Ninth Resurrection

[link_to_revival]

[There's some sort of bubbling sound coming from Lynn's room... and the door just so happens to be unlocked, letting anyone who takes a peek to see entire white-boards filled with equations and technobabble acronyms and terms.  Not to mention that smell... a smell that was almost like-]

It worked!  This is great... I was afraid I'd forgotten the process!

[-And the bathroom door opens, with Lynn standing there with a mug of something alcoholic in hand and a water cooler jug filled with what was most likely more of the stuff.  And when she's spotted she just freezes for a moment before letting out a sigh.]

... I left the door open, didn't I?

[Well, no matter.  Not like it was illegal to make your own beer or anything.]

Could you move though?  I whipped this up because I wanted to unwind... it's just now there isn't a decent place to sit in here.

[Uh... Lynn... you feeling alright?]

Comments

[armored_mother]

[Cora was just going to give Lynn the thousand yard stare. This wasn't anything like her when she was still clinging to her grudge... oooh no this felt like something a little scarier.]

Okay.... Now you're just taunting me...

[She's looking a little twitchy because it seems most people she's been passing by have been having that kind of drink over the day, and she's trying to stay on the dry side.]

... Didn't think you'd be the type for this kind of thing Idris.

[link_to_revival]

[Oh right... Cora was staying sober at least for the time being. Awkwaaaaaaaaaaard...]

Well... it was just I was doing some research, trying to remember certain groups that had a contract with the Tritech labs and would get the first batches of Universal Alloy.

I've had some success, but right now it's still all just guesses about what we might bee up against, nothing concrete. And then there was Kairos Aspida too.

I needed to unwind, do something simple that would be its own reward... and thinking about my past so much reminded me of a classmate I had in college; a chemist who knew how to brew his own beer. So I felt a bit adventerous and thought it would let me unwind.

[armored_mother]

Good to know...

[She took a deep breath and sat down, leaning a little more on her mechanical arm.]

...College huh?... Curtis had some crazy stories of his own...

[She chuckled a little.]

So aside from bathroom moonshine, you party to any other insanity during those days?

[link_to_revival]

Not really, no. But hold on.

[It's not really a solid equivalent, but Lynn still grabs a cup of water for Cora.]

Here... I didn't use up as much water as I thought I would. It's the least I can do.

And getting to your question... not really. The physics programs at the university were challenging, and the professors uncompromising. One of the first things I was told was that 50% of the undergraduates working towards a degree in theoretical physics would flunk out after the first year... and then 10% more would drop every year after that.

They worked me to the bone practically.

[armored_mother]

[Well a drink's a drink. Cora accepts it either way and grins a little over the cup.]

Huh... guess that means I managed to luck out on my end, even if things probably would get... messier.

Curtis mentioned that one guy he knew just snapped in the middle of a lecture and ran out of the building screaming.

[link_to_revival]

That'd be rare, but not impossible, yes.

[She takes another sip before gesturing over to her whiteboards.]

And I think I have a lead regarding Takeda and Blitz Valhalla. Someone working with them... or, well... might just have donated their works to their efforts.

[paladin_robot]

[...Let us not ask how or why Richard had the gall to enter Lynn's room, and instead focus on the seemingly obvious.]

A-Are you brewing your own beer? Was there nothing in the pantry?

[link_to_revival]

[Eh, she shares the room with other people. Not the end of the world, Richard. But yes, the matter at hand!]

It... well I've been a bit overworked recently. Mechanic duties and trying to remember or find information about Universal Alloy-enabled technologies Takeda might use and then there was Kairos Aspida with the Primeval Force-

[And in fact, one big whiteboard has the words "Primeval Force: what is it?" written in huge font.]

... It got exhausting. It really did. So I gave myself a nice, simple project to do, using a recipe I remembered a friend used all the time when we were in college. And now I can take a breather, just like I intended.

[paladin_robot]

...You know I think most people try to find simpler solutions than 'making beer in the bathroom'.

[Then again, his idea of relaxation was distracting himself with work, so...]

...Is it any good?

[link_to_revival]

We all approach stress differently. The important thing is just making sure you can relax.

And-

[She takes a drink, wincing almost immediately.]

... Not quite right, but I was doing this from memories older than you are and I'm no chemist. Still not the worst I've had.

[As evidenced by the fact she's still drinking it.]

[paladin_robot]

Uh... mind if I take a glass? You're not gonna really finish it by yourself, are you?

[Plus... well, given everything lately, he could probably use a freaking drink himself.]

[link_to_revival]

There's some in the bathroom. Help yourself, but just go with a little bit at first to make sure you like it.

[paladin_robot]

Noted...

[Well, Richard goes and grabs himself a nearby cup, before heading inside and taking a swig...]

Hmmm.... gah! Bit of a kick, but not that bad...

[link_to_revival]

[Lynn laughs a little at that.]

Glad it wasn't a complete waste of effort then. I might make smaller batches next time and experiment with the formula; see how close I can make it to the original.

[paladin_robot]

Or you could experiment and go straight the other way - make your own brew! Get a pub back in Britannia going and market the Icarus Bombshell.

...Wait no that's terrible... uh... Brown Chalice?

[link_to_revival]

[She's gonna wince at that last bit.]

As nice as that would be, I'm no bartender or brewer. Maybe when all this is over I could work with a third party...

... But then again, this isn't even my own recipe, just one I'm borrowing. It wouldn't be right to pass it off as my own.

Nothing to stop me from making it and enjoying it though.

[paladin_robot]

Like I said, experiment and make your own. You don't think the best beers in the world were entirely original, do you?

[Richard... may be enjoying it a bit much as it is anyway.]

Any luck on the Universal Alloy front?

[He finds a wall to lean on.]

[link_to_revival]

A little. And please...

[Chair get!]

Sit down. You shouldn't have to stay on your feet like this.

But I did thinking, and I was focusing on Typhon especially. A Retroactive Existence whose body could shapeshift and reconstitute from damage... that's not something you can easily succeed.

But...

[She pointed over to a whiteboard where she'd written down Typhon's name, and a number of other technobabble words all crossed out.]

What would you think if I told you that something existed and, barring the most extreme of circumstances, could not be destroyed?

[paladin_robot]

...You do realise you're talking to someone whose machine also heals up most of its wounds, right?

[Well, Ideigi had another dimension to help with that, but yeah.]

[link_to_revival]

[She shakes her head.]

This is different. Most of the more exotic repair mechanisms machines have simply replace what is lost, or maybe cannibalize damaged parts and use them to build fresh ones instead.

What I'm talking about is something that naturally has a certain "state", and for the most part, will automatically act to restore that "state" in response to any form of damage being inflicted on it. Like if a glass window would automatically re-assemble itself if it were broken.

[paladin_robot]

Considering how Kygunei acted, it might be more similar than you think... then again, that's magic, this is metal that can be made to just 'bounce back' as it were.

So what exactly determines the original 'state'?

[link_to_revival]

In Typhon's case, his own will.

Universal Alloy is a material that gets to the very heart of existence: Strings. Strings are... well they're everything! Matter, energy... anything that has a physical presence is made up of them. Smaller than atoms or quarks... and you can't destroy them... not unless you used something extremely exotic.

[Like the Dimensional Blowback of the Linker System, or the Lemuria Impact, or some other stupidly powerful attack.]

And one of the technologies that Universal Alloy was meant to be used for was something called a "Magcore"... something using the electromagnetic force to make a material want to stay together in a specific form. They were thought to be impossible to make without Universal Alloy, but obviously Takeda is in possession of it. And I think it's what Typhon's body is made out of: a material that is virtually impossible to destroy, and would eventually reform even if you scattered each of his Strings to infinite corners of the Universe.

[paladin_robot]

And, you know, forgot to wipe out whatever is manipulating the strings.

[Most of the idea went straight over Richard's head, not helped by his own familiarity with things that may or may not agree with such a concept. And, you know, no education in physics.]

I mean, if I threw this beer at ya, it wouldn't return to the cup - nothing is forcing it back to that 'state'. Even though there are strings holding it together, right? Destroy whatever decides the state, and big bad Typhon falls apart.

...Maybe.

...Might still have to blow him up first...

[link_to_revival]

The reason why is magnetism. It's a fundamental force of the Universe. It's not as strong as the Strong Nuclear Force-

[And suddenly we Fistful of SCIENCE here.]

But it's closer to it in power than it is to gravity. And if the Strings most fundamental trait is "be attracted to each other", then they'll continually be drawn together.

The saving grace is extremely potent electrical charges can disrupt the Magcores at least temporarily, so shocking and then blowing Typhon up is at least a short-term solution.

[paladin_robot]

I say we go for the magcores, see what happens. That or we throw a chunk of it into another dimension so it can't fully reform.

[Richard's... feeling a bit tipsy, evidenced by a bit of wobbling.]

And we both know someone with a lot of dimensional knowhow.

[link_to_revival]

The problem is that you can't just "go" for the Magcores. Typhon is the magcores. Every part of him, right down to his Strings, shares the same properties as the whole of him.

And using the Linker System.. he's too big.

I wouldn't be able to trap part of him in a wormhole without causing another "bombing".

[paladin_robot]

...Wait so from one start suddenly all of him'll hold together?! Dammit, I thought I had something!

[Richard shakes his fist in mild anger, spilling some of his drink.]

Maaaaaaaaaan, its not like we could even find somewhere remote too to not worry about the blowback. This idiot's just gonna go after populated areas...

[link_to_revival]

It's better than not having any clue where they'll attack next.

[paladin_robot]

Aye... but until then, not much we can do about it except drink a merry brew and sing a song.

[...Lynn are you sure this was a good idea?]

[hobo_lantern]

Are those... You can brew beer? And those actually looks good!

[link_to_revival]

I wouldn't necessarily say it's good...

I just was overworking myself and I needed something to do to unwind. And with my thoughts on the past, I was able to recall a college friend of mine -a guy trying to be a chemist- would do this all the time. Using his procedure wasn't hard, but then again... I was in college a long time ago.

[She offers Herb a cup of her brew.]

Want to see how it turned out? You're the bartender onboard, after all.

[hobo_lantern]

*Herb takes a sip*

No, this is actually pretty good for a homebrew! Hmm... this gives me an idea...

[link_to_revival]

Idea?

[Oh wait.]

But we can't even sell this, right? It's not even my own recipe, just someone else's I happened to remember.

[hobo_lantern]

You have an excellent product here, the best I've seen in a long time.

But a product is worthless without the skills to reach the people who desire it...

[link_to_revival]

And... this is where you come in?

[armored_fruit]

"Ho-Ho! Is that the heady aroma of a distillery I smell?"

Isaac pokes his head in.

[link_to_revival]

A makeshift one, but yes.

Some people work out to unwind from stress and I... well, I decided to make some alcohol like a college friend used to.

[armored_fruit]

"It is queer, no, how so many fond memories of our youth are bound up with the handling of liquor and spirits?" Isaac muses.

"Why, I remember being but a child when I helped my uncle ferment some barrels of cider, and being warned that this was not apple juice for kids–"

He blinks. "But enough of memories! May I, dear madam, have the privilege of partaking of but a small sip of your elixir?"

[link_to_revival]

Isaac, you're embarrassing me...

[But nevertheless she offers Isaac a glass.]

Here. And just... if it's any good, don't describe it to Cora, please.

[armored_runaway]

[[Jojo nods. You sure did leave the door open.]]

Don'tcha think thas a purdy bad ideah? Ah mean... we got so many alcoholics on tha ship... yer just increasin temptation...

[link_to_revival]

Well... Luger's not onboard any more, so what's the worst that can happen?

[armored_runaway]

My C.O.... She's got kind of a problem...

[link_to_revival]

Yes, I know. I talked with Cora earlier, in fact. And I'm pretty sure I was there when she had her last drink on the Chalice.

I won't go antagonizing her about this, at any rate.

[armored_runaway]

Thas good. Still... issit a good idea ta be makin yer own booze on th' ship?