74 Banal na Tagalikha (2/2)
In that instance, the five people from the higher echelons of Puting Araw exited the room.
Outside, Rose imposed a question without turning her head. ”That White Fox… Do you suppose he's a… dual wielder?”
”Either that or his Ability is just insanely overpowered.” This time, the Zamboanga Branch Director talked. ”Or perhaps he's a scion of a hidden group of great power and is protected by said great power's affiliates.”
”That's a possibility that we should consider.” Rose agreed with the Branch Director's words. ”At the end of the day, it's not like all people exclusively belong from Puting Araw or Kamay ng Lagim.”
Indeed. In fact, there were tons of groups out there that were composed of wielders. Puting Araw was exclusively a law enforcing group in the world of wielders to protect the existence of wielders in the Philippines.
Plus, Rose had no desires on obtaining such great power through brute force. Why you say? Because if you use brute force, there's the always the looming threat of a coup d'état. On the other hand, if you use your power to deliver a message, they'd all get in line.
The sole exception to this was Pangkat Anino, a group of ruffians and hooligans that Rose cannot regulate.
…..
Following his exit from the sick bay, Hayden waltzed into the center for procuring a modification for his Puting Araw uniform.
Finishing his business in there, Hayden was about to exit the secret facility when a beautiful woman in a Puting Araw uniform blocked his way.
Hayden noticed that the woman had a golden number eight on her Puting Araw insignia. 'Banal na Tagalikha…'
”Hello, Hayden,” an amicable smile formed on her lips as she stretched her hands outwards. ”I'm Jasmine, people call me Banal na Tagalikha. I've been observing you and it's a pleasure to eventually meet you.”
”It is indeed a pleasure to meet you.” Hayden smiled, delighted of Jasmine's emergence. ”I have been wanting to meet you.”
”Oh, believe me, me too.” Jasmine snorted. ”Might I interest you for a drink in the cafeteria? I am aspiring to discuss with you Essence Technological weapons.”
”After you.” Hayden slightly bowed, pointing into the direction of the cafeteria. Side by side, the two walked, with Jasmine obviously giddy.
In all honesty, Hayden was a bit excited as well. He was actually going to have drink with the Banal na Tagalikha, the mind behind the mythical Space Ring, Whisperer, and many others. To be fair, no technology aficionado will not be excited as Essence Technology may just be humanity's next step when it came to technology.
Why? Because essence energy is literally infinite, omnipresent, and doesn't have detrimental effects to the environment. What else would you want for a power source?
”Let me ask,” Hayden couldn't restrain his curiosity. ”What is the foundation of Essence Technology? I mean, it's all fueled by the essence energy in the environment, right?”
”Glad you asked.” Jasmine sweetly beamed at him, giving Hayden the shivers as a bad feeling rose up in his heart. ”I've invented something that converts essence energy to other types of energy, mainly electrical energy. I call it the Conversion Nucleus. Unfortunately, the basic principles of it cannot be divulged unless you become part of my Essence Technology Department.”
”Are you perhaps extending an invitation to me?” Sensing the tone and underlying meaning of Jasmine, Hayden cut to the chase.
”Was it that obvious?” Jasmine halted and faced him. ”You'd be a valuable addition to our department. You may just be the cog that we're missing to revolutionize the field.”
”I would agree,” Hayden eyed his surroundings and noticed that they were attracting people's unwanted attention. More specifically, Hayden was getting glares, probably because a beauty was talking to him in such a manner. ”But joining means I'd have to be with you in your branch, right? Well, your answer would be 'not really' as there is an Essence Technology Department here, but, as you said, you specially observed me. I don't see that would be your true intentions. You're planning something to fully reel me in.”
”You're too smart for your own good.” Jasmine chuckled, continuing on her way to the cafeteria. ”This is why I like talking to smart people. They get your idea without needing you to explain yourself. It requires less mental energy to think. In any case, I'm not forcing on you, I'm merely suggesting a proposition and offering an invitation.”
Opening the cafeteria door for Jasmine, Hayden declared, ”Sadly, I'd still have to refuse, but I would be thrilled to join the department here.”
In line, Hayden ordered another smoothie, this time chocolate, while Jasmine ordered a strawberry smoothie and a strawberry shortcake. Finding a two-seater table, Hayden and Jasmine sat together.
”You would be okay in joining our department in this branch?” Jasmine probed with a cheerful visage. Nonetheless, Hayden could sense that she had something up her sleeve. ”You won't get the secret to the Conversion Nucleus.”
”I'm good.” Hayden sipped on his chocolate smoothie, downright refusing without a second thought. 'I have something to explore first before I'd want to check up on your Conversion Nucleus.'
It was true. As aforementioned, Hayden was an avid fan of wuxia novels, and in one of the novels he has read, inscriptions were used for the foundation of a technological world. It was, by far, one of the most fascinating novels Hayden has read, and to say that it was a masterpiece in terms of details was a huge understatement.
From that novel, Hayden could extrapolate such things into the real world if he secures the knowledge required to inscribe formations. Besides, he was preoccupied in the meantime on studying Essence Manipulation Arts.
”Fine.” Jasmine expressed her regret in the form of a sigh. ”In any case, I did not invite you to the cafeteria purely to extend you an invitation for a position in my department. I do require your insights as I've hit a roadblock in my pursuit of a piece of technology.”
”Mhm. You've caught my interest.” Hayden's curious appetite was whetted. He wasn't stupid though. He was certain that Jasmine was baiting him. ”You know I'm adamant on not joining you in your branch, right?”
”I know, I know. Jeez, so uptight.” Jasmine simpered, not fazed of Hayden's display of determination. ”I require your help on this.”
A tablet materialized on the table. Picking up and activating the tablet, Jasmine let the tablet's iris scanner scan her irises. Placing it back on top of the table, Jasmine stated, ”It's lined with a neural interface on the sides and the back. You don't have to touch the screen itself.”
”Truly terrific,” Hayden was genuinely impressed. Taking the tablet, Hayden queried, ”How do Neural Interfaces work by the way? Does it pick up EEG signals?”
”It does,” Jasmine affirmed Hayden's assumptions. ”Be that as it may, the human brain, well, any brain really, doesn't solely emit EEG signals, it also emits some sort of mental energy that comes along with and carry these signals. Small amounts of mental energy leak out from our brain, creating the weak EEG signals that EEG scanners can pick up.”
”Can you elaborate on this mental energy?” Hayden activated Divine Perception, checking on the blueprint of a plasma rifle in the tablet. ”Oh, look here, there is an energy loss in this part, and in this part.”
Pointing on the parts which is energy-inefficient, Hayden proposed, ”If you replace these with heat sinks perhaps? Or implement an internal cooling system to diffuse heat? Or use bursts of extreme heat to create ionized gas instead and use an environmental heat exchanger that releases the heat in a form of a smoke to prevent the rifle from overheating.”
”Innovative and plausible.” Jasmine blinked in astonishment. ”That's not even the problem I was hoping to solve, but that last idea possibly solves the weakness of the plasma rifle's weakness. You saw that within a matter of a mere seconds?”
”You know how it's easy for bystanders to see things that a player couldn't because they're not involved in the field?” Hayden returned the tablet to Jasmine. ”It's like that, but in this case, I'm a bystander who's also studying in engineering out of interest, allowing me to provide better insights than your typical bystander.”
”Makes sense.” Jasmine was awestruck of Hayden's amazing powers of discernment. ”As for mental energy, it's literally how our brain issues command to our muscles. Mental energy also carries messages all around our body to regulate our internal body. Basically, it is in the form of the bio-electrical signals.”
”Huh, remarkable.” Hayden bobbed his head up and down in understanding. ”Tell me, can we manipulate this so-called mental energy?”
”You tell me.” A disembodied woman's voice rang out in Hayden's head out of nowhere. ”In my endeavor on creating the Whisperer, I accidentally discovered a method of manipulating mental energy to leave out of our body and carry messages towards people as a form of telepathy. It is the basic principle of how the Whisperer transfer messages from one Whisperer to another. Awesome, huh?”
”Riveting indeed.” Hayden couldn't help but contemplate in the background what precisely was the connection between ambient essence energy, mental energy, all these energies, wielders, and the world around them.
”I'm going out on a limb here and break my code of confidentiality to give you a hint.” Jasmine grinned. ”There are so much things you can do with essence energy, it is limitless. Including telepathy. And I'm on my research on teleportation. Aren't you even slightly curious of what you can do with essence energy and Essence Technology?”
”I am.” Hayden admitted. ”Notwithstanding my own hunger for this, I am an otherwise occupied man with my own career. The most I can do is join the department, however, I won't be able to join you personally.”