in a recurring dream, I'm an alchemist or something similar. and when I land in this dreamworld I can never seem to remember the "backdoor" method to catalyze a reaction.
I, and no other alchemists I'm acquainted with, use the primary method. can't remember why; it's either very expensive, or more likely it requires an elaborate ritual which requires calling upon dangerous entities, which can turn on you if you don't do everything just right.
this alternate method just requires one other alchemist to help out. Alice, for example, initiates the first part of the process, then calls over Bob, who uses a certain amount of power displaced 90 degrees from Alice's, to complete the reaction.
yes, this is all very vague but I don't even understand the process while I'm in these dreams, let alone after I wake up and the details start to evaporate before I can get them down.
some of the other things I vaguely remember are that some kind of expensive powder is used up each time this is attempted, but if it's done right you get back the same amount at the end. and that if you can generate the energy needed mentally or "spiritually", you might even have a little extra at the end. and it seems to be that one time I never even needed Bob, I was able to do the whole reaction by myself without having to summon anyone else at all. but I couldn't remember how this time, or most times, and Googling (in these dreams) never brought up the method; it was some arcane hacker secret, and to keep it that way, other alchemists would clog the results with fake "secrets" that didn't work.
not too unlike programming in that regard.
last updated 2016-10-20 17:17:14. served from tektonic.jcomeau.com