Genuine "So all roads lead to Rome," said Lord Derby, his voice barely above a whisper, his eyes unfocused and looking beyond Lord Vileburn into the middle distance. "Provably untrue," said Memnith. "Should I start by pointing out that Britain is an island, and hence most roads must lead to a swim?" For a moment there was silence which was broken by a splutter, the spill of coffee, and then a huge laugh from Ernest. He took a step back to balance himself, and set the cup down on a paper-strewn desk and shook his hand free of droplets of coffee. "Goddamn it, Andy," he said, genuine humour still soaking through his voice. "Not when I'm thinking, please!" "You've spilled coffee everywhere, Ernest. Still a klutz after all these years." "I'm sure you can clean it up, or summon the maids again if it matters to you." "Me? Not really, but I know if I leave it, it will annoy you." Ernest shrugged. "Yes, but it's your office, And- Memnith." "Then I shall clean and you shall tell you what you meant by your horribly inaccurate statement about geography." Memnith opened a drawer in the desk and flicked some small, metallic-sounding objects about until he found a copper disc a little large than a coin. He placed it in the palm of his hand, held his hand out parallel to the floor, and concentrated for a moment. There was a sudden sensation of peace, like the moment before falling asleep in a warm bed on a cold night, and then a wave of freshness like the smell of fresh-crushed mint washed over the room. Spilled coffee evaporated, dust vanished, and even the papers on the desks sorted themselves into orderly piles. "Rome, in this case, is Demonology," said Ernest trying not to look impressed. "I had a conversation this morning where I was appraised that his Majesty will soon ask me to look for Carcosa, and clarification of that led me to learning that Demonology is perhaps not as outlawed as the law would have us believe. The more I look into Carcosa, the stronger the connection with Demonology becomes. This worries me, because Demonology is not exactly something I can pick up a treatise on and start studying." "Not unless you can break into one of the Magical Libraries. Although, if I were a betting man, Ernest, I wouldn't bet against you managing that. If you're caught you get an interesting prison sentence though. Automatic, no appeals." "Interesting?" "The prison is located in another dimension." Ernest frowned. "You might not like it, Ernest, but generally someone studying demonology is an accomplished mage. An ordinary prison might not hold them." "It seems that there is much around demonology that goes against basic human rights," said Ernest. "That it is supposed to be outlawed seems much the right thing to have done." "You're the most genuine person I know," said Memnith smiling. "You're open, honest, and I'm fairly sure that when you lie you change the world around you to turn into a truth somehow. Demonology is almost the opposite, it's what you get when say that true and false aren't absolutes, just endpoints on a scale. Of course you don't like it." "Shades of grey?" "Fuzzy logic."
Greg - I think I might have enjoyed this bit of interaction between these two the most out of all your segments so far. The dialogue flows beautifully and the tale advances a littler further down the line...
2 comments:
Genuine
"So all roads lead to Rome," said Lord Derby, his voice barely above a whisper, his eyes unfocused and looking beyond Lord Vileburn into the middle distance.
"Provably untrue," said Memnith. "Should I start by pointing out that Britain is an island, and hence most roads must lead to a swim?"
For a moment there was silence which was broken by a splutter, the spill of coffee, and then a huge laugh from Ernest. He took a step back to balance himself, and set the cup down on a paper-strewn desk and shook his hand free of droplets of coffee.
"Goddamn it, Andy," he said, genuine humour still soaking through his voice. "Not when I'm thinking, please!"
"You've spilled coffee everywhere, Ernest. Still a klutz after all these years."
"I'm sure you can clean it up, or summon the maids again if it matters to you."
"Me? Not really, but I know if I leave it, it will annoy you."
Ernest shrugged. "Yes, but it's your office, And- Memnith."
"Then I shall clean and you shall tell you what you meant by your horribly inaccurate statement about geography."
Memnith opened a drawer in the desk and flicked some small, metallic-sounding objects about until he found a copper disc a little large than a coin. He placed it in the palm of his hand, held his hand out parallel to the floor, and concentrated for a moment. There was a sudden sensation of peace, like the moment before falling asleep in a warm bed on a cold night, and then a wave of freshness like the smell of fresh-crushed mint washed over the room. Spilled coffee evaporated, dust vanished, and even the papers on the desks sorted themselves into orderly piles.
"Rome, in this case, is Demonology," said Ernest trying not to look impressed. "I had a conversation this morning where I was appraised that his Majesty will soon ask me to look for Carcosa, and clarification of that led me to learning that Demonology is perhaps not as outlawed as the law would have us believe. The more I look into Carcosa, the stronger the connection with Demonology becomes. This worries me, because Demonology is not exactly something I can pick up a treatise on and start studying."
"Not unless you can break into one of the Magical Libraries. Although, if I were a betting man, Ernest, I wouldn't bet against you managing that. If you're caught you get an interesting prison sentence though. Automatic, no appeals."
"Interesting?"
"The prison is located in another dimension."
Ernest frowned.
"You might not like it, Ernest, but generally someone studying demonology is an accomplished mage. An ordinary prison might not hold them."
"It seems that there is much around demonology that goes against basic human rights," said Ernest. "That it is supposed to be outlawed seems much the right thing to have done."
"You're the most genuine person I know," said Memnith smiling. "You're open, honest, and I'm fairly sure that when you lie you change the world around you to turn into a truth somehow. Demonology is almost the opposite, it's what you get when say that true and false aren't absolutes, just endpoints on a scale. Of course you don't like it."
"Shades of grey?"
"Fuzzy logic."
Greg - I think I might have enjoyed this bit of interaction between these two the most out of all your segments so far. The dialogue flows beautifully and the tale advances a littler further down the line...
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