Stars Of Memory

Chapter 8

Rebexi sits on one of the kitchen stools. "So why didn't you feel the Saieat?"

Jīvitaya frowns, "I don't know. Maybe it was because I was in the water?"

Rebexi frowns at her possible mistake of missing a simple answer. "It could be possible. Have you had any breakthroughs?"

"I have a theory about what the effects are. But there are some things I need in order to confirm or deny it."

"What do you need?"

Jīvitaya looks up to the ceiling in deep thought. "I need a core sample of Mior's ground, some lab equipment, and some blood samples. I can provide any of the other technology I might need."

Rebexi frowns. "Those are odd requests. What is your theory?"

"I think the Saieats are causing a change in Mior's geomagnetic traits and those are interacting with our bodies. A core sample would allow me to test what materials are in the ground and see how changing the magnetism of them would cause certain effects. If I have a blood sample, I can determine what metal is in your blood and see how it reacts."

"Very well. I'll return in an hour or so to give you your supplies."

"Thank you Rebexi."

Rebexi beams at her. "It was no problem at all. I'll be back shortly."

~~~

Rebexi delivers the supplies within forty-five minutes and Jīvitaya immediately gets to work. First, she slices off a sliver of the core and separates it by layer. She places each piece into a petri dish before setting it into a machine that will analyze its elemental makeup. Then she takes the tiny vial of blood and carefully separates it into two smaller vials. She places one vial into a tray to run it through a DNA scanner and the other into the same machine as the core. Then she pricks her arm with a clean syringe and pulls up on the plunger, drawing out a small amount of her own blood. She separates it into two vials and repeats the process she did with the Mioran blood. After placing all the samples into the machines and starting the process, Jīvitaya turns back to the data wall. She looks at the Saieat monitoring section just in time to see another flare flash out from the sun.

Immediately, Jīvitaya taps on the armrest of the levik and straps shoot out, fastening her to the seat. Then the effects start and Jīvitaya rises slightly into the air with the levik but the levik is drawn downward, preventing it from turning onto its side. After a couple of minutes, the effects fade and the levik floats back to its previous position. Jīvitaya taps on the armrest to release herself before turning back to the data wall, just in time to hear the machines beep and send their information onto the wall. She looks at the core results and notes that the core is heavily iron-based. When she looks at the blood results, she also notes that both her own blood and the Mioran blood are iron-based as well. That narrows down her search slightly, doesn't it? Not every humanoid species is going to have iron-based blood. She takes a large chunk of iron ore and places it into a glass box and then above it, on a glass platform, she places one of the blood test tubes. After checking over the system multiple times for any errors, she presses a button at the base of the box, magnetizing the metal. Instantly, the vial of blood is pushed away, and thus up, from the piece of iron.

As Jīvitaya watches, she notices that the air around the vial seems to be magnetized slightly as well, causing it to also affect the movements of the vial. Jīvitaya presses the button again, demagnetizing the iron, and the vial drops, clinking when it touches the platform. Then she tries it again, putting the vial in a bowl of water. When she presses the button, nothing happens to the vial. The water must be diluting the magnet's effects. She demagnetizes the iron again and leans back in the levik, tapping on the chip. It spits out two small objects into her palm. She taps on her tablet, sending a code into the objects. With a final tap, they whir and hover in the air before shooting off into the air in opposite directions. Kysanden soon jogs into the room, followed by Rebexi.

"What is it, Jīa?"

"I've figured it out!"

Rebexi cuts in. "How to save us?"

"Not quite, but I know what's going on and that's a start."

"What is happening then?"

"It's easier to show you."

Jīvitaya turns back to the magnet set up and removes the water bowl before pressing the button. The vial repeats what it had done before.

Rebexi looks at her quizzically. "Can you please explain what is going on? Because I don't think I understand."

Kysanden nods. "I don't understand either."

Jīvitaya nods, giving them a small sigh of exasperation. "The Saieats are magnetizing Mior's ground, which is heavily iron-based. The magnetized iron is repelling the iron in our blood, and because the effect is so strong, we are pushed away from the ground, causing us to rise into the air. The air is also affected, which is why we move around while in the air. These effects aren't hurting us when the Saieat happens, but over time, there may be some negative results from the accumulation of these effects. The water dilutes the effects and prevents them from reaching us, so if we can figure out how to predict the Saieats, we can move into the water before they occur and remain unaffected."

Rebexi smiles. "That's brilliant! So that's our next task then."

"Yes. I don't know how long it will take, and I'll likely need to actively monitor some Saieats, but I should be able to make a program that will do it."

"Thank you Jīvitaya."

Jīvitaya smiles. "You're welcome."

She moves toward the data wall and pulls up a coding screen as Kysanden and Rebexi leave the room. With her tablet, Jīvitaya begins to type away, already immersed in her budding program.

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Hi guys!  How do you like this chapter? How long do you think it will take Jīvitaya to finish her program? Will it work? Tell me your thoughts!

Do you have any questions of your own? I do have some science stuff in here and did try to represent it as accurately as possible. If you are confused, there is a video link below that will hopefully give you some insight on it.

Happy reading and I'll see you next chapter!

~Goddess of Fate, signing out