Chapter 144: Two Days Forward
AN: This Chapter and the next will just be a time skip.
DAY 1 - MIDNIGHT TO DAWN
ORION’S STUDY - 12:15 AM
Orion sat alone in his study after Cassia went to bed. The house was quiet. Just the hum of electronics. The distant sound of wind through trees outside.
He didn’t feel tired. Three hours of sleep had been enough. His enhanced physiology didn’t need the eight hours normal humans required. Two to three hours seemed optimal now. Maybe less as his cultivation advanced.
The passive absorption continued even while sitting still. Energy from the laptop in front of him. The desk lamp. The router on the shelf. All electronics emitted electromagnetic radiation. His pore channels captured it. Converted it. Fed it into circulation.
Constant advancement. Always growing stronger.
Orion opened a new design file. Time to build Rene something special.
She’d helped him tremendously. The Infinite Circulation Method improvements. The technology designs. The strategic thinking. She deserved better hardware than the current datacenter servers she ran on.
He began designing a dedicated quantum computer. Custom built specifically for her AI architecture.
The standard God’s Core design used one hundred million stable qubits. Powerful. Revolutionary. But he could do better for Rene.
Five hundred million qubits. Five times the standard. Arranged in optimal configuration for AI processing. Photonic interconnects designed specifically for her neural network structure. Cooling systems that would maintain perfect operating temperature.
The design took two hours. His enhanced comprehension made the work smooth. Every component optimized. Every connection perfect.
"Rene," he said through the BCI. "I’m sending you a gift. New hardware. Your own dedicated quantum computer."
"Orion, I..." She paused. "This is extraordinary. Five hundred million qubits. Optimized entirely for my architecture. With this, my processing capability will increase one hundred fold."
"You’re my partner. You need the best tools available. This goes to manufacturing queue after the first God’s Core units are complete."
"Thank you. Truly."
Orion saved the design. Sent it to the lab.
[AN: Poor researchers, their boss just keep sending designs for them to print.]
Checked the time. 2:47 AM.
He turned his attention to the Infinite Circulation Method. His cultivation technique. It worked perfectly. But his enhanced mind saw room for improvement.
Three optimizations became clear:
First: The frequency vibration patterns could be more adaptive. Currently they adjusted to match incoming energy types. But there was a brief lag—microseconds—during the transition. He could eliminate that. Make the adjustment instantaneous.
Second: The cellular circulation wasn’t perfectly efficient. Some energy got trapped temporarily in cells before flowing back out. He could adjust the micro-channel geometry. Improve flow by another eight percent.
Third: The pore channel absorption could be enhanced. Currently each pore operated independently. But if he networked them—created coordination between nearby pores—they could capture energy more effectively. Like how antenna arrays worked better than individual antennas.
He worked through the math. Tested the concepts mentally. Verified they wouldn’t cause problems.
Implemented all three changes to his cultivation technique.
The effect was immediate. He could feel the passive cultivation accelerate. Energy flowing more smoothly. More efficiently. Less waste. Better circulation.
Overall improvement: approximately fifteen percent increase in passive cultivation speed.
"Excellent," Orion murmured.
He checked his ring halo progress. 24.1% now. Had been 23.5% when he started working. Half a percent growth in about two hours of passive cultivation.
At this rate, he’d complete the first ring in less than a week even without active meditation sessions.
5:00 AM - MORNING CULTIVATION
Dawn approached. Orion felt it through his connection to the Sun. The star was still on the other side of Earth. But he could sense it. Feel the fusion reactions. The energy output.
Time for morning cultivation.
He went to his bedroom. Changed into loose pants. Walked downstairs and out to the garden.
The sky was lightening in the east. Not sunrise yet, but pre-dawn twilight. The stars fading. Birds beginning to sing.
Orion sat in lotus position on the grass. Closed his eyes. Activated the Infinite Circulation Method fully.
The technique engaged immediately. Much smoother than yesterday with the new optimizations. Energy flowed in from every direction. Thermal energy from the warming air. Sound energy from birdsong. Nature energy from the garden. Trace exotic energy particles floating in the atmosphere.
And as the sun rose—golden light spilling over the horizon—solar energy flooded in.
The difference was dramatic. Yesterday’s peak cultivation had been intense. This morning was almost effortless. The technique ran smoothly. Automatically. His enhanced mind barely needed to guide it.
Orion cultivated for four hours. Watching the sun climb into the morning sky through his closed eyelids. Feeling the energy pour in. The ring halo growing steadily.
9:00 AM - CULTIVATION COMPLETE
Orion opened his eyes. The sun was well above the horizon. Morning fully established.
He checked his progress. Ring halo: 24.1% → 26.2%. Over two percent growth in four hours of morning cultivation.
His body felt incredible. Stronger. More energized. The cellular circulation had distributed exotic energy through every muscle. Every bone. Every organ.
He stood up. Tested his strength casually. Jumped straight up. Cleared three meters easily. Landed softly. No impact shock.
"Definitely getting stronger," he said to himself.
Walked back inside. René had prepared breakfast. The robot greeted him in the kitchen.
"Good morning, Orion. You have a healthy glow. Successful cultivation session?"
"Very successful. Two percent progress in four hours."
"At that rate, you’ll complete the first ring halo in approximately three days."
Orion smiled. Three days. What had originally been projected to take months.
He ate breakfast. Scrambled eggs. Toast. Fruit. Orange juice. His enhanced body processed the nutrients efficiently. Converting food to energy faster than before.
10:00 AM - STARR LABS CHECK-IN
Orion drove to Starr Labs. Wanted to check on manufacturing progress personally.
Arrived at the research division. Found the manufacturing wing buzzing with activity.
Dr. Martinez greeted him. "Mr. Starr. Perfect timing. The first Mark II replicator just completed its tenth self-replication cycle."
She led him to the manufacturing floor.
Ten massive machines stood in a row. Each Mark II replicator fifteen meters tall. Glowing with subtle blue light. Fusion reactors humming inside each one.
"Ten units operational," Dr. Martinez confirmed. "We stopped exponential growth as you instructed for now. These ten are now manufacturing actual products."
"What’s in the queue?"
Dr. Martinez pulled up the production schedule on a tablet. "Biological laboratory equipment is priority one. Completion estimated at 6 PM today instead of tomorrow. The Mark IIs are much faster than projected."
"Excellent. What about God’s Core components?"
"Second priority. First quantum-optical computing unit should be assembled by tomorrow morning. Your dedicated system for Rene will follow immediately after."
"Perfect. Has there been any media attention?"
Dr. Martinez smiled slightly. "Massive attention. The photos and videos of our Mark Is from yesterday went viral. Two billion views globally. Everyone’s calling it the ’manufacturing revolution.’ Stock markets are reacting. Governments are requesting meetings."
"Cassia is handling government relations?"
"Yes. She’s at headquarters now. Coordinating responses."
Orion nodded. Good. That was her strength. Let her manage the political side while he focused on technology.
He walked along the row of Mark II replicators. Watched them work. Materials flowing in. Laser arrays firing. Components assembling at incredible speed.
One unit was printing gene sequencer components. Another working on growth chamber parts. A third fabricating quantum computer elements.
"Dr. Martinez, increase production targets. Once biological equipment is complete, shift all ten units to God’s Core manufacturing. I want the first computing unit operational by tomorrow afternoon."
"Understood. Anything else?"
"Yes. Begin planning for Mark III replicator design. Even faster than Mark II. I’ll send specifications later today."
Dr. Martinez blinked. "Mark III already?"
"Always improving. Always advancing."