Starting a Fire

The three of them headed into the forest.

Phi wandered around, searching for a dry patch of moss. Tau followed closely behind, bending down occasionally to pick up a small twig. Kant flew back and forth through the forest, transporting the berries and herbs he found back to their campsite at the edge of the lake.

As she worked, Tau reflected on Kant's teachings.

{Domain is observation and control...}

[That's what he said.]

Tau could still feel her immediate surroundings, but it was not inherently obvious just where her awareness ended. Even as she walked, changing her position in space, there weren't any moments when she would suddenly feel like she had seen something new.

She looked down at her hands, now grasping a small collection of twigs.

{Observation... Control...}

[Yeah... so...?]

{Wait, what did Kant say about using my domain?}

[What do you mean?]

{You know... about the next step.}

[You mean how he said you need to understand the logic of the world more?]

{Yeah. What, exactly, did he say?}

["The next step is to develop an understanding of the logic of this world, so as you may better use your domain to manipulate it."]

{Better use...}

[What about it?]

{Not just use, but better use, meaning that I can technically use my domain even without a deep understanding of the logic of this world.}

[Of course. You've been using your domain to maintain your existence for ages... Even that awareness of your surroundings and the fine control over your body; That's a use of your domain, isn't it? Did you just now realize?]

{No, that's not what I mean. How do I put it?}

Tau felt like she had stumbled upon something important, but she couldn't explain it. So, she just sent her vague realization to Neu.

[Ah. Hmm... Control resolution scales directly with the observational resolution? No, there's a bit more to it than just that... I'll work this out.]

"Tau. Hey, Tau!"

Tau hadn't realized she had stopped walking. Phi was standing before her, arms at her hips.

"Keep up! Or I'll leave you behind!"

They gathered kindling for another half hour. In the end, Phi had to settle on some dry leaves for the tinder, much to her annoyance.

Apparently, unbeknownst to them, Kant had cut off a branch from a tree and split it down into piles of burnable chunks of increasing size.

Phi placed her tinder on a flat piece of wood that Kant had cut out.

"Um..." Phi paused and slowly turned to Tau, "Do you know how to start a fire?"

"Wait, you don't-"

"Shut up! It's been a while! I just forgot, okay?"

"No... I'm not even sure I know what this fire thing is..."

"Damn it! Now Kant's going to be laughing at me again."

"How did you expect to do something like starting a fire if you didn't even understand how to?"

[Ah.]

{Ah.}

[Understanding scales with observation. Understanding generates interpretations. Interpretations serve as the basis for control.]

{So, the key to domain use is to have an applicable interpretation and adjusting the relevant factors based on that interpretation through assertions of existence.}

[And if the interpretation is viable, the world will accept those assertions and manifest them as reality.]

Tau closed her eyes and examined the logic of the world. Specifically, she used the logic inherent in the wood and saw how it related to the preparation of food. She didn't bother diving deeply into the logic. All she needed was enough to generate a viable interpretation.

[That's a lot of pathways...]

{This one... tinder… kindling… a gradual increase in fuel...}

[Sounds about right...]

{Then what we need is...}

[Heat.]

{Assertion.}

Using her domain, Tau traced the logic responsible for the generation of heat and applied it to the tinder. Quickly, the tinder started to smoke.

"Oh. This is it!" Phi gently blew at the tinder, slowly adding the kindling.

Tau felt the logic of the world flow, initiated by her assertion. Like a wave, causality moved from the initial heat into a cycle of self-sufficient flame. Feeling this, Tau let her assertion drop. The fire continued to burn.

"Ha. Look! Kant! I did it!" Phi threw one last bundle of wood into the now roaring flame.

"Good work."

"Now it's your turn!"

With a quick turn, Kant dove into the lake, sliding in so seamlessly that there was no splash to be heard.

Phi ran to the edge of the lake with some sticks in hand.

"Here goes nothing..." Phi took a deep breath. The originally rough and gnarled sticks were reduced to a set of perfectly straight skewers.

"Hey Tau, get over here and hold some of these for me."

Tau did as she was told.

"Just wait. This is always so cool. You'll love it!"

So, the two of them stood there, both holding several skewers in each hand, gazing out at the lake, waiting.

After a few moments, there was a quick series of splashes as several fish were flipped into the air. Kant flashed through the air, gutting, and dicing the fish too fast for Tau to see. Soon, there was another series of splashes as dismembered fish chunks hit the water. At the same time, numerous squares of freshly diced fish meat impaled themselves onto the outstretched skewers.

Still in the air, Kant rotated part way down before returning to his vertical position, as if giving a bow.

"Cool, right?" Phi nudged Tau.

"Cool..."

Tau could feel the numerous consecutive assertions, each one containing such specificity and depth, each interacting with sections of world logic that she did not yet understand.

"Alright, let's get these cooked..."

Phi hummed as she stabbed the handle end of the skewers into the sand by the fire. Kant dried himself off by spinning in midair before joining them on the shore. Tau continued to stare blankly at the lake, still holding the skewers, examining the logic behind Kant's demonstration.

"Hey Tau… you going to bring those over or what?" Phi called over her shoulder as she slowly turned the skewers, evenly distributing the heat of the flames across the chucks of fish.

Tau just continued to stand there, lost in thought.

"You know… there's a saying: those who don't work don't eat."

"Leave her be," Kant interjected, "Such focus deserves our patience, even if nothing may come of it."

"Yeah, sure."

So, Phi circled back around and took the skewers out of Tau's hands.

"Now," Phi rubbed her hands together, "Let's see what sorts of seasoning you were able to find in the forest."

"Please, for your own sake, in moderation..."

Meanwhile, Tau was busy diving through the world logic which pertained to marine anatomy.

{This...}

[Digestive organs… cardiovascular system… energy transport and storage…]

{And we haven't even touched the water physics part yet...}

[Even the most basic usable interpretation is so complex...]

{Ah… whatever! Let's just ask Kant about it later.}

By that time, the sun had already gotten quite low in the sky. Tau had stood there thinking for quite some time. Tau turned to see Phi blowing at a freshly roasted skewer.

"Yep. It's ready!" Phi announced after taking a bite, "Nothing like the good old black pepper and salt combo to add some flavor."

Kant was stroking the fire, occasionally tossing another piece of wood into it with the flat of his blade.

The fish was fine, although in Tau's opinion, a little too salty. After dinner, Phi lay down in the sand and stared up at the star-filled sky.

Kant loaded a final large piece of timber into the fire for the night. Tau sat by the edge of the lake, watching the light from the stars and moon dance with the waves.

"Tau, it was you who started the fire, correct?" Kant asked suddenly.

"Hmm, oh yeah," Tau answered quickly, caught off guard.

"It was with your domain, yes?"

"Yeah..."

For a while, there was only the soft sound of the lapping waves.

"Incredible. To be able to influence the world this soon."

"It's nothing much, your demonstration before dinner was much more impressive."

"True, but given the difference in our experience, that is to be expected."

"I suppose, but I don't see how I could ever do something like that."

"Not soon, certainly. In time, once you are intimately familiar with the logic of this world, such use of your domain will become instinctual."

"It is really that simple?"

"In essence, yes. But, as is said: The devil is in the details."

Tau's thoughts were interrupted by a yawn.

"Well, it is late. You should get some rest."

"This body is pretty inconvenient, huh?"

Tau lay down in the sand as fatigue washed over her.

"In a way, yes." Kant laughed, "See you in the morning."

And with that, Tau fell asleep.