章 85: 85. Tek Replicator

Year nine, day 197, 26th July of the year 2163.

Today was the day of several thousand hours of the most complex and difficult work, the culmination of years of planning, effort, tears, and blood from one man but not only that were accumulated toward one goal and one goal only.

This goal was toward survival and a prosperous future and so much more, and this goal was in the shape of a machine that would be considered divine by many such as its appearance and capabilities.

But this machine was incomplete, not for long however the man who had poured his essence of life in the most literal sense and it was more than this, this machine was an extension of his body be it of living metal or flesh.

The pairs of eyes of a select few invited to this remote island were focused on what was happening, in those individuals who were the most important figures such as the Olo'eyktan of the Omatikaya and the Olangi. No children were present, it did not matter that concerned them in a way that would be fruitful for this day.

The Avatar of the All-Mother within them was gazing as well at the scene, her presence not a shock as all here had seen her or had been calmed down by her forcibly.

There was no need for hysteria and as such she had acted, her mate's agreement was of course in the equation behind such an action that was morally dubious even the ones that had their consciousness transferred were not exempt from this.

They were now partially part of her; the only ones she could not influence to any great extent were the humans. And they did not, could not grasp what she was so for them she was a strange Na'vi with great importance and not a goddess.

The gathering of this select individual had their focus entirely taken by the scene unfolding in front of them. Above a flat smooth surface bordering on a cliff where the flora became absent was a massive structure of peerless metal and unknown material reflecting a surreal hue of light that was unnatural.

The edifice was in the form of a fractal of a skeleton sphere, two massive feet digging into the ground, between them was a complex structure that developed into a curved pillar, the whole was the size of a four-story building.

But what was important was what was shifting within, hundreds of fragment metallic pieces shifting and floating around at great speed. Following the edict of two cannon-shaped structures and the weaving of the silvery gauntlets glowing a pale blue around the hand of the man at the heart of it all.

An extremely tall broad-shoulder mountain of a human male standing at 2.56 meters (~8ft4), he was at the very front of this crowd and the one who invited all of them but one, his mate who was always here. This was the man who poured his entire being to build what was in front of him.

His face was set in stone with an expression of joy and solemness, his silver irises ceaselessly dilated and contracted focusing on the infinitely complex task at hand, his heart beating at a speed that would kill a normal man even more so with how powerful each contractions of the organ were to such was how happy he was…

Happy and relieved but it wasn't a victory just yet, it was only the beginning. The true start was only now.

The intensity of his focus and emotion could be seen through the capillaries of his eyes red constantly shifted to a neon blue and purple, his iris glowing while his specimen implant growing out of his left arm was of a burning orange as the hologram seemed to solidly and if the skin around could be seen what would meet the eyes would be a sight of veins bulging and pulsing with same glow. held a similar appearance.

He was akin to a maestro conducting the tempo of an impossibly long and complex symphony of an orchestra, each piece floating and humming at a certain frequency that affected both mind and body as he began to build them into solid structures in the form of three massive rings.

Fragments plainly incompatible in shape and size with one another moved in a controlled direction impacting other fragments then they melded together forming an unnaturally smooth surface.

As more fragments connected a massive ring frozen in the air formed and as it did complex set runs and symbols alien and mystical in appearance came to life upon all of its surfaces. The lines' deep blue shine was almost hypnotic, it captivated the eyes of the beholders witnessing it.

Then a second smaller ring began its formation as the rune upon the first deemed, a similar scene unfolded for the second as the first, then came the third after the rune of the second deemed and the cycle repeated one last time for the third, smallest and last of the ring composed of mysterious technology.

The three rings were parallel to one another hovering in the air, staying completely still even after the man who built it all took off his gauntlets and deactivated the two magnetic beam emitters behind him.

With a confident stride, he approached his creation with palpitation in his heart, his ethereal silver eyes glowing ever so slightly as he studied the epitome of his effort for his survival and that of everyone given physical form.

His left hand trailed delicately upon the outer ring surface, he felt the warily smooth surface under his calloused fingers but also that of his own calloused fingertips upon that of the machine that was as much a part of his being than this very same hand he was using.

It was a strange feeling, his true body was not that of the man he was but of his specimen implant, a highly advanced piece of technology containing his Engramic Matrix, his Mind, Soul, and Consciousness, or whatever other synonym to refer to these three.

This same implant was glowing brighter, the veins pulsing of blue and purple around clear for him to see. Another facet of his being that he would not be able to change from progressing he didn't know how to and if trying to stop what was inevitable was even a good idea. Here however it was not how his left wrist and eyes looked in normal times.

It was enhanced to unprecedented height, the sheer amount of Element in his inventory flowed in his body and his emotion. The reasons for this he presumed, and Tek as well. It had been an unknown amount of time since contact was made with this technology.

Walking back seven steps he lifted one hand and spoke, his voice deep and rumbling but with strange echoes, "Put on the eye and ears protection I have given you."

At his words, all acted and followed his instruction in a heartbeat. A large smile grew upon his face to an inhuman degree as he felt the empathetic bond with his mate increase in intensity, Anticipation was rising, and all of his work since day one was going to pay off.

Closing his eyes and breathing deeply he gazed at the four-story tall machine, and at his will, the rings began to spin, each in their own axis at varying speed, their 'runes' lit up brightly.

At this signal crackling of pure white electricity zapped into existence, they condensed at the heart of the smallest ring into a ping pong-sized ball of pure primordial energy, its density and temperature never seen within the universe since time immemorial.

Then this sphere multiplied in size exponentially until it occupied a third of the smaller ring diameter and they stopped growing, its color shifted as hexagons of light materialized all around.

It was a kaleidoscope of colors for all to see, light from the two suns in the sky being around while the world seemed to reject what was inside but couldn't, such a sight enough to render more than one dizzy and this was without taking into consideration the sound emitted.

A long mechanical distorted purr of depth that would send chills down anyone's spine. It was akin to staring into a star that was both dying, forming, and living and untold more. One would lose themselves staring for too long or be too curious wanting to touch it.

"Holy mother of God, Liam what have you made… Thi-this is beyond… This is impossible.", Grace was the first to speak, her eyes wide and ears folding back as her words were mixed with shock, terror, and marvel.

Her reaction was not unique as others shook up their very core, Akwey feeling his knee-weakening at what his eyes captured, It was the creation of a god nothing short of divine could explain what was unfolding. The contact of who Liam was anchoring itself deeply into their heart.

But some were calmer than others, notably Eywa who was looking curiously at what her mate had done. It was beautiful beyond words and it was his creation, an extension of his being. What could she do but admire his beauty and magnificence?

Less calm but calmer than most was Katherine whose stupefaction and astonishment with a hint of fear were evident yet she was more composed than others and the one to reiterate Grace's question.

"What… Is this?", she lacked the words to describe it but her question that all we're asking themselves didn't stay unanswered for long

"The culmination of almost a decade of work from me and you as well even if you couldn't have known, this is a Tek Replicator, a machine that generates a temporary dimension for me to control and uses as a station to do as I please. It is no weapon of mass destruction however, it is a highly advanced tool of incomprehensible precision made for the expected purpose of creating.", Liam explained turning toward them, the glow in his eyes and implant having receded to the point only a close-up inspection would let anyone notice them.

His being was oozing with pride, joy, and more to a degree it scared some but his positive emotions were almost contagious, and his words as insane as they sounded were but the truth. The proof standing right behind him.

"This… This explains so much. This is why you did all this… This isn't of human or mortal creation, this can't be. A miniature universe… Was this a Big Bang?", Grace said with hesitation her eyes altering from him to the machine, She instinctively understood how important for them all this structure was.

"Yes and no Grace. It would take weeks to begin explaining in detail but you can take it as is, a Big Bang of infinitely small proportion and slightly different properties, a pocket of space cut off from reality and shaped to be used as a framework. As for its nature, it is Tek, and it depends on your view of what humans are philosophically speaking. This technology will be key to our survival, nay victory, English fails me to words its sheer versatility and potential.", he said with the highest and most sincere confidence as he gazed upon the groups of individuals that assisted him and that without them he wouldn't have advanced this fast.

There was a pending silence, the sound of space distorting by the Tek Replicator with that of the wind produced as what he just said took root within their minds. Not even the tiniest amount of doubt flashed in the eyes of his audience. If one thing could describe him would be truthfulness and directness and this wouldn't have suddenly changed now.

Even less so with the little show he was giving them. Though none understood how this machine worked and they never will, Liam didn't understand it fully as well, his brain unable to comprehend its higher function in their truest essence.

It didn't solely operate on this plane of reality and as being of this same plane, to a large extent he simply couldn't grasp it all but that was something he would fix in due time. He wasn't omniscient.

"Tsu'tey steps forward.", Liam asked, surprising the Na'vi in question who did just as asked, stopping a few meters in front of the silver-eyed man who was almost as tall as him.

Liam extended his left hand toward the Tek Replicator confusing all but they refrained from speaking. The machine was already filled with resources before its completion, the subspace of it located at its back and connected to the one Liam letting an exchange happen whenever he is in the correct range.

It was one storage method of two, the first a stabilized subspace partially cut off from the rest of the universe, it had its own time flow and could hold a set amount of mass in a set amount of space with multiple variations. Simple in concept but not in execution.

The second was an even more complex thought, if the last could be considered magic then this one was godly. It was the virtualization of physical and metaphysical objects into pure data that could be reversed into its original state of being, be the object alive or inert. It mattered little at the end, all was but a form of data to be stored.

But it required an extensive amount of energy to be activated and kept stable, it required more than a single machine to be set for it to be used reliably and safely as well. It was an entire mega network to be set in place for it to work as intended.

Otherwise, it would be risking the object virtualized to be lost either by simple deletion or corruption leading to the data becoming obsolete and irreversible to its original state of being…

A terrifying end for whomever or whatever was unlucky enough to suffer this fate, the latter being much worse as it would still be possible to be alive and even conscious for what little of the original would be left. It wasn't a toy or a technology to be taken lightly.

That is for its normal uses, it wasn't a video game anymore, and there were no silly arbitrary limits in the name of balance and fair play. Here all of Liam's viciousness to ensure his survival and that of who he holds as important could do as it pleased.

This aside, this wasn't the only 'godly' or 'magical' aspect of Tek. Storages were but a fraction of it all.

"This is a Tek Phase Pistol, I will do a practical example of what it can do, do not panic.", Liam declared as in his left hand materialized a high-tech, futuristic handgun of sleek metal with thin blue light around its barrel and two battery-like protrusion where the hammer should be.

A piercing caw echoed the second after as a red tetrapteron, Meri, was carrying a basketball-sized sphere made of reinforced carbon matrix composite, and as the four-winged featherless bird dove down it used the generated force to throw the sphere diagonally toward the sky.

The sphere moved higher and higher until a straight pure pale orange beam of esoteric plasma slammed into it, its speed reduced to the point of nothingness as all its kinetic energy was dissipated into the air and back into potential energy. But that only two understood.

Gravity took its full effect as it fell but it would never land, the gun physically shifted the blade-like extension around the barrel switching down as the light that had turned to a pale orange from blue earlier switched again but this time it was of a crimson red.

A plasma beam of this same color took the place of the last and upon contact with the sphere something quite similar to the mining drill he showed years ago at the inauguration of the Lesser Replicator however this beam effect was faster to the point it seemed instantaneous but its goal was not to collect resources.

Its goal was simple, destruction, utter, and total destruction, and it did so by breaking down nearly all matter that entered into contact at varying speeds depending on how much the pistol was charged to its more basic components if highly ionized ones.

Liam head then turned to Tsu'tey and by his will the pure black skin prosthesis that served the Na'vi as a way to use his permanently damaged body by third-degree burns crawled away revealing the body-wide scars of those burns on the exposed skin. Half of his body was covered in those scars.

"Do not panic everyone specifically for you, Tsu'tey. This will not hurt at most, it will be a warm and pleasant tickle.", Liam said with a warm smile on his face.

His words were bringers of distress and confusion in all but one, his mate who knew what would happen as the post-human aimed the Tek Phase Pistol at his friend's scarred chest, the crimson light switching for a forest green while the barrel spread open.

Then without any kind of hesitation, fear, or regret he pressed the trigger.

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