Microstory 1581: Empty

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Prompt

I literally saw no other cars on my way to work this morning, no one on the streets, and no one in the office. Something strange is going on.

Botner

It’s been like this all week. This morning, I had to leave a little bit early for a doctor’s appointment. I can’t remember the last time I was late for work. And, since this has been happening all week, I am guessing it has something to do with my hormone levels being out of whack. Probably due to the possible infection. And, the whole period thing. I’m trying to stay positive. I just hope it’s a short term thing. And, that it doesn’t affect my job, because I really like my job. Yesterday I went for my 28-week check up. I had asked about my nausea since I noticed that it seemed to be lessening, as well as my food aversions. I was told I was still pretty miserable. Then, the doctor told me that I had to stop wearing my belly band and go on full bed rest. That I had to wear nothing but a pad or a maxi pad the rest of my pregnancy. That my blood pressure was being regulated and they had decided I had gestational hypertension, but the baby’s was fine. (There was an issue with...

Conclusion

...the ultrasound, but it turned out to be some kind of imaging error). None of that explains why there are no people around anymore. I didn’t notice it the first few days. Because of the pandemic, so few people are coming into work now. My mind wanders while I’m driving, and I try to stay away from people in person anyway. Fortunately, I work in my own little corner with a special door that pretty much takes me right there. I’m obviously extremely worried, now that I realize that I’m all alone, and have been for quite some time. Even if the virus killed everyone, and for some reason, left me alive, I should still see signs of life. If it was that quick, there should be dead bodies in at least a few cars on the way. Perhaps it’s all just hormones, and I’m imagining everything, or it’s some kind of fever dream. I decide to skip out early today, and go exploring. I just randomly drive around the city, looking for anything—anything—that suggests there are other people still alive and around. I saw a movie about this once. A couple was on vacation when they woke up to find the whole world empty except for them, and (spoiler alert) one other guy. I keep driving around, but there’s no one. I call up my doctor, and he answers the phone, so I keep him on the line while I’m headed his way. He’s confused as to what I’m talking about, but I’m even more confused when I get to his office, and find it just as empty as everywhere. He’s still talking to me, and claiming that he’s sitting in his chair. I’m looking right at it, he’s lying. Then I remember. The father’s ex-girlfriend claimed to be a witch, and warned me that she would be sending me to a prison world. I didn’t believe her then, of course, but I believe her now. I have to find a way out of here, and since I can obviously still make calls to the real world, that has to be possible. Who can I call, though? The father? Maybe, but the witch will be monitoring his communication, surely. Then again, she’s probably just watching me right now. I hang up, and call my neighbor, who once strongly suggested he too was a witch.

Microstory 1066: Alice

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How convenient it is that you are speaking with me right after Joan. I felt it the moment Viola turned her into a witch. Well, you can’t actually be turned. It’s more like your mind is finally opened to the opportunities the universe has to offer. Craft is not a religion, nor does it involve magic. The spells we cast are called engagements, and they follow an extremely strict set of rules. They don’t require drawing energy from nature, or ancestors, or blood, or some manifestation of evil. Craft is more like computer hacking, except the computer is the cosmos, and keyboard is your own brain. You see, we are all connected to one another, and everything else. An unseen force pervades reality, allowing one with significant ability to reach out, and manipulate the environment. If what I felt the other day was correct, Joan used what’s called the Oshwrlé technique, which can calm anyone within a blast radius. The stronger the witch, the larger the radius can be, though there are still limits. There are always limits. Everything a witch is capable of adheres to the natural laws that govern the universe; the only difference being that there are certain laws the average person is not aware of. For instance, there are random tears in the spacetime continuum, which would allow you to transport yourself nearly instantaneously anywhere else. Witches simply know how to access these tears, though sufficiently advanced technology could do the same. Witches can conceal themselves from others, or enter a pocket dimension, or heal the injured. Learning the trade takes time more than anything. I could give you a list of the commands that we recite to engage these exploits, but if you’re not connected to the cosmic energy, it won’t do you any good. It would be like if you typed a novel into a keyboard, but it wasn’t plugged into a machine. You have to learn how to plug in.

I became a witch all on my own. I didn’t do it by researching on the internet, or studying under a master, and it definitely had nothing to do with Viola. We were and are similar creatures, but not the same. She was born with a more biological connection, while mine was simply cerebral. I intuited Craft. That doesn’t make me a better person, or even smarter. Some people just have it, while others don’t. Though anyone can technically be taught, only a few of us will develop abilities on our own. Either way, the magnitude of your power is never guaranteed, and you can lose connections if you don’t nurture them properly. Two years ago, Viola and I had a meeting of minds. As the only known two of our kind in the area, we wanted to get together, and make sure we understood where each other was coming from. Both she and I predicted the moment of her death, and I needed to know whether she was interested in preventing it. You may have heard, or you gathered, that she wanted her path to end as it did, and as a fellow witch, I decided to respect that. I most certainly could have saved her, and some today may feel I should have, but they could never understand what was going through her head, or why she made the choices she did. All I know is that her power lives on, and cannot die, so long as the changes she made, for the betterment of mankind, continue. I will go on myself, practicing Craft as I see fit, and I will interact with Joan only if the need arises. I’ve been trying to communicate with Viola since she died, but have had no luck. She was the best of us, and I mean that in a human species sense, because for all the knowledge and abilities she possessed, she was still predominantly like everyone else.

Microstory 1065: Joan

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I was on the plane when the tire broke off of the landing gear, and fell down towards Blast City. Of course, as passengers, we didn’t have any idea that that is what happened, but it was frightening and frustrating for us too. We still haven’t been told why the landing gear failed to retract into the bottom of the plane, or how a major piece of it managed to fall off, but it caused a great deal of turbulence. What’s more is that the pilots obviously knew what had happened, so they immediately turned to go back to the departing airport. But that didn’t mean they could land, so we just flew in circles for hours, until a bunch of stressed out tin pushers on the ground figured out that the only way to get the plane back on the ground safely was to drop it in water. A guy sitting in a seat near me was telling people about something called a belly landing, which is one possible way to do it without wheels, but I guess the air traffic controllers didn’t think that was going to fly in this case. Pardon the pun. Anyway, the reason he was able to explain that while all of this was happening was because everyone in the cabin was completely calm. And they were completely calm, because I made them that way. About a year ago, Viola shows up at my house and tells me I’ve been chosen. She performs some ritual over my head, which I am helpless to resist, and transforms me into a sort of witch. She then teaches me a special command that allows me to tranquilize anyone in the immediate vicinity. I won’t tell you the word itself, because even though you can’t use it just because you know it, I don’t want it getting out there. She told me I would need it around this time, but didn’t give me a specific date, probably so I wouldn’t alter my course. Had I known I was going need this ability for a plane trip, I would have possibly taken a different flight. She wanted me there, on that day, so I could help in my own special way. She urged me not to use it except in an emergency, and that she was trusting me not to abuse the gift. I could go to a sportsball game, for instance, and totally deaden the crowd. I could turn the players docile, and just make them stand there on the field or court for an indefinite amount of time. I could end a lot of suffering, but also cause problems. She did say, however, that I would need to practice, so I took it upon myself to work closely with an anger management class. I won’t tell you who’s in it, but one of them is in our grade level, and knows exactly what I can do. Viola didn’t say I couldn’t reveal my secret to anyone. They helped me understand my ability, and be prepared for when I would really need it. I find it strange that she called me a witch, though. I don’t find the term offensive, but it seems a little too...comprehensive? Witches in fiction can perform lots of different spells, rather than just the one. I’m only wondering now whether there’s anything else I can do. It’s time I start practicing again.

Microstory 747: Hex

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The Hex were a coven of witches at their prime in the early 20th century with malevolent intentions. At this point in the galaxy’s history, there were few regulations regarding craft. Some used their knowledge for good, while most used it simply to make their lives easier. A few, of course, saw craft as something to be used to its greatest potential, exploiting loopholes to further their agenda to control the worlds. At any one time, there were only six witches in this coven. As one member died, another would be called to replace them. No one fully understood how many times this cycle continued, since the coven would stealthily move across the stars before authorities could catch them. The oldest surviving member was a man name Epihui Ronson, who was the sickest of them all. Though he did not openly lead the group, he was its founder, and wielded the most control over them, by literally controlling their minds. He let his mouthpieces go on believing that everything the coven did was their idea. They were directed to make claims to new members that, upon their death, they would find themselves in an afterlife of paradise. In truth, the engagements they worked on mostly only served to increase Ronson’s own power. The engagements, however, did not always work as they were meant to. One such of these led the near-death of a woman named Heldika Marlian. Ronson took pity on her, and against his better judgment, chose not to finish her off, thinking she would die soon anyway. Having learned the truth about who Ronson was, and what the coven was for, Heldika pulled herself out of the ditch that was meant to be her grave, returned to the First World, and began to study everything she could about death. After years of practice, she learned how to bring people back from the brink. She then formed her own rival coven to follow Hex around, and revive Ronson’s sacrifices. With these, she was able to secure even greater numbers for the Doladerstun coven, eventually succeeding in creating the largest coven in galaxy history up to that point. One day, they combined their power, and operated as one. They defeated Ronson, ultimately having no choice but to kill his current five covenmates. Following their success, the Doladerstun coven broke apart into many distinct covens, each one named after a letter in the original. And that is how we came to have the Eleven Great Covens of Wiktea.

Microstory 514: Martian Law Enforcement Approves ‘Culmination’ Coven

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For centuries, refugees and immigrants have been living in the great city of Atlantis on planet Earth. Some of us have even been here since the island was resting safely on the ocean’s surface. During that time, the Earthan population at the time was not only scarce, but also technologically primitive. Certain Earthans were aware of our existence, but you could count on an Amaigaben’s hands the number who understood exactly what we were. To most, we were just a small and barely consequential island that exported nothing. We were forced to sink our home into the depths of the waters to protect both us, and the Earthans. Martian Law forbade us from revealing ourselves to any veiled Earthan, which was a law most of us were happy to comply with. We’ve historically adopted an isolationistic position from the outside world, but many believe this to be a product of necessity, rather than true philosophical perspective. Recently, however, these thoughts have shift amongst a certain fraction of the population. The witches, due to their deep connection with the universe itself, are naturally inclined to ignore such trivial constraints as geographical boundaries. One coven in particular, which only now calls itself the Caretaker Coven, last year proposed to the Martians something that no one thought would be accepted, but it has.

Martian Law dictates that no one aware of the existence of society beyond their one planet may reveal this truth to any Earthan human. It’s pretty simple, really. If you’re talking to an Earthan, you can’t discuss what you know of outerspace and the likes, and if you’re talking to anyone else, you can say whatever you want. Some say this flies in the face as other laws, such as Priority Two, which turns the concept of sharing technology into a morally obligatory maxim. However your feelings regarding the moratorium on Earthan deveilment, the fact of the matter is that no Earthan may know that we exist. There are certain exceptions, like if the transgressor revealed truths accidentally, and while still themselves ignorant about the truth, to a certain degree. There are also a few Earthan world leaders who are aware of us, but only in order to cement our secrecy from everyone else. This new Martian approval changes all that on the highest scale since the Croatoan Expedition centuries ago. The Caretakers would like to bring certain Earthan humans into the fold in order to educate them in Craft. Covert studies have reportedly revealed that a select few Earthan children exhibit a special predilection towards the adoption of Craft engagements. Apparently, the evidence towards this fact is so strong, that the Martians have agreed to let the Caretaker coven remove more than one thousand Earthan children from their homes, and into Atlantis. Right now, it is not known how the Caretakers plan to explain to the parents where their children are going, but we will update you when we know. Some believe the witches will use memory erasing engagements to account for the disappearances, however, it is hard to believe the Martians would agree to that type of violation. The children have already been chosen, and some have been contacted. They are from all over the globe, and the first group is said to be arriving sometime next year.

Microstory 184: Ossia Mulloy

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When Ossia Mulloy was fairly young, she decided to reveal her ability to her best friend. The two of them were skipping rocks on a pond one evening when Ossia asked if she wanted to see something cool. Henrietta shrugged indifferently but then watched, stunned as Ossia haphazardly tossed a rock into the water, and kept it skipping indefinitely. She made it curve, bounce backwards, and even stop in place, as if the lake were frozen. Henrietta was speechless as Ossia’s feats became more and more impressive. She swung the pond in its entirety back and forth, as if it were nothing more than a small bowl of water. She lifted it in the air and let it fall back down like rain. She smiled to her friend, expecting her to be excited and interested, but instead, Henrietta ran from her and called her a witch. Henrietta ended up trying to tell their parents about what happened, but of course, her accusations were ridiculous, and there was no way for her to prove it. Needless to say, they were no longer friends. When Ossia was 21 years old, she made the natural choice of enlisting in the Diving Section of the Irish Naval Service as an underwater engineer. One night while on leave, Ossia caught a man sexually assaulting Henrietta. More as a reflex, and because he was too physically strong for her, Ossia began to manipulate the water in the man’s body, and pulled him apart with it. He exploded in front of them, covering them with bits and pieces. It was the most horrifying experience for either of them. Despite the violence, the two of them grew closer after that, having bonded over the ordeal. They would never have categorized their new relationship as friendship, but Henrietta was from then on slightly more grateful for Ossia’s ability than she was fearful. Years later, rumors of Ossia’s ability spread beyond the Navy, and Ossia was captured by an associate of Basil Ploutos. He kept her in an abandoned factory in Kansas until she was freed by Bellevue, along with several other anomalies. Ossia never really felt all that interested in the organization, or its goals. She developed a romantic relationship with Gus, but even that was short-lived. She ultimately decided to remain in Usonia, and worked construction a little with Quang and Hugh, but contributed relatively little to anomaly history.

Microstory 48: Halo

The Halo is a multipurpose device used by all adults in the Core. It is a ring of Amber color, though it can be shaped into other forms by means of stretching. It is typically worn, in ring form, a few inches above the head of its user. It maintains its position via the user’s own telekinetic field but, unlike most objects, does not require constant concentration in order to stay aloft.

The Halo includes many functions, primarily as a computer and as a storage locker. Most people wear bionic conduits that are linked up to the system-wide data network that are fully capable of processing as much information as an external computer. There are times, however, such as when watching an Earthan television show, that a single screen that can be viewed by many people at once is desirable.

Perhaps a Halo’s most used component, though, is the cache. It creates and bridges a connection between the user’s current dimension and a portable and artificial dimension. Because it is artificial, objects inside do not suffer from the radiation of most simplex dimensions. However, Haloes are specifically designed to not allow the storage of still-living organic entities. Any attempt to tamper with a Halo and allow this function is illegal. These laws and safety guards are to prevent people from being able to trap each other in a Halo.

Obviously, it is illegal to use Haloes in the presence of veiled citizens. In one incident in Earth year 1709, a criminal of a mischievous temperament, referred to as a Loki (also based on Earthan mythology, specifically Norse) snuck onto Earth. Having no real knowledge of the planet’s geography, he found himself in a remote area of Romania. Wearing blue and white robes, he walked around a small village, Halo hovering above his head. The villagers worshipped him as the second coming of Jesus Christ, and lavished him with gifts. He was eventually reprimanded by Martian police. They were able to convince the villagers that the man was actually a false prophet who was using witchcraft to mimic the properties of the Lord, and also that they were servants of God, particularly vessels of angels, come to cast out the demon. The villagers wanted to burn him at the stake, however the police were able to remove him with no trouble. Before leaving, the police proclaimed that the village was thereby protected from other such witchcraft and that no witch would be able cross its borders. This was to prevent further witch trials, as were common in those days.Though the village was from then on left to its own devices (as most Earthans are), not one more crime was committed there for the nearly hundred years it survived before its population diminished to nothingness and it vanished into obscurity.

Microstory 13: The Direct Line

In the Earthan year of 1984, a witch on the planet Persephone named Indira Felrey was discovered to be using Craft to commit crimes. Witchcraft itself was not illegal, however, certain practices resulted in outcomes that were necessarily against Martian Law. Unfit for general prison sentence, she was instead exiled to Earth where Craft was fundamentally impossible. The hidden structure of the universe prevented the exploits of Craft from ever being an issue within the Sol System.

Contrary to common lore, witchcraft does not rely on magic. Magic does not exist. Witches are in tune with an ancient infrastructure built billions of years ago. The maintainers of the structure spent hundreds of years connecting every living and non-living entity in the universe in order to study them and keep records.

No one is born a witch. Anyone can learn Craft. Some are able to learn the secrets quicker than others, but this is true of any skill. Witches exploit unavoidable functions of the structure in order to complete tasks and gain insight into the cosmos. This inherently limits their spells to a finite number of physically possible Engagements. In reality, they are voice commands, as one would use on a smartphone.

In 1987, the witch Indira Felrey discovered an authentication bypass that allowed her access to the structure while still on Earth. She opened a portal that she programmed to map the entirety of the surface of the planet. Only after it was finished could Craft be used on Earth, though still with some restrictions, due to different cosmological procedures. During a metaphysical crisis within the structure, The Supervisor and a rogue archief discovered the witch's glitch as it began. They could have shut it down, but they decided to let it play out and see what came of it. Indira died of natural causes before the mapping program could be completed in 1991, but the Archief and The Supervisor soon realized that they would be able to use the exploit for their own purposes.

And thus began one of the most important endeavors in the history of the universe, The Direct Line.