“If such personality is a result of chemical imbalance or physical trauma, then yes, they should be made better. But people who are like that naturally will not be affected.”

The Navigator glanced briefly at the Engineer and nodded. “That’s good to know.”

“So …” Lana said hesitantly. “Tec can heal mental trauma just like it can physical damage?”

“That is correct. And such adjustments are almost instantaneous.”

“So Infused individuals shouldn’t have any lasting issues, like the inability to speak?”

“None at all.”

Nathan lowered his head as his three friends turned to look at him. He had no answers to give them. Literally and figuratively. All he knew was that if he ever surrendered to the Tec, they would override his mind.

The young man shuddered and closed his eyes.

Luckily for him, Bulco came to his rescue.

“Okay, I can accept that Tec is generally good for us,” he said. “What I don’t get is how it works? If I needed just one Tec to level up for the first time, why did we need sixteen to reach level five?”

“Tec has to reach something called ‘critical mass’ in order to increase its host’s level and improve their bodies,” Alzigo explained. “Scientists and Experts have studied the Tec for millennia and our understanding of it is still tenuous at best.”

“Wait.” Lana frowned. “Do you mean that in order to level up we have to double the amount of Tec each time? So if we started at one, then two, then four, eight, etc.?”

The alien nodded. “Exactly.”

“Wow, that’s crazy,” the young Expert said. “It means that we’ll need thirty-two Tec to reach level six, five-hundred and twelve for level ten, and … holy cow, about half a million to reach level twenty.”

“No wonder the Tec we extracted from the level six Inthidlon pilot was enough to bring three of us to level three,” Nori said softly. “And later on, the level six Warped we killed brought Martin up to level four. It must have been closer to level seven.”

Again, the alien nodded. “You are beginning to understand. Tec is expensive and prohibitively hard to come by. Most civilians can afford to buy levels no higher than ten. Professional soldiers, explorers, and mercenaries often have the means to purchase or hunt Warped to get more. But even that has its limits. Rich merchants, leaders of large organizations, and rulers often spend millions to increase their level.”

“I guess it’s not like a computer game then after all,” Nori lips curved. “Reaching level forty would require … what? Around a trillion Tec? That’s crazy.”

“Yes,” their host said. “The System Lords are rumored to have levels that reach that high, and some tell stories of aliens who are even stronger, though I doubt those to be true.”

“You’ve mentioned System Lords several times before,” Nori said. “Who are they?”