Chapter 6: Ch 6 – Academic

Issac led Asphodel through the metal door to his room, the two stepping into the quiet area. 

"...Do you have lights?"

Asphodel asked as she stared at the dark room. 

"Lights? Oh, I don't usually turn them on."

"Why not?"

"I have better vision than normal, so dark places aren't that dark for me."

"Oh. If that's the case, you don't need to turn them on. I also have better than normal vision."

Asphodel spoke as she walked further in. Issac shrugged before walking over to his workplace. 

"Alright, Miss Ash. I've got some cool stuff that you may or may not understand."

"You mean that suit? I must say, it's an impressive piece of equipment."

"You saw it?"

"Your dad let me in here to steal some clothes. Mine were dirty. So I took a few looks at the suit that walked in here of its own accord. That's when I found out that you were also a Dark Technician."

She spoke as she walked over to the suit, stroking one of its arms and feeling the cold metal. 

"A type 3 conversion core. I assume your power has high energy densities?"

"It does."

"And it's light based?"

"Yes. How did you know?"

"I saw the optical equipment."

She smiled as she walked around the suit. Suddenly, she turned toward Issac and took a few steps toward him. He was surprised as she brought her body close to his. 

Issac stiffened up a bit as he saw her glowing purple eyes look into his. She smiled as her hand made its way behind his neck and under some of his hair, touching upon a metal device that protruded from his skin. 

"Hm, I thought so. A neural interface composed of surprisingly high purity Dark Iron. If all this tech was indeed created by you, then you're an extremely accomplished Dark Technician for your young age. But, that also begs several questions about why a person like you would be found in a rural farming colony. And that's not even asking about your personal relationship with an Admiral of the Syndicated Star Command of Humanity. I must say, you're an interesting person."

"...Heh."

After being silent for a second, Issac let out a small chuckle. His eyes sharpened a bit, those blue orbs staring back into Asphodel's purple iris'. 

"And what about you? Able to casually snatch a starship for your personal use, and a large one at that. Only starships that can hold over a hundred people are fitted with escape pods, and you used one. Not only that, but you were able to casually call someone who can come and pick you up on some backwater planet. You don't even want your starship back. It could be sold for a massive sum, broken or otherwise. Don't you also have quite the interesting background?"

"Huhu, it's actually not as amazing as you might think. Still, I think you're a bit more impressive than me. I was trained as a Dark Technician by some very qualified people. You on the other hand had some random lab and toys to play around with. I'm not sure if I could've come out with that mech suit over there in the same situation. Or anyone for that matter."

"Eh, that hunk of metal took a year to build."

"Only a year? Also impressive."

Asphodel nodded her head with a raised eyebrow. Seeing as how they were still so close together though, Issac motioned over to the workspace. 

"Go ahead and sit."

"Okay. But why do you just have two chairs at your desk?"

"Uh, one of them is for Nifty."

"Well isn't that just adorable."

She giggled a bit as she sauntered over into one of the chairs. Issac took the other one. After he sat, Nifty actually got off his docking station and climbed into Asphodel's lap, curling up like a cat. Issac gawked. 

"So that's where you've been! You unfaithful cat, I needed your help in the lab."

"Hehe, he was playing with me instead of working his poor back off for you. By the way, this is yet another amazing piece of tech. A quantum computer, right?"

Asphodel asked as she stroked Nifty's head. Issac nodded. 

"Yes."

"How many qubits?"

"87."

"That little?"

"I went for error correction over sheer power. I was able to get a high efficiency level with the right modifications. That also allowed me to cut the power costs."

"Mm. That's smart."

"I know."

Issac cheekily remarked, causing Asphodel to grin. The next moment, she crossed her arms. 

"Alright, so you doubt my expertise. Come then. Ask me your most mind numbing questions."

"Hm, okay. Here's one I've been stuck on recently. When dark energy is loaded into a Conversion core via Dark Iron, it makes the scalar fields of the core's superconductors act all whacky. It pokes holes in the self containment field and reduces my power manifestation efficiency. I was looking for a way to reconcile that without resorting to increasing the purity of the Dark Iron."

"Hmm..."

Asphodel went into thought. Issac was quiet as they looked at each other. 

"What's the shape of your self containment field?"

"Currently a Mobius strip."

"So you've got a good foundation. Have you accounted for the superconductors and their flux fields?"

"Yes."

"And what about your power? Your power is light based, so what if those channels of light create disturbances in the electrical charges of the superconductors?"

"...I hadn't thought of that."

Issac's eyes widened as he suddenly started to ponder. 

"My currents of light would increase the charge strength, and I would need to compensate with something to guide the electrical fields."

"That's if you're trying to harness every bit of energy. Otherwise, you could just put a bit of resistance in there to eat that electrical charge, preventing it from interfering with other electrical fields."

"That would be a good remedy until I solved the problem properly. Nice! I like it!"

Issac felt a bit of excitement come over him as dots rapidly connected in his mind. He then looked at Asphodel with a smile. 

"You're good!"

"I know."

She flicked her hair at the praise, though she couldn't conceal a bright smile. Rubbing her chin, she suddenly thought of her own question. 

"Alright, your turn. I was having a problem with dark energy emission concepts. Specifically, when channeling the dark energy through your nervous system, how would you go about creating an artificial field? Only with a field can you extract dark energy from your body and bind it with whatever scientific concept your power utilizes. Otherwise you need the assistance of a mech suit and your neural implant to stream it into external emission systems. So, how would I go about that?"

"Oh, that's pretty simple actually."

"Do enlighten me then."

Asphodel leaned forward, hand under chin, as she bore into Issac's eyes. 

He spoke.

"In a mech suit, your conversion core handles the manifestation of your dark energy, then funneling it into emission weapons. And in the weapon, there's a system of multiple pseudo cores that build energy between them, using a few quantum field principles in order to extract energy from the Dark Iron and emit the energy. If you want to copy that personally, then you need to follow the same principles."

"That's easier said than done."

"True. Fortunately I have a real world solution. Look."

Issac suddenly raised his hand, facing his palm toward Asphodel. She looked closely, seeing all the metal nodes, circuits, and strings on his palms and fingers. 

"Dark Iron? You modified your hand?"

"Yes. Besides through my neural interface, it was the only way for me to extract my power safely, otherwise I would obliterate my hand."

"Is your power volatile?"

"Yes and no. It's just its nature. Watch."

Saying that, Issac's hand suddenly sparked with blue lightning. Asphodel was surprised as the arcs of electricity congealed into a blue object above his hand. It was a coin. 

"This is my ability. I can construct objects out of light. Of course, it's more complicated than that, but that's the gist. It's called Hardlight."

*Ping!*

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Issac flicked the coin as he said that. The coin flipped in midair before landing in Asphodel's outstretched hand. She held it and looked at it. The coin was cold to the touch and had texture to it. 

She looked at Issac weirdly.

"Are you sure you should be showing me this?"

"What, are you going to tell my arch-nemesis about it? I don't really see a reason to keep everything a secret. Consider it thanks for helping me solve a problem."

"...Very well."

Asphodel nodded as she flicked the coin back to Issac. He spoke as he caught it. 

"Anyway, the basic principle is to use the concepts behind quantum mechanics. Don't think of dark energy as only existing where you guide it. Dark energy is everywhere, distributed across all of space."

"The cosmological constant."

"Right. Now, all you need to do is channel your energy with that logic. It's hard to describe the feeling of creating an artificial field, but if I had to put it in words, it's like you just believe the dark energy you channel can be brought out simply because it's the same as all the dark energy around you. If there's no difference, then why can't your dark energy be outside of your body instead of inside?"

"That's... an interesting take. It's like quantum superposition."

"Yea, just with your dark energy. Of course, even with all my practice, I still ended up getting modified to enable that process. Now though, I don't have any trouble manifesting my power around my hands. With my mech suit, the effects are even more exaggerated."

"Right. In your defense though, with the pure energetic power that you wield, you really would destroy your hands if you channeled it through your skin. I'm surprised that you still have hands considering you would've experimented in the past."

Asphodel reached out, taking Issac's hand and feeling the Dark Iron nodes on his skin. When she did this though, she found some odd formations on his skin. They were scars.

She looked back up at Issac.

"Wait, you learned this the hard way, didn't you?"

"Yea. As I was trying to solve the very question you asked me, I ended up successfully channeling my power out of my hands. Only, the energy flash boiled the liquids in my blood and flesh. After my hands basically exploded, my parents had to get them repaired. Only, I wasn't able to feel anything after that. Fortunately, after doing some research I was able to figure out how to compound off of my neural interface and augment my hands with Dark Iron, using it as an artificial nerve network. After extensive surgeries, I was finally able to feel again, and I was also able to safely channel my power out of my hands."

"..."

Asphodel was quiet as Issac explained. She couldn't imagine just playing with her power when such a horrifying occurrence happened out of nowhere. The pain and panic must have been unbearable, not to mention the inability to feel anything through one's hands. 

If something like that happened, she didn't know if she would ever wield her power again just out of fear. 

"...When did that happen?"

"I believe I was 13 years old. Actually, that little event is what got me into Dark Tech."

"When did you get the augmentations?"

"A few years later, when I was 16. My parents actually didn't want me to get them for fear of tampering with my neural interface. But after I brought up enough convincing material, they approved."

"Your mother is an accomplished dark technician as well. How could she not have allowed this?"

"Because this isn't only dark technology. It's biology and cybernetics. Regardless, I think it ended with a good result. I'm more capable than I was back then."

Issac shrugged as Asphodel continued observing his hands. The nodes and strings made of Dark Iron were completely pitch black. Pure dark iron didn't radiate any light, so while Issac's dark iron wasn't totally pure, it was still exceptionally dark. At some point, she poked at one of the metal nodes on his palm.

"So you can feel that?"

"Yes."

"That's pretty amazing. And here?"

"Yup."

"Is your grip affected?"

"Not really. Are you interested in augmentations?"

"I am, although that fact earns me a lot of scorn from those around me. The Aatrix aren't big fans of anything other than a pure body. Cybernetic augmentations are thus frowned upon. I never really cared though. It was still interesting to me since it could do amazing things, like in this case."

"Right. Why is that though? I only know that the Aatrix are famous for how aesthetically pleasing they are."

"Oh? Are you calling me pretty?"

Hearing him, Asphodel suddenly raised her head with a cheeky smile. Issac was stunned for a second before scratching his head. 

"Maybe I am. In fact, you're so pretty that your crystal hair reflects the damn sun into my eyes, blinding me while I'm driving."

"Hey! That is so not my fault! Maybe if you didn't drive like you were flying a mech you wouldn't have to worry about a bit of glare."

"Glare? I could handle myself better with a flashlight pointed right into my eyeballs. With you there, I occasionally see rainbows since your hair acts like a prism."

"Shush your face! My hair is perfectly fine."

Asphodel pulled away and stroked her hair, letting out a cute huff. Issac laughed a bit before focusing his gaze on that fine crystalline hair of hers. He was actually very curious about it, after all, it was so different from human hair. 

Seeing his gaze, Asphodel thought for a second before leaning forward. 

"Have you ever felt Aatrix hair?"

"No, I haven't. I only ever heard that it was crystalline."

"It's not totally. Here."

Spinning around, Asphodel turned her body and faced her back toward Issac. She flicked out her hair that went down to her shoulder blades. 

Realizing what she was offering, Issac's curiosity got the best of him. He reached out his hands, running his fingers down her hair. 

When he did, he was a bit mesmerized. The hair was truly fine, sliding across his fingers like silk. Only, they were a bit rigid at the same time, a bit unlike human hair that would freely bend however it wished. Not only that, but the texture felt a bit like glass. It was an exotic feeling. 

"Aatrix hair is actually not that different from human hair. The main difference is that there really is a crystalline material inside. If I'm not mistaken, it's bismuth that gives it the crystalline look and feel. It's also a bit more rigid, but it can still be bent around without breaking. The reflectivity and iridescence also comes from the bismuth, giving it that shiny, rainbow reflectiveness that you apparently love."

"Heh, yeah. Still, your hair is rather amazing. I've only ever seen Aatrix hair in pictures. This has got to be the most interesting though. Totally white and reflective."

"You also have white hair. That comes from your power, right?"

"I'm pretty sure."

Issac half answered as he continued playing with Asphodel's hair. He combed it, lifted it, bent it around, and almost put it in a knot. Feeling his mischievous actions though, Asphodel shook her hair away. 

"Alright, no tying up my hair. It's a pain to undo knots."

"Hehe, I'm sure."

"You dork."

She snorted a bit as she spun on her chair, turning back around. After that, she reclined back into her seat, looking at Issac like some kind of queen. 

"Okay, let's steer back to a more academic discussion. So we've established that you have a rather powerful ability. I'm also pretty sure humans have developed a set of standard cultivation methods depending on your type of power. Which one do you practice?"

"Uh, I don't practice any cultivation method."

"Huh?"

Asphodel looked at Issac as if he were stupid. 

"How can you not cultivate? How have you developed your power?"

"I haven't? I've heard a lot about cultivation methods, but my parents have never introduced me to one."

Issac shrugged his shoulders, not thinking much of this fact. 

Cultivation methods were techniques that allowed one to exercise the soul, increasing its strength and its ability to store more dark energy. There was a long list of benefits to cultivating, but everyone had a limit that was usually determined by their power. As Issac's father pointed out, there were several echelons that people were classified by. Naturally, the higher the echelon, the fewer the people. This was due to the limitations of the soul and its ability to store dark energy. 

But for those with high potential, cultivation methods were used to grow toward their maximum strength. Issac had never been taught one by his parents, but because he naturally became more powerful over time, he didn't really care about it. 

Asphodel was dumbfounded though. Issac's ability was already powerful, yet he had never cultivated before. She quickly reevaluated his talent.

After thinking for a second, she reached into one of her pockets, pulling out a small object the size of her palm. It was a totally black crystal, looking like dark iron. 

"I have this thing here. It has to do with cultivation methods. Over the course of tonight, if I think we've had a productive discussion about all things dark technology, then I'll lend it to you."

"...Really?"

"Really."

Asphodel nodded, totally serious. Issac's eyebrow raised before he also nodded. 

"Okay. Deal."

"Then let's start. Tell me what you think about various conversion core architectures."

"Well..."

Issac smiled, proceeding to go on a long splurge of information. Asphodel listened intently. As she had found through their conversation, Issac had a unique understanding of dark technology. He was more than qualified to hold a discussion about it, and she wanted to her everything he had to say.

 

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