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Grendyne groans and starts pulling on her boots when the alarm goes off. Again. She quick-marches to the broom hangar, sits on her machine and is handed a plethora of loaded weapons by attentive corporals.
"Two flyers in one day? They're getting way too common."
"It's worse," the commander informs them, "South Karlsland got hit with three at once. We're taking Lytee's express and sleeping there. You can sit out if you absolutely need to, but Freya's still recovering so we could use you as a comms relay."
"No, I'll come. I just reserve the right to complain about it."
The 42nd United Forces Witch Wing takes off and assembles into a perfect synchronized formation as Lytee charges her teleport power.
...This is not South Karlsland wilderness.
[note: halfway through this thread I created a unique account for Grendyne. Do not be alarmed by the change in account. -Rockeye]
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characterquarry
witchwatcher
"We don't know why it decays. But you may have noticed the state of our technology."
wormcan
"Indeed. It's why I think ours may have a better chance."
Armsmaster: "In the meantime, I'll need to observe one of you flying to see how your brooms work."
Armsmaster: "In the meantime, I'll need to observe one of you flying to see how your brooms work."
witchwatcher
Knight volunteers! She starts enthusiastically explaining what she knows about the theory of steelwings - a fair bit, since she customized hers for higher speed at the cost of increased mana consumption. It probably makes more sense to a tinker than your average scientist.
Angel knows more about medicine than anyone else on the team. She explains what is known about Witch bodies as compared to human ones. Which is: Not much. She and Gren volunteer to be examined for the purpose of trying to figure out mana.
Angel knows more about medicine than anyone else on the team. She explains what is known about Witch bodies as compared to human ones. Which is: Not much. She and Gren volunteer to be examined for the purpose of trying to figure out mana.
wormcan
Armsmaster invites Knight to his workshop, and the Director suggests that Angel and Gren return to the hospital, it being the obvious place for a medical examination. If the Witches still object to splitting up it may slow them down.
witchwatcher
They confer briefly, then send Knight along with one other by the nickname of Sparky (she doesn't seem to like the name much, but acquiesces). Angel and Copycat will go to the hospital. They're all going to remain networked though Chatterbox's power.
Highlander requests access to a computer or two suited to someone new to computers, for exploring Wikipedia.
Highlander requests access to a computer or two suited to someone new to computers, for exploring Wikipedia.
wormcan
That's not a criterion they generally sort computers by, but they find one.
Armsmaster explains to Knight, "Most of what I do is take preexisting technology and make it more efficient. It might be possible to build a completely different kind of machine serving the same function, but that will probably not be my finished result. Can you demonstrate how your steelwing works?"
Armsmaster explains to Knight, "Most of what I do is take preexisting technology and make it more efficient. It might be possible to build a completely different kind of machine serving the same function, but that will probably not be my finished result. Can you demonstrate how your steelwing works?"
witchwatcher
Knight demonstrates the machine by hovering, maneuvering, and accelerating under various scanners, and describing its functions.
Somehow, applying mana to it causes the mana to be converted into physical force. The conversion is a property of Witches, but the structure of the machine influences it. A broom is the ancient standard, other long stick-like tools are barely flyable.
The spines at the back act like a buffer, making the thing more stable in a similar way to the fins on an arrow. The mechanisms inside operate a little similarly to more familiar machinery. And the theory behind them is more-or-less consistent, if unfamiliar to Earth Bet.
Somehow, applying mana to it causes the mana to be converted into physical force. The conversion is a property of Witches, but the structure of the machine influences it. A broom is the ancient standard, other long stick-like tools are barely flyable.
The spines at the back act like a buffer, making the thing more stable in a similar way to the fins on an arrow. The mechanisms inside operate a little similarly to more familiar machinery. And the theory behind them is more-or-less consistent, if unfamiliar to Earth Bet.
wormcan
Armsmaster gets an immediate grasp of how it works and how it could work better. If not the direct conversion part, at least what the various pieces are doing. "This may take some time." As he starts tinkering. "This will be less replicable than ordinary technology. I might also recommend mundane mass-production, which will be inferior to what a Tinker can do but will be capable of outfitting armies."
witchwatcher
"I think the point of you making one was mostly to see if they could be made better at all here? They're definitely gonna be sending specialists for big runs if your mass production is any good. We got a total of thirty thousand active duty Witches or thereabouts."
Meanwhile, Angel and Gren are at the hospital once again, this time to be examined instead of to heal people.
Meanwhile, Angel and Gren are at the hospital once again, this time to be examined instead of to heal people.
wormcan
The best person to do the examining is, naturally, the person who can do it with a touch.
"Hi, Gren.
Let's see, I'll need to compare whether there are any physical effects of spending mana. Can I watch what happens while you use your power?" She holds out a hand.
"Hi, Gren.
Let's see, I'll need to compare whether there are any physical effects of spending mana. Can I watch what happens while you use your power?" She holds out a hand.
witchwatcher
She touches Panacea's hand, and turns invisible. "I'm invisible because invisibility burns a lot of mana. I can keep this up for about two minutes before I need to take a break, maybe half an hour total per day before being plain and simple not able to do it anymore."
wormcan
"You're sweating a little more than you were before. Your muscle and fat tissues are doing something I can't follow. That's got to be the mana. It's being fed out to the outer layers of skin, mostly through the bloodstream. Might be because of the invisibility, if you want to do something else I can see if it goes elsewhere. And the reaction going on in the cells, the one that I'm assuming is producing the mana, it's catalyzed by estrogen."
witchwatcher
She stops being invisible. "I have no idea what estrogen is. But I'm doing farsight, now."
wormcan
"And now it's being passed up to your eyes. And through the optic nerve, as far toward the brain as I can sense. Definitely the mana.
Estrogen is the main female sex hormone. Are all Witches female?"
Estrogen is the main female sex hormone. Are all Witches female?"
witchwatcher
"Yes, all Witches are female. About one in 500, I don't remember the exact figure, and more common in well-developed parts of the world for some reason. Children of Witches aren't any more likely to be Witches. It comes in during puberty, peaks at age 16 to 18 or so, and declines sharply when you pass 25."
wormcan
"It sounds like it might be related to fertility somehow. Are there many Witches who aren't in an army? If so, do the ones with more mana tend to have more children on average?"
witchwatcher
"Oh, there's lots of us. A million or so across the whole world, and most not in the army. I'm not actually sure about the children thing, I don't have data, but I think the anecdotes I know point in that direction."
wormcan
"If it's just anecdotes, that's at least suggestive.
But if that's it, there's nothing I can do. If it were some disease where losing magic was a symptom in Witches I could cure that, but I'm just a healer."
But if that's it, there's nothing I can do. If it were some disease where losing magic was a symptom in Witches I could cure that, but I'm just a healer."
witchwatcher
Grendyne raises an eyebrow. "Your healing felt extremely versatile, that time I copied you. But I guess you'd know more than me what your power can and can't do, since I can't copy you all the way. Oh well."
wormcan
Important note: do not get copied again.
"I'm sorry I can't give you all unlimited mana," she lies.
"I'm sorry I can't give you all unlimited mana," she lies.
witchwatcher
"Thank you for trying," lies Grendyne.
As they walk back into the PRT building, the commander decides that once Knight and Armsmaster are finished with the tinkered steelwing it'll be time for the whole team to go home, and return some time tomorrow with someone authorized to negotiate on behalf of the UDF. The new steelwing would serve as proof that they hadn't all gone crazy.
Lytee asks to be shown a good spot to arrive.
As they walk back into the PRT building, the commander decides that once Knight and Armsmaster are finished with the tinkered steelwing it'll be time for the whole team to go home, and return some time tomorrow with someone authorized to negotiate on behalf of the UDF. The new steelwing would serve as proof that they hadn't all gone crazy.
Lytee asks to be shown a good spot to arrive.
wormcan
They show them one. It's on the inside of some of the secured doors—no sense in having interdimensional visitors appear in full view of the public or anything like that—and a short distance from where Armsmaster and Knight are still improving the steelwing.
witchwatcher
The witches settle down to wait. Work like that can take a while. A few of them bring the other steelwings into the building and work on them in more of a maintenance way than an improvement way. Two of them continue trying to absorb Wikipedia (one is scribbling notes on engineering, the other is reading about art). The rest just seem bored.
wormcan
Eventually they do complete it. It's recognizably a steelwing, it just happens to also be better at being a steelwing. Armsmaster passes it to Knight to test.
witchwatcher
She climbs on top of it. It hovers. She zips across the room and stops on a dime. "Easily twice as much acceleration." She puts it through a surprisingly varied set of midair acrobatics for a confined indoor space. "WOOOOOOOOOO! This thing is great! No good way to test max speed inside, though. Who gets to keep it?"