The night wound down. The music kept blaring, but people slowly faded away from the dance floor, bottles in hand, to either go hook up, crash, or sit on the sidelines and get maudlin.
Jas had a good, solid buzz going. Every now and then he wished he had another cigar or wondered if he should have forced everyone to tackle another hive, but then he thought of how good this was for morale, how these people werent machines, and hell, how theyd be facing millions of demons tomorrow, and that urge would die.
You cant level all the ti, he said to Yadriel who sat a little off to his left along the edge of the stage, hoody pulled over his frizzy hair, face pulled into a long pout.
What? Yadriel glanced his way. What you say?
You look pissed. Jas realized he was drunker than hed thought. Bumd about your power?
Yadriel clucked his tongue in disdain and looked away.
No, I get it. I do. Jas shuffled along the stages edge to sit closer. Demon apocalypse. Shits going down. Serenity and Becca on those big guns, going bang bang bang. And youre stuck with Dark Energy Siphon. What a bitch. Near drove you crazy last ti.
Yadriel scowled and kept his gaze averted.
You know what we gotta do? asked Jas.
No, said Yadriel pointedly. What?
We gotta get you to practice. Safe place. Where you can flex a little without worrying about going crazy. See what your power does. Can do. And hey.
Yadriel looked sidelong at him, eyebrow raised.
Why you think your aura disappeared like that when you used your power?
I dont know. Yadriel scowled and looked away again. Been thinking about it though. I put a lotta energy into raising my aura ga, and for it to just disappear like that? Pathetic.
Jas shrugged with what he thought was world weary wisdom. Shit happens.
But I think fuck. What do I know.
What?
It felt like that demon energy, it was like oil and water, you know? Mixed up, made it so I couldnt project my aura out like normal. But it was still there. Just inside of .
The demon energy?
Nah man, my aura. Like it was under my skin. I think thats why I got all fucked up. The aura and the demon energy were like swirling inside . Made feel like I was fucked up on so bad dope. Like crazy and invincible.
Jas considered, staring blankly at the floor. Maybe maybe its a practice thing. You gotta learn to control the elents. Like yin yang, but inside of you.
Yeah, maybe.
Jas blinked owlishly, considered Yadriel, then placed his hand heavily on the kids bony shoulder. Dont lose heart. Youre a good kid. Im happy youre on my team.
Yeah right, muttered Yadriel.
For real. He shook the kids shoulder. Good kid.
Fuck man, you dont know . I aint no good kid. Yadriel stood up.
No? Then set straight. What are you?
Yadriel glowered down at him. Im bad news. Always have been. Im a killer, yo. You dont know . And he strode away.
Shit, said Jas, and blinked again. Son, were all killers now. But Yadriel was gone.
Hey, Jas. Jessica ca over, turned, and hopped up to sit on the edge of the stage. You drunk?
So. A little here, a little there.
Youre drunk. Burn Aeviternum. Ive got news.
Hmm. Jas sighed, summoned his statistics and burned a point. The fuzzy warmth imdiately replaced, washed away by an energizing flood of righteous sharpness. He inhaled deeply and sat up straight. God damn. That stuff does the job.
It does. Listen, I just leveled.
Jass eyes widened. Fabricator 2?
Only now did he realize how quietly excited Jessica looked. Shed done her hair up again in another careless French twist, but her whole fra was tense. My class is simply Fabricator, but my ranks gone up to Apprentice 2, but now Ive unlocked the ability to specialize. Options are Structuralist, War Smith, Battle Engineer, and Dostic.
Jass appreciation for being alert and stone cold sober only grew. Wait, that was a lot. War Smith? Battle Engineer? What the fuck is all that?
Jessica grinned. I can preview each, which again is unlike your Benedictions. In short, Structuralists can develop buildings, walls, you know, structures. War Smiths seem to focus on weapons, munitions, and armor, while Battle Engineers build this is the weirdest one. Heavenly robots? Divine death machines? The concepts hard to put into words. It also seems to be the hardest to qualify, so perhaps my access to it is a rarity.
Youre getting this on a conceptual level?
Right. An intuitive sense.
I get you. Like how it felt as if Id always known what Sacred Strike did when I selected it. Just that youre getting that sense upfront. Mighty generous of our benefactors.
For once, yes. Though Dostic seems important; it covers clothing, food, water, as well as almost any simple item I can think of. Shovels, ladders, whatever.
Sure, useful, but ladders arent going to stop the Nesis 3s. So what are you thinking?
Jessica frowned, took a lock of her blonde hair, and passed it back and forth over her lips. My sense of Battle Engineer is that it has the least benefit upfront but is a ga changer in the long run. That any my access to it makes feel like I should take it for that alone.
Divine death machines. Whats that an? Tanks? Guns?
No, not really. So of that, but its more she trailed off, trying to find the right words. Almost like Id be summoning, or evoking a divine energy into machines that Id call into being. War machines. Robots, or things I cant quite picture, but which convey a sense of destruction, of She shook her head slowly. Righteous fury? I see burning yellow eyes, like flecks carved out from the sun.
We sure could use so of those on our side. You said War Smith can create munitions? Like ammo?
Jessica blinked and ca back to the present mont. Sure. My sense of it is that it starts off really basic, primitive, even, and then grows more complex and powerful as the War Smith levels up.
Now that is so damn good news. Jas had to resist the urge to call Colonel Hackworth right there and then. What about this Structuralist? Walls? Buildings? We got plenty of those already.
Jessica shrugged, clearly dissatisfied with her understanding. From what I intuit, these arent regular wars. Maybe theyre enhanced in so way? And the buildings I dont know, I get the sense theres destructive power there, but not why.
Huh. Jas rubbed at his jaw. Thats yeah. With half the population acting as Fabricators, this could be
Huge, said Jessica.
Hell yeah. Ammo, guns, weapons, armor, fucking death machines and hell, even water is a godsend. This changes everything.
Depending on how hard it is to level. But despite her disclair Jessicas eyes were shining. Though Im not sure if you heard: theres word of Neses attacking Fabricators. Our entering into the ga has made us vulnerable to attacks for the first ti.
Shit. Well. Jas considered. Guess it makes sense. Was good while it lasted. Looks like were gonna have to get you a gun.
Shall I make my choice? Jessica sounded strange, and then Jas realized why: she was normally so self-assured that this hesitancy was new. Or should I run it past Hackworth?
Youre your own person, Jessica. With this kind of shit, you need to follow your instincts. Do what you think is right.
Then Ill go Battle Engineer. She sat up straighter. Im making the selection now.
For a mont nothing happened, and then her eyes flashed gold, as if for a mont the sun shone through them from the depths of her skull, and then they turned blue once more.
And? prompted Jas.
She held up her hand. Her gaze moved from side to side, and then she frowned. Huh.
Dont huh . Whats up?
This is more complex than Id anticipated. Give a mont.
Jas sat their drumming his heels on the stages edge and resisted the urge to take a swig of Bulleit just for the hell of it. Jessica studied sothing only she could see, lips pursed, until at last she nodded and blinked.
All right. So what I can do right now as an Apprentice 2 is craft a variety of different vehicles? Though theyre like nothing Ive heard before. No combustion engine, no electricity, no steam power. Instead they run off of divine energy, which ans I have to imbue each creation with Aeviternum upon crafting it. The more points I sink - or harness - the better the vehicle.
Sure, said Jas. You spend Aeviternum to make it work.
Yes. Further, it looks like they all require the sa essential components but depending on the design Ill need more complex and higher quality versions. The language is quasi-Christian, which I guess reflects my pseudo-religious outlook.
You, ah Jas didnt know how to put it.
Do I believe in God? Im not sure. Im an agnostic. Jessica said this with clinical assurance. But I was raised Protestant, so. Regardless. To build the simplest vehicle, known as an Angel Wing, I need Proprioception Helm, a Virtuous Heart, a Throne of Reason, and an Adiaphoron Network.
Jas stared at her. What the fuck does that all an.
Jessica smiled nervously. Its a bit overwhelming. The Helm functions as She frowned. A sensor array? A ans of perceiving the world and itself? The Heart is the power source, that one seems clear. The Throne of Reason is the ans by which the user can interface, or control the machine, while the Adiaphoron Network wow, this is beyond . A stabilizer? A ans of achieving internal consistency? I think Im going to learn by building this.
Jas felt at sea but struggled to remain focused and not fluster her further. Create what, exactly?
An Angel Wing, I told you. Its like a scooter?
Jas stared at her and then laughed. All this for a fucking scooter?
She stared at him. A flying scooter.
Oh. He paused, considered, stared at her. Oh.
Yeah. But to make each piece, the Helm, for example, I need to collect components. So seem pretty normal. Steel, for example, or Aeviternum. But then it lists things such as sanguis petra, or adamantino divinum. No idea what those are.
Sounds like Latin. You speak any?
Jessica shook her head. I took Mandarin and Russian in college.
Of course you did. Yo, Richard! Richard!
Richard was grooving on one of the terminals, bopping his head, typing rapidly, and drinking from a tall glass of what was probably Redbull and vodka. He looked over and pointed at himself. You an Star Boy? he called back.
No, I an, whatever, you. Get over here.
Richard rose to his feet, typing right until he tore himself away, then ca over with a goofy grin. Whats up, boss-major? Major-boss? Major major major?
Sober up, said Jas patiently. You got your Aeviternum left?
Sober up? Richard looked stricken. Fine. One sec. His eyes widened, his face beca subtly more expressive, his gaze sharper. Whats going on?
Go ahead, said Jas.
Jessica caught Richard up with admirable succinctness.
Oh shit, said Jas, covering his mouth with one hand. Thats wild. OK, so right. He licked his lower lip and just thought for a mont. All right, so this is classic. Magical components. Were going to need to find this sanguis petra - blood rock, right? And divine adamantium. Thats like the greatest, most unbreakable tal. My guess it that shits manifesting within the hives, because thats where the supernatural energies are at. But wow.
He passed his hand over his stubbled scalp and again stared out at nothing. Blinked, ca back. This is huge. No, you dont understand. This is huge. Four billion people can now do this stuff. With the right components and enough Aeviternum. Construction, food, water, weapons and armor, fucking flying scooters. But the timing cant be an accident, right?
Jas made a face. Why not?
This is all tid. The waves, the new demons. Which ans the powers-that-be wanted us to start manifesting these powers just around the Fourth Wave, maybe after, but Jess is so fucking precocious she probably spoiled their plans. I know I havent leveled up. And looking around the room?
They all scanned the sparse crowd.
Nope, not seeing any other Fabricator normies flipping out. But anyways. This ans they wanted us to start developing shit after the Nesis 2 waves, but with ti to spare before the Nesis 3. So maybe we need all this stuff to be up and running before the Nesis 3s show up? Maybe they can fly?
Now thats cheering, said Jas.
Youre right, said Jessica, growing animated once more. Well need to explore what these weapons and armor can do, what these walls and defensive structures involve, all of it, so that we can be ready to react the second Nesis 3 shows up. Which ans oh damn. Like a new New Deal.
New new deal, said Jas blankly.
Roosevelt? Great Depression? prompted Jessica, eyebrow raised. Never mind. It was a series of nation-wide programs ant to stabilize the economy and provide jobs to the millions of unemployed by getting them to build infrastructure, highways, everything. Were going to need to coordinate all this, or people will just do random shit.
Or not do anything at all, said Richard. Resource collection is key, right? As well as using Aeviternum? How many points does an Angel Wing need to get going?
Base of twenty, said Jessica, but thats for a really crude model. I think you can scale it up as much as you want.
Or until you develop the ability to create a better version, negating the Angel Wing altogether.
Sure, allowed Jessica.
We should docunt all this. Richard patted his pockets, the raised a hand. Dont move. Im going to get my laptop. We need to start charting everything out so we get an accurate idea of whats involved. How much of what for each component, how much for the general assembly itself, and so on. Is Angel Wing all you got for now?
All? asked Jas. Its a fucking flying scooter.
No, said Jessica primly. The first item is a Battle Engineer chanicus. Its She waggled her head from side to side. A wand? A crafting tool? I think it allows to channel the Aeviternum and make things happen.
First thing we need to make, then. Richard grinned. This is so fucking aweso. What else?
An Anima Sola. Jessica peered at her own hidden data. Its well, much more expensive to build than an Angel Wing, but its not a vehicle. Its a small machine, or divine construct. I get a sense of flight, of it being a guardian, of She frowned. This is so ridiculously imprecise.
Thats fine. Richard held up both hands as if to prevent her from bolting. Anima Sola. Aweso. Well get all the data down, figure it out. Stay here. Ill be right back.
And he darted away.
Jessica blew out her cheeks. Im sorry. Inefficiency frustrates , and this thod of conveying information is
Ridiculously imprecise, said Jas.
She smirked. Yes. That.
Well hang in there. Richard was right. This is he trailed off, trying to encapsulate how much everything had just changed. Beyond huge. If we can get a handle on all this stuff? I dont even know where itll take us.
Into the sky, at any rate, said Jessica. You got a fear of heights?
Jas grinned. Nope. You build an Angel Wing, and Ill fly that fucker right into the sun.
Lets not get all Icarus about this. But yes. She squared her shoulders. Ill build you an Angel Wing. Ill do everything I can to make sure were ready for the Nesis 3.
I know you will. Jas stretched, exhilarated and energized, enthused and excited. Fucking hell. Shit really does seem to be going our way at last.
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