Edited by: ASaltedFish
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Not much happened while he was at the hospital. Since he couldn't "remember" anything, someone from the Guide Association came to teach him how to use his spiritual energy, guide sentinels, and even how to make stabilizers. Most of this was taught by Ellery, but it was nice to review and gain more resources.
Once the guide social worker felt Aster could do everything, which was fairly quickly, she went on her way, happy to meet someone both talented and smart.
After two weeks in the hospital, Aster was finally able to leave. With the help of the Guide Association and Ellery, he was able to use the interstellar public transportation, which included hover cars, back to Ellery's home.
Ellery lived in a two-story house 20 minutes away from the Imperial Military Academy, where he went to school. The house had a large front and back yard allowing him to cultivate stabilizer plants and vegetables.
The two-story house sat on half an acre of land (approximately 2023.43 square meters). The house was like one of those modern cube-shaped houses with many windows and extremely white walls. The light gray door seemed to pop out against the white wall, but the rest of the property was full of greenery.
One-fourth of the land was used for the house, while the rest held four small greenhouses, a section for his vegetable and herb garden that changed with the seasons, and an outdoor seating area for when he wanted to relax outside. The perimeter of the property was lined with tall walls for privacy for him and his neighbor. The walls were so tall, that he needed to use a ladder to even look over them.
For Aster, this was a dream. Of course, there were security cameras all around the property to make sure no one stole anything.
Aster was a little excited to see the vegetable garden. He had also grown some vegetables in his previous life, but they were all on the balcony of his apartment. It would be his first time having a garden in the ground. He mostly used vegetables that didn't need to be cooked, like ones you could put in salads.
Well, even if Ellery grew his vegetables, he still couldn't cook to save his life. He had a housekeeping robot that cleaned and cooked. The robot would buy ingredients using a pre-assigned budget and use whatever vegetables Ellery had left over.
The housekeeper robot could only follow pre-assigned instructions. They could talk, but they had set sentences they could say, and anything they could not answer would be met with "I don't know. This is not an answer in my system." The more expensive servant robots could have full conversations and were controlled by a very complex AI. They were almost human-like.
Aster also couldn't cook, so the housekeeper robot was a lifesaver. There were a lot of recipes that it knew from different planets, and ingredients were easily accessible through the extremely fast interstellar delivery services, so they could make all sorts of cuisines even if they didn't have any ingredients at home. Truly a time to be alive.
There were also nutrient solutions, but these were usually used in emergencies, for the military, or for the poor. Regardless, everyone had access to nutrition.
Listening to Ellery cheerfully talk about his home, Aster walked around. The housekeeper robot took Ellery's belongings that he got from the hospital and brought them to his room so he could look around.
The house was decorated in a minimalistic style. It only had the most basic of necessary furniture. The only thing that seemed to be out of place in the monochrome decorations were the holographic pictures of Ellery's family throughout the house. He also had their ashes stored in a sealed compartment in the living room. The door to the compartment was made of glass, so he could see the urns. It was in a storage cabinet that was close to the dining area. There were also pictures and other mementoes that Ellery kept there to remind him of his parents and brother.
Even if it was minimalistic, Aster thought it was nice, even if he wouldn't decorate his space like this. He could appreciate having just what you needed.
[Let me show you the room where I make stabilizers. You can also try making it yourself to get the hang of it.]
"Okay, let's do that."
Aster was eager to practice because stabilizers were going to be a main part of his income. He and Ellery weren't that keen on joining the military, so making stabilizers and selling the stabilizer plants was the best way to make money.
This room was on the second floor. Ellery turned one of the bedrooms into his laboratory to create these stabilizers. He didn't need a lot of fancy equipment, but he needed a quiet space for concentration. One wrong move could ruin the entire batch.
There was a master bedroom on the second floor, but Ellery kept it empty. It was the place where his parents lived until they died. He didn't have the heart to move their stuff out of the room. There was also his room that he had since he was a child. It wasn't the biggest, and he didn't have a lot of stuff, so it was just perfect for him. Plus, if he needed to store things, there was a vacant room and a guest bedroom on the first floor.
The guest room was originally his older brother's room, but when he moved out, it was turned into a guest room. Ellery's brother didn't leave any of his belongings at the house when he moved into an apartment with his wife.
When Aster entered the at-home lab room, he was immediately greeted with the scent of mango and passion fruit. Taking a deep breath, he felt like he was transported to the beach. He could feel the sea breeze softly moving through his hair. The smell of the sea was accompanied by the passion fruit and mango smoothie he was sipping on. The smoothie in his mouth cooled him down while the sun's rays lightly touching his skin warmed up his body. He could see the waves, lightly touching the shores, creating a crackling sound as the waves bubbled and dissipated. He could also hear the rustle of the palm trees above his head and see the shadows of the leaves that attempted to cover him with shade.
When he snapped back, he felt his body relax a little.
[How was it? My spiritual sea's experience?] Ellery was a little excited to know what Aster thought about it.
Each person's spiritual sea could touch upon the senses depending on the rank. D-ranked guides could only invoke smell and taste from their spiritual sea. C-ranked guides could invoke smell, taste, and sight. B-ranked guides could invoke smell, taste, sight, and sound. And lastly, A-ranked and above could invoke all the senses, bringing people into what they call a "spiritual experience." The higher the rank, the more detailed the experience.
"It was lovely. I felt like I was at the beach, relaxing with a mango passion fruit smoothie, looking over the waves. I almost didn't want to leave."
[That's good. I take pride in my spiritual experience! People who can take my stabilizers feel the same way as you do. It doesn't matter what rank stabilizer I make, the experience is the same. You will be able to do it too when I finish showing you how it's done.]
"Okay."
Aster learned about it with the social worker, but they didn't have the proper equipment to make them in the hospital, so he only learned the explanations on how to make it and why it's made a certain way.
In the room, there was a gray sofa by the window where he could rest if he got tired. The window was right across from the door. To the left, there was a large white table that held the equipment for making the stabilizer. It wasn't a lot, but guides made stabilizers in batches, so a large table was needed to accommodate that.
On the table, there were a lot of large test tubes in their racks, lots of glass bowls, and a strange machine that Ellery said tested the grade of the stabilizers. There was also a machine that labeled the tubes but that was stored next to the desk. No flames were used because they would damage the plants and burn the spiritual energy, releasing it into the air. The desk also had a space for office use with a hovering chair in front of it.
Lastly, to the right was the charging station for the housekeeper robot. It was the place where the robot rested at night too. There was also a large fridge that preserved the stabilizer plants for an extended period. The stabilizer plants could last months in there without losing their spiritual energy.
Aster sat down on the hover chair and it lit up. It then moved upwards to adjust to his height. It stopped where his feet were comfortable on the ground. If he wanted to move the chair, he could use his feet or the buttons on the armrest to move the chair around the room.
[Go to the fridge and grab one of each plant. They are in sections with labels so you can tell which is which.]
Aster used the chair to quickly move to the fridge before opening it. It was big enough to be opened while sitting without having to stretch his arms too far to reach things.
The fridge was split into six sections, each with four boxes in it. The boxes were labeled by name and the time they were put into the fridge. The plant names were just the common names. Ellery didn't care for the scientific names.
The first plant was called Xebinq. It was the most important plant because it binds all the plants together spiritually. Without it, none of the plants would be able to work in harmony. Xebing was a plant with large, droopy red and green leaves, but the stem was a bit thick and sturdy. Only the leaves were needed for the stabilizer. It was also the hardest to grow of all the plants.
The second plant was called Kagthedil. This was the plant that helped store the spiritual energy in the concentrated liquid. It prevented it from leaking out into the air. This was important for the grade of the stabilizer at the end. Kagthedil had a similar pattern to the mint herb, but it had tiny leaves that made it look like a small tree that was completely blue. The leaves were the only parts used in the stabilizer, just like Xebinq.
The third plant was called Evloil. This plant gathered all the spiritual energy from the other plants so that it could be safely combined into one. Each plant stored and created spiritual energy differently, so having a plant that could convert it all into a uniform energy, specifically with the guide's energy, was important. Evloil had bright yellow and green leaves and could only be harvested if the flowers bloomed. The flowers looked a little like daisies, but the petals were yellow with white streaks in the middle. Most of the plant was used except for the roots. The flowers had to be on the plant, or it would not work.
The fourth plant was called Unasegon. This plant made it so that spiritual energy and the plants could be kept in a liquid form without solidifying. This also made it easily digestible. Unasegon had orange leaves with red dots on its underside. It looked like a lavender plant but with slightly larger leaves. The flower that grew on it was red with white dots on it looking rather poisonous. It was the same as Evloil where everything but the roots were used.
The fifth plant was called Ebredis. This plant touched into the sentinel's spiritual sea, allowing a passageway between the stabilizer and the sentinel's spiritual sea to be formed. Ebredis was a purple plant that looked similar to Brussels sprouts. The sprouts were used in the stabilizer; while the leaves were poisonous, they were used as fertilizer for the plant.
Lastly, the sixth plant was called Oupaphrac. This was the plant responsible for amplifying the calming effect of the stabilizer and purifying some of the spiritual sea. Oupaphrac was the most weed-like plant of all the stabilizer plants. It looked like a dandelion, but the fluffy seeds were light pink. When they bloomed, it would turn into a vibrant pink. The green leaves were also a bit sharp. Compared to the other plants, the whole plant down to the root needed to be used.
That was a lot to remember, but thankfully, Ellery was there. With more practice, he would be able to remember each ingredient, what they did, and how to make the stabilizer.
[You need five Xebinq leaves, which should still be attached to the stem. Typically, five leaves grow on the plant, so that's pretty easy. You need three Kagthedil leaf sections, the same concept as Xebinq. Then you need one Evloil and Unasegon. No worries; I've already removed the roots. Lastly, you need four sprouts of the Ebredis plant and one Oupaphrac.
[Oh, be sure to grab from the boxes on the far left, as those have been there the longest. We have to use them as soon as possible.]
Aster did what he was told. He grabbed the bin on the top of the fridge and put each ingredient into it. Everything was already washed and cleaned, so he didn't have to worry about that.
He went back to the large desk and sat in front of the seven bowls that were laid out nicely in front of him. There were also lids for each bowl that were stacked up next to them. The lids were temporarily used to help keep the spiritual energy in the bowl. They were also cleaned by the housekeeper robot. There were more bowls in the drawers underneath the table. The biggest bowl was the most unique of the bowls as it was on a holder. There was also a dispenser spout on it so the person could easily pour it into the large test tubes. The spout fits perfectly into the test tube.
[The biggest bowl will be used last, so keep that off to the side. Each ingredient will be put in order. First, you need to turn Xebinq into a liquid using your spiritual energy. Therefore, you need to add distilled water into the bowl using the mini water container on the desk. There's a line that tells you where to stop adding water to the bowl. There will always be distilled water at the table as the housekeeper robot refills it when it's running low.]
There was a glass container for distilled water capable of holding around two gallons placed on the table. It also had a dispenser spout attached to it for easy handling. He poured the water up to the line indicated on the glass bowl. It was about a third of the bowl.
[Put the five Xebinq leaves into the water. Control your energy so that you put a protective dome above the bowl. After you do that, release your energy into the bowl while maintaining the dome. You have to think about splitting the plant into molecules and let it combine with the water. Okay, perfect. Put the lid on the bowl quickly so we can move on to the next plant.]
Aster moved on to the next bowl and repeated the same steps for each plant.
[Now that each plant has been turned into a liquid. You will put everything into the bowl in the same order we turned them into a liquid. But each time, you must guide the liquid into the bowl so none of the energy leaks out. Also, the lid for the large bowl has a built-in funnel and funnel cover. Be sure to cover the funnel each time you finish with a bowl.]
He did as he was told, following each step carefully. He wasn't fast, but that was okay. Once he got the hang of it, he would be able to do it quickly.
With all the liquid ingredients in the large bowl and the bowl sealed, it was time to bring out their quantum beast. Spiritual energy without the quantum beast was inherently neutral and suitable for turning these plants into liquid form. Once they were all together, he had to use his spiritual energy with the quantum beast to combine all the ingredients, making it a stabilizer unique to him. The quantum beast also acted as the gateway to his spiritual sea to the physical world.
Aster summoned Lune onto the table next to the large bowl. All the other bowls were moved away with the help of the housekeeper robot and were being washed. New bowls replaced it nearby.
[Now both you and Lune need to gently put your hands on the glass bowl. You need to tap into your spiritual sea for this one. Do you remember how to do it?]
'Yes.'
To tap into the spiritual sea, he had to close his eyes and concentrate. All of his senses needed to envision the spiritual experience that A-ranked guides were able to do. That experience was what his spiritual sea was like.
Strangely enough, he didn't experience the spiritual experience of Ellery's like when he first opened the door. He smelled the scent of hot chocolate milk, warmed to perfection. Floating on the top were mini marshmallows that added another layer of sweetness to the already sweet chocolate. If he was not careful, he could get cavities. With the hot chocolate experience, he also felt cold, dry air brushing up against his skin. He was sitting in front of a fireplace, wrapped in the fluffiest of blankets, but he could still feel the cold from the outside environment. He was sitting on a soft and fuzzy carpet that kept his lower half warm. Looking outside, snow fell from the sky, covering the world in a white blanket. He could see himself in a wooden cabin. The sky was dark but he could see a forest of trees in the distance.
He could hear Ellery's voice from his spiritual sea. It didn't distract him but guided him to make sure he did everything correctly.
Ellery also couldn't see inside the spiritual sea, so he didn't notice the difference between the two spiritual experiences.
[Now that you are in your spiritual sea, do you remember how much energy you need to put into making A-graded stabilizers?]
'Yes, I do.'
[Good. Be sure to control your spiritual energy as best as you can. It's okay if you don't get it right the first time around. A-grade stabilizers are the most we can do right now, so don't worry too much about accidentally putting too much energy in.]
'I understand.'
Once he tapped into his spiritual sea and felt comfortable with maintaining it, Aster and Lune poured their spiritual energy into the bowl. It easily passed through the glass bowl and penetrated the liquid. It slowly mixed into the liquid, combining with all the ingredients.
After 10 minutes, Aster's first batch of stabilizers was done!