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Several meta layers up, there is a... room.
As a courtesy to those of its occupants who prefer rooms, it does have a modality in which it presents itself that way: a room, with as many chairs as it needs, and a bulletin board, and a vending machine with candy and chips and concepts sold for nothing to anyone with the right prerequisites.
On the bulletin board, if one chooses to perceive it as a bulletin board (and not as a wiki or a flower or an ineffable cloud of information or an eternally malleable clay tablet) people whose only common trait is that they get to come here leave each other notes.
Notes about physics, about magic, about grand sweeps of narrative. Notes from people desperate to fix a never-ending heap of problems, smug about the condition of their homes, curious about the wider omniverse. Signed with names and sigils and "you ought to know who I am". Terse or verbose or nested with as much meaning as interests the reader.
In the vending machine, if one chooses to perceive it as a vending machine (and not a basket or a fruiting tree or a file repository or a crystalline fractal) are many things... and they have notes connecting them to their reviews on the bulletin board.
This one, for instance. She (it's usually, but not invariably, a she) has fairly glowing reviews from most of her previous purchasers. Here is what you need to install her; here are some things that are recommended for best results but optional especially if you just want to use her as a beacon for her other instances; here are some things she comes with as add-ons you can take or leave; here is what she is good for. The reviewers who don't like her are annoyed that theirs was too good at it, if you read between the lines. Well, that and the fact that if your universe is unpleasant enough sometimes these critters figure out how to flip you off and leave before they figure out how to solve all your problems. (There is a tangent thread about alternative solutions to similar problems which come bundled with stronger irrational attachment to their homes, but they have more stringent installation requirements.)
They come in these colors and styles; you will need to compensate for the following standard-issue drawbacks in some way if you require services of them that intersect with those areas of disability; they are only rated for upbringings of the following severity and are less likely to hate you if you stay thoroughly under that limit and less likely to fail at important goals if they are given opportunity to self-educate; if you have a way to generate them as instant adults they can begin work immediately but on the standard trajectory age six is the absolute earliest and teens is customary...
There is a chart (if one chooses to perceive it as a chart) of template interactions that have been tried before, but a lot of the more interesting accessory and companion templates are out-of-network for some visitors. What a pity.
asteptotheright
"There are spells that can temporarily give someone wings," he confirms. "How do you know she didn't cast anything?"
giftedandtalented
"I was looking right at her and she didn't say or do anything between not having them and having them."
giftedandtalented
"I don't think my mother's been systematically lying to me my whole life, but I did say mostly, anyway, I'm also the last person God's directly spoken to since 1926."
asteptotheright
"...I suspect that, whatever else, you are not the first person who thought God was speaking to them directly since 1926."
giftedandtalented
"Yes, that's certainly true. Gosh, this is sure going to be difficult, convincing anybody I'm not making things up. Look, what would you expect me to be able to do to prove it in the case that I am actually the second coming of Christ, help me out."
asteptotheright
"...Raise my mother from the dead," he says thoughtfully. "Although if you can't I suppose that's not proof that you aren't, given that Jesus had the bodies of Lazarus and the Pharisee's daughter when he brought them back."
giftedandtalented
"I'm also twelve. I don't have that much oomph yet. Or a good way to ask her if she'd rather be here than in Heaven."
asteptotheright
"There is that. If you could get me a message from her that contained information such that I would have reason to believe it was, in fact, a message from her, that would also suffice. But since such a thing is apparently not currently in your repertoire..." he closes his eyes and tilts is head back. Wryly: "Can you make me immune to demons' influences? That would have come in handy a few months ago, but better late than never."
giftedandtalented
"Maybe. I've never tried it before. It helps if I do my own detail work so hopefully you could tell me more about what kind of demon influence you want to hedge out or at least how you're planning to test it. And I'd also want to know that it would actually suffice for proof and that you'd be helpful with my projects if you believed me. I don't object in principle to giving presents, especially ones like that, but I have limited resources."
asteptotheright
"No one thus far has figured out how to negate the influence of a Demon of the Seven Deadly Sins, or I would have done it, and the embarrassing incident would never have occurred. If I go home, summon a demon and instruct it to make me angry or lustful or hungry or what have you and the relevant emotions do not noticeably intensify--and I repeat the test enough times to be satisfied it is not merely recalcitrant demons--then I shall be satisfied that this has happened. Demons influence you by taking ahold of the relevant urge and multiplying it."
asteptotheright
"Then," he says thoughtfully, "I suppose I assist you. To whatever extent I deem unlikely to recklessly endanger myself or my sister."
giftedandtalented
"I guess that will have to do. Lemme think."
She thinks about protecting people from demonic influence. It seems like it should be easier than most things; it's just not letting stuff in via a certain channel. She knows a little about how demons work, although the ones she's met never have tried to influence her. How much will it take...?
She thinks about protecting people from demonic influence. It seems like it should be easier than most things; it's just not letting stuff in via a certain channel. She knows a little about how demons work, although the ones she's met never have tried to influence her. How much will it take...?
giftedandtalented
Miracle!
"There you go! That took less out of me than I was expecting. Do you know anyone else who needs to be protected from demonic influences? The demons I've met are nice but I know they're unusual."
"There you go! That took less out of me than I was expecting. Do you know anyone else who needs to be protected from demonic influences? The demons I've met are nice but I know they're unusual."
asteptotheright
"Not off the top of my head. The incident a few months ago was a half demon who has since then been appraised of their heritage and learned to control their powers."
giftedandtalented
"Okay. Please don't be terrible to the demons you summon. There are nice ones, and even the nasty ones would have had a very hard time trying to be better and it's not all their fault. You're probably a good enough mage that I don't have to warn you to be careful."
asteptotheright
"I've survived seven hundred years. I know to be careful. And, for the record--part of being careful is not being terrible. People who are terrible to summoned demons tend to die as soon as one manages to get out of the circle." He says it as an instructor would, not as a correction or chide.
giftedandtalented
"A couple, yes. My mother found some who've been living on Earth for a while and are nice."