16 - Eyebox and Cigarettes [Cherno]

She took the “eyebox” in hand, fiddling with it for a moment before she got the grey gem to pop out. Slotting in one of the others and pressing the Play button made a simple, but easily readable projection pop out of the lens. It was a block of text; a croaking, authoritative voice spoke the words from an unseen speaker, enunciating as if he were explaining to a brain-damaged inbred.

“...You will work in sections of Jas’raba where you will encounter frequent Anathema hazards, as well as a sizeable Tur’ith Ur-Baneworm population. The purpose of your issued Voidkey is making you able to protect yourself from these hazards and allowing you to carry out the labor which will be required of you where it will be required of you.”

“If you already know what a Voidkey is and what it does, skip ahead. If you already understand the basic mechanics of Thaumaturgy, you may skip the entirety of this Memoryslate; be aware that you will be tested on the basics of Thaumaturgy. ”

There was a pause. The image of that weird three-pronged spike came up, rotating slowly. Upon closer inspection, it was subtly different to the one she had, but the glasses confirmed that it was indeed a Voidkey.

“Voidkeys, as their name implies, act to unlock the door to the void, or to Kenoma. In more specific terms, a Voidkey is a type of graft which permanently unlocks an implantee’s ability to channel Thauma and wield magic in all its forms. Most common Voidkeys, such as yours, will magnify your Thaumic Throughput, Entropy Tolerance, and Entropy Dissipation by a flat amount. This reinforcement will permit you to operate in irradiated environments for short bursts and defend yourself at range without the need for a firearm, even if your natural affinity for magic is low. Do not fight Tur’ith in melee if at all possible and prioritize escape at every opportunity, and seek shelter immediately if you hear a blowout warning.”

“Implantation is safe and relatively painless, such that one can perform it on themselves. In order to implant the Voidkey, simply…”

Krahe’s eyes glazed over as she skimmed through paragraphs upon paragraphs of text detailing a step-by-step implantation process that came down to just activating the thing with a mental impulse and then pushing it into one’s skin. One further paragraph stood out in this section, however. It came right after instructions for removing the Voidkey, which themselves were as simple as willing it to emerge and pulling it when the top of the relic popped out. The stand-out text read:

“You can only have one Voidkey implanted at any given time. Modern production-model Voidkeys have safety features to prevent attempts at multi-implantation, but attempting it with particularly old keys such as the one you were issued will, in simple terms, tear your soul inside-out and send the thinking half careening into Kenoma. So don’t try it.”

Pausing the playback, she took the brass item and did just as instructed, pressing its point into the back of her head as if she were inserting an interface cable. Its point sunk in with only slight resistance, accompanied not by pain but by a pulsing sensation of heat and buzzing in her head. Soon it was all the way in, leaving no physical trace, having disappeared into her body.

The change was immediate; her Entropy gauge and both Anathema gauges showed themselves, grew by a noticeable increment, then shrunk back down before fading out. Her attribute readouts had also changed, now showing the Voidkey’s effects.

[THAUMIC THROUGHPUT: F1+G2]

[ENTROPY TOLERANCE: E3+G2]

[ENTROPY DISSIPATION: F3+G1]

Krahe wondered why the bonuses from her Boons weren’t showing up, but she figured their effects were already factored in and the Voidkey’s effects were being displayed separately due to it being an external, replaceable item… Not unlike quick-replace burner coprocessors she made such heavy use of in her previous life. The more she dealt with this world’s magic, the more it reminded her of just how magical and esoteric many things in her own world had been.

There was more information to be had in the cartridge; three more sections, specifically.

The first was about Thauma, its burning, and Entropy generation, full of warnings. Skimming it at least clarified that puking smoke was, in fact, a normal symptom of pushing well past one’s Entropy Tolerance, revealing the true nature of the process.

It was at this point that she summoned one of the cigarettes into her hand, giving it a look with the Prospector’s Eyes.

[ARRHA CIGARETTE]

[Status:]

Fully Intact (Hand-rolled)

[Details:]

Stress Release G1

Focus Amp H3

Body Energy Amp H1

Mental Energy Amp G1

A moment of consideration.

Krahe flicked it into her mouth before setting it alight with a flick of her thumb, taking a tentative first toke, prepared to stop at any moment if something felt off. The smoke tasted just as the herbs’ scent insinuated, and the effects were just as immediate as she remembered inhalants being. However, it felt nothing like nicotine. The world came into focus and the tension released from her body, filling with an at-ease sense of energy. It felt more like certain high-end energy solutions than the crudeness of nicotine, or at least her tenuous memory of that stimulant.

Smoking and basking in the sun coming through the window, she pressed Play again.

“...In addition to letting Entropy dissipate passively, you will be able to actively expel it by entering an Entropy Purge, wherein you continuously draw in and expel Thauma to flush out the impurities that make up Entropy. Purging is significantly faster than passive dissipation, but it prevents you from burning Thauma for any purpose and it will not end until you are rid of Entropy. Purging also generates visible, easily recognized magical artifacts around you, making it risky in direct combat. The appearance of “Purge Remnants” is determined by your dominant elemental affinity; if you lack one they will take the arsenic-green form of raw magic. Exact details can vary person to person. Should you make the foolish decision to push past your own Entropy Tolerance, your body will enter a state of toxic shock as it scrambles to expel the surfeit of impurities, causing an uncontrolled form of Purge. Entropy will flow from your mouth, eyes, nose, ears, skin, or if you are rather unfortunate, other bodily orifices. This “Meltdown” state takes a form determined by your dominant elemental affinity or lack thereof; without an affinity, it will likely be copper-tasting green sludge. During a meltdown, you will find it difficult or even impossible to move depending on your Durability and Athleticism ratings.”