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Episode 098 |
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“And they always find in archeology ‘a series of small
walls’. Every time, a series of small walls. Everywhere you go. ‘We’ve found
a series of small walls, we’re very excited…I think this proves they had
walls in olden days. They were very small, and…a series of small wall people’.
And then someone comes along, very learned, with glasses, ‘Of course, the
king and queen entertained here…1,500 courtiers, and there were soldiers,
20,000 soldiers in this room, and elephants dancing hopscotch over there…A
mad fiddler in this room, playing the banjo, buttocks and aqueducts into a
heater…’ And you’re just watching, and going, ‘You’re making this up, mate!
You’re just pointing at a series of small walls, going, ‘there, there…
Tutankhamen playing banjo in there…’ Don’t know if it’s true.” Eddie Izzard Alex tapped the end of his nose. With his arms situated across his machine
gun clipped to his combat harness, he stared down at the small outcropping of
stones from the coral ground. Rounded
at the top edges, the stones traveled in a predictable pattern into the
distance. They were eroded and washed
away, but still the multi-yard length of the stones was obvious, as well as
the subtle and intentional curve of their design. “Alex.” His attention was snapped away from the rocks and he
hit his earpiece. “Yeah Jason, what’s
going on?” “You might want to get back here. I’ve sprung a nosebleed.” Alex stood up straight.
“I’m on my way.” Inside the alcove camp, Jason had a piece of tissue
shoved up his nose as he sat just in the sparse sunlight, scribbling notes on
a notepad. Alex came around the bend
to find Emma drawing on the ground a few yards away. “What’s going on?” Alex asked. “This place is saturated with energy,” Jason answered,
breathing through his mouth. “What type?” “As near as we can tell,” Emma answered, standing from
her half-drawn circle, “all.” She
started towards them. “Every theory of
magic I’ve ever read about or encountered has always contended there being
different kinds of magical energy.
Usually, only one or two are prevalent in a given location, but this
place seems to be bursting with every type imaginable.” “And what’s worse,” Jason said, still sitting, “is that
what we’re feeling now is probably dormant.” “What do you mean?” Alex asked. “This island’s been under water for hundreds of years,”
Emma said. “Thousands,” Alex and Jason both corrected. “Thousands of years,” she restated quickly, “which
means that the magic we’re feeling is just a small portion of what will
redevelop as it recovers.” “Alright, Jason,” Alex said down to him. “You’ve gotten a nose bleed only a couple
of times. And a psychic bleeds only
when he’s overloaded by psychic power,” he said, uncertain of the accuracy. “Pretty much,” Jason confirmed. “I tried just some rudimentary stuff to see
what this place was like and I got zapped pretty hard. This place is not only magically potent,
but psychically too.” “What are the implications of that?” Alex asked. “Well, magic and psychic are not mutually exclusive,
but it is kind of rare to find a place that’s potent for both. The fact that this place is potent, and so
excessively so, only adds to its accolades,” said Jason. Alex looked down, pondering what he had
heard. “What did you find?” Sarah asked after a moment. “Evidence of civilization,” Alex answered without
looking up. Jason put his hand on the wall, feeling the texture of
the overgrowth. He leaned down,
looking at the extending curvature.
“Do you think this thing curves around the island?” he asked. “Given the angle of curve, probably,” Alex said. “It may accentuate the three moats, as
Eliot put it, as defensive perimeters.”
He looked in the other direction at Emma as she stood on the wall, facing
the west. “See anything?” “I’m listening.” Jason took out a combat knife and started to chip away
at the coral. He threw his black hair
out of his face and worked hard, cutting away at the chunks of
overgrowth. Alex came to stand over
him, looking down at the small hole that Jason was forming in the coral. “What are you looking for?” “I want to see what this wall was made out of,” Jason
said. “I doubt you’ll be able to tell a difference between
the stone and the coral, given how long this thing’s been…” Metal struck metal. Jason looked up at Alex, then stepped back from the
wall. “Give me some space,” he
said. Alex rushed over to Emma and
gently guided her off the wall before she could respond. Jason took a few paces back from the wall and closed
his eyes. He held out his hand, his
fingers cupping together like a talon.
Slowly, he began to spread his fingers. The sound of rock cracking came from the
wall, but Jason’s nose began to bleed.
He dropped his hand, cursing as he wiped his lip. “What’re you…” Alex started. “Just give me a second,” Jason said, still wiping his
lip. “I think I’ve figured out how
this place works.” He took a deep
breath and held out both his hands.
His left hand extended as if holding a glass. He tipped it, a small pool of water slowly
filling the hole. Jason breathed
quietly and the water froze over, turning to ice. With his eyes still closed, he extended his
hand again, the fingers pushed together.
He spread them out slowly. With the force of an explosion, whole chunks of coral
went flying from the wall. Jason was
knocked off his feet while Emma and Alex dropped defensively to the
ground. As the force of the explosion
subsided, Alex rushed over to Jason.
But the psychic was smiling.
“This place is amazing,” he grinned. “Glad you think so,” Alex said, helping him to his
feet. Once steady, they both looked to
the wall. A metal wall shone back at them. The metal finish still glinted subtly in the sunlight
while the colors and details of the wall were barely touched. The sharp glue-gray design was accentuated
with organic-seeming designs. Symbols
and sigils covered the wall’s surface. Jason approached the wall pensively, Alex behind
him. A giant smile on his face, the
psychic glanced back at Emma as she joined the two, just as delighted. “This is amazing,” Jason breathed. “Can you identify any numbers?” Alex asked, looking at
the symbols. “Probably, why?” Jason asked. “If
they have numbers, then they have a counting system,” Emma agreed. “If they have a counting system, they more
than likely have records.” |
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