Post by graypath on Mar 21, 2014 8:40:00 GMT
The Interview
By Arthur Pepka, aka, GrayPathMage
The reporter walked into the diner and looked around. There were several people sitting at the counter but only one person sitting in a booth. He was a bookish fellow, with nondescript hair and glasses, sitting in a back corner booth. The reporter walked up to him and introduced himself. “Excuse me, are you Mr McCoy? My name is Gray Path.” When the man looked up, he nodded.
“I am he, er, I mean, I'm Mr. McCoy. We talked on the phone. I'm glad you could make it. Please sit down.”
Gray sat down across from the fellow. He began to remove items from his satchel. First a pen and paper then a dictaphone. “Do you mind if I record this conversation? It will help me keep everything straight. I would hate to garble any facts.”
Mr McCoy smiled. “I'm a history teacher by trade. I am used to being recorded. And I'm glad that you would want to get the story straight. I am doubtful that anyone would believe this story, coming from such an obscure newsletter as your own.”
Gray Path felt his back stiffen. “I assure you sir, We at the Saturn News take the truth seriously. I admit this is not our usual cup of tea, and our usual is way off the norm, but literacy and honesty are paramount in our standard of excellence. Regardless of how this is received, I will write this as faithfully as I can. Now, if you are comfortable, may we begin?”
McCoy settled back into his seat. Before he could open his mouth, a waitress walked up to the booth and looked pointedly at Gray. Gray looked up at her, “I will take a coffee, black, and an ice water for now. Thank you.” as she walked away, she swatted at two unruly boys sitting at the counter.
“Nathan Cambrey. Micheal Peters. Both you boys settle down and tell me what you want to eat. Or I will toss you out by your ears and call your grandmother and report the two of you.” Immediately they calmed down and began studying their menus.
Gray Path cleared his throat. “So Mr McCoy, you claim to be both human, and an alien. Could you clarify that statement please?”
“Yes, I was born human but on another planet.”
When Gray just looked blankly at him, McCoy continued. “A couple millenia ago, my ancestors emigrated from Earth to my home-world. The were of human stock, so I am human. But I was born on a world light-years away from here. So you see, I am both human and an alien.”
Gray nodded. He went on. “How do you travel from world to world?”
With a slight smile, McCoy answered, “We travel through a wormhole, your scientists would call it. We call it a portal. It is possible to almost instantaneously travel from one side of the universe to another. Only the time lag from actually passing through the portal is all the delay.”
“How is such a thing possible, Earth's scientists are still only theorizing about wormholes. Yet you claim they not only exist but have traveled through one?”
“Yes well, we don't use technology but instead use energetic channeling.” McCoy replied.
Gray Path looked stunned at the man across from him. “That sounds like magic to me.”
“If you were to describe a computer to someone from two hundred years ago, it would sound like magic to them. But it wouldn't be, would it. I am willing to admit that what we do is probably the basis for the concept of magic. My ancestors were doing it when they left Earth.”
“So what is 'energetic channeling'?”
“It is magic.”
“Duh”
Mr McCoy smiled his own private smile. He looked like a cat with a mouse in its mouth and the tail was hanging out. Thrilled and satisfied at the same time. “For starters, there is an energy that permeates the cosmos. This power is the driving force of all creation. In fact, some think it is the tool that the creator used to create the universe originally. We are able to use the thin residue left over from that epic event. Accept if you will that Earth science is but one side of a metaphorical coin. Channeling is but the other side of that coin. It is in many ways a science of the mind. Channelers are born with the gift. It is probably some type of mutation, or combination of mutations. With our minds, we can draw into ourselves energy from the environment around us and then redirect it out. We can then control what form or action the power takes. As it is purely mental, focus and imagination are major factors in what can be accomplished. Yet full understanding of the weave is crucial or it will fail. The energy will disperse with potentially fatal side effects.”
“You teach magic too, don't you?”
“Yes, but also the history of my people is a passion of mine, and magic is a critical part of that history.”
“So where does this energy come from?”
“All around you.” When Gray Path looked incredulous, McCoy continued, “Mana, as we call it, rains down on us like sunlight. It filters up to us from the ground under us. It flows through our waters and we breath it in from the wind around us. Inside us, those elements blend together to spark a fifth element, Spirit. Is is this fifth element that gives us our souls, our intelligence, our gifts. It doesn't give us life, but sparks from life. With out it, we would still be primordial sludge. Life would never have advanced past the amoeba.”
“You sound certain of this. But we are digressing, how does magic actually work.”
“A mageborn first conceives of the spell he wants to cast. He or she must fully understand how the spell will work. Now there are mental cues, gestures or words, that can be used, but again, if you don't know there meaning, it can be like looking at hieroglyphics: complete nonsense unless you know they mean 'stay out'.
Now once the spell is held in the mind, one draws in the requisite mana to cast the spell. When sending the mana out, it forms into a 'spell weave'. This is just a simplification. The elements will merge and flow together and around each other. In this way, the weave will change the environment. If all of the pieces are there, then the weave will spark to life in reality. Channeling effects reality much like physics does. By applying energy into a system: IE the world, a mageborn can modify his surroundings.”
Gray looked at McCoy. He took a swallow of his coffee and then chased it with a sip of ice-water. “What limitations exist for magic?”
“None and lots. What can be imagined can be done. But understanding what one has imagined is difficult. All the ramifications must be understood, or unexpected consequences can crop up. Also the amount of available energy can prevent a spell from being cast. Mageborn can get tired. It takes at least as much effort to do something mentally as it takes to do something physically. Also, channelers tend to ignore the resources of the physical world. So chemistry would be an Achilles heel. But biology, physics, and mathematics would be familiar to them. There are few things that a fully trained mage would not be comfortable with in a technological world. Only things derived from chemistry would confuse them. And then not for long. They may not be able to replicate a thing, but they could study it and understand its function and purpose. Even its manufacture.”
“Can you name some things that exist on Earth and not on your world?”
“Well, the combustion engine for one. Plastic, anything petroleum based. We don't have the vast oil fields on Cambreya as you have here. Computers. We have a storage crystal that we use, but it doesn't do complex computations for us.”
Gray Path settled back and took a long drink from his coffee cup. He needed to process these new revelations. Clearly, McCoy was touched in the head. But his commitment to his delusions was admirable. The question was not if Gray should leave or stay. But instead, how much damage would he do with the wrong word. Challenging the man's world view could be very disastrous. But continuing the interview might only add fuel to the fire of his delusions. So, Gray decided to take a different tack.
“Now, for the record sir, I am choosing not to agree that magic exists. Therefore, I am not going to enter a argument about it. But I would like to hear you describe how you imagine it works. What governs the differences in rank and abilities?”
By Arthur Pepka, aka, GrayPathMage
The reporter walked into the diner and looked around. There were several people sitting at the counter but only one person sitting in a booth. He was a bookish fellow, with nondescript hair and glasses, sitting in a back corner booth. The reporter walked up to him and introduced himself. “Excuse me, are you Mr McCoy? My name is Gray Path.” When the man looked up, he nodded.
“I am he, er, I mean, I'm Mr. McCoy. We talked on the phone. I'm glad you could make it. Please sit down.”
Gray sat down across from the fellow. He began to remove items from his satchel. First a pen and paper then a dictaphone. “Do you mind if I record this conversation? It will help me keep everything straight. I would hate to garble any facts.”
Mr McCoy smiled. “I'm a history teacher by trade. I am used to being recorded. And I'm glad that you would want to get the story straight. I am doubtful that anyone would believe this story, coming from such an obscure newsletter as your own.”
Gray Path felt his back stiffen. “I assure you sir, We at the Saturn News take the truth seriously. I admit this is not our usual cup of tea, and our usual is way off the norm, but literacy and honesty are paramount in our standard of excellence. Regardless of how this is received, I will write this as faithfully as I can. Now, if you are comfortable, may we begin?”
McCoy settled back into his seat. Before he could open his mouth, a waitress walked up to the booth and looked pointedly at Gray. Gray looked up at her, “I will take a coffee, black, and an ice water for now. Thank you.” as she walked away, she swatted at two unruly boys sitting at the counter.
“Nathan Cambrey. Micheal Peters. Both you boys settle down and tell me what you want to eat. Or I will toss you out by your ears and call your grandmother and report the two of you.” Immediately they calmed down and began studying their menus.
Gray Path cleared his throat. “So Mr McCoy, you claim to be both human, and an alien. Could you clarify that statement please?”
“Yes, I was born human but on another planet.”
When Gray just looked blankly at him, McCoy continued. “A couple millenia ago, my ancestors emigrated from Earth to my home-world. The were of human stock, so I am human. But I was born on a world light-years away from here. So you see, I am both human and an alien.”
Gray nodded. He went on. “How do you travel from world to world?”
With a slight smile, McCoy answered, “We travel through a wormhole, your scientists would call it. We call it a portal. It is possible to almost instantaneously travel from one side of the universe to another. Only the time lag from actually passing through the portal is all the delay.”
“How is such a thing possible, Earth's scientists are still only theorizing about wormholes. Yet you claim they not only exist but have traveled through one?”
“Yes well, we don't use technology but instead use energetic channeling.” McCoy replied.
Gray Path looked stunned at the man across from him. “That sounds like magic to me.”
“If you were to describe a computer to someone from two hundred years ago, it would sound like magic to them. But it wouldn't be, would it. I am willing to admit that what we do is probably the basis for the concept of magic. My ancestors were doing it when they left Earth.”
“So what is 'energetic channeling'?”
“It is magic.”
“Duh”
Mr McCoy smiled his own private smile. He looked like a cat with a mouse in its mouth and the tail was hanging out. Thrilled and satisfied at the same time. “For starters, there is an energy that permeates the cosmos. This power is the driving force of all creation. In fact, some think it is the tool that the creator used to create the universe originally. We are able to use the thin residue left over from that epic event. Accept if you will that Earth science is but one side of a metaphorical coin. Channeling is but the other side of that coin. It is in many ways a science of the mind. Channelers are born with the gift. It is probably some type of mutation, or combination of mutations. With our minds, we can draw into ourselves energy from the environment around us and then redirect it out. We can then control what form or action the power takes. As it is purely mental, focus and imagination are major factors in what can be accomplished. Yet full understanding of the weave is crucial or it will fail. The energy will disperse with potentially fatal side effects.”
“You teach magic too, don't you?”
“Yes, but also the history of my people is a passion of mine, and magic is a critical part of that history.”
“So where does this energy come from?”
“All around you.” When Gray Path looked incredulous, McCoy continued, “Mana, as we call it, rains down on us like sunlight. It filters up to us from the ground under us. It flows through our waters and we breath it in from the wind around us. Inside us, those elements blend together to spark a fifth element, Spirit. Is is this fifth element that gives us our souls, our intelligence, our gifts. It doesn't give us life, but sparks from life. With out it, we would still be primordial sludge. Life would never have advanced past the amoeba.”
“You sound certain of this. But we are digressing, how does magic actually work.”
“A mageborn first conceives of the spell he wants to cast. He or she must fully understand how the spell will work. Now there are mental cues, gestures or words, that can be used, but again, if you don't know there meaning, it can be like looking at hieroglyphics: complete nonsense unless you know they mean 'stay out'.
Now once the spell is held in the mind, one draws in the requisite mana to cast the spell. When sending the mana out, it forms into a 'spell weave'. This is just a simplification. The elements will merge and flow together and around each other. In this way, the weave will change the environment. If all of the pieces are there, then the weave will spark to life in reality. Channeling effects reality much like physics does. By applying energy into a system: IE the world, a mageborn can modify his surroundings.”
Gray looked at McCoy. He took a swallow of his coffee and then chased it with a sip of ice-water. “What limitations exist for magic?”
“None and lots. What can be imagined can be done. But understanding what one has imagined is difficult. All the ramifications must be understood, or unexpected consequences can crop up. Also the amount of available energy can prevent a spell from being cast. Mageborn can get tired. It takes at least as much effort to do something mentally as it takes to do something physically. Also, channelers tend to ignore the resources of the physical world. So chemistry would be an Achilles heel. But biology, physics, and mathematics would be familiar to them. There are few things that a fully trained mage would not be comfortable with in a technological world. Only things derived from chemistry would confuse them. And then not for long. They may not be able to replicate a thing, but they could study it and understand its function and purpose. Even its manufacture.”
“Can you name some things that exist on Earth and not on your world?”
“Well, the combustion engine for one. Plastic, anything petroleum based. We don't have the vast oil fields on Cambreya as you have here. Computers. We have a storage crystal that we use, but it doesn't do complex computations for us.”
Gray Path settled back and took a long drink from his coffee cup. He needed to process these new revelations. Clearly, McCoy was touched in the head. But his commitment to his delusions was admirable. The question was not if Gray should leave or stay. But instead, how much damage would he do with the wrong word. Challenging the man's world view could be very disastrous. But continuing the interview might only add fuel to the fire of his delusions. So, Gray decided to take a different tack.
“Now, for the record sir, I am choosing not to agree that magic exists. Therefore, I am not going to enter a argument about it. But I would like to hear you describe how you imagine it works. What governs the differences in rank and abilities?”