Episode 089 Previous Episode	Next Episode
“The body itself can be called a mechanical life form. But for unknown reasons, there is some kind of lock on the body’s systems.” Desty Nova, Battle Angel Alita “I’ve known Knightspeak for a long time,” Alan explained to his four teammates. “I’ve been using these techniques for almost two years now. They were really helpful when I spent all that time in Europe. The thing about them is that they can, in theory, just kind of come to a knight. All you have to do, sometimes, is close your eyes,” he said as he did so, “and think about the effect you want. Then,” he laughed, “and this is the hard part, you have to let go everything that you know. You have to let go of language and identity and everything. Everything that makes up who you are, everything that separates you from everything around you. Whether you want to call it the ego, the barrier that divides me from not me, or whatever, once you pierce that membrane of the self, you tap into something far more potent than could ever be conceived.” He smiled. “And then you just speak.” He gestured with his hand as if releasing the west wind into the world. “You don’t try to use words. You let your emotions and your wishes be released through your body, through your voice.” He opened his eyes with a smile, seeing the entranced four faces looking back at him. “As knights, we cultivate our ability to act. We strip away the unessential and are left with the most lucent core of humanity, of ourselves. And the brilliant light given off by that emotion that makes up who we are is Chivalry. Knightspeak is Chivalry manifested, utilized. The rays of the sun can’t burn paper, but with a magnifying glass, you can. Chivalry is the sun and Knightspeak is the lens.” “So if we’ve sworn to the Oath, we’re all just magically imbued with the power to use Knightspeak?” Dante asked. He looked at Eliot lounging on the other bed and spouted off a barrage of gibberish. “Didn’t work.” “There is more to it than that,” Alan said with a smile of strained patience. “It takes training. And it comes easier to some than it does to others.” “If it takes training, than it’s not ingrained,” Matt countered, holding his broadsword between his legs. “Training to release the constraints that we’ve built up to control ourselves,” Alan explained. “Training to reach back to that core of our being. We learn so much, so early on, in our lives that to unlearn it sometimes takes tremendous effort. Even more so to be able to use it effectively.” “So what is it that we have here?” Ryoko asked, looking up at Alan with her hard eyes. “We have the ability to project instant commands into anyone within earshot.” “Whoa, hold up,” Dante interrupted. “So, wait. If this is supposed to be a living language and stuff and it comes out of the soul and everything, what’ve we been using at the club?” “There was some evidence in Jericho Kingston’s research that automated signals could be used,” Alan said. “So I put together a series of commands that knights would ignore but most everyone else would pick-up on, and looped them beneath some music. Every night, I’ve replaced a bit more of the music they have at the club so now, the signals get played about every twenty-minutes or so.” “What do the signals say?” Matt asked. “That’s kind of like asking what does HTML say,” Alan said. “It’s long and it’s complicated. Essentially, it says to not interfere with the knights in anyway, have a good time, and if there’s trouble, moving to the walls and stay put until it’s over.” “Right, so back to the recording,” Dante said. “Jericho’s research was generally with sounds, not spoken word,” Alan explained. “He had this library of sounds and, after I cross referenced the hell and back out of everything, I figured out that each sound – they were actually series of sounds – had been constructed to have a specific effect. This sound,” he said, gesturing with his hands, “will have this probability of having this effect on this type of person.” “Again, guys,” he emphasized to them, “this stuff is incredibly complicated. But we have the advantage with it because A) Jericho had already done ninety-percent of the research for us and B) as knights, it comes very naturally to us. It’s not a stretch at all to say that we were born with the understanding in us.” “Getting back on topic,” Ryoko said. “So we can speak gibberish, or broadcast a pre-prepared signal, and it will have an immediate effect.” Alan nodded. “That’s great. It sounds like a wonderful weapon, and a very dangerous one. What are you planning we use it for? And more specifically, who are you planning on using it against?” Alan smiled. “You know, Ryoko, I’m glad you asked that question.” The others waited. “Care to answer it?” Dante asked after a moment. “Who else would we use it against?” Alan asked. “Who do the knights hate more than anyone?”
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