27 A.A 2 (1/2)
”Now, calm down, Aaron. The A.A is an ambitious project that has been in development for the past 50 years. An Ascender constantly needs to go out into the wild either to travel between settlements or to capture new and powerful Teras for their own purposes. As such, the problem that has always plagued the world is that there was no unified and easily accessible library of Teras and animals that could be used to identify whether a harmless looking beast is really just that, or a Tera lying in disguise to gobble down a tasty Ascender. The goal was to build something which had a Teratome inside, which is the compilation of all Teras that have been encountered so far by humanity. This is the result. The main target is, of course, an Ascender like you, so, there are many other functions that are also essential for you guys. For example, do you even know the next Hamlet that you need to go to to progress on the Path?”
Aaron's heart was still hammering away in his chest due to the shock of the voice that had spoken in his head, but when he heard Ernst's deep voice, it had resulted in him calming down, more or less, while taking deep breaths. As the former Chief asked him this, he shook his head, as he really had no idea where they were supposed to go next. He had always thought that Edmund would lead them.
”The A.A can show you a path toward the nearest hamlet, or any registered settlement that you indicate. Even communicating with it is easy. This technology was in development even during the time before the apocalypse, but it took 150 years just to recover the information from that time. The challenge after that was finding materials to implement it in this age, and I heard that there was surprising success in this matter because of a few factors such as the fact that materials which are capable of so much more than what they used to be in the age before the apocalypse were available. Now, you don't need to worry that that thing is inside your head. It's on your spine, meaning that it can access the inputs and outputs to your brain through your spine. Note that it can only access them and add in a few things – it cannot hijack them in any way or cause any harm whatsoever. And if you want to interact with it, all you need to do is say A.A and speak in your mind. Try it, go ahead.”
Although most of what Ernst had said had gone over Aaron's head, he still hesitantly decided to talk to this thing that had newly entered his mind.
”A.A, what can you do?”, he asked, as this was the most pressing question and the one he wanted answered.
He had to admit that as the shock was dying off, he was simply fascinated by this amazing tool. He knew exactly how useful this could be, as there had been many instances where even him and Woof had been unable to identify whether a beast they came across was a harmful predator Tera or just a harmless grass-grazer.
Also, he knew the importance of direction in the jungle. The two of them would always leave behind some sort of sign or the other on the rocks and trees that they passed if there were entering a new area, even though both of them had an exceptional sense of direction. So, just the idea of something that could direct the way was mind-blowing.
”As this is a base-level A.A, I'm limited to the following functions:
1. Teratome Access: Teras and beasts encountered by the Ascender can be analyzed and compared against the records of the Teratome. If no records are found, the database of pre-apocalyptic animals is used to give an approximate result of the properties of the beast or Tera.
2. Global map: I can show you the way to any indicated, authorized settlement that is in my database. Details about these locations are also available, and can be accessed at a moments notice.
3. Personal Training Assessment: I can quantify and show you your progress on the path that you choose. In the case of Tera Masters, a Tera's speed of development and combat ability can be analyzed.
Limitations: As this is base-level A.A, I'm not connected to the World Government Hub remotely. Hence, I cannot update databases or receive communication of any sort, and neither can danger signals be sent out. In other words, this is completely an off-line module. For syncing, please take the A.A chip to a World Government Hub that can be found in any settlement. Other features that are available in improved models are also not available.”
Even though Ernst had said mentioned it before, hearing it from the A.A itself give it a measure of realism that made Aaron gasp with disbelief.
This was almost like magic!
The sheer practicality of this tool just couldn't be disregarded.
”I know, right? I can tell that you understand just how important this is. That's why the World Government pooled all of its resources into this project for the past 50 years and finally made it possible. I can tell you that you chose just the right time to come out of the jungle, kid. This is a really exciting age where there's lots happening everywhere. It might just be the perfect time for you to make your mark on the world, and reach heights that you never thought possible. Also, you must have found out that it's a base model. Advanced models can only be obtained after you defeat more settlements and obtain more stars on your Ascender Card. Anyway, let's begin the integration.”