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Wearing Power Armor to a Magic School (115/?) WiP 1
🕑 Added 2025-02-01 19:14:23 +0000 UTCHey everyone! Here is the Work in Progress for Chapter 115 I hope you guys enjoy! :D
Ilunor
I wanted to scream.
I wanted to yell.
I wanted to give that would-be human ‘leader’ a lesson in logical fallacies.
You do not simply equate the scaling of a mountain, or the crossing of a body of water, with the traversal of dead space.
For the former two exist, but the latter…
…
Doesn’t.
…
I paused.
Reeling myself back.
Taking a moment to ponder what it was that I was even thinking.
The void, this dead space… its existence was tentative, yes.
But so were manaless newrealmers… and everything else they purveyed.
Moreover, had I not already accepted earthrealm as a dead realm?
It stands to reason then that this dead space… must exist.
That means my argument, my reflexive decision to berate the man had no bearing on reality since—
No.
There must be other points in that speech that could undermine… all of this.
I took a deep breath, turning every which way within the great nothingness that was this dead realm.
This… realm within and without another realm.
It was disorientating.
Especially as that infernal language that was earthrealmer gibberish blared throughout the sight-seer.
Their words… barbaric, figuratively, and literally as well. As each and every word sounded as if they were garbling harsh syllables without consideration for a more refined tonal sensibility.
Barbarians would be a fitting way to describe them.
…
But barbarians they were not.
For their commitment to overcoming their limitations, to championing sapience against the repulsive and unfeeling forces of the natural order, their tenacity and their stubbornness, all of it… was the work of the civilized mind.
All of it was undeniably… the rhetoric of a civilized peoples.
But they are manaless! A part of me screamed, trying to reel back this… new side of me that would dare to lend an ounce of credence to the idea of civility being applied to a newrealmer, let alone a manaless one at that.
But despite its screams—
—and in spite of its credibility, owing to its voice representing the sum total of civilization itself—
—I couldn’t help but to resist it.
And not for any love or compassion for Emma or her kind.
No.
It was because there was no longer a clear line between reality and unreality.
For the very artifice we now stood within, was a living contradiction to a reality I could no longer passively refute.
A reality whose long drawn out history was sensible.
Even if that sensibility was beholden to an entirely alien set of logic and norms.
Norms which rewarded the insane, and punished the reasonable.
Logic that worked… but only within a reality of chaos and impossibility.
A reality so novel, that it was better ignored as the exception to the true norms — status eternia.
I could not lose sight of that.
Prince Thalmin and Princess Thacea could not lose sight of that either.
For they both existed within living realms of mana and magic.
Not realms of the dead and unliving.
I had to remind them of that.
I had to take it upon myself to embody the role of the parent, the senior, and the wizened elder.
I had to carry with me that which both the Prince and Princess so dearly lack — the strength of character from a noble of an unending lineage.
And I would be there when the time comes, as the sole voice of reason, amidst a sea of star-struck fools — to remind them that not all could be reality.
As Emma, as convincing as she is, could still be lying.
Perhaps not now.
Perhaps not with the alternate truths she currently purveyed.
But most definitely with whatever future lies she could potentially serve as truths.
Because as with any trap, honeyed is the trail that leads to damnation.
But thankfully, I had tasted the ambrosia of truth.
And it was I, and I alone, that could resist the nectar of Emma’s sweet nothings.
This commitment to the truth was not to be delayed however.
As I had yet more questions to pose the ever-so-prepared purveyor of alternate truths.
“Emma.” I began, turning towards the earthrealmer with an expectant step, watching on as these ‘astronauts’ started planting their kingdom’s flag on this new realm — hinting to the fractionalization of their troubled past.
“Yes, Ilunor?”
“That… speech, it was from one of your leaders, correct?”
“Yeah, an ancient leader from one of our old states. The very state whose flag you see being planted here now. The predecessor to one of the super-states that later became an influential bloc within the halls of the Greater United Nations’ General and People’s Assemb—”
“Yes, yes, yes. That is all well and good. However, I have a question pertaining to his… lofty ambitions.”
“Alright? HIt me.”
“He claims to wish to reach for your moon, and, ahem — to do other things. If that much is true, then tell me, why would he have not aimed for something larger?”
“I’m… sorry, I’m not really following—”
“You stated that every point on your non-existent tapestry is a ‘realm unto its own’, correct?”
“Yeah, more or less. I was being a bit reductive there, admittedly, but—”
“Then why the moon?”
“Huh?”
“Don’t play me for a fool, Emma Booker. If the moon was such a coveted destination, then surely there’s a far larger, far more enticing destination which would’ve obviously taken precedent. One which dominates the day, rather than merely peeking through occasionally in the night.”
I paused, allowing the earthrealmer to process what it was I was broaching. As it was clear to me, that somewhere behind that faceplate, was a face currently reaching the same realization as I.
“Tell me, Cadet Emma Booker, why didn't you aim for the sun itself?”
Emma
I wanted to scream.
As much as I wanted to laugh.
But that was the immature side of me talking.
It was clear that I’d skirted by Ilunor’s fundamental systemic incongruency, but that we were close to a looming impasse.
Though at the same time, I realized that this was the moment I could finally address the elephant in the room that started this whole mess.
The question of stars.
This wasn’t a moment to laugh and berate, no.
This was the moment to enlighten and inform, and also prime-time to finally address the elephant in the room that was the Nexus’ own sun and moon.
This was what the whole mission was all about.
And I was loving every bit of it.
Thalmin
Ilunor had a point.
If the moon was a realm unto its own, a desolate waste of nothing as it may be, then what of the sun?
A blazing realm of fire and death perhaps, but humanity seemed adept at surviving any environment with the aid of their suits of armor.
Surely the sun would’ve been a far greater goal to achieve.
“Perhaps you could show us a sight-seer of your people arriving on the surface of your sun, Emma?” I posited.
Ilunor
“I’m afraid that there are things that even humanity can’t do, guys.” The earthrealmer spoke through a rare admission of inadequacy.
“And yet you claim that all points in the sky are realms unto themselves. Why is it then, that your people weren’t able to reach your sun?”
“Oh, we reached it alright, and the sun definitely is a realm unto its own—”
“Then why do you claim to be unable to—”
“Because the sun, in addition to being a deadly source of light, is likewise a realm composed entirely of perpetual fire."
Comments
ATS567
Reading Ilunors inner machinations being forced into accepting the premise of humans actually being what they say they are makes me wonder if the gang are far enough along with accepting humanitys nature that Emma might be able to show them what we actually look like.
ANTIcarrot
The problem is that base conversion combined with knowledge of isotopes means cheap and easy nuclear weapons. This may in fact be one of the reasons they repress knowledge about stars and suns.
Rob
Explosions all the way down? Always has been
Michael Halpern
well yes but she's getting there
Michael Halpern
read the bonus chapters about the Aetheronrealm.. the royal telescope was one of the first things to go
tom
Again, it is interesting to see how little the Nexians know about the cosmos. They know about cell biology and even cell organelles, so they clearly have some form of magic-based microscopy. But they don't know that moons are "realms", indicating that they have no telescope analogues. I suspect that the field of astronomy is being actively suppressed by the Nexus.
architectural engineer
I would so buy a plushy of that cute lil lizard guy foaming from the mouth due to the unrelenting enlightenment that comes from the revelations of science. when you squeeze him he could say something like oh no my worldview is crumbling
HighTreason
Man, can't wait! "Emma what do you mean the sun is a sphere of constant life ending explosions?"
Lazy Mist
Que zooming out to show the scale of the sun compared to earth and the moon.
Michael Halpern
i think he'll go the opposite way, see Emma can explain just about everything without relying on a diety, the Nexus can't
Hughes Andrew
Stars are the source of all matter that isn’t hydrogen and helium. But 99% of all matter is hydrogen or helium. So stars are the source of 1% of all matter.
Google Google
Please take your time we don't want the story to be rushed.
Michael Olson
You know what's fun? Emma actually /is/ lieing to them, what with the "my projector can only do shadow-people" routine. Even if she's not doing it for nefarious reasons, would be interesting if Illunor through his skepticism and paranoia about her potential to lie actually manages to find that inconsistency.
I Dare Korval
Well David Brin wrote a book called SunDiver (part of the Earth Clan series) that had living intelligent plasma life forms in Earth's sun they called Solarians.
Steve Stukel
I love the narrative and have breathlessly read the new chapters but I feel like we're missing some commentary from the suit about pushing Ilunor too far and breaking his mind with too much new info. Emma's definitely laid the groundwork with her group and been building up to this but even so, the leap from seeing videos of the teraforming of the East Coast of the US to addressing the massive difference in the very nature of the sky.
Willow Arkan
I suppose it depends on how hot they burn/can tolerate, cause if they are say the temperature of magma, then the sun is still several times hotter, so they might just melt/vaporize too.
tom
"perpetual fire" is quite the understatement. It's a perpetual thermonuclear explosion.
Ultimatecalibur
Would Fire Elementals consider stars viable places to live if they had mana?
Ferr
Time for: look at the size of that ting and yet it moves.
Michael Halpern
well she needs to know if they are able to convert matter into energy. for fairly obvious strategic reasons
Xylophone Smith
ilunor: i have no mouth and i must scream
Michael Halpern
Red Giant, not super nova, EOL for our sun is most likely a black dwarf/ iron star
Skylar Ittner
A ball of exploding fire that is so heavy it pulls the explosion back down before it can escape.
Kirk Childers
A deadly laser, if you will
Michael Halpern
well everything that isn't hydrogen and helium.
Michael Halpern
thankfully Jupiter formed, sucking up just enough hydrogen to keep the sun from getting bigger
David Ellis
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=KdbI8BwrA1o
UC-79
Nexian zealotry is boiling to the surface. He might pull an auris only to get shot down immediately. Hope the discount lizard doesn't storm off. Might be better if he doesn't hear that the other realms have the same potential though.
IHasArms
And yet it's still just a little baby compared to other stars.
architectural engineer
can't wait to see the Ilunor come to some sort of final mental conclusion soon. I can't even imagine what that would look like at the moment!
SoylentPudding
I wonder if she's going to try and explain that the sun self transmutes under the force of its own laypull. That might be a bit much, but it also is an opportunity to see what the Nexus understands about nuclear physics.
Ragnar Pendon
Ilunor going full Golum is a sight to see XD
UC-79
"We have these built around several other stars too, not to mention habitat rings orbiting realms around the stars." ... "What did you THINK the stars on my nation's crest represented?"
ArdenW
Because the sun is a giant nuclear furnace.
Ciberj1
Ps. Our sun is on the hottest and biggest side of the class but is still consistent with the classification
Ciberj1
Ooooh boy I NEED to see ilunors reaction to the scale of the sun and for emma to call it a G2 V star or as most people know it. A yellow DWARF star
Google Google
Emma: you can't handle the truth! Ilunor: Show me!!! The dysons Sphere
I Dare Korval
Well "perpetual" for the next 4.5 billion years before it goes super nova and is reduced to a white dwarf star (effectively a left over ember of the sun).
I Dare Korval
"We made a Dyson swarm around it and it is now a source of near limitless power (for the next 4.5 billion years at least before it explodes in a super nova).
Michael Halpern
Parker Solar Probe
I Dare Korval
Actually suns are the source of all matter as well, through fusion of hydrogen into all the other atoms. We are all literally made of star dust.
Michael Halpern
E=MC²
Google Google
Cobalt .EXE not working.@%<:÷cug dragon. File Corrupted
Pete Magnuson
I'm choosing to think that because it's an ilunor POV, she did say laser but it translated to "source of light" in Nexian
Jcb112
I definitely tried referencing that in the middle of Emma's sentence explaining the sun there, but I was hesitant on going all the way with that reference haha. I am tempted though! :D
Pete Magnuson
🎶 *the sun is a deadly laser* 🎶
Swan
I was halfway hoping Emma would go "Because the sun is a deadly laser"
Anders Mostue
The sun is quite literally a ball of exploding fire
Ragnar Pendon
Yay Thalmin for guessing 9/10th about the sun Time for some gravity lessons, yes? XD
UC-79
"We COULD send people to a literal hell ball, but that wouldn't be productive. We turned it into a generator instead"
Rust
Lmao having to explain what a star is. 'Perpetual Fire' is a great description. Looking forward to the rest of the chapter :D
