Chapter 31:

"So, I'm part alien. I have to say, I did not see that one coming. Wait, Sil, you told us that you transferred your consciousness right after you got here. So, who is my ancestor?

For that matter, how many generations back did this happen? I know you said we were a pretty popular destination for those of your people who wanted to fuck with us. How long have they been coming here?"

"Well, to begin," Sil replied, "we do not know who your ancestor was. We did not come here with a database of DNA samples from my world, so all we know is that you and I are not related.

As far as how many generations have passed, we also can't really say. While this mutation is expressed in your genes, genetics is complex, so we can't even be certain how many of your line carried it.

In addition, as you know, my species has been very long lived since the use of nanite technology began. Because of that, we have a skewed perspective on time, as compared to humans. We do not get bored as quickly as races with shorter lifespans.

According to logs we obtained when looking for a new home, my world initially discovered your world around thirty-five hundred years ago. From that time until most moved on to other worlds, tens of thousands of my people visited. Because of that, narrowing down your ancestry is not feasible.

What we are still looking into, is who your biological parents may have been. We are hoping to trace your lineage from them, but we are having trouble finding any records of where even YOU came from. Finding records of them is effectively stymied until we are able to find anything else."

"Damn. Okay, I'll go through everything I have stashed away from my actual parents. Maybe between us we can learn more.

You guys can look into this stuff sneakily, right? Like I said before, I stopped looking because I didn't want to trip any alarms and wind up with some legal issue I'm not prepared to deal with.

I get that with what you've figured out now, we really do need to try and figure out where I came from. I just really don't want to screw myself over in the process."

"Actually," interrupted Cierra, "since you joined The Activated, any records about you will start moving over to their records from whatever government systems they've been in. Artie, can you guys intercept them, and pull anything that talks about Will's unique… situation?"

"I have already begun the process. I do not expect to actually see any traffic for another week or two at the earliest. The state and federal governments do not seem in a hurry to begin transferring."

"It's sort of comforting," mused Will, "that even in a world of secret societies and superhuman abilities, the government still moves at the speed of bureaucracy."

"To you, perhaps. I find it downright frustrating."

Artie's tone clearly conveyed he was grumpy about that situation.

"Ha! Right. Well, we went off on a tangent there. My partial alien heritage will have to wait until we have more to go on.

So, Cierra, you said we're at a wall, in terms of power growth as Operators, without actively working on building up?"

"That's close. Passive growth is at the end of its effectiveness. So you're right, there.

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

That said, based on earlier, we are likely at the point where progress just slows down, period, but as long as we work at it, we'll keep getting stronger. Think of it like you just had a growth spurt, and while you're still growing, it's at a slower rate.

Based on what Sil told us, everyone has limits to how strong they can get, based on their own genetics. I believe he implied that our biology also plays a role in growth rate, but that's where we went off into the weeds.

So, the main question you had before was where we rank, in terms of the Operator power range. That's sort of a common question, and there is actually a trick for figuring it out.

So, I want you to ramp up your energy pull to the highest level you can sustain indefinitely. Then, you're going to close your eyes and focus on the idea of checking your limit.

Oh, and one more thing. If that doesn't do anything try mixing up the specific word choice you're using in your head while thinking about it. Attaching a visual element might help, too.

Following her instructions, Will had already started ramping his energy up. When it reached a level he was comfortable with, he was momentarily distracted when he noticed he didn't have electricity arcing over his arms. Shrugging it off, he closed his eyes and focused inward.

At first, nothing happened, so he started considering her words more in depth.

Checking my limit doesn't really feel right here. Not that I could even begin to rationally explain why that was, or why something else would feel right. Hmmm… a limit could be the top of a range. What else could describe that same concept?

Limit… maximum… maximum potential. But I'm not looking for my max, I'm trying to figure out where I'm at now. So maybe a percentage of maximum?

She said to add a visual, how about the battery percentage indicator on my phone? Yeah, that feels right.

With that thought and visual idea cemented in his mind, it was like he suddenly just vaguely knew what his current level was. His instinct told him he was somewhere between a tenth and a fifth in terms of aetheric energy, compared to his potential max.

Then something even more strange happened. Still with his eyes shut, it was like he could feel another battery inside of him. This one was lower, feeling like it was down below a tenth of capacity, and he suddenly realized what it was.

The higher level battery meter was definitely his main aetheric energy level That made it likely that the second one he was feeling was his electric capacity.

He was surprised, but really happy to see he had a way to measure that resource. He was concerned about totally running out, so he hadn't trained it like he wanted, and probably needed to. He could fix that now.

Opening his eyes, Will looked at his friends, and proceeded to fill them in on what he had figured out.

"Fascinating," replied Sil, making Will feel a bit like a science experiment.

Cierra replied in a more useful way.

"That sounds right to me. Our relative power level is about the same, but I'm just a little bit above you now. Though, I'm guessing you'll catch up eventually.

I hadn't thought about your second half. We really need to find a good way to charge you up, asap. You need to learn how to effectively use whatever that gives you."

"I agree, and this does tell us it won't automatically fill back in, like my aetheric energy. We had thought so, but confirmation is nice."

"True. So, that's how you figure that out. Once you've done it a few times, you'll probably notice that just thinking about it gives you an idea of where you're at. You won't have to ramp up your energy pull, anymore.

Some people track it, but I've always just kept a general idea of where I'm at and called it good enough. It's just a matter of personal taste."

"That makes sense. Since you already knew about what level I was at, I assume there's also a way to gauge where other people are on the scale?"

"That's a little trickier. You can get an idea through your ability to sense aetheric energy, but it doesn't give you a baseline.

What I mean is, your senses can give you the same level estimate on someone else as you get from yourself. The trick is that it's entirely based on how much energy they're tapping into at that moment."

"So, it can be fooled by just not pulling your maximum amount?"

"Exactly."

Mulling it over for a minute, Will wanted to follow that thought train.

"So, suppression and masking make it fail. The bad part would be something else, though. Without an idea of their actual level, you could walk into a confrontation with someone, and have no warning about their physical strength or speed. That sounds… potentially painful."

Cierra snorted at that, then said, "Got it in one. That actually reminds me of something I wanted to warn you about.

When you're anywhere north of here, except for my family compound, keep your juice suppressed to a low level from here out. I know you have been, I just wanted to really drill that in.

With our extracurricular activities coming up, we absolutely want anyone up there to underestimate you. Especially anyone in leadership for the society. Also, nosy admin assistants."

"Fair enough, but what makes your compound safe?"

"Well, for one, there are multiple people around or even above us, in terms of raw power there. They wouldn't be able to differentiate us.

Also, the branch Head and his favorite lackey are terrified of my grandfather. He's on the cusp of breaking through to being a Specialist. He's ridiculously tough.

He's also made it extremely clear how much he dislikes them. He can't do anything about them, unless they start actively annoying him near our property. So they make sure not to go anywhere near it."

"Right. Ok, now for the one I'm dreading. How strong are the leader and his minion?"

"I had wondered if you'd ask. Obviously, I'm not positive, but last I saw, the skeevy council member was a mid-range Operator. With teamwork, and some luck, we could take him.

The problem is going to be the leader. We won't want to get into any fights with him for a while. He's a late stage Operator, and significantly stronger than us.

"Hmm… I don't love that they're stronger than we are."

"Yup. By quite a bit, at that. Not enough that I think they could easily take us out, or anything. Enough that a stand up fight is theirs every time, though."

"Yeah. I think it's time we make a plan for moving forward. I've mostly just been trying to get stronger. Well, that and sneaking around without getting caught."

"Let's hear what you're thinking of, and I'll poke holes wherever they're needed."

"So gracious," Will said to Cierra's smirking face, while wearing a sardonic look of his own.