Nigkala Tales Pt. 18: So Many Interruptions

I sensed it desired me to try, but I also sensed it did not understand the risk very well. I then meditated to determine how to fix this. Then it hit me. Inanna's healing. It could affect things, as well as bodies, and this was both. So I studied the crystal with my spiritual sense and my rock sense, to get a true understanding of what is. I then also used Inanna's life sense to see it, as well. That was quite hard as it is so far from what we call life. Yet there was energy flowing. When I got it to work, I willed it to guide me into what would be best for the life before me. Slowly, a new image grew in my mind of how the crystal should be. I then willed the healing to change if from the restricted form to the more harmonious form. It took a lot of effort, as it was a solid, yet I felt my chi flow into it and reshape it. When I felt it was finished, I examined it again. The flaws were gone, and there were a few other lesser changes as well.

I gave my feeling of completion and inquiry as to how it felt. I got a swifter and stronger response. It was still barely aware, but it was clearly stronger. I chose to rest then, so I sent it my intent to leave. It was saddened briefly until I indicated I would be back.

When I left my trance, I found it was near midnight. When I went to leave, I saw a note on the door from Filipe to say dinner was great, and mine was in the oven. I smiled at that. He thinks of my food when I get carried away. I locked the room and went and got my delayed dinner. He was right. Tammy made something special, and plenty. So I wrote her a note thanking her. Then I took a quick shower and got into bed, where I embraced my sleeping husband. I whispered my thanks and my love, and then fell asleep.

The next several days, I compared the improved crystal with what the books had. Where the books told to do things different to what the crystal had, I tried to see why. In the end, I could not find any solid reasons, nor was any advantage given. I had to put things aside for a few weeks as I was involved in a promotion tour.

I tackled the talisman the mage used for security next. As it was a stranger, and had recently been dominated by an evil man, I decided to be very tentative in my contacting it. First, I studied it with all my senses, but I made no attempt to contact it. After several hours of study, I opened my mind to thought leaks. I did not try for true contact, but rather trying to pick up any thoughts that it might be giving off. At two hours, I decided to give it a little chi. I did my best to strip the droplet of chi of all identity. When I released it, I detected its awareness seeking the source.

I touched its questing thought, but I only gave a sense of awareness back. It, too, was curious, but not able to keep its thoughts in check. I got a name, and a few feelings, but not much more. I recognized the name from the journal. I withdrew my touch. And put it down. I was careful to keep my thoughts close until I was much farther away. Eventually, I was in my office. There, I looked up the name, and learned of a man. He had died some years ago, of a very debilitating disease, the kind that affects the body, but not the mind. Before he fell ill, he was a genius at infiltration of high-tech security. He was rumored to be a freelancer, but also deemed to be the best. My main inquiry was his moral stance. It was clear his ethics were flexible and along the lines of 'don't get caught'.

The next day, I was ready to talk with him. I had learned that his morals were not the best, but not something that would bother me. This time, when it reached out after I gave it a tiny bit of chi, I said, "Alec Samson. The mage is gone, and you are free of him. What do you want for your fate?"

I sensed shock, fear, anger, then finally calm. "Who are you?"

"I am your new master. I would take your measure. Your desires will tell me how I must deal with you, or if I deal with you. Your current home may also be destroyed if I deem appropriate."

"What kind of master are you?"

"Powerful. What do you want for your fate?"

I felt him thinking, though not what he thought. "I can get you in past nearly any security. I can make any area you want secured. If you want traps, I can do that as well."

"I tire of your evasions."

This caused fear. I then felt him feel happy, like he was putting one over on me. "I want to serve you."

"This is not your desire. I sense your thoughts. Tell me what you want, deep down. What makes you tick." I then sent my whammie into the talisman. I had no idea if it would work.

There was more fear, and the whammie made it into almost terror. Eventually, he answered, "I want to live."

"What brings you joy?"

I sensed hope rising, but much fear was still there. "Outsmarting those who try to trap me or keep me out."

"Will you kill?"

There was less fear, but plenty of uncertainty. "I have, but not by design. A stain on my career." At that final statement, I felt a twinge of sorrow.

I considered all he said, and I realized he operated as a professional, and not for power or money. While his morals weren't great, they were good enough, especially since I would be the one who decided what he would be allowed to do. I gave him the good news.

"Alec, I find you acceptable as my newest employee." I felt his questions, even unasked. "Yes, employee. Your last master kept you as a slave. I will never keep slaves. My choices were to destroy you, free your spirit to whatever fate it has, or keep you. I think we can come to an agreement. If not, I will free you. Tell me about yourself, not your skills just yet, but who you are. I want to know the man, even though you no longer have a body as such."

We spoke for hours, and I got to know who he was. I also told him something of myself, the kinds of things only family knew. Eventually I asked about his skills, and how he has used them since becoming as he is now. This was far more interesting, as I learned his limitations and new abilities being in this form had. In the end, I said I had much to think about.

The next day, I made him a proposition, "How would you like to design a secure storeroom for me here?"

"You would let me?"

"Yes. I think a secret underground bunker where I could store stuff would be best. I would do any experiments elsewhere, but having a secret storage area could be useful."

"Building such takes time, permits, and people will notice. There will also be records made in the land-development office."

"I can avoid that. I already have a shed there, with power. And I can create the space overnight without anyone noticing. Getting an electrician would be the only outsider involved, and I have ways to make them forget."

"Impossible. It takes weeks to build. I know my former master tended to kill those he wanted to be quiet, but you don't seem to be that type."

"When I said 'forget', I meant it literally. Hypnosis can be powerful. As to the time, I think I mentioned I was powerful? Let me worry about that. Knowing how deep it should be, and if I should put in place any defense against detection, are more important."

"Well, the access has to be at ground level, so it will need to be disguised. If you plan on storing anything heavy, you need a way to get it in without carrying it yourself, which means an elevator or a slope. You also need to accommodate the size, which includes getting around corners and through doorways. Then there are environmental concerns. Breathing is always nice. But you may also need climate control to maintain the environment."

"That is a lot to think about. I will have to ask some others some questions, but I think you can safely assume a three-foot wide sloped opening going inside of a fifteen by twenty foot shed. After the first turn, it will be straight, which means a low ceiling for walking, but not for a cart. I'll have a power panel put in place, and have it supply a large amount of power, and also store some power tools I don't use often out there. The electrician can feed a line to another panel in the bunker for distribution. I can hide the ventilation with the shed. I'm sure I can find plans somewhere I can use."

We talked and developed the plans for the bunker. I broke off for lunch, and in the afternoon pulled some plans. After lunch, I showed them to him, but it was clear he could not perceive them well. I had to look at them and then send the images to him. He commented I was far better at this than the last person. The biggest change was the slope. There was not enough room, so I settled on a shaft, with a later addition of a lift platform. With the plans selected, I went out back to the shed and moved stuff around until I had opened up space just inside the door. Since the doorway was raised, it had a metal riser that allowed things to roll over it for the inch difference. I just extended it, so I could hide a manhole, and I also connected it via hinge to the doorway. It could not be opened while the door was open, but the hinge could be undone from below, just in case....

I created a thirty-foot deep shaft, and made an inset ladder to climb it. At the bottom, I made the storage area, ten feet tall, fifty-foot wide and one hundred feet long, with pillars at ten foot intervals to hold the weight. I made it of stone to avoid metal detectors. I then added raceways for wiring, and also a return air duct that ended at the far corner of the shed. Later I would add lighting, and then I would bring in the electrician to handle the power distribution. All told it took two weeks to set up, with the lift and everything. I also spoke with some museum conservationists about storing precious books and enclosed a portion of the room in a climate control area for them. With the heat pump, and the constant temperature, the energy use was quite small. I added a small beer fridge in the shed to help mask it.

When it was completed, I showed Alec. He said, "Wow. I don't have a good sense of time, but it is clear this was done fast. No way you got the permits for this."

"I've not told anyone about it yet. Only you and I know at the moment. I will tell a few, including my husband, but I think it will stay secret."

I moved the magic books into the conservation enclosure, and only took them out when I was studying them. I also stored the lesser talismans there near the enclosure. Further study would have to wait, as the premiere of the Mortal Kombat called. I liked how the added the unexpected monster into the story.

When I got back to the talismans, I asked, "Alec, I would like to examine your 'body' to see how it works. May I?"

I clearly felt his surprise. He thought about it a bit, and then said, "Yes."

"Thank you. I will try to be discreet." I then meditated to set my mind ready to examine, but also to keep watch that he didn't try anything. Examining it with all my senses, I saw it was far more complicated. Remembering the books, I realized the bunker's talisman was only partially completed. The mage rushed to get me before completing his work. I sensed this talisman had a fair number of controls placed on it, to prevent it from harming the mage, but not any other. I could also see those controls interfered with chi flows. It took a while, but I finally saw past them to the actual structure of the talisman. Again, I sensed flaws in the talisman.

I left the talisman, while I thought about what I discovered. Going back to the books, I saw this layer of control was included, and how it was made to ensure loyalty. I could see this would be needed to 'tame' a hostile talisman, as that other talisman appeared to be. The book even indicated that some would fight these controls. Since I felt I had no need to bind my employee, I could get rid of this layer, and I could also see about fixing the talisman's flaws.

"Alec, I have studied and learned about your current body. I see strictures placed by the mage, and also flaws in the talisman's construction. I think I can remove those strictures, and also remove the flaws. But this could endanger you. I give you the choice for each of these, but I think the strictures will need to be removed for me to work on the flaws. Do you want me to try?"

"You can get rid of the strictures that force my obedience? I don't care about the risk. Please do it. Afterwards, let me think about the other."

"Very well. Please prepare yourself." I again studied the talisman, but this time focused on the strictures. I thought about how the book said to build it, and I reversed the steps. Each time, instead of adding, I concentrated on subtracting. I went slow, and ensured there was no trace of magic from a step left before I went to the preceding one. When all was done, I examined it again to see if there were any other constraints being enforced on him. There were none.

"I have finished. I shall ask about the flaws another day."

As expected, it took a lot of effort, though far less than what the books said making a talisman took. I wanted to rest my mind, so I decided to work out. Three hours later, I relaxed in the sauna. The next few days, I checked back in with Alec, but he was not ready to say yet, so I left him be. I spent time trying to understand how the restrictions worked, so if I needed to make some, I could do it right. I spent a lot of time speaking with Inanna telling her about my understanding of how it all worked. I also spoke to her about what I felt was inefficient, or even contrary, pointing out why I felt something was off. She asked what I thought it should be. Expressing my thoughts was hard, as intuiting what was right was far harder than seeing what was wrong. I would often have to spend hours consulting a number of the books, not just the ones on talismans, to come up with an idea of where right should lie. I would then envision such a variation, and see if it felt off. If it did, I would vary a bit, and try again. It was weeks before I was finally happy with an approach. Inanna had me write it down, along with the reasoning.

I was still working out how to do it right when Alec told me he was ready for me to try removing the flaws. So I prepared to do it the next day after breakfast. When it was time, I told Alec to relax, as it would take a while. He indicated he was ready. I again prepared for attack, defense, and removing the flaws. As with the crystal of the bunker, I sought the best view of this talisman. It was made of bone, and I briefly wondered if it was a bone from Alec. I shook the thought out of my head, so I could focus. I then used the life sense to see how the flaws were affecting things before I brought forth Inanna's healing power. Freeing my mind of the view I currently had, I demanded a view of what should be best for the life contained within. In time, it formed, and when I felt it would not change any more, I brought the two together, and willed Inanna's healing to make the flawed vision into the clear one. It was easier, as bone was once alive, but still an effort as it was solid. Again, I lost track of time, but finished.

"It is done, and I am tired. I will talk to you tomorrow." This time, I headed directly for the sauna and fell asleep. When I woke, I went swimming, and that is where Filipe found me. We had sex by the pool before heading in for dinner.

The next day, when I went to check in with Alec, the talisman had clearly moved. I was immediately on my guard, and did a quick scan of the area, followed by a more thorough and time-consuming one.

"Alec, someone has been here. Your 'body' had been moved. But I can find no trace now. Did you sense anything?"

"I sensed plenty. Whatever you did, it allowed me to see, I mean, really see. I saw this place for real. I wanted to really examine the shaft to the surface, and suddenly I was floating slowly over. I was unable to go up, but I was able to look this place over. I cannot find a trace of construction. This is solid rock, yet it is also exquisitely formed. You must have used magic to do this."

"You saw? And moved on your own?"

"Yes." Then he levitated a bit before settling back down. "It takes effort to do so, but I did."

I carried him over to the book-storage area. "Look at the lock here. Tell me what you see, and what you think of it as a secure place."

"I see a halfway decent lock, but not one that will keep a seasoned pro out. With a decent set of picks and delicate touch, I could do this easily."

"Show me."

"Huh? How?"

"You lifted this 'body' off the ground by thought. That's telekinesis. That means you can move stuff with your mind. Therefore, you can pick this lock. Show me."

"... I don't know if I can, but I will try." I felt him concentrate for a few minutes, but he gave up. "I cannot."

"Why? I sensed things moving inside."

"You did? That's interesting. I could not because I could not feel what I did. There was no feedback. I know the insides of this lock fairly well, but I cannot tell where I am within, so I cannot push the right things."

"Hmm. Remember me showing you schematics? I can show you the inside of this lock the same way. Will you try again?"

"Yes." So, I used my rock sense to see, and then showed him what I saw. When he pushed something that moved, I showed him that movement, and thus he had feedback. It took a long time, but he finally was able to open the lock.

"I had faith in you. How do you feel?"

"Very tired, but also very happy." I slipped a little chi into him. "Oh, that feels good."

"Do you think you could do it again, but faster?"

"With lots of practice, yes. But if you want me to be your universal key, we will need to get a number of different locks."

"Then you shall have them, but not today. This ability can handle a physical key, but electronic keys are another matter."

"With my new telekinetic ability, I might be able to use metallic dust to create a short that can bypass an electric key. You don't defeat the smarts, but rather trigger the unlocking mechanism."

"I hadn't realized you could do that."

"I am a genius in my field. There is a reason I was known as the best."

"Hmm. I am very good at getting past people and you, locks. I think we can get into a little mischief when we need to. Mind you, I don't expect to need you for this often, but knowing we can do this will be another way I can go at a problem. Until then, I want you to practice moving stuff around. I'll make you some little sandboxes with stuff to practice on. You need to know your limits, and also what you can affect."

I made several sandboxes along one wall. In each, I placed small particles of different solids. One even had silica, or sand. But there were several with metal particles, and also a number of other things. Later I would add things like sawdust, plastic pellets, and other things I could not summon.

The next week, we soon learned that moving things got easier with practice, and that chi helped restore him. When I added low power circuits for him to play with, it got far more interesting. He was able to draw some power from it to speed up his work. I also built a lock panel for him to try the various locks I bought. We spent hours refining our techniques until we worked seamlessly. When I sprung a new lock on him one day, we opened it in under a minute.

"I think we have achieved sufficient competence with this combined skill, we no longer need to work hard on it. I want to rest a few days before tackling the next talisman. I have the feeling it will take a lot of effort. I also fear it may be hostile. I don't know if I can pacify it, or if I will be forced to destroy it. I think you should be safely out of the way when I try."

"The one he tried to tame was sure hostile to him. The other was already tamed by the time he offered me this new life."

"The untamed one interests me greatly, but I must deal with the other first. And since it can be used to summon monsters, I want to do it someplace where a monster won't be a problem."