Chapter Two
The three of us walked down the long hallway towards one of the buildings exits, we had decided to go to one of the many nearby restaurants to get a coffee.
"This is such a weird building in such a weird spot," I said to Frank.
"Ya... they say it was designed to promote meetings between people, but I haven't noticed any more chance encounters than usual," Jack said.
"I don't think it's weird, just unique architecture," Frank said.
I turned and stared at Frank, from the look on his face I got the distinct impression he was trying very hard to hide something.
"Why are all the offices the exact same size," I asked.
Franks face turned slightly red, "well um... more efficient ergonomics, kinda complicated to explain," he was mumbling now.
I thought better about probing him to hard, but he had made me quite curious.
We were soon sitting at a table on the patio of a restaurant, it was situated on a long pier jutting out into the ocean, I had a large cup of coffee and a bagel in front of me.
"So where do we start?" I asked the other two who were sitting across from me.
"We'll... um... I already had a meeting with Janet two days ago, she wants us to try to figure out what this sorcery stuff is," Jack said.
"Well it sounds like clever stage illusions, I can't believe there is actually such a thing as magic," I said in a sceptical tone.
"Well... we have witnesses, people disappearing in a flash of light, that agent that was compromised, he told someone he'd gone through a door to another dimension," Jack said.
I took out a coin and did some simple sleight of hand illusions, making it disappear, walking it across my knuckles, then I put it on the table.
"I have my doubts," I said.
"You know magic?" Frank said, a surprised expression on his face.
"I was a box jumper in college, to pay for my tuition," I said nonchalantly.
"Who for?" Jack asked.
"The Great Senet... ini." I said, almost without thinking.
"Never heard of him."
"He wasn't that big... he did outdoor festivals mostly."
"Well we still have to come up with a theory," Jack continued.
"It seems that anytime I've read about magical people it's always an inborn talent, it must be genetic," I said.
"Ya... thing is a genetic advantage that powerful would soon eliminate all the non-magical people, that's basic evolutionary theory," Jack said.
I bent over the table to reach for a packet of sugar, I made sure that both men had, for a few seconds, a good view of my breasts, then I sat back down.
"You're not disagreeing with me are you Jack," I said with a giggle.
"Well... no... um... do you have another theory?"
"It's magic, right, it could obey different laws, maybe evolutionary theory doesn't effect it," I said.
"Then it would have nothing to do with genetics, that's how evolutionary advantages are passed down," Jack said, trying to sound non-confrontational.
I used both my hands to smooth my hair as I tilted my head back, I thrust my chest out slightly.
"You could be right... but we have to start somewhere and genetics are something tangible, I'm no expert but aren't there all kinds of tests we can do... you know look for genes and stuff."
"Ya... I guess so... I'll need to consult a geneticist... that will take some time."
"It's decided then... we'll do the simplest thing first, that makes the most sense," I said confidently.
Both men had expressions of doubt on their faces, I twisted a stray lock of hair around my index finger then smiled my best smile at them.
I saw their expressions change from doubt to one of obedience.
"Yes... that makes the most sense," Jack said, as if trying to convince himself.
I took a sip of my coffee, I knew very little about high level science but even I could tell that my plan made very little sense at all.
I was sitting in front of Janet's desk in her office, it was after lunch. Janet was typing furiously on her laptop.
"Sorry, gotta send this email," she said without looking up.
She finished typing and then pushed the laptops screen down.
"So... you're from South Africa, what made you want to become an Egyptologist?" She asked.
"I always liked history and I travelled to Egypt as a young girl, it kinda changed me."
"I know what you mean, I did a field trip to FBI headquarters when I was young, wanted to be a cop from then on. I read one of your papers, you know the one about the scent cones actually being little hats, very interesting."
"Oh... thank you, I gotta a lot of criticism from that," I said feeling my face blush.
"Listen Kem, you strike me as pretty sensible, these hard science guys they're brilliant but they can't see the forest for the trees sometimes, I'm gonna rely on you to keep them reined in."
"What do you mean?"
"Well for starters Frank and Jack, they emailed me their plan to study this sorcery stuff, they want to do some kind of bizarre genetic testing."
"Well they seemed pretty convinced... I don't know anything about genetics but their idea struck me as sound," I said earnestly.
"Well I do, trying to find a specific gene unique to a small group of people would take years, and we don't even have a sample of their DNA."
"Oh... so... um... what would be a better way?"
"Well we know a bit about this stuff, all the files are gone but we do have a bit of anecdotal evidence, it's not common knowledge but they caught one of these people a few years ago, he escaped but they found out that these spells were some kinda algorithm."
"So we should study algorithms?"
"Ya... there are all kinds of spells in ancient Egyptian manuscripts, have Frank and Jack look at them, see if they can find something, you can do the translations, provide the insight, and keep them rowing in the right direction."
"That's a good I idea," I said.
Janet's eyes narrowed a bit as she looked at me, I could see she would not be easy to flatter.
"Well if that's all, we are all going to meet in Franks office."
"That's all... just don't let these guys push you around... I'm counting on you."
I bent my head and stared at the floor, trying to convey the image of a demur woman summoning up the strength to tackle an onerous task.
"I'll try," I said softly.
I would have to change my plan, fortunately I had already prepared a backup one.
I walked into Franks office, Frank was sitting at his desk, Jack was sitting in a chair on the opposite side, I plopped down on another chair next to Jack, I let out a big sigh.
"Well I just had a meeting with Janet... she's not happy, she wants us to concentrate on this new algorithm theory she has," I said.
"She can be a pushy sometimes," Frank said trying to sound sympathetic.
"That's for sure, maybe we should make sure we have a good plan of attack before we email her next time," I crossed my arms across my chest and stared at Frank.
"Um... yes ok... maybe we should... um... work together when we do a report," Frank stammered.
"Yes, we could just send one email, just CC everyone," Jack said trying to be helpful.
"Well... maybe you should let me do all the emailing... you guys will be doing most of the hard stuff," I uncrossed my arms and stared at them with a blank expression.
They both looked at each other, I could see they were reluctant to give me control over the groups communication.
Frank caved in first.
"That would be perfect Kem," he said, Jack then started to mechanically nod his head in agreement.
I smiled at them.
"So what is this algorithm theory?" Jack asked.
"I don't really understand it, we're going to search ancient spells and see if we can find a pattern," I replied.
"I've given this some thought, magic must be some kind
of manipulation of a natural phenomenon," Frank said.
"None of it makes sense... how can you control someone's mind, make them love you... or transform them into an animal just by waving chicken bones... these spells would have to be so complex, even if you just included the simple things, like what the size of the animal is, or what color it's eyes are, and if you don't put them in the spell then who decides them?" I said
"Maybe it's like a prayer... to an intelligent entity," Jack said.
"Yes... able to interpret the casters intentions."
I grabbed my chin trying to look deep in thought.
"Why would something that powerful listen to anyone," Frank said, using sound logic.
"It must be bound somehow... subject to pain if it doesn't do what the caster says," I said.
"That still doesn't make sense, then magic would just be a bunch of arbitrary rules made for no reason with absolutely no logic to it," Frank replied.
"That's it... it has no logic, it must just be a random mix of objects and actions... over the eons people have found things that work for no logical reason and have wrote them down," I said.
"I don't understand," Frank said.
"Well say someone accidently mixed some chicken bones with mushrooms and said abacadabra and a dog appeared, that would be a dog spell. Over the millennia there would be thousands of these incidents, making thousands of spells."
"Wouldn't that still be happening then?"
"Yes... unless there is a knack to it, like being an great athlete, someone born with an ability to craft these spells through instinct and feeling."
"I guess that's plausible," Frank said.
"So all we have to do is search some ancient documents, find the spells in them and then try them out using trial and error, should be a piece of cake," I said.
"Where are we going to get these ancient documents," Frank asked.
"Leave that to me, I'll have them by tomorrow morning."
They both looked content.
Frank's phone rang then, he picked it up and had a very short conversation then hung up.
"Janet has a job for you, she wants you to go to her office."
"Ok, we'll start our analysis tomorrow," I smiled at both of them, they smiled back.
Who needs mind control spells, I thought as I left Franks office.
I met Janet just as she was locking her office door.
"What's up," I asked.
"We have a chance to meet our prey, there's an expo at the convention center near here."
"What kind of expo?"
"Satellite technology."
Janet had already called for a taxi which met us in front of the building, it was only a few minutes later before we were showing our identification to the security guard at the convention centers entrance.
"That's what great about working at Rand, everybody expects us to be at these things," Janet said.
We walked into a large room filled with middle aged men in expensive suits, there were exhibits along all the walls of the room, they were mostly models of satellites and rocket boosters.
Janet scanned the room until she found who she was looking for, it took her only seconds. She grabbed my elbow and guided me along towards our destination.
"Don't lie, people can tell, just change the subject if he asks something you can't answer," she whispered into my ear.
"What do I tell him I do?"
"Your an Egyptologist, you do research at the Rand corporation."
We were soon standing beside a small group of men, they were being addressed by a man wearing a grey suit, I could tell he had not spent much time in a suit, he looked awkward and uncomfortable.
"That's Peter Plotski," Janet whispered.
I looked at him examining his features, he was a thickly built man with thinning dark hair, his build gave me the impression of a man who had spent a large amount of time doing manual labor, I could see small scars on his face probably caused by childhood acne.
Peter broke away from the group and started walking in our direction, Janet grabbed his sleeve to get his attention as he walked by us.
"Mr. Plotski?" She asked.
"Yes... do I know you?" He said as he stopped and looked at her.
"I'm Janet Lincoln, this is Kemberly Smith, we're with the Rand Corporation, we'd like to talk to you about your invention."
"Sure...um... I'm kinda hungry and there's a restaurant next door, why don't we grab a table."
We were soon sitting in a pleasant restaurant, it had lots of decorative wood panelling and stained glass lamps, the lunch rush had passed and there were only a few people sitting at the tables.
Peter was telling a server what he wanted for food.
"Do you ladies want anything?"
"I'll have a gin and tonic... without the gin," Janet said.
"I'll have a glass of dark beer," I said.
The server had a confused look on her face, "um... Guinness?" she said.
"Ok."
Peter stood up to take off his jacket, he hung it on the back of his chair, he sat down again and rolled up the sleeves of his shirt, he had powerfully built forearms, his hands were covered in scars.
"National championship, impressive," Peter was pointing to a ring on Janet's finger.
"That was a long time ago," Janet said, I could tell she was flattered.
"Played pro hockey when I was younger never won anything , only made the bus leagues anyway."
"Why did you stop?" Janet asked.
"Kinda embarrassing, our star player was a jerk, acted like he was Gretzky, I was sick of it, so one game he starts mouthing off to one of the other teams players, guy gets pissed off and starts beating the crap out of him, I just stood there and watched, my coach was furious, kicked me off the team."
"That's too bad," I said
"Naw... I wasn't going anywhere, I was just some thud, I was only there to fight."
"Um... one of the things we do at Rand is try to study other disciplines, so Kem and I are just doing a little field trip, we were curious about your invention," Janet said.
"You mean the Frambulator?"
"Yes, how does it work?"
"Well, its proprietary... but I could give you an overview, give you the gist of it."
"Sure."
"Well it works by changing the frequency of the strong force in the rockets fuel atoms, it causes them to weaken along their radial axis which boosts the combustibility of the chemical reaction, this results in the rockets thrust being increased by twenty five percent."
"Where do you install it on the rocket?" Janet asked.
"It just bolts onto a convenient spot, it uses passive inductive wave forms to treat the fuel."
"Interesting."
"Um... could you excuse me, I need to go to the bathroom," Peter said as he stood up.
The server returned with our drinks after Peter had left.
"Man... his explanation sounds like complete gibberish," Janet said as she sipped her tonic water.
"Well, if I had a secret that was making me millions, my explanations would be gibberish too."
"You got a point... do you notice anything unusual about him?"
"No... he looks pretty tough... that's it."
"Ya, I wonder what a sorcerer is supposed to look like."
I wondered myself, I had only known three other sorcerer's, Shelley my former apprentice, Circe who I had met in the past, and Senbi who hadn't had any magic skill at the time.
I pictured them all in my mind, Shelley with her t-shirts and cargo pants a pencil cocked in her ear, Circe wearing an elegant outfit and expensive jewellery, and Senbi, his eyes squinting as he walked, carrying his rulers and gadgets.
They had nothing in common with each other.
Peter had sat back down at the table.
"You have such an odd accent Kemberly... where are you from?" He asked.
"South Africa," I replied.
"Really... there's another rocket guy here, he's f
rom South Africa too, I should introduce you. He has a much different accent though."
"Well... um... if we have time... I'm from a northern fishing village, I grew up speaking a um... tribal dialect."
I did not want to meet anyone from South Africa, I knew next to nothing about the country, it would take this person only a few minutes of conversation to discern this.
"So how did you get the money to start your company?" I asked, changing the subject.
"Well that's an interesting story, I used to own a second hand shop, more like a junk shop actually, I used to go around to yard sales, estate auctions and any other place I could think of to get stuff for the store.
Anyway I went to an estate auction, it was in the mansion of a recently deceased millionaire, I bought a bunch of cardboard boxes full of papers for twenty dollars. I thought maybe I could find some autographs of famous people, instead I found two mint condition number one superman comics. I sold them for a million and half dollars. The rest is history."
"That was lucky," I said.
"What happened to the shop?" Janet asked.
"Kinda strange... water main blew up underneath it... destroyed it, could've killed me."
Peter had a strange look on his face, like he was hiding something.
The server arrived with Peter's food, It was a large sandwich with a side order of French fries, Peter picked up the sandwich and started eating.
"Water main explosion... I've never heard of that happening," Janet said.
"You and me both, engineer from the water company said it was a build up of steam... or something."
"Did you sue them?" I asked.
Peter looked at me, his eyes narrowed slightly as if studying me.
"No... I was leasing the building and I only had a few broken ribs, besides I already had my windfall, the comics were in a safety deposit box."
"Where did you get your idea for the Frambulator?" Janet asked.
"Same way most people get idea's, I just noticed something and the light bulb went off, don't want to be too specific for obvious reasons."
Peter quickly wolfed down his sandwich, he barely touched his French fries.
"Listen... I gotta go, I have a meeting, do you two have business cards?"
Janet pulled a small card out of her pocket, she took out a pen and wrote a telephone number on the back of it.
"That's Kem's number, I'm her supervisor," Janet said as she slid the card over.
"Thanks," Peter said as he picked it up, he rose up out of his chair and reached for his wallet, he pulled out a fifty dollar bill and put it on the table. He then put on his jacket over his rolled up sleeves and said goodbye.
"He likes you, I can tell," Janet said after he'd left.
"Huh? I don't think so," I said feeling embarrassed.
"Why'd you ask him if he sued the water company?"
"Just curious... people always say they're gonna sue mostly for ridiculous reasons, he had a pretty good case."
I sipped my beer, I was lying of course, I had asked because I knew two things, teaching yourself sorcery was very dangerous and explosions of water, air, trees and whatever else could be quite common, and if Peter had caused the explosion himself the last thing he would want is a thorough investigation.
Janet and I both returned to Rand headquarters afterwards, I said goodbye to her in the lobby and then headed for my small office, I had some work to do.
I closed the door of my office and locked it, I then closed the thin venetian blinds that lined the all the windows.
I surreptitiously reached under the loose sleeve of my jacket and expanded my sorcerers bracelet, I felt it grow from a small wooden decorative bracelet to a much larger one with numerous movable square pieces.
I used the bracelet to create and cast spells, the squares were labelled in a language I had invented and only I understood, I operated the bracelet by flipping the squares over in different sequences.
I did not know if the office I was in had hidden surveillance equipment so I was careful not to reveal my bracelet. I had practised sleight of hand for many years and now used this skill to operate the bracelet surreptitiously.
I soon conjured up a small flash drive, I made it appear that I had pulled it out of my pocket, I put it into my workstation's USB slot and then opened up a word processing program. I typed furiously and then walked over to the rooms printer, it whirred to life and started to eject paper.
The flash drive was just a fake and the printer was not actually doing anything, I had activated a spell which made it look like it was working.
I had already created the documents I needed weeks before, I knew nothing about the computer world but I was pretty sure that they and the networks they were on kept track of everything.
I soon had a three inch stack of paper sitting in the printers hopper, I surreptitiously stopped the spell and then shrunk my bracelet so that it was just decorative again. I picked up the stack and plopped it down on my desk.
I opened the blinds on the office's windows and unlocked the door, I sat down at my desk grabbed a sharpie and pretended to work on them.