Chapter 14: Dinosaur Tech Support

  "So let me get this straight." I say, adjusting the weight of the heavy canvas belt around my waist, my new Wayfarers Sash. "You’re a walking geological formation, you run on magic batteries, and you need me. A guy who has been in the multiverse for exactly forty-five minutes to act as your IT consultant."

  Vrex didn’t look back, he was marching through the crowded thoroughfare of the Gilded Gyre, people parting around him like water around a bridge piling.

  "You are not an IT consultant." Vrex rumbled, his voice vibrating in my chest. "You are a biological key. The Cygnus Core is locked down, it reacts to high-density disturbance by frying it. You, with your pathetic Horizon and your soul that hums like a dying refrigerator can slip through the sensors."

  "Pathetic is such a strong word," I muttered. Hurrying to keep up with his massive stride. "I prefer 'stealth-optimized'. And speaking of optimization where are we actually going? You said 'Hollow World'. Does that mean literally hollow, like a Dyson sphere, or metaphorically hollow like a politicians promise?"

  "Metaphorically." Vrex said turning a corner. "The soul is gone. The physics remain. Its a cold place."

  We stopped at a stall built from the scavenged hull of a starship. Vrex slammed a handful of Lucent Shards onto the counter. The merchant, a floating cloud of sentient gas inside a glass suit didn't even blink. Mostly because it had no eyelids, and pushed a heavy crate across the metal surface.

  Vrex cracked the crate open. Inside were thick metal spikes etched with glowing circuitry.

  "Reality Anchors," Vrex explained, shoving them into a pouch that seemed far too small to hold them. "If the grid is unstable the physics in the server room might get... slippery. These pin the local laws down so we don't accidentally float into the ceiling or turn inside out."

  "Slippery physics," I repeated, eyebrows raised. "Great. And these... spikes. How do they work? Is it a localized gravity field generator? A quantum stabilizer? Or just really heavy magic nails?"

  "Nails." Vrex grunted. "Stop asking how the sausage is made kid. Just eat it."

  I watched him work, for a guy made of rock he had surprising dexterity.

  "Hey Vrex," I asked, leaning against the starship hull. "Back at the skewers place you said you were debugging code while my ancestors were banging rocks together. Was that... literal? Because if you’re actually a million years old you look great. Not a day over the Jurassic period. What’s your secret, exfoliating with sandpaper?"

  Vrex paused. He turned slowly, the blue light of his Mana-Lung casting long shadows over his craggy face. His eyes which looked like molten gold narrowed.

  "It was a figure of speech Kaelen." He said, the annoyance grinding in his tone like gravel in a blender. "I am 300 cycles old. That is considered 'prime' for my kind. And for the record, your ancestors were banging rocks together metaphorically until about fifty years ago. You just figured out how to put lightening in a silicon wafer. Don't get cocky."

  "Right," I grinned. "Figure of speech. Got it. Just checking if I needed to treat you with respect or just standard elder-care patience."

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  Vrex snorted. A sound like a collapsing mine shaft. "Keep talking flesh-thing. See if I don't leave you in the vacuum."

  He finished packing and gestured for me to follow. We moved away from the market and toward the edge of the floating island.

  As we walked I took a moment to actually check out my new gear. The owl merchant had called the belt a "Wayfarers Sash", but to me it looked like a utility belt that had seen better decades.

  I focused on it, letting my Kensho drift over the fabric. The Astrolabe hummed pulling up a tag that hovered over the item in my mind's eye.

  [Item: Wayfarer’s Sash]

  [Grade 2: Latent]

  [Quality: Regnant]

  [Effect: Minor weight distribution. Durable. Stylish.]

  I frowned. Latent? Regnant?

  I focused my intent on the words mentally double-clicking the hyperlinks. A stream of information courtesy of the Astrolabe’s database flowed into my brain. It felt like a memory and less like a textbook definition.

  Latent (Grade 2): Matter with a history. A "dreaming" potential. It remembers being great but is currently asleep.

  "Huh," I whispered, running a thumb over the worn leather. "So your not magic, you're just... nostalgic?"

  It was a weird concept. The item wasn't enchanted in the D&D sense, it was just... dense. It had existed long enough to develop an ego.

  I shifted my focus to the [Quality: Regnant].

  Regnant: Internal Authority. The item rules over its own stability. It refuses to break or fail. Reliable.

  "Okay I can work with reliable," I muttered.

  I touched the Void-Knife sheathed at my hip. It felt cold and mean.

  [Item: Void-Knife]

  [Grade 1: Inert]

  [Quality: Tyrant]

  [Effect: Unusually sharp edge. High durability.]

  Inert (Grade 1): Dead matter. Submits to physics.

  Tyrant: Aggressive Dominance. The item bullies the environment. High output, high recoil, high collateral damage.

  "So the belt is a reliable old man and the knife is a schoolyard bully." I summarized. "Good to know."

  I paused, my curiosity itching. If there was a 'Regnant' and a 'Tyrant'... was there a third option? I pushed the query into the Astrolabe. Show me the ceiling.

  A single golden word flashed in my mind accompanied by a feeling of absolute, unarguable truth.

  Dictum.

  Dictum: Absolute Pronouncement. The item speaks a law. Perfection.

  "Dictum," I whispered testing the word. "Sounds expensive."

  "What are you muttering about?" Vrex asked glancing back.

  "Just reading the user manual." I replied.

  "Okay," I said looking at the swirling abyss of stars below us as we reached the edge. "So we go to this Hollow World. I hack the grid, you punch anything that tries to stop me. We get the Kernel. We leave."

  "Ideally." Vrex said.

  He stopped at the edge of a docking platform. A heavy iron ring was bolted to the stone floor where a ship should have been. A Wayline rippled in the air beyond it. This one was a stark, electric blue crackling with static, a violent contrast to the soothing turquoise of Aethelgard."

  "The Cygnus Line," Vrex said. "Its a fast current. High velocity, low drag."

  He looked at me, his expression unreadable. "You got high Egress kid. Try to keep up. If you fall out of the stream you end up in the Interstitial. And out there 'banging rocks together' takes on a whole new meaning when the rocks are meteors trying to liquefy your organs."

  "Motivational," I quipped. Though my stomach did a little flip. "Is there a seatbelt? Or do I just hold my breath and think happy thoughts?"

  "You hold on to me," Vrex commanded offering his massive, stony hand. "And don't let go until we hit pavement."

  I took his hand. It was cold and rough like gripping a statue.

  "Ready when you are Grandpa," I said.

  Vrex grunted. "Funny."

  He stepped off the edge dragging me with him.

  Gravity vanished, the electric blue fire of the Wayline roared up to meet us.

  [Entering Wayline: Cygnus Express]

  [Current Pressure: Moderate]

  [Hull Integrity: Stable]

  I just held on and let the current take me. I didn't scream this time.