Chapter 40 - Thought Space

"Then, do you know about Shades of Perception?"

This question puzzled Vern. Was she talking about how he shaded his perception with tones of grays? Didn't every viewpoint have its own different representation? She shouldn't know about that. He still replied, assuming it must be a general term, "Shades of perception? Yes, I shade it every time I want to use my Visions."

"Huh? No. That's not what I meant. Shading your perception is the act of imprinting a Vision onto your thought space. I still don't understand everything since I haven't even enlightened myself, much less shade my perception, but it isn't something you do every time you employ a vision."

That sounded a little like what happened with Instability Inducement. It wouldn't be too far off to say he had 'imprinted' it into his thoughts. But was that really it? He had 'shaded' his perception without even knowing about it?

They reached the tall bridge connecting this district to Starfall Heights with minimal disturbance when maybe noticing his lack of response, she continued, "I don't know everything, but if you have shaded your perception, you should have some kind of blessing that aids you in your Observation."

"Blessing?" This was only getting more and more confusing. He was pretty sure that the burden of Cryptic Constructor didn't count as a blessing. It had helped him, yes. But something far more nefarious was going on behind the scenes, he was sure of it. And he had no other 'blessings.'

He retrieved his notepad from his coat and flipped it open to the page that had lines from the parchment of Cryptic Constructor. A relevant one mentioned, 'Constructor's blessing is the Unveiling, a divine act that transcends mere sight, to perceive the very bones of reality.'

"Yes. The Vision with which you shade your perception determines the kind of blessing you receive. I can't share the effects of the Vision I plan to shade my perception with. But, I can tell you the Blessing I will supposedly receive. Since I will be following a record of Ephram, the great conductor, I ought to be able to subtly perceive the resonance between people, ideas, and objects."

That sounds very useful. I wonder what are the limitations of such a thing. But this changes a lot of my previous theories. Was that swordsman talking about blessings in this context? This was quite peculiar. Then, what would be considered an 'evil' blessing?

But this also threw him back to the same question he had at the start of this conversation. Since he didn't have a 'blessing' or anything of the sort, did that mean he hadn't shaded his perception? Then, what exactly did it mean to 'imprint' a Visions? What were the steps?

"I see. Then, I don't think I have any such blessings."

"That…" she stared at the ground, lost in thought as they walked alongside each other.

Vern also tried to wrap his mind around this whole thing. So there was something called Thought Space where one had to imprint Visions. And Instability Inducement had yet to be imprinted, or he would have had a blessing that sounded like things that would 'unveil the bone of reality?' That would be very welcome.

On the other hand, the blessing that Miss Cera will get comes from Ephram, which allows her to perceive 'resonance between disparate concepts.'

It's quite a departure from technical terminology used in Observations Record of Subjectivity, but they seem to be encompassing the same concepts. Very intriguing indeed.

Four chimes resounded from the faraway clocktower when she finally looked back up at him and asked, "But this makes no sense. How can you use such potent Visions without shading your perception? Given your unstable thought space which has zero shades, you shouldn't be able to use anything so practical."

Zero shades? Is that to say perception can be shaded multiple times?

He furrowed his brows and responded, "Is it not possible to envision anything useful until one has shaded their perception?"

"Mhm. As I said, it shouldn't be possible to imprint a profound chain of ideas in an unstable thought space. Taking the ideas that make up your desired Vision, and intentionally imprinting them into your thought space is how you shade your perception. That is what makes a thought space stable."

That was a lot of information. Retrieving the pen from his pocket, he rested the notepad on the hand that gripped Ironsong and began writing. After a few quick scribbles, he asked, "Can you tell me more about this Thought Space you keep mentioning?"

She first looked at him with one of her eyebrows raised and lapsed in a moment of quietude before speaking, "Yes, but that will be the last thing I explain. I have already spoken a little too much for having received nothing in return." Then she cleared her throat and continued, "In simpler terms, Thought Space is where insights regarding your viewpoint congregate. Think of it as a more permanent form of the world you perceive during Observation."

Then a look of realization dawned on her face, "I see. I think this is what you meant when you said you have to shade your perception again and again. If you had a stable thought space, you wouldn't have to interpret the world around you every time you wanted to use a Vision."

"But then again, just the fact that you can use those Visions is a problem. I don't know." She sighed, "I really need to feel all these constructs and ideas for myself. So much theory without getting a practical hands-on is really making it hard for me to wrap my mind around everything."

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

She seemed as confused as himself about a lot of details, and it only made sense. There's only so much one could comprehend as a non-Observer. He still wasn't sure how to 'Shade his Perception,' because he didn't know how to access the 'Thought Space.' But he wasn't about to pester her for more answers just yet. She had given him more than he deserved, and as a gentleman, he would respect the boundary she set up.

He wasn't some power-hungry freak looking to become the most powerful Observer on the planet. But the very nature of Observation called to him. Those sights he had seen back in the library—he longed for them. But more than that, it was about balance.

He would love to sit in one place and just experiment with Instability Inducement, until he couldn’t anymore—figure out everything about it. But an equilibrium had to be achieved between his proactiveness and reactiveness regarding the unknown threats that lurked around him.

There was that sacrifice in the hotel, those two men, the rift, the whispers, Hensen, the Ascendant Council, Kingsmen, Swordsman, men in white robes, Ariane, and new abnormalities were being added to that list almost every day. All these curiosities were now a part of his life, but he didn't understand them. Not one bit. Didn't know what their deal was.

And that lack of knowledge irked him. Remaining passive, holed up in his room wouldn't give him insight into any of these peculiarities.

But then he noticed the change in the architecture style and the presence of more people on the streets, courtesy of being the residential district for middle-class citizens. Shaking his head, he finally exited his meandering ruminations, and replied, "That's indeed very insightful, Miss Cera. Thank you very much. I will try my best to ensure you succeed in your endeavor."

Moving a little ahead of him, she gracefully adjusted her stance, and with a gentle inclination of her head, she said, "Then can I ask you something?"

Vern nodded, not wanting to be ungrateful.

"Can you tell me more about your Enlightenment? You don't have to talk about your specific experience, but what exactly are the criteria that trigger enlightenment? In the record, it suggests Observing anomalies. But what kind of anomaly? Would any sort of anomaly elicit a response from beyond and enlighten me? It's all just so vague."

Huh? Anomaly? I guess one could call Subjective occurrences anomalies. But this quickly threw him for a loop. What exactly were subjective occurrences? That diagram in the Observation Record of Subjectivity was one. But what else was a Subjective phenomenon?

Miss Cera waited patiently as he kept walking and pondered over the matter.

He hadn't given it much thought before, but it was perplexing for sure. He had just executed a Vision in front of her, but it didn't instigate any changes. Didn't enlighten her.

His conjecture back in the library was that enlightenment was triggered by looking, and comprehending something that was either inherently Subjective or Objective.

Is that rift subjective in nature? But it doesn't matter because even if it is, normal people can't see it. Well, this was complicated.

"Hmm, I don't know if I can put it into words because of its elusive nature. But does that mean you're not sure what will trigger enlightenment in the Steamscript relay Station? Whoever gave you this information didn't tell you what you're supposed to do in there?"

As if caught in some lie, she flinched, "I—I only know that there's an anomaly in there. They suggested me a few locations, and I decided on the station."

That was understandable. If Subjective phenomena were like fruits on a tree, the world would have been in far more chaos.

"So, it's possible that there might be nothing in there that can trigger your Enlightenment?"

The glow of the sun reflected off her face as she bit her lip and nodded slightly.

"That's fair. In that case, all I can tell you is that you have to observe something that is out of the norm. Something that doesn't confide with our notion of reality."

She sank into another bout of contemplation. Vern saw a pattern in her behavior and readied himself for another involved question as he went through his notes one more time.

He had learned a lot, but this was all like a puzzle. A puzzle for which he only had a few pieces. He was still missing many critical points needed to extrapolate the details and find a consistent logic for the system. But it was a start. He could—

"It doesn't make sense. When you were invisible, back in the archive, it blew my mind and had me doubting my sight and senses for quite a while. Was that not far enough from my notion of reality?"

Yep. She loves making these odd connections.

He shrugged with a shake of his head, "I really do not know the answer to that. It should have been the case, but we wouldn't be having this conversation if you were an Observer already."

Deflating instantly, she slumped her shoulders and said, "Well…then I have more questions. Is it really unbearable when the Lens of Perception intertwines with one's eyes?"

Lens of Perception? She must be talking about that lens-like thing that melded with my iris.

He nodded gravely, "It wasn't a great experience. I cannot speak for others, but the feeling of having your sclera singed away and cornea being evaporated isn't a pleasant one."

Surprisingly, she didn't even flinch at his words and nodded, "But I do not see anything wrong with your eyes. They look perfectly fine to me. They don't even glow like Madam Helena's."

"So Madam Helena is an Observer?"

She gasped and brought a palm to her mouth as she stuttered, "Uhh—um…ah—yes? I don't know if I was supposed to say that."

Vern chuckled, "Don't worry. I don't plan on sharing anything about what we've discussed so far with anyone. And it might not be such a big deal anyway."

Her expressions which clearly conveyed everything about her state of mind, conveyed relief as she sighed, "Ahh, Thank you. I just couldn't forget that moment. I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me. There was this time when I was talking to her, and I am pretty sure I saw her golden eyes shine like a beacon. Back then, I chalked it up to nervousness, but I know better now. They were glowing for sure."

"Hmm, I haven't noticed any physical difference with my eyes. Maybe it's something that only occurs once you've shaded your perception? Sounds quite inconvenient and exposing to me."

"Spoken like a lackluster Fundamentalist with no knack for fashion. I would take shining eyes over dull and dark ones any day," she said with a snicker.

Huh! She was questioning his sense of fashion? This couldn't go unaddressed.

"I—"

"Ahh, please forget about that. Now that you have a better understanding of our situation, can you tell me how you can help me out?"

Exhaling deeply, he reminded himself not to feel affronted by stray remarks of inexperienced, and spoke, "Let's see. As a Savant of the Coven of Truth, I have been working on contraptions like the ones in the Steamscript relay since forever. If something's gone wrong with the energy source, as you mentioned, I can quickly figure out the root of the problem. Then there were the pipes—"

But then, a voice made its way to his ears from the front, interrupting his attempt at conversation, "Heh, ain't that somethin' fellas? Playin' sweethearts while the world's burnin' itself to cinders."