Consciously thinking about not thinking is of course a contradiction. Nevertheless not thinking is a state that is central to quite a lot of human cultures. Having issues with that while accepting aliens, magic and souls would be absurd. That does not make it easy. Nor do I know how good I need to become. I should have recorded a base line earlier, but if one session is so effective, it does not matter what I record here either.

  T: So you are saying the usage of cores versus the other methods is a global variable and irreversible?

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

  P: Yes, so it appears.

  T: Then using cores means making yourself depend on finding and entering intrusions. While otherwise you could for example play batman.

  P: That is true, but we are still left with the question of how to get more Awakening Stones.

  T: Would you care? What is the consequences of empty slots? Going hungry for power?

  P: I am not sure. More navel gazing will be required.

  T: But you can rank up powers while you have empty slots?

  P: Yes, I have direct experimental evidence for that. Well, at least for the Special Ability type.

  T: We need a way to measure the effect of that.

  P: A lot of work

  T: True. It may not be feasible if we need to teach at the same time. But it is odd.

  P: Yes, they cannot possibly expect us to finish within the time they promise to finish this crisis.

  T: You are thinking it is just propaganda?

  P: Then why are we specifically teaching? They have other wizards.

  T: So they are contemplating needing ritualists.

  P: You think we are a contingency plan and they traded the detection device away for something else?

  T: I wish we positively knew things.

  P: Do you want to go back to your old life?

  T: Rather than teaching school girls? Yes. If I could do science on magic? No. You?

  P: I wanted to change my old life. But certain things I wanted are not available to a single man.

  T: That is not helpful. And, I hesitate to mention it, but how good has that potion been? We were exposed to a lot of radiation.

  P: You are thinking cancer?

  T: No, or rather, we are too valuable for that now, even as contingencies. I talked to my doctors, when we were tested.

  P: So did I. What are you referring to?

  T: You sounded like you were talking about marriage and children.

  P: Fuck ...

  T: Indeed.

  That hurt unexpectedly hard.

  P: Another option, we do not have to stay in this country. I would have thought that they wouldn't let us go, but if they are serious about that constitution thing, we could emigrate.

  T: The grass is not greener on the other side. That is an illusion.

  I am kidding myself. There is a time bomb in my storage space.

  P: True. I just do not trust the promised peace.

  T: You are thinking about who is behind the intrusions? That they'll come themselves? Or who is behind the superheros?

  P: The former.

  T: Chewing the unknowable. If they come with irresistable force, nobody will ask us whether mankind should surrender. It would be up to the nuclear powers.