He knew Cal had wanted him to relax, but that wasn’t really working. Previous loops had started bleeding into his brain somehow. Things he couldn’t have known about were now there. He hadn’t fully realized it at first, but once Cal had called him out on it, he couldn’t ignore it anymore. Especially when he considered ignoring was leading to increased reckless decisions on his part. He was supposed to be the tactical one here, so it was time to get a grip on this flood of memories.
This meant that instead of relaxing, he had spent the week documenting each loop he could remember in-depth to the best of his recollection. So far, he had been able to trace it back to the time Cal had pulled a gun on him, and it was possible he remembered the loop before that, but that was still hazy. Interestingly, he noted, he didn’t remember anything of Andrew’s life before Cal became loop-aware. It seemed the split between his older self, and him may have happened earlier than either of them realized.
Beyond his new loop memories, he also had to decide where to focus their search in the Library. He and Bill needed to figure out new ways to increase their powers without being tied to mana spirits. He also wanted to find a way to quickly age himself and Cal up at the start of loops. The years spent as kids every time a loop restarted had lost its luster. He should also figure out what Andrew and Ralth wanted to do on this trip. At least the dogs were easy. They wanted to find their own source of magic. Plus, there was Twonger. He didn’t trust that thing at all, but he needed to know just what he knew about mana. At least this time, he was going into the Under Library slightly more prepared than last time.
The day before they were planning to depart he called a smaller smaller meeting in the situation room of the group. He wanted to try to align their goals as best he could before they were in the Library. The downside to this meeting he hadn’t considered was the capybaras had started construction already, but there was still enough room around the main table for the smaller gathering.
“Twonger, as much as possible, I think Bill, Ralth, and I would benefit from daily lessons in channeling from you while we are there. Otherwise, you are free to come up with what you’d like to research.” Andy said, starting with the not-so-voluntary member of this expedition.
“Seems simple enough; pretty sure I’ll be spending years on just the basics. I haven’t seen a single one of yas infusing food, cycling the air, or even testing capacity. This is a really sad planet ya got yourselves here. As for the Library, I’m still not clear what makes it so special.” Twonger asked after he was done pointing out their deficiencies.
“In theory, we can learn anything as long as we have the time and dedication to do so,” Andy answered.
“And intestinal fortitude to not run screaming at the monsters,” Bill added.
“Anything, eh? Alright, now yer talking.” Twonger had a giant grin from ear to ear that left Andy uneasy.
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“Andrew, how about you? What are you looking for here?” Andy looked at his other older self.
“Firstly, I want to see how well I can exist there as I’m stuck in these connected realms at the moment. Following that, I need to look into quantum doubling. Essentially, what happened to us, but more controlled. Since we are now able to make more people loop-aware, albeit a very limited number of people at the moment, I need to look into how this will affect things. I have some rudimentary ideas that may help us in the future, but I’m not sure how possible they actually are yet.”
“Sounds good, Ralth. What brings you along?” Andy was least sure about Cal’s brother’s desires. He had expected him to either stay behind as usual or possibly join Cal on Pluto, not tag along to the Library.
“I used the advanced class feature on the R.I.S., and now my powers are much more limited than they once were. On the good side, it no longer feels like my body is tearing itself apart when I channel the local mana. On the downside, I gained some abilities that I have no real concept of, and I need to do some digging on, and what better place than a knowledge that I’m reasonably sure shouldn’t exist.” Unlike Twonger’s smile, Andy found Ralth’s comforting.
“And you three, is it just a source of magic for yourselves?” Andy asked the dogs.
“That’s the main goal, but if we are exploring a place of limitless knowledge, I think there will be plenty for us to learn. I hope I’m not stepping on either of your paws when I speak for us, but I believe there must be more to the way we animals are becoming intelligent. Think about our communication skills; for one, none of us have grown the same complex vocal cords you humans have, and yet we can all communicate nearly perfectly.” Alfred spoke up for the Canine Council.
“It’s part of the universal language of mana, though you have a point; being able to tap into it without manifesting your own abilities isn’t something I’ve ever seen before,” Twonger spoke up again before Andy could respond.
“Well, that’s just interesting, and I think it's going to be our first lesson when we settle in. Alright, everyone, I recommend pillows and blankets. We will have plenty of food, but spices will be hard to come by, so add anything you want to the packing there as well. Bill is preparing a cart to bring with us, but we may have trouble keeping it with us, especially past our first reading room. So bring backups of anything you’d rather not go without for a few years. Otherwise, see you all tomorrow.” Andy nodded to the group and made his exit from the room. He had his own packing to do and one more stop to make on the way.
Walking through the void house until he found himself in front of the Gryalth’s sealed room, he looked at the capybara guarding the door. “He Lou, I want to talk to him for a couple minutes. That okay?”
“Sure thing. Just be careful.” He answered.
“Will do, thanks.” Andy unsealed the door and went inside.
“Hey you know anything about a place called the Under Library?” he asked immediately upon entering.
“No?” It answered questioningly. The look on its face made Andy think he had found a piece of information it wanted though.
“Alright, that was all I had to ask.” He turned around and left. He wasn’t sure what he had expected out of it, but this seemed about right. He’d be back in a decade.