the topic as she raised a hand to her amulet. There was a flash as the glowing form of her armor seemed to envelope her before suddenly retracting, leaving her in the tight-fitting interface suit. I might have felt a little embarrassed, but it was actually more modest than the clothing she had worn to the gym when we first met.
"The boots will fit over the feet of your soft suit, and they're designed to shift into subspace when your armor fully deploys or collapses." I explained.
"Right." She said. "So, they're like an upgrade." There was a pause as she considered things. "Hey, is it possible to add more stuff to that? Like, if I want to make something?"
I couldn't help but smile at that. "We can roll in more upgrades, but if you just want to add equipment your armor has a lot of extradimensional storage space after the last set of improvements. If you want to store something in there Fleet can talk you through how to use it." Something like her force field projector. It was less powerful that her armor's systems, but it was her work. I still remembered my own early projects, though a doorstop or steel baton weren't exactly on the same level, I did have some affection for them.
"Yeah, great. Thanks." She said, shifting her attention back to the boots. I turned over to Tetra, who was examining hers with curiosity.
"Tetra, yours are designed for a wider interface, so you should be able to deploy them even when you're not in your zoanthrope form."
That was made possible by the Armor-Shift Manufacture device. It allowed any armor placed in it to change form along with the user. The thing was, that was clearly intended to facilitate human to zoanthrope transformation. Intended or not, it had no problem extending that effect for zoanthrope to distributed fiber net. All of Tetra's equipment could shift form with her, no matter how extreme the change.
That was something I probably should have considered before applying the effect to the Avid Glove. Well, the damn thing had basically jumped inside the Armor-Shift device on its own, but the consequence was it being able to fit Tetra perfectly regardless of whether it was on her little mink hand, or spread across a giant glowing spider web of life fibers. That wouldn't have been a problem if my awareness didn't expand along with it. Having one eye that's a tenth of a millimeter wide and a hundred feet long was not an experience I would specifically recommend.
"Do you know what my familiar will be?" Tetra asked as she pulled on her boots. She linked with the workshop systems to provide a translation to everyone else present, which caused Aisha to look up.
"Not sure." I said. "Might be connected with your zoanthrope form, or that might have been a fluke in my case."
"Hey, am I going to get the animal ears as well?" Aisha asked. From her tone I couldn't tell if she was excited or concerned.
"I'm not sure." I admitted. "It's the way this kind of enhancement is structured, but without the underlying connection I can't say the exact form it will take. That's why we're doing a dry run in the workshop."
"Right, right." She said, "So, do I like, click my heels together or something?"
"Same controls as your armor, so you should be able to deploy it with intent. Or with directed life fiber energy, for Tetra." I explained. "We're only checking for power interaction right now. Strikers are kind of tricky to fly, so if this checks out we can work on that. For now, just hold position, like this."
I deployed my own striker units, causing my boots to expand and shunt my legs into a pocket dimension. I felt my magical strength amplify as my body interfaced with the mana engines in the strikers and there was a proofing sensation as the tail and head-tuffs, the signs of my familiar connection, appeared.
Aisha completely failed to hide an amused expression as Tybalt deployed his own striker, causing feathers to bloom from the sides of his head and above his tail. He lifted just far enough off the ground to bring his head level with the rest of the group before gesturing for them to follow his lead.
I could feel the activation of each set of strikers even before they began to deploy. The boots expanded, bringing massively powerful systems out of subspace and shunting Aisha and Tetra's legs into their magical pocket dimensions. Drive units spun up, sending power into mana converters and supercharging the innate abilities of their users.
With my connection to my familiar my sense of magic was vastly expanded. I could feel the fields of energy, practically see it really. I watched as the power of Aisha's parahuman ability interfaced with the enhancement technology. As the engines flooded Tetra's magical circuits and mana reserves. And I watched as that power coalesced into the signs of their familiar.
Tetra's deployed first, a true familiar spirit, just like the ones Tybalt and I had. It was a mink. Tetra was a mink zoanthrope with a mink familiar. The familiar bound would have manifested the ears and tail of her familiar. Faced with the obvious contradiction, the spirit seemed to double down. There was a great expansion of floof as Tetra's ears and tail grew to about three times their normal size. The combination was comically oversized and adorable, but I could feel reserves of power and expanded control that was now at her disposal.
Aisha didn't have a familiar spirit. Despite the enhancement of the striker unit, there wasn't the basis needed for that connection. Still, there was something there. Her passenger was connected to her, and to the enhancement of the striker. There was a form needed to precipitate the excesses of magical energy that was being generated. With a slight bursting sound, it condensed into a pair of ears and a tail.
"What?" Aisha asked, balancing on the hovering strikers as she lifted a hand to the twitching ears now resting on top of her head. "I got ears?" She felt the shape of the new appendages. "What are these? Mouse ears?"
"Uh, no. Not with that tail." There was a stubby slip of a tail manifested on the back of Aisha's soft suit. It was fortunate her armor also responded to shapeshifting. Survey quickly chimed in with her own assessment and supporting documentation. "It's tapir, not mouse."
"Tapir?" Aisha asked as the Size constellation passed by without a connection. At my prompting, holographic screens sprang to life and depicted the animal in question. "Those tiny elephant-like things?"
"Well, they can get up to seven hundred pounds, so I don't know about 'tiny', but yeah, tapir." I explained as I brought up more of Survey's analysis. "The tapir is connected to the baku, a mythical creature that was supposed to be able to eat dreams."
"Wait, is that why I have it? It's connected to the type of power?" She asked, still taking great amusement in feeling her new ears as they twitched back and forth.
I shrugged. "I'm not sure. Magic is highly symbolic, while parahuman powers are largely empirical. This could be a weird crossover effect, or some direct expression of your passenger." Tybalt looked over at her and Tetra and meowed a question.
"Uh, no, I'm fine." She forced herself to take her hands down from her ears. "It's not unpleasant or anything, it just feels weird."
"I'm fine too." Tetra said, flying up next to me. "Even the balance is okay. I don't know about magic. I haven't done much, just broom flying."
"We need to work on that." I agreed. There were just too many projects, too many fronts that I was trying to shore up in preparation for a situation that was still evolving. "Aisha, any change with your power?" I asked.
"Um, maybe?" She said uncertainly. "I think… Yeah, it's definitely easier. Not just turning it on and off. I think I can direct it better. I could sort of do that before, with Ren, but this is like a different league."
"What do you mean 'direct it'?" I asked.
She shifted slightly as she spoke. "Um, like control how it spreads. Exclude people from it, or include them in the effect. Maybe, that's still hard to do, but this is a really big difference."
It seemed strapping a starship power core to each leg with a combined output that outpaces entire civilizations was enough to slightly modify the application of a parahuman ability. Really, powers operated on a different level. It was no wonder my own tinker power had been such a game changer.
Focusing on my own abilities I confirmed a similar principle. Tinker abilities didn't run on the same metrics as more direct powers, but they were still magic, even if what they produced wasn't. My own striker enhanced my magic, including my tinker ability. I could draw upon ideas from that well of knowledge faster and with greater complexity and apply the specialization of my power to a wider range of projects and a greater degree of effectiveness.
I had a method of artificially enhancing my technical skills, and all it required was that I work in very tight pants while manifesting animal ears. That was my power for you, half earth shaking might that altered the very foundations of the universe and half random bullshit, that also, somehow, altered the foundations of the universe. I received messages from my duplicates stating that even if I decided not to take advantage of the striker's enhancement, they would.
I put aside the numerous issues connected with this particular ability and returned to the actual point of this experiment. Aisha consistently having that level of control of her power was incredible. It was also terrifying, but mostly incredible.
"That's going to be really useful in the field." I admitted. "The strikers can interface with your armor, but the, um,"
"The pants thing?" She asked with a grin, her tapir ears twitching playfully.
"Yeah, the pants thing." I said. "Look, your armor can partially deploy, and you'll still have the defensive fields plus the environmental shielding from the striker unit. It's strong, but not on the level of full armor, and I can't run the enhancement effect with that kind of bulk present."
"So not Endbringer proof." She said with a nod. "But still pretty durable, right?"
I nodded. "I would say it's enough for anyone in the city, but we have Scrub and Damsel of Distress to worry about. Then again, your armor wouldn't have done much against that kind of firepower. Look, just try not to get hit?"
"Got it." She said with a grin. Her thrusters briefly pushed her upwards, which compromised her balance and caused her to pinwheel her arms before Tybalt flew forward to steady her. "Right, and more striker practice. Hey, do these things need to fly, or do they come in like, normal boot mode."
I grinned at that. "Not boot, but there are ground models. We found them in the records of the Pilot Simulator."
I accessed my implant and called up records of the various designs that my duplicates had discovered in their plumbing the seemingly infinite depths of the Pilot Simulator.
"Is that a tank?" Aisha asked in shock. "They have tank leggings, but still can't do pants?"
I shrugged. "Honestly, this isn't the weirdest technology I've come across. Close, but definitely not the top spot."
Aisha shook her head as she looked around. "Yeah, I can see that." She looked at the depictions of the treaded land strikers again. "If those are tanks, shouldn't they have more armor? Like, even with the no-pants thing?"
"There are defensive effects built into the striker system. For the aerial units it's mostly focused on dealing with wind, low temperatures, and g-forces, but it's still strong enough to provide some protection against light arms and environmental damage, enough to not instantly die in a crash. The ground units are more specialized, less focus on temperature and g-force, but stronger overall."
"That's enough for someone without pants to function as a tank?" She asked skeptically. Tybalt shook his head and meowed. "What? That shield you used back then?" She turned to me. "That wasn't just showing off?"
With a slight huff Tybalt raised a paw and a massive blue disk covered in magical formula with four smaller circles rotating around the edges. I could feel the hum of mana from the manifestation of power, something Tybalt was already skilled with, only further enhanced thanks to the support of the striker.
Tybalt flicked his paw, causing the shield to vanish, then looked at Aisha with a satisfied expression on his face. "Oh, it was totally him showing off." I said, earning a huff from Tybalt. "But it's still a key part of striker operation. That was a directional shield defensive sign. It's something that can be cast using the magic system these things are based on, but it's a lot stronger with a striker behind it. With land strikers they can focus more on defense since they don't need to run engines to maintain flight."
Tetra glanced between Tybalt and me. "Is it something I can learn?" She asked, once again transmitting for the benefit of people without the innate ability to hear life fiber communication.
"Um, probably? It's a basic part of the system of magic, and you have a familiar now. Though Tybalt would probably be the best one to teach you." I explained. She looked a little disappointed at that, but still seemed encouraged by the concept.
"Um, what about me? I mean, I'm sure the defenses are great, but a magic shield seems like a good idea." Aisha suggested. I'm sure it was a completely strategic decision and had nothing to do with the prospect of effectively learning magic.
I focused on Aisha, concentrating on the play of mana, and what passed for mana, between the striker and her power. "Maybe…?" I said uncertainly. "There's no shortage of energy to work with, but parahuman powers aren't like magical abilities. It would be tricky to even power magitech off a parahuman's power. Actually shaping mana freely, I just don't know." Aisha slumped, drifting slightly to the side despite Tybalt's moves to steady her. "It might be possible. How is your sense of the mana around you?"
Aisha gave me a confused look. "What, you mean my power?"
"No, the magical energy. Familiar manifestation makes it easier to sense. You should be able to almost be able to see the flow of mana." I explained.
She glanced at Tetra and Tybalt, then shook her head. "Uh, no. Definitely no sense of that. I mean, my own power is easier to direct, so I might have a better sense of that, but I'm not seeing any magic."
"Oh. Um, that might be because you're emulating a familiar, rather than manifesting a spirit." I turned to Tybalt and Tetra but found them as confused as Aisha. "What, seriously?"
"My magic feels stronger." Tetra offered. "But I think that's because there's more of it to feel. The way I sense things hasn't changed."
I blinked in confusion. Granted, I didn't have a masterful understanding of this system of magic, but I had a firmer grasp than any of the other types. There was actual training and utility here rather than just a pool of energy of magic wand handed over with no explanation or expectation.
"Okay. Okay, I'm not sure why it's different for me…" I paused as I noticed Tybalt's amusement. "Tybalt?" I asked.
He pointed at the top of my head and let out a simple meow. Aisha looked at him like she must have misheard, then turned back to me. "What third eye?" Sha asked.
Survey was immediately on top of things before I could even begin to put things together. Rather than paraphrase her analysis I just displayed it directly for Aisha. Tetra had already received the information through infrared link and was engaging in another spirited conversation.
"Parietal eye." I said as anatomy diagrams played out on holographic screens. "My familiar is a lycaenops, one of the therapsids. It dates back to before the third eye evolved away." Well, evolved away or was reabsorbed, depending on how you looked at it.
"But that was like a dot that tells you when it's dark." Aisha said, skimming Garment's analysis with a speed and focus developed from an ungodly amount of direct tutoring on much more complicated subjects. "How does that help with magic?"
"Magic is heavily symbolic. Even the harder systems are impacted by that." Previously I would have excluded parahuman abilities from that kind of thing, but you only needed to look at Aisha's twitching tapir ears to see there was something going on, probably based on the perspectives of the passengers. "I have a spirit animal with three eyes that I call upon and manifest aspects of. There's some heavy implications that, so expanded mana awareness seems to be part of it."
"And you didn't know about it?" She asked.
I shrugged. "I knew, but we didn't have enough data points to figure out that it was an outlier. Before now the only weird thing about my familiar was the fact that I'm manifesting ears-like fur tuffs from a creature that predates the evolution of ears." I ran a hand through one of the fluffy masses growing from the top of my head, earning an amused look from Aisha, but one that quickly dampened.
"So, I can't actually learn magic?" She asked in a dejected voice. "I mean, it's great to have this kind of control over my power, but, I don't know." She sighed. "I guess I got my hopes up." She cut the power to her strikers, causing them to fold back into boots as her ears and tail vanished.
I dropped to the ground as well, feeling my legs return to my boots and the manifestations of my familiar vanish. And my pants return to a reasonable fit rather than the kind of hell you only see on Olympic speed skaters.
"There are other possibilities, but they'll take work. Something like artificial magic circuits will be a pretty serious project." Tybalt swooped around and called out a reminder. I nodded in agreement. "Oh, there is chi."
Tetra perked up at the word, while Aisha looked intrigued. "What, martial arts stuff?"
"Yeah, but seriously, you can interact with life energy in a way that's sort of magic, but not quite." I shrugged. "The definitions are all over the place."
"Too many powers?" Aisha joked. I snorted in response.
"Anyway, learning to control chi helps with controlling other energies, magic, Aura, Mantra, whatever. It opens the door to some seriously advanced combat arts." It was stuff that I would be nearly incapable of teaching, but something Tybalt could do in his sleep.
"Um, do we have time for that?" She asked. "I mean, it's a full schedule already, and that sounds like a pretty serious undertaking.
I was about to answer when I felt a connection form, once again latching on to a mote from the Personal Reality constellation. The new constellation was causing a connection nearly every time it approached, a consequence of the large number of small motes compared to the other constellations having been mostly depleted of everything but major powers.
You know, unless you've gotten some kind of montage power?" She asked with a sly grin as she watched my reaction. It was probably for the best that she couldn't see Survey's response to this power. The elation was nearly overwhelming.
"No, it's pretty much the opposite of a time saving power." I said, earning a confused look. "The Workshop now has an internet connection."
The power, or addition, depending on how you wanted to look at it, was called Extranet. It granted the Workshop a direct internet connection, one that was persistent and backed by fiat. My current method of using super science routers and upscaled mobile access was better than anyone in my position could have been able to manage, but it was still highly limited. The router was affected by the limit on household applications, meaning web usage had to be kept within the threshold of conventional use. Beyond that there was only so much I could do with mobile networks without attracting attention.
Neither of those problems applied to this connection. It granted performance only possible from major ISPs and was completely secure. Nobody would be able to trace the connection because the Workshop was effectively nowhere. Every issue of network access I had been dancing around was suddenly a thing of the past. Survey was already massively expanding her online presence and I had to restrain her from launching into an immediate hacking blitz.
There was another benefit to this power, and probably the one that really endeared it to Survey. The connection didn't rely on any physical link to the outside world. Previously whenever my workshop door was closed everyone inside was completely isolated. It's what had happened during the fight with Lung, effectively cutting me off from any support until I could reopen the workshop. It was why the entrance to the workshop hadn't been moved since I returned from that fight. The consequences of cutting the workshop off from the rest of the world, from me, was too severe to seriously consider.
Only now I wasn't cut off. Survey wasn't cut off. She was free to connect with me, with Garment, even with her physical body, no matter the state of the workshop. I could actually take advantage of the mobility of my headquarters again without hamstringing my team.
"You seriously got perfect super-internet as a power?" Aisha asked.
"More as an upgrade." I explained as we watched my duplicates tie in the new connections to the computer core. The connection also supported wireless protocols, but Survey understandably wanted a direct, dedicated connection for the main computer.
"And it's that big a deal?" She said, looking at the work.
"We're not cut off anymore, no matter what happens." That sounded more dire than I intended, so I moved to find some levity. "It's better for staying connected. Otherwise, we might not know about Garment's charity event."
"Yeah, the notification could have taken a few extra minutes." She said, then looked over at me. "It's going to be okay, planning something like that on short notice?"
I scoffed. "Please. Survey confirmed the location immediately after the meeting." Actually, immediately after Parian called the director. It was only the mildest abuse of her information gathering abilities, and it wasn't like she was listening to calls, just noting when they were made.
Really, it wasn't any more invasive than the scans she took of Parian's power in action. That was something Survey was particularly interested in. I knew from my passenger that Parian was a lot stronger than she let on in her casual demonstrations, but seeing the actual effect in play was something else.
It wasn't even what you would call telekinesis, at least not in the conventional sense. Parian sent out a kind of energy field that either wrapped around or permeated objects. Attempting to affect items using external manifestations of the field was less precise and seemed to have a finite threshold of what it could accomplish, but the field would sink into any fibrous material. Woven fabrics worked well, but the principle would probably apply to a wider range or materials. Something like leather, with a complex three-dimensional arrangement of microscopic fibers, could be a particularly effective medium.
Unfortunately, Parian had clearly been startled when Garment took control of some samples that she had been controlling. It was an understandable shock, but fortunately they had seemed to move past the incident fairly easily. Parian cape had been somewhat agitated during parts of the meeting, understandable given the state of the city, but apparently responded quite positively to Survey and Garment. Survey was currently working to set the groundwork for the charity event, but she had expressed interest in observing Parian's power to a greater degree. Hopefully she would be open to further meetings, even if Garment wasn't involved.
"With the state of the city people aren't looking for anything ostentatious. Meeting an appropriate tone will actually make the preparations easier. Survey's still crunching the numbers on available labor, resources, and expected attendance. We'll set the scope from there. Invitations out tomorrow. A full day of prep, it will be no problem."
Garment may have a perfect understanding of fashion, but between the organizational power of Hera's blessing, the business knowledge of Talented: Tailoring, and the literally supernatural logistics of Shipping the Product a borderline impossible task turned into a pleasant diversion. The scope should be locked down by this evening, then it was just a matter of rolling out the event and making sure everything went smoothly. Really, something like this was just what both me and the city really needed.
"Okay, so, what's next?" Aisha asked.
"Tybalt's got this. Combat and chi training for you and Tetra." I said. "Life fiber energy basically functions the same way as chi, so there's a lot of crossover applications there. If you ever go up to a two or three star uniform the training will make it a lot easier to control."
"Uh, right. You can probably kick that down the road a bit. One star is still a bit much." She replied.
I shrugged. "It's your first day. Even with the best training, some things need an adjustment period that you can't rush. Though…" I drew from the pocket dimension provided by my Weapon Swapping power and drew forth the handle of a beam katana.
"Is that a lightsaber?" She asked, eyes wide.
"Uh, sort of? I mean, it's called a beam katana, but they're energy swords that can cut just about anything, so, you know, the difference is academic. I got a factory that makes them on Saturday, but this one is special."
"Special how?" She asked eagerly. I held up a hand to calm her.
"Okay, first off, it's a training weapon." I activated the blade and demonstrated its complete lack of damaging potential. Even without a display of dismemberment the excitement of a lightsaber carried Aisha along. "Secondly, unlike the rest of the 'beam katanas', this one draws from ki rather than an internal battery."
Things fell into place for Aisha. "So, I get to do lightsaber training and learn magic at the same time?"
"Pretty much. It's specifically designed for training, so there are a lot of enhancements to help develop your skill and control with ki, chi, life energy, or whatever you want to call it." I explained.
She took the handle reverently. "Well, I really wanted to get into advanced coding techniques or brush up on my biological sciences, but I guess I could put on a suit that gives me superpowers and have a lightsaber battle with an alien and a demigod." Her eyes shone as she spoke. "I mean, if I have too."
I considered something. "Hey, are you alright to spend the whole day here? I mean, your father…"
"Still busy with the gym." She lifted her watch. "I've been checking in with texts. It's, um, it's better that we used to handle things, so I think he's okay with that."
It wasn't something I wanted to push. As long as she wasn't sitting on some family related time bomb I was alright with how she managed things, and it seemed like she had things in hand.
I took the opportunity to check in with my duplicates, actually in person rather than just through electronic updates.
"Extranet is going to make a big difference." The first said. "It's not going to get us everything, but Survey doesn't need to worry about blowing out the household restrictions anymore."
"Yeah." I glanced towards the training room. The sounds of pseudo lightsaber combat were already starting up. "We're trying to prepare for everything, but until we know what we're up against we can only build up and hope we can overpower it."
"Not a bad strategy, to be honest." The second added. "Photonic upgrades should be fully integrated by tomorrow. You can use movie night as the last calibration test."
"Got it. You have anything planned for your twenty percent time?" I asked. The way my duplicates were totally at peace with their temporary nature was still unsettling and had possibly gotten worse as their durations had extended from minutes to hours. Still, it was their choice. Or possibly my choice, reframed. Okay, that was a rabbit hole of thinking I didn't need to revisit.
"General upgrades, prep for the charity event." The first looked at me and raised a hand. "I know you can handle it, but it's best to have things in place."
"We'll look into that mana sense as well." The second duplicate assured me. "If it's an outlier, some unique ability, then it could give an edge to other casting systems. Combined with how effective Technician is at mastering new concepts and we might actually have this magic thing in the bag."
I let out a breath. "Here's hoping." Magic had been a kind of nebulous potential power for an exceedingly long time. Promising great potential, but constantly dropping roadblocks in the way. Outside of things like magecraft and striker use where my power had programmed me with the principles of the magic system it was largely a mystery. Now, that was finally changing.
"Music helps." The first said. "Actually, all the Unnatural Skills help, and the blessings. Even Mantra made a difference."
"The more types of energy we work with the easier it gets, thankfully." The second explained. "At least the powers generally complement each other, rather than acting on cross purposes."
"Yeah." I said, then trailed off as I felt another connection form, this time to the Capstone constellation. There was a faint rumble, signaling the arrival of the item in question. I exchanged a look with my duplicates. With a second of understanding between us we teleported to the entryway.
I didn't like teleporting everywhere, despite how convenient it was and the need to develop my skills with the Dark Slayer style. Just flickering from one place to another felt disjoined from the normal experience. I mean, I already had gates set up as shortcuts around my workshop. At the very least it seemed courteous to walk with people, even when they had their own rapid transportation options.
This wasn't one of those cases. While it wasn't an emergency, it was a fairly significant event. I had received a book. An instructional manual from another universe. I had received something similar in The Secret of Steel, but this wasn't an ancient tome of smithing knowledge, it was a straightforward theory text. A direct link to one of the worlds that provided my powers.
The book was called Bigger on the Inside and focused on advanced versions of the miniaturization techniques that I had gained from my Tinkerer power. From a technical perspective the book was incredible. It covered basic compression of complicated machinery, but also levels of underlying theory that I had never considered. If the full scope of the principles on display were to be believed it would be possible to compress an object by a factor of a hundred in each dimension.
More than that, there were biological applications. Not just plants, but miniaturization around living creatures. The insanity of being able to produce what were essentially Pokeballs with no energy conversion or dimensional technology was mind boggling.
The principles of this kind of technology would take years to master. More art than science, in several ways. If not for the cognitive acceleration of my computer core there would have been no way to utilize the skills in a practical timeline. I could finish it in less than a day. Hell, Aisha would want to learn this kind of stuff at her first opportunity.
But that was secondary to the real treasure. It was a textbook, not a journal or history book, but it was still a product of another culture. That was evident in the phrasing, the examples used to describe things, the frequent references to Dust, Aura, or the 'Kingdoms'.
"We'll pick through this. It needs to be digitized anyway, and we can pull out any cultural hints." The second duplicate explained. "Survey will want to help with that."
"Yeah. Don't know if there's much we can do with this, but still, it's a real link. Something tangible." I let out a breath. "Honestly I want to dive into it right now, but…"
"Yeah." The first said. "Bigger problems."
I nodded. Hopefully not actual problems, but 'bigger' was about right. It wasn't something I could leave hanging, not after the last few times that strategy had blown up in my face. No, the path to Mental Fortress was clear. Even if I wasn't going to act, I still had to face the situation.
Possibly the only situation that would overshadow a link to another world. The PRT had officially sent out their press release. The Celestial Forge was in the news.
Jumpchain abilities this chapter:
Extra Space (Personal Reality) 200:
This Starting Space Upgrade expands your Personal Reality by a factor of 10 in each dimension… or rather the standard three dimensions, you rabid cheeselord. This can be purchased multiple times. Additional Space also upgrades various expansion options. The first purchase of this brings you to 64 Million Cubic Meters, then 64 Billion Cubic Meters, then 64 Trillion Cubic Meters. Earth's volume, for reference, is 1 Hexillion Cubic Meters and it's surface area is 510 Quadrillion Square Meters. Cover the Earth in storage facilities 100 meters high and you get 51 Quintillion Cubic Meters of Storage space.
Extranet (Personal Reality) 200:
This handy add on connects your Personal Reality with the local Data Networks of the Universe you're currently in… not only that, but it gets the kind of performance only really ever seen by ISPs at their hubs. If your current Reality of Residence does not have a Data Network, this will connect to the nearest equivalent.. yes, even if that is nothing more than a town gossip and a local library.
Bigger on the Inside (RWBY) 100:
A book teaching miniaturization techniques. Starts with Bazookas into bottles, leads into Cars into cupholders. They still weigh the same, unfortunately. A master of this knows how to miniaturize around living things! It's very uncomfortable for them, so they won't stay like that. Mastery of a skill-book, as you stretch beyond what the public can accomplish, will take at least three years of independent study and practice, with the appropriate resources.