Prism Sphere Development Diary
Recovered from TS Archives. Record incomplete; some files missing or damaged.
ENTRY: RHODE 6
DATE: MARCH 04 2025 / 07:24
SUBJECT: MAGE CONTAINMENT UNIT
[MAJ.COLE] Sir, the first shipment of supplies just arrived.
[COL.RHODE] Excellent. We’ll get that sorted, then we can start construction… next week?
[DR.FARAH] The drafts are ready. We could start sooner, depending on how long this takes. Hey! Be careful with that; that’s liquid mercury!
[muffled voices]
[DR.FARAH] You’d think they’d know better about carrying boxes on a research base.
[COL.RHODE] Mmm. I’ve read your paper on using mercury to recognize active spellcasting.
[DR.FARAH] Oh? What did you think?
[COL.RHODE] We’ll find out.
ENTRY: RHODE 44
DATE: MAY 10 2025 / 11:42
SUBJECT: MAGE CONTAINMENT UNIT
[COL.RHODE] This is going to change things. For the better.
[DR.FARAH] What are we going to use it for, exactly? Empire children who show mage potential are closely watched and collected if necessary already; there can’t be that many rogue mages running around.
[COL.RHODE] No, no, of course not. The Seekers already have that covered. No, this is more for foreign mages.
[DR.FARAH] Ah, that’s why you offered to back this project.
[COL.RHODE] Yes. As of now, we have very limited ways of successfully finding out what a foreign mage knows safely. This will help with that, if it works the way your thesis suggests.
[DR.FARAH] The concept is sound, though we may have to iterate on the technicalities.
[COL.RHODE] Of course, I understand that. I don’t expect perfection from the start. General Nashaat is going to be the person to worry about.
[DR.FARAH] Though, if I may ask… are foreign mages that much of a problem?
[COL.RHODE] Romanii almost certainly has some here, we’d be fools not to suspect that, though we don’t currently have much of a way of capturing them. The Seekers standing orders are to kill on contact, since trying to contain them is so difficult. Hell, trying to kill them is difficult. And then there’s the whole situation with Ni Fon.
[DR.FARAH] I’d wondered about that.
[COL.RHODE] There’s a standstill surrounding it right now. As long as we have Truth Seekers, they can have their shinobi.
[DR.FARAH] They don’t really perform magic openly anyway. Or even appear in public much, though there is that one that got betrothed to the duchess’ daughter recently. I guess he’ll be in the spotlight soon. Wait, doesn’t that even mean he could eventually be duke of the province?
[COL.RHODE] All of Kobayashi’s family are mages, so not much changes there.
[DR.FARAH] What!?
[COL.RHODE] It is what it is as long as they don’t flaunt it. But should things shift in the direction our superiors want them to go… then something like this will be very necessary. I doubt the shinobi will just give themselves and their ways up. Or the… well.
[DR.FARAH] Let’s… not talk about that for now.
[COL.RHODE] Agreed.
ENTRY: RHODE 85
DATE: JULY 08 2025 / 12:53
SUBJECT: MAGE CONTAINMENT UNIT
[DR.FARAH] A little behind schedule, but the prototype should be finished in a few days. Then we can begin testing.
[COL.RHODE] Excellent.
[MAJ.COLE] If I may, Sir?
[COL.RHODE] Of course.
[MAJ.COLE] How are we planning on testing it?
[COL.RHODE] Madine, if you could…? Thank you. Using these.
[MAJ.COLE] What are they?
[DR.FARAH] Spell crystals. A form of crystalized magic that allows–
[MAJ.COLE] Thank you, Doctor. I know what they do from the old stories; I’ve just never seen one before.
[DR.FARAH] Ah, of course.
[TS.MADINE] We are happy to supply them for the cause.
[MAJ.COLE] Are they difficult to make?
[COL.RHODE] A moot point. But these can be used to see if the containment unit does what it’s supposed to somewhat safely.
[DR.FARAH] There’s an unfortunate history of tech and magic doing… poorly in conjunction with each other. Best to prepare for the worst case scenario.
[MAJ.COLE] An explosion?
[laughter]
[COL.RHODE] Yes, I imagine we’ll see quite a number of those before we’re through.
[DR.FARAH] Maybe we could ask Ni Fon to help with the testing, if they have so many mages running about?
[laughter]
ENTRY: RHODE 114
DATE: AUGUST 19 2025 / 09:32
SUBJECT: MAGE CONTAINMENT UNIT
[COL.RHODE] Well that’s disappointing.
[DR.FARAH] No reaction at all? How can that be?
[COL.RHODE] The spell crystal is definitely able to function just fine. Looks like a star field in here.
[MAJ.COLE] I hate to ask, but the unit is on, correct?
[DR.FARAH] Yes, I’m getting data. Oh! Oh, this is good, actually!
[COL.RHODE] What do you have?
[DR.FARAH] It is picking up on the magic inside! See, here, and here–
[COL.RHODE] Ah, yes. The quicksilver system is working as intended, then.
[DR.FARAH] Still no actual containment, but yes – not a complete wash.
[COL.RHODE] All right, then. Back to the drawing board.
ENTRY: RHODE 123
DATE: SEPTEMBER 02 2025 / 16:13
SUBJECT: MAGE CONTAINMENT UNIT
[COL.RHODE] Prisms?
[DR.FARAH] We don’t really understand magic on a scientific level, which is why this whole project is as experimental as it is–
[COL.RHODE] I’m aware.
[DR.FARAH] Well, each individual mage seems to have their own wavelength, or wavelength combination. So light – the visible spectrum – must have something to do with it.
[COL.RHODE] Each individual mage has their own unique color? Across all history? There can’t be that many colors.
[DR.FARAH] Well, no, there logically must be repeats, but there are so many colors that the chances of finding an exact match are rare.
[COL.RHODE] Hmm. Teuri?
[TS.TEURI] There are no exact matches among the Truth Seekers, though there are some whose magic is close enough that it can be difficult to distinguish without looking closely.
[COL.RHODE] Interesting. A close enough match and, theoretically, you could set the other person up…
[DR.FARAH] Colonel?
[COL.RHODE] Never mind. Tell me more about how this will integrate with the quicksilver system.
ENTRY: RHODE 162
DATE: OCTOBER 30 2025 / 08:57
SUBJECT: MAGE CONTAINMENT UNIT
[TECH.LANDIN] The wiring is almost complete on the prism sphere, Sir!
[COL.RHODE] The what?
[TECH.LANDIN] The prism sphere?
SILENCE//00:00:24
[TECH.LANDIN] Everyone has been calling it that?
[COL.RHODE] Interesting. I suppose it fits. It does use prisms, and is… mostly spherical.
[MAJ.COLE] It does have a nice ring to it, Sir.
[COL.RHODE] I suppose it does.
ENTRY: RHODE 184
DATE: DECEMBER 06 2025 / 11:38
SUBJECT: PRISM SPHERE
[DR.FARAH] Kehvan, Teuri–!
[TS.TEURI] We have it contained, Doctor.
[COL.RHODE] Hmm. Were we expecting…?
[MAJ.COLE] You did say we were likely to see explosions, Sir.
[DR.FARAH] But the spell crystal had barely passed the threshold. It hadn’t even been activated yet.
[COL.RHODE] So no, we were not expecting this. How far will this set us back?
[MAJ.COLE] We’ll know more once the fire suppression system is able to kick in, but we will need to wait for it to settle down enough to allow the Seekers to drop their shield safely. Best guess, severe structural damage to the sphere itself, and we’ve certainly lost the drone that was carrying the spell crystal. And the spell crystal.
[COL.RHODE] What was that spell crystal supposed to do, exactly?
[TS.TEURI] Create small lights, like the other one. There was no fire in it. It is a safe, stable spell. Just a little bit of magic.
[COL.RHODE] Huh. Can you tell what happened? Were you watching?
[TS.TEURI] When the crystal came into contact with the sphere’s field, it exploded.
[DR.FARAH] You can’t tell why?
[TS.TEURI] No.
[MAJ.COLE] Magic and tech… really don’t like each other, do they?
ENTRY: RHODE 231
DATE: FEBRUARY 24 2026 / 14:42
SUBJECT: PRISM SPHERE
[COL.RHODE] It’s been almost a year now. We knew this was not going to be an easy project going in, but so far we’ve had two failures – one quiet, one explosive. And explosive is unfortunately expensive. We’ve been set back significantly while we wait for repairs to be completed. General Nashaat is growing impatient. He’ll pull the funding soon if we don’t have more than scraps to offer him.
However, it’s not a complete waste. The quicksilver system is able to reliably inform us when there is a magical entity within the sphere. It cannot yet tell us if they are actively casting or not, unfortunately – the Seekers tell us it seems to be picking up the ambient magic that surrounds a mage – but there is hope to improve upon it further.
We’ve also learned a lot about color theory, though I think we may be barking up the wrong tree there. Dr. Farah has taken my advice and has her team working on other possibilities. We want to contain the mage, not execute them. Not immediately, anyway. Finding the correct way to balance the tech and magic… I know Ni Fon is also investing a lot of time and money into finding a solution. Last I saw, they have not yet found one. I wonder if it is even possible.
Maybe it doesn’t matter, though… hmm, I wonder if there is a way to keep them separate? Teuri mentioned fields. Magnetic fields sometimes repulse each other, I wonder if that theory could be applied to what we are doing here?
What even is magic?
ENTRY: RHODE 245
DATE: MARCH 16 2026 / 07:12
SUBJECT: PRISM SPHERE
[DR.FARAH] It’s a good idea. The cybernetic assets use electromagnets to disrupt magic, but if we keep the waves to a field surrounding the sphere then they might act like shield… it’s actually kind of brilliant.
[COL.RHODE] Thank you.
[DR.FARAH] Though I must say, even our failures have taught us things.
[MAJ.COLE] Such as it is a good idea to have Seekers on standby?
[DR.FARAH] Ah, well, yes, that too. But I meant more about… oh, wait. Colonel, would it be possible to have one of the assets sent here?
[COL.RHODE] What for?
[DR.FARAH] They are an integration of tech with a magical being, aren’t they? Completely bizarre; it shouldn’t work, but it does. I might be able to implement some of their design to stabilize the prism sphere.
[COL.RHODE] I see. I’ll put in the request.
[DR.FARAH] I should have thought of it sooner.
[COL.RHODE] Most of us try not to think about them too hard. I wouldn’t worry about it.
ENTRY: RHODE 257
DATE: APRIL 03 2026 / 13:34
SUBJECT: PRISM SPHERE
[MAJ.COLE] Why are we still calling it the prism sphere?
[COL.RHODE] Electromagnetic ellipsoid doesn’t have the same ring.
[TS.MADINE] And it is a prison.
SILENCE//00:00:43
[COL.RHODE] Was that… a pun?
[TS.MADINE] No.
ENTRY: RHODE 324
DATE: JULY 09 2026 / 15:02
SUBJECT: PRISM SPHERE
[COL.RHODE] You are very adept at containing the explosions, now.
[TS.KEVHAN] Thank you.
[DR.FARAH] At least none have been like that incident back in December. But yes, the Seekers have certainly saved us quite a bit of time with their fast reflexes.
[MAJ.COLE] When we do succeed, might it be a good idea to utilize them as a secondary failsafe?
[COL.RHODE] Not a bad idea.
[DR.FARAH] Is that necessary? If we succeed, isn’t the point that they won’t be necessary to contain a mage?
[COL.RHODE] Yes, that is correct, but it won’t hurt to have the added layer of security, at least in the beginning.
[three muffled explosions in quick succession]
[COL.RHODE] And just in case things go “boom.”
ENTRY: RHODE 359
DATE: AUGUST 29 2026 / 13:04
SUBJECT: PRISM SPHERE
[DR.FARAH] Success, Colonel. The activated spell crystals do nothing from inside. And no explosions. Everything seems to be reading just fine.
[COL.RHODE] Finally. Call General Nashaat.
[MAJ.COLE] Yes, Sir.
[DR.FARAH] Without any other testing?
[COL.RHODE] What else could we test it with? Ah, of course. Kevhan, if you would?
[TS.KEVHAN] Sir.
SILENCE//00:02:47
[COL.RHODE] It’s a lot of steps. I wonder if we could improve on that? If the mage is awake this could be very difficult.
[DR.FARAH] Best for now to ensure they are not awake, then. Drugs’ll do the trick in the short run.
[COL.RHODE] Right, but imagine if we could modify this to be… oh, a bracelet, or something. Handcuffs, that you could just snap around a mage’s wrists, and then poof – no magic.
[DR.FARAH] That would be ideal, yes, but we’ve just barely got this to work. Maybe. All right, Davis, activate the–
[screaming, muffled by glass]
[COL.RHODE] What on Gaia–!
[TS.MADINE] He has been severed.
[DR.FARAH] Severed? From what?
[TS.MADINE] From us.
[DR.FARAH] So he’s screaming?
[TS.MADINE] Yes. The prism sphere is a success, Colonel. Kevhan would have used magic to break free by now if he could, but I can sense nothing.
[COL.RHODE] That’s… good. Hmm. Doctor, how do we…?
[DR.FARAH] We’ll have to wait it out. I don’t recommend opening it while he’s… like this.
[COL.RHODE] Will it drive every mage mad?
[TS.MADINE] Unlikely. Kevhan suffers the loss of the egregore. Other mages are not so connected.
[COL.RHODE] Good to know, I guess.
ENTRY: RHODE 363
DATE: SEPTEMBER 02 2026 / 15:12
SUBJECT: PRISM SPHERE
[DR.FARAH] Kevhan was found dead this morning–
[COL.RHODE] Not now, Doctor. [pause] General Nashaat, welcome to Charve. How was your trip?
[GA.NASHAAT] Decent, all things considered. [record skips forward] You’ve had a breakthrough?
[COL.RHODE] Yes. I have the footage for you to review. We have every reason to believe the prism sphere is ready for live use.
[GA.NASHAAT] No live test, though?
[COL.RHODE] We can demonstrate with a spell crystal, but the other test cost us a Truth Seeker.
[GA.NASHAAT] And? Let me see.
[COL.RHODE] Yes, Sir.
