Zeros, already fed up with both Blindy’s whining and Phoenix’s instructions, snapped mentally:
“FUCK.
IF BOTH OF YOU DON’T STOP TALKING SHIT—
I’LL DO THIS MY WAY.
LET’S JUST GET ON WITH IT.”
He raised his hand, vaguely remembering Blindy’s dumb pose.
“Uh… hi, I guess.
How the fuck are you living here?”
And instantly, Z-P-N-E-S 2.0 lit up through the fog like a full-blown light show—
short pulses, long flashes, soft transitions,
like cosmic Morse code.
The group of Virtixes stirred.
One of them drifted forward,
and a wave of light ran along its long glass body—
soft, oscillating, but clear.
Phoenix translated immediately:
“We welcome you.
We are well.
We were better before you arrived.
What do you want?”
Phoenix added, completely serious.
“That came from this flat weirdo…”
On board Z-P-N-E-S 2.0, Blindy suddenly realized—
he had absolutely no idea
why the hell they were here
or what Madeline even wanted.
He scratched his head:
“Uh… Rusty… why ARE we here?”
Phoenix answered fast, cold, and fully expecting the captain not to understand:
“Madeline Crooks requested acquisition of Pyrolytic Vitreum.”
Blindy nodded with confidence:
“Got it… yeah… yeah, of course…”
He gave a confident thumbs-up to absolutely no one.
“Good luck down there, Zeros—
bring back the… uh… the thing—”
Stopped. His face twisted slightly.
“Wait—wait—WAIT…”
He turned back slowly.
“What the fuck is that?”
Phoenix exhaled like even a machine was tired of existing:
“Naturally occurring organo-crystalline superconductive matrix.”
Blindy nodded again:
“Yeah… could’ve just said that, dubmass…”
A split second—just enough for meaning to start leaking into his brain.
His expression started collapsing.
“…organo—what—”
He leaned forward, like proximity might help.
“—crystal… super—what—matrix—”
He froze. Then snapped:
“WHAT THE FUCK DOES THAT MEAN?!”
Even Phoenix seemed to hit a limit:
“HOLY SHIT…
Why do you need to know, captain?
We just need to take something.
Just—
focus on the mission.”
[Dick was about to continue, but Jackie jabbed him in the shoulder for the third time. He winced]“What is it, baby?”
[Jackie, like a hawk finally seizing her moment, grabbed the broadcast—and judging by her eyes, she wasn't letting go]“I’ve been sitting here this whole time—
WHEN do I get to talk?!Right now is perfect.
You asked what Pyrolytic Vitreum is?
Great. I’ll explain it quickly and clearly.”
[Dick opened his mouth—but Jackie immediately shut him down with pure vocal force]“When a Virtix dies, its body settles into volcanic soil—
in an oxygen-free methane environment,
under immense pressure,
with constant volcanic electromagnetic activity.And its organic conductive structures
slowly—very slowly—undergo pyrolysis.Pyrolysis, dear listeners—
is the decomposition of matter at high temperature without oxygen.And Virtix bodies—
don’t rot.
Don’t decay.They transform—
exactly as Phoenix said—
into a natural organo-crystalline superconductive matrix.”
[Dick couldn't take it anymore and cut in]“Yeah, you and Rusted Phoenix would get along great. Fine. Continue.”
[Jackie shut that down instantly and grabbed the broadcast back]“So.
Virtix bioluminescent organs:
- contain complex aromatic carbon chains
- contain metals—rare elements from volcanic soil
- use bioelectric signaling
And when they die…
when their neural activity collapses back into the singularity pattern…
those organs compact,
stabilize,
crystallize,
become metal-saturated—
and over millions of years turn into—
MINERALIZED NEUROCARBON.This extremely rare material:
- maintains quantum coherence at cryogenic or local ambient conditions
- enters superconductive states under pressure
- has extremely high electron carrier density
- can hold spin states stably
And most importantly—
even one gram:
- replaces tens of kilograms of silicon processors
- serves as substrate for quantum computation
- minimizes thermal loss
Why?
Because it formed over millions of years inside a constant volcanic electromagnetic environment.
Nature did not build a processor.
Nature built a filter — a mineral structure that preserved only the arrangements stable enough to survive heat, pressure, and charge.In other words—
nature built a natural quantum filter.And one more critical detail—
‘pyrolytic glass’ forms specifically
at Virtix burial sites.Which means accumulation only happens where there is:
- mass body density
- sufficient pressure
- deep layering
- total absence of light”
[Dick, like a kettle that had been boiling for three hours straight, finally snapped and ripped the broadcast back]“OH, SO THAT’S THE FUCKIN’ MISSION of Miss Quince!
Jackie, sweetie…
but first—lemme say something.I feel sorry for the poor bastard who takes you out on a romantic dinner.
Man’s gonna STRUGGLE to find a conversation topic.
Listen up, gremlins:
if you don’t have a PhD
and a Nobel Prize sittin’ on your shelf—DON’T EVEN LOOK
in the direction of our brilliant beauty Jackie!”
[Jackie puffed her cheeks]“Stop teasing me!
I just like science!
And I read a lot!
I’m not like how you describe me!”
[Dick coughed out an apology]“Alright, alright, sorry, baby. Didn’t mean it.
Anyway…
from what you just said—Zeros is basically Tomb Raider now.
Except not as hot as Lara Croft—
and instead of tombs…
he’s digging graveyards.”