[Post-Episode 2] Shedding Some Light

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ISS Downrider
Medical Closet, last night


It was time to check on Marie. There was a polite knock on the door as Sivins let herself into the room, approaching the... "scientist". It seemed she was awake at least, so the smol asked her, "Marie, how're you feeling? You didn't seem terribly injured when you got on, but you've moved into here now. Is there something that needs my attention?"

Aradia had put Marie on the "low priority" list, and so this was one of her last visits of the night. As far as the magician knew, nobody else had injuries outscaling the superficial.

“Only my arm,” Marie answered Aradia. “And maybe a few questions for someone more adept in magic.”

"Hm, yeah - looks nasty, but it's not actually a bad one. What's this about magic, though?" The smol put a hand on Marie's arm, and it started to feel... Cold, hot, and tingly all at once. Visually, she could even see the skin growing back together, like the timelapse of a stitched wound - without the stitches.

“Human transmutation side effects,” Marie replied. It felt really funny, the flesh regrowing, but it didn’t feel painful or anything.

"That's not something I studied actively, though transmutation and transformations were covered lightly. It's a bit of a weird form of magic, if you ask me."

“How so?” Marie asked. “I only have a rudimentary understanding from the perspective of a scientist.”

The wound was already closed, though really tender. Aradia didn't seem any different as she peered into her little bag of objects - clicking like a cup of dice in a tavern, or ore being retreived from the depths of a mine. "It's an irregular type of magic. The bodies of sapient beings - humans, angels, and the like - are often resistant to intense changes. The art of transformation is based on breaking the mold, as one might say, to make the transformation process easier. A reduced strain means you can do more extreme changes, and stay changed for longer without major adverse side effects."

A wet cloth was being used to clean up the leaked, dried blood. It tickled, but didn't really tickle. In fact, Marie's arm still felt a bit numb. "Does that give you any leads?"

“Then, could potentially harmful radiation provide the power necessary to perform transmutation better?” Marie asked. “Or is the whole turning-people-into-frogs business children’s stories?”

"That, I don't know - but I'd doubt it. It might make transformation overall easier to perform, but more unpredictable and harder to actually control. Plus the side effects of radiation poisoning, if you're not careful. The tricky part of transformation, at least from what I've been able to see, is the way the energy is handled."

Taking something from her bag - a brightly polished amethyst the size of a finger, apparently uncut despite being so shiny - the woman continued, "I learned about transformation because, to explain it simply, healing magic is a specialized form of transformation. Turning people back into themselves, essentially. Reverting to a normal state takes less energy than changing forms, which is why people who get knocked out or killed while transformed typically revert to normal. The idea of healing magic is that you can pour more energy than is required into the process to help a person, well, heal. That's why you'll be famished when you get up tomorrow morning," Aradia claimed with a quiet little chuckle.

"But to change forms, you're also burning off your own energy to actually pull it off. For some eason, transformation - transmutation in general, actually - isn't efficient when you draw the energy from somewhere other than yourself. And if you overtap your own body... Things tend to get unpleasant. That's all I can really say about that, unfortunately."

Of all the people, Aradia had provided the most answers. A person unrelated to the project entirely.

"This is plenty of information, thank you," Marie replied. "You're aware why I asked..."

"I've seen Reman, yeah. That's some of the side effects. The amount of energy is, in a way, extremely radioactive. But with this form of... Freedom, rather than the sheer chaos of nuclear radiation, your body will often retain aspects of the transformation. In essence, doing what you suggested in making the transformation 'better,' but in the wrong way. And trying to undo something like that is a lot riskier to do with my knowledge. I could easily make things worse for him." She toss-caught the purple gem a few times.

"And not only that, the stuff that made him this way...only one man on this crew knows about it, and he's simultaneously the biggest dick I know and the most secretive man I know," Marie replied. "And no, I'm not asking you to tie him up with me and zap him until he squeaks."

Aradia snorted. Arguably it sounded more like a squeak, but still. "Even if you did, I'd say no." Marie's arm felt a surge of heat again, as the mage took hold of it one last time. "Been a minute, that should help whatever nerve damage you'd gotten. The tingling is going to stick around for another day or so, probably."

"Oh, that was what's missing," Marie noted as she rubbed the now un-numbed spot. It still tickled a little bit.

"It wasn't anything serious at least, since your arm still functioned reasonably. Probably jst got nicked or something." She turned her amethyst over a couple times before asking, "Your little gathering has a lot of transformation going on, but you yourself seem to have something... else, outside of a transformation. I noticed it when you were hanging out with Osco a few days ago. You have an... Unusually potent affinity with electronics, why?"

"Registered Sage," Marie answered. "Apparently I'm quite an early bloomer who started developing around the age of five or six. I learned control over sheer power, which is why although I can't do the crazier things like power entire laser arrays, I can create a Von Neumann processor in the middle of the air if I so pleased by arranging the ions in certain shapes."

"And I can't exactly transform yet," Marie continued. "We don't have any keys to spare."

"That's prety impressive. Control can probably help you more in life, anyways. Power's great for mercenaries, that's about it as far as Sages go. How does it feel to use your powers? It's something I've always been interested in, but most sages tend to be... Secretive. Either about their existence or their abilities."

"It's odd. You imagine it happening, like for instance, I can imagine a small spark from my fingers and..." Marie held her hand up, and a spark leapt between her fingers. "...It happens."

"But that's basics. That comes as natural as walking." Aradia seemed to understand, at least that's what the nodding implied.

"But then, say you want something bigger. Like, for instance, I want a basic transistor used in electronics," Marie continued. "The first time I want to make one, I have to study the theory intensely. I have to learn everything on how it works, and then I can create a single transistor. The second time I want to make one, I only have to imagine a transistor and it appears for me, sort of in my vision but not visible to anyone else."

"...Huh. So it's kind of like... A more pragmatism-centric form of learning. Instead of learning fundamentals, you only need the advanced stuff to do... The advanced stuff." She scrunched her face up. Languages are hard.

"Yes, but also not really...if you learn the fundamentals, you can have an easier time creating more advanced components. Most control-focused Sages like me create entire libraries of components they can pull on whenever they want. Some focused more on ice and water can create entire mechanical structures on demand, and some fire Sages are known to have a stirling engine memorized. But electrokinetics are by far the ones who have the biggest libraries."

"That's neat. I have a notebook, but it's more basic stuff for the most part. Then again, even as I say that..." A little flash of fire dances atop the mage's open hand, before condensing into something more exotic - plasma, it seemed, like a tiny star. It winked out a second later. "That's what I'm good at. Using the basic foundations of elemental magic, individually and together."

"So you still build from somewhere, you just don't get the shortcuts we do," Marie observed.

"Essentially, yes."" A knuckle was popped. "Though my lack of shortcuts at least gives me a good resume builder. It's easy to land a job somewhere when you have Greater Mage's degree in elemental magic." Marie would probably be able to remember that this is the equivalant of a Master's degree from a normal college - at least on paper.

"And yet you're here, like me," Marie chuckled.

"I can go where I want. My first choice in years was 'off of this rock', and Dahlia just happened to be looking for a pilot. " Sivins smirked a little bit, then unfocused her eyes. A refocused duo of silver and blue looked back at Marie. "It's getting pretty late, and I'd like to check on the rest of the crew. If you'd like to ask more questions, you can do it tomorrow - probably after breakfast. Hopefully we can get an actual cook of some kind when we land..." The magically-experienced little one re-stowed her gemstone with the others and made for the common room.
 
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