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Such an extremely massive simulated gravity well has so many possibilities, you can’t narrow your focus on just one of them. You’re in need of more EvoTech, but also CommTech has been very useful to you, and ObTech tends to be your biggest shortcoming. What if you could write a program that can do all three?

Here in the æther, it’s so easy to see the pathways between the concepts. Like creating an artwork, you weave ideas together into a functional system. The key here will be gravity’s effect on spacetime. Seeing the world lines of particles in this 4-dimensional simulation allows you to notice what would be invisible to you on he surface--the distance a particle crosses near the quasar is shorter than the same distance outside its periphery. What does this mean in the conceptual realm of technopathy? A way to bypass defenses that expect a certain pattern of motion.

Now to put your theory to the test.

“It’s ready,” you say. “My new program!”

“Well then, let’s see it.” Astræa manifests a star, a tiny star spinning fast, emitting bright beams of electromagnetic radiation from its poles, offset from the axis of its spin.

“This pulsar construct is a useful test subject for new programs,” Astræa says. “You can interact with it with most any sort of technopathy.”

“Okay.” You return your perception to your avatar and reclaim your comfortable Aydan shape. Elsewhere, you manifest a new construct, a dense singularity, a simulated gravity well of billions of solar masses. Your experience being a quasar gives you a new perspective on this construct. You understand its capabilities, its weaknesses, its potential.

Then you examine your target, the pulsar. Positioning yourself in the path of its rotating beams, you interpret their rapid pulse as a frequency you can process numerically--a communication source. If you want to block communications, simple enough, you attune your shield to reflect its frequency range. Now you can no longer see the pulse.

Next, you move your gravitational construct to a new position the spaceless space to position it almost in between you and your target. Suddenly you see the pulse again, distorted in such a way that it bypasses your shield--penetrative communication via gravitational lensing.

The star itself now appears to you as an arc of light stretched out around the singularity. The shape of spacetime around the extreme gravity well has altered your perception. You can think of many possibilities to use this tool for obfuscation and illusion.

But there is yet one more potential application for your program. Focusing on the pulsar for a moment, you raise a shield around it, with a pink-tinted liquid surface like your own mental shield. Then you manifest your conceptual laser weapon in hand, tuning it to the exact frequency range of your target’s defenses. Taking aim at its distorted form beside the singularity, you fire. The iridescent beam bends around the gravity well as expected, striking your target, passing right through its shield, and shattering it.

“There you have it.” You glance over at ÆON, watching your performance.

“Impressive, imaginative as always,” Æ says.

“Yes, well done,” Ganymeda says.

“You will be a good apprentice,” Astræa says.

You save the new program in your technopathy directory.