Tess kept her bouncing to a minimum but continued to gently rap her fingers on her thighs to keep herself in line. There were over a hundred people in the room, including a few aliens and people of all races within the human species. She could see both an astaran and a couple panadim, which wasn't at all a shock.

Man, it's so cool, I really can't wait to find useful classes. While most of the Solar Alliance is nice, some parts of Terre can be isolated. Fucking bastards.

The air was stale enough to piss off a wind spirit, conjuring up an odd breeze from somewhere in the room. A few people were texting on their holo-casters, and her parent’s proximity eased Tess’ concerns and worries.

There was a large stage made of concentric circles of metal, and she could see spotlights pointing out the presenter along with a few people clapping. He stepped into the light, and Tess hummed as she looked him up and down.

He's pretty cute, tall, dark, and handsome even.

He had black wavy hair, soft features, and a brilliant smile. Paired with those bright blue eyes and his rather flattering suit…

Tees lightly slapped her cheeks, now was not the time to get hot and bothered by an older man. This was a presentation, not a goddamn dating sim. She didn't get a chance to see the reaction of the crowd before the presenter spoke his mind.

“Welcome, everyone to the Gnomon College Convention as hosted by the wonderful town of Jakob’s Bell.” The convention was usually hosted in towns right outside the core city itself because it was cheaper and there was less traffic in a town than in a city of  forty five million. The man raised his hand. “My name is Benjamin Arama, an alumni of the illustrious College of Gnomon. I attended this great school thirty years ago, only a decade and a half into the exchange program created by our founders.”

Tess licked her lips nervously, the anticipation was killing her. The presenter had a confident stance, and she could see how clusters of water and air wrapped around him, the spirits attracted to his presence. “I had the luck to know one of the greatest people, no beings in my life. Viliamu Adama and Ashley Adama.”

With a flick of the wrist, the man activated a holographic projector, making use of the intuitive haptics. It was a clear picture of a far westerner, likely from Savoa. He had tan skin, dark eyes, short-cut hair, and a heavy but strong frame. The woman at his side was taller, with a lithe athletic frame and white wispy curls down to her back. Her expression was sharp, and she had an aristocratic look to her appearance, like an ice queen.

“They had a dream,” Arama began. “Before first contact, the two of them looked up at the stars and wondered what could be out there. What kind of people could live on the planets outside of humanity’s reach?” There was a passion in his voice, strumming the wavelength of the room with ease. “Villiamu had been raised with the stories of the Days of Iron, the decades of lawlessness and terror that disconnected channelers from the rest of humanity. Ashley in turn was confronted with the darkest aspects of humanity, and wandered the ancient ruins scattered across the solar system. Their experiences led them to create the College of Gnomon, a bridge between all the peoples of known space.”

Tess smiled, Arama was good at his job of being a presenter not that she expected otherwise. “They took inspiration from the great heroes of history and sought to create an era of peace and understanding. One step at a time.” Arama’s smile had a hint of something sad, a nostalgia that bit at the edge of her awareness.

Her parents both sported similar sadness, which only brought up more questions she wasn't sure they would answer.

The presenter flipped to pictures on the wide-scale holographic projection. Images of the wife and husband pair traveling the galaxy, from homeworld to homeworld, from the most minor of client races to the most populous of the Great Powers. Having flowers wrapped around them by bubbly kanaloaa, dancing, and singing along with the astarans, and writing mathematical equations with the wisest scientists of the panadim.

“Tragically, Villiamu’s life was cut short and we mourn him to this day while Ashley carries on his legacy as the headmaster of our school.” The text came up on the screen with a somber note.

‘Rest In Peace, 3450-3503.’

Arama stood proud, lifting his hairs up with a burning passion in his dark soulful eyes. “But their dream hasn't died, it's carried on by every student and staff of Gnomon, with every soul inspired by our work to make a better world, all of those willing to seize all tomorrows.”

The room was stirred to applause, spirits of joy and happiness bringing the room to a fever pitch. It made her legs bounce, and she tapped her fingers together in quiet celebration of his riveting words.

The jubilant mood didn't last, as Arama cleared his throat. “Unfortunately Ashley Adama couldn't be here today. There's been a recent surge of attacks and disappearance of channelers across the Solar Alliance. The two main culprits are Cosmogony and Enkidu.” His solemn tone hushed the crowd, a heavy silence emerging. “As we all know Enkidu is an extremist anti-channeler hate group responsible for many of the criminal operations that plague humanity. They deal in illegal substances, sapient trafficking, and terrorist attacks against the things they consider ‘profane’ and unnatural.”

Enkidu had killed and harmed a lot of people and had The Butcher on their payroll. The sapient responsible for the death of the leader of the movement for channeler rights.

“We know they've taken a lot of people captive, and that they and Cosmogony have butted heads in the past,” he coughed awkwardly. “Cosmogony is, in turn, their mirror, a channeler-supremacist group with a similar massive list of crimes on their heads. Including horrific abuses of captured channelers…”

Everyone knew he meant human experimentation since the group sought any edge to enhance their power at the expense of everyone else. They were monsters of the highest degree, and frankly terrified the shit out of her.

“But I'm here to reassure you, Gnomon has done everything remotely possible to make our campus grounds as safe as we can. Federal authorities alerted us, and we've secured both the school and the surrounding city and towns to the best of our ability. You will have the safety, security and protection provided by our personal security along with the protection offered by the Colonial Guard without compromising your education or your freedoms.”

The Colonial Guard was the main local military force within the bounds of a single planet. They were a massive army focused entirely on defense, garrisoned planetside rather than on the tens of thousands of ships of the Alliance Navy. On Terre that amounted to the largest military force in human history, almost a hundred forty million strong.

So it was certainly reassuring to Tess that they were keeping an eye out for trouble.

The lights in the room bathed the room in color, and she flushed at the realization she had missed the ending of the speech. She stood up, brushing imaginary dust from her legs.

Tess opened her mouth. “We should go out to see some stands,” Xinji nodded in agreement, emulating human body language. “Maybe they’ll have some demonstrations going on?”

She was ready.

---

Being soft had a few advantages, like dulling the blow of an accidental bump from people much stronger than her. Then again being touched could feel like being scorched by fire, and made her heart hammer in her chest in an unpleasant way.

She didn't have the same issue with Xinji, her hair was soft and textured in a way she enjoyed. But she wasn't here right now, since they had taken to opposite sides of the convention for the booths they were interested in.

Tess scanned the crowds of young adults, there were all kinds of people from all kinds of places, human and alien alike. She made out a few panadim, who were reptile-mammal creatures. Evolving in the trees, they were avid climbers and it showed.

They stood upright on two blunt toes and their profile vaguely reminded her of western tales of the mothmen, psychopomps to some of their old gods. They had two pairs of limbs, the posterior limbs were wide and hung down to their ankles, curling into two lengthy claws. The anterior limbs were tucked in, with five digits on each hand. Their faces were flat and owl-like but made out of dark plating rather than feathers.

Cool, I haven't seen a panadim since I was a kid, she thought while gently wandering out of the crowd and towards some seating where a few people her age were hanging out. Her eyes lit up at the sight of a few Khemin, who were aliens that were a mix between fungus, corals, mosses, and animals. Not one looked alike because of how they could alter their shape. She could even see a few that looked like humanoid mushrooms.

It sounded very much like an intentional troll, and Tess saluted them on the ability to befuddle the Orion Bubble. She had never seen so many aliens before and her whole body vibrated with positive energy. The booths and stands were busier than ever, with signs and posters advertising everything from shamanistic practice to various Elemental Disciplines. People flying on pockets of wind, twisting clouds of neon gas, and forming solid masses of almost liquid air. Channelers create heat shimmers to become invisible, drawing out heat to cool lava into obsidian, or crafting ice sculptures from cups of water.

That in and of itself was enough to make her heart soar, which was exactly why the universe decided to throw her a curveball.

She slammed into someone in her lapse, releasing a strangled yelp that sounded like a dying cat. Her unfortunate victim replied with a rather venomous and incomprehensible language, it certainly wasn't English or Castellan, or Tuyokuan.

She scrambled back from the person, blubbering in embarrassed horror “I’m so sorry, I wasn't paying attention to where I was going and—” a red hand silenced her words.

“Save it, human.” Tess felt her skin shiver, and her happiness gave away to a painful anxious buzz between her teeth. “You’ll just make it worse with your nonsense.”

Tess stepped back, looked up, and gawked openly at brilliant golden eyes from an uncannily human-like face. The stranger stood just under six feet, with a lithe runner’s frame. Almost human at a glance, but the features warped under a more alien lense. She had smooth red skin and wore a short-sleeved two-tone black and grey dress and dark grey laced boots. She had distinct markings in the form of thin, curved stripes on the face, neck, shoulders and arms.

More rounded eyes, long dark hair which grew backward, a prominent nose ridge, and side facing nostrils and long canines made for striking features. Her high cheeks and long swiveling ears were covered in tufts of dark hair, and her frame. It was almost segmented, with unnatural curvature, a barrel chest similar to a thorax with a sharp connection to the abdomen and waist. Curvy and fit, an alien beauty she was drawn by.

“You’re an astaran!” Tess bounced, clasping her hands together. “Are you looking to attend Gnomon College too?”

The alien woman sneered. “I am, but that is none of your business.” Tess was entranced by the song that came from the alien’s mouth and chest, vibrating like a drum. It was a finicky, shifting note, nuances changing from moment to moment.

It was ordered, almost neurotic, the stroke of guitar strings and piano keys, the strike of blades and the gentle thump of mass accelerators.

Astarans didn't speak, not really. They had vocal cords, yes, but their purpose was entirely focused on the channeling of their psychic song. A stream of music that turns itself into words, forming more naturally than the alien frequencies of Kanaloaa telepathy.

Tess spoke. “You have a very pretty song.” The alien woman flushed a deeper shade of red, ears swiveling in an odd gesture.

“I don't need this.” Her song was tinged with embarrassment, indignation, the piano keys off-kilter while the sword strikes screeched loudly. She melted into the crowd before Tess could say another word, left hanging with her stupidity.

She facepalmed, groaning at her reply. Gods, you have a pretty song! I'm a fucking dumbass. Her face had heated up like a sauna, and she straightened her posture, fidgeting nervously when she saw the gazes briefly flitting towards her.

I need to find a stand, stand, stand, don't let the sounds command, command, command…

She found a stand, a booth that was more up her alley. It was an elemental manipulation demonstration by a dark-skinned man. He was pulling a whip of golden flames, the air distorting around flashes of heat and vibrating molecules.

“As you can see, creating fire is all about projecting your rūh into mundane reality, using life energy to amplify and generate combustion, heat, and force.” He gently swept the flames into a lazy arc, and Tess watched with jealousy and fascination at how precisely he controlled his element. “The element of Fire is one of the five facets of Elemental Manipulation. Can anyone tell us what they are?”

Tess opened her mouth but was eaten to the punch by a cloaked figure, a Khemin from the looks of it.

“The five ‘elements’ consist of Air, Water, Earth, Fire, and Void.” There was an odd tone to their voice, almost snooty in a dorky way. “Air is the element of freedom, it represents things that grow, expand, flexibility and movement. Mind, thought, and guidance.” The little alien demonstrated by forming a tiny twister in a six-fingered hand. “Water is the element of change, emotion, connections, and family, the element of life and death. The fluid formless things of this world.”

Tess recalled some texts, that was how the elements had been divided in the old days before their scope had been expanded over the centuries. Six centuries of experimentation and technological development had changed the disciplines of the Elements for humanity. How they had weaved them together into new forms and methods of technology.

The Khemin continued. “Earth is the element of substance, solidity, and rigidity, the material things of this world, physical sensation, and steady stubborn movement. It is Order.” They twisted a pebble in their palm. “Fire is the element of force, of power. Drive and passion, our desires given metaphysical form. Life and death from another frame of reference.” Tess nodded, this one knew their stuff even if they were a tad stuffy.

The dark-skinned man was amused, raising a thick brow in bemusement. “And what about Void?”

They tutted before answering. “Void is the element of the soul, the bind and the breach that contains the other elements. Soul, creative energy, Void represents those things that lay beyond everyday comprehension, pure energy itself.” The Void was well studied because of how closely it was connected with dark energy and origonium. She had a lot of knowledge from sleepless study nights.

Void channelers could control and channel dark energy and other related forces to control and manipulate mass, gravity, and the very nature of matter and energy states. It was one of the elements she had never developed more than a wisp of, even a minor invocation could cause collateral damage.

“Impressive,” the booth man complimented. “Yes together, the Five Elements are how we've long divided how we use rūh to interact with the environment. But of course, it's not that simple either.” The man pulled on some water with fire channeling, the heated water boiling as it was dragged forcefully. “They blend as part of the same fundamental force.” He controlled ash with earth, and Tess was enraptured.

The entire short impromptu presentation was all about the Five Elements, how they had formed, what kind of cultures and mindsets cultivated them, and how they could be used to shape the world around them. It was a perfect distraction from the astaran woman, with those golden eyes and striking face and rocking hips— oh for fucks sake shut up brain!

“Hello?” She robotically tilted her head in response to the snooty Khemin. They had removed their hood to reveal their face. It was like a human had been tossed into a face-swapping app with a fungus and an archangel of the Almighty. Her head was capped with a massive white disk of fungal flesh. Like a Destroying Angel had grown legs. It was uncanny and cool to boot.

“Hi?” She greeted her in confusion.

“I can tell you have brains, I predict we will make good friends. Please call me Fasah Mogu.” She bowed her head with an odd smile.

“Umm… I'm Tess Hoshino.”

She was having a very strange day today.

---

Tess hummed as she walked through the streets, walking to the address Aitana had told her to go to. It was a corner electronics store, selling the most modern computers, holo-casters, desktop consoles, optronic circuits, and laser tools and micro-fabricators for the serious hobbyist. Their small town was pretty backward, so most of their stores sold decades-old tech that lacked the more sophisticated software and hardware of modern computers. So she had been forced to become a rather adept hobbyist engineer.

She wasn't a one in a billion genius, but she knew her way around technology. A lot of the kids in town went to her for jailbreaking and hacking their devices. Turns out a magical substance capable of warping reality was even in the tiny amounts needed for holo-casters, very hard for average teenagers to work on.

It wasn't the most dangerous thing around though, it wasn't a mass accelerator or a mecha. The former was the basis for every modern firearm in the galaxy while the latter were ten-foot-tall war machines. Origonium had a lot of interesting properties, the Hilarion Amplification Effect let them boost the power of everything. A run-of-the-mill assault rifle can hit harder than a thirty-fourth century super-heavy machine gun. Punching through multiple inches of laser steel plating wasn't beyond modern technology.

Tess stepped into the store and ignored the subtle scanning array of the security system. This kind of store often had expensive hardware, tens of thousands of credits of computers and tools, and products. She could even see a VI-security mech resting in a corner of the room.

Her smile grew brittle as the one-eyed optics of the mech traced her movements. A woman was beckoning her, someone who gave off a valley girl vibe with her dyed blonde hair, tan, and slightly messy outfit. Nothing off-putting really, but it was good to keep an analytical eye on these things.

“You’d be uhh… Theresa Hoshino, am I right?” The woman spoke with an accented drawl, blue eyes lighting up at her approach. “Names Sasha Bright and you have a rather neato gift to pick up. Come on to the back.” Sasha thumbed in the direction of a curtained passage.

Tess followed, not feeling tense since she wasn't getting a hint of goosebumps. If nothing else her spiritual awareness made her a good judge of character. The back of the store was darker, with soft lighting that was a contrast to the brighter screens of holo-casters and haptic interface consoles.

“So I was sent to pick something up? What have you got for me?” She was very much enticed by the possibilities, and couldn't wait to test out whatever device her parents had bought for her.

Sasha smirked as she sauntered towards a cubby, pulling out a large wristband, closer to a bracer in fact. Tess gasped, she knew what she was looking at was a big deal.

It was a Vulcan holo-caster, it was effectively a military and or industrial-grade device operating at the peak of modern technology. The shimmer compiler was more advanced, and it had high-grade processors and scanning devices, easily two decades ahead of the shitty civilian-grade holo-casters from back home.

So this is what her parents had been talking about after the convention, while the decision to attend Gnomon had been her own, they had helped with the preparations. Research on local stores and places to go, from libraries to DIY workshops and malls. Crime rates, commuting times for air-cars, maglevs, and walking. Most modern cities were well integrated, so personal vehicles were more a luxury than an actual necessity.

Tess reached out to the device, gently gliding her hands along the smooth surface of the vambrace. It was a beautiful device, a shell that contained all the machinery needed to exist in modern galactic society.

“May I?” She asked for permission.

Sasha rolled her eyes. “Your parents paid a pretty credit for this beauty, it's yours.”

With a squeal of delight, Tess gently slid the device on. It tightened on its own accord, and she opened her hand, flicking out her fingers with a wide smile. The holo-caster generated a high fidelity field of hard light like a screen had been projected into reality.

Transfer user data?

Tess tapped yes on the screen, she was also going to set new mnemonics and haptic feedback gestures since the sensors on this model were a hundred times more sensitive, and there was far more room for advanced programming and software.

“Transfer of user data is complete.” Entire petabytes had been wirelessly downloaded into the device, making up only a tiny percentage of the vast data storage of the Vulcan. “Hello, Theresa.” A slightly feminine voice sounded out from her holo-caster.

“Hello, Adhan, I see you made the transfer successfully.” Adhan was one of her oldest projects, a shitty VI, a complex problem-solving tree, an expert system with limited neuronal logic that had been upgraded and overhauled over many years. They were used entirely for smart objects, and parts of emergency systems. They were the low level programs in the greater network of the extranet.

“Correct, this device is far more optimal for greater processing power and neural logic networks. Optimization of code is commencing at this moment.”

She beamed, gliding hands along the holographic screen. The compiler was small, but even at this scale, there was no limit to what she could construct with it. She would need to purchase a few engrams to manufacture some of the more precise objects she wanted.

“You’ve got a scary look on your face kid.” Sasha’s smile was frozen in terror, but Tess shrugged it off.

“What's your point?” A high-grade holo-caster was a deadly weapon, using its field projection was a responsibility.

She understood the subtext of her parents buying her this, it was a tool of last resort. A way of defending herself in case the worse happened. The decision had been made a long time ago, and this was their way to show they cared. Tess was scared but she knew that was nerves.

She wanted to master her broken power, to understand what was happening to her.

Tess wanted to see the world.

---

Compendium Entry (Technology): HOLO-CASTER

Holo-casters are handheld devices that can be considered the successor to the smartphone of the thirty-fourth century. Optronic circuits are integrated into a haptic computer band, combining a Synthetic Intelligence, extranet connection, a haptic display projector, advanced sensor suites, and a wireless transmitter used to connect to shimmer programming control units. An Origonium core is integral to the functioning of the holo-caster, providing both power and the ability to interact with matter and energy through technological means.

Holo-casters are reliable and extremely versatile with hundreds of functions per device. This is mainly accomplished through complex shaping and modification of the field generated by an activated Origonium core. A fabrication module can rapidly assemble objects using a feedstock of materials known as shimmer. Field repairs and rapid prototyping are more than possible with the advanced fabricators within holo-projectors. The right mods can allow a holo-projector to launch any number of useful functions from hak scripts to ionized blobs of plasma or even rapid-built drones.

Which is why holo-casters are standard equipment for any civilian as well as a soldier. The perfect culmination of a multi-faceted tool.

---

Compendium Entry (Culture): HUMAN RELIGION

Humanity is well known for having the most diverse religious community in known space, with thousands of different ways and forms of the cultural practice of spiritual beliefs and interpretations of paranatural phenomena. Though even the most homogeneous races have dozens of religions of varying popularity and scale. However, three religions can be considered the ‘core’ religious belief systems of humanity, with billions of members across member nations of the Alliance as well as independent colonies.

The Nazaret faith can rightly claim its place as the most populous of the three core religions of Humanity. Their scripture and relics are at least four thousand years old, a minor cult forming on Ustyurta between 600 and 700 BC or ‘Before Collapse’ versus PC OR “Post Collapse’. The Nazaret faith survived the Collapse, spreading the Holy Writ.

The Nazaret worship the Almighty, the one true God, the Soul of the World. They believe that all things are manifestations of God, that everything and everyone is alive and has a soul; the same soul crafted by the same hand. The Almighty governs all things, and that when you want something with all your heart, you are closest to God. They believe there is a universal language shared by all beings, that this language of compassion, of desire, and dreams could be understood by the beings of Earth. Every person has a central role and path to follow, and that the arduous journey is how one could reach their Personal Legend.

The Nazaret claim seventy two billion followers or about forty percent of the total population of religious peoples. Their teachings heavily resonated with the survivors of the Collapse, spreading across the Old World in less than a thousand years.

However on the western continent of Irkalla, they were met with the second largest religion in the Alliance. Alhulmism is the worship of the Dreaming Holy Host, a collection of gods and ancestor spirits that provide rules for living, a moral code as well as rules for interacting with the environment. They clashed heavily with the Nazaret over the centuries, but both have maintained cordial relationships over the last century. Ahulmism currently has over forty eight billion adherents, and has seen a widespread resurgence in the last three decades.

The third great religion of humanity is that of Samsara, the overturning wheel of life and reincarnation. Considered the oldest extant religion, with records dating back to at least eight thousand years ago. The records show that the wheel of life slowly overtook their initial worship of the Devas, divine entities on the path of enlightenment. The Devas instead became more metaphysical, acting as the hands that turn the wheel of Samsara. The tenets of Samsara are widespread, with just under twenty nine billion adherents.

The remaining thirty two billion modern adherents of organized religion are split among hundreds of various forms of ritualized animism and ancestor worship, along with many variants of polytheistic and monotheistic religions like the Lords or Kami of Aztlán. Despite the growing secularism of humanity, religions remain a major portion of their lives among the stars.