67 Development Plans
The towering slopes of the volcano gleamed under the midday sun. We were far enough from any of the active lava flows for Aisha to be unbothered by the heat. Her armor would have more than protected her, but she wanted to do this in person.
A trio of glittering shapes bounded over the volcanic stone. They would have drawn the eye just from the gleaming metal of their bodies, but the rainbow trails they left in their wake made them impossible to ignore.
"Wow, they're really like animals." Aisha gasped as she kept her eyes trained on the Wish-Zoid fusions. "I mean, I knew you said they were less sophisticated than Fleet and Survey, but I didn't really picture them like that." She gestured towards the playful race between saber toothed tiger and unicorn as the dragon swooped overhead.
"It's the Zoid cores. Wishes are practically blank slates, at least in that form. The Zoid A.I.s are designed to emulate animalistic behavior." It was possibly as a strategy against A.I. uprising, but given the nuances of the designs I had the feeling Zoids resembled animals because someone wanted them to resemble animals. Someone or something decided they wanted to put a great deal of resources into getting giant war machines that resembled specific creatures, regardless of the actual utility of the design.
The designs might not have been the most efficient ones possible, but they were certainly majestic. With the speed and agility of the Wishes they could cover the breadth of the mountainside in no time flat. Really, a small volcano was nothing compared to that world…
My mind jumped back to those memories. An endless stream of split-second life or death reactions, each barely survived, only to find more waiting for me. Land after land of dodging death, trying to survive in a body that was entirely familiar at the time but now was recognizable as totally alien.
I shook it off. That set of memories was more impactful than most of what I'd gotten from the Forge. It had been largely overshadowed in the wake of becoming a heroic spirit and the buildup to the summit. Really, I hadn't even gotten into the technology and resources I'd received. The training in Wishsmithing, the surprisingly advanced technology that drew from rainbows and Unicornium. The creatures bounding across the volcano's slopes were only the beginning of what was possible with that art.
But in all likelihood it would be filed away or used to supplement another project. Wishes might be incredibly resilient to anything but high-speed frontal collisions and were essentially self-powering and infinitely customizable, but there was more powerful technology out there. Sadly, at this point, a lot of what I received from the Forge was going to be of middling or supplemental use.
Probably the best example of that was the hulking metal form of the Ion Titan walking next to Fleet. The Titan had been generated with an energy rifle bigger than a person and possessed integrated precision laser technology and the ability to deploy flash fabricated mines across the battlefield. A deployable vortex shield could catch physical projectiles and even reflect them at attackers and, under the right circumstances, the Titan was able to channel its reactor into a devastatingly powerful laser assault that could annihilate most comparable war machines.
But none of that was particularly impressive by my standards. I could pull bits and pieces of it to supplement my other technology. The fabrication systems, the weapon reactor, the shielding, and some aspects of the laser technology had their uses, or at least useful principles involved in them, but they weren't the kind of thing that was going to change my engagement protocols.
Probably because those engagement protocols were already off the chart by any conventional metric. The buildup and integration of new technology following the fight with Lung had been substantial, but for the moment it was just that, buildup. I had a very, very big hammer, but had to be very careful about how I used it. The situation at the summit had made that clear. It wasn't just the city that was in an unstable state. Any action I took was going to cause ripples around the country, and probably the world.
I shifted my attention from the Wishes to the approaching Titan. The war machine towered over Fleet, but regarded him with deference and respect. The Ion's A.I. was still at a basic level of development and had fallen back into military doctrines with respect to rank and organizational structure. The entirety of the group had been slotted into designated roles, largely thanks to Survey jumping at the opportunity.
"Commander." The Titan's voice spoke deferentially as the machine fell into what passed for attention. The voice had a female character to it, and the A.I.s were generated with associated genders. The three designs I had for construction on a medium chassis all defaulted to female, but could be customized if needed. I had the sense it was a feature designed to ease integration into a military unit rather than as any significant exploration of the development of computer intelligences.
"Titan Ion." I acknowledged with a nod. "How is your acclimatization progressing?" At this stage of the A.I.'s development she was blunt and direct on a level that even Fleet had never approached. It was best to work within the frame of reference she had been designed for and build up from there.
"I have accessed all relevant information and endeavored to familiarize myself with the staff and facilitates, as instructed." She responded.
I nodded. The Titan's A.I. cores were… well, I had a hard time thinking of them as 'advanced', but if you excluded multidimensional processing, soul-based computation, or literal magic, then they were quite powerful computers, but only by the standards of what was possible using only the mechanics of the physical universe. Their mental processes weren't particularly advanced, at least when right 'out of the box', but they processed things much faster than a human could and were capable of absorbing significant amounts of data. The primary purpose of this was battlefield analysis and support, including management of the Titan's systems and providing targeting solutions for some of the more complex ordnance. The speed and recall allowed fairly basic thought patterns to come across as more advanced than they actually were.
"That's excellent. Direct interaction with facilities and personnel is essential for development of effective response methodologies." Aisha gave me a strange look, but it was far too early to try anything friendly or sociable with the newly minted military A.I. system.
This was a big part of the reason I had never built combat A.I.s of my own. The Ion Titan would have been perfectly happy being put into standby mode until the time came to deploy her into the field. Maybe after enough missions there would have been enough mental complexity to function outside the cycle of deployment, debrief, maintenance, and preparation, but chances were the Titan would have been destroyed or critically damaged before it could reach that point.
Sapient minds, fed into the woodchipper of constant battle. It wasn't one of the worst universes my power had connected me to. My eyes darted to the rainbow robots prancing across the mountainside. Not the worst, but it was still bad.
"I will endeavor to carry out your instructions to my full ability, commander." The Titan replied in its booming, female voice.
"Glad to hear it." I said. "I trust Fleet can look after you, and we'll need to talk about refit options once you have adjusted to things here."
"Understood. The Fleet intelligence had been of great assistance during the initial acclimatization process. Regrettably, the operational policies of this organization are outside the parameters I am familiar with." She replied. "Additionally, the Matrix intelligence has presented several possibilities for refit and upgrade options, though seeing as I lack specific insight into future operations I believe such decisions should be deferred to those higher in the command structure."
"Very well, though your own tactical input would be of value." I said. "You may wish to observe the upcoming training program, and Survey can help with any further inquiries you might have."
"At your command." She said. At her feet Fleet nodded before continuing down the mountain. Aisha watched them depart and shook her head slightly.
"You know, if I hadn't met Fleet and Survey first that probably would have been pretty impressive." She said.
I let out a breath. "It's still a sapient A.I., and the hangar will be generating one every day from now on. Of all the problems, figuring out what to do with a free army of giant combat robots wasn't one I saw coming."
"Sort of giant." Aisha said. "Do we need some classification system? You know, sort things from 'sorta big' to 'fuckin huge'?"
I smiled. "Survey already has one." Aisha scrunched her nose in response.
"I'm not referring to them by alphanumeric letter codes. Takes all the fun out of it. I mean, it's bad enough what she did to Moondance." She said with a pout.
"Well, maybe if you didn't insist on that copyright violation…" I said.
"Come on, it was perfect." She retorted. "And how is what Survey did any better?"
"Zoid names are a classification system. They weren't supposed to become their actual names, but Zoids sort of like being referred to by their model type." I shrugged.
It was one of the few things from the highly inconsistent media that proved to be true. I'm convinced they had characters constantly refer to the Zoids by type in the show to build name recognition for the purposes of toy sales, but somehow that was actually built into the cores. As soon as Survey had assigned rough approximations of Zoid models to the Wish-hybrids they took to them instantly and wouldn't respond to anything else.
The three machines in question wheeled towards us, leaving a bounding rainbow trail in their wake. The plating was more angular than a traditional wish design, showing the joints and mounting points iconic to Zoids, but they still had the gleaming chrome finish iconic to Unicornium. As the three robotic creatures landed in front of us a fluffy head rose to peer at us from the back of the sabertoothed tiger.
Tybalt looked down with a wide smile and meowed at us. Aisha scoffed, but had a smile on her face.
"Show off." She said with a grin.
Tybalt meowed again and dropped from the robot tiger's back with practiced ease. Upon learning about the Wishes, he had made it clear that the tiger, or the Zaber Fang, to use Survey's designation and its adopted name, was going to be his, and there would be no arguments on the matter.
He was also the only natural rider in the group. I could fake it from my sense and control of technology, but that didn't come close to the skills inherent to a demigod of war. Tybalt moved like he was born in the saddle, even when riding hybridized robotic megafauna bareback. All things considered; he was more than qualified to handle Aisha's riding lesson.
Aisha was here to finally get a chance to ride the robot unicorn. I was here for a different reason. I was testing out the latest power from the Celestial Forge. Technician was a power that accelerated my ability to learn new information to an insane degree. Previously I had been able to handle technical details, understand theory, and hold blueprints in my mind with perfect accuracy. With Technician that extended to any form of information. I could acquire and integrate data as quickly as it could be presented. The effect was strongest with natural sciences and engineering topics, but even unrelated subjects were able to be covered hundreds of times faster than before.
The memory increase was nice, but if all the power did was accelerate my study rate it wouldn't have been that extraordinary. I could benefit from learning in the virtual environment as well as anyone else, so even a boost of several hundred times my normal study rate would have only been on par with the benefit of the computer core. No, Technician went further than that. It allowed me to mix and match theory and experience, taking abstract concepts and applying them to practical techniques.
For example, digesting all available information on riding, from technique to mechanics, would normally have only given an academic appreciation for the art. For me, that body of knowledge stood ready for application. I could see how the theory fit together, the way it flowed from raw information to something I could use in a tangible, practical fashion.
And this was just the pilot project, the trial application. A lot of my powers came with complete understanding of their functions and applications, but for some I had to work through that on my own. Often I had to figure out the base principles first, then try to find a way to actually apply them. Mostly, this happened with magic or side powers that were tacked on to larger motes, but even major applications had levels I needed to build to. I wasn't anywhere near the peak of alchemical transmutation. Arcane Focuses were based on my own skill and understanding. Psionics needed to be trained like a muscle, but the finer application of the power still needed skill and understanding.
But that would come later. The first step was proving that it would work, and that involved proving I could ride a rainbow robot over the slopes of an extradimensional volcano. As the Magitech constellation passed by I was forced to confront the absurdity of that statement and how it still made perfect sense in context. My life was weird.
Aisha stepped forward toward the robot unicorn. "Hey Orudios." She seemed to resent the name even as she said it. Still, it caused the creature to turn towards her and even press its nose into her outstretched hand. Any resentment over not being able to name the Wish was banished by the act of contact. A wide smile spread over Aisha's face as the unicorn nuzzled her hand.
"Alright, your forcefield should be enough to protect you, but just in case anything goes wrong the reinforcement magecraft will hold through the afternoon." It was a tricky spell to cast on another person, but with my Unnatural Skill and mana reserves I could handle it. "It's the same effect I used for Khepri's armor, so you'll be fine even if you take a spill at high speeds." I explained. "Even so, try to keep things subsonic. We haven't fully tested the ion thrusters and the aerodynamics are a nightmare when a rider is factored in, to say nothing of the amount of space we have to work with."
Tybalt looked up at me with an inquisitive meow. Aisha's eyes lit up at the suggestion.
"Uh, maybe after we get a little more experience. That's not a 'first day' kind of thing. We can probably make a trial loop along the east coast once we find our feet, but I want to upgrade these things before we take them into the field, even for a training run." I said.
Tybalt made a disappointed meow, but nodded and turned to examine the tack that the robot unicorn, or Orudios by Survey's classification, had been equipped with. He seemed to be working by pure instinct, meowing occasional instructions or notes to Aisha as he went. Meanwhile I was working to apply a recent accelerated cram session of equestrian theory to a creature that it was never meant to apply to.
"I can't believe I ended up with the dragon." The creature seemed to pick up on my tone and gave a dissatisfied snort of rainbow flame. "No offense." I said quickly. "It's just…" I didn't really know where to go from there.
"Is this about the 'used to be your body' thing, or are you worried about what Dragon will think?" Aisha asked.
I shook my head. "The situation with Dragon… I need to deal with it, but I'm not really worried about how she'll react to this." I looked up at what Survey had denoted as the 'Dekalt' and let out a breath. "I'm more worried about what everyone else will think."
"With you and Dragon? Probably won't make a difference." I gave her a confused look. "I don't think it's going to inspire anything that people haven't already theorized." I gave her a look that was more concerned than confused. "Survey's been documenting all of it. Everything she can find online."
"What, everything?" I asked in an unsteady voice.
"Yep." Aisha said with a gleam in her eye. "Hey, did you know most people think Dragon's a redhead? You know, for fanart and stuff."
"No, I did not know that." I said, and messaged Survey through my implant, thanking her for her diligence but reminding her of age-appropriate content restrictions. The response that she had been carefully categorizing each piece by relevant age standards and ensured that Aisha's access was correctly filtered didn't reassure me as much as she probably hoped it would.
I put thoughts of cape fandom aside and focused on my own Wish. Technically these were their own creatures, but the commitment to look after a specific one imposed a level of responsibility, even if ownership was a bit nebulous.
The tack was adapted to the best of my ability from the information I had immersed myself in thanks to Technician. I could look at each piece and understand its purpose and the reason for its placement, but more than that, I was able to draw a line from that abstract information to the direct mechanics of riding. Theory and experience, joined by my latest power, and further amplified by the quality improvement of Do One Thing at a Time, the idealized movements of Efficiency, and additional support from powers like Classy Contortionist and Cuh-Ray-Zee!.
I swung up into the saddle like someone who had been riding robot dragons their entire life. There was an approving sound from Tybalt as he continued to instruct Aisha. I could see where she was going wrong, but my ability to teach knowledge didn't come with the same benefit of application that I received from Technician. I had made sure she at least knew what everything was called and what it was for, but it was down to Tybalt to get her actually able to use them.
When she was finally seated she looked both exhilarated and terrified. I could understand why. Up close, horses were large, frightening creatures, even when they weren't heavily armed and able to break the sound barrier. With a reassuring chirp Tybalt swung onto his own mount and led Aisha out into a gentle canter.
On my own end I was doing my best to avoid cheating with my divine senses. The Wish-Zoids didn't register to the Dragon's Pulse, but I could feel out every aspect of the technology that composed their forms. Every system, every component, the flow of energy through them. I could honestly have skipped the riding practice and just directed Dekalt through divine authority. It was the consequence of having so many powers in play.
At least the saddle insulated me from direct contact with the body of the Wish. Feel It Out was only focused on improving my masterfully crafted riding tack, not breaking down the body of the dragon and projecting information through my psionic awareness on what improvements and upgrades were possible.
An overhaul of all three Wishes was going to happen at some point. As powerful as they were, they needed to be better if they were going to be a meaningful asset in the field. The standards of the team were kind of insane, and constantly rising. It was basically the cycles of upgrades I used to perform on my workshop, only now focused on equipment, vehicles, and even members of the team.
That was an easier conversation to have with the A.I.s than the living team members. Tetra and Aisha both were due for 'improvements', and I had to work to keep myself from making associations with my original tinker power. This wasn't the blind, unstable, half mad tinker projects you would get from a recently triggered biotinker. I understood the principles behind everything I was offering, and it was essential. Maybe not for gang conflicts, but there was trouble brewing on the horizon. My passenger was sure about that. Bad days were ahead, and I needed to make sure everyone was as prepared as possible.
But for now, I had to make sure my latest learning booster actually worked the way it was supposed to. That was entirely the reason I was doing this. There was no other justification for riding a robot dragon over an active volcano with the wind in my hair and the valleys of another world spread out before me. The loops and aileron rolls were just tests of my riding ability, and any screams of excitement were purely coincidental. Just because my robot was capable of limited flight when slightly boosted by ion thrusters it only made sense that I should perform a full test of aerial maneuverability.
Yeah, okay, I was having the time of my life. With all the training, preparation, and looming threats it was important to remember to take part in the little pleasures that my power afforded. Just little ones, like dragon riding, or lava surfing, or mecha basketball. Sure, technically all of them could count as the development or practice of some kind of technique or skill, but that didn't change the fact that they were awesome. Before I would have danced around that fact, maybe admit it under pressure, but mostly stay focused on the technical benefits, because enjoying something wasn't a good enough reason to do it.
Hadn't been a good enough reason. That was before my Revival power. Before the path to Mental Fortress was laid out ahead of me. It was a small thing that somehow meant the world. I was doing this because it was awesome, because I was having fun and, most of all, because I wanted to.
Excitement bubbled up inside me at the thought. It was an idea that was still tainted with guilt, with the idea that I was doing something wrong, breaking the rules by indulging in something purely because I wanted to. I could admit that, but also be honest about what it meant to me. My wand, collapsed into a wooden ring on my finger, thrummed with approval. Beneath me Dekalt let out a roar, prismatic flames trailing from his mouth. Exaltation and determination pulsed out, and I could feel it.
Spiral. Closer and easier to access than ever before. Green light surged from the gaps between the plates of the dragon's chassis. I gripped the reins and pressed in close to his neck as the energy flowing forth surged over us. There was a burst of light and sudden acceleration as we launched forward.
All I can say is I'm glad the barrier around my volcano is a conceptual one, rather than anything you could collide with. Instead, you just kind of hang in the air and drift badly until your aerodynamics fail you and you plummet. Fortunately, we had an abundance of altitude and Dekalt was agile enough to recover, putting us into a steady glide back towards the starting location. It gave me time to see Aisha and Tybalt circling around and even Survey making her way across the lava fields to meet us.
I also spotted Fleet and the Ion titan on the lip of the volcano. I'm not sure what, if anything they were discussing, but given the numerous times Fleet had to step in to help Survey with her own rampancy issues I could probably trust him to take point with the Titans.
I guided Dekalt down in a shallow swoop, landing just before Aisha and Tybalt came bounding up the side of the volcano on the backs of Orudios and Zaber Fang. The two Wish-Zoids arrived just as I landed. Aisha was still looking like she was having the time of her life even as Tybalt helped her down from the saddle. Orudios nuzzled her, causing her to somehow grin even wider as she ran her hand through the unicorn's rainbow mane.
"That was fucking awesome." She panted as I slipped off of Dekalt's back. "Why did we wait so long to do that?"
"Extensive preparations for the summit took priority during the period following the arrival of the Wishes." Survey said calmly as she approached. "Additionally, your schedule was limited by family and sleep commitments, and it was decided you should be present for the initial trial."
She was in a kind of flowing white dress in place of the costume she had worn to the summit. It was recognizable as Garment's work, but exclusively Garment's work, lacking the supernatural detail and coordination that came from our joint projects.
"Thank you Survey." I glanced at the dress again. "Is that what you're wearing for your meeting?"
Survey shook her head in a very precise manner. "This dress is not fitted for my alternate form. Garment has produced a range of clothing options for both my cape and civilian identities, acting with significant enthusiasm. An outfit more characteristic of my cover profession has been selected for the upcoming meeting."
"How is that going?" I asked as Tybalt walked Aisha through how to remove the saddle and other tack.
"My preparations are adequately complete. Garment has created twenty-seven outfit combinations as possible options for her attire during the meeting and has made significant, repeated modifications to fourteen of them. She had also been repeatedly viewing records of Parian's public appearances with the intent to determine an appropriate gift for the occasion." Survey stated flatly. It was about what I expected.
I was about to reply when I felt the Forge connect to a cluster of motes from the Personal Reality constellation. Two motes, with another, smaller one attached. The smaller one was on the same scale as the tiny motes that occasionally came bundled together from other constellations, and like them it was linked to another, unrelated mote. All together four independent connections were secured to the constellation, completely consuming my reach.
I didn't really need to announce the connection. If my behavior didn't give it away the way the volcano shook under our feet would have.
"Did something show up in the Workshop?" Aisha asked.
"Yeah, I can show you on the way to the new training room." I said. "Nothing big, another of those personal reality additions."
Aisha grinned at that. "We have different ideas about what counts as 'big'." She glanced over at Orudios. "Are we okay to leave them out here like this?"
I nodded. "Fleet can look after them, and they aren't at any risk." I mean, it was only partially cooled surface lava. Even if they dove into it there wouldn't be that much damage.
"Great." Aisha said as she watched the unicorn trot away after Zaber Fang. "So, on to super training? Are we getting into powers?"
I nodded seriously. "Tybalt can handle some of the more mundane stuff." I paused, noting his moderately offended look. "Mundane compared to major enhancements." I clarified, mollifying him somewhat. "Aura training is going to take a while, but he can handle advanced ninjutsu, combat alchemy, weapon combat, marksmanship, and chi use." I paused. "Which is kind of tied into the Alkahestry side of combat alchemy."
"Right, but there's serious stuff too, right?" She glanced between me and Survey, looking equal parts excited and apprehensive.
"There is." I said. "I've set up everything I could to help with… non-enhancement related training." I looked to Tybalt for confirmation, earning a nod of approval. "But some stuff can go a lot further than that."
"It's the stuff Survey was focused on, right?" Aisha asked, looking at her. "She was the test bed, or whatever, for the enhancements."
"That was the intent. The opportunity presented by the conditions of Apeiron's recovery allowed a number of enhancement treatments to be implemented." She said. "They have largely remained unexpressed or unexplored, given apprehension over the modifications in question and the lack of sufficient time to properly develop the abilities." She explained. "The construction of my physical form provided the opportunity for full exploration of the biological enhancements possible, due to incorporated protomatter allowing organic emulation."
"Right. That's where your energy beam thing comes from, right?" She turned to me. "Can I do something like that?"
"That display is the result of a combination of abilities resulting from Valkyrur emulation, psi-operative treatment, and integration of biotically active Element Zero within simulated nerve clusters. Biotic modification, while possible, would be inadvisable as they would require significant modifications and a lengthy acclimatization process." The faint glow of mass fields flared around her before fading.
I nodded. "Those mods were baked into me when they healed me and I still haven't figured them out." The latest learning power might help with that, but I doubted I ever manage the precision that Survey could accomplish. Or the level of raw power. There was a big difference between someone who had middling amounts of bioelectric energy in their nerves and a divinely crafted being infused with elemental lightning.
Aisha nodded. "What about the other two?"
"Psi Operative training can be accomplished through a series of treatments in a dedicated facility. The time required has remained an obstacle, though repeated upgrades to the Psi Lab have reduced the duration of the initial treatments to under 24 hours." Survey explained.
"Still a lot, by our schedule, but once we bring it to less than a day it'll be an option." I clarified.
"And that gives energy beams?" Aisha asked.
"The Null Lance is one of several prefabricated abilities that can be imparted through Psi Operative training. Additional possibilities include wide area energy attacks, temporal suspension, mental resistance, physical restoration, resistance to elemental effects, and the ability to usurp central nervous functions of a single target." Aisha's face shifted from impressed to horrified as Survey progressed through the list.
"And you can just give that power out to anyone with a couple days work?" She asked in a strained voice.
I shrugged. "It takes a while to master the full range of powers, and I'm not going to be giving this out to just anyone."
"Right. Just me." She muttered. "Um, what about the third thing?"
"Valkyrur emulation. Specific genetic markers resonate with the energetic material known as ragnite. It is possible to emulate or implant those markers allowing direct channeling of ragnite energy without requiring external machinery, though supporting equipment can enhance the process."
Aisha blinked. "Wait, you mean that blast isn't the best you can do?" She asked.
Survey shook her head in a precise movement. "While this form was constructed with a series of focusing arrays incorporated into it, further enhancement is possible with provided supplemental weaponry."
She lifted her hands and accessed her subspace pocket. There was a glow as the shimmering outline of her weapon and buckler manifested around her hands, then filled in as the items were pulled from subspace. She closed her eyes for a moment before her body flared with light. A burning blue aura covered her, causing her hair to flare wildly. In her hands the weapon and buckler began to shift, the subtle spiral pattern to their white surface turning upon itself as the small objects expanded into an impressive lance and shield.
Aisha was gaping at the display, then turned to me with a wide grin on her face.
"Survey has a lance." She said.
I nodded. "Focuses work best when built around certain forms. A lance is the best channel for ragnite energy, and a shield works best for her defensive abilities. I was able to build in enhancements for her psionic and biotic abilities, but the design is mostly centered around her Valkyrur abilities."
"Wow." Aisha said. "Survey's lance sure does a lot."
"Yeah, it's not a top tier build, one of the things that requires limited resources or special research, but it works for her." I said.
"Of course. It's perfect for her." Aisha said, her smile widening. "Everyone knows how strong she is with Survey's lance."
I raised an eyebrow at that. From behind Aisha, Tybalt was breaking into a similar grin and seemed to be attempting to hold back a fit of giggles.
"Survey can function without the lance or shield, but they supplement her abilities." I continued. "And she can access them when she needs to."
"Right. Always good to have Survey's lance on hand when you need it." Aisha replied, only just managing to avoid breaking into giggles.
"Aisha what are you…" A meowing chuckle from Tybalt drew my attention, causing Survey to speak up.
"I believe Aisha is expressing the pun derived from 'Survey's Lance' being phonetically similar to 'Surveillance', with an added level of humor connected to my recently expanded monitoring programs and dedication to accurate monitoring of threats and assets both within the workshop and in the field." The entire explanation was delivered in a calm voice from the lips of a woman bursting with unstable energy.
I blinked and turned to Aisha. She just shrugged as she replied. "She's right. Survey's lance is really iconic to her."
I let out a breath and dropped my head. "Fine. You get it out of your system yet?"
"Not even close, but go on. What does the lance do?" Aisha asked.
"The focusing array substantially enhances my derived abilities, like so." Survey extended the tip of the nearly six-foot-long lance towards the workshop barrier. There was a surge as psionic energy flared and joined with mass effect fields before flowing into the weapon as her aura flared. Then the mountainside turned white as a tremendous blast shot forth. The beam was nearly twenty feet wide when it dissipated against the boundary, though from the way cohesion was held you could only guess at the actual range. Blue flames, psionic energy, and writhing mass effect fields spiraled inside the blast in a combination that very few things would be able to withstand. In fact, if there was anything left in the aftermath it would be an accomplishment.
When the blast faded there was a flicker as Aisha's armor retracted. She took a breath and gave the lance a much more respectful look.
"Okay, noted." She said. "Um, if the bloom from that was enough to trigger my armor, how bad is the actual attack?"
"A base level ragnite blast had enough energy to vaporize an armored vehicle in less than a second." Aisha's eyebrows shot up. A benefit of higher education was knowing exactly how much energy it would take to accomplish something like that. "That was at least two orders of magnitude more powerful, and supplemented with additional effects."
Aisha let out a long whistle. "And you can just roll something like that out?"
"Sort of." I said. "It's not quite as user friendly as Psi Operative training. I'm still trying to get a handle on how to use it, though I haven't had much time to practice."
"Maintaining an energized Valkyrur state requires a specific mindset." Survey explained as she turned to look at me. "In particular, interpersonal connections and protective intentions are exceptionally effective." The shield in her left hand began to rotate, spinning out a flaming biotic barrier that covered the three of us and a good portion of the mountain side before dissipating in a flash.
I nodded. Survey was fortunate that she could emulate the conditions needed to activate biological triggers rather than rely on specific circumstances or stimuli. I wasn't going to be as lucky on that front, but at least she had done the groundwork. Survey was still looking at me and another grin was forming on Aisha's face.
"Those are just the ones we currently have implemented, and the easiest ones to grant to a person." I said, pulling Aisha's attention away from Survey.
"What are the other options?" She asked as the Forge missed a connection to the Size constellation.
I took a breath. "A bunch of magic stuff." Aisha's face lit up as I continued. "There's the possibility of magic circuits, either artificial ones or through a magic crest. I have enough experience with alchemy and mystic codes that I could probably make that work. Since parahuman powers count as magic it's also possible you could work with your own abilities as a power source, either to fuel focuses or magitech, or additional enhancement and modifications of your abilities."
Aisha nodded. "Like how Tetra wanted to play quidditch?"
I nodded. "Yeah, assuming you want a broom-"
"Yes." She said quickly and held her ground as I gave her a surprised look.
"Okay, we can get you a dedicated one later. Um, speaking of brooms, strikers might also work to enhance parahuman abilities, but we'll need to test that, both for effectiveness and side effects. There's also more enhancive equipment we can try out, depending on what else you go with. Some protein-based biological enhancements and natural energy infusions are also possible." I took a breath. "And then there's nanites."
Aisha gave me a confused look. "What, like your healing, or like the Matrix?"
"Healing." I explained. "And the healing is only the most basic application of that tech. Fully programmed nanite arrays are terrifyingly powerful." I swallowed. "They can also turn the world into monsters if anything goes wrong."
"Right, but you have like a dozen powers stopping that from happening, right?" She asked.
"Pretty much." I cut in before Survey could begin listing applicable abilities, complete with their individual contribution and designation code. "But a full nanite array can exponentially variegate an organism. It can take things in directions that none of the other enhancements can." I glanced at Survey. "Maybe not the strongest in raw power, but definitely the most versatile, and the healing is one of the best defensive options we can go with."
"Um, great. Then why aren't we starting with that?" She asked. I had to smile at that.
"Because it's too good." I said. At her confused expression I continued. "Nanite healing can address just about anything short of magic and extradimensional issues. A full, active array could fight off any other enhancements we tried to impart."
Aisha gave me a shocked look. "It can do that? Like, you can't just turn it off or reset it or whatever?"
"For a standard array? Sure." I said. "For this kind of array, where I would put serious work into to make sure it was as good as possible? Not nearly as simple."
"Oh, right." She said. "I guess that we're saving that for last, huh?"
"Probably for the best." I replied.
Aisha looked down at Tybalt. "Are you getting in on any of this?" He gave her a derisive look and meowed. Aisha's eyebrows rose. "Seriously?"
"Seriously." I said. "Compared to his base abilities, most of these won't do much. Even the Valkyrur, compared to his pyrokinetics, it doesn't really measure up."
"What so, none of it?" She asked.
I shrugged. "Maybe the nanites?" I said, looking at Tybalt. He gave an encouraging meow and nodded. Great, two orders.
Plus, the one for Taylor. The nanite project had come a long way from when I was first considering healing options for her. Persistent healing would be the least that these would be capable of. Still, despite my concerns over how she handled herself, she hadn't become any less vital to the future of the world.
More than that now. She wasn't just the cape my passenger was going on about. She was Professor Hebert's daughter. Professor Hebert's Husband's daughter. Somewhere along the line, keeping Taylor safe had shifted from a burdensome obligation to something I sincerely wanted. Giving her a healing power that would make it very difficult to die seemed like a good start on that front.
Aisha watched as Survey's aura faded and her weapons folded back into themselves before disappearing into subspace. "Hey, does anyone else have secret weapons they've been holding back?" She asked.
"What, besides Garment's ribbons?" She gave me a sour look. "Fine. No, nothing like that. Though Fleet has put in orders for enhanced versions of the divine COG boots I designed a while ago." Which were significantly more powerful than even those monstrosities. "Oh, and the Matrix is getting into archery." I said as we made our way back inside the volcano.
Aisha nearly tripped over her own feet. "What? The Matrix? Giant suit of gold armor? Seriously?"
"It was evaluated as an optimal method of nanobot delivery." Survey explained. "The Matrix has been evaluating various applications of their divine craftsmanship. The consensus is that no projectile weapon is as effective as the direct delivery of a nanotech payload."
"Okay." Aisha said. "But why not like a missile or something?"
"Divine craftsmanship excels at the enhancement of conventional weapon forms. Additionally, Apeiron's blessing from Artemis, goddess of the hunt, allows insight into bowmanship which, when combined with enhanced craftsmanship, allow archery to outperform evaluated alternatives, including rail launchers, Gauss coils, and an assembled light gas gun." Survey calmly explained. The testing records were substantially more entertaining, including examples of exactly what an arrow worth of Tier 1 nanobots could do to a target. Honestly it was hard to argue with those kinds of results.
"Come on." I said to Aisha. "I'll show you the new additions."
It was easy to recognize the change. Just from the point of entering the volcano there was a difference in the quality of the light. The interior of my workshop had been precisely designed with the lighting carefully controlled to fit the needs and feel of each room, but it was that feeling where the change was noticeable. It felt more natural, even when the sources were clearly artificial. The change was subtle, and I wasn't sure if Aisha noticed, not until we reached the entryway.
The entryway and its recently attached storage room had always been in a kind of twilight gloom. Bright enough to see, dark enough to sleep, but not much else. Now, they were lit like the noonday sun, because that's precisely the effect.
"Uh, what the hell?" Aisha asked.
"Natural Lighting. Affects Workshop areas and any light sources inside. Completely natural, and I can set ambient lighting in any part of the workshop." I explained.
"Okay." She said. "I mean, it's nice, but is it really worth…" She trailed off and cocked an ear towards the door to the storage room. "Um, is that the ocean?" She asked. I gestured towards my storage room. She tentatively crept forward and peeked inside. "What the fuck?" She exclaimed.
The three of us were close behind her. I had already gotten a complete breakdown of the addition from Survey's drones, but seeing it in person was something else. From the door of the now brightly lit room the left and right walls were missing, instead replaced by an open seafront on the left and a strip of marsh leading to a lakeshore on the right.
The Personal Reality constellation had granted me an item called The Pond. Replace a wall of the storage room with open water. Fresh or salt, or both as a minor additional mote, which I had. What's more, there was an enhancement from the second mote, The Meaning of Life. These weren't empty bodies of water. In addition to coming with active waves, tides, and wind, they were 'stocked' with aquatic life. Seaweed and shellfish on the ocean side, reeds and frogs on the lakefront. Fish in both bodies of water, and I could even spot the occasional duck or gull.
There wasn't a huge amount of waterfront. Each side covered the full eighty-foot wall of the storage room and extended about as far out into the water. There was also something slightly unnerving about a clearly natural, sunlight ocean with a concrete ceiling just ten meters above. Without that damping the illusion it would have been perfect. As it stood it was just pretty good.
"Fuck, you have your own beach?" Aisha said. "And a marina?" She gestured towards the collection of docks and moorings.
"Connected to the Garage. I can launch boats from there, if I have them." I explained. Draft wouldn't be a problem, and there was a dedicated exit for launching out of the Workshop.
"So, where did the animals come from?" Aisha asked. I could only shrug.
"The same place as the water? Probably another universe? I still don't exactly have a manual for this stuff. All I know is they're harmless." A frantic honking and splash echoed from the lake side as Tybalt launched himself from a hiding spot in the reeds into the center of a group of ducks. The panicked birds flew for the corners of the lake as a cat who could have slaughtered the entire flock in a fraction of a second gave merry chase. "Yeah, we probably don't need to worry about harm FROM them."
Setting aside the new cat toys Tybalt had found, it was a really impressive space. A little drop of nature in my reality, more accessible than the valleys around the volcano. Even with the concrete overhead, it was a calming place. Plus, I had my own beach now, and it was a nice beach too, not those rocky things that pass for beaches in south Brockton.
Aisha had walked to the edge of the water and was watching the waves flow in, shaking her head slightly. "I swear Józef, shit like this can hit harder than those crazy fire beam powers. I mean, did you just steal a beach from another world or what?"
"No idea, but you can mess with it as much as you want later. I need to get you set up in the training room." I said.
"Tetra is currently located in Garment's workshop. In accordance with planning, she should be included as well." Survey said.
"Both of them should." I said. "You two go get Aisha set-up; I'll circle around to Garment."
I found Garment in her workshop doting over Tetra. In addition to a new set of potential outfits for her zoanthorope form I spotted sketches of various plans. Kamui plans.
Garment was as committed to the conversion as Tetra was. I understood where they were coming from, but there was more to this than just changing Tetra's form. Maybe if it had been a week ago I would be limited to a standard conversion, but I had more resources, knowledge and power now than I had even dreamed of. If I was doing this it was going to be taken to a level that had never been considered before.
But that was a discussion for another time. Looking around at the expanded space I was seriously impressed. It had been cutting edge even before the last round of workshop upgrades when the electronics workshop had arrived. Now it was more like an artist's retreat mixed with a textile factory, though with a devoted media center.
Even with everything that had happened, Garment had continued posting videos. If anything, she had expanded. It was clear that posting more than ten hours of content a day was going to raise some flags, so she had shifted to higher quality. It began with improvements in the set, camera work, editing. Then the influence of some of my, or more specifically my duplicates' style perks to influence the aesthetics of the videos. Then, after getting Dabbling Academic, the educational component of her videos expanded from just showing information to actual breakdowns of fashion history, sewing methods, and design theory, all without impacting the entertainment value of her productions.
That entertainment value had gotten another boost after the previous night. I wasn't going to restrict what my duplicates could do with their 20% time, though it seemed a large portion of that was spent indulging Garment. After gaining Unnatural Skill with music Garment may have pointed out that her videos were using fairly generic and public domain scores.
So, my duplicates had decided to write music for Garment's videos. They had decided to write a specific theme for Garment, with variations based on the video type. They had employed Survey to cover the legal and copyright aspects of original music production. They had started their own YouTube channel to explain the collaboration, with covers, original compositions, and longform recordings of Garment's theme. All structured as older videos being uploaded en masse.
It was more attention that I really wanted, but it made Garment happy, and frankly that power had given me a new appreciation for music. I almost wished I had my old violin, just for the chance to really play it, but that would mean dealing with my parents. The call to my sister was one thing, and something I wasn't going to shy away from, but dealing with my parents was an entirely different beast.
I was jarred from those thoughts by Garment waving me over to see the latest responses to both her video and 'my' music.
"Yes, I know. Congratulations. I'm sure it will help with your auction." She was nearly bursting with excitement, pulling up articles about the auction and photos from the promotional shoots. As expected, her outfits looked amazing. I knew it hurt to lose them, but at least they were being appreciated.
"Do you want to do an event in parallel, or as an after-party thing?" I asked. There was an invitation for Garment to attend the auction in New York, but she didn't want to leave the city in this state. Specifically, she didn't want to leave ME with the city in this state, and was willing to turn down a chance to meet the New York fashion scene to be there for me. It meant more than I expected it to.
Garment indicated that it would depend on how her meeting went, then proceeded to start walking me through the outfits she made for the occasion, dozens more than she would be able to wear.
"How long has she been like this?" I asked Tetra.
"Since I got here." She replied, hopping down from Garment's workbench. "She's really excited."
"I can see." I said. "Garment?" She turned towards me. "This is great, and I'm sure you'll do well, but I need to get Tetra to the training room, and you as well. Tybalt's going to start Aura training. It might take a few sessions, but the sooner…"
I didn't even get to finish my sentence before Garment was flying out of her dress and into a set of exercise clothes and designer sneakers, then motoring towards the training room. I smiled at that as Tetra jumped up on my shoulder as I hurried after her.
Anything living had a soul. Anything with a soul could generate Aura. I still wasn't exactly sure what Garment was, but I was damn sure she had as much of a soul as anyone else. More than enough for Tybalt's training to awaken her Aura.
This was a longer process than what I had done, but apparently much more stable, and with Tybalt directing things it would only be a few sessions. It's just that they would be large sessions. As things stood the only person without the qualifications for Aura training was the Ion Titan. Even the Matrix was joining in, though we still weren't sure what form that would take.
If there was any doubt about Fleet, Survey, and the Matrix's ability to unlock Aura it was put to rest when they proved able to perform alchemical transmutations. Or parts of the transmutation, but that was more down to personal preference from the specific individual. It was almost poetic how things had lined up between them. The three stages of a transmutation were comprehension, deconstruction, and reconstruction, and each of them had gravitated towards a specific aspect in isolation.
Survey had no interest in the constructive or destructive aspects of alchemy. She was interested in how the process functioned, but she was interested in how everything functioned. It was that interest that led her to focus on the first aspect of alchemy. In Alchemy you can't transmute something you don't understand. Greater precision with transmutations requires greater understanding of both the final product and the initial conditions. Failure to understand what you were transmuting would cause the transmutation to fail.
Survey had taken that singular aspect and managed to turn alchemy into a detection system. Simply put, she attempted extremely minor transmutations over a wide area using her understanding of the environment. Based on where the transmutation succeeded or failed she could correct her map of the structure, effectively detecting the undetectable from her inability to shift a couple of atoms. There wasn't much that could escape Survey's sensors, but with alchemy she had found a way to close that gap.
Fleet was far more direct. He wasn't interested in extraneous details or complex constructions. Fleet was direct and favored options that were equally blunt. When presented with the opportunity he was happy to stop his transmutations at the second step. Reconstruction was unnecessary. Minimal understanding followed by completed deconstruction of an obstacle saw him on his way with minimal delay. The array necessary to facilitate that kind of work required a combination of Alkahestry with traditional alchemy, but once completed it was able to tear through any material structure with contemptuous ease.
The Matrix was, of course, focused on construction. They were able to form alchemical arrays at nearly the atomic level, performing transmutations at a microscopic resolution. What's more, their ability to access subspace storage meant they could draw deconstructed matter directly into their alchemical process. No comprehension, no deconstructions. They started with a raw matter feed and shaped it directly. It took their already impressive build rate to a whole new level.
And, unlike Aisha's broadening education, they seemed content to remain within their respective specializations. Technically they could branch out, but each of them accepted that others were better suited for their respective roles. I honestly wondered if it was a kind of dig at my earlier attempts to be everything and do everything myself. There was a tangible sense of relief associated with having specialists devoted to certain areas, the knowledge that you were covered, and covered better than all of your own efforts could accomplish.
Or at least could accomplish it without severely impacting all of your other projects. Doing a few things well was better than muddling through with everything. Case in point, the training room.
I would never be the kind of trainer that Tybalt was. That was natural talent, divinely enhanced and drawn to its absolute peak by his powers. I couldn't match that. Teach theory, sure, but practice? No way. However, I could facilitate it.
The 'training room' was a masterpiece. It was what my earlier attempts at facilitating alchemy training had only dreamed of achieving. Everything in the room was divinely crafted and magically enhanced to facilitate training. The ROOM was divinely crafted and magically enhanced to facilitate training. I had even stretched what Super Science Solution would consider a home gym and dojo to extend that masterful technology to the place. Enhanced focus, better use of time, and retention of what was taught.
And it was full, or filling up. Aisha was already set in her one-star outfit. Also, a custom project, greater benefit from the integrated life fibers, but without the burnout or appetite. On that note, the protein shakes and snacks provided were almost comically powerful, especially when compared to what I used to consider a 'potion'.
Garment moved to greet Aisha, complimenting her new workout outfit. Aisha returned the favor and there was much preening in front of the wall mirrors. I rolled my eyes as Tetra jumped down and raced towards Tybalt. As I took in the rest of the group the Personal Reality constellation made another connection, causing the floor to shake slightly and Fleet to appear in front of me in a blur.
"There is a Pilot Simulator." He said directly.
"I know, Fleet." I replied.
"It can grant vehicle licenses." He continued.
"I know, Fleet." I said.
"These licenses are universally accepted in the relevant territories. Backed by the power of fiat abilities." He stated.
"I know, Fleet." I said again.
"There are individuals here who have not yet received a vehicle license." He explained.
"I know, Fleet." I repeated.
"This should be corrected as soon as possible." He stated firmly.
"It will be, but priorities?" From his reaction I could see that was the wrong approach. "What I mean is, coordinated Aura training is difficult to schedule. The simulator is available for whoever wants to use it. After this I'm sure Aisha would love to get her own license."
Fleet considered, then nodded and moved to join the crowd. I let out a breath. The new addition had 12 simulators that could emulate any vehicle for training purposes. That would have been fairly standard, but it could also perform tests for driver's licenses, pilot's licenses, or any other kind of vehicle. The issued licenses were guaranteed to be accepted even if the person holding them was clearly too young to drive, or fly a commercial aircraft.
I knew they would be accepted, but I didn't know how far that effect could be pushed. I didn't really want to press my luck, but I was also certain that Aisha would want to get a license, even if I wasn't sure if she would ever use it. I mean, what class of vehicle was a rocket assisted robot unicorn by the standard of the New Hampshire Division of Motor Vehicles?
Not really a pressing problem for the moment. I had plenty of other concerns to fill that space. From seeing Garment off with Survey's first foray into the city on her own to dealing with whatever Tattletale had cooked up. And, of course, calling my sister.
That was something I felt was important. I promised I would call, but that wasn't the reason I was doing it. It was Mental Fortress. This didn't control me anymore, not in obligation to act, nor in avoidance of the subject. Driving that home, proving I could handle myself, it felt like a key piece. Something I needed to finally nail down the Revival power. And, most of all, I felt like I could do it. After everything I had gone through, I was finally dreading a call with my family less than the unfolding chaos of the city.
…okay, maybe it was a tie.
Jumpchain abilities this chapter:
The Pond (Personal Reality) 200:
One of the four walls of your Personal Reality has been replaced with a water feature. This is essentially a pond, but you can give it tides and or waves, make it fresh or salt, and give it a beach if you like. If you buy the Garage option, it comes with a Marina for your boats and a second entry zone so you can drive your boats out into the host reality. For -50WP each, can be expanded to additional walls.
The Meaning of Life (Personal Reality) 100:
This The Pond Upgrade adds in fish and shellfish and pondweed/seaweed to your pond. Also the occasional duck or swan or other waterfowl. Maybe some frogs or lizards or small reptilians, but nothing dangerous… unless you bought a specific limitation.
The Pond-Expansion (Personal Reality) 50:
For -50WP each, can be expanded to additional walls.
Neutral Lighting (Personal Reality) Free:
These lights are nothing special, It's a color-neutral, source neutral ambient lighting system. It's not really that bright… think early twilight gloom, but if you want better, install it.
Natural Lighting (Personal Reality) 50:
Completely natural lighting that looks and feels and functions as good as the real thing (sun, moon, or starlight). Comes with sectional dimmer switches and can be sourceless or from any lamplike object you bring into the Personal Reality. Purchasing this upgrades all sources of lighting you bring in, even things like TVs and Computer Monitors to be perfectly safe and naturally adjusting for minimal eye-strain. This replaces Neutral Lighting and does not require any power source.
Pilot Simulator (Personal Reality) 100:
This adds a high tech simulator to your Personal Reality that perfectly replicates the experience of driving, piloting, or otherwise operating any vehicle that exists in your Original Reality or any Host Reality you've ever visited. Up to 20 people can use the same simulator for larger vehicles and there are 12 total simulators which can be linked together to make much larger simulations or team practices. Best of all, this allows you and your companion do any required testing for various driving and piloting licenses. Licenses given with this are accepted in all jumps as long you'd qualify to that locale's basic competence level. (For instance, it's much much harder to get a Finnish Driver's License than a French one.)