Consciousness returned like a tide, each wave bringing fragments of awareness. First came sensation - soft silk against skin, the scent of unfamiliar flowers, the gentle whisper of wind through curtains. Then came memory - the office, the screens, the pain, and finally... success.
James Chen - no, Aldrich Thorne now - lay in his new body, processing the reality of his situation with the same methodical precision he'd once used to analyze market trends. Project Oracle had worked. The quantum consciousness transfer, theorized by his best scientists and refined in secret, had successfully bridged not just death, but dimensions.
He suppressed the urge to laugh. Even as an infant, barely hours old, his mind remained sharp and intact. The body was new, but the consciousness was unaltered - exactly as the project had intended.
First priority: situational analysis.
The nursery he lay in spoke of wealth. Hand-carved wooden panels depicted scenes of commerce and battle, inlaid with what his new senses identified as 'mana-reactive silver.' Above him, crystal chandeliers shed light that seemed to carry subtle patterns his old eyes would never have detected.
More fascinating were the threads of energy he could see crisscrossing the room. Some were security wards, others appeared to be monitoring spells, and still others served purposes he couldn't yet comprehend. Each hummed at a different frequency, creating a symphony of power that only he seemed aware of.
Second priority: information gathering.
Voices drifted in from the adjoining room, carrying the weight of importance.
"The signs are clear, Lord Thorne," a grave voice was saying. "Your son's Resonance reading is... unprecedented."
"Explain." His new father's voice - commanding, but with an undercurrent of concern.
"Most infants show no Resonance until at least their third year. Even then, it's usually just a flicker, a hint of their future potential. But your son..." A pause. "He's already radiating power at a measurable frequency. The patterns suggest something in the commercial domain, but there's more to it. Something... different."
Aldrich processed this while testing his infant body's limitations. Motor control was minimal, as expected. Vocal cords undeveloped. But his senses... his senses were extraordinary.
He could see value itself - not just in objects, but in possibilities. The security wards hummed with both magical and economic potential. The very air seemed layered with opportunities, each one quantifiable in ways his business-trained mind instantly understood.
A woman approached his crib - his mother, Lady Elena Thorne. Her Resonance signature pulsed with a warm, protective energy, but beneath it he could see the sharp patterns of a keen merchant's mind. No surprise, given the Thorne family's status.
From the fragments of conversation and his own observations, a picture of his new reality emerged. The Thorne Merchant House: one of the seven great trading powers in the Kingdom of Lumaria. Old money, older magic, but with a progressive bent that had kept them relevant through centuries of economic evolution.
His father, Lord Marcus Thorne, controlled the largest shipping consortium in three provinces. His mother came from the Silvermark family, notorious for their banking enterprises. Together, they'd built a commercial empire that straddled both traditional and emerging markets.
And now they had him - their only heir, born with an inexplicable Resonance that was already causing ripples in the magical community.
Perfect.
"Look how alert he is," his mother murmured, reaching down to touch his cheek. "Those eyes... they see everything, don't they?"
More than she could imagine. Through his Commercial Resonance, Aldrich could see the complex web of economic relationships that bound the kingdom together. Each thread represented potential profit, each connection a possible advantage. The sheer volume of information was staggering.
He had tested Project Oracle's consciousness transfer protocols hundreds of times in simulation, but nothing had prepared him for this reality. Not only had he retained his memories and analytical capabilities, but he'd gained an entirely new sense - one that would revolutionize how he approached business and power.
The grave voice from earlier - belonging to Master Theodore Wells, a Resonance specialist - approached the crib. "With your permission, Lady Thorne, I'd like to conduct one more test. Something this unprecedented requires thorough documentation."
Aldrich watched with interest as the specialist held out a crystal over him. The device's Resonance pattern was fascinating - designed to measure and classify magical frequencies.
Current market value: approximately 50,000 gold crowns.
Potential value if mass-produced with minor efficiency improvements: easily ten times that.
The crystal began to glow, then suddenly flared so bright that Master Wells nearly dropped it.
"By the First Merchants," he whispered. "The commercial applications alone... but there's something else. Something deeper." He looked at Lord and Lady Thorne with a mix of awe and concern. "Your son doesn't just have powerful Resonance. He has what appears to be a completely new variation. A Commercial Resonance, yes, but one that operates on principles I've never seen before."
Aldrich allowed himself a small, infant-appropriate gurgle of amusement. If they were this excited about their initial readings, he could only imagine their reaction when he began to actually use his abilities.
The crystal's glow subsided, leaving the adults in the room to discuss implications and possibilities. Aldrich tuned them out, focusing instead on the patterns his new sense revealed. Already, he could see dozens of inefficiencies in just the manor's magical security system - opportunities that could be leveraged once he gained more motor control.
His old life had proven that true power came from seeing opportunities others missed. Now he could literally see value and potential that others couldn't perceive. Combined with his experience in building corporate empires, this ability would let him reshape not just markets, but reality itself.
A plan began to form in his mind. The Thorne family's resources would provide an excellent foundation, but he had no intention of merely inheriting an existing empire. Not when he could see the threads of commerce stretching between dimensions, each one representing opportunities beyond mortal imagination.
He just needed time. Time to grow, to learn this world's rules, and to begin building his network. After all, he'd conquered Earth's tech industry starting with nothing but a hot dog cart and determination. Here, he was born into wealth and power, with abilities beyond anything his old world had dreamed possible.
Aldrich Thorne, formerly James Chen, closed his infant eyes and began to plan. The multiverse had no idea what was coming.
Let them think I'm a prodigy, he thought as sleep approached. Let them see only what I want them to see. In time, they'll learn that true power isn't in the strength of your Resonance...
It's in knowing how to leverage every advantage, every opportunity, every single thread of possibility...
Until the multiverse itself becomes your greatest investment.