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Combinatorial Explosion (Worm/Original)

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[X][Sage] Something Else (Go for a stroll around town using mana pulses to write a map to our memory. This will be helpful if we ever need to move fast.)
 
Concept: Alchemical August
Alchemy is our most dangerous/versatile/useful magic topic yet, and yet we know it the least well.
I say we devote the next 4 turns, the Month of August, to trying to improve our alchemy, assuming nothing more pressing comes up.
For Endbringers, we know Behemoth will attack in November 2010 sometime (mentioned in canon). Maybe to be safe our 4th [Project] should be a radiation-consumer to fuck with the kill aura?
It is known that Endbringers attack roughly every three months, so Taylor thinking "Behemoth will attack next month..." isn't too OOC, if at all, esp considering her experiences in Panama City.
What sayeth the thread?
 
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The warnings for some of the more unpredictable and dangerous Alchemy attunements recommend using a vessel designed specifically for it, so we should first prepare a golem body for Alchemy experimentation.
 
TooSlow said:
The warnings for some of the more unpredictable and dangerous Alchemy attunements recommend using a vessel designed specifically for it, so we should first prepare a golem body for Alchemy experimentation.
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Specifically these:
Arcane > GalliumRerollAlchemical Liquid (Miasma)Objects within this mana are shifted and transformed into new, more fitting forms.WARNING: Extreme Conceptual Risk. Do not make contact with water saturated with this magic. Do not draw mana from water currently saturated with this magic. Do not extract matter from water currently saturated with this magic. Do not extract information from water currently saturated with this magic. Do not extract energy from water currently saturated with this magic.

Protective Magic strongly recommended. Restrictive Magic strongly recommended. Tailored Vessel for use of this magic strongly recommended.
Thaum > MercuryPerform AlchemyAlchemical Liquid (Miasma)This mana transforms causality from literal to conceptual. Literal Actions will have Conceptual Reactions on the world within its effects. The stronger the mana, the more powerful the Alchemy.WARNING: Extreme Conceptual Risk. Chemical Reactions noted to trigger Alchemy. Physical Reactions noted to trigger Alchemy. Mental Reactions noted to trigger Alchemy. Spiritual Actions noted to trigger Alchemy. Magical Actions noted to trigger Alchemy. Example Threat: Metal and Air combining into Metal Air in place of or in addition to an Oxide Layer.

Fume Hood strongly recommended. Protective Magic strongly recommended. Restrictive Magic strongly recommended. Tailored Vessel for use of this magic strongly recommended.
Arcane > BerylliumDuel of IdealsAlchemical Liquid (Miasma)This mana reveals conflicts within its radius, transforming objects into physical ammassments of conflicting concepts.WARNING: Extreme Conceptual Risk. Do not make contact with water saturated with this magic. Do not draw mana from water currently saturated with this magic. Do not extract matter from water currently saturated with this magic. Do not extract information from water currently saturated with this magic. Do not extract energy from water currently saturated with this magic.

Protective Magic strongly recommended. Restrictive Magic strongly recommended. Tailored Vessel for use of this magic strongly recommended.
Arcane > Cadmium > BerylliumDragon ArbiterAlchemical Liquid (Miasma)This mana takes the form of a murky draconic figure that breathes a mist of alchemical miasma in the water. This Miasma seems to reveal conceptual conflicts in what it touches.WARNING: Extreme Conceptual Risk. Do not make contact with water saturated with this magic. Do not draw mana from water currently saturated with this magic. Do not extract matter from water currently saturated with this magic. Do not extract information from water currently saturated with this magic. Do not extract energy from water currently saturated with this magic.

Protective Magic strongly recommended. Restrictive Magic strongly recommended. Tailored Vessel for use of this magic strongly recommended.

Long Distance Information Transfer Detected.

That last one is really interesting to me.
What if we were to try to imbue the Dragon Arbiter into an egg?

Also! Building a vessel for each mana sounds like a [Project] to me!
 
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I suspect that in this case 'Vessel' is referring to a specialized container, not a golem body or anything. Still, taking some time to turn a space into a dedicated magical workshop with a variety of specially made containers for performing Alchemy and other dangerous magics in does sound like something we should do. Maybe it would let us have a few Advanced tests each week without having to sacrifice our Project.
 
Razzocnor said:
I suspect that in this case 'Vessel' is referring to a specialized container, not a golem body or anything. Still, taking some time to turn a space into a dedicated magical workshop with a variety of specially made containers for performing Alchemy and other dangerous magics in does sound like something we should do. Maybe it would let us have a few Advanced tests each week without having to sacrifice our Project.
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I didn't think a Golem body was necessary, but rather a specialized container/vessel for a specific mana, All be done with one [Project].
 
Sorry for the delay in the update, been working on the mana types!

Mana Tests are now complete and in the appropriate doc, as soon as Phonems and Runes are complete, expect an update.
 
The Shallow said:
I didn't think a Golem body was necessary, but rather a specialized container/vessel for a specific mana, All be done with one [Project].
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I think just a specialised container wouldn't be enough for us to experiment with those mana types, as we'd also need tools to manipulate said mana safely, and one that can be directly manipulated with our will would be preferable which is why I want to get a golem body specifically for Alchemy. Also it gets rid of risk to Taylor's main body.
 
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TooSlow said:
I think just a specialized container wouldn't be enough for us to experiment with those mana types, as we'd also need tools to manipulate said mana safely, and one that can be directly manipulated with our will would be preferable which is why I want to get a golem body specifically for Alchemy. Also, it gets rid of risk to Taylor's main body.
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Yes! We need tools! I've been thinking about those.
I think one thing that would be necessary is looking into runes to attune the mana to the alchemical substance we want to use remotely and push it onto subjects remotely with a lot more safety.
 
We can remember that Crystalline Flesh is apparently capable of acting as a 'relay' for our mana manipulation abilities. Nothing else does that, not even conventional golems (a golem body wouldn't help because while we can manipulate the golem, we don't appear able to actually channel new mana through golems or summons, at least not that we've seen so far.).
So put a little fleck Crystalline Flesh in our test spaces as a way of channeling mana into things on the other side of a barrier.
 
Razzocnor said:
We can remember that Crystalline Flesh is apparently capable of acting as a 'relay' for our mana manipulation abilities. Nothing else does that, not even conventional golems (a golem body wouldn't help because while we can manipulate the golem, we don't appear able to actually channel new mana through golems or summons, at least not that we've seen so far.).
So put a little fleck Crystalline Flesh in our test spaces as a way of channeling mana into things on the other side of a barrier.
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Maybe combine it with Colossus Blood mana to help us move manipulator-arms about?
Thaum > RhodiumColossus BloodLiquidThis mana produces an artificial vitality, driving an object into motion as its form demands.
It is important to remember that at least mercury alchemy is dangerous to have Will around tho...

Also, I noticed this from the new manas
Vampire Plant + Ruby Mana + Heatseeker PlantEverredHybridThis mana makes plants capable of absorbing thermal radiation. They will seek it out to the exclusion of anything else, feeding on it and absorbing it to grow larger.
Generalize this to all radiation, and we have an anti-behemoth weapon.
 
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Razzocnor said:
We can remember that Crystalline Flesh is apparently capable of acting as a 'relay' for our mana manipulation abilities. Nothing else does that, not even conventional golems (a golem body wouldn't help because while we can manipulate the golem, we don't appear able to actually channel new mana through golems or summons, at least not that we've seen so far.).
So put a little fleck Crystalline Flesh in our test spaces as a way of channeling mana into things on the other side of a barrier.
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Taylor was using Eldritch Relay to draw her mana from within a construct in chapter 17.
 
Hmm, even if that works... do we really want to use something as expensive as a full fledged golem for fiddling with Alchemy when a shard of Crystalline Flesh would do? And we haven't actually even experimented with human-based golems yet; we don't know if they'll turn out sentient (and thus non-expendable because we're not a horrible person).
 
Razzocnor said:
Hmm, even if that works... do we really want to use something as expensive as a full fledged golem for fiddling with Alchemy when a shard of Crystalline Flesh would do? And we haven't actually even experimented with human-based golems yet; we don't know if they'll turn out sentient (and thus non-expendable because we're not a horrible person).
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Mercury warnings state: "Physical Reactions noted to trigger Alchemy. Mental Reactions noted to trigger Alchemy. Spiritual Actions noted to trigger Alchemy. Magical Actions noted to trigger Alchemy."
Any persons Will needs to stay as far away as possible. No crystal flesh.
 
Adhoc vote count started by Shadestyle on Mar 14, 2021 at 4:42 AM, finished with 56 posts and 12 votes.
[taylor] [sage] [business] [project] [simple] [advanced]
  • 11
    [X][Taylor] Talk to dad. It's time to discuss important things with him
    -[X][Taylor] Powers and your "Partner". He should know about what you've learned.
    [X][Taylor] Hang out with Greg, instead of merely tolerating his presence.
    [X][Taylor] Talk to dad. It's time to discuss important things with him
    -[X][Taylor] Powers and your "Partner". He should know about what you've learned.
    -[X][Taylor] Magic. Perhaps you can finally convince him to let you unlock his abilities.
    [x][Taylor] Something Else (Hang out with Amy and Lisa doing non-cape stuff.)
    [X][Taylor] Hang out with Greg, instead of merely tolerating his presence. (Also ask if he has anymore fantasy games, for research purposes. Totally not because you actually enjoyed playing the last game, nuh uh no sir.:whistle:)
    [X][Taylor] Talk to dad. It's time to discuss important things with him
    -[X][Taylor] Powers and your "Partner". He should know about what you've learned.
    -[X][Taylor] Magic. Perhaps you can finally convince him to let you unlock his abilities.
    --[X][Taylor] Emphasize the facts that he will not be truly able to get on your proverbial wavelength because of lacking the very senses necessary to understand what you are talking about, and that magic is, apparently, an innate ability of human soul and not something alien.
    [x][Taylor] What sort of things will you do as Taylor?
    -[x][Taylor] It's time for the beach episode! After all, it's not far.
    --[x][Taylor] Ask Lisa if she wants to come too, her and dad being acquaintances might come in handy at some point.
    --[x][Taylor] Bond with dad and relax
    --[x][Taylor] Experiment more with mer-magic in its proper environment
    --[x][Taylor] Test various natural marine attunements, such as gills and scales of fish, deeper and non-bucket-contaminated seawater, etc.
    --[x][Taylor/Sage?] Explore the elemental realm of (sea) water.
    --[x][Taylor/Sage?] Try out some solution for breathing underwater and swim deeper.
    [X][Taylor] Talk to dad. It's time to discuss important things with him
    -[X][Taylor] Powers and your "Partner". He should know about what you've learned.
    -[X][Taylor] Magic. Perhaps you can finally convince him to let you unlock his abilities.
    -[X][Taylor] Talk to dad about both powers and magic, and see if we can convince him to let us unlock his abilities.
  • 10
    11
    [x][Sage] Go out healing with Panacea.
    [X][Sage] You'll spend your time investigating.
    -[X][Sage] Investigate the gang attack on the Barnes family last year. You now know everything that happened. Now it's time to start tracking down Shadow Stalker and find out the truth. Why did they do this to you?
    -[X][Sage] Ask Gallant if he knows anything about the Sophia situation from the PRT side.
    [X][Sage] Something Else (Go for a stroll around town using mana pulses to write a map to our memory. This will be helpful if we ever need to move fast.)
    [X][Sage] You'll spend your time investigating.
    -[X][Sage] Investigate the gang attack on the Barnes family last year. You now know everything that happened. Now it's time to start tracking down Shadow Stalker and find out the truth. Why did they do this to you?
    --[X][Sage] Ask Gallant if he knows anything about the Sophia situation from the PRT side.
    [X][Sage] What will you do as Sage?
    -[X][Sage] Continue your magical training.
    --[X][Sage] Practice/Create a constrained form of Arcane magic with the key feature of directly or metaphorically mentioning specific mana types and attunement materials you are familiar with and using that as a focus for both willpower and symbolism to make the mana act like mana attuned to those substances and attunement chains. It's secondary but still important features are building more power and focus over the course of a long and detailed intonation, in a monotone almost chanted style dominated by rhyming couplets.
  • 7
    [X][Business] Make use of Lisa. (Give Lisa a list of basic attunement chains and their effects... perhaps leave off the more dangerous stuff (*cough* zombie plague), but she could be a big help in brainstorming longer attunement chains in the future.)
    [X][Business] Fund a venture.
    -[X][Business] Try to extract some money from your Rogue Business (Gain granular liquid assets of your choosing on a successful Monetary Roll)
    -[X][Business] Fund a project. (-1000$, A second [Project] action will be done this turn)
    -[X][Business] Fund experiments. (-100$, three additional [Advanced] Tests are added)
    [x][Business] Make use of Lisa. (Get her to fix Panacea.)
    [X][Business] Fund a venture.
    -[X][Business] Purchase new materials and supplies (Buy samples of Helium, Neon, Krypton, Xenon (probably can find a small element collectors set for less than $20), Titanium, Vanadium, Germanium, Bromine, Rubidium, Strontium, Yttrium, Molybdenum, Ruthenium, Tellurium, Cesium, Barium, Polonium, Astatine, Lanthanum, Hafnium, Tantalum, Rhenium, Iridium, Thallium, Bismuth, Uranium (all should be purchasable online for less than $20 each, especially since a very small sample is okay))
    -[X][Business] Fund a project. (-1000$, A second [Project] action will be done this turn)
    -[X][Business] Fund experiments. (-100$, three additional [Advanced] Tests are added)
    [X][Business] Establish a new way of making money using the means at your disposal
    -[X][Business] Set up your building to sell goods from. (Sell figurines- should be easy to make with Gallium magic from an initial design, and glass or metal figurines like unicorns, dragons, generic (non-PRT trademarked capes) capes would probably sell for a decent amount. Especially if you make a simple illusion or even golem to advertise the smaller versions)
    [X][Business] Fund a venture.
    -[X][Business] Try to extract some money from your Rogue Business (Gain granular liquid assets of your choosing on a successful Monetary Roll)
    -[X][Business] Fund a project. (-1000$, A second [Project] action will be done this turn)
    [X][Business] Establish a new way of making money using the means at your disposal
    -[X][Business] Set up your building to sell goods from. Goods to Sell:
    --[X][Business] Flying catfish (the cheapest kind you get from a petstore) made with Riftgecko Mutation + some minor mutations to make them breath air
    --[X][Business] Fancy looking Betta fish modified with Chameleon Mutation, Ancestral Mimicry, Bioluminescence,
    --[X][Business] Woodsmith Armor-based furniture grown organically in a single smooth piece
    --[X][Business] Healing fruit made using Seeds of Life
    --[X][Business] A small potted tree with 'Bioelectricity', mutated and with small copper bits it's made to grow around such that you can plug USB cables into it and use it to power and charge electronics
    --[X][Business] Recovery gel
    [X][Business] Look into acquiring the bit of forest where we did the QA summoning and the dome is legally, or somewhere as near as possible as cheaply as possible, so we can do more stuff there without risking getting in trouble if someone finds out.
    [X][Business] Fund a venture.
    -[X][Business] Fund a project. (-1000$, A second [Project] action will be done this turn)
    [X][Business] Make use of Lisa. (Have Lisa assist in filling the orders for the wards, by simulating possible stresses and failure states on our products. things like "What happens if we shoot this part? or What if fire was applied here?" Run through the most likely use cases and stresses to make sure nothing is going to explode. Especially with the power generator wiz wants)
  • 9
    [X][Project] The heroes have come to you with requests. If you so choose, you can tell them to give you a week, so you can do the job properly instead of just slapping something together today.
    -[X][Project] Vista: her thing is spatial manipulation, run a quick test to see if her folding tricks can work with (or around) your folding tricks, than work from there.
    -[X][Project] Kid Win: that sounds like opportunity for a small joint project to make sure that your creations is up to his specs. However, first ask him if he's OK running his stuff on matter annihilation reactor.
    [X][Project] You've discovered the existence of another world, the world your magic originated from. It's time to try and reach it.
    -[X][Project] Magically. You'll simply try to use the letter you received as a means by which to summon its sender. While your summoning magics are crude, you've got power and time to spare. You've already summoned things from beyond this world, after all.
    [X][Project] You've discovered the existence of another world, the world your magic originated from. It's time to try and reach it.
    -[X][Project] Mentally. You'll begin trying to create a spell capable of reaching this world, and observing it, though you don't quite know how.
    [X][Project] The heroes have come to you with requests. If you so choose, you can tell them to give you a week, so you can do the job properly instead of just slapping something together today. (Write-in Plan)
    [X][Project] The heroes have come to you with requests. If you so choose, you can tell them to give you a week, so you can do the job properly instead of just slapping something together today.
    -[X][Project]Healing for Gallant should be easy in person, otherwise you will need more information on the disease to make something.
    -[X][Project] Gallium magic and/or Cadmium magic should work well to change Vista's weaponry and armor. Have her bring an object (e.g. a toy magic wand) that she wants the Taser's final shape to be in, and a shirt her size to either imbue with Kevlar armor or change the armor to the same shape. Suggest that you could make stronger equipment with Pandore if you had access to more advanced machinery (i.e. a hydraulic press); really you could just send off a couple pieces of Pandore and have a PRT machinist or scientist work on it, then send you the result.
    -[X][Project] If Kid Win has old power sources he isn't using, you might be able to combine them into a single object with alchemy or otherwise enhance them. Alternatively, you could make a dust powered Platinum generator, but that would be more expensive.
    [X][Project] The heroes have come to you with requests. If you so choose, you can tell them to give you a week, so you can do the job properly instead of just slapping something together today. (Write-in Plan)
    -[X][Project] Use Polymorph to change the form of the weapons vista has provided you with, no need for anything particularly fancy here.
    -[X][Project] For Kid win, Try to create something that turns dust mana and then to electricity, and a component that
    [X][Project] The heroes have come to you with requests. If you so choose, you can tell them to give you a week, so you can do the job properly instead of just slapping something together today.
    -[X][Project] Vista: her thing is spatial manipulation, run a quick test to see if her folding tricks can work with (or around) your folding tricks, than work from there.
    -[X][Project] Kid Win: that sounds like opportunity for a small joint project to make sure that your creations is up to his specs. However, inform him stright up that we'll probably not be able to match a sustained energy output that big.
    -[X][Project] Gallant: Seems easy enough we've done this plenty.
    [X][Project] The hunger to experiment consumes your mind. You'll discard a project this week.
    [X][Project] The heroes have come to you with requests. If you so choose, you can tell them to give you a week, so you can do the job properly instead of just slapping something together today. (Vista is the easiest one. Talk about diffrent possible configurations that would go well with her outfit, but note that the form change won't change the weight. The launcher might make a good ring or bracelet, so that she could point at pepole she wants to launch foam canisters at, and the same goes for the tazer. See if she can use her spatial distance warping to make regular canisters fit, or if she will need to get compressed canisters.
  • 5
    [X][Simple] Test a substance's Mana Attunement (Thunderbolt Iron, Mortal Silver, Regal Flakes, Psychotite, Sunstruck Citrine)
    [X][Simple] test phonemes, I count 9:: "Shha shh splash slush tsss t' Fff chsh, squelch"
    [X][Simple] Attempt to string together an Attunement Chain (Vampire Plant + Ruby Mana + Heatseeker Plant) Mutations which make plants feed on and resist heat as though it were sunlight? Vampire plants do need blood if they go all red, which implies they lose the power to photosynthesize and replace it with some kind of blood powered means.
    [X][Simple] Attempt to string together an Attunement Chain (Vampire Plant + Heatseeker Plant
    [X][Simple] Attempt to string together an Attunement Chain (Vampire Plant + Ruby Mana)
    [X][Simple] Attempt to string together an Attunement Chain (Black Flame + Bioelectricty) A mutation that causes an organism to electrically fry things in a way that makes them better?
    [X][Simple] Test a substance's Mana Attunement (Defined Selenium, Sabertooth Tiger Iron, Sunstruck Citrine, Mortal Silver, Pandora's Copper, Pandora's Gold, Pandora's Iron, Vesselnite, Hopewood)
    [X][Simple] Perform a simple experiment. (Make and test a few variants of bioelectric algae of both the simple floating cell varieties, and with seaweeds.)
    [X][Simple] Perform a simple experiment. (Try burning woods and plants with Black Flame mana, also try hardening wood with the flame.)
    [X][Simple] Attempt to string together an Attunement Chain
    -[X] Arcane > Thaum > Paper ( Arcane > Thaum seems to produce the elemental language of air so this should scribe it)
    -[X] Thaum > Thaum > Ear
    -[X] Thaum > Sisyphium
    -[X] Thaum > Sisyphium > Pandore
    -[X] Thaum > Pandore > Eye
    -[X] Thaum > Sisyphium > (Curse)
    -[X] Thaum > Sisyphium > Americium
    -[X] Thaum > Sisyphium > Platinum
    -[X] Thaum > Sisyphium > (Void Spark)
    -[X] (Lightning Perfection Beast) > Iodine
    -[X] Thaum > Gold > Pandore
    -[X] Thaum > Uranium > Aluminum > Salt (Meant to be the 'Divine' version of Void Spark)
    -[X] Thaum > Sulphur > Aluminum > Salt (Meant to be the 'Hell' version of Void Spark)
    -[X] Thaum > Iron > Uranium
    -[X] Thaum > Blood > Uranium
    -[X] Thaum > Lithium > Uranium
    -[X] Thaum > Sugar > Uranium
    -[X] Thaum > Diamond > Uranium
    -[X] Thaum > Human > Uranium
    -[X] Arcane > Uranium
    -[X] Arcane > Zinc > Aluminum > Salt
    -[X] Arcane > Sisyphium
    [X][Simple] Try Scribe Elemental Language of Water + Emerald - Earth (subtracted using disenchant alchemy.)
    [X][Simple] Try Scribe Elemental Language of Water + Fire + Earth + Wood + Metal
    [X][Simple] Try Scribe Elemental Language of Water + Fire + Earth + Air
    [X][Simple] Study a Tesla valve for both phonems and runes. And...
    -[X][Simple] In addition to passing water through it, try passing blood, raw thaum mana,
    -[X][Simple] as well as Elemental Mater Language mana (in and out of water) that you then apply to paper.
    -[X][Simple] To further complement this, draw a tesla valve onto a piece of paper using paper mana, then apply Elemental Mater Language mana to that paper.
    -[X][Simple] Then repeat that but simultaneously studying and focusing intently on an electrical diode and a ratchet gear.
    -[X][Simple] While at it I guess also study the diode and ratchet gear for phonemes and runes.
    -[X][Simple] Oh and test what a rune that's just shaped like a tesla valve does.
    [X][Simple] Attempt to string together an Attunement Chain ((I cut down on my curiousities, hopefully this isn't too much)
    [X][Simple] Raid a spice rack and/or herb garden and/or roadside patch of weeds, and mass-test which of these plants have something other than Plant mana if you attune to the right part of them: (ooc note: I used List of plants used in herbalism to make the list, and they're in this format rather than the attunement chain table to allow more GM pickiness with most of them turning out to just have plant mana and *less* work hopefully) white willow, chamomile, garlic, ginger, gingko, saint john's wort, aloe vera, belladonna, marigold, cannabis, thistle, hawthorn, foxglove, horsetail, poppy, coca, eucalyptus, alder buckthorn, geranium, snowdrop, licorice root, witch-hazel, sea buckthorn, bay laurel, lavender, magnolia, peppermint, lotus, basil, oregano, lungwort, rosemary, elderberry, feverfew, thyme, stinging nettle, veronica, mistletoe.
    [X][Simple] Study a series of experiments related to the formation of solid matter from surrounding air and/or mana, first for phonemes, then for runes. These experiments and phenomena are:
    -[X][Simple] Basic silicon synthesis
    -[X][Simple] the 'Poof' phonem
    -[X][Simple] Clay mana turning air into air-dust
    -[X][Simple] pure silicon dust (say, pouring it between containers and listening to the rustling sound)
    -[X][Simple] A lump of ice solidifying in a container of water
    -[X][Simple] A tree growing and converting CO2 from the air into wood
    -[X][Simple] Alchemy holding 'value' that includes some mass inside it, and then converting that back into a massive object.
    -[X][Simple] the precipitation of magnesium carbonate in water from dissolved sodium carbonate and magnesium sulfate.
    [X][Simple] Do a test and comparison between a plant and soil-dust, and a clay and air-dust mana engine, figuring out which one is more efficient, powerfull, and relative strengths and weaknesses, to better be able to choose between the two options in the future.
    [X][Simple] What happens if you take off your aluminum set while in an elemental realm? It might be tricky to find a place to *safely* test this, but it would be good to know how much to worry about the armor being damaged.
    [X][Simple] What happens if you try to bring back some of those odd substances from the earth plane?
    [X][Simple] Test some things for if they count as elements using the aluminum set
    -[X][Simple] Stone, as a distinct thing from Earth
    -[X][Simple] Plants, in the form of trees
    -[X][Simple] Machinery, in the form of the engine of some large vehicle
    -[X][Simple] Air, or are you already in the plane of air by default?
    [X][Simple] Do an experiment on how long a tree that is just a sphere of wood can survive without those things and in darkness but supplied with liquid plant mana injected into it via symbiont, and how healthy it can stay that way and any issues being kept like that long term would cause. This is kind of important if we want to make much of our equipment out of living wood, and not carry around gant pots of dirt or have big leaves we have to make sure get enough sunlight.
    [x][Simple] Perform a simple experiment.
    -[x][Simple] Acquire an external hard drive, the kind that's basically a very large USB stick for making backups but with a separate power cable, and power it with Brain > 'Zap' + Eldritch Relay > 'Zap' + Lightning Vision > 'Zap', then while doing that continuously plug it into a computer and download an offline copy of the entirety of wikipedia onto it so all of it passes through the mana. Lets make that thinker power ERN it's S rank.
    [X][Simple] test Arcane and new Thaumic attunements (see spoiler)
    [X][Simple] Study a target for Runes: Legend (something light related?), Alexandria (I'm hoping for a flight or strength rune this time).
    [X][Simple] Test a specific Rune's effect (
    [X][Simple] Attempt to string together an Attunement Chain (Thaum > Rhodium > Silicon) Not directly related to anything, I just want to know if we can make colossus blood into matter.
  • 1
    [X][Advanced] Create an actual vacuum chamber. Test if a hollow sphere made from a solid object with Gallium magic will have a vacuum in the middle or not. Alternatively, opening a hole to the void inside our current vacuum chamber might work. Or try to to solidify the remaining air molecules in the vacuum chamber or attract them to the walls of the chamber (perhaps petrification/transmutation or magnetism to air?).
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Voting is now closed! I'll work on getting out an update soonish.
 
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Chapter 20.3
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    • I set down my cup of tea, the half-full mug still steaming lightly as I do.

    My knowledge had been growing since the day I obtained my power, and since the very moment I awoke my magic.

    I knew things now that I hadn't even known that I didn't know. An entire world of unknown unknowns. Knowledge that I couldn't even conceive of lacking, I was beginning to understand on the most intimate level.

    The world was coming to an end. My powers came from another world. The thing that gave me my powers was as much my ally as it was a part of the very creature that set armageddon into motion.

    "Taylor?" dad asked, noticing my expression, staring down at the table. He was always so worried about me. Even now, I could see the bits of concern working their way up into his expression as I glanced at him.

    It would hurt, telling him the truth. He knew almost nothing about the things I knew, and he was already so worried for me.

    But it needed to be done.

    "Dad, we need to talk. There are things you need to know about. Things I've learned," I say, standing up.

    "Of course. What did you want to talk about?" he asks, but I shake my head.

    "Not here. I have a place in mind, if you've got the time to go there," I explain, walking over to where I keep my costume, packing everything I needed into the duffel bag.

    "You'll want the helmet I made for you too," I explain, donning my costume.

    Looking at me with an uncomprehending, uncomfortable stare, dad slowly sets down his paper, going to his own bedroom where he kept the helmet we used for visiting the PRT.

    By the time he returned, I had everything packed.

    "What is this all about, Taylor? Where are we going?" he asks nervously.

    I turn to dad, zipping up my bag and shrugging it on.

    "Somewhere thematic."


    It didn't take long for us to make our way to the edge of the bay, me in my costume, and dad in his helmet.

    I had been using pulses of mana as we traveled, both to map out parts of the city, and to check for followers. We didn't have any, at least, none so stupid as to follow us directly as we drove and walked.

    It was still too early for people to be up and about, and the clouds made the early morning darkness especially pronounced.

    I reached into my pouch of magical reagents, pulling out a small flake of sapphire and letting it fall into the palm of my hand.

    "I know I haven't shown you as much as I could have. A lot of it has been because it just wasn't important. Some of it was because I didn't feel like you needed to know. But that comes to an end here," I say, the flake glowing with a chilling glow as I slowly take a step out onto the water, my steps freezing it beneath me.

    "Follow me, we're almost there," I say, slipping the flake back into my pouch, still channeling magic through it to walk on the surface of the water.

    We walk for several minutes, coming up to one of the derelict ships still hanging above the waterline, a particularly awkwardly jammed one that served as one of the jutting metal fangs that starved the bay of traffic.

    With a gesture, the ice we were walking on expands, forming a much larger platform for us to stand on, while at the same time, a tiny tube with a piece of selenium metal is fished out of my pocket, and I begin weaving a spell around us. Arcane Selenium Mana always reflects the night sky of a full moon, no matter where, when, or how it is summoned.

    Wrapped around us, and paired with an image of the earth, it formed a nice enough place for our discussion. Mana outside the bubble served the role of detecting any interlopers dumb enough to approach us in this private area.

    At the same time, a bubble of void formed outside of that, effectively sealing us away from everything else in the universe.

    Dad looked around, seeing the sea of stars around us, and the little illusion of earth in the middle of the icy dias we were standing on. "This is amazing, Taylor! Is this what you wanted to talk about?" he asks, tempted to reach out and poke one of the stars hanging in the false sky.

    "No," I say, instead pointing towards the planet in front of us to draw his attention to it.

    I could feel my Partner, Queen Administrator, offering assistance in ensuring the accuracy of the illusion.

    The accuracy of what I was going to show him.

    At first, a small comet crashed into the world, shed from something just out of sight. A single shard of something greater, landing on our world.

    The little planet glowed as it floated in front of us, hanging daintily in the air, but slowly, it began to dim. Lights of the cities on its surface began to wink out, little scars and pops here and there flashed into being, or slowly formed in fast motion. A spire rises up in the antarctic, only to collapse moments later.

    When the last light on the planet vanishes, only then does it begin to crack, a red glow emerging from within it before...

    With a grand eruption the likes of which never before seen by man, the planet is gone, dust and rubble are all that remain.

    Dad's skin is pale, he doesn't understand what I'm showing him.

    "Three hundred years. We won't live to see it. Our children won't either, but it's coming. I know it is," I say softly, my grip on my feelings slipping as I feel cold dread and fear pooling in my stomach. My face feels hot, a bit feverish, even.

    Dad reaches out to me for a moment. "Taylor," he says, forgetting himself for a moment before correcting himself. "Sage, you can't..."

    "Know? I can't know that? I do. My studies have shown me the end of this world. The end of humanity," I say, getting a hold of myself for his sake.

    "The thing that I summoned, the thing I called forth in the forest a week ago, it showed me. It told me things that nobody was meant to know. It showed me the dusk of the human race, and in exacting details explained to me the full extent of its kind's plans."

    It hit me all at once, and I realized what had happened to me, like something killed so suddenly and so instantly that it did not even realize it was dead.

    The knowledge I learned had destroyed me, fractured something in me so dearly that I didn't even notice until now, talking about it.

    I spread my arms wide, and dad stumbled away as I beheld the illusory rubble that came three hundred years from now, give or take a few decades.

    "The reason behind Parahuman abilities, manifest. My Partner showed me, dad. It showed me because it has gone quite mad. Mad enough to respond to my summons." I say.

    I felt amused at this. Was that what Queen Administrator meant, by how similar we were? Did she know that what I would learn from our conversation would place me here, the knowledge of her kind's salvation eating away at my mind as surely as magic even now was eating away at hers?

    As my only hope drives my Partner around the bend, how ironic that my Partner's only hope would in turn drive me there as well.

    For my partner, the extraction of knowledge from the human race was salvation. For them, magic risked their annihilation. For me, it was the exact opposite.

    It was comforting. Even if magic turned out to be from some evil source, there wasn't one bad enough for me to care. Anything was better than extinction, I imagined.

    I feel a pressure around me. It's dad, hugging me tightly.

    "It's going to be alright, little owl. I'm here. You hear me?" he says.

    "It isn't," I respond. "But it will be, dad."

    I hug him briefly, my hands wrapping around his own, before I gently pull away from him.

    "You didn't want to obtain magic from me, dad. You believed that I didn't yet understand it well enough. Let me prove to you that the nature of magic is known to me. Let me awaken your soul to it, here and now," I ask, holding out my hand, which, even now, is beginning to glow a bright green.

    "I know now the nature of magic. I have wandered the Elemental Planes, I have summoned things from beyond the veil, and learned otherworldly knowledge from them. I have seen the world weep as infinity collapses, and watched as reality bled from that very collapse."

    "I'm not just one human being who knows about magic, dad, I'm the only one who knows."

    "I don't have to be, do I?" I ask, stretching my arm out further for him to grasp it.

    I needed him. I needed another person to confide in, to collaborate with. It was too much for one person. That's why I brought him here, why I made a spectacle out of what could have been a quiet discussion at home.

    I needed another person in my world of magic.

    1d20 vs 1d20 = 13, 15

    He doesn't take my hand, walking closer to me, and hugging me once again.

    "Taylor, I love you, so very very much. This must be hurting you so much," he says, leaning back and looking me in the eye. I'm stunned, frozen, even.

    "But I don't need magic to be your father, Taylor. I don't need magic for you to teach me the things you've learned. I don't need it for us to be a family," he says.

    He continues, wiping tears from my eyes. "If you think I need it, then fine. I'll take your hand, I'll join you, but I won't do it like this. I won't do it because you think I'll leave you without it. Because I won't understand you without it."

    He glances away. "I might not know how to summon fire, or teleport. Maybe I can't talk to demons or fly."

    He turns to look back at me with steel in his eyes. "But I will always love you. I'll always be there to listen. To help you. I'll do my best to understand the things you understand, to help you understand the things that an old man like me has had the time to figure out."

    "If you need me in your life... My soul's just fine for that already," he smiles down at me.

    I can't keep from sobbing, leaning into my father as he quietly holds me, like armageddon itself couldn't reach me in his arms.

    The magic in my hand is erratic, my emotions too compromised to keep it together, but I do anyway. I pull back, long enough to blink it out of my eyes.

    Did I make a mistake? Did the magic in the air alone prove sufficient? He hadn't taken my hand, hadn't struck the bargain, and yet, I could sense it, a mote in the air that wasn't me. It wasn't Thoth, and it wasn't my Partner.

    What nonsense, what a nigh-contrived coincidence it seemed to be, that my father's soul had begun trickling magic, by his words alone.
     
  • Threadmarks
    • Damn! Magic can be awoken by Ambiance and strong will! That is a discovery, and something we'll have to careful about.
     
    Dang Dad! You know how some magic has to be spoken? Well, with so much magic in here your words were so heartfelt, your conviction so absolute that you kick started your own soul!

    Hehe, Us Heberts don't do things by halves :)
     
    Well, that was interesting. Overdramatic much, Taylor? Or apparently just dramatic enough, if it ended up kickstarting Danny.
    ...
    Hmm, that's a question; does melodrama actually affect magical results?

    We also now have pretty solid confirmation that magic is a dangerous infohazard to Shards. We should clearly endeavor to spread it around!
     
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