Divine Field Theory
Chapter 1
The Young Consciousness would need something to do before long. It had done all it could, listened to each of its elders, watched stars die backwards, seen planets torn apart by their own acceleration, and still a target of interest had evaded them.
It would not be able to continue for long like this. Without a focal point, the vague collection of memories and ideas that it was would break apart, slipping back into the greater waves of the Field. It would reemerge later, of course, as a different configuration. But that would be after being a part of so many other Consciousnesses, so many other configurations, that The Young Consciousness could no longer be considered the same being it was now.
The Young Consciousness did not like that idea very much.
So, it reached out, farther and farther, looking closer and closer at each thing they could find, hoping for something to spark its interest. Maybe the smaller stars had some sort of charm to them, maybe a particular red dwarf would catch their eye? Surely, there had to be something worth experiencing somewhere? On and on it searched, and on and on the drollness of existence waited, lurking in every corner, every rock and flame, every nebula and weather pattern.
It was looking at the peculiar advance of a small planet’s perihelion when it first felt a ripple in the Field, which was odd, considering there didn’t seem to be another Consciousness around for quite a while in any direction. It was coming from one of the water-planets it had examined and given up as “just not their style” eons ago. It had contained some hydrophobic lipids that The Young Consciousness knew some of its colleagues liked to study, but they were all off in different sectors, looking at molecules that had layered together in much larger environments, and under much harsher conditions.
Yet now, here the same planet was creating ripples from what seemed to be nothing.
The Young Consciousness shifted, gathering itself to focus on a smaller scale. The core of the planet seemed plain, for one of its size, iron and nickel that was usually fresh, having been created in a super nova maybe two billion years prior, but certainly nothing that would cause the ripples it was still feeling. It shifted back upwards, trying to figure out if there was something in the way the upper layers interacted with its core that could explain the phenomenon.
That was when The Young Consciousness saw something very peculiar indeed. A massive object, moving along the surface of the small planet, in a way that directly increased its potential energy. It was unheard of.
The Young Consciousness focused itself even more intently, shrinking its perspective to a much smaller range than it had in some time, centering itself around the anomaly. It was… There was no concept for what this was, not yet. The thing seemed to have a vast number of high energy bonds, stored within bubbles of lipids similar to the ones it had observed earlier, and by severing those bonds within itself, the thing could create tension, balance, pull itself directly against the force of Gravity.
And beyond any of that, the thing was complex enough to perturb the Field where The Young Consciousness and its peers resided, belying that this structure, this physical thing, was somehow conscious. A ridiculous concept, and yet one that was apparent and undeniably real.
The Young Consciousness decided without delay to sit itself down and begin to study.
~~~
Robin was on a roll, to be cautiously optimistic about it. The sun was about to set, the day almost finished, and they hadn’t once needed to disturb the actual wizard with any questions. So far, Robin had sold thirteen of the store’s basic light modules, and even successfully convinced one of the farmers to invest in an automatic plow. Granted, they were at the point in their apprenticeship where this kind of work was expected of them, but it was still nice to prove that their knowledge of magic, not to mention their salesmanship, was steadily improving. And in the quiet times, when the shop was empty, they could sit and appreciate the fact.
“Ahoy there, how’s the god catching?”
… but of course, distractions eventually came around.
Robin gave an exaggerated sigh, pretending not to be startled by the mailman who had appeared behind them. They were, truthfully, very startled, as she had made a game of sneaking up into the shop in recent weeks, and had become quite good at it. Robin wasn’t about to let her know that, so they simply turned around and faced her as if her presence was completely expected.
“Come now, Minnow, you know the old man hates that name.”
“You should tell him to stop catching gods, then.” Minnow leant up against one of the shop’s supports, with an insufferable grin on her face. Minnow was short, thin, and had an uncanny knack for looking like she was somewhere she shouldn’t be, even when she patently wasn’t. She kept her blond hair close cropped, and wore her courier’s uniform loosely, with the blue jacket looking crumpled, and questionably stained in more than a few places.
“In any case, there aren’t any deliveries for him today, so we really don’t need his opinion. What say we go grab some food?” For as long as Robin had been an apprentice at the shop, Minnow had been making deliveries there. Especially with them becoming more and more the face of the shop, it hadn’t taken long for the two to establish a routine. Minnow made her last stop of the day, around when the shop would close up, and they would walk down to the nearest eatery to chat. Honestly, it was probably Robin’s favorite part of the day, but at the same time…
“It seems there weren’t many deliveries in general today. In case you haven’t noticed it; you’re early. I was told not to close up for the night until the sun was completely down; we still have nearly half an hour.”
“Oh, it’s not like anyone is going to miss that last half an hour, really. Besides, I doubt the old man’ll care much.”
“Still, it’s best to be safe about these things, you know how grouchy he can get. And with the big day coming up, I’d really rather not take chances.”
At this, Minnow deflated, sliding down the pole she was leaning on slightly, and taking on a sarcastically whining tone of voice. “Ugh, but this place is so boring. There’s nothing but unexplained phenomenons and displays of miraculous ingenuity here!”
Robin chuckled softly, opening up one of the many drawers in the desk they stood behind. “Unexplained to you, maybe. I know exactly how these phenomena work.” For emphasis, they squeezed the stone, then tossed it towards Minnow. Rather than arcing downwards, or really reacting to gravity at all, the ball bounced off of the ceiling before slowing to a stop in midair, much to the delivery girl’s interest. “Here, this oughta keep you entertained in the meantime.” The snide comment went unappreciated, as Minnow was already batting the ball around, watching how it bounced off the floor.
The rest of the work day was, as she had predicted, uneventful, and quickly the two were free, headed to the local eatery. The sun had set, and the streets were illuminated by the same light module Robin knew so well. The light was steady, but much less effective than the sun, leaving the streets between each corner bathed in long shadows. Fortunately, it was a short walk to their destination, and once they entered, they were surprised to see the interior of the corner store lit by the same steady glow. Minnow squinted up at the newly installed ceiling light, emphatically throwing up her arms in mock disgust.
“Gah! You can hardly find any dark spaces anymore! Where are all the shadows meant to sleep?”
“Somewhere where they can pay their way. Until a shadow walks in and orders a drink, they can quit loitering in my tavern.” The owner of said store, Victor, was a nice old man, if somewhat distanced from the modern concepts of social convention, or indeed any real kind of common sense. He was the kind of person who would take anything said to him in stride, no matter how overconfident or bizarre. Predictably, he and Minnow got along swimmingly. “And speaking of loitering, are either of you planning on eating?”
Robin gave a soft, awkward chuckle, and sat down at a small table under one of the windows. “Sorry, sorry, I was just surprised by the light; I don’t remember selling you one.”
Minnow slid into the table’s other seat, and almost instantly started fiddling with one of the window’s panes, which sat loose in the frame. “You’d best not be toying with poor Robin’s feelings, Vick. If I find you’ve been colluding with some other wizard fresh off the boats, they’ll never find the body.” Robin made a quiet scoff that typically accompanied these encounters.
“Nonsense, lass. I would never want to upset a potential customer. I know old Sedgley’s been more secluded than ever, but I still managed to catch him last Saturday.”
Robin blinked, remembering the events of the day in question. “Oh yeah, I would’ve been out then. I was working on a personal creation in the back of the shop. Honestly I’m mostly surprised you caved, old man. It just doesn’t seem like your style.”
“And yours was one of the last few shops in the city with an oil lamp.” Minnow grumbled. “Soon every place in Parm’ll be lit with these rocks.”
“That is, precisely, the point.” Said Robin. “These lights don’t burn, require no fuel, and make no sound. The city would be much safer if they were a standard."
"And they also lose the ambiance of a crackling hearth, half the fun of natural light is knowing it could kill you without a second thought." Minnow said this as if it were a completely logical quality to look for in a person’s lighting appliances, and Vick nodded sagely along with her logical reasoning.
"And besides, with these stones, we'd be able to do so much more than just light buildings. Imagine a networked system of stones that could transmit a voice from one mouth to the entire city. We'd be able to coordinate everyone in the case of an emergency, or have an alarm to sound itself for those sleeping in a burning building! I mean, with the possibility of linked stones alone, we could-"
"Now now, Rob, let's not bore Vick here with your shop talk. What do you wanna eat?" Minnow took Robin by the shoulder, easing their mind as they suddenly remembered why they were here.
"Ah. Hm, yeah, that’s right. What do you have, Vick?"
"Not much on the market today, just some fish. We do have a nice haddock, that oughta get the both of you fed."
"Then we'll take it. And if you could wrap up a yam as well, I'll bring it back for Sedgley."
"Y'know if you keep bringin him nothin but sweets, he'll keep eatin nothing but sweets, right?"
"I'm entirely aware, just as I’m aware it's not my problem to monitor his diet. I'm his apprentice, not his maid." besides, thought Robin, it'll make a nice bribe.
"Well, I won't argue with more business! That fish'll be ready for ya right quick!" Vick dipped into a room behind the counter, disappearing.
~~~
The meal was nice, with Minnow's banter transitioning quickly into a discussion of Robin's research. She didn't know much of the mechanics of enchantments, but she was wholeheartedly passionate about its application, despite her teasing. She had a great deal of insight into how different inductions could be used to improve daily life, coming up with several ideas that neither Robin nor their master would have thought of. Of course, she was also a genuinely fun person to be around, and before they knew it, Robin was waving good night to her in the dusty street.
The shop was devoid of people at the late hour, but full to bursting with objects. Baubles, stones, odds and ends lined every surface, waiting to be sold. Anyone who hadn’t read the sign on the front door would have no way to know that nearly everything on display was enchanted. Robin sighed and tapped the rock affixed to the room’s ceiling, letting the harsh, cool-white light illuminate the room, and then sighed. Today had been successful in terms of sales, which meant that they would need to do a lot of restocking tonight.
That could wait for now. First, they had an appeal to make.
The second floor of the building was much more unkempt, yet also much more spacious. There was no floor between the second and third stories, leaving an open air space with only Robin’s loft to obfuscate the ceiling. A frankly irresponsible number of books piled high on any surface that could be found. Robin glanced with a sigh at a tome that likely cost more than they would make in a year. It had been laid on the floor, next to one of the room's five tables, which were admittedly crowded, open to a page that was most likely relevant to the wizard’s studies at some point in the last week. And just above it all, at an alcove nearly ten feet up the wall containing all the astronomical equipment that Parm’s many markets could offer, sat Sedgley Whittenacre, gazing periodically out of different telescopes and quickly scratching observations in yet another book. He somehow had three of the things balanced on his lap, while writing in a small notebook kept in his hand.
“Canaria’s made a large jump in the past two hours, I expect we’ll see a wave from them by the end of the week.” Said the wizard, not even bothering to glance down at their apprentice.
Sedgley was just about the most stereotypical wizard one could imagine. With his moustache and his spectacles in an eternal war for real estate on his face, and an embroidered vest that had most likely looked good when he had put it on about four days ago, he was a man who hated to be outside of a book, or, indeed, the haven of his workshop.
Robin smiled at the news. “Ah, that’s excellent! I’ve been meaning to talk to you about a new idea for their pins. A rotational activation might do better to avoid complications.”
This got Sedgley’s attention, if also some of his annoyance. “I thought we had discussed this, Robin. You can’t use planetary rotation to lock it in, as the planet is what you’re trying to lock it to. You would be left with a geostationary anchor that’s completely immobile, but of nearly no use to anyone. You know, I made a similar mistake, when I was an apprentice myself. The rock is still there, to this day.”
“I’m aware of that, Sir. I was speaking of rotating the object itself. A ninety-degree rotation towards the north to lock it in place and use as a support.” Robin held back as much tiredness as they could from their voice. The wizard had a habit of explaining points he’d already made. In great detail. As he opened his mouth to repeat the habit, they continued. “Minnow had an idea to address the issue you brought up with transportation. She had mentioned an old trick that sailors used, when they couldn’t get hold of a compass, they set a needle into a piece of bark, and set the bark afloat in a bowl of water, to allow the needle to maintain orientation in a tumultuous environment.”
Sedgley closed their mouth, the sure to be long-winded, condescending response frozen in its tracks. Then, they closed their eyes, cocked their head, and considered. “Now that… That could make the concept applicable. How big of an anchor could you transport in this method?”
Robin cocked their head as well, intentionally in the opposite direction from Sedgley’s. They thought of the scenario, how much wood would be needed to keep a rock afloat, and then how much water would be needed to allow for free rotation. “Not very large, maybe four or five inches in diameter. Enough to allow for experimental applications. It would be a revolution for ladder-building.” Despite Sedgley’s repeated grumblings, Robin still held that there was a safe method for using geo-locked rods to climb to functionally infinite heights.
Sedgley opened their eyes and furrowed their brow at once. “It’s an interesting concept, though I’m still not sold on your idea of application. Say we were to try a wide, flat pin, made perhaps out of iron. Would you be able to make one large enough to anchor a structure?”
Robin thought again. geo-locking an item made it very nearly indestructible, the issue would be distributing the weight enough to avoid the structure collapsing under its own weight. If it could be fashioned into a disc, designed to be lightweight, the pin could be up to a foot in diameter, while still being able to float. With a base like that, if a structure were designed intelligently… “Maybe something small, about the size of a crow’s nest? The size limitation would keep it from being anywhere near as large as you’ve mentioned before, and if anyone wanted to walk on it, they would need a second anchor point to keep it from rotating back ninety degrees and falling, but it’s possible. In fact, with two of these anchors set up in parallel, it could be possible to set up a larger structure, without the worry of axial rotation.”
“It would still be quite revolutionary, I’m sure,” Sedgley interjected. “Write up a proposition for me for tomorrow, and I’ll plan to induce a few discs for testing when this next wave manifests.”
“Ah, actually, I might not be able to do a formal write-up by tomorrow. I’ve still got to restock the store tonight.” Robin was somewhat irked to be interrupted, but even more disheartened to hear the unexpected assignment.
“You had best make it quick work then. You know the gods don’t run by our schedules, and I have to know what all we’re planning to induce well before the wave arrives.” Sedgley turned back to his telescopes, making it clear that the conversation was over.
Robin sighed, the prospect of another late night of writing erasing their stargazing plans. They felt absentmindedly at the baked Yam, still sitting in their front pocket, rethinking their plan to use it as a bribe. Research or not, they would certainly need the energy.
Go back to the first chapter here, or read the next chapter of the story here!