Chapter 1411
Once he had Derek and TimÆs agreement to the Engraving project things began to accelerate Randidly basically lectured Delilah into staying on a semi permanent basis with the MossÆs in order to keep her someplace predictable Then he worked out a schedule with Tim for his assistance
At TimÆs current knowledge of Engraving it would take quite a while until Tim would be of any substantive assistance with creating the Engraving for the floating islands But since it was Friday night Randidly whisked Tim off to his Alpha Cosmos and dropped him off with Lucretia for a crash course in the basics of Engraving
In the meantime Randidly also traveled through his Alpha Cosmos to pay a visit to Wendy
Their meeting was a tension filled tea session in WendyÆs office while both made small talk and sipped at their steaming beverages The longer this went on the more Wendy began to sweat and pull at her collar rambling on about how important her current research was even though she never spoke with enough specificity for Randidly to have any idea what her research entailed
Not that Randidly minded his bait was already out there He just needed to wait for Wendy to bite down on the hook
Especially after the discussion at the MossÆs regarding the teaching situation in Kharon RandidlyÆs would not let this opportunity to enlist WendyÆs brilliance pass After Tim had run out of things he could remember about the tasks they had been given Delilah had been quite happy to chime in and list off dozens of dumb things about the current educational system in Kharon
Most of the information Randidly had heard before in a more palatable form from an overview he had been given on the education program Yet it was more alarming to hear how the children received it
It would take some time to figure out how accurate DelilahÆs statements were but Randidly had already sent a message to Tatiana to give him the comprehensive version of KharonÆs teaching doctrine Still it had firmed his resolve to rebuild the system from scratch And the mechanisms of Kharon Academy would be central to that effort
Even if it was just a complex building that complex building built above a labyrinth would become a symbol As Randidly had experienced with the thriving image of independence and creativity in Kharon a symbol was a very powerful thing for motivating people
Finally Wendy could stand it no longer and set down a ginger snap cookie I uh had some spare time before bed IÆve glanced through those schematics that you passed to me A little immature but the idea is ah mildly interesting
Wendy was practically squirming in her chair While grinning from ear to ear mentally Randidly shook his head sorrowfully and waved his hand Yes well I thought so too And we had just approved a significant budget to have it built so many rare materials were gathered in order to expedite the construction yet we simply couldnÆt find an architect with enough confidence to take the project and nurture it to completion Such a tragedy
Wendy coughed into a napkin Yes well There are significant flaws with many of your ideas heh and human engineers well you know
Yes of course They were simply overwhelmed by the complexity of the project Randidly said in mock sorrow Then he continued to shake his head What I donÆt understand is why they wouldnÆt be tempted to try it anyway Considering the growth of the moss spirits around Kharon they have an almost limitless energy source at their fingertips The sort of innovations they could make are practically infinite
Wendy licked her lips Well obviously the energy source isnÆt limitless But considering the growth of the engine in Kharon unnghh certainly the amount of ambient energy grants whoever is at the helm of such a project vast flexibility the experiments one could run but someone like that would probably need specific Classes in order to take advantage of that opportunity
Randidly chewed on his lip while thinking of how to ratchet up the tension on Wendy you know that makes sense
Give me two Class lighthouses that fit my specifications and IÆll take over the project Wendy snapped Then her hands jumped to cover her mouth as though she was shocked by the suddenness of what she said
Randidly blinked Then he began to laugh that was your goal the entire time huh So I guess you already knew I was trying to tempt you into helping
Of course Do you ever come to visit me if you donÆt need something Wendy said sourly She picked up the discarded ginger snap and nibbled at the edge of it Then she put it back down But IÆll admit the project is interesting
After thinking about WendyÆs request for a bit Randidly nodded slowly He was now just a normal individual within the Alpha Cosmos but his normalÆ abilities still put him head and shoulders above the most powerful individuals in the Alpha Cosmos In addition his recent experimentations with physical manifestations of his images seemed to have created a vast underground network of caves that were currently unexplored Within them a casual scan had found a few unactivated Class Lighthouses
I can show you two lighthouses but you will be in charge of getting the right Classes from them Select the first user carefully Abruptly something occurred to Randidly A grin spread across his face Actually I have another thought
After Randidly discussed his idea with Wendy she agreed to pass word on to the other populations within the Alpha Cosmos With that confirmation Randidly returned to Earth and met with Tatiana and Wolfram to discuss the concrete details of the first two floating islands as well as some political issues inherent in the project Reading the relevant maps sent over by Vye they identified some valuable and unique areas that they should target in the borderlands before any of the Zones expanded outward and annexed them
The meeting stretched on much longer than they had anticipated taking them well past the setting of the sun Eventually Randidly had to cease the impromptu strategy meeting in order to return to his Soulskill and pick up Tim from LucretiaÆs care When he dropped Tim back off at his familyÆs apartment the kid was mumbling unintelligibly to himself and casually drawing Engravings on a piece of wood Luckily Derek wasnÆt yet home from his Order Ducis shift and Randidly could flee without trying to explain the reaction
Through the night Randidly spent some time repairing his Nether Nebula As with drops of liquid Aether that grey Nether bubble he had conjured was the accumulation of all of the weight that Randidly had gathered for several months Luckily once expended that weight would gradually reaccumulate So with his tending the Nether Nebula soon regained enough of its former potency that Randidly needed to restrain it lest it affected the surrounding space
With the sunrise Randidly sent out several messages to various political entities on Earth revealing a few concrete details regarding the duos tournament Then he went to the MossÆs apartment to bring Tim back within his Alpha Cosmos and continue his crash course in Engraving But Randidly was taken by surprise when Delilah wanted to come as well
When asking nicely didnÆt work she threatened him with both violence and telling her parents When threatening didnÆt work she begged and clung stubbornly to his leg Finally in the interest of conserving time Randidly relented and brought her along too Delilah was a bit unpredictable in her actions but at the very least she was extremely talented Perhaps Lucretia teaching some structure would do her some good
Then Randidly had to go to the legs of Kharon and update the Engraving there using his understanding of gravity due to the improved Stillborn Phoenix in order to decrease the physical weight of Kharon on the ground below it Apparently there had been complaints from the Zones that KharonÆs passage damaged the ground
The damage left in the cityÆs wake was relatively small so far as Randidly could tell but since Kharon was currently making a beeline for the Orchard in Zone 1 he wanted to completely silence KharonÆs critics before they could even open their mouths And when Randidly complained about how exhausting keeping up with the running of a city was Tatiana laughed in his face