08-30-2016, 07:40 PM
Mr. Trujillo's response came off to Jon's ear as a bit fluffy, like something pulled out of an airy doctoral thesis. A bit of an idealist, perhaps. Not that there was necessarily anything wrong with fluff in its own space. Of course, ask any prosecutor and he would always give some variation of the tried-and-true "Prosecutor is expected to restrain the power of the State, his primary goal is not to win."
But then the man asked about the Power. and looked at Jon. Well, fair enough. One could hardly explain who the Atharim were without discussing the Power. And besides, he was curious about what Katchina could tell him. Jon hadn't met very many women who could use the Power, and certainly hadn't had much of an opportunity to study their use. It would probably help the man do his job better as prosecutions of power wielders became more likely.
"I'll try to be brief, but this is not a thing that is easily explainable,"
he said. "There are stories among our people, and to be truthful legends in other cultures as well. We speak of something called the Great Spirit. It is always present and flows through all things."
He paused. He didn't really understand the science behind it, but of course there hadn't been much research done that had been published. But perhaps he could get somewhere with it. "It's like a force, like gravity. People like Katch and I...we don't know why we developed this ability, but after surviving the Sickness, we can tap into it and draw the power into us, and use it to manipulate the environment."
He reached out and seized the power. It flowed into him in a rush, burning within the marrow of his bones and churning his stomach. Outwardly he gave no indication of the violent battle going on within him. "I wasn't holding it before. Now I am. And I'm going to use it to lift this cup."
He sent out a flow of Air and cradled his coffee. Black, like Mr. Trujillo's. It smelled wonderful. The man had good taste. The mug lifted in the air by itself about six inches off the table.
"There are five base flows that make up the power. Air, water, fire, earth, and what I call spirit. The Greeks called it Aether. Here I am using a flow of air solidified to pick up the mug. You can't see it but I can actually see it wrapping the cup like a rope.
He created a tube of air and pulled the coffee into it, and it began to make a loop through the air about a foot high and back into the cup, like a small fountain. Fire would have been easier for Jon, but he didn't want to have any safety issues. This was easy enough and took a very little amount of power. "Another man who has the ability could see it, too. Men and women are different, though, in ways I don't quite understand. I cannot see what a woman is doing any differently than you could, and she cannot see what I'm doing."
He paused to see whether she indicated that to be false. Jon was pretty sure Katchina couldn't see the flows. But his skin prickled. She was touching the Power, too.
But then the man asked about the Power. and looked at Jon. Well, fair enough. One could hardly explain who the Atharim were without discussing the Power. And besides, he was curious about what Katchina could tell him. Jon hadn't met very many women who could use the Power, and certainly hadn't had much of an opportunity to study their use. It would probably help the man do his job better as prosecutions of power wielders became more likely.
"I'll try to be brief, but this is not a thing that is easily explainable,"
he said. "There are stories among our people, and to be truthful legends in other cultures as well. We speak of something called the Great Spirit. It is always present and flows through all things."
He paused. He didn't really understand the science behind it, but of course there hadn't been much research done that had been published. But perhaps he could get somewhere with it. "It's like a force, like gravity. People like Katch and I...we don't know why we developed this ability, but after surviving the Sickness, we can tap into it and draw the power into us, and use it to manipulate the environment."
He reached out and seized the power. It flowed into him in a rush, burning within the marrow of his bones and churning his stomach. Outwardly he gave no indication of the violent battle going on within him. "I wasn't holding it before. Now I am. And I'm going to use it to lift this cup."
He sent out a flow of Air and cradled his coffee. Black, like Mr. Trujillo's. It smelled wonderful. The man had good taste. The mug lifted in the air by itself about six inches off the table.
"There are five base flows that make up the power. Air, water, fire, earth, and what I call spirit. The Greeks called it Aether. Here I am using a flow of air solidified to pick up the mug. You can't see it but I can actually see it wrapping the cup like a rope.
He created a tube of air and pulled the coffee into it, and it began to make a loop through the air about a foot high and back into the cup, like a small fountain. Fire would have been easier for Jon, but he didn't want to have any safety issues. This was easy enough and took a very little amount of power. "Another man who has the ability could see it, too. Men and women are different, though, in ways I don't quite understand. I cannot see what a woman is doing any differently than you could, and she cannot see what I'm doing."
He paused to see whether she indicated that to be false. Jon was pretty sure Katchina couldn't see the flows. But his skin prickled. She was touching the Power, too.