BP&G - The Mad Wizard

[joegoda]

Pockets hung in space, just above the web of lights. He could see where each and every one of the lights connected and could see the interplay of the colors and sparking energies as the planet changed, aged, moved, and lived.

"Where shall I go first?" he wondered aloud. "Hmm, hmm, and hum."

Stretching his perception, he found Bags and Grizelda, sleeping. He could tell by the merged colors that the baby within Grizelda was healthy and growing normally. "Nothing abnormal there, thank the Gods and Goddesses." He chuckled to himself. "I guess that would mean me, now." He pursed his lips and reconsidered. "Best let the kids sleep. I'd give 'em a helluva scare if I just popped in now."

Even so, he chanced a glimpse into Bags dreams. Bags was dreaming of the old days, when he and Pockets were out on the road, before they met Grizelda. The setting was odd, though. It wasn't anywhere that Pockets recognized. There were tall plants with large fronds. And there were strange animals, orange and brown stripped, the size of a camel but with a meaner disposition, six legs and really big teeth. Bags had his sword out, bloody and shining, and he was slashing furiously at two of them. He had a few cuts on his arms and a gash running along his chest, but he seemed fine. He seemed better than fine, he was laughing and roaring with unbridled joy.

He checked the memory of the computer, which was now his memory, and found that the planet did indeed contain such an animal. It was located on that mysterious southern continent. The locals called the ferocious creatures Grawls. Not a terribly imaginative name, he thought. "I gotta go see that place for myself," Pockets promised himself.

He gently pulled out of Bags' dream, and just as gently went into Grizelda's. Her dream was much more calm, generally a dream of normal life. She was hanging wet clothes on a line in the back. A young girl stood next to her, passing clothespins from a small basket to Grizelda. Grizelda, in the dream, smiled down at her daughter.

"Mom, when will Pop be home?" the girl asked.

"Esme, you know I can't tell you that." Grizelda pulled a pin from her mouth and used it to fasten a shirt to the line. "Your father is off on one of his adventures, so there's no telling."

Esme, whose full name was Esmeralda Lapockets Bags, looked up at her mother with her hands on her hips. "You know... some day I'll be going out on adventures too! Then Pop will just have to wait on ME!"

Grizelda laughed and ruffled the brown hair of eight-year old Esmeralda. "I have no doubt of that, sweetheart." She turned back to her laundry. "Fortunately, you have a few years to go. Don't give me more grey hairs than I already have before their time, okay?"

Esme smiled mysteriously and waved at no one at all.

Grizelda turned around, and looked to see nobody there and asked, "Who on earth are you waving at, silly?"

Blinking her innocent green eyes and continuing to smile, Esmeralda said, "Uncle Pockets is looking at us."

Grizelda, her face showing shock, asked "What? What did you say?"

Pockets pulled out of Grizelda's dream not quite as gently as he had Bags. He checked Grizelda's vital signs and found them to be slightly elevated, but normal otherwise.

"Well..." He muttered. "That was... weird."

He turned his awareness to the fetus growing. Oddly enough, the not quite born baby girl appeared to be smiling and waving at him.

Grizelda woke with a start, poked Bags a couple of times and said, "Bags! Wake up! I've just had the strangest dream, and the baby is kicking like a mule!"

Bags rolled over, opened one eye, and grumbled, "Probably that chili you had tonight. Told you there was too much pepper."

Pockets pulled himself away, and searched the shiny web for someone else. He found Capitani's light, very bright, and yet it fluctuated. Sometimes it was dim, and sometimes blinding. He opened his eyes upon her world.

Capitani was sitting up before the fire, sipping hot tea.

He looked into her mind, into what she was thinking, and he was surprised. She was thinking about death. Pockets recoiled as if he had picked up a snake. He looked at her face and she was sitting composed, not a sign of sadness or dread marked any line on her face.

"Maybe I picked it up wrong," Pockets though, knowing that was impossible. He listened, timorously to what she was thinking. She was concerned, in a concept that shown a lovely aquamarine, about what Bren, her son, would do after she was gone. She wasn't terribly worried about her husband, Thom. He was a big boy now, and should be able to handle himself. But Bren...

Pockets shifted the world just a little bit, not much, but just a tiny scootch. He whispered, "He'll do just fine, Capitani. I promise."

Capitani jerked up right, spilling her tea. She whipped her head around, looking for the source of the whisper, her eyes wide with fright. "Who? Who said that?" She stood up and looked around. She grabbed a candlestick from the table in front of her.

"I don't want to hurt you, but I'll warn you, I'm armed."

Pockets pondered this turn of events. It was certainly not his intention to scare the daylights out of Capitani. He came up with a solution, but it wasn't one that he liked, because of the amount of power required.

Up to this moment, Pockets assumed he was all powerful, pulling energy from a source that existed in the space between everything else. He suddenly became aware that even though the source was unlimited, the vessel that contained the source, the computer and his own frail human frame was not.

If he kept output up too long, he would burn himself out. It was one thing to spread the energy out in a billion tiny pushes, maybe even to do a few minor practical jokes, but to condense and form a human shape carried the potential of disaster and death.

"What the hell," he thought. "This was Capitani! Besides I'll just be really quick."

Capitani heard a short hum, saw a small light grow near the front door of the small house she and her family lived in. The light popped open and spread up and down and out. It assumed a slightly human shaped nebula that shimmered with the colors of the rainbow.

Capitani, shaking and eyes wide, said "Who are... what are you?" She raised the candlestick, threateningly.

"Capitani, I'm... uh." Pockets stopped. Should he tell her who he is? If he did, it might require hours of explaining, and he could feel the drain on his system already. "In for a copper, in for a gold, I always say," he thought to no one.

"Capitani, I'm Pockets. Now, don't freak out, ok?"

"Pockets? Pockets is gone... no wait." Capitani crinkled her brow, but didn't lower the candlestick. "You maybe feel a little like Pockets. Maybe a little, but you don't look like Pockets. Say something Pockets-like."

"Sheesh, Capitani! I don't have a lot of time!" Pockets made the voice even have a bit of desperation. He thought quickly, which for him was incredibly fast. A half second later he said, "I'll always be your Sir Pockets, if you will be my Master Harlequin!"

The candlestick clattered to the ground, and Capitani hid her mouth behind her hands. "Pockets?" she whispered. "How?" She shook her head, disbelieving. "Where are you?" she asked. "I heard there was a search party out looking for you. Do you know you've been gone for a month? When I went to visit you that day, you said you were going wizard hunting. Did you find him?"

"Capitani, please." Pockets begged. "I don't have much time. This is killing me."

Capitani closed down. Her eyes closed, her mouth closed, her face closed up as well, scrunching up like sad sponge.

"I wanted you to not be afraid. I wanted you to know I'll always be around you. I wanted you to know that Bren and Thom will be all right." He felt his body, back in the chair, start to spasm from its reaction to so much energy output. "I'm sorry, Capitani, I've got to go. But I'll be listening, okay?"

Capitani watched as the nebula collapsed into itself and disappeared with a soft pop. She took a while to close her mouth. She found herself very, very tired. She made her careful way back to the sofa, collected her teacup, and curled up under the blankets again. She started to take a sip from her tea only to be surprised. All her tea had spilled out.

Choking back a quiet sob, she said, "Darnitall, Pockets! You made me spill my tea." Then, with tears in her eyes, she laughed quietly at the foolishness of it all.

In the shimmering darkness, Pockets stopped to access his situation. "Access the situation? I'm sounding more and more like Bags", he muttered.

He sent a tiny awareness back to his body, and discovered that it was, indeed, overheated and weak. He saw Fletcher energetically maintaining the body, injecting fluids, wiping down a sweaty brow. He watched as the Mad Wizard bent down and said in the body's ear, "Bet you won't be trying that again for a while, will you? You DO have limits, you know."

Pockets moved the lips on the body, pushed air from the lungs and replied dryly, "Now you tell me."

Fletcher smiled. "Well." He placed a cool towel around Pockets' neck. "There's no greater teacher than experience. I will say this, though. You got much further than Overhill ever did."

"Oh?"

"Yes. Overhill died from simple old age. He was," a small second passed, "eight hundred and thirty six. You on the other hand appear to want to kill yourself much faster. Do try to be more careful, won't you, Chester? The fuel is very strong, and it's easy to burn out the engine."

Pockets lips were very dry. A tongue ran out, licked them, and he said, "No kidding. Eight hundred and thirty six." He blinked his eyes. "Reckon I'm still here, huh?"

Fletcher normally impassive face showed a bit of surprise. "You thought you would disappear into the void? Silly boy, of course not. You're still here. You're still human." He reached over to a table and picked up a mug of something orange and... Lumpy. "Here, drink."

Pockets did so. It was sweet with an under hint of bitter. "Ugh," he complained as he chewed the drink. "What is it?"

"Oh, just the juice of an orange, some pureed apple pulp, some crushed nuts for protein and an egg. We must keep your strength up." He took the mug from Pockets and placed it on the table. "So, what did you think of your trip?"

Pockets started to sit up, but found himself restrained by the straps on his arms and the connection in his neck. He lay back down and relaxed. "It was much better than when you had me here the last time." He paused for a moment. "You know... I can still feel myself back there. I can feel all the connections to the entire world."

"Of course you can. You're only partly here." Fletcher smiled. "The rest of you is out there, somewhere."

"Huh. After all these years of people telling me I'm not all here, I've finally proved them right."

Fletcher had no comment.

"Think it's safe for me to go back?" Pockets asked.

"Chester, you're only here," Fletcher explained, "in this body, because you thought yourself here. You could have stayed out in the great unknown forever and I would have stayed here, making sure your body stayed healthy." Again, he smiled gently. "Forever, if need be."

"Forever?" Pockets asked. "I could live forever?"

"However you would define forever, Chester, that is how long you, potentially could live."

"Wow." Pockets said. "Just... wow." Then his brow wrinkled. "I don't know if I'd like that."

Fletcher nodded. "That's expected. Humans should grow old and die. It's part of the natural cycle."

"Yeah." Pockets was quiet. "But not before their time. I'll be back, Fletch. I need to go see someone."

Launching out from his body, Pockets sailed the lights of the web until he came to where Capitani was sitting. Only a few seconds seemed to have passed and he heard her say "...spill my tea." He saw the tears drop from her eyes, and it broke his heart.

"So," he whispered into her ear, "why are you laughing?"

Capi jumped again. "So you really can hear me?"

"Of course, Capitani. I'd never lie to you." Pockets pushed the matrix and picked the spilled tea up from where it fell and caused it to fall back into her cup. For good measure, he even gave it a bit of a warm up.

"Pockets, Pockets. Where are you?" Capitani asked.

"Everywhere, Capitani. I mean, I'm in one spot, or my body is. But the me that makes me... it's everywhere. It's complicated."

"I can tell." She sat quietly. "If you were here, I'd pour you some tea, you know. We'd sit here on this sofa and tell stories of the old days and jokes and laugh until we woke Thom and Bren up. Then I'd make us all breakfast."

"Capitani," Pockets asked, quietly, "Why aren't you asleep? You should be exhausted."

"Oh, I am, Pockets. So tired I can't even sleep." She looked into her tea. "I just had some things on my mind."

"I know. I heard."

"What?" Capitani looked up. "What? You can read my thoughts?"

"Well... yes."

"Don't you ever do that again, Chester Pockets." Capitani's eyes flashed angry jagged beams of anger. Pockets could feel the shock from her anger.

"Um. Okay."

"No!" her voice raised. "You don't understand, Pockets. You always seemed to miss that one thing that the rest of us know instinctively. You don't go looking through other people's things! Promise me you will never, ever go looking through my thoughts again. Ever."

"Okay, okay!" Pockets voice whispered loudly in her ear. "Sheesh. It's not like I was stealing anything you know."

"You stole my privacy, Pockets." Capitani's voice dropped to a husky whisper. "Promise me, Pockets. And not just me, but everyone else, too. It's just wrong."

"Okay, Capitani. I'm sorry. I promise."

"You promise what?" Capitani asked.

Pockets' whisper sighed. "I promise that I will not go reading yours or anybody else's thoughts every again, forever and ever unless I get their explicit permission to do so. Okay? All right?"

"Okay." Capitani said. "All right." She took a deep, shuddering breath. "I think I can sleep now. I think you just about done me in, Mister."

"Capitani, I'm so sorry..."

"Pockets, stop apologizing. No harm, no foul. Just don't do it again." Capitani sipped her tea, draining the cup. "Thanks for the tea, though. I noticed you put a bit of honey in it."

"Sweets for the sweet." Pockets whispered.

"Get on with you now." She smiled as she shakily got to her feet. "Really, go. I'm going to bed." She started for the bedroom door, and then turned. "And no peeking mister! You keep them everywhere eyes to yourself, you hear."

"We'll talk later?" Pockets asked.

"You betcha. I want to hear all about what is going on with you." Capitani said. "Now scoot."

Pockets pushed a tiny brush of non-existent lips against her cheek. "Good night, my harlequin."

"Good night, master inventor, my invisible friend."

Pockets pulled himself away from Capitani's bubble and faded back into the diamond blackness. He had gone there to cure her. To offer her a gift to take away her pain and give her health. He wondered now if that would have been the right thing to do. Her illness was part of her. It gave her strength, and in an odd sort of way, it was what cause him to love her all the more. He suspected that she would do a much better job of running the world than he ever would.

"Well then, old son," he said to the flashy blobs of multi-colored light around him. "I reckon I best do a job that would make Capitani proud then, hadn't I?"

He sat by himself and thought about what to do next. After all, forever was a very, very long time, and Pockets hated being bored.

Comments

[shackrlu.livejournal.com]

Very well done.. I hate it.. but it's very well done. O.k.. Pockets can make changes now that he's in control.. with Fletcher's help he can build a wireless helmet to keep in contact with the chair but allow him to talk and interact with visitors or go down to the pub with Zeb and Zach.. something!! I am in the denial phase right now..

[joegoda.livejournal.com]

Unfortunately, wires are something that isn't really an option. Granted, they exist in the original ship and the ships computer, but on this planet, at this time, I'm not letting them exist in the common world.

I'm not even sure a wireless helmet would help, though it is certainly something to keep in mind. From what I understand, Pockets is pretty much required to be inmersed in the Void to creatively interact with the gravitonic matrix. When his attention is not 'In the Black', as it were, then his effect on it is the same as if Fletcher were running it. It's Pockets' creativity that is the binding fource, much as it was when Shockley was running it.

It's something that Pockets has not discovered yet, that while he can interact physically with the planet itself, it's very draining on him, because he has to focus large amounts of energy to create even a very small physical presence. Even connecting with his body is a drain on the system, because it creates a feedback loop.

The first time Pockets was too young, too inexperienced and so the Multiplexual context of the Gravitonic Matrix was frightening to him, and painful. Remember, though, that he was, even then, very close to being lost in it.

This time, he willingly went, accepting what was to be his destiny. His quantum field is completely merged with the one that Shockley set up.

Pockets is very, very new to this, and hasn't found all the pitfalls that are there, the weakening of the gravitonic matrix that holds the planet's reality together. Essentially, he is fighting Entropy, all by himself. If he wasn't in control, the planet would move closer to the sun, and the moon Lilun, because of the loss of its mass, would have a degredation of it's orbit and eventually crash into the planet.

While Pockets IS in control, he's also going to become trapped in the system, much as Overhill was, much as Shockley was. The responsibility of running a whole world requires a great sacrifice. Pockets cannot go home again.

Don't despair. Pockets is not done. And he will never be completely out of the picture. It's just time that the world moved on, and it can't do that without having crazy ol' Pockets holding the place together.

Also, keep in mind that the StoryTeller has many more stories to tell. Pockets merging with the Matix, though it was something I have been avoiding since last October, has actually freed the entire planet to create new stories. It was something that I, much as Pockets had, not wanted to face. But once we did, we realized it was something that had to be done, so that the entire planet can go on.

[capi.livejournal.com]

You've been a busy boy!! I'm delighted, but i'm also medicated. PLEASE remind me that this is here, so i will come back and read it when i have brains?

*grin*

I adores you. ((Hug))

[journiey.livejournal.com]

I Know This Is A Necessary Happening, And Has LOTS Of Potential For Happy Ever After, But I'm Feeling Like Someone I Loved Died.