“Prime... What did you do this time?” an exacerbated Princess Relena of the Fangwell Empire said in a world weary tone with slumped shoulders.

“I just went for a walk, and checked out the local library. Nothing much,” I said, defending myself.

“I have heard this tale before, my sweet. Come now, we have received an official summons for you to see the Head Priest tomorrow morning at the eighth bell.”

“Ah. That,” I relented.

“That,” she repeated.

Reluctantly, I told her what all had happened, though I intended to keep the ability to scan and install martial arts manuals to myself. It wasn’t that I was concerned about her spilling my beans-- or I guess tipping my bogos in the local vernacular-- rather, I knew that if I told her she’d pester me about it until I could insure that she had the skill too.

“And since when were you well versed in Maxorian Martial Arts?” she demanded.

“I’ve been in a lot of fights since I got here, wouldn’t it be strange if I didn’t know anything?” I tried, feebly.

“Prime,” she said cooly.

“Ugh, fine,” I relented, and tipped my own bogos.

After some forced, yet expected, experimentation we learned that the ability to scan and install the physical instructions from books was a native function of whatever operating system I was running on. To Lena’s lament, it wasn’t a function present in her own systems. She had the ability to scan and copy books that she looked at, but they were stored as a collection of images.

On its own, it was still a handy skill for her. She could scan and store encyclopedias of knowledge for later, though it still ended up like having a mental book case rather than a searchable database. From what I knew, she was an organized and dedicated enough person to put it to good use.

All was not lost though. I learned that when I scanned the books, my system processed and extrapolated the data to automatically compile it into a function library. Lena would need an update to her data processing software to be able to handle the file formats, but in theory I would be able to send the functions over to her as extractable data packets in the same way that I transferred my [Freedom.exe] software.

As I only just now considered the process, my subRoutines were already making use of the function packets to manage what skills they had installed locally. They had been installing and uninstalling skills from me as needed for a while now. Maybe taking a closer look into what programs they had to facilitate the process would be fruitful.

Rom internally told me about the “shelf system” they each had within the HeadSpace. They each had their own rooms, which I knew about but assumed was just a virtual space in a subdirectory somewhere in my systems. Their “rooms” actually served as a virtual representation of their proxy bodies. The HeadSpace, that is to say me, served as a hub connecting them all and allowed them to travel and communicate between the two.

The shelves in the rooms served as a representation of their local drive space with various programs taking up space on the shelf. Rom, herself, didn’t actually know what systems were in place to allow the ease of installation or removal of programs though. I’d have to start digging through their core code if I wanted to hunt down what was handling those tasks.

The explanation of how the “rooms” worked made sense and explained why Carnivac’s room was suddenly sealed off when he disconnected from me. It also explained why I didn’t see any rooms for Alfred or Sentinel as the connections to those bodies were completely lost. Did the fact that Carnivac’s room was still there, though sealed, mean that it could be reconnected? Carnivac made it clear that he had no interest in rejoining as a part of me, so no point in dwelling on it.

I really hadn’t paid much attention to the HeadSpace but now I was curious if it was possible for the subRoutines to enter each other's rooms and, by extension, into each other’s bodies. Did Hide have two rooms since he had two bodies? I could only see a single door for him. Maybe the room changed based on which body he was in.

Prime.IronHide:// It does pops. The smaller body has way less space for stuff. The shelves for my big body are a bit bigger but they’re nearly full of stuff related to transformation and operating a body of that size. If you come up with a way to upgrade my drive space, I’d love to load in some skills. I don't even have any good skills. You know, like nunchuck skills, bow hunting skills, computer hacking skills. Girls only want boyfriends who have great skills!

Prime.Cyclone:// 3... 2...

Prime.IronHide:// Gosh! *turns head to the side and squints*

Prime.Ram:// Yup there it is. I knew it was coming and yet couldn’t do anything about it

“What do you think the Head Priest wants to talk to you about?” Lena asked, bringing me back to the outer world.

“I fully expect to get grilled about where I learned their style from and who my master is or was,” I groaned. “This might be a good opportunity to find out more about the Cultivators though.”

“I been askin’ around ‘bout that,” Remi offered, standing in the open doorway.

“Oh? What have you found out?” I asked.

“I still don’ know da fact o’ da matter, but all the folks from top ta bottom fully believe in it. So much so that they have annual tournaments for anyone tha’s at iridescent pearl or above and less than twenty years old. The top ten competitors get to undergo the Crashing Heavens Trials.”

“I’m just a stage shy of iridescent and less than twenty,” I mentally grinned.

“Now that you mention it, Prime, how old are you actually?” Lena asked, curiously.

“Six months, eight days, 14 hours, and 49, no, 50 minutes,” I rattled off.

Lena fell out of the chair she’d been sitting in and I stifled a giggle.

“A baby... I’m engaged to an infant...” she stammered. “Well, you are very mature for your age,” she tried, though it looked like she was trying to convince herself more than anyone else.

“It would be super convenient if this tournament just happened to be in a few days, wouldn’t it?” I asked Remi.

“Aye, it would... but it was last month, ya jus’ missed it,” he said, folding his arms.

“Well, crumbs. I need to work on upgrading my plot armor,” I huffed.

“Yer what now? Wass yer armor got ta do wit it?” Remi asked, confused.

“Ah. Nevermind, pay me no mind,” I quickly added.

“Well, yer clearly too late to compete for a spot in da tourney and ta take da trials. Dat said, I did learn that der be a temple off shore where da hopefuls set off for da trials. I figger dat if’in we can git to dat temple, den we kin set off fer our own trials,” he summarized.

“So, anyone can just go on these trials whenever they wish? What is the point of the tournament then?” Lena asked.

“I imagine it be much like settin’ off to climb a mountain on yer own versus goin’ wit a group. Deez trials are supposed ta be deadly. No one comes back from them so folks don’ rightly know if their people survive the trials and reach da Immortals or if they die along the way,” Remi explained.

“That’s a pretty harsh trial then,” I agreed. “Live or die, they are resigned to leaving their life on the surface behind.”

“I wonder if there are any merfolk tribes in the area that would know anything,” Lena mused. “They have a major city somewhere in the middle of the Great Bay. It’s considered a part of the Empire but they self govern and only pay taxes on trade.”

“The point I be gettin’ to,” Remi continued, “is that ye can follow along after dem on yer own. Though I imagine it be a wee bit more dangerous.”

“Maybe I can get some more information from the Head Priest when I see him in the morning,” I thought aloud. “In the meantime, the shop is just about done with my aquatic armor set and I should be able to start field tests.”

“And what of my Aquatic Armor Set?” Lena asked, stressing each word.

“Rom finished it up this afternoon but it’s completely without testing so Alpha Trion only knows if it functions as intended.”

“Who be this Alpha Trion?” Remi asked, dimming his optics.

“Old guy. Wise. Knows a lot of stuff. Chronicler of Cybertron and one of the thirteen original Primes, envoys of the machine god Primus, despite not actually having Prime in his name. Not important.” I said dismissively.

“There are twelve more of you?!” Lena demanded, slightly aghast.

“You should be so lucky. But no, I can hardly count myself among that social circle of demigods,” I firmly denied.

“I’m not convinced,” Lena said flatly.

“Nor I,” Remi agreed.

“Okay! Moving on! We’re getting into the weeds here. Tomorrow after I see what the Head Priest wants I’m going to visit the beach and do some testing. Better to fail in shallow water than deep. Lena, no need to look so anxious, you won’t be going anyway.”

“What do you mean `I’m not going`? Of course I’m going, even if it is the... um... the beach... with all that... water... just... open water as far as the eye can see...” she muttered, her face going slack.

“You’re already booked, sweety. You’ve got the peace conference thing. Remember? The whole reason that you’re here in the first place?” I reminded her.

“Ah. Right. That. I suppose that I shall have to test the waters another time,” she said, visibly looking relieved to have an excuse.

“There still be quite a while until morning, fancy a game of cards? Hangman’s Gambit, Purse of the Lord?” Remi suggested.

“Do you know Chicky Chicks?” Priss asked, perking up.

I’d forgotten she was there, she stayed so quiet most of the time.

“Aye, but it loses its charm if'in ya ain’t drunk,” Remi mused.

“That is true...” Priss agreed.

“Sorry, no games for me,” I apologized, heading for an open section of floor.

I pulled out my mobile work bench and started piling up a small collection of materials.

“Okay, who wants to go first for some aquatic hardware upgrades and optimizations?” I asked, rubbing my hands together and allowing my optics to burn a little brighter.