Mana Mutation Menace (Journey to Chaos Book 3) (27 page)

Emily approached the main table and curtsied to the
delegates.

“Miss Tompson, please tell us about your work.”

“Kallen Selios is among the few in the modern age to make
a full recovery, and the first whose recovery was artificially induced. She is
proof that a reliable treatment can be found. She inspires me and I hope this
statue will inspire you.”

“Thank you, Miss Tompson. You may sit.”

Emily curtsied again to the delegates and returned to her
seat.

“The first item on our agenda is the introduction of
another inspiring individual. Allow me to present Eric Watley, the Modern
Demon.”

Eric stepped forward and bowed to the assembled rulers.
“Good day, ladies and gentlemen. How was your trip?”

“Two and a half months ago, Mr. Watley mutated into a grendel
and Ataidar’s branch of the ICDMM reversed his mutation in both mind and body.
He stands before you now as neither human nor monster, but a demon. Mr. Watley,
please give them a demonstration.”

To his queen, he said, “Yes, Your Majesty.” To the other
rulers he said, “What you are about to see may startle you; parental
supervision is recommended.”

His eyes slitted and his lips separated into a grin. His
body rippled and his form extended and broadened. His skin became harder and
his nails became claws. Other changes occurred until Eric stood before them as
a true grendel. While the other rulers backed away or drew weapons, Kasile
offered him her gloved hand. He gently took it and kissed the back of her palm.

“Fear not.
I remain Her Majesty’s loyal subject.”

Just as easily as before, he returned to his smaller,
meeker human state.

“Appearance is an illusion because identity is all that
matters. Regardless if I am human or grendel at the moment, I am always Eric
Watley.”

“Mr. Watley has provided groundbreaking data. Isn’t that
right, Miss Selios?”

“Yes, Your Majesty. There was singing and kissing and celebratory
wine.”

“The ICDMM has not produced successful results in years,” Lunas
drawled. “Forgive me if I am skeptical.”

 He stood up and gestured.

“Eric Watley is the Trickster’s Choice. Shapeshifting is elven
magic. How do we know that this is not a farce?”

“If Your Highness doubts me, then generate a Truth Zone
around him,” Kasile replied. “Your Highness
does
possess such a skill,
does he not?”

The phrase “caught flat-footed” described Lunas’
expression. Never would he imagine that someone would know as much about
ordercraft as he did, nor would Order allow anyone to use it against him.

“No, I do not.”

Although his experience was not as great as Nulso’s, he
studied his craft every day as Eric did with Dengel’s books. While he knew of
the skill, learning it and practicing it regularly could turn him into
something like Nulso.

“Our courts find it more expedient to simply take the
needed information out of a suspect or defendant’s mind.”

 “Then allow me to demonstrate. Ordercrafter Captain Kimberly.”

“Yes, Your Majesty?”

“Generate a Truth Zone around Eric Watley and question
him.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

The girl stood in front of Eric and stamped her foot on
the ground. A pillar of eldritch light sprouted eight feet high. She walked
around Eric and the light followed her in four lines to create a box. She waved
her foot low to cover the floor and then high to seal the box. At her starting
place, she concluded the technique with the following spell.

 “Eric Watley, do you swear to tell the truth, the whole
truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you Order?”

“I do.”

“Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Watley is now in a zone of
sanctified orderly power. As you know, Order does not abide lies. It guarantees
that what he says is the truth. Omissions, half-truths, and exact word phrasing
are not allowed. Once agreeing as Mr. Watley has done, not even an elf can lie.
Prince Lunas, please verify that this is indeed orderly power and not a light
show.”

Latrot’s prince glanced at it. “It will do.”

“Mr. Watley, are you ready?”

“Yes, I am.”

“Question 1: Did you mana mutate in Ceiha?”

“Yes.”

“Question 2: Were you treated by Ataidar’s branch of the
ICDMM without help from elves, Dnnac Ledo, or any other individual other than
your teammates?”

“Yes.”

“Question 3: Are you a demon?”

“Yes.”

“Question 4: Why are you here?”

“To help those precious to me prove that Medical Mana
Mutation is possible. Personally, I don’t care if this thing goes through or
not.”

“Question 5: Were you capable of shapeshifting before you
mana mutated?”

“No.”

“Question 6: Were you capable of shapeshifting after you
mana mutated?”

“Yes, but only back and forth between human and grendel
because of my dual identity. You’ll have to ask Kallen for the details, because
I don’t understand the technical stuff.”

“Question 7: Do you have any connection, affiliation, or
cooperation with elves?”

“Just my gorgeous girlfriend.” He winked and she giggled.
“Oh yeah, my guild captain is one, but I rarely see him and he’s a battle mage
anyways.” 

 “Prince Lunas, do you have any questions you would like
to ask?”

“A couple.”

Lunas left his seat and strolled around the table to stand
next to Kimberly. Her knees quivered as if resisting the urge to kneel to him.
Instead, she left his presence to stand next to the monarch to whom she had
sworn loyalty.

“Just recently, Her Majesty’s royal mage was conducting
research to train monsters to act like sapients and before that there was a
similar mission with the dead. How do we know you are the real Eric Watley and
not a simulacrum programed to act like him?”

“I’m not a simulacrum because the royal mage failed at
both attempts. If you’re not convinced, ask me anything. You’ll see I’m no
bot.”

“Who guards the guards?”

“The Trickster.”

“Who is Shmoopie?”

“They argue over which one of them has that name.”

“What is a ninja?”

“A heart, a mind, a body, and a spirit.”

“What is the square root of 25?”

“5.”

“Are you a monster?”

“No. I’m a demon. Are you ticklish?”

“Yes. Why did you ask a nonsensical question?”

“Because you made a funny face answering it. Compulsive
honesty can be a pain, huh?”

“Thank you, Mr. Watley,” Kasile said. “I’m sure you’ve
proven your level of intelligence to everyone here. Please take your seat.”

The Summit formally began with Kasile calling ICDMM
members to give an account of their research since the last meeting.

Percy Tota took it upon himself to give a brief summary of
recent developments. The Elemental Mana Mutation Factor hypothesis was
gathering strength thanks to the work of Kallen Selios and other field agents
around the globe, but it could not yet be called a theory because its practical
experiments were still ongoing. In contrast, the Emotional Memory hypothesis
was elevated to the level of theory thanks to Eric Watley, Kallen Selios, and
the researchers who worked with/on them in addition to more numerous cases like
Tiza. The final item he mentioned was the Mutation Shapeshifting Theory, but
before he could finish explaining, Ponix shouted, “HERSEY!”

He clapped three hands over his mouth. A second one
generated on his forehead and said, “Sorry. Knee jerk.”

Annala face-palmed.

“While the Mutation Shapeshifting Theory is interesting,”
Tota continued, “our true goal is to restore a victim’s sanity. Thus, our true
focus is Emotional Memory.”

With a remote control, he lowered a projection screen and
clicked once. A video of a monster being led to a holding cell played on its
surface. No one knew precisely what it looked like, but they all agreed that it
was a grendel.

 
“Mr. Watley was such a vicious monster that a
Grand Fighter of Magic was injured subduing him and one of our cells was closed
for repairs before we could sedate him. Now he is civil enough to sit amongst
us because his friends and guild fellows reached out to him.”

He clicked again and played a scene of a human trashing
about in a strait jacket.

“This is a human in the throes of monsanity. Physically,
there is nothing wrong with him. Mentally, everything is wrong. His sense of
self is gone, his memories are scrambled, and only his base instincts remain.
Until recently, this described Miss Aranid. A severe case of mana poisoning
overwhelmed her mind, but Lord Heleti restored her senses with exemplary first
aid, trust, and shared memories. Her deep attachment to him overcoming
monsanity is a classic example of Emotional Memory.”

Tiza blushed and Nolien noted the appealing contrast it
made with her blue dress.

Tota clicked a third time and the screen showed a chimera,
and not just any chimera, but a truly grotesque and bizarre one. Among its many
features was a snake tail, triangle irises, and horns of many shapes. There was
no consistency of any sort in its hide and parts of its body appeared to escape
the picture and intrude upon their room.

“This is Kallen Selios when she emerged from the Pit of Chaotic
Fog at the Necrohal of Siduban. She was mutated in mind, body, and soul by
chaos itself. This is a more severe mutation than anyone on record, and yet
when she was found, she was determined to protect her younger sister, Ariel.
She retained enough sapience to know her and be capable of guarding her. Family
relations were the deciding factor in other successes as well.”

Tota called for the pairs and they took center stage. One
by one, they told their stories and demonstrated the docility of their monster
relatives. To prove their point, each approached the monster of another, only
to be threatened. The only one not impressed was Lunas.

“While this is heartwarming, it remains that your success
rate is dismal and your greatest successes are the Trickster’s Chosen. Instead
of this ‘Emotional Memory’ nonsense, the simpler explanation is that the former
are flukes and the latter are exceptional.” 

“Proof of Concept is sound, Your Highness,” Abbot Tolis
said. “Success is due to emotions: love and hatred, loyalty and revenge. We
have documented many cases.”

“Your ‘documents’ are folklore and your scientists are
monks.”

“The oldest scientific institutions on this continent were
founded by monks. My monastery is older than your entire country.”

“Older doesn’t mean better,” said a dwarf duke from Acemo.
“It means antiquated, swamp rotted, and in need of replacement. If these results
came from Rlawader, I wouldn’t give them the weight of a soggy map.”

“If you could hold a government together for more than a
year, then you would understand the appeal of age. You would also be able to
conduct your own studies instead of relying on others.”

“My country has conducted independent studies,” the human administrator
from Latlis said. “According to them, family and friends are predominantly a
new monster’s first victims.” 

“That’s because you advocate shooting them,” argued the
Support Beam from Mithra, a walking tree. “If you instead educated your
citizens to approach with apples instead of spears, then you would have better
results.”

“I suppose you use apples to solve unemployment, budget deficits,
and poor sanitation too,” snarked the fairy elder from Symphonia.

Kasile struck her gavel. “Ambassador Enaz, what is your
opinion on this theory?”

“My wife has the details,” Ponix said, “and she’d be happy
to discuss them with you at length.
In fact
, she’d rather stand where
I’m standing so she could give you blueprints for technology based on this
principle. Alas, she cannot because of the Supreme Council’s ban against
sharing technology with non-elves.”

“In other words, we’re on the right track.”

“I can neither say ‘yes’ nor ‘no’ and so I will say ‘Are
you a yeti’?”

“Queen Kasile,” Lunas said. “I formally request that
Ambassador Enaz be removed from this meeting. He clearly has nothing to
contribute except misdirection and nonsense. Surely you have not forgotten what
his wife did to your city some years ago.”

“I have not forgotten, Prince Lunas, but that is no reason
to exclude an honorary member of this council.”

The Strongwoman from Ozid laughed so heartily at this that
she stomped the floor and unintentionally cracked it. Ponix sent the orc a
glare, which only increased her merriment.

“Excuse me, but such a joke was too clever to go
unappreciated. Dnnac Ledo has never contributed to our work. Indeed, no elf
village ever has. I have watched Ponix stand there in the corner during every
meeting since this organization was founded two hundred years ago. He’s watched
us struggle and our people mutate all this time and has done nothing to change
the status quo. Such devotion to authority would be admirable, if he were an
orc like myself. Instead, I imagine he’s here simply to report to his village
that they are still superior.”

“JJ, do you want to provoke
another
fight with me?”

“Don’t mind if I do!”

In a single motion, the orc jumped out of her seat and
threw it at Ponix. The elf shrank out of its path, then lunged forward in a
punch. His small size made him harder to swat than a mosquito and he landed on
the bridge of JJ’s right eye. He poked it and then the other. JJ’s hand rose to
smash him, but he flew away and she only smacked herself. Instead, she blew him
away with a flare of her spirit. He tumbled head over heels before he steadied
himself. Returning to his normal size, he shifted one hand into a gong and the
other into a hammer.

Shouldn’t you stop them?

They do this at every Summit. It’s an orc-elf thing.