Not edited.
Serena POV.
"I'll take Wolf 1061 d!" GLaDOS squealed with excitement. Literally, she squealed. Talk about unbelievable things, she'd squealed with excitement while looking at the planet. And of course, she'd choose the biggest one.
Reaching Wolf 1061 had been incredibly easy. The journey had gone off without a hitch. There were a few minor mishaps that were within GLaDOS's expected calculations, and we need to review some parts of the Aperture P-1 and improve them for the next trip, but relatively speaking, we'd arrived without any major problems.
Once we arrived and entered the system's orbit, we stopped the ship, and both GLaDOS and I simply stepped out into outer space. The vast, absolute vacuum of space pressed against my body, but did nothing else.
I didn't need to breathe, and GLaDOS even less so. And we had Environmental Defense at the full immunity level, which allowed us to survive extreme conditions in nature, to the point that we could descend into an ocean abyss, or even dive into the sun and survive. And that included the vacuum of outer space.
Interestingly, it only worked for natural situations. We could survive a natural sun even on its surface, but if someone used a sun to attack us, then it would be extremely dangerous for us, as it would be for anyone.
Leaving that aside, we were now inside the Wolf 1061 system, and I looked at everything in detail.
Wolf 1061 was a red star. It illuminated the system with an incandescent orange light. The sun was much smaller than our solar system's sun. It couldn't have been even a third of its size. Even its light and heat were much less than the sun's at the same distance, as expected from a red star.
Alongside the star, the system had three other unnamed planets, identified only as Wolf 1061 B, C, and D, respectively. All were larger than Earth, both in mass and radius. The largest, Wolf 1061 D, had three times the radius of Earth.
And obviously, that was the one GLaDOS was going to claim. I chuckled.
Wolf B was a rocky planet, extremely hot because it was too close to its star. Wolf C was quite curious; it was still a rocky world, but there was a huge presence of gas, and it seemed to be stable enough and at the perfect distance from its star to potentially become habitable if we wanted.
And finally, Wolf D was an icy planet. There was enough gas and ice present to make it comparable to Neptune. And also, interestingly, it had two small moons orbiting it, so that was part of it too.
And that was all there was to it. At least, that was all if we disregarded asteroids and similar objects. The system itself was really small, relatively speaking. Like, the whole system would fit inside Venus's orbit. The distance from the red star Wolf 1061 to its outermost planet, Wolf 1061 D, was barely half the distance from the Sun to Earth.
Oddly enough, I'd discovered I could push my eyes forward to a ridiculous degree. It wasn't something that would be useful in normal situations, but now? Yes, it was incredibly useful. My Feruchemy served to preserve my senses, and as always, I took my time storing and replenishing my metal reserves.
My Six Eyes were my strongest senses, so storing them and then using them was almost ludicrous. And then using Compounding while swallowing the metal allowed me to push my Six Eyes to the point where I could see, in incredible detail, the surface of every planet in Wolf 1061 while standing completely still in space at the edge of the system.
"You keep Wolf D, I'll keep Wolf C, and we'll use Wolf B as raw material or as a base? " I asked mentally. We couldn't really talk in the void, and using magic to do it was a waste when we could talk mentally.
"Hmm, good idea. I'll place a portal system in Wolf B and connect it to Earth's moon in the solar system. Then I'll place smaller ones in Wolf C and D to use for moving things around."
"We don't need raw materials if we use alchemy on the other planets, but we can use Wolf B if we need it for another reason. We still need materials to build different ships or heavy machinery to use elsewhere," GLaDOS said. I could feel her mind racing as she began calculation after calculation. I just hummed.
Actually, it wouldn't be necessary. We could do a lot with magic, but I suppose since there was nothing to rush in the construction of the Machine Worlds, we didn't need to be present while the planet was terraforming.
"I can start construction right away. You still don't know how to achieve the machine heart?" GLaDOS asked with a hum. I snorted.
"That's why I insisted you find a solution first before coming here," I said curtly. GLaDOS just snorted.
"We would have had more time if we hadn't wasted it having sex," GLaDOS said, almost as a grunt. Even so, I could see her blush slightly, trying to look nonchalant. I chuckled and sent her the pictures of her writhing in pleasure. GLaDOS glared at me, and I smiled back shamelessly.
"Even so, I have some ideas, but... I don't know how viable they would be. " I said playfully, raising my hands. "I was thinking of making... something organic and then transforming it, or something semi-organic at least. " I hummed.
"I'm listening. " GLaDOS said easily. I nodded.
"Creating a kind of nanotechnology network inside an organic heart. That's the easiest thing. I think there was a somewhat obscure series of books about a drug that, when injected, transformed the brain and nervous system into a nanotechnology biocomputer, allowing it to interact with other similar brains or technology. It's... quite curious, to say the least."
"I think it was called the Nexus Trilogy, if I remember correctly," I hummed. GLaDOS entered my mind and began gathering the information I had before removing my phone from The Company and accessing the books. GLaDOS finally frowned slightly.
"Are you sure? This works for the brain and nervous system. Not a heart. We'd have to create some kind of heart-brain hybrid, a heart with enough nervous system and neurons to function and maintain itself as a heart long enough to work for the ritual somehow," GLaDOS said, wrinkling her nose.
"I know," I sighed wearily. " The other is mixing my DNA with… something else. " I hummed softly. "I was thinking mainly of two races. First there's the CNA, the CyberNucleic Acid is basically the generic code for a race of robots called Cybertronians from the Transformers franchise," I said easily, conveying enough to GLaDOS for her to understand. GLaDOS seemed genuinely curious about the Cybertronians.
"You need Energon. A lot of Energon. And from what you just told me, Energon doesn't combine with the human nervous system." GLaDOS said as she quickly reviewed everything.
"I'm not human, and my defenses should be sufficient so that Energon isn't really harmful to me. Also, if we manage to combine my DNA and CNA, we could try to modify it slightly so that CNA functions through another energy source, like my magic," I said easily, although just thinking about achieving that was extremely complicated.
"Hmm, and the Cybertronians seem to be the most compatible. They have living metal that exhibits cellular structures and self-repair systems, and even mechanical nerves. While it would be difficult to extend this to a fully mechanical world, it really could work," GLaDOS said, frowning. "I would need to conduct more in-depth research before I started doing any calculations."
"Look in The Company, don't watch the series or movies. The Company should have all the complete biological details of the Cybertronians at the deepest level of detail we'll need," I said easily. GLaDOS just nodded.
"And the other option?" GLaDOS asked.
"One I like more: the DNA of a Mechamorph Galvanic, from the Ben 10 series." I said with a smile and relayed the information. "Basically, they're a kind of technological alien composed of living nanotechnology. Furthermore, Mechamorph DNA is programmed with blueprints and a deep understanding of every alien technology."
"We can buy a DNA sample to try and use it and access that data, and add it to ours." Add it easily. GLaDOS seemed extremely interested.
"Interesting, it seems that these mechamorphs are capable of improving any technology they integrate into by using these blueprints to turn them into 'ultra technology,' even if it's just alien technology far more advanced and futuristic than the capabilities of many alien races."
"Although temporary, the changes made are not permanent in a way, really curious." GLaDOS said, sounding genuinely interested.
"I know.They remind me of the Tinkers from Worm," I said playfully. "Although it's possible the Mechamorphs Galvanics act less like black box technology, since they themselves have the blueprints encoded in their DNA, while the Shards-" I stopped rigidly as an idea crossed my mind, GLaDOS looked at me confused before entering my mind.
"The Shards." GLaDOS murmured, her eyes wide. "The Shards serve a function analogous to that of the cells or organs of an Entity. An Entity is composed of an enormous number of Shards. They are crystalline structures that fold and unfold continuously in multiple dimensions. They are colossal; the smallest must be the size of a mountain, and they can extend to the size of a continent."
"Most importantly, the Shards have a completely organic computational architecture; they are capable of storing enormous amounts of memory and information, processing high-level data and information, and creating thousands of simulations of the future to execute predictions with great accuracy."
"They also handle absurd amounts of energy and can draw it from multiple dimensions, and then use it to create extraordinary phenomena that grant powers and much more."
"We could create a heart with it, one that would function as we were planning, but with a shard structure. It would be a heart and a colossal biocomputer...yes...it could work." GLaDOS murmured as she did calculations.
"Yes... but... will the ritual work as opposites? We're looking for opposites. Magic-Technology. As much as the Shards are the best solution, it doesn't mean it's THE solution." I said, frowning as I thought quickly. "Maybe... we're focusing completely on 'technology' in a literal sense."
"Magic works primarily through magic, soul, mysteries, concepts, will, rituals, and supernatural things. While the other heart should be the opposite: information, calculation, processing, analysis, physics, engineering, adaptation, and experimentation." I murmured quickly.
"It would work." GLaDOS said without hesitation. I nodded absentmindedly.
"We need to go to Worm," I said, fighting back a shiver. "I really didn't want to get involved in that universe. But any Shards we wanted to buy would be at least T8 or T9," I said with a grimace.
"T9." GLaDOS said immediately, checking the Catalog. " Fragile One, one of the youngest Shards in the series, and one of the smallest and weakest because it was created from small sprouts of other Shards, is already listed as T9. 500 credits for one of them."
"Queen Administrator has a similar cost, and would be much more useful to us. It's one of the most powerful Shards, a noble one, far superior to any other Fragment," GLaDOS said indifferently. I grimaced.
"And I doubt one will be enough." I hummed with a grimace, and a very bad idea popped into my head. "Hmmmm, we could go to Worm. We'd need a way to reach a Shard in another dimension. The easiest way... ally with Cauldron. Or at least, make a deal with them."
"They're looking for information on the Endbringer and Scion. We could easily give them both in exchange for the coordinates and access to several unused Shards. Or... we could even..."
"We could... take over Eden's remains. Usurp her dead body, appropriate some of her Shards, create a new Proto-Entity as my heart, and use them as the sixth heart." I said tentatively. GLaDOS looked up and stared at me.
"That... is possible," GLaDOS murmured quickly. "Very stupid, very dangerous, and almost suicidal, but that's nothing new. But... that would balance things out. You're already thinking of using fragments of The Traveler and The Veil, beings far superior to us."
"You also plan to use Lilith for the demonic one. We haven't found an equivalent for the angelic one yet. And for the magical one, you plan to use Acnologia, but as powerful and interesting as he is, I don't think he'll be enough if you decide to add an Entity," GLaDOS said, frowning. I could only sigh as I thought. There were several options. But... there was one that was immediately available in Fairy Tail.
"And... Fairy Heart?" I asked, licking my lips. Fairy Heart. A source of infinite magical power derived from a combination of the residual magical power left in the body of Mavis, the founder of Fairy Tail, due to the Ankhseram Curse that afflicted Zeref, all encased in a massive Lacrima crystal and decades of experimentation.
"An endless source of magic. Actually… it's not necessary. We could buy Inexhaustible from The Company, which is basically the same thing, but different. Yeah… I could see how it would work." GLaDOS hummed. "We just needed to steal it from the Fairy Tail guild." She added, as if approving. I just rolled my eyes.
"I was planning to negotiate for it, thank you very much." I said curtly. GLaDOS just raised an eyebrow.
"What could you give them to get Fairy Heart?" GLaDOS asked, completely confused. I grimaced.
"The only thing I can think of is using the Grails to separate Mavis's soul and then rebuild a body for her. Everything else comes later." I said, shrugging.
"I'm sure it'll work," GLaDOS said sarcastically. I rolled my eyes.
"We'll go after Acnologia, create the heart, and then see if it's any good. Fairy Heart isn't the only item of infinite magic, but since we're there, it's a good option to try. For example, there's Lake Salisbury, a lake that's a huge reservoir of infinite magic from the Nanatsu no Taizai series."
"So there are more options. You don't even need to use an infinite source of magic." I shrugged. "Simply another object or entity that is equally valuable and has the same weight as an Entity—there are many in the multiverse. " I said simply. GLaDOS just nodded.
"So, Fairy Tail first, and then Worm?" she asked with a hum. I stopped myself before I could sigh.
"And then MAYBE Worm. But yes, that seems to be the plan," I said with a sigh. "We'd better prepare your Machine World. I'll need you to have the highest processing power you can muster; you're the only one who can enter and 'hack,' rearrange, and modify the Shards."
"Otherwise, it will be a truly impossible task." I said easily. GLaDOS's eyes glowed brightly.
"That's what we'll do!" GLaDOS said happily.
"Okay, we have... a couple of days to work before Lucy and Rebecca finish their work as Odin's bodyguards. I can't cover the entire planet with my time bubble, so we can only get small sectors up and running before letting the rest complete in normal time," I said with a hum.
"More than enough! First, let's build the base on Wolf B. We need to place the portal system to return to the solar system. Then we'll place the bases on Wolf D, and then we'll start building cauldrons all around the planet."
"I've designed new blueprints and machines to help in the construction of the magical world. They use my cables to absorb magic and have implemented some transmutation circles so they can terraform and change the planet much faster."
"I'll need help enchanting some robots to make them tougher and easier to drill into the planet's core. I have to stabilize it before I radically change the world. I'll need to adjust the planet's rotation and tilt and avoid compressing and compacting it too much by transforming all its mass into metal and mechanisms. We have to prevent its orbit and those of its moons from shifting more than necessary, and also—"
I smirked as I listened to GLaDOS ramble. I guess we were really doing this.
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Author's Notes : Well, it seems all roads lead to Worm, even though I hadn't planned it that way. And since Worm is now a possibility after Fairy Tail, should I add someone from Worm to the group? Mmm, unfortunately, Taylor isn't possible. Since she's already a main character in my other novel, it would be confusing for me to write her.
So, ideas! I've always liked Missy/Vista, she's an option. And I really want to give her the Satoru Gojo template. So, maybe with an age increase. Or maybe the canonical age. After all, I could place Worm before Mass Effect and the other space worlds. Since years will have passed there, there wouldn't be any problem with Missy waiting long enough.
Oh Amy? Taking her on a space adventure with thousands of different aliens, so many intelligent beings, plants and different living things will make her drool!
Or Vicky? That's a good option too. Mmm. Ideas, ideas.
Oh Riley/Bonesaw! I'd really love to write about Riley!
And also, I'm super happy! Worm just announced a comic adaptation! Yay!
A/N: If you liked the story, join my patreon, patreon.com/Camellya_Addams, there are up to 10 chapters in advance, thank you. Or you can also visit my Ko-Fi, ko-fi.com/camellya_addams.
AUTHOR'S NOTES: Once again, I apologize for the unedited chapters! Life and busy schedules keep getting in the way! As soon as the edits are available, they will be uploaded immediately, just like last week's!