28 - Essence Mana

“Really? That’s how this works?” Maya asked. She looked down at the dismantled mana battery before her and raised a charred component to the light. “It seems relatively straight forward-“

“And stupid!” Bell called out.

Maya glowered and turned to her four armed companion. Bell stood in a large wading pool, twenty feet in diameter and two feet deep. He carried a metal paddle and was stirring the yellow brown slurry that came up to his thighs, because he had short little legs.

“Stop tea bagging Junior!” Maya shouted back.

It had taken the two an entire day, using liberated bulkhead panels and the liberal use of the fuser setting of her cutter, to build the pool. Bell had finally fished out his water stones, a fist-sized rune covered rock that weeped water into a bag. Each one of his companions had carried one, an [Adventurer]’s necessity. They had improvised a heating element from a pair of heavy duty bulbs and reflectors, then added an aerator they salvaged.

The water stones were pretty handy, Maya thought. They produced water pulled straight from the atmosphere.

Bell had been happier than a pig in a wallow as he swirled the Junior slurry about. Maya could smell a sweet scent in the air that the algae produced, nothing like she had imagined algae would smell. The new lighting system bathed Bell in red light, held at bay by the heavy clothing he wore from head to toe. It seemed Bell could sunburn and the light that Junior needed was pretty intense.

Yet, the yellow brown algae was expanding to fill its pool, becoming more yellow and less brown. Bell claimed it would create a thick mat that would crust over and eventually fill the entire pool. Maya could only assume it was an Ability that gave him that information.

While he focused on Junior, Maya worked on the System Tech based Abilities and Skills. Mainly [Mechanic]. She, with Tender’s help, had disassembled a dozen of the corrupted mana batteries. Their exposed innards lay strewn about her section of the mess hall and they both slowly went through the component racks to find damaged components and identify all the pieces.

“We can just swap them out like nothing?” Maya asked.

“Generally that is how it is done,” Tender replied.

“I knew it was all plug and play, but everything? You can fix a microwave by pulling components from something else, as long as the components match?” she asked.

“What is a microwave? If you mean different machines that use the same components, then yes.”

“I could build this mana battery from nothing if I just find the right components?” Maya asked.

“Mostly.”

“But… but that just seems, I don’t know. Too easy.”

“That’s why System Tech is trash!” Bell called out. “There is no new System Tech. It’s all the same trash that every species produces for the past billion years. You can go to any Bounded Species and look back ten thousand years and you’ll find they’re using the same damn System Tech.”

“Bounded Species?”

“Bounded by System Tech.”

“Who was that wordsmith?” Maya scoffed. “So, System Tech is low hanging fruit?” Maya asked Tender.

“In a sense. There is still a learning curve and the science behind discovering old/new System Tech components requires high levels and skills,” Tender said. “But as Bell has stated, Racial Methodology is by far the better option, but far harder to achieve. A lot of species tend to stagnate when using System Tech. They reach its limits and stay there.”

“How long does that take?”

“About ten thousand years, if they’re starting from base levels.” Tender replied.

“Not bad.”

“Not bad?” Bell mocked.

“My species history only extends like six thousand years ago when a Tier One Billion [God] made my planet.”

“What?” Bell sputtered. “That’s madness…”

“Joking. Ten thousand years ago we were barely realizing wolves were good boys and a grass seed could make some fine beer.”

Bell just shook his head at that and continued stirring Junior. She heard the words “insane” being used liberally. Maya chuckled and returned to the mana battery at hand.

“So we just swap out the burned out pieces and maybe even these spongy sacks?” Maya asked.

“They are not spongy sacks,” Tender said.

“Right. System grade, Tier 1 Mana conductive gel, component number 12A46N79BM14Z. Universal Rights.”

“Yes.”

“Universal rights means no one can lay a patent on it, right?”

“Yes. But that has not stopped many from trying to enforce their ownership of it.”

“Gotta love space capitalism.”

“The mana gel is the only thing in that mess that has to be made by a SIL,” Bell stated. “Everything else can be mass produced by machines.”

“You know about this stuff? Your people know about mana batteries?”

“Of course, do I look like some ignorant savage?” Bell demanded as he stood thigh deep in sludge wearing makeshift red light protective clothing. “We create them a tenth the size and are able to store twice the power.”

“I just imagined you all sitting by candle light scared of noises coming from the forests,” Maya replied. Bell ignored her jab and return to his slurry.

Maya had to admit that Tender was a good tutor. He explained everything to her as she dismantled the batteries. Enough so that she had gained two more levels in [Mechanic]. The work was still confusing and she made mistakes, but as her levels increased, she could feel where things had gone awry.

Since the mana gel was the only thing that had to be made by a SIL, it was the batteries that held uncorrupted mana gel sacks that Maya had decided to rebuild. Tender had warned that the gel sacks were degraded from age and mana storage, but they would be perfectly fine to use until they just stopped working. Judging when a degraded gel sack was going to die was a thing that Tommoth’s people hadn’t quite solved yet.

“If the gel has to be made by SIL, what about the mana batteries in weapons and machines?” Maya asked. “Seems a bit… I don’t know, cottage industry bottleneck to have to get people to make little batteries.”

“With Racial methods you don’t have the problem. A correctly enchanted blade will absorb ambient mana on its own,” Bell stated.

“As with the cutter you frequently use and the weapons that are powered by mana, they are built differently. They do not need the conductive gel, but require a low grade, Tier 1 mana stone. System tech allows for it to be created artificially if a society gains Tier 2 System Tech,” Tender replied. “The larger the mana that a device must hold, the higher grade the materials needed and the more SIL intervention is required.”

“What about mana cores?” Maya asked. “They need SIL to build them?”

“Yes. There is the Ability [Mana Core Engineer] that is highly sought after. If there is a bottleneck in production, it is in creating mana cores for ships, vessels, and stations. Half of the Redenno Deployable Structure’s cost was due to the mana core that was installed in it.”

“Really? I’ve been dragging that core about willy nilly and here it’s a high value, hard to obtain item?”

“Yes.”

“Well, that explains why the rogue AIs are all hungry for it.”

Maya shook her head and returned to her work. She had removed a dozen batteries to inspect and discovered only one in the dozen had uncorrupted gel sacks. After twenty thousand years, Maya felt that was pretty good. Using Tender’s computer, Maya recorded every movement she made and all the component racks that were pulled from the batteries.

It wasn’t only the levels she gained in [Mechanic] that drove her onward; the mana core that they had brought turned out not to have enough juice to power all their toys. After setting up the farm and with Nanaseto now tasked with generating food for them, about ninety percent of their available power was being used. Thankfully, Tender could absorb the ambient mana coming off of the unshielded core, so that took a burden off their pub core.

If they could store the excess power the small core produced, or even move the batteries into the main core room and hook them up, they could have emergency reserves of power.

Maya had looked through the ship and noted there were three additional mana battery storage rooms. She hadn’t taken the time to check on them yet, but if they were similar to the one she had pillaged; it would mean there were an additional one hundred and eight mana batteries available. Potentially nine from that number could be restored to full operation.

In addition to the low amount of power they had, Maya wanted to use the virtual reality gear they had looted from the Pleasure Rooms. The power requirements for the gear was more than they could afford, therefore they needed the batteries. Maya wasn’t willing to entertain the choice between turning Nan off or using the VR gear, to Bell’s annoyance.

The argument that she was a machine was not lost on Maya, she just refused to accept it. She was a high grade, Tier 1 AI, which was the highest they could get before reaching sentience. It was the highest most AIs would ever become due to SIL restrictions on their use. She understood she was anthropomorphizing Nanaseto, but that wasn’t hard when she could see the personality and traits behind the demonic smile. So, Maya put her foot down.

Plus Bell didn’t really push the issue as he was still hesitant on the whole VR system; but, like her, he was slowly going insane with only rainbow skies and gloomy light and he had been in-world longer than she had. Once she got a mana battery running and charged, then the whole argument of power could be settled for a while.

Maya placed a final component into a rack and slid the panel upon it shut. She handed the rack to Tender who zapped it with a bit of energy to test it. She could see the readings on the computer window she had open beside her.

“Hot damn, one down,” Maya grinned.

“It looks to be functional,” Tender agreed.

Maya looked down at the mana battery and pulled out another rack from inside of it. “Only fifty more to go,” she replied.

“Forty nine.”

Maya’s tablet began to beep. She saw that a message from Nanaseto had come through. The ship had communication devices, but the cursory look Maya had at them showed the rogue AIs had plundered them of components to be recycled. The rogue AIs had looted a lot of the higher Tiered materials.

“Oh, looks like Nan’s got my test results back. I better not have mana cancer or something,” Maya said. She grabbed one of Tender’s legs and pulled herself up, groaning as she popped her back.

Nanaseto had run her diagnostics on all the machinery in her medical room and everything that would be needed to run a full molecular scan on Maya was operational. Luckily, the two machines Maya had dismantled weren’t necessary for the tests. Normally the results would have been back immediately, but Nan wasn’t running at her full capacity; there were additional processing power that wasn’t available to her. Something Maya would have to eventually get around to fixing.

She could scan and fix genetic defects caused by mana exposure in minutes, but processing the molecular scan had taken hours.

“I’m gonna head down to Nan. You gonna stay here? If so make sure Bell doesn’t drown.”

“I shall remain here,” Tender said. “I can remove more of the component racks while you are gone and keep an eye on Belmoro.”

“Awesome. Thanks, bud.” Maya slapped his metal shell and headed for the stairs.

***

“Don’t sugar coat it, doc,” Maya said as she entered the medical room. Nanaseto stood in the center of the room, floating in her holographic manner. “What do I got? Space rabies? Interdimensional Flu? Bell Plague?”

Nan gave her a full sharp tooth smile that did not calm the worry that was growing inside of her. Maya took a seat on a stool that lay beside a bare table. The room was dimly lit as she hadn’t gotten around to replacing all the bulbs yet. But from what she knew everything important was in working order.

“You are physically fine,” Nanaseto said.

“Yeah, I am,” Maya grinned.

“Physically fine, but I’m afraid your mana channels are damaged,” Nanaseto continued. She waved a hand and a holographic image of Maya’s naked body appeared. At first Maya was taken aback by the high definition nudity, but then she paused as she looked at it.

“Holy shit. Is that me?” she asked.

Maya had known she was fairly attractive, not Shelly beautiful, but solid in her looks. She had been athletic and even with her poor diet, exercise had kept her from growing horizontally. Since she had returned home for college, the long hours and easy access to food had made her a tad pudgy, but nothing dramatic. Exercise was something she had no time for anymore, between the daily grind for survival, learning, or watching as rogue AIs smashed everything she built; exercise was a luxury.

But that didn’t matter as Maya stared at the full sized image of herself. She was gaunt, her skin pallid, her hair limp, and her bones across her body pronounced. All excess fat had seemed to have been consumed, but at the same time the muscles on her legs and arms and torso had compacted and hardened. She looked malnourished and weathered; her body a dried out piece of leather. The genetic cleansing Nan provided had given her a few inches of height and sculpted her body, but in the intervening weeks she had wrecked all of it.

“Well, shit. That’s depressing,” Maya finally said.

“Your body is missing some key nutrients and vitamins, therefore a simple procedure can return you to full health,” Nan said. “Organic constraints, aside.”

“Yeah, best keep the biomass for making food,” Maya said. “It’s not like I’m going to be participating in any beauty pageants. As long as I’m healthy, it doesn’t matter.” Maya said after a while. Every ounce of biomass they could convert into food was top priority.

She had officially run out of food. There were some spices and packets of oyster crackers, but everything else had been consumed. With Bell also out of food, the remainder had been finished off quickly. That only left his companions. They weren’t at the point of harvesting their remains just yet.

Nanaseto was producing emergency rations. A block of waxy looking bars that contained everything a person would need to be nutritionally fed. Maya’s bars were green, while Bell’s were red, denoting different nutrient requirements for each. They were tasteless and chewy, but they were food. One kilo of food blocks a day to keep the starvation at bay.

“So what can I do about the mana channels?” Maya asked. She knew that channeling mana was what allowed non-combat experience gains and what the foundation of using magic and even augmenting her strength.

“Unfortunately, this requires a Tier 2 doctor,” Nan said.

“Shit. Can we resurrect that pile of bones?” Maya sighed.

“The most I can do is begin some minor therapy that will try and correct some of the damage to your mana channels, but to be fully healed, you will need a Tier 2 [Mana Specialist].”

“What does this mean, then?” Maya asked, already dreading the answer.

“Your leveling will slow. The experience requirements for low grade levels, from one to twenty, are fairly easy to obtain. But without the additional experience gains provided by channeling mana, your leveling will plateau. Unfortunately I was unable to see the damage when I first treated you all those weeks ago, that is my failure. I just did not have the resources or capacity to do a full scan upon you.”

“No, it’s… fine,” Maya said. She didn’t know how to feel, but she knew that it wasn’t Nan’s fault. “Why are my mana channels all fucked up though? Was it the unshielded mana core?”

“I do not believe it was that. I believe that it was your universe’s Integration that caused the issues. You stated you were level zero, your universe had just begun Integration, that your planet was a Point of Contact, and then you were brought here by the instabilities. The reports I have on newly Integrated worlds is that it takes a few days for the local SIL to fully adapt to Integration. The shifting of your world from Tier 1 to Tier 2 would have caused a massive spike in Essence Mana-“

“Wait, what now?”

“Essence Mana, it is the foundational mana that the System uses to change Tiers for worlds and individuals.”

“I thought there was only Essence and Mana, not Essence Mana?”

“Yes, there is essence, which is the building block of Tier 2 and higher materials. There is also mana that is the power that is channeled by all SIL to create and destroy. But beyond that, or I should say before that, there is Essence Mana. It is what the System uses to bring about Integration and to create Point of Contact worlds. It is the purest form of creation, the very foundation upon which reality is built.”

“And that fucked up my mana channels?” Maya asked.

“It is only theoretical,” Nan said. “I am not a specialist, but my general knowledge shows that exposure to a full spectrum of essence mana on a new Point of Contact world would cause massive changes to your body. The mana coursing through your body would keep flowing until the ambient essence mana lowered and your body adapted to it. It is said about one in a hundred million flare up, because their bodies cannot handle the mana coursing through it. This would involved in your body burning up from mana because it could not handle it. For most, the essence mana suffusing a Point of Contact world is unnoticeable.”

“So I would have flared up.”

“It is possible, based upon the damage you have received. If you had not been snatched from your world, you might have.”

“Well, maybe the instabilities saved my life.” Maya laughed bitterly. “Can’t I just drop all the attributes I gain on leveling into channeling?” Maya asked.

“It does not work that way,” Nan said. “Trait channeling determines how much mana you can use when doing a task, but it is Fortitude that determines how much mana, overall, your body can handle. Even if you had high Fortitude, you would still have difficulty channeling mana, because it is a structural disability that is hampering you. Your mana channels are nearly destroyed. An analogy would be trying to fill a tank with water from an ocean, but all you have is a crushed straw to use.”

“But I have channeled mana,” Maya said.

“Yes, but in small amounts and not very well.”

Maya sighed again, rubbing her temples and laughed bitterly. “I’m a rogue AI,” she said. “They can build and create, but they can’t create like a SIL. They can only rely on components to survive. Yet, even without being able to channel mana they can still be dangerous.”

“I suppose…” Nan said.

Maya let out breath. “I’ll do the therapy. Even channeling a little bit will help. How long will it take.”

“Each session will last five hours, everyday. You will perhaps see marked increase of about fifty percent in your current ability to channel within a month,” Nan said. “I’m sorry, but that’s all I can offer.”

“No, it’s fine. Fifty percent of nothing isn’t that much, yeah, but it’ll have to do.” She rolled her shoulders and got to her feet. “I gotta… I gotta get some air.”

Maya stalked out of the medical room.

***

“I heard the news,” Bell said as he approached Maya. She sat in the front seat of the food truck, staring out at the rainbow sky hellscape.

“So much for doctor patient confidentiality,” Maya said.

“That’s not a thing,” Bell replied. He leaned against the truck, staring down in the compartment that once held the engine. Now just an open space that was used as temporary storage on their travel back to the Hangy.

“I don’t know why I’m so… I don’t know. I feel like I’ve been punched in the gut,” Maya said after a moment. “I didn’t even know channeling mana was a thing until a month ago. I haven’t used it much since arriving. And yet, now I find out that I’ll probably never use it properly.” She shook her head. “It’s all fine and dandy until someone tells you ‘no’.”

“It happens. Plenty of high leveled people get their mana channels burned out. They try to fight something too powerful, they try creating something without enough mastery, and poof, there goes their ability to channel mana. Its just the way things are.”

“Thanks man, you really know how to comfort a girl.”

Bell smiled. “I do what I can.”

She heard a noise and saw Tender marching out of the Hangy. He made a beeline toward them and stopped before the truck.

“Are you returning to complete the mana batteries?” he asked.

“In a bit. Just wallowing in misery.” Maya said.

“Is it because of the truck? I have heard many times you stated you have sentimental value for the machine, but since its chemical engine was destroyed; it is unusable.” Tender tilted his head at the truck. “We could perhaps use the manufacturing module to create a replacement engine. One run on mana, not chemical combustive.”

Maya looked at the hole in her truck where the engine had been and smiled softly. “No, it’s fine, Tender. I think there’s a lot of things that need to be done before we come around to seeing if we can get Bonita back up and running.”

“It would not be all that difficult,” the AI insisted. “There are some small mana motors that can be modified to interact with the primitive drive system of this vehicle.”

“Get back to sorting components,” Bell snapped. “We were discussing something important here.”

“Ah, yes. Nanaseto informed me of your diagnosis.”

“Jesus, I gotta talk to that girl about confidentiality,” Maya hissed.

“I understand that mana channeling is fundamental to SIL leveling, enough that being unable to channel will cause emotional distress,” Tener said. “I do not have the current emotional range to commiserate with you, but as you’ve said before: ‘it’s better to work than to dwell on shit you can’t control’.”

Maya grinned at the AI. She looked to Bell.

“Hey, take some notes from this guy. He’s got better empathy than you do.”

Bell glared. “I tried,” he said and wandered off.

“I appreciate it, Bell!” Maya called after him. “You’re my best living friend, you know that right!”