Coeus?

“The only country which wasn't affected by the resource wars was Australia with its outlying geographical location.

Australia’s government also practised a policy of neutrality and self-supply during that time. They didn't take action. Neither for nor against any party. May it have been regarded as good or bad.

History shows us that their decision was the right one.”

History Lesson IV

***Aether, The floating City, above the Atlantic Ocean***

***Gideon***

My eyes wander from the doctor's strange tool to his eyes and back again, then towards his aide and my grandmother. It's the same old man who stung me with a needle when I first awoke after Rhiannon and Arend found me. The room we are in is also the same. Grandmother brought me to the hospital in order to get my recovery checked.

My first encounter with the doctor and his staff was unfortunate. Imagine yourself waking up in a hospital room with strange people all around you and then your eyes fall onto a set of surgery tools. Of course I activated my ability and thought long and hard about the situation.

From the information I had back then, I deduced that they had somehow found out about my unique ability and decided to use me as some kind of lab-rat.

I came up with seven methods of self defence. Unfortunately all of them were futile, given my body's state. If I were in possession of a functioning body back then, I could have killed them in twelve different ways.

I check the small table with the surgery tools at the bed's side, but this time it's empty. Minus one means six methods of self defence.

The doctor throws an accusing look at Grandmother. “He is clearly thinking about ways to harm me and my staff! You said that he isn't dangerous!”

She pats my head. “You just surprised him. Gideon has a very peaceful personality for a techno-mage. Right, Gideon?”

I smile at the doctor and his staff. “I am sorry, back then I thought that you wanted to harm me.”

“You don't have to force yourself to display emotions. It's a very bad attempt by the way. I know of your circumstances.” The doctor answers and gestures with the tool in his hand. It's flat and rectangular, almost like a smart phone, but there are many wires coming out of one side. “Please lie down. This is a medical scanner. It's absolutely harmless.”

I eye the thing with interest and follow his orders.

He comes closer and holds it above me, but without touching me. “I see. Your recovery is well under way. It seems my treatment is taking effect. Good. You are giving him the medicaments which I ordered to?”

Grandmother answers in my stead. “Of course.”

The doctor does something with his instrument and nods. “There is still small case of malnutrition. You are eating properly?”

“I eat until I feel sick, then I stop.” I answer. Dinner time with the family became a dreaded event for me. While they are eating like horses, I can take only a few bites until I can't go on.

“Hm. I took extra care to get your stomach into a working state, but it seems like it isn't enough. Your body won't develop correctly if you don't eat enough.” The doctor opens his long white coat, which is filled with pockets on the inside. They are full of tools and small boxes, it's like he is a wandering pharmacy!

He chooses one of the boxes and gives it to my grandmother. “The normals are still barbarians when it comes to medicine, no matter what the upper echelons say. Give him one of those shortly before mealtime and he'll be able to eat normally.”

Rummaging through his pockets once more, he produces another item. This time it's a small golden amulet. “There is also another method of treatment, but it's costly. This is a regeneration charm. It automatically draws energy from its surroundings and uses it to add a passive healing effect to the one who is wearing it. The only problem is that it isn't a cheap item, since a silver and copper alloy is needed to create the necessary effect.”

“I see. Please send the bill to me.” Grandmother answers without hesitation.

Isn't silver very costly? And this thing is big! I eye my grandmother while the doctor puts the amulet around my neck. “Thank you for your hospitality. Make sure to visit me next week.” Grandmother smiles at the old man and helps me from the bed.

I take a look at the amulet, which is a medal and is covered with various runes and interconnecting lines. It looks like an electric circuit. “I don't feel any different. Is it working?”

The doctor nods. “Yes. It's a regeneration charm. You won't feel anything from it. It's a very slow working spell. Have a nice day.”

“Goodbye.” My Grandmother takes my hand and leads me out of the room. I wave goodbye to the doctor and the assistant.

On our way to the teleportation chamber I eye the amulet once more. “Grandmother, are we rich? Is our family powerful?”

She purses her lips. “Our family tree has a tendency towards techno-magic. As a techno-mage you can make a lot of money, so you can say that we are rich. But we aren't regarded as powerful because we don't have a lot of combat potential unless we become very old and adapt at casting spells. We can make the most money on spaceships, where we act as pilots.”

“Spaceships? And how does magic work? I noticed that the teleportation chamber is made out of gold and silver. Is there something special to those metals?”

She smiles. “Yes, spaceships. We mages left earth a long time ago and built colonies on the other worlds of the solar system. The flying city Aether is the only place on earth where we are still living. And we are using the metals such as silver, copper and gold because they have the least electrical resistance.

To use a spell which influences reality you have to change the flow of energy into a certain pattern. Magical artefacts are a great help in that regard because you just have to infuse your power into them and they do the rest. The less resistance they give you, the better. That's why we are using alloys with the least electrical resistance as possible.”

We reach the teleportation circle and she starts manipulating the runes. But I can't accept this as the end of the conversation. “Please don't stop your explanation! Don't you realize that you just created several more questions?”

Instead of answering she finishes manipulating the runes and in the next moment we are standing on an empty observation deck. There are some people around. They are looking out of the glass fronts, but none of them cares for us.

She leads me to the glass, so that I can take a look outside. “You are currently on the flying city Aether. It's a flying disc with one hundred and twenty square kilometres and it's approximately one kilometre thick. Currently we are flying above the Atlantic Ocean. The normals can't detect us because we are hiding the city within an information barrier. To them we are invisible. In addition we hacked their devices and information networks anyway. So even if our barrier fails, we can swiftly edit their computers and networks.”

I ogle the city under us. It looks like a normal city, but this observation platform seems to be at the edge of the disc, so I can also take a look at the ocean beneath the edge. “Now I really believe that I am in wonderland.”

“Oh, you haven't seen half of it. Wait until you can make a trip to the mage colonies on the other planets. We created huge hidden settlements all over the solar system and in the asteroid belt. Gravity and teleportation magic makes it all possible.” My grandmother muses and turns me around. “But today you have to take a little test. I'll take you on a sightseeing tour later.”

What? No way! “There are still so many questions. Why are the magicians hiding from humans and why does battle magic matter more than having money? I thought that your society is all peaceful?”

“We are peaceful. Our community hasn't fought a single war in two thousand years. But at the same time we believe that having the power to defend ourselves is also necessary. Mages who are able to do combat are necessary to uphold the law and the ones who uphold it is the magical police.”

We stop at the teleportation circle. “We are governed by the council of elders and the council is in control of the faceless. The council consists out of people from the strongest families from each magical branch. There are about a hundred of them and they make the laws of our society.”

Again she manipulates the runes and we find ourselves on a long, white corridor with many windows. There are also a lot of children with people who could be their parents.

Melan leads me towards a door with a tag and several runes on it. I read the tag aloud. “Examination Chamber 4?”

She presses the runes in a certain combination. “I reserved this chamber to have your abilities and knowledge measured. Your ability will work while you are inside, so you just have to touch the globe and answer the questions.”

The door opens and I am shoved inside. Grandmother pats my shoulder. “I have to wait outside.”

I hesitate, but then I nod. So far Melan never showed any malice towards me. “Okay.”

She closes the door and I am left alone in the white room. It's empty, except for a copper-coloured globe with the size of a tennis ball.

It floats freely in the middle of the room and suddenly it starts speaking. “Hello, I am the examination sprite 'Exo-4'. Just call me Exo. Please state your name.”

“Gideon. What are you?” I slowly walk closer to the thing.

“Gideon Alvar, age six, scheduled for a full magical and mental examination. I am a fully autonomous magical construct to examine the abilities of magicians. Please touch me and we will take this test in your own virtual reality. This will be much faster than doing it in the real world.” The globe floats lower, so that I can reach it.

Slowly I reach up and touch the globe.

***Aether, The floating City, above the Atlantic Ocean***

***Melan***

The sign on the examination chamber's door turns from 'Occupied' to 'Examination Chamber 4' and a sheet of paper is printed out of a slit beside the door.

I take the sheet and start reading while opening the door. Gideon is right on the other side with a disturbed expression on his face. “I didn't do it.”

“Do what?” I look up from the sheet and find the examination sprite on the ground. Smoke is rising from it. The smell of burned electronics fills the room.

“Exo said that he wants to test how fast I am, but he couldn't keep up. When I returned to reality he was like that.” Gideon points at the sprite.

I smile and hug him. “It's okay. It's just a cheap tool. Obviously he had to over-clock his processor to keep up. It happens when someone is a little faster than you would expect from a child.”

I look at the sheet of paper while hugging Gideon. As expected he didn't get any scores in magical knowledge and questions regarding mage history or society.

He didn't even score that high in regards to the knowledge of normals. Just average one might say. But his score in their programming and networking is good. He even has decent knowledge about physics. The same goes for logical thinking and imagination.

The thing that's absolutely outstanding is the speed of his virtual reality. If these numbers are true, then he is on average over a hundred times faster than real time in his own reality. He must have spent a lifetime during that year in the asylum.

The sprite shorted out after trying to drive Gideon to his limit. “It's okay. Sprites are self repairing.”

A smile creeps onto my lips. Gideon might be an unexpectedly talented grandson. If I am able to protect and guide him, I may be able to redeem my mistakes with my daughter.

.