Sirens Unbound

by Laura Engelhardt

  By fueling her last spell, also known as the “Atlantic Curse,” with her own death, Morgan le Fay bound all sirens, latent and active, in a permanent blood-geas. Cursed with confoundment, latent sirens cannot even comprehend the word “siren,” which is why you never heard of sirens before your transition, and why your latent relatives cannot understand what has happened to you now. Morgan le Fay is widely respected as a great mage, but her greatest, most insidious spell is not described in mundane histories. The Atlantics may have defeated her on the battlefield, but with her final spell, Morgan le Fay caused far greater devastation to her vanquishers, and indeed, to all sirens.

  – Sirens: An Overview for the Newly-Transitioned, 3rd ed. (2015), by Mira Bant de Atlantic, p. 34.

  Chapter 3

  By the time Eli had finished the tour, Barry had regained enough of his equilibrium to exhibit the same careless bonhomie that reminded Amy a little of her brother, except Barry had none of her brother’s charisma. Barry did seem to charm the men from the DoD, though, and they were definitely impressed with his ability to see, while not seeing. If they had any doubts that the operation had restored Barry’s mage sight, their visit with him erased them. His lack of concern with his lost mundane sight did surprise them, but his obvious belief that gaining mage sight more than made up for that loss helped persuade them that the operation had truly been a success.

  Her patient’s obvious discomfort with returning home nagged at Amy. It wasn’t mere annoyance at losing her proximity to her only subject; his continued inability to articulate any specifics about his new sense of sight wasn’t likely to change even if she had more time to question him.

  Before lunch, she’d looked up the book he’d mentioned on the internet. It was one of the few mage-written literary works in the Western Lit cannon, and revolved around a mage whose enclave bindings had been dissolved by the binder’s death, and his decision to be re-bound. This geas-binding seemed to be a lot more permanent, significant, and painful than just getting a tattoo, so Amy could understand Barry’s trepidation. Still, it didn’t appear life-threatening, and according to Wikipedia, all enclaves required it. So who was she to interfere?

  “Dr. Bant, do you believe you could replicate your surgery on another patient?” Villar asked.

  Amy pulled herself back into the meeting; this was the senior strategy session, and not a good time to zone out. Eli, Ted, Commander Thompson and Dr. Villar were all waiting on her response. Fortunately, it was a question she had anticipated.

  “I believe we can repeat the operation with the same or better outcome. But there is the question of finding another subject. When we discovered the physical differences between mages and mundanes in Phase One, our pool of potential subjects became much more limited than we originally expected. Our research has only identified two mundanes with sub-optic nerves on which we could operate.”

  When they had started the project, they initially thought they would be able to operate on any mundane soldier, and thus limit the disadvantage that came with not being able to perceive magical workings and spells. Given the extensiveness of Arabian magical technology, that disadvantage would apparently be a significant problem in any military engagement with Arabia.

  The discovery of the physical differences between mundane and mage humans put that goal out of reach with their current level of knowledge. Eventually, someone might be able to perform a sub-optic nerve transplant — but that wasn’t possible now. Ted had actually been the one to save their project from the trash heap. It was Ted who had located Patient B, and it was the Danjou who had persuaded the DoD that their joint venture still had value from a military perspective.

  “A recent CIA report indicates that the Djinn Dictator has operated on another mage — this one was not able to return to her people, however. And it isn’t clear whether she is still alive,” Thompson said.

  “Where was the mage from?” Ted asked.

  “Australia. Central Intelligence believes their source to be reliable, but they were unable to verify the report with anyone Down Under. Notably, however, the Cabal did announce new restrictions on travel to and from Arabia, so we have a high degree of confidence in the intel.”

  “Does this new report change anything on our end?” Eli asked, with a kind of narrow perspective that was unlike him.

  “Our timeframe has accelerated,” Villar replied. “We may need to make an announcement sooner than we had anticipated.”

  “Given the complications with Patient B’s surgery,” Amy said, “I think we should wait on any announcement until we’re able to discover why the operation eliminated the patient’s mundane vision. We need to complete a second operation that restores mage sight without that side effect.”

  “Or, we could operate on Patient B again and see if we can repair it,” Thompson suggested.

  “I’m not sure that will be feasible,” Ted said. “Elder Simon has recalled his son, and the patient himself is not overly eager to undergo additional surgery to regain his mundane sight at the risk of losing his newfound magical vision.”

  “You said you had already identified another possible subject?” Villar asked Amy.

  She held back a sigh. “During our Phase One MRI reviews, we identified two mundanes with undeveloped sub-optic nerves, but only Patient B was suitable. However, we only reviewed around a hundred samples. If we performed more MRI screenings, we could potentially identify a new subject. The initial project scope called for us to operate on a military volunteer. If we could obtain MRIs from more potential subjects, we might identify one with atrophied sub-optic nerves.”

  Amy was already mentally dividing the work. Graham would need to review the scans. Arnie could continue his review of Patient B’s fMRIs to see if there had been any neuron disruption in the optic nerves as a result of the operation.

  “The situation in Arabia is growing worse,” Villar cautioned, shaking his head.

  “Also, I’m not sure why we need to delay,” Thompson added. “The surgery was a success: your patient couldn’t perceive magical energy before, and now he can. The Djinn Dictator will view that as the outcome he’s been trying to achieve all along.”

  “I don’t think the Dictator will want to blind his sister in his pursuit of a cure,” Eli countered.

  “I disagree,” Ted said. “His sister’s life is at stake. The Dictator and his sister were born in the early 1700s. Without mage sight, his sister can’t cast the daily spells needed to regenerate her cells. There’s only so much even a great mage like Khalid can do for another person. We’re mages, not fae.”

  “Do we know when Loujain lost her sight?” Amy asked.

  “Not definitively, but the earliest evidence we have is that in 1997, the Dictator began seeking out visual specialists, beginning his,” Thompson paused, “experimentation shortly afterwards. So we believe it must have happened sometime before that.”

  “She’s running out of time,” Ted said confidently. “She’s already into her third century. Even if they were able to slow her aging with daily external spells, it’s almost impossible to hold for long. At best, they have another decade. But I’d say the Dictator is getting anxious.”

  Amy considered Ted’s assessment. If anyone would know, it was him. The Danjou had made it clear that he was the best via-enchanter in their enclave.

  “Well he must be anxious if he’s willing to risk straining his relationship with the Cabal,” Eli opined.

  “That’s our opinion as well,” said Villar.

  “We’re scientists, not soldiers or spies,” Amy said. “We won’t have nearly the same insight on this as you have.”

  “You’d be surprised, Dr. Bant,” he replied. “But in truth, we didn’t come up to Boston solely to observe the success of your operation — which is undeniable, even if you believe improvements can be made. Just as we have spies in Arabia and Australia, the Dictator and the Cabal have spies in America as well. Sometimes a meeting off-site can be more secure.”

  “
I have ensured that there are no magical listening devices in our lab,” Ted stated.

  “Of that, I have no doubt, Via-Enchanter,” Villar said, inclining his head. “The DoD has also taken steps to prevent any mundane spying. In fact, this location is probably more secure than the Pentagon, if only because Project Hathor is currently less well-known. The very selection of DARPA to manage it was a strategic choice to bury its significance.”

  “I get the sense that I may lack a full understanding of the DoD’s objectives in this project, Dr. Villar,” Amy said. Villar seemed to be hinting at something, and his smile seemed more predatory than friendly.

  “I agree,” added Eli. “Commander Thompson, just yesterday you repeated your claim that the government’s goal in Project Hathor was to secure an information advantage, and restart the failed silica-salt negotiations with Arabia.”

  When their Phase One anatomical analysis proved that the DoD’s original objective would be unachievable, the Danjou had resuscitated the government’s interest in Project Hathor by suggesting that the U.S. could use their research to entice the Amir back into the talks he had abandoned over a decade before.

  “Dr. Bant, Dr. Eisner, after meeting Patient B, I’m confident we have that information advantage now. Because of your brilliant and outstanding work, we have an even greater opportunity than we initially sought,” Villar said, leaning across the table for emphasis.

  “The Dictator is still seeking a cure for Loujain,” Ted interjected. He didn’t seem at all surprised by Villar’s air of suppressed excitement, but then nothing seemed to faze him.

  “The Amira’s time is running out,” Thompson emphasized.

  “Dr. Villar, if the Amir is still attempting to surgically blind subjects for his experiments, we absolutely have an information advantage. But we can’t rely on one operation as sufficient evidence that our procedure will be effective. Indeed, our first experiment resulted in serious damage to the patient, which we need to better understand.” Amy was very concerned that the DoD seemed about to hail their one operation as a success and move on.

  “It would obviously be better if the operation didn’t eliminate mundane sight,” Villar conceded. “But I think we have enough.”

  “Enough for what?” Eli asked the question before Amy could.

  “Enough to let the Djinn Dictator become aware of your findings and invite your team to visit Arabia on a humanitarian mission,” Villar said, sitting back in his chair.

  No one spoke for a long moment. Eli sat as if frozen, and Ted simply looked at Villar and Thompson from behind his calm mask. Finally, Amy broke the silence. “Arabia is under interdict.”

  “We can waive that for a humanitarian mission,” Villar responded promptly. He had clearly been thinking about this long enough to come up with counters for any objections they might make.

  “Is the President aware of this?” Eli asked. Amy thought it a rather presumptuous question, but Villar took it in stride.

  “Both the President and Congress are concerned about the growing Arabian threat. While the President hasn’t been specifically briefed about this project, he has authorized the Joint Chiefs to undertake a number of projects designed to prepare us to address that threat. The Arabian Interdict specifically permits humanitarian efforts that have been authorized by the DoD.”

  “You want us to operate on the Amir’s sister?” Amy asked, appalled.

  “Yes — or at least to receive an invitation to come to Arabia to examine Amira Loujain,” Villar replied calmly.

  “But why does the U.S. Government want to do that?” Eli asked.

  “Arabia is a closed country. Some view this as an ideal opportunity to normalize relations and win concessions. Others see the potential to gain additional information about conditions in the country,” Villar responded.

  “You plan to insert spies into the medical team,” Ted speculated.

  “I wouldn’t use that word,” Villar demurred.

  “Nevertheless,” Ted countered.

  “You would certainly be included in the mission.” Dr. Villar looked at Ted. “The Danjou Enclave has been critical to Project Hathor’s success.”

  “I wouldn’t be able to get past the djinns. I’m geas-bound.”

  Amy and Eli both looked at Ted in askance.

  “The Dictator has laid a protective spell across his empire to prevent anyone geas-bound from crossing his border. Anyone magically bound will draw his djinn, and be torn apart by their winds. From a siren to an enclave mage, none can pass,” Ted explained.

  “I’m sorry,” Amy asked. “A scion?”

  “A siren,” Ted responded. At Amy’s quizzical look, a flash of enlightenment seemed to run across Ted’s face. “Pardon me. I’m using technical terminology. Anyone who is bound by a geas cannot cross into Arabia. Khalid set up the boundary in the 1920s when he solidified his hold on the Sahara. He wanted to keep the Europeans out. Of course, that keeps us out as well.”

  “The enclave could unbind you,” Dr. Villar offered.

  “It’s a blood-geas.” Ted smiled tightly. “It cannot be broken except by the death of the binder. My aunt bound me, and she is married to Elder Simon. I don’t think I will be participating in any expedition to Arabia. Though it is certain that the enclave will indeed seek to send someone. I’ll speak with Elder Simon when I return.”

  “That’s why you came to the lab,” Eli accused. “Not to observe Patient B, but to observe my doctors. We’re scientists, Dr. Villar, not soldiers and certainly not spies!”

  “Please, Dr. Eisner. No one is asking you to be anything other than what you are!” Villar did seem taken aback by the vehemence in Eli’s voice. “It’s true that I wanted to come here myself to meet the surgical team as well as to see Patient B.”

  Villar looked at Amy and continued, this time with a greater tone of sincerity. “Dr. Bant, no one would force you or anyone on your team to travel to Arabia. Even if it represents the best chance we’ve had in fifty years to resolve our problems with the Amir.”

  “You would be expecting us to travel to an interdicted country that no American has visited in over a decade,” Amy said quietly.

  “You’d have our full support,” Thompson leaned onto the table. “Dr. Bant—”

  Villar cut Thompson off. “You don’t need to make any decisions now. Dr. Eisner, at this point I don’t even know that we would need any civilian volunteers. Dr. Bant is right, finding another subject and performing a second operation is eminently sensible. Commander Thompson is a highly skilled surgeon. We’ve decided that he should join the project team on a more day-to-day basis. Then he could gain the experience he would need to perform the operation and act as the lead surgeon on any Arabian visit.”

  Amy could only look at Villar, wide-eyed. She couldn’t believe he would actually be that stupid; or perhaps he was simply playing the fool. There was no way Thompson could perform the kind of experimental neurosurgical procedure they had just developed. It was like asking a Pan Am pilot to fly a space shuttle.

  “Any humanitarian exhibition to Arabia would be under U.N. auspices. You would be treated with kid gloves. The Amir needs you,” Thompson persuaded.

  “And if his sister dies on the table? Or your spies are discovered?” Amy challenged.

  “The Dictator will expect spies to be embedded into the surgical team. The issue for him will be identifying the spies. As the Commander said, this trip would be a high-profile U.N. humanitarian mission, and the Amir can’t risk the kind of world sanction he would receive were he to act precipitously. In any event, given your background and world-renown status, you would never even hit his radar as a likely spy. As you know, he needs you quite desperately.” Villar projected confidence as he flattered her, but Amy didn’t trust him one bit.

  “You’ve given us a lot to think about. I’m sure we’ll be discussing this further,” Eli said. Amy took his hint, though she would have liked to have ferreted out more information from the slippery Dr. Villar. />
  “Regardless. Our immediate objectives have not changed, have they, gentlemen?” Amy asked. “If you intend to have anyone perform an operation on the Djinn Dictator’s sister, we had better ensure that we can perform it as safely and effectively as possible. One successful operation is not nearly enough. Especially when that operation did not result in perfect vision.”

  Amy smiled. She too could feign complete confidence. At least now she finally believed she knew the real reason the DoD was sponsoring her research; but this new directive was almost as impossible as their original desire to augment soldiers with mage sight.

  “Agreed, but our time is limited. Information has a way of leaking, and it’s imperative that we maintain our advantage,” said Villar.

  The room was quiet for a moment. Amy felt trapped by their expectations. Now that she had heard Dr. Villar’s explanation, the DoD’s goals seemed so obvious.

  Villar continued briskly, as if this were no more monumental than planning a conference, looking around the table at each of them in turn. “As you suggested, Dr. Bant, we will need another subject. You and Commander Thompson should decide on the parameters for a screening program before we go back to Washington. Once a candidate is found, the surgical team, including Commander Thompson, will perform another operation, which I have no doubt will be another brilliant success. Whereupon Harvard will make a televised announcement regarding your work, and we will see if the Djinn Dictator bites.”

  Aphrodite’s magical virtuosity alone is not the basis for her acknowledged place as the greatest mage who ever lived. Indeed, she is revered as much for her humanitarian response to the devastation of the Iron Age as for her magical prowess. Never forget that it was Aphrodite’s self-sacrifice that ensured the fae’s survival. By constructing the sirens, and binding her spells into perpetuity with the power of her own death, she prevented the extinction of the oldest sentient species on Earth. As a newly transitioned siren, you are a child of Aphrodite, with the responsibility to preserve and protect the fae; to fulfill the purpose for which Aphrodite gave her life.