by Andur
The main problem with teleportation over planetary distances is accuracy. It's no big deal if you are a few hundred kilometres off with a spaceship, but when dealing with teleporting persons you can't even allow metres.
The ones who step out of the circular teleporter are an old man in his late fifties and a woman with brown hair and Asian features. She may be thirty, but there are visible smiling wrinkles on her slender face which adds some charm.
He is one head smaller than her and a little plumb with a very prominent chin. Both of them are dressed in suits and followed by faceless.
The man's eyes flick from left to right, eyeing both Hedeon and me. He is obviously trying to decide our status. I imagine the scene of him stepping up to Hedeon to introduce himself to the supposed governor.
In the end he disappoints me and doesn't fall prey to assumptions. “Greetings. My name is Roderik Waldheim and this is my assistant Kandy Frinil. We are the observers who were appointed by Earth's government.”
I smile and step forward. “My name is Gideon Alvar, governor of Aether.” I gesture at Hedeon. “This is one of my aides, Hedeon Alvar. It's nice to meet you.”
“Are you two related? Is Hedeon your father? You don't look that old.” Kandy chimes in. “I am very interested in this governmental system of yours. I heard that many colonies have slightly different laws and governmental systems.”
Hedeon answers for me. “I am his Grandfather. And no. We are a technocracy like all others. The differences are very small. Like the number of people in public positions. It depends on the size of the colony. You don't need the same amount of control for a small colony as for the really big ones on Mars, the Forge or Jupiter.”
“I am twenty-three and Grandpa is over three hundred. He avoids telling me the exact number.” I step in and shake their hands.
Roderik furrows his forehead. “I am still amazed by the numbers, but you seem to be awfully young to be the governor. How did you climb that high that fast?”
“That's the difference between a technocracy and democracy. Gideon took all the tests and proved himself to be the smartest available person for the position. There is no one with higher qualifications than him, so the decisions are his to make.” Hedeon answers. “There is no such thing as an opinion of the masses in our culture.”
“What if he starts giving insane commands or makes too many wrong decisions?” Kandy asks intrigued.
“Anyone can voice his doubts about my sanity or qualifications. The request will be reviewed by other colonies and if it's decided that the complaint is valid I have to retake the tests to prove that I am still suitable for the job.” I answer, proud of myself to have paid enough attention to my new position to be able to answer such a question.
I gesture towards the door. “But how about taking a look at the city? We've also arranged a party for tomorrow. You can move freely as long as you have your guides with you.”
Roderik starts walking towards the exit. “Yes, about the guides. We wondered if it is possible to walk through the city without them? I noticed that they seem to intimidate many people.”
“That's because they are faceless. They are like police in our society. Their word is law as far as it concerns the average citizen. We just want to ensure your safety.” I walk with Roderik to the door and towards the shuttle which we hijacked for this special occasion.
Kandy follows us on our heels. “Why would we need guarding? From what I've seen so far your society seems very peaceful.”
“It is. But you should never forget that all of us are mages. It's like every citizen is running around with a set of hand grenades. It requires a great amount of control and mental stability throughout the whole population.” Hedeon overtakes us to the shuttle and opens the door of the roughly car-shaped vehicle. “But we certainly aren't perfect. We don't expect you to attack or pick a fight with someone, but there is also the chance of getting in between two mages who are having a brawl.”
I end Hedeon's explanations. “And what might be a brawl to us is most certainly lethal force to you. Hence the protection.”
Roderik and Kandy take a seat inside the shuttle and we join them with their guards. When everyone is seated Roderik raises his chin defiantly. “We appreciate your concern, but can we at least walk through the safe parts of your city without permanent supervision breathing down our necks? Or could our guards at least take off their masks and try to blend in. Incognito, so to speak. We'll stay here for a while and having someone breathing down your neck is getting tiring.”
One of the faceless interrupts the discussion to answer. “We could cast an illusion spell on ourselves to blend in. But it would lessen the impact of our presence considerably.”
I shrug my shoulders. “It's Roderik's decision how much protection he is willing to accept.”
“Thanks.” Kandy bows slightly and smiles at the guards.
I use the short silence to retreat into my own virtual reality. If this is going to continue for the rest of the day I'll turn insane. The urge to kill something grew with each exchanged word. Please let this be over soon.
Sol, Aether
Cyla
“I congratulate you to having found someone suitable to your character. After what I've heard it might not have worked out between Gideon and me anyway. At least not long term.” Amia takes another sip from her coffee. “He seems to be far too driven and focused for my character. I've roamed around and kept a low profile for my entire life. Gideon and you seem to stumble from one high position to the next.”
“Thanks.” I smile and let my eyes wander through the living room. “You may be right. I kinda like that side of his, even though driven is too hard a word for it.”
In that moment the door to the living room opens and Gideon steps inside and freezes upon seeing Amia.
She raises a hand waves her fingers at him. “Hi, long time no see.”
“Amia! You are alive? I thought you are dead.” He squints his eyes at her. “What are you doing here?”
“The outgoing traffic is blocked and Amia is an old friend of mine.” I explain. “Since the hotels are all over their capacities she has nowhere to stay. Is it a problem if she stays until the problem is solved?”
He raises an eyebrow. “If you don't have a problem with it, neither do I?” His voice has a questioning undertone, like it always has when he is confronted with a complicated social situation.
“Don't worry, Gidi. Your girlfriend and I are old friends. There are no problems between us and you. I thank you nonetheless for letting me stay. I wouldn't know what to do otherwise.” Amia answers in a teasing tone.
“Gidi?” I ask perplexed.
“Just a nickname I gave him back then. It somehow seemed to fit.” Amia smiles at me with a devilish grin.
“Certainly not. Use my full name or you can sleep in the cellar! Gidi sounds I am a pokemon and I hate that game!” Gideon calls out with a red face.
“See? I told you that I can make him angry.” Amia raises her tea and takes another sip. “A night of talking is enough for me to measure a man's heart.”
“Wow, you won. And I thought that I am the only one who found out that secret of his.” I reach into my pocket and hand Amia a credit chip.
Gideon is obsessed with solving games himself. He doesn't cheat or uses any guides. Pokemon was one of the very few games which he never managed to solve completely. It wasn't his fault because he accidentally triggered a bug which made it impossible to collect all the monsters.
He kept trying without noticing it though, getting angrier and more annoyed with each attempt. It is hard to imagine Gideon as a small child throwing a tantrum at a game. At some point even his almost godlike patience came to an end and he resolved to cheating, taking a look at the code.
I think it was a great luck that the game's developers were long since dead at that point.
Otherwise a small, skinny boy would have risen from his deathbed to bring the apocalypse over them.
&n
bsp; But right now I've to calm down my boyfriend. “Why don't you sit down and we play a game. Something like monopoly. We could also recruit Galia, then we have four people.” I pat on the sofa right next to me and he sits down. Like that we spent the evening playing games and bickering with each other.
It's late in the night when I and Gideon finally get to lie down in our bed. I pull him closer and put his arm around me from behind, while using his other hand as pillow. This is my favourite sleeping position. Nothing is better than a tight fitting Gideon jacket.
“And you are sure that this is okay?” He suddenly asks. “I mean. I slept with the girl. Once.”
“Gideon, you shouldn't rub that into my face.” I sigh. “Amia is a good friend and feels like a sister to me. In addition that was before we got together, so don't wreck your brain about it. Do I have to make a list of all my previous attempts at a relationship before I met you?”
He is silent for a while, then he answers casually. “That would be a good idea. If I know whom to skin alive it's less likely that I accidentally grab someone innocent. Like your brothers for example.”
“Really?” The idea is repelling! “You don't have to worry about competition. The guys whom I met so far weren't worth to be considered for a real relationship.”
He pulls me closer. “Somehow that's not not reassuring enough.”
“Okay.” I think we have to restart this level. “How did we manage to turn the conversation away from your mishap to mine?”
“Well, it sounded like you had a lot of experiences in that regard. I feel like I am the one who is a few steps behind. I've only two to compare to after all.” He answers.
I grab his free hand and guide it to my chest. “By all the one-night-stands in the world, Gideon. Can we just cut it out and do something worth the time if you aren't tired enough to sleep. Preferably something naughty. And what's this compare thing you are talking about.”
He runs a sparking finger over the best of all places and chuckles. “That's what I was hoping for. And you are definitely the one with the better equipment and skill-set!”
50. ~Coffee.~
“
It is very clear who was the target of the witch-hunts between the 13th and 17th century. What's not widely know is that shape-shifting-magic is mainly responsible for most fairy tales which ended in the myth of vampires, werewolves, angels, demons and other mythical creatures.
The ability to shape-shift is a very rare gift and only a few mages are able to change their whole body. It's so rare because it isn't an inherited ability, but rather a trait which is achieved by the body's mutation due to high exposure of magic.
”
-Mages and their influences on the normals
Sol, Aether
Gideon
“Sadina, you always call me when I am busy. Do you have some kind of sixth sense in regards to that?” I start rocking in my office chair. It's the same one I stole from Earth's president and I've yet to find a better one.
“No. I simply had the urge to speak to you and congratulate you to your new assignment. You took my advice to heart!” Her avatar squirms once more in that strange motion she is always doing when she is thrilled.
“So it's just another call to piss me off.” I conclude. “And how does my current job have anything to with relaxing. You told me to relax.”
She stops the squirming and smiles. “I just wanted you to take an official test to search for a job and brought the experiment to a success.”
I squint my eyes at her and try to think while grinding my teeth. Did she manipulate the test results or influence Exo? It seems rather unlikely since I spun a tight personal security web around everything that had anything to do with my new assignment. The only result I couldn't control was the assessment of the psychiatrist.
“It's not like you think. I really just wanted you to take the test and I've manipulated nothing. Nothing. It would be against the experiment to interfere with the result.” She states.
I raise an eyebrow, remembering something. Ed once told me that the reason for her actions are to prove that techno-mages aren't worth any less than any other mage. Although I only experienced that during my time at school. Adults have the decency of not mentioning any differences in status. “Now I get it. You want me to rise through the ranks as fast as possible. Maybe even becoming an elder! And it has to be fast because you want everyone to see that a young techno-mage can be strong and influential.”
“Ack...” She freezes up. “You are a smart one. So simply forget what you've just found out and continue as if nothing happened. It's influencing the experiment if you know.”
“So it's just about displaying power.” I run a hand over my forehead. “Could you do something productive for a change and help me out with a little incident. We've someone on the station who is spreading Fog. Any idea how we can catch him?”
Sadina's eyes narrow. “Fog? The blood-magic drug? That's the reason why Aether is shut-down?” I nod and let her continue. “I won't help you with something that easy.”
“If it's that easy, then give me a hint.” I throw up my hands.
She tilts her head as if contemplating something. “Fine. The answer is blood-magic.” Then she disconnects and her avatar vanishes.
I let my hands hang and lean back. The answer is blood-magic? What's that supposed to mean? Crazy bitch. I wish she would be a little more forthcoming. And my attempts at tracking her aren't very successful.
Blood-magic. The drug is made out of blood and the process requires blood-magic. Or maybe she played with the words and meant blood and magic?
If that's the case, then... no. That would be too easy. Ed surely already thought about that, it's a basic forensic measure. But maybe such processes never made to mage-society? Who needs to analyse the blood at crime scenes if he can rely on magic to truth read everyone around him?
I open a channel to Ed and his avatar appears right away in my office. “What?”
“Is there a possibility to analyse the Fog and find out whose blood it is?” I ask and cross my fingers, waiting for a positive answer. But Ed just stares at me. “The Fog. Didn't you say it's blood? If that's true, then the source gave us a sample of his or her blood. Can we analyse it and build a few machines which are able to test someone for matching blood? It would be much faster than inspecting the minds of everyone to interrogate them. At least we should be able to find out if the source is male or female.”
Ed looks startled. “I- I don't know? I am not a doctor. But I'll ask one right away.” His avatar vanishes.
So the faceless don't have basic forensic methods after all. A wide grin starts spreading on my face. Old crime thrillers rock. Oh, I'll use this to embarrass him every now and then. It's just too epic than not to use it and rub it into their faces.
The door opens and my secretary dances into the room, a smile all over her face and a can with a cup in her hand. “Do you want coffee?”
“Sure.” I concentrate once more on my reports while she fills the cup, humming a happy tune. Then she leaves the office.
Absent-mindedly I reach for the cup, but a strange feeling makes me stop. My eyes wander to the cup and I try to remember from where I know that feeling.
I sniff at the cup, but there is no strange smell. Then I press the cup to my cheek and explore the strange signature in the coffee. It's the drug? But why should someone want to make me an addict? Stupid. I and my staff are very influential people. If the source can get us under control it should be possible to escape Aether despite the lock-down.
And the secretary was awfully cheerful right now. I've seen her almost daily for over a month and she was never that cheerful at work. She is the earnest and timid type.
With a smile on my face I stand up and leave the office, entering the reception room in front of it. My secretary is still humming her song while sitting at her desk, sorting her documents with incredible speed. I approach her until she notices me. “I just realized that we never
really talked up until now, Alessia.”
She smiles, showing off her perfect teeth. “I guess you are right. There was no chance.”
“I was just asking myself why you are so happy. It's been a while and I never saw you that energetic.” I gesture at her desk, still holding my coffee. “Did something really good happen to you?”
Her smile widens even more and she nods. “I guess that's true. Today everything I do works out and I never felt that good before. It's like my perfect day, my true self.”
“I also feel very good. Maybe it's the coffee. It tastes exceptionally good. Where did you buy it?” I ask.
Her eyes move to the cup in my hand. “It's from the store down the main street.” Strangely her longing eyes remain on the cup like in trance and I don't fail to notice it.
“Really? Could I know the brand?” I ask.
“Sure!” Alessia rolls her office chair over to the coffee machine and opens the drawer beneath it. Then she bends down to retrieve a bag with coffee beans. I step around the table and reach her just when she looks up again.
Grabbing her head I slam it against the drawer and her body goes limp. It's highly doubtful that she even realized what hit her. To be sure I check her pulse.
I lean her back in her chair and adjust it to a lying position. Then I place both hands on her temples and invade her mind and make sure that she is unconscious. It doesn't matter to a good telepath if a person is awake or sleeping. A sleeping mind is even easier to invade since the person can't actively defend.
With exceptional care I push away mental defences and lay bare her long and short-term memories. This time I really want to avoid damaging something. Not that I care about Alessia, but if someone finds out what I did I could get in great trouble, like being hunted by the faceless trouble.
