It would be a lie to say that you considered both options fairly.
In that space of woven starlight, you had been offered truths that not even Project Insight had been able to uncover. Whatever human presence had found their way to it, their presence there should surely matter. The possibilities hiding there, the promise of them, would have been difficult to turn away from in almost any other circumstance.
But this was Mary. Your oldest friend, among other things. Even if she hadn't also been the reason you were doing this, why you'd spent ceaseless hours perfecting every aspect of this attempt to make it safe. It was the only choice that Amanda Hawk could have made.
You felt the faintest touch of humour from Vega's presence in the link as you turned your focus, and Focus, to what was right in front of you. A gentle, lilting laughter that flitted across your soul, the touch of which was impossible to really ignore, holding a recognition of your own truth. That of course you would take this path. It was who you were.
You let any curiosity towards that tracing thought fall from your mind, though. Self-inspection could wait for a time that wasn't so critical. For a moment you were distinctly aware of Mary's slender fingers wrapped around your own, but the sensation faded from thought as you sank your awareness into the Mender's Eye. The world rippled away, yet after so many times in near-trance states, the shift was almost familiar.
Quiet enfolded you, the manifestation of Mir's Focus untempered by the strain of focusing so completely on more than just a single task. Your vision shrank to a sphere around you, the one anchored by the perfect ring of Peace, boundary rippling with the light of energies usually rendered invisible. It was, you noted absently, rather stronger than normal. Just one more thing to be added to the list called 'for later'.
It was what was usually hidden beneath those gentle, background energies that mattered to you now. Patterns of light and colour, cast in a stardust that glittered with all the cut purity of diamond, wove around each one of you. In them you felt the harmony of humanity united, and a surge of emotion from Vega confirmed it even as you thought it. An endless weave, that bound and enfolded you all, and looking at Vega and Mir you could almost see the burning sigil of the empowering imprint that made them Potentials. Only a fragment of the true gift the Dragons had wished to give you, but more than enough for those who had survived humanity's fall. A gift unique and, as far as any understood, impossibly perpetual.
Around Vega and yourself, the patterns themselves had flowed into new configurations. Vega's was a spiralling fractal of gentle light, unspooling and embracing every new connection, and endlessly reaching out for more. It should have made the result chaotic, but instead the traceries of light around the Harmonial's radiant soul had woven together into a brilliant representation of her Focus at its most pure. Each new contact had found ways to add to the ever growing harmony, the entire construct growing and feeding on itself in almost equal measure.
It was rather like watching crystals grow, you thought in wonder. But these were crystals born of countless souls, all woven together by a force for unity as potent as your existence had ever been. Something twinged in the back of your eyes as you looked away, though, making you glad to have done so.
Around yourself, the shift was more deliberate, an overlay of energy that encased the connections around you. Memory shifted in the back of your mind, deep in your soul, but it wasn't until you brushed fingers of formless green-gold across the structure that you realised what the overlay was. And when you did, the presence of a smile blossomed in the space around you. You recognised this work. And to think you'd been afraid.
In the last year before the Third Battle of Sol, you'd sought to create an Artefact that would bring you closer to the truth of your Focus. It had been a construct of concepts and multidimensional mathematics, pushing the boundaries of everything you'd learned about Practice. And though you'd known it had worked, this was the first time you'd ever seen it in truth. Or at least, as close to the truth as you could probably get. It was the creation of the Circles, of you, that had been catalysed by Veda – not Vega – into perhaps the most directly powerful of all your Artefacts.
The energy shining through the overlay was that of your Focus, shining out far closer to the surface of your soul than either of the two other Potentials in the room. But that, too, was as it should be. You forced yourself not to look closer, though, even as Tahkel's words rang from the vaults of your memory: the night after the Third Battle of Sol.
What you did today changed you.
The Uninvolved had been right, of course, but the opportunity to examine yourself this deeply… You forced the impulse down again. There would be other opportunities. An echo of the same resolve pulsed from Vega in near synchronicity, carried by the now entirely visible link between you. It bubbled for a moment with shared amusement, recognising the similarity of your thoughts without a shred of judgement.
So decided, it left only one place for you both to go; back to the purpose of this entire endeavour. Mary's soul was a radiant thing in its own right, you found, but it lacked the more encompassing light of a Potential's. It forced you to look closer than you had with Vega to make out details. You wondered if that was why, or part of why, you'd never noticed the trails and channels that surrounded your oldest friend, each outlined in sparkling dust. Those crystal motes caught the light of two Potentials brought close, catching and reflecting it across the complex pattern, but as tempting as it was, you held yourself back from any brighter lights.
Within those channels were fragments of energy, flowing deeper into the maze of connections that had… it was hard to say. It was too organic for the word grafted to apply, and such a creation would have felt different to your senses. Flickering up a hand of goldgreen light, you brushed it across the edges of the pattern, careful not to disturb it.
No, definitely not something artificial, at least not in the way that Mending recognised. A look at Vega translated that belief into a message and question that the Harmonial caught deftly. The gentle white of her presence danced out, splitting apart into countless strands that wove across the stardust's edge. Then her voice, threaded with wonder, spoke across the flickering space between you.
:It feels like it's her own harmony, simply extended,: she sent. :Almost like our Aegis in some ways, but far less deliberate. This wasn't made, Mandy. It grew.:
:What do you think it's for?:
The streamers of light wove back into the shape of a hand as Vega finished her examination, and you felt her considering the question.
:I think it's an intake,: she sent. The words felt carefully chosen, imbued to match specific meanings. :At its core, at least. All of these outer layers grew into place to handle incoming energy, but there's something at the core that we can't see from here.:
:The reason that everything's been going so fast, since we got here?: You wondered. The motion-feel of an uncertain nod came faster than any words. But it was uncertain, which was an oddity for Vega.
:I think that's what it's doing now,: the Harmonial ventured. :But that's not its purpose.: Your shared presence shifted, and you felt her prodding you towards a certain section of the pattern. :Look, there.:
It was just more stardust and faded light, but that was only a moment. Then a flare of energy raced down the pattern. It had no particular colour, but it burned with feeling. Curiosity, the brilliant flash of an insight revealed, long days of study and the feeling of answers that came only from tireless effort. All that and more, in endless variation, packed into a glimmer of light that vanished towards the heart of the construct.
Then there was another flicker of light, from close by. Another, up and further away. More and more, forming a subtle stream through the stardust channels that only became clear as a result of your paired Foci and at least one Artefact.
:It's odd.: you found yourself murmuring back. :It feels somehow familiar?:
You recognised the truth as you said it, something in the words resonating with the image before you, making you draw back to try and see the whole picture again, Doing so set the patterns of sparkling crystal awash with the light of your two souls in motion, overwhelming the gentle light of Mary's own existence. And yet in that motion, clarity flared across your mind.
Because you'd seen Mary like this once before, cast in the light of the same two souls that were now examining her. An evening almost fifteen years ago, when trying to teach Vega how to Speak had instead provided the priceless truth of how Practice had been created. And in the doing, brought Mary've already peerless understanding of its workings to a point so far beyond any other human that-
How had you missed that?
You focused, tightening the circle of your perception to concentrate the effects of the Mender's Eye. For a moment your sight swam with colour and complex confusions, words insufficient to the task of explaining either. Until you felt the gentle presence of Vega's power intertwining with your own, a simple harmony found without effort to support your seeking.
White light flickered across your sight, and the strange artefacts that had twisted your awareness smoothed away. And as they faded, you saw.
Beneath the stardust pattern and flickers of quiet, curious insight across it, lay an older foundation. It was difficult to judge time without a proper measure, and in this state of being those were hard to come by. But between you and Vega you could make an educated guess. Their beginnings predated even your friendship, faint echoes that had grown with the young prodigy as she began to retrace the steps of her parents. And, if you weren't mistaken, had fed upon the results as deeply as Mary had drunk of the validation her early successes had given her.
You remembered again, or perhaps Vega did, that Mary had been born to a legacy of great advancement of humanity. Her parents having led the research teams that unlocked the First Secret. And you remembered, too, that in the time since the Week of Sorrows, humanity had only slowly recognised the influence that Practice could exert on the nature of life. The way that cities and more grew together more closely when communities believed that they should be close.
The way that children found mystery without harm in the gardens and forests of humanity's home, and how all were supported. The Circles were, you couldn't deny, a part of that. But they weren't all of it. Mary was still the smartest example of humanity you'd ever met, and this didn't change that. But somewhere along the way, humanity's recognition of her genius had started to support it.
And you'd accelerated that, hadn't you? By accepting her as Minister for Science, something that she'd never offered to any other President, you'd made her an icon of humanity's progress. The position had granted her visibility to billions of souls, and… cities could change just from the belief of dozens. Your daughter had constructed a cave full of adventures, gremlins and trolls, but the majority of those adventurers had never come across her. Nor had she been the one to create everything they'd found there. Nor had anyone.
It was shockingly similar to how you'd become a nexus for humanity's will during the Second and Third Battles of Sol, but that was a mantle you'd taken knowingly and deliberately, to anchor the defences that had had to succeed. As Mary had risen into the public consciousness, and the truth of all she'd done to support humanity became clear – and then clearer still from her work – the same thing must have happened.
For a moment, relief surged through you. Whatever this was, it hadn't just been an artefact of Practice. Mary's genius was hers, as you'd always believed, and the result here today wouldn't change any of that. She'd become an unconscious nexus in the network of humanity, and it had fed her their knowledge, their insight, and their hopes. But that had only sharpened what had already been there, subtle things most likely, that had guided her down better paths.
Until the Metaconcert event.
You could see the echoes of that event even now, where Spoken power had transformed the slowly growing links around your friend into something far more tangible, if still beyond her awareness. It was nothing like being a Potential, but the infrastructure that had grown to allow those like you to manipulate reality had adapted Mary's place in it to support a different type of transhumanity. And it explained how far and how deeply her understanding of the world had grown since that event.
The strongest and most coherent points of argument and study would combine around her, highlighting patterns to lead to the next great discovery. And in her mind, those patterns and points of view had blended together, before being refined into truths. Only a mind as brilliant as Mary's could have adapted to this sort of change without noticing, you thought wryly. She'd always been so quick to make connections, and much of what Metaconcert had done would only have strengthened that.
But whilst undeniably a relief, if a big of a shocking one, this didn't explain what was happening right now. This effect was, as far as you could understand, a subtle one. It allowed Mary to draw on the collective intelligence of humanity to support her work, but also only that word: support. The increase in workflow across all aspects of the Adamant's mission since reaching the Consolat home system was much, much more than support. So why, and how, was it happening now?
As you considered the question, you found your attention drawn to a section of the pattern, something about it calling out to your Focus. For a moment you found yourself confused again, staring at the same iridescent stardust as the rest. It didn't last. Your Focus pulled you on, until you were able to pick out where sections of the crystal network had been warped and scorched by the energies rushing through it.
That, you considered worriedly, wasn't right.
:Vega?: You asked, tugging the Harmonials attention towards your own. You were already digging in deeper, trying to trace back whatever flow had caused this as well as any other consequences.
:Help me fix this.:
You felt her own awareness surge across to your own, and opened your thoughts to the Harmonial, letting the concepts and questions you were feeling pass without need for words. As always, she integrated them seamlessly, but you felt her pause as your suspicions became her own. Yet only pause, not stop, and as you continued your own investigation you felt her begin her own alongside it, but from a broader point of view. Unfortunately, the further you went, the more worried you became.
The intake – it seemed best to use Vega's understanding – seemed like it had been burned by the passage of some far more intense energies. It was recent, in the last few days even, but had no source point that you could find. A vastly increased packet of insight and power had entered this pattern then, and the result had clearly overloaded the limits of the structure built up around your friend. It hadn't broken, but it had left an entire section of the pattern scorched and fraying.
:Not just one section,: Vega's mental tone was woven with deep concern, a twisting echo of dark clouds and winter winds. Yet the Harmonial also seemed deeply curious about what could have done this. :The entire pattern is showing similar levels of damage, some of it weeks old. Our construct is fraying, Mandy. And if we can't find a way to fix it…:
She didn't need to continue. The idea of whatever searing energy that had scorched this network ripping into Mary's soul wasn't anything you wanted to imagine. But it also gave you a direction to follow. If there was damage, that was something you could fix. Not right now, not until you could actually diagnose the problem properly. But it would be possible. The structure you'd found had been made by Practice, and you knew how to fix those.
Repairing works of Practice and even Artefacts had been something you'd been doing ever since you'd been recognised as a full Mender. And you were good at it. Really good at it.
And once it was fixed…
For a moment you wondered how much brighter Mary's genius could shine, deliberately reflecting the light of humanity. Or, perhaps more importantly, what she might be able to do with the more dangerous energy flow that she'd been exposed to, if it could be harnessed. Stronger didn't always mean better, of course, but it didn't have to not mean that, either.
That would require identifying it. And for that…you'd have to remain utterly focused on Mary for a time, to catch whenever it touched her pattern next. What was causing it, though, that would be the question. Your immediate guess was that it had something to do with the echoes the Consolat had left in the system of their birth and death. Unfortunately that just raised more questions.
Like how could an echo take action like that?
No, you thought, shaking the question away. It wasn't important right now, not against the integrity of Mary's soul. The pattern around her had to be repaired, and for all your confidence, that would not be a simple process. After that…then you could really get started. But first, you'd need to explain everything to her.
That was going to be…fun.
:But at least she'll know,: Vega's comment was thick with sympathy, twined to an enduring care. She was also, you admitted silently, correct.
:Time to wake up, then?: She asked.
You consulted Sidra's chronometer, and blinked. It had been several hours already. Somehow. And, you glanced about, Mir's containment was still holding strong.
:Yes.: You pulled yourself back from the pattern around your friend, forcing your awareness back into your body. Your vision flickered a few times as you disconnected smoothly from Vega along the way, better to do that before waking up. And then the world of physical reality slowly reasserted itself.
You felt it keenly when all of your senses returned, a feeling much like a change in air pressure making your ears pop. You groaned a little as the feeling of your skin and bone returned, muscles painful despite the aid of your Aegis in sitting still for hours. A thought set your Focus brushing across them, relieving the strain.
"Hey you." Looking over at Mary, you gave her a hand a little squeeze. Vega, opposite you, simply let go. The dark haired woman smiled slightly at you, though the look in her green eyes was hesitant. "What did you find?"
You shook your head, wondering how she'd determined that from barely a look. Better not to question it, you supposed.
"More than I expected," you said, even as Mir let the ring of his Focus around you fade. You turned in your chair to face your friend, expression earnest. "We have a lot to talk about."
Ripples completed. Visions in the Jump rolled 191 on a d100 and, as such, a single dice allocated to its second stage will prompt an autocomplete. Containment of this working was successful.
Actions unlocked.
