Mage - The Spiral [IC]

[Fanog]

Jason's home
Boston, Massachussets
October 2002, around 10 AM

The big man driving the bus shakes his head while driving. "Damn, you're seriously screwed up. Just sleep up off okay, get some help in the morning." The bus doors open and Jason stumbles out. He drags himself into his street and to the building where he lives. After succeeding in opening the door, he crawls up the stairs and into his room, disregarding the note that the Pomodoro had called to ask if he was still going to show up for work. With clothes still on, Jason falls onto his bed and into a deep slumber. Even in sleeping, though, Jason is not safe from his own imagination.

Jason is in his parent's house. He's performing some ritual, calling forth a flaming monster, an efreeti of sorts. The monster slams into the house and it starts to burn wherever he touches. The only problem is that Jason is locked into his room, and flames are creeping in from under door. Outside he can hear his parents calling vengeance upon him, shouting encouragements to the burning beast. Jason looks out the window only to see it coming straight at him, threatening to consume him in the flame.

Jason wakes with a startle, the rays of the October sun shining on his face. He smells of sweat, his clothes stink of smoke and drink. His head is heavy from the alcohol, slowly the events of last evening come back into thought.

OoC: Jason
_______________________

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

While Taylor thinks, the man takes a look out of the window, regarding the city and the cars. Light from streets lanterns zoom by while the car makes its way through the light traffic.

"Well, not all of them, but it is safe to say that we are one of the greater thrusts behind the continued exploration of the sciences. I understand that this must be hard for you to accept, but I can show you what we are capable of at the moment. That should convince you."

"Throughout our history, we have learned quite a lot about the rules that govern the universe, and those that govern people's behaviour. Most of this, we make public so that mankind may benefit from this. Think about medicine, and consumer technology. However, there have also been discoveries that would not have been understood or accepted by the general populace. Among these are quite numerous discoveries in the working of the human mind. We can share these with you, so that you may explore what the nature and origin of these archetypes and myths are. In the past, this understanding has been enormously important for understanding human behaviour, for reasons I explained earlier. To better guide mankind, we continue to explore the depths of these aspects of the human psyche."

OoC: Taylor

 

[Keia]

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

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."

Leo paused for a moment took in a breath, about to unlease a flurry of questions, but then decided to follow the old man's instructions. He breathed in the cold mountain air, allowing it to fill his lungs. Leo tried to remain calm, remembering his meditation classes, but had to ask some of the questions that were threatening to disrupt his thoughts.

"I have many questions but I feel the most important is 'Does time pass where I am now the same as where I was?' I've got someone watching over me and I don't want them to worry, unnecessarily," Leo said as calmly as he could. "If I have time to ask more questions then I will."

If Leo has the time, he'll ask the following questions (in no specific order): How did I get here? Who are you really? Where or what is this place? What happens to my body when my consciousness (or at least I assume it is my consciousness that moved) is here? What do you want with me?

There are more but these are the most relevant?

 

[Fanog]

As Leo takes his time before asking his first question, the man before him stands silently and unmoving. At the question, he makes a small nod and answers. "Do not worry, please. Everything will be all right... Everything you experience here is mere memory. You are still where you were. Your mind can experience these memories fast enough that it won't lose sense of your surrounding for very long. Be comforted, take the time to explore here."

When he is comforted that nothing will happen to his body, Leo can't hold much longer and unleashes the full torrent of questions he has. The man gives an encouraging smile.

"Yes, I understand that you have a lot of questions. You seperate the mind from the concerns of the body. That is good, it will make that which will follow easier to accept."

The man takes a few steps towards Leo, taking in a deep breath of cold mountain air through his nose. "You already understand that your mind is a seperate entity from your body. Know that there is another entity still, the soul. The mind is merely what links the soul to your body. Soul gives power to the mind, power that is sometimes stronger than the body... I can tell you that this is because the soul is much older. It has life-times of experiences and memories to draw on, and you are currently experiencing one of these memories. In your case, this was more or less accidental, but by realising what the soul holds, one can consciously delve into these memories and use them."

Making a sweeping gesture with one arm, the man continues. "What you see here are the Himalayas, where students have been trained in the secrets of the mind, body and soul. Your soul has undergone this training, and you mind is now reliving certain moments of that training."

He gazes intently in your eyes, focussing on your reaction. "Do you know what I tell you to be true?"

OoC: Leo

 

[Byrons_Ghost]

Taylor frowns slightly and shakes his head. "Yes doctor, I can follow the theories and thrust of your argument well enough, but you still haven't given me any specifics on what would be happening. For instance, what sort of techniques does this training use? And what would a typical project consist of- what would be the activities, and the goals?"

 

[Keia]

Someplace in the Mountains?
The Himalayas?
Sometime now but in the past?

He gazes intently in your eyes, focussing on your reaction. "Do you know what I tell you to be true?"

Leo thought for a moment before answering, seeking within his mind to see if he really did know what the old man was talking about. Leo in the past had used force of will to overcome opponents, whether it was in boxing, football, basketball or track. But what if that 'force of will' or 'sheer determination' was actually Leo tapping into prior soul knowledge, power, or training. An interesting thought - thought perhaps not a pleasant one.

Leo felt that there was some truth in what the old man said, though verification at this point may be difficult. "I think what you say is the truth, it feels right, but I don't know it is the truth," Leo told the old man. "So what you're saying is that I've tapped into the prior knowledge and/or power of my soul, at certain points in the past."

"I was right, what answers you have given has created many more questions for me. But for the moment, I'll stick with two you didn't answer from before. Who are you really? and What do you want with me?"

 

[Mickerus]

Charles slowly shakes his head and looks away.

"Wrong again. Listen, when some suit who knows me starts talking to me after I play, odds are it's about a record deal. I know that's not what I want, and if you recall, that's what I turned down. As far as meeting my potential goes, I'm getting closer every day. I think my music's only getting better, and as long as I continue to improve, then I've got no complaints."

Looking back to Masuda, Charles picks up his glass and drinks more of his beer. "The reason I keep walking this path is simply because it's the best road I know to get where I'm going. If you know a better way to go about it, then hell, I'm all ears. By all means, enlighten me, chief."

 

[kuroshidaku]

Keeping an eye on the old man, Ty fumbles for his keys in the rain. "Gonna be a pain getting to my car in the morning" he thought with a sigh. "Oh well. Least i have something interesting to read." he thinks to himself, patting the lump in his pocket.

The door finally creaks open, and Ty crashes inside, glad to be out of the rain. Throwing off his coat he stretches out his tired body.

"Enough weird stuff has happened today."

 

[Fanog]

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

"Hmm, yes..." The man sitting next to Taylor slowly lifts both eyebrows behind his glasses. "You must know that our group values its privacy, hence I have kept the details until the end. However, I have good hopes and will try to give you an impression of the specifics."

"Most of our knowledge regarding the human mind and behaviour has been gathered by experiments with people, mostly psychological in nature. You wil review these experiments and the conclusions that prior researchers have drawn from them. This will give you insight in the way in which we gather knowledge about the human mind. Also, you will be instructed into he use of several instruments which we have developed precisely for this research."

"Once you know enough you will be allowed to set up your own investigations, but in many cases you will be directed to persons who are suitable for study. We have many agents among the globe who are watching for people who show behaviour indicative of these 'subconscious drives' I described earlier.

OoC: Taylor
_______________________

Someplace in the Mountains?
The Himalayas?
Sometime now but in the past?

The man's gaze in Leo's eyes holds while he nods, sunken in thought.

"Yes, I think that it has happened to you before, but never as strong as this... Earlier, the memories must always have been weak, perceived only subconsciously. You have experienced that the reliving of these memories can be hazardous if the mind does not know how to handle them. It takes too long to react, and is in that period unable to perceive the needs of the body. That is why I am here now, and why I want to teach you."

He takes some distance and looks Leo up and down, amost gazing through him. "You are not the first to experience the memories of the soul. Many before you have explored its wonders. I am a student and master of an ancient tradition, and I am here to pass my knowledge on to you. I do not necessarily want anything from you, except that you listen to me and take my lessons to heart..."

OoC: Leo
_______________________

The old man looks slightly puzzled by Charles' words, and responds defensive, in an apologizing tone. "I am sorry, but I just got here. I did not see you play yet, and I do not think I have to, necessarily..."

He strokes a hand to his chin as he thinks about Charles' latter words. "I think I have a better way, yes... At least, Miss Carrie here also seems to think so. But I really have to ask - Where are you going?"

OoC: Charles
_______________________

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

As Ty opens his front door, the old man catches up to him. He makes a small bow as he speaks to Ty, in a rather heavy asian-sounding accent.

"Excuse me, Mister Gustalf...? Today I left a book to be delivered to you. I hope you have received it in good order? I thought that you might have some questions regarding the text... To be honest, I hadn't expected you home so early."

Despite the apparent oddness of his words, the man's face looks quite stern and serious.

OoC: Ty

 

[Keia]

Someplace in the Mountains?
The Himalayas?
Sometime now but in the past?

"Okay, that doesn't seem unreasonable. As for the knowledge, knowledge doesn't hurt near as much as a lack of knowledge," Leo replied. I noticed he said he didn't want anything but it sounded like others may - typical, story of my life. Have to be careful what I agree to . . . this is really different, Leo thought.

"Well, I've always been a quick study, what can you tell me," Leo asked.

 

[kuroshidaku]

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

Ty steps back from the man in surprise, water dripping onto the concrete step.

"You're the person who brought the book to Proffessor Kalantar? I must say that I was surprised to see it. Almost thought that I would never get it back."

"Yes, the book came to me as perfect as it ever was. I'm assuming you're the one who left the note with it?"

"So why did you take the book in the fist place, and how come I'm ready for it now?"