MISC: The Girl Who Saved the World Part 45

[George Phillies]

-------- Forwarded Message --------
Subject: The Girl Who Saved the World Part 45
Date: Sat, 9 Jul 2016 00:07:15 -0400
From: George Phillies <phillies at 4liberty.net>
To: racc at lists.eyrie.org

I seem to be seeing comments on things where I have not seem the original.




“Worse,” the Screaming Skull said, “after I expressed my extreme 
disapproval of her basal metabolism, she was still standing, seemingly 
unharmed.  And now she has disappeared without a trace.”

“Berndt,” Prince Mong-ku addressed Starsmasher, “don’t our files show 
anything? After all, the whole world only has a billion people, not to 
mention perhaps ten million or so personas of any significance. Surely a 
list of the personas with her gifts -- starting with starcore class 
force fields and second order shields -- ought to be limited.”

“The new Bearer is clearly none of the Eclipses whose persona names are 
widely known,” Starsmasher answered calmly. “Actually, there are a good 
twenty of them, of whom ten are astronomers, space travellers and 
teleporters who can move satellite telescopes to useful locations. Not 
one is a young woman.  Nor is any a shapeshifter who could disguise 
themselves as a young woman.  Having said that, you are the persona you 
choose to be.  Someone could have assumed this Eclipse persona, garb and 
all, just for a day.”

“We can rule that one out,” Solara announced. “Niederhof’s has announced 
that Eclipse is a regular customer.  She’s one of the ‘reduced rate if 
you let us display replicas of your garb when you become famous’ people. 
In a few days, replicas of all of her garbs will be on display.”

“That is actually significant,” Prince Mong-ku said.

“How?” Starsmasher asked.  “For reasons we all know, absolutely no one 
can penetrate Nieferhof’s security.  Niederhof might know who she is, 
but he will not talk. And boasting that they made her garb is good for 
their business.”

“She paid cash,” Solara answered. “Gold coins, melted down at once. That 
I got from one of my European friends.”  Featherstonehaugh, she 
considered, was in his tastes remarkably like his great-grandfather, if 
slightly taller and stronger.

“Ah,” Prince Mong-ku answered,  his face wrinkled with smiles. 
“Niederhof’s does not make that offer to the hoi polloi. It would reduce 
their profits. And, obviously, they did not make that deal after she did 
the Maze: she already had the garb. No, whoever she is, they figured out 
in advance that she might be a person of adequate importance, even 
though she was completely unknown at the time.”

“Niederhof is a clever fellow, not a clairvoyant,” the Screaming Skull 
answered. “He would have had to have had evidence of her possible 
importance. What could that have been?”

“Eclipse.  Not well known.” Plasmatrix ticked choices off on her 
fingers, hoping as she did that her fellows would see her point. “Not a 
known protégé. Actually, except screens and teleportation, not a lot of 
power that we have seen.  Teleporters aren’t quite a dime a dozen, 
especially ones who risk the Dark Side of the Moon in one jump.”

    “That, by the way, is where she lost me,” Dark Shadow said. “What’s 
left?”

“Rare and subtle gifts,” Prince Mong-ku said. “She did have second-order 
screens, good ones; few indeed are the people outside the room with 
those. Her rhetoric was training, not something engifted.” He paused. 
“Oh, of course.  If one of us showed up at Niederhof’s and announced 
‘This is my daughter Eclipse, would you please put together quality garb 
for her’, the daughter would get the special rate.  There was promise of 
greatness, not because Niederhof is impressed by a mere Lord of 
Eternity, but because we can engift our progeny with all our powers. Did 
one of us do that?”

“I think I would remember having had a child recently,” Plasmatrix said. 
She sent a smile toward Mong-Ku.  “There’s something about it you don’t 
forget. I think I’d know if anyone else here had. How many persona are 
so good that their kids will get the Niederhof special treatment?”

“I’ll do a search on that,” Starsmasher said.  “Gifts mostly are not 
inherited. Go down the list of current elite-class persona.  You’ve 
never heard of their parents, let alone their children. Promise only 
works with those of us who can engift our descendants.”

“Perhaps she’s a construct,” the Screaming Skull said.  “They’re hard to 
kill.  Could the League of Terran Justice have done this?”

“This was a persona,” Plasmatrix said, “Someone with at least a few 
first-rate gifts. The League builds combat androids. Perhaps even smart 
androids.  Controlled engifting is our monopoly.”

“Not quite,” Starsmasher reminded.  “For starters, our dear friend the 
Silver General engifts people.” Solara grated her teeth. She had never 
forgiven the Silver General for seducing Featherstonehaugh’s 
great-grandfather away from her .

“Returning to topic,” Prince Mong-ku said, “Whoever has her hands on the 
Namestone may be able to use it to engift people.  What if the Terran 
Justice people start cranking out agents who are high-level personas?”

“The Copper Book speaks to that,” Starsmasher answered.  “The Namestone 
lends gifts, but does not give them away.  We could face one persona as 
powerful as the Namestone itself, but that’s it.”

“The Namestone is a foamspace tap,” Solara said. “But it has an 
aperture, one whose size we know.  Even without the Ambihelicon, most of 
us in a pinch could match it. Therefore, it is an annoyance, not 
something that can prevent the Great Plan from completing.”

“Solara, Starsmasher,” Plasmatrix said, “I know you are very fond of 
your Namestone Standard Model. But there are still these little gaps in 
your reasoning.” Solara did not quite roll her eyes. “First, the Copper 
Book may be fibbing about Namestone’s powers. Second, this Eclipse 
person may be able to use her own gifts to drive the Namestone.  She’s 
obviously not a complete weakling. Third, and I only finished the 
translation last century, the Goetica Arcana Stella Magnus clearly 
claims that the Knights found occult ties between the Namestone and the 
Solar Deep Structures, ties implying the Namestone’s powers are vastly 
greater than you propose.”

“I read your translations ,” Solara said dismissively.  “At those power 
levels, the bearer will fry herself toot sweet.”

“The Namestone, yes,” the Screaming Skull said.  “It would be a useful 
tool for us.  But Eclipse?  When she escaped Atlantis, it was too soon 
for her to have the Namestone’s power. She used her own gifts to survive 
and escape. She is no weakling.  Perhaps she can’t use Namestone’s full 
power yet, but she may still wreak havoc. On the great chess board, it 
seems there is a new formidable piece. It must be found and taken.”