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Morty knows he shouldn't be screwing around with multidimensional shit. It's dangerous, it's impractical, it's blah blah blah. But it's a potential key to unlimited energy, how does nobody see that? He's built a dimensional siphon (it kind of looks like a cardboard box with a funnel and a TI-84 taped to it, but it damn well works), keyed in the dimensional coordinates to a random plane, and by God he's going to use it.
He flips the switch and waits for the energy bar to fill up.
It does! It fills up very rapidly. Then it explodes, along with the box. There's rather more smoke than there should be, and once the smoke clears someone is standing there.
"Oh dear," Morty says faintly.
Flicker at Whateley
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point_b
Bella goes across the grove, about twenty feet away, maintaining concentration on her globe.
in-like-a
It pops with her!
"Neat! I guess it's an object for teleportation purposes? Or maybe it's just, like, a part of you or something."
"Neat! I guess it's an object for teleportation purposes? Or maybe it's just, like, a part of you or something."
point_b
"Well, now I'll see if I can leave it behind, that'll distinguish." She goes five feet to the left and does not bring the globe with her. "Object."
point_b
"Yeah." Bella makes the globe go around her in a lazy circle. Then she lets it go, returns to her book, peers at the description for red, checks her bracelet, and casts a red light caaaaarefully.
in-like-a
And there is a red light!
"The red one's always pretty when it's saturated," Ariel says. "It's a good shade."
"The red one's always pretty when it's saturated," Ariel says. "It's a good shade."
point_b
"Christmasy," pronounces Bella. "This is going faster than I was expecting."
point_b
"I'm not comparing myself to some standard level of skill at the stuff. I have no way of knowing that, I have no classmates per se. I mean, I was assigned to pick up two variants and warned to space it out, and I've just done it, albeit not the harder version of it I had in mind, in less than half an hour. Am I being stupidly profligate with my Essence, will it not be all back this time tomorrow if I meditate after dinner for a good long while? Is the optional part of the assignment going to take me all year? Is Circe trying to be gentle with me because classes will be underway tomorrow? Is she still judging my speed and it'll get harder come next week?"
in-like-a
"Your Essence will be fine. The optional part of the assignment will definitely take longer than this if you don't want yourself covered in evil wind-up chattering teeth; if you want to learn the sparkler variant, same to that. As to the last two, probably a bit of both. Also, I think she might quietly expect you not to stop at learning two color variants. Based on how you're an ambitious type and all."
point_b
"Okay, it makes perfect sense if she expects me to use the leeway productively, because if she keeps giving me leeway I will obviously do that."
in-like-a
"Yeah. If you had super unexpected trouble with econ or something, it'd be good to leave you the option of just getting red and blue down so you don't rip your hair out, but Circe gets a handle on people quick."
point_b
"My confusion is resolved." Bella writes down the experiment with the teleportation. "I believe I shall have a look at the sparks variant until I drop below, oh, six by wrist-thingy, and then see how fast I recover." She turns to the sparks variant.
in-like-a
The sparks variant is a good deal more complex! Instead of the single area of variance of the colors, there are several magical widgets that have to be adjusted to change the nature of the spell. The book does a remarkably competent job of explaining the bizarre multidimensional adjustments in two dimensions and text.
For this version there's also an included gesture and incantation, including instructions for how to modify the spell not to need them. The modified version looks absolutely hellish.
For this version there's also an included gesture and incantation, including instructions for how to modify the spell not to need them. The modified version looks absolutely hellish.
point_b
Bella does carefully read the hellish version. It certainly would be more useful, strictly speaking.
But she is new at this - and also, gesturing and incanting is undeniably more wizardy.
She takes her time, lovingly sculpting her wad of magic, and then gestures and incants.
But she is new at this - and also, gesturing and incanting is undeniably more wizardy.
She takes her time, lovingly sculpting her wad of magic, and then gestures and incants.
in-like-a
She receives a ball of sparks! But they're suspended in a slightly glowy substrate, and they move sluggishly. After a few moments they give up the ghost and fall into a glittery pile at the bottom of the globe.
"Aww. Yeah, the movement's the hardest part of that one. And you've gotta make sure the visibility on the sphere itself doesn't pop back while you're not looking."
"Aww. Yeah, the movement's the hardest part of that one. And you've gotta make sure the visibility on the sphere itself doesn't pop back while you're not looking."
point_b
"Hmmm, okay..." Bella re-reads the bit about the movement widget, and then does it again, double-checking the adjustment for sphere visibility immediately before her cast.
in-like-a
The movement is faster, and it doesn't cut out, but it's uneven, which it isn't really supposed to be. And the sparks are duller than before.
Also, her widget is telling her that she's at 5.93.
Also, her widget is telling her that she's at 5.93.
point_b
"Okay, that's my threshold dipped below, I'll have to fix it tomorrow," sighs Bella. "It's very tempting to keep poking it until I figure out what's wrong with my sparkler. Oh well. I will read things and meditate."
in-like-a
"It's hard to keep it all in line until you get used to it. It's impressive that you're getting it this quickly, really. I mean, this is your first day doing actual magic."
in-like-a
"I can't get all that excited about magic, because I grew up with it? But it is so cool."
point_b
"I mean, Alli doesn't seem to get what the difference between this and our sixteenth birthday is, and I can't very well explain it yet because today all I can do is make insubstantial Christmas ornaments that disappear if I stop paying attention to them. But it took sixteen years to get my gemini stuff. In sixteen more years I will be so much better at this."
in-like-a
"Oh, totally. Choice between magic and my powers... I actually don't know in my case. But choice between magic and your powers, definitely magic. Your powers are cool, but magic."
point_b
"...I mean, I am not yet sure how efficiently I will be able to use magic to save one and a half million people, especially given the annoying thing about magic abhorring gifts, so I'm not sure it's that clear cut, but being able to do that even with flickering was kind of a fluke, so perhaps."