The Witches of Eden Part 1
On Eden's Bluff
by Nic (stardestiny@bigfoot.com)
16 January 2000
Disclaimer: Universal/Amblin Entertainment own "Earth 2". No
copyright infringement is intended.
On Eden's Bluff
---------------
"There's a crazy lady who's gonna jump off the top of the cliff at
the beach!"
The gossip spread fast through the small township. Several didn't
believe it and went about their work as usual, for there were
always a hundred things that needed to be done right now, and
others realised that there would be no point in adding to the
general ruckus which would surely be materialising on the beach.
They could always learn the details from Yale's evening news
broadcasts if there proved to be truth to the rumour.
Nonetheless, for every person that stayed away, there was already
one person gathered on the beach, staring up at the impossibly high
cliff where a woman stood poised upon the edge. The crowd
murmured, whispers passing from person to person.
"Do you really think she's going to jump?"
"What is she *doing*, anyway?"
"Who is she?"
That question was answered by an anguished cry as Morgan Martin
arrived on the beach. "That's my wife!" He'd been drawn there out
of curiosity and now was frozen with shock at the top end of the
beach. North of him was Eden's Bluff, a ragged cliff overlooking
the northern end of the picturesque beach which was New Pacifica's
central attraction. And upon the precipice was a figure he would
recognise anywhere, no matter how far away it was.
Wild, curly hair blown backwards by the wind, standing so tall and
so near to the edge, arms outstretched, wearing a filmy dress which
billowed behind her. She looked the perfect figure of a tragic
romance.
"Bess!" Morgan again howled in horror as his closest friends, only
just having heard the news, pounded up behind him.
"Morgan, I-" began Alonzo until he, too, saw Bess on the cliff top
and let out a curse. "What's going on?"
Morgan didn't answer. He was already racing back up the beach and
on to the grassy knoll where the beginnings of a worn path were
gradually emerging. People enjoyed the view from Eden's Bluff and
there was talk of erecting a protective barrier to prevent
accidents, but now it all seemed a little too late. "Bess!" Morgan
shouted as he ran.
The spectators' view on the beach was almost comical: a single
figure on the cliff edge, a single man racing along the path to
reach her, followed by another crowd of racing people. And the
gossip continued, now that they knew who she was, they could
speculate on what had happened to make her want to end her life in
such a spectacular leap.
Was she tired of living on a planet? There had been some in the
early days who hadn't been able to cope, several accidental deaths
and even two suicides. Perhaps she'd had a fight with her husband.
Perhaps she had been pushed too far by the cries of her children.
There were a thousand possibilities.
Each possibility raced through Morgan's mind as he struggled up the
cliff, cursing the unevenness of the path and vowing to plough it
out if only Bess would come away from the edge and back to him. He
couldn't understand what had driven Bess to this, yes, he had been
busy and distracted with his work in administration, but not to
this extent!
"Morgan!" Amazingly, the shout penetrated his senses. "Slow
down!" He recognised the shout as belonging to Alonzo and it held
enough of a warning to make him fractionally slow his pace. He
dared a glance back and the fear inside of him was calmed, just a
little, by the sight of the support. He wasn't alone in this. Yet
it was up to him, alone, to rescue Bess.
He reached the top of the promontory and saw her still standing
there, her face to the sea, her eyes closed. She showed no
acknowledgment of his presence and Morgan wondered if maybe she was
already lost to him.
But that wasn't possible. He slowed further, noticing how close to
the edge her toes were, how one false move could bring about her
end without her having chosen it deliberately.
"Bess?" It was a tentative call, almost a whisper, carried away on
the whistling wind.
"Bess, don't do this," Morgan implored. "Please. Think of me,
think of our children!"
She remained with her eyes closed, breathing deeply, her arms
outstretched to the heavens. She didn't appear to have heard him.
Morgan took another step forwards as his friends, also approaching
slowly, arrived.
"Careful, Martin, you don't want to spook her." That was Danziger,
laying a restraining hand on Morgan's shoulder. "Don't get too
close too fast."
Morgan fought the impulse to snap at Danziger that it was *his*
wife up there and he damn well knew how to handle this, when he
realised that he didn't, he didn't have a clue about what to do and
all he *could* do was stand there and watch and whisper sweet
endearments to the person he loved more than life itself.
"Bess, I love you," he continued. "I love you. I don't know
what's wrong but we can talk about this, please, won't you just
come away from that edge?"
She swayed slightly in the wind. Morgan felt as if his stomach had
dropped away.
"Keep talking, Morgan," reassured Alonzo softly. "You're her best
hope."
"Bess, I'm going to come a little closer, okay, I just want to talk
to you for a while, I love you, remember, so just keep listening to
my voice...."
And she moved, turned her head to look at him, to look at all of
them. "You don't understand," she said, and returned her gaze to
the ocean, stretching even higher on her toes. A smile bubbled
across her lips and she laughed.
"Bess!"
She bent her knees, preparing for the jump.
"BESS!"
She leapt.
And she flew.
---
End.
------------------------------------------------------------------
The Witches of Eden: Part 2 (0/1)
The Calling
by Nicole Mayer (destiny@wwdg.com)
16 January 2000
EXPLANATORY NOTES:
This is a sequel to "On Eden's Bluff" and part 2 of an experiment.
For as the next few days, I will be posting another segment or
snippet from this series which I have titled "The Witches of Eden".
Each story will take place in a different timeframe with different
characters, showing snapshots of the events which followed Bess's
actions. Contrary to popular opinion, the aforementioned story
wasn't about suicide (::evil grin::). It was a prelude to the
more mystical side of G889, something that this series explores.
Call it a whim of my own.
This particular story takes place many years in the future
therefore the characters we know are not actively present.
However, I consider the planet a character - so please read it for
me? :)
In this story I've stolen a character from another fandom. I make
no explanations and no apologies for this. If you know the
character, great, if not, it doesn't matter because his history has
nothing to do with this story. (You can find a picture of Blair here:
http://www.oocities.com/Hollywood/Hills/5951/zone.html
if you need the visuals.)
Thanks to Amanda for the insight.
Disclaimer: G889 belongs to Universal/Amblin Entertainment. Blair
belongs to Pet Fly productions (although I wish they'd let me take
him home!) The interpretations of G889 belong to me, as do the
witches in this story. ;)
---
The Witches of Eden - Part 2
The Calling
-----------
There were many unexplainable things in the galaxy. Such as the
dispute over light speed: was it attainable or was it not, and how
did Earth's great ships conquer the vast distances between her
ever-expanding girth of colonised planets? Or how was it, that in
such a hostile universe, life had managed to emerge in the most
inhospitable of places?
Questions such as this were best left to the physicists and the
philosophers, those with enough wealth or connections to spend the
time in experimentation or deep contemplation. Blair Sandburg had
neither of these things, but then again, the question he was
interested in answering hardly had universal consequences.
Did witches truly exist?
His mother had told him such stories as a child, stories which
caused him to think that she might have been a witch. Naomi had
believed in magic and love and destiny, her beliefs taking her on
a quest beyond the explored edge of the galaxy. Blair hadn't seen
her since he was seventeen.
Her disappearance left him with a burning fascination with the
unexplained. Growing up on the space stations which stretched
across Earth's solar system hardly gave him the chance to
investigate phenomena when every sighting of a ghost proved to be
a dead end.
There wasn't a lot of scope for the mystical when enclosed in walls
of metal.
There also wasn't a lot of scope for a research project. Blair was
an anthropologist, a career his guidance counsellors had constantly
warned him against. Most of humanity's history was recorded in
excruciating detail in the stations' databases, freely accessible
by all. Station society had become a microcosm, easily studied and
easily reproducible. The only thing left to study were the human
colonies on planets and as these were carefully controlled by
Interplanetary Expeditions there was little fluctuation from one to
the next.
Besides, every other grad student with interests similar to Blair's
was already on the waiting list to study these societies, and the
list was growing exponentially. Blair reflected that it wasn't
fair. Had he lived even one hundred years ago the opportunities
for a research project would have been much less limited.
Now, though, humanity had studied almost everything that could be
studied expect for the areas of cutting edge technology, and Blair
had no interest in this at all. He couldn't fight his instincts,
the basic qualities that made up him as a person. If he wanted to
be an anthropologist, then by God he was going to be one.
Which brought him back to the witches. It was a footnote in a
thesis written by a Dr. Kathryn Danziger two centuries ago. A sub-
culture of paganism, in all probability something conjured up by
bored citizens with nothing better to do during the first few
decades of the colonisation of planet G889.
G889 was an oddity in history, technically the first planet
colonised by humans, but no one really knew about it until fifty
years after the fact when the corrupt Council government was voted
out and the new administration made the archives publicly
available. By then, interest in the story had long since faded and
many other planets already had thriving colonies.
One reference wasn't a lot to go on. Yet the tale had intrigued
Blair enough to want to at least visit the planet, referred to as
Eden by its inhabitants. Study after study had been done on G889
as an example of an isolated tribe maintaining their station-bred
way of life whilst adapting to a new environment. And what an
adaptation it had been - almost a symbiosis with the native
species. Blair knew that even if the witches theory failed to pan
out, he'd certainly have an interesting holiday. G889 was a common
tourist destination due to the uniqueness of the local population.
Redirecting his attention to his data reader, Blair's eyes scanned
the brochure he'd been browsing. "Eden, home of Humans and
Terrians living in harmony. Come see people travel through the
ground! Visit the glowing sunstone caves! Behold the Great Spring
Volcano! See the ferocious Danzig in the picturesque oceans!"
Idly, Blair wondered if a Danzig really was the horrifying sea
monster pictured. Maybe it was just a really big fish shot from an
interesting angle.
The thing was, when he correlated Kathryn's report with the widely
available information, there were gaps. Kathryn had mentioned
transportation tunnels which had been closed because they were too
dangerous to use. And of course, the witches.
Pieces, fragments of G889's early history, either deliberately
suppressed or forgotten because they never existed. Blair was
hoping for the former. It would make a great research project.
---
End.
------------------------------------------------------------------
The Witches of Eden: Part 3
They Called Her a Witch.
by Nicole Mayer (destiny@wwdg.com)
16 January 2000
They Called Her a Witch
The day Bess Martin flew off Eden's Bluff went down in local
history. In the years to come no one could quite believe she had
been so brave, and in years following, no one could beleive she'd
been so stupid. And in even more years after that, no one believed
it at all.
But at the time, it was the top news story both that night and for
several weeks afterward.
They called her a witch.
It was never quite the right term, certainly, Bess looked like the
modern witch upon occasion - she said she chose her outfits for
impact rather than practicality - and there was no doubt that she
embraced the unconventional side of life. (Her husband always
maintained that it was a mid-life crisis occuring rather early,
something she never grew out of.) Nonetheless, she did not
actively practise magic; she taught her followers to embrace the
magic of the planet itself.
And it all came back to the planet, to G889, or Eden as they called
it. Eden, their paradise, their hope for the future.
---
End.
------------------------------------------------------------------
The Witches of Eden - Part 4
Records and Reactions
By Nicole Mayer (destiny@wwdg.com)
19 January 1999 <-- The day I spent programming in 5 different
languages all mixed into one active webpage.
RECORDS AND REACTIONS
---------------------
[Begin gear transmission]
"Good evening. I am Yale, and I welcome you to this evening's
edition of New Pacifica News.
Tonight I bring you the startling story of Bess Martin, a woman who
claims she understands the secrets of flight.
This afternoon Mrs. Martin shocked many people with what they
considered a suicidal leap. Eyewitnesses report that Mrs. Martin
walked up Eden's Bluff and studied the view for an extended length
of time before she moved to stand at the very edge. It was at this
stage the gathering crowd realised that she was going to jump.
Her husband pleaded with her but to no avail and upon leaping, Mrs.
Martin appeared to soar up into the air before gliding safely to
the beach. She travelled approximately fifty metres through the
air with no obvious form of propulsion.
Scientists suggest that an abnormally strong gust of wind permitted
Mrs. Martin to make this jump and land unharmed. New Pacifica is
well known for the severity of its windstorms and this may be
another demonstration of the phenomena.
I was fortunate to interview Mrs. Martin after the incident and she
had the following insights to share."
[Cut to Bess]
"I was never in any danger, honestly, I don't see why everyone's so
upset!"
"I'm sure everyone would like to know how you achieved this feat."
"It's the planet. I'm not sure how it works but I could feel it
inside of me. I *knew* that if I jumped then and there, I would
fly."
[Cut back to Yale]
"Mrs. Martin went on to suggest that she travelled with the aid of
G889's own transportation mechanisms, possibly similar to the
tunnels encountered by Eden Advance several years ago.
However, it is unlikely that this can be tested or proven. I would
like to urge all of you to remember that Mrs. Martin was very
fortunate that she was not injured from the fall and anyone who
copies her attempt will most likely not succeed. Mayor Adair has
urged all families to keep their children away from Eden's Bluff
until a full investigation takes place.
In other news stories...."
~~~
Click.
Blair stared at the frozen screen of the ancient report, frowning.
Outside, a Terrian moaned.
~~~
Click.
"I think we've seen enough."
Bess chuckled. "Yale always takes the news so seriously," she said
to Morgan. Morgan gave her a hard look and tightened his arm
around her even more, if that was possible. He hadn't let her go
of her once in the past few hours.
"I want you to promise me, Bess, that you will *never ever* do that
again. You could have been killed!"
"I was never in any danger..."
He cut her off. "We're just lucky that gust of wind brought you
down gently."
"Morgan, don't you believe that I can fly?"
Sighing, he said, "Bess, I want you to remember that I love you.
I know you had a hard day today and I'm going to make more of an
effort to help you all the time." There was a catch in his voice.
"All the time, Bess. Whatever you need, you just let me know."
She nodded, but her eyes were drawn outside. To that faraway place
where she could see things.
"Promise me, Bess, that you won't try it again." His face was so
earnest and adorable. It almost broke her heart to disappoint him.
"I promise I'll be careful."
---
End.
------------------------------------------------------------------
The Witches of Eden - Part 5
The Finding
by Nicole Mayer (destiny@wwdg.com)
19 January 2000
THE FINDING
-----------
"Take my hand, Blair," she whispered. "Trust me." Her red hair
was flaming in the wind even in the moonlight; never before had
Blair seen a visage which was so otherworldly. She smiled,
reaching out with her pale arm and he grasped her fingers,
breathing deeply.
"Now close your eyes and jump."
The power surged up through her, and through the tenuous connection
between them, through him. He could feel it, the energy which
surged from the planet, the deliberate power line stretching before
him. It was *there*, it was tangible, it was so real and in that
moment, Blair truly believed he could fly.
The wind raked through him and he leapt. The sea far below him
glittered with the light of two moons, each wavelet showing a
sparkling phosphorescence and he could almost lose himself in the
patterns. So beautiful, so close...
...the hand that held his was ripped away and he screamed her name
even though he didn't know how he knew it. "Dureena!"
He glanced back, terrified, but she wasn't watching him at all.
Only a sorrowful shadow passed over her face while she maintained
her gaze outwards, looking to the moons or to the stars or whatever
she was seeing that he could no longer see. He'd lost it, lost the
magic.
He was falling. The glittering waves raced up to meet him and she
soared overhead, too far away now to ever help him, and he realised
that he was going to die. He'd fallen too far, a falling angel....
A dark shape erupted from the ocean and brought him home.
Blair opened his eyes to see the bewildering sight of the hotel
room, illuminated as eerily by the twinned moonlight as his dream
had been. His dream. Running his hands through his hair, Blair
left his bed and walked softly to the window. His research was
getting to him - now he was dreaming about flying with witches.
A week here now, and during the first moment he'd discovered why
Eden was so popular even though it required a good two months cold
sleep to reach it from Earth's solar system. There was something
magical about Eden. Blair knew that perhaps he was enamoured with
the planet because it was unfamiliar. Yet it seemed to hum with an
energy he'd never felt anywhere else.
He belonged here. It was tugging at his soul.
He laughed into the darkness, softly, gently chiding himself for
his romanticism. Blair could hardly stay on Eden forever. If it
were to be the topic of his dissertation then he would get away
with a few years at most before academia required his on-station
presence. Conversely, if his search revealed no further
information, he would be going home very soon.
The thought caused Blair to pause. Home. Where was his home? He
felt no particular attachment to the space stations. Like his
mother, he was a wanderer. So why did he want to stay on Eden so
badly?
The dream came back to him, the dream, the red-haired witch. Blair
wondered where that image had come from. He'd seen her so clearly,
an image dreamed up in his own mind because there was no reference
he could relate it to. The people of Eden he'd met so far were
entirely consistent with station folk. He had yet to meet one of
the hybrids, then again, it was said that you could not tell the
difference between a hybrid and a non-hybrid unless you happened to
catch one trilling or travelling.
Blair's eyes were drawn to the ground, illuminated by soft
moonlight. What would he do if a Terrian or hybrid surfaced right
in that moment? It would be the most amazing thing to see.
As if on cue, a muted rumbling reached his ears. Blair found
himself half-hanging out of his window as instinct took over and he
strained his eyes to see anything out there in the shadows.
Another rumble, a gasp, and then suddenly Blair was wriggling out
of the window, the rational side of his mind telling him that he
could go to any circus to see hybrids exhibiting themselves, the
rest of his mind arguing that it wasn't the same as seeing a
natural planet traveller.
His foot caught on the edge of the window and he tugged at it
impatiently, realising too late that he needed that arm where it
had been. Blair tumbled to the ground most ungracefully, the exact
opposite of the falling angel he'd been in the dream.
Silence reigned once again. "Probably scared it away," Blair
muttered under his breath. Then he realised he was being, what was
it called, racist? Species-ist? "Him. Her," he amended to
himself and began walking towards the shadows of the trees,
speculating that perhaps the ground had been disturbed.
"Whatever."
His quick search revealed nothing, but by now Blair was fully
awake. The night air was invigorating. And after watching the old
news report before he'd retired to bed, there was only one place he
wanted to go.
Eden's Bluff.
The place where Bess Martin had jumped centuries ago and somehow
managed to survive.
It wasn't hard to find the beach, all of Olde New Pacifica was
designed to lead in that direction anyway. Some fifty years ago
the town's administrators had decided that it was time to stop
expanding and return to the original, old-world charm of the place.
After all, Olde New Pacifica was one of Eden's primary landmarks
and the most popular tourist destination. One could even visit
Devon Adair's newly-restored house and see the plaque dedicated to
her and her followers.
The sight of moonlight on the water caused Blair to pause, feeling
the eerie tingle of deja-vu. He resolutely ignored it and tried to
push the memory of falling from his mind as he walked up the well-
worn path to the top of Eden's Bluff.
And there he paused. For there was a figure already up there,
standing imposingly on the edge, staring into the distance. Blair
felt his heart jump. Was it possible that witches still flew?
He crept minutely closer, not wanting to make any loud noises which
might startle the potential jumper. Not knowing why, Blair fully
expected to see the woman from his dream, so it took him a while to
reconcile the expectation with the image he was actually seeing.
This was no traditional witch. It was a man, impossibly tall, with
broad shoulders and a well-muscled physique. Blair found himself
feeling slightly disappointed, it was probably only another
midnight wanderer.
Yet the longer Blair watched, the more intrigued he became. He
crouched, an attempt to hide himself because he did not want to
intrude on the man's privacy and he felt quite the voyeur. The man
did not move. Not the slightest motion. From his vantage point,
Blair couldn't even tell if the man was breathing or not.
Time passed, an hour, perhaps two, Blair had no way of marking the
time and now he was becoming worried. He couldn't be watching a
statue, could he? But no, his human instincts told him that it was
a person standing on the edge of the cliff. A person who'd been
frozen there for hours.
It wasn't right. So Blair began to move again. Slowly at first,
then with increased confidence as it became apparent that the man
had no clue he was there. Blair reached his side and stared again.
"Um...hi," he said.
No reaction. Blair waved one hand in front of the man's face.
Still nothing. "Are you okay?" Blair tried. "I don't want to be
rude or anything, man, but you've been standing here for a few
hours now and you've gotta believe me, that just isn't normal."
Blair reached out one hand to touch the man's shoulder. "Maybe-"
He broke off as the man suddenly came alive with a sharp intake of
breath and a stumble backwards.
"The lines...." the man breathed, sounding dazed. "Incredible..."
Then he shook his head and suddenly focussed on Blair who still had
a hand on his shoulder.
"Hi," Blair tried again. "You were standing a little close to the
edge there and I thought I'd pull you back." He stared at the man
for a moment, drawn to eyes which held an undefinable quantity,
something that made Blair think of magic.
The gaze was broken as the man mumbled, "Thanks," and suddenly
turned, striding away.
"What did you see?" Blair asked desperately, not wanting to have
wasted his entire night for a two-second conversation with no
answers.
Yet that was all he was going to get. When the man had reached a
patch of ground where the soil looked quite disturbed, he threw his
head back and sank into the earth.
Blair had just seen a real live Human-Terrian hybrid.
"Cool!"
---
End.
------------------------------------------------------------------
The Witches of Eden - Part 6
Taking Flight
by Nicole Mayer (destiny@wwdg.com)
23 January 2000
TAKING FLIGHT
-------------
"No. N. O. What part of No don't you understand?"
True stared at her father, her eyes flashing with defiance. "I'm
nineteen years old, Dad. You can't forbid me to do this."
"True, as long as I am alive I will be watching out for you. And
that includes telling you when I know you're doing the wrong
thing." The words caused a brief pause in the argument but it
didn't distract True from her objective.
"You have no right to tell me what I can and can't do. I'm old
enough to be making my own decisions. Dad, there are other people
getting *married* at my age!"
The scowl on Danziger's face only deepened. "The very fact that
we're having this argument tells me that you're not ready to be
making adult decisions by yourself."
"Not old enough?" She threw up her hands in disgust. "When are
you going to realise, Dad, that I'm not your little girl anymore?"
"True Danziger," and his voice was low and dangerous, "I am only
going to say this one more time. I forbid you to go anywhere near
Bess Martin and those crazy witches unless there is a responsible
adult with you."
"But Dad-"
"Enough!" Clearly, the conversation was over.
True stalked out of the room.
She was going flying.
~~~
Danziger hung his head in his hands. "That did *not* go well," he
mumbled. He heard light footsteps behind him and a friendly hand
appeared on his shoulder.
"She's growing up, John. You have to trust her to make her own
decisions."
"I know, I know," he sighed, wrapping his own fingers over the hand
on his shoulder and holding on for support. "It's just that - this
is one decision I think I have to make for her. God, we don't even
know what Bess is *doing* these days; I can't let True go running
off to join her little coven!"
"You have to remember that Bess is one of her closest friends. I
remember a time when Bess was one of your best friends too."
Danziger grunted. "We grew apart," he reflected. It was sad but
true, as the years passed, the members of Eden Advance had drifted
forward with their own lives. The group would always share a bond
but with so many things going on, it was hard to stay truly in
touch.
"I don't want to lose True," continued Danziger. "I mean, she
could get hurt, she could die if she's crazy enough to think she
can fly. It's not natural - when are they going to realise that?"
His companion had no answers to give him.
~~~
It was late afternoon when True finally joined the others on a
deserted beach. Eden's Bluff was too public, the group received
both scorn and admiration with alternating frequency and each was
equally as dangerous. The last thing Bess wanted was for children
to follow them over the edge.
"Are you ready?" Bess asked softly, noting that True's hands were
trembling ever so slightly.
The girl resolutely nodded. "I'm ready." Then she giggled
nervously. "I can't believe I'm really going to do this!"
Another young woman smiled. "The first time is very frightening.
If you maintain a clear focus, everything will be fine."
Moving as one, the group began to climb the hill which overlooked
a northern shore. Bess closed her eyes as she walked, trusting the
planet to guide her. She could feel the pulse of it, this place
was stronger than any other place she'd been before.
Bess took True's hand in her own, smiling at the warmth of it. To
have True beside her meant so much - the first of her dear friends
to trust her in this strange new venture. Through their link she
could hear the pounding of True's heart, and Bess remembered her
own apprehension the day she'd taken the first step. It had been
so difficult to trust in what she believed, and so thrilling
afterwards.
They reached the top of the cliff and spread along it, a small but
growing band. All were dressed in loose, flowing garb; it had
become their unofficial uniform and certainly suited the romantic
nature of their actions. Secretly, Bess adored being thought of as
a good witch.
With one last glance at True, Bess reached out, for the sky, for
the planet, for the lines of power that soared before her. She was
almost overwhelmed with the strength of it. "Let's go," Bess
whispered.
They stepped over the edge.
They didn't return for three days.
---
End.
------------------------------------------------------------------
The Witches of Eden: Part 7
Kathryn's Thesis
by Nicole Mayer (destiny@wwdg.com)
23 January 2000
KATHRYN'S THESIS
----------------
"Hi, I'm Kathryn Danziger," she offered, holding out her hand and
smiling warmly. She'd learnt quite some time ago that the best way
to draw answers from people was to flirt with them in a friendly
manner, just a little. A smile here, a laugh there, it didn't take
much for the interviewee to feel as if he or she was the most
important person in the universe.
Sometimes she hated herself for doing that, but the galaxy was
ruthless and a little girl from Eden had to work damn hard to make
her mark. When her research was published she was going to make
sure she was noticed. No matter what it took.
"You can call me Kathryn," she added, seating herself gracefully in
the indicated chair. "I'm honoured to meet you, Mr. Ellison."
She studied him carefully, noting the soft laugh lines hidden
within the craggy face. The Ellison family had been amongst the
first settlers and the old librarian was one of the closest sources
to history there was. Such a shame he no longer lived in New
Pacifica: Kathryn had travelled almost two weeks to reach the east
coast town. What a waste of time.
The man returned her smile and said, "The pleasure's mutual, Miss.
Now what can I do for you?"
She quizzed him for what seemed hours on the early history of the
planet and he was surprisingly useful, adding both new details and
anecdotes to the rather dry history she'd pieced together so far.
The public records contained only the barest facts and the private
journals of Devon Adair and company would remain sealed for another
hundred years or so. Never mind the fact that Kathryn was family.
She shook her head ever so slightly, trying to clear it of the
depressing thoughts as she refocussed on the tale Mr. Ellison was
telling her about Morgan Martin's scandolous behaviour during the
official naming ceremony of Eden. Making sure that she laughed in
all the right places, Kathryn surreptitiously checked that her gear
was still recording.
"And what about the ancient legends?" There was a touch of
apprehension in her voice as she brought up the question that had
been rebuffed by every source so far.
And as usual, the typical blank look crossed the old man's face.
"I don't know what you mean about that. The Terrains, we have lots
of files on them, is that what you want?"
Kathryn sighed. "No, that's not it. Mr. Ellison, have you ever
heard about the witches?"
Suddenly, a dark shadow crossed his face. "There are no witches on
Eden!" he said vehemently.
The anger in his reaction surprised her although she tried her best
to hide it. "I'm not saying there are, Mr. Ellison," she tried as
gently as possible. "I'm just wondering if there's any truth to
the rumours of people flying; in New Pacifica there are old houses
decorated with wards to keep away evil. No one can quite explain
them."
She gave him her very best smile, showing her white teeth.
"Please, Mr. Ellison? Do you remember anything at all?"
For a moment, it seemed as if he would answer her. His eyes
breifly closed, a look of resignation flashed across his features,
but then he slowly shook his head. "They were tales made up to
frighten the children, nothing more." He rubbed his temples
wearily. "Children used to sneak out at night to play with each
other - life here was much safer than what they'd known on the
stations. So their parents invented stories of witches to keep
them inside at night."
"But the stories didn't appear until several years after
colonisation. Not that I doubt you," Kathryn hastily amended when
she saw the man begin to close up on her. The friendly sparkle in
his eyes was gone.
"I'm sorry, Miss, I don't know anything more. Now if you'll excuse
me, I have some cataloguing to do."
The interview was over, just like that. Kathryn suppressed her
frustration as she gave Mr. Ellison a warm handshake and her
friendliest goodbye. And once she was down the stairs and well out
of hearing distance she let loose with a very unladylike series of
curses.
It didn't help one bit.
~~~
After Kathryn was gone, Mr. Ellison sighed wearily and shuffled
over to his private cabinet. There, he drew out a holo of a
laughing young woman and briefly closed his eyes in sorrow. There
had been witches, all right. His Bella had been one. And his
Bella had died because of it.
---
End.
------------------------------------------------------------------
The Witches of Eden - Part 8
by Nicole Mayer (destiny@wwdg.com)
23 January 2000
Notes: I'm sure you've noticed by now that I'm stealing characters
from all over the place. (Not to mention the entire premise of
"The Sentinel".) Hopefully it's more interesting than making up
my own characters every time and possibly drifting into Mary-Sueism.
Jim is from "The Sentinel" and Dureena is from "Crusade". Others
will appear when I feel like it.
The Agreement
-------------
"Hey!" Blair cried out, catching sight of a familiar figure. When
there was no response he repeated his call and began to sprint in
the direction of the person he'd been searching for the past few
days, ever since his research really took off. Blair rounded the
man and skidded to a stop, directly blocking the man's path.
"Hi, I'm Blair Sandburg," he offered, holding out his hand.
The man just stared at him in disbelief.
"We met the other night, up on Eden's Bluff...?"
That got a reaction. "Right. Thanks again. Now if you don't
mind...."
Blair didn't give him a chance to finish the excuse. "Actually, I
do. You see, I'm here on Eden doing a very important study and
it's imperative that I get some information from actual Hybrids."
He paused, his eyes anxiously darting across the man's face. "You
don't mind if I call you that, do you?"
There was an almost imperceptible shake of the head before the man
grunted, "Why don't you try the library? Or the circus?"
"Already done that," Blair lied. "The circus is full of people
flaunting what is, in my opinion, a fascinating natural ability.
I need to speak to the people who really use their gift, if I don't
get some real data soon then my project's gonna be cut off and I'll
be destitute!"
He gave the man his best puppy-dog stare, the gaze that usually got
him anything from anyone.
Unfortunately, it didn't seem as if it would work in this case.
"Find someone else," the man said. "I don't have time for this."
"But there is no one else!" Blair protested, getting a little
desperate. "Do you know how hard it is to even figure out who's a
Hybrid? It's not like people advertise it and I can't exactly go
up to someone and ask them, that's like total rudeness."
Again, that calculating gaze. "You think this isn't rude?" But
the words weren't as harsh as they sounded and Blair gave the man
another grin mixed with the *look*. He was finally getting
somewhere - and again Blair was glad of his gift to be able to talk
almost anyone into anything.
"Well," Blair said lightly, "it's not exactly rude, it's more
of...okay, you're right. It is rude," he conceded. "So will you
help me?"
The man laughed, then glanced at his watch. "I need to get back to
the station, but if you're that desperate for an interview, I guess
I can fit you in over lunch."
Blair's smile was huge. "That's great, man! Thank you so much for
doing this, you don't know how much it means...."
"Woah, hold it a second, kid," protested the man, lifting his hands
in protest. "I can't promise that I'll be that much help. I don't
know that much about Terrian culture."
Effortlessly brushing aside the concerns, Blair said, "So where
should I meet you?"
The man gave him the name of a small cafe down by the beach, a
place Blair was already familiar with. "Get a table on the
terrace," he suggested.
"Sure."
"I'll see you then." With that, the man finally strode past Blair
on his way back to work.
"Hey wait!" Blair called, just remembering something. "What's your
name?"
The man paused and looked over his shoulder. "Jim Ellison."
~~~
"No man, I think you're a witch."
Jim stared at him. And then burst out laughing. "Yeah right, I'm
a witch. Like they really exist."
Feeling slightly hurt, Blair protested, "They do! Well, they did,
it's there in the records of this planet if you know where to look.
Bess Martin, she was the leader of a whole coven of witches." He
grabbed the file he'd brought with him, hastily leafing through it.
"There, look."
Jim looked. It was a photograph of several women of varying ages,
all wearing long dresses and smiles. Every single one of them
looked exceedingly happy.
"These are the witches?"
"Yeah," Blair confirmed. "I'm still trying to figure out who they
all are, but this one," he pointed to the woman in the centre of
the photo, the one with masses of curly hair similar to his own,
"is Bess Martin, the first one who figured out to fly."
Sighing, Jim rubbed his temples. "I hate to be the one to break
this to you, kid, but every single person in that picture is
female. In case you hadn't noticed, I'm not exactly the right type
to be even called a witch."
Momentarily, Blair frowned before his boundless enthusiasm caught
up with him again. "That doesn't matter," he said, waving aside
Jim's protest. "It wasn't about who they were, it was what they
could *do*.
"They could see things no one else could see," Blair finished
triumphantly.
And Jim flinched.
"I'm right, aren't I," said Blair, softly now. He was making
headway here. "You see things, things that you can't make sense of
but you know they're out there and they're calling to you."
"How in the hell do you know that?" Jim burst out, jumping to his
feet to aggressively stare into Blair's eyes. "What are you, some
kind of voodoo freak who can read minds?"
"No," Blair whispered, his heart pounding. "I saw it. In my
dream. Jim, you're part Terrian, you *know* what dreams mean on
this planet."
"You're not even from this planet," grunted Jim. He moved back a
little and Blair felt minutely safer. "Why would they pick you to
communicate with?"
Blair had no answer to give him, but as usual, his mouth kept
running. "I haven't quite figured that out yet, maybe because I
came here to find out about the witches and maybe the planet needs
to have people who can see and use these things to maintain the
balance and you could be the only person who can do it and I could
be the only person who understands this so maybe," he was working
up for a big finish, "I came here because I was *meant* to help
you."
Staring blankly at him, Jim said the only thing he could. "What?"
And suddenly they were both laughing. The tension was gone and
Blair relaxed into his chair, glad to see Jim doing the same thing.
Maybe this could work after all.
"Seriously, man," resumed Blair when they'd calmed down somewhat,
"you see things and I'm the only one who has the vaguest idea what
it is. So what if I help you out for a while? Together we can
figure this thing...."
"Sounds good," Jim mused, nodding. Then he focussed his eyes on
Blair. "But what's in it for you?"
"Um..." Blair hedged, not wanting to destroy the tentative rapport
between them but knowing at the same time that if he lied now he'd
never get anywhere, "...research notes for my dissertation?"
"You want to study me?"
"Yeah, I guess that just about sums it up."
Jim sighed, and it was a long one. He appeared to be weighing up
the options in his mind and Blair fervently hoped that he'd pick
the right one. "I'd keep your name out of it," Blair promised.
"No one ever has to know it was you."
Suddenly, Jim looked at him directly and Blair wanted to shiver
under the intensity of that ice-blue gaze. "I need help," he
admitted, slowly. "That night you found me on the cliff, well,
it's not the first time it's happened. Or even the second."
"I'll help you deal," Blair promised. "You gotta trust me on this,
I'd never leave you in a situation where you'd get hurt."
The scrutiny continued and Blair bravely met the stare, knowing
that he wanted this. And finally, Jim smiled.
"I think we have a deal, Sandburg." They shook hands and Blair
fought the impulse to whoop. He figured it would take Jim a while
to get used to the more exuberant side of his personality.
"That's great, man!"
Jim shook his head, muttering, "What have I gotton myself into..."
---
End.
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