318 Science and Magic 3 (1/2)
One month from the Sealing of the Rift, ambient mana had dropped back to what it was before the Rift was blown open by Sirs Jared and Fate. It was at that point that the leaders of the nations finally began to admit publicly that declining mana wasn't just a temporary phenomenon and that previous easy use of magic might never, ever come back.
As for the whole issue about Spatial Rifts and the Spectres… that was still questionable whether such things even existed or happened, and would, of course, not be made known publicly regardless of whether it was real in the first place. No, people had real problems which needed real solutions, not some far-away fairy-tale legend about endless mana and the monsters guarding it. Only a few senile old geezers would believe such a story.
”Is there nothing we can do?” As mana became even more unthinkably expensive and half the medical equipment in the hospital was left unused due to sheer cost, Phoebe found herself on edge and gritting her very nice teeth.
”Short of unsealing the Rift and letting the Spectres overrun the world? Not really. It's the end of mana for this world.” Remian shook his head.
”Are the Spectres really that bad? I mean, we beat them back before, right?”
”Phoebe, those Tier 8's that came through before were basically just stragglers. You have no idea what the main force of Spectres is truly like.”
”Then, tell me!”
Remian paused. ”They call them Star-Eaters. They're a space hazard rated at an even higher level of danger than the Mitigok. The Mitigok devour whole worlds, but the Star-Eaters… they will wipe out the very stars.”
Phoebe stared at him blankly.
”Right now they are traversing deep space, making a journey of countless years, streaming along in numbers large enough to completely drown entire stars. That Spatial Rift might have been a portal that led to a planet once. That planet is now gone, and so the other end of the Rift is drifting in deep space, close to where the stream of Star-Eaters are passing through.”
”Planet… gone?” Phoebe gaped. ”Then where is all this mana coming from, if there's no world on the other side?”
”There is no world, but it's either inside the area the Star-Eaters are traveling through, or near enough that it gets some eddies of their passing.”
Phoebe sat down numbly. ”You're saying that… mana is…”
”Left behind by the Star-Eaters as they pass by? Yes. It is the exhaust fumes of travel fueled by dead worlds and devoured stars.”
”Then… what about the mana that was here before Sirs Jared and Fate blew open the Rift?!”
”The ambient mana leaked through the Rift before all this started out. As for crystals… they were probably left behind by the Spectres that were killed by the Emperors and Great Dragons during the first time they fought and closed that Rift.”
”But wait! Shouldn't that mean that if we killed Spectres, we could get mana crystals?!”
”Sure. Given enough time. How long do you think it takes?”
Phoebe shook her head. ”Why don't you tell me?”
”Let's see. How long does it take for oil to form from the fossils of dead animals and plants?” Remian asked.
Phoebe's face fell. Then, ”I thought you hated oil.”
”I don't hate oil. Especially not the types we use for cooking.” Remian refuted. ”I just don't think it is necessary to burn oil for power and transportation. You have no idea how many worlds destroyed themselves by following a culture that consumes everything and basically burned their planets to death. The worlds that make it to Class-4 and onwards learn early on not to destroy themselves with fossil fuel burning.”
”Do people really need power that bad? Enough to destroy their own worlds?” Phoebe had to ask.
”Think of oil as a weaker, liquid form of mana crystals. What do you think?”
Phoebe fell silent. ”So… what do you plan to do?”
”Building the Craggy Falls Dam is the first major step. We're going to make plans for Craggy Heights; we'll be covering them with windmills. Also, I'm going to be using the Rocky Thorns' Windy Corridor for wind power. All of that together should be enough to supply the new Craggy Falls town for the time being.”
”I heard Jim complaining that it was easier to use coal, like the trains do.”
”It is. It definitely is.” Remian sighed. ”But do you notice the black smoke coming out of coal furnaces? I have a few tricks to reduce that, but in the end, burning coal is going to dirty our skies. I don't want to live in a world covered with black smoke!”