Another two problems were put on top of Nick's pile.
Pure Energy's potential toxicity and the changed anatomy of humans.
The toxicity of Pure Energy was not yet confirmed, but the fact that the aliens changed humanity's anatomy was almost certain.
There was no way that humans evolved a Zephyx Synchronizer in that little time.
'I need to get biologists to the research department,' Nick thought. 'But that comes with its own set of risks. Not only will it be harder to avoid the Envious Researcher, but if talented researchers keep disappearing, the Champion is bound to notice.'
'The Champion also pays more attention to me whenever I'm at the headquarters. Talking to the Technician has almost become impossible.'
'I should use my newfound ability and search for fitting humans myself.'
'But I can only read the minds of Veterans, and biologists are rare. Not sure how difficult getting a good biologist will be.'
'I think the best place to look would be the trainees in Aegis. During their second phase of training, they will be going on dangerous excursions. If one of them just happens to be killed by a Specter, it wouldn't be as suspicious.'
Nick left Crimson City and went to the hidden researchers.
As always, everyone was busy working on creating materials and refining the gigantic machine that produced Star Energy.
By now, the machine was only around five meters high, which was a lot smaller but nowhere close to being small enough for Seeds.
"I need to talk to you," Nick transmitted to Ghosty.
Ghosty's eyes widened in pleasant surprise before a smirk appeared on his face.
Nick expected Ghosty to excuse himself and walk to the side, but he just kept working.
The next moment, Nick felt some kind of Zephyx vibration coming from Ghosty.
Nick was a bit surprised that the vibrations mimicked the vibrations the Adversary used to communicate with him.
Sure,Nick had told Ghosty how they communicated, but he hadn't expected Ghosty to use the vibration language to talk to Nick.
"Where are you?" was what the vibrations said.
Nick transmitted his location to Ghosty, who quickly found him.
"I have my own technique to transmit my voice now," Ghosty transmitted to Nick. "I don't need to stop working to talk to you anymore."
'Not surprising. He's always been good at Zephyx Manipulation,' Nick thought.
"Good. I found a problem, but I can't talk about it directly due to obvious reasons."
"I understand," Ghosty answered.
"There is a possibility that Pure Energy might be toxic to humans due to our Zephyx Synchronizers. The Recovering Ones already had Zephyx Synchronizers, and the Ancient Ones almost certainly didn't. If you think about these things, you will come to the right conclusion," Nick transmitted.
Ghosty frowned and stayed silent.
Just like Nick, he was thinking about these connections.
Sadly, while Ghosty knew that something was controlling the Specters due to what he saw in the Nightmare's body, he didn't know as much as Nick.
However, Ghosty was a brilliant scientist, and he was very good at dealing with logical problems.
"I can see where you are coming from," Ghosty answered. "Yes, it's possible that Pure Energy would be toxic to humans. If I were the other party, I would do that. If the worst-case scenario happens, this would be the penultimate safety, right before dealing with the entire planet."
"Yes," Nick transmitted. "I believe the Enlightened Ones found a way to deal with that. I am thinking about a medical procedure that gives humans something that allows them to interact with Star Energy and Pure Energy."
Ghosty couldn't hold back his reaction and actually stopped working for a moment.
"Ghosty?" Nick asked.
"Ah, excuse me," he answered, returning to work. "It's just… why didn't I think of that?"
"I've been constantly searching for a way to interact with Star Energy with machines and with what our bodies have, but I hadn't considered adding something directly to our body that could accomplish that."
"Although, I've been looking at things through the lens of an engineer. I keep thinking about machines when, sometimes, thinking about biology makes more sense."
Nick was reminded of the biological machines. "The potential of biology is vast. I have seen unimaginable things, and they are biological in nature."
Ghosty nodded. "You want to add some biologists to the team?"
"Yes," Nick transmitted.
"It's possible, but we need more rooms. It's not that we need more space but that we have to split the research teams strictly. Having four people is already dangerous due to the Envious Researcher. If we get even more, we must make sure that no subject is covered by both teams."
"The only reliable way to achieve that is to physically separate them and keep any contact to the bare minimum."
Ghosty sighed while adding something to a small gadget. "It would be so much easier without the Envious Researcher. We would be making progress several times faster."
"I know. I'm working on it," Nick answered.
"Working on it?" Ghosty asked with surprise. "That's not what I meant! Don't be crazy! I know you're strong, but the Envious Researcher is at least a Mid Adversary, and Aegis never even managed to see it. I was just lamenting a bothersome situation."
"Don't worry about it," Nick said. "There are ways to deal with every Specter, and the Envious Researcher isn't different. It might be much harder to kill it than a Corruptor, but it's not impossible."
"Remember, I am not alone. Humanity is on my side."
Ghosty still felt unsure.
The Envious Researcher was a plague upon humanity and Aegis.
"I trust you. Tell me when you get a fitting biologist," Ghosty answered.
"I will," Nick said before leaving.
'The Envious Researcher, the Nightmare, the Sun,and the Null are the ones feeding information to the aliens,' Nick thought.
'The Sun sees everything in its light.'
'The Nightmare keeps everyone in the Sun's light.'
'The Envious Researcher can sense technological progress.'
'And the Null most likely senses if anyone knows anything about it, and it most likely also supervises any information that includes the true nature of the world.'
'The Null is the silent reaper that keeps information suppressed.'
'Regarding information, we already dealt with the Nightmare, which also deals with the Sun, leaving the Envious Researcher and the Null.'
'The Envious Researcher keeps humanity suppressed, while the Null stops the truth from coming out.'
'If we can deal with the Envious Researcher, things will progress so much faster.'
Nick gritted his teeth.
'But I have no idea how to deal with it!'
'The Shields are not strong enough, and they can't sense it!'
'The only one that could kill the Envious Researcher is the Champion of Light, but he would never do that! Even if I gave him the opportunity!'
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