Fate/first order derivative
Part II.8

⇒ skip back to: iteration 27, day 3, evening

⇒ so listen
⇒ i know we're planning to spend this loop brooding/getting suspended
⇒ but someone wanted me to remind you
⇒ do you still remember the animusphere address

Oh. Oh, shit! That's right! And I've got two full weeks now. Is that enough time? You think a letter might make it there and back? If I use air mail and include a return envelope...

⇒ maybe
⇒ do you remember it though

Uh... I think so? Maybe? Hold on. Let me see if I can get the mnemonic I used for it back...


⇒ skip to: iteration 27, day 5, early night

And your Shin decrypt for the day is:

AT THIS POINT IT'S CLEAR SOME OF MY ORI
GINAL CONCLUSIONS WERE FAR TOO SIMPLIST
IC. WHILE I BELIEVE THE "MANA SPECTRUM"
PARADIGM MAY STILL BE OF USE, EXPECTING
IT TO MAP DIRECTLY TO FORMS OF ELECTROM
AGNETIC ENERGY WAS FOOLISH ON MY PART.
A CASE OF ALLOWING MY PRECONCEPTIONS AS
A PHYSICIST TO INFLUENCE ME.

INSTEAD IT MAY BE MORE USEFUL TO CONSID
ER A "MANA HIERARCHY," OR EVEN A "MANA
PERIODIC TABLE." RATHER THAN G-ENERGY/B
ASE MANA BEING A LESS ENERGETIC FORM OF
THE OTHERS, THINK OF IT INSTEAD AS THE
PHOTONS THAT MAKE UP EM WAVES. OR THE Q
UARKS AND LEPTONS THAT COMPOSE MATTER.
WHICH IS THEN SHAPED AND CHANNELED INTO
OTHER MORE COMPLEX FORMS BY A MAGUS' CI
RCUITS.

IT DOES SEEM THERE IS STILL SOME RELATI
ONSHIP BETWEEN THE MANA TYPE CREATED BY
A SPELL AND ITS FUNCTION, ALBEIT ONE MU
CH MORE COMPLEX THAN I ORIGINALLY PRESU
MED. THE EXCEPTION IS Z-ENERGY, WHICH T
HUS FAR SEEMS TO RETAIN THE SPECIFIC, E
XCLUSIVE ASSOCIATION I HAVE NOTED ELSEW
HERE.


⇒ skip to: iteration 27, day 7, late night

MAGIC, IT SEEMS, IS BY ITS NATURE DISCR
IMINATORY. ONLY CERTAIN FAMILIES AND GE
NETIC LINES CAN UTILIZE IT. HOWEVER, EV
ERY NOW AND AGAIN, SO-CALLED "WILD TALE
NTS" WILL EMERGE, BE IT THROUGH RANDOM
MUTATION OR SOME OTHER MECHANISM. UNFOR
TUNATELY, THESE MAGES TEND TO GENERALLY
BE LESS POWERFUL THAN THOSE FROM ESTABL
ISHED FAMILIES, AND ARE THUS TYPICALLY
THE SUBJECT OF DERISION.

ACCORDING TO Z, I MYSELF AM MOST LIKELY
A WILD TALENT OR DESCENDED FROM ONE. IN
EITHER CASE, MY SO-CALLED "MAGIC CIRCUI
TS" ARE SO WEAK AS TO BE NON-EXISTENT.
Z SAYS THAT AT BEST I WOULD BE ABLE TO
CHANNEL PERHAPS ONE-THIRTIETH OF THE EN
ERGY AN AVERAGE MAGE CAN PRODUCE. I AM
THEREFORE CONSIDERED BENEATH THE NOTICE
OF THE MAGICAL ESTABLISHMENT (Z INDICAT
ES THIS IS NOT NECESSARILY A BAD THING.)
STILL, THIS AT LEAST EXPLAINS WHY I HAV
E RETAINED MY MEMORIES OF WHAT I WITNES
SED DURING THE GRAIL WAR.

ALL IN ALL, IT SEEMS THAT THIS INFORMAT
ION IS NO MORE USEFUL TO ME THAN LEARNI
NG I HAVE A WORKING APPENDIX. BUT I WON
DER... THE TERM "MAGIC CIRCUITS" IMPLIES
SOME KIND OF MECHANISM. SUPPOSEDLY, THE
MAGE FAMILIES ARE ABLE TO PASS ON ABILI
TIES AND SPELLS TO NEW GENERATIONS VIA
SPECIAL CRESTS. IF MAGIC CAN BE EXPRESS
ED IN MATERIAL FORM... IS IT POSSIBLE I
COULD BUILD MY OWN CIRCUITS? REPLICATE
VIA TECHNOLOGY WHAT Z AND THE MAGI CAN
DO INNATELY?


⇒ skip to: iteration 27, day 10, evening

FROM WHAT LITTLE I OBSERVED IN MY FEW I
NTERACTIONS WITH TOHSAKA BEFORE HIS DEA
TH AND WHAT Z HAS TOLD ME, MODERN MAGE
CULTURE APPEARS TO BE STAGNANT. ACTUAL
RESEARCH IS RARE OUTSIDE OF A FEW PLACE
S LIKE THE CLOCK TOWER AND THE ATLAS IN
STITUTE. KNOWLEDGE IS HOARDED BY FAMILI
ES LIKE THE MAKIRIS AS THEY TRY TO PROP
UP THEIR DWINDLING POWER. ANYONE WHO TH
REATENS TO UPSET THE STATUS QUO IS RUTH
LESSLY CRUSHED. INCLUDING ME, MOST LIKE
LY, SHOULD I BE DISCOVERED BY THE ASSOC
IATION.

FROM A CERTAIN PERSPECTIVE I SUPPOSE TH
EIR SECRECY MAKES A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF S
ENSE. IT SEEMS THAT MYSTERY IS A NECESS
ARY COMPONENT OF MAGECRAFT. MAGIC WORKS
BEST WHEN SHRODINGER'S BOX REMAINS CLOS
ED. THE MORE KNOWLEDGE HUMANKIND POSSES
SES, THE LESS ROOM ONE HAS TO SCRIBBLE
IN THE MARGINS OF REALITY.

YET WHILE THIS WORLD MAY NO LONGER BE
ABLE TO SUPPORT THE MIRACLES OF THE PAS
T, I AM NOT CONVINCED IT IS NECESSARILY
THE WORSE FOR IT. EVEN Z READILY ADMITS
THAT HUMANITY AS A WHOLE IS BETTER OFF
NOW THAN IT EVER WAS BEFORE. IS IT THEN
WORTH CONDEMNING THE MAJORITY TO LIVE
IN MUD AND IGNORANCE, SO THAT A CHOSEN
FEW ARISTOCRATS CAN BEND REALITY TO THE
IR WHIM? IS THAT REALLY THE BEST OF ALL
POSSIBLE WORLDS?

BESIDES, THE MAGES ARE ARGUABLY PART OF
THE PROBLEM THEY BEMOAN. THE WESTERN MA
GES, AT LEAST, TALK OF MAGIC CIRCUITS,
GENETIC POTENTIAL, AND MANA AS A QUANTI
FIABLE ENERGY, ADOPTING THE TRAPPINGS
AND METAPHORS OF SCIENCE EVEN AS THEY
SPURN IT. WHAT IF THEIR WAY OF THINKING
IS JUST AS RESPONSIBLE FOR THEIR DECLINE
AS THE SPREAD OF TECHNOLOGY? IS THAT THE
REASON Z CONTINUES TO ENCOURAGE ME IN
HIS OWN CRYPTIC WAY? TO BRING A FRESH
PERSPECTIVE TO A DYING TRADITION?

IT'S ALL MOOT ANYWAY. I ALREADY KNOW WH
ERE I STAND. I WILL CONTINUE TO TRUST
IN MY WIRES AND CIRCUIT BOARDS OVER A B
LOOD-STAINED GRAIL ANY DAY. PERHAPS THAT
DOOMS ME TO FAILURE AS A MAGE. BUT THEN
AGAIN, MAYBE THERE IS STILL A PLACE FOR
MAGIC IN A SCIENTIFIC WORLD, PROTECTED
UNDER THE WINGS OF CLARKE'S THIRD LAW.
IN THE END, I MUST CONTINUE TO BELIEVE
IN MIRACLES THAT WILL WORK NOT JUST FOR
THE LUCKY FEW, BUT FOR ALL HUMANITY. BE
SIDES, HOW WILL I EVER KNOW UNLESS I TRY?


⇒ skip to: iteration 27, day 12, evening

So... guess what showed up in the mail today? Get a load of this:

Dear Mr. Tomonaga:

Thank you for your interest in our family's sacred teachings. However, I am afraid that Marisbury - current Grand Master of the Most Ancient Animusphere Magicks, Wielder of the Great Cosmic Key, Prince of The Most Divine Secrets of Fate and Space - is currently away on business, and will not be returning for several months. I will certainly save your epistle for when he is back, such that you may commune with him in the True Language of Souls.

Light and Love,
Olga Animusphere
Initiate in the Grand Workings, Caretaker of Senior Mysteries, Seer of the Hidden Paths

⇒ wow

Ha! Yeaaahhhh... fuck my life.


⇒ skip to: iteration 27, day 13, afternoon

Z DROPPED OFF MORE INFORMATION ABOUT MA
GIC CIRCUITS TODAY. A SECRET TREATISE
BY AN EXTINCT MAGE FAMILY ON HOW THEY
TRANSFERRED THEIR CREST BETWEEN FAMILY
MEMBERS - UNTRANSLATED FROM THE ORIGIN
AL GREEK, OF COURSE. BUT ALSO A GROUP
OF MODERN PHYSIOLOGICAL STUDIES DONE ON
TISSUE SAMPLES TAKEN FROM MAGES. CLEAR
LY, I AM NOT THE FIRST SCIENTIST Z HAS
WORKED WITH.

THE MODERN MATERIAL IS PARTICULARLY FAS
CINATING. APPARENTLY, MAGIC CIRCUITS DO
SEEM TO HAVE A BASIS IN PHYSICAL ANATOM
Y. IN ADDITION TO THE NORMAL PARASYMPAT
HETIC NERVOUS SYSTEM, MAGES EXHIBIT A
PARALLEL VESTIGIAL NETWORK OF NERVES TH
AT SPREAD FROM THE BRAIN THROUGHOUT THE
BODY. I SAY "VESTIGIAL" BECAUSE THESE
NEURONS, WHILE ALIVE, DO NOT APPEAR TO
BE FUNCTIONAL IN ANY WAY. THEIR AXONS
ARE EITHER TRUNCATED OR DO NOT SEEM TO
CONNECT TO ANYTHING, NOT EVEN EACH OTHER.
YET THE PATHS OF THESE CELL CLUSTERS CL
EARLY CORRISPOND TO DIAGRAMS OF MANA FL
OW Z HAS SHOWN ME!

I WILL ADMIT TO BEING AT A LOSS. UP UNT
IL NOW, I HAVE ASSUMED THERE MUST BE SO
ME PROTEIN OR MATERIAL WITHIN THE BODY
THAT CONDUCTS MANA THE SAME WAY IRON OR
GOLD CONDUCTS ELECTRICITY. BUT HOW CAN
THAT BE POSSIBLE WITHOUT SOME FORM OF
PHYSICAL CONNECTION?

AS USUAL, Z WAS NO HELP. WHEN I ASKED
HIM ABOUT IT, HE JUST LAUGHED AND ANSWE
RED MY QUESTIONS WITH MORE RIDDLES. WEL
L, THAT'S FINE. I KNOW WHEN I'M BEING T
OLD TO FIGURE IT OUT ON MY OWN. WHAT AR
E YOU TRYING TO TEACH ME, YOU OLD TRICK
STER? WHAT AM I MISSING?


⇒ skip to: iteration 27, day 13, late night

Goddamn it! This isn't working. Why the fuck won't you - GODDAMN IT!

⇒ move your ass
⇒ they're outflanking you

I know, all right?! I see it!

⇒ then do something about it

I'm not fast enough! You know what, fuck it. I'm not putting up with this shit. Fuck it, fuck this - I'm falling back to Isandhlwana. Let's see if Alexander's got the balls to defeat me in detail.

⇒ you do that you lose your iron supply

I am entirely fucking aware of that, thank you! But that doesn't change the math here. Any way that you slice it, his numbers are bigger than mine. My best bet is to fall back, try to wear him down after he takes the city, and then strike back fresh. If I can manage to do something about those fucking barbarians in the north...

Shit. You know, none of this would've happened if I'd managed to complete Great Wall first. Fucking Sitting Bull.

⇒ you always play so defensively
⇒ i keep telling you
⇒ if you want to win, you have to take more risks

Easy for you to say, backseat driver. Don't exactly have skin in the game, do you? Well, okay, not that I do either, but still...

... hey, does something feel off to you?

⇒ what do you mean

We've been doing this for a while, right? I feel like the beam should've hit by now.

⇒ go and check then

Do I have to? ... oh, all right, I guess...

These days, I usually prefer to be asleep in bed for the apocalypse. That isn't working out for me so much tonight. So I'm going with the next best solution: video games! Opiate of my generation. Headphones on, blinds down, clock covered up. Try to get myself good and distracted so when the shadow beam hits this part of town, I barely even notice.

Pulling off the headphones, I get up from my desk and take a peek through the window blinds. Yep. There's the burning city, right on schedule. So why hasn't the shadow beam hit yet? What the hell? What's going on here?...

I turn around and find her standing behind me.

Sakura's changed up her look. Her hair is pure white, and her eyes are the color of blood. Red glyphs and sigils run down the side of her face and neck. She wears a dress made of shadow with crimson pinstripes.

With a single hand, she lifts me by the throat and slams me against the wall. "There you are," she says, her voice eerily calm.

⇒ fuck

Ow... shitfuckshit. Hurts... so much more... than they make it look in the movies. Spine feels like it's gonna tear apart... have to grab her arm and lift myself just to breathe. Feels like holding onto a steel rod...

"Unremarkable. Barely any mana to speak of." Sakura tilts her head, examining me like a dead bug pinned up behind glass in a museum. "So how did you know about her?"

All I can do is gurgle.

"... doesn't matter. Bored now." The sleeve of her dress flows down into her hand, where it morphs into a long, jagged blade of pure midnight. "You should have listened to her."

I stare into her eyes. If there's any sign of the person I know in there - one scrap of recognizable human emotion - I can't see it.

"Little girls can carry big knives," the creature that used to be Sakura Matou says in mocking singsong. "Just sayin'."

She runs me through with the blade.


AUTHOR'S NOTES

So I don't remember Civ II well enough to recall if Sitting Bull/the Sioux were quite as prone to snatching up wonders as Pocatello/the Shoshone are in Civ V. Regardless, let's say that I understand Tom's frustration here a little too well.

And we finally hear back from the Animuspheres this time! Or at least an Animusphere. Was it everything you hoped for, Amatsumi? :) Only took me a month and a half to get there. If you'd like Tom to follow up further, the Prompt is listening.