11-09-2016, 05:15 PM
Marcus listened silently to the exchange between James and the woman. He was curious about her and, judging from the look she gave him and her words, it was shared. Of course, she did not know he had saved her that night.
But over it all, Ascendancy stood. The healing would happen regardless of the risks to her, regardless of James' fear. A thrill of anticipation ran through him and he caught himself before he licked his lips. Soon, now. He needed to be ready. This could be his last opportunity- perhaps, if he did not get his way- to see this. The thrill was spoiled by a feeling of resentment and jealousy towards the officer- Sarkozy. The man had seen this twice. He suppressed the emotion. It wasn't useful at the moment, except to stoke the fires of his determination.
He seized the Force so as to clearly see what was about to happen. Emptiness surrounded him once the power had shrieked its cry of submission to his grip. He let go of the usual elation that accompanied the feat, pushed away the anticipation and exhilarated hope. It was as if he were encased in a bubble of emptiness. Such a state- coupled with his mentat mantra- heightened his perception and ability to concentrate- and toremember, as if he were amplifying his mental acuity, scouring away anything that might distract him. His mind was pure.
James' filled with the power and Marcus felt the room grow dark with the feel. This time, it was merely noticed and did not stir a reaction from him. Instead he watched in fascination as the man crafted his weaves of all five powers. The complexity was incredible. Lace was an understatement. As he watched, he kept trying to categorize, to study the knots and tangles, to see where they complemented each other, super-imposed themselves on each other to strengthen or cancel out the parts of the tool he was creating. His mind raced even as he memorized as much as he could, turning what he saw into Tau expressions he could hold on to. He felt his heart speed up, perception darting from place to place, watching how the weaves seemed to seep into the woman, to connect itself to every part of her body, every cell, every bundle of nerves and muscle tissue and ligament and lattice webbing of bone, even that glowing core that was the center and yet the whole of her.
The web seemed to pulse in some way, a pattern of varying colors that conveyed....what, exactly? It was all connected to James, as if he had grown a trillion little fingers and eyes and ears and noses, all probing and sensing and sampling her body's state, feeding him a flood of information. Marcus shifted his attention back and watched the whole. Comprehension would come from seeing the totality, holistically, not getting lost in the details. He had no hope of recreating the seemingly infinite number of skeins in their intricate lace one at a time. The larger picture was the key.
This time, the pulses seemed to go the other direction and the trillion little probes and fingers and eyes shifted shape. He could sense her body respond to the new forms of the threads, their reshaping, almost automatically, as if something had been kicked on. A thought skittered across the void. Were the threads activating DNA transcription, using the existing genetic programs in the histones or somewhere else to effect a repair? Was it reading the code and rebuilding to that pattern? The possibilities here were mind blowing and he quickly flicked the thoughts and feelings away. He needed to concentrate.
And then James' focused his threads inside the woman, whether in her core or her brain, he could not tell. He seemed to be probing, studying something specific. After a few moments, the pulses again shifted toward the girl and he...rebuilt things, this time with what seemed a conscious effort, a direct action rather than something more natural.
Marcus watched it all, tried to understand everything he could, storing it all away for later. It seemed as if his projects were about to multiply. Next to this, the work he was doing with metals and the Force was simple. And yet a comparison and contrast between the two would prove fascinating.
Finally, it was done and James let the power go. Through his own Force enhanced senses, Marcus could see the fatigue around the man's eyes. His face sagged. That one had taken the last bit of what had remained of his strength.
For a moment Marcus studied him. Where had he learned this? Was this instinct? The complexity here was far too much to have cobbled together over years of study. This was a talent of sorts. James was a Force-savant. There was no other word. Despite his tiredness, the threads and weaves themselves had formed almost instantaneously, as if without thought. It was only at the end that it seemed that James had consciously studied and formulated his plan.
No. He could not let the man go yet. Not yet.
He releases his grip on the Force and it fled from him in fear. The bubble that had surrounded him, that had existed for that eternity, popped and he was once again mundane. The room seemed quieter and muted. But the woman spoke and there was joy in her eyes. He had succeeded.
Malik smiled and looked at James with awe. It was unfeigned but the letting him see it was not. Then he looked at the woman and nodded. Now that he let himself feel again, he was churning with excitement and possibility. Part of him wanted to begin experimenting right away. But he reigned himself in. Time enough to find living test subjects later. First he needed to study the weaves he'd seen, figure out how they worked. Formulate them. Later would come practice.
But over it all, Ascendancy stood. The healing would happen regardless of the risks to her, regardless of James' fear. A thrill of anticipation ran through him and he caught himself before he licked his lips. Soon, now. He needed to be ready. This could be his last opportunity- perhaps, if he did not get his way- to see this. The thrill was spoiled by a feeling of resentment and jealousy towards the officer- Sarkozy. The man had seen this twice. He suppressed the emotion. It wasn't useful at the moment, except to stoke the fires of his determination.
He seized the Force so as to clearly see what was about to happen. Emptiness surrounded him once the power had shrieked its cry of submission to his grip. He let go of the usual elation that accompanied the feat, pushed away the anticipation and exhilarated hope. It was as if he were encased in a bubble of emptiness. Such a state- coupled with his mentat mantra- heightened his perception and ability to concentrate- and toremember, as if he were amplifying his mental acuity, scouring away anything that might distract him. His mind was pure.
James' filled with the power and Marcus felt the room grow dark with the feel. This time, it was merely noticed and did not stir a reaction from him. Instead he watched in fascination as the man crafted his weaves of all five powers. The complexity was incredible. Lace was an understatement. As he watched, he kept trying to categorize, to study the knots and tangles, to see where they complemented each other, super-imposed themselves on each other to strengthen or cancel out the parts of the tool he was creating. His mind raced even as he memorized as much as he could, turning what he saw into Tau expressions he could hold on to. He felt his heart speed up, perception darting from place to place, watching how the weaves seemed to seep into the woman, to connect itself to every part of her body, every cell, every bundle of nerves and muscle tissue and ligament and lattice webbing of bone, even that glowing core that was the center and yet the whole of her.
The web seemed to pulse in some way, a pattern of varying colors that conveyed....what, exactly? It was all connected to James, as if he had grown a trillion little fingers and eyes and ears and noses, all probing and sensing and sampling her body's state, feeding him a flood of information. Marcus shifted his attention back and watched the whole. Comprehension would come from seeing the totality, holistically, not getting lost in the details. He had no hope of recreating the seemingly infinite number of skeins in their intricate lace one at a time. The larger picture was the key.
This time, the pulses seemed to go the other direction and the trillion little probes and fingers and eyes shifted shape. He could sense her body respond to the new forms of the threads, their reshaping, almost automatically, as if something had been kicked on. A thought skittered across the void. Were the threads activating DNA transcription, using the existing genetic programs in the histones or somewhere else to effect a repair? Was it reading the code and rebuilding to that pattern? The possibilities here were mind blowing and he quickly flicked the thoughts and feelings away. He needed to concentrate.
And then James' focused his threads inside the woman, whether in her core or her brain, he could not tell. He seemed to be probing, studying something specific. After a few moments, the pulses again shifted toward the girl and he...rebuilt things, this time with what seemed a conscious effort, a direct action rather than something more natural.
Marcus watched it all, tried to understand everything he could, storing it all away for later. It seemed as if his projects were about to multiply. Next to this, the work he was doing with metals and the Force was simple. And yet a comparison and contrast between the two would prove fascinating.
Finally, it was done and James let the power go. Through his own Force enhanced senses, Marcus could see the fatigue around the man's eyes. His face sagged. That one had taken the last bit of what had remained of his strength.
For a moment Marcus studied him. Where had he learned this? Was this instinct? The complexity here was far too much to have cobbled together over years of study. This was a talent of sorts. James was a Force-savant. There was no other word. Despite his tiredness, the threads and weaves themselves had formed almost instantaneously, as if without thought. It was only at the end that it seemed that James had consciously studied and formulated his plan.
No. He could not let the man go yet. Not yet.
He releases his grip on the Force and it fled from him in fear. The bubble that had surrounded him, that had existed for that eternity, popped and he was once again mundane. The room seemed quieter and muted. But the woman spoke and there was joy in her eyes. He had succeeded.
Malik smiled and looked at James with awe. It was unfeigned but the letting him see it was not. Then he looked at the woman and nodded. Now that he let himself feel again, he was churning with excitement and possibility. Part of him wanted to begin experimenting right away. But he reigned himself in. Time enough to find living test subjects later. First he needed to study the weaves he'd seen, figure out how they worked. Formulate them. Later would come practice.