"Huh," Bacon says. "That's interesting that your state on consciousness--quite literally--affected things. I wonder what that means. So you developed the nital on your own? Or, ah, I'd ask if anything evolved to replace humanity, but if the computing situation in your world was anything like mine, artificial intelligences weren't quite in position to do so in 2019. 2029, maybe, but." They shrug. "Or that's what Tia Charley would say, probably. It's her field more than mine."