Remedy

Nahida has awakened Ellen. She gives Ellen a moderate lecture on proper working conditions for medical areas.

“The bare minimum of a care space is that the conditions are sanitary and the floors are clear. Any tripping hazards present a significant health risk to both the caregiver and the patient” Nahida chides.

Ellen pouts slightly. “I-I knew that, I just… it was a last minute decision!”

Nahida is still annoyed. “Furthermore, sharing a bed with your patient is not only unprofessional and unsanitary, it breaks several laws and guidelines.”

“You told me I needed to watch him, so I did! I kept a Phoenix plume on him to revive him in case he needed to be revived while we slept!”

“Regardless of intention, consider how it would appear to your father, or anyone else that might have seen it.”

Ellen becomes a bit flustered.

“I could go on about your many violations, and how they put Isaac and other potential patients at risk… but the most disturbing factor is how much you have put yourself at risk in this space. I uncovered no less than five stray bottles buried under your discarded clothes.”

“What?”

“You could trip on those bottles, or break them and face severe injury.”

“I… didn’t realize it was getting that bad…”

Nahida sees that Ellen is upset. She also spots that Isaac is awake and looks concerned.

She is a caregiver. Though Isaac was her primary concern, mitigating harm was still one of her core directives, and though the potential physical harm should be addressed, perhaps it should be in a way that doesn’t compromise morale.

Nahida settles her working hand gently on Ellen’s shoulder. “It’s good that you’ve remained unharmed until now. I’ve observed your enthusiasm for care, it is commendable.”

She looks to the chemistry set. “It is clear that your interest in medicine is more than a passing curiosity. While I know the proper procedures for caregiving, I don’t know the means of manufacturing the necessary medicine for Isaac.”

Her attention returns to Ellen. “It has become clear to me that there are things here beyond my understanding of medicine. We can work together. You can teach me about the medicines and potions of this country, and I can teach you how to be a caregiver.”

Ellen is quiet for a moment. She looks up to Nahida… and smiles a bit. “I haven’t known you for that long… but already, I can tell something is different about you.”

Nahida nods. “There is. The integration of this Bixite catalyst into my system has caused what I can only describe as… sensory modifications.”

“Sensory?”

“It is difficult to parse the exact processes at play. Many of these changes I am unable to fully comprehend at this time, but… sensation seems to be the best descriptor for these changes.”

Isaac chimes in. “It’s not just that, you also kind of… talk more smoothly?”

Ellen tilts her head. “Also… what happened to your arm?”

Nahida looks to it, then back at Ellen. “It sustained damage during an encounter with the abyss.” Nahida relays to them her experience at the Godfall, the vision, and her discovery of the Will of the Abyss.

Ellen looks a bit shaken. “The abyss… has a will?”

“One singular will that guides it.”

“But… why does it want to… eat us?”

“Inconclusive. Insufficient data. Current hypotheses based on all observations of abyssal behavior thus far… it seeks to propagate itself.”

“Propagate?”

“It seems to behave like a mold or fungus, but it also shows properties consistent with cancerous formation.“

“Cancer… I… haven’t heard of that…”

“It is a bodily affliction marked by malignant, uncontrolled cell growth that has metastasized. It is common that this growth results in tumor formation and apoptosis.”

Ellen looked quite confused. “R-right… uhh…” She has an epiphany. “Tumors, I know that one! So… yeah, that… makes sense.”

“I have established a new list of objectives for myself. This list includes learning how to fabricate medicines in this country, teaching you caregiving skills, and seeking repairs.”

“Right… there’s a lot to process here… We should tell Lord Father about this. First…” Ellen turns to Isaac. “We need to do something about your condition. I can’t fix it, but… we might be able to give you a little boost for a bit. Enough for you to walk on your own for a while, at least.”

Isaac’s eyes widen.

Ellen walks over to the chemistry bench. “Right, time to get brewing.” She fishes a ribbon from her pocket and ties her hair back into a ponytail. She place her hands on an elaborate circle etched into the table. “Purification!” The circle glows green. “Divine Light!” It glows yellow. “Protection!” It glows blue. Her hands come off the table and have a glittering sheen to them for a second.

Nahida studies Ellen’s hands. “Magic can be used for sanitation?”

Ellen takes up one of the discarded bottles. “More or less.” She sets the bottle into the circle and casts those spells once again.

“I may have misjudged your abilities. It seems this magic will be more practical than anticipated.”

Ellen settles the bottle into the array. “Magic is very useful. There’s practically no limit to what you can do with it if you have the imagination.”

“Then perhaps it is not a skill meant for me. I was able to learn the Divine Light spell during my outing, but casting it causes significant power drain.”

“Wait… you can cast spells?”

“I used the catalyst you gave me to cast Divine Light on a farmer afflicted with abyssal tumors.”

“Golems… can’t cast magic.”

“Then it seems ‘golem’ is not a word that is an accurate descriptor for me.”

“That… huh…” Ellen felt uncertain. She shakes her head. “We’ll address that later.” Ellen points her finger at the metallic base of home of the alembic array. “Tinder.” A small spark like the striking of flint jumps into place from her fingertip. She steps over to the nearby cabinet and retrieves yet more bottles, these ones filled. She pours roughly a cup of water into the retort along with dried green leaves and neon blue petals that Nahida can’t identify.

Before arriving in the Conference territories, Nahida had downloaded as many wilderness survival manuals as the network permitted. Some of them spoke in great detail on plants that were both toxic and edible. The ones she observed being stuffed into the alembic were not on any of her lists.

“I am unfamiliar with these plants,” she states plainly.

Ellen turns to her. “Hm? Oh, right, you might not have these in your world.” She points to a small jar of the petals. “These are petals of the Urdinaldia, they grow where there’s high concentrations of Alea Ur.”

“I am unfamiliar with Alea Ur.”

“Does your world not have magic?”

“It does not.”

As they have this conversation, Nahida processes that Ellen stated “Your World”. Logic would then suggest that the place they are in currently is not the Earth that she was aware of.

In her time caring for Isaac, she took part in the enrichment activities of his choice. Given his condition, he had ample time for it. The activity of choice was most often studying science fiction and fantasy media, typically books and television.

They spoke of various means by which travel between worlds was done; wormholes, bridges, warp drives, rituals, time machines, there was no end to the ways they described transit.

Nahida had no logical basis for considering these ideas until now.

She analyzed the facts presented to her.

Firstly, the idea of travel “between worlds” was a theoretical if not fictitious notion in the world she knew of, whereas it was a known, repeatable, and regularly practiced concept in this one.

Secondly, she has observed on several occasions in this “world” that there are abilities and functions that she failed to identify a logical precedent for. She herself participated in such a task, that task being the casting of the Divine Light spell. Despite her lack of understanding of the mechanics behind it, she was able to perform the casting.

Thirdly, she consults the observations made by her systems. The accelerometers within her body had some difficulty in calculating her speed and position. She had assumed it was because of a malfunction or error brought on by the transportation process. While that is still a possibility, a new possibility has been presented.

If this place truly is a different world, then the error margin could be the result of a different gravitational constant. She ran a few thousand simulations, and found that the errors equate to a difference in gravity of approximately a centimeter per second squared lower than the expected constant.

Conclusion: the place she finds herself in has a weaker gravitational force than Earth, has access to abilities and resources not found on Earth, and follows different fundamental logic than Earth. Thus… the Conference territories are not located on Earth.

This is an acceptable reason for not being able to access the network. While reestablishing connection is a prime directive, the gravity issue brings forth a new consideration. Isaac’s condition puts significant strain on his body. The similar but reduced gravity of the world would present a lower resistance, and thus reduce strain from basic movement.

Furthermore, the air of this world was significantly cleaner than that of the world they came from. With fewer irritants and pollutants in the air, he could potentially breathe more easily. Depending on the nutritional options available, this world may be better suited for Isaac’s long term health.

This presented a conflict with her directives… but her core directive was to ensure Isaac’s health and well-being. If that meant permanent disconnection from the network, so be it.

During the course of this train of thought, Ellen blinks once. “Right, right… so, Alea Ur is this…” She considers her words thoughtfully. “It’s a substance that’s responsible for our ability to cast certain spells. Alea in general is what makes casting happen at all, but Alea Ur, it makes healing and cleansing spells possible. Despite the colors of the spells themselves, people usually call this type of casting blue magic, because Ur glows blue when you can see it.”

“So incorporating Alea Ur into your medicines allows them to be more effective universally.”

“I mean… basically, but it’s more like it has to be there for it to be effective at all. Without Ur, there is no healing.”

Nahida took note of this.