Magic Man Charlie

by Scott Baron

  “And it’s happened in more than one city?” Leila asked. “You’re certain?”

  “We are certain,” Cal replied. “When the first report came in, we parsed the data and performed a comprehensive analysis. Initially, we believed it was a systems error. A glitch. But upon closer review, we realized this was something else. Once the anomaly was identified and they knew what to look for, other AIs around the globe reported in with similar occurrences. There is movement out there. And people are going missing.”

  Charlie and Leila squinted at the display screens, trying to make out what the AIs were so flustered about. All they saw was a normal day in a city––if normal meant the sparse population was frozen in place.

  “There,” Cal plainly stated. “The woman standing in the bottom left of frame.”

  “What woman?” Leila asked.

  “I will back up the recording.”

  The image flowed in reverse, the only sign of motion the subtle drifting of shadows from the clouds above. Other than that, everyone was stock-still. And then it happened. The woman Cal had mentioned tilted slightly, then vanished.

  “She disappeared!” Leila exclaimed. “But how is that possible? That magic doesn’t exist. And even if it did, it doesn’t exist here.”

  “Precisely why we are so concerned. Naturally, we contacted you as soon as we realized something was afoot.”

  “Wait a minute. Play that back again,” Charlie asked.

  The image replayed again, the woman vanishing just as she had before. But Charlie thought he saw something. Something familiar.

  “Did you contact Bob?”

  “He is on his way,” Cal replied. “Do you believe he may have insight into this phenomenon?”

  Charlie squinted at the looped segment. “Yeah, I think he will.”

  “A shimmer,” the Wampeh said plainly, squinting at the video-magic as they played the scene for him.

  “You’re sure?”

  “Charlie, it is a particular type of concealment I am very familiar with. Yes, this is shimmer magic. A very sophisticated variety, I would add. In fact, if not for their taking people from the streets like this, I doubt they would be able to be detected at all.”

  “But we have no energy readings of any kind from that area. Nor from the other cities in which this has occurred.”

  “There have been others?” Bawb asked, his curiosity piqued. “How many?”

  “Five cities we know of thus far. Cape Town, which is what you see here, then Valparaiso, Chile, Rio, Brazil, Wales, UK, and Honolulu, Hawaii.”

  “Those are all over the place,” Charlie said with a groan. “Seriously. That spans the globe. How the hell are they moving that quickly, and over that kind of distance, without anyone spotting them?”

  “I am afraid that particular question is beyond me,” Bawb replied. “Have you asked Rika? She was close with our enemy.”

  “I haven’t asked her, Bob. And for the record, again, she’s better now,” Charlie said.

  Bawb groaned, unconvinced. “In any case, if others did in fact arrive along with the Asbrú, their use of shimmer magic would explain why their presence was unnoted until now. Of course, that’s the point of such stealth castings. If it was easy to track shimmer magic, it would defeat the entire purpose of it.”

  It was quite a revelation. Someone was on the planet, sneaking around and snatching up people, human, Chithiid, and even a few cyborgs, though they were not frozen, the recordings showing their surprise at being taken before they vanished from the video images.

  “How can we track them, Bob? You know how this stuff works, and I’m sure you’ve had to chase people using them.”

  “That I have, though it was not a pleasurable experience.”

  “But the point is, you understand how to do it. So maybe if you and Ara have a little pow-wow with Cal and his friends, you’ll be able to devise a way to find these bastards. Does a shimmer block you from thermal imaging?”

  “What is thermal imaging?”

  “Like infrared. It operates on a different premise than the regular visual spectrum, using heat signatures instead of light refraction.”

  Bawb cocked his head slightly. “That is a rather ingenious methodology. Your world does not cease to surprise me. I will discuss it with Ara and our AI brothers. I have a few ideas that I’ve put to use in the past that may allow them some degree of tracking and detection. And if it comes down to it, I can use my own shimmer cloak as a test case, if I must. But you understand, it is a very special piece of equipment to me and giving up its secrets should only be a last resort.”

  “I understand. You never know when you’ll need to sneak up and kill someone, after all.”

  “I’m glad you understand.”

  “That was sarcasm, dude. But yeah, we’ll try the other options first.”

  “Excellent,” the assassin said. “I will speak with the Wise One and relay suggestions back to Cal and his team. But for now, we need to get ahold of Rip and Eddie. I very much want to examine the locations of the abductions firsthand. There may well be something of use to one who knows where––and how––to look.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  It was the first ever Zomoki/AI confab, and even the mighty Cal found himself in the unusual position of feeling almost giddy with excitement. For a normally staid mind, this was a rather interesting development.

  Of course, AIs were designed to evolve and grow––to experience emotions, even––so it was to be expected. And getting to work alongside an actual mythological creature? Well, it was something so unique, anyone, even an AI, couldn’t help but be thrilled.

  Ara had spoken at length with Bawb before he went to prepare for his reconnaissance, and they managed to come up with several clever methods the non-magical AI network might be able to use to track the use of magic in their cities.

  It would be primitive by both cultures’ standards, but magic and non-magic users had managed to bridge the gap between their vastly diverse methods of doing things. The “tech-magic” of Earth was a bit confounding for the offworlders to wrap their heads around, but eventually a path was laid out.

  It was Ara, rather than Bawb, who provided the first traces of magical power for the AIs to try to get a fix on. She forced a tiny bit of power onto one of the Earth vehicles, doing nothing to it beyond making it an incredibly brief receptacle for magical potential. As it was of the wrong galaxy, the effect would be very short-lived, but it should be enough.

  The AIs observed with great interest as Cal recalibrated his many sensor arrays and shifted the spectrum analysis of images on his video feeds to the agreed upon wavelength. If the test in Los Angeles was a success, they could duplicate the process and protect themselves from enemies, wherever across the globe they popped up next.

  “Are you ready?” Ara asked, watching the vehicle roll into place with interest.

  “I believe I am, Ara. Let us begin.”

  Once again, Ara pushed a modicum of power into the vehicle, then retreated from the testing area to ensure she would not taint the results with her extremely powerful presence.

  “Engaging the revised spectral analyzer,” Cal announced.

  The vehicle rolled through the testing area, a dozen different cameras monitoring it with every conceivable means of scan at their disposal.

  “Do you see anything?” Ara asked. “Besides your normal observations, of course.”

  “I’m sorry, Ara, but nothing is reading on any of my scans.”

  “Then we will try again,” she said. “But perhaps first you should scan me and make note of my power on your apparatus. The magic I have imparted to that vehicle is a different flavor, but, nevertheless, I fear my very presence might still skew results. The power originates from me just the same, so I think it would be best to take that factor into consideration.”

  “A very astute observation, Ara. Indeed, it is a possibility that you might throw off our tests. If you would please step into the testing area, we will
begin assembling an energy profile for our database so we can keep your signature from affecting our future scans.”

  The massive dragon flapped her wings, lunging into the air, making the quick hop to the testing area, then settling in between the cameras and scanners. Like Bawb with his specialized shimmer, Ara was also reticent to have her own particulars probed and logged, but a great threat was looming, and the stakes were high. An entire planet’s population hung in the balance.

  The high-tech machinery hummed, cataloging every possible aspect of the energy gently radiating from her body. Unlike an inanimate object charged with magic, she was a living, breathing being, whose every moment of existence generated more power, which flowed through every cell of her being.

  “Thank you, Ara. I believe we have what we need,” Cal said. “You may step out now.”

  She did, puffing out a little plume of smoke as she lumbered from the area.

  “What did you just do?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Something just registered on the readouts. It wasn’t much, but the needle definitely moved.”

  Cal quickly shared his data with Sid and the other AIs monitoring the process. Each ran the calculations themselves, and each reached the same conclusion.

  “It seems that you left a residual trace of your signature magic when you did that just now. But we would not have registered it without first having a baseline reading from you directly. I have spoken with the others, and all are in agreement. We believe with a preliminary baseline we should be able to then track the small traces of magical energy in the future.”

  “So, you need to first observe our quarry before you will be able to track it?” she asked, incredulously. “You do realize, the whole purpose of this exercise is to locate them in the first place.”

  “Yes, yes, we know. But this is the interesting part. You see, we already know where those observations took place. We just didn’t know how to properly read them.”

  “Which is a problem, yes?”

  “It would be. But many of the cities are in the habit of recording raw data instead of compressing to save space, as had been a practice in the past. With the population so greatly reduced, there has been no need for it.”

  Tech-magic was not Ara’s forte, but, nevertheless, the point was clear. “You can adjust your analysis of prior observations to widen the scope, can’t you?”

  “Yes. You understand.”

  “And with this, you think you will be able to approximate the original signature of our quarry?”

  “Yes, again. But. There is one issue.”

  “Isn’t there always?”

  “Unfortunately, yes. We should be able to detect residual traces of their magical power signature, but we will need to be close if we wish to track it.”

  “How close?”

  “By my calculations, I would think no more than ten miles.”

  Ara sighed. “Meaning we cannot track from the air. In fact, we cannot track at all, unless we are right on top of them. This is not ideal.”

  “It is not,” Cal agreed. “But for now, it’s the best we have.”

  “Then we will make it work,” Ara replied. “Somehow.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  The flight to Cape Town could have been exceedingly short, as Eddie had gotten the hang of the ICBM-trajectory reentry angles, but Charlie instructed him to take a lengthier route to better survey the area beneath them as they approached their first stop.

  Bawb had also requested a flight change. In his case, though, it was that they alter course several times upon descent.

  “You never know who might be watching,” he said, looking out at the exterior displays pensively. “It is always best to leave your enemy guessing.”

  Eddie gladly complied with both requests, making a very lengthy, and very erratic descent. When they finally touched down near the shores of Cape Town, Bawb felt fairly confident that they had likely achieved some modicum of stealth. Regardless, the group was still on edge as they exited the ship.

  “I wish we had Baloo,” Leila said with a sigh. “He’d smell anyone long before they could get near us, shimmer be damned.”

  “Yes, he would be most useful in this instance, though spells do exist to mask smell and sound,” Bawb noted. “But those are only known to but a select few, and the likelihood of encountering them here is slim to none.”

  Charlie covered the rear of the procession, while Bawb took point, leading the group toward the area the abduction had taken place. Leila, Rika, and Ripley scanned the area on all sides, weapons held ready, as they walked between the two men.

  Eddie had set down a short distance away from the target location, per Bawb’s request. As such, they were making their approach via a series of streets with adequate cover should the need arise. But there was not a sound. With all wildlife frozen, along with the few resident humans and Chithiid of the city, the silence was eerie.

  “I never really thought about all of those ambient sounds we just ignore,” Ripley said. “It’s so quiet. Like, I thought it was quiet back home, living where we do, away from the city center. But this? It’s nuts.”

  It was true. With no flights passing overhead, no traffic, and no movement at all, the only sound in the air was the slight breeze gently rustling the leaves of the nearby trees. Other than that, all was still. Frozen.

  “It’ll let us hear our prey easier, though,” Leila said.

  “Or let them hear us,” Bawb said, hushing the others. Using hand signals, he directed them to follow him as he turned down a smaller street.

  They passed several more frozen citizens, each and every one of them stuck in mid-thought or action, like wax museum figures imitating life. But these were still alive. Alive but in stasis. Leila shuddered. They’d seen quite a few by now, but every time it still sparked a visceral unease. Looking at Ripley’s eyes, she knew she was not alone.

  Bawb held up a clenched fist, signaling the team to stop. His hands were faintly glowing, his slaaps fully charged, powerful disabling spells on the tip of his tongue, ready for anything. But nothing came.

  He crept forward, carefully stepping around the area they’d seen the woman taken. He then crouched and scrutinized the ground, cocking his head slightly as he read the pavement as a mystic might read tea leaves. The Wampeh sniffed the air, gave the area a final, scrutinizing once-over, then stood up.

  “We are alone,” he said. “But someone was definitely here. Mind your step in this area,” he said, pointing to a large swath. “This is where they came in.”

  Charlie stared at the ground until his eyes hurt, but all he saw was pavement, some debris, and a bit of dirt blown in by the ocean breeze.

  “What are we looking at here, Bob?”

  The Wampeh pointed at the blank canvas of ground. “There were seven of them. Tslavar, most likely, given the footwear. And all males, judging by the weight distribution and lengths of their strides.”

  Ripley squatted down and squinted. “I don’t see anything.”

  “Neither do I,” Rika said. “But he’s a master assassin. I would trust his assessment over any wilderness scout.”

  “Thank you, Rika,” he said, then began carefully walking the perimeter of the area he had noted. “They arrived from that way, to the west. It seems they were aware this city possessed an intelligence, judging by their approach.”

  “How can you tell that?” Charlie asked, still seeing nothing but ground.

  “Because of the spacing of the steps, and the shift in weight as they walked. Despite being shielded by a shimmer, they were still moving with great caution. It was only a fluke that the briefest of images of the disappearance taking place caught anyone’s attention. This was skillful.”

  “You sound like you admire them,” Leila said.

  “I appreciate the effort it took to acquire their skills, and the execution of them,” he said. “But I would still slay them in an instant, were the opportunity to present itself.” He bent, intri
gued by something invisible to all but him.

  “I don’t know how you do that, man. I mean, I get it, you’re a trained killer, but this tracking thing––over pavement, no less––it’s impressive.”

  Bawb allowed himself a little smile. “I have told you, Charlie, I am a Wampeh Ghalian. We are not allowed to even touch a weapon for the first years of our training. But in no way does that mean we were idle in that time. There are many things you can learn about your quarry if you but know where to look. For example, come here.”

  Charlie walked next to him.

  “This patch of ground,” Bawb said, squatting and pointing. “To the untrained eye it is devoid of information.”

  “Yep. Seems pretty damn devoid to me,” Charlie said.

  “But look closer. Do you see this small pebble? The way it has scraped into the surface beneath it?”

  “I don’t see any––hang on. You mean this one?” Charlie said, poking a tiny piece of rock no bigger than a grain of rice.

  “Very good,” Bawb said with a pleased grin. “Now, imagine the weight of a man atop it. His footfall as he walks. How the pebble reacts beneath his stride. Do you see the little scratches made to the ground? How pressure was applied, then pivoted slightly?”

  Amazingly, Charlie did. And once he knew what to look for, other signs suddenly began to spring out to his newly seeing eyes. “And this one here!” he exclaimed.

  “Yes. And what else?”

  “And there!”

  “Good. You are getting the hang of it. Now, keep your eyes open and follow. Try to see what I see,” he said, leading the group as he followed the near-invisible tracks. “The victim was placed on a floating conveyance here. That means Drook power. And I can sense the slightest residue, now that we are standing atop it.” He turned to Charlie. “This was a smaller conveyance. A litter to carry the body. You can see the footsteps doubling back the direction they came from following alongside it. Once their load is lightened.”

  Bawb began to move faster, the trail clear as the kidnappers had clumped together on the way out once they’d retrieved their prize. A sloppy mistake, and one that he hoped to make them pay for. The trail led them to an open park area just outside the city center.