Even out of meditation, Quinn’s sensory reach sizzled in her veins -- a complete extension of herself, as if she flowed through every part of the Library.

  The sensation was subtle and unavoidable.

  Everything around her, even right here in the office, shone like glitter reflecting off the light.

  Quinn breathed in slowly for the count of four, held it for two, and then breathed it out again. She repeated the process until the overwhelm happening inside her began to dissipate and the sheen in front of her dimmed enough to separate out her processing.

  She knew Lynx was still standing expectantly in the middle of the floor, waiting for a real response from her. And while she totally agreed with his observation of about time, she was still trying to wrap her head about exactly what about time meant.

  Calibration was going to take 48 hours, and that really made no sense, as she was already synchronized. Or at least that’s what she’d thought.

  “I don’t understand.” She finally said, frowning as she still tried to place what had just happened.

  Lynx watched her, bemused. “But you looked like you agreed.”

  “Well, I’m thinking that it’s a good thing that activation is authorized and that I have a full sensory net activated. Or something like that. But that doesn’t mean I know what it means. Why were you so happy that this had finally happened?” She watched Lynx carefully.

  Aradie gave a low hoot.

  Lynx sighed. But it was the Library who spoke into the room.

  The power levels have hit a threshold that allows you to link on a deeper basis with the Library. You’re integrating so that everything becomes second nature. There’s a reason Milaro initially taught you to separate your mind. As the power increases and your sensory net expands, you’ll end up needing all that expansion of your mind to encompass the information you’ll begin processing.

  “But not to mention the power, right?” Quinn asked. Because she knew that wasn’t a coincidence. She could feel the rise in energy, the way the tiny hairs on her arms stood up just before her scales began to ripple over her skin.

  The magic rippled through her lips as she breathed in, down through her lungs, traveling all through her body right into her blood. It suffused with her body, completely a part of it, and yet somehow still separate. Enough that when she used it, her energy and mana centers depleted instead of her life-force.

  Quinn knew that instinctively. And yet...

  She raised her hand and willed her dragon fire into existence. The flame this time was pure white, bouncing from fingertip to fingertip with ease, and a heat she could even feel through her imperviousness. It made her warm in a way she hadn’t expected.

  The power felt like home.

  After those few moments, the Library finally replied. It’s true. Power levels are constantly increasing. Now we have more branches open, more books being borrowed and returned, and more patrons attending. We have a higher rate of energy gathering. There was a moment’s hesitation before the Library spoke again. I didn’t expect your connection to synchronize up like this so fast. Usually we’d have to be at almost full capacity, but you are clearly not.

  “Well,” Quinn said, flexing her fingers with the feeling of her new scale armor protecting her skin. “I mean, it’s pretty obvious, right? My genetics are more than compatible with yours.”

  Lynx blinked as his eyes went into overdrive.

  True. This time the Library sounded contemplative. In seeking to have our genetic sequence matched so your affinities couldn’t help but match those we need in a Librarian, I think this might have been an oversight.

  “But it’s a good thing, right? I mean, that I’m so easily able to match up with the Library functions.” Quinn didn’t like the tone in the Library’s voice.

  I’m not entirely...

  Which was when Milaro walked into the room, looking quite harried. His hair wasn’t in its neat binding down his back, and for just a second his eyes appeared wild. That is until he registered they were there and proceeded to smooth down his robes.

  Quinn frowned slightly. She’d been sure she’d locked the door. But she’d also been quite preoccupied, so couldn’t be sure.

  “Took you long enough.” Lynx practically growled at him.

  “Could have called me sooner.” Milaro shot back, a rare scowl gracing his lips. But his poise was back almost immediately. He turned to Quinn. “Okay then. What’s this about your connection morphing?”

  Quinn watched him, taking in all the words, the reactions, and the copious sensations that currently bombarded her body. She knew there was more than just synchronization and calibration. She wouldn’t feel like she did if it was just normal growing pains.

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  “Let me guess.” She started slowly. “You weren’t precisely sure how I’d interact with the Library as a mostly fully engineered cosmicisodracus? You were just guessing and hoping for the best?” Quinn tried not to cringe at the dispassionate way she said those words. Clinical almost.

  Still, it was easier for her to withdraw the emotion from the sensations she’d begun experiencing and look at them analytically. The power coursing through her didn’t feel natural. Or at least... not yet.

  Milaro, to his credit, at least cringed. “Sort of. Our aim was to make sure you had the affinities for a Librarian. The rest was negligible, and this was the only way we could truly guarantee you’d have the compatible affinities required.”

  “And what... 1680 odd others, right?” Quinn cracked a smile, trying to take the sting out of the words. Not wanting to dwell on how insecure it made her feel, she pushed on, effectively changing the subject. “So, do we have any theories about all of this then?” She gestured at herself and all around her and them.

  Milaro narrowed his eyes and then sighed, coming to sit right near her off the side of the desk. “The whole reason we made you was that we needed you. It was imperative, as you know, that you had the correct affinities to even link to the Library with. So when we decided to use the sample as we did, we knew that’d be fine. But without other adjustments, you would have been tantamount to a clone. Which is not what we aimed for.”

  “So I’m not a clone, then?” Quinn’s tone was flat as she spoke, as if she couldn’t quite believe what they were saying, how he was saying it. Without any emotion attached to it at all. It was her life. She did have a life.

  “No, which is part of the reasoning as to why we included other types of DNA into your sequencing, to nudge you toward possessing the perfect skills needed to be the idea Librarian. Technically.”

  “Technically?” Quinn raised an eyebrow.

  “Well, it’s not like you’re a robot. You’re not programmed for this. You’re yourself. All of your life experiences, your relationships, your interests... those things all make up you. So the way you interact with your affinities and skills is different to how the Library will do so for instance.” He said it gently, like he wasn’t entirely sure how she’d take it.

  She took the information in and digested it slowly. “That’s good to know. Sometimes... it feels like I might be losing myself.”

  Milaro winced. “I’m sorry. Did you want to guide me in and we can have a look together? See how your protections are keeping up with the overflow of your skills?”

  Quinn nodded and closed her eyes as Milaro took her hand. She breathed in and out slowly, guiding herself to clear her mind and accept him into her thoughts. He knew her wards and protections better than she did, so it wasn’t exactly difficult.

  This felt different to having him in there to help her build protections, however. Instead, Milaro guided her through to her own magical core, and showed her how the magic was called from the outside. How the Library itself yearned for like magic. Or at least power that was like enough to that of the Library that it almost thought it was its own.

  Luckily there was just enough difference that she hadn’t yet been devoured. A nagging sensation in the back of her mind cautioned her against developing her skills separately, lest the balance be removed and plunge her into danger of being consumed by the Library as an excess part of herself.

  She wasn’t going to say she didn’t find that scary.

  But from the way her affinities and additions worked together in such a seamless way, she was somewhat optimistic.

  Milaro helped her add controls into the power that began to overflow. This way you can regulate. When you feel that power overwhelm, if it feels like you’re going to be consumed, then you channel it. You expand your core slowly, but definitively. You use it to strengthen all of your personal protections, any you have extended to anyone else.

  Quinn nodded, knowing he’d have felt it. She felt slowly, noticing that not only did her senses extend far beyond herself now, through the entirety of the Library on a constant basis without direction - but she was fairly sure she’d be able to expand on that as well.

  Any questions?

  She seriously contemplated it. How far am I supposed to be able to sense things?

  Everything about the Library will eventually be open to you.

  I already have that.

  She could feel Milaro pause. Interesting. Once this has settled, we might check and see just how far your reach has extended now.

  Quinn contemplated if she should tell him. I don’t think it’s stopping. I can still feel this strange sensation, like ever so subtle expanding. My armor is pulsing out, pushing against my skin. Like it’s trying to push me toward something.

  Milaro stilled from his position next to her and his hand stiffened. All just for a second, but it was enough to give away to Quinn that what she’d described wasn’t the norm, or, at least, wasn’t a good thing. Neither of those options appealed to her.

  Can you slow it down, hold it where it is right now?

  I thought that’s what you’d do? She found it difficult to keep the slight panic out of her voice.

  I’ll guide you and show you how to feed it back into your personal shielding on a regular basis, so you can check on and maintain it. But I can’t be here all the time, so you’ll need to continue it yourself.

  She nodded again, suddenly feeling hot as the excess magic inside chose to expand.

  Milaro dove in with her, this time with a sense of urgency. She thought he was trying to hide from her. That’s when it hit her. She wasn’t a dragon. She’d never had that form, and she wasn’t the Library, which was much larger than a dragon.

  How the hell was she supposed to contain power like that? What if more tried to empty into her... which it appeared was inevitable?

  Breathe. Milaro spoke into her mind, his tone soothing. Come on, let’s divert it.

  They pushed her power through the netting inside to combine with the sensory nets outside as well. After which, he guided her through to push it into her mind and actual body shielding.

  Her arms heated up, her hands stinging, even her fingers felt like they were on fire while her legs warmed up. Reinforcing the shielding cooled after several seconds, but she wasn’t sure how she’d do having to go through this on her own.

  Quinn took breaths to center herself, to clear her mind, and hold her aims in her mind. With Milaro’s guidance, she created a thread to constantly feed her shielding. It allowed her to finally relax.

  That is, until there was a gasp from next to her.

  Quinn opened her eyes and looked at Milaro. “What?”

  He was staring at her. “You look amazing...”

  Quinn frowned and looked down, only to realize that her shielding had become a fixture. No more was her armor invisible, but instead a slightly blue tinged translucent scale covered her forearms and hands, and if she wasn’t mistaken from the sensations she’d felt, the rest of her body was similar.

  “Oh...” Quinn wasn’t entirely sure how she felt about the change. But she supposed at least she’d be harder to kill.

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