Lucid Space Upgrade

"Let's go through these one at a time."

<<Certainly. The first option is Manifestation Assistance. Official description is:

Subject will be able to manifest more complex changes to the Lucid Space, such as expanding size and generating more complex objects without expending mental energy.>>

Michael nodded.

"This one makes sense, I think. Like how right now my lucid space is just my room, I could expand it to the kitchen upstairs, or the garage?"

<<Correct. That is one example. Not a very creative one, but an example.>>

Michael stuck his tongue out at that reply, before realizing that he was sticking his tongue out at a figment in his own eye. He took a sip of his coffee and responded.

"Well, then, give me a better example since my mind is so lacking."

<<That would be cheating. But I can certainly tell you if something IS a better example. That wouldn't be against the rules.>>

Michael frowned and started to ponder. After a few minutes, he tentatively asked another question.

"Could I use it to create a room that doesn't exist in the real world?"

<<Of course! Though that's much more difficult than creating a room from memory.>>

"Then, what about a room that does exist in my memory? Could I make a door that normally opens to one place open to another instead?"

<<Absolutely! Isn't that a common occurrence in dreams?>>

Pleased that his suspicions were correct, Michael decided to drill in on the other thing that had been bothering him.

"The end of the description said that this upgrade would allow me to do this 'without expending mental energy'. That means it's possible to do this without the module, right?"

<<Of course. Haven't you been creating things like books and pencils and paper already? Rooms are just more complicated. Think of the module like a 'discount' or a special processor that makes the cost creating these objects and spaces, and the cost of maintaining them, cheaper. It's like the difference between using your CPU or a dedicated Graphics Card on your computer.>>

Michael was elated that he had started to figure out even more about the workings of the Lucid Space.

"So at the end of the day, it all comes back to Mental Energy."

<<Of course! Didn't I already say that?>>

"... So, on to the next one."

<<Sure. Next was Physical Synchronization. Official Description: A portion of activities performed within Lucid Space will be transcribed to the subject's associated procedural memory, effectively generating 'muscle memory' for the performed task.>>

"So, my body will learn the things I do in the Lucid Space? How does that work?"

<<Saying that your body will learn is a little inaccurate. It's more like transcription - the actions will be recorded and then written in to your procedural memory. Consider the difference like that between making a master record and a stamped one. When you are actually performing an action, it's like your body is the master record and the action is being absorbed directly through your body. What will happen through this process is more like a stamper will be 'generated' through the Lucid Space and then stamped onto your procedural memory.>>

"So... it's like a photocopy?"

<<Exactly. There's a loss of efficiency. That's why the description says 'a portion'.>>

"So how much are we talking about?"

<<Well, originally it would only have been about 25%. But with the upgrade... it's now a 50% loss.>>

"So if I were to practice for 2 hours, I would get an hour's worth of muscle memory?"

<<Correct. Though it's important to note that this only applies to the muscle memory - you won't actually see any of the physical gains.>>

Michael frowned at this. He was already dealing with a scenario where his body couldn't adapt to what his brain was trying to tell it to do. Still, as long as he kept it in mind, he might be okay.

"This option didn't say anything about mental energy. Does that mean this wouldn't be possible normally?"

<<Not strictly through the application of mental energy, no.>>

"Oh? Then how?"

<<You aren't going to want to hear this, but...>>

"Oh no..."

<<Subject has not yet unloc-->>

Michael groaned audibly.

<< :-3 >>

"The more things change... alright, I think I understand. Next option, please."

<<Option Three is Lucid Time Dilation. Official Description is: By accelerating the Subject's experience of time, effective time Subject can remain in Lucid Space will increase by 50% for the same rest period.>>

Michael brightened at this one. He was most intrigued in this option, since it would, if it worked the way he thought it did, give him even more time to study. With the Mathematics competition coming up, he wanted all of the study time he could get!

"So, if I understand this one, when I sleep for 6 hours and spend it all in Lucid Space, I would have 9 hours in the space?"

<<Essentially, yes. It would feel like that much time, at least. There are a few scenarios where that wouldn't really apply, but none that are currently relevant.>>

Michael was tempted to ask what those scenarios would be, but he was pretty sure he knew what kind of response he would get.

"Let me guess, I haven't yet unlocked the associated information for those scenarios?"

<<Don't have to be told twice => +0.5>>

"Figures."

Michael contemplated immediately selecting that option, but then hesitated.

"What about mental energy? Is this something that can be done through mental energy?"

<<... Technically, yes, but it's quite challenging. Actually, taxing would be a more appropriate word. I can confidently tell you that right now you could definitely not turn 6 hours into 9. You might be able to turn one minute into two, but if you tried to do that for more than 10 minutes you might give yourself an aneurysm.>>

Michael blanched a bit at this and nodded.

"Still, it's possible... ok, last option, please."

<< Simulation Assistance. Official Description: System will assist Subject by simulating the real-world interactions associated with specified activities in order to allow subject to perform more complex actions without expending mental energy.>>

Michael rubbed his chin and asked a question that had been bothering him a bit.

"Why do these descriptions refer to the System in the third person? You haven't been doing that since the upgrade."

<<That's because I wrote these before the upgrade, silly.>>

"Fair enough - I didn't expect that. Now, what does this one actually mean? It's the most confusing, I find."

<<Yeah, this one is pretty complex. Everything in the Lucid Space is artificial, right? It's generated based on your conception. Simple things like letting you read a book or sit down are straightforward, but you've probably noticed that there isn't any 'haptic feedback', for lack of a better term. That would require you to remember the texture of the material, understand the pressure applied, normal force, gravity, density of the materials, and a lot of other things.

For more complex scenarios, like your computer, for example, you'd need to understand a lot of additional interactions - including how all of the components of your computer interact, the principles behind the switches, your display, how your computer is powered... it is a very big list. Even just throwing an object becomes an exploration of a ton of different physical interactions.>>

Michael frowned. This was indeed quite tricky.

"And this module takes care of a lot of that?"

<<Correct. Essentially it provides a database of known laws and interactions, and adds 'processes' to maintain the simulation of those laws. Of course, the understanding of those laws directly impacts how closely the simulation matches reality - for some things, that doesn't really matter, but for others it could have a huge impact depending on the impact.>>

"What do you mean?"

<<Just that scientific models are best attempts to understand the underlying laws of the world, but they are just that - attempts. Things happen that contradict our understanding of the world all the time - this is because our understanding of the world is lacking.>>

Michael pondered that. It made sense - the Lucid Space was an extension of his own capabilities, memory, and understanding, after all. Still, these options were just 'helpers' - things he could do, or would be able to do eventually, given enough time and effort. Some of them were possible sooner than others.

He remained silent for a long while as he contemplated his options. Finally, he nodded.

<<Have you made a decision?>>

"I have. I choose Physical Synchronization."

<<Good choice. It will take a couple of hours to enable, and we can do that when you start resting this evening.>>

"Sounds good. Do I need to prepare anything, like that... supplement... from last night?"

<<Not this time. This will strictly be a matter of reprogramming some of the nanoconstruct fleet.>>

"Great," he sighed, relieved. He was not looking forward to trying to stomach that terrible soup again.

<<Would you like to look over the recipes you've unlocked?>>

He shook his head. His eyes shined with an eager glint as he responded.

"Not yet. Now, it's time to get to work."