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82. Nature of the Element
🕑 Added 2023-09-04 19:10:47 +0000 UTC
It has been one week since the birth of the Avatar of Eywa, one very busy week. Many Na'vi clans and tulkun pods had come, and several dozen meetings had happened in rapid succession all being very similar, stupefaction, shock, awe, and acceptance of reality.
The first ended with him gaining multiple intermediaries such as Payakan the adult male tulkun who swam to him before all others and Ronal the Tsahìk of the Metkayina one of the most influential clans of the Eastern Sea to only name those two.
The last was with the Anurai tha needed to traverse the desert and wait for the sea level to be adequate, he met Tsu'mong again as it was from there the male Na'vi that taught him the basics of the natives' language.
Tsu'mong's mate was one of the several tsakarem under the Tsahìk as for their clan it was essentially a competition in which only the most adequate in competencies and character was the one to be the next Tsahìk.
A difference compared to other clans stemmed from the fact that life in the desert was one of the harshest and there had been instances where the Tsahìk and sole her or his tsakarem had died. Thereby leading to them having several tsakarem simultaneously.
This difference from clan to clan he noticed each meeting ended the same, him proposing the all-familiar offer of knowledge for knowledge. But this offer didn't entail him being the one to give it.
It was to build the influence of the Community School and to build strong relations between all people living on Pandora. As such it was going to be something to take care of by Edmund, Grace, and Norm.
A headache for administration and organization but those three were smart and resourceful, he trusted they would figure most of everything necessary out with him keeping his intervention to a minimum.
And it was not fully out of the blue either, those three wanted to spread the range of the school for more Na'vi to come aside from the ones of the Omatikaya and a small amount of Tipani with the occasional Olangi when their migration traject passed close by.
It was going to take time, the school as it was made was only adapted for the ones living close by and in possession of technology. It was going to be drastically different for various cultures of the clans, it will be hard but not impossible.
Frankly, all Liam wanted at the end was a modicum of peace, a status quo of sorts with no violence. Eywa wanted this as well so that was what was going to happen.
In any case, as of now, there was nothing, it was just words with each clan having been delivered a device to call him by his tetrapterons. For the pods of tulkun, they had the reef Na'vi.
All in all, it won't be easy or simple but there was far, far less animosity with the Na'vi around here which made sense. The RDA didn't destroy their ancestral home for once but it also meant they were wary of humans even with Eywa.
"Hmm… The sheet will need a deep cleaning and the windows to be fixed the same for the bed. Fuck I was slightly more enthusiastic than I anticipated.", Liam said, putting on a pair of pants, his voice was low and filled with amazement at the state of the room, and both himself and Eywa as well, it was them that did this.
And the sight before him was one of the reasons he didn't do the act with anyone, he would break and kill them aside from a lack of interest.
He did break reinforced glass, and bend the metal of the bed with his bare all with the same ease as breathing, No regular individual would ever survive him being 'enthusiastic while in the act' so to say as he would slip in his control. It would turn into the plot of a horror movie faster than he could blink.
"We loved it the enthusiastic way. Perhaps outside would be better. Doing it now would be even better.", the purring voice of Eywa reached his ear as she awakened her pale pink eyes moving longingly over his sculpted form.
"Tempting, very tempting. But I must go back to carving the Element circuit of the Tek Replicator, I have lost time on my work. Thought a shower first would be needed for us, and food. A lot of food…", Liam said as he extended his hand for her to grab which she took with a smile.
"And I think recovering before doing this further might be a good idea as well.", he added as he saw her walk, there was no difficulty or sign of pain but it wasn't as perfectly fluid as usual. The difference would be invisible to anyone but him.
Yesternight was the first moment where the two of them knew they would have a lot of free time because, to put it mildly, his and Eywa's patience for a time only for them was running thin so after a few minutes of talking on the seventh day she acted.
She forcefully calmed down the frenzy making the entire volcanic archipelago a place where none but the one invited could go, creating a small pocket of paradise for them.
From her words, it was akin to a mental suggestion to not go there and it only affected the creatures' bearing of sapiens, humans aside as she did not hold any sway over them, and in any case, there was no worry for that case. He held total control of them, as harsh and arrogant as it sounded they did what they wanted.
And enough was enough, both of them weren't going to meet clan after clan for the next few months if not for years and this would be worse if the place was to turn into one of pilgrimage where millions came every year, words were spreading about all that happened and that was all that was needed.
And so they did as he said first, taking a shower together that mayhaps was potentially longer than strictly necessary than it was food.
The Avatar of Eywa needed a lot of daily sustenance, less than Liam but very much at a level that would cause Na'vi to be deeply sick with the sheer quantity. But compared to him it was not so much as an inconvenience at least when in direct contact with the biosphere that supported the body's every need.
In either case, they prepared breakfast for the equivalent of fifteen full-grown men, Eywa following Liam's instructions as it was all recipes from Earth such as crêpes, a paste similar to Nutella, and more.
She knew about the entire Na'vi species culinary practice but they were distinctively different from what could be made in any civilization past hunting and gathering.
It limited her knowledge but considering going past this stage for a humanoid sapient species would inevitably be akin to suicide for her if a rather very long and painful one.
It explained her three laws and from what Liam had been told it was from experience which meant at some point Na'vi or another species born of her was more advanced, the laws speak of wheeled vehicles, mining ore, and building cities by extrapolation.
A civilisation potentially equal to that before the industrial revolution if not around that.
This civilization was advanced enough to the point it started to harm the balance, her very being, so she intervened rather brutally even if she didn't want to, stopping the potential catastrophic snowball effect before it worsened. As well as stopping anyone from accessing this information aside from him.
Back to cooking many things were not new per se but a very different point of view. It was a very pleasant experience as they exchanged various techniques, how utensils were used, and how they differed. Pretty much a talk between what some might call cooking nerds as they cooked all the while eating what they made.
Presently Liam was deep in the house and in the middle of fitting the second layer of his spacesuit, various complex pieces of metal and artificial material were put upon various parts of the skinsuit he was wearing.
Eywa on the side was waving her tail between her legs as she hovered one meter above the deep sleet ground of polymer looking at him pensively, the true him. The being within the specimen implant and everything it meant beyond the technological aspect.
"We have been curious for a long time…", she began attracting Liam's attention, "We are unable to glimpse within the space of this room but We can feel the inside of it. It is gorged with your very own existence, one that is not left lingering after your many hours spent within…", she paused as if trying to find a way to word her thoughts toward this subject she felt her mate had been trying not to focus on too much.
And Liam realized where this was going yet he didn't stop her, it was something that had been on his mind since the first droplet of pure Element had been produced and had spread for him to have a supply of this supernatural chemical.
And he knew she he knew he had been not focusing on that part… A part that severed him further from what he once was on a deeper level than all that happened until now but the bullet needed to be bitten. It wasn't about the risk he had taken but something inherent.
It was about the nature of the Element. More precisely the one he brought out to the world for his and her survival first and foremost as it was the only way all would survive with as little casualty as realistically possible in all camps.
It wasn't a mysterious chemical he found from an asteroid lost in space or deep within a planet such as the one in the video game with no connection to him but one 'milked' from his blood for years on end and that changed a lot, it wasn't a regular element like iron that was filtered out either.
"This phenomenon is one that We have sensed happening as well deep within your autonomous facility on the sister moon … You are present in front of my Avatar as well in two other points in space: this room to your right and the Element Nexus far beyond in outer space. It is… Puzzling.", she explained as she stood up, her feet back on the ground as she walked closer to look into his silver eyes that seemed to glow.
"It is something that has been on my mind as well. Truthfully it entails a very probable reality that I'm not the most comfortable with but I… Tell me how it feels.", he said after a few seconds of silence as he flicked his left hand before shifting his fingers as an object materialized from his inventory.
Between his fingers appeared something the size of an A4 paper sheet that looked small in his hand. It was a metallic silver-blue plate in the form of a rhombus made of hundreds of hexagons each of them humming with a strange energy, all light entering in contact with it getting both absorbed and refracted all while distorting it. It was akin to a fragment of something that wasn't from this plane of reality.
"This as you must have realized is Element… The substance I have made from my body.", he explained his implant glowed at that and she hummed in understanding.
This was Element in one of its most stable forms, one of its several forms that could be used to power Tek safely too. This little piece of ten grams (~0.35 oz) of advanced material held enough energy to power the totality of a metropolis equal to 21st-century Tokyo for years; it didn't conform to the Laws of Thermodynamics after all.
"Can We inspect it closer…?", Eywa tentatively asked and her mate obliged, giving her the Element. Her ears flicked in repetition as her eyes closed and she focused on the impure chemical in solid form in her hands.
She did not probe it further than on the surface level but this was enough for her to get the information necessary to have several conclusions.
This was not from this universe in any way shape or form, it was constantly changing and shifting all the while It held an immense amount of energy, one she never felt anywhere in her very long immortal life aside from Liam, and this was no mere material.
It was inorganic yet very much alive in its inorganic state, the Psionic imprint in and out of it was one she was of most familiarity with and it directly connected to him in a way only the cells of a singular multicellular organism would.
It would be comparable to DNA and this metaphysical 'DNA' was in all points the same as that of Liam, in fact, they were one single entity it was just that the other, Liam, could barely sense it. It was akin to someone with partial paralysis having difficulty sensing their affected body part.
And there was not much she could do about this, it was for Liam to work on that.
"This is an integral part of you.", Eywa stated matter of factly with fascination as she opened her eyes and gave back the piece of Element to him, his eyes locked onto the rhombus of exotic chemicals with a certain complexity and acceptance as he stored it away.
"One that you have been missing and are dismissing.", she added the empathetic bond between them, leading him to understand precisely what she was referring to.
She was referring to his body when they spoke at a Tree of Souls after he put himself to sleep.
It was ever shifting from his tanned skin, and dark brown hair on the physical to that of a fluorescent and transparent arctic blue skin that showed a total lack of tissue be they muscles, bones, or internal organs aside from a nervous and vascular system connected to his implant at the heart of his chest like a nucleus seemed to pump neon blue and purple fluid.
Only his eyes remained similar, his pupil changing to two orbs of cold burning silver.
This at first was half-half, but this aspect had diminished over the years at an extremely slow yet noticeable rate. The more time went on the more his immaterial body when in that state shifted toward one side, the side that he knew was that of a very particular being, a legendary one from that of the video game he played before waking up in this world.
This shift toward this side had exponentially increased after he began to cultivate and work around Element. Indicating an evident direct correlation.
But the 'change' didn't affect him physically even presently for now it seemed; however, the changes were more mental as he felt more and more like he was in this unconscious state. Mechanical, lack of deep emotions, empathy, and pure logic that would shift his entire character to something he would despise if not careful.
But if those were uniquely due to this or it was a mix with him maturing he wasn't certain. One thing was certain was that he was changing for the better or the worse in a way he held no sway over and it was both terrifying and exciting to be aware of such a thing.
He could only accept it, study it, and hope for the best depending on the situation. It was one of the most absurd risks with working with Element he had thought of but it was well worth it as failure was not an option. There won't be a second chance if he messes up, neither would there be a respawn and if they were he wasn't going to test it.
Eywa would always be with him in all scenarios and that is what mattered. He won't be alone and from what she just said she was correct. Element here was a part of him and the change should not be ignored.
"Thank you.", he said heartfully. A short kiss was then exchanged before a smile bloomed on both of their faces and he continued putting on the suit. The Tek Replicator wasn't going to build itself.
Comments
Laplase
Even if he does become a Homo Deus, will he be slightly different in the sense of him not abandoning his body to become a pure energy being who resides in a different reality?
TITOO
Homo Deus are the energy themselves, a never-ending source of it. As for everything else, you will see.
Muhanad Ibrahim
Nice, he becoming homo deus/transhuman. Or well, he already is one being a level 190 and all that. Unless he didn’t do the extinction ascension. But regardless, I think his body was just on ‘power saver’ mode since it lacked element. But now that it has element, it can go back to the energy form, the homo deus one. But if he does become or returns to being one, will his diet consist of element shard snacks and element as his lunch, dinner, and breakfast? 🧐
