Yeah there's almost definitely a route that optimizes the area that can be reached from any given point per teleport. Probably something based off of the golden spiral. Especially since any given doorway could be used to access any other; any doorway along the route would be a point from which a new route could begin.I have to admit, there was a real temptation to take a completionist approach. To cover the entire city, get an access door set on every building and be able to perfectly deploy anywhere I needed in an instant. The idea of the Key Link's interface map being completely filled with every possible exit was satisfying on a very fundemental level. Still, it wasn't exactly the best use of my time. A wider net would serve me far better than fine resolution, and as quickly as I could move, my time wasn't infinite.
Survey had already conducted the analysis, proposing a series of exterior doors that would be ideal for either covert or rapid deployment. The near complete scans of the city taken during the aftermath of the ABB attacks had given her plenty of options to consider. Most of the time I found myself flickering into disused alleyways to set access points on electrical rooms, utility spaces, or service entrances to businesses that had shut down.
Oh this is nonsense; he's got vehicles doesn't he? Key the doors of them and send them to other cities. Or, alternatively, just have them crash-land somewhere random. Send a couple to the arctic circles just for fun.It didn't take that long to finish a basic canvassing of the city. Following that I started to push outwards. I had considered making a beeline for another city, heading down to Boston or even all the way to New York. Ultimately I decided to focus on the immediate areas around Brockton Bay, leaving more distant locations for when I could reliably apparate to them. It was a better option than flickering along a highway a couple of blocks at a time, or taking to the air with stealth flight systems.
No Joe; assert dominance by making it a in person conversation.That left the outer suburbs. It didn't really hit me until I noticed the terrain changing. The higher elevation, the presence of the occasional familiar business or geographic feature. Then I realized it. I had completely looped around the city to a place I hadn't seen since the start of the month. Since the night of my trigger event.
I was back in Captain's Hill.
Well, not Captain's Hill proper, but the boundaries of the suburbs were nebulous at the best of times. The middle zone was effectively unclaimed by both sides. From the perspective of the Docks, you were out of the city proper as soon as you left areas that could be reached by the central bus routes. For residents of Captain's Hill, you didn't really count as being in the suburb if you could still see any part of Brockton Bay proper. From an official stance, well, I wasn't exactly sure. Maybe the school districts would sort things out?
Survey happily provided them, and the information resolved absolutely nothing. The map was so scattered I suspected it was connected with the same people who planned out the zoning of the Beaches.
Survey confirmed that it was.
Fascinating as all that was, I recognized it as an attempt to distract myself. I didn't want to be here. The handful of doors on the outskirts were enough for me, at least for now. Being back this close to 'home', it served to remind me of the call that was coming up. The obligation that I had committed to and needed to follow through with.
Dealing with one family issue at a time seemed reasonable enough. I had rapid dispatch to the entire city, that was enough for the moment. With one final flicker I teleported to the side door of a service station, opened it with my access key, slipped inside, and sealed myself off from the rest of the world.
This probably has Implications that I'm not seeing since I've lost track of the sort of magic that he's got but I'm already imagining him using Evermore Alchemy to make Bee Deployment Devices or something.Maga Bomb. The power's ominous name represented only a sliver of its true application. With this power I understood the secret to integrating magic seamlessly into mechanical devices. Part of that was just what the name of the power implied, bombs powered by magical energy, but it extended so much further than that. Any single-shot magical effect could be stored and directed by technology. Weapons that produced attack spells were simple to make, but I could also create medical kits that ran on healing magic, or disposable devices capable of perfectly casting a single spell.
That was a powerful effect. Something that could greatly extend the range of my abilities and remove the need for me to personally oversee magical effects. Magic could be stored for later use, or deployed autonomously. It was powerful, but the ability didn't stop there.
Seamless integration of magic and mechanics. A perfect fusion, one that I could never hope to achieve with my earlier knowledge. With enough work I could run machinery on magical power, set up automated spellcasting devices, and effectively manufacture the ability to use magic. The only limit present was my skill with machinery and magic. One was already tremendous; the other was growing quickly.
There's no reason why he'd need to take it from allies though.Then what? Well, with enough work I might have been able to adapt it to parahuman powers. Provide items that could be charged and deployed, but I hadn't exactly been drowning in parahuman allies. In short I would have had a massively powerful ability of fundamental importance that I could do nothing with.
Relatedly though I bet that powering the Striker Units with the magic that they're boosting the production of would have interesting effects of the potentially runaway-reaction variety. Particularly if what they're boosting is something like a Parahuman ability.
I imagine that the way that different effects combine would be a good source of research; even if multiple attacks from the same person didn't naturally combine then a combined attack from multiple people could presumably be reverse-engineered to figure out how a single person could perform them.Putting that aside I focused on the final ability. Combination Attack. The ability to combine magic or combat techniques to create an effect that was devastatingly more powerful than the individual attacks could ever hope to be. The only problem was the other person needed the same power for the effect to function.
The combined attack that I allude to by bringing this possibility up is of course Surveys lance of overlapping attacks; that thing could surely be improved.
I believe that the closest thing to elemental wand magic would be a magic-type affinity and even that would be for the wands themselves.As I moved towards the training room I considered the scale of the changes to my magic. I had an Element. Something fundamental in the system that supported Mega Bomb, but functioning as an elemental affinity for every other type of magic. That was more significant in some cases than others, but there was always some level of impact. My wand magic wasn't particularly elemental, but expansion charms were something I had already worked on, and this took them to another level. Void affinity had serious significance in Magecraft, where previously I'd been working with completely unaligned spellcasting. Other systems weren't that strongly impacted, but, as an element of connection, Shadow could be integrated into other forms of magic. Adding spatial elements to my striker shield would significantly increase its durability and even offensive potential.
Well I don't like that; harmless is harmless but insubstantial is another thing entirely; even a Nerf-Dart has enough heft to let you know you've been hit.Aisha was carrying one of the Shooting Range's Nerf-colored weapons. Every weapon I was familiar with was duplicated in that arsenal for training purposes, including custom pieces. The short sword she was carrying had a bright yellow blade with a yellow and orange grip. It had a decidedly plastic looking texture, but I knew the weapons all felt completely real in both weight and texture. Still, looking at a neon replica of the divinely constructed, rune inscribed, elementally infused wakizashi that I had personally built was a little jarring.
The short, curved blade was a natural fit for water affinity, something I had drawn out through a combination of rune work and my Infusionist power. Enhanced by my divine craftsmanship and the power of Daedalus' Student it had unrivaled mastery of the water element, being capable of generating and controlling it in titanic quantities. The blade naturally enhanced the fluidity of movements and struck with the force of a tidal wave, breaking through or knocking down almost any defense.
Aisha was displaying all those features, though with a copy designed to be completely harmless. Not non-lethal, but incapable of harming anyone. The massive quantity of animate water swelling behind her as she moved through the combat forms that Tybalt had no doubt drilled her in was nothing but a very accurate illusion. The real thing would have had enough force to clear a street of vehicles, but the surge of emulated orange water, which happened to resemble an angry wave of Tang, couldn't even knock a person back a single step.
Aisha not getting that how well taught she is could be the actual Apeiron Thing is pretty fuck'en funny given that she's trying to low-key rib him for it."Hey, I see you've taken to elemental weapon practice." I quipped as the Time constellation missed a connection.
She grinned as she gave the Nerf-colored short sword a dramatic flick, causing a pulse of fake water to spiral around it. "I knew it was a big deal when you were going on about major powers and everything, but I figured it was some kind of crazy Apeiron thing."
"Apeiron thing?" I asked.
"She means stuff that you need other powers to manage." Tetra said as she scampered up, abandoning her own training weapons. She pounced up onto my back, resting the hand covered by the Avid Glove on my shoulder as she peered around to look at me. "Aisha said you get out of touch with what normal people can do compared to Apeiron things."
Tetra openly translated her otherwise silent speech through the room's IR link, but if Aisha was annoyed by her revealing that particular detail she didn't show it. Instead, she just shrugged. "It's kind of hard to tell if something is because of some super powerful thing you made, or if it's one of the fifty support powers you get each day." She lifted the small sword. "I've seen what you can do with things like this, but I didn't figure it was this easy to use."
Tybalt made a sharp comment about the actual difficulty level of such work such that Aisha shouldn't undercut her own efforts. Or the benefits of Tybalt's instructions.
Maybe tie in a wind effect for better wide-scale sub-lethality? It'd also presumably allow for some weather manipulation like fog which would be good for confusing people in conjunction with her Stranger effect and for battlefield manipulation. Hell throw in some temperature manipulation and she could make snow which I'm sure that she'd get a kick out of.She nodded, examining the brightly colored sword. "Water's good. I wanted something that wasn't going to annihilate the first person I used it on, so it seemed like a good choice."
"Uh, you do know what that kind of water pressure would do to a person if they got caught in it?" I asked. "A person, and most brutes." Tybalt meowed, indicating that she was well aware of the danger of high-pressure water attacks, thanks to his instruction, and was maintaining her focus on the element primarily for thematic concerns.
I gave her a flat look. "Really? You're playing into Lethe like that?"
Aisha let out a breath before turning towards Tetra and me. "I guess? With the way people are talking about me I just wanted something other than being the scary stranger in the hot armor."
I elected not to comment on the armor thing. "It's not a bad thing to focus on. We can work on it, get you a weapon more suited to you." With more safety features. It was good that Aisha was concerned about injuring people, but I didn't want to leave any chance of her accidentally hurting someone, or worse. For her sake as much as the person she might injure. She didn't need to be dealing with that kind of thing. "Maybe tie in some other effects as well. Some new options just opened up."
For matching the legend of her Cape personas namesake though she might want to go for a robe, just worn straight over the armor and which I'm sure that Garment would love to help her with, to fit the Greek theme. Possibly a boat as well? With some water and/or air elementalism Aisha would use a gondola, which fittingly enough seems to have some of its etymology in Greek languages, as a skateboard/surfboard/sailboard.
Maybe add a earth element effect as well just so that she can use it as a miniature submarine as well. It wouldn't even need to have any use beyond that; it could exclusively be for messing with people.
Well the four elements are a bust. I'm not sure which ones ice and lightning are from but they seem useless as well. What about the five elements? Fire, earth, and water are already done, metal's both done locally, though it might be interesting to see how that's interpreted given that Tetra's not even human, and seems a bit redundant given Tetras technology emulation but wood might have a few interesting applications that she could play with.I glanced at Tetra, then at the scattered array of elemental weapons around her training area. "Did you have fun?" I asked wryly.
She nodded, but looked contemplative. "I did, but they didn't feel right." I gave her an inquiring look and she shrugged her little mink shoulders. "I wanted to find the right element before you gave me one of my own, but none of them were what I really wanted."
I scanned through the footage of her training using my upgraded implant. Video of Tetra trying out weapon after weapon played in my head. Fire, ice, wind, water, earth, lightning, dark, and light. The weapons hadn't been built for hands that were more mink than human, but even so I could see she wasn't clicking with any of the offered elements.
"There are more choices." I said. "We'll find something right for you. I promise."
There is of course blood as shown by Apeirons surgical tools but that seems a bit redundant as well; definitely at least not complementary. Maybe useful as a tool for collecting blood-splatter or special blood or something without needing to turn herself into a mop. Joes blood is naturally the best but variety is important and waste is bad.
Why does Fleet even have vehicles that don't have a connection to the Joes Personal Reality? They've got doors don't they?"What was that?" Aisha called as the new information was already flooding through the Workshop network.
I reviewed it myself, both through my power and the scans that were already taking place. "That." I said. "Was my Library."
"My Library." Survey's hologram stated firmly from where it was projected in front of the Library's entrance.
"Survey, nobody's arguing with that." I explained as Aisha, Tetra, and Tybalt looked on amusement.
"You have emphasized the importance of us finding our own space within the workshop. With Fleet effectively overseeing the Garage and Hangars, Garment's dedicated textile facilities, and The Matrix's focus on the Volcano and Skyforge, I have yet to stake my claim. This is my attempt to do so." She explained briskly.
"That's fine. We would be very happy for you to look after the Library for everyone." I explained. I had the sense that maybe Tetra would be a little less than thrilled, but not enough to mount any kind of objection.
"Fleet is returning us to Garment's studio at the highest speed possible which remains compliant with local traffic laws. He has rejected my suggestion to engage his divine authority to clear vehicles from our path, but has been willing to exercise it to provide a favorable pattern of traffic lights during our return." She paused. "On reflection, and in comparison to the established traffic control pattern, I believe he may have been doing so for the entire duration of his role as our driver."
That did not surprise me in the least. "That's good. I'll open the access door for you when you get back." Survey caused her hologram to shift slightly. "Unless you'd like us to wait for you before we go into the Library?"
"There would be no practical benefit to such a delay. I could not justify such a request." She said briskly.
"I'll meet you at the entrance. We'll all go in together." I said, concealing a slight smile on my face.
Very shortly after, so shortly that I seriously doubted the claim about compliance with traffic laws, the entire Celestial Forge followed Survey into the Workshop's new library.
A fabric-based interface was apparently quite useless for Garment but some fabric books should work well enough.A smile that slightly faltered when she saw what Garment was doing to the fashion history section. Garment's telekinesis only extended to materials, so her attempt to read six books at the same time while juggling three more was a disaster waiting to happen, and one Survey quickly strove to head off before some accident could damage the original knowledge.
Possibly even in Garments native language as well? I should think that that should contribute significantly to Surveys attempts to put together a translation guide.Library Services (Personal Reality) 100:
This Library Upgrade means that any written text that you add to your library, assuming you or any member of your team possesses the ability to translate it, will gain an appendix that includes all idiomatic word usage, cultural or historical references, and even scholarly explanations of the author's background and possible inspirations. All such notes will be written from a scholastic, in setting standpoint, as if written by a learned scholar writing from no more than a single century in the future from the time the original work was created. Additionally, if you request a specific book translated into a different language, it will be produced within 24 hours, and the translation will be written by an expert native speaker of both languages. Cover art for the new version will be similarly translated. You or a member of your team must know both languages to a high fluent level for this translation service to work properly.
I fully expect this place to end up looking like something out of the Backrooms within the day.As much as it had been built up, it wasn't that impressive of a library. The mote that provided it was one of a cluster of six upgrades of different sizes. The first, creatively called 'Library', was just that. A room that would hold books in pristine condition, sorted to whatever scheme we could want. It didn't provide any books, just empty shelves that could expand to fit the size of any collection. It was a nice library and came with a reading room that actually improved people's concentration, reading speed, comprehension, and retention rate while they used it.