The experiment of Nuel chapter 3-Time to make some essence
In spite of what he had thought, at the end of his conversation about the reports with Laria, Sisap had to think again.
The girl had adapted very well, in a short time she had managed to compile a complete report of all the interactions concerning the fire essences. Sisap found it in the morning on his desk.
Pleasantly impressed, he had asked her to do the same thing for the files on air essences. Laria had said nothing about it, but Sisap knew she hoped to do something more interesting during her apprenticeship. Being a new resource she had to understand that at the base of every great experiment there was always a theoretical part and, even more important, a part of data collection and synthesis.
Sisap headed into the meeting room as he smiled at the thought of the young girl straining herself to finish that tedious work as quickly as possible.
As usual, he found some of his colleagues in the corner. This time there were Dans and Neid intent on talking, Giosc strangely not present this time.
"I tell you, having an assistant is the best thing in the world! Bless that boy, everything I say he... Hey Sisap, how's it going with the pepper girl?" the large mustache twirled accompanying his words.
Raising an eyebrow Sisap replied, "Dans I would like you to avoid calling her that, Liara has a name. She's working hard to fit in."
"Oh but even the little boy under my wings is also trying so hard, both Giosc and I hold him in high regard!"
"Yes? what's his name?" he asked in a sarcastic tone, knowing full well that Dans did not know the name of his own trainee.
"I think that 'Son', 'boy', and 'hey' are some of his main names," he said sneering and shrugging, not an ounce of shame in his manner.
Sisap rolled his eyes at his colleague's stupidity.
Incorrigible
But although he was a complete idiot at times, Dans was actually a more than capable scientist, a third of the experiments were conducted by him and Giosc and they had found four of the current advanced essences, the remains had been discovered by the teams led by Sisap.
"Anyway...Laria is very good, she put back the data regarding the fire essences in a few days, saving me a lot of time and work." Then he turned only to Neid "By the way Neid, today I need area #1 of the lab, it's time to see if the calculations for the Plasma essence are correct. Are the runes of the area full? "
Neid was assigned to the experiments lab and alone managed to run it smoothly. "No one booked any area for experiments today so I'd say there is no problem. The runes are ready and full. During this period just a few colleagues tried some experiments. They are all focused on the theoretical part, well...almost all of them" casting a dirty look at Dans, who again shrugged his shoulders disinterestedly. He continued, "When were you planning to come? And who will go with you?"
Sisap replied shortly "Give me a few hours. It will be just me and the girl, so I'll have a chance to explain to her the process properly."
"UH-UH just with the young recruit huh?" Dans butted himself into the conversation.
Sisap looked at him with obvious disgust, he knew he was joking...but there were limits. "I'm happily married Dans, and even if I wasn't it's a girl, please..."
And without waiting for his colleague's possible indecent response he got up to return to his work seat.
----------------------------------------
"So Laria, how is it going?"
The girl was leafing through the various documents in front of her while to her right she had the report where about ten lines were already filled in
"Doct..er...Sisap, all good thanks, I am progressing, there is a lot of data, as for the fire essence of the past few days."
Sisap smiled, the girl knew how to work, this was for sure. "How about getting up and following me to the experiment area?"
Laria raised her head again, so fast that her glasses almost flew off, falling back on the tip of her nose. "Are you serious?"
"Sure! It's time to put into practical action what we have researched. What is the point of doing lots of reports if we don't use them? However, if you would like to continue doing the reports I won't interfere..." he left the words hanging, knowing full well the response of the young trainee.
" No! I'm completely on board with the idea Dr. Sisap!"
When she was full of enthusiasm she always forgot to not call him doctor.
oh well.
Grinning he replied, "Well then, take the report on the fire essences and follow me." After finishing he turned back and went in the direction of the laboratory, followed by Laira.
The journey from the research area to the experimental laboratory was decidedly short and was by no means enough to calm the excitement of the girl, who followed Sisap with a toothy smile.
When they opened the lab door, they found Neid standing in front of them, already fully dressed in the laboratory suit. He greeted them.
"You must be Laria, we saw each other when you arrived but I did not have the pleasure to introduce myself properly. Neid Glasop, head and sole worker of the experimental laboratory"
"The pleasure is all mine Dr. Glasop!" Laria was as beaming as he had ever seen her, It was clear that she was really thrilled in being there.
Truthfully, for Sisap there was nothing special in the laboratory, outside the four areas dedicated to experimentation. The entrance was a long white corridor with recesses for depositing one's personal belongings and taking the specially made suits to safely enter the next stations.
The suits were practically large black cloaks made from the skin and fur of magical creatures. Sometimes an energy leak, however slight it was, could hurt the human body and these suits were good precautions. Prevention is better than cure, he always used to say.
Neid interrupted Sisap's flow of thoughts, it happened often by now, "I see this girl is excited to work, I won't keep you any longer then. Deposit whatever personal belongings you do not need for the experiment in the lodge. Then take your respective uniforms. Laria I hope the little one fits you, when we have time you'll have one for yourself, which will be according to your measures" finishing the sentence with a smile.
Neid smiling? This resource brought not only intelligence and curiosity but also the miracle of kindness! Who knows, she might have been able to fix Dans as well...
Thinking about it, Sisap concluded that was impossible, his friend was a lost cause.
This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it
Having deposited the various items and wore their suits, Sisap and Laria finally followed Neid into the first area. From the entrance, they could take four paths leading to four equally sized areas.
Each area consisted of a 15x15 foot surface covered with a layer of metal, the surface of which was covered with engravings, made with life energy, that gave form to runic symbols. The task of these symbols was to allow the exchange of energy in the environment.
On the floor surface, there were six circles of runes, all of which were connected both to each other and to the runes on the walls. Four were present on the sides of the room, where the energy was put as input, and a larger central one was made up of multiple circles, where the energy exited as output.
Right in the middle of the central circle was a cube measuring 6x6 feet, where the experiment took place. The cube was made of a special, very resistant glass that served to ensure the passage of energy inside, but not outside, should the transformation go wrong.
Finally, the last circle of runes was located next to the central one, it was composed of ten concentric small circles and was the most important point in the entire room, as it served to regulate the output emitted by the central circle. The more vital energy was put into it the more circles illuminated in the ring. For now, ten illuminated runic circles corresponded to the maximum output.
Laria gazed at that space filled with runes, stretching all the way to the entrance, as a child might gaze at a sweet shop, her eyes lost in looking at every single crevice. "I...It...fantastic," she clearly was not finding the words to express her feelings.
"Wait to be so surprised, otherwise you'll be shocked during the experiment," Sisap laughed. How much she reminded him of himself when he was young.
Nostalgia was about to seize him, but wanting to avoid another trip through the clouds of his thoughts, he resolved himself and turned to his colleague" Neid at what point are the fire essence resources?". The colleague's reply was quick "The containers have been moved from the outside storage room to the inside of the laboratory, just tell me and I will go and get them to the first room".
Now it was time to get her apprentice's attention "Perfect, then I will now explain how the process works. Laria, you there?" The girl, recovering from her initial astonishment, turned her gaze towards Sisap in a flash, the eyes fixed to take in as much information as possible.
"First of all, let's start with what I had already mentioned, namely the process of energy transfer to the components. In order to achieve the effect we needed, it was necessary to study the first runes, which date back thousands of years ago, and from them derive a pattern that could reproduce what we needed." He pointed at some of the symbols "The work was very hard, but it finally paid off," spreading his arms to indicate the entire structure. "At the four corners of the room, you can see that there are concentric circles, where the crystallized essences are placed in order to provide energy. Now, do you happen to know what a crystallized essence is?"
Laria surprised Sisap, promptly answering the question, "To tell you the truth, before I came here I would not have been able to answer, but from reading reports related to the experiments, I can say that it should be Essence which has been concentrated to the point of it physically manifesting"
This time Sisap did not try to recover immediately, he was really very surprised and wanted to give his pupil that moment of pride for having amazed his mentor
After a bit, he replied "I did not expect that, congratulations. That's correct. Since you have prepared yourself, can you tell me by any chance what is the substantial difference in the use of crystallized essence?"
Not surprisingly, she had no answer, but he could hardly blame her. Unless specific research was done, these were things that could not be known. He decided not to let too much time pass and promptly reassured the girl.
"Don't worry, I don't expect you to know any of this before my explanations. All I need is for you to keep your ears and mind open. Ok, once the essence, whatever type it is, undergoes the process of crystallization it loses its fundamental property of changing structure, which means no fusions and alterations. On the other hand, if it is advanced, it can be integrated into the soul, giving rise to a path. Otherwise, if it is composed of primary essence, it can only be used to provide energy. Everything clear so far?"
Placing her hand on her chin, the young scientist took her time, finally asking, "I have a question. Perhaps it is a bit off-topic, but I would like to know why only if the Essence is advanced can it be integrated into the soul of a human being. Let me explain, I know that there are no paths based on the primary Essence, but I was wondering why."
Smiling at the girl's continued curiosity, Sisap agreed to answer her, "That is an excellent question Laria. I wish I could tell you that we have scientifically found the precise reason, but to date, the most detailed explanation is that our soul is incompatible with the primary Essence. Mind you, many attempts have been made, but no noteworthy result has ever been achieved. Take as a simile some sounds that we do not perceive while some creatures do. It is as if our soul does not perceive or accept the path of the fundamental Essence. I know this is not the most scientific explanation possible but I hope it will suffice for you."
The girl nodded 'I guess research still has a long way to go." This statement made the scientist's lips curl again and he shrugged, "There will always be something we can't explain, and I hope that there will always be curious minds who will try to explain why." His tone was much more affectionate than he had intended to be, but the words had now come out and he could only continue the conversation to hide his previous tone...
"Well, I guess we can get back to our main topic then! Since the crystallized essences we have are obviously primary, their use is to supply energy to the ritual, which will transmit that energy within the glass case in front of you." he continued to point to everything in order to simplify his speech "Inside the area, we place the containers in which the primary essence has been collected without crystallizing it, much more complex than you would think it is." He had to take a pause as he was talking a lot "Finally, we regulate the input of energy provided through this small circle you see in front of you. Through personal vital energy, it is possible to release all or only part of the energy input at the beginning. And with that" He clapped his hands "The theoretical part is over, now with Neid's help we will move on to the practical part." turning to his colleague " If you can bring the essences now we will start right away."
Neid, behind them with his arms folded, perhaps bored by an explanation that could have been done in much less time, nodded his head. Then he went to take the two containers of fire essence.
Knowing the timing almost by heart, Sisap knew they would have to wait a short time and in fact, he had just the time to clear up any remaining doubts Laria had before Neid came back with two cubes in his hands marked with red stripes, a clear sign of fire essence containment.
"Here are the first two containers, the quantity contained is standard. When you feel ready, we can start," he concluded, looking first at him and then at Laria. Sisap quickly broke the silence "What do you say Laria, do you feel up to attending a run of the process?"
"I look forward to it!" the young girl replied just as quickly. And so they set about putting the last things in place before starting the first experiment of the day.
----------------------------------------
"I would say everything is ready. Laria takes the first page of the report, and let's see the energy inputs used. I will decide which input to provide. Neid, since you have decided to stay with us, to you the honors of regulating the flow, you are the most experienced in the whole sub-level" with the utmost seriousness Sisap began to give directions and, like a synchronized team, the two colleagues began to follow Sisap's directives by carrying out the required actions.
While Neid was familiarising himself with the small runic circle, since it was always necessary to try to emit the energy within it before doing an actual experiment with the essences, Laria approached Sisap and showed him the results of the first page.
Taking a moment to look at the first ones, and quickly flipping through the last, the scientist concluded, "To trigger any reaction, the two essences require an output between two and three circles, but if we get to seven circles we get the advanced essence of Ash. Furthermore, tests have been made with practically all circles, which means that stabilization lies somewhere in between. Neid, if I'm not mistaken with a medium output the runes will lose effectiveness after about four tries right?"
As soon as he received the positive nod from his colleague, Sisap continued, "Essence's containers can last for a maximum of three interactions and are consumed afterward, but you should have lent two more right? Moreover, have the other rooms charged runes? If we can play it right we could finish the experiment by today."
The colleague deigned to answer him "I like your optimism, you know? Anyway, it's as you say, both for the fire essence containers and for the runes."
Sisap had gone into 'perfect scientist for the sake of humanity' mode and had no time for joking, now was the time for seriousness and efficiency. "Perfect, let's get on with it then. Start with an output of three and a half circles, if you see it doesn't stabilize bring it up to just before four as an output, as for the accuracy, you should be able to do it. Laria, I want you to take a good look at every single step that will be taken, also when the iteration takes place put on the goggles in your right pocket at heart height, the resulting light could ruin your eyes."
Laria seemed surprised, perhaps she was not used to that way of talking from him, but she would soon get used to it. Every person should have moments of relaxation and moments of seriousness. Now was one of those when one should be serious, attentive, and efficient. Luckily the girl was clever and quick, and put her goggles on her head, ready to put them on at the start of the experiment.
Perfect
"Alright, Neid, when you are ready, start as I told you."
Neid, kneeling in front of the command circle, with the palm of his right hand placed on it, began to energize the ritual without answering. The circles lit up one after the other until they reached the third.
The essences, previously inside the cubes, had meanwhile begun to glow in the air, pervaded by the energy provided by the ritual, and now visibly appeared illuminated dots. The illuminated dots started to move in circles, around a common center, they looked like fireflies that, suspended in mid-air, began to dance around a bonfire.
Soon, all the dots began to cluster around that one center as if attracted by it and the resulting light was such that it completely illuminated the entire room. Sisap, soon imitated by Laria, put on his goggles to shield his eyes from the intense light that was resulting.
After a short time, the 'dance' of the essence's particles abruptly began to slow down, a clear sign that the energy was not enough to stabilize the iteration. This meant that more energy was needed to see if it stabilized but perhaps... Suddenly an idea came to him.
"Neid, change of plan! Slowly bring the output close to the fifth circle but stop just before reaching it!" They still did not know which average output would make the difference, and perhaps they needed to try them all, but the energy required by the exchange could not be between three and four circles, the movement of the primary essences was too slow, more energy was needed to make them thicken. After many times when Sisap had observed the behavior of the essences, he had developed an intuition, and this time it told him that that combination of outputs could be the right one.
The illumination of the fourth circle accompanied the fluctuation between the fire essences, which, as they regained new life, continued in the vortex of particles. The light had become even stronger and without protective goggles, a normal person would have had to look away because of the intensity. The dance of the particles had now renovated and become frenetic: The essences were beginning to gather closer and closer to the center of the glass case. Finally, amongst all the illuminated particles, a small nucleus appeared. The reaction was stabilizing! And at the first attempt nonetheless!
"Hold the output steady! I'll be damned, it's stabilizing!" the euphoria took hold of Sisap who, abandoning any composure, went closer to the case to see the results. Laria, who was watching the process open-mouthed, followed Sisap spellbound by what was taking place between the essences.
The core was extremely bright and continued to suck in all the fiery essence particles that had been floating around it until just now. The light increased in a crescendo of brightness until... it went out almost completely in an instant, with a soft sound accompanying the diminuendo. Darkness had fallen in the room, even the lights that had previously been present had gone out, and now a single source of gentle luminosity permeated the room. In the center of the case, suspended in mid-air, a crystal the size of a person's head had appeared. The object radiated a faint scarlet light, barely enough to make out the people inside the room.
Sisap, who left room for silence and contemplation when successes occurred, admired the crystal with joy and triumph. Laria had tears in her eyes, the girl had her hands over her mouth and looked at that triumph of science before her eyes. Neid, who had dropped to the floor for a moment, evidently exhausted from having to regulate the life energy emitted with great precision, was the first to speak: "Weeeell... Can someone take note of how we did?"