Deathwish, Part 10: Journalistic Integrity

Part 1: Cinderfell
Part 2: Deal With a Vorpal
Part 3: Calmsquare Cantina
Part 4: The Wailing Chamber
Part 5: Grector Smash
Part 6: Rebmauk
Part 7: Chantim
Part 8: Homesick
Part 9: Traitorous Humans

Dapper was taken aback. “WHAT? Three hundred YEARS??? That’s… impossible!”

Alicia was shaken as well. Dapper looked like he might be middle aged, but she also knew Vorpals didn’t age in the same way as humans. The fact they were shapeshifters also meant you couldn’t assume much from their appearances. “It says right there… this journal is dated 678.”

“So? What does that number even mean?”

“Humans keep track of the year, the current one is 983.”

“WHAT? You’ve been alive over NINE HUNDRED YEARS?!?”

“No, Dapper… that’s just the year. I haven’t been alive that long.”

Dapper struggled to understand. “But… what does that mean, then? What determined when the years started?”

“I don’t know. The story I’ve heard is that is when the first casters appeared. But all of that was so long ago, I have no idea if it’s really true. We just all agree on the year.”

“So… it’s a very arbitrary number and no one really knows how many years it has been, then.”

“Yeah, basically. But this journal was written by you as a human, so you were likely using the same year numbering as all other humans.”

Dapper didn’t seem convinced, but he let the point go. “What about the rest? Wait, no! I don’t want to know… just give it back when you are done reading. I don’t want that thing floating around without my knowledge. This whole business is quite… disquieting.”

Alicia absentmindedly agreed as she turned her attention back to the journal. It had all kinds of information that she kept rereading to make sure she could remember it, though she also took some non-identifiable notes so she could remember the finer details while not including anything that would tie it back to Dapper.

His original name was Jack Thaddeus. He also used the code name Truth, a name similar in style to the Gatekeepers. Had he been a Gatekeeper? She wondered if there was a way to find out. Besides that, he was a joint follower of the Way of Logic and the Way of Harmony, which was an odd kind of statement she had never heard before. She didn’t know people could follow more than one Way, nor did she understand why such details would be written in a research journal. But the rest of the information was even more baffling.

Truth, log 1; Today is the official beginning of Project Bubble. It has been in a quasi-working phase for a long time, but I finally have the funding and schedules to pursue it fully. The details of the entire process are highly secretive, to the point where they won’t even let me write it in my personal research journal! What a crock!

But what I will write, objections or not, is the stated goal. It’s not like it isn’t common knowledge in the area, anyways. I wish to create a method for extending the sphere of influence for infinity powers, such as mine… to those who understand what I mean when I write this, I don’t need to stress the sheer potential of doing this. I have heard rumors that scientists such as Tense have tried this in the past, but the results they achieve vary wildly by account. There is no telling which of those are true, so I won’t sit by and idly speculate. There is work to be done!

The next several pages didn’t say anything interesting, either being mundane descriptions of people and events or technical jargon so complex Alicia couldn’t possibly understand. But then, another page stuck out to her.

Truth, log 24; This is unheard of! Someone raided my research materials! After seeing things were clearly out of place, though they had attempted to be put everything back as if no one had been here, I checked the finite stabilizer and found the settings had been reset! If I had turned it on, my calculations suggest it would have exploded, instantly killing everyone within a hundred yard radius! I consider this an attempt on my life, and I will have my security force pursue this as fervently as possible!!! If the people responsible think this is going to stop me, they are sorely mistaken!

Alicia flipped through several more pages. The writing got more erratic, and the author grew more paranoid.

Truth, Log 38… I keep seeing them. No one else can. Research notes are disappearing daily now, sometimes returning without reason but clearly altered. They – my research assistants – keep telling me that I’m imagining things, but I tell them they are WRONG! I can see things more clearly then them, it is my gift and my curse. It is the very reason for this project, and they can’t deny that!

I can only trust this journal now. I don’t care if they think it is insecure to carry such sensitive notes around with me, I don’t trust the lab. It’s been compromised, and no one is doing anything about it. I’m taking matters into my own hands, and they can’t stop me. I’m paying for it all, for wrecking sake! No matter what, I can’t let this project fail!

Several more pages followed with strange diagrams and increasingly sloppy handwriting. Alicia slowly gained a better conceptualization of the thing being built, as the device itself appeared to be a orb with all kinds of machinery and other devices inside. Alicia had never seen anything with more than one energite crystal to power it, but this one had seven. And then, she noticed the sheer size of it by the measurements specified. It wasn’t just an orb the size of a ball, it was supposed to be the size of a small building.

Alicia reached the last page.

Log… it doesn’t matter, not anymore. The machine is destroyed. We caused something… for once, I’m not entirely sure what or why, but the timing is too exact to be coincidence. Was that woman right? Was I playing with forces I barely understood? I felt little sympathy for her after I caught her attempting to poison me, and had the guards drag her away. I wonder if she’s still alive? She won’t be for long…

They are coming for me. The entire town is overrun, and my brief glimpse outside before seeking shelter tells me the entire country might be as well. Against everything I have pledged, I slaughtered them all once I saw what they did. Those monsters, standing over the dead body of one of my assistants as she dissolved into nothingness… I just felt a rage beyond anything I have ever experienced. Those infernal Vorpals… why? Why would they do this?

I’m bleeding badly… but not fast enough. I can hear more of them scurrying through the halls, and it’s only a matter of time till they find me. No way an infinity caster can hide from them in such close proximity. I’m as good as dead.

If anyone finds this journal after I’m gone… burn it. Bury it. Throw it into the ocean. Do whatever it takes to make sure no one uses what I learned and attempts Project Bubble ever again. It has caused the deaths of thousands, probably many times more. This is clearly a power not meant for mankind.

Alicia put the journal down, and closed it slowly. Infinity Caster? Project Bubble? She only had more questions now. What she did know was Dapper had originally been some kind of scientist, and his name had been Jack Thaddeus. Somehow, she felt like it fit. He didn’t dress like a scientist now, but that could be expected. Most Vorpals didn’t look like normal people anyways, despite them originating from them.

She looked up. Dapper was impatiently tapping his finger on his arm as he stood with arms crossed, looking around the room with clear irritation. Alicia handed the journal back, and Dapper swiped it to shove into his inner jacket pocket alongside his signed sketch. “Done? Good. Don’t tell me what else was written, judging by your expression I don’t want to know. Now, now... what now?”

Alicia sighed. “I guess I should get ready for school tomorrow. Are you okay staying here all day?”

Dapper was stunned. “What?! It’s bad enough that I’ve been stuck in here with a whole world out there to explore! Now you want me to stay here alone??? Can’t I come with you?”

Alicia thought for a second. She honestly couldn’t think of a reason why not. He had been hiding in plain sight from her family so far, so if he stayed in inanimate object form, he could sit in her pack easily. “Hmm… That’s not a terrible idea. But you need to promise me you won’t do anything crazy. You will need to stay hidden in my bag or something like that unless we are completely alone. Other than that, we could chat quietly throughout the day, and… wait, do you need to have your physical head in its normal form to see?”

“No, of course not! I just need to have a clear line of sight.”

“I’ll leave my bag partially open at all times, then.”

Alicia didn’t see how this could be a problem. With the exception of a very brief outburst, Dapper had been mostly reasonable up until now, despite what people told her about Vorpals. She might even be able to accustom him to other humans, and show him to just one or two to make them realize not all Vorpals are evil.

And yet after reading Dapper’s journal, she couldn’t shake a deep sense of foreboding.

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