08-29-2023, 06:46 AM
After the prison, Marcus made sure he carved out time for himself. Not a vacation, of course. But he did take a week to visit the training camp Vellas was running. Marcus knew the man was the military side of the Force. There was no love lost between the two. An understatement. Only a forced respect for position and power. But where Vellas seemed content (seemed, he reminded himself. Obfuscation and duplicity were the norm in government) to lead the military wing of the Force, his own ambition reached for far more.
Vellas would be someone to eliminate one day. He calculated his odds of subborning the man to his loyalty as to be so close to infinitesimal as to make no difference. He would have to go.
Not, of course, today. No, this would be in the future. But the seeds needed to be nurtured, the roots put down, the tendrils cultivated to grow beneath the barrier between his Consulate and Vellas organization, binding them tightly and organically.
To that end, Marcus had directed that his research division pursue military applications of the Force. Most channelers had discovered its more violent applications. Unsurprising, given humanity. And while the majority were rudimentary in their brute force applications- blunt weapons of air or water or earth- there were a handful who had chanced upon more novel applications. Force ability seemed to be distributed across all demographics, with perhaps only a small indication of density clusters around some specific ethnic backgrounds- an area he was already having people look at.
With such a large sample pool, the rather unique Force techniques that stood out were incredibly dissimilar. From nervous system manipulation to what appeared to be some sort of chemistry- really, it bore more resemblance to alchemy- that produced directed "gases" that turned the mind to mush to an incredibly amazing ability to tap into the electrical components of a building to locate and target specific people.
All of them held promise. It was only natural to lead the research into the scientific principles- things that could be categorized, quantified, tested and repeated- behind these abilities, abstracting away the specifics to arrive at deeper truths. Sharing the fruits of his work with Vellas- and much more importantly, with his functionaries and teachers and the men who were being taught- created ties and perceptions that would become so constant as to seem natural and correct.
It had been a nice surprise to see Detective Sarkozy there. Domovoi had been subsumed into his department and the man had come up more than once. The greeting, small and superficial as it was, was yet another link, another tie between the two divisions. (Marcus also made a mental note to bring the man into his Consulate for further research. He asked the right questions. )
Marcus and his Consulate would continue to grow as the foremost Channeling organization in the world, the one where all the most cutting edge research and power would derive. When Vellas was finally eliminated (something he looked forward to with some relish), the course to unification would seem the only logical one.
And so his trip was not truly a vacation. But it was a break all the same. He came back refreshed, both from the change in routine and environment.
The day had started early and he had missed breakfast. Meetings ate up his morning until finally he was able to take a lunch. The options for food were sometimes enough to be paralyzing and it had become a chore to choose0. So instead, using a simple binary search with a mental toss of a coin at each decision point, he came to decide on a specific Greek restaurant in only 6 steps- 64 choices narrowed down to one rather quickly and easily.
His table was his alone- hot cup of tea steaming, his tablet open as he read status reports from his staff. There was so much going on that it took incredible focus to keep track of each avenue being explored. Hierarchy had been imposed as a necessity, a way to manage the new sciences that were being spawned. He tried to keep a close eye on all the projects being studied, but knew he was always only playing catch up. His people knew him and what he wanted and kept him apprised of the most important.
Or rather, what they considered important. Which was really the problem. What they thought he thought important wasn't necessarily what actually was. The danger of missing something- an avenue or ability or Channeler- ate at him. He craved knowledge, hungered to have every thread flow through him. It was what drove him.
And so he read over reports, trying to glean from the sometimes abysmal notes, what they were really doing. After a few minutes, he leaned back, forcing himself to stop. He took a sip of his tea and closed his eyes for a moment in meditation. Calm centered him, icy cold winds of mountains sweeping over his mind, his glacial world of beautiful crystal and lattice and order. Peace filled him.
He opened his eyes and saw two new patrons sitting down at a table some distance away. Danika was sitting with one of the Rods of Dominion. Marcus studied the two for a moment. She was as beautiful as ever. Her bright eyes and wide smile open and inviting. He couldn't help the memory of their night together that came upon him. He pushed away any sense of sentimentality, though.
Certainly there was no jealousy in him as he studied Allain's face. He'd med the man. And Sanjay had discussed all his fellow Rods at length. A smart man. Driven. He wondered if the meeting was social or business. Just curious, of course. And then he realized that he hadn't looked into Danika's work in a while. Actually, not since their night.
Which was odd, he now realized. Given his hunger, it wasn't like him to avoid research that was incredibly promising. Very odd indeed.
He thought for a moment, then waved over his server and ordered a bottle of wine delivered to their table. When it was delivered, he perhaps consider saying hello.
Vellas would be someone to eliminate one day. He calculated his odds of subborning the man to his loyalty as to be so close to infinitesimal as to make no difference. He would have to go.
Not, of course, today. No, this would be in the future. But the seeds needed to be nurtured, the roots put down, the tendrils cultivated to grow beneath the barrier between his Consulate and Vellas organization, binding them tightly and organically.
To that end, Marcus had directed that his research division pursue military applications of the Force. Most channelers had discovered its more violent applications. Unsurprising, given humanity. And while the majority were rudimentary in their brute force applications- blunt weapons of air or water or earth- there were a handful who had chanced upon more novel applications. Force ability seemed to be distributed across all demographics, with perhaps only a small indication of density clusters around some specific ethnic backgrounds- an area he was already having people look at.
With such a large sample pool, the rather unique Force techniques that stood out were incredibly dissimilar. From nervous system manipulation to what appeared to be some sort of chemistry- really, it bore more resemblance to alchemy- that produced directed "gases" that turned the mind to mush to an incredibly amazing ability to tap into the electrical components of a building to locate and target specific people.
All of them held promise. It was only natural to lead the research into the scientific principles- things that could be categorized, quantified, tested and repeated- behind these abilities, abstracting away the specifics to arrive at deeper truths. Sharing the fruits of his work with Vellas- and much more importantly, with his functionaries and teachers and the men who were being taught- created ties and perceptions that would become so constant as to seem natural and correct.
It had been a nice surprise to see Detective Sarkozy there. Domovoi had been subsumed into his department and the man had come up more than once. The greeting, small and superficial as it was, was yet another link, another tie between the two divisions. (Marcus also made a mental note to bring the man into his Consulate for further research. He asked the right questions. )
Marcus and his Consulate would continue to grow as the foremost Channeling organization in the world, the one where all the most cutting edge research and power would derive. When Vellas was finally eliminated (something he looked forward to with some relish), the course to unification would seem the only logical one.
And so his trip was not truly a vacation. But it was a break all the same. He came back refreshed, both from the change in routine and environment.
The day had started early and he had missed breakfast. Meetings ate up his morning until finally he was able to take a lunch. The options for food were sometimes enough to be paralyzing and it had become a chore to choose0. So instead, using a simple binary search with a mental toss of a coin at each decision point, he came to decide on a specific Greek restaurant in only 6 steps- 64 choices narrowed down to one rather quickly and easily.
His table was his alone- hot cup of tea steaming, his tablet open as he read status reports from his staff. There was so much going on that it took incredible focus to keep track of each avenue being explored. Hierarchy had been imposed as a necessity, a way to manage the new sciences that were being spawned. He tried to keep a close eye on all the projects being studied, but knew he was always only playing catch up. His people knew him and what he wanted and kept him apprised of the most important.
Or rather, what they considered important. Which was really the problem. What they thought he thought important wasn't necessarily what actually was. The danger of missing something- an avenue or ability or Channeler- ate at him. He craved knowledge, hungered to have every thread flow through him. It was what drove him.
And so he read over reports, trying to glean from the sometimes abysmal notes, what they were really doing. After a few minutes, he leaned back, forcing himself to stop. He took a sip of his tea and closed his eyes for a moment in meditation. Calm centered him, icy cold winds of mountains sweeping over his mind, his glacial world of beautiful crystal and lattice and order. Peace filled him.
He opened his eyes and saw two new patrons sitting down at a table some distance away. Danika was sitting with one of the Rods of Dominion. Marcus studied the two for a moment. She was as beautiful as ever. Her bright eyes and wide smile open and inviting. He couldn't help the memory of their night together that came upon him. He pushed away any sense of sentimentality, though.
Certainly there was no jealousy in him as he studied Allain's face. He'd med the man. And Sanjay had discussed all his fellow Rods at length. A smart man. Driven. He wondered if the meeting was social or business. Just curious, of course. And then he realized that he hadn't looked into Danika's work in a while. Actually, not since their night.
Which was odd, he now realized. Given his hunger, it wasn't like him to avoid research that was incredibly promising. Very odd indeed.
He thought for a moment, then waved over his server and ordered a bottle of wine delivered to their table. When it was delivered, he perhaps consider saying hello.