...Apologies, host. I seed to have spiraled in excitent there...
"Excitent?" Zephyr asked, amusedly. "I didn’t know you could get excited, Aegis."
...Well, I was designed to prioritize seeking knowledge to add to my database, so anything new—things like this— that align with my designed objective, ’excite’ .
"Designed..." Zephyr pointed out the choice of words. "What exactly are you, Aegis? Were you actually designed by my father?" Zephyr asked. "I know you’re not... alive, in the natural sense... So how can you be this... complex?"
...That... would require higher user privileges to answer. Aegis replied sowhat solemnly, surprising Zephyr yet again.
Zephyr nodded, already expecting that reply. But at least, it wasn’t delivered synthetically like Aegis previously used to.
"Alright... Let’s get down to business." Zephyr focused, shaking away all unnecessary thoughts. He knew he would get his answers... so day.
"You’re monitoring my surroundings on the outside, yeah?" he asked.
To the best of what’s possible with a comatose body, host. Aegis replied sarcastically.
"Yeah... shouldn’t have asked that." Zephyr said sheepishly. "How would we know if I’m causing a large disturbance and drawing attention if we can’t sense anything on the outside?" Zephyr hesitated. He didn’t want his quick recovery ti to be found out by anyone at all.
Aside from his ’above average strength,’ the higher-ups already knew there was sothing else different about him from Veronica’s reports, but they didn’t know exactly what it was. So he didn’t want to give them any ideas to start.
I suggest we simply go through with it, host. If it cos to the worst, you could simply play it like you foolishly attempted another comprehension, but failed grievously. A ’grave’ internal injury is easy enough to fake. The tiny capillaries— blood vessels— just at the back of your throat can be made to rupture, causing blood to gush out of your mouth in a manner that looks more grievous than it actually is. Your nanites can handle this easily. Aegis suggested.
Zephyr frowned. "You think they’ll fall for sothing as simple as that?"
Well, it’ll depend on you and how well you sell the act. The injury part is not going to be a problem at all.
Zephyr let out the equivalent of a ntal sigh. "You know what? Let’s do it. I’ve co this far already, so there’s no way I’m leaving here just like that," he said, settling his mind.
Zephyr imdiately focused, discarding all unnecessary thoughts. He converged all his knowledge of the Transistor, every single aspect Aegis had imparted, into a solid, unwavering concept. He pictured it taking ntal form before him, but as he did, he realized he was also subconsciously picturing a white space along with it. It felt redundant. His whole visualization felt redundant. Like he was adding needless steps to the process. He was inside his own mana core already, unburdened by the usual ntal processes.
He could already feel that it was way easier for Origin to act on his understanding of Transistors in here, so why was he still trying to build a useless ’visual aid’ for sothing he could feel so vividly. It was an unnecessary step, a clutch for those without his unique access. Why follow their thods when he could see everything happening right here, right now?
He imdiately discarded the thod of comprehension he had learned from the inheritance. Instead, he simply stared intently at the glowing thread that connected his mana node to the "above," sending his understanding of the Transistor directly into it.
As his unwavering intent t the thread, slowly, it began to glow with an ethereal light, pulsating with raw energy. Zephyr’s already sharp clarity sharpened even further instantly. This was it. It was happening. This was the mont when anyone on the outside who was sensitive to Origin would sense the disturbance... but that didn’t concern him. Right now he was utterly focused on the process happening right before him.
He watched as Origin, through the glowing thread, began to etch Transistors onto the surface of his mana node. He saw them materialize as intricate, microscopic structures of solidified mana, as tiny, precise mana switches.
Now he would be able to utilize his comprehension of Bits to the fullest. Each Transistor he was watching form was fundantally a tiny, precise mana switch. And based on precise mana control signals applied to each Transistor, the flow of Bits would either be allowed to pass to the output, or be completely blocked. These on or off states, controlled by each individual Transistors, would then form the backbone of more complex structures like Logic Gates, which would enable more versatility in spell casting.
However, as he watched the etching continue, he began to spot so inconsistencies between the understanding he was sending across, and what was being etched on his mana node. He noticed that the more he strove for precision with his understanding, beyond a point, it almost seed like Origin was paraphrasing his design.
"Why isn’t it following what I want?!" Zephyr yelled in thought.
He already had a design in mind that Aegis had introduced to him. The FinFET design. A modern three-dinsional transistor structure that would allow him to have far greater mana control, reduced mana leakage, and way more transistors to be fit in his single mana node because it could be etched vertically. Stacked like a skyscraper.
But his intention was being ignored. Origin, for so reason, was paraphrasing his intentions, refusing to stack. Instead, it was translating his understanding into a flat, planar design, laid out in a single layer on the surface of his mana node. Like a two-dinsional city map.
With the design that was being etched, just like a congested city, mana would have to flow around unnecessarily long and winded paths to get from point A to point B, making more mana to be consud per spell, and leading to inefficiencies and mana loss that he could not afford to have with his single mana node count.
Zephyr tried to push his own visualization harder, to impose the exponentially more optimized FinFET structure he knew was superior. But it felt like he was pushing against nothing. No matter how he strained, his intentions were still being paraphrased.
It was beginning to feel like there was nothing he could do about it, and he was almost even succumbing to the reality, when all of a sudden from nowhere, that familiar feeling of wrongness overwheld him wholly. He felt a presence. A foreign presence was there with him. Right there, within his ntal connection with the threads that led above.
It was supposed to be only his understanding and then Origin that was acting on it... but now, Zephyr could feel a third presence there. Like so kind of moderator had woven itself into Origin, preventing anyone from crossing a certain threshold of precision while comprehending words.
Zephyr had never felt this stifled in his life. He was sure that if he simply let the process complete as is, he would co out with the best version of a Transistor embedded into his core that any Exalted or Half-Exalted could comprehend in this world... But he would never be satisfied with that. Not when he knew there was a filter that stopped him from achieving way more.
A boiling anger bubbled from the depths of Zephyr’s very being. He was furious. He knew how much more a FinFET design would allow him to do. For him that was a single node awakened, it was set in stone that his future mana node count was going to be abysmal compared to his peers. So his only option was to be able to fit way more than they could by far within one node. This was why he was never going to settle!
He wrestled with the hold, with the omnipresent filter, pouring every fibre of his furious will into it. He felt his mind strain to its absolute limits, on the verge of shattering.
Aegis’s voice sounded from sowhere, but he couldn’t hear anything. All that colored his mind was the burning desire to break free from the restriction. To break past the filter. The presence that held him back.
Within that mindless state, his consciousness moved on instinct. It knew he needed help. Knew he needed a more direct connection. A direct channel to battle with this moderator. So subconsciously, he did what he dreaded doing again. He moved towards his mana node mindlessly... and placed his hand right on it.
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