Part 32 (1/2)
He stepped back and allowed me room.
I thought a moment. ”The cognosphere remembers everything that has ever been done, correct?”
”Indeed.” There was youthful enthusiasm in his expression.
”But it doesn't just remember the past. It places the present.”
The wizard's face dropped.
”What I mean is, the cognosphere remembers where everyone was standing, how big they were, what time of day it was, the odors, the sounds-- everything, right?”
”You mean, in the past?”
”Yes. The cognosphere remembers everything.”
”I suppose it does.”
”Imagine controlling all of those things, location, weight and such, in the present present simply by telling the cognosphere that what it is recording is simply by telling the cognosphere that what it is recording is different.” different.”
He looked down at the table, then spoke. ”It knows where this candle is, but you can tell it to remember it being elsewhere?”
”Yes. Everything in this world is recorded in a book, for lack of a better word. What has happened in the past cannot be rewritten, but the page that contains the now, the present, that that can be changed.” can be changed.”
”And any mortal man can tap into this power?”
”No. Only one who understand the language that the book is written in, can change what is written.”
His irises looked like tiny green islands on a sea of white. ”And you can write this language?”
”Yes.”
”Can the other G.o.ds?”
”None that I know of, except Gaza.”
”That explains why he is so greatly feared.”
”Yes. And why I must learn your magic to stop him.”
He squinted. ”How can my magic compare to such power?”
”It doesn't. But it may be my only way back. See, when a person enters an event cell, the pages of the book are turned back, and he is brought to the page where the event is written.”
”Like a storybook.”
”Yes. Like a storybook. But in a blank event cell, the entire book is scrambled, and I won't know what page I'm on.”
His eye grew wide. ”This is when the madness sets in.”
”I hope not.” I grimaced. ”Hopefully there's a way to order order the information. I've seen the book before, and I know what it's supposed to look like. The only problem is, getting back.” the information. I've seen the book before, and I know what it's supposed to look like. The only problem is, getting back.”
”You just close your eyes...”
”What if I don't know where my eyes are?” are?”
His face turned down.
”I believe your magic will help me find my way back to this body.”
”How?”
That was a good question. ”I don't know. I need you to show me how it works. Maybe it will spark an idea.”
He shook his head sadly. ”I do not see how my magic can help. It is not of this world.”
”That is precisely why I think it will help me. I'm going to leave this world.” is precisely why I think it will help me. I'm going to leave this world.”
He looked at me intently. ”I don't understand, but I'll show you what I know.” He went to a trunk in the corner of the cellar, and removed several items from its cover. It made an awful creak as it opened.
”This,” he said, pulling a heavy book from within, ”is the book I told you of. It was written by my ancestor Nor' Trull. In it is all we know about the magic.” He came back over, set the enormous book on the table before me, and opened to the center. The letters and numbers were written in a faded calligraphy. ”See these numbers.” He pointed. ”They correspond to notes on this.” He pulled a tarnished metal tuning fork from his pocket. It had several tines protruding from a handle. ”When I strike this instrument, it tells me what sound I must make with my voice. Such as...” He hit the tuning fork against the table. The sound resonated off the wet cellar walls, and Arganis joined his voice with it. The two became a perfect match-- and I felt something brush past me.
”What was that?”
”The magic responding to the command.”
”What was the command?”
”I asked it to make a box around you.”
I reached out and my hands came in contact with something. It gave way as I pushed on it. ”It moves?”
”Only because we are far from The Circle. If we were closer, it would not move, and you would see it as I have envisioned it in my mind.”
”You communicated what you were thinking, through music?”
He laughed. ”It is not that amazing, I'm afraid. The magic can be anything I want it to be. The sound is just what tells it to listen to me. There are actually only five notes.”
My jaw went slack. ”Only five? How does it know?”
”The magic is like a gas, and I make it a solid. It responds to my thoughts. All I do, is give it the sound, then imagine what I want.”
”What are the sounds?”
”Like I said, there are five sounds. Each corresponds with a command. The commands are: create create, destroy destroy, move move, and move m move me.”
”That's only four.”