Babylon 5 17 - Techno-Mages 02 - Summoning Light (Cavelos, Jeanne)

by Summoning Light (Cavelos, Jeanne)

  Apparently the Circle has conducted secret research on the tech for most of our history, searching for this control mechanism so they could override it. Theyve failed to find it. The tech is so advanced, theyre like fungi trying to understand a jumpgate. At the same time, they forbade any of us from studying the tech, to prevent us from discovering the similarity between it and the ancient technology of the Shadows, to prevent us from discovering their hypocrisy. That is why Burell was treated so harshly.

  But even so, their secret has not been completely secure. A few years ago, one of the mages did discover it, and when he went to the Circle, they told him he would be flayed if he shared his knowledge.

  Galen could keep silent no longer. Who was it? he said, knowing the answer and praying Elizar did not.

  Elizar gave a truncated laugh. Alwyn. I cant imagine how he found out. Doesnt seem like hed have the time, with his busy schedule of drinking and womanizing. Yet somehow he did.

  It all fit. Galen answered absently. Alwyn knows the language of the Taratimude better than anyone. He taught it to me. Alwyn must have discovered the secret in some of the ancient writings.

  There were too many elements of truth in Elizars lie. Galen could not find the lie in it. Everything Elizar had told him when theyd last met had proven to be true. Could it be that Elizar, who had killed Isabelle, who had flayed Kell, was telling him the truth? Could Elric and the Circle have lied to them all? Could he be betrayed on both sides?

  He had believed that becoming a mage was the greatest calling one could have. Hed thought himself unworthy to be one of their number. The Circle portrayed the tech as a great blessing bestowed upon them by an ancient, dead race. Was it instead the benefit of a secret alliance, an alliance that tied them to a race responsible for countless deaths?

  We will reclaim the techno-mages , the fiery runes on Kells body had read. Galen had thought it a presumptuous claim by Elizar. But had the message instead come from the Shadows?

  Galen had turned down alliance with the Shadows again and again, refusing their offers of power, of knowledge, of Isabelles life. You are already one of us , Morden had said. If it was true, then the Circle and the Code were empty, hollow conceits. And he had followed them, and lost her.

  Elizar continued. Once I knew the truth, I realized that, above all, we must have our freedom from the Shadows. Kell and the Circle seemed to have no intention of acting. Fate left that task to me. I determined to be what the mages needed me to be, and do what they needed me to do. I would discover any method the Shadows had for controlling our tech, and learn the secret of creating it. Only that way could I lead the mages into a new age.

  Galen didnt want to hear any more. What did the killer hope to accomplish? Did he think Galen would forget the past? At the convocation, you seemed more interested in secrets of power. You wanted my spell of destruction.

  Elizar gave a single nod. Kells files indicated that we were once much more powerful than we are now. I knew that great power would be necessary to fight the Shadows, once we gained our independence from them. For a short time at the convocation I hoped Isabelles shield or your spell of destruction might save us. But I realized that still we must have the secret of the techs creation, and there was only one way to get it.

  Elizars hand curled inward, and his thumb circled about his fingertips. So I sought out the Drakh with whom Kell had met. I pretended to join with the Shadows, so I could learn their secrets. I have learned the secret of the device that turns off our tech. Ive learned other secrets as well.

  How to make a killing spike. Galen bit out the words, his anger building.

  Elizar straightened. Was that regret Galen saw in the planes of his pale face? Regret at having his lies interrupted with the truth, perhaps.

  I wanted Isabelle as an ally, Elizar said. I didnt want her blood on my hands. But she left me no choice. Without her sworn allegiance, the Shadows would not allow her to live. If I had not killed her, they would have. And they would have killed both of us as well. At least when I took on the task, I gained their trust. She did not die in vain. Her death helped in a greater cause.

  Galens fingers dug into his side. He was breathing hard, pain stabbing him with each inhalation. He used the pain to gain focus, to find his equilibrium. So you decide who must be sacrificed. And you serve as executioner.

  Perhaps I chose badly.

  Perhaps?

  I believe that the survival of the mages is more important than anything. More important than a single life. Dont you?

  You seem much more willing to sacrifice others than yourself.

  I convinced the Shadows to spare you.

  Galen wanted to throw himself at Elizar. You should not have. He lowered his head, again looking for the gun. If all youve said is true, you could have told the mages, forced the Circle to admit the truth. We could have worked together to formulate a plan. Instead, you kept silent, so your initiation would not be jeopardized. You went alone, to gain knowledge and glory. You could decide later whether your allegiance was to the Shadows or the mages. After you learned how much power the Shadows would give you. After you obtained the secrets that would allow you to overthrow the Circle and take their place.

  Elizars jaw tightened. I had to move quickly and quietly. Agents of the Shadows were everywhere. One was even at the convocation. I had the knowledge. Whom better would you send?

  The more truth Elizar told, the angrier Galen became. He fixed Elizar with his gaze. What else have you done for the Shadows, to gain their trust and learn their secrets? How many have you killed? Am I next?

  Not if you will join me. Together we can discover the secret for making the tech. Then we need serve the Shadows no longer, and we can lead the mages in a great war against them. A noble quest, just as we dreamed.

  You tell me this story, and you think I will believe it and join you? You are lying, the Shadows are lying, Kell was lying. One thing I know for certain, and that is what you did. Galens voice was shaking. He paused, and when he continued, his tone was emotionless. For that, there is no excuse and no forgiveness.

  Elizar looked away, and suddenly Galen saw GLeels gun. It lay on the gurney beside Annas leg, half buried under a fold of her orange jumpsuit.

  Elizars gaze returned to him, and Galen tried to keep his face impassive. One blast should kill Elizar, though it would have to be to the head or the heart, somewhere the damage could not be undone by the organelles.

  Elizar reached out. I am telling the truth. The future of the mages is in our hands. What can I do to convince you?

  Nothing. The gun was about five feet away from them both. He had to get his leg to work somehow, so he could reach the gun and aim it without interference. If they fought over it, he would lose.

  Galen Elizar extended his hand to grasp Galens shoulder, and Galen jerked back. For the sake of the mages, Elizar said, you must help me. You must believe me.

  Galen said nothing, and Elizar drew back his hand. For a few moments he regarded Galen in silence. Then he continued, his voice softer. You of all people should believe it. I told you we had power much greater than we knew, power given to us by the Shadows. You discovered some of that forgotten power. You found one of the weapons they planted within the tech.

  At the turn in the conversation, Galens heart began to pound, and he found he was suddenly afraid.

  Elizar continued. The Taratimude warred constantly with one another. They sought power. The Shadows offered them a technology that would give them great power, make them great warriors. The Taratimude accepted. Many fought for the Shadows in the last waranother dirty secret. But after that war was done, the Taratimude returned to fighting amongst themselves. They destroyed one another. That is the great cataclysm that befell them, which has been so shrouded in mystery.

  What the Shadows did not tell the Taratimude, and Wierden came to realize only after the destruction of most of her race, was that the tech they had been given was not simply an advanced system of energy and control.
It had been designed and programmed with a specific purpose in mind. As the Shadows promote war and chaos, they created the tech to do the same, to create an army of warriors, agents of chaos who would bring death and destruction wherever they went.

  Galens hand was gripping his side so tightly his arm was shaking.

  Havent you wondered why mages are so quick to anger? Why we fight so often amongst ourselves? We cant even live together. The urge to fight is programmed into us. We are meant to attack others, to defend ourselves when threatened, to survivethrough the healing power of our organelles injuries that would kill others. To be nearly invincible forces of destruction.

  Galens mind jumped from one memory to the next, finding connections where hed never seen any before. When hed felt threatened by Elizar at the convocation, his first instinct had been to use his chrysalis to attack with overwhelming force. After the initiation, his body had raced with the techs energy. The agitating undercurrent relentlessly urged him toward action. Each time he used the tech for attack, he felt its eager echo. Whenever he was in danger, he felt its driving need to strike out. The effort to control it was exhausting.

  Since hed agreed to flee with the rest of the mages, to repress his desire for revenge, hed been fighting both himself and the tech. The restless energy had intensified. On Selic 4, he had been unable to hold it in any longer, and had destroyed Elizars chrysalis. Hed been so consumed with the urge to destroy that to regain control, hed had to turn the energy against himself, repeatedly.

  Out in the tunnel, as hed cast spell after spell of destruction, the tech had sung inside him, the energy flowing more easily than ever before, as if that was what the tech had been meant to do. As if that was what he had been meant to do.

  Elizar nodded, clearly seeing the recognition on Galens face. Wierden established the Circle and the Code to curb our destructive impulses. That is why such stress is placed on them, why the penalties for violation are so severe. Some of us have buried our impulses so well that it is little struggle to obey the Code. For others, it is a constant battle. But without the Code and the Circle, we would revert to chaos.

  We all have thoughts of things we must not do , Blaylock had said, thoughts of destruction. Most follow me because they must. Without the daily scouring, without the fasting, without the meditation and repentance, the abstinence, the vigils, the sensory denial, the mortification, they would be unable to follow the Code .

  With the Circle and the Code, Elizar said, we focus on nondestructive uses of our power. We have subverted the programming of the Shadows, using the abilities they gave us toward ends they did not intend and could not foresee. We have combined the various powers they gave us, creating ever more complex spells, obscuring our true nature, even to ourselves. Instead of power, we focus on magic, knowledge, beauty, good. Some of us have even learned to heal, which was never the Shadows intent. We have become much more than the Shadows ever imagined. Weve transcended their designs.

  Yet in doing that, weve lost touch with our most basic powers. Somehow you rediscovered that potential. Its something about your spell language, about the way you think.

  Galen had found the spell of destruction at the base of their spells, a simple one-term equation, a basic postulate, as he had called it. It formed the fundament upon which their powers were built, the basic truth of what they were. Take away the flourishes and misdirection, the staffs and cloaks and circles of stones, and all that remained was vast, destructive power.

  The ability to listen to the Shadow communications also lay in a one-term spell, a basic postulate. Of course the Shadows would give their servants a simple method for communicating with them.

  The tragic, horrific enormity of it struck him. The Circle took children and trained them and taught them and implanted into them the seeds of anarchy. They transformed apprentices into agents of the Shadows, and called them techno-mages. And as the programming of destruction spread through the initiates bodies, the Circle demanded obedience to a Code that opposed their basic natures. Elizar dared speak of transcendence, as she had, but it was not possible. They were what they were: embodiments of chaos. The Circle fooled themselves into believing that from the Shadows could come good. That the mages could create good. But they carried the contagion wherever they went. Galen was proof of that.

  Yet tech or no tech, he wanted to kill Elizar. He had the impulse to destruction. He dreamed of ripping Elizars tech from him with bare hands, just as Tilar had done to Blaylock. Perhaps the tech had intensified the impulse, raised it to a constant, driving need. Galen didnt know. He had worked with the chrysalis for three years. He had trained it, and it, apparently, had trained him. And with initiation, he and the tech had been joined. They were a single being, intertwined so thoroughly that he felt incomplete without it. How could he tell which desires arose from him, and which from the tech? Or was there no difference?

  It all makes sense now, doesnt it? Elizar said. The way we live, the way we behave, the nature of the tech.

  Galen nodded. He could find no more objections. The tech was programmed for destruction. He was programmed for destruction.

  You may hate me. I understand that. But I am the only one who can save the mages. And I can only do it with your help.

  The mages should never have been made. Potentially, they were nearly as great a threat as the Shadows. Galen felt a great pity for them, with their dreams of creating awe and wonder, of doing good, of living up to a history from which one crucial fact had been withheld. They had all shared those dreams. But the dreams were based on lies.

  As Galen thought over their history, of the vast knowledge theyd gained, of the great deeds theyd accomplished, of the wars in which theyd fought, the vendettas theyd carried out, the petty feuds, the plots and counterplots, he wondered if the good theyd done had outweighed the bad. It was only in the past fifty years or so that they had truly lived by the Code. Yet in that time, he knew, they had accomplished much of worth.

  Galen didnt know if the mages could be saved, or if they should be. Elric had told Alwyn, I can see no path by which the mages will survive this war. Not in any form that we would recognize . Now he understood why. Without the ability to create new tech, the mages would eventually die off. Even if they somehow gained the ability, the nature of the tech would remain unchanged. It would still generate agents of chaos.

  Galen didnt know what he wanted, except that he wanted to kill Elizar. You dont need me, he said. You have Tilar and Razeel.

  Tilar and Razeel follow the Shadows. Tilar will never forgive our order for casting him away. With a small gesture Elizar extended two fingers toward Blaylocks mangled body. You see what he is like. Razeelis beyond help. He lowered his voice and leaned closer. I first had to convince you of my honesty. That is why Ive told you all I have. Whether you believe me now or not, I have no more time to convince you. The Shadows have planned a trap. The mages will all die within the hour, unless you help me stop it.

  Galens heart jumped. Im to believe this because you tell me?

  Elizar frowned, impatient. They know you warned the mages not to board the Zekhite . But the mages have another plan, and the Shadows have discovered it. The mages ship will be destroyed, along with all those aboard.

  If Elizar spoke the truth, then Galens message had not saved Elric. All those on Babylon 5 would die. Yet how could he know if that was true? Elizars revelations had been designed to gain his trust. Now could be the perfect time for a lie.

  And the perfect time, at last, for Elizar to make his demand.

  Galen spoke evenly. How do you propose I stop it?

  You must pretend to join with the Shadows, as I have. Theyve given up any hope of alliance with the mages now; Elric turned down their final offer. But if I can prove to them that Ive turned you, it will reawaken their hope. They will believe that I can turn more. You must tell them that the truth has killed your loyalty to the mages. That you realize you owe the Shadows your allegiance. They have promised that if I gain your all
iance, they will postpone their plan to kill the mages.

  And you trust them.

  Im not a fool. I doubt them. But I know that they still desire us as allies.

  And they will simply let the mages run off to their hiding place.

  They will, if you tell me its location. That is the only way to convince them you are truly their ally. With that single piece of information, we can stop our orders destruction and gain time. In that time, we can learn the secret of the techs creation. As Elizar spoke, his face grew animated, his mouth rising in a slight smile. And if we cannot learn it, perhaps with your power we can force the Shadows to reveal it. You destroyed a Shadow ship, Galen! Your power rivals theirs. Imagine if we all knew your spell, how much the Shadows would fear us. But first the mages must be saved. As long as they still live, theres hope.

  And to keep them alive, all I need do is tell you where they plan to hide. Elizar was a fool. He was the Shadows puppet, whether he knew it or not. They sought to draw Galen in the same as theyd done with Elizar. They would never share the secret of creating the tech. But they could demand endless proofs of loyalty from him, just as they had from Elizar. And with the mages held hostage in their hiding place, he would have to obey or become the cause of their deaths. Perhaps the Shadows would have him work with Elizar, approaching the others one at a time where they hid, weakened and with limited resources, giving each of them one last chance to turn or be flayed. Perhaps they would have him teach the others his spell. What chaos might they generate if they all knew his secret? Or perhaps they would have him fight in their battles, spreading his brilliant heat of destruction.