Path to the Apocalypse

Despite the awkwardness involved in her first use of the orgasm button, Victoria had to admit that it made her a lot more… relaxed. Even AJ didn't seem as annoying when she saw him at dinner that night. She still thought he was a horrible human being who needed to be punished, but his presence didn't seem as offensive as it had the past few days. Thinking about it, it made sense. Since she was frustrated physically, she'd been feeling a bit more… on edge. Like a wounded animal snapping at anything that comes near. She reflected at the importance of keeping your life in balance, in taking care of your needs and frustrations, before they spill over and make you do something you regret. Thankfully she hadn't done anything terrible, at least, not to anyone who didn't deserve it, though… She may have been kind of a bitch to her father.

Victoria glanced at the head of the table, before looking around at the rest of the table as well, beginning to frown as she realized something. She'd hardly even noticed, but ever since her outburst a few days ago, their dinners had become more and more quiet. All of them simply ate their meals, maybe making a few comments, such as AJ's announcement that he'd finally Assimilated his Rune, but otherwise they sat in silence before going their separate ways. *Is- is this my fault?* Victoria wondered to herself, thinking over her behavior the past few days. She was argumentative, snippy, closed off, and just plain stubborn.

The more she thought about it, the more embarrassed she got. Yes, she disagreed with the way her father handled AJ, but… that was a cultural problem. Plus, her father didn't know everything AJ had done. In his world, AJ was just a little forceful in pursuing a maid he shouldn't have been involved with in the first place. It wasn't his fault Victoria couldn't explain the entire situation. Right now, she and AJ were in a delicate balance. If she told their father about what he did, he would kill him, but then he'd tell their father about Beatrice. Even if he didn't, it was a fact that Beatrice had helped AJ with his plan, and without an adequate explanation, she would still be in trouble, and the explanation would only make things worse. If her father would kill AJ, his own son, she didn't even want to think about what he'd do to a random maid. Which, admittedly, was an issue of its own, but again, she couldn't exactly blame him for the culture he lived in.

*Shit, I have to fix this.* Victoria groaned internally as she wracked her brain, looking for some solution to the depressed atmosphere. Unfortunately, she hadn't been the best at social situations back on Earth, let alone here, where she'd barely even adjusted to the culture. Suddenly, as she was struggling to find any way to ease some of the tension in the room, her Design Rune began to tremble. A slight trickle eased out of it, bringing with it the new ability she'd gained when she'd advanced the Rune earlier. It was a trick she could use to give someone an idea and make them think it was their own! Of course, it didn't make them actually do it, but it would at least give them a nudge in that direction.

Victoria cautiously released a small cloud of points, sending it towards Albert as she considered just what idea she wanted to give him. She could try just giving him the idea to say something, anything, just to get the conversation started, but that seemed like it could go wrong. What if he brought up politics or something? She didn't want to start another argument. Victoria sighed to herself. It seemed like all she did was argue recently. No, she needed something else. Something benign, that wouldn't draw out any strong opinions, but could still let people talk. *The weather? No, that's stupid. Celebrity gossip? Does this world even have celebrities? Can't talk about the latest superhero movie… fuck! No more superhero movies!* Victoria got a little off topic, wandering down the hole of things that no longer exist after Earth was destroyed, before shaking herself and getting back on topic. Thankfully, with the amount of points she had, her thoughts were really fast, so it didn't waste too much time. *Okay, okay, no pop culture… books? They have books here, right? Do they have fiction books? Shit, I don't even need to use my new ability for this one.*

Victoria cleared her throat, looking over at Albert. "Uh, I was wondering… There's this… idea, from my memories, of… uh, well, stories of things that didn't actually happen, I don't actually know the word for it, but they write them in books and people read them for enjoyment. Do those exist here?"

Albert looked up in surprise, before frowning. "You mean like the Saga of Sir Racha?" He asked hesitantly.

"Was Sir Racha a real person?" Victoria replied, raising an eyebrow.

"It's debatable, but it's generally believed that no, no he wasn't. The Saga details many fantastical exploits of the Cultivator as he grew from a lowly commoner to the Grand Emperor of the Fuego Empire." Maurice explained. "There's no solid evidence of a Fuego Empire ever existing, let alone Sir Racha, but the world is a large place and the Saga of Sir Racha is widespread. Either way, it is an enjoyable and inspiring tale."

Victoria nodded along. "That sounds like what I remember. Are books like that common?"

Maurice shook his head. "Scribes usually spend their time on more… substantial works. I'm sure the royal library has some that you could request copies of though, for a price."

Victoria frowned for a moment, before nodding in understanding. "Ah, right, you guys don't have the printing press, do you?"

Maurice froze. "The what now?"

"The printing press. It's this device that people used to copy books quickly." Victoria explained, before pausing. "I'm not entirely sure how it works, especially since the technology advanced a lot since it was invented, but I think it was like a stamp? You put letters or words on these blocks, so that when you stamp them down, they'd ink the page of the book you wanted to copy. Then you'd do that a few dozen, or maybe even a hundred times, depending on how many copies you wanted to make, before rearranging it for the next page and doing it again. At least, that's how I think it worked… There's probably more details, like how to actually ink the letters and whatnot which I don't know. Maybe they had dedicated stamps for each book? Like, whenever someone wanted that book, you'd just bring them out, ink them, stamp the pages, put it all together, and send it over." Victoria trailed off as she began to think of how she would design a printing press. You couldn't just dip the stamps into the ink, or there would be too much ink, smudging the words. You needed some sort of ink pad that would only put ink on what was pressed into it…

Maurice blinked at Victoria a few times, trying to process the device she was describing. As someone who used to be a scribe, he was well aware of what a painstaking process hand copying a book could be. If there was a machine that could make copies from pre-made molds… it- it would revolutionize the industry! Books would become something that even commoners could enjoy! Knowledge would flow out to the masses! A simple booklet detailing the basics of cultivation would change so many lives if it was widespread. The amount of Cultivators who died attempting to reject a Rune or take on more than they could handle would decrease dramatically! With more Cultivators, the country itself would become stronger, more prosperous, and the people happier. Maurice lost himself in visions of a brighter tomorrow.

Maurice finally shook himself out of his daze, grabbing Victoria by the shoulders. "You must tell me more! This- this device, it could change the world!"

"It kind of already did. It was a big thing for the world I remember as well." Victoria replied.

Calvin wrinkled his nose. "What's so important about books? Books are boring."

"Books are knowledge and knowledge is power." Ursa commented, patting the boy on the shoulder. "This is never felt more heavily than by one who doesn't have it when they need it." Ursa added with a sigh, remembering his arduous trek through the deep forest, just to end up right by Tamara again. If not for Victoria's timely arrival, he would have been tracked down again, possibly captured, without ever knowing how they had been able to reach him.

Calvin crossed his arms petulantly. "I can know things without reading a book. I can just ask Maurice, or Father!"

"The reason you can ask me or your father is because we read books! That is how we are able to pass that knowledge on to you!" Maurice interjected. "Additionally, what if we don't know about the topic you're asking about? What if you found a strange artifact, covered in mysterious runes from an ancient culture? No one could help you translate those runes, but you could possibly find a book, written by someone with a similar experience long ago, that could help you. That is what books are for. They carry knowledge from the past to the future, keeping it safe and secure until needed."

"They also help spread knowledge." Victoria added. "There's only so many people you can tell about something, but once you write it in a book, people can spread it around themselves, making copies, giving it to other people, or even just telling other people about what they read, like learning from Maurice."

Albert nodded. "Much of what I have learned of rule and strategy has come from reading the memoirs of others in my position, how they thought, how they acted, the solutions they found. You can know that a certain general lost a battle, but if you can read his thoughts, know what he did and why he did it, you can learn why he lost that battle, and how to prevent such losses yourself if you find yourself in a similar position."

Calvin's expression turned serious as Albert talked about generals. As the second son, he wouldn't be inheriting his father's title, which meant that his path would lie in the military, possibly being one of those generals. He knew the importance of learning strategy and tactics. So far, all the books he'd read had been about dry, boring history, talking of wars, but never how they were fought and won. If books could teach him that, then maybe they weren't so useless after all.

There was a short lull in the conversation after Albert finished talking, but soon Melissa made a light comment, and the table returned to a more normal conversation. It was still a little forced, as people obviously were grasping for topics at times, but at least people were trying again. Victoria breathed a sigh of relief, before her mind drifted towards something else that was bothering her. Her Design Rune had taught her something on its own! She hadn't meditated, hadn't sought any knowledge or guidance from it, yet, when she was struggling for a solution to her predicament, it had reached out and handed one to her. She hadn't ended up using it, sure, but… how could a Rune show such agency? It was almost as if the Rune itself were alive.

Victoria frowned as she considered the implications of that. What really were the Runes? Where did they come from? How did they exist? Were they alive? Were they sentient?!? Victoria paused. No, they probably weren't sentient. Or very bright. The Design Rune hadn't even shown her an ability she could use, at least, not normally. Unless it somehow knew about her points… Victoria shook her head. That would be a whole other issue. If all her Runes were watching her… Victoria shuddered at the thought of random, pervy old men watching her bathe. Yeah, no, she was going to assume that wasn't the case, for her own mental health.

Still, it was clear there was something up with her Design Rune. Something active. It was obviously helpful, whatever it was, but Victoria wasn't exactly comfortable with the idea of something alive living in her head… not that she could do much about it. She still needed her Runes, for cultivation, to get into a sect, to get more powerful. She'd just need to be a little more… aware of the Runes. So far, all they did was give her knowledge, tools, but was that all they were capable of? What if instead of giving her ideas, they gave her desires, things she'd never want to do on her own, but the Runes implanted in her mind, like she'd done to Foratuna? As long as the Runes remained benign, she'd continue to trust them, but if she sensed something strange… Well, she still had the system. It would be harder, but she would still become powerful, even without the Runes.