![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
The New Babbage Incident
Mar. 9th, 2009 01:39 pmI was called to collect experimental subjects. Subjects that were not volunteering readily, unfortunately - they never seem to understand. But since they were offered by the populace that were understandably put out by the uncivil behavior, I did attempt to go through with the intake. The annoying headache interfered with my ability to reason with them. Then Miss Genie Burton arrived.
As per standard battle maneuvers, she came in flying - and promptly dropped as a stone. Landing badly, she broke her ankle, and had difficulty with coherent thought due to the pain - not just from the ankle but severe systematic pain. Her agony clued me into why my headache was progressing rapidly - the bombs were "Reality-Enforcers", and were affecting those who had ties to the supernatural world.
I have not been active as such, save for the family patrols of trouble spots during the wheel of the year. Still, the family heritage is there, whether I use the skills taught or no. It was harder to hear the bond links, but they held fast, and were possibly the only reason I was able to remain upright as long as I did.
My grip on my temper loosened as the migraine got worse. The leader of the band was a smug smarmy elitist - he is lucky I did not shoot him. Cornered as he was, he still made demands, even and Frau Xandra Skytower deactivated the devices as she found them. Her captivity earlier did come of some good - without it, she might not have been as familiar with the devices, produced by "Dr" O.
Really, one who is so blind as to the balance of the powers that be to think he could remove that element without repercussions... no, wait - he really is that thick. I still do not believe there is any legitimate institution that would have awarded him a degree, much less a doctorate. Must have been one of those sub-par fly-by-night school-by-mail organizations.
Well, after my collapse, I do not recall much, only that Genie and I were removed to the Consulate building, which alleviated at least some of the pressure for me. Miss Mara collected us to her home, and applied triage techniques such as feeding us. There were some words exchanged, regarding the exposure of the children to the other worlds. I may not have had proper balance to enter such a discussion, as the anger and pain from the devices was still there, and I may not have been in full control of my temper yet.
I rested, and Frau Skytower completed the deactivation of the devices she could find, and was able to attend the opening of Duke Argylle's new building with only a minor headache.
In the aftermath, Miss Burton has been unable to tap into her abilities, and Frau Skytower has had a startling transformation, though it is unknown if she has any fae in her background. I have not tried to shift since the incident, but there is one thing that has not changed - the bondlines are still there. Thank the Builder for that, considering how unbalanced I was before discovering them. There have been others that have been affected, though they both deny they have any physical link to the unseen.
There are some shielding techniques that do work, though imperfectly. The ones that tie the laws of the physical world together with the wyrd of the worlds seem to work the best. I shall be collecting the components for some experiments, though I cannot test them, and would not ask anyone to volunteer for such dangers.
At the core of this, is the simple question of "WHY?" Is it simple bigotry, or was there a specific target in the midst of the misery that we missed? Yes, there is one obvious target in the mess, but I do not think the attacker thought the consequences through. The balance would have been disturbed, and who knows what would have moved into the void that idiot tried to cause.
Magic is not free, it has a price - too many children do not get those sorts of granny tales. It is not a cure-all, no more than any snake oil sold at the medicine shows. While it has been pointed out to me that doubt can be a potent shield, it does not always work. Hiding under the covers will not make all of the haints in the dark go away, just the ones still in your imagination.
As per standard battle maneuvers, she came in flying - and promptly dropped as a stone. Landing badly, she broke her ankle, and had difficulty with coherent thought due to the pain - not just from the ankle but severe systematic pain. Her agony clued me into why my headache was progressing rapidly - the bombs were "Reality-Enforcers", and were affecting those who had ties to the supernatural world.
I have not been active as such, save for the family patrols of trouble spots during the wheel of the year. Still, the family heritage is there, whether I use the skills taught or no. It was harder to hear the bond links, but they held fast, and were possibly the only reason I was able to remain upright as long as I did.
My grip on my temper loosened as the migraine got worse. The leader of the band was a smug smarmy elitist - he is lucky I did not shoot him. Cornered as he was, he still made demands, even and Frau Xandra Skytower deactivated the devices as she found them. Her captivity earlier did come of some good - without it, she might not have been as familiar with the devices, produced by "Dr" O.
Really, one who is so blind as to the balance of the powers that be to think he could remove that element without repercussions... no, wait - he really is that thick. I still do not believe there is any legitimate institution that would have awarded him a degree, much less a doctorate. Must have been one of those sub-par fly-by-night school-by-mail organizations.
Well, after my collapse, I do not recall much, only that Genie and I were removed to the Consulate building, which alleviated at least some of the pressure for me. Miss Mara collected us to her home, and applied triage techniques such as feeding us. There were some words exchanged, regarding the exposure of the children to the other worlds. I may not have had proper balance to enter such a discussion, as the anger and pain from the devices was still there, and I may not have been in full control of my temper yet.
I rested, and Frau Skytower completed the deactivation of the devices she could find, and was able to attend the opening of Duke Argylle's new building with only a minor headache.
In the aftermath, Miss Burton has been unable to tap into her abilities, and Frau Skytower has had a startling transformation, though it is unknown if she has any fae in her background. I have not tried to shift since the incident, but there is one thing that has not changed - the bondlines are still there. Thank the Builder for that, considering how unbalanced I was before discovering them. There have been others that have been affected, though they both deny they have any physical link to the unseen.
There are some shielding techniques that do work, though imperfectly. The ones that tie the laws of the physical world together with the wyrd of the worlds seem to work the best. I shall be collecting the components for some experiments, though I cannot test them, and would not ask anyone to volunteer for such dangers.
At the core of this, is the simple question of "WHY?" Is it simple bigotry, or was there a specific target in the midst of the misery that we missed? Yes, there is one obvious target in the mess, but I do not think the attacker thought the consequences through. The balance would have been disturbed, and who knows what would have moved into the void that idiot tried to cause.
Magic is not free, it has a price - too many children do not get those sorts of granny tales. It is not a cure-all, no more than any snake oil sold at the medicine shows. While it has been pointed out to me that doubt can be a potent shield, it does not always work. Hiding under the covers will not make all of the haints in the dark go away, just the ones still in your imagination.
