The glowing white text hovers in front of his vision, as if it were an ethereal projection rather than a physical visual input.
[Sporoweed: Verdantis humillima]
| → Potential: (-) 4.18%
| → Encoding: ⊬◌⊏º⊐⊙◩⌂ ⊘⊎◓◓⊞⊎⊎
| → Greed Skill: [???]
| → Greed Mastery: [N/A]
Amazing... it estimates the Seed's stat potential to the hundredth! If my assumptions are correct, its gene sequence has also been condensed into a unique identifier, Phin observes. This must be Genetic Appraisal... I guess that dumbass Vesk wasn't wrong after all.
He swims through the murky realm, smiling in awe as the Appraisal synopsis follows his line of vision. Its white letters burn brightly against the omnipresent black void.
What's Greed Skill? And Greed Mastery? Phin wonders as his eyes sift down. These terms are completely alien. I'll be better off asking the SciDep researchers. As he thinks of the Regal SciDep, his thoughts wander to Amara. It was only because of her that I was able to do this... Max too.
Suddenly, the Appraisal begins to fade away, slowly consumed by the shadows. Crap! Already?! Phin speedily scans through the information one last time, imprinting it in his memory. Not before long, his vision begins to dim too, until only the smothering black void remains.
***
Phin is welcomed back to reality by the monotonic beeping of his vitals monitor. Why is it... so bright... he immediately squeezes his eyes back shut, assaulted by the harsh hospital room lighting. He yawns and stretches groggily, accidentally colliding with several pieces of unrecognizable medical technology. Oops.
Some time later, he hears a knock on the door.
'Come in,' Phin calls, boosting himself into a sitting position.
As the door slides open, Amara walks in, still in her lab uniform. 'Hi, Phin. Sorry about what happened - I tried to get my higher-ups to ease your training, but they just wouldn't budge.'
'It's fine,' Phin says, rubbing his temples. 'I'm completely healed up now. How long was I out for?'
'Six hours. Still Tuesday,' she smiles. 'They gave you some of the most potent medicine we have: Subtermanda salvoris, the Maw Tuber. Its Seed does wonders.'
He scans the room - sleek, cold machines with blinking lights. Next to his bed are clusters of tubes filled with colorful liquids. We don't have anything like this in the Outer Fortress... he notices. It's like the Regals live in an entirely different city.
Wait! I have to tell her about what I saw!
'Hey, Amara, about the training session this morning,' Phin begins.
'Yeah?' she plops into a swiveling chair and slides over.
'As I went unconscious, I saw these ethereal, almost diaphanous threads come out of the Seed. They carried its genetic encoding - like a complex web of data strands.'
Upon hearing this, Amara's eyes sparkle with intrigue. 'Huh... we didn't notice that. We were actually a bit confused - you looked like a toxin junkie out there, gaping at thin air,' she giggles. Her smile fades. 'Before your ears started spewing blood, of course - sorry about that. But were you able to closely observe those strands?'
Phin laughs. 'You don't need to apologize. And, well... you'll probably think I'm crazy - but the strands condensed into some kind of solid interface of sorts... could you get me a sheet of paper? I'll jot it down from memory.'
'Sure!' Amara reaches into the cabinet above, fetching him a paper and pen.
Phin rests the paper on the bed's firm padding, scribbling down his vision.
Amara studies it, brow furrowed. 'It's... really elegant, almost in a designed sort of way. Is this normal for Appraisers?'
Phin shakes his head. 'Not at all - usually, when I perform regular Appraisals, the numbers just pop into my head - like when you do mental math. This... diagram was clearly organized.
'That's really curious. Perhaps it's a projection. It sounds like schema processing, where your brain is subconsciously wrapping unfamiliar concepts in familiar frameworks.'
'Yeah. I've read about that - mental overlays and such. If the presentation is a figment of my subconscious, how much can we trust the content?' Phin points to the rows of data.
Amara's eyes linger on the genetic code - ⊬◌⊏º⊐⊙◩⌂ ⊘⊎◓◓⊞⊎⊎ - but she stays silent.
'This stuff is entirely new, so even the SciDep won't know. Genetic Appraisal obviously took a significant mental toll on you; maybe the projection arose out of your... delirium, for lack of a better term.'
'Yeah, that seems plausible. But do you know what this 'Greed' stuff is?' Phin asks, pointing to the bottom two rows.
| → Greed Skill: [???]
| → Greed Mastery: [N/A]
'Never heard of it. It could be another part of the projection... or it could be something else entirely.'
The room falls silent for a moment, only broken up by the periodic beeping.
Phin rubs the back of his neck. 'I know it's late to ask, but… how have you been? We haven't seen each other in years.'
Amara smiles warmly. 'It's been great - the SciDep isn't nearly as awful as people say. My colleagues are good people, and despite coming off as cold, Dr. Bouttens is a great mentor.'
'What about the Regals... how do you stand them?'
Amara pauses and blinks. 'Oh - the Regals. As soon as I got here, I realized that they're nothing like those brutes we have back in the Outer Fortress. Only a small fraction of Regals, mostly the angry and insecure ones, go out there to torment commoners.'
'Wow...' Phin goes silent as he processes her words. I always thought that all Regals were arrogant crooks... He remembers the incident with the enraged Regal - a precursor in this spiraling chain of events.
'Now it's my turn - how have you been, Phin? Apart from the forced arrest stuff - I just learned about that,' she grimaces.
'Appraisal with the Scavengers' basic seed selection is mundane, but it's gratifying. I get to study in peace, though, and that's enough.'
'Well, you're still you,' Amara laughs.
She leans in and embraces Phin. 'I have to go now - lunch break's almost over. Your nurse will likely be here soon.'
Phin is left with a quiet warmth in his chest as she leaves - not romantic affection but something different: a special kind of comfort found only in the reunion of childhood friends, where memories blur between spirited debates and carefree summer days.
Then without warning, the world comes to a still. Phin freezes. His eyes widen.
An ancient command emerges from the depths of his conscience, gnashing its teeth. Its bloodlusted eyes shine with malice as it claws at the cage of his soul.
...
Sate my Greed.