“So…” he trailed off, a million questions buzzing. “You guys are quite capable of flight. I also see almost everyone wearing tunics or a button-backed shirt to allow unfettered motion of their wings.”
“It’s our natural state. It does present to being a bit of a pain during the winter, but, there are always trade-offs,” Varrick shrugged. “Telga was telling me you two were…inquisitive and scientific. What can you tell me, at a glance?”
“Well, this town looks like the turn of the twentieth-century Earth, roughly. But it’s also hard for me to map everything, one for one. I can’t account for societal valuation of knowledge, or–”
Claire interrupted him with a clearing of her throat.“Nerd bird, short version,” she emphasized. He glared at her intensely.
“Not cool, Claire.”
“Hey, the crisis is still young. We’ve still got that other Etteria crystal. If I feel like growing wings, I might give it a try,” she added with an anxious laugh. "Too soon?"
"Too soon," he answered flatly. "For all we know, it was a fluke.” He turned to Varrick, trying to remain focused. Claire was still adjusting, and he couldn’t blame her for being a bit dejected. “Okay, so level with me, Varrick, and Telga. How many men does Revarik have?”
“Several hundred thousand. More, if you count followers who aren’t trained in violence. He has the core world, and the deepest orbital layer under his control, along with all its denizens,” Telga answered.
“Right. The layers. This world is like…an onion. A holy onion,” he added quietly. Claire chuckled softly at that–it was a step in the right direction. “And, how many people oppose him?”
Varrick took the lead on the question. “A lot, but…everyone’s fragmented, literally, in this case, and tyrant gods aren’t the only problem we have to face. Valtiria is the biggest tectonic mass in orbit,” he explained, showing them the canal dug as part of an offshoot from the stream at the edge of town. Shawn noted it was a rather active water source, and there was a considerable gradient–it wouldn’t be a likely flood zone. Maybe he could use this for a plumbing setup, eventually.
“How big is the world, anyway?” he asked.
“World census is about…eh…three hundred million? Assuming we’ve accounted for most of the tectonic masses. You dig deep enough anywhere, and you’ll find broken cities, failed settlements, magical gestalt users setting up cozy retreats, eldritch nightmares in their hidey-hole, and more.”
“That seems low, for a planetoid of this size.” Shawn glanced at Claire. “By the way, your planet shouldn’t exist. It defies physics.”
“Hah! Listen to this hatchling prattle on about physics! Like you didn’t just witness magic and other crazy things already?” Varrick offered with an accompanying bout of laughter, which tapered to a few chuckles at the end. “Now, you talk the fancy talk, but just how skilled are you in walking the walk?”
“Well, if bullets don’t work, then maybe several fireballs will suffice, since I seem to be able to make those.” He snapped his fingers, trying to replicate his fire ability–but to no avail. He frowned at that. “Okay, work in progress on the fire part. High-speed projectiles still solve a lot of problems.”
“Or, you know, chemical deadliness.” Claire’s reaction was disturbingly calm. “Wonder if that fiend would burn if I cooked up white phosphorus. Or maybe burn his lungs with chlorine gas.”
“Uh, Claire? Using that shit is a crime against humanity,” Shawn stated uneasily.
“Well, it’s a good thing he’s not human, then, is he?” she asked, teeth on edge.
"Claire, we just got here. We don't need a relitigating of the horrors of trench warfare and chemical weapons on our first week." She raised an eyebrow at that. "We need shields as much as we need swords, if I might borrow a phrase."
“A fair point. I don’t think we have the chemicals or the means of storing stuff that nasty right now. I need a proper chemist bench, and an inventory of magical ingredients.”
“Yes, let’s take inventory, first, before we decide to bring chemical warfare to a brand new world, please.” What was terrifying was that he was sure Claire could make those deadly items, with the right equipment.
Claire had an edge to her. He knew it, because he'd seen her get put down by family at every turn. It was like they were unwilling to let their daughter outshine her older brother with a gambling problem, and a minor league baseball career they were sure would lead to the big leagues. He'd seen her push her efforts in front of their face, just for recognition.
Sometimes, with words that became heated and angry. She'd shown off one time with a chemical solvent that turned organic matter to sludge in minutes, or other chemicals that could be used for metal cutting that transferred waste heat and sped up cutting time.
All they'd been focused on, was that she was talking over her brother. That had not been a great Thanksgiving dinner.
Shawn pointed to the trees surrounding them. "Varrick, let's start with some basics. We don't have trees this huge, back on Earth, except for very small segments of forests in specific locations. I could use some details about our location."
“Well…” he pointed to the massive, gold-barked trees that towered a hundred meters into the air, with six-point leaves forming the bulk of the vegetation. Each limb was as big as a car, further up. The trunk itself was almost as big as an eighteen-wheeler. “We’re in the Germina forest. Vea’lant is a frontier town, part of the Valtirian free states. We like our independence, and the folks in Valtiria Prime–the capital–-tend to leave us to our own devices. Except for taxes.” he let out an indignant hoot at that and rolled his eyes. “We produce lumber, lumber by-products, and we typically farm enough crops for the town, and livestock, that we don’t need to import much.”
“How big is the town?”
“About nine hundred people. It’s a mix of humans, Aveerans, some Vorhunde, a few vulpines, and a few Nekotames--the furry fellas with long tails. We’re pretty diverse here,” he added with a contented chuckle. He waved them over to the small river, where a sawmill was going at the early morning hour. Shawn observed a crew of Aveerans and a few humans unloading large logs from a cart. Except, instead of horses, they were using several large creatures that looked like velociraptors, covered in feathers.
Um, okay, we have dinosaurs now. Or, something functionally similar to them. He glanced down at his arm and pondered if there was a common species link. “So, you prepare timber? Any chance you guys have a lathe?”
“We have a saw driven by a water wheel. We could hook up other machinery, but that’s all we currently use it for.” Shawn noted it for another time–hydropower could be helpful. But he needed a generator and a capacitor. Among other things. The tech here was competent enough, some of these things could be possible, and the disparate tech suggested he could find advanced stuff…somewhere, in this fractured world.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
He also needed to get familiar with his powers. He pondered if he could melt metals down using his fire. It was certainly intense enough, temperature-wise. But, he also needed to know how much he could sustain a steady stream, or find other means of replicating it, like a proper forge could. He focused on the mill, and Varrick shrugged, still considering his query. “Alright, any other power setups for machining?”
“We have some woodworking lathes," he answered. This was palpable progress.
“And you run the smithy.”
“I produce a bunch of mechanical parts when needed. Nothing fancy though,” Varrick shrugged. “Why?”
“I need to see the lathes. I’ve got some ideas.” Claire perked up at this and smiled.
“Watch out. Once Shawn gets an idea, he doesn’t let go of it,” she warned Varrick, who clucked softly.
“Huh. is this a good thing or a bad thing? I feel like it could go either way.”
After a couple of moments, Shawn peered at the woodworking lathe. It was relatively primitive. But it appeared to keep true to the center and had some metal fixturing.
Wonder how much eccentricity we get on this thing, or runout. If this is low accuracy, it won't help much--
Based on your visual accuracy, the runout is .1 millimeters from the true axis of rotation. That's not bad for such a low-tech setup.
He blinked in surprise. Halsey, how do you know that?
I observed the surface based on your visual acuity. This may present difficulty in scaling to more precise measurements. I could tell you that you would also maintain a perpendicularity of .05 millimeters, with the current setup. Again, with 95% confidence. There are numerous variables in part fits, the balance of the fixturing, especially at higher speeds, and the cutter head's stability.
Halsey...this could be very helpful. What about surface texture?
I don't think your finger has the level of fidelity for me to gauge that. More precise instrumentation is required.
He picked up a chunk of scrap wood, and noted a mechanical scale nearby. Give me an estimate of the weight of what I'm holding.
Five hundred and fifty grams. approximately.
He put it on the scale. 545 grams. An error of less than one percent. Temperature of the ambient air?
You'll need a gauge for that I think.
Worth a shot. You're some kind of magical construct, alright. But with a personality and a broad swath of prior data. He glanced down at his chest, tapping it gently. A magical construct inside my body. This should be kinda horrifying, but...Halsey, this is incredible.
It's just math and physics, where I can infer such information. I think the gestalts may break some of the normal rules of reality. I find it puzzling that I can infer this. It comes...naturally, to me.
Either way, this is tangible help I don't need a gestalt to make use of. Measurements with a decent degree of precision also seemed an unrealized, possibly immense advantage.
With this discovery, he had some ideas to improve the lathe; it was hand-operated with a foot lever, but mechanical power would be a plus. “Claire, thoughts on getting this thing motorized?”
“Sure. But, Shawn, this place looks agrarian. Where will we find magnets, copper, and enough metal to create a casing?” she pondered aloud. “Also, what’s our long-term goal here?”
“Starting up the fires of industry, training people, and starting a means to out-tech Revarik. Claire, did you happen to examine my bag? Did the laptop survive?
“Yeah I haven’t powered it up, and we have no means to produce power–yet. Why?” she asked.
“There was also a copy of a machinist’s handbook in there,” he replied with a grin. “You know how useful that’s going to be?”
“A laptop with a survivalist guide to the apocalypse would be preferable, along with blueprints and instructions. But that’s a solid start. I left it in the apothecary, with what was left of your clothes. Your jacket got shredded when you grew wings." She wrinkled her face as she said that. "Sorry, wasn't trying to sound insensitive."
He let out a sigh. “I know you weren't. I liked that jacket. Varrick, I think we can make some improvements. Let’s go check out the smithy.”
A few moments later, Varrick swung the door open to the rustic smithy. The bottom floor had more of that stone slab–and rough-hewn timber that formed much of the structure, and more finely fitted wood flooring that was well thought out. All around him were the tools of industry he’d need. Most of it was basic, but he could use it to build the next steps of his plan to not die on this planet. And maybe, make a lot of other people’s lives a lot easier.
“Metal press. A stamp set. Some basic gages and calipers–these are very helpful,” he mused. It was a decent machinist shop–for now. “You have a forge that goes…how hot?”
Varrick tapped it for emphasis. “Hot enough that I can melt almost any damn metal I want. I also have a gestalt that helps with that,” he added coyly as he waved a small iron bar stock in his hand, no larger than a pencil. He tapped it, and the metal almost seemed to flow like a liquid, and he formed it into a small hoop.
After a few seconds, he bent it by hand and restored it to the original cylindrical bar stock. “That’s easy with simple iron. More complicated alloys get tricky, bending it right. I have to feel it out by magical muscle memory. If you get my meaning.”
"What does that do to the physical properties?"
"Depending on my level of focus? I can make the alloy reach states where I can greatly improve the tensile strength, and hardness." he flexed his hand gently, and splayed them out. "Dead steady hands. My gestalt takes some precision. small batches of metal I can do pretty easily. Large batches, complicated geometry...that's tougher."
“What other gestalts are there?” Shawn pondered as he tapped his beak–and flinched when it made a rather obnoxious hollow sound.
“If you can imagine it, there’s a person who can do it. Telga knows more about gestalts than me because she’s seen a lot,” Varrick commented and waved to the room. “I’m a simple guy, I build stuff that we need.”
"You plan on utilizing the gestalts?" Telga echoed.
"To make a stopgap for any crucial missing tech, yeah," Shawn answered. "I just need the right people. This shop is...decent, but you’re missing something crucial. Man, what I wouldn’t do for a Bridgeport right now.”
“A what, now?” Varrick added with a grunt.
“A milling machine. A device capable of cutting complex shapes into various metal alloys or other materials. You can use it to make fasteners, bolts, and all sorts of high-precision hardware. You can produce parts at a large scale, with a properly trained operator." Their interest was on him, now, with the way they leaned in. "There are also some tools you can make using an upgraded lathe, as well. The sky's the limit on what you can make with both of them,” he added with an emergent smile. “I think if we use what we’ve got, and get a metal supply, we can build one, and start making some cool stuff. The lathes could use an upgrade, too, to cut metal. That’s just a matter of more raw power, hooking them up to the hydropower, or building an electric motor.”
“What’s an eclectic motor?” Varrick posed casually. Shawn sighed softly at this notion. He would have to explain the electrical charge, what they could do with it, and the concept of electrons...and Lorentz force. On second thought, I need to explain the bare bones minimum. I need to see where the gaps in knowledge are--theirs, and my own.
He chose to answer the short way. “A device to make a lot of common problems go away. If I can build one, we could produce power for the town, and make this place more livable, free up time to work other challenges. But, I admit, I need to see some of the gestalts in action. Yours could be immensely helpful for what I have in mind. Other power sources to run a motor could be...helpful."
“Mine? Haha. I use it to straighten pieces when I don’t hammer them true," Varrick said with a casual wave. "I didn't build orbital summer homes, let's say."
Shawn smiled widely. “Well, those are a ways away, for now. I've got some ideas. The good kind. Now, as for your supplies. What do we have?”
“We don’t have a lot of metal. There was a mine, east of here, a few hours' walk, but it's been abandoned for years.” Varrick let out a deflating whistle. “Last I heard, it was abandoned due to some creepy crawlies taking up residence. The first lesson you should learn is that your life can end on Remaria, just like that.” He snapped his fingers for emphasis. “Know why?”
“Regia said we aren’t on the top of the food chain. Last night...proved that,” Claire chimed in while glancing at the various forge tools, and the setup of the forge itself. “This is…not a bad setup. But get Shawn what he needs, I’m sure we can work miracles. I can help post-process some of the ores with the right chemicals. Some ores can be broken down that way.”
“Ah, you’re an alchemist by trade?” he mused.
“No, chemist. Magic need not apply in our world. Or, so we were led to believe. Anyway, could you introduce us to who’s who around here?”
“You met the healer, Chakra, already, plus his wife, Lucia. I mean it’s not that big a town, but it’s bustling, for what it is," he added as he pointed a thumb over his wing.
Shawn mulled the situation for a moment. Halsey, can you take…notes?
I’ve got a mind like a steel trap. What are you thinking?
Once we’ve gotten the lay of the land, I want to get that mine running. He kept that thought to himself for now. They needed to start small.
He needed to replicate his powers in a controlled way, so he could make use of their full capabilities. “Varrick, let’s keep making the rounds. I’d like to meet the leads of the town. I’d also like to stop by the militia, and talk to Regia and Garrett, too.”
Making a magitech revolution isn't going to happen overnight. But Shawn's got a chemist, determination, and magic.
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