Summary: Queen Faray shows Mila and Link some startling North Hyrule technology and explains its history. Mila suggests a frightening possibility which Link considers. Link consults with the Sheikah at the Shrine of Transformation, then completes transforming to a Zora for his upcoming trip with Mipha.

It was a sunny morning in Zora's Domain, and Mila and Link were preparing to leave for North Hyrule together and a scheduled meeting there with Queen Faray.

"I'm sorry I can't go with you," said Mipha. "Father needs me here right now."

"Is Father alright?" said Link.

"He's fine. He just wants me here for some meetings," said Mipha. "Father likes to make sure I know about everything taking place here and also wants my opinion on some matters."

"Are you sure it's fine that we go now?" said Link. "Mila and I can easily postpone this trip."

"No, you should both go," said Mipha. "I want you to have this trip completed for me in time for our anniversary. I can't wait to spend some quality underwater time with you again. Say hello to Faray for me."

Link and Mipha kissed goodbye, Mipha and Mila hugged, and then Link and Mila made their way to the ferry to North Hyrule.

The sun shone brightly over the waters of Lanayru Bay, and the ferry bobbed gently up and down as people boarded from the pier. When it was time, the ship departed and was soon heading east out of Lanayru Bay toward the Akkala Sea.

"It's been quite a while since just the two of us were together in North Hyrule," said Link as they sat next to each other.

"Yes," said Mila. "And that was a trip I'm not likely ever to forget! It was the last time I saw Sopha, thank Nayru. I spent three weeks there visiting with Tila, and just talking with Sopha at meals gave me a chill. It felt like she was constantly probing you for information."

"Yes, she had quite the penetrating gaze," said Link. "I'm glad her sister is in charge now."

They watched the shore pass by as the ferry turned north into the Akkala Sea.

"What do you think this meeting is all about, Dad?" said Mila.

"I wish I knew for sure," said Link. "My instincts tell me it's nothing bad. They want to dispel any feelings of mistrust. I promised Laray I wouldn't say anything to anyone but Mom about my conversation with her."

"Link told me Tila's Tab had some North Hyrule only folder that only Tila could access," said Mila. "And parts of their history were removed from the library and marked as secret. It all sounds very mysterious, Dad, maybe even sinister. Are you sure Faray is not like her sister Sopha, only sneakier?"

"Am I sure?" said Link. "No, I can't be completely sure. But I have a good deal of experience dealing with people, Mila, and all my instincts and past contacts with her tell me Faray is on the level."

"You mean she's tail fin up," said Mila. "You really should try to learn our expressions, Dad. You've been living with us for almost 25 years now. It's not like it's a new language."

"I honestly keep trying, Mila, but I'm known for having memory issues," laughed Link. "Anyway, you get my drift."

"You mean I ride your wave," laughed Mila. "I'm not going to give up on you, though I sometimes think you're hopeless, Dad."

They sat quietly for a few minutes.

"I've been going through your journal, Dad, and as I read some parts of it, I began to worry," said Mila.

"What about, sweetheart?" said Link.

"You remember that time the Yiga Clan used magical masks to impersonate people they had killed," said Mila. "That was a terrible time for Hyrule as trust broke down, and people grew afraid, not knowing who was who. Then I began to think of the Shrine of Transformation and wondered if that could also be used to disguise someone's identity. How do we know Faray is really Faray at all, and not a transformed Sopha?"

Now Link had to stop and think as he stared out at the water rushing by and the white foam splashing against the side of the ferry. Was that even possible? Could someone transform into a different person? And even if it were possible, would the Sheikah who control the shrine allow it?

"So, you're suggesting perhaps Faray isn't just sneaky; she's not herself at all? I'll admit I never thought of that, but it seems unlikely," said Link finally. "I'm trying to think through how it would have to work. Say, for example, I wanted to transform into my cousin Rudin. They would first need a blueprint of Rudin, so he would have had to have already been there. Then I would need to persuade the Sheikah to take my memories and insert them into his body. Somehow I don't think the Sheikah would do that."

"Sopha was the queen of their land back then," said Mila. "Perhaps they would have done what she commanded."

"So, you are worried the person we think is Faray could be Sopha in Faray's body, something like that?" said Link. "It's prudent to be cautious, but I don't think so. When could this have happened, Mila? We know Faray was truly herself when she had Sopha detained. And before that, Faray was the one who reported on her sister's treachery. So, I don't see when there would have been a time for Sopha to transform into Faray's body, assuming that is even possible. You raise an interesting point, but I don't think it could have happened."

"Is there any way to check?" said Mila.

"Well, I could ask Faray something that Sopha wouldn't know," said Link.

"I would feel more at ease if you did, Dad," said Mila. "Those chapters about the masks and people being taken over gave me the creeps. I had a nightmare about it once."

"Fine, I will do that," said Link.

The ferry turned west into the channel to North Hyrule and lowered its speed, then eventually slowed further, maneuvered into port, and docked. A Zora guard was waiting for them as they disembarked.

"Mistress Mila and Master Link, welcome. Please follow me," said the guard.

The guard led them directly to the throne room, where Queen Faray was waiting for them, and promptly greeted them.

"Mila and Link, how nice to see both of you again," said Faray. "Please, let's sit together here. We can have lunch in a few minutes. And no formality, please."

"Thank you, Faray," said Link. "Mipha says hello."

They sat down together at a table near the side of the room. There were three place settings with a dish, fork, and knife, and Link assumed someone would serve lunch when it was time.

"So, you are both here for answers," said Faray. "And I promise you shall have them. But I need to lead you to the information I have in my own way, so please be patient and indulge me."

"Of course, Faray," said Link.

"We Zora have an expression: you can't put the crab back in its shell," said Faray. "You probably have a similar Hylian one. As you know, it means once you have done something, it can be impossible to undo it. So, the Sheikah in our land like to proceed very cautiously now, and so do we. Laray told me about your conversation with her and the feelings of mistrust you may have developed for us. I assure you those feelings are completely unfounded. I have reviewed how certain things happened to prepare for our meeting today, and so I can try to explain everything to your satisfaction. But enough talk for now. We are no doubt all getting hungry. What would each of you like for lunch?"

"I've always been quite fond of your Mighty Porgies if they're available," said Mila.

"Mighty Porgies are fine for me as well," said Link. "Lightly cooked in my case, please."

"Excellent," said Faray. "I'll have Mighty Porgies as well. So, three orders of Mighty Porgies, one lightly cooked. Now, don't be frightened."

Faray picked up her Tab and touched it several times. Link thought Faray was transmitting their order to a kitchen. But then Link and Mila jumped back from the table as three swirls of blue ancient energy appeared above the table, one before each of them and hovering just over each plate. As the swirls of energy gradually coalesced, they formed three porgy dishes, one lightly cooked.

"I hope the fish is to your liking," said Faray as she smiled at them.

"How is this possible, Faray?" exclaimed Link.

"Let's discuss it over lunch, shall we?" said Faray. "I assure you the fish is real and perfectly safe. It won't hurt you in any way, but I am happy to taste either of your dishes if you're suspicious of me."

"No, I trust you," said Link. "But how did you do this, Faray?"

"It's a long story that begins a long time ago," said Faray. "I will summarize it as we eat. After you hear it, you will understand why we are so cautious. And Mila, I will be happy to send you a copy of the missing pages from our history book later. They contain much more detail than I can cover with you now."

They each took a bite of their fish.

"It's delicious," said Link. "It's even cooked right."

"The parts of our history that concern us relate to the unintended consequence of four separate and useful pieces of Sheikah technology coming together," said Faray. "You have had some limited exposure to three of them, Link. Two pieces resided on that device you called a Sheikah Slate. The third you experienced here on an earlier visit. And I will demonstrate the fourth to you now since that is the easiest to show you."

Faray held her Tab in her hand, then suddenly smashed it apart by throwing it hard onto the floor. Mila and Link both gasped. But what happened next was even more impressive. Two swirls of ancient energy appeared, one above the table, and when they stopped, there was a new Tab in front of Faray, and the pieces of the old one were gone.

"Very handy," said Faray. "Once a Tab is registered to a person, if it is lost or damaged, the technology here will automatically create a replacement and destroy whatever remains of the old one."

"That is fantastic," said Link.

"Yes, and handy," said Faray, who then took another bite of fish.

"Now for the first three pieces of technology," said Faray. "The first one is what you refer to as the Hyrule Compendium, that portable catalog of all significant items in Hyrule. That's a convenient thing to have, and you can even add new items to the catalog. The second key piece of technology is similar to the runes on the Sheikah Slate that can create bombs. Those bomb runes create something using ancient energy, seemingly out of thin air. The third relevant piece of technology I will get to in a moment."

"As you know, a long time ago, some of the Sheikah from Hyrule emigrated to our land to escape persecution from the Hylians and escape the followers of Ganon," said Faray. "Once here they continued their research and, among other things, began to develop runes to create different items that could be of use to them. At first, the items were simple inanimate objects. For example, there was a rune to create a cloak or a rune to create an arrow. Then the Sheikah studied this process further and eventually succeeded in developing runes capable of producing small animate items such as a snail or a fish. It seemed miraculous to the people of that time, and indeed it was.

As time went on more and more runes were developed for more and more objects that might be of use. But you can probably begin to see the problem. The number of runes kept increasing, and it was cumbersome to search for the right rune. Also, it was onerous to create a specific rune for each of the many items one might wish for."

Faray paused to eat some more of her fish.

"Remember, all that I am telling you happened a long time ago," said Faray. "Now the Sheikah who came here had brought with them their version of the Hyrule Compendium. And they continued to expand it by cataloging any new items they found here in North Hyrule. At some point, some Sheikah researchers achieved a breakthrough. They were able to pair the compendium of objects with a rune to create objects. In other words, instead of having a specific rune for each item, one rune could access the entire compendium and create any of the objects stored there. This was a great advance, separating the data from the process. Imagine how handy that was! Anything that had already been cataloged could be created, subject to the limits of the amount of ancient energy available to the device. Now I am oversimplifying things a little. The Sheikah realized the need for some safety in this process and split their compendium into two parts. The first contained items that were deemed safe to create and the second anything else. Only the first was linked to the object creation rune. So, one could not create anything dangerous. And if things had stopped at that point, there would have been no harm done."

Faray paused again to catch her breath and take another bite of fish.

"Meanwhile, some Sheikah were researching another piece of technology," said Faray. "And it was a very brilliant Sheikah scientist of his day who developed something marvelous. He developed a way for Tabs to read thoughts. I don't know if you remember, Link, but you got a small taste of that mind-reading technology when my sister Sopha interrogated you and Mipha to determine if either of you was lying. So, Tabs could start doing things based on the thoughts of their owner. There was no need to type a message out or press a rune. The owner need merely think of what they wanted their Tab to do. Check your Tabs now."

Link's and Mila's Tabs had both alerted them to a message. And when they looked, they saw Faray's message.

Faray_NH:To:Link Mila_ZD::'See what I mean?'

"I just sent you that message by thinking about it," said Faray. "I didn't need to touch a thing. So, thought control made using Tabs much easier. And if you thought about something your Tab could not do or that made no sense for it, then your Tab would simply ignore your thought. Marvelous!"

Faray took another bite of her fish.

"So, to reiterate," said Faray. "The four pieces of technology were a locally Tab stored catalog of items, the ability to create an object contained in the catalog, the ability for your Tab to respond to your thoughts, and the ability for Tabs to be automatically replaced. Each of those technologies was very useful. But when these four pieces of technology all came together on everyone's Tab, terrible things started to happen. The crab was out of its shell."

"I don't understand," said Link. "What happened?"

"Well," said Faray. "The terrible oversight was that people could not sufficiently control their thoughts. Before Tabs reacted to a person's thoughts, one had to manually select an item for its creation and activate the rune. But after thought control, the device tried to be helpful and respond to thoughts about items in the catalog by activating the rune to create one of them. The items themselves were not dangerous in their own right, but unwanted items proliferated. Also, creating an object at the wrong time or in the wrong place could cause injury or even death. Structures were damaged because people unintentionally created something beyond their capacity. I think you get the point. It was no exaggeration to say that the entire civilization of that age was on the verge being destroyed from within by a process that had inadvertently run amok."

Faray took another bite of fish.

"So, how did the Sheikah finally put the crab back in its shell?" said Faray. "Well, some obvious things were thought of at first, such as trying to deactivate Tabs. But that is not easy to do, as Tabs do not have an off switch, are self-contained, and draw ancient energy directly. Also, the catalog of objects that the Tab could create was stored directly on the Tab itself. Asking everyone to destroy their Tab would not work either for the reason I just demonstrated."

"But wait a moment, Faray," said Link. "You still have that rune. You used it to make our lunch."

"Not exactly," said Faray. "I have a much-revised version of that rune, one with strict limitations. But I will get to that. Anyway, the Sheikah scientists dedicated themselves to finding a way to resolve this problem before the people of that era essentially wished their civilization out of existence. And they finally came up with a solution. You cannot put the crab back in its shell. But there was a way you are familiar with to not bite into the crab in the first place. So, the Sheikah first erected an energy barrier between our lands to isolate us and protect Hyrule. They realized the problem was of their making, and it was wrong to affect your people in its solution. Then they used their knowledge of the Hyrule Temple of Time to create a Temple of Time of sorts here. And when it was ready, they left notes about what had happened and activated the temple to put our land back in time to before the four technologies were combined. Based on the notes they left, the scientists stopped the process before it began. They eventually created the rune we have today, which is a safer version of the old one. And by the way, that is one reason the Sheikah here do not speak of time travel. They are fearful that any time travel here could merge us into a timeline where that dangerous process still existed."

"I see," said Link. "So, in what way is your process safer now?"

"In several ways," said Faray. "As part of an owner's training with a new Tab, the Tab learns the owner's thought patterns. The thought process will work only for the Tab's owner. Also, the rune to create an object must be manually activated. It cannot be activated by thought. So, I cannot inadvertently think of a fish and have it appear. I have to think about it in a certain way that my Tab has been trained to recognize and then press the rune. And, as before, the object creation ability remains limited in the types of objects it can create, as well as the number that can be created at one time. Finally, thanks to that barrier, this technology only works in North Hyrule, and we have rules to keep the process secret. If anyone here is found using it in the presence of anyone from outside North Hyrule, they will lose it. And believe me, nobody wants that. I have permission from our Sheikah to have this conversation with you."

"And what is it you fear about sharing this technology with us?" said Link.

"That someone will tamper with it and remove its limitations," said Faray. "So, we are very cautious about sharing this technology. Do you understand now?"

"Yes, I think so," said Link. "But why doesn't the same objection apply to you here?"

"Because only the Sheikah here can access that technology from a developer standpoint, and they have instituted stringent safeguards against tampering with it," said Faray. "Unless those same safeguards exist in Hyrule, it would be dangerous to let you have access to this. Also, at one time, there were people in your land, such as the Yiga Clan, who would be very eager to learn how this rune works and try to use it for evil purposes. But my point in sharing this with you now, Ambassador Link, is to let you begin the process of creating those necessary safeguards. You need to arrange some meetings between our Sheikah scientists and yours. Together they can develop what is needed in Hyrule for us to share this technology with you safely. Does that sound reasonable to you?"

"Yes, more than reasonable," said Link. "This would be a marvelous capability. And you feel this process is under control now?"

"Yes," said Faray. "And it has been for quite some time."