^^ Topographical Map ^^
((( X is Capital, O is Half-Mountain. )))

After a moment of deep breathing to calm myself, I stuck my head out of the shower. "What?!?" I snapped. There. Calmness achieved.

"Uhm... Sorry? It's Medea! Something is showing up on James' radar thingies! Bye!" She ran off after saying her piece, and I sighed heavily at the loss of my shower time. And teasing Luna... Mostly teasing Luna.

I shook my head to clear it of the realization that I was getting some amount of enjoyment and even a little pleasure from teasing Luna, and stepped out of the shower, drying myself off. "You can finish up, he probably found an iron deposit or something, it's probably nothing too important, but it does mean that his invention works, which he has a right to celebrate." I explained, and closed the door behind me. "Also, you can shower without the suit, if you like, and remember to rinse off the suit when you're done, especially if you decide to make use of the contents of the purple box to your left!"

"Purple box? What- oh! You-... rude."

"Hey, it's not my fault I come prepared. Enjoy. Maybe use the communicator stone if you get testy." I smirked at her embarrassment, deciding I liked it very much, and began getting dressed.

"Do you... enjoy that?" She stuck her head out of the shower, looking befuddled.

"Teasing you? Yes. Listening to each other through the communicator stone? Yes." I answered honestly, and tightened my belt, hanging my weapons from the jumpsuit's belt, though the top half was wrapped around my waist, as of now.

"Oh... okay... I think I'm starting to understand this a little more, this relationship we're building/testing out... but no, I think I'll enjoy the hot water while I have it; hot springs are very rare here, so a hot shower is pretty much unheard of. Also, in the spirit of honesty, I took care of myself before coming here." She grinned, closing the door before her blush spread too far.

I hummed, pulling on a sports bra and situating myself. "That's a bummer, I suppose... but reasonable. Well, you know where they are, and my room is always open to you."

"Okay... good luck?"

"I hope so. I'll see you later if all things go well, Moonie." I blew a kiss in her direction, and grabbed a shirt, wandering out of the room and up towards James' experiment in the caboose.

A good number of people were crowded around the windows, to my confusion, and I had to move at least two people out of my way before the rest got the picture and let me to the door, which I opened to a chorus of gasps; the mechanism was a button you had to know about, and it was finally working again.

I closed it behind me, and looked at James and Medea and Helen, raising an eyebrow at them. "What's all this about?"

"Well... it's kinda simple, kinda complicated; simple version: I geologically and topographically mapped the entire continent." James sighed slowly.

I stared at him for a moment, and then held up a hand when his mouth opened again. We waited silently for about a minute, as my brain struggled to compute that sentence. After the minute, I took a deep breath, and nodded. "I want the complicated version. Now."

"Right. So, I took your sand table idea, and I thought, 'What would be more accurate than a pendulum? An LED Screen! Do I have one of those? Yes! Can I connect the two systems correctly, porting the Analog Vibrational Radar Mapping device to a Digital Screen and Mapping Software? No! Who can? Helen!' So I asked Helen for help, and she basically told me I was stupid and it wouldn't work-"

"Not what I said, I said it was unlikely and you were wasting your time, but continue." She interjected briefly.

"-right, so she said I was stupid and it wouldn't work, and so I said 'Nuh-Uh' and she said 'Uhuh!' And I said-"

"I will stress your tracheae, James." I frowned slowly.

"Well, no, that's not what I said, but your point is taken clearly! Yes, so, eventually I did scrap the idea of the LED, but instead I created a Liquid Crystal Display-"

"From Magic Crystals..." I gasped, understanding suddenly. "The Magic Crystals and the Adamantite are Hyper-Compatible, considering Magic Stones are a component of the Alloy, so they synced without interference, and then simply mapped the surface of the entire continent..."

He deflated a bit, and frowned at me. "Well... yeah, but..."

"And from that we can measure the curvature of this planet and build a 3D model of it, which Medea can use to calculate the Planet's physics, so we effectively gain both an insight into this world's physics, and also a Hyper-Precise Geological-Themed GPS, as we can mark the specific frequency of this Pole, using it as a Landmark, and triangulate with the others you've placed around the mountain, giving us our precise location anywhere in this continent!" I grinned.

He sighed. "Yeah..."

"And I guess you have something else, which is gathering all these people around?" I had an idea of what it was, but I didn't want to crush his soul, so I simply feigned ignorance.

He grinned, instantly revitalized, and gestured to the large table he'd built, which looked like a Pool Table from the old Lounge. Where before had been cups for the pool balls, now were metal containers, filled with the crystal that covered the entire surface clearly, about an inch thick. Each cup also led into a standing crystal pillar about twelve inches tall, and between them was a sort of thread, like a web of very thin crystal. The Adamantite Rod that extended from the roof just barely touched the very top of that crystal, leaving room for vibration.

I smiled, and waited as he presented it dramatically. "I present to you... the Holographic Interface I've always dreamed of, but never had the balls or chops to build because I don't understand electronics very well!!! The Acronym needs some work, but it's awesome!!! Oh, wait, gotta cover the windows..." He rushed to close the blinds, along with Medea, and then cleared his throat and grandly produced a small piece of Adamantite, tapping it against the rod. I covered my ears quickly, but there was no horrible sound.

Instead, the table lit up brightly in the dark room, and there was a glowing map which spanned an entire continent that was sort of shaped like a 'U', with a fat river/sea separating the middle half of the continent, and quite a bit of water around it. In one side, you could see that the land possibly continued beyond the edges to the east, but I was more focused on the incredible topographical detail, from rivers to biomes, with precise elevation at each point... all in all, it was a gorgeous map.

"Whoa." I nodded, examining where we were, which seemed to be a small, highly mountainous area in the Top-Left, the north-western portion.

"Don't Whoa yet... watch this." He grinned, and reached his hand in with the rod of Adamantite, slowly raising it. As he did so, the entire map rose up through the air, and then once it rose past the top of the web, it disappeared, revealing the hundreds of layers underneath, what had to be a thousand feet down into the crust of the planet, highlighting ore, massive crystal geodes that were likely Dungeons, and deposits of oil and natural gas, as well as underground caverns, caves, and mines. We could see which mines would play out soon, which would soon hit something nice, and so on and so forth.

"Oooh... that's bad news." I frowned slowly, and Helen nodded.

"I agree. This isn't something we should let people know about; they'd strip-mine the continent in half a damned moment... and the amount of people who'd kill for this type of thing can't even be quantified... the normal map, though, that is good." She nodded as he lowered the map, and we once again had the topographical map before us.

"Yes... but still; Whoa." I patted his shoulder, laughing softly, and he grinned happily.

"Yeah, I wasn't really sure it'd work, but once it did.. hoooooo-boy! And you see how the edges are kinda cut off?!? If we planted another Rod at those points, we'd expand it even further!" He laughed.

"True... but still, you did very, very well, James. Way above and beyond. Good work." I nodded, and leaned against the edge, reaching into the map and slowly widening my fingers, attempting to zoom in.

"Oh! No, it needs the- here." He stuck two different pieces of Adamantite into the field where my hand was, and slowly widened them, zooming in on our location until I could see the trains, clearly highlighted, and the dig-site for the Hydroponics Lab, and even the old Cauldron Dungeon.

I hummed and took the Adamantite from him, adding some steel wool from my pocket, and molding them in my hands into a glove, with the Adamantite at the tip of the pointer finger and thumb. I pulled it on, and then began working the map slowly, seeing how far it could zoom in while they all stared at me.

It could zoom in far enough to see the Crystal Heart in the Tower, close to the mountain, but the further you went away, it couldn't even zoom in at all on the eastern portion of the Continent, nor the southern portions of the continent.

"Interesting... we should definitely invest in a few more of your Spires... make them all fancy so people don't guess their purpose, but yes. Having a GPS and a Mining Tracker could be very very handy." I nodded, and handed the glove to James.

He hummed and slipped it onto his hand, where it fit like an oven mitt, until I laughed and fixed it to his hand-size. "Thanks. And Spires, Huh? Sounds fancy, I dig it. Ahem, so! I'd like to make an announcement, please!" He cleared his throat and stood up straight, suddenly serious.

"Yes?" I raised an eyebrow.

He turned to Helen, and then in very juvenile fashion, blew a raspberry at her. "And a Poo-Poo on your doubt, Miss Priss!" He laughed as she glared at him, and then flinched when she punched his shoulder hard enough to make him lurch to one side. "Ow!!! Hey, Ref, what the shit?!?" He complained to Medea, who shrugged.

"I ain't seen Nothin. Fair Play, as far as I can tell." She smirked at his wounded look, and they all laughed, relaxing as the hologram faded away. Their work had born a beautiful, amazing fruit, and they were another step closer to understanding the nature of these Crystals, and their multitude of uses.

I fetched them a bottle of champagne to celebrate, and Medea was allowed one glass, after the other members of our little clan were called up to view the invention, and we toasted to progress. There wasn't so much a party as a quick break from work, as everyone relaxed for a few minutes, examined the thing, then drank a glass of bubbly, congratulated James, and finally scattered back to the winds to return to their work, me included.

—

My work wasn't on my Statue, sadly; that was a several-year process, and it would always be my main project, but I had other interests as well, such as using the Crystal Heart to create cellulose, which would take a bit of brain-power, or using magic crystals to create more powerful golem's.

Tricking the Crystal Heart into making cellulose, the main component for cotton, hemp rope, and all other fibers that were plant-based, (meaning all of them,) would require the Crystal Heart to mix the components, and the end result would have to be expelled as a semi-solid compound; that compound, when heated, would expand rapidly, like compressed cotton, and be viable for being placed into a Cotton Gin.

Still, my thoughts stopped in their tracks when I stepped into my room, and Luna was laid across my bed, reading a book I didn't recognize. Wearing my towel.

She glanced up at me, and smirked, turning a page. "How did James' thing go?" She asked calmly.

"I... he... mapped the continent?" I frowned at my sudden blatant honesty, brought on by my confusion.

She raised an eyebrow, and hummed, still looking at her book, though she wasn't reading. "Is that so? That's certainly impressive..."

"Are you attempting to-" I halted when she moved the towel over her thigh casually, and revealed a thin red rope tied around her thigh.

"Hmm?" She asked sarcastically, and looked back at her book.

"I see... are you trying to tease me or seduce me?" I asked, sitting at my desk and turning the chair towards her.

She glanced at me, looking momentarily concerned. "I... was teasing? Did I do it wrong?"

"No, you did it right, but remember both of us have a proclivity for Ropes, so... that is mildly enticing, even for me. Though, for me it's aesthetically enticing, in that I want to draw you." I explained, and began a quick sketch of her, smiling when she froze and stared at me like a deer in headlights.

After a moment she nodded. "I see... so, you do find me beautiful, but your general reaction is art, not sex... that's actually relatively simple, I'm not sure why it was so difficult to understand."

I smiled. "Yes, my dear. I agree completely. Now stop moving your head for a moment... there." I handed her the page, removed from my sketchbook/design notebook, and turned back to the desk.

"Wow... how do you manage that level of detail in that little time? Even my eyelashes... do I really have a cowlick right now?" She frowned, messing with her hair, and laughed softly to herself. "Look at me being self-conscious... you're walking around in nothing but pants and a breastband, and I'm worried about my hair..."

I blinked and looked down, confused. "Huh... I guess I forgot to put my shirt on. Ah well, I'm covered up. And it's a simple matter of creating lines where lines are. For me it's like breathing, and it's difficult to teach." I shrugged and turned to my sketchbook, deciding how to manage my projects. Everyone else was getting ahead, getting things done, but here I was, barely squeaking along behind them.

"May I... sit in your lap?" She asked, setting the sketch on the desk slowly.

I looked up at her, and paused at her full glory; she wore only ropes and underwear, the towel discarded and forgotten. She saw my frozen, incredulous features, and smiled, sitting on the desk and leaning back against the mirror.

Another sketch of her was finished in a flash, and I cleared my throat. "I... suppose you may?"

She slipped off the desk with a sinuous grace, and situated herself on my thighs, leaning back against my chest. "Mm... much better."

I glanced at us in the mirror, and my hands moved without my thought, drawing the pair of us; her sensual and gorgeous, me confused and appreciative. After a moment of thought, I turned her chin towards me gently, capturing a view of her face from the side, with her strong cheekbones prominently displayed.

"Do you know, I think I actually prefer your type of romance? You're incredibly refreshing, and easy to be around." She sighed in satisfaction, relaxing against me, and her emotions mirrored her.

"Thank you, my dear. The fact that you see it that way is a great relief to me." I kissed her hair, and leaned around her, so I could see my sketchbook again. She was the same height as me, almost, so sitting in my lap made her taller than me for once.

"What's... cellulose?" She asked, tilting her head at my work.

"It's the main component in most plants. It's used to make rope, and also cotton, that stuff I was telling you about earlier." I answered, and then tilted my head the same way she was. The structure of the cellulose couldn't be produced as it was, a soft and clean substance... but if we tricked the Heart into believing it was a good defensive measure? Like bark armor would protect it? I began theorizing how to trick it, and left my chin on her shoulder.

"You're... farming the Crystal Heart?" She asked suddenly, sounding alarmed.

"Yes. It's a very good source of purification for materials that we need base components of. We're keeping a close eye on it, don't worry, and there are emergency methods for dealing with it if it does anything dangerous." I chuckled softly, and added a note to build more safeguards, and to transfer the Tower to a more secure location.

"You're playing with Fire, you know... plenty of people have tried to use the Crystal Hearts as an endless source of their smaller portions, but it never goes well. It always spawns Monsters." She sighed.

"It does not have the ability to do so, currently. It is constantly being vibrated at a frequency that very nearly shatters it, and breaks off any formations that grow out from the Heart. The crystals are instantly separated from the slime, which is collected and refined into Silicone once it turns into mist, verifying that it no longer has the ability to turn into a monster. The crystals are broken and turned into a variety of fuels, tools, and enchantment components. Speaking of, has anyone ever used magic stones to make Golems? Like, stuck a stone into a statue and made a golem?" I asked.

"I... wait... how? How are you doing these things? This shouldn't be possible; people have been experimenting with these materials and theorems for centuries, and your clan suddenly revolutionizes everything we've ever achieved like it's nothing?!?" She stood up and began pacing, then paused and leaned against the desk, suddenly feeling the pair of knots between her thighs.

"Not nothing, my dear, remember that we've also been studying and researching; for Millennia. Thousands of years. And we didn't have magic to lean on, or God's to give us gifts. We also had hundreds of thousands of scientists over that time period, whereas you have, what, about 5000 Mages and Healers? Don't compare the two, my dear... also, we're trying not to mess with you too much, so we've held back all the rest of our knowledge, mostly because it wouldn't do you any good. You've managed most of it with magic, so the non-magical versions would only serve to ruin the Mages who until now have been the backbone of your economy." I explained, moving her to sit down in my lap again.

"Seriously? Is that supposed to make me feel better?!?" She snapped at me.

"First: Don't Snap at me, you're in spanking range. Second: yes, it should make you feel better, knowing that in a few centuries, your people have almost caught up to ours, despite the several millennia gap in time and severe disparity in amount of resources." I raised an eyebrow at her sternly, and placed my hands on her hips, making sure she understood where she was.

She blushed, then shook her head. "You didn't have magic, though!"

"So? Most of your people also don't have magic." I smirked.

She fell silent for a few minutes, thinking, and then sighed, leaning her forehead against my shoulder. "It's going to cause so many problems, though..."

"That it is." I nodded.

"And I already have so many problems, with the investigation into who ordered the Artists' Dead... who sent the Adamantite Golem... who hired the Arch-Hunter who could command Golem... uuuuuuuugh..." she groaned long-sufferingly, and fell silent again, her hips suddenly wiggling to try to move the knots stealthily.

I smirked and held her still, so she only succeeded in moving them around and worsening her predicament, and sighed happily when she grumbled at me. "Yes, well, we'll still have bondage, my dear." I casually picked her up, tightening her ropes (which were very well-tied, and I was impressed,) until she wasn't capable of much movement, and then laid her on the bed, lounging next to her.

"Rude." She muttered.

"Only sometimes." I shrugged.

"... scratch my nose, please?" She asked pitifully, and I laughed, obliging.