Mage - The Spiral [IC]

[kuroshidaku]

Cambridge Streets
Cambridge, England
October 2002, late evening

"I'm a researcher at the university. Quantum physics. It's pretty interesting once you get your head around the crazy stuff."

Taking note of the folder, Ty return's the stranger's question. "So what do you do for a living?" he says.

"oh, by the way my name's Ty."

 

[Fanog]

Cambridge Streets
Cambridge, England
October 2002, late evening

"Oh, quantum physics?" His round face has a look that says that he doesn't understand hard science and isn't particularly interested in it. "That's with electrons and quarks and stuff, right? Isn't that all theory, like a lot of research just for the sake of knowing?"

Seeing Ty look at the folder, his eyes light up a bit. "Yeah, that's my own company. I'm Brewer, Nick Brewer. I handle investments for other people, stock market and stuff like that. My clients put their assets into my care, and I make them a profit. - And a tidy one, I might say. I began not less than two years ago, started with nothing. And now? Well this," he lovingly pats the dashboard of the car, "is my ninth."

OoC: Ty

 

[Mickerus]

Charles sits back with an amused expression on his face and watches Carrie and the man talk to each other by the entrance. After a minute or two, he turns back to the catman.

"Hey, how about another round here?" he asks, holding up his glass.

 

[kuroshidaku]

Cambridge Streets
Cambridge, England
October 2002, late evening


Ty

Sheesh, this guy's loaded. Nine cars?! That can't be right. And in two years? Something's not right.

"So how did you manage that? You must have some sort of secret to get all that cash. Pitty I don't have that much money to invest."

 

[Byrons_Ghost]

Taylor notes the car heading toward the motorway, but pays it no mind for now. He is more interested in getting information from his mysterious host.

"I see. So your group fancies themselves as a sort of Illuminati? What is this course that you are supposedly guiding humanity toward? And what does it have to do with me?"

 

[Keia]

On the Court, Pepsi Center
Denver, Colorado
October 2002

I'm not going all out?!? I suppose I'm pressing a little bit, but that must be it . . . Leo thought, The question is if I go all out again will I have another incident? That's somethingI don't need right now.

Leo thinks a bit more about his situation, wondering if he can go all out in practice, perhaps late tonite with only Gus around. Gus is going to crap his pants when I tell him this - assuming he believes me. Or, does there need to be a level of competition there to allow himself to go all out. . .

All the while, Leo was playing one of the games that he loved and wondering about the source of what was going on.

 

[loxmyth]

Streets of Boston
Boston, Massachussets
2 am, October 2002

"First bit of good news all day," Jason says to himself, nursing his throbbing head. He jogs awkwardly toward the bus, waving in grand motions to catch the driver's attention.

"Hey! Slow down! I want on!"

 

[Fanog]

The bartender pours Charles another beer, before leaving to take the order of another man at the bar.

Charles sees Carrie walking back over to him, escorting the old man. "Charles, I'd like you to meet Mister Masuda. - Mister Masuda, this is the man I told you about..."

The man bows to Charles by way of greeting before giving him a long look. When he speaks, his words are surprisingly decisive. "No, he is no good. Not ambitious, and too scared to try. I am sorry, dear lady, but he would never make it."

With that, he turns to the bar where he picks up his soda. Carrie watches Charles with a look of pity in her eyes, not really knowing what to say.

OoC: Charles
_______________________

Cambridge Streets
Cambridge, England
October 2002, late evening

"Well, you just need some guts. And you have to know the right kind of people. It's all about knowing what's going on in the business. And you can never really slack. Never. Sometimes, the difference is in a few seconds, mere moments that seperate between tons of profit, or loss." As he speaks about his work, the man gets awfully enthousiastic, gesturing with his hands to add to his words.

"Yeah, I know what you mean. I used to do a desk job too. It doesn't really pay, but all those people are just too hung up on the security of a contract. They sell their whole lives just to be able to sit comfortable. But the truth is, you are never really going to make a buck that way, you'll always be stuck on your lowly wage while you could get so much more. And that's what I did, and what I'm good at - taking risks and just going for it!"

"It brought me all this", he adds with a proud smile.

OoC: Ty
_______________________

en route to the M6
London, England
October 2002, around 9 PM

"I do not think that I can explain to you what our goal for mankind is. You would have to see for yourself. But I will try to give you an impression of what we are trying to do."

He seats himself a little more comfortable, making sure that Taylor is listening and won't interrupt him. "As I told you, there are elements of chaos. These spring naturally from the human mind. It is this chaos that has troubled mankind since their first days. These elements are usually generated by uncertainty. You must know that it is fear that drives man to rash actions. Fear of the unknown mostly, but also fear for his own well-being. You see, this completes the circle... The unknown breeds fear, which causes people to act without thinking. The result of these actions is quite unpredictable, which leads to uncertainty for other people. It is this circle that has dominated human history."

Turning to Taylor, he adds "Our group uses its resources to remove the fear and uncertainty from people's lives. We wish to create a world where people won't have to dread the day that comes, where they can live without having to worry about what lies ahead. We will take these worries from them, so that humanity can truely advance."

The man seems to remember Taylor's second questions, and concludes. "To remove fear and rash action from the minds of mankind, we need people who can intimately understand these concepts. You must work with the concepts on a higher level than mere psychology can describe. It is my belief that you can come to understand this, with the proper education."

OoC: Taylor
_______________________

Catacombs, Pepsi Center
Denver, Colorado
after the game, October 2002

Leo had played without really straining himself, until he was replaced early in the fourth. He followed the rest of the game from the bench, seeing the Mavericks take the game with 91 to 82. At one time during the game, he had thought he could see the odd man on the stands. He looked kind of sad, defeated. As Leo blinked, the man was gone again, as far as Leo could tell.

After the game, Leo had taken a shower and listened to the coach speak, but wasn't really there with his thoughts. He desperately needed to talk to Gus. After they got the rest of the day off, Leo left the dressing room looking for Gus. Of course, the man was already standing there, waiting for the athele which he had known for so many years.

OoC: Leo
_______________________

Streets of Boston
Boston, Massachussets
2 am, October 2002

The bus pulled over next to Jason and the driver pushed the button to open the door. The large man behind the wheel looked kind of wary of the stranger at this hour. "Hey, what's up? Do you know what time it is?! The last regular line was over an hour ago..."

The man takes a second look at Jason. "Damn, you look like . What happened to you?"

OoC: Jason

 

[loxmyth]

Streets of Boston
Boston, Massachussets
2 am, October 2002

Jason giggled at the bus driver's question, and he lurched up the steps and dropped into the closest seat to stop his head from swimming away from his body. "I don't know," he answers solemnly, before being momentarily overcome by another fit of giggles. Wiping tears of laughter from the corner of his eyes and then digging into his pockets, he fishes around for some change to deposit in the coinbox.

"Look, I neeeed ta get back to the... the whazzit?" Hmmm, his brain felt like wet putty and he could hear static in his ears. It was going to be one of those long nights, and a hell of a morning. "City centre. Y'know, that way?" He points in the direction he wants to go, hoping the bus driver will start the bus up. "Don't you worry - you drive down this street and I'll tell ya when to stop, right?"

 

[Mickerus]

Charles half-coughs, half-chuckles as he turns to look at Mr. Masuda.

"No ambition? Mister, you really don't know the first thing about me to say something like that. It's all a matter of perspective, you know? To get a record deal, make tons of loot, get fat... That's what people see as success any more, and I don't want any part of it. Me, I just want to meet my potential. Getting comfortable and complacent, that's not the way to do it. When you start raking in cash nothing matters any more, right? Life just become something you take for granted, not something you actively experience. All that's left then is to become jaded and in the end, as far as I'm concerned, to destroy yourself trying to remember what life was."

"Sure, I could still write emotional songs, even make money doing it. But I'm not that transparent. How could I even consider singing about real pain when the most stress I have is worrying about whether or not the pool boy did a good job cleaning?"

Charles stands up straight and lights another cigarette, then continues. "I had a pretty good friend that made it big. Name was Jimmy Durand. Had a couple of big hits on the radio, you might have heard of him. He died two years ago from a drug overdose, you know? He had this song I loved, called 'But I'll Be Free'. It was about his mother dying from cancer. Well, just last week I see a truck commercial that's playing that song. Now when I hear that song, I don't think about struggling to be strong enough to overcome the depression of dying a slow death, I think about driving a fricking 4X4 across Colorado. And if achieving something like that is something akin to the way you see ambition," Charles takes a long drag from his cigarette then exhales a line of smoke upwards towards the ceiling fans, "Well then, chief, I don't want any part of it."