Chapter 25: Book I Epilogue: The Panopticon_Magik Online

Chapter 25: Book I Epilogue: The Panopticon

 ss Field.

 The human called a ss cup to his hand, ying with it like a monkey discovering fire. Sometimes, the human looked at empty space, as if reading a text only he could see. He had behaved simrly at Dynamis, the day he started exhibiting the first signs of his strange behavior.

 The watcher reyed the recording, adding Flux sensors over it. Through his Metalmesh spell, he moved inside the holo-video as if physically there, sitting right in front of the Martel.

 ss Field.

 Sparkles of Blue and Orange meshed together, taking hold over all ss in the apartment. Such a horrible, crude, yet awe-inspiring sight. The watcher reyed it again, trying to understand.

 ss Field.

 Even his el Premium Thoughts-enhanced mind couldnt grasp the mechanics behind the new spell. He doubted their researchers or UBs would do better, even if he had ordered full psychometric analysis of the Martels apartment.

 Maybe Loctis could uncover this mystery. The watcher made a note to forward these samples to him.

 The Green Minister had already started looking into the Evermarsh UB. Loctis thought he had made his organotech impervious to attack, and he obsessed over design ws. Its ckout had hurt his pride, and he would stop at nothing to remove that defect.

 The watcher admired his work ethic, his pure, simple search for perfection. The same drive that animated him.

 He chose another recording, more recent. The Martel spoke with the Matsumoto deviant, conspiring.

 Youre the other yer. How long?

 You are a yer, too.

 I am a Blue yer. Youre a Yellow one, am I right?

 yer. That word came back often. Was it a code for sorcerer? The Martel boy had worked in the gaming industry; as the leader of his gang, he must have chosen their inside terminology. To outsiders, they must have looked like people talking about a new virtual reality plot instead of plotting terrorist activities.

 Yet as far as they knew, the Martel hadnt been inmunication with the other deviant before they met. No trace of chats, messages, or email. Kresniks report mentioned the Shroud couldmunicate with his group without radio interception. How long had he been doing that, without them noticing?

 He had noticed strange signals perturbing Dynamis servers the night the Martel started behaving abnormally, staring at a nkputer screen. They had vanished off from records before he could investigate.

 The watcher exited the recording, moving inside hisworks database as if walking through a library. He looked at the various samples in the Mathias Martel file.

 M. Martel, first day in Evermarsh. M. Martel, HR meeting at Dynamis. M. Martel, first hacking attempts. M. Martel, seventeen years birthday party. M. Martel, first kiss with Persephone Werner.

 Two years worth of continued surveince.

 The watcher knew the Martel better than he knew himself; he knew his blood type, O+, and his favorite ice cream vor, citrus-chocte with cranberry. He knew the Martel loved girls with heart-shaped face with long hair and to put obscure Disney references in his games.

 There were a few holes, though. While they have had the church under watch for a while, Boozs anti-scrying measures had interfered with his magic, leaving what happened to Maggie Powells, Murmur the Imp, and Solomon a mystery. As far as the watcher knew, they had entered the building and walked out sorcerers. The churchs destruction also made further psychometric investigation difficult.

 The events in the Arc-City, from the Martels spellcasting to the murder of Smokefang, hadnt been recorded either due to the UB bugging. He guessed the boy had somehow contacted the Werner family since he had left Evermarsh without attempting to see them onest time. He would send a mindbreaker to examine their memories.

 Since they could not record dreams either, the Martels interactions with the Maleking remained a mystery. The two had made contact, with the archdemon marking the human with a Curse, before lifting it after the artifact theft.

 That had been one of the two rm signals the watcher had received, after the first time his check-up scrying caught the Martel practicing sorcery. It had been a cause for concern at first, but he had decided against acting.

 The Maleking ignored the boys true purposeor he would never have let him go this easilyand the Ministry getting involved would have tipped the archfiend off.

 Aster, Blue Minister of Concordia and head of Imperial Intelligence, always yed with his cards close to his chest.

 With a thought, hepiled the case and forwarded it to Grandmaster Wyrde. With the ult Matrix nned absorption, he now had undeniable proof the Terminal project seeded, and that the fish had taken the bait.

 So far, while facing a few deviations, his n remained right on track. The Grandmaster would be pleased.

 Aster remained inside his machines instead of returning to his flesh. He rarely used his body anymore; it was a useful carrier for his brilliant mind to interact with the physical world, yet also so limited. Aster preferred to exist as distilled will inside hisputers, a phantom unrestrained by the physical world.

 A famous Dot Five spell, Infoform, could do exactly that, turning the caster into immaterial information. Aster himself had yet to achieve that power, although he trained tirelessly to unlock that spell. One did not be an archmage overnight.

 One day though, he would seed, casting off his flesh to be a sublime, perfect existence; the apex of Blue Sorcerers, a mind without limits. Every camera in the Empire would be his eyes. He would suffer no hole in his reports anymore, everything would run on time, and no enemy of the state would escape reeducation.

 s, such a future was beyond him. For now.

 His mind moved to other iing files from Terra Firma.

 Suspected sorcerers cases in the American Protectorate. Monster attacks and attempted dragonying in the Amazonian Protectorate. Spell-Encoded goods ck market in Neo York. Dragon Governor of Europe Pie Prank. Suspected Sorcerer Rainbow in Johannesburg.

 Such rms had risen in thest few weeks, enough to attract Asters personal attention. While on the surface little cause for concern and isted cases, the Minister could see a greater design, a single will pulling the strings.

 And, the biggest mystery, how could a whole group of sorcerers rise in Evermarsh without attracting notice? The Minister sensed these events were but the tip of the iceberg, a sign of chaos toe on Terra Firma.

 The true enemy had made its move.

 They would crush it like the rest. The flesh may live and die, but the Empire wouldst forever.

 Aster openedmunications with multiple people, screens manifesting around his data self. With el Premium Thoughts, he exchanged with his officers around the entire Imperial space simultaneously. Taking reports, distributing information, ordering arrests, interrogations, and idents.

 Kresniks feed warranted a little more attention than usual though. A leave? Aster repeated.

 John Kresnik never took an administrative leave in his entire, century-long career. If he used all the days he umted, the werewolf could take a whole Imperial year off.

 A look at the scar beneath his jaw told Aster why. You wish to pass the White Dot Four reditation?

 Yes, Minister. I would like to be transferred to the training center on the Homeworld.

 His surprising defeat had shaken the lycan to the core. For years, Kresnik had remained undefeated thanks to abination of his magic and his native lycan abilities. He had danced with death many times, but defeat at the hands of an untrained group of sorcerers awakened some deep-rooted doubts about rusting skills.

 I need to focus on training one hundred percent, Kresnik exined himself. I cannot serve the Empire at my current level.

 Minister Aster disliked people. Their noxious ther bothered him, distracted his thought-processes, wasted his time. Citizens should be like Gearsmen, obeying without question. Obedient, manageable, efficient.

 Kresnik being the closest to that ideal, Aster had a soft spot for him. He respected total dedication to the Imperial cause. Request granted.

 The lycan gave him a salute, and Aster closed his feed, focusing on the next, more problematic one. My condolences for your sons loss, he said without meaning it. Aster had found that flesh-beings took it badly when he forgot those wasteful social niceties.

 He couldnt even shoot straight. ckcinders sounded cold, but Aster didnt need Blue Sorcery to notice the sorrow and anger underneath. The Martel had made a deadly nemesis when he killed Smokefang.

 He tried to push her in a more manageable direction. We could use the Werners as hostages. While the Martel left them behind, reports indicate they were close. Humans are social creatures, or so I heard.

 ckcinders looked at him with contempt. Your ploys cost me my son. You had your chance.

 So narrow-minded. I still have. While the n isnt progressing exactly as I intended

 I do not care about your n anymore, ckcinders cut him off, fury in her eyes. He killed my son, spilled my blood, dered war on dragonkind. I want him dead, and his little group too. I already issued a bounty for them.

 If he had been using his body, Aster would have sighed.

 Why did people let dead meat obscure their judgment? Emotions were such a base weakness. The Blue Minister never suffered from that defect, even during his childhood on Mazeworld. Never saw the difference between things and people, never shed a tear at members of his herd dying.

 Other bullmen thought him defective, apathetic, but Grandmaster Wyrde thought otherwise. She saw in his mind the pure, untainted logic she wanted for her head of information gathering. The cornerstone of stability needed to bnce out her Ministers entricities.

 In the end, it always fell to him to keep the Imperial ship afloat. Only through total discipline, could the Grandmasters perfect world be achieved.

 Aster would not let anything, or anyone, get in the way of his masters vision.

 I cannot cooperate with you on that front, he told his colleague. We still need him alive.

 I never expected you to, ckcinders replied, before abruptly cuttingmunication. She always did that, to control interactions. It made her feel powerful when it only revealed her fear.

 Aster waited a few seconds, pondering the situation. His Premium Thoughts-enhanced mind considered a myriad of possible futures.

 Unlike ckcinders, Aster understood the value of patience. A good trap was like wine; you may have to wait years for it to bear fruits, but the effort would pay off.

 The Martel trap had yet to activate, which meant the true enemy hadnt contacted the boy directly yet. That was why he hadnt sent a mindbreaker to pick his brain open, nor lifted a finger to intervene. Everything the boy hid, Aster would learn in time.

 Smokefangs murder, a minor rebel movement rising on a forgotten border world, those mattered little to the Blue Minister, who yed a game spanning trillions of lives and countless worlds.

 The destruction of a Dot Five enemy though was worth almost any price; he would dly sacrifice a thousand Smokefang to achieve that goal. Strike at the shepherd, and the sheep will scatter.

 That was why the short-sighted Red Minister couldnt be let into the Grandmasters greater ns. An orbital cannon in dragon form, shecked subtlety. Suitable to crush the Empires enemies with intimidation and brute force, but improper for indirect strategies.

 While the Martels behavior couldnt be ignored, the long-term gains in keeping him alive greatly outweighed the short-term gains of killing a rebel.

 He could not let ckcinders remove the boy from the board until they caught the true enemy.

 Reaching a decision, he opened a newmunication channel. The Blue hologram of an armored woman showed up inside his datawork. Melusine, the human Terminal

 I know, Minister Aster. His elite agent always was one step ahead, but she usually let others finish their sentences out of politeness. Not this time. Where did he go?

 The Flux signature indicates the Midnight Market. He would have offered more information, but that intergctic ck market had strong protections against scrying.

 No matter. He had already deployed Melusine there to deal with a local, rebel-loving warlord. Time to solve two problems with oneser shot. ckcinders issued a bounty on his head and will send death squads after his group. She maye after him herself.

 He hadnt bothered bringing his top agent into the matter while Smokefang lived. Unlike her ipetent son, though, ckcinders would kill the Martel boy if left unchecked. She was lethal, vicious, and relentless.

 Find and protect my asset, Aster ordered his agent, even if he didnt need to. This takes priority over the Shadow Queens assassination.

 What about the others?

 Kill them all. Only the Martel was necessary, and perhaps it would force the true enemy into action to protect its own assets. You have my support should you ask for it.

 Melusine ended themunication with a nod. She wouldnt botch this one. Too personal.

 Aster received a priority request. Anton Maxwell. Report, the Minister asked, as the feed opened.

 Anton stood next to another of his kind. Minister Aster, I would like to introduce you to

 Samantha Brown. He had a file on her.

 He had a file on everyone.

 What of her? Aster asked. The girl remained silent, intimidated, and still reeling from thetest events.

 I believe she could be of use for the Martel case. A case Maxwell had been heavily involved in since the boy had applied to hispany. She says she could convince him to turn around.

 Dubious. While reports pointed at physical attraction from the Martel towards the Brown lifeform, his newest psych analysis indicated that, with the loss of his bearings, the sorcerer would probably escte. Just as he left the Werners behind, he would pay little mind to childhood crushes, sacrificing such trivial matters for the pursuit of power and revenge.

 Would he not turn that drive against Concordia, Aster would have considered it an improvement. Too many people made hormone-based decisions. I do not believe it.

 Aster held a better trump card anyway.

 Before the Minister could tell Maxwell off for wasting his time, the Firman made another proposal. Then I would like to rmend her for the Institute.

 Ah, yes. With the Martel now an open renegade, they were one candidate short. Although Aster didnt select institute members, with Browns dubious affiliations, his approval was necessary. Leave us alone.

 Anton nodded and vanished from the feed. The Brown straightened up, stressed out.

 Good. Minister Aster had found humans more pliable when isted.

 Minister Aster, it is a great honor to meet such a

 Make your case, he cut her off to destabilize her, You have five minutes.

 The Brown adapted, taking a strong poise. I want to say I have nothing to do with my parents crimes, nor the attack on my home. Jack Jack was a traitor who Her skin paled, and sweat fell from her forehead.

 Jack Powells tried to kill you. Aster had a direct feed to that same personif Powells could be called one anymoresitting in a cell on Electon; his Flux drained so as to prevent him from casting spells.

 The Maleking promised power to its recruits, and somehow bound the Candlemaker, a fire elemental, to a human being. The Minister thought those events connected and had asked Electons researchers to study the Powells biology as soon as possible.

 Jack turned his head at an empty spot in his cell, with absolute focus. It was subtle, but the Minister noticed. As if he were listening to something only he could see.

 or someone.

 Now that he thought of it, it seemed odd the Maleking would waste a sorcerer asset to attack civilians. The demon may revel in whimsical chaos and mindless violence, but it yed for higher stakes.

 Had it expected his pawn to get caught?

 Aster would ask his staff to look at Powells more closely than other prisoners, send mindbreakers to read his thoughts. While he may overthink it, he wouldnt take any chances. Only the paranoid survived.

 I do not believe you have anything to do with your parents nor Powells crimes. Although he worried about her poor choice ofpany. Neither did you know of Mathias Martels true allegiance.

 No, I did not.

 Others may think otherwise though. The cost of surrounding yourself with rebels and murderers. So tell me, why should I give you the benefit of the doubt?

 Samantha Brown took a deep breath. I want to redeem myself. Aster listened intently, forcing the Brown to speak to fill the silence. I want to clean the Brown name, prove to the Empire that I am not a criminal. I want to put my mind to the service of the greater good.

 Good to hear. Now, tell me the truth.

 The Brown reeled from the rebuke, realizing that no lies nor politically correct stance would gain his favor. He could divine her thoughts without needing to read her mind; her hesitation at whether she should word her true intents in a pretty way, or go for coarse honesty.

 Do you believe in evil, Lord Aster? Coarse honesty.

 No, he replied. There was no enemy he couldnt reeducate into a good citizen, given time.

 I didnt either until I saw Jack again. When he transformed into that that thing, I understood I had been mistaken. There is evil in our world, Lord Aster. It must be cleaned away.

 Her voice betrayed a familiar kind of self-righteous anger. Aster had a strong sentiment of dj vu.

 I almost died. Her voice broke a little at that. Close friends almost died, and one went mad because I didnt call the rm on Jack and my dad when I should have had. I want a second chance.

 Others would havebeled her a deluded martyr or a glory hound, but Aster saw something in her. A deep, despairing need to prove herself. A potent, exploitable drive.

 While the Minister looked down on emotions, they could be good tools if properly wielded. Especially to move the flesh around. Granted.

 I want She stopped herself. Granted?

 You will join the Institute with my blessing, and have your second chance. If you apply yourself, work hard, and prove your loyalty, you will get the fame and protection you deserve from Concordia. The Empire takes care of its wards.

 That easily? she must have thought.

 No, not that much. But you will work for me first. If I want you to sell your body to trap the enemy, you will; if I want you to kill, you will; if I want you to put a bullet through your head, you shall pull the trigger.

 Her eyebrows creased the further the Minister spoke. I expect nothing less than total, upromising obedience from now on, and I shall brook no secret from you. You will belong to Concordia body and soul.

 The Brown took his words in, weighting them down. Can I still sing? she asked.

 An odd request. Only the truth. The Imperial truth.

 She doubted, and looked ready to waver, yet made the right choice nheless. I swear it, Lord Aster I shall do as you say.

 Then dismissed, he replied, before ending themunication. He would wait and see if the Brown would prove useful. If so, he could cultivate her into a good asset. He had made that speech to Melusine not long ago, and it had proven a worthwhile investment.

 As for the rebels, he would allow them the illusion of freedom for a little longer, let them hope.

 It would make snuffing it out all the more effective.

 Spell of the Day<table><tbody><tr><td>Call

 Affinity: Violet

 Dot: 2

 Price: 6-10

 Activation: Active, Voice Vector.

 Invites an Outsider from another ne of existence and whose true name the user knows to teleport to their location; the target cannot be located on the users ne when the spell is cast. The Outsider instinctively knows who the caller is, can choose to refuse the call, and is under nopulsion to obey any order.</td></tr></tbody></table>

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Chapter 25: Book I Epilogue: The Panopticon