"You're displeased." "Displeased!" came von Kahshaar's reply as he paced the room, "I'm furious. You're costing me my job, maybe my life. You said your people would advise us. Well advise already!" "We have. We told you to stop. Remember, Karl, we advise, not instruct." Von Kahshaar dropped into his chair with a heavy sigh. "At least tell me why stop? Is success impossible?" "No. Quite the opposite and that is why you should stop. Think about what you want to accomplish. Power, even through the exercise of Will, is Authority. The gods grant it; men use it. What you want is different-you wish to impose your own Will over things that you have not been granted Authority over. "You do not want arcanum, which is granted by gods. You do not want clerical powers, which is granted by gods. You do not want elemental power, which is granted by the natural laws delegated by the Creator. You do not want obeah, which is granted by the clay itself to the shaper. You want power based only on the will and strength of your own mind. "This violates all laws. No matter what form they practice, shapers are tied to the physical. Even coteries, for all their flash and glory, are strong because they have physical anchors absorbing the cost on their behalf. Workings take a physical toll on the worker. To assume that your 'mental sciences' can be separated from the physical cost is a violation of the natural order." "Fine then, our workers will have to suffer physical fatigue. That's not too unexpected." The Eerith shook its head. "You underestimate the importance of the ties between the will of the mind and the pain of the physical as a limiting factor. But beyond that, look to your source of Authority. You want to impose your will with no homage to another, greater power. In this, you seek to be gods unto yourselves. Would you reach into another man's mind and take his will from him because yours is stronger? That is an evil thing. It is not you right." Von Kahshaar pursed his lips then asked, "What about when both parties are willing? Surely that is acceptable, to grant authority over yourself to someone else. After all, most magi have some form of mind to mind communication." "They do, but they do it under the authority of a god. The gods act as a kind of safeguard in areas where men lack sufficient knowledge to tread safely. Consider: you speak mind to mind with no deific rules of limit or filter. How long until someone attempts to merge two minds? Surely a husband and wife may someday wish to share themselves completely with each other. Easily done with no safeguards but who, then, shall separate them? What churgeon is skilled enough to cut apart a meld of minds? And I assure you, the mistake will be made decades before the churgeon has the skill to even make the attempt. "And it will spread, master to servant, lord to slave, coworker to coworker, it will spread. Open this box outside of the gods protection and you risk melding your entire people into a single mind. You risk erasing individuality entirely. "Karl, at best you will have safe parlor tricks which can be done easier with existing magics; at worst, you will destroy your people. To take that kind of risk is wrong." "You exaggerate, Eerith. I think you conjure fears where none rightfully exist." "Listen to me, mundane." The Eerith was suddenly intense, rising to its feet. "I pray that I do exaggerate. I pray that I am wrong. But if I am not, then what you propose is EVIL! Trust me, fleshling, this has been done before and it was called Alata. To impose will without authority is the blackest of rebellions against all decency." "Easy, friend. I'm only doing my job. The Lord wants this done; what else am I to do?" "Do what is right. Tell him it is evil and that you will not be party to it," replied the Eerith with almost childlike simplicity. Von Kahshaar shook his head. "I don't think you quite understand our world yet." "Perhaps. Listen Karl, there are easier ways. Gods that will grant a semb lance of what you seek. Give your Lord a sop of small successes and wait for him to lose interest. New is not better. Old has the value of testing for safety and history for lesson. "Consider Videssia, it has neither mage nor priest. It lies in chaos and lanquishes in sorrow, wandering blindly from evil to evil. Would you be like them?" The Eerith strode from von Kahshaar's room, leaving him alone with his thoughts. ---------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, send mail to celandra-off@phoenyx.net.
