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Aberrant: Children of Quantum Fire - [Interlude] Pythian Council [FIN]


Toby Lupin

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May 16th, Primus

It was one of those occasions where Darrik had switched back to Primus for a time, to reconnect with his siblings, which admittedly, were of less duration and less frequency now. It wasn't like he was simply growing apart from them, but undoubtedly his work with Exalt! and dealings with the outside world did engage his attention far more nowadays.

Which ironically, made these visits more important. Especially the one he intended on having now. Alex, it would seem, had been far more shut up in the lab, generally, but definitely working on something(s) and given the inventiveness and intelligence of that sister of his, checking in on her projects was worthwhile.

Besides, she could use the company.

Seeing as he was at the door, Darrik knocked to let Alex know he was here, then waited for her to give the all-clear.

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The door opened to a workshop area that was remarkably clean of projects, save for one of her 'stasis pods.' Substantial modifications had been made to it. There was a table next to it that had equipment piled on it as well, and that was where Alex was currently engaged.

"Darrik," she said without looking up, "Nice to see you again. You've been scarce lately. Have a seat, put yer feet up..."

A plush reclining chair with garish plaid upholstery appeared with a hiss and pop, to take care of the suggested sitting and foot-putting-up needs.

Alex pushed her wheeled chair away from the workbench and swiveled to face Darrik.

"Now. What can I do for you?"

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"Talk." Darrik grinned with the simple line. "I've been scarce, as you've said, and you rarely ever come out of the lab, at least as I understand it still. I think we ought to catch up. Starting with what projects you've got catching your eye and interest of late." He looked around with a showy turn of the head. "I'm sure those that require you to clean up are firsts."

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"Don't be too impressed. It's one nice side effect of working with materials that disappear after a few hours," Alex replied mischievously.

"Well, Warren and I have been scouting star systems looking for the lucky one in a million. And I've been working on intel...got some good leads, I think pretty soon we'll finally be able to start really anticipating movements instead of just reacting."

She glanced at the stasis pod, then at Darrik.

"Few other things too...always have a handful of projects on the side. But was there anything in particular you were curious about? It's a bit unusual for you to come in and ask about my work."

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Darrik shrugged in a mischievous and enigmatic way at first. "Maybe I've gotten more of an appreciation for your work." Then he decided to out with it. "And maybe... I'm wondering why a girl matching your description came in to talk with Puck weeks back, one who apparently didn't apply for membership, but was in there for a bit. Care to humor me with an explanation?"

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"Well," Alex said, her smile fading, "First off, I changed my appearance so it's unlikely the girl matched my description unless you're using 'description' to mean something other than physical. And yes, I had a chat with Puck about partnering with Exalt. I can't join it right now, but one of my projects that's nearing completion requires a real-world outlet for distribution. I could outfit one of my fronts to do it, but that would attract a lot of attention and risk damaging my financials."

She regarded Darrik for a moment, realizing he wasn't going to be satisfied without more. She could either hold her ground and not tell him...in which case he'd be pissed off and curious and would devote his time and considerable resources to finding out, or she could tell him and most likely make an ally of him in keeping it secret.

"I've developed a machine that can compensate and correct quantum backlash," Alex said in a sigh. "From tests on aberrated tissues, it can't reverse aberrations, but it does remove the quantum effect that stabilizes it, making the aberration vulnerable to conventional counters such as therapy or surgical correction. I met with Puck to work out a deal where Exalt would make the technology available while keeping its origins secret."

She poked the inside of her cheek with her tongue and added, "What's he told you?"

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"Absolutely nothing. He never mentioned any such " Darrik replied, now slightly distracted, Alex realized, pondering the full impact of her technology in the making. It was a reminder that despite the gap in intelligence, Darrik remained a clear nova brain.

"Then how did you find out...?" She pressed, trying to understand how Darrik knew-

"Gossip." Darrik replied, grinning as Alex once again had to remember the people factor. "The name Genesis popped up in reference to your alternate form... so the obvious conclusion was that it was indeed you. And if I'm not mistaken, you'll be doing this in the Kiribati islands?"

The speculative and slightly concerned look on Alex's face was more than enough proof. Darrik's grin grew slight though and more serious. "Impressive job, Alex. This is going to change so much... how precisely does it work? Don't worry, I won't be a loose mouth."

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"Nanosurgery and artificial node-structures," Alex replied, glancing at the stasis tank uneasily. "You put the nova into hypothermic stasis via one of my old stasis pods, which slows their metabolism to a crawl. Then you flush their systems with microscopic machines that essentially take control of their vital functions. Two specialized 'breeds' of robot enter their MR node as well...the surgeons and the artificial nodes. The nodes work kind of like 'voltmeters,' creating tiny flows of quantum that activate the faracytes and reveal their connections. Then the surgeons alter those connections...severing some, connecting others...so that the distribution of energy changes."

"The whole process is guided by an integral supercomputer that uses a resonance detector to isolate the areas of the signature that arise from taint, and from that can calculate the necessary changes in the node to compensate."

"So basically...if the backlash is limited to the signature and hasn't been absorbed into the body, it takes a few weeks to complete the surgery and rebalance everything. If the backlash HAS been absorbed into the body, then it takes longer...months...but it can still be corrected. Darrik...you see why I'm keeping this all so secret, right? The tanks are black boxes...unopenable. Any attempt to tamper or hack, even with a quantum ability, will result in the electronics flash-frying themselves. This tech could be used to do terrible things to novas, not just remove taint."

Even as she laid open the device's operating principles though, Darrik's keen social senses could tell there was something else she was holding back. Something essential she wasn't handing over.

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Alex raised her eyebrows in a kind of, 'go on what?' expression. After a second she looked away, and Darrik realized she had been itching to tell someone, even if it might be against her better judgement to do so.

"That's it, as far as the machine goes," she answered, truthfully. "But I admit, some of the theory I used to create it is...bothering me. Not in a bad way. Do you have a second? I wouldn't mind a chance to bounce this off of someone and see if I was just crazy for thinking this way."

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Alex took a deep breath and sat down in the chair that conveniently appeared just in time to catch her.

"Okay. This whole project started off with an in-depth analysis of what exactly taint really WAS. I used an information theory model of quantum, because I think that works best. Force theory that tries to model quantum as an energy...it has too many holes. So anyway, information models basically say that there's no such thing as 'quantum energy' in and of itself. Rather, the node manipulates physical forces by altering the information that defines those forces. It sort of...'rewrites' reality, basically, to make the effect happen."

"In this model, taint arises from unintentional revisions to the quantum information layer. Revisions that don't come from conscious intervention, but rather are the result of destructive subconscious manipulations, or because revisions too complicated and powerful for the subject's mind to fully control were attempted, resulting in...what you can think of as 'corrupted data' in the results. Like any corrupted data, it can hide up to a point, but starts to degrade the system more and more as it accumulates."

"Viewing taint as data corruption allowed me to create a system that addressed it in those terms, attacking taint at its true source...the flawed manipulations from the node. The node, like the rest of the brain, is habitual. The activations of faracytes form patterns, and those patterns are repeated. Taint continues to flow, because that's how the node has learned to do what it does. My system uses brute force really...essentially a highly precise lobotomy, followed by reconstructive surgery, to force the node to 'unlearn' the tainted processes, and artificially create new connections that should allow it to operate equivalently, but safely."

She waved all that away, and leaned forward. "But here's the thing. When I was working out the relationships between the quantum information substructure and the physical world we all interact with...because the relationship is actually VERY complicated, and the reality is that I'm still working on parts of it...but anyway, when I was working it out, I discovered there was something else. Or...the mathematical potential for something else at least. There may be two levels of information substructure. I haven't verified it yet...I'm not even sure how to start LOOKING yet, frankly...but the equations are clear. I think there's another way that reality could be altered...a sort of intermediate way, that's probably less potent in its potential alterations, but wouldn't risk taint at all. It's kind of like...the difference between changing a computer program using binary code, and changing a program using a graphic user interface. Binary code is harder...and it's not natural to think in binary...so even though you can make elemental, essential changes, the odds of fucking something up are pretty high. But with a GUI, the operation is much closer to how your brain works...the data is 'softened' and pre-chewed. It comes in categories that are easier to deal with, so the changes you can make are guided, and you haven't got the total freedom that binary offers...but it's almost impossible to screw up too."

"The trick is...this other information layer...if it even exists...isn't really 'compatible' with what novas do. There's interference patterns in the data. You can't plug one into the other, the equations become unresolvable. It's like a parallel world...just a micron away, but completely unreachable. I'm honestly not sure how to test for it...but if it's real...if it's real..."

She trailed off, for once at a loss for words.

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"There's more than one source of potential power for humanity." Darrik finished, even as he considered the ramification to the world and most certainly the Teragen. How much could the movement withstand the prospect that they completely superior when there was more paths upward than nova to power beyond baseline limits? Probably very well, he admitted, recognizing his kind's strong force of will and ego. "And you should talk to Uncle Shen when he comes out of the bubble. After all... wasn't it he who said that Maxwell Mercer had time travel powers without being a nova? Hell, he said that day he wanted us to look at outside goals that humanity had other potential paths... I think you may have stumbled onto the answer, Alex."

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"It's way too early to be getting excited," Alex said excitedly, "Like I said...this is all just a ghost right now. An inference made from mathematical models. Still...even the possibility is pretty amazing. And yeah, Shen did say that. I'll bring it up with him when I see him. And Darrik, seriously...not a word, alright? Not because it's dangerous, but just because it's too SOON. Nothing's proven yet. It might just be a flaw in the model."

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Alex shook her head. "Puck's handling that. I just supply him with the pods. That said, if you wanted to be at whatever he's planning to kick the whole thing off, I wouldn't mind the extra security. These things are stuffed full of every failsafe and security feature I could fit, but they're going to attract a LOT of attention, very fast, once this goes public. In all cases, I'm more interested in finding out who's reacting to the machines, more than what happens to the machines. You'd be good, I think, at finding out who was 'behind' any given attempt to steal or reverse engineer the tech. Should it come to that."

She blinked, then added as an afterthought, "Oh, how are things going in the Teragen, by the way? I've heard a few rumbles, but I haven't got much in the way of real intel from inside except through you."

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