Within the temporary workshop, energy levels finally stabilized above a reassuring threshold. Osiris stood before the central workbench, several silver-gray mechanical tendrils operating smoothly beneath his dark red robes as if possessing independent consciousness.
They were equipped with laser calibrators, micro-field generation modules, and high-frequency particle scanning probes, meticulously working around a single object, the dark gold dodecahedron, an ancient relic, that had brought him to this world.
Under the workshop's unique mixed lighting, a blend of cool white artificial light sources and the various indicator lights of the equipment, the relic's surface glowed with seemingly living patterns, exuding a profound, almost biological aesthetic.
It hovered on an invisible support structure formed by complex force field coils, slowly rotating at a constant angular velocity, like some otherworldly star.
"Energy injection attempt, sequence seven. Output frequency adjusted to the tau-meson resonance interval," Osiris instructed in a low voice, addressing both himself and the servo-skull floating to one side, responsible for recording.
An energy interface at the tip of one tendril emitted a hum almost beyond the limits of hearing, precisely channeling highly purified electrical energy into a specific geometric node on the relic's surface.
For an instant, the energy fluctuations within the relic showed a faint ripple, and a barely perceptible glimmer appeared on its surface patterns, but then it immediately extinguished, as if falling into a deeper dormancy.
The multi-spectrum detector beside the workbench emitted a low-frequency warning tone.
"Another failure," Osiris pulled the tendril back, his optical lens automatically adjusting focus, the cold mirror surface reflecting the unmoving artifact.
"Conventional energy injection efficiency is below 0.3 percent. Most of it is absorbed or dissipated into some... internal dimension hidden within the Planck-scale spatial structure. This violates all known energy-matter conversion models."
He unconsciously made a gesture of rubbing his brow, though his reinforced faceplate no longer required this physiological action, this habit from his human days remained, signaling that he was entering a state of deep deduction.
"Perhaps... we have fundamentally misunderstood it," he turned to the servo-skull, as if addressing a trusted colleague, "What it needs might not be pure physical energy, or at least not entirely. Re-examine the sensory data from the Crossing event... that intense pain of consciousness being disassembled and reassembled, deeper, more fundamental..."
A hypothesis flashed through his processing core.
"Psionics?" The word was uttered with a mechanical cadence, carrying a hint of the caution inherent to an Adeptus Mechanicus member, yet mixed with purely technical curiosity. "Is the ignition tied to The Warp... or some kind of similar inter-dimensional glitch field?"
"Servo-skull, re-retrieve all environmental monitoring data from the entire transversal event. Focus on anomalous energy spectra and my consciousness... fluctuation records."
"Command confirmed." Blue light swirled in the skull's eye sockets, projecting a series of complex data onto the main screen.
"As expected..." Osiris murmured, "It needs a 'fuse,' a 'key' capable of prying open dimensional structures. Pure energy is the fuel, but what ignites it and points the way is a specific kind of consciousness or mental power... what the Warhammer Universe calls 'psionics.'"
"Calculate," Osiris ordered the servo-skull, "If we attempt to simulate the resonant frequency required for 'psionic' activation with raw energy, what is the theoretical minimum energy spike required?"
The servo-skull fell silent for a brief moment, its internal processors running at full speed.
Finally, a number appeared on the screen:
**Estimated theoretical minimum activation energy threshold: approximately one-third of Night City's total power grid peak load generation, sustained for 1.7 seconds.
Or, the total energy released by fifty kilograms of weapons-grade enriched uranium undergoing instantaneous fission under ideal conditions**
Osiris gazed at the number, his optical lenses flickering slightly.
"One-third of Night City's electricity... or fifty kilograms of enriched uranium..." He repeated in a tone bordering on a sigh, "Truly... a formidable threshold."
He carefully placed the the relic into a specially designed energy-shielded storage box.
"The plan needs major adjustments," he declared, facing the window.