Intelligence Block Read online

  For the two days before the official interview, I spent ten hours each day with a crew of programed helpers built out of all the gear I had brought with me, applying specialized material to the hall where the interview will be held. Flimsy transparent squares designed to resist and repel much of the tech that will sit on them. Modified gravity manipulation fields were also set up in the long hall.

  Over fifty applicants, all low-level Association members, crowded the long hall hoping for the rare chance of even getting the minimum long term house Magician contract. Franklin had been kind enough to let me in on the fact that an older, classical wizard was closest to what they were looking for, allowing Joontal to be born. Franklin announced the first applicant. “Wizard Joontal forward!” He yelled down the hall.

  Then my plan began. Ancient and grumpy my staff in hand. I stood up in my specially calibrated military grade power armor and suit. It still had some ticks, and the staff for walking helped cover that up. I was farthest from the interview room. I knew there were monitors there so that Lowman and his then fourteen-year-old daughter Lily could see what was going on. I walked in and activated my trick. Halfway down the gravity manipulators kicked in. It’s not an unusual effect, and magic users have to be ready for the unexpected. But every time one of the other applicants tried to resist what was going on or anchor themselves, they were met with the thin sheets of negating material I had set up.

  I moved swiftly, not wanting them to figure out a workaround as they were all shaken up and flung from the long hallway. It was rough, but also as Association members they all had expectations of being able to take care of themselves to a certain degree. My entrance performance didn’t exceed those expectations. Franklin kindly shut the security doors as the last of them was flung out as part of the trick.

  I sat down in front of my potential future patrons. “I assume the job is mine?” I asked my patrons with Wizard Joontals gravelly voice. With that, I had managed to change a long day of interviews into one short one.

  I felt terrible when I heard about the injuries that had happened. But I was also swamped with work that needed to be done. I’d come in with next to nothing, and I had tricks to plan, UIs to finish, to decide the proper way to handle the dozens of Magic Battles that were issued by my former job competitors. Twelve hour days of shopping, creating, performing, that lasted for weeks. I lived on excitement and fear of failure alone before I settled into a routine. I’d made it, but there was only one way I was going to keep it.

  It is hard to believe that all that happened years ago. It will be hard saying goodbye for even a little bit. Sometimes the best thing you can do is to take the advice of others. I hope Lowman takes it well.

  Chapter Six

  My UI drops the files on Joes Stravell and his Magician Igni Furnis into my feed. Lowman hasn’t requested any performances from me, but I make sure I have a bunch of unused tricks available in the hall where dinner is being held. Running everything by Franklin and getting approval for having the area be more fantasy than modern themed just in case.

  Joe Stravell has visited before on business, as he buys from Lowman for his company. I have never gotten the implication that he was interested in me, the opposite actually. Though not an Association member, he is a graduate of the MAGI College. It’s an excellent technical school all on its own. Corner Cakes produces the magic trick equivalent of cakes, often licensed with whatever kids shows are popular. Fancy, yet generic displays for theme parties. I suspect he disapproves of the fact that I am a homegrown magician, as opposed to having a degree and being classically trained. Information on me is sparse so he would have to be making that assumption, but most people who do have a degree advertise that fact.

  “Information on this Igni Furnis is mighty thin?”

  “Not unusually so. He has a degree, interned with Miss Spanktomus, worked briefly on Corner Cakes designed team while doing office parties to meet his association points requirements. He is an alumnus of the same Fraternity that Joe Stravell went too and this is his first major job. We consider it more of a connection than a skill-based appointment.”

  “Still, thin resumes after Mr. Maginintes odd performance makes me nervous. Let's keep up with the increased security, even if it means I have to carry an extra fifty pounds on the Joontal suit. Brainstorm other defensive options and forward the info to Franklin’s UI, Buzz. I can relax when I’m anonymously away on vacation.”

  I skim vacation destinations while puttering about my room. I get an alert when the final confirmation of how the dining room will be set up are in. Lowman’s decorator vigorously dived into the fantasy style dinner. Suits of armor, a mounted dragon skeleton hanging from the ceiling. Susan has always had free reign of my useable equipment, and though she only knows me through my UI messages or the Joontal persona, she has always respected the fact that having functioning tech as part of the house to play with allows for better shows and spontaneity. I think she might be a fan. If she wasn’t thirty years older than me, I might respond to some of her flirts.

  I’m summoned to attend Lowman as he greets his guest. Joe will have his Magician with him, Lowman will have his Wizard. I move slower than usual. My UI had taken my extra fifty pounds comment as a requirement rather than an implication of my desire for more security. No point in chastising them when I literally asked for this. Six feet away from my employer I get down on one knee and bow towards Lowman. “My Lord.” I intone in Joontals gravelly voice, keeping in character. If I ran into him on a daily occurrence, I would imagine this would get annoying. It has been a few days since I've laid eyes on him. I saw him more frequently when Lily wanted to be tutored in magic, and even the real work was mostly technical lessons with my notes, run by Booker and Tess, where Joontal could pretend he had nothing to do with technology.

  “You may rise Joontal. We have guests coming, a business associate and his Magician.”

  “I had heard. Though, I know little of this Magician who is arriving.”

  There isn’t much time for more conversation. Stovall’s car has arrived, and they will be in shortly. I’m sure Lowman’s UI is informing him of this, as much as mine is to me. Joe Stovall walks in briskly. He’s in a navy suit with a red tie and sneakers, expensive sneakers but still sneakers.

  Behind him, having to hustle a bit to keep up, is his Magician Igni Furnis. The young man looks like he is on fire. His clothing looks and acts like solid flames, just close to his body. His name should have implied as much, but such naming conventions are not always directly paralleled. His head is smaller than his body, just enough, that I suspect he had plenty of gear on himself as well, probably in some power suit. A waddling golden pig that is perhaps a UI, as well as a carrying bot for more gear, is with him. A very flashy and not unimpressive display if it isn’t for the fact that the young man, maybe a couple of years older than me, is sweating in an effort to keep up with his boss, sweating while in a suit made of fire makes it a little less impressive.

  “Lowman, my good man. I see you brought your Wizard. I know how much you like magic, so I brought my own. Classically trained, full honors with his MAGIC degree.” Joe says jovially, as his companion catches up and his breath.

  Lowman inclines his head. “I’ve found mine a good resource for the company morale. And well, Lily is even at your old alma mater having completed her first year. Having seen the work she put in, I can no longer see it as a frivolous and easy profession.”

  “I do hope she’s enjoying herself, my years at that college were some of the best of my life. I’m sure Sam, well Igni Furnis here could say the same thing. What about you Wizard Joontal, what are your experiences with that college?”

  Not the first time someone fished for that kind of information. “I have a great deal of respect for the practitioners who come out of that institution and their contributions to magic. My base education was long ago, and I still strive to keep my skills grand.” My voice is even and respectful.

  “He always this serious?”
Joe asks Lowman with a wink.

  “Yes. He has never been anyone but himself. My chef, Patricia, has produced a lovely three-course meal and would be disappointed if we didn’t get to the table on time to receive it.”

  Our short walk into Lowman's residence allows for a smooth transition into the deeply fantasy influenced dinner setting that Susan had masterfully set up. It is a sudden but not jarring reveal. I subvocalize to my UI to take notes on it and to send compliments. Chains hang the dragon bones from the ceiling for those who look up. Four suits of armor stand gleaming at each of the corners of the room. The lighting on the table is simply old fashioned candles.

  The four of us take our seats at the large square table. Igni’s pig sits right next to him. Well if that’s allowed. I use my UI to get permission and Muninn comes flying over and lands on my shoulder. Wine is served, and the conversation begins.

  Lowman talks about how Lily is doing in school. Joe waxes poetically about finding the right girl someday and having a child of his own with, in between talking about whatever hot dates with models he’s had in the past few weeks. If any business is conducted, it is between UIs and subvocalizations. I only talk when spoken too, spending most of my time looking serious and Wizardly.

  My counterpart doesn’t look comfortable, between his sweating habit and staring at his food after it was brought out to us. I make a note of several acting books and tech that could help with that, to send to him through my UI after this is done. He catches me looking at him and goes a shade paler. I feel wrong about judging him some. I’ve always had the advantage of a suit with highly controlled mannerisms over my real face in a thick layer of nano controlled infiltration technology. I was just as nervous and awkward at times early on, even if it was hidden under my character and what I wore to pull him off.

  With the second course finished and a dry conversation on the future of cakes, joe rubs his hand together. “We have our magic users. Let's have some magic. You should see the impressiveness of an actual properly trained graduate.”

  I have to fight not to roll my eyes or harumph. Susan filled this room so full of things I can use. I doubt Igni Furnis and what he brought in his suit and pig could stand up to what I can do. There is only so much you can add with holographic tech.

  The warning and my suit stiffening up, solidifying at the same time is so quick that I don’t know which one I perceive first. One of the advantages of having your UI so trusted and involved with you is that more than human reaction time. This instant appreciation of my user intelligences shifts, as what is happening finally connects to my human mind. The blast is flinging me back out of my chair, pain is starting to well up, and flashes of notifications, warnings, and actions fill the corner of my visual display.

  Igni Furnis’s weapon is in his hand, and it isn’t any magical tool of the trade. The sleek, deadly military grade weapon is in his palm, its tip still steaming from the energy discharge that is far greater than any approved action by the Association of Magic Users.

  I should be dead and probably look half it, as the suit should be an awful mess after taking that blast. I’ve already selected a defensive option and hit initiate as Igni Furnis steadies his hand and aims my way again.

  The dragon skeleton that has been hanging from the ceiling crashes onto the table, ruining whatever's left of the meal that is sitting there. I’m a giant fan of practical effects and in this case hundreds of pounds of metal and robotics. The action stops whatever shot the magician was going to take while also obstructing our views of each other.

  Booker is controlling the suits of armor, getting Lowman and Joe away out of the room. I hear some shouts of protest, but I know Franklin will approve. There is a significant danger with Association level Magicians. Even if he was playing by standard rules, he could have enough technology under his control to turn the entire Lowman estate into a smoking crater. The gun he had shot me with shows he is also clearly not following any set of rules.

  Every bit of tech I have focuses on stopping any further actions, but I know it isn’t enough. The dragon takes Igni Furnis in his jaws, Muninn is wrestling with that damn golden pig. With my suit putting itself back together, all I can do is send orders and halfway stand up. Franklin is letting me know the police and the Association of Mages has been informed. He’s on his way but won’t be here for two minutes.

  My stomach drops, I know there is only one way to neutralize this threat. Killing the magician isn’t even an option because who knows what kind of deadman switches he might have. The fact I even have the thought of doing that briefly hurts. We all take off towards my room. The Dragon is holding the rogue Magician in his jaws. I even have enough control of the table cloth to make it wrapped around him an extra layer. A suit of armor is struggling with bringing Muninn, as my UI is wrapped up in a struggle with the Golden Pig. I can only hope his military roots win this one for me.

  Bits of the tech I have in this mess I direct to act as a stop gaps to malicious bursts of activity. Be it disabling signals or actual offensive power. One knight collapses into an unusable heap. A wing falls off the dragon. I can only hope if any of Ingi Furnis’s tech that is left behind are boobytraps that Frankin and his security gear can handle it. We twist up the stairs as I don’t trust the mass of technological infighting to the elevators and all that survives of the Dragon is a floating head wrapped in a hole-ridden and burning smart-table-cloth.

  As we burst into my real room, my opponent explodes out of his makeshift cage. Chunks of metal that used to be crafted steel fly about ruining several printers and one is hot enough it sets my bed on fire. “You!” the man yells at me.

  I tackle him into my safety testing chamber, and the ball of golden skin and feathers roll in as well. A golden electrical shock arcs from the ball and I watch as Muninn dies. His constant presence since his creation in the back of my head along with Tess and Booker is no longer there. I grapple with the madman, and he struggles to get another military weapon out. I cross my fingers that Booker and Tess are safely out of the testing room. “Game over man!” I yell my emergency code word out. The testing room seals shut.

  The Magician kicks me away, my suit no longer stable and active enough to hold him. “I found you. You killed my grandfather. I saw the proof in that battle.” He points his gun at me and pulls the trigger. Nothing happens. His suit is out, the flames no longer flicking and alive. My outfit is dead, just a heavy weight on my body. I put faith in the industrial safety room I had installed blocking out any signal. Franklin might be thinking we both died. The rooms emergency properties, suddenly suppress and shut down all activity. Even my Brain feels sluggish. They advertise no long term effects on humans. Every bit of metal, plastic, and synthetic is slowly being broken down and sliding from our bodies and into small holes to be sorted into component parts.

  “I’ve never killed nobody.” I say feeling a chunk of my mask fall off my face. I’m grateful for the natural fiber underwear I put on today.

  “I saw you!” He yells incoherently at me. “You’ve caused so much pain. You have to be stopped!”

  I wipe the goop from my face. “I’m not who you think I am.” I say with a reveal of my youth. Showmanship always, I think and find myself chuckling. Igni Furnis or whoever this guy is, looks at me shocked.

  I punch him in the face, and he goes down, I manage only to do it once. I hear Franklin and his security team bursting into my room. Even with no long term damage, this isn’t good for humans. I think. Then I slip away.

  Chapter Seven

  As quickly as I find myself once again aware of my surroundings, I am robed and shuffled off and into an interview room at the local police station. I’m still not one hundred percent. I feel like I was shot by a military grade weapon while wearing armor that allowed me to survive it. Then instead of sleep, I had my consciousness forced away from me by an industrial tech-destroying machine. I’ll probably need to redo my nanite health boosters now that I think on it.

  I’m weak,
crabby, sore and in a gown. The first two people I see are the peace officers. One is short, slightly overweight with thinning hair and a mustache. The man is a naturalist, in the day and age where all those physical problems can be corrected, unless this is his ideal look. The other is an androgynous person with tight, blond hair and a combination of male and female features in a sleek one-piece outfit to show off broad shoulders and a narrow waist. Their badges are their UI, nifty bit of tech, though not military grade. I feel a pang in my heart as I think of Muninn. The cores of intelligences are so complex that you can't even back them up. “You’re in a bit of a pinch Talos June, Or do you prefer to go by Wizard Joontal?” The androgyn asks in a neutral and calm voice. I would have its name if I had my UI.

  “I would like to speak to my counsel, as well have access to my UI before continuing this conversation.” I feel like I did the right actions, but I’m no fool.

  The tubby one pounds the table, “Look, boy, yer boss agreed to cooperate with us in regards to this incident fully. Everything will go smoother if you answer our questions.”

  “I would like to speak to company counsel for clarifications, as well as my own counsel, and Association counsel will probably wish to have input as well. I also need access to my UI.” I pause and wonder if any of my UI survived all that. I know Muninn is gone, but Booker and Tess. “I need my UI. It’s like I’m missing a limb.” The honesty of that statement makes my voice crack a little.

  I’m a magic user, I know I live in more of a legal gray area than most people exist in. With explosives, deconstructing and reconstructing technology, my personal choice of playing with military hardware. That is why, even more than the safety reasons, that the Association of Magic Users exists and is active on every planet. If after years of being one I failed to have a good understanding of my rights and issues, then Tess would lecture me for hours on end.