Felix Danabrus
'If you have near unlimited power, what do you do with your spare time?
Do you feed the hungry, house the homeless?
Power is limited, no matter how vast, and...'
(The power to shape wills is an ocean in one mind || A bucket in everyone's)=>
Power gained by others, neuters power for everyone else && (
Washing every direction such that nothing gets done
:
Not sharing that power if you obtain it
)
Felix felt the loss as awareness flooded someone else, it was happening more and more.
Each loss seemed more noticeable.
More and more with each newly awakened human, did his power grow less effective, less pure
Felix Danabrus
'Why does it feel like a big chunk...'
His memory turbulent in a way in which even the awakened were unaware.
He always remembered being this powerful.
He also had the vague notion of a large group of peers.
But he knew that was wrong.
Even if he disconnected himself mostly from the link - he couldn't be completely separated.
All he could do was stay at a distance and put up and much of a barrier as he could
But still: he felt ripples.
Ripples of others mismatching a wave: distorting it, cancelling it.
Never again reaching such heights, but falling into a sea of mediocrity
This would progress until his ability to influence people would stretch so thin as to be invisible.
Until the people practiced namshubs "in theory", the more people asleep the more powerful the awake
He wondered when he would get the text
Felix Danabrus
'A week from now?'
Most people who accidentally stumbled into reality got reprogrammed or quickly removed
Felix Danabrus
'It took a special resilient sort, before anyone on the council would acknowledge their sentience.'
It was noon, and he was on a yacht in the caribbean sea.
He had just picked up the two servants from an island where they had been celebrating their honeymoon.
No prior servant experience required with the right namshub
Felix Danabrus
'Catch and release.'
He kept to that rule at least
Felix Danabrus
'Do not hurt them, do not ruin their lives, return them where you found them.'
He would at least be considerate in that regard, considering he was overwriting them.
He tried at least to leave them as 'better people'
It was a warm summer day, and nothing to look forward to but for the cool breeze and a margarita in his hand.
And his thoughts drifted ideally.
Webs of gossip in his mind were unfolding to gossamer tendrils of conspiracy.
He wasn't near the top of the hierarchy - but with a few adjustments - he could be
Felix Danabrus
'He could consolidate power and...
Then what?
Dole it out all day to particular people.'
Not only would that be exhausting, Felix really didn't know what he wanted done other than his own satisfaction
Felix Danabrus
'Better to not rock the boat.'
Felix Danabrus
'Scheme just enough to maintain the status quo.'
req=>{send(statusQuo=>Self.statusQuo)};
If he had been moving, or preoccupied, he wouldn't have noticed the request.
Basic info was automatic - and didn't require any conscious thought.
His info was out of date, he hadn't looked in the link in more than a week
Felix Danabrus
'A personal best.'
He was about to request the sender information when his phone notified him of a text
Felix Danabrus
'That was fast.'
Picking up the phone he opened the text of jumbled letters and contained a picture with markings on it.
Taking a notepad out of his pocket he turned to a particular page and checked his watch
Felix Danabrus
'twelve thirty meant line twenty five...'
He confirmed the jumbled letters in the text matched the ones in the notepad
When they did: he placed the phone by his eye and his vision was consumed by a moving pattern of black and colored stripes
Taking in a new thought, thoughts not in your language can be taxing.
Really strange thoughts, thoughts with power and shape can be incredibly taxing.
But it's like a muscle: the more you do it, the stronger you get.
So he practiced.
Every single day after his training, until he could stomach it
But still: he fainted
It wasn't for long, just for an instant.
The more experienced one's, the one's doing this for years, didn't even black out.
It had been five years since he 'woke up'.
And he, like every one of his peers: still blacked out.
Yet he was the only one who didn't fall and convulse on the floor
Felix Danabrus
'But they are my peers...'
A wave of frustration washed through him.
He was better
He turned is attention to the new thoughts in his head.
All the info was in his head, the location, details.
Most of her life condensed down into a pattern in his brain he could unfold, examine, and plan
And there was a notice.
She was to be induced as awakened
Felix Danabrus
'Not unheard of...'
Felix let the information unfurl further
Felix Danabrus
'Usually a few chains of strings to get inducted...'
Into a society they were supposed to know nothing about by design.
Rich families nepotism and passing on the benefits of knowledge to their youth, that's one example.
But in this case: Felix couldn't see the reason for her induction
She was a pleb, a clerk at a grocery market.
No particular traits to note either
Felix Danabrus
"Grab us some booze from below, make it fancy."
The servants obeyed
Felix Danabrus
"And you - go take us in to the harbor, get a car - take us to the airport."
Soon to take a jet to America, to deal with his one job.
He watched as the servants departed.
He picked them mostly for their physicality, to satisfy his plans later, which would be put on hold.
And others would be found instead
Felix Danabrus
'Work before pleasure.'
He put his sunglasses on before taking another sip of his margarita in the sun
He continued his musings, most of the Erase-ees he helped execute were deemed to be for the greater good.
"This person was awake and tampering with people in a way we don't agree with!" was the general reason.
Which agreed with him for the most part.
For the most part they had been a sort of evil willing to spread harm though others.
While those in power mostly sought power for its own sake over promoting any particular evil
So Felix erased them until they hadn't woken, leaving them harmless and free to live out their proletariat lives.
Some people may have been inducted early...
Really early...
But if their crimes were bad enough
Felix Danabrus
'It was hard to police a society of...'
He wanted to say gods, but that sounded too arrogant.
Awakened was always too nebulous for him to take seriously.
But regardless, it was hard to police beings that could warp other's realities.
Perhaps his reality on the boat was a delusion, but that thought always came up when he thought of such things
Felix Danabrus
'Do not doubt your own reality if you want to affect others.'
Words from the first year of training he had.
It was two years of grueling training, mentally and physically in New York, and another three up over in Bucharest
And this had been the lax institutions.
One other existed in London, known for being unforgiving to it's recruits.
Felix was thankful he started off in New York.
He could have stayed in Bucharest to gain higher prestige, and knowledge.
But he had enough, settled on a yacht in the caribbean, what else could he ask for?
['Should I mentor her?']
The thought jumped out, a shooting star above the others.
He quite liked the idea of taking someone under his wing.
Showing them the importance of all they do.
Giving them the guidance he had to struggle for when he was learning.
It would be some bit of work, but what else was he to do with his time
Felix Danabrus
'Laze about...'
Well, He could do that
Felix Danabrus
'Or he could mold a pawn...
No, you are doing it again, just mentoring, that should not be a problem.'
The servants arrived with the booze
Felix Danabrus
"Share with me."
It was practical, felix notice his generosity always seemed to have a practical purpose.
Testing for poison from someone who might have temporarily slipped his grasp
Felix Danabrus
'Not going to make that mistake again.'
He watched them drink.
He watched the sunset behind the sun, and the boat enter the harbor.
He took his first sip in the rental car, sure it was safe
Felix Danabrus
'If there is no flight to this Martha, I would have to make one.'
Felix groaned and sipped his wine
Felix Danabrus
'So much work, this Martha better be worth it.'
Felix Danabrus
"You, check up on flights for me, going to the Americas."
The passenger in the front seat complied