02 ⊙ video/text | slightly forward dated to 7-8pm

[fulmination]

_{[At first all the screen shows is darkness until something sparks and pops somewhere presumably off-screen. For a split second, Kimblee actually looks surprised, but not for the reasons those who know him would think.]}

...Well, that was rude. I was starting to enjoy that film.

<sub>[There's some fumbling before he enables the backlight to the SFC and shines it around the living room, and the television. Whatever happened to it when the power went out, it sure doesn't look like it's going to work when it comes back on.

Especially since it seems to be... smoking?]</sub>

Oh dear... That's not good now, is it? No, of course not. <sub>[He's mostly just talking to himself at the moment.

And then he starts tapping the SFC]</sub>

Mustang, two things;

One, I believe we'll need a new television.
Two, I don't suppose we have any kerosene lanterns or some candles hidden somewhere in the house?

Right. Apologies, it slipped my mind. _{[Not really.]}

To everyone else in the city, is this one of those infamous curses I've heard about, or just a power shortage? I'm leaning towards the latter but one can't be too sure with how this world works.



Anyway. Roy, as I was saying, I think we'll need a new television.

Comments

text;

[fulmination]

Of course! If we were limited to simply transmuting metals into gold (which is illegal in order to keep our economy out of chaos), I doubt the military would employ us.

Our abilities range from practical use to, as I mentioned, something the military can use to their advantage. Say you broke a radio into multiple pieces. Most people would probably replace it, whereas an alchemist could repair it within seconds. It's really quite handy.

text;

[pactum]

Quite handy indeed. I've heard of no alchemist who could preform such impressive feats. It seems to me that most so-called historical 'alchemists' where I come from were simply men who knew a bit more chemistry than others of their time.

Are all alchemists employed by the military, then? I imagine some must still prefer to use their skills for breaking the law, rather than keeping it.

text; and I accidentally tl;dr

[fulmination]

My, I have to wonder what they'd think if they came across the kind of alchemists from my world...

Being a State Alchemist is completely optional, so no. In order to be selected, anyone who applies has to go through a very extensive examination process. When I was taking mine, I noticed quite a few people give up right in the middle of the written portion of the test. It can be a difficult process but it's worth it all in the end.

As for breaking the law, I wouldn't really recommend it. Whether it's breaking the laws of the state or alchemy itself, the consequences can be dire. Since alchemy itself is a science, it's subject to its own laws and limits which fall under the Law of Equivalent Exchange. That law states that "in order to obtain or create something, something of equal value must be lost or destroyed." This law is then separated into the Law of Conservation of Mass in which energy and matter can neither be destroyed to the point of nonexistence or crafted from nothing. If you wanted to create an object that weighed ten pounds, at least ten pounds of materials would be required and destroying something that weighed ten pounds would reduce it to ten pounds of material. The second part is the Law of Natural Providence which means that an object made of particular elements or substance can only be created into something else with the same makeup of the initial material.

If someone were to try bypassing that--which I've done a handful of times purely by mistake in my youth, it can result in a rebound. This only happens when someone tries to create too much out of too little. In order to stabalize itself, the forces behind alchemy can take or give more than what was intended and it can be unpredictable to the point where it's possible to injure yourself. That's only with non-living matter, as well. More serious ones occur when people attempt to bring the dead back to life.

text; yesss i love tl;dr

[pactum]

I would daresay that the Law of Equivalent Exchange, as you put it, is universal. To gain something, you must always lose something--whether it is physical or not. Everything is a trade, whether you realize it or not. As you've explained it, your alchemy seems a very practical, common-sense sort of science.

And I cannot say that I am surprised. Humanity's attempts to meddle with death never yield positive results. One would think that eventually, we would learn that it is simply not possible--but I do not think that we ever will. It has been proven time and again that when it comes to humans, sentiment most often trumps reason.