I’m not even sure what I should be feeling. Ujasiri was just a person I sort of knew, but it feels wrong that he’s alive one second and dead the next.
There’s no ceremony or anything; they aren’t even saying anything. The crowd is just smaller, missing someone. No fanfare for the lost soul.
After that, I asked what happened to Ujasiri, and they, with sorrow clearly dripping off their words, said that he died in bravery and worth fighting off a lion that had gotten close to some of the tribe's children.
I almost wish to laugh; he didn’t look like he was more than at most 15 years old. He was a child himself who died for no reason at all except sheer chance and a willingness to die.
I want to ask, where were the adults? Where was the medicine? But I know the answer, there wasn't any, and because of that, he died.
My mind swirls amidst my silent students, unable to process this. In the only context I've ever known, a lion couldn’t have even gotten close to children, much less mauled someone to death. Any simple wound like what killed Ujasiri would have been quickly and easily solved. But that isn’t the case here; instead, a child died in order to save some other children.
Died for the crime of lacking medicine. When he had so much more to do. I watched him grow, mature, and learn, and now it's just gone.
—
Entry 27, Page 1414, Day 107
My new skin is odd; it feels strange, the rough plates of its makeup lending my skin both strength and immense traction. Kailin was inspired by a shark's skin when we looked through the patents, fascinated by the animals themselves since she’s never seen the sea.
I don’t feel anything particular; however, I’ve seen the sea before; I’ve seen it hundreds of times; it just isn’t all that special. Although it does feel slightly strange for someone with such intense expertise to simply have never seen something as widespread as the ocean. But they’re still a person, and no one can do everything, so I suppose it is natural.
Regardless, we used one of the patented designs for a decorative skin pattern. Mostly due to the very large notes all throughout the patent document that were decisively stated. Do not install in order for the patient to have smooth skin; shark skin is very rough, and will hurt people who rub it the wrong way. Make the patient fully aware that this will not make their skin but instead the opposite. And if a patient insists that shark skin is the smoothest thing in all of existence, please ignore them and direct them towards a procedure that actually makes their skin smooth.
With how insistent and everpresent the notes were, I suspected that they would have extremely large amounts of traction, and I was pleasantly surprised by the specs. Sharkskin is a series of sharp keratin plates called denticles that are arranged in such a way so that moving from the nose to the tail, they are smooth and very efficient while swimming. On the other side, from tail to nose, however they are very rough since the overlapping teeth-like structure of the denticles splays upwards and digs into the surface to stop them from moving. Me and Kailin altered the denticles so that when I pull on something, the denticles dig into the surface to make sure that I stick to it. While also allowing me to have fairly regular interactions with others if I make sure to have them not pull on my skin. Since the other way around is fairly smooth.
It was a bit fragile since the original design was built for a cosmetic modification, and thus the plates weren't made up of keratin. But there was enough space in the Perfection magic budget to fit in some general enhancements to the defenese and strength of my skin and replace my skin with keratin, the same material as my teeth. Over these last couple weeks, I have felt my stores of my Perfection magic grow, so I was able to make this blueprint viable.
Which is comforting since all the options that the tribe of hammer and spear came up with independently, left the prospective speedster feeling horribly sticky. The only other solution is learning Jealusy hedge magic in order to selectively stick to substances. And I refuse to do such a thing; it would feel awful for both me and anyone I ever become friends with to give myself an intense and impossible need for them to interact with me and only me. I won’t burn away my Jealousy since it seems like a bad idea to remove an emotion that makes me strive for more. But frankly, I could see a less ambitious version of myself burning my Jealousy to the nubs, it truly is an awful feeling.
Either way, my new skin is obviously quite queer and odd right now, and it will take a bit of time to train myself to not pull on anything fragile. It’s already ruined a couple clothes already, although I shudder to consider what feeling sticky at all times would have done to both myself and my fashion, eaugh!
Next week we’ll start heading into the final changes, which would be a general enhancement of my mind, along with some specific snarls added in so that I can actually process what’s going on. In this, I am quite grateful that Kailin is giving me detailed instructions since, from what we can tell, The Dual Tribe is a bit better at messing with the brain.
After all, they don’t need to interact with the extremely complicated biology inherent to the brain in order to change it; they just need to describe general actions while adding blanket safety clauses. This does make any serious mind enhancements like the ones I was thinking about earlier a no-go due to the extreme cost of Perfection reserves. But when what I really want is to just not smack into walls, it's a true blessing to not need to actually figure out the confounding mystery that is the brain. Humanity still has no idea what's going on up there after centuries of study, all of our technology related to it, like memory transfer, relies on alien trade.
But I suppose I should get this over with and start doing the Home rune experiments again. It's not like it could be any worse than what the rest of my week has been.
—
Home Rune Experimentation 2.1
Hypothesis: If there is something placed upon a Home rune, it will move with the object. Thus teleporting them to the target destination.
Instructions
1. Take the Home Rune Stamp
2. Take a standard hexagonal iron plate
3. Take a steel frame.
4. Heat the iron with the hot hands spell.
5. Apply the stamp to the heated metal within the frame
6. Remove the plate from the frame when it has cooled down
7. Mark the plate with its iteration
8. Take the frame from earlier and place it in Experimentation Room 2.2
9. Take the plate and place it inside the frame
10. Press the button
11. Press the button again to deactivate it.
12. Take the deactivated plate into room 3.2
13. Place another standard blank hexagonal plate atop the enchanted plate
14. Press the button on the bottom with an 11-foot pole
15. Record Results.
16. Repeat steps 2–16 two more times
17. Note down and interpret the results
Results
Trial 1: When the button was pressed, I was suddenly very thankful that I remembered that I had an 11 foot pole lying around. Because the plate flipped faster than I could blink, rocketed its passenger into a wall, and then smashed through the frame. I had to go into the tinkering wing, grab a hammer, and smash it back into usefulness for the next try.
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
Trial 2: Similarly to before, the plate seems to respect the orientation of the original placement, and thus, if it is placed upside down, it flips back up mid-flight. At this point, I know that the experiment is a failure, but you need at the very least three trials, or the entire thing could just be a fluke of luck and idiocy.
Trial 3: Again, a failure. Thankfully, the 11 feet of distance is enough that I don’t get smacked into next week. I'm, of course, still being as cautious as possible by wearing my armor, but I haven’t needed it so far.
Failure
Retrospective/Errors: Firstly, in the future, the orientation of the plates at anchoring and activation must be noted and accounted for. Due to this, any objects placed on or attached to Home rune plates must be smaller than the plate in order to press the button. Secondly, since the plate smashes through all barriers, any anchoring points must be inlaid rather than placed within an object. This is frustrating due to the fact that the healing floors reject any attachments and the simple fact that I do not also want to carve an inlay into the floor, permanently scarring it. Finally, since placing an object on the rune that moves things so fast that they’re faster than human sight. It seems that simply placing objects on top of the enchantment is just a good way for that object to either be left behind, like how the plates stay on the table when someone rips off the tablecloth, or, more dangerously, allow the object to be flung to who knows where. To combat this, I will attempt to strap items to the plate so that they can be dragged there. Hopefully, things strapped to the item will experience the same perfect stop of movement, and I can travel around with Home runes like a discount Thor, raising the ante. I also hope against hope that I might be able to use this to get back home.
—
Home Rune Experimentation 2.2
Hypothesis: If something is strapped to a home rune, it will move with the object. Thus teleporting them to the target destination.
Instructions
1. Take three hexagonal plates
2. Weld the edges together.
3. Take a standard hexagonal iron plate and then carve the outline into the center of the three hexagonal plates; set aside the object made in steps 1-3
4. Make three ropes by braiding string found in the relaxation wing; set aside
5. Take one standard hexagonal plate and carve off halves until it’s 1/8th of the original size, set aside
6. Take the Home Rune stamp
7. Take a standard hexagonal iron plate
8. Take a steel frame.
9. Heat the iron with the hot hands spell.
10. Apply the stamp to the heated metal within the frame
11. Remove the plate from the frame when it has cooled down
12. Mark the plate with its iteration
13. Take the inlaid plate made in steps 1-3 and then place it in room 2.2
14. Take the plate and place it inside the boundaries
15. Press the button, to anchor the rune.
16. Press the button again to deactivate it.
17. Take the deactivated plate into room 3.2
18. Take the rope made in step 4 and tie it to the plate
19. Then use that firmly secured rope to strap down the piece of iron made in step 5.
20. Press the button on the top with an 11-foot pole
21. Record Results.
22. Repeat steps 6–11 two more times
23. Note down and interpret the results
Results
Trial 1: I seem to have neglected to do one thing in this experiment. I neglected the crucial aspect of making a functional rope, which led to my contraption failing to stick together mid-flight and flinging the carved metal plate into the ceiling. It was thankfully going at a much slower speed than the plate itself, so there was only some buckling in the walls, but it was still frightening. Although at this point, I think I’m getting used to objects being flung at high speeds nearby since it wasn’t nearly as scary as it should have been. Either way, I’m going to look up how to more properly make some rope, make some more, and try again.
Trial 2: Alright! This attempt was partially successful; it ripped apart the rope when it came in, and thus the carved plate that was attached slammed into the back, but it transported it across from room to room. So I don’t have the same problem. I’m going to add a couple of rings to the top of the plate so I can tie the carved plate without having any rope on the bottom.
Trial 3: SUCCESS! Well, not a complete success. I have no idea what the hell the force is for the items attached, and I thus have no idea how I will do strapped to a home rune plate. But when the button was pressed, the carved plate arrived at its destination unharmed and on course. So I should at the very least survive with the dense imbuement of healing energy that my armor grants. What could possibly go wrong?
Success
Retrospective/Errors: Alright, since this worked, I’ll be strapping myself to a home rune and trying to use this as both a way of quickly returning to places and to bust down into the mortal realm. I doubt I’ll be able to do the latter due to the fact that the home rune doesn’t teleport people so much as it just moves the object to its anchor extremely quickly. Additionally, it won’t even get me to my home; it’ll just get me onto a weird alien planet. Regardless, I’ll be trying both. For safety, I’ll be altering the design of the rune and the destination so that I don’t smash through several walls and crush myself into a bunch of itty bitty pieces, by drilling a hole in the center of the anchoring plate so I can align myself properly and not flip around in the air. Thankfully, I recently increased my skin's durability greatly by shifting them into a bunch of tiny teeth knives, so I should be fine, but I’m obviously taking all precautions possible.
—
Home Rune Experimentation 2.3
Hypothesis: If I tie my feet to the plate and then have the plate return to a location with no walls, I will arrive at the location safe and sound.
Instructions
1. Take an eleven-foot pole and bend it in two places so that the end of the pole points back towards the body.
2. Take the old anchoring rune plate and carve a hole so that you can press the button.
3. Take the leftover rope and set it aside
4. Use standard procedures to make a home rune plate
5. Attach six iron rings to the plate.
6. Take the old anchoring rune plate and melt it at the top of a very long pole that is attached to the bottom of the space base, pointing it away from the meat planet. (Note: The planet has still not been named, get to that soon)
7. Take the plate and place it inside the boundaries the rune facing down through the hole in the anchoring plate.
8. Press the button to anchor the plate through the drilled hole
9. Press the button again to deactivate the plate.
10. Take the deactivated plate used in Trial 3 of HRE 2.2 and place it above the anchoring rune plate.
11. Take the old rope and tie it through the rings, firmly around your armored boots.
12. Press the button on the bottom of your boots with a bent pole
13. Record Results.
14. Repeat steps 6–11 two more times
15. Note down and interpret the results
Results
Trial 1:FUCK! FUKCEIT FUYCIK FUCIKO FUCKKKK!
*A great distance of infinite paper is strewn with expletives before it eventually reaches a more coherent statement.*
In the future, I should refrain from breaking all of the bones in my legs and then pushing those broken legs against a solid metal surface by healing the bones back into place. I should probably never ever fucking do this again. Oh, above and below what was I thinking, someone else would have pulped their entire lower body, but what else am I supposed to do to get out of here? This is a clearly available and powerful form of transportation. It’s just one that I can’t stop, interact with, or control in any way. I oh so despise this horrid feeling overtaking my heart. The sheer lack of control this transportation bridging makes me want to freeze in place and never touch it again. But I can’t stop; I have to keep going. All right, All right, I’ll try again, but first I need to protect myself. Perhaps I could imbue myself with sturdiness the same way my armor imbues me with healing.
Trial 2: No!
Failure
Error: Okay, I’ve found a reflection rune, and I’ve tested it out a bit. It seems to take the energy of a blow and then push it back against an attack. Due to that, it seems to do nothing at all and just stays in place. Which means it's utterly worthless for anything that moves like a person. I also had to toss away Protect, Slow, and Guard. I eventually settled on a Call:storageRecharge-Button-Target/Touch-Call:refuse-Call:durationFive rune scheme, it places me into a stasis for around 5 Jwarihousa time increments. I managed to make it work by having both the storage and the Refuse, Refrain, Stop runes placed with five other backups in an array. I blink, and for five Jwarihousa time increments I freeze into utter immunity from harm and change. Due to the nature of the stasis, I can’t understand or process anything during it, but these stasis runes were the only ones that didn't lock my position in space, so I'll just have to deal with it. Regardless of my resistance and hesitance to such a restrictive method, I'll be using it anyway in my next attempt very soon.
—
Nervous I take the rope tied around my armored boots and tighten them once more. I take a deep gulp of fear, but regardless, I move forward.
Clearing my mind with a deep breath out, I stretch out and grab the rod that allows me to activate this not so slightly foolhardy teleportation, and with hesitation, I stretch it towards the drilled hole in the plate I am attached to.
Swirling with fear and desperation, desperate to actually do something to escape this awful place, I screw my face shut and press the button, a tiny flare of magic piercing my eyelids as two separate enchantments simultaneously activate, distracting me for a bli-
And I’m there, my eyes still painfully screwed shut, I slowly open my eyes, and I find myself at the top of a metal pole far above my base. Undeniably proving that I moved, that I teleported across vast distances in the blink of an eye.
A roar of disbelieving nervous laughter bursts out of me. A bloody grin cutting its way across my face as I begin my journey to clawing my way out of here, regardless of the natural laws or people that might stop my return.