Crossover Earth '98
DECISIONS
RUSSELL WALLACE and MICHAEL SURBROOK
It was a Thursday afternoon in February. In Hyde Park it was a cold, overcast day, as is the wont of Thursday afternoons in February in that place. The clouds hung low in the sky with the promise of rain. Few people were about in the park, though here and there a stoical individual strolled along a path with a dog in tow. A girl sat by herself on a bench, her breath condensing to mist in the chill air.
Jennifer lit a cigarette, staring into space and running over the line of reasoning in her head yet again.
I want to do something meaningful with this talent. And that's not likely if I just continue hiding in shadows, using it only when nobody will notice. That's a good strategy in general. A logical, sensible one. But I can't rely on it exclusively for the rest of my life.
Sooner or later I'm going to have to trust somebody. And this guy's far and away the best candidate. If anyone can advise me, he can. And everything I can find out says he's trustworthy.
And...
And there was the rest, the nameless foreboding that she couldn't quite come up with any logical justification for; a set of facts and half-facts not obviously connected. But instinct told her the policy of minding her own business and letting the world mind its would not serve forever.
Decision made. She nodded and stood up. Time to go home and send some email.
From: tmp072@tafensw.edu.au
To: avalach@access.digex.net
Subject: A request
Hi,
You won't have heard of me before, but I would like to ask you a
favor.
I have recently acquired (or discovered?) some talents
apparently of a mystical nature, under unusual circumstances.
Never having received any training in this area, I'm not sure
what the implications of this are, or what I should do next. I
would appreciate your advice.
If you are willing to meet me in person, please let me know what
place and time would suit you.
Thanks,
- Sapphire
"Hmmm..." Avalon stared at the computer screen, his brow furrowed with concern. "How did this person find me?"
Herrick, laying across the back of Avalon's chair, answered the question with a lazy 'harumph'.
"That was a rhetorical question, dragon," Avalon responded without bothering to glance at his familiar, "As is the question; 'how did he find my e-mail address?'"
"Growf!"
"Problems, Avalon?"
Giving a slight sigh, Avalon pushed back from the keyboard and ran his hands through his hair before turning to look over at his one-time apprentice, Katsumi Liqueur. "Maybe." He glanced back at the screen, "I have just received an e-mail from someone calling themselves 'Sapphire'. They are asking my advice concerning their - and I quote - 'talents apparently of a mystical nature'."
"I see," Katsumi replied with a nod, as she leaned past Avalon to take a closer look at the monitor. "Hmm... it says this Sapphire wants to meet with you... do you think it's a trap?"
"Possibly, you never can tell with things like this."
Katsumi nodded again. "And it was sent from Australia. Do you know any sorcerers in Australia?"
"Not off hand," Avalon shrugged, "although there is Jama in Bali."
Standing back up, Katsumi placed a hand on Avalon's shoulder, "Are you going?"
"I think so."
"Do you want me to be there?"
Avalon smiled, "If you want. Australia should be rather nice this time of year."
From: avalach@access.digex.net
To: tmp072@tafensw.edu.au
Subject: Re: A request
On Thu, 12 Feb 1998, tmp072@tafensw.edu.au wrote:
> Hi,
Hello, Sapphire. Before we go further, I'd like to know a few
things.
One - how did you ever find my e-mail address? Not that it is a
great problem (one cannot cast a ritual sending over phone
lines), but it does concern me.
Two - can you describe yourself? I would like to know who it is
I'm talking to.
> You won't have heard of me before, but I would like to ask you a
> favor.
>
> I have recently acquired (or discovered?) some talents
> apparently of a mystical nature, under unusual circumstances.
What sort of talents? Can you describe them?
> Never having received any training in this area, I'm not sure
> what the implications of this are, or what I should do next. I
> would appreciate your advice.
I am always ready to give advice when, and where needed. I am
quite aware of the hazards of possessing untrained mystical powers.
> If you are willing to meet me in person, please let me know what
> place and time would suit you.
Where ever is best for you. I am currently in Hawaii, so flying to
Australia will not present any difficulties.
> Thanks,
> - Sapphire
You are welcome,
Avalon du Lac
From: tmp072@tafensw.edu.au
To: avalach@access.digex.net
Subject: Re: A request
> One - how did you ever find my e-mail address? Not that it is a great problem
> (one cannot cast a ritual sending over phone lines), but it does concern me.
Oh, I searched a few of the online services in the U.S. I figured you
wouldn't actually publish your address because you'd be spammed with
messages from cranks, but it wasn't as thoroughly hidden as it could
have been, so I figured you didn't mind getting email from people with
serious business.
Erm, it hadn't occurred to me that you mightn't want anyone at all to be
able to find it :) I've some experience in computer networking; if you
like, I'd be happy to give you some ideas about how to improve the
security?
> Two - can you describe yourself? I would like to know who it is I'm talking to.
>
> > I have recently acquired (or discovered?) some talents
> > apparently of a mystical nature, under unusual circumstances.
>
> What sort of talents? Can you describe them?
Sure, I'd be happy to.
But, would you mind if I didn't give much detail over the unsecured
Internet? It's not hard to intercept an email message. If you'd like
more details before we meet, I can certainly give them, but I'd ideally
like a more secure channel. (Can you use PGP?)
> Where ever is best for you. I am currently in Hawaii, so flying to Australia
> will not present any difficulties.
I'm not actually in Australia at the moment, so Hawaii would be just as
handy for me. How about Ryan's Endless Summer in Honolulu,
Sunday, 6 p.m. local time?
- Sapphire
"Katsumi?"
"Hmm?"
"What is 'PGP'?"
"I have no idea."
"I thought you knew this sort of thing."
"Avalon, I work in a TV studio, not a computer lab."
"Oh. Well, have you ever heard of a place called 'Ryan's Endless Summer'?"
"Yes. It's down on the beach south of here. Why?"
"That's where Sapphire wants to meet. Six p.m., Sunday."
"I thought this Sapphire person was in Australia."
"Not according to this message."
"Really?"
In London, the pubs were calling last orders. A cold rain drizzled down on the streets.
Jennifer checked the contents of her bag, including towel, swimsuit and sunscreen lotion, and stood up. If she was going to travel halfway round the world, she might as well spend some time at the other end having fun.
She examined the map again and reached out, across two oceans and a continent. The archipelago - tiny in the atlas, but the size of a small country in real life - wasn't hard to find. It was noticeably more of a stretch than New York had been, though.
She hesitated.
This is going to be nontrivial. I've a feeling I'll be pushing my talent to its limits here.
Jennifer paused for thought.
Were there any risks involved in this? She had no idea. That, of course, was one of the reasons she'd arranged the meeting in the first place.
Fortunately, there was no need.
New York is... yeah. Just about halfway there. And I've been there before. I'm in luck.
She focused on a deserted alley and folded space like so. It was early evening. The icy wind bit through her T-shirt.
Pause for breath. Space folded again. The midday tropical sun hit her like a solid wave of heat.
Jennifer smiled cheerfully and headed in the direction of the seafront.
"We seem to be attracting quite a bit of attention."
"Katsumi, that is quite the understatement."
"And you're loving every minute of it."
"Do not tell me that you are not enjoying yourself.""
Katsumi laughed. "True. It does give the ego a bit of a boost to get this sort of reaction, doesn't it."
"Do not let it go to your head. The last thing I need is you thinking you are better than everyone else simply due to your skills."
"Avalon, you know me better than that. Besides, you are the one with the attitude problem."
"I thought you were my apprentice?"
"Apprentice yes, mindless sycophant no."
Drawing his cloak together, Avalon looked over at Katsumi. She was dressed - as she put it - in her 'sorceress uniform', which consisted of an elaborate formal kimono and broad sash tied in an intricate bow. Avalon knew that the costume was a carefully tailored sham, it didn't have as many layers as it appeared to, and had been painstakingly cut to allow as much free movement as possible. On the other hand, Katsumi looked quite striking dressed this way.
Since they were meeting a heretofore unknown sorcerer, Avalon had dressed formally as well. Long waist coat, vest, lace shirt with ruffles, high-collared cloak, all in blue and silver. Together the two of them looked more than a bit out of place, not that either really cared all that much.
"Well, Ms Liqueur," he said, "we are here."
'Here' was a small cafe on the east side of Honolulu, set close to the waterfront so that patrons could sit outside at the tables and enjoy the sun, surf and warm breezes coming off the ocean. It was just after six in the evening, and the afternoon sun still provided plenty of warmth, although it was nowhere near as hot now as it had been earlier.
"Yes..." Katsumi inclined her head in the direction of the cafe tables, "and I'd say that's our 'Sapphire'."
Adjusting his glasses with one hand, Avalon turned to look in the direction Katsumi had indicated. A girl, sitting at an otherwise empty table, was waving to the two of them. She was of average height, with fair hair and was dressed in a T-shirt, shorts and runners.
Avalon turned back to Katsumi, "Why me?"
Katsumi smiled, "Relax, Avalon, all she wants is your advice, not your life or your bed."
Shaking his head slowly, Avalon began to make his way across the courtyard to Sapphire's table. Laughing quietly, Katsumi followed.
As the two sorcerers approached, the girl stood up, smiled and offered her hand. "Hi. I'm Sapphire - Jenny in everyday life. Thanks for coming." Both Avalon and Katsumi noted that she spoke with an English accent, and didn't have the suntan one would come to expect from people in this part of the world.
"Good afternoon... Sapphire," Avalon took the proffered hand and bowed, "I am Avalon du Lac, sorcerer."
"And I," Katsumi added with a slight rolling of her eyes, "am Katsumi Liqueur, sorcerer's apprentice."
"Pleased to meet you!" Jennifer motioned them to seats. "Would you like anything to drink?" She looked around and waved to a passing waiter.
"Well," Avalon continued as the pair seated themselves, "perhaps we could start with you telling us a little about yourself. Such as the nature of you abilities and how you obtained them?"
"Okay..."
Jennifer lit a cigarette and paused thoughtfully.
Glancing at the lit cigarette, Avalon and Katsumi carefully shifted position to be slightly upwind of Jennifer.
"It started a few months ago. I started in college last October; I'm doing computer science. Anyway, somebody in the Fortean Society there got the idea of running a project on testing people for psychic talent. You know, the traditional sort of tests, cards with hidden symbols, people in adjacent rooms trying to send telepathic signals to each other, that sort of thing? Well, I got the idea it might be worth volunteering. I wasn't sure why, but I figured it might be fun anyway."
"And such tests do occasionally turn up minor talents," Avalon nodded.
She shrugged. "Well, we started getting results. Only once or twice I got anything on the telepathy tests, but I got someplace on the cards. I found after awhile, if I was in the right frame of mind, I could guess them a lot better than random chance. After a couple of weeks I got to the point I could almost see what was on the other side of them... and in another couple of weeks, I really could see it."
"Hmmm..." Katsumi said thoughtfully, "low-level clairsentience."
"It was sort of scary. I didn't tell Frank exactly what was going on..."
"Frank?" Avalon interrupted, "Who is Frank?"
"Oh, sorry, that's the name of the guy who was running the tests." Jennifer paused to wonder why Katsumi was smiling all of a sudden. "Anyway - for the last while, I deliberately got some of them wrong. I don't think he copped on - anyway I was thinking of ways of dropping out of the project, and wondering what I was going to do afterwards. I'd started trying it on other things too, and it was working.
"Then the... stuff happened."
"And?" Katsumi asked helpfully.
"It was Monday night, December, we were up late in the society room. We were trying the telepathy test again and it wasn't getting anywhere..."
Jennifer took a drag on her cigarette and stared past the horizon as she spoke. "The door opened. We looked around to see who it was and a bunch of guys came in. They had black hoods over their faces, I couldn't make out anything about them. They jumped on him, hit him over the head - he was closest to the door. Then they came for me."
"Him?" Katsumi asked in a concerned tone, "Do you mean Frank?"
"Yeah... I... remember thinking a bunch of stuff, about what I was going to do, who they were, like they must have the wrong person, or was there any reason why anyone might want to kidnap me, or whatever, but it was like I knew what to do all along. I just reached out and did something, and then I was at the other end of the courtyard."
"Teleportation." Avalon's face remained calm.
She shrugged. "So, well, I ran to the security desk. Didn't tell them the whole lot of course, just that I'd left early and then I'd looked around and seen a bunch of guys in black hoods dragging Frank out the door. So they went and looked and they found the room messed up and nothing else, and then the police got called in and I told them the same thing. Nobody found them though.
"And, well, that's how it happened. I've been practicing a bit since then. I was in New York for New Year's Day; I fixed up a couple of people who were hurt in the panic. I seem to be able to do that as well."
Jennifer sipped her Coke and waited for a reaction to her story.
"I see..." Avalon said thoughtfully. "Tell me Jennifer, where do you live, normally?"
"London."
Both Avalon and Katsumi tried, and failed, to conceal their amazement at this announcement. "You... you didn't fly here then?" Katsumi managed.
Jennifer blinked, not having expected this reaction. "Er, no. I jumped to New York first and then here. I think I could have done it in one go, but I wasn't sure if it might be dangerous to push yourself too hard. That's one of the things I wanted to ask you about."
Avalon remained silent for a moment, thinking over what Jennifer had just said. "I can create a teleport spell to do what you have done," he said slowly, "In fact, I think I can make it from Maryland to Australia in a single jump... But, it takes me hours to prepare and leaves me somewhat drained. I would not want to push such a jump any further for fear of becoming lost..."
Shaking his head slightly, Avalon looked directly at Jennifer, adjusting his glasses with a free hand. "How long do you have to prepare for such a jump?"
"Not long. If it's someplace I've been before, I can do it straight away; coming here took me a few minutes to get the location straight. Long distances are tiring though, like running up a few flights of stairs."
The eyes of both magicians widened slightly at Jennifer's words.
"Well," Avalon's voice sounded a touch strained, "that is quite some talent."
"Yes..." Katsumi said slowly, "It is."
"These men in black, did any one them happen to drop anything at any time during the struggle?" Avalon asked.
"She did not say they were wearing black, Avalon," Katsumi added, "only that they had on black masks." Turning to Jennifer, she continued, "Do you remember anything else about how they were dressed?"
"Not very clearly; jackets and trousers I think, nothing that'd stand out anyway."
"That will make this difficult then," Avalon added cryptically.
"Jennifer," he continued in a serious tone, "do you think you could take us to this 'society room'?"
She nodded. "Yeah, sure. Uh, it's in London, and I haven't been able to bring anything as large as another person with me, can you arrange transport?"
"Maybe..." Katsumi responded slowly, looking over at Avalon. "Jennifer, are you going to travel with us or return on your own?"
"I'll go back the way I came, I think." She smiled. "I was planning to spend another day or so here anyway, it makes a nice change."
"Heh," Katsumi chuckled, "Avalon, if you don't mind visiting my father for a few days, I'm sure I could get him to pay for tickets."
Avalon nodded, "I will endure the experience." Turning back to Jennifer, he gave her a slight bow. "Ms. Jennifer, my apprentice and I will try to join you in London as soon as time permits. Once there I intend to investigate this matter to the best of my ability."
"And please," Katsumi added, "you are welcome to travel with us, if it would make you feel safer."
"Thank you. I should be okay, though. Let me know by email when your flight's arriving - have you ever used PGP?"
Avalon and Katsumi exchanged glances before turning back to Jennifer. "No," they chorused, before immediately turning to glare at each other.
"No," Katsumi repeated, grinning slightly, "we're magicians, not computer techs."
Jennifer smiled. "Okay. I'll get you set up with it if you like - it's something that lets you send email with encryption. Otherwise email's very insecure; anyone who knows what they're doing can intercept it and read it."
"Then we should not waste what little time we have. The longer we wait the colder any possible trail will become." Pushing his chair back, Avalon stood. "Miss Liqueur, with your permission, I think we should return to your house with Miss Jennifer and set our plans into motion."
"Of course," Katsumi stood with a rustle of skirts, "Jennifer, if you don't mind being seen in our company, we can walk there from here."
"Sure, that's fine."
Jennifer finished her Coke, set down the empty glass and left the table. The three magi made their way out of the courtyard and walked off down the street.