Tsubaki understood how the system worked better than most, and knew to take its advice in moderation. As soon as she prompted the Keeper to activate his new title, she knew that the result would not be immediately usable. What the system provided was not the optimal solution to the problem presented, but merely an effective one.
Tsubaki knew for a fact that an information block like this would be able to eliminate the type of problems that ships had been facing, but it needed to be heavily modified to work with the current limitations of technology. Once she had the mana bead in her hand containing the illusion of the finished product, she bowed and left the Keeper’s side. After returning to her room, she ascended via the Heavenly Gate, and closed her eyes to pray.
High Mother of the Metong. I have an urgent matter to discuss with you. The communication channel that I am using right now will not affect your situation.
Tsubaki, is it? The High Mother responded a moment later, though her tone seemed rushed. If you could, could you keep this brief? I need to focus on managing resources for research here.
This is part of the matter I wish to discuss. The Keeper has created a schematic for an item capable of reliably traveling beyond the borders of the Hyperlane Network. However, this item may be too high quality for our current vessels, and requires a great deal of power. I believe that the Metong should be able to quickly refine it into something more usable. If so, you would have a higher chance of saving your people.
There was a long pause after Tsubaki said this, before the High Mother’s voice became more urgent. Can this information be transmitted via this channel? Or is it compact enough to prevent any additional damage?
The information currently exists within a bead of mana, roughly two centimeters in diameter. By passing divinity through it, it will project the finished product, along with my personal notes about its construction.
Hearing Tsubaki’s words, the High Mother appeared relieved. If that’s the case, I would appreciate the information being sent over as carefully as possible. In turn, I’ll let you know if we are able to meet your expectations.
Tsubaki nodded her head at that. I will also be releasing this information to the research groups of Deckan. If they create a working model, I will send the related materials to you.
After she said that, Tsubaki returned to the mortal world, and went to create a Digital Conversion file of the bead. One of the beads was sent to the High Mother through a small rift in the void, while another was sent to the researchers of Deckan.
Within Deckan, a small bead suddenly appeared in midair, falling onto the table of a renowned research team that was working on the current problems of memetic shielding for spatial travel. They looked at the bead in confusion, some backing away from the table as if expecting the bead to explode.
A moment later, a paper appeared with the bead, slowly falling down to land next to it. One of the researchers stepped forward to read it, furrowing his brow. “This appears to be an emergency delivery from Olympus, a highly advanced prototype for the memetic shield.”
“Tubrock has created something to solve our dilemma?” One of the other researchers, a female kitsune, spoke up. “Or is it perhaps Ashley?”
“No… this appears to come directly from the Keeper himself, by way of Tsubaki.” When they heard that, silence fell over the room. “According to the description in the note, it is a full information barrier designed to interact with a ship’s systems.”
“What does it mean by ‘information barrier’?” Another researcher spoke up. This one was a human male, brows furrowed. “Shutting down scanners certainly won’t be enough.”
The man continued to read through the note, slowly shaking his head. “No. This barrier, according to the notes, blocks all forms of information from entering the barrier through more than a dozen layers, each of which filters the information and alters it slightly to remove any trace of memetic influence. Thus, what appears on the ship’s scans would look similar to what is truly outside, but will not carry any memetic traces.”
“Will that work for memetic creatures that use physical methods of entry?” The female kitsune asked. This time, it was the human male that spoke up.
“If it is purely physical power, the shields on the ship should be able to manage. The problems with physical entry methods before was that they had a trace of memetic influence, even if it was only targeting the ship itself. Theoretically, a complete block of information would be able to prevent such creatures from entering.”
“That’s correct.” The man with the note said, setting it down and picking up the bead. “However… this is only a prototype, and needs to be refined to integrate into our systems, as well as have its power consumption reduced. Does anyone here have divinity?”
“I do!” A halfling boy shouted, running over. “I’m training to become the God of Discovery in Ascension, and should be able to use normal artifacts. What do you need me to do?”
The man smiled, holding the bead out for the boy. “Pass some of your divinity through this, and it should project the image, as well as construction notes.”
The boy nodded his head, following the instructions. Soon, the image of a dark, silvery sphere emerged above his head, covered in tiny blue specks. Along the side, as if added later, a number of notes appeared.
“This is… an alloy created by mixing mithral, iron from between the fifty-second and sixty-first floor of Fyor, and silver from the nineteenth floor of Fyor?” The female kitsune muttered, reading out the description. Although the Keeper had not said this aloud, the information had been transmitted through to his illusion to be understood by those actively watching.
“The materials are easy to acquire. I’m more worried about the magic.” The lead researcher spoke up, squinting his eyes to look more closely at the blue specks. “We need an incredibly detailed spell printer, capable of being accurate on a microscopic scale.”
“By my estimate, it would take us eighteen hours to print all of these nodes, after we have the information in the database. Once we have the prototype built, we can work on refining it. Everyone, get to work!” He clapped his hands, snapping everyone to attention. As they all left, he put his hand on the halfling boy’s shoulder. “You should get back to Ascension. Although I would personally suggest having your first divinity forged, if you are already on the path, you need to see it through to the end.”
The boy’s eyes widened, and he nodded his head. “Yes, sir. But, how are you going to use the bead without me here?” He asked in confusion, earning a small chuckle.
“You’re still new here. Don’t worry, we all memorized what we needed just now. If it’s within a week, that image won’t degrade in our minds. Try to advance your divinity by that point, or we’ll need to have you show it to us again.”
The halfling boy nodded his head, handing the bead back and turning to leave the research lab quickly. As he did, the lead researcher held his chin. It’s not just layers of barriers… they’re disposable layers. Only the innermost three matter. At the slightest sign of memetic traces penetrating the first of the three, it and all external barriers are immediately purged without accepting any further information. Then, the second of the three re-projects all of the higher layers before purging itself and letting the innermost layer re-construct it.
This system was designed to allow absolutely no form of memetic trace enter the vessel, but this method of reconstructing and deconstructing the barriers uses too much energy. If, instead, we have three devices that we rotate out when one gets compromised to the third layer, the compromised device can be disassembled and replaced with freshly printed barriers. Doing it this way would remove the need for the most costly two inner barriers, and a substantial drain from the third.
Although he couldn’t say that he could accurately create a fifth-tier spell on his own, it was a different matter to understand one that was already laid out before him. When it came to that, he was confident that he was among the best.
We might be able to replace the core material, too. There were two nodes that imbued that material with a trace of the void, making it capable of interfacing with and detecting memetic influence. However, that won’t save us as much as simplifying the barriers and handling the system connections in a more direct method.
He nodded his head as he walked to his desk, beginning to type out his plan. From what he saw in the device, there were a lot of areas that could be refined to reduce the burden on a ship’s energy source. However, now that they had a sample, and a direction to work with, he was confident that they would be able to create a viable product before long. “Someone put in a request for the King Consort!”
Aznod was sat in his kitchen, streams of light stretching out between his fingers. He was currently working on replicating popular flavors of food from Deckan culture via the energy kernels that he had discovered from the Hajit city. As he was focusing, his terminal suddenly hummed next to him, snapping him out of his thoughts.
Looking at the terminal, he recognized the number as one that Udona had frequent contact with. “Yes?” He asked after answering the call, placing his hand over the terminal. “This is Aznod speaking, how may I help you?”
“King Consort, if you have the time, I would like to invite you to our humble facility, to seek your aid in an important matter.” The person on the other end sounded feminine, and spoke with a respectful tone. “As the God of Optimization, we have a task that you are uniquely suitable for. I promise, it won’t use up much of your time, we merely wish to consult with you.”
Aznod arched a brow when he heard that. It was rare for research groups to reach out for him, even with his domains. From what he knew of the current major projects the various foundations were working on, he could make an educated guess that they had another memetic shield and wanted him to optimize it. “Very well, I’ll see what I can do.” He assured them.
Aznod was by no means a technological expert, nor was he a master of the void and its memetic properties. He had tamed some void beasts due to his mastery of cooking, but that was the extent of his achievements in that field. If they were calling him, he could only assume that they must be desperate for results. Still, his Optimization domain would be able to provide at least some feedback that they may have overlooked, so he did not feel that it would be a wasted trip. At worst, he would tell them what they already knew and come back without suffering any loss.
I’m heading out for a little while. He thought, sending the message to Udona. I’ll be sure to come back in time to prepare dinner.
You’d better! You promised me something special tonight! Udona retorted, causing Aznod to briefly chuckle as he stood, walking towards the kitchen’s door.
