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| Chapter 47 | Book 7 • Chapter 48 | Chapter 49 |
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Styx Institute - Control Room
Styx Staff B |
Oh! Incoming transmission from one of the communications satellites! |
 Styx Chief Engineer |
Here we go! What's the ID? |
Styx Staff B |
It's Ortho, ma'am! |
Ortho |
Th... Or... Styx... ome in…. |
Styx Chief Engineer |
YES! Called it! I know my Idy, and he would absolutely think he needed the internet to survive no matter what So I figured he'd sneakily hack into our communications satellites! |
 Styx Director |
Idia's using Styx equipment without permission AGAIN? *sigh* |
Styx Chief Engineer |
Apply digital filters and noise reduction! And realign the gateway antenna! |
Ortho |
Mayday. Mayday. |
| *Ortho appears* |
 |
This is Ortho. Styx HQ, come in. |
Styx Director |
This is Styx HQ. Ortho, do you copy? |
Styx Chief Engineer |
Hi, Or! It's Mom! |
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Mom! Dad! Thank goodness I got through!. |
Styx Chief Engineer |
Are you hurt, Or? Is Idy okay? And what's up with that energy field? My poor baby, you must be so scared! |
Styx Director |
Ahem! Perhaps we should rein it in, Chief. Ortho, could you give us a sitrep? |
|
Roger. It would take too long so send video data, so I'll play back the logs in audio. |
Styx Director |
...Okay, now I see where that energy field came from. It was magically generated by Malleus Draconia, heir apparent of Briar Valley's royal family. |
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Yep. His spell seems to have cut the island off from everywhere else. He even has control over the passage of time. Every single living creature within the field is asleep. |
Styx Director |
I knew I recognized those black briars covering the island... They resemble illustrations in classic stories about the legend of the Thorn Fairy. If a fae cast the spell — and specifically a scion of House Draconia — that would explain it. |
Styx Chief Engineer |
So he's used magic to take complete control of everything within the energy field... Sounds like the kind of ancient magic that lets the caster alter the world in a designated area. |
Styx Director |
The fae have reigned over climate change and diastrophism since the Age of Myths. I've heard that even now they use magic tied to the earth itself, but this is extraordinary. Considering the sheer size of the spell, there's no way a person could cast it without overblotting. |
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My internal cameras stopped working once Malleus cast the spell. But considering the blot density I measured right before shutting down… |
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I think it's very likely he's overblotted right now. |
Styx Director |
If that's the case, we could attempt to limit the energy field's expansion and just wait for his magic reserves to run dry… |
Styx Chief Engineer |
Hold on. Remember, some fae can draw magical energy from nature in addition to creating it themselves. They're generally fairies who govern a specific element like fire or water… But what if Malleus could do that as well? |
Styx Director |
The spell would never run out of energy; it would keep expanding indefinitely. We're not just talking about the Land of Dawning. That field could cover the entire world… |
|
Wait... Is that why Malleus is expanding the field? Does he ultimately want to do that? |
| ............ |
Styx Chief Engineer |
We don't have enough intel to go on. Let's reach out to Briar Valley and ask for all the info they can provide on Malleus Draconia. |
Styx Director |
Our previous director Aide had a lot of trouble dealing with them, but...it's worth a shot. We also need to formulate our own plan to save the island. We can't afford to sit around twiddling our thumbs. |
Styx Chief Engineer |
Our main order of business is to learn what's happening in the field and figure out how to break the spell. |
Styx Director |
But everything in that field is under Malleus's control, right? Not even the Charons can get in with their current equipment loadout |
Styx Chief Engineer |
Then we've got to throw together something that can breach the field! |
Styx Director |
Even if we do that, there's no telling what'll happen inside. The AI in the power armors isn't equipped to adapt to such a new situation and make the necessary snap judgments. There'd be no guarantee an unmanned unit could bring back any useful analytics data. |
Styx Chief Engineer |
But it's far too dangerous to send a manned unit in there. I could ask our AI engineer to make some improvements, but... Ooh, if only Idy were here! |
|
Let me handle the investigation. |
Director & Chief Engineer |
What?! |
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I'm presently the best autonomous Al in the world. I'm able to make quick decisions, and I can bring info back no problem. |
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It's true Malleus is an incredibly powerful fae capable of disaster-class magic… But fairies manipulate the natural world, and I exist outside of nature's province. I'm a human-made gift to science, created by my genius brother. |
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As long as the technomantic reactor that acts as my heart remains operational… My program — my will — cannot be overwritten by Malleus Draconia's magic. I've already proven that by escaping the energy field, right? |
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The only thing is my current gears don't work in there. So Mom, could you build me a new gear? One that will function even within Malleus's spell! |
Styx Chief Engineer |
It's way too dangerous, Or! We don't even know the energy field's composition yet. Even if you could get in, we can't be sure you'd make it back out again. And if your core gets destroyed before you manage to transfer your data, you could be— |
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What was that? Uh-oh, something's wrong with the signal... Oh nooo, the satellite's passing into the planet's shadow! |
Styx Chief Engineer |
Huh?! Hold on, Or! We're not done talking yet!! |
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I'm about to split my configuration data and send it to Styx in separate chunks. I won't be able to talk for a while. |
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But if you don't have anything ready by the time get back home… Cerberus and I will permanently activate every sprinkler on the Island of Woe. |
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See you soon! |
| *Ortho disappears* |
Styx Director |
Now hold on, Ortho! |
Styx Chief Engineer |
Wait, Or! Oh, you're in for it when you get home, mister! |
Styx Staff B |
Voice transmission has cut off. System has begun downloading Ortho's configuration data from the satellite. |
Styx Staff B |
Estimated time to download... 48 hours. |
Styx Director |
48 hours, huh… Well, what's the call, Chief? …Hm? Where'd she go? |
Styx Staff C |
She's already left the room, sir. |
Styx Staff A |
She's calling the entire tech development division to meeting room four. |
Styx Director |
*sigh* Must geniuses always be so eccentric? I suppose I'll get started on the average Joe work in the meantime. |
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| Chapter 47 | Book 7 • Chapter 48 | Chapter 49 |
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