I made my way into the library and began looking around. I decided on reviewing some more history. This time with a focus on the history of technological advancements and how they came to be. I knew a brief history of this world but much of it grew in different ways since its inflection point. Many of the major turning points would have happened in very different ways because of the different people involved. There may not have been an Einstein, Newton, and Darwin, but the fields they explored should be largely the same. With the type of technology, I had seen so far I suspected they had gone much further in exploring all kinds of fields.

The first section I wanted to go through was the biology section. Though I am not and was never an expert in biology expected the field to be the most interesting to me as a person from a world without superhumans. I started my reading tour there. The library was quiet as it should be and wasn’t filled with many people. I was able to search around and read the book titles in peace.

The biology section was made up of over 500 hundred books covering various topics and subtopics. I searched for the superhuman sub-topic of course. While it might be nice to brush up on other topics my business as a suit manufacturer wasn’t as interested in the topic. I brought out one of the books that after some checking confirmed that it was for an introductory class for the subject.

‘Superhumans are still a very strange and mysterious research field within biology. Some have more external abilities while others have internal abilities only able to affect themselves. Some have powerful versions of powers while others only have minor forms of the abilities. Some powers change external appearances while others change internal structures.’

‘A few commonalities between superhumans emerge between the seemingly random. The first is that superhumans seem to all have a natural sense of who is also superhuman. This has allowed the first generations of superhumans to find each other and gather as one group. This power has since been analyzed and reverse-engineered so that machines and equipment can detect superhumans at toddler and child age ranges.’

‘Second is the appearance of dark matter and other strange energies related to physics within all superhumans. Since the development of certain detectors, we have found that all recorded superhumans have access to this energy even if only at a subconscious level. These energies lead to the prevailing theories on how superhumans are made. Depending on the levels of the energies and how well one can control them seems to determine the strength, power level, and type of power displayed. It is unclear how the energy interacts with otherwise non-powered individuals and creates superhuman children. More recent testing in this field has shown unsubstantial results when trying to produce superhumans before or after birth. Whatever mechanism evolves humans into superhumans is currently not replicable by current technology.’

‘The third and final of the major consistency between all superhumans is their growth and children’s growth. The children of superhumans have about a fifty percent chance of having a superhuman kid which has caused the total amount of superhumans of any power level to be 25%. The exact cause of this is unknown, but some factors seem to influence it. Namely geographical distance from Atlantis at birth. From studies, it is believed that the source of superhumans is deeply tied to the location and may produce a large amount of the energy itself, but no superhumans have been able to discuss what is located there.’

‘Within the realm of research and confirmations though it has been proven that children of superhumans have been on average more capable with their powers than previous generations. This has been ascribed to multiple factors over the years as overall life span, diet, health, and more have improved. Despite their improvements, the average power of a super with a specific powerset has flattened out with the average power level staying consistent for the past 50 years. Current research has been watching these trends and has come up with a few possible theories for this stagnation effect…’

I closed the book after flipping through a few more pages with diagrams and graphs on them. They held statistics and data that might have been interesting to some who were studying biology, but I skipped it.

“It seems that Atlantis is more important than I realized. The author didn’t seem to go into much detail about the subject. I can’t say I am too surprised by any of it. Some kind of magic energy brought superpowers to this world. Despite not understanding some of the more scientific parts it is fascinating nonetheless.”

I moved on to the math section. I took out a few books from algebra to geometry and calculus. What I read through wasn’t anything particularly revolutionary. I knew this stuff already, but the way it was written was unique. The word problems occasionally referenced superhumans while others mention movies and pop culture I had never experienced. As I read through the books the names were unfamiliar and different as well. An ancestor of the Rodriquez’s appeared in more than one place under calculus theorems and once again things were mentioned that had never been in my old world. The founders of modern calculus, Isaac Newton, and Gottfried Leibniz were only briefly mentioned for pioneering parts of early calculus and theorems but not the entirety of their work. They were only part of what they had worked on in my old world. I made a few notes of the names I had never seen before and moved on.

I continued to look around the library more so to check how history had developed differently than for any real history. I wasn’t sure what else I wanted to know or what would be the most useful for me to know for the immediate future. I knew that if I actually needed some of the details I could look them up on my phone later. I moved back over to the biology section and checked out a book on evolutionary theory.

Charles Darwin was born long after the 1600’s so his work was attributed to others in this world as well. After the birth of superhumans, researchers wanted to investigate this new species of humans and formulate why it came to be. With the help of superhuman genius and other people of the time, biological studies were done and theories for evolution were proposed by the 1700s. Once those theories grew the ideas for modifying plants came. New fruits and vegetables were grown, and better plants were made as a result as well. Possible ideas for doing this to humans were proposed but didn’t go very far until gene editing became a possibility. Original humans may not be able to be as great as superhumans, but they could more easily reach the limit of human potential and remove most genetic diseases.

I moved on to the physics section within the library. While I wasn’t familiar with much of it I was able to glean a few things and compare them to the old world. The most significant change is the study of dark matter and cosmic energies. These powers interacted with humans to create superhumans and they would in turn use and manipulate the powers fueled by the cosmic energy. It seemed the stronger superhuman you were the better in with this force you were. Some could learn and improve their powers beyond their starting point while others could grow multiple times stronger. These cosmic energies also affected animals as well occasionally to a lesser degree. These mutated animals would become almost as intelligent as humans are oftentimes larger, and much stronger as well. Due to the nature of Atlantis and its surroundings, many of the largest mutated animals came from the ocean such as the Kraken. Not all of the mutated creatures were feral. Some superhumans had the power to tame animals and it could affect the mutated animals as well. Other times the mutated animal happened to be birthed from a human-bred animal such as a horse and became lucky owners' pets. There were more detailed explanations and formulas within the books, but I could barely understand what they were discussing and referencing.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

Finally, in my tour of the library, I took out some history books covering this earth’s version of the industrial and information age revolutions. They had also developed a bit earlier than my world, so the ideas, processes, and applications had improved and grown. I found information on the manufacturers of my warehouse machines and learned about their history in consumer electronics and business goods. By going through the history book, I was also able to understand why some of the inventions were created. Some of it was for the needs of consumers, and business, some for superhumans, and some for good old profit.

As I skimmed through other books that looked to have interesting titles I got a text from Rachel.

RJ: My father can be at your workshop at 11 AM assuming he isn’t called away for an emergency. Does that work for you?

I sent a quick reply.

Me: I will be there at 11.

‘I would have to do some more preparation for this meeting and try to guess what would work best. I wanted his business, and he was at least willing to meet me about the subject. If I could get this job then I would be one step closer to completing the goals laid out for me by John. If I can do this then I won’t need to be as cautious. I can’t be caught. At least not right now. Not when I am so new to this world and can’t offer anything of value. I wish I knew who my old self was. I could probably get over the moral dilemma of foreign memories inserted into myself. I just don’t have any direction and I don’t want to follow anyone else’s games.’

<-0-0-0-0-0->

Over the next 24 hours, I was busy within the workshop for most of the time. I spent the rest of the afternoon at my workshop’s computer learning about prototyping and what it would mean to prototype a new suit for Rachel. When building something new or iterating on designs it is important to define the needs and functions wanted. Create the look and colors in the case of a super-suit and then pick the initial materials. Once the first prototype is made it needs to be tested of course and then flaws need to be revised and other additions made. Then the secondary prototype is made to finalize everything or go back to previous steps.

On the computer, I found design software and blueprinting tools that had been referenced in the design documents. There were software for the 3D printer and modeling, stuff for the machine cutters, and other general-purpose design software. I didn’t have the time to learn what all of the software did. I instead went through my previous files and looked at the ones already made. The user interface for most of the software was pretty clear from the start but would get some getting used to before mastery.

I looked through a few dozen designs and looked at their 3D models and files. Having the final project images to match with the software’s files was a big help. I was able to remove parts within the software and look inside of the objects to see electronics or whatever else was inside.

I pulled up the QuickStep sneaker designs and pulled up an electronics-only view. I was able to see how everything was supposed to connect and fit within the confines of the rest of the shoe. With the new way of viewing the products, I was able to see what went wrong with the old shoes. I compared what the model looked like to what I could remember of my failure the day before and found where I could improve.

I spent the last hour of my work in the evening at the warehouse prepping the materials for the shoes once more. I brought out all of the still useable pieces from my last attempt and began prepping the missing ones. I brought out my heat-sensing goggles, the other tools, and some miscellaneous materials like the shoe glue. I left the stuff out to work on the next day.

With my body well rested and fed in the morning, I began working on the shoes once more. This time I brought over a monitor with the 3D model displayed along with the printed design documents. I worked through the same process as the day before. This time I worked on both shoes at the same time. I alternated between steps when I could and reference the models frequently. They were most useful when I had to fit things in that were covered up such as the electronics. I was able to see what they were supposed to look like under the hood so to speak which made things much easier.

After some more work on the shoes, I got to the point where I had failed. I brought all the pieces and tools I needed to use over to a separate table because I was still unsure if this would work or not and I didn’t want more parts going up in flames than I needed to. I slid on my heat goggles and gloves and got to work. The heat gun began to soften some of the materials and the glue I had applied. I kept a careful eye on the electronics and the other parts. I started with a heat level of 4 for a while before bumping it down to a 3. I went around the lip of the shoe and the laces. I sealed up the last of it and I had completed step 17.

I sighed in relief when I shut off the heat gun and put it aside. I still had to put on the metal around the sides and front as well as some detailing, but I had done it. It was finished. I just had to do the exact same thing to the other shoe but mirrored.

I walked back over to the other table and got to work on the other shoe with my tools. I took a little less time this time but was just as nervous. I could feel the heat gun warming my face, hands, and arms up for every second that it was on. I completed step 17 on the second shoe, however. I felt a grin come over my face as I shut off the heat gun once again and set it aside.

Now I had to weld some pieces together. All of the metal pieces linked together through welding and then would slide over the front of the shoe and then be secured against some pieces I had already prepared on the bottom of the main shoe.

The metal pieces had been waiting since yesterday because I hadn’t been able to use them. I brought them over to the welding station and left them there. Before I started I needed to learn how to weld first. I knew of the process from videos and other media, but I needed to learn to do it more professionally. The other work I had done was a pretty simple mix of following the instructions and retrying it if it doesn’t look right. With welding though I needed to be careful because I was dealing with a tool ten times as hot as the heat gun could get.

I spent another hour watching educational videos on welding and how to get started. It boosted my confidence and showed me how to avoid messing up completely. Though if I did mess up too much I would need to run the metal through a crucible in the back and mold the sheets into millimeters thick pieces once again and start all over again. I checked the time and saw that it was only 9 AM. I had been working on this since 6:30 or so.

I put on my safety vest and gloves, before donning a large face shield. I set up the monitor once more to display above me as I worked and had the model of the completed metal part displayed and spinning slowly on the screen so I could see it from multiple angles without having to stop the welding process to do it manually.

I started slow and methodical always checking that it was secure and looked good before moving on. I had some bracing tools hold the pieces together while I worked so that I could focus on the welding and nothing else. The metal parts came together on the first shoe slowly. Once I moved onto the second shoe I felt more familiar with the welder and was less prone to redoing certain parts. Throughout the process, I never completely screwed up. The pieces probably looked amateurish, but I made sure that the metal facing outward would all look ok. When I went through and added detailed parts I could touch it up further.

Once I finished the metal pieces I worked on painting them with QuickStep’s signature blue colors. Once the blue stain was applied I attached the metal to the rest of the shoe finishing them both. Next, I brought paint over and began applying it to the rest of the shoe as I tried to match the design pictured in the models. As I worked my phone’s alarm went off. I dropped my stuff to turn it off. It was my alarm to begin cleaning up. In fifteen minutes, Hercules would arrive, and I needed to be ready. Paint-stained hands would not do, and I had several things to clean up. I shelved the shoes happy that it was all but finished.