Unfortunately, he'll discover, that's exactly how it is run; close to the engine, the drain is almost staggering; without his own tech capabilities protecting them, most of his magical defenses and spells would be stripped away by extended exposure to the device. Clearly, it's meant to preserve the core system of the VI for as long as possible; she'd probably have survived indefinitely, even after everything else decayed away.<br/><br/>Back on the surface, the crowd has grown, almost exponentially; every priest is present, and nervously excited, and a number of people from the town have heard that something major has happened, and are fling in, quickly.