Chapter 1
WHAM!
-*-
The Science of Mysticism
The wonders of human ingenuity will never cease, even in a supposedly cruel world like this. You've gained the knowledge to convert magical spells into data format and upload them into technological devices, allowing those devices to cast those spells by drawing on the power the device runs on. As they have been turned into code, you are able to also alter the way the spells work to a great extent by interacting with and altering that code.
Whilst you do not have unlimited freedom with these changes, it's impossible to make the spell many times as powerful as before or take away the drawbacks entirely or turn it into an entirely different spell, you can alter many of its' mechanics and rules to better suit your purposes. Make a shield spell automatically activate in certain conditions or change an elemental spell from controlling fire into one controlling another of the basic elements such as wind or water.
-*-
When I arrived in my new life, I was greeted with a ringing in my ears. Like some almighty hammer slamming down on an impossibly massive anvil, sparks fluttering through my mind's eye as I awakened from my slumber.
Those sparks became motes of starlight, infusing themselves into the very essence of me, the thing I knew to be my soul.
…
Which made no sense. I blinked as the light fluttered through my window, casting beams through my north facing window, which of course also made no sense. The sun rises in the east, not the north!
And the weirdness didn't end there, I wasn't in my room. Well, I was, but also someone else's? No, it was mine too – this was Naruhito's room. Who was Naruhito?
I was Naruhito. I stared into the full body mirror that stood attached to an otherwise bare wall of my room. I hardly recognised myself, I looked nothing like I remembered. I was a slightly overweight British man before, now I looked like someone straight out of Japan.
I blinked, a million possibilities going through my mind, only for them all to fall away as the primary detail became apparent. I may not know precisely what happened, but I only knew of one thing that gave powers in the form of 'constellations', specifically tech based ones.
That was the Celestial Forge. The moment the words formed in my mind, I knew them to be true, which made a whole bunch of things clear. I'd been Isekai'd, somehow, I don't remember getting into any vehicular accidents before waking up. I went to bed and… nothing.
Maybe my heart finally gave out? I didn't think I was that out of shape.
Alright, the first thing I needed to do was figure out where I was, there was a chance (I was hoping) that I was in some setting that I knew about, that was the kind of thing that people who got the Forge ended up going through, and I saw no reason it wouldn't also apply to me.
Looking around I found I was in a moderate sized room, probably in an apartment somewhere. The windows had no blinds, instead there was an interface next to the lights which I remembered was the tint-control. Hey, I was getting new memories-
WHAM!
There was a ringing noise in my ears again, and I felt a constellation of sparks flutter through me once again. The sparks coalesced into a mass of starlight, even larger than the one that woke me up.
There was a moment of silence, then the stars dissipated. I was a little disappointed when it didn't enter me, but I knew how these things went. That was probably a massively expensive perk, and I hadn't built up enough charges for something like that.
I sighed, and thumbed the tint-controls, revealing the vast cityscape just outside. The moment I saw it, my blood ran cold, and I felt my breathing quicken. My eyes probably widened in terror too. Far and wide there were great towers, curved and smooth with white panelling serving as meagre decorations. It wasn't quite homogeneous, but it was close to it.
Flying through the air were small, disk-like drones, many carrying holographic emitters advertising all sorts of things, from food, to holo-vids, to consumer goods and services. Present throughout all of them was one phrase, one that was omnipresent and was the driving force of the culture I found myself in.
'The Greater Good'
Star Trek fans want to live in Star Trek, 40k fans very much do not want to live in 40k. And yet here I was, in the doomed setting that revels in misery, that embraces it and turns it into something downright comedic. Sure, funny when you read about Trazyn and Orikan getting into a bitchfight before being forced to work together against their wills, or Caiphas bumble his way through his well deserved fame and glory.
But for every Caiphas Cain there was an Ibram Gaunt, for every Trazyn, there was an Oltix. And more to the point, they were supposed to be fictional! Not real! The dark gods were real, and they were hungry for devastation, for the unmaking of reality.
Everything out there was out to kill us normal people, Tyranids, Orks, the aforementioned Necrons. What's worse, I wasn't even on an Imperial world. Sure, my life there probably wouldn't have been great, but there were plenty of planets in the Imperium that were basically benign, sort of like 21st century Earth, more to the point, the Imperium was powerful, and knew what it was up against. But nooo, I was born into this grim setting on a Tau planet.
I think I'd rather be reincarnated into Worm, or maybe the SCP universe. As a D-Class.
I sucked in deep breaths, when had I started hyperventilating?! I reflexively reached for my inhaler, huh, that was odd, I was asthmatic in my past life too. It even looked similar to my one back on earth, I guess there are only so many ways to deliver a dose of steroids into the windpipe.
Taking a puff I breathed deeply, a ritual that I'd developed in my past life, and Naruhito had done in this one, another oddity. There are probably more little foibles like that which we both have in common, something to ponder later. Breathing deeply I was able to calm down, my initial reaction wasn't helping anything.
It took a few minutes, but I regained my composure, chiding myself for my own loss of control. "Come on Naru, of course you wouldn't want to be a D-Class, that's far more certain death than even living on a Deamon World."
WHAM!
…Once again, I was disappointed by a big-fat nothing. Fuck.
Alright, plans, I needed to come up with a plan. I dulled the window shades once again, blocking out the distractions of the outside world. At the same time, I focused all my brainpower on remembering what Naruhito, I, I couldn't be referring to myself in the third person, damn it!
Remembering what I knew. I was born onto the world of Kor'ili – literally: 'Silent Wind', a world the Tau colonised some 90 years ago. I didn't know my parents, and was raised in one of the Tau orphanages/boarding schools. I remembered learning about how the Tau came to this world, and uplifted the tribal Gue'la humans, welcoming them into the Greater Good.
I tried really hard to remember if any of those details matched up with the books I read in my past life. I'm pretty sure they don't, even if the scenario was entirely plausible. So instead, I tried to remember current events in the Empire. What year was it in the wider galaxy? I resisted the urge to look to the sky, If the Cicatrix Maledictum was there then I didn't want to see it.
I remember watching a news broadcast and 'televised' discussions about the state of the Third Sphere Expansion, now that the empire has found a way to bridge the gulf and establish contact with the worlds beyond.
There's much speculation on the nature of the humans beyond the gulf by the various forums and debate platforms of the Empire. I knew some Water Caste members were optimistic in establishing good ties with the 'Imperium of Man'.
Oh no, it was worse than I thought. I was in the Tau Empire, at a time before they really knew what they were up against in the galaxy. I knew what was coming, a very rude awakening and the first serious defeat in the history of their species. Granted, the Tau have one of the best records when it comes to fighting the Imperium, killing far more astartes than any of the other minor races of 40k ever manage.
Unfortunately, I couldn't count on history going as it had done in canon. You see, I'm fairly certain that nobody like me existed in canon as it was written – and that on its own could lead to a butterfly spiral of monumental proportions.
I remember that the Damocles Gulf Crusade reached all the way to the major Sept worlds, and so would almost certainly reach this puny frontier world, and I didn't want to be caught up in the fighting once it did. I did't want to die.
Luckily for me, arriving so early in the history of the Tau had its benefits. This was a time before they started growing sceptical and weary of humans – there would be no sterilising for me if I didn't miss my guess. I remembered little to no discrimination from my inherited childhood, in fact I came out surprisingly well for a human brought up by aliens. Well no, that wasn't entirely true, there were other humans in the boarding school. My well-roundedness could probably be attributed to the den mother I had been assigned to.
WHAM!
…Nothing again. What the fuck! I don't remember it ever going like this in the stories! usually by the third power they'd already be kicking ass! I was still in my pyjamas!
Alright, I had one power: The Science of Mysticism. What could I do with it?
I could convert spells into code, and cast those spells through technology. I resisted the urge to grimace, it wasn't useless but it was highly situational. Magic existed in 40k, I knew on an instinctive level that I could recreate psychic phenomenon with this ability, but this was 40k, casting powers willy nilly is asking for a warp portal to open in my ass and have a Slanneshi daemon come fuck me up the ass.
Then there was the problem of getting the spells in the first place. Sure, I could cast spells through the digital medium – but I didn't know any spells. I could probably manage it if I found a psyker to observe – but the Tau don't do psykers.
Okay, so for now that power was a bust, what else could I do? What else should I do? I pondered on what my final goal should be. I didn't want to die, I wanted to be safe. I wanted my second life Isekai to be an escapist fantasy rather than a desperate scramble for survival. I probably wanted to escape this universe and find another one – a task entirely possible, if the Forge decides to cooperate.
I let out a sigh of relief, thankful to have something to work towards. All I had to do was live long enough to see that ambition through.
Easier said than done.
*Ring~ Ring~ Ring~*
I blinked as a ringing noise filled my room, it sounded familiar… was that a phone? No, it wasn't, but it did the exact same thing. I stared at the device that sat on my night-stand before recognising the caller-code. Fio'sahi, Earthshaper – my boss.
Oh right, I was a functioning member of Tau society! I had a job, obligations, friends- wait, I was new to this city. I didn't really know anyone yet. I glanced at the digital clock- oh shit, I was going to be late. I hit the speaker option on the phone and hurried to make myself fit for work.
"Naruhito?" came the slow, trundling voice of Earthshaper. "I noticed that you haven't left your domicile yet? Not quitting before your first day on the job are you?"
How did he know I wasn't gone yet? Oh right, this was still the Tau Empire, even in these early days it's probably already a surveillance state that would make INGSOC quail in impotence. Now that I thought about it, I was certain that was the case, except the whole population was brainwashed into thinking that constant surveillance was for the Greater Good.
There was that phrase again, fuckin Tau.
Regardless, if I wanted to survive to escape, I would need money, you know, to eat. Contrary to the memes, Tau society was closer to the Hindu Caste system than a communist state.
"I'm leaving right now." I cried out before rushing out of the door to my apartment.
The moment I did, I found myself almost colliding with someone.
WHAM!
-*-
Shadow Clones
Ah, shadow clone no jutsu. The signature jutsu of the Naruto franchise. And now you can join in on the fun. You have a copy of a technique scroll for the shadow clone jutsu, of such quality that an idiot could teach himself from this thing in virtually no time at all. It even has safeguards built-in that eliminate any possibility of killing yourself by putting too much chakra into it, or getting a headache from too many clones dispelling at once or anything like that. The worst that can possibly happen is that it fails to work. You still can only make as many shadow clones as your chakra can support but outside of that you can feel free to abuse this handy jutsu for training, decoys, diversions, paperwork, chores, or whatever else you can imagine. In the event that this technique is supposed to have some additional features in the particular fanfiction you go to, or even a better version, this scroll will contain both versions.
* Some of the best shadow clone fanfic features include shadow clone self charka regeneration, temporal split clones instead of normal clones, mind merging without dispel, constant hivemind like connection etc
-*-
I barely had time to register the arrival of the new constellation as I gripped by my arm and thrown onto my back, causing me let out a wheeze as the breath was knocked out of me. I groaned in pain, what the hell happened? I felt a pressure on my chest and registered a shadow cast over me.
As I finally regained my bearings, I registered exactly the situation I was in. pinning me to the ground with a knee on my chest was a Tau, probably one of my neighbours.
Spoiler
They had fiery orange hair, done up in a long ponytail that reached down over her shoulder. She was wearing something that looked remarkably like a hoodie, black and with minimal embellishment.
She started, glared really, down at me with a pair of piercing yellow eyes, even if the expression on her face was one of calm indifference, I knew she was annoyed if only slightly. "Gue'vesa…" she stated plainly. Was that supposed to be a question?
"Tau?" I replied, still not completely sure how or why this situation came about.
"You almost hit me, you must be more careful." She declared as she picked herself up from her spot atop me. Then she did something I hadn't expected; she held her hand out, offering me aid.
Wearily I accepted it, the feeling not quite as unsettling as I expected. This was partly thanks to my memories of interacting with Tau for my whole inherited life, and partly because she wasn't quite as alien as I had imagined one of her kind would be. In fact, she looked a lot more like the weeb-ified fan-art versions of the Tau rather than the official stuff from GW.
"Um, sorry for nearly hitting you…" I trailed off, realising just then that I had no idea who she was.
"Shas'Vre Kor'ili Kau'Suam." She replied simply, and for the second time that day I froze.
Shas'Vre? This girl was a member of the Fire Caste? And already at the Vre rank? She might not be human, but I was certain she couldn't have been any older than me.
Something of my shock must have been present on my face, as she let out a gentle sigh, "You may call me Ghostflame, or just Ghost. I know your kind have a difficult time with our naming conventions." She introduced herself again.
WHAM!
And we're back to nothing again.
I shoved the thought aside and returned to the immediate matter.
"It's a pleasure meet you Ghost, I'm Naruhito." I bowed slightly, not even bothering to ponder when that reflex had been ingrained into this body. the public education program the Tau created for humans is far more insidious than I thought. "Again, I'm sorry, but I'm in a hurry!" I explained before turning to leave.
Rushing I made it to the elevator in seconds, only to end up waiting awkwardly for it to arrive. I was waiting long enough that Ghost caught up. I noticed the slight twitching of her lips, clearly amused at my unneeded rush. "If you are in such a hurry, you should plan your days more wisely." She commented blandly, not once taking her eyes off me all the while.
"I'm new to the city." I explained feebly. Why was she talking to me so much?
"Yes, I can tell. You hold yourself like someone who has never lived in an urban centre." She commented. "And I have been living in that building for a while, you are a new face."
Oh, so that's it. I didn't bother continuing the conversation, instead I focused on the ability I got before bumping into her.
Shadow Clones.
I could make shadow clones! Or at least I had access to the knowledge of how to make them. I knew that I could summon up the scroll with the instructions from… somewhere, and learn the process. The only potential problem I could see was the Chakra requirement, did I have chakra?
I would have to experiment with it when I got home. If I could make even one clone that would drastically improve my odds of escaping this universe.
"What is it you do, Naruhito?" Ghost asked, breaking the silence.
I turned to see her staring intensely at me, her head tilted slightly to the side. It felt like she was a cat, she was deciding if I was something to be made a meal of.
I scanned my memories for what it was I actually did. "I work with the Earth caste, foundational construction work." I gave as bare bones an explanation as I could, why was this lift taking so long?!
She stared at me for a moment longer, before nodding, "That's a noble calling, your contributions serve the Greater Good."
Alright, this was taking too long, if I didn't set the flow of the conversation, she was just going to find something else to talk about. "Can I ask a question of my own? What is a member of the Fire Caste doing here?"
Her expression changed from neutral to smiling the moment I asked, what was with this girl? "That's two questions, but I will dismiss that first one. As to your second, I live here. While we all go through there Fire Warrior training, we are not all destined for a life of frontline combat. I am a part of the local law enforcement department."
Well, I supposed that made sense. The Ethereals didn't have total control over their population, especially not the non-Tau parts, so they would need something like law enforcement, and I suppose it then also made sense that the Fire Caste would fulfil that role too.
Before either of is could ask another question, the lift finally reached the ground floor. I hurried out, "It was nice meeting you Ghost, but I really have to go!" I barely heard her reply before I was gone, hurrying to one of the public transit stations.
-
WHAM!
…Oh come on!
I growled in annoyance, heedless of the side-eye I was drawing from the Tau all around me. There were even a few human giving me the stink-eye. I ignored all of them, wrapped up in my own thoughts.
Today had been challenging, to say the least. What with the waking up in the grimdark far future, in a totally alien culture. Dealing with them was an exercise in frustration, made all the worse by how reasonably they acted all the time. I was essentially learning basic interactions from the ground up, you know, the way a baby learns from its parents.
At work, my boss: Earthshaper, kept on giving me more and more work to do. At a certain point I was sure he was doing it to push my buttons, but it's not like I could complain. Sure he was a task-master, but I wasn't doing anything I hadn't been hired to do. Needless to say, I was glad Naru's memories were still with me.
Luckily for me, while the Tau were inspired by many east Asian cultures, it was only inspiration. I knew the Japanese had an awful culture when it came to working hours, the Tau on the other hand did not. Instead, they've completely optimised their working times using dynamic methods.
Everyone worked for the optimal amount of time for them each day, a value which changed day by day, calculated by some esoteric algorithm. I suspect it used factors like the current day length, the health of each working person, commute times, all the sort of thing. It would have been utterly impractical back on Earth, and required far more invasiveness that I would've been okay with.
Regardless, I was free now, and thank God for that. I spent the evening wandering around the city, taking in the sights and culture. Of particular interest to my nerd brain were the animated series that seemed to dominate the culture here. The Tau had anime, and manga! Sure, it was mostly just propagandistic crap as far as I could tell. Military fiction about the Fire Caste and their faithful Gue'vesa, fighting off the Orkoid hoards. It was all very Robinson Crusoe and Man Friday.
But there were a few gems, many of the genre's that were popular back home were here too, though the Tau's alien spin made them seem a bit daunting.
There was a romance manga, at least I thought it was a romance manga, about a pair of sisters trying to find people to form a Ta'lissera with. I was initially confused, before my Naruhito memories translated it for me. A Ta'lissera translated to 'group marriage', which was when I remembered that the Tau don't really do lifelong pair bonding the way humans do. Instead, they were polyamorous, which… I wasn't sure how to feel about.
In the end I decided I didn't need an opinion on the matter and let it drop. As for the manga, it was apparently a highly rated one, especially popular with Earth Caste women.
Other than that, there was something far more insidious in their culture, and I wasn't talking about the constant reverence of the Greater Good. No, there was something far worse, something designed to pray on people, though I suspected humans suffered far more for it.
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They had fucking Gacha Games. I was still staring in shock at the advert when my next constellation from the Forge arrived.
WHAM!
-*-
Magic Research Facility
Magic and science. Alone they are great, together and in the right hands they are all powerful. The sleekness of a laboratory at the cutting edge of science, housing the greatest tools, magical and otherwise. A great thing that has come into your possession. Either inserted somewhere in the world itself, lodged away in your warehouse, or attached to some property you already having following you around, is a high-tech facility on par with, or perhaps slightly above, that which the eponymous Vandalieu had been trapped and tortured within during his time in Origin.
Its tools are specially made to analyze and interact with magic, and as such it is the perfect home for magical experiments of all kinds. Whether it be dissecting or containing monsters, trying out brand new spells, or even processing and mass producing magical materials and even magic items, this facility is perfectly made for all of it. Of possibly greatest use to those with great stores of magic is the spell testing room, however, as this room is perfectly suited for testing out and analyzing even the most powerful of spells, localizing its effects and preventing even the most powerful of them from affecting anything outside of them.
-*-
Oh, now you decide to give me something? Fucking typical.
-
Hello everyone, yes, I know, another one. Sorry, but I wanted to try writing one of these, and have been toying around with the Forge and its cousins for a while.
For the most part I try to be honest with my rolls, but sometimes I get things that I either don't want to deal with, or would trivialise everything if Naru got access to them too early, so I will be doing some chicanery.
Let me know what you think of the story.