Magic is Programming

Chapter 2: Understanding

Carlos blinked, then reflexively tried to blink again when he noticed he didn't feel his eyelids moving. Then he realized he couldn't feel his arm holding his sword either, or any of the rest of his body. He seemed to be a disembodied presence in an empty purple void now, somehow. Turning his attention to the empty purpleness around him, he got a feeling of... questioning?

He felt a sense of a demand to know pressing on him, and also a sense of... desire? No, there was more to that, the desire was linked to him, like it belonged to him. The desire was also linked to the feeling of a question, but in a different way. It felt like the desire was the target of the question.

It's asking what do I want? But without words? Is that it?

Carlos felt a sense of confusion, and lack of understanding, join the other sensations surrounding him. Apparently this thing, whatever it was, couldn't understand thoughts formed in words. Or maybe it was just words in English that it didn't understand. Anyway, what did he want? He thought he was also getting a faint sense that this thing intended to give him what he asked for. Or as much of it as it could, at least.

Had he stumbled on something that grants wishes?? The obvious ideas of asking for money or power sprang to mind, but Carlos had only ever wanted those as tools to help get other things, not for their own sake. Besides, if even clueless idiots like the group that had found him could get as close as the room he'd woken up in, this couldn't be all that powerful. It would be better to get as close to his actual goals as it could manage. So, what did he really want?

Well, in his current situation, he wanted to understand where he was. He wanted to understand why that boy had given up and accepted death so easily. He wanted to understand what was going on, and why. He wanted to understand how to survive this place and get to somewhere safe. Though really, if he thought about how that desire resonated with him, he just wanted to understand. Specifying any single thing, or even a list of things, to understand was needlessly restrictive. He wanted to understand everything!

Carlos focused his attention back on the feelings and emotions surrounding him, still swirling in confusion, and tried to send back a feeling of the desire to understand. An unfocused desire to understand, or perhaps it would be better described as an unlimited and boundless desire to understand.

Moments later, he felt a sense of acceptance sent back to him, and then an incredible stretching as whatever power was doing this strained to its limits. Suddenly a pounding headache overwhelmed him, and he blacked out.

Carlos groaned as he slowly woke up, flat on his back on the hard stone floor.

[You awake?]

Huh? He jolted to full alertness, and hastily sat up and looked around. "What? Who?"

[I dungeon core.]

Wait, what? Dungeon core? And how is it suddenly speaking in English now? Stilted English, but still English.

Just as that last question occurred to him, he realized in the back of his mind he had felt that statement as a series of wordless pieces of transmitted emotion or meaning, but now there was something in his mind automatically translating it into words for him.

A few moments passed, and it occurred to him to wonder why it hadn't talked again to answer his unspoken questions. Apparently it wasn't reading his mind. Did he have to talk out loud, or could he send something back telepathically?

Carlos considered for a moment, then focused on his intent to communicate. [What happened? Why are you talking with me?]

[Wish too big. Understand all too much. Understand me still too much. Translation spell. Talk mind. Explain things. Best could do.]

[Oh. Ok, then. Um, how about starting with dungeon cores and wishes. What's up with that?]

[Confused. How you not know? Came for wish?]

[I was transported here by... someone else, I don't know why and I don't know where.]

[Strange.] The mental voice paused a moment. [Dungeon core grab mana. Control rooms. Spawn things. Defend. Give wish so not harmed.]

Carlos nodded. [That explains the traps and what happened when I found you. What about the people who were with me? Why were they so careless, and why did the last one give up so easily?]

[Novices. You still confused. Last one doomed. Little chance. Not worth try.]

[But... He died. How is even the tiniest chance of avoiding that not worth trying?]

[Um. No understand. Why dying important?]

Carlos blinked in shock. [What? How? ...Wait. One of us is missing something very basic, here. I'll try explaining, tell me if anything in what I say is wrong. When a person dies, their life is over. They're dead, permanently. They can't do anything ever again, because they're gone forever. Almost anything is better than that.] Just as he finished sending that, he realized that he was an exception himself, having been revived after death, even if it was in another world from where he'd died.

[Confused. How you believe? Man die. Same man come next day.]

Huh. Some kind of respawn mechanism? That level of safety net would certainly explain the extreme lack of concern those four had displayed.

[I see. I come from another world where that is very definitely not how things work. Do you know any details of how dead people come back?]

[Other world? Know dungeon. Know what see. Little else.]

[I guess I'll have to ask a person rather than a dungeon about that. Um, so how is this going to work going forward? Will I have you in the back of my mind to ask questions about whenever? Is there a distance limit or cost to maintain this link? Do you get anything out of it besides having me not smash your crystal? ...Do you want anything else?]

[...Not sure. No talk before. It... interesting?] The dungeon core paused briefly. [Never thought what want. Maybe stop wishes? Several per week. Drains mana. Exhausted. Barely reset traps. Then next wish.]

[Hmm. There must be a village nearby. I doubt I could stop people from coming here, but could you move? And do you have a name? You're clearly intelligent, and I'd like to have something other than "you" to call you.]

[I not move me. You move me... must leave all mana. No name. Never needed.]

[It sounds like you don't have much mana anyway. Would you like to come with me? I'll see if I can find a more secluded place that won't have so many delvers. As for a name, how about Purple? For the color of your light.]

Carlos sensed a moment of hesitation from the dungeon before it responded. [True, wish drained most. Hard make worse. Ok. You take me. Purple ok.]

Carlos stood up and approached the floating purple crystal. [Ok, Purple. Um, do I just put you in my pocket, or is there something special I need to do?]

Purple's glow pulsed stronger for a moment. [Never done. Just must try.]

Carlos took hold of the floating crystal, with his forefinger on its top point and thumb on bottom. It resisted moving for a moment, but then the force holding it in place vanished, and it moved freely with ease. The purple glow dimmed to almost nothing.

"Are you ok?" Carlos spoke aloud instinctively in his concern.

[Released mana. Am unharmed.]

"Ok, good. So, how do I get out of here, and are there any more traps I need to avoid?"