Chapter 22: Novel Communications Protocols
dGhl-IHBy-b3Rh-Z29u-aXN0 considered the offer of a new source of mana. He was tempted to take the risk and leap into action. More mana would mean more troops, faster consumption of biomass and faster upgrades, which would generate more mana, which would once again mean improving in all aspects, which would mean more mana and so on in an endless cycle until all the resources on the planet had been consumed or he had achieved his goals. He had only been here for 6 days, and had already grown considerably compared to his starting situation.
The harpies would be expensive to replace if it was a trap, but ultimately expendable compared to a source of mana. Each minute of delay meant delaying his growth.
However, impulsiveness was a species-wide trait, both a strength and a known weakness when it was inappropriate. It was written into their basic instincts, to take advantage of their lack of morale and lack of need to rest. They could walk into an ambush and simply not care if it lowered the defenses of a more critical target. They could continue an offensive without stopping for a single minute. It was the lens through which they saw the world, and so their basic behavior would always trend towards a blitz to overwhelm opposition. And in this instance, he needed information more than he needed increased speed, so he had to ignore those instincts.
He had to be methodical about this, to adjust to the present circumstances. This would not be a short interrogation full of easily verifiable data. This would be a conversation. Something new for him. He began trawling through his databanks for information on communication, and begun from the start.
"Identify yourself." he asked from the leader.
The leader paused for a few seconds before answering. "Harold. Just a merchant heading to Riveg."
"This cargo and vehicle are yours?" asked dGhl-IHBy-b3Rh-Z29u-aXN0.
Harold almost nodded in response, before he stopped himself when his neck pressed harder against the talon, and answered verbally instead. "They are."
dGhl-IHBy-b3Rh-Z29u-aXN0 inspected the cargo. It didn't make sense for a shipment of copper to be escorted by a trader. Raw materials were generally transported in enormous quantities by automated systems or basic labor. But he needed to alter his standards, as the local settlements were tiny and seemingly lacking in communications capacity. This could be normal behavior. "Why escort raw materials?" he asked.
Harold reacted to that by furrowing his brows and narrowing his eyes. "I already sold everything else. You...understand beyond just the words. What are you?" His heart rate dropped considerably, apparently calming from the realization.
dGhl-IHBy-b3Rh-Z29u-aXN0 stopped and considered for a moment. He was leaking some sort of information with his behavior, evident from earlier similar comments, which meant the humans could begin to predict his actions and thoughts. It was a problem during protracted engagements, where scavenged enemy battle plans became unreliable after the opposing forces began to fill them with fake intel that appealed to his kind. He needed a way to reduce the possibility of that happening even if these humans survived. There had been enough anomalous events that he could guarantee he would be able to kill all three.
He was reminded of imperial infiltration teams as he thought about communication. He only had a shallow description of their protocls, which had sometimes aided in extracting a team from a battle. Despite the lack of definitive information, it was the closest example and template for how he should behave. They would sabotage hostile communications and chains of command by spreading false information. They would create fake identities for themselves which explained their presence in high-security areas, and compelled hostiles to share classified information. They fabricated orders that would grant them access to vital equipment, or in some cases even caused defenders to redeploy to worse positions. Disorganized militaries and civilians tended to rely on unofficial and unverified orders to function. For his kind that was usually a negative, as captured documents and battle plans could be misleading, but infiltration teams took advantage of it.
He did not have enough knowledge to pretend to have higher orders, but he could make it harder to analyze his actions. He concocted a semi-randomized false identity for himself, which would hopefully mislead the humans. Possibilities were scarce though, as he lacked knowledge that would create a consistent one.
"I'm a mercenary. My name is Karael" he spoke. The fleet had fought with and against mercenaries on occasion, making it a possible target for emulation. They tended to switch sides when promised sufficient money, and sometimes had to be eliminated when they realized they would not receive it in the end. They were also a good target as they had a reason to seek information about military command structures, weapons, and communications equipment. "I am searching for contracts and information about the local area."
"As a mercenary, you would surely accompany us to Riveg in search of contracts, yes?" came the question from Harold.
The lie had apparently been successful, and even granted a possible method of infiltrating and sabotaging the town, possibly before news of the destruction of the village reached them. Even if this operation went wrong, he could approach the town with hijacked cargo vehicles to hide his approach. It had been an useful idea. "Yes. Tell me more about mana and the gods." he continued.
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The conversation lasted for hours. Harold professed to a lack of knowledge about the specifics, pointing out that there was a library in Riveg with more information. He seemed adamant about reaching the town, and he physically calmed whenever dGhl-IHBy-b3Rh-Z29u-aXN0 spoke in support of it. In contrast, he seemed agitated whenever dGhl-IHBy-b3Rh-Z29u-aXN0 asked about the other two humans. Either a sign that they were hiding something, or that Harold was mentally stable and worried about his team.
The two humans were simple farmhands, heading south and not permanent members of his team. Merely aiding in transportation. dGhl-IHBy-b3Rh-Z29u-aXN0 had no way of verifying this information, but analysis revealed nothing anomalous in their movements or actions.
Harold ran a solo trading operation, meaning his removal would not earn the ire of a corporation thus making him more disposable. His heart rate spiked after revealing this information. He hastily added that he was expected in Riveg and there would likely be search parties sent out if he did not reach the town.
dGhl-IHBy-b3Rh-Z29u-aXN0 estimated that he was manipulating his answers to ensure his survival and the survival of his team. It was expected behavior, but there was something strange about it. Something to analyze later.
His knowledge of the gods mostly corresponded to the information found in the book. He urged against contacting the gods, believing it likely they would destroy the area if disturbed. dGhl-IHBy-b3Rh-Z29u-aXN0 had implied that "Karael" was seeking a mercenary contract with the gods and it had been a mistake due to the hostilities between the human and god factions, but Harold did not seem to alter his behavior in response. He pointed dGhl-IHBy-b3Rh-Z29u-aXN0 towards a monastery of Kynara in Bronzetown as a place for further queries about the gods.
During the process he revealed that "Karael" was ultimately seeking funds to purchase a large lake house. Harold did not question further.
The most useful piece of information was about the nature of mana.
"Mana is all around us. It responds to our thoughts, desires and Skills." Harold spoke. "If you desire more, you must focus. To demonstrate, I would need to be closer to a town like Riveg. My skills work best around more people."
dGhl-IHBy-b3Rh-Z29u-aXN0 considered his abilities and the nature of his new body. His initial assessment had been that his sensor network and spawned creatures were advanced nanite swarms, most likely powered by mana. The reality seemed to be that mana was itself a nanite swarm of unknown size, which interfaced with everything it could. If aerial mana acted as a proxy for communications, then it explained why the humans could interfere with his connections. It also meant he could potentially affect theirs as well. Insecure implants were a common weakness among the less technologically inclined. For now, he was also in that category.
He decided to test if there was any indication it responded to his thoughts. He temporarily stopped background processes, and concentrated on thinking about mana.
His first thought was that mana explained why he could not find the human enhancements. He most likely passively consumed them with each kill. He needed to examine an enhanced human killed outside his area of influence.
The second thought was to compare the mana generated from various sources. He could estimate what it would connect to, and possibly how to optimize his own connection.
The third thought was about his upgrades. Each upgrade improved his ability to interface with the crystal. Adaptation might not be a specific feature of the crystal, but rather an aspect of mana itself, which would mean that the mana was aiding him in hijacking it.
His mana generation efficiency temporarily increased by 0.004 during the process and immediately dropped again when he resumed normal operations. It was a source of mana, but he sacrificed too much for extremely little gain. However, it confirmed the information Harold was telling him. It also demonstrated that the mana was monitoring his thoughts.
dGhl-IHBy-b3Rh-Z29u-aXN0 instructed the barge to proceed towards Riveg, and for Harold to demonstrate his gathering of mana. It might reveal how to make the process more efficient.
Harold's blood pressure and pulse lowered significantly, and he let out a long sigh as he stood up and stretched his limbs. The rest did similarly. They did not speak, but made silent gestures and expressions at each other before they grabbed the poles and began to move the barge.
dGhl-IHBy-b3Rh-Z29u-aXN0 had disconnected the harpy and moved it to an overwatch position. He considered his options: He could kill all three right now. He could see the demonstration of mana gathering, and then kill them. He could proceed to Riveg on the barge, and then kill them before attempting to infiltrate the city. As the last option, he could proceed to Riveg on the barge, and not kill them to attempt further communication, which would be likely to fail if news of the destruction of the village had reached the town. As far as the barge operators knew, he had taken no direct hostile actions aside from threats which still made it a possibility.
He consulted Harold about the leadership of Riveg while they were heading downriver. The defenses were coordinated by a guard-commander Alyssa Spara and administrated by Baron Eabar. Alyssa had a positive reputation, which would be a problem during an assault. She was a potential target for assassination or a targeted strike, while an incompetent commanding officer could be ignored. Proceeding further towards Riveg might be a good way to eliminate her before they went on high-alert.
They were approximately 3 kilometers from the town, when Harold said he could do his demonstration. He had been relatively calm during questioning, but had begun to sweat during a period when they had stopped talking. dGhl-IHBy-b3Rh-Z29u-aXN0's thoughts alternated between killing him directly after the demonstration, and killing him later in town.
Harold let out a long sigh as he walked to the edge of the barge, and proceeded to gesture in the air. The air shimmered in tune with his movements. "I will use a Skill, and you should see the mana gather. Movements and words help to focus the mind."
He weaved complex patterns in the air. The ones constructed with his right hand were incomprehensible to dGhl-IHBy-b3Rh-Z29u-aXN0. The left hand however, traced a message in the air. It was hidden among other movements, but it was clearly hand-written Ilanian.
Ha El B Re R K 140s k m2 B
dGhl-IHBy-b3Rh-Z29u-aXN0 analyzed the message. He did not have enough knowledge to decode the shorthand, but he assumed it contained their present location and a call for aid.
It seemed the humans did have some sort of communications equipment. The question was whether to reveal he had intercepted the outgoing message and prepare an ambush, or proceed towards the town pretending he didn't know.