Mage - The Spiral [IC]

[kuroshidaku]

Cambridge Streets
Cambridge, England
October 2002, late evening

"Guts hey" Ty replies with a grin. "Pitty, but I don't have too much of those. Rather just cut my losses and be happy."

"Anyway, i'm happy with my job. Never know what's gonna pop up next."

 

[Byrons_Ghost]

Taylor shifts around, growing more uncomfortable. I'm not sure I really like where this is leading...

"Perhaps I've led a sheltered existence, but I've never considered the average person to live in fear on a daily basis. What is this chaos and fear that you'll be removing, and what is this special education that is needed to do so?"

 

[Fanog]

The man suppresses a slight smile, as if he had known what was coming all along. "I am quite sure that I never said I could offer you a record deal. Far from it, I believe." He emphasises and his accent twists the words a bit, as if he isn't really familiar pronouncing them. "I think you have proven my point. Even before you knew what I had to offer, you assumed that it could not be good and rejected it..."

The man takes a sip of his soda and turns to Charles. "I think I met someone once who was quite a lot like you. He was so caught up in his own life, so terrified of the unknown, that he kept returning to familiar grounds. This was his entire life, to go over places and emotions already experienced... Even though he did not realise it, he was getting quite 'comfortable and complacent' in his life, as you put it."

The man seems to think for a moment before continuing. "Do you honestly think that this is the best you can do... Are you 'meeting you potential' now, running across the land without goal or purpose? There is no other way that I can see this then as a lack of ambition. I am sorry..."

OoC: Charles
_______________________

Streets of Boston
Boston, Massachussets
2 am, October 2002

The man makes no move as Jason enters the bus, even though he never lays his eyes off the student. "Hey, are you on drugs?" he asks. Jason can hear him muttering to himself "Ah, damnit, he's probably not safe here at this hour." The man closes the front doors and lets the bus take off.

He twists his head to regard Jason again. "Do you still know your adress? ...Well, I've got to tell you - You're lucky that I was still around. No buses normally drive around this hour. It broke down, took me over an hour to fix the bloody thing. Well, you just sit right here and I'll get you home, let you sleep it off. Okay...?"

OoC: Jason

 

[Fanog]

Cambridge Streets
Cambridge, England
October 2002, late evening

"Well sure, but it's still a shame. But hey, it's your loss..." The car turns the corner into the small street where Ty lives and stops when Nick is directed to his house. "Just be sure you know who to blame when you're out walking in the rain instead of driving in one of these", he adds with a smile, half-mocking.

Even as Taylor gets out and closes the door, he sees Nick grabbing a cell phone from his jacket. The car speeds away at even higher speed than before, leaving Ty standing in the rain. As he turns around to enter his house, Ty notices an old man sitting on a bench across the street, holding a black umbrella against the rain. The man gets up to walk, staring intently in Ty's direction.

OoC: Ty

 

[Keia]

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

Tired wasn't the word for it . . . exhausting was closer but not quite there. Almost no sleep for 40+ hours, practice and a game - his first professional game, dealing with reporters, plus some rather weird experiences had left Leo bone tired. Still, the need to talk to Gus and explain what happened as well as to test his theory on what the old man had said drove him on.

Leo made his way out of the dressing room and into the arena area, already locked up with the spectators on their way home. Seeing Gus there, Leo made his to him and sat heavily on a seat nearby. Leo looked around to make sure no one was listening or watching, then turned to talk to Gus.

"Gus, some weird stuff went down tonight - really weird. I don't know what to make of it, but I've got to test a theory and I'll need some help to do it," Leo said. He proceeded to tell Gus about meeting the strange man, the problems with his limbs and vision, and what happened on the slam dunk, and what the strange oriental man said in the vision.

"So, I want to go all out and test the theory. But I wanted to do it here after the game and everyone left, 'cause this is just too weird to share except with someone I trust. We can put a couple of mats down to cushion my fall so if it happens again, I won't get hurt (or at least there's less chance of it) - plus I won't have to think about getting hurt. I can just let go and see what happens," Leo said. "So, what do you think? Should we do it now or wait a while longer?"

 

[Fanog]

on the M6
London, England
October 2002, around 9 PM

"Well, the problem is that most people do not even realise that they live in fear. Nevertheless, it in engrained in them, from early age. It goes so deep and is so all-encompassing that they do not even see it anymore. It all begins so early... Children are told stories of demons and bogeymen. They are afraid of monsters under their beds, performing rituals to ward of danger. And even though no one would ever know it or admit it, this fear sticks to everyone, the unknown keeps haunting them." The man's voice is increasingly thick and slow, forcing Taylor to think on every words that is being said.

"What do you think of all the people who have claimed to have been abducted, or those who see conspiracies in every government. Is it coincidence that these stores keep coming up? - No, it is the fear of the unknown that makes people disregard all rational thought. The stories of horror that are being retold time and again prey on people's minds, making them vulnerable and rash." Something starts tugging on the back of Taylor's mind, like he almost remembers something, something important...

The man with the thin glasses takes a breath, regaining his calm before speaking again. "Our group has been around for many centuries. We have given mankind knowledge of the world, a set of rules by which they can live and can understand what is going on around them. This pursuit of scientific knowledge is one espect of our dealings.
The other deals with the understanding of these myths, the archetypes that drive fear into people's minds. We have studied these for a long time, and they have helped us understand the human mind. It is this that we are willing to teach you. We believe that you have the insight to learn the nature of these stories, and the skill to treat them."

OoC: Taylor
_______________________

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

Gus strikes a hand through his graying hair as he listens to Leo speak. He seems quite concerned but waits silently until Leo has finished speaking.

"Holy , Leo. You're basically saying that you'll play till you drop? I don't know, I've got a bad feeling 'bout this." Gus strikes a hand through his hair again and lights up one of his thick cigars. "It wasn't pretty seeing you go down like that during the game. It damn well wasn't..." He takes a long draw from the cigar and heavy creases appear in his forehead.

"So what is it exactly that you expect to happen? Other than you dropping from exhaution..." He turns to look into Leo's eyes. "Leo, I'm not really comfortable with this, but I can see that you aren't either, with this whole situation. If you really want to try this, you know that I'll watch over you. What did you have in mind?"

OoC: Leo

 

[Keia]

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

"So what is it exactly that you expect to happen? Other than you dropping from exhaution..." He turns to look into Leo's eyes. "Leo, I'm not really comfortable with this, but I can see that you aren't either, with this whole situation. If you really want to try this, you know that I'll watch over you. What did you have in mind?"

"I honestly don't know what to expect. I mean I was on a fraking mountaintop in the middle of a game - and you saw what happened to my body. If that happened again, the coach would freak and I'd be testing until there's no tomorrow. I've got to find out what happens when I 'run up the mountain,' and I'd rather find out under my own control rather than someone else's," Leo said.

"All I really need Gus is for you to watch out for anyone else, stand in the way every now and then (just as another obstacle for me to get around), but mostly just for support. I 've read some things about exhaustion and playing, about your mind and body operating on another level when you let go, but nothing prepares you for it. And, I thought I'd never get to a state like that because I don't use drugs or alcohol. You know what I always say 'My body is a temple,' it's definitely helped to keep me clean - then this comes along. . . . Thanks, Gus, for being there and helping me out."

Leo got a ball and started running and dribbling, burning off the energy he had from the excitement? of exploring and trying this. Then, as the sweat and fatigue set in he started shooting, spinning, dunking on occasion, trying to let his mind go and just let the natural body moves take over. Running all out, as if each shoot was made ad the clock was running down. Heck, as tired as he was, Leo wasn't certain through the haze that the clock was running down and he had to make this play.

 

[loxmyth]

Streets of Boston
Boston, Massachussets
2 am, October 2002

Jason leans back to stretch out on the seats, muttering incoherently to the driver. "Lucky me, huh?" With a crooked grin, the young man drapes an arm over his shoulder, and takes a deep breath. Through some sheer act of will, he managed to coalesce his thoughts together long enough to spit out his address. "That's where I'm going, man. Damn, do you have any tylenol?"

He's grateful for the bus that shouldn't be here, this late at night. Must be those whacky entities, he thought to himself with a roll of his eyes.

 

[Byrons_Ghost]

Taylor is silent for some time while he considers the doctor's words...

It almost seems ridiculous to compare childhood stories to adult concerns. But there do seem to be a great amount of "monsters" floating around the adult psyche. Even if things like abduction stories can be passed off as sleep paralysis, there's a lot of stories to explain away out there.

Assume that there are reasonable explanations for, say, 99% of reported phenomena in the world. Even so, doesn't the fact that we interpret such things in terms of the supernatural, the "Other" indicative of some sort of dark, underlying current in human thought? Even if I don't agree to join Dr. Franks' group, this merits further study. Speaking of conspiracy theories...

Taylor finally speaks again. "Let's assume, for the sake of argument, that I more or less agree with your assessments of the human state. Let us also pretend that I accept your group's claim of being solely responsible for most scientific advances."

"I'm not a scientist, and have no particular interest in it except as when it relates to my own studies. What would this training be, and what would I be doing for you? And how, exactly, does your group 'treat stories'? "

 

[Fanog]

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

"Hmm, you know how I feel about that. If it weren't you, I'd say all this mountain-stuff was just a load of horse-crap." Gus puts away his cigar and starts rolling up his sleeves. "Let's get going then."

Just as Leo makes his first moves on the court one of the arena attendents drops by, but Gus quickly takes care of the young man. For a moment, Leo has the vague feeling that he's being observed, but he doesn't see anyone. The feeling vanishes as quickly as it came, although it doesn't disappear entirely.

Gus enters the court and starts throwing Leo some balls, long passes that are off by a few yards or short balls that he throws with quite high velocity. He doesn't talk, but just watches Leo intently.

While Leo works it out, he tries to ignore anything going on around him, just focussing on his body and on the motions he's putting it through, exhausted as it is. The sweat makes his hands slippery and sometimes gets in his eyes, but Gus is quite relentless and keeps on pushing the young athlete. A few times he can actually feel like he's being pulled into the mountain landscape again, until the moment that Gus aims a ball just a foot astray from the basket and Leo goes up to tip it in.

A cold wind runs past Leo's bare torso, making him shiver from his own sweat. He can hear the sound of his own heavy breathing, but not much else. His surroundings are pure white at first, and then take on the shapes of sky, mountain and robes. Flowing white robes, wrapped around a small, old man whom Leo recognised. The man's composure is perfectly calm, unhindered by the cold. "Yes, that is much better... Stand and breathe, catch your breath for a while."

OoC: Leo