Jiro knelt on the ground, staring at the room around him. Nothing but wreckage met his eyes. The simple furnishings were completely demolished--pots smashed, furniture broken to splinters. Black streaks stretched across the floor, as if a searing flame had passed. The streaks radiated outward from the place he knelt. From him. Jiro slumped, and shut his eyes. A sick feeling in his stomach told him the destruction was still there, even if he wasn't looking at it. He leaned down and wrapped his arms around his head, breathing heavily. Then something hard cracked him on the head, making him yelp. "Come on, boy! Get up!" Jiro looked up into the face of Baachan. He gaped. He opened his mouth, but didn't manage to say anything. "Oh, don't sit there like a drowning fish," the old woman said, jabbing him in the stomach with her stick. Jiro coughed and sprawled backward. "You didn't think a little blast like that would hurt *me*, hmmm?" Jiro nodded vigorously, still coughing. Baachan cackled loudly. "Oh, don't worry about me, boy! You're nothing compared to my second husband!" Her eyes suddenly narrowed. "Besides, I was hoping something like that would happen." Finally Jiro got his breath back, only to lose it again. "H--hoping?" he wheezed. The old woman nodded. "You get angry, it gets all the juices flowing inside you. Sometimes it kicks the brain into gear, and you can do all sorts of things." Jiro drew his legs up to his chest, his breathing slowing just a bit. "You mean you--what, taunted me to see what I could do?" "I knew you were a quick learner, Jiro." Baachan's eyes twinkled. "And we found out something very interesting." Jiro scowled, and pulled himself up to his feet. He glared down at the old woman. She smiled back. He crossed his arms, and she began to hum a little tune. Finally he muttered, "And what did *we* learn, then?" "We learned that you're good at creating energy," she said blithely. Jiro stared at her. "So what?" "So, not all the Gifted work the same way. Some talk with their minds, others sense hidden things. You may not be too good at throwing objects around," she poked him in the side, causing him to jump back, "but you can light 'em up with the best of them!" "Great!" Jiro threw up his hands. "So I'm even more dangerous than we thought." "Oh, hush, boy," Baachan said, frowning. "It won't take long to get you so you won't blow up without wanting to." Jiro sighed, and looked around for an unbroken chair. "I have a feeling," Baachan continued, "that with more training you could light things up without breaking them down. You could go around Illuminating people, or be your own flashlight, or host a disco." She cackled again. Jiro glared at her. "You're not helping convince me that you're sane," he snapped. There was a sharp crack and he yelped, clutching at his knee. Baachan withdrew her staff. "Your mouth is smarter than you are," she noted. "I think it's best we continue the training." "Now?!? But I just--" Another crack, and Jiro sat down heavily, holding his other knee. "All right!" he yelled. "Fine!" He pushed down the swell of fear from thinking about how fast the old woman's staff had moved. "Good!" Baachan grabbed a few broken sticks of no-longer-chair and held them up. "Once I saw a street performer juggle with one hand. Today we go one better--NO hands!" Drops of sweat broke out on Jiro's forehead as he tried to summon the will to catch hold of the sticks. He didn't even know why he was doing it, having the sinking feeling that he couldn't stop Baachan if he tried. The sheer absurdity of the situation weighed heavily on his mind. And what the hell was a "disco" anyway? ===== Beware the Radish Presents... D A R K T I M E S started by John Evans Chapter 3: Hints written by John Evans ===== Reiko knocked gently on a door. A panel in the door slid open at eye level. "Mountain." "River," Reiko replied. The door slid back, barely far enough for Reiko to squeeze through, before it slammed shut again. Reiko blinked, trying to adjust her eyes to the dim light. A burly man stood before her, his arms crossed. His eyes were pools of blackness, but the light glinted off his shaven head. "About time you checked in, Agent Magenta," a deep voice rumbled from behind his large, dusty scarf. "Nice to see you too, Keichi," Reiko said, raising her eyebrows. The man grunted and turned away. She followed him down a short hall into a room lit by a small oil lamp. Two more men and a woman sat silently at a rickety wooden table. As Reiko entered, the woman looked up and stood, a smile breaking out on her face. "Reiko! Finally." She stepped forward and hugged Reiko. Reiko returned the gesture, having the fleeting sensation the woman's thin body would break if she squeezed too hard. "How are you holding up, Mera?" Reiko pulled back and looked at the other woman, almost a girl. Mera's hair was straight and dark, framing a startlingly pale face. Her eyes flicked nervously away from Reiko's, then met them again in another smile. Reiko smiled back, trying not to wince at Mera's bony cheeks. "I'm--it's okay," Mera replied. She trailed her hands down to take Reiko's in her grasp. "Shinichi says I'll be okay..." Reiko sighed, frowning. "I know Dr. Belker would be able to figure out what's wrong--" "We've been over this," Keichi growled from his post in the corner of the room. "Nobody would believe she's a Tech." He cracked his knuckles. "Yes, yes, fine." Reiko ran her hand through her hair and exhaled deeply. Then she forced a smile. "How are our projects going?" she asked. "Any progress?" "Oh!" Mera turned and slipped back to her seat. At this point Reiko noticed a number of creased and dirty papers scattered on the table. She pulled out a chair and sat across from the other woman, studying the documents. Most were familiar to her from long study, but some--"This is something I particularly wanted to show you," Mera said, smoothing out a large brown parcel wrapping upon which someone had scribbled an impossibly intricate diagram. Reiko stared at it with bewildered respect--whatever the hell the thing was, it was certainly detailed! ===== Seiji flattened himself against the wall of the darkened hallway and waited for several seconds. Hearing only distant cries from the training fields outside, he stretched out a hand...and knocked twice. Infiltration rule #1: Knock first. It's easier to explain why you're knocking than why you're breaking and entering. A few more moments passed. Seiji exhaled and wrapped a length of cloth around his right hand. Careful not to let his skin touch the metal, he took hold of the doorknob and turned. The door opened easily, and he slipped inside. Light streamed in from the window. Seiji immediately crouched, bringing his head below the point of view of anyone outside. He crept forward, scanning the room. There was a wooden desk, of recent make, against one wall, and a battered prewar filing cabinet in another corner. Silently giving thanks for the tedious months he had to spend working in Lander administration, Seiji opened the bottom drawer of the cabinet and began hunting through it. As he searched, Seiji glanced out the window every now and then. The training fields were filled with prospective Landers going through obstacles. There were the traditional tire-running and wall-climbing courses, along with dragging weights and various calesthenics. Seiji didn't remember the balance beam walking or whatever it was the trainees on metal bars were doing, but he'd heard the tasks changed each trial to keep applicants on their toes. Rejected applicants could keep coming back, of course; this was probably the second or third time for some of the men (and women) down there. Of course, it really wasn't difficult to be fit enough to qualify; Seiji had been scared enough to train desperately for months before applying and had easily passed his first time out. No, it wasn't too hard to *physically* qualify as a Lander. The *tough* part came afterwards... ===== Dr. Belker peered into the innards of a disassembled machine. A soft chime sounded, and he blinked and looked up. "Sensei?" Dr. Belker smiled. "Yes, GEISHA?" "I have some new data. If you're not busy, of course..." The hologram folded her arms demurely. "No! No, not at all, I was just relaxing." The scientist put down his electronic probe and scampered over to sit before her. "What is it?" The artifical intelligence coughed delicately. "Some more information about one of the Councillors," she recited. "It seems that 'Majin' is most focused on conquest and control of the populace." Dr. Belker blinked several times. "Wait a moment!" he suddenly cried, jumping up from his seat. "You mean the Councillors don't divide up geographic territory between themselves?!?" "Hai, Sensei." GEISHA smiled. "Although each Councillor does have *some* territory to themselves--at least, that's what records seem to imply--mainly they operate by division of labor." "Extraordinary." Dr. Belker began to pace. "But I suppose--I've heard that those who are Powered often have very--their powers are, well, different." "Individual?" GEISHA offered. "Yes!" The doctor wheeled on her again. "Individualized! So if we assume that all the Councillors are Powered in some way--" "Sensei, if you assume--" "Yes, yes, I know. But still," he was pacing again, "different skills, different powers, most convenient to have different areas of labor." "I think you're correct, Sensei," GEISHA smiled. "Hm, yes." Dr. Belker was staring off into space. "And we--right here, where we are, we have Majin. Conquest, and fighting." He laughed weakly. "Just our luck that we had to start with the hardest target." "Oh, I don't think he's the hardest." Dr. Belker blinked. "I'm sorry?" "Nothing, Sensei." GEISHA smiled. "What was it you were saying?" The scientist scratched his head for a moment. "Oh...Oh, yes!" He smiled again. "I was just curious as to where you found this information, GEISHA?" GEISHA held out her hand and a holographic computer window appeared, hovering above it. "I happened to come across a woman who was searching through some of the same record sites. We shared some information with each other." Dr. Belker stared. "Another hacker? That's wonderful! I didn't think there was anyone else even interested in the old systems!" GEISHA's smile was radiant. "She's a very interesting person, I know you'll like her when you meet her." The window disappeared. "Unfortunately, she's logged off for the night..." "Oh? Well, that's all right." Dr. Belker turned back to a machine on his workbench. "Enough relaxation, back to work!" He picked up his probe and bent over again. There was silence for several moments. Then, "Sensei?" "Hm?" The scientist looked up again. "Yes?" GEISHA ran a hand through her hair. "I was just curious--before you were relaxing, and now you're working?" "Yes? Oh!" Dr. Belker smiled and gestured across the bench. "*This* machine is important. *That* one was just for fun!" "Oh, silly me!" ===== To be continued... ===== Author's note I still suck. John Evans jevans@alum.mit.edu 4/26/02 #52 Beware the Radish http://www.chaoseed.com/btr/