Mage - The Spiral [IC]

[Fanog]

Bad Albert's Tap and Grill
Seattle, Washington
October 2002, saturday evening

The old man nods, a sympathetic look in his eyes. "I am sorry that I cannot tell you much more. This is really because things are not fixed yet. I can only teach you how to grow to your full potential, but even I do not know where that will lead you."

He thinks a moment before switching back to the previous topic that Charles had breached. "I can tell you that I was not involved in that conversation... It sounds like you felt that our conversation from yesterday was not really finished yet, even though you left. Because of this, you continued it in your mind, even though I was technically not present. Does it seem reasonable that you extrapolated", he stumbles a bit over the word, "the conversation based on what we had discucced? You probably knew more about me than you realizes and filled in what you did not know..."

He looks at Charles expectantly, obviously hoping for some more exposition on his part.

OoC: Charles
_______________________

Ty's home, city centre
Cambridge, England
October 2002, late evening

The old man simply smiles. "That is okay you do not have to figure out everything in one night. As much as you can? Hmm, that is pretty dangerous, you had better stick wuth a few things first. Otherwise, you might get so caught up in everything that you will not truely understand. That is what nearly went wrong when you first read the book..."

The man shifts position while he thinks. "And yes, there are of course specialities. As I said, many things are possible once you can take distance. You could study waves in materials particles, or you could study the time aspect, or place, or dimensions in general. Once you have learned about waves, you could apply them to virtually anything. Is that not right?"

OoC: Ty

 

[loxmyth]

streets of Boston
Boston, Massachussets
October 2002, around 11 AM

"Now, if all of these great minds look to something external to help them, how odd would it be to suppose that there is indeed something that guides their hands as they create?"

Jason shook his head with uncertainty. "Pretty odd, actually. I don't deny that an artist is affected by external forces; but that's sort of what art is: taking the external and internalizing it. Or it's reverse, I guess. Sometimes I have something I see, in my mind's eye -" he pauses as he taps his temple with index and fore-finger, "- and I need to express it... try to let other people understand that idea, or emotion, or whatever it is. I want to share my experience with others. But my experience is based on my surrounding environment... that's what I mean when I talk about external. I want to let you know what I feel and why I smile when I look at that tree, or feel sad at the sight of water running down that drainpipe. I'm not talking about space aliens beaming mind-screwing stuff into my brain."

 

[kuroshidaku]

"I suppose it would be."

"Yes, indeed. So can you tell me more about the wave theory? It is getting rather late."

 

[Fanog]

Leo's home
Denver, Colorado
Saturday Noon, October 2002

"Ah yes, then let us start. Today, we will try running. I believe that you will not have to fatigue yourself so, by choosing a specific movement for you to focus on. This amount of concentration should allow the soul to manifest."

The man takes on a teacher-like voice as he explains what wants Leo to do. "Pick a place somewhere, not too far away. You should be able to run there in fifteen minutes at a reasonable pace. While running to that location - and this is very important - you should count the exact number of steps it takes you. It is very important that you not lose count."

The man turns ninety degrees as if to illustrate his point: "Once you get there, you should turn around and run back here. Now, you should take twice as many paces, and run the exact same route. Try to make it back here in fifteen minutes again."

He regards Leo, and Gus for a while. "Do you understand?"

OoC: Leo
_______________________

industrial area off of the M6
London, England
October 2002, around 9 PM

Taylor tried to focus as best as he could, sitting on the motorcycle. He could not really see any of the man's individual long paces anymore, but could only see the fluid motion of his body, following the path of the motorcycle. He could see every part of the man working in union to increase his speed and catch up to vehicle. He saw the distance between them as almost a real entity, and pushed right alongside it...

Taylor could feel the resistence of the man's motion as he pushed, but did not succeed in unbalancing him. Even though the man never missed a pace or slowed his run, he was nevertheless not catching up anymore. As Taylor continued pushing, the distance to the man even increased.

Suddenly, the man gave up his pursuit, stopping almost dead in his tracks. Aiming the red light of his eye piece at Taylor, he hefted the arm with the weapons, ready to fire.

OoC: Taylor
_______________________

Ty's home, city centre
Cambridge, England
October 2002, late evening

The old man looks a bit surprised and smiles. "Ah, me? I am afraid that I can not really help you with that. This is what I was trying to make clear earlier. You will have to create the theory. You could start with that book as a starting point, but even that is not necessary. As you will learn to free yourself of observing the world around you, you will also find that your theories need not match that which happens around you. Once you're no longer bound by your observation of reality, you could make any theory work, as long as it is consistent."

The man's words seem to shape strange worlds in Ty's mind. He finally begins to understand the vastness of what the man offers, and is pretty usre that what he tells is truth. Every theory that has been created thus far by science, has only been an extension of the previous ones. Quantum mechanics does not tell you what really happens, but only what the end result is. No theory has ever succeeded in describing what really happens, simply because they can only ever hope to desribe what man observes. Once that condition falls away, any theory could explain what is actually happening.

OoC: Ty

 

[kuroshidaku]

Ty blinks as the recognition dawns on him. "oh." he says simply.

"Well then, I must thank you for your help. You have been most generous in telling me all this. Is there some way I can contact you when I discover something important, or will you be there then too?" he says with a smile. "I must say I am eager to start experimenting, but it is late."

 

[Fanog]

streets of Boston
Boston, Massachussets
October 2002, around 11 AM

The old man chuckles at the notion of aliens. "You are much closer than you know, and no; There are no 'space aliens' involved. Have you ever pondered why some things stir emotions, while others do not? What is it that made you look at that tree specifically, and why would you smile at it?"

Before Jason can answer all of these questions, the man continues speaking. "I can tell you that it is because you recognize something that others do not. You can translate this quality to others who do not see it, through the art that you create. You, like many other artists, have the ability to view this quality, the essence of things. These essences, or spirits, are the entities with which you have interacted. They are embodiments of specific concepts, manifesting in everything that you see around you."

He takes a breath and looks at Jason, giving him some time to digest the information.

OoC: Jason
_______________________

Ty's home, city centre
Cambridge, England
October 2002, late evening

"Ah yes, it is getting late. I am sorry for keeping you up." The man stands up from his chair, getting ready to leave.

"You do not have to experiment yet... Remember, first you must learn how to stop observing. As I said, I will help you with this. It will probably takes some time, but I am sure that you will master it. In the meantime you must make your theory, think about your focus. For your training, is it possible for us to start tomorrow evening?"

OoC: Ty

 

[Keia]

Leo's home
Denver, Colorado
Saturday Noon, October 2002

"Yeah, I think I understand," Leo replied, "Though it sounds odd, I'll give it a shot. Worst thing that could happen is I'm out 30 minutes of a Saturday afternoon."

Leo stretched and limbered up a bit before setting out. As he did so he added, "I've jogged quite a bit through my neightborhood in the past. There's a gas station about 15 minutes of good jogging from here, that's where I'm headed."

With a nod toward Gus that everything was okay, Leo started off at a moderate jogging pace, counting his steps along the way.

 

[kuroshidaku]

Ty's home, city centre
Cambridge, England
October 2002, late evening

"Yes, very good" Ty replies as he shows the man to the door. "Thank-you for your time."

 

[Fanog]

Leo's home
Denver, Colorado
Saturday Noon, October 2002

Leo jogs to the gas station, counting paces. Even though it is a bit chilly, the weather is nice and the fresh air clears Leo's head. His thoughts sometimes wander off for a bit, thinking about the vision he had yesterday and things that might become possible, but the counting keeps Leo firmly rooted in the now.

As he reaches the gas station, Leo stops and takes a short moment to rest and shake his muscles. He then sets off towards home again, intent on making twice as many paces while still making it home in fifteen minutes.

OoC: Leo
_______________________

Ty's home, city centre
Cambridge, England
October 2002, late evening

"Thank you as well. Till tomorrow." The man walks to the front door and steps back into the rain, casually walking away.

Ty closes the door and is alone in his apartment, left pondering what the odd man had told him. Tomorrow evening he'd meet the man again, to start his training on not-observing. Whatever that meant...

OoC: Ty

 

[loxmyth]

streets of Boston
Boston, Massachussets
October 2002, around 11 AM

Jason chews his lower lip as he tries to understand what's going on. "Okay, let's say I see these entities," he grants, shrugging his thin shoulders noncomittally. "Let's say I actually believe this all. There are entities. They're all around me, and they affect my emotions. What now? Where do we go from here? What does this have to do with... with the fire?" He closes his eyes for a moment, grinds the heel of his hand into his brow ridge. "They're connected, aren't they? I feel it."