The Spell of Rosette - Kim Falconer [115]
After checking that the door was still locked tight, she sat in the cushioned desk chair and scooted it forward until she was right in front of the work space. The chart was curious, completely different from the way she’d ever seen one drawn. There were outer planets in distant positions—far too distant to be seen, and she didn’t recognise their names. The latitude and longitude were wrong as well. They were southern, and there was nothing but ocean in Gaela’s lower hemisphere. She shifted in her seat, replacing the chart at the exact angle she’d found it. As her hand drew back, a letter slipped off a shelf and fell partially open onto the desk.
‘What’s this? You want me to read you?’ she whispered.
She tilted her head, listening for footsteps outside the door. Convinced that she was alone, she returned her attention to the letter. It was written in a strange calligraphy; each letter was perfectly juxtaposed to the next in the most unnatural way. She got no feeling of the author at all by studying the script. It was old, though, and read many times. That, she could tell. The pages were discoloured and the edges torn, leaving much of it illegible. She angled the first sheet to the light and began to read.
My dearest Ruby,
I’ve missed you deeply. So many times I’ve wanted to risk a visit but you know how AS—
There was an abbreviation, but she didn’t recognise it. The rest of the page was impossible to read save for the bottom. Rosette squinted. The ink had run and it was badly stained. She could only make out the last paragraph.
…total relief. The single discovery I’ve been dreaming of is clear in front of my face. It’s so simple really—DNA employs quantum computation for a range of functions including communication. It’s all about consciousness, Ruby—what you think is what you experience.
Rosette’s brow creased. DNA? What did that stand for? Only the last sentence made any sense. This must be a letter from a mentor to a student. She picked up the page beneath it and read on.
It’s getting tight here. ASSIST is taking over—martial law. I’ve been questioned daily. I won’t even put in print who they ask about. It’s like a witch-hunt…so primitive. I hope you never understand such things, but if you do make it back, you need to know. They hunt us here, Ruby, and they don’t take prisoners—at least not for long. They’ve declared war, and they think we’re the enemy! I’ve managed to stay a step ahead. They still need me, but Luka says we have to get out, and soon.
Rosette looked up at the beams over the pool and shivered. They hunted witches? Where was this letter from? She returned to the page.
Before I vanish, there is something you need to know. Something you need to pass on. There is a certain kind of energy that occurs in all cultures, in all places, in all times. It goes by different names but has the same signature—strange ‘happenings’ that transgress the classical laws of physics. Different civilisations give it different names—witchcraft, psychic phenomena, shamanism, divine miracles, quantum physics. It’s all magic, one and the same—something that possesses unique qualities producing unaccountable or perplexing effects.
It includes telepathy (mind-to-mind communication), precognition (awareness of future events prior to occurrence), clairvoyance (‘clear visions’ of the past, present and future), psychokinesis (mind affecting matter), therianthropism (shape-shifting), astral travel (out-of-body experiences), lucid dreaming (conscious awareness and control in the dream state), and the deliberate and intentional use of Qi (life force). However it is manifesting in you, know that it is very strong in our line. Why else would you have been chosen to settle the pups on the other side? You’re the most magical of all, Ruby.
‘Pups?’ Rosette said aloud.
The biggest problem ASSIST has with magic is its perplexing effects—a blanket disregard for the laws of classical physics. Of particular concern