Chapter : 785
[<A Lilith Stone requires an external power source to execute its imprinted protocol. The optimal source is a direct feed of spiritual energy. The stone acts as a transducer, converting the raw spiritual energy into the precise, functional output defined by its Task Protocol. The efficiency of this conversion is dependent on the grade of the stone. A B-minus grade stone, such as Item Alpha, operates at an approximate energy-conversion efficiency of 68.4%.>]
It was a magical CPU. A processor that ran on mana instead of electricity. It took raw power as input and, guided by its imprinted software, produced a specific, predictable output.
The implications were staggering. He could create a stone programmed with the protocol: ‘Continuously generate a contained, spherical, anti-gravity field with a lift capacity of 2.5 kilograms.’ He could then power it with a small, ambient spiritual energy collector. He could build a flying machine. He could create a stone programmed with: ‘Analyze incoming light and project a refracted, holographic image based on these parameters.’ He could create a cloaking device.
The gap between this world’s medieval magic and his own 22nd-century technology had just been bridged. The Lilith Stones were the missing link. They were the key that would allow him to build his future.
He felt a surge of pure, unadulterated joy, the fierce, triumphant ecstasy of a scientist who has just solved the fundamental equation of his universe. The Aegis suit was no longer a dream. It was now a simple, if complex, engineering problem.
He forced himself back to the immediate task at hand. The boy. The surgery. His grand, technological ambitions would have to wait. He had to use this newfound knowledge to solve the immediate, biological crisis.
‘Administrator,’ he commanded, his mind now sharp and focused. ‘Analyze Item Alpha’s potential for medical application. Specifically, its capacity to be imprinted with a bio-stabilization protocol. Can it be programmed to maintain the spiritual and physical homeostasis of a critically ill patient during invasive surgery?’
The Administrator’s response was, as always, instantaneous and brutally, beautifully logical.
[<Affirmative. The stone can be imprinted with the protocol: ‘Maintain the subject’s core spiritual resonance at a stable, pre-defined frequency.’ It can also be programmed with a secondary protocol: ‘Channel infused healing energy directly to targeted cellular structures, prioritizing the mitigation of surgical shock and the acceleration of post-operative cellular regeneration.’>]
It was perfect. It was the exact, miraculous function he had fabricated out of thin air in front of Lord Qadir. He had lied his way into the truth.
[<However,>] the Administrator added, its calm, monotone voice a sudden, chilling note of warning. [<A protocol of such complexity and precision would require a level of control and a continuous, stable power feed that is beyond the capabilities of a B-minus grade stone. Such a task would require, at minimum, an A-grade stone.>]
Lloyd’s triumphant elation came to a screeching, grinding halt.
‘Define A-grade,’ he commanded, a cold knot of dread forming in his stomach.
[<An A-grade Lilith Stone is characterized by a flawless, internally homogenous crystalline structure, allowing for near-perfect energy transduction and the capacity to hold multiple, complex, and synergistic Task Protocols. Such stones are exceedingly rare. Probability of finding such a specimen in the Qadir family’s current accessible lode is calculated at 0.003%.>]
The checkmate he had been so proud of had just been turned back on him. The stones he had so masterfully acquired, the keys to his grand plan, were… useless for the very purpose he had claimed to need them for.
And then, through the rising tide of his own strategic panic, a new, insane, and utterly brilliant idea began to form. It was a thought so audacious, so far outside the bounds of his own carefully laid plans, that it was either the work of a genius or a complete and utter madman.
He was focused on the tool. The stone. The hardware. But what if the problem wasn't the hardware? What if the problem was the software?
The Administrator had said that an A-grade stone was required to run a protocol of such complexity. But he wasn't a machine. He was a human, augmented by a divine, god-like System.
‘Administrator,’ he thought, his mental voice now sharp and urgent, a new, wild hope dawning in his mind. ‘The stone is the lens, the focusing crystal. I am the source of the will, the one who imprints the protocol. What if I do not imprint the entire, complex protocol onto the stone itself? What if I use the stone merely as a passive, B-grade conduit?’
He was thinking on his feet, re-engineering his own miracle on the fly.
[<Please clarify the query, User. A B-grade stone lacks the capacity to process complex, synergistic commands.>]
‘Precisely,’ Lloyd shot back, the idea now taking full, glorious shape. ‘The stone will not be the processor. I will be the processor. I will imprint the stone with a single, simple, continuous command: ‘Act as a passive, high-fidelity conduit for externally focused spiritual energy. Receive, amplify by a factor of 1.5, and project towards the designated target without distortion.’ That is a simple enough protocol for a B-grade stone to handle, is it not?’
There was a brief pause as the Administrator calculated the variables.
[<Affirmative. The proposed protocol is within the operational parameters of Item Alpha.>]
‘And then,’ Lloyd continued, his mind now a blazing forge of pure, desperate genius, ‘I will be the one to generate the complex, harmonic, life-sustaining energy myself. I will use my own spiritual core, my own will, guided by my [All-Seeing Eye], to create the perfectly tuned healing frequency. I will then project that energy into the Lilith Stone. The stone will simply act as a passive amplifier and an aiming device, a magical magnifying glass. I will be the surgeon, and the stone will be my scalpel.’
He had done it. He had found a workaround. He would bypass the stone’s limitations by replacing its processing power with his own. It would be an act of immense, unprecedented control, a feat of magical and mental multitasking that would push him to the absolute limits of his abilities. It would be like trying to perform open-heart surgery while simultaneously composing a symphony and solving a quantum physics equation. It would be agonizing, exhausting, and impossibly dangerous. A single lapse in concentration, a single flicker in his will, and he could accidentally flood the boy’s system with a torrent of raw, untuned energy, killing him instantly.
It was the most dangerous, most reckless, most insane plan he had ever conceived.
And it was the only one he had.
[<The proposed methodology is… viable,>] the Administrator conceded, and for the first time, Lloyd thought he detected a faint, almost imperceptible note of something akin to surprise in its synthetic voice. [<However, the projected cognitive and spiritual strain on the User will be extreme. The probability of catastrophic system failure due to User exhaustion is calculated at 78.9%. Recommend aborting.>]
‘Noted,’ Lloyd replied, his voice a cold, hard piece of steel. He had his path. The odds were terrible. The risks were astronomical. But the mission was still possible. ‘Proceed with imprinting the conduit protocol onto Item Alpha.’
The conversation with his private god was over. He opened his eyes, the familiar, grimy reality of the clinic snapping back into focus. He looked at the dull, milky-white stone on his desk. It was no longer a useless piece of rock. It was his weapon, his tool, his only hope.