After school, she got home and made extra sure to lock the door. She went up to her room, and as she dropped her backpack on the floor, she heard a knock at the door. She froze. Oh, it's probably some kid wanting me to sponsor him or her for something or other. No big deal. She walked downstairs and opened the door, and saw a boy about her age in a silverchair T-shirt. As she was about to say, ”Are you here to get me to sponsor you?”, he said, ”I'm from The Protectorate”.
She paused. ”Huh?”
“I'm here to answer your questions about The Protectorate.”
“I thought you wanted me to sign up to sponsor you for something or other. You don't exactly look like a secret agent.”
“Yeah, I get that a lot. But seriously, if I looked like a secret agent, I'd stick out like a sore thumb. Why don't I just wear a sign that says, 'Hi, I'm from a secret organisation?”'
She thought about this, and laughed. ”Come on in”, she said, her guard let down a little at his joke. They sat down at the kitchen table.
“Could you pull out the tome?”
“You mean, the book?”
“Yes.”
“Oh, sure.” She went to her bedroom to grab the book, and returned to the kitchen table quickly. She was still a little unsure about her new visitor.
“OK, let's start with the name, 'The Protectorate'. What exactly are you protecting, anyway?”
“Innocent people.”
“That's kind of vague.”
“Well, that's the best I can do right now. Exactly what we do needs to be kept absolutely secret, and until you've been with us for a few months, and we make sure it's a good fit, I can't tell you.”
“Hmm...sounds like I'm applying for a job.”
“That's not far from the truth, except that instead of paying you, you get to meet people like yourself and hopefully save more lives using your Ability than anyone has in say, firefighting or police work.”
“So you protect innocent people?”
“That's right.”
“Protect them from what, exactly?”
“I can't say yet, but the major responsibility of membership is going to come at some point in the future, when there will be a lot of lives at stake. Unfortunately we don't know exactly when.”
“You mean like some major Earth disaster like a meteor or earthquake or something?”
“Something like that.”
“How do you know it's going to happen? It seems like all those other kooky end of the world stories that never happened. Like Y2K, but even more vague.”
“With Y2K, we had time to get prepared. I hope it's the same with what's in store for us. By the way, we call it 'Phase III'. Hopefully, it won't be the end of the world, because we'll be ready for it, and we've planned for what happens after it as well. Unfortunately, I can't explain why we know it's going to happen or what it is that's going to happen until you get promoted.”
“Alright, so what can you tell me.”
“How about the rights, responsibilites and privileges?”
“OK.”
“You have the right to leave at any time. As for responsibilities, we need to have a rapport of absolute trust. If I ever lied to you, I'd be out of the organisation, no questions asked, no excuses taken. Same with you. Unfortunately, you can't be as candid about us with non-members. We're all preparing for Phase III by continuously honing our Abilities. When it happens, everyone's going to know who we are and what we're doing, and hopefully we're going to save a lot of lives, but before that happens, you've got to be quiet about all this. It's unfortunate that we're asking you to be completely truthful with members and hide all this from non-members, but for now, it'll have to stay that way. I suppose it's part of the tradition of our organisation, and it has served us well, but it's a bit hypocritical. That also means not using your Ability obviously in public. Do that and you're out. It's fine in a small way, if no one sees or understands what you're doing is, say, beyond reality. Keep it a closely guarded secret.
“The privileges are that you can ask for my help when you're troubled or in danger, and I'll be there no matter what. If you join, I'll teach you how to signal me. I know a lot about you, in fact I was the one who suggested we give a book to you, but unfortunately I can't reciprocate. We have strict rules about contacting other members. Those with lower rank signal people of higher rank, but those of higher rank don't go and see people of lower rank regularly so that it limits what we know in case someone from the outside wants to tear down the organisation. I don't know how to contact people of higher rank other than signalling them, and they can assess the situation properly when they arrive. People at the same rank don't know each other, and don't find out about each other. That way, if one of us is captured, which hasn't happened in over two hundred years, the people of higher rank will scope out the situation, and try to rescue a person in danger if possible without revealing who they are. That way, if a person of lower rank is coerced into signalling a person of higher rank, the person of higher rank won't get captured.”
“Wow, you guys have thought a lot about all this.”
“In the beginning, when more people knew about magik, more extreme measures were needed to ensure that we remained a secret. Unfortunately it was needed because regular people tend to mistrust us. The rules are strict, but we've remained together for quite some time. No one knows exactly how long, but there are rumours The Protectorate has gone back to the Dark Ages.”
“So that explains the letter.”
“The letter is meant to use a style of writing that's a balance between the original letter from ages past, but it's still meant to be readable for someone not as versed in middle English. It's a difficult balance, but its important to stress the age of the organisation and the tome.”
“Have you ever considered just rewriting it in plain English?”
“The Protectorate has been around for a long time. We wanted to put that in the writing style of the letter as well.”
“Is there anything else you can tell me?”
“I've layed out all the rights, responsibilites, and privileges, and you'll have to base your decision on that. For those three things, there aren't going to be any more strings.”
“And I can read the rest of the book.”
“Yes.”
She thought about all this for a minute in silence.
“Alright, count me in.”
“OK, but remember, you can't lie to another member or reveal your Ability to anyone, regardless of the consequences. That's absolutely unforgivable.”
“I understand.”
“Alright, I'll teach you how to signal me. Use it when you're in danger, or if you've been on one chapter in the book for a week and can't get it. Don't abuse the signal.”
“I won't.”
“Alright, here goes. As a courtesy, I've pushed some of my mana away from you so that you didn't get overwhelmed when you walked to the door. You've only experienced the tome's energy, and the tome's energy pales in comparison to both your energy and mine. Do you remember the feeling you get when you walk close to the tome?”
“Yes. I can feel it right now, in fact.”
“That's good. I'm going to slowly move my mana back around myself now. You're going to feel much the same sensation, but it will be stronger this time, since I control more mana than the tome. Ready?”
“Yes.”
“OK.”
At first, she felt as though there were two books in the room, but the new one got stronger and stronger, and closer and closer to the boy. Soon, it was so strong that she didn't need to concentrate to feel it anymore.
“How are you doing so far?”
“OK, I guess.”
“Alright, I'm almost finished.”
She could then feel his full power. It was roughly the size of her own.
“Am I about as strong as you?”
“You have about the same amount of mana around you as I do. Your Ability is about as strong as mine, which is pretty strong. When I first noticed you, I nearly froze up. But size isn't the only thing that matters. It matters how well you can use it too.” He said suggestively.
Slowly she could feel the mana surround them, and soon couldn't tell the difference between her mana and his mana.
“When two people who have the Ability meet and hold their mana close like this, it surrounds both of them. Mana doesn't have an owner, it just moves toward people who have the Ability. If a stronger person has used up some of their mana and walks near a weaker person, then more mana will collect around the stronger person. If you were weaker than me, when I left, I'd focus some back into you from a distance. You should do the same if you meet someone weaker than you. It's only fair.
“Also, when two or more people perform some collaborative magik, they work closely together so that they can benefit from the mana of all of them combined.
“To signal me, you need to focus your mana and transfer a lot of energy in a short burst. You should always keep some mana around for signalling in an emergency. Don't ever use it all up. It doesn't really matter what you tranfer, but the best thing in most circumstances is to make the wind around you blow faster. First of all, it's simple. You already know how to move a solid object, the tome, so making the wind around you blow faster will be child's play for you. Second, it's not as conspicuous as, say, making a fireball flame up to the sky like a flare.”
Fiona laughed, then nearly jumped in surprise.
“Can you really make a fireball?”
“It's difficult, but possible. It wastes a lot of mana, but it's really showy.”
“No doubt...”
“You'll get there. Now slide the tome a little on the table.”
She remembered the force she used before, and eased it off a little. She focussed the same amount, but tried to slide the book just a little. The book slid slightly on the table.
He looked impressed. ”Great. That's a good measuring of force. Now focus on the air above the book, and move that.”
She did, and felt a very small breeze.
He said, ”Good. You know you made a new record.”
“I did?”
“Yeah, you got through the tome in three days. I think you have a natural talent to go with your Ability. Most people struggle with the first few chapters for a couple of days each. The previous record was five days.”
She didn't know what to say, so he continued, ”Now force the air above the book harder.”
She focussed the same amount as before, but used the same amount of force she used on the book when it slid all the way off the desk. They both felt a strong breeze.
He said in amazement, ”Wow, that's good. I could have felt that in the next block. Try moving the air outside.”
She got up out of the chair. He said, ”No, have a seat. Do it from here.”
“OK...”
She focussed her mana on the air outside. It took more effort than usual to pull the mana from around her body outside, but she managed. She forced the air to move, slowly at first, but with increasing intensity.
”OK, stop now. You're going to blow the trees in your backyard over.” He joked. ”With the amount of transfer that you just did, I'd be able to feel it from across town. Also remember that anyone else with the Ability who is near will also be able to feel it, and in time, you'll be able to feel it if I did the same amount of transfer across town.
“After I feel you signal me, I should be able to be near you in about ten seconds.”
“Did you say ten seconds?”
“That's right.”
“From across town? How?”
“That's another secret for now. It's in chapter fifteen. Oh, and signal me when you get to the end of chapter fifteen.”
She heard her mom drive up in the car.
“Oh, shit! My mom's going to see you!”
“My cue to leave. Good luck, Initiate.”
He put his hand on the book and it started to glow a faint blue. Then he stood up and a blue fog encircled him. She could feel that he was using a lot of mana for whatever it was that he was doing. Very quickly, it seemed as though he was made of the blue fog. Then he was gone.
She heard a key in the lock, and realized she wanted to hide the book, but it was too late. She was standing by the time her mom opened the door.
“Hi honey, what's up?”
“She looked at the fridge. Oh, I was just looking for something to eat.”
“Well, there's some leftover Chicken Helper in there.”
“Oh, right. That sounds good. Actually, on second thought maybe I'll just have something to drink.”
She grabbed a glass from the cupboard, and got some water.
“How's school going?”
“OK.”
She focussed her mana on the book, and she held it aloft. Her mom didn't even blink. Good, she thought, she can't see it. She carefully moved the book through the air, past her mother's head to the stairs. Her mom was completely oblivious. It was all she could do to avoid having the water go up her nose. As the book got further out from her, it got harder and harder to focus on it. It then slammed to the ground, making a huge thump. Fiona cringed.
“What?”
Quickly thinking of a cover up, she said, “Oh, I just remembered that I have to read two extra chapters for English class tonight. I'd better get started.”
“OK. You know if there's anything you want to talk about, I'm here.”
“Yep.”
She took what was left of the water to the stairs. When she got there, she floated the book up to her other hand, taking it up the stairs in one fluid motion. She set the book and glass of water on her desk, and closed her door. That was odd, she thought. I've never tried to move something at the edge of my mana field. I'd better not try that again. She opened the book to chapter four.
First Steps: Chapter Four: Heating it Up
In the past chapters, you learned how to convert mana into kinetic energy. In this chapter, you will learn how to convert mana into heat. This book is special in many ways. In particular, it can't be burned. At first, you should focus on this book when you practice. You must take great care when you perform the conversion, or you may set something on fire accidentally. It is a good idea to have some water nearby.
When you turn the page, this book will use some of its mana, and heat up a few degrees. Hold your hand on the book when you turn the page, and as you feel the book heat up, concentrate on the energy transferrence taking place.
Now focus your mana on this book, and raise the temperature further. Make sure the water is within easy reach.
Heat is difficult to control, and you should always be careful when using it, since fires are even harder to control, magikally or otherwise. Chapter Five is now open to you.
She realized that it wouldn't be long until supper, so she put the book out of the way, and started on her homework.
Brian phased in on Drexl. He remebered the startled reaction on Fiona's face when he left so ubruptly. He tried to remember the first time he had seen someone phase out, and smiled at the recollection. He had picked up the use of the fog to ease the impression on people seeing it from his mentor. It was practical, but it had a certain flair to it. Without the fog to cover his exit, she would have seen his insides as he phased out. It had taken some time to become used to the sight of someone phasing out without the fog as well as with.
It had also taken him quite some time to get used to the bluish tinge in the trees and grass, and the two suns here. He didn't need to signal his presence, since anyone here could feel that amount of mana being used. Ken opened the door of the cottage and rushed up to greet him. His long cloak was flapping in the breeze.
“Brian! Have a good trip?”
“Hi Ken. It was pretty uneventful.”
“I hope it didn't take too much out of you.”
“I've been making a lot of runs lately, but I'm starting to get used to it again.”
“So I assume by that smile on your face that you have good news for me. Why don't you come in and have a seat?”
“Sure.”
They walked into the cottage and took seats at the large table. Both the cottage and table had seen a lot of use, but they were well kept. Most of the important meetings in his life with The Protectorate had happened around this table.
Ken started first. “So she accepted?”
“Yes.”
“Excellent. You said that she has the Ability as strongly as you do?”
“Yes.”
“We can't afford to lose her.”
“I know. Should we have a 24 hour guard?”
“You taught her how to signal you?”
“Yes.”
Ken contemplated in silence for a moment, and said, “How many operatives to we have in the immediate area, on average?”
“Enough to cover her 24/7.”
“Hmm...I think the shield should offer her enough cover while she's asleep. We haven't had any enemies show up for quite some time. Besides, we don't want to violate her privacy. How much did you tell her?”
“Only as much as she needed to know to make a decision. Although something tells me that if she got to keep the book at the end of the deal, she would have agreed to anything.”
“The book holds a great deal of power over someone who has just received it. It is imperative that we don't use that power incorrectly.”
“I know.”
“What about her talent?”
“She beat the record.”
Ken was left speechless for a moment, with his mouth open. “How many days?”
“Three.”
“That's a cause for great celebration! That will give us a much needed boost for Phase III. Although, we should wait until she finishes the book before we celebrate. That will also give me time to prepare. What's her favourite food?”
“Chicken nachos supreme.”
“A girl after my own heart.” Ken chuckled.
“Is there anything else?”
“Any news on the Amulet?”
“We've got everyone we can spare still looking for it. We're trying to reach as far as we can out there, but it would help if we had someone who could Travel farther and detect it from farther away.”
They lapsed into silence as they both contemplated what would happen if someone else found it first. If The Protectorate found the Amulet first, then they could choose when Phase III would begin, and where. Even if some other group found it before them, it could still turn out to their advantage, as long as they didn't use it against Earth directly. Although The Protectorate had not existed the last time it was used, other races they had met told stories of its existence, and that after its use worlds had been conquered and massive trade alliances had been formed. It seemed that nearly every race that had a story about the Amulet had a different perspective on how it should be used, if at all. Some would be perfectly content if it was never found again. They had heard a full range of stories, from the genocide of several species of sentient life in great lengthy wars, to opening the door to meeting hundreds of peaceful civilizations. The Protectorate sometimes dealt with one trade alliance that had been formed after the use of the Amulet, and the alliance had been around for millennia. Those ties would become crucial at the start of Phase III. If everything went according to plan, Earth could become a new centre of trade in the universe. If not, the consequences could be equally devastating.
This story should be considered in the “pre-reading” phase, and is still evolving. I welcome all C&C. If you even see a comma out of place, please let me know! If the quote marks aren't showing up as proper open and closing quotes, let me know which browser and platform you're using and I'll see if I can help. If you're using Lynx, the quotes should gracefully become regular double quotes. You may find the PDF version on Windows and Mac, or the PostScript version on Linux or Unix like systems more readable if your browser doesn't support CSS correctly.
Copyright ©2002, Chris Evans. Permission to download, store and retransmit this novel in whole or by complete HTML page is hereby granted for non-commercial use as long as the content, especially, but not limited to the copyright notice remains intact and unmodified. All other rights are reserved by the author. Enjoy!