Chapter 20

We were met by Rowenna when we got back to the medical wing.

"Thank goodness you two are alright!" she exclaimed. "We didn't know anything until an armed column turned up to defend us. Which was nice but a tad unnecessary."

We explained what had happened and mentioned Ketty getting a Mage as an aide to keep an eye on her personal security.

"I know just the person," said Rowenna. "I can get journeywoman Irena to do it. She's been trying to find some task to make herself useful, she can speak and write in English too so Ketty can read private reports well ... privately."

"Sounds like a plan," I said.

"Is Ketty all right?" asked Rowenna.

"Yes, she was just shocked that anyone would try. She's quite naïve about these things which is why I suspect the people of Loegria love her as she's very definitely not a politician," said Róisín.

"Well, we'll make sure she's protected from anything illegal," said Rowenna. "Anything else she'll have to handle herself I'm afraid."

"She knows this, Mage Rowenna," I replied.

The following day at breakfast Rowenna handed us a phone set to speak out loud to take a call from a group of Loegrian scientists. They had been requested by Ketty to assist us in our enquiries into some form of device that could lock off Mage functions without using magic. Though we were very careful about using the term magic around them.

"I take it you wish this device to be non-intrusive and not permanent?" asked the person calling.

"Very much so," said Róisín. "I realise we haven't been exactly forthcoming about our reasons for wanting such a device, though they may become clear when you examine us and others, but Archon Ketty knows why and hopefully that will be enough of an assurance."

"We will need to do some initial tests to see just exactly what it is we're looking for on a number of test subjects," said the Speaker.

"No time like the present," I said. "Assuming you're free to examine us and others somewhere."

We set off in a taxi to one of the local science higher centres of learning with a medical wing where we were met by a beaming Dorry who had been asked by Ketty to make sure we were taken care of properly by the scientists and others at the centre.

"John, Róisín!" she squealed loudly and swept us up into a group hug. "It's so good to see you again and welcome to my place of learning."

"You study here?" I asked.

"Yes, that's why Ketty chose it," Dorry replied with her usual exuberance and smiles.

Holding both our hands she led us into the building and a science lab set up presumably to monitor and record brain activity. Once inside we were met by the scientist group, introductions were made and we were shown various machines and test results from those machines on various Loegrian subjects. Unfortunately none of those matched what it was that I 'saw' when looking at the way Loegrians broadcast their thoughts, rather than the thoughts themselves that is. Knowing something is there and trying to describe it to someone who cannot grasp it was extremely frustrating, a bit like trying to describe blue to someone born blind. In the end though it was Róisín who spotted it by taking a set of obscure readings from a resonance scanner and turning it upside down then showing a trace across the page with her finger.

"I think this might be it, John," she said. "It matches what I see when I scan anyway."

As Roisin is far more sensitive to certain nuances and cues in what I suppose could be called the magical spectrum of quantum we decided to investigate this scanner and compare what it was reading on Dorry to myself.

It took a while to set up as they only had one machine, though another was available in the building and was being brought up to us, so we spent some time in idle chatter with Dorry.

"So, Elena tells me you're getting married?" I asked.

"Yes, to Olmer, he's lovely," she beamed. "Our parents are currently negotiating the wedding terms."

"It's an arranged marriage?" I asked to her blank look and then had to explain how certain of our Earth cultures did things.

"Oh no," she finally said. "Olmer asked me to wed him, the negotiations are over costs and our long term prospects, though neither of our parents are exactly poor."

"Suppose they can't agree, will the wedding be called off?" Róisín asked.

"Well, sometimes it can be, but that's quite unusual as there are other options if the couple still wish to be with each other," said Dorry. "Sometimes there are problems with one family not approving and the other family will cover the costs and the legal obligations, sometimes it's simply down to finances. Occasionally both families have reservations and make the couple cohabit for a year in a fixed term marriage contract, usually with anti-birth implants, before allowing a state-sanctioned ceremonial wedding. Sometimes the couple go ahead and do that anyway and then sign the legal documents but with no ceremonial wedding. With mine and Olmer's parents though it's seen as a good political match as Olmer's mother is the sister of Vice Archon Demalos and the events of yesterday have given it greater prominence as Olmer's family seek to distance themselves from Demalos and my family are prominent supporters of Archon Ketty."

We explained our involvement with the coup d'état to Dorry's pleasure and delight. She and Olmer had apparently joined with other students and lecturers along with ordinary citizens to confront the revolutionaries as they sought to occupy various buildings and had turned them back.

"There were so many opposed to them that they ran away only to be collected by the soldiers coming into the city," she said. "So, so stupid, everyone either likes or respects Ketty and knows she wouldn't sell us out to anyone. As for Kaltar and Demalos, I can't believe they thought the populace here would support measures to take us back under Over-master control."

We explained about the incident at Terome's and the attempt to get at the shield generator, which hadn't as yet made it into the news, to her shock and horror.

"No wonder I had a phone call from Olmer's mother asking me if I minded moving up the wedding schedule," Dorry mused. "I said no problem and an official announcement will go out today. I never thought that she'd be worried about the aftermath so much till you told me about this. Though knowing Ketty there won't be major reprisals, just those who are guilty being punished."

"Well, we've suggested Ketty takes on a journeywoman Mage as an aide to prevent anything like it happening again, nipping things in the bud so to speak," I said and then had to explain nipping things in the bud.

"Oh, I'd love that job," Dorry mourned. "If only I could do magic."

"You'd have to give up Olmer if you did," Róisín said. "Our lifetimes are a lot longer as Mages."

"How much longer?" Dorry asked, confused.

"Indefinite," I replied. "I'm actually sixty nine, Róisín is forty three and Simon, whom you met, is over two thousand years old."

"Oh my gods!" she exclaimed. "Now I do want to be a Mage ... and Olmer too!"

"Even if we could change your brain frequency to something similar to our own, Dorry, it's not that easy, you can't just think along our lines and do it, we don't even know ourselves what sets it off," said Róisín.

"I think I'd be so good at it though," Dorry said to our smiling faces. "Don't you?"

"I think you'd be a brilliant Mage, Dorry." I said and got a hug off her. "But I think they're ready for us now."

We both lay upon examination tables of sorts whilst the science contingent placed various devices around us and began to get results. Results that appeared to leave them confused and a bit bewildered when they were able to compare my patterns against Dorry's.

"This doesn't make sense," the lead scientist finally admitted. "Your brain activity compared to young Dorry's here is off the chart. The algorithmic waves are so compacted on the screen as to be almost unreadable."

"That's part of the problem and why we wanted you to take a look," I said. "What we want is to slow or inhibit the algorithms you see on me to something similar to Dorry's."

Róisín who had been examining the results nodded. "In particular we want you to look at this function here," pointing out the frequency line that Dorry and all Loegrians had. "See how on John's track it's far lower down the frequency scale?"

"I do, though we've never tried anything along these lines," said the scientist.

"As far as we know no one has," said Róisín. "But we'd like to know if it is possible and we'd like it to be non-intrusive and temporary."

"As in something that can be switched off and on?" asked the scientist.

"Very much so," said Róisín.

"We'll look into it and get back in contact," said the scientist.

We said our thanks and left with Dorry to catch some lunch in the centre of learning's cafeteria.

"So, you're trying to stop Mages from doing magic?" said Dorry. "Might it work the other way and allow Loegrians to do magic too?"

"It might," I said. "But what sets off the ability to do magic is something we simply do not know. It's a combination of anger, fear and frustration. No Mage's story seems to be alike. Also a lot of emergent Mages die in the process, as the ability to do magic for the first time is often uncontrollable for anyone not trained in its use."

"First time for me I thought I was about to explode into flames," said Róisín. "My brother tried to hit me and I got so frightened I used my mind to throw him across the room. Then my Da accused me of being a witch. If Mage Arch hadn't turned up, my Da might have killed me, or I him, though that might just have killed me too."

"If we knew how it worked and could recognise potentials, we'd help a lot more people to be Mages," I said. "As it is, we don't and, sadly, far too many die when they emerge from being latent."

At this point a young man approached and squeezed Dorry's shoulder.

"Hi Olmer," she greeted him.

"Hi Dorry," he replied.

"Olmer, these are my friends, John and Róisín. They're here doing something for Archon Ketty," said Dorry by way of introduction.

"Odd names," he said with a smile. "But a friend of Dorry's is a friend of mine."

"Well, we aren't from around here," I replied. "But Dorry is a good friend, one of my oldest in Loegria."

"John was one of the people who helped overcome Terome in the revolution, He got Ketty into the tavern and to the shield, after that with the stolen codes for the orbital system, the Over-masters were forced to free us," said Dorry, giving the official version of Loegrian history.

"We couldn't have done it without you, Dorry," I replied. "You have a very brave and resourceful Lady here, Olmer."

"She won't talk about that," said Olmer.

"Neither can we, except to confirm we were there," I said.

"That's a pity," Olmer said. "I'm doing a political dissertation on Jahrna the martyr, the man whose statue is outside Terome's. But no-one who was there will talk about it or him, all I have is the 'official' statements. Dorry won't speak of the incident at all. Though from what little I've gleaned, I'm not surprised, it must be painful for her. As for the Over-master claims of aliens, well, talk about taking an axe to rotten wood!"

"Well..." I said. "One thing I can tell you is that Jahrna wasn't his real name and he wasn't a Loegrian, but from a distant land overseas and that his sacrifice for the lives of many Loegrians was a price well worth paying. Apart from that he has family who need protecting which is why no-one will tell you anything about him."

"Can I quote you on that?" asked Olmer.

"I'm afraid not, I have an obligation to remain anonymous. But Dorry will confirm it I'm sure," I replied.

"Well, yes, you can attribute John's quote to me," said Dorry with a twinkle in her eyes.

"Oh wow, that's great!" exclaimed Olmer. "That's more than anyone else will have."

"The truth will come out one day," I said. "But I don't expect to be around when it does."

"Me neither," said Dorry.

We chatted for a while after that on recent events, including the ongoing siege of the city's arsenal where Kaltar and a good few revolutionaries were still holed up, though without power or water. After that we bid Dorry farewell, as well as promising to attend her marriage as witnesses and to pass the invitation along to Simon, Morgana, Arch and Rowenna.

Back at the Medical centre we joined Mage Brianna as she was teaching several of the Gulag women a series of defensive spells. We were able to give them some one to one tuition, particularly to those who were struggling with the concepts. I also promised to make some deflection charms similar to the one I used to hide my position to a magical strike.

"I'm glad you two came," said Brianna when we'd finished. "Training one-to-one is straightforward, but groups are very stressful. I can't give them the individual attention they need at times; there are nearly four hundred of them."

"I can see the difficulty," I said. "I just don't have a solution as yet, though I will mention it to Mage Morgana when we return."

"It's an unanticipated problem from bringing them to Loegria," said Brianna. "We can't as yet send them home as they know this place exists and tampering with their memories having been here so long would seem excessive."

"Best then to get them settled in as Loegria's defensive Mages, though I'm sure we can get other Mages who know about here to help you teach," said Róisín.

"I'm hoping Rowenna will say yes to Mage Benjamin and get him to relocate here. The few times he's been, he's been wonderful for the journeywomen here," Brianna replied.

"Has he ever brought Callum with him?" I asked.

"Yes, though he always locks his memories of the journey and so far Callum hasn't figured out just how far from home he is," Brianna said with a smile.

"Any idea how Callum's training is going?" I asked. "Only I was the first to meet and greet him, officially that is for the Department."

"He's incredibly shy," said Brianna. "But from what I can tell is doing fine, though no clues as to where his talents will take him yet."

"Good, I was wondering when I interviewed him if Benjamin had bitten off more than he could chew, seems my doubts were groundless," I replied. "Benjamin is a truly talented Mage. You seem to be managing quite well yourself, Mage Brianna."

"A lot of it is down to the determination of the journeywomen never to be abused in any manner ever again," Brianna replied. "I expect when they have a lot more control that the next Coalition Mage they run across will get a very nasty surprise."

"I certainly hope so," said Róisín.

"Is there anything else we can help with as we're here for the week?" I asked.

"Just those deflection amulets and the training," Brianna replied. "But if anything else comes up, I'll come and see you."

"Ah, John, Róisín," came Rowenna's voice. "I've received a request for help from Ketty, something to do with an arsenal and a paralysis ray..."

"She wants us to get Kaltar's people out of the arsenal and free some hostages I presume," I replied to Rowenna.

"Yes, John, but be discreet please," said Rowenna.

"A bit of subterfuge is called for. Could I borrow some of your Gulag journeywomen as well as you, Mage Brianna?" I requested.

"Why, yes, John, what have you in mind?" Brianna asked.

An hour later Roisin, Brianna and I along with eight of the journeywomen Mages all wearing hoods and masks from the medical centre arrived at the site of the arsenal carrying several boxes of what appeared to be scientific instruments. We were met by Ketty, the General and her head of security the two men being rather curious as to who we were and what we were about.

"We'll set the devices around the perimeter and calibrate them to the life signs inside," I told the men. "After that you'll have about half an hour to deal with the rebels."