Therapeutics (Healing Technology) is the combination of chemistry and mechanics to create healing devices and potent drugs. I bowed mentally to this discipline. It's a wild card, an ace up the sleeve. In a world where things explode and heroes and villains clash — destroying neighborhoods — the ability to heal isn't just useful. It's survival, money, influence. Stitch up a wound without going to a hospital that asks uncomfortable questions; create a regenerative gel or a stimulant that gets you back on your feet in hours instead of weeks. That's where the real gold lies. But it's dangerous. Someone who can perform medical miracles becomes a target for governments and criminal syndicates alike. They'll either try to control you or kill you to keep you out of the enemy's hands. Complexity is prohibitive — you need chemistry, mechanics, and biology knowledge. A long-term goal. Very important, but not a top priority.
Having skimmed the disciplines, I moved to the most crucial step — choosing recipes. I opened one discipline after another, read abridged descriptions, and marked the interesting and potentially useful ones. Each discipline contained several dozen recipes, which pleased me; if there'd been hundreds, one night wouldn't have sufficed. As it stood, there were roughly 200–250 recipes total across all disciplines.
To avoid confusion, I wrote names in a notebook and decided to start with Herbology. I found seven recipes there, each useful in its own way: Healing Balm, Elixir of Persuasion, Fatigue Tablets, Restorative Remedy, Miracle Cure, Acceleration Potion, and Intellect Potion. Despite their obvious names, the descriptions of Elixir of Persuasion and Fatigue Tablets surprised me, so I added them to my wishlist. The Elixir of Persuasion temporarily increased charm and eloquence; Fatigue Tablets removed fatigue—basically an anti-fatigue pill.
I reread the list and crossed out Healing Balm and Restorative Remedy. They were weaker alternatives to the Miracle Cure. I starred Intellect Potion, which temporarily sharpened the mind, allowing one to solve complex problems or notice hidden things — a sort of NZT-48 on a minimum. In the end, five recipes remained, though I wasn't sure whether they required magical herbs I couldn't obtain. Analysis done — on to Chemistry.
After discarding a multitude of poisons and options aimed at neutralizing or enhancing magic, I settled on three recipes in Chemistry: Acidic Mixture (a caustic acid capable of corroding armor, weapons, and flesh), Elixir of Fire Fortitude, and Will Paralysis Poison (a powerful neurotoxin that paralyzes without killing). Judging by brief descriptions, I hoped magic wasn't heavily involved here, although…
My gaze lingered on Elixir of Fire Fortitude. It exemplified the blurred line between science and magic in this Arcanum. The description read: "a compound that makes the skin temporarily immune to high temperatures by creating an unstable energy field." It sounded scientific. But what is an "unstable energy field"? Something out of Tony Stark or Doctor Strange? If the creation required salamander-scale powder, it's magic. If it meant mixing rare earth metals and irradiating them at a frequency, it's science—complex, but science. The System conflated these concepts, calling everything "technology." As Arthur C. Clarke said, any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. I'll have to get used to the blur. The main thing: the ingredient list didn't demand "a pinch of faith" or "a drop of luck." That would be a problem.
On to Explosives. Molotov cocktail, dynamite, flamethrower, mine, chlorine gas grenade… I tossed most of them. I don't need lethality yet. The one that caught my eye: the Stun Grenade — a non-lethal device that disorients and stuns with a bright flash and loud noise. Useful. The second tempting recipe was Plastic Explosive — a powerful, controllable explosive that can be attached to surfaces. Controlled, yes, but I'd rather avoid that line.
Blacksmithing offered axes, swords, shields, armor, gauntlets, helmets, and even boomerangs — many properties bordering on magic. I didn't note specifics; I can't create most of that in my current situation. Molten Glass Armor? Unique armor crafted with volcanic glass — how would I even make that? The Boomerang Shield — does it require training like Captain America, or is the property embedded during creation? Too many questions, so I moved on.
Weaponsmithing was the same: harpoon guns, elephant rifles, shotguns, rifles, and exotic weapons. I flagged only one interesting option: the Tesla Gun (fires concentrated lightning bolts, devastating to machinery and electronics). I probably won't choose it, but a Gauss Gun at max settings was tempting — especially since Electricity could tie into it.
In Electricity, after excluding store-bought analogs, I narrowed choices to three recipes: Mechanical Spider-Shocker (a small automaton that approaches an enemy and shocks them), Protective Field Generator (creates a small force barrier capable of stopping bullets and arrows), and the unbalanced Teleportation Beacon (a complex device that establishes an anchor point to teleport to using a remote). The Protective Field Generator was the obvious pick — if it wasn't purely magical.
Mechanics had many recipes, most specialized automatons I couldn't build. I skipped the full spider automatons and listed what interested me: Mechanical Dagger (a dagger with a spring mechanism that extends the blade), Binocular Glasses (optical device for long-range observation), Gyroscope (a device to improve balance and accuracy in weapons or armor), and the Exoskeleton (a power frame that increases strength). The Exoskeleton was drool-worthy, but impractical. The Gyroscope seemed genuinely useful, though I wasn't sure how it worked, so I starred it.
Finally, Therapeutics. I skipped dozens of healing potion variations and settled on four interesting recipes: Necromizer (a chemical causing decay in the undead), Muscle Stimulator (a powerful steroid that temporarily increases strength and endurance to superhuman levels without side effects), Vivisector (a rare device that can restart a recently deceased heart), and Purity Serum (a medicine that cures terrible diseases and removes some curses at the cellular level).
I kept Necromizer just in case a zombie apocalypse came knocking — it's Marvel, after all. Of the other three, Vivisector was fascinating, but Purity Serum — a full-on healing potion — was appealing. Realistically, I couldn't craft Vivisector or Purity Serum yet, so the star went to Muscle Stimulator.
After skimming the lists and starring the most doable options that didn't look like "atomic reactor in the garage," my final shortlist was ugly but practical: Intellect Potion, Will Paralysis Poison, Stun Grenade, Protective Field Generator, Gyroscope, and Muscle Stimulator. Only six items I could theoretically work toward, and even the Protective Field Generator and Gyroscope had uncertain tech requirements. Why only one recipe to choose from? It's too complicated. Still, the choice was obvious.