Furst kicked off the ground and launched himself into an arc that took him several meters, but the arc stopped short as he spun in the air to continue facing Jav from his new position. He did not fall to the ground, but rather he hovered there steadily as if standing on solid ground instead of empty air.
“The last three sets of the Eighteen Heavenly Claws contain core AI knowledge that exists in other martial styles and disciplines under different names and with minor cosmetic differences. The first of the three opens your mind to the possibility of AI; the second teaches you to expand; and the third teaches you to contract. That much you already know, right?”
Jav nodded.
“Well, what you’re seeing is an easy trick and you already know the basics of how to do it.
“The Copy Twin relies on repeatedly approaching a chosen destination point just before and never actually exceeding infinity. Then, by going back and forth, back and forth, eventually two semi-independent solids are produced, connected by nothing but the mind. If you were to exceed infinity while using the Copy Twin, you would accomplish two things. First you would ruin the Copy Twin. But you’d also cover the intervening distance your mind just worked so hard to fold, exhausting yourself in the process. Remember, this is a geometric progression—the closer you get to your goal or your reference point, the harder you have to work and the less the return is on your effort. The strength of the Copy Twin, especially for advanced practitioners, is its range; it works on the idea of taking big but virtual steps.
“What I teach, as you may know, is movement based solely on AI. By choosing successive points very closely situated, either from a first or third person perspective, actual linear movement between those points can be achieved regardless of local gravity, size, or mass. What you just saw appeared graceful, but it was tediously plotted out, one minute increment at a time. AI produces fantastic results, but at heart it’s repetition and tedium. Of course the more you practice the more it becomes reflex.
“I said that size and mass don’t matter, but say for example you wanted to lift this facility from directly beneath it, maybe someone dropped it on you, I don’t know. Size and mass then do pose a problem up close because it’s almost impossible to distribute that kind of pressure—the whole facility—adequately over such a small area—you. Oppositely, say you wanted to uproot it from the ground from a kilometer away. Then you have the difficulty of choosing reference points close enough together to avoid a hemorrhagic stroke. Perspective is crucial, but distance is always the true limiting factor, which is ironic, because in the end, its distance that we conquer.
“Let me warn you, Jav, once you get the hang of it, you won’t want to stop.” Propelled by unseen forces, Furst moved through the air, tracing a course through the amphitheater and returning seconds later.
“The beauty is that once you’ve created some momentum, even if it was initially produced by AI, you can maintain straight, linear motion indefinitely with very little effort. The hard part of this is picking reference points in empty space which can be really tricky, but once you have a sense for that, you can pick points further and further away—because of your momentum—and really crank your speed.” He sighed. “But we’re getting ahead of ourselves. Let’s get you started on the basics.”
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Jav found that both Furst’s teaching style and the altered technique he taught agreed with him. By the end of the day Gast Froster left, Jav was moving short distances using AI alone. He knew that the ease with which he learned it was entirely due to all the frustrating hours of practice he had put in over the last four months. This success made that experience brighten and shine in his new estimation. Jav was very grateful for all of Merasec’s lessons.
Furst was very proud and, during the following weeks, he pushed Jav to make longer and longer jaunts. In the middle of his second month, Jav could move himself three meters without error or any pre-existing momentum. He had picked three meters as a goal in memory of his first try at the Copy Twin and was very pleased once he had reached it. Started with a jump, he could easily turn three meters into a hundred and fifty. But reference points in open space remained a problem for him. He simply couldn’t concentrate on emptiness long enough to maintain extended flight. Furst was unconcerned, however, since Jav was very powerful at short distances. That power suggested a number of possibilities for offense and defense.
Knowing full well that the results may affect his own student, Ren Fauer, but committed also to the student before him, Furst suggested an AI approach culminating in an AI kick. Jav thought for a moment, at first overwhelmed by the idea of two separate sets of calculations, then shrugged and started thinking about how he would do it.
Furst led Jav to the non-standard gravity block in one plant-shrouded corner of the amphitheater. This trainer was at least twice if not three times as big as the ones Jav was used to and it came equipped with programmable, pressure-sensitive hard light obstacles. Furst pushed some buttons and at the far end of the block, an amber humanoid figure made of rounded geometric hard light shapes took form.
“You’re at twenty-five now, right?”
“Yes, Teacher.”
“Right. Okay, all set.”
Jav stared at the amber figure for a moment and took a deep breath. He crouched and sprang for the target approaching faster and faster as he got closer. His right leg cocked back and arced forward in a vicious roundhouse that connected with the amber head. Gridlines of yellow light crisscrossed the figure briefly before it shattered into little glittering cubes of solid light that quickly winked out of existence.
Smoke rose like steam from the entire surface of the gravity block. Furst blinked at Jav in surprise. “I think you just broke my hard light generator.”
“Teacher, I. . . I’m sorry.”
Furst threw his head back in wild laughter. “You broke the hard light generator! Jav, you’re a monster!”
• • •
That night they celebrated the success of Jav’s kick. It took Jav quite a while to realize and be convinced that Furst wasn’t angry about his equipment, which was even now being repaired. Furst tried repeatedly to put Jav at ease and eventually he succeeded. The two relaxed and enjoyed a rare treat, a feast of fresh vegetables and Furst’s homemade brandy.
This was the first time Jav could remember drinking anything alcoholic and the effects of the brandy were quick. His inhibitions were beginning to slip away and there was something he was curious to know. He knew that all of the Triangle Squad members employed some form of AI, but that only Hol used it for strikes. He shook his finger to punctuate his points as he spoke, “If you don’t use AI to punch and don’t use any weapons either, what do you use?”
Furst popped a morsel of food into his mouth and stared at Jav for a moment before whipping his hands, fingers straight and rigid, about Jav’s face. His speed was incredible and Jav found himself literally breathless for seconds after the display. Adding to that the familiar muffled and warped sound, Jav realized what Furst was using.
Jav gasped as the air in front of his face returned. “Vacuum Drag,” he said thinly.
“Yep. Rush Hands. They’re a little redundant, though, if I use these,” he said indicating the Taikou Quills. “It’s been enough to teach Ren AI for movement. He’s exceptionally smart and creative. He developed that fighting style you saw during the tournament himself. Ten Thousand Paths is just one of the names of the AI we practice. I’m glad he’s gotten the chance to train with Laedra. Vacuum Drag is powerful, but it has limitations that AI doesn’t. You two along with Froster are going to be hard to beat.”
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With the celebration of the night before behind them, Furst assumed a much more sober, almost grave attitude.
“Jav, your raw offensive power is incredible. Laedra didn’t exaggerate your prowess with AI at all, and I think yesterday’s exercise illustrated just how much potential you really have. After the competition, and with Laedra’s permission,
I’d love to work with you—and Ren of course—to develop new striking combinations using both types of AI. But, my duty to you as a teacher is to develop your mobility and, hopefully by extension, your defensive abilities. From today on we’re going to focus exclusively on that.”
“Yes, Teacher.”
“Now, first, let me just explain a little about the difficulties of simply using AI to evade physical attacks. I’m sure that Cov gave you the speech about having too many choices and either being paralyzed or driven crazy by them. It’s true, and especially so with AI evasion techniques. Against AI strikes, it’s a fairly straightforward contest of wills, all based on virtual space and power. But with real, moving objects, it’s different. You have to account for the momentum of the object, its trajectory, how far you will move to avoid contact, and in what direction. Doing all this between kicks and punches and whatever else is a pretty heavy workload that’s going to tire you out mentally in a hurry. It’s not impossible, but usually, defending yourself in this manner results in movement that’s erratic and uncontrolled, often putting you in more danger than you were in at the start. If, instead of focusing on the punches, or the kicks, or the weapons, you focus on your opponent’s eyes for example, you can accomplish two things: you can read his intent, and you can stay the hell away from him.
“To practice this we’re going to use Cov’s method. We’re going to bind your arms, and I’m going to attack you relentlessly.”
Jav gulped.
“And you’ll need to be prepared for anything. I may use the Rush Hands, or I may fire up the Taikou Quills.”
Jav’s jaw dropped, but he quickly composed himself. “Yes, Teacher.”
Furst called for a tough garment that totally restricted the arms—essentially a strait jacket—and then helped Jav into it.
At the sight of the jacket, Jav’s mouth went dry. Suddenly his mind was elsewhere. All was amber dark, musty. Voices sounded amidst cackles and wails, a nonsense tableau that was impossible to bring into focus.
“Jav?” Furst said.
“Huh?”
“Ready?”
Jav blinked, returning to the present. “Yeah. Sorry.”
The two squared off and began an intricate, perfectly synchronized series of action and reaction. At first, Furst used nothing but pure physical skill with slow Rush Hands. Jav similarly relied on his physical reflexes, dodging mechanically and satisfactorily, but once Furst saw Jav raise his leg to block, he flashed a Rush Hand that nearly sheared Jav’s pant leg away and left the barest superficial cut on Jav’s skin.
Furst grinned over the tips of his fingers. “I’ll take it off next time. No blocks or kicks. Your legs are free for balance only.”
“Yes, Teacher.”
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They continued like that for several weeks, with Jav stepping up his efforts each time to match his teacher’s. Furst pushed and pushed, forcing Jav to become fairly adept at retreating backwards blind. While Furst remained almost constantly aloft, Jav had to touch ground occasionally to create new momentum after losing his concentration or a reference point. Despite the disparity in their ability, Jav’s timing was getting better and better with Furst endlessly chasing him.
Then came a crucial moment. Furst was really pleased with Jav’s progress so far. Jav had made great strides, but was perhaps becoming too confident with his current ability. To remind him that improvement is always possible and to hopefully shock him into new levels of ability, Furst took advantage of Jav’s dependence on the ground for renewing his momentum. Reading Jav perfectly, and knowing that he had lost his reference point, Furst went Dark and invoked the Taikou Quills. Before Jav could reach the ground on his remaining momentum and gravity alone, a blazing bird-headed figure of pink fire burst forth like a shot from where Furst had been and threatened to overwhelm and consume Jav in an instant.
Jav panicked. He could not go back any further, that’s why he needed to touch down. He gawked at the encroaching terror and his gaze fell slightly askew, past the thing’s shoulder. Just as Furst was about to devastate Jav with the pink flames of his transformed, Artifact-powered body, Jav disappeared.
The pink fire guttered and blew out as Furst followed a graceful arc to the ground. He looked left then right then spun around to find Jav hunched over on his knees a few meters directly behind him. Furst walked towards Jav, trying to get a look at his face, while his own face showed real and unaccustomed confusion.
“Jav?” he said tentatively, as if checking to see if he were sleeping or awake.
Jav rocked back onto his buttocks with his arms still awkwardly trapped to his sides by the strait jacket. He was taking deep breaths, trying to calm himself down.
“Jav? What just happened?”
“I don’t know.” Jav stood and turned to face his teacher.
Furst nodded, his eyes brightening. “Can you do it again?”
Letting out a long breath, Jav said again, “I don’t know.”
“Let’s find out.”
Furst was Dark once again, a roaring pink furnace, and tapping his Artifact to power his AI, he was before Jav faster than Jav could track with his senses. The added power of the Artifact gave Furst precision control and his flames—contained and cold until making actual contact—threatened to come closer and closer to Jav, approaching infinitely, but never reaching unless the former Triangle Squad member consciously exceeded infinity. But reach him or not, the effect upon Jav’s mind was the same. As the heat of the flames escaped and ate away the oxygen around them, Jav reacted instantly and unconsciously and disappeared once again.
The fiery shape of Kimbal Furst whipped around, and again finding Jav several meters behind him, he simply stared at the young man and marveled at this inscrutable phenomenon. Jav’s back was still to Furst, his shoulders rising and falling with deep breaths fueled by adrenaline.
Furst returned to normal, walked over, and placed a hand on Jav’s shoulder. “Do you have any idea what you’re doing?”
“Not really, no.”
“Jav, you teleported.”
“I what?”
“You teleported. You jumped without a jump deck.”
“How’d I do that?”
“Blind desperation, I’d say. I think what’s happening is that you’re combining the Copy Twin method with my own, but you’re clearly skipping the intervening space and you’re not bound by your original position. I still don’t know exactly how you’re doing it, but if we can develop this into an on-demand technique, your worries of defense are over.”
“Okay. How do we do that?”
“Well, the only way we’ve been able to do it so far is to come really close to killing you.” Furst smiled. “I suggest more of that.”
“Teacher?”
“Relax, Jav, I don’t really want to kill you. This is too good an opportunity. The F-Gene allows us to mimic a number of psychic abilities, but teleportation, a rarity even among psychics, has never been one of them. This is unique.”
“Alright, then how do we develop it?”
“Well, I don’t want to kill you, but unfortunately I wasn’t kidding.”
“Oh.”
“Jav, are you afraid of my Rush Hands?”
Jav looked confused, “I, uh, of course I—”
Furst lunged for Jav, his hand dropping towards Jav’s head like the tip of a sword blade.
“Teacher!” Jav shouted as he blinked out of harm’s way to safety.
Furst laughed. “This is perfect! We’ll keep going like we have been, developing your mobility and throwing in some near-death experiences for good measure.”
Jav looked a little unconvinced of the method, but nodded. “Y-yes, Teacher.”
• • •
That night Jav was thoroughly exhausted after continued hours of practice dodging Furst’s deadly attacks, but he had finally gotten a firm grip on the necessary sequence for triggering the displacement. Though it took nothing away from their excitement, they had bot
h decided that, since Jav’s range was rather limited and he couldn’t go wherever he wanted whenever he wanted, they would refer to the technique as a displacement rather than a true teleport. In spite of his exhaustion, Jav couldn’t resist contacting Mai and sharing with her what he had accomplished.
“Really? Jav, I know you’re pretty incredible, but really?” Mai asked playfully.
“Really! I’ll show you first thing when I get back.”
“Alright,” she said with teasing skepticism, “but it better be all you say it is.”
“By the time I get back, it’ll be even better.”
She grinned and just stared at his image in the small holographic screen. “I miss you,” she said finally.
He stared back at her and sighed. “I miss you, too. More than anything. But it won’t be too long now. Just over a month.”
“I know. I’ve been marking the days. Oh! Jav, I have to go. Everyone’s going to wonder where I am—it’s time for A Fad of Me.”
“Oh, okay. I forgot what day it was. I haven’t watched since I left.”
“I’ll catch you up when you get back,” she said, smiling.
“Thanks. Goodbye, Mai.”
She reached forward and kissed at the insubstantial screen. Jav ran his fingers across the image of her face, wishing she were really so close.
“Goodbye, my love,” she said and the screen dissolved.
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Without Jav’s knowledge, Furst shared the news of the startling new technique with both Hol and Merasec. Hol was elated that they had come upon something so advanced, and she was anxious to see it. Merasec, however, was dubious and couldn’t believe that they were talking about the same student. While perhaps not a total waste of time, Merasec couldn’t imagine that training with Kimbal Furst—or any other teacher—would have done much for Jav. Jav had shown great destructive power, but absolutely no aptitude for the AI discipline that formed the basis of both Merasec’s and Furst’s techniques. How was it now possible that Jav had accomplished something that actually surpassed those techniques?
The Artifact Competition (Approaching Infinity Book 1) Page 17