Chương 128: We Have Manasight at Home

Dragon's Heart Tower, Level 23, Residence 30, Living Room. Local Time: 1430 Hours. Emma"Conspicuous." Thacea remarked.

"Suspicious, is how I'd describe it." Thalmin commented.

"Earthrealmer… do your people know nothing of aesthetic theory?" Ilunor added with flair, raising a single hand to rest his forehead against as he did so. All eyes were currently set on the latest addition to the armor. The first in-field modification made with the intent to not only bridge the gap between magic and technology, but likewise, made in an attempt to compensate for what humanity lacked — manasight.

"I admit, it is a bit crude, even by our expeditionary standards." I nodded in a rare instance of acknowledgement towards the Vunerian's whinings.

"However, I'm sorta pressed for R&D capacity right now, so this is the best I can do for a little while." I began fiddling with the calibration tools, going through the roster of prototype overlays cooked fresh by the EVI, as well as the early alpha models pre-packaged by the techies back home. The latter of which were designed with a very different development roadmap in mind.

There had always been the expectation that the EVI would eventually be able to improve upon the barebones of the M-RSAD systems, with the idea being that the current sensor suite would be incrementally iterated upon based on the wealth of data the Nexus provided; being constantly saturated in mana was a far better testbed than any hypothetical model could offer back on the homefront. However, the addition of the wand threw a spanner in the works in probably the best way possible.

It promised to expand the sensitivity of the M-RSAD's primarily-passive systems. It had the capacity to augment, if not entirely supplant the M-RSAD's discrete readings on distinct mana radiation types. And whilst unable to truly 'augment' manasight, as it was intended for in manasight impaired mages, it'd be its accessory features — the overlooked physical cues — that could be translated into an acceptable analogue.

The intensity of its glow, its color, and, most importantly, its slight movements could easily be interpreted by the EVI. Its enclosure and stem, providing it six degrees of freedom, would grant it an unrivalled spatial awareness that the EVI could exploit to its fullest effect. With every twitch and torque of the wand translated into a flurry of live data, rendering the previously invisible world around me into something I could at last somewhat visualize…

albeit with some significant drawbacks in the realms of fidelity and 'frame rate', as it were. The potential for mana-field visualization on top of what we already had was still a massive leap forward, though. However, this also came with the issue as to exactly what form this visualization would take. The R&D boys back home were limited to what they knew, after all.

And while our home-grown overlay prototypes were sufficient, every model I had available was still working under the scope of human innovation up to that point. The operative word here being 'human.' The manasight initiative, as I was coining it, was a completely alien endeavor. With its own novel set of contexts that needed to be taken into consideration before we even began approaching exactly how we'd be layering the magical world on top of the physical.

I needed some uniquely alien insight as a result, and it wasn't like I was short of that around here.

"Right. Here's where I'm going to need your help, guys." I began, interrupting the flurry of conversation that flowed amongst the trio whilst I was busy working inside my own little world.

"Help? Hmmph, fancy that. I thought the word was entirely absent from your vocabulary." Ilunor began with a haughty chuckle.

"Well then, let us hear it. How may we, the esteemed members of highborn society, aid you in your… requests, oh Cadet Emma Booker?" I couldn't help but to blink at the Vunerian and his exceptionally catty antics this time around.

"Erm, well. I had two requests, actually. The first probably being the most important for the long term prospects of this whole mana-sight thing. I'd like you to show me exactly what you guys see. I want to know how you guys perceive the world beyond just the 'corporeal' one." The deluxe kobold's features grew increasingly more arrogant and sly as I talked, culminating in an inflated grin at the tail end of my request.

"Oh how tragic … the earthrealmer finally admits her limits. Her natural shortcomings, might I add." He quickly turned to both Thacea and Thalmin, who looked on at him with varying levels of impatience.

"What? I am speaking the truth, am I not? For weeks now, Emma Booker has been gallivanting with bold and noble posturing, claiming parity this and parity that! Now, we finally see the limitations to this so-called parity! In the form of her self-admitted cries for aid, no less!" He paused, before turning towards my helmet's eternally poker-faced expression.

"I, of course, mean no offense by this, Cadet Emma Booker. I am merely… clarifying matters for the unwritten record."

"By rubbing it in, no less." Thalmin growled out."'Tis but an orator's drive, Prince Thalmin. For a dragon strikes when it tastes weakness in the manastreams."

"By mocking Emma's shortcomings?" Thacea chimed in.

"Targeting an aspect of her being that she had no control over in choosing?" She questioned tersely.

"Cadet Emma Booker has made it clear that we are in a long, protracted game of posturing. Be that political, martial, physical, or even personal." The Vunerian paused, taking a moment to cross his arms as he did so.

"This means there are no standards to be held, and no topic which remains sacred."

"Where I come from, a low blow is a low blow all the same. Carrying with it dishonor and shame, Nexian." Thalmin seethed.

"Well then, thankfully, such outdated notions are now matters of domestic politics, rather than relevant conventions of contemporary conversation." Ilunor shot back just as snappily, prompting me to finally clear the air with a protracted sigh.

"Alright alright. Let's all just take a step back." I began, prompting the pair to turn their heads towards me.

"Save your strength for the sparring match, Thalmin. Ilunor's just not worth the effort." This elicited an indignant glare from the Vunerian, who I quickly addressed next.

"And Ilunor? That's the whole reason why I'm even asking you for your help. Because while I didn't choose to lack a manafield—" I paused, turning to Thacea with a nod of appreciation as I did so.

"—I'm choosing to overcome it by doing what my people always do when faced with the impossible." I could practically feel the Vunerian's inner dialogue through the shift in his features, as I could just about see him going ' Here we go again.' behind those golden eyes.

"So if you'd be so kind, how about we stop with the defensive posturing, and show me exactly what the world is like through your noble and discerning eyes." I urged as the little mast-mounted sensor dome continued spinning in 'excitement' atop the suit's 'backpack'.

"And how do you propose we go about doing so, Cadet Emma Booker?" Ilunor shot back.

"Manasight is a gift, one which no corporeal analogue can match."

"I'm not gunning for a one-to-one here." I countered.

"In fact, an analogue is exactly what I'm looking for. And as for how we're going to go about this? Maybe a quick trip to the ZNK-19 will do the trick." I grinned. … 15 Minutes Later … A quick trip to the ZNK-19 most certainly did not do the trick. But that flop was more broadly attributed to me than anything else. There was a… learning curve, when it came to much of the interfacing. One that caused more grief than was worth the time being put into it.

"Earthrealmer, exactly how do I force these silly little lines into pools of magma?" Ilunor yapped out, attempting to jab his fingers into the 3D vector 'cubes' that had attempted to match his demands, but had turned into little more than a pile of broken assets at the behest of his finagling." Earthrealmer, why are your false projections so stubborn and unwieldy?" The deluxe kobold reiterated, moving his hands like he was wading through water."

Earthrealmer, why is this infernal space not responding to the whims of my will?" He continued, simply resorting to waving his hand haphazardly in the air, as if expecting the hologram to somehow read his mind.

"I showed you the tutorial, Ilunor. You have to specify what you want, and it'll provide you a brush, palette, and everything else you need to—""But why do you not make it respond to my whims as it does yours, earthrealmer?" That singular line of complaint gave me pause. Before suddenly, it all just clicked.

"Because it responds to me telling it what I want it to do." I began.

"Sometimes you don't hear it because I choose to filter out what goes through my helmet, but my machines have always responded to commands, whether that be voice, iris, haptic, or some other indirect interface." That response gave Ilunor pause for thought too, as he perked up a brow and immediately crossed his arms.

"I had always assumed your sight-seers were responding to some unspoken form of manaless command, some abominable means by which your will was enforced on these…" The Vunerian trailed off, as it was clear something was now ticking away deep behind those formerly irreverent eyes.

"It is through your radio, isn't it?" Thalmin responded in Ilunor's stead.

"The same device you used to communicate with me during your grappling gambit to Larial's private ward."

"And the same device with which you impressed the library." Thacea added, her eyes glowing with thoughtful intent.

"Well… it's a bit more involved and complicated than that. Our people have gone deep into not only mastering radio, but iterating on the various forms of frequencies through which we can both wirelessly communicate, and send commands through. For example… beach, noon, zero entities with background ambiance." I commanded, gesturing at the empty grid-lined void around us.

One which quickly transitioned to a beachside resort somewhere on the idyllic coasts of Rayong, the simulated sun bearing down on all of us, whilst the Boldy Digital surround sound systems blared some generic tropical music set against the relaxing sounds of crashing waves.

"Suffice it to say, I'm constantly going back and forth between a lot of non-automated systems, and even then, I'm also constantly fine-tuning the general orders of the automated systems whenever the need arises." Ilunor's eyes began widening something fierce, but instead of him voicing anything just yet, it was Thacea who perked up first.

"This requires a vastly different… skillset to the ones most mages are accustomed to." She began.

"Or more accurately, this approach is inherently far more involved in avenues that are just so much more…"

"Unintuitive." Ilunor chimed in, his features turning not into one of offense, but genuine intrigue." Different, is probably a better way I'd describe it." I countered immediately, crossing my arms as I did so.

"I assume the issue here is in your approach, as Thacea put it. Mages, at least from what I've gathered so far, have little in the way of an interface gap between thought and action. This applies not just for casting spells, but from what I've gathered, also applies to your artifices." The Vunerian nodded, urging me to—"Just get to the point."

"Right, well, I was just going to say… you're more or less used to things just happening seamlessly. No user interface, no gap between tool and user." I paused once more.

"Just pure willpower over your surroundings." This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

"Return to Sketchpad Two." I commanded, causing the world to return to that empty grid vector layout.

"To circle back to your question, Ilunor, I'm afraid I can't get it to bend to your will. As there's no hidden manaless shenanigans comparable to your manafield going on." I gestured around us once more.

"All there is here, is a learning curve. One that I admittedly underestimated, so you must forgive me for that oversight." The Vunerian paused at that, something once more stirring within him.

"So… theoretically speaking, any human from earthrealm can come to learn to use this projector, your conveyance, and any number of manaless artifices you've demonstrated so far?"

"Yeah, exactly. The only barrier to entry is the learning curve involved in the operation of certain tools or machines. But for the most part, these projectors? Multimedia devices such as my tablet? All of those are just intuitive enough to pick up and learn."

"I see…" Thalmin acknowledged, before turning to a grin.

"You're most certainly not diminishing my claims as to your realm's nature as a nation of scholars, Emma." Thalmin chided.

"Perhaps this is why you often seem so absent-minded, earthrelamer." Ilunor offered cattily.

"If you must consistently divvy up your mental faculties, never focusing on any singular action for long, then I fear for what sort of society this has fostered." A part of me wanted to address that particular subject matter, bringing up the EVI as a point to expand upon. However, I knew it was better to leave sleeping dogs lie, and to just move on. This just wasn't the time for that.

"Perhaps we should focus instead on the task at hand?" Thacea chirped out.

"Right, yeah, so… it's clear the ZNK-19 isn't working out. So why don't we actually try something a bit more in line with your preferences then, Ilunor?" I turned towards the Vunerian expectantly, his eyes narrowing as his grin widened into one of knowing anticipation.

"I am glad you have evolved beyond your singular-tracked biases, Cadet Emma Booker. Let us begin then, shall we?" … 10 Minutes Later … We'd left the confines of the ZNK-19 for the living room. Following which, Ilunor had begun bathing the space in yet another dazzling array of colors courtesy not of his sight seer, but his own illusion magic. However, the whole room wasn't exactly turned into a fully immersive magical hologram, as seen with the sight-seers.

Instead it remained as it was, except overlaid with what was rapidly becoming a complex array of colored 'trails'. Superimposed waves of color that at certain places moved like soupy magma, while in other places looked almost akin to fast-moving and deadly pyroclastic flows. The spectrum of colors on display here even edged into ultraviolet, as the EVI helped to superimpose that atop of what was already a dizzying display.

By the end of it, I was faced with what I could only describe as a rave of fire and magma, as the room around us looked less like the stately and idyllic magical manor I was used to, and more akin to some post-apocalyptic interpretation of the living room. What's more, the space around Ilunor himself was now occupied by a larger, almost comical 'shell' of what I could only imagine was his ideal form.

A shell that ebbed and flowed like the flames around a candle wick, but with the dimensions that roughly matched Qiv or even Auris' forms, stretching and filling the empty space above and around Ilunor. Streams of both lava and flames spewed from that 'shell' surrounding him, acting almost like tendrils that occasionally lapped at the pyroclastic flow circling him." This is what I see, Cadet Emma Booker." The Vunerian beamed, causing me to raise a single questioning hand.

"Ilunor… exactly how much of this is artistic interpretation?" That singular question was enough to break the shit-eating grin that had formed following this… explosion of illusions.

"You wanted an analogue, did you not, earthrealmer? Well, here it is. I am unwilling to compromise on my artistic vision, for a fool's errand that is attempting to replicate that which is unreplicable to the manaless eye." I blinked rapidly, turning to Thacea and Thalmin who had both gone into full facepalm mode.

"Right, step aside and let me try." Thalmin bellowed out, moving in front of me and quickly casting Ilunor aside, causing the post-apocalyptic texture pack to disappear unceremoniously. The man promptly began cracking his fingers, raising both hands above his head, before twiddling them in front of us. From there, a stream of different colors soon came to paint the canvas that was our living room.

Predominantly made up of shades of blue and translucent greys, Thalmin's attempt was nowhere near as grandiose or ambitious as Ilunor's. Either out of a difference in skill or an adherence to a more realistic approach, the lupinor's interpretation of manasight consisted of what felt like a complex layering of literal streams of water, broken up by patches of surface ice that cracked and reformed all along rivers that snaked and slithered through every available empty space in the room.

There were currents that moved faster, eddies where currents seemed chaotic, if not borderline violent, as well as parts of the 'air' where currents seemed almost frozen over. Throughout all this, what seemed to be a strange pattern emerged, as the shell that had surrounded Ilunor was replicated here too in Thalmin's demonstration. However, instead of the larger-than-life, 'bulked up' version of himself, Thalmin's shell seemed to more resemble an outline.

One that looked more akin to one of the EVI's target ID reticles, but thicker, and much more dynamic with how it rose and fell with each and every breath. Indeed, instead of the flame-like wispiness of Ilunor's 'shell', Thalmin's felt much more calm, moving in predictable patterns that either lined up with his breathing or the manastreams surrounding him." This is a much more accurate and true-to-life interpretation, Emma."

Thalmin remarked proudly, prompting the Vunerian to simply puff out a disapproving breath in response.

"Boring and uninspired." He remarked.

"Reality cares not for your artistic interpretations, Ilunor." The lupinor shot back.

"But I assure you, Prince Thalmin, that reality is most certainly not as colorblind as how you seem to interpret it through your manasight." This caused the pair to once again face off, only for their mini confrontation to be defused by Thacea who wordlessly moved between them.

"If I may?" She turned to the pair, who promptly broke off their aggressions with crossed arms.

"Thank you." The princess continued, before filling the room with her interpretation of the incorporeal world. It started slowly, almost imperceptibly, even. But eventually I started to notice what was effectively a series of white, sketchy lines filling the air; the same sort of lines you'd see in weather maps depicting wind currents and weather systems.

Indeed, there seemed to be much more of a refined precision to Thacea's take on things, as clear demarcations were made with these sketchy lines, creating what was in effect a 3D version of an animated wind map, filling my vision and causing the EVI to actually beep in some sort of affirmation.

"This is what I believe to be best in your case, Emma. Indeed, while this is far less… true to life to what manastreams actually embody, this interpretation manages to impart the chaos that comes with how said streams influence one's interpretation of the corporeal world." I raised an eyebrow at that, turning to both Ilunor and Thalmin in the process.

"Is it actually this chaotic? Like, this is honestly giving me a bit of a headache here trying to make heads or tails of what's going—""When you put it that way, it can be somewhat nausea-inducing." Thalmin acknowledged.

"However, all of us have acclimatized to it, I suppose." He shrugged.

"We can ignore it if need be, but most of the time, it's merely another aspect of the world. So just as too much bedazzlement can make your head spin, there can always be too much or too little of what is effectively just another form of sight, if that makes sense." It was with each successive demonstration and explanation that I truly realized just how difficult this really was. Akin to describing sight, sound, touch, or any one of the senses to someone born without it.

"Yeah, I guess I do." I nodded in acknowledgement.

"In any case, the inherent issues with Ilunor and Thalmin's interpretations is that they try to take into account the… dynamic beauty that comes with the manastreams. This beauty is highly subjective, and leaves quite a bit to interpretation and personal biases."

"Which is why you went with the bare bones and 'truest' version of it." I surmised.

"Precisely, Emma." Thacea acknowledged with a sympathetic nod.

"Can you work with this, EVI?" I turned towards the EVI, receiving an affirmative beep in the process as a progress bar was quickly added right beneath the motorcycle's.

"Well, that should be all then. I appreciate the input, guys." I beamed back with a thumbs up, garnering a nod from Thacea, an approving smile from Thalmin, and the beginnings of yet another coy grin from Ilunor.

"It is unfortunate that this will be all you can appreciate." The deluxe kobold remarked smugly.

"You have my sympathies, Cadet Emma Booker, for forever being destined to lack insight into the integral beauty of the world." I took a moment to regard the man, glaring at him through the lenses of the helmet.

"I'm not the only one lacking in the ability to see the world beyond the corporeal, Ilunor." I shot back.

"Oh? Why Cadet Emma Booker… there is no need to be so defensive over such matters. We must all know our limitations, after all."

"Yeah, and your limitation is clearly your constant inability to grasp that there's always another side to every coin."

"Whatever do you mean by that, Cadet Emma Booker? I am discussing your disconnect from the incorporeal world, the noble sense that is manavision. What could you possibly have that can compare? It's not as if you have an incorporeal world by which to ponder, appreciate, and…" The Vunerian trailed off, prompting me to simply bide my time with a few taps of my feet.

"Oh… this is bound to be good." Thalmin chimed in. … 10 Minutes Later …

"I'm sorry I have to do this, Thalmin." I preemptively apologized, just as the ZNK-19 started revving up its pylons.

"I promise this will be quick."

"If it's a matter of countering Nexian primacy, then by all means, Emma." Thalmin responded with a toothy grin, just as the world around us started materializing into a familiar sight. The sounds of thousands of footsteps greeted us first, just as the rumbling of elevated rail and ringing cyclists welcomed us back into the Big Apple. Midrise towers loomed over us this time around however, as did the interlaced 'green zones' that made New Brooklyn the model for what was then the 'solarpunk' third space movement.

An aesthetic that was once a fad, but had now become just as integrated in Acela as art deco was to the old and new quarters.

"Well, earthrealmer? I see nothing but the city you have shown us previously. Your world is very much still as dead as the day you first showed it to us." I didn't reply, not immediately anyways, as I began booting up what I referred to as first person mode. Nothing truly changed about our surroundings, at least, not in the corporeal world. Instead, a familiar sight to most modern humans slowly crept up, starting with a loading screen, and then suddenly exploding into a full blown heads-up display.

My heads-up display, to be precise; the augmented reality interface I mained back home. Things started slowly at first, with only the time of day, certain push notifications, along with a small to-do list nesting themselves on the bottom right hand corner of the hologram. From there, however, things slowly became increasingly more complex as we walked forward towards storefronts of local grocers and cafes alike.

It was in one of those particular cafes, however, that I honed the POV's focus, as the whole physical space was seamlessly integrated into various AR widgets present in my vision. From the soft outlines of the cafe's bookstore, highlighting books on offer I'd bookmarked previously, all the way to active and public board game sessions that superimposed both animations and stats next to each physical miniature. I made sure to seamlessly show just how the physical world was complemented by an intangible digital one.

These displays prompted the Vunerian's eyes and maw to widen, as he turned to me with not an incredulous sense of denial, but pure confusion.

"What… what are we seeing, earthrealmer? What are you showing us?" I took a moment to pause, turning off the augmented reality enhanced version of the world, before turning it back on again, allowing the deluxe kobold to process exactly where I was going with this.

"Like I said, Ilunor, you're not the only one with an incorporeal world to admire and interact with." I spoke cryptically, before bringing out the POV back to the streets and moving forwards, bound towards one of the many transport hubs in the borough. I'd purposefully kept the AR HUD off throughout that entire time, waiting just for the right moment to turn it back on. At which point, I probably gave Ilunor the same sensory overload he gave me earlier.

What was already a beautiful art deco-inspired elevated rail hub, suddenly exploded into a series of nested reticles and highlighted paths, detailing everything from timetables to the various lines that passed through the terminal. Each line was represented by a different color, with each train highlighted as they arrived. Menus came and went as I demonstrated just how seamlessly the incorporeal world could be cycled through, by anything from hand gestures to voice commands, or just by sight-tracking alone.

"The major difference between our incorporeal worlds is probably the fact that we built ours from scratch, creating a second world entirely of our design. Sure, it's not a completely new sense, but it's an incorporeal world all the same, no?"

I offered with a sly chuckle of my own, causing the Vunerian to simply go inert, his eyes hopping back and forth between the transient reticles, outlines, and readouts of anything and everything from public transport to civic announcements, and even the odd commercial for local businesses approved by the community councils. He didn't respond, not right away at least, as it was clear he was grasping at straws behind those unblinking eyes — desperate for some sort of a comeback.

"I must reiterate a point I've made previously." He began ominously.

"That your kind, needed to build all of this, creating an entirely new facsimile of an incorporeal world… just to mimic a fraction of what we were gifted with." I crossed my arms at that rebuttal, cocking my head and tsking as I did so.

"Didn't you once claim something about how your culture values the triumph of the sapient over nature? Or the creations of sapientkind as sacrosanct?"

"Yes? What about it—" The deluxe kobold paused mid sentence, as if realizing where I was going with this.

"Well, by that logic, wouldn't that mean that our incorporeal world is actually much more impressive than your manasight? As in, we actually had to build every aspect of it, from the communications infrastructure, to the actual information being conveyed, to the science of how said information would be conveyed, to the laws in place to dictate what can be conveyed." I paused, winding up for the final knock-out punch.

"We basically had to create our own incorporeal world from scratch, with nothing but our imagination and creativity, our gifts of sapiency. So technically, by your own logic, wouldn't that be a feat far more impressive than some naturally-gifted ability?" Ilunor paused, turning away to the skies as if to find some respite… only to see the shuttles and planes overhead outlined by thin glowing lines, accompanied by their relevant flight tracking information.

"It is a matter of our inherent…" The man attempted to counter, only to shirk away in frustration.

"You've made your point earthrealmer. But just know, this is not the same as manasight."

"You stated earlier that such things are highly subjective, and leaves a lot to both interpretation and personal biases, right?" I began as I broke out a cheeky smile.

"That is to say, beauty's just in the eye of the beholder, huh?" Ilunor refused to respond verbally. Instead, the only response I received was in the form of the hologram's integrity wavering, as soot from the Vunerian's frustrated face started to obscure the impossible world around us.