Tree of Spite: Phase 2
Tree of Tech
Unimaged Version 0.1
Intro:
Several years have passed.
You are now adept at entering and navigating your inner void, and have witnessed many gradual changes.
The Tree of Skill is in full bloom, vibrant and healthy, not stronger but definitely healthier.
The great ball of thorns at your innermost center is a bit bigger.
All of its roots are thicker, fatter.
What were once fine, nearly invisible tendrils are now thicker and stronger, resembling lengths of pale thread.
Entangling fibers have drawn the Tree of Skill closer to it, and it closer to the world.
Where before they were completely invisible, you can now see the lights of what you know without question are human souls, sparkling in the void an immeasurable distance below you like the stars in the night sky.
The only problem with that whole concept is that you also know humanity didn’t have these particular lights a few years ago.
Resonant Souls
Mandatory
Each human possesses, in addition to any other spiritual structures they may have already had, a Resonant Soul.
This is an anchoring structure, which sits on the border between your inner void and reality, allowing the Trees to more easily connect to people.
The Resonant Soul takes on and preserves a person’s memory and identity, attempting to become the primary locus of such.
When a human actively attempts to produce what they would consider a new human, be it by normal reproduction, cloning, or programming an AI, their Resonant Soul will spark the formation of another.
The process of forming and nurturing new Resonant Souls is both slow and spiritually draining, and requires physical proximity.
New souls require well over a decade of cumulative spiritual support to mature, and a full year of near-constant spiritual support just to achieve stability, while even mature souls are only strong enough to support to two younger souls at a time.
A being is considered human and receives the benefits of the Trees if and only if they possess a Resonant Soul; the stability and maturity of the soul is irrelevant.
From time to time, you could not help but explore the more distant depths of your inner void.
Over months of intermittent searching, you found and collected the broken pieces of a Tree in far worse shape than Skill.
The Tree of Secrets, as it was, could not be restored.
Yet with an infusion of new power, it could become something much more well-suited to this world.
Upheaval:
Humanity did not respond to the blessings of the Tree of Skill perfectly.
It may be that humanity responded implausibly poorly, in fact.
Society and politics shifting in annoying, harmful, or outright dangerous ways that could not be reasonably expected.
Or not?
Though these effects are not permanent, there is enough momentum behind them for it to take years to enact significant change by any normal means.
Take any number of options.
Overregulation
Gives 2 Tech Points
Governments stepped in quickly to restrict all use of the benefits of the Trees.
Some applications are banned outright, while others are theoretically legal but held back by over a dozen different kinds of license.
Use of the new powers in ways that defy these regulations, even in private, can result in hefty fines and jail time.
Acceptance
Gives 2 Tech Points
The sudden introduction of blatant supernatural powers has shaken humanity’s perception of reality.
If this is possible, what else might be?
The average person is significantly more willing to accept bizarre things as real.
This is to the point that prank callers have convinced police departments aliens from other dimensions are invading, and that they need to respond in full force immediately, multiple times.
Super-ism
Gives 2 Tech Points
As people began experimenting with their new capabilities, a significant portion decided this meant they could play the role of a superhero (or supervillain).
Though not technically any more capable than the average person (anymore so than an athlete is an office worker), their dedication does lend them a certain advantage in making use of their expanded capabilities.
Now, about 1 in 1,000 people is invested into this sort of role full time, and vigilante justice enacted by masked individuals is accepted both publically and legally.
There remains a clear division between ‘real’ criminals and supervillains, whose actions generally remain within the (admittedly extended) bounds of legality and cause minimal lasting harm.
Intrusiveness
Gives 2 Tech Points
Aging no longer occurs, and human memory is no longer bound by decay over time, finite storage space, or even permanent loss due to physical damage.
An belief has spread throughout more than 10% of the population, that it will eventually come to be that everyone will know everyone else personally- at least amongst those born before the Tree of Skill awakened.
Those who subscribe to this belief feel that it is important to expedite this process, and that it will lead to peace and harmony between all people.
This leads to them digging through any and all records they have access to to develop detailed profiles of people, attempting to strike up meaningful conversation with anyone they feel they don’t know well enough, and so on, and industries have risen to support these behaviours.
Extreme Environmentalism
Gives 3 Tech Points
Political groups have formed that believe the powers granted to humanity would allow survival without any of the trappings of modern society, including technology, agriculture, and non-barter economies.
Whether or not this is true, they are very loud and active in their support of this belief, to the point of committing small acts of sabotage and attempting to push restrictive legislation.
Their efforts have significantly slowed the development of humanity’s industry already, and have had minor environmental benefits at best.
Scrapheap Megaprojects
Gives 3 Tech Points
Making use of the advantages they now have, many communities of hobbyists now intermittently attempt to unite for the sake of grand projects.
There have already been several attempts by fans of space exploration to send small teams of explorers to the moon.
These efforts are rarely dangerous to non-participants, but are very much unsafe.
It is rare to find a hobbyist community that does not attempt their own megaprojects, and that is not at least a bit pushy about getting as many members as possible to provide support.
Miscalculated Risk
Gives 3 Tech Points
With the addition of new benefits, estimates for danger were thrown wildly out of balance.
Humanity, in its attempts to resolve this, erred just slightly on the side of excess risk.
Workplace safety standards are lower, safety measures implemented into machinery are sloppier, and the average person is more of a risk-taker.
Though truly lasting harm is no more common, property damage and ‘minor’ injury is a much more frequent occurence.
Substance Abuse
Gives 3 Tech Points
It cannot be denied that there is less risk of lasting harm from the use of drugs of all kinds.
Stemming from this, the attitude of the public regarding drug use changed rapidly, increasingly so as many such substances were legalized.
Though use of mind-influencing substances is not universal, the average person now uses at least one form of such regularly, and sees no problem with this.
It is generally considered acceptable to be under the influence of any manner of substance, as long as you can perform at acceptable levels; so long as you do not commit a traffic violation, there is no legal penalty for drunk driving.
Everyone in high-end professional sports is openly on a ridiculous concoction of performance-enhancing substances.
Cults
Gives 5 Tech Points
A number of people experience the precise combination of events necessary to convert them into maddened, cannibalistic cultists- or to cause them to become as such years or decades down the line.
All over the globe, secret societies of such monsters have developed to support their unholy appetites.
Though the seeding of new cultists has stopped, and no reasonable person will join these groups, they are unfortunately adept at avoiding detection, and will continue to receive trickles of new recruits for quite some time.
Nuclear War
Gives 5 Tech Points
With an immunity to genetic decay, humans can thrive in environments too saturated with radiation for anything else to survive.
The average person now sees nuclear weapons as no worse than a particularly large bomb, and they are used quite frequently wherever such a thing would be useful.
Shortly after humanity realized the implications of the Tree of Skill, a series of short but fierce wars were waged, making heavy use of this principle.
Humanity is now more peaceful than it was before Skill awakened, but there are a few dozen fewer nations than before.
Cling to Power
Gives 5 Tech Points
Many of the people with the most political and economic power are quite old.
With immortality in their hands, the vast majority decided they must retain their power, holding on to it more fiercely than ever before.
Implausibly united against the young, they have established new legislation, merged already-massive corporations, and more in a maddened attempt to keep the younger generations weak and reign forever as immortal oligarchs.
Simulation Hypothesis
Gives 5 Tech Points
With the awakening of the Tree of Skill, it was obvious humanity did not fully understand reality.
Many clung to the first plausible explanation they found.
For a massive fraction of the population, that was the idea that humanity lived within a simulated reality.
Though most of those that believe this attempt to act normally, a small fraction is more extreme, holding dangerous ideas such as that everyone else is an NPC, or that death can free others from the simulation, or that the simulation will end imminently.
Tree of Tech:
The Tree of Secrets is broken.
You might have all the pieces, but that’s like saying you have all the pieces of a human who was chopped apart, bled out, and has begun to rot.
Still, stretching the metaphor a bit, the bones are unbroken and you’ve got a big tub of fresh blood, so you’re not totally out of luck.
One by one, you strip the fragments of Secrets down to their essential aspects, to Resonance.
These, you reassemble into the loose form of a Tree.
Not quite as efficient as Secrets, but you lack for material, power, and expertise- Tech will have to do.
One by one, you wrap dry, darkened fibers around the framework, running purely on instinct as you flesh out each Node.
Returning to the great ball of thorns at your core for a moment, you draw forth a number of fresh roots, brimming with power.
You can see it more clearly now than you could before, the sacrifice inherent in reawakening your Trees.
You cannot provide them with extra power, or change the way the power flows through them, or deactive and rebuild them, because you have been lessened too much, suffered to much damage, to reawaken them normally.
Without this sacrifice, Skill would still be dormant.
No reason not to give Tech every drop of power you can right now.
Gain 60 Tech Points.
Each Tech Point given to an option increases its level by one.
T1 Nodes:
Subpattern Rift (10)
Maximum Level: 10
DESCRIPTION:
A bizarre series of calculations, capable of accessing an unusual sublayer of reality, a ‘digital realm’.
Holds the potential for computers that can save up processing power for later, and instant communication across arbitrary distance simply by finding the right path.
The subpattern is thankfully empty before humans begin using it, starved for energy and thus empty of native life.
DETAILS:
Must be run on a Silicite Matrix.
Transmits information and processing power into and out of the subpattern.
Within the subpattern, information is like matter, and processing power is like energy.
Within the subpattern, nothing physical can exist.
Distance within the subpattern does not correlate to distance outside of it.
STATISTICS:
Requires (10 – [level]) units of calculation for each unit of calculation or information brought in or out of the subpattern.
At or above level 5, it is possible to access an infinite number of subpattern layers, rendering all uses of it significantly more secure.
Interference Generator (10)
Maximum Level: 10
DESCRIPTION:
An assembly of intersecting silicite coils that touches upon electromagnetism in a very useful way, directly manipulating other manifestations of the force.
Capable of focusing a magnetic field upon a much smaller area, or suppressing one polarity of a magnet’s charge to produce something vaguely resembling a magnetic monopole.
Theoretically precise enough to monitor and interact with the electrical activity of the human brain, allowing the creation of mind-machine interfaces that do not require physical probes.
DETAILS:
Must be constructed with a significant quantity of silicite.
Requires a supply of Resonance to function.
Weakens and distorts magnetic fields and electrical currents at range.
Strength of effect limited by energy supply.
Precision of effect limited by manufacturing capabilities and effectiveness of control systems.
Humans are automatically aware of the purpose of any use of an Interference Generator on themselves, and can automatically reject the negative effects of such.
STATISTICS:
Maximum range equal to [level]^2 times generator diameter (generator need not be spherical, counts longest side).
At or above level 3, generator can be used to observe electromagnetic fields and currents within range.
At or above level 5, generator obtains energy when weakening electrical currents instead of expending energy.
Lightwell (10)
Maximum Level: 10
DESCRIPTION:
A specialized refractor, the ring’s interior filled with precisely shaped pieces of semi-transparent crystalline silicite.
Capable of arranging photons into semi-stable solid structures.
Structures grow sturdier as they accumulate charge, but such increases the cost to modify them- an intangible display can reform near-instantly, while a sheet of hardlight armor may take minutes to fully repair.
Has some potential as a means of harnessing solar energy; holographic blades can easily be applied to rotate a turbine.
DETAILS:
Must be constructed with a significant quantity of silicite.
Requires a supply of Resonance to function.
Converts light into holographic structures.
Holographic structures require a linked lightwell only to be modified, moved, or charged.
Holographic structures grow linearly slower to modify via lightwell as they accumulate charge.
Holographic structures move with linked lightwells as if part of the same object.
So long as any part of a holographic structure is within link range, the structure itself can be of any size that can be sustained.
STATISTICS:
Converts ([level] * 20)% of light impacting the well’s interior into holographic structure and charge (maximum 100%).
Maximum link range equal to lightwell diameter.
Holographic structures lose a minimum of (1 / (100 * [level])) of current charge in form of radiated light each second.
Holographic structures possess physical durability equivalent to ([level] * megajoules of charge / liters of structure) times standard borosilicate glass.
At or above level 3, well can observe status of linked holographic structures and events interacting with them.
At or above level 6, well can cause linked holographic structures to release all stored charge as light immediately.
Luminal Cannon (10)
Maximum Level: 10
DESCRIPTION:
A simple device that requires no silicite in its own construction, nor any input of normal energies.
The structure simply acts to guide the resonance infusing it towards the desired effect, drawing all direction from those energies.
A steel pipe carved with the proper designs and loaded with a chunk of silicite is sufficient to convert a delicate computer chip into a lightbeam and send it safely to the moon.
Countless possibilities in transportation, communication, and even manufacture, should safeties be dialed down appropriately.
DETAILS:
Requires a supply of Resonance to function.
Converts physical structures into luminal packets, complex formations of organized light.
Luminal packets revert into physical structure only when the organization of their light is disrupted beyond a ‘safe’ threshold set upon launch.
Transformation into organized light and back is truly instant, and occurs simultaneously throughout the entirety of a structure.
Until reverting into physical structure, luminal packets do not experience the passage of time.
Luminal packets smooth out spacetime in their paths, interfering with relativity and forcing time to progress at the same rate along their routes.
Physical structures transformed into luminal packets and back retain momentum relative to the luminal cannon, translated into momentum relative to the nearest massive object, upon reformation.
STATISTICS:
Consumes ((11 – [level])^2)% of the projectile’s mass in silicite to convert it into a luminal packet.
Launches projectiles up to ([level]^2)% the cannon’s mass.
Luminal packets move at a minimum speed of C.
Luminal packets move at a maximum speed of [level]^2 times C.
Counterforce Crystal (10)
Maximum Level: 10
DESCRIPTION:
A solid, crystalline piece of pitch-black refined void crystals, constructed with patterns similar to those found in projection nodules.
Gentle flickers of electric current give it instruction, but it needs no fuel for its momentum distorting powers.
Dirt cheap hover-vehicles, bizarre floating bits on structures, and classic inertial dampening is made not just possible, but easy.
DETAILS:
Requires a supply of Resonance to function.
Must be constructed with a significant quantity of void particles.
Each Counterforce Crystal may maintain one field or effect within its range.
Repulsion fields prevent forces applied to an object from a certain direction from causing movement.
Momentum links cause two volumes to exchange momentum as if physically connected.
Diffusion fields equalize momentum between objects within their confines.
A crystal cannot create fields or designate targets that are smaller than itself.
STATISTICS:
Maximum range equal to [level]^2 times crystal diameter.
Repulsion fields can prevent all force originating from within up to [level]^1.5 degrees of the target direction from causing movement or acceleration; this does not decrease damage caused by impact.
Momentum links can extend up to ([level]^2)% of crystal diameter into the material of targets.
Diffusion fields can mitigate up to [level]^2 gs of acceleration perfectly, each.
At or above level 3, structural integrity fields can increase the energy necessary to cause damage by 20% per level.
At or above level 5, repulsion fields can target specific forces; preventing gravity only from causing acceleration, etc.
Distortion Anchor (10)
Maximum Level: 10
DESCRIPTION:
A spherical pod filled with churning, smoky void particles refined into gaseous form.
Flickering current guides and fuels the formation of lasting spatial distortions, maintained by filaments of fibrous void that grow along the current’s path into structures resembling neural networks.
Allows for the slow but cheap distortion of size and distance, taking many hours to establish but completely devoid of upkeep costs of any kind.
Complex modifications permit implausibly capable mechanical systems, including phones that unfold into bulky laptops.
DETAILS:
Must be constructed with a significant quantity of void particles.
Requires a supply of Resonance to function.
No Resonance is necessary to maintain distortions once established.
Distortions are lasting modifications to volumes and distances.
Distortions are completely safe to humans and what is theirs, even when collapsing.
Distortions touch upon gravity, inertia, and other forces; objects made to appear bigger will appear to mass more, and be as durable as something naturally of that size would be, and structures given increased internal volume then filled to capacity will not place additional stress on their supports.
Distortions cannot physically overlap other distortions; attempts to bring distorted volumes together are blocked as if by a physical barrier.
By establishing a network of Distortion Anchors at all corners of a volume, distorting that volume can be made significantly easier and more effective.
STATISTICS:
Maximum distortion range equal to [level] times anchor diameter.
To fully establish a distortion, (11 – [level])^1.5 hours are required.
Distances can be stretched or compressed by a factor of up to [level] in each dimension.
Directions can be curved by up to [level]*10 degrees.
When distorting a volume fully enclosed by anchors at all corners, maximum range is multiplied by a factor of [level].
When distorting a volume fully enclosed by anchors at all corners, maximum distance modification factor is multiplied by a factor of [level].
At or above level 5, two Distortion Anchors within range of each other may form a pair of permanent wormholes at any locations within range, with diameters equal to ([level]^2)% that of the smallest anchor.
Proximity is only necessary for wormhole formation; they will continue to function even should they come to inhabit seperate universes.
Wormholes can be slowly moved by the anchor maintaining them to any location within range of said anchor.
Each wormhole pair equalizes spacetime at their two ends, interfering with relativity and equalizing the passage of time.
Substructure Layering (10)
Maximum Level: 10
DESCRIPTION:
A specialized application of a voidshadow infusor, capable of using an object’s voidshadow to layer additional ‘real’ matter into it.
These layers are stabilized and held seperate by complex clusters of void particles, distorting space and redirecting forces on the microscale in an incredibly convenient manner.
Thus, a phone could simultaneously be a single block of metal, a single block of batteries, a single block of processors, a single powerful transmitter, and a phone-shaped maze of wires linking everything together.
DETAILS:
Requires a supply of Resonance to function.
No Resonance is necessary to maintain layering or its benefits once achieved.
Only functions on objects with significant voidshadows.
Layering process can be performed extremely quickly given appropriate parts, and layered objects can be quickly and easily seperated back into component layers while within a voidshadow infusor.
Most properties of a layered object, including appearance and texture, are determined by the primary layer.
The maximum mass of an object’s voidshadow is determined by the mass of the primary layer.
The mass of additional layers attached to an object does not effect the object’s apparent mass.
Significant deformation experienced by the primary layer applies similar deformation to other layers.
Energy and information can be easily transferred between layers, and easily isolated to specific layers.
STATISTICS:
An object can have a maximum of [level] additional layers.
Objects act with the resilience of the primary layer, or ([level] * 10)% of the resilience of the layer most resistant to the relevant form of damage, whichever is better.
((11 – [level]) * 10)% of damage that does not cause significant deformation carries over to non-primary layers.
At or above level 3, liquids with a viscosity comparable or superior to water can be safely contained in non-primary layers and transferred between layers.
At or above level 7, gaseous substances can be safely contained in non-primary layers and transferred between layers.
Voidfold Bridging (10)
Maximum Level: 10
DESCRIPTION:
A specialized application of the void still’s ability to force void particles that vanish great distances away to reappear within its own confines, and the voidshadow infusor’s greater capacity for internal manipulations.
A voidshadow is made for an object, then stripped away in such a manner that is structure is preserved.
The object is then given another voidshadow, and the two shadows made to intermingle, such that lasting connections are formed.
When needed, an infusion of sacrificial void can form a bridge between the two shadows, allowing the real matter bound to one of them to be safely swapped to the other, ignoring distance.
Such a technology permits both convenient teleportation and a means of reconstructing ruined objects- after all, atoms remain bound to the void particle clusters even when seperated from each other, and a ‘backup’ voidshadow retains the entirety of the object’s original structure.
DETAILS:
Requires a supply of Resonance to function.
Voidshadow intermingling process is effectively instant.
Voidshadow intermingling process requires both voidshadows exist within same voidshadow infusor.
Transfer is initiated by placing an intermingled voidshadow within a voidshadow infusor, using it to precisely overload the void clusters, which triggers a matter transfer after a variable delay.
Transfer causes one voidshadow to become a real object, and reduces a real object with a voidshadow (or the remains of such) to a voidshadow.
Voidshadows without real matter can be compressed to smaller sizes by a voidshadow infusor; this is undone without lingering problems by the transfer process.
Void stills can instantly draw any voidshadow (that is devoid of real matter) within range into their interior without causing damage.
STATISTICS:
Voidshadow intermingling persists for up to [level]^2 hours before the connection is lost.
Voidshadows retain ([level]^2)% of the basic durability of the object they are patterned off of.
Voidshadows can be trivially compressed into packets up to [level]^2 times smaller in each dimension, allowing them to be recalled by Void Stills from up to [level]^2 times normal Void Still range away.
Matter transfer consumes ((11 – [level])^2)% of the transferred material’s mass in void particles.
Maximum transfer delay is [level]^3 seconds.
At or above level 6, intermingled voidshadows will not naturally lose their connection.
Nullspace Ejector (10)
Maximum Level: 10
DESCRIPTION:
A device only a few tiny tweaks removed from a simple electromagnet, its coils crackling with resonant electricity.
Tuned, powered, and manipulated appropriately, it exerts a pushing force on matter and energy alike, displacing it into an unkowable other dimension.
No information can be retrieved from this dimension, by its own innate nature.
Very useful in refrigeration, potentially applicable in advanced manufacturing.
DETAILS:
Requires a supply of Resonance to function.
Must be powered by resonant energy.
Produces an energy field that ejects energy or matter into ‘nullspace’.
It is truly impossible to retrieve anything from nullspace, and for anything in nullspace to escape.
Each Nullspace Ejector may include any number of arbitrary volumes within its range, and selectively determine for each volume what valid targets are ejected- in one volume, heat is ejected, while in another produced by the same ejector, matter is cast into the void.
If insufficient energy is available to eject the chosen contents of all volumes instantly, available energy is used to produce a gradual effect, spread out evenly over all volumes selected.
It is possible to limit the amount of something that is ejected; lowering the heat of a volume to 20 Kelvin, but no lower.
Humans are automatically aware of the purpose of any use of a Nullspace Ejector on themselves, and can automatically reject the negative effects of such.
STATISTICS:
Maximum range equal to [level]^0.5 times ejector diameter.
Each joule of energy can be used to eject [level] joules of energy.
At or above level 1, heat can be ejected, to a minimum of 1 Kelvin.
At or above level 3, velocity (relative to the ejector) can be ejected.
Each joule of energy can be used to eject [level] micrograms of matter.
At or above level 5, matter can be ejected.
Each joule of energy can be used to disintegrate [level] milligrams of matter.
At or above level 7, bonds between atoms can be ejected, as a disintegration effect.
At or above level 9, supernatural energies can be ejected; the amount that can be ejected may be wildly variable.
Function Field (10)
Maximum Level: 10
DESCRIPTION:
A nonsensical assembly of technological components of any kind.
Fed Resonance and resonant energy, the intent of human users gives it all the instruction it needs.
Acts as a defense against arbitrarily exotic means of attack, and a tool to make a home that much more comfortable.
DETAILS:
Requires a supply of Resonance to function.
Must be powered by resonant energy.
Produces an energy field that protects and influences its interior.
No indirect negative effect (negative as defined by humans inhabiting or powering the field) powered by less energy than that held within the field’s energy buffer can penetrate the field.
Indirect negative effects do not include lasers, explosions, or simple physical intrusion (walking in), but do include teleportation, FTL insertion, gravity manipulation, ethereal intrusion, alteration of physical constants, demonic possession, and time manipulation.
Certain effects, including erasure of reality and time travel that retroactively harms the contents of the field, are beyond the Function Field’s remit.
Effects stemming from inside the field cannot be blocked by it.
No energy is lost when negative effects are blocked, nor when negative effects penetrate the field.
It is always obvious when a negative effect penetrates the field.
The effects of a Function Field on its contents (seperate from its capacity to protect against external elements) can only ever effect a human positively.
Multiple Function Fields can safely overlap, but Comfort, Reliability, Flexibility, Suppression, and Preservation effects cannot stack; they are either active or inactive.
STATISTICS:
Maximum range equal to [level]^3 times projector diameter.
Energy buffer contains all resonant energy fed into the projector within the last [level]^2 seconds.
At or above level 1, if (energy buffer / field volume) exceeds 1 Joule per meter^3, a Comfort effect is applied to the contents of the field.
The Comfort effect distorts apparent friction, temperature, and hardness, adjusts sensory inputs, and enhances human bodily function for a negligible increase in capabilities or productivity but a significant improvement in human comfort.
At or above level 3, if (energy buffer / field volume) exceeds 10 Joules per meter^3, a Reliability effect is applied to the contents of the field.
The Reliability effect enhances the resilience, effectiveness, and efficiency of human constructions by a minor degree, in a manner such that lower-quality constructions benefit by a greater margin; a buggy, unstable computer program would function decently while under the effects of Reliability.
At or above level 5, if (energy buffer / field volume) exceeds 100 Joules per meter^3, a Flexibility effect is applied to the contents of the field.
The Flexibility effect renders reality in its interior more malleable; it can stretch or compress sizes and distances by up to 10%, speed or slow the passage of time by up to 5%, produce limited amounts of simple unreal substances (such as lubricant), disappear limited amounts of unimportant material (such as dust and grime), and enhance things significantly when not hindered by confrontation (it can allow a person to stretch to a ridiculous degree safely, but not allow them to survive being squashed flat by a kinetic impactor from a hostile vessel).
At or above level 7, if (energy buffer / field volume) exceeds 1 Kilojoules per meter^3, a Suppression effect is applied to the contents of the field.
The Suppression effect reduces the capabilities of enemies, reducing the effectiveness or increasing the cost of all powers (including magic, psychic abilities, ki, and so on) by a factor of 4; this has full effect regardless of whether a power originates from within the influence of the Suppression effect.
At or above level 9, if (energy buffer / field volume) exceeds 10 Kilojoules per meter^3, a Preservation effect is applied to the contents of the field.
The Preservation effect prevents normal chemical and nuclear decay from occuring (preventing carbon-14 from decaying, but not rendering fission-based bombs or reactors ineffective), prevents normal microorganisms from acting or dying, drastically slows the rate of temperature change, modestly impedes other forms of decay and change, and allows humans that would have died within a Preservation field to maintain a ghostly existence at a minimum of 10% of their normal capabilities for as long as they remain within a Preservation field.
Selfstable Patterns (10)
Maximum Level: 10
DESCRIPTION:
A method by which resonant chemicals can be rendered permanent, fully stable without further exposure to Resonance.
Genetic structures apply their own order, and this stability preserves the vital connection to the Tree of Tech.
Useful in the production of supermaterials that last, and in the development of truly bizarre biological creations.
DETAILS:
Requires use of resonant chemicals.
Involves synthesis of genetic structures from resonant chemicals; ‘patterned genomes’.
Patterned genomes, biology produced and controlled by patterned genomes, and the products of such biology do not experience the decay resonant chemicals normally suffer.
The presence of an even partially patterned genome naturally resolves conflicts between resonant and normal chemistry within an organism’s biology in a wholly-beneficial manner.
Genome patterning, and the results thereof, is automatically obvious to humans who experience it, and the negative effects of such can be automatically rejected; someone who had the entirety of their DNA rewritten to nothing but archives of badly-written fanfiction would suffer no negative consequences whatsoever, and bacteria with patterned genomes can never harm a human.
STATISTICS:
Increases resilience of patterned genomes to damage and negative mutation by 100% per level.
Increases capacity of patterned genomes to store and access information by 400% per level.
Increases capacity of patterned genomes to observe the status of the organism they inhabit, make effective decisions, and alter the traits expressed by 20% per level.
Humans find deciphering, modifying, and creating patterned genomes to be 4^[level] times less complex.
At or above level 1, simple mixtures of resonant chemicals can convert anything that records genetic information, throughout the entirety of an organism even partially exposed, into an identical patterned genome.
At or above level 2, patterned genomes automatically eliminate or correct wholly negative traits.
At or above level 3, simple mixtures of resonant chemicals can replace patterned genomes that fit certain parameters with a specific patterned genome set when creating the mixture.
At or above level 4, patterned genomes that have been engineered by a human automatically correct minor mistakes and tiny mutations towards the human creator’s intent, and actively attempt to fill in missing details.
At or above level 5, simple mixtures of resonant chemicals can precisely modify patterned genomes in variable manners based on the state of the genome; a drug might make all creatures that take it swell to ten times their normal size, regardless of what that normal size is.
At or above level 6, patterned genomes can be used to create chimeras without any added complexity, difficulty, or instability.
At or above level 7, simple mixtures of resonant chemicals can modify patterned genomes automatically based on specific environmental conditions; a person whose genome was swapped out for something else entirely might have the changes harmlessly reverted after a ten-hour delay.
Resonance Mimicry (10)
Maximum Level: 10
DESCRIPTION:
As resonant chemicals react, they produce a tiny loophole in the workings of reality.
Given a source of Resonance and real energy, they can produce, in addition to ‘normal’ resonant chemical substances, something that very much resembles matter, but is not.
This ‘mimic matter’ is potentially even more versatile than ordinary resonant chemicals, yet incapable of persisting for long without being crushed by cruel physics.
Weapons that synthesize vast quantities of resonant acid without a source of material, reactionless drives based on the conjuration of false fuels, and drink dispensers that never need to be refilled are but simple applications of this technology.
DETAILS:
When resonant chemicals undergo any chemical reaction, and Resonance is available, mimic matter can be produced.
When created, mimic matter takes the form of the normal results of the chemical reaction that created it.
Mimic matter is nothing more or less than Resonance holding on to a bit of real energy and using it to pretend to be normal matter.
Exposure to human intent may slightly alter the physical properties of mimic matter.
Mimic matter, despite obeying physical laws imperfectly, cannot be used to create new energy; any attempt to do so instead depletes the mimic matter’s internal reserves.
Mimic matter cannot undergo fusion or fission reactions.
After existing for a fixed duration, or running out of real energy, mimic matter decays into a quantity of heat and light determined by its remaining energy reserves.
The decay of mimic matter into heat and light will never harm a human, nor anything that is a human’s.
Mimic matter that becomes part of a human’s body falls under that human’s absolute control.
STATISTICS:
A chemical reaction can be induced to produce up to [level]^3 times its normal output in the form of mimic matter.
Mimic matter can persist for a maximum of [level]^2 minutes before decaying.
At or above level 2, mimic matter given any form of signal can be induced to copy the form of any chemical substance it is in contact with; a vial of mimic matter and microglobules of various poisons could transform into the most currently-effective poison from its selection upon injection.
At or above level 4, mimic matter given any form of signal can be induced to alter its apparent quantity rapidly; the amount originally created becomes irrelevant, only the energy it contains and with which it might act upon the world.
At or above level 6, mimic matter given any form of signal can be induced to cease interacting with all things save Resonance and a rare few supernatural forces temporarily; this does not consume any amount of energy.
Any material that attempts to reenter reality in a volume already occupied by a significant amount of material is simply deflected, bouncing off of reality and falling towards nullspace.
At or above level 8, mimic matter that envelops a thing may act as a layer of seperation from the reality of the world.
The energy reserves of the enveloping mimic matter are no longer relevant; it draws energy and ‘capabilities’ from what it has enveloped.
An enveloped human is uniquely capable of preventing mimic matter so attached to them from decaying.
As long as the layer of mimic matter (which is no more durable than before) remains undamaged, interactions between the world and its contents may be finely controlled.
A person who simply immerses themselves in a pool of mimic matter in the form of gooey, slippery ooze could take the form of a living slime, capable of stretching and molding themselves in this form, gaining and shedding slime-mass without danger, dissolving food in their mass to obtain sustenance, and so on for as long as the core, on the other side of which their true body remains, is undamaged.
This does not increase the ‘capabilities’ of the enveloped thing (though it may expand them), and may reduce them- a tiny robot hidden within a skyscraper-sized plastic shell would likely lack the strength to move, while a battleship cannon hidden within a rifle would be approximately as powerful as a rifle.
Echo Core (10)
Maximum Level: 10
DESCRIPTION:
A device that uses imagery to allow Resonance to echo the capabilities of the humans producing it.
Interfacing with computer systems, digital consciousnesses, or alien brains, it allows them to duplicate some fraction of human mental capabilities.
Not enough on its own to create true synthetic consciousness, but more than sufficient to make automation much easier.
DETAILS:
Requires a supply of Resonance to function.
Must take a form with some degree of ‘mirror’ or ‘imperfect copy’ imagery.
Augments an attached computer system or mind by increasing its minimum efficacy at all tasks to some portion of human efficacy at those tasks.
Draws upon all humans who could have provided any fraction of the Resonance it is using, automatically selecting the best combination thereof.
Never reduces the capabilities of, or causes harm to, the humans it draws upon.
Humans can automatically disallow Echo Cores from drawing anything from them for purposes they would be opposed to.
STATISTICS:
Achieves 90% of the effectiveness of source humans in noncreative tasks.
Achieves ([level]^1.8)% of the effectiveness of source humans in creative tasks.
At or above level 2, can directly draw upon knowledge of source humans for purposes of completing relevant tasks.
At or above level 4, nonsapient systems making use of Echo Cores gradually become more subservient to and loyal towards humanity.
At or above level 6, trivially reprogrammable nonhuman minds (including sapient software) making use of Echo Cores gradually become more subservient to and loyal towards humanity.
At or above level 8, nontrivially reprogrammable nonhuman minds (including organic brains and hardwired computer systems) making use of Echo Cores gradually become more subservient to and loyal towards humanity.
Phase-Shift Drive (10)
Maximum Level: 10
DESCRIPTION:
Not a drive as in a physical device that propels a vessel, but a drive as in an urge buried deep within every human.
By calling upon this urge, large groups of humans can pull a volume out of physical reality and into a bizarre space that resembles an endless ocean of dense, visible Resonance.
Unconnected to reality as it is, the ambient Resonance of this location cannot be put to use, and would be quite dangerous if the Resonance Bubble somehow fell.
Traversing this realm, it is possible to cover incredible distances, the speed of travel scaling limitlessly with the number of humans involved.
DETAILS:
Humans within a spherical volume can, over the course of 1 to 10 hours (varying with unity and discipline), enclose it in a Resonance Bubble and eject it into Resonance Space.
Anything intersecting the boundary of the Resonance Bubble may prevent it from forming.
While in Resonance Space, the Resonance Bubble may be moved at superluminal speeds, guided by the humans within.
It is not possible to enter or exit a Resonance Bubble within Resonance Space; even structures like wormholes becoming impassable, without losing their connectons.
Sending a bubble out of Resonance Space requires at least one human, and a majority of the humans within the bubble.
Exiting Resonance Space such that your bubble intersects large amounts of existing matter (such as a planetary atmosphere or smaller vessel) may deflect the contents of the bubble into Nullspace, while intersecting small amounts of existing matter may instead cause it to be ejected into Nullspace.
It is always obvious, given a short period of examination, if it is safe to emerge in a given location.
Means of indiscriminately preventing Resonance Bubbles from exiting Resonance Space within bubbles of space tens to hundreds of millions of kilometers across exist and are achievable even without any access to Resonance.
From within Resonance Space, it is possible to vaguely observe nearby concentrations of Resonance in reality, and to very effectively observe Resonance Bubbles within a vast area.
Use of the Phase-Shift Drive interferes with relativity and equalizes the passage of time between entry and exit points.
STATISTICS:
A Resonance Bubble can move at a maximum speed of ([level] * C) for each human it carries.
The maximum volume of a Resonance Bubble is ([level]^2 * 1,000) cubic meters for each human it carries; this volume can grow or shrink, potentially crushing the contents of the bubble against its unbreakable walls, if the human population increases or decreases.
From within Resonance Space, the precise locations of all Resonance Bubbles within 4^[level] lightyears can be determined trivially.
Existential Nail (10)
Maximum Level: 10
DESCRIPTION:
A method by which human lives may be used to anchor reality, tying it to the firmer foundation that is the deeper currents of inhuman Resonance.
Regardless of simple physical seperation, every functional nail is driven through a human to achieve its vital function, safely extending through deeper aspects of their self.
Useful if reality is not expected to be sufficiently stable.
DETAILS:
Must be made by hand by a human, and bonds to its maker.
Must take a form resembling or suggesting a nail or spike.
There can be no more than one Existential Nail per human; crafting a new Existential Nail invalidates the previous.
Within a limited radius, locks out certain forms of reality distortion and enforces certain physical laws.
Existential Nails interfere with relativity and equalize the passage of time between the locations of all Existential Nails.
Most effects produced by the Trees are considered real and essential by the Existential Nails.
STATISTICS:
Nail has a range of [level]^2.5 meters.
At or above level 1, shuts off all forms of fate and prevents alteration of physical laws and constants, reality warping, and manifestation of unreal things within its range.
At or above level 3, prevents the past and future from imposing upon the present, locking out precognitive observation of things currently within its range, preventing manipulation of the past or future of things currently within its range from having any effect, breaking time loops on contact, causing time travelers attempting to arrive within its range to vanish utterly, etc.
At or above level 5, prevents reality and existence from being erased within its range and maintains a bubble of reality and existence even in the most unreal and unstable of realms.
At or above level 7, locks out a single non-essential aspect of reality totally and utterly without exceptions, (shared by all Existential Nails and decided by majority choice) such as ‘magic’, ‘souls’, ‘psychic ability’, or ‘divinity’; the chosen aspect continues to exist, but cannot influence reality to any extent within the range of any nail.
Cohesion Point (10)
Maximum Level: 10
DESCRIPTION:
A point in space that shines with the light of Resonance, only visible to humans but obvious even to the blind- obvious even to those looking away.
Conjured and manipulated by Resonance and human will, they are easily anchored to and seperated from physical structures for ease of transportation.
Enhances the coordination of any kind of system, exchanging information and commands instantly and reducing the complexity of achieving effective organization by quite a bit.
Used well, it could allow automated vehicles to operate even more safely and efficiently, make nanoswarms a little bit more capable, or let a human give their cells orders directly.
DETAILS:
Requires a supply of Resonance to function.
Does not require any physical material to manufacture.
Requires three hours of the direct attentions of a human to manufacture.
Cohesion Points do not possess normal physical forms, and cannot be moved or damaged without use of Resonance.
Emits a field that allows entities within to coordinate more easily and effectively.
The cohesion field is capable of functioning on economic actors, computers in a network, programs in a computer, military forces, etc.
Size and complexity does not impact whether a thing is an appropriate target; entire starships and individual nanobots may benefit from a cohesion field.
The cohesion field is incapable of suborning, tricking, or otherwise manipulating targets to act against their goals, command structures, or similar, due to metaphysical necessities of its function.
The effects of a cohesion field can only ever improve the coordination and efficiency of a system.
Any beneficiary of a cohesion field can trivially opt out of its effects.
STATISTICS:
The cohesion field each point emits possesses a radius of [level] meters.
All information coordinated targets have obtained within the last [level]^3 seconds is stored, allowing coordinated targets to act is if they knew this information.
All coordinated targets automatically become aware of valid commands, current goals, and other forms of purpose.
Coordinating and managing systems within a cohesion field is as complex and difficult as if the systems contained (1 / ([level]^2)) as many elements.
At or above level 2, Cohesion Points may be trivially linked with other Cohesion Points whose fields intersect, creating larger cohesion fields of arbitrary maximum volume.
At or above level 4, elements that normally cannot coordinate or make decisions, while under the influence of a cohesion field, can, to a limited degree; white blood cells may share information on the locations and movements of invading microorganisms and use that information to perform ambushes and encirclements.
At or above level 6, any two Cohesion Points may, with the sacrifice of another Cohesion Point, be permanently linked, unifying their cohesion fields into one across any seperation of distance or dimensions; every ship in a fleet could be part of the same cohesion field.
Linked Cohesion Points interfere with relativity and equalize the passage of time between their locations.
T2 Nodes:
Silicite Matrix (20)
Level equal to combined levels of [Subpattern Rift] and [Interference Generator].
DESCRIPTION:
An exotic form of computing technology, made primarily from silicite.
Not constrained by the problems that normally limit computing systems, especially not by power supply and heat dispersion.
Only limited by the quality of the manufacturing processes available; moore’s law could continue to the planck scale, given appropriate tools.
DETAILS:
Must be constructed from high-purity silicite.
Requires a supply of Resonance to function.
Does not require any source of energy to function, and does not produce heat.
Matrix functions as both data processor and data storage simultaneously.
Must be constructed using, in succession, a process that would (given appropriate materials) produce some form of data processor and a process that would (given appropriate materials) produce some form of data storage.
Signals propogate through the matrix no more slowly than the speed of light.
Data read and write speed is only limited by available processing power.
STATISTICS:
Matrix processing power per kilogram equal to [level]^3 times that achievable with other computational mediums made via the same processms.
Matrix data storage capacity per kilogram equal to [level]^3 times that achievable with other storage mediums made via the same process.
At or above level 5, no physical modifications are necessary to optimize matrix for specific forms of computing task.
Silicite Refractor (20)
Level equal to combined levels of [Lightwell] and [Luminal Cannon].
DESCRIPTION:
A ring of structured silicite, capable of manipulating the light that passes through it more effectively than any normal lens.
Suitable for use in lasers, cameras, and anything else that might need to manipulate light.
DETAILS:
Must be constructed from high-purity silicite.
Requires a supply of Resonance to function.
Converts a portion of the photons that pass through its center into heat to function.
More drastic manipulations produce greater quantities of heat.
Manipulates light that passes through its center in predetermined ways based on location, direction of movement, and wavelength.
Adjusting the way in which a refractor manipulates light requires physical modifications.
Precision of manipulation limited by manufacturing capabilities.
STATISTICS:
At or above level 1, refractor can freely alter the directions of photons passing through its center.
At or above level 3, refractor can observe the light passing through its center and output high-quality information about it.
At or above level 6, the center of the refractor is defined as the sphere its ring wraps around, rather than the disc the ring encloses.
At or above level 10, refractor can freely alter the locations of photons passing through its center.
Projection Nodule (20)
Level equal to combined levels of [Counterforce Emitter] and [Distortion Engine].
DESCRIPTION:
A droplet of refined void particles condensed into fluid form, suspended in a near-vacuum by its own exotic properties.
Imprinted in the fluid matrix of the droplet are careful patterns, self-stabilizing channels through which Resonance may work.
When an electric current passes through the droplet, it both shapes the distortions produced and gives them the energy needed to influence matter.
Provides a simple but reliable form of gravity manipulation.
DETAILS:
Requires a supply of Resonance to function.
Must be constructed with a significant quantity of void particles.
Consumes electrical energy to function, but does not generate waste heat.
Each Projection Nodule may maintain a single field of uniformly distorted gravity within its range.
Minimum field size equal to nodule size.
If insufficient energy is available to apply desired force to all contents of gravity field, field strength is uniformly decreased to achievable maximum.
Does not obey conservation of momentum.
STATISTICS:
Maximum range equal to [level]^2 times nodule diameter.
Consumes (21 – [level])^1.5 Watts per Newton of force produced.
At or above level 5, high-quality information on gravitational gradients within a nodule’s field can be extracted from electric current flowing out of the nodule.
At or above level 10, projection nodules can prevent all forms of gravity manipulation from functioning within a volume with a radius of up to [level] times nodule diameter, centered on the nodule.
Voidshadow Infusor (20)
Level equal to combined levels of [Substructure Enfolding] and [Voidfold Bridging].
DESCRIPTION:
A subtly modified void still, capable of directing the reappearance of void particles with greater precision.
Instead of appearing in one great clump, countless tiny packets of void appear around every atom of a target mass, binding to it quite thoroughly.
The void particles shadow and mimic the atoms they are tied to, augmenting many physical properties at the cost of adding to the objects mass.
Unlocks the possibilities for a great number of high-mass supermaterials.
DETAILS:
Requires a supply of Resonance to function.
No Resonance is necessary to maintain a voidshadow or its benefits once infused.
Binds void particles to, or strips void particles from, the contents of an enclosed volume.
Rate of infusing void particles is limited only by supply of void particles.
Rate of stripping void particles is only limited by rate at which void particles can flow out of the infusor.
Void particles are bound to specific atoms, ‘shadowing’ them; this may cause problems in systems that regularly replace atoms.
STATISTICS:
Maximum ratio of void particle mass to normal mass equal to [level]:1.
Up to ([level]^1.7)% of the mass of the voidshadow (maximum 90%) can be prevented from impacting the apparent mass of the infused object.
Basic physical properties, including tensile strength and specific heat, are multiplied by a factor equal to the void particles:normal matter ratio.
At or above level 4, complex physical properties, including chemical energy and melting point, are multiplied by a factor equal to the void particles:normal matter ratio.
At or above level 8, unusual physical properties, including processing power and sensor fidelity, are multiplied by a factor equal to the void particles:normal matter ratio.
Imposition Field (20)
Level equal to combined levels of [Nullspace Ejector] and [Function Field].
DESCRIPTION:
Shaped blocks of dense, hard material, assembled into a loose structure.
Resonant energy, poured into the machine by any means, accumulates in the gaps between these pieces, visible power pushing them apart and causing tremors.
Shaped planes of resonant force, guided by the structure of the projector, extend outwards, recognizing innately that which is unwanted and burning itself up to deflect it away.
Permits, amongst other things, machines that cut with two-dimensional blades and exert crushing force without concern for counterforce and a simple and endlessly versatile form of personal protection that neatly counters the threat of two-dimensional blades by concerning itself only with the energy behind their strikes.
DETAILS:
Requires a supply of Resonance to function.
Must be powered by resonant energy.
Projects an Imposition Field that acts like a physical barrier, preventing matter and energy from passing through.
Does not obey conservation of momentum.
Projector must be fully charged to begin projecting, and collapses immediately when all charge is lost.
Charge is only consumed when the field blocks something.
Loss of charge can cause vibrations in the projector, greatly slowing the accumulation of charge and risking field collapse at extreme levels.
Imposition Fields are selectively permeable, allowing them to avoid clipping into the ground and to block lasers without interfering with vision.
Each field projector may maintain a single Imposition Field within its range, which must connect to the projector.
Altering the shape of the Imposition Field projected requires physical modifications.
Imposition Fields move with the the projector as if part of the same object.
STATISTICS:
Maximum range equal to [level]^1.5 times projector diameter (projector need not be spherical, counts longest side).
Projector can contain a maximum of [level] megajoules of charge per kilogram of projector mass.
Minimum time to reach full charge equal to (21 – [level])^2 minutes.
Each joule of charge can deflect or counter [level] joules of kinetic energy, heat and light, or other force.
Resonant Chemistry (20)
Level equal to combined levels of [Selfstable Patterns] and [Resonance Mimicry].
DESCRIPTION:
Making use of resonant energy to power the reactions, it is possible to synthesize a number of exotic chemical substances.
As the resonant energy responds to human intent, the same process can produce a different substance each time it is repeated.
Only the minimum degree of complexity necessary for something to become a resonant chemical prevents this from touching upon literally everything.
DETAILS:
By powering the process with resonant energy, resonant chemicals can be created.
Resonant chemicals possess exotic physical properties.
Resonant chemicals have reactant, catalyst, temperature, etc. requirements to produce, as in normal chemistry.
Pure elements and insufficiently complex molecules cannot exist as resonant chemicals.
The intent of humans running a process or providing the Resonance for the resonant energy used may alter the specific resonant chemicals produced.
Different reactions that would produce the same normal chemicals may produce wildly different resonant chemicals.
Resonant chemicals cannot maintain their connection to the Tree of Tech indefinitely on their own, and will decay into normal chemicals if the connection decays completely.
The connections of resonant chemicals can be restored rapidly by placing them within range of a human or placing them within a vessel equipped with a Resonance Cell.
STATISTICS:
Increases positive statistics (as decided upon synthesis) of resonant chemicals vs comparable normal chemicals by up to 50% per level.
Resonant chemicals may maintain their connection for up to [level] hours without exposure to Resonance before decaying.
A specific reaction may produce up to [level]^2 varieties of resonant chemical, depending on intent.
At or above level 3, resonant chemicals may be created without resonant energy by reacting existing resonant chemicals; the new chemicals produced possess a connection no better than the resonant chemicals used to create them.
At or above level 5, resonant chemicals may be created that defy conservation of energy by up to [level]^3 Milliwatts per kilogram; substances that heat or cool themselves to approach a specific temperature, imbalanced feedback loops, etc.
At or above level 7, resonant chemicals may be created that vary more significantly in mass and volume, diverging by up to ([level]*30)% positively up to 90% negatively on top of the normal capabilities of resonant chemicals; substances that decay into vastly greater quantities of medicine, tiny canisters that produce incredible quantities of heavy foam.
At or above level 9, resonant chemicals may be created whose behaviours can be controlled implausibly finely via simple structuring; blocks of explosives where each molecule detonates simultaneously, polymers that become extremely basic or acidic based on how they are woven, etc.
At or above level 11, resonant chemicals may be created that possess a limited degree of innate intelligence and non-physical perception; microglobules of acid that can recognize infection ‘visually’ and choose to attack, plasteel weapons that dissolve into clinging, burning goo when stolen by an alien, etc.
At or above level 13, resonant chemicals may be created that interact with chemically-inert (but still physical) substances and forces freely; acids that eat through force fields, organisms that use noble gases as oxygen carriers, nanobots built from resonant chemicals that can infect and multiply within hardlight structures.
Resonant Icon (20)
Level equal to combined levels of [Echo Core] and [Phase-Shift Drive].
DESCRIPTION:
A natural extension of the use of Soul Runes to funnel Resonance into a thing, a heavier, more physical device.
Draws upon a fraction of a human’s will to draw distant, diffuse wisps of their Resonance into Resonance Capacitors.
Such a device permits the use of Resonance-powered technology in places very far from humanity.
DETAILS:
Must be attached to a Resonance Cell to function.
Allows Resonance Cells to accumulate charge at reduced efficiency beyond the normal maximum range.
Spatial distortions, portals, and similar cannot increase the effectiveness with which Resonance can be harvested.
Must take a form with some degree of ‘funnel’ or ‘vortex’ imagery.
Humans can automatically tell all Resonant Icons, and representations thereof, apart with perfect accuracy.
Any number of humans can contribute charge to the same Resonant Icon.
STATISTICS:
Each order of magnitude of distance beyond the normal maximum range of Resonance Cells, charging efficiency decreases by [level]%.
A Resonant Icon given ((21 – [level])^1.5)% of a human’s attention will accumulate 1 unit of charge per second, modified by charging efficiency.
A Resonant Icon taking up ((21 – [level])^1.5)% of a human’s visual sensory input will accumulate 1 unit of charge per second, modified by charging efficiency.
At or above level 3, representations of a Resonant Icon count as the Resonant Icon itself for the purposes of charging by observation.
At or above level 5, a Resonant Icon may be created to draw upon a specific emotion; humans experiencing emotion may dedicate emotions to specific Resonant Icons, contributing to them as if paying them a similar amount of attention.
At or above level 7, additional forms of sensory input stemming from a Resonant Icon count for the purposes of charging by observation, counting based on the potion of sensory input stemming from the Icon; music, physical pain and pleasure, and exotic senses are all viable.
At or above level 9, a Resonant Icon may be created to draw upon a specific kind of mental process, such as ‘planning battle strategies’, ‘enjoying sexual pleasures’, or ‘doing math’; humans experiencing such mental processes may dedicated them to specific Resonant Icons, contributing to them as if paying them a similar amount of attention.
Purity Brand (20)
Level equal to combined levels of [Existential Nail] and [Cohesion Point].
DESCRIPTION:
A means of scarring a thing, such that it is linked to both the Resonance of humanity and the deeper seas of Resonance they pull upon.
The scars produced glow with visible Resonance at all times, brighter as they fight to purify.
Human Resonance constrains and controls these deeper currents, limiting their corrosive effects to that which is undesired.
Burns away manipulation, and infection, and worse threats to a being’s identity or an object’s purpose.
The applications of such a thing are niche, unless threats of this sort are expected, in which case they are perhaps mandatory.
DETAILS:
By damaging an object or being precisely and carefully in the presence of a human, it is possible to brand it.
The branding process causes the subject to automatically become aware of what is occuring, and cannot be performed on an unwilling subject.
The brand acts to fight corruption of all kinds, even to the point of destroying what it protects to prevent enemies from taking it.
The brand is better than humanity at determining what is corruption, and what must be fought.
The brand extends beyond the purely physical, to mental, spiritual, and magical aspects of a object or being.
Scarring a thing to brand it causes permanent damage; the brand actively fights any attempts to repair this damage, to the point of reinflicting it.
Destruction caused by the brand is true and complete, annihilating substance and power alike such that no traces remain.
Brands can only be removed with the direct attentions of a human.
The brand can function even without a supply of human Resonance, but a lack of human Resonance causes it to go overboard, attempting to destroy utterly what it protects.
Purity brands cannot protect humans from the direct effects of the Trees on their selves.
STATISTICS:
Purity brands decrease the functionality of a branded thing by ((21 – [level])^1.3)%.
Purity brands require ((21 – [level])^2.3) minutes to erase the branded thing utterly; partial erasure is correspondingly faster.
A purity brand can block, nullifying a source of corruption completely, impede, rendering complete subversion at least 4 times as difficult, time consuming, and costly as simply killing the branded thing, and destructively stall, actively fighting corruption by unmaking physical and non-physical components as they are subverted, taking some amount of corruption with them.
At or above level 1, purity brands can impede ‘hacking’ (including hypnosis, hacking that does not involve physically manipulating a computer system, supernaturally-augmented or precognitively-guided persuasion, and most memetic threats) and destructively stall ‘infection’ (including disease, nanotech that eats you to fuel eating you, and corruption that feeds upon you to grow and worsen).
At or above level 4, purity brands can block hacking, impede infection, and destructively stall ‘conversion’ (including direct physical alterations to body and soul, corruption that grows and grows without technically lessening you until what you were is swamped by what you are, memory wipes, and externally powered and supplied nanoswarms attempting to reconstruct or hijack your body).
At or above level 7, purity brands can block hacking and infection, impede conversion, and destructively stall ‘esoterica’ (including retroactive alterations to identity, conceptual effects, all possible memetic threats, reality warping, and manipulation by things of unreality).
At or above level 9, purity brands can block hacking, infection, and conversion, and impede esoterica.
T3 Nodes:
Silicon Reactor (40)
Level equal to combined levels of [Silicite Matrix] and [Silicite Refractor].
DESCRIPTION:
Not so much a reactor as a reaction.
Made possible by extreme temperatures and all-important Resonance.
Versatile enough to let you both skip over fusion reactors entirely and fuel a wood-burning stove with silicate rocks.
Produces limited quantities of a supermaterial with many hi-tech applications.
DETAILS:
Can be constructed from any material.
Requires a supply of Resonance to function.
Reaction is considered a form of nuclear fusion.
Reaction converts silicon into energy, silicite, and iron waste.
Reactors can be designed to produce more energy and less silicite, and vice versa.
Reaction accelerates linearly with temperature, but can be restricted to not exceed a maximum rate by modulating the Resonance supplied.
STATISTICS:
Reaction converts up to ([level] * 2.5)% of silicon reactant into useable energy and silicite.
Silicite functions as an electrical superconductor up to temperatures of ([level] * 40) Kelvin.
Silicite can losslessly store up to ([level] * 4) megajoules per kilogram of electrical energy.
At or above level 10, silicite can be structured to achieve arbitrary electrical properties (not exceeding the limits of its superconductivity and energy storage capacity).
At or above level 20, silicite can be structured to function as a thermal superconductor up to temperatures of ([level] * 80) Kelvin.
Void Still (40)
Level equal to combined levels of [Projection Nodule] and [Voidshadow Infusor].
DESCRIPTION:
A hollow structure, its interior compartment only accessible through many thin conduits.
Resonance shifts the nature of reality and the manner in which it functions, waves radiating out and pulling back in over and over gain, pulsing like a heartbeat.
Within its range, unstable ‘void particles’ appear in areas of high vacuum, disappearing the barest fractions of a second later, long before they could interact with anything.
The Resonance forces these particles to reappear within the center of the still, shaping and stabilizing void fluids as they trickle out.
Though almost entirely unlike normal matter, void fluids are a endless source of cheap materials easily obtained in the emptiest places.
DETAILS:
Requires a supply of Resonance to function.
Void particles can continue to exist indefinitely without exposure to Resonance, so long as they retain stability.
Causes void particles that disappear within its range to reappear within its internal storage.
Stabilizes captured void particles, increasing the difficulty of disappearance.
Can differentiate void particles, causing them to act as any normal element with an atomic number below iron; this conserves mass.
Undifferentiated void particles tend to clump together, and in large quantities act as a fluid.
When appearing, void particles possess a temperature of 2.73 Kelvin, and are undifferentiated.
Void particles cannot undergo fusion or fission reactions, and their mass cannot be converted into energy.
STATISTICS:
Maximum range equal to [level]^2 times still diameter.
Each second, [level] nanograms of void particles appear in each cubic meter of high vacuum.
Stabilized to the maximum possible degree, void particles will only disappear if exceeding a temperature of [level] * 40 Kelvin.
Conversion Tap (40)
Level equal to combined levels of [Imposition Field] and [Resonant Chemistry].
DESCRIPTION:
A resonance cell made into the shape of a hollow ring.
As energies pass through the gap in its center, they take on some of the properties of Resonance.
Electricity becomes crackling, obedient lightning, the glow of a dim LED becomes as sunlight.
Massively increases energy supply, without the normal problems involved in transporting, storing, and using such large amounts of energy.
DETAILS:
Requires a supply of Resonance to function.
Converts ‘energy’ that passes through its center into ‘resonant energy’.
Functions even in cases where energy is bound up into physical material, such as fuels containing chemical energy.
Resonant energy is no more difficult to direct, store, and apply than the energy it was made from.
Resonant energy produces no more waste heat, physical wear, or similar than the energy it was made from.
Resonant energy tends to follow and cooperate with human intent, simplifying its own rules where such would be beneficial.
Energy harvested from the functioning of resonant energy is itself resonant energy; a battery charged with resonant electricity will contain resonant chemical energy.
STATISTICS:
One joule of energy is converted into [level] joules of resonant energy.
At or above level 1, ‘energies’ such as electricity, heat, and light can be converted into resonant energy.
At or above level 15, ‘energies’ such as kinetic energy and chemical energy can be converted into resonant energy.
At or above level 30, ‘energies’ such as fission energy, fusion energy, and mass-energy can be converted into resonant energy.
Soul Rune (40)
Level equal to combined levels of [Resonant Icon] and [Purity Brand].
DESCRIPTION:
Resonance is as much a product of humanity as it is a product of the Tree of Tech.
By creating an artistic opening, depictions of forests of thorns and interconnected webs, Resonance can be drawn into a thing, giving it a semblance of humanity.
Useful in directly enhancing machinery, potentially much more valuable in sharing humanity’s strength with alien life.
DETAILS:
Requires a supply of Resonance to function.
Uses inscription of symbols on an object’s surface to convey beneficial effects.
Requires only existence of symbols; medium (paint, engraving, ink) does not directly impact function.
Symbols must be vaguely appropriate to the Tree of Spite and its connection to humanity.
Damage to symbols and coverage below the minimum for full functionality are treated the same, diminishing the benefits provided proportionally to the amount of needed symbols not present.
STATISTICS:
The qualities of a thing inscribed with appropriate symbols receive up to ([level] * 2.5)% of the enhancements of the Tree of Skill.
This cannot boost qualities that a thing does not possess, but can expand the scope of existing qualities (cannot allow a simple robot to regrow missing components, but could allow it to walk on walls).
((41 – [level])^1.2)% of the object’s surface area must be inscribed with appropriate symbols to achieve full benefits.
T4 Nodes:
Resonance Cell (160)
Level equal to combined levels of [Silicon Reactor], [Void Still], [Conversion Tap], and [Soul Rune].
DESCRIPTION:
The basis of everything the Tree of Tech provides.
Draws upon the interconnection of all human souls to draw forth an exotic energy, which allows the creations of the Tree of Tech to function and empowers things with a shadow of humanity’s strength.
Though endlessly variable in design, all Resonance Cells must include a sealed internal compartment.
Nothing can reveal the contents of this compartment without rendering the Resonance Cell nonfunctional.
DETAILS:
Absorbs Resonance from humans and infuses it into machinery.
Resonance cannot be transfered between Resonance Cells.
Spatial distortions, portals, and similar cannot increase the range at which Resonance can be harvested.
STATISTICS:
When within [level] meters of a human, accumulates 1 unit of charge per second, per human.
Constantly loses Resonance charge at a rate of 1 unit per second, under all circumstances.
Can store a maximum charge of (60 * [level] * (density / 10g/cm^3)) units.
Supplies Resonance to an attached device or component thereof no more than ([level] * 4) times its own volume.
The actions of devices supplied with Resonance receive [level]% of the enhancements of the Tree of Skill (maximum 100%); this only enhances actions, and only draws on those enhancements that directly benefit actions, rather than qualities.
Color of Resonance:
As Tech awakens, glowing lines of power visible upon its trunks and branches, you see points where damage remains.
Your efforts were imperfect, leaving space to adjust Tech’s bones and squeeze out a bit more efficiency.
Simply give the invisible currents of Resonance a color, so that its nature might be aligned towards a specific kind of function.
Choose one option.
Green
Resonance is a mighty energy, always visible in and around technology that makes use of it in crackling arcs that resemble stylized electricity.
These displays will not cause damage, though they may temporarily overload sensors.
The potency of all Resonance-based technology is increased by 50%, increasing traits like effect per Joule or Watt of energy used, the potency of silicite computers, and so on, but not benefitting range or speed by any amount.
Gold
Resonance is normally invisible, but when enough of it is used, it shines with a brilliant golden glow.
This light tends to make things appear to be made out of solid gold, and can be seen by human eyes instantly, even it is produced by a source lightyears away.
The maximum range of all Resonance-based technology is increased by 50%, and the speed at which Resonance-based technology activates or functions is doubled.
White
Resonance is visible as lines and tracery of pure white that extend over physical surfaces, visible even in absolute darkness but incapable of illuminating anything else.
As more Resonance is used, the lines do not grow thicker or cover more of a surface, but rather grow more complex, eventually becoming shifting lines of poetry that describe the function of the thing using Resonance beautifully.
The maximum precision of all Resonance-based technology is doubled, and technology that would require physical alterations to adjust its function does not.
Black
Resonance is visible as a luxurious black oil, that seems to drip continuously from any device that makes use of it.
This oil cannot influence anything but the senses; though a sheet of it will block sunlight, it will not stop the light from heating the ‘shaded’ area.
Resonance-based technology responds much more readily to human will, such that a human could touch a silicite matrix and command it telepathically, and is much better suited for all hedonistic purposes.
Echoing into Infinity:
Resonance was the foundation of the Tree of Secrets.
In its current state, it interferes with that which would disturb the passage of time, but it once permitted greater manipulations.
Touching upon the very first pulse of power returning from the Tree of Tech, seizing upon your only opportunity of this kind, you push it through the bones it shares with Secrets.
Instead of emerging in the present, to immediately empower humanity, it emerges in the past, many millions of years ago- not long after you first arrived.
As the wave of power echoes outwards from your past self, wounded and slumbering, you have a unique opportunity to shape history.
No ethical problems either; you already did this.
Choose any number of options.
Humanization
Your power subtly manipulates the life that develops on alien worlds.
Different mutations occur than otherwise would, and some creatures are a bit more successful than they should have been.
Most alien life humanity encounters in this universe will be more human than it otherwise would have been.
You may decide the degree of humanization, at maximum, this can produce ‘aliens’ that are effectively the same species as humanity.
This alone cannot share the benefits of the Trees with beings that did not emerge on Earth.
(De)Population
Your power influences the where and when of the development of alien intelligence.
Retrocausally aware, it is able to ensure the alien civilizations humanity encounters are approximate technological peers.
Additionally, you may increase or decrease the proportion of lifebearing worlds that develop technological civilizations.
Mineralization
Your power prepares the universe for the arrival of humanity.
Throughout all of space, it converts tiny amounts of matter into exotic crystals, keyed into the not-yet-existant Resonance.
Upon the awakening of the Tree of Tech, these crystals begin interacting with the Resonance that radiates from humanity at superluminal speeds.
It is possible to use these crystals as a focus for tiny amounts of Resonance, allowing a polity that strips a star system bare to harness as much as a few thousand humans produces.
Continuation:
Your mastery of your inner void grows, and you remember a few flickers of what you were before.
With the milestone achieved that is awakening your second Tree, there are several new paths you could take.
Choose one option.
Dig Deeper
The most obvious choice.
With each Tree, you recover more of yourself, and humanity grows stronger.
Find something new to feed upon.
Continue to Tree of Spite: Phase 3.
Rain
Break open your inner void, cutting you off from any more meddling within it.
Stir the oceans of Resonance within, allowing the energies to change and mutate.
In a metaphorical sense, the waters evaporate, and form into clouds, and condense into droplets of rain, which fall upon the face of the universe.
Play any CYOA that unlocks new ‘technological’ capabilities for a large group, or all people.
Your universe, and any universes stemming from it, are guaranteed to be forever out of reach of other worlds.
Sail Out
Break open your inner void, cutting you off from any more meddling within it.
Spill out your oceans of Resonance, pour them over other worlds.
Choose up to three settings.
The [Phase-Shift Drive] becomes capable of accessing these settings.
randomlurker44
“You can see it more clearly now than you could before, the sacrifice inherent in reawakening your Trees.
You cannot provide them with extra power, or change the way the power flows through them, or deactive and rebuild them, because you have been lessened too much, suffered to much damage, to reawaken them normally.” -from CYOA
Assuming you’re coming into this from Tree of Skill, you should have Perpetuance to allow healing this damage eventually, right? So maybe some centuries or millennia in the future you could do these things?
admin
It’s a bit more difficult than that. Your trees are grander than the powers these broken remnants of them can provide. Full recovery is not impossible, but requires more than mere time.
randomlurker44
Now time for some real questions, long after the CYOA is made:
1. A resonance cell can supply a device of limited volume; does ‘device’ mean it can only supply a single instance of tree of tech, or for example can a single resonance cell supply a whole hoverbike that has counterforce crystals, the gravity manipulation one, and a silicite matrix to control it?
2. A resonance cell has a limited collection range that can’t be trivially extended. But if the cell itself is very very large, does that collection range extend from any part of the resonance cell?
3. What happens if you make an enormous conversion tap and move it around a whole planet or star? What repercussions can be expected from all matter on a planet being composed of resonant energy?
4. Can void particles be used in resonant chemistry?
5. Resonance cell capacity scales with density. Can you make a resonance cell out of a black hole, or many black holes, that has limitless capacity? Maybe use the portals or something to prevent the obvious problems with exposing a black hole to your infrastructure.
6. Can a ghost that died in a Function Field preservation effect be re-anchored to an available physical form, or is becoming a ghost strictly a one-way thing?
admin
1. A single resonance cell could power a loose pile of varied technologies, as long as the total volume remained within its limit.
2. Yes.
3. Awesomeness, that’s what.
4. Yes.
5. A resonance cell made out of anything with finite mass would need to have infinitesimal volume to approach infinite capacity.
6. Preservation provides a minimum degree of functionality; nothing prevents this from being improved.
drearyArchon
What’s the intent behind “Your universe, and any universes stemming from it, are guaranteed to be forever out of reach of other worlds.” For the extra CYOA option?
I take it to mean that only worlds that are variants of/connected to your current universe and the one from the additional CYOA are reachable, like some kind of bubble. But I’m not sure what the consequences of that are, exactly.
admin
The intent was that you’d never have to deal with the intrusion of foreign elements. You only have to worry about what’s already inside; you’re excluded from infinity.