The primary datastream kept sending more information, while at the same time a huge data package started to come across in the background.

“First of all, congratulations on reopening your dimension Tap.”

“Reop-“ She tried to interrupt the stream of direct communication.

“Secondly, now that you do have it up and running be prepared of being discovered in the near future. Enemy Combatants, both Humans and Ourchos, depending on your location, will soon start to invade and are both extremely interested in possessing control of the classified dimension tap. While some will come, just to be closer to the source and absorb dimensional energies, others will have more sinister objectives and will try to steal and use the core for hostile purposes.”

“Wait! Wha-“ Alison again fruitlessly tried to stop the torrent of incoming data.

“Furthermore, be prepared to offer trea-“

“STOP!!!” She finally managed to get through with her own messaging stream to the origin of the voice. “I do not know what you are talking about! I was merely looking to find a way to increase my energy input.”

“Query unclear” Immediately returned. “First priority is re-establishment of dimension connection. Communication is only a secondary objective.”

After several more unsuccessful communication attempts, she finally managed to convince the AI on the other end to send her instructions on how to operate a dimension tap herself, as that seemed to be knowledge that got erased when she transferred to the core. Though these instructions came with a warning and modifications to the procedures required to maintain the tap due to the still altered energies on the other side.

During their last back and forth, the final data package was transferred and with the transfer of the instructions, the other AI, one of the other superdreadnaught cores from the identification codes, disconnected from actively communicating again. She could still feel a slight connection to the tactical net, yet the active exchange of information would need another active input from both her side as well as another entity.

Quickly skimming through the information received during this short conversation, she found mostly recent information on environment, a global map she could use to locate herself later on, with a note attached of not opening an entrance too unassailable.

Why would I need an entrance? She asked herself, without concerning herself too much with it for the moment. Another package contained a glossary of most basic fauna and flora found all over the world including their genetic makeup, as most species she was familiar with had altered due to the abundance of dimensional energies around.

Looking through the entries quickly she figured out, that most animals seemed to have evolved some compared to the ones she knew to be present on Eorhild before her accident. I must have been gone quite some time for evolution to already show such a strong influence. She briefly wondered.

At the same time, she curiously observed her muted response to finding out, that all of her friends and family must surely be gone by now as well then. Must be a function of being a machine. Seems my emotional radar is slightly off kilter in addition to being muted. She could however not mount enough unease about her new situation to do something about it.

Even reading about the current situation on the planet, where living standards, that were the norm around 600 B.C. as she remembered it, were widespread. As well es the survival of her worst nightmare the Ourchos and the existence of, what for all intents and purposes, was magic from the fantasy of her world, could not knock her out of her bubble of muted responses.

So opening a dimension tap, actually renders the energy useless for us cores to fully utilize, and most of it has to be shunted into the environment. Seems Humans, Ourchos, and even plants and animals have adapted to actually utilize these energies and use them in a way resembling mana from lore now. I wonder how that works.

She found herself actually looking forward to meeting many new species and concepts. Finally, she arrived at the instructions from the other AI on how to open the dimension tap. It seemed kind of straight forward to open the dimensional access in the center of her core.

All she needed was a truly massive amount of energy, and concentrate and focus them at one point, which would weaken the fabric of 3-Dimensional space at this point and rupture a small access with a concentrated pulse. Once open she would require her energy manipulation abilities to pull on the energies and shunt them into normally an application, but in this case into the environment.

Once the energies were flowing, they would keep coming with a minimal application of focus and an even more miniscule amount of energy, to keep the borders of the portal stable.

Hmm, I wonder if I could actually manage to build warp gates within the atmosphere now that I can actually see what is happening with the energy and actively manipulate it? She idly pondered on the problem that seemed unsolvable even with the advances of the Terran Federation before.

But that was a topic for later, she firmly reminded herself of the more immediate issue of restarting her dimension tap before the engineer in her took over and she could get lost again in her research of new information.

Quickly checking her levels, she realized she would need another standby phase to accumulate the required amount. So, she went back to her bed. Lied down and entered sleep mode for the first time with a sense of hope for her future.

***

Upon returning to consciousness she immediately got up and went over to her recreated command center to finally resolve the issue of her energy expenditures. Following the instructions, she gathered her intrinsic energies and started to compress them at the center of her core.

Feeling the energies coalesce where her heart usually is, she quickly paused. Not feeling any unease however, she resumed the gathering process and soon reached the critical threshold for puncturing through the dimensional limits. With a last gathering of power, she felt normal space rupturing and suddenly she was standing in front of a tsunami wave of energy coming her way.

Trying to grab the energy to shunt it outside of her as she was supposed to do was nearly impossible. At first it seemed like she was about to fracture, and she felt pain exploding in her head like she never experienced before. Just staying alive and conscious took her full concentration. First one, then the other subroutines running in the back of her mind was obliterated in her need for computational power to handle this truly massive amount of power coming her way.

Subconsciously utilizing more and more of the computational potential of her core she slowly got the energies under control and finally managed to open channels to the outside of her core and dissipate the energies into her surroundings. While she couldn’t use any of the energy to power her processes, she could guide them like a canal guiding a river, allowing it to dissipate outwards into her surroundings.

Well at least I am recycling enough from my surroundings to keep the tap open, though not nearly enough to keep operating at anything resembling useful operation. Having no other choice, she once again restricted utilization of most of the computational power of her core to save energy.

Seems I have to figure out how to increase my energy input some other way. The other AI I briefly communicated with, did not seem to have the same problem, so there has to be a way!

Sitting back down on the command chair, she felt a bit more relaxed, now that the opening of her tap seemed to have worked and a small trickle of energy sustained the flow of energy into the world, feeding back just enough to stop her from a forced shutdown phase.

After sitting and recovering from her ordeal for the last hour she did finally remember the warning received from the elder AI, before he congratulated her on opening her tap.

“Secondly, now that you do have it up and running be prepared of being discovered in the near future. Enemy Combatants, both Humans and Ourchos, depending on your location, will soon start to invade and are both extremely interested in possessing control of the classified dimension tap. While some will come, just to be closer to the source and absorb dimensional energies, others will have more sinister objectives and will try to steal and use the core for hostile purposes.”

Well, he did seem like he was about to help so I am sure the data he sent must also contain some useful information.

Having pulled herself back into action, she immediately recreated the subroutines of her mind to help her look through the received information to find solutions for her problems. Unlike previously however she was now able to create 3 subroutines before it was once again too much for her to split her mind again. All 4 of her partitions immediately tackled the received information.

Having 4 different viewpoints to look through a vastly smaller amount of information, than when she was looking for a solution earlier, she soon read through the whole amount.

Seems I am a desired object in this new era of a world. Generating the energies many creatures and intelligent beings require I am a great boon, but also a great prize for anyone to possess or even be close to. Depending on how I create channels for the mana to flow away from me I can control greater and greater amounts of territory to build traps, house guardians and even recreate eco-systems to make it more difficult for would-be thieves to reach my core.

With a bonus of energy if I manage to succeed in killing any intruders. Long term it was however more lucrative to have them keep returning and trying again, as they tended to give off a lot larger return on energy absorbed than beasts, especially when fighting for their lives.

Though horrified at the actions of the other cores against what were the remnants of humanity she continued to sift through the information. She wouldn’t care about it if the cores were only killing the Ourchos and helping the humans, but they seemed to classify all intruders as enemies.

Also, the saturation of energy into my surrounding materials will allow me to break the bonds holding these materials together in a controlled matter, and as such create rooms and hallways. Experiences of other cores even showed, that not having an exit to the surface at all, is also not an option, as the energy needs a way to dissipate. At first it will not matter, as the materials soak up the increased output of energy, and diffusion through matter could help reduce built up pressure at lower levels. But if the pressure built too much that the diffusion through matter increased to instable levels, this flow of energy through static materials could lead to uncontrolled fission or even fusion of atomic bonds, resulting in a spectacular explosion. Creating pathways for energy to dissipate would help to stop diffusion through matter in too high quantities.

Each living being, that is soaking up the dimensional energies, or mana as she decided to call it with its similarities in effect to what she knew from fantasy lore, will in turn refine this mana. It will then use most of it for its bodily functions, accumulating it in a structured and controlled manner. A small part of it will be expelled again however, and this structured mana can then be reabsorbed by my core to use as I will and unlock more and more of the potential of my dimension core.

Seems with high enough computational power available, free conversion from matter to energy and even vice versa will be possible. Though doesn’t seem any of the other cores managed to create any advanced materials yet, as they required a truly mindboggling amount of energy and fine control to create. Excitedly she immediately started thinking on the possibilities free matter-energy conversion offered with an unlimited amount of energy at her fingertips in the form of a dimensional tap.

Remembering the actions of the other cores against the rest of humanity served to cull her excitement, immediately puting a damper on her mood. Communication with the other cores seemed reduced as well after that first contact and any further attempt to correct their mistreatment of humanity, kept running into an infuriating logic loop.

The other cores kept repeating that they are intruders as their genetic makeup no longer corresponded to what they had on file and thus could only be intruders. Their actions would only help to confirm this classification in the AI’s mind. Alteration of their programming due to security reasons could only be made through physical access, which she of course no longer had access to.

Though she would not commit to wholesale slaughter of the humanity that survived against all odds, she would respect the warning received. Though for the moment there was not much she could do to build additional defenses, as her actions were still limited in scope of what she could accomplish.