10-31-2017, 07:38 PM
A look of alarm passed across her face for less than a second. She seemed to compose herself, to reposition herself. The openness and honesty seemed to be veiled now, cloaked. Strangely, he felt disappointed at that. She had withdrawn behind walls. Why, he could not guess at the moment. There simply wasn't enough data.
But that didn't mean those walls couldn't be breached. He'd glimpsed something interesting. Her professionalism had dropped enough for him to see the pure excitement of discovery. He knew that heady drug. He had his hook.
His laughter subsided and his smile was friendly and disarming. He paused, allowing the question to draw out. What did he want her for, indeed. He wanted everything.
After a moment, he spoke, his voice quiet and comforting. "What do I want? It's quite simple, Dr. Zayed. I want you to work for me. For the Consulate, formally, though privately. For the CCD, for all intents and purposes. What you have discovered and codified is very clearly to me a way to study the power behind channelers. My own work is my own. I will never publish any papers that carry my name. I am content with that. But I've done enough work to know that we are on the same path. And you've done it better, in many respects."
He leaned forward, showing intensity and excitement. "What I offer you, Dr. Zayed, is freedom. You may pursue your studies to your heart's content. You will not have to apply for grants. You will not have to justify your methodology or studies. You will answer to no one but me and, should he take interest, the Ascendancy himself."
He smiled cautiously. "Be assured. You will not be an arm of the government. You will not be required to research what we want you too. The field is in its infancy. For the foreseeable future, nothing will be required of you except that you do all that you wish in your work. But as someone whose work is financed by the CCD- not the Consulate on Channeling explicitly, mind. I would not have your work tainted with application just yet- you will have access to every new tool and scientific array possible. Every advancement and available technology will be yours."
He gauged her reaction. He was giving her everything she could dream of. "More than that, I will make available to you channelers to help in your work. Make no mistake. The tools now available to you are as significant as sight to the blind. Imagine, for a moment, that you are a scientist who has used her tactile, aural and olfactory senses to study the universe. As such, EM radiation has been available to you only as the sense of thermal radiation- heat and cold. Now, imagine you now have the added sense of sight- the visible EM spectrum. How much more could you do? I am willing to provide those individuals to help in your work- to give you yet another entirely new spectrum to study with. What could you do that?"
His pitch was long, but he wanted to overwhelm her. To make it clear that he was offering her the world- and that he would be her benefactor, the one she would owe.
The final bait was held in his finger tips. A thread of air lifted the ball into the air. "Lest you think I exaggerate, Dr. Zayed, observe.
He placed a ball of compressed air and then a vacuum a few centimeters diameter larger than the ball itself. Then he engulfed the metallic ball in fire- even through the shield the heat could be felt. "I am currently heating this seemingly simple ball bearing of steel to just over 2000 Kelvins, the melting point of Tungstun. I have woven a shield of air as well as a vacuum around it but you can stilll feel the radiant heat coming of it."
He looked at the ball, retaining its shape amid the incredible energies that wreathed it.
Indeed, the heat was nearly painful. He drew the heat from the ball and dispersed it outside the open window. A wind stirred at the sudden low pressure area that formed from the now heated air's expansion, blowing papers and whipping the curtains about. He smiled apologetically. Even as he dropped the metal ball into his hand. "This metal has been...changed using the power channers use- the Dark Force you refer to. It was part of my study. Strangely, the more power- in this case heat- I apply to it, the more resistant it seems to become. As far as I have been able to tell, it does not seem to obey the Second Law of Thermodynamics as we understand it. If I had to explain it, it somehow now taps into that new force you've discovered and resists any force that might damage its integrity. Imagine, for a moment, what something like this could do to engineering and technology. Parts that do not wear out. Nearly frictionless motion."
He sat back, floating the now cool ball out to her. "All this, I offer you. I am not exaggerating when I say that your name, Dr. Zayed, will stand out among the ages. Your work will lay the groundwork for a change in scientific paradigm that only Newton, Einstein and Planck could understand."
He left the ball hovering there for her to take, his gift. "Does that appeal to you?"
Edited by Marcus DuBois, Oct 31 2017, 11:27 PM.
But that didn't mean those walls couldn't be breached. He'd glimpsed something interesting. Her professionalism had dropped enough for him to see the pure excitement of discovery. He knew that heady drug. He had his hook.
His laughter subsided and his smile was friendly and disarming. He paused, allowing the question to draw out. What did he want her for, indeed. He wanted everything.
After a moment, he spoke, his voice quiet and comforting. "What do I want? It's quite simple, Dr. Zayed. I want you to work for me. For the Consulate, formally, though privately. For the CCD, for all intents and purposes. What you have discovered and codified is very clearly to me a way to study the power behind channelers. My own work is my own. I will never publish any papers that carry my name. I am content with that. But I've done enough work to know that we are on the same path. And you've done it better, in many respects."
He leaned forward, showing intensity and excitement. "What I offer you, Dr. Zayed, is freedom. You may pursue your studies to your heart's content. You will not have to apply for grants. You will not have to justify your methodology or studies. You will answer to no one but me and, should he take interest, the Ascendancy himself."
He smiled cautiously. "Be assured. You will not be an arm of the government. You will not be required to research what we want you too. The field is in its infancy. For the foreseeable future, nothing will be required of you except that you do all that you wish in your work. But as someone whose work is financed by the CCD- not the Consulate on Channeling explicitly, mind. I would not have your work tainted with application just yet- you will have access to every new tool and scientific array possible. Every advancement and available technology will be yours."
He gauged her reaction. He was giving her everything she could dream of. "More than that, I will make available to you channelers to help in your work. Make no mistake. The tools now available to you are as significant as sight to the blind. Imagine, for a moment, that you are a scientist who has used her tactile, aural and olfactory senses to study the universe. As such, EM radiation has been available to you only as the sense of thermal radiation- heat and cold. Now, imagine you now have the added sense of sight- the visible EM spectrum. How much more could you do? I am willing to provide those individuals to help in your work- to give you yet another entirely new spectrum to study with. What could you do that?"
His pitch was long, but he wanted to overwhelm her. To make it clear that he was offering her the world- and that he would be her benefactor, the one she would owe.
The final bait was held in his finger tips. A thread of air lifted the ball into the air. "Lest you think I exaggerate, Dr. Zayed, observe.
He placed a ball of compressed air and then a vacuum a few centimeters diameter larger than the ball itself. Then he engulfed the metallic ball in fire- even through the shield the heat could be felt. "I am currently heating this seemingly simple ball bearing of steel to just over 2000 Kelvins, the melting point of Tungstun. I have woven a shield of air as well as a vacuum around it but you can stilll feel the radiant heat coming of it."
He looked at the ball, retaining its shape amid the incredible energies that wreathed it.
Indeed, the heat was nearly painful. He drew the heat from the ball and dispersed it outside the open window. A wind stirred at the sudden low pressure area that formed from the now heated air's expansion, blowing papers and whipping the curtains about. He smiled apologetically. Even as he dropped the metal ball into his hand. "This metal has been...changed using the power channers use- the Dark Force you refer to. It was part of my study. Strangely, the more power- in this case heat- I apply to it, the more resistant it seems to become. As far as I have been able to tell, it does not seem to obey the Second Law of Thermodynamics as we understand it. If I had to explain it, it somehow now taps into that new force you've discovered and resists any force that might damage its integrity. Imagine, for a moment, what something like this could do to engineering and technology. Parts that do not wear out. Nearly frictionless motion."
He sat back, floating the now cool ball out to her. "All this, I offer you. I am not exaggerating when I say that your name, Dr. Zayed, will stand out among the ages. Your work will lay the groundwork for a change in scientific paradigm that only Newton, Einstein and Planck could understand."
He left the ball hovering there for her to take, his gift. "Does that appeal to you?"
Edited by Marcus DuBois, Oct 31 2017, 11:27 PM.