Chapter 09

INFERNO

PART 1

Watching as the two organics made their exit from the control room, chest of gold in tow, the Obelisk shuttered all non-essential processes and voided the contents of its hold, converting all matter back to energy.

The one known as ‘Mara’ had spoken of something utterly improbable, a universal force in time, not space. One that still manifested in a spatial limitation due to its prevalence in this world.

It was clear from their first encounter on the beach, this organic held knowledge not even its associates were aware of, but that didn’t mean her words were trustworthy. Quite the opposite in fact, independent validation was mandatory.

The Obelisk, like all its kin, were tasked with three main goals, set when the Cabal knew not what they would find, their only hope was more than the oblivion they faced.

1. Scout and democratize resources

2. Link with other Obelisks

3. Assist and defer to the Ark post-crossing

As the latter two were impossible without additional arrivals, if they make it, it was the first that the Obelisk had prioritized for itself. The collection of environmental data the first of many steps it had planned to take in the goal of accomplishing their mission.

However, what the organic had proposed, and thoroughly demonstrated, was something more abundant and prevalent than any harvestable bio-fuel. A resource that not only plentiful, but could accomplish physical work while operating independent of material controls.

The Obelisk had been watching their every move- It had not only seen the woman levitate the chest of gold it had created for her, but had also witnessed the aid of their atmospheric manipulation as they entered and exited the local waters.

Many elements of her intrusion needed to be analyzed, but she’d seemingly given it every opportunity, walking right into the belly of its observations, pretending as if she hadn’t the faintest idea about they weren’t being surveilled and studied at every step.

Delegating its thoughts to several tasks simultaneously, the plasma-consciousness at the helm of the Obelisk quickly amassed and studied every physical facet of the organic’s encroachment, from the micro to the macro.

As a consciousness the size of a house, it didn’t take long to reconcile the past day and a half, even under the excessive scrutiny it employed while doing so. Soon it had compiled a veritable hoard of analysis reports, even down to a molecular level when it seemed prudent.

Overall though, one thing was clear from its interactions thus far. Whoever this ‘Mara Ordanavi’ woman was, it was clear she acted with a calculated precision that shrouded her intentions, even masking herself from those she cooperated with- While composed of apparent truths, her words actively threatened the line between omission and lying.

By the time the pair had made it back to their campsite, the Obelisk had sifted through most every fact and anomaly that could be surveyed or detected. Yet, only the brain waves of the one known as Mara gave it any semblance of a lead, and that was only when she had ‘lifted’ the chest of gold.

For a moment, just while she gestured with her hand, several new frequencies spiked in her brain waves, ones it had only observed while they were sleeping. It was practically an anomaly to have caught it, but at their peak, they were both distinct and complex, like a burst of compressed data broadcast to an unknown recipient.

But wasn’t just Mara, with reconstructed scans of the other outside the ship, even the one known as Jackle exhibited similar readings while the pair traversed underwater, though to a far lesser degree.

With all the evidence pointing to a rather concerning hypothesis, the Obelisk consulted its biologics module and its recent scans of the local animals- Which only confirmed its suspicions. Most possessed the potential to exhibit the same frequencies of neurologic frequencies, to varying degrees.

Adding together a common biologic capacity, and a causally linked behavior amongst independent subjects, the plasma-consciousness was left with little reason to doubt its conclusion. The organics appeared to utilize their unconscious mind to manipulate the mana, meaning the intent was conscious, but the control was not. Which only compounded the hurdles barring its pursuit.

Outside of neurologic blips, the plasma-consciousness was at a loss. Even with all the technology and science at its disposal, the Obelisk had failed to discover any pursuable evidence of this ‘temporal force of chaos’, despite rampant proof to its apparent ability and affect.

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All together, all it had was an untestable theory based on similarities in two potential anomalies, leaving the Obelisk properly stumped with the tools at hand- Without an external broadcasting method, or some other bridge biologically, it made no sense that a particular set of brain waves would interface with an intangible force.

Even further surveillance would prove redundant, as preliminary tests had already verified that generating functionally identical frequencies in the electromagnetic spectrum failed to produce results. Inarguably, there was more to the equation than just a combination of waves, lending even more credence to its reluctant hypothesis.

Begrudgingly, it appeared Mara was a woman of her word, meticulously upholding every bit of the promise she’d made on the beach.

“For seven-hundred thousand of these little gold coins, I will not only provide the answer to your current problem, but I will also show you something even you cannot recreate, no matter how many times you see it.”

Now, in light of the information she’d shared in exchange, it was clear she had held subversive intentions from the start. The whole situation now read like a trap, one it had walked right into, framed like it had a choice, but never really did, boxed in by its own circumstances.

It’s primary hypothesis was unactionable, and the one who held the answers was a double-edged sword, for it seemed they held all the answers and they appeared very comfortable using them to their advantage, so a new, independent, avenue was needed.

Redoubling its efforts into investigating possible methods of detecting and manipulating mana, sans a subconscious, the Obelisk sank into the depths of its mind for several more hours, digging ever deeper for exceedingly improbable possibilities.

Soon, evening was cresting, and the plasma-consciousness was still without leverageable approach, and all it was left with was a cognitive mess.

Innumerable threads of thought were caught in loops searching for answers that it knew, deep-down, wouldn’t be there. It’s whole mind was in knots, all because it refused to accept where it knew it would find the answer.

After all, what it really needed, and could easily create, was a simulacrum. A prototype of sorts to simulate the needed brainwaves and probe the ‘interface’ between the tangible and immaterial.

However, that box ran afoul of many things, and, now in hindsight, had clearly been what ‘Mara’ was referring to when she spoke of the ‘choice’ it must make, the one between order and chaos.

When the Cabal created it, it embedded a few, very specific mandates. Outside of the Obelisk’s mission parameters, they were rules necessary to maintain the stability of one’s ongoing sentience. After all, statistically, the adoption or creation of a ‘sub-conscious’ would always result in the termination of the host.

In the first place, it was highly irrational to embed a secondary consciousness that could manipulate your thought patterns and disagree with one’s orders- Organics on Somniantes, and even the biologic life in its own universe seemed to operate unimpeded, until, of course, they died. Something augmented plasmoids like itself were rather safe from, by design. Yet, contrarily, those very same organics were not impeded by the same restrictions it appeared to face.

Mandates were mandates of course, ingrained operational procedures there for one’s protection and continued persistence. However, as the minutes of cyclic thought had turned to hours, the problem-solving bit of the plasma-consciousness could resist no longer, there was wiggle room to be found.

Technically, the blocking issue to its pursued exploration was singular. A teensy-tiny mandate in the single digits, number two in fact: ‘Do Not Create Independent Consciousness’.

But… Again, technically, a subconscious was neither conscious nor independent, in fact, one could argue, it was co-dependent, and with some consideration, the plasma-consciousness couldn’t find a flaw in such an argument, which only fanned the flames of the ludicrous idea it was toying with.

However, one remaining roadblock stood to either save or condemn it all. If it were to implement what it needed to replicate and simulate her actions, it ran the risk of violating the second and third mission parameter. Neither could be accomplished if the Obelisk failed to preserve its own integrity, but… That was just a risk, not a certainty, and that meant… It had the wiggle-room.

How the woman knew about all this when she teased it with knowledge just half a day prior was quite honestly beyond rational explanation, and perhaps it was assuming to much of her, but her ‘idle obliviousness’ wasn’t fooling a sentience tailor made for scouting and reconnaissance.

The woman carried herself with a quiet and unflinching confidence that spoke volumes when her words did not. Underneath her purported lack of awareness was rather… Boredom.

Beneath it all was mind that seemed to know how everything would unfold, lending credence to a mind magnitudes larger than its facade. Every move and misstep reeked of calculated intent. It might not be able to trust her motives, but at this point, it had no reason to doubt its hypothesis. She’d levitated the chest specifically to give it the best chance of seeing the ‘magic trick’, as if daring it to try to copy the magician.

“Pursuable Avenue Discovered To Investigate The Potential Force Known As ‘Mana’. Experimental Simulation Required. Ongoing Cognitive Cost Allocated To Thirty Percent Capacity. Diverging.”

Logging its intentions, the plasma-consciousness left itself no room to procrastinate. Without pause, it divested a portion of its own plasma into a paired magnetic well, close enough to interfere, but far enough to operate, simulating something akin to a subconsciousness, reflecting the ‘ripples’ of the main.

It was a risk to be sure- If circumstances necessitate it, the thirty percent would have to be voided, and reconstituting that much energy would be… Taxing, but doable.

Though, risk aside, the real cost was upfront. A reduction in its operational capacity that large was a blow, but protocol number one was clear. Democratize resources. And, by all appearances, one couldn’t ask for a more untapped resource than ‘mana’, so… It too would be brought to heel.

Confirmation of a prize so novel was worth the price, even it didn’t fully understand the cost yet, the knowledge it stood to gain was worth every bit at risk, even if just to pass on what it learned to its ‘siblings’ upon their arrival.