Chapter 24 - Libraries for Simpletons

It was easy to feel sorry for the kind old librarian back in Inverna. Their humble little collection was a drop of water in an ocean of undiscovered literature.

Holly stood in the Ralevi University library. It truly was a buffet of knowledge that dwarfed the crumbs the zalavan had put together.

There was so much at her fingertips that she couldn’t hope to take it all in with only a single visit. So, she prioritized what she wanted to know at that very moment.

First off – no books she could find spoke of the capabilities of apples in anything more than their usage as a rhythm restorative. It was treated by the wider Riterran society as an ingredient for juices that instantly recovered a Resonator or Maestro’s stores of rhythm. Simple, but effective. It was the only thing in the entirety of Riterra to have this property.

No texts mentioned anything about how to cultivate apples, nor zalavan usage of apple seeds. She did trust Cris, but in the same respect, Holly had hoped there would be some literary sources to back up his claim.

That thought brought her to the topic of ultimate magic. She was already familiar with the spells that existed in the class but sought to find out if Riterrans knew anything more than what existed in zalavan texts.

The results were disappointing. There was only one new nugget of wisdom.

“Frutteto del l’Avalon,” she whispered. Unlike the rest of the book which depicted modern-day castings, this spell was the only one that had a painting rather than photo evidence of its existence. The striking pinks of swirling blossoms were what caught her eye. Was that just an artistic interpretation or was that actually how the spell looked? She drifted to the accompanying text.

Her eyes widened. “The last time it was cast was said to be 200 years ago and even that is from a tertiary source.”

It made sense that even the description of the spell was lacking. “Wounds are cured faster than an instant?” She raised a brow. It was the ultimate level spell of healing, but…

Holly wished there was a way she could find the information she was seeking faster. As she moved from one end of the library to the other, she happened across a row of those screen things she had seen all around Riterra.

That promoted a new line of thought.

She took in a deep lungful of air. Mask on, it was time to learn about Riterran technology.

“Excuse me miss?” asked Holly of the librarian at the front desk. They appeared to be a student, around her age.
“Can I help you?” they greeted with a raised brow.

“What’s that?” Holly pointed back at the row of computer monitors.

The librarian paused, did something on their own screen, and stepped around their desk. “This way.”

Rather than toward the row of screens, the librarian led the little plant into another row of books. These tomes appeared to be all within the same series, bearing similar black and yellow spines, and titles sharing in the same text style. With practiced certainty, the librarian plucked a singular book from the many selections. She turned and handed it to the zalavan.

“Computers for Simpletons,” was what the cover read.

Holly was thankful for her mask as she may have chucked the book in the librarian’s face otherwise.

“Thank you miss!” was instead what the nature element went with as the librarian returned to their duties.

And so, Holly read the book cover to cover. She was a fast reader and a quick learner, demonstrating these feats by polishing off the whole book in just over an hour.

“They tricked rocks into thinking, hysterical,” scoffed Holly. She was massively oversimplifying it, but that was her basic understanding of the ubiquitous devices.

Armed with knowledge, the plant turned her attention to what she now knew to be computers. Everyone used them. They held almost equal importance to Resonators as far as she could tell. It even turned out that the pride and joy of Maestros – the tuner – was also a miniature computer! Combined with the internet thing, it was as if every Maestro carried an entire library in their pockets, but a library that contained the entire summation of human knowledge up to the current day.

It… drew attention to something else Holly had only just noticed.

If the tuner was a small computer, why did no Resonator she ever meet carry a similar device? Now that she thought about it, she had never seen another Resonator carrying a tuner.

And so that was the next vine she followed.

This time she wanted to put practical work to her theoreticals she just learned.

Sitting in front of one of the library computers, she took in what she had available to her. There was the visual component; a screen, otherwise known as a monitor. Then one of the two input devices; the clacking device, a keyboard. Last but not least, the third component of the set-up known as a mouse; named after the Resonator species of the same moniker.

Why?

That became her very first internet search. She knew from the book that she could open up a “browser” and look up any information she wished. So that was what she did.

“Why. Is. It. Called. A. Mouse?” Holly was not good at typing on a keyboard. She glanced over to a Maestro two seats down from her. Their fingers flew over the keys with such practice finesse it was dizzying to watch. The Maestro in question didn’t even need to look at the keys while they typed. Their fingers just knew where to go. It was so fascinating.

Holly shook her head. She was on a mission.

Pressing the enter key on the keyboard, the screen flicked to show a wide variety of “links” to various “sites” she could click on. The first result gave her instant gratification.

“Oh, a computer mouse is named after the Resonator species because mice have a special trait that makes their magic in the same shape as the computer mouse,” Holly nodded, giving the little device a shake in appreciation. “Hmm, the man who invented it had a mouse Resonator and was inspired by his magic to make the computer mouse in the same shape. I see.”

Holly’s lips curled up. This was so bad for her specifically. Now that she knew how to use a computer, she had such easy access to information she absolutely could see herself getting addicted to it in the worst way. Especially with her weak willpower.

Though her mind raced, there was one curiosity that bubbled up to the front of her mind.

“Tuner.” Five letters and she hit enter.

From the first link she clicked, she had a total summarization of what the pervasive device was and did.

“Ethereal Rose made it in the 1550s… still is maintaining them today.” Holly flicked the scroll wheel, her eyes darting back and forth as she scanned the information available to her. She debated searching up Ethereals but decided her focus was better spent on the topic at hand. (Something to delve into later for certain.)

“Indestructible, contains a computer, telecommunications capabilities-” she flicked to a new tab and searched up what “telecommunications” meant.

“Electronic transmission of information over distances, ah.” She lingered on the page a little longer, learning what a phone was by proxy of the description of the technologies. The little plant shook her head; back to tuners, she wouldn’t be distracted from her goal.

“Stoichsensitive shells. That explains the colors matching the element of the Resonator,” she mused, continuing her education.

“Casting spells utilizing rhythm transmission over air-” she paused, making sure she was reading what she saw correctly. “Nearly no loss in rhythm over air?” Holly sat back. The spells the Resonators she had seen casting were at their maximum efficiency. The page she was on detailed some older model tuners showing much worse transmission times and rhythm loss. The current models were nearly perfected. A scary prospect.

Then she got into the section about the “chip”. It was a nearly microscopic piece of silicon that did all the heavy lifting – rhythm transmission, vitality monitoring, and it even enabled two-way communication between a Maestro and their Resonator at a “planetary level”. How in the world did they test something like that?

Where she thought it should have stopped, the page went further.

Her breath hitched; her lungs felt like they were made of stone and her heart froze. Cris’ words from the night prior came into focus, loudly, pointedly, hauntedly.

“They were gonna force you to go with them. The tuner… has a function like that.”

And it was sobering.

Resonant Over-Ride: Technical Specifications Introduction The Resonant Over-Ride (ROR) button is a function of all standard issue Riterran Tuners under the Resonator Control Law Section 6 Subsection 5.5. This allows the user to control the physical actions of the linked Resonator. This document outlines its specifications, components, and functionalities. Components Neural Interface Module (NIM): This is the core component that establishes a connection with the target's scale and brainwaves, enabling the transmission of Rhythm and other information (Outlined in the previous sections about direct communication, see page 21 for more information). Command Processor: A sophisticated processor that decodes the neural signals and converts them into actionable commands. Power Converter: A compact Harmony Drive utilizes the linked Resonator’s rhythm to power the control system. Rhythm drawn has a negligible impact on Resonator performance (.001% drain as demonstrated in the Hothwell study) Control Interface: The red switch on the bottom right of the tuner will activate the function. All commands are given vocally and a negligible amount of rhythm is pulled from the Maestro for intent broadcasting (up to 1% drain depending on the complexity of the given command.) Functionality Activation: Pressing the ROR button initiates the command processor, which establishes a direct link with the Resonator’s neural network and scale. Haptic Feedback: Upon initialization of the ROR, the linked Resonator will cease any further movement and await command input. Linked Resonators may report a hot or burning sensation at NIM insertion site. Command Isolation: Once a target is identified, the NIM establishes a secure connection by synchronizing with the target's scale and brainwaves. Command Transmission: The user can transmit specific commands through voice command, enabling them to perform any physical action regardless of the linked Resonator’s current state. Safety and Limitations The ROR is designed with ethical constraints. A full black box of all commands is logged and recorded in case any investigation is needed for ethical concerns. Other tuners are not affected, and the ROR can only affect the Resonator the tuner is linked to. This is a hardware switch and cannot be activated at the software level. A built-in failsafe mechanism terminates the connection and command if there is a predicted failure of the linked Resonator’s vital processes as a result of a command. Over usage of the ROR module may cause side-effects in the linked Resonator including organ and muscle failure or even death. Please utilize this function responsibly. Keep out of reach of children below the age of 5 years old. Not for use for Maestros who are pregnant or may become pregnant. Conclusion The ROR is a safety mechanism first and foremost, preventing an out-of-control Resonator from harming themselves or others, and should not be used recreationally. Under Resonator Control Law Section 6 Subsection 7 – any Maestro causing harm to a Resonator through usage of the ROR function may be liable to prosecution under the full extent of the law. If there are any concerns regarding the ROR function, please contact our helpline at 1-988-87491-73812

Holly wasn’t sure how long she sat there in abject horror of what she had read. The only thing that snapped her from her unblinking trance was the computer screen suddenly turning black – breaking her free of the spell placed on her.

“Screensaver,” she mumbled, trying to take her mind off of the existential dread of the override button. If Cris hadn’t rescued her last night…

“Oh my god! Cris!” Holly jumped to her feet. She had forgotten all about him coming to check on her - and she wasn’t in her hotel room!

She bolted from the library if only to see him again and put down the dread in her heart.