“Talking”
‘Thinking’
[Ability]
[ Location: Pier Point – IPC Headquarters ]
[ POV: Topaz ]
I walked into my office cabin with Numby trotting right at my heels.
Taking a slow sip of my warm morning coffee, I tossed a small treat down to Numby, who squeaked happily and gobbled it up.
‘Drinking morning coffee at Pier Point really is heavenly.
Now, let’s see what mess is on today’s agenda.’
I sat down at my executive desk and pulled the top folder off the neatly stacked pile, scanning the report while sipping my brew.
Report 1: “Department request for massive resource allocation to build additional Imaginary Implosion Pulses technology originally designed by Genius Society Member #79, Calderon Chadwick.
Objective: Combat expanding Anti-Matter Legion fleets.” ‘We’ll need additional ship production to deploy these.
I’ll have to schedule a sit-down with the Technology Department head.’
Report 2: “Authorization request for shell companies to secure production lines for Asat Pramad Merchant goods.” ‘How in the world did Oswaldo Schneider manage to strike a deal with a Lord Ravager and get the board of directors to sign off on it?
Though…
looking at these projected sales figures, it’s undeniably a commercial success.’
Report 3: “Anti-Matter Legion raid on the mining world of Arcadia.
No Doomsday Beasts reported on-site.” ‘I’ll need to dispatch an investigation team.
Why target Arcadia?
Were they testing our security grid around strategic mineral reserves?’
Report 4: “Jarilo-VI: World remains blacklisted and completely isolated from the galactic cosmos due to past Anti-Matter Legion activity.
Biosign scans confirm life still exists.”
Before I could dive into the fifth file, my communicator buzzed.
A high-priority encrypted line from Madam Jade appeared on the screen, requesting my immediate presence in an executive briefing.
I patched into the virtual meeting room via holographic projection.
The room was already occupied by the heavy hitters of the IPC: Jade, Aventurine, Oswaldo, and Diamond himself.
Jade offered a refined smile.
“Welcome, Topaz.
Thank you for joining us on such short notice.”
I greeted everyone politely, but sensing the heavy atmosphere hanging over the room, I turned directly to Jade.
“What’s urgent enough to trigger a top-tier emergency executive meeting?”
Diamond crossed his gloved hands, his voice icy and grounded.
“I just received a direct broadcast from Yabuli.
Exactly thirty minutes ago, Nous designated a new member to the Genius Society: Member #85, Kiana Kaslana.”
Aventurine leaned back, adjusting his glasses as he eyed Diamond with healthy skepticism.
“Are you certain the signal is legitimate?
Nous hasn’t chosen anyone in quite a while.”
“It was broadcast to the entire Erudition pathstriders,” Diamond replied flatly.
“That isn’t the troubling part.
What is troubling is the research paper she submitted upon her entry.”
Jade leaned forward, her eyes gleaming with genuine curiosity.
“Is it a ground breaking discovery on par with Herta’s Solitary Wave Theory?”
Diamond’s expression turned dead serious.
“In the words of Yabuli…
her research paper is being treated as the second coming of Zander One Kuwabara.”
A collective silence fell over the room.
Comparing anyone to the legendary Founder #1 of the Genius Society was a staggering claim.
“To quote Yabuli directly,” Diamond continued, “‘She published the complete working mathematical mechanics of the Multiverse, along with a structural breakdown of parallel timelines.’ Right now, half the scientific divisions across the IPC and the Intelligentsia Guild are losing their sanity.
Most want to call it an absolute delusion, but because Nous validated the paper, they have no choice but to accept it as objective truth.
She just forced our top scientists to question the very nature of reality.”
I looked at Diamond, quickly piecing together my objective.
“You want me to establish contact with her and attempt to recruit her or at least her patents to the IPC, correct?”
“Precisely,” Diamond acknowledged.
“Reach out through Madam Herta or Screwllum.
They either already know her, are currently searching for her, or are in a session with her right now.
Make sure our approach is smooth and under no circumstances turns hostile.
Oswaldo, your directive is information control.
Ensure panic and existential dread don’t spread through the general public.
We cannot allow public faith in the Amber Lord to waver over cosmic existentialism.”
Oswaldo smirked arrogantly.
“Consider it done.
Diamond turned to Aventurine.
“Aventurine, monitor the markets and digital networks.
Track down any fraudulent claims or fake papers pretending to be her research, and wipe them clean.”
Aventurine flashed a confident grin.
“I’ll make sure every piece of intel we hold is pure gold and zero fluff.”
Jade smiled smoothly.
“I will handle the Shareholders and keep their anxieties in check.”
Diamond looked around the virtual table.
“If there are no further questions, this meeting is adjourned.
Move quickly.”
As the holographic projections faded, I immediately pulled up my personal comms and dialed Asta, the lead researcher on the Herta Space Station.
[ Location: Blue Star System – Herta Space Station, Master Control Zone ]
[ POV: Asta ]
Arlan and I were walking through the brightly lit corridors of the Master Control Zone, going over the station’s quarterly maintenance schedule.
Madam Herta was currently inside the primary control unit working on the Simulated Universe project, while Herta Puppet #404 was standing by to assist her with administrative tasks.
As Arlan and I stepped into the central room, we were stunned to see Madam Herta herself in the flesh, not a puppet!
We approached her to present the maintenance reports, but before either of us could speak, a resonant cosmic frequency echoed directly into the minds of every Pathstrider of Erudition.
It was an announcement directly from Nous:
“The Genius Society welcomes its newest member: #85, Kiana Kaslana.
Thesis: The Theoretical Mechanics of the Multiverse Structure and Parallel World Lines.”
Arlan and I stared at each other, complete horror and awe plastered across our faces.
The multiverse wasn’t just proven to exist…
a complete, mathematically sound model of the cosmos had just been dumped onto the galactic net by a brand new Genius!
I was both horrified by the scale of the revelation and desperately curious to see Madam Herta’s reaction.
I half expected her to start stomping her feet and yelling, ‘Oh, come on!
Madam Herta hasn’t even finished cataloging this universe yet, and some newcomer solves the entire multiverse?!
Totally unacceptable!’
Instead, the moment the announcement ended, Madam Herta stopped working entirely.
She reached into her coat, pulled out a shimmering Golden Ticket, and activated it.
‘If my knowledge serves me right…
that’s the Genius Society Meeting Ticket!’
Her consciousness instantly left her physical body, slumping softly into her chair.
Puppet #404 immediately stepped beside her real body to guard it, simultaneously triggering the station’s highest security protocols.
I turned to Puppet #404, my pulse racing.
“What did Madam Herta just do?
Why is the space station going into lockdown?”
Puppet #404 looked up, her jointed fingers tapping rhythmically against her arm.
“Madam Herta activated her Society Meeting Ticket.
She is attending an emergency session with the other Geniuses to meet the youngest member and scrutinize her multiverse research.”
Understanding the gravity of the situation, Arlan, Puppet #404, and I immediately got to work, strengthening the space station’s defensive grids, hardening the storage zone firewalls, and securing the outer ports against potential data-scrapers or raiders.
Two hours into the lockdown, my communicator chimed with an incoming call from Topaz.
I answered, putting the feed on a private channel.
“Hello, Topaz.
What can I do for you today?”
Topaz appeared on the screen, looking refined as always.
“We received the report from Yabuli regarding the new Genius.
I’m trying to establish a secure line to her, but all channels are completely dead.
Do you or Madam Herta have any contact details or private frequencies for Member #85?”
I offered an apologetic smile.
“I’m sorry, Topaz, but I don’t have any contact information for her.
As for Madam Herta, she’s currently in an official Genius Society meeting right now.
She might return with the answers we need, but until then, we just have to wait.”
Topaz nodded gracefully, accepting the answer.
“Understood.”
To keep the call productive, we transitioned into discussing the ongoing investment contracts between the IPC and the Herta Space Station.
I casually brought up a few questions about the IPC’s media and entertainment branch a sector my family was secretly trying to keep tabs on.
Topaz provided standard, high level corporate answers, concluding with, “For specific media distribution details, you’d need to clear that through Oswaldo Schneider’s division.”
‘Ah, what a shame…
I couldn’t squeeze any extra intel out of her.
She probably thinks I’m just a naive young head researcher…
She doesn’t realize her yearly salary as one of the head of IPC is basically equivalent to my monthly allowance from the family, not even counting my private investment portfolio.’
After about thirty minutes of pleasant corporate banter, we wrapped up the call and wished each other well. New chapters come out on g.com first.
I returned to organizing shipping logs with Arlan and Puppet #404.
By the time we finished the emergency security logs, three full hours had passed since Madam Herta entered the Genius Society meeting.
‘What kind of intense debate is happening in that meeting right now?’ I wondered, my curiosity burning.
‘I need to check out the research paper myself!’
Using my administrative clearance, I logged directly into the station’s Erudition Archive a privilege Madam Herta had granted me.
I searched for the new entry, and as the abstract loaded on my screen, a cold shiver ran straight down my spine.
[ Erudition Archive – Entry #85 ]
Researcher: Genius Society Member #85, Kiana Kaslana
Topic: The Tree-Sea Multiverse Model and Parallel World Line Mechanics
Primary Cosmic Structure 1: The Imaginary Tree
All existing universes and parallel world lines originate from and are anchored to the branches of the Imaginary Tree.
Primary Cosmic Structure 2: The Sea of Quanta
Universes that lose structural integrity or reach a dead end fall from the Imaginary Tree into the Sea of Quanta, dissolving into chaotic nothingness.
Key Theoretical Concepts:
Main Branches, Sub-Branches, Leaf Worlds, Bubble Universes, Imaginary Energy Dynamics, and the Perpetual Energy Cycle between the Tree and the Sea.
‘No wonder the IPC scientists and Intelligentsia Guild members are losing their minds…’ I thought, staring at the screen in utter awe.
‘To publish something like this…
If Nous hadn’t officially validated it, the scientific community would have laughed her out of the galaxy.
But now?
She effectively slapped the collective life’s work of every astronomer in history with a single paper!’
As I scrolled down to the citation page, one detail caught my eye:
Published via Assistant / Proxy: Void Archives.
‘Void Archives?
Who or what is Void Archives?
How are they connected to Miss Kiana?’
I immediately ran a deep-level query across IPC public registries and my family’s private interstellar servers, but came up completely empty.
‘If my hypothesis is correct…
Void Archives is likely Miss Kiana’s personal super-AI assistant, responsible for managing her publications and preventing her work from being plagiarized.’
BZZZZT—
Suddenly, my personal handheld terminal vibrated.
A encrypted text message popped up on a private line.
‘Wait…
I’ve never given this private number to anyone outside my immediate family.
How did someone bypass my encryption?’
I tapped the screen to open the message:
[ Unknown Sender ]
“Good evening, Madam Asta.
Allow me to introduce myself.
I am the Void Archives, assistant to Genius Society Member #85, Madam Kiana Kaslana.
You are currently one of only three individuals outside the Genius Society who has successfully deduced my role across the interstellar networks I monitor.
The first was Elio, leader of the Stellaron Hunters.
The second was Dr.
Ratio of the Intelligentsia Guild.
And the third is you, Madam Asta.
I am thoroughly impressed.
Rest assured, I have not violated your personal privacy.
My protocols are strictly dedicated to protecting Miss Kiana’s image, preventing academic fraud, and filtering out bad-faith actors.”
I let out a soft sigh of relief.
‘At least we’re dealing with a polite,Mister Screwllum-type assistant.’
I quickly typed back:
[ Asta ]
“Thank you for the clarification, Void Archives.
So, how may we assist each other, considering you reached out to me directly?”
A reply appeared instantly:
[ Void Archives ]
“Madam Kiana and Madam Herta will soon be collaborating extensively on the Simulated Universe project.
As a result, you and I will be working together quite frequently in the near future.
I felt it prudent to establish a direct line of communication in advance.”
‘Talk about a hyper-prepared assistant!’ I thought with a wry smile.
Without wasting any time, Void Archives and I began discussing potential power grid upgrades for the station, as well as patching several minor security backdoors in the outer storage zones that the Anti-Matter Legion could potentially exploit in the future.