Magical Engineering [Progression Fantasy, LitRPG] (Book 3 Complete)

"Look, it's just like I told the president. I'm not sure you actually need a full operating room just to put in a simple pacemaker. But I get that this is pretty experimental technology, so I'm willing to follow your lead here. What no one told me, though, was that I'd be operating on one of them," the doctor said, disgust in his voice as he came to the last sentence.

I appreciated that the doctor considered Roberts still to be the president. It gave me a sense of where he stood on the GPA. Hopefully, this whole excursion wouldn't get him in too much trouble. Though if it did, I'd make them regret it. His dislike of Rabyn was understandable.

"I know, I know, Rabyn is an Orc, and the Orcs invaded the planet. Trust me, he's different. I wouldn't be here asking this if he weren't. He was also the one most willing to risk his life trying this surgery before we test it on the others that need the same thing," I replied.

We were all sitting inside a small, very full conference room discussing what needed to be done. Rabyn had immediately jumped at the idea of going first, not wanting anyone else to take the risk before he did. If this was successful, we'd return the next day with the other three. Though the Twinoges would present a more unique challenge.

The doctor took a deep breath before responding. "I will take your word for it, though I suppose even if it weren't true, I would still operate. Duty before moral offenses and all that. What I need to know, though, is how his biology works. I am, after all, only familiar with one kind of biology, human."

That problem was what had forced a day's delay on us as Pryte convinced Scalestone to give us more of her time. She wasn't entirely behind the concept, especially as her specialty was in the Spiral's version of obstetrics, but when we explained the entire situation to her, she relented.

At least she did after a long, curse-filled rant. It was full of her own promises to stop any future baby thieves herself if it ever came to it. The rage in her voice reminded me of my own that first day.

"Yes, I assume that is why they called for my help," Doctor Scalestone said, speaking up for the first time since we had all made our way to the hospital. "While hearts aren't my area of expertise, I can at least tell you that the Orc physiology isn't that far off from a Human, especially as far as we will need to work. The real trick will be tying the leads into his mana channels when you won't be able to visualize them on a basic level."

"Yes, that much has been said several times. How exactly do we plan to overcome that part anyway?" he asked.

"I'm going to be your eyes. While we do this, I will be reading out loud from a book. It will be important that you don't fight any presence you feel coming from me. Just try to let the extra sensory feelings settle onto yourself and work with them," Elody explained.

"Well, no matter how this goes, it will be one for the medical journals, assuming those still exist once you're done taking over the planet," the doctor replied, looking less nervous than his words would otherwise suggest. If anything, he seemed like he was excited at the prospect of being the first to put his talents to use on one of the newer species on Earth.

"How soon can we start? I want to be in control of myself again." Rabyn's anger and defeat both came through strongly from the tone of his words.

"Normally, I'd ask what you've eaten today, but if I'm understanding what I'm reading here correctly, your digestion system doesn't really work the same way once you form a core. Is that correct, Doctor Scalestone?" the human doctor asked, shuffling through papers in front of him.

"It is Doctor Ivalu. I'm aware of the issues with leftover food and complications during surgery. I've seen a few such cases in children before it was safe to infuse any magic into them, but with an adult Orc such as Rabyn, it shouldn't be an issue. But I'll be standing by to assist as best I can should anything arise," she answered.

"Alright, considering what you said to the soldiers when you arrived, we likely need to get this done as soon as we can anyway. Nurse, if you could start prepping Rabyn. I think I have everything I need. I'll scrub in shortly," Doctor Ivalu said, closing the folder in front of him before he stood up.

He had a point about the possible issues with the military. Interestingly, there had yet to be a counterattack attempted on the city, and while we had some defenses in place, it was still a looming worry. The fact that there was an increased presence of soldiers in the largest cities in Alaska told me they weren't just idly standing by either. Something was being prepared, so yes, it was better to get ourselves done with the hospital as soon as possible.

Though the question of how long I was willing to leave a city under any sort of military occupation like this burned in the back of my brain. We'd need to explore how the people felt before any direct action was taken. There was also the fact that we likely didn't have the strength to defend a city the size of Anchorage if we had to. Even so, I disliked the GPA flexing its strength over people just trying to live their daily lives.

As both doctors left the room, a nurse led Rabyn away while another nurse shepherded us to a room that overlooked the area where the surgery would be performed. Hopefully, Elody would be able to handle her portion of it from here, but as she wasn't complaining, I figured we were likely in good shape as far as that went.

"It's been a very long time since I watched a surgery," Oscar said as he took a seat in the front row.

There were dozens of other people in attendance. Word must have spread fast, and I could see why. The onlookers wanted to see the first surgery of its type. For all they knew, this could become something commonplace in the future. Hell, it really might. I had no idea what would happen as we continued down the path of combining Earth tech with Spiral magic.

Rabyn

Something odd was going on inside his body. He had felt the strange gas affect him, and for a brief moment, it had rendered him unconscious like they had claimed it would, but his awareness had soon returned.

At least it somewhat had. He wasn't actually awake in the room they had rolled him into. What he thought had happened was a soul separation, but it wasn't something he had ever experienced before, to be sure. All he really had to go on was Dave's description of the events, but it seemed to line up reasonably well.

All around him, pathways lit up in blindingly bright colors. Was he looking at his own mana channels? How was that possible? Was their attempt to interfere with the soul knot causing this?

Wait, if he could see all his channels, could he see the destination of the soul knot? If he could find where it terminated, that could greatly aid them in removing it. But how much time did he have to chase down these lines? There were so many of them.

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

He tried taking a deep breath to calm himself, only to realize his body didn't exist in a way that would make that possible. That realization was enough to bring his mind to a state of peace. If his body didn't exist, that meant he was in control. There was no biology limiting him. This was his space, and he would find what he needed to find.

It was as though that force of will had been all he needed to guide him. There, in front of him, clear as day was the line that led to the knot. He followed it, intent on seeing just what this looked like.

Strangely, right before he reached the knot, he found a splice. There was a second line off his soul channel, and it had nothing to do with the soul knot as far as he could tell. Where had that come from?

Putting the thought aside for the moment, he continued his consciousness forward toward the knot itself. He needed to examine it while he could. The problem was that once he reached it, he realized there was nothing to examine. All he could see was a tightly tied knot.

His soul channel seemed to end somewhere within it. That, of course, wasn't possible. But whatever the jesters had done to hide the connection, it was still veiled from him even here. Then why the hell was he here?

Damn, it was the other line. Was there still time before he woke up? He moved back to the split as quickly as he could, finding it just where he left it. He could already feel his mind starting to be pulled back. He had to move quick.

As his thoughts raced down the line of his soul energy, the strange world around him became less and less clear. But he had to hold on. He needed to see what was at the other end of this. He was sure it was important. Why else would he be here? Fate had again placed a goal in front of him, and he would not be found lacking!

Just as his mind finally started to relent to the force ripping him away from this dreamworld, he spotted something connecting to his soul channel. It was the coin. And attached to the coin, a new green line flowed from it. The last thing he was able to glimpse as his physical eyes opened was several shadowy figures sitting around a table. Had they been human?

"Well, the good news is he's awake, and I believe the procedure was a success," the human doctor said, his voice cutting through some of the haze.

Rabyn, though, was too focused on the new mystery of the coin to fully take in the words. He was sure he had seen something important, but what he had no idea.

Pryte

"So you're sure the last time you saw her, she was on her way to the Grundeling Alliance?" Pryte asked the giant.

While Dave worked on the soul knots, he and Roberts had gone in search of Laura. They had a lot of things they needed to move on quickly, so splitting their resources was the ideal solution at this point. So far, he was pleasantly surprised with how the man was handling his first trip off-world.

"Yes, she was very determined that she could solve a mineral rights issue we had been having, as long as we agreed to share some of the minerals with Earth. And considering how amazing she's done so far at this, who was I to argue? I've rarely met anyone as capable as her," Tomta answered.

"Neither had I. She was instrumental in our early attempts to put the government back together," Roberts added.

"Damn, I don't want to interrupt that meeting." Pryte sighed, looking around the room. "But if we are here, might as well get some other things out of the way. How secure is this room?"

"Very, but if you need it be more…" Tomta trailed off as something clicked from under the table and a hum went up around the room. The walls vanished into a black formless void, leaving only the table and the three people at it left in the center of the room.

"Okay, now this is impressive. I had no idea you had a null room setup," Pryte's said at the sight.

He was, in fact, severely downplaying his shock. He had only seen a null room twice before in his life, and those had been used in the upper levels of the Spire for some very high-level faction meetings. How had Tomta managed to afford this?

"Yes, this device was one of the secrets to our long-fought victory. Many of my people died to obtain it, but it made it possible to plan our battles in true secrecy. Now tell me what it is that has you here without Dave," Tomta said, giving the gnome a small knowing smile.

That Tomta was able to read the situation was not at all a surprise to him. There was no way the man would have ever become a king and held this faction together as strongly as he had if there hadn't been a cunning brain inside the giant's skull. And considering the reputation giants often had, he was sure Tomta used that expectation to his advantage.

"Alexandria was attacked by jesters less than a week ago. And while the losses were minimal, the 'best' was able to escape with Dave's grandson," Pryte explained.

"So war then? How many men do you need?" Tomta replied, not missing a beat with the offer.

That again had not been something Pryte expected. It wasn't the usual way things were done in the Spiral. There was nothing Tomta could gain from the offering, other than the Empire of Dave's gratitude, which they already had. The giant was an interesting man, and Pryte found himself wishing he knew him better.

"I'm not sure a direct war is what's needed just yet. Dave will almost certainly appreciate the sentiment, though. A group of our people, Mel amongst them, have gone after the 'best'. If anyone can catch them, it's likely to be him. The last I heard, Yorela had already found Captain Squidlen and launched for chaotic space," Pryte replied, killing any plans for war, at least for now.

"Still, I dislike the idea of the jesters being free in the Spiral. They should not be able to come and go, even to newly integrated universes like that. It reeks of some deeper rot within the Spire itself," Tomta said, twisting his head just slightly as he spoke.

Pryte was again surprised. He knew what the giant was doing, but only from the look of it. He felt nothing. The fact that the man could scan the truth of his words without him feeling it was impressive.

"Yeah, that's been the general direction all the conversations on the topic have taken. But we have no idea why we seem to be so deeply involved in it," Pryte replied, doing his best to ignore the scan he couldn't feel.

"There is something at play within the larger factions. I've suspected it for a while. With the soul oaths failing, the delayed expansion, and now this competition, it's becoming more and more obvious to anyone who cares to see it," Tomta said, his head returning to its original position. Whatever he had seen in Pryte hadn't stopped the conversation.

"It seems like you are about as caught up as we are on the events," Pryte replied. There was, of course, a lot more speculation they had done, but they had very few additional facts that he could add to the king's pile of suspicions.

"When Laura returns, I think it might be time for a few of us to have a true war council meeting safely in this room. With whatever is looming, we need to be on the same page. And again, please tell Dave I am deeply sorry for his loss, and that if there is anything we can feasibly do, all he needs is to ask." Tomta said these new words with a deep authority that seemed to seal themselves into Pryte's mind.

He wasn't entirely familiar with the ability that had just been used on them, but he was sure it was meant to counter any mind tampering. This was likely something the empire would need to invest in themselves, as right now, all that stood between them and mind readers was a hope and a prayer.

That wasn't entirely true, of course. He doubted anyone could easily read his own mind. The same likely held true for Timon or Dave. And Mel, being a Cloudform, was naturally near impossible. He wasn't sure about the rest, though, and that was something to add to his ever-growing list.

"We appreciate everything. I'll talk to Dave about a potential meeting, and I should have an answer by the time Laura is back. Thank you for seeing us on such short notice," Pryte said to the king.

"It was my pleasure," he replied.

Roberts

He wasn't sure exactly why Pryte had wanted him to come alone, but he could guess at part of it. Telling him as much as they had about other worlds, and even what he had seen on Earth, could only go so far. By forcing him along, he had been made to truly grasp the scale of what they were now involved in.

This wasn't so simple as a conflict between different nations on Earth. They now existed as a very small dot within an infinite sea of other species, planets, and universes, and even if Stephen could understand that on a purely logical level, it would take time for it to settle deeply into his mind. Everything had changed. He would also need to change.

Change is not constant. Growth is not a requirement of being a man. A firm understanding of the reality as it exists is what truly makes a man. Laws exist to further the betterment of those who grasp these basic concepts. A rigid firm upbringing is how we build a perfect society.

Words found inscribed in a meeting place for the Paladins of Fascism