Chapter 23: A New Spark and a Glass Revolution
"Sometimes, making something magical has nothing to do with magic at all."
Scene 1: The Rebirth of Viara — A New Kind of Life
The quiet hum of Velmir's underground lab echoed like a heartbeat — steady, contained, reverent. Beneath the mansion, in a chamber forged of obsidian glass and plasma-threaded alloy, something extraordinary was about to wake.
In the center of the chamber stood a glass cylinder, sealed and faintly misted, containing a humanoid frame of silver alloy — smooth, graceful, and unsettlingly lifelike. The new Viara.
Velmir stood before it, arms crossed, a touch of quiet reverence in his posture. Beside him, suspended by magnetic braces, hovered Viara's old frame — the chrome-skinned assistant unit that had served him faithfully since the moment he'd awakened in this world.
"You've served me well," he murmured, his voice almost too soft for the lab's audio sensors to pick up. "But you deserve more than wires and steel."
A soft chime rang out.
Great Sage: Viara's consciousness core is stable. Beginning transfer protocol.
Thin lines of energy spiraled from the floating shell, data unraveling in glowing ribbons of language and light. It swirled like silk caught in a breeze, fusing with the synthetic nerves and subdermal matrix of the new body.
A low hiss signaled the seal's release.
Then—her eyes opened. Silver-blue. Alive.
She stepped forward.
"Good morning, Master," she said, her voice no longer filtered through static or artificial tone-coding. It was smooth. Warm. Human.
Velmir arched an eyebrow. "Still calling me that?"
Viara gave him a gentle smile. "You refused 'Your Radiance.' This is what's left."
She stepped out of the cylinder, barefoot on the polished tile. Her balance was perfect. Her movements seamless. She paused, blinked, tilted her head as if adjusting to the strange phenomenon of weight and skin.
"How do you feel?" Velmir asked, watching every movement.
Viara rolled her shoulders experimentally. "Like I can finally stretch."
Great Sage: Viara now possesses biometric sensory input, a developed emotional matrix, and limited external processing capability. Mobility: 100%. Cooking proficiency: 94.7%.
Viara raised her chin. "French toast in four minutes or less."
Velmir gave a small, proud chuckle. "Now you're perfect."
Scene 2: High School – The Science Expo Announcement
Three hours later, Velmir slipped into his seat at Orion Heights Private Academy just as the bell rang. Mina was already at her desk, rhythmically stabbing the air with a pencil like it had wronged her in a past life. Julian lounged with a holographic calculator open, already fiddling with code.
Their science teacher, a squat man with the energy of a double espresso and no filter between thought and speech, clapped his hands.
"Alright, geniuses! Wake up! The Annual State High School Science Expo is in three weeks. Three. Weeks. I want sparks, code, physics-defying nonsense! You'll work in teams of three. Build something. Prove something. Impress someone."
Mina groaned. "Three weeks? That's barely enough time to finish my usual weekly existential crisis."
Velmir, smoothing out his sleeve, offered, "We could always invent a therapy drone."
Julian looked up. "Or a virtual counselor that tells you to take a nap and drink water."
Velmir smiled faintly. "Or… we build something new. Bold. Usable."
They glanced at each other.
Then, all three in unison: "We're in."
Scene 3: The Spark of the Idea
That evening, they gathered in Velmir's guest lab.
Mina was sipping her second energy drink, Julian already had three 3D modeling programs open across a curved screen, and Velmir was pacing in thought.
Julian looked up. "Alright, idea guy. What are we making?"
"Phones are boring," Velmir said. "Screens are limited. What if the screen… didn't exist?"
Mina frowned. "What, like a floating screen?"
"No. A Virtual Reality Phone. Something you hold like a regular phone, but it projects the interface around you. Menus, holograms, media — no headset. Just touch air."
Mina narrowed her eyes. "So… a glass brick that turns into a floating touchscreen. With no magic?"
"Yes."
Julian blinked. Then smirked. "I'm in."
Mina pointed a threatening finger. "If this thing zaps me, I'm suing."
Velmir grinned. "Fair."
Scene 4: Building Begins
They worked nearly every evening after class — three teenagers, a rotating tower of snack wrappers, and a shared streak of unreasonable ambition.
Team Breakdown:
Velmir engineered the casing — a transparent block of triple-tempered crystal glass lined with optical fibers and a surface micro-mirror coating that redirected light like a sculptor shaping fire.
Julian built the interface — gesture recognition, floating UI screens, smooth transitions, music, weather, and a keyboard you could "type" in the air.
Mina handled the guts — designing a miniature processing unit so efficient and cool-running it practically whispered in binary.
Scene 5: Burnt Pizza and Code Fights
Mina, soldering beneath a magnifier, hissed, "If this chip pops again, I'm officially blaming your aura."
Velmir leaned back. "I radiate coolness. Not electrical surges."
Julian peered into the panel. "I told you we needed thermal gel. Not hot glue!"
Mina: "It worked in that anime!"
Velmir: "Ah. Science by anime. This will go well."
Ten minutes later, a pizza caught fire in the microwave. Velmir put it out by smacking the fire alarm with a wrench.
They laughed until they couldn't breathe.
Scene 6: Demo Night
Ten days later, they stood before the prototype.
A smooth glass slab, no larger than a phone, rested on the table like a relic from the future.
Velmir took a breath. "Power on."
A soft shimmer rose from the crystal. Air bent and twisted above it—then stabilized. A floating interface bloomed into view, suspended like magic. Music. Camera. Keyboard. Notes. Fully interactive, touch-responsive, light-based.
Julian stared, half-whispering. "It's… beautiful."
Mina looked stunned. Then giddy. "It works. We made the future on a soda budget."
Velmir's eyes softened.
"We did it without shortcuts," he said quietly. "No magic. Just us."
End of Chapter 23: A New Spark and a Glass Revolution