Snopes Off The Rails vs "Cold Case Posse"

I have absolutely no interest in bringing this subject back up.  It's essentially irrelevant now.  One would only hope that future state officials be more thorough in their vetting of political candidates before allowing them to show up on the ballot for certain offices.

But as for the credibility of Snopes the question of whether questions about the birth certificate have actually been debunked, that is very relevant.

There are two significant problems with how Snopes addressed this issue.  Both have to do with the question of whether the document shown online was an actual copy or a digital creation.

1.  Snopes uses an Adobe expert as what appears to be their primary source in declaring the question debunked.  Not a computer scientist with established expertise in the fine details of digital image creation and duplication, and pretty clearly not an expert in how computers deal with the transmission, storage, and presentation of micro-data.  That is unless one considers an expert in one particular piece of software and the scope of its interaction of all the above, as limited as that may be, to be a sufficient expert.  Doing that would be comparable to getting a micro-scope expert to debunk a micro-biologist.  While possible, one certainly needs a bit more set up than just that being the software or instrument being used by most involved.  There needs to be a logical presentation that makes it clear the added expertise of another expert can't effectively contradict the technician's point.

Snopes does present one more source to corroborate their Adobe expert, an actual computer scientist by degree, John Woodman.  He wrote a book on the subject of Obama's certificate of live birth and made a series of YouTube videos to explain why the nine links and layers found in it don't point in any conclusive way to it being a forgery.  One must wonder why they didn't lead their debunking effort with him instead of the technician.

Especially after watching all of his videos and hearing him repeatedly state that the effort in making such a sloppy forgery just doesn't make sense for human beings to have done.  Why would human beings not be smart enough to make a flat file of their forgery that would be much easier to make and much more difficult to detect?  Why indeed?  Why would human beings site a technician before an actual computer scientist?  Woodman apparently makes at least a small error in delving out of his field into human behavior.  His conclusion is that is more likely the layers are due to an optimization process designed to minimize the computer space taken up by the image file.

His analysis presents a couple unanswered questions.  First, if a smart forger should be expected to have made a flat file and thus eliminate the suspicious layers, wouldn't a smart optimization process have done the same?  He actually says in passing that he wouldn't have created or carried out an optimization process with results like that found in the suspected forgery, but he leaves it at that leaving one to wonder.  And the second question is why doesn't this expert have credentials beyond just being essentially another technician with a computer science degree (why not someone with a doctorate or at least a professorship)?

Is this the level of expertise Snopes regularly depends on?  A software trainer and someone who happens to have written a book?  With source discernment like that one wonders what they'd make of ancient space aliens.  After all there are several people who have witten books and even a few folks with relevant doctorates that would be happy to confirm that stuff for them.

2.  The second error Snopes makes in their addressing of this is what they wrote about the results of an official investigation led by Mike Zullo.

"The March "cold Case Posse" investigation of Barack Obama's birth certificate conducted by Arizona sheriff Joe Arpaio produced no new evidence demonstrating that document to be a forgery; that entity's report by Mara Zebest simply recycled old arguments that had long since been thoroughly debunked in detail.  Likewise, a July 2012 announcement from Sheriff Arpaio repeated more rumors that had already been debunked."

The mention of Mara Zebest is a bit of a red herring as is the failure to mention Mike Zullo, in my opinion.  That aside, the real problem here is the use of the word "debunked" twice.  In context of Mara Zebest it's a bunny trail but in the context of the entire work of the "Cold Case Posse" and their conclusions it's an application of circular reasoning, perhaps twisted into complex figure eights.  Something is debunked because we said it is and any attempt to question our conclusion is just bringing up stuff we already debunked.

The problem is that they haven't debunked it.  I'm not saying they reached an incorrect conclusion or that "Cold Case Posse" reached a wrong conclusion.  Snopes problem is that if this is in fact debunkible they need to actually do it.  Computer imaging and computer forensics are not so new that they can't find more definitive experts than what they've presented thus far.  Experts in Adobe like Mara Zebest and Snopes first cited expert don't cut it on either side and as for Mr. Woodman, he would have been a better place to start but he left a lot of pieces on the floor and used a lot psychology that would have been better left to experts in yet other areas.

Snopes and I should both be happy that I have taken this long to notice and address this.  By doing so it is no longer timely that Snopes fix this, and I don't have to endure being labeled a birther just because I have an obsession for the proper application of critical thinking.

If I were still teaching I would give the Snopes crew a C grade on this.  Only passable because one can't expect every student who takes a class to really have their heart in it.  Snopes however should. 

The Envoy

[This is yet one more chapter in this never to be published novel.  With it we are essentially picking up where we left off from last week.  Only we moved from earlier draft content to later draft content.  So if it seems like something got skipped, in a sense it did.

Next week I will be back to regular blogging with an article on science and the climate debate.  For now I hope you enjoy my friend's kind offer of fiction.]

Like the day before, Chipper spent the rest of the day with his dad, hiking to a couple more waterfalls and eating out in different restaurants.  From time to time he would spot a hawk souring in the sky above them.  Though he was not completely sure, the way the hawk would occasionally go into a long series of dives and hard turns like a plane at an air show made him suspect it was Kieth.  Chipper might have envied Kieth for being able to fly about like that, but he was with his dad and not even the thought of flying like a bird could be better than that.

The sun was low in the sky by the time they had driven back to the cabin and his dad had rented a movie for them to watch before going to bed.  It was about the world coming to an end because of some ancient prophecy.  There seemed to be some point the movie-maker was trying to make about the importance of family or something, as well as the unimportance of wealth, but for Chipper the movie was too messy to make any worthwhile point.  As the movie ended Frank turned off the TV.

“What was the point of all of that do you suppose Chipper?”

“Making money I suppose.”

“Well they got our rental fee didn't they, so I suppose it worked.”  Frank yawned.  “I think it's time we got to bed.”

Chipper was rising from the couch when he noticed a flutter of feathers from the sill of the window behind where he and his dad had been sitting.  He wondered if Kieth had watched the movie from there.

“I'll see you in the morning Dad.”

“Yes, you will.  Goodnight son.”

Chipper went up the stairs to the second floor like many boys his age would, as fast as he could, making a steady pounding noise as his feet seemed to almost bounce from step to step.

“You sound like you're in a hurry to get to bed.”  His dad laughed as he turned off the last of the  downstairs lights.

Entering his room, Chipper was about to sit on his bed so he could take off his shoes, but was startled by a voice right behind him.

“That was an awful scenario.”  Kieth carefully shut the door and ran his hand along the frame.  A glowing reminded Chipper of what he was doing.  The room was once again sound proofed.

“What awful scenario are you talking about Kieth?”

“That movie.”

“Ah so you did watch it.  I wondered if you had.”  Chipper finished sitting down and began to untie his shoes.

“I hate disaster scenarios.”  Kieth leaned against the door and looked at what Chipper was doing.  “Before you get too far along I will be giving you your privacy back.  I just wanted to get in a few quick words before I resume being an owl on your roof.”

“Should I tell my dad to rent non-disaster movies in the future so as not to upset the wild-life?”  Chipper pulled off one shoe and grinned at Kieth just before starting to untie the other one.

“No.  I really just popped in for small talk and a quick break.  The problem with disasters is that they are the only thing that can truly justify oppressive measures.  So if you make a movie about a disaster, it seems to me you must either make a justification for oppression or be very unrealistic.  Ick!  I mean why even contemplate such a thing in the name of entertainment?”

Chipper removed his second shoe and placed it on the floor next to his bed along with the first one.  He then looked at Kieth and laughed.  “So this is how you use your breaks, to be a movie critic?”

“I've been doing nothing but watching you all day.  What else do I have to talk about?”

“Were you the hawk doing all of those air-acrobatics?”

“Yes.  I have never spent quite so much time not being human before.  It was neat for the first six hours or so but after that it became a little old.  Oh and by the way, I perceived no threats, not even potential ones.”

“Do you think that wizard may not harm me as long as I stay out of his head?”

“I wish we could just say that and have it be true.  Unfortunately for both of us I am going to have to guard you for at least a few more days.”

“Okay.”  Chipper spoke at the very same moment he pulled his bed sheet off his pillow.

Kieth was not oblivious to his message.  “Okay, with the cheerful note of me needing to guard you for a bit I will get back to my post and let you rest.”  Waving his hand over the door frame he undid his sound proofing and walked over to the window.  As he was sliding it open Chipper spoke.

“Goodnight Kieth and thanks.”

Kieth climbed out the window and just before closing it behind him said, “You're welcome, and thanks for not getting annoyed with me.”

Chipper was a little self conscious knowing that someone was on his roof keeping track of him.  Even though Kieth told him he was giving him some privacy, he wasn't sure how much or for how long that would be, so he changed into his pajamas as quickly as he could.  Once he had them on he slowed down and spent a little time putting his shirt neatly into the drawer where he was collecting his dirty clothes and then hanging his jeans over the back of his desk chair.  He figured they would last him another day before swapping them out.  Then with things in relative order he climbed beneath his bed sheets and turned off the light on his bed stand.  

He began wondering if there was anything new he could learn about Kieth from his reaction to the movie.  Chipper was about to conclude that there probably wasn't when sleep interrupted him.  His state of consciousness wandered through mysterious zones about which there would be nothing to remember and then, like all the other transitions, with no warning he was in another mind.  This time in another mind was different than all the ones thus far in a very important way.  He rather liked what he was seeing.  It was the mind of an invee who was also a very accomplished adept, a wizardess named Seera.  As he was being told he was an adept, it interested to think he may be about to see a very capable one in action.  He also liked snow and this experience started with a lot of it.

The surrounding forest roared and Seera pulled her hood tight against one side of her face.  Blowing across the clearing she had just entered, the wind pushed her a few feet across the snow-covered lawn.  It took some effort for her to keep from being knocked off her feet.  Then the angle of the snow fall changed from near sideways to a more gentle descent with the subsiding of the most recent gust.  She could now hear her boots crunching down into freshly fallen snow.  It was deep.  She felt a hint of moisture and the sting of cold around the tops of her boots.  Whenever she exhaled she could see little except her own breath.  Her ears were somewhere between stinging from the cold and being completely numb.  Her gloves were waterlogged.   It had been a long cold journey.  Perhaps she could make herself a campfire soon.  She could hope.

White marble pillars several times a typical man's height formed a circle on the clearing's edge.  The clearing's ground was well leveled and about fifty yards across.  At its center stood a white marble gazebo about thirty feet across with more of the pillars supporting a purple domed roof.  It was the perfect place for a dragon and a young wizardess to meet.  This was why she made this long cold journey in the middle of Winter, to meet a dragon.

Plodding her way with high steps toward the gazebo Seera noticed there was something obscuring its interior.  Between the snow falling in sheets and her own breath obscuring her vision, she could only get momentary glimpses of the gazebo.  Its occupant seemed little more than a blurry small and vaguely human form.  After her first glance she thought smoke from a fire or steam from some sort of stove was the cause, but later glimpses led her to a different conclusion.  Half way from the clearing's edge she was almost certain that what was obscuring her view was a translucent wall, and as she drew close to it she was certain, it was a wall of ice.

Seera could see her own blurry reflection in it as she circled around looking for an opening.  Her clothes were just a mass of blue and her face was a near white featureless blur, but it was still unmistakably her own reflection.  The fire red color of her hair and the way it stood high on her head was a look distinctly Seera's.  She tried very hard to make it resemble the flame on top of a torch so as to emphasize her aptitude in fire magic.  It was her trademark of sorts, and in the blurry reflection off the ice wall it looked like the flame on a candle being blown about in the breeze.

Finding an opening, Seera laughed.  “Nice precaution Scherdran.  Did you actually think I might try to attack you when you have been so kind as to ..”  Upon entering the gazebo she cut off her sentence.  A young beardless blond haired man in purple robes sat at a stone table.  It was not the ever stern Scherdran.  His human form was that of an older bearded man with gray streaked black hair and a prominent beak of a nose.  This young man had none of those features and his gentle smile made it absolutely clear he could not be Scherdran in any guise.

He politely stood up.  “M'lady I am honored to be in your presence.  I was told you would be cold and possibly hungry. “  He gestured to a fire pit near one of the pillars that had a very inviting fire in it.  “Sit by the fire if you wish and I will get you some food.”

Seera walked up to the young man rather than up to the fire.  “Where is Scherdran?”

“He has been delayed so I was sent ahead to make you comfortable.”

“With a wall of ice?”

The young man answered glibly.  “It holds in the heat.”

Seera removed her gloves with her teeth and spat them onto the ground.  She then rubbed her hands together for a few moments and blew on them.  The young man stepped back from her and removed his own gloves.  His eyes revealed an apprehension at least.  He seemed to know why the wizardess before him was bringing her hands back from numbness, and she was now pretty certain about what the young man's vocation was in the royal court.  He put up the ice wall and was now most likely wondering if he might have a chance trying to beat the envoy of the Invee Republic in a spell casting dual.

“Hold your magic young man and you may just live to see tomorrow.”  Seera pointed a finger right at his rather normal nose.  His widely opened eyes crossed to stay focused on her finger.  “You may be a promising young adept but you are a terrible liar.  This ice wall isn't here to protect you from fire-balls nor is it going to help you keep this place warm.  It was only here to delay me in realizing that Scherdran wasn't here.  For all that I may fault him for, he is incapable of going against his own word and he told me he would be here by this time.”  Raising her other hand it lit into flames and her voice raised.  “Now young adept, where is Scherdran?”

“If I tell you I will die.”

“If you don't tell me you will die.  If you tell me I will hide you.  I'm sure some court somewhere would love to have a talented young adept around.”

“No court in the world would risk the wrath of Paxle by keeping a fugitive from him.  You will have to kill me for I am dead either way.”

Seera started to turn away from the young adept and the fire went out in her hand.  Then she let out a loud a sudden scream.  In her anger she back handed the young adept in the chest, sending him flying into a pillar.  He hit the pillar hard and slid down to a sitting position where he struggled to breath.

“Lucky for you, my deceived young adept, unlike Scherdran I am not bound completely to my word.  I will spare you for lack of time.  I must return to Three Runs, but know that you have just participated in treachery?”

The the choke of smoke and crack of flames suddenly filled the air.  The pillars were gone and replaced by burning heaps that used to be the houses and workshops of the village of Three Runs.  Snow was falling there as in the place Seera had just left the bruised and gasping royal adept, but here ashes floated up to meet the snow.

Seera had wisely anchored her teleport spell to the back lot of Mero's blacksmith shop.  It was a place hidden from the street near where a trusted friend worked, but not anymore.  There were no buildings or walls standing.  They were all burned half way to the ground and continuing to burn.  She cried out desperately hoping to hear an answer.  “Mero?!”  She tried to listen for an answer through the crackles of flames.  She called out again.  “Mero?!”  There was no reply.

Holding back tears she waded into the burning remains of the blacksmith shop.  In her service as envoy of the Invee Republic, Seera had come to love all the people of Three Runs but there was one she loved more, one she loved differently.  She could never tell Mero this because romantic relationships between her kind and mortals was forbidden.  She saw a large bump in the debris next to the anvil and rushed towards it, kicking and throwing smoldering and broken pieces of wood out of her way.  “Mero?!”  A sixteen foot burning timber lay across the bump obscuring what it might be.  Planting a hand on the timber's underside she some how tossed it aside, causing it to stand on one end before teetering over into the remains of a neighboring building, throwing billows of fiery ash into the air as it landed.  Brushing aside a few remaining bits of smoldering lumber, Seera came to her knees.  Her worst fears were confirmed.  The lump was Mero's charred remains.  She reached in vain for his absent eyelids, longing to see his dark blue eyes just one more time, but like most of the rest of his flesh they had been consumed.  Now the tears she had been holding back came.  Amidst the flames, she held Mero's charred remains in her arms.

She could not be consumed by the flames because she was not just an adept with an affinity to fire, she was an invee with a unique ability that made her immune to it.  Ignoring the intense heat and choking for a breath not filled with smoke she moaned out words.  “I never told you that I loved you.  Mero .. I loved you.  .. Did you know?”  The heat evaporated her tears as they left her and flames built up all around her, but she was not blinded by the flames so much as by her sorrow.

The next thing Chipper saw through Seera's mind was a tall older man with gray streaked brown hair.  His beard was grayer than the top of his head.  His deep sunken dark eyes seemed to peer around his large beak-like nose and hints of fangs could be seen in his toothy grin.  It was Scherdran's human form standing in a windowless chamber with walls and ceiling made of pinkish stone.  His grin was apparently due to something he found amusing in a scroll he was holding up and reading.

It had been a  full twenty three years since the massacre at Three Runs and Seera had never stopped trying to find out who was responsible.  Neither mortals nor Scherdran's dragon brothers could be coaxed to tell her what they knew.  Scherdran meanwhile had become completely inaccessible  to anyone but members of Padry''s royal court.   His dragon character made him incapable of not telling the truth or not keeping his word.  Someone had to have set up the meeting in the snow storm in his name without his knowledge and Seera thought it an excellent guess that Scherdran would have found out for his own honor's sake who had used his name to commit treachery.  The fact that he hadn't publicly spoken out suggested that he probably approved of the ends achieved and his hiding from the public was both to hide his dishonor and to protect his treacherous allies.  Now she had finally managed to find him and was determined to find out what he knew about the treachery that killed so many she loved.

“I have been trying to arrange a meeting between us for over two decades Scherdran and always you found reason to delay.  Time for you and I is not the same as the shorter lived mortals but decades is still a long time to not have a moment for the envoy of the Invee Republic.”

Scherdran's eyes remained steady, not wide in surprise as Seera would have expected with her barging in as she did, or rather teleporting in.  He also spoke calmly.  “Envoy, you are in violation of protocol.  Did not your High Council tell you yet?”

“You mean that I am forbidden to even try to see you?  They told me a few days ago.  I just chose to ignore their instructions.”  Seera felt herself smile as she pulled a dark gray cube from inside her robes and tossed it onto the ground between them.

Scherdran spoke as if she had just dropped a toy on his floor.  “What is that?”

“Why it's a glyphed cube of course.  Something an adept like myself can create given a couple decades.  It's got the same glyph on all six sides.  If either of us tries to cast a teleport spell in its presence it will jostle our thoughts and prevent it.”  Seera studied Scherdran's face hoping for a look of dismay or of somehow being intimidated but instead she saw just irritation or maybe anger.  “You see Scherdran, if I am going to disobey the High Council I want to make it worth my while.  Now you are going to have to stick around and answer my questions.”

“I will not.”  He spoke briskly and matter of fact.

“Scherdran, I know you did not plot the treachery that lured me away from Three Runs.  I know you are not responsible, not directly.  You, however must know who used your name to do this.”

“I wont tell you so you have sacrificed your standing with your High Council for nothing.  It is a shame.”  Scherdran looked down and to the side almost as if preoccupied.

“No, I don't think so my dragon friend.”  Scherdran began to walk slowly towards some curtains hanging across the back of the chamber, but Seera walked right behind him.  “Why do you say you are not going to tell me?”

“I simply do not wish to.”

Seera was encouraged to hear that answer.  The one she dreaded hearing was that he had promised someone he wouldn't tell, then he really would never tell.  His remaining sense of honor, however prevented him from compounding his current dishonor with such a promise.  She was counting on that.

“Ah but Scherdran you will because I will make you.”

With that Scherdran turned on his heals to face her and placed one hand on the curtain behind him.  “Envoy, I have no doubt that you probably could force me to tell, but I don't think you will be able to this time.”  He then moved quickly through a split in the curtain.

Seera pulled the curtain aside revealing the five or so remaining feet of the chamber.  Scherdran was gone.  All that was there was a glowing purple circle on the floor.  She recognized it as a magical gateway of some sort.  “Scherdran, you coward!”  She spoke in anger as she stepped onto the circle and the chamber vanished around her.

In its place was a concrete room with a set of unfinished pine steps leading up.  There was what Chipper recognized as a water heater, a washer, and a dryer.  There was silvery duct-work along the ceiling and a couple windows just below the ceiling.  Seera didn't know exactly what she was looking at but Chipper knew it was a typical basement like one could find on Earth.

Now there was one thing Seera did recognize.  A glyphed cube almost identical to the one she had thrown down in her last location was lying in the middle of the floor.  It had the same glyph for the same purpose.  Curiously there was a note written in red ink taped to the floor next to the cube.  Once again Seera didn't recognize it but Chipper knew the tape was silver backed duck tape and red particles strewn about were probably red clay that had been tracked in from outside.  Lighting her left hand ablaze Seera could see the writing clear enough to read it.  It was in Invee.  “Welcome to Earth renegade!”  

It was a chilling message.  Someone anticipated her attempt to corner Scherdran and set a trap designed to force her to go to Earth, a world forbidden to invee by pain of death.  It also probably meant the secret behind the Three Runs massacre was bigger than just the land of Padry, and whoever didn't want her to get to the bottom of it was most likely even more powerful than herself.

One thing she was not chilled by was the glyphed cube.  Reaching into her robes she pulled out a small gold weave bag with a pull string.  It was a magic containment bag.  Loosening the pull string she placed the bag over the cube blocking off its effect on her.  “Into the bag you go” she said to the cube.  Pulling the string, she close it around the cube and stood back up.  She then dangled it in front of her.  “Looks like there's plenty of room for two of you.”  Then she vanished.  Her thoughts revealed that she was returning to the room she had confronted Scherdran in but this time Chipper did not get to go along.  He woke up almost disappointed.  He sat up and looked around his room, clearing his eyes.  “Now there's someone I might actually want to meet some day.”

For a moment he thought he might try going back to sleep and seeing if he could return into the wizardess's mind, but he knew some how that wasn't possible.  That part of how and why he had these dreams seemed to be coming together for him now.  Eddie was in a plane landing within ten or so miles of Chipper's house when his thoughts were entered.  Prometheus and the Lady were a short hike from his cabin when their minds were entered, and Seera spent a few short moments in a basement on Earth.  Chipper guessed that if the first three minds were part of a pattern then the house the basement was in was probably within a few miles of his cabin.  He left Eddie's thoughts because his alarm woke him up.  He left Prometheus's thoughts because the Lady showed up and he left hers because she gently forced him out.  He left the wizard's mind because he also forced him out.  He left Seera's mind because she teleported to a place too far away.  

He was proud of himself for suddenly putting all of that together but his feeling of pride shared the moment with two other feelings.  Disappointment was one but the other was stronger.  The other feeling was fear.

If the pattern he saw in this was true, it meant the wizard also had to have been near when he entered his thoughts.  He believed Kieth needed to hear this.  Chipper picked up the stone from his bed stand and spoke into it.  “Kieth, another dream and probably more importantly I have some thoughts on the wizard.”

The rock glowed red from its middle and then returned to its normal dark brown.  Not more than two seconds later the glowing smoke and shoe outlines appeared near his bedroom door.  In an instant Kieth was standing their sound-proofing the room.  “Okay, let's hear it.”  Seemingly satisfied that no one could hear them, he walked over and sat in Chipper's desk chair.  It struck Chipper as odd for some reason that he turned the chair to sit in it the way it was designed to be used.  Some how it just seemed it would have more generally fit the cool kid image Kieth tried to project if he sat in it by straddling the back.

Kieth looked at Chipper and carefully looked himself over.  “What?  Did I leave myself with wings or something?”

“No.  It's just that I'm not used to seeing people go through so much trouble to use chairs the way they're meant to be.”

“In my world function follows form.  Otherwise I could get confused.  Speaking of which, we don't have a lot of time for you to tell me about this latest dream of yours unless we use this time for what it was designed for.”

Chipper was able to tell Kieth every detail of his dream in about fifteen minutes and then began to quickly add his conclusion about the wizard.  “I'm pretty certain that all of these minds I've been in were relatively near me when I was.  That means ..”

Kieth interrupted.  “Paxle.  The Lady has got to be hating this.”

Chipper was determined to finish his point.  “.. the wizard that kicked me out of his head had to be near ..”

Again Kieth interrupted.  “That wizard and Paxle are the same.”

“You mean that Paxle guy who the court adept was more afraid of than Seera?”

“The same.  He is, or rather was the wizard of the people of Padry.  He was probably behind the massacre at Three Runs.  I don't think the Lady knew that, or she didn't want to at any rate.”

“How did he go from good to bad?”

“It's a long story, but then again he is hundreds of years old so there are lots of long stories with him.  He was once quite the hero and a close friend and ally of the Lady's, but in recent decades he started to think too much of himself and his ideas.  In his mind his vision of a better tomorrow became more important than the lives and dignity of individuals.  He came to see the killing of millions as an acceptable price for achieving his vision.  He voluntarily put himself on a prison world about twenty years ago, but based on your dreams he has managed to escape.  That much I know has been news to the Lady.  She talked him into exiling himself and thought he was on his way to becoming his old good self again.”

“This guy who's head I was in has killed millions?”

Kieth looked at the door and sprung to his feet.  “You need to get ready for breakfast.  Your dad just said it will be ready in ten minutes.  Meet me at my cabin and I can finish up while we hike.”  Walking to the door he removed the sound proofing and vanished.

“Chipper?  Are you up?”  His dad's voice came from just behind the door.

Chipper rushed to the door and opened it.  “Sorry dad.  I just got up a couple minutes ago, but I'll be down in time.”

His dad smiled when he saw him and, much to Chipper's relief, didn't seem to suspect anything odd was going on.  That crisis averted he now was left with the one involving him having angered a powerful wizard prone to massacres.

Magical Beings And Adepts

The next chapter in this unpublished "practice" novel.

 “Kieth? Kieth Lyndsey?” Chipper spoke to the rock in his hand, trying not to be heard down the hall. If his dad found him talking to a rock it could be quite awkward.

A red glow came from the center of the stone and then faded. He was not sure what he expected to happen when he spoke into it but for it to just glow a bit and go back to normal was a little disappointing. He expected a little more at least, a noise, an image, something more than just a faint glow coming and going.

Chipper put the rock back on his bed stand and walked over to the rustic wood desk and sat down in front of his laptop. As he was about to open it his cell phone began to play a tune. Someone was calling. The caller ID read “Kieth Lyndsey”.

“Hello?” Chipper answered almost as if he had no idea who it could be.

A young man spoke, “So, did you want to talk to me or did you just happen to be holding the rock while saying my name out loud?” Kieth's voice sounded a little different on the phone.

“Uh, I had another dream. It was about a lady from another world with the ability to mimic other peoples' powers. She's on Earth and looking for something she calls golden apples … “

“Chip”, Kieth interrupted. “We need to talk in person. We shouldn't talk too much on the phone about such things.”

Chipper reacted to Kieth's choice of words. “Chipper. My name is Chipper, not Chip.”

“Chipper”, said Kieth apologetically. “Got it now. Very sorry. I will remember that. In the mean time we need to get together so you can tell me about this dream of yours. If this stuff has really happened, you and I both need to get together.”

“If it really happened?” The irritation in Chipper's voice grew, now for another reason. “You think it may not have really happened? Remember the footprint ...”

“Chipper”, Kieth's replied. “I am sorry again. You are in fact seeing things in your sleep that have actually happened. Don't get me wrong. It's just the way I think, especially at this hour. Nothing is certain for me. Not even the face I see in the mirror. Sorry if you thought I was implying anything. Now we need to get together. I am staying in the second cabin down the slope from your father's. How soon can you meet me there?”

Chipper's voice calmed a bit. “In about an hour. My dad is having meetings every morning after we eat breakfast this trip.” Chipper started to mutter something but decided not risk confusing Kieth.

“I'll be there on the front porch reading while I wait” said Kieth. “Enjoy your breakfast with your dad.”

Chipper's voice was finally calm, “See you then”. He clicked his cell phone shut. There was something about all of this that made him feel tingly inside, like the first day he got his own computer, and yet it was also a little frightening. Why was he seeing these things and what was Kieth Lyndsey? What was Eddie's hunch about the death of Kieth's father leading to that was horrible he didn't want to know? He felt he needed to find these things out. The sooner he spoke with the Kieth the sooner he could start.

He hurriedly went through his morning routine and rushed down to enjoy some pancakes and bacon with his father. He enjoyed telling his father about all the things he had done that year and his father enjoyed listening, even if much of it he had already told him on the drive up from Florida. Chipper felt as though he could have gone on all day talking to his dad and perhaps he could have, but at exactly five minutes to the top of the hour his dad's laptop computer made a beeping noise followed by a synthesized female voice, “P F 211 Project daily status meeting will start in four minutes and forty six seconds.”

“Well, Chipper, hopefully this meeting only lasts an hour like they've promised me”.

Chipper looked down at the center of the kitchen table. He hoped his dad noticed his dejected pose. So little time for them to spend together and his dad's employers think themselves justified in taking some of it. As people's voices came over his dad's laptop Chipper heard his father speak up and say, “Just a moment everyone”. He looked up at Chipper and spoke to him one more time. “Chipper, this meeting will be an hour. I promise. I will see you after your morning hike.”

An hour! Chipper almost forgot he was to meet Kieth at his cabin. An hour didn't give him much time to spare if there was going to be much more than just a quick reporting of his latest dream. He wanted to be able to ask Kieth some questions. He realized he better not waste much more time sulking in front of his dad. Besides that would probably just aggravate him.

“Have a good meeting dad. Going hiking”.

His dad smiled apologetically and waved as Chipper left the cabin.

It took Chipper somewhere between five and ten minutes to reach the second cabin down the slope. It wasn't all that different than his own, rustic logs framing a modern house of good middle class size. As he left the dirt road and walked towards it he could see Kieth sitting in a folding canvas chair on the porch with what looked like a huge book, about the size of a paving stone. It sat opened in front of him on a small plastic table whose legs were straining not to collapse beneath it. On the deck railing next to Kieth sat a large long-haired orange house-cat.

“Chipper, glad to see you were able to use the rock.” Seeing Chipper, Kieth got up from his chair and walked to the steps. Chipper could not help but notice the cat walking over to a corner of the porch and looking up into the surrounding tree cover. Its huge bushy tail flipping strait up into the air drew attention to it like a blinking light.

“Oh forgive me. Chipper, meet Kaiser, Kaiser, Chipper.” The cat ruffled his long orange and white fur, turned his head to look at Kieth over his shoulder and hissed.

“What's he upset about?” Chipper asked.

“Alright Kaiser. You want to show off for Chipper don't you? I'll let you fly about while I talk to our new friend.” Apparently with Kieth's permission, two orange feathered wings sprouted from the cat's back and he took to flight. Kaiser started rising into the tree cover above. “Just be sure not to be seen by any other humans”, Kieth said. The cat paused and hovered as if to take in Kieth's instructions. “And please try not to bother the hawks too much”. With Kieth's instructions finished, the cat continued his climb into the sky, disappearing beyond the forest canopy above.

“He just likes to fly.” Kieth said. “If I let him fly all the time I might not ever see him again.” Kieth smiled. “Hey, let's sit down and talk about this last dream of yours.”

Chipper remained standing for a few moments trying to see where Kaiser had flown off to but the cat was too far up into the trees to be seen so he finally sat down in a chair opposite Kieth and started to tell him about his latest dream.

“I dreamed about a woman named Hermie who mimics powers that other people have. She was born in some place called the Invee Republic on a high plateau. She ran away with her boyfriend, some really smart guy named Winter. Then her boyfriend died or at least it seemed and she came to Earth.”

“So that's where she is now?” Kieth leaned forward looking intently at Chipper.

“I don't know when any of this happened, only that it did, so I can't be sure.”

“Chipper, in your dream, what was this woman doing on Earth. Do you know where she was, a city, a country?”

“Her new boyfriend, someone she is just using I'm pretty sure, said they were leaving on a plane from Lexington, some place called Lexington, and flying to Croatia. They are looking for something called the golden apples in a really old pyramid there.”

Kieth's eyebrows rose slightly. “A pyramid you say?”

“Yes. Why?'

“Believe it or not, my dreaming friend, I think I know the place in Croatia being spoken of. Several years ago a pyramid shaped mountain there caught my father's attention. He told me he looked into it just enough to know that his curiosity about it was probably best left unsatisfied.”

Kieth paused momentarily to see if he still had Chipper's attention.

“What did he find?”, asked Chipper, filling the silence.

Kieth leaned back into his chair for moment and looked off to his side as if to think out his response. Then he leaned forward again.

“Some times very powerful people hide very powerful things because they can't take them with them or because they wanted to keep a secret supply in a certain place. My father knew if there was something hidden in that pyramid it had been hidden there by people so powerful that they likely had been mistaken for gods, and he knew enough about who they might have been to realize that if he dug up their secret very bad things would likely happen, bad things for everyone on Earth. Leaving the hidden hidden seemed the best coarse of action.”

“So your father never knew what was hidden there?'

“No, he never did, but it seems this Hermie is going to force me to find out.”

Kieth tapped the huge book that sat on the table between them. “Now, while I was waiting for you to arrive I was doing some research on these golden apples you mentioned on the phone. This huge book you see in front of me is Strath's Encyclopedia. A fellow named Doctor Robert Mungo Strath had the opportunity to wander the universe and catalog all he could find out about human civilization beyond Earth. This is a copy he had scribed so he could give it to my father. Strath's thirst for knowledge and his attention to detail is spectacular, but what he has to say about the golden apples is unusually sketchy. They grow on trees that require no sunlight and there are many myths and legends about them on Earth. He is not exactly clear on what they are used for though. Some suggest that ingesting them will make one immortal, but others suggest that ingesting them would be fatal. The alarming thing to me is that Strath wrote that all of the golden apples on Earth were removed thousands of years ago so as to prevent us from harming ourselves with them.”

Chipper looked at the book and then at Kieth. “Hermie believes they are used to turn normal humans into magical beings called invee. It is what all of her people are. It is what she wants to do with them so she can mimic people's powers and get back at Skolahn for what he did to her boyfriend.”

Did you say 'Skolahn'?” Kieth's expression suddenly became alarmingly serious.

“Yes, Skolahn is the guy who got Winter. Why? Do you know him?”

“No Chipper I know of him and my father and I were warned that we didn't ever want to know him. Chipper, you should definitely tell me your entire dream from start to finish and try not to leave out any detail.”

Chipper did as Kieth asked, watching Kieth's face as he told him the entire dream from Hermie's schoolmaster to Jeff Proctor getting a flight to Croatia. Kieth was a good listener, looking back and forth from time to time between Chipper and the book between them, which he closed shortly into Chipper's recollection. He only interrupted Chipper twice, once to ask if he knew the schoolmaster's name and again if he knew the name of the adept that helped them leave their home world, but Chipper's dream told him neither. Kieth's reaction to the parts about Skolahn were especially interesting to Chipper. The first time he mentioned him Kieth smiled at Chipper nervously and said, “there's that name again”. There were no apparent reactions after that. When Chipper was done Kieth stood up.

“Good and bad in that”, he said. “Skolahn wont be coming for any visits. That's good. It's also good that your dream told you so much about the invee. That saves me from explaining it all.  The bad is that if this Hermie is not stopped she could bring the heavens down on us, and while I say that figuratively, its description would not be far from the truth. Oh, and by heavens I don't mean the realm of angels. I mean large heavy objects that should stay up there crashing down on our heads.”

“So what are you going to do?”

“I have to beat her to the apples, but I also – I am told – must help you deal with these dreams of yours.”

“Hard to do at the same time?”, asked Chipper.

“Actually no. Just don't be surprised if I don't rush off right now and also don't be surprised if you see me rush off some time later. Right now, however...”

“What can you do about my dreams other than stop people like Hermie? I mean do you need to do anything about them? They seem like they could be helpful to you.” Chipper found the dreams uncomfortable but he wasn't sure his discomfort was as important as saving the world.

“Chipper, your dreams are only part of your problem. The reason you are having the dreams is the problem.”

Chipper really didn't like the phrase “your problem”. If he was going to sit and listen to someone tell him what was “wrong with him” he figured he may as well wait for his next session with Dr. Gibson. His dislike of Kieth's choice of words must have shown on his face.

“Chipper please don't take that wrong”, pleaded Kieth. “Please let me finish what I am saying before getting upset. What I mean to say is that you have talents that are causing you to have these dreams and those talents are being frustrated. That is what I meant by you having a problem.”

“I have talents? You mean like what Hermie mimics, like what the invees have?”

“Well there's a difference, a very important one” explained Kieth. “The invee as you know are normal humans that have become magical beings. Certain aspects of their personality will some times express itself as one or a small group of seemingly supernatural abilities. You Chipper are an adept. You are not a normal human. Your mind is attuned to a field of energy and particles that permeates the universe in such a way that you can manipulate it to do your bidding. This attunement would normally allow you to become – let's use a word we both understand – a wizard.”

“I'm like a warlock?”, asked Chipper.

“Or in places outside North America they would dispense with the gender specific term and just say 'witch', but that isn't really accurate either.” Kieth seemed to be enjoying the listing of synonyms.

“You mean I can cast spells?” Chipper was beginning to strongly doubt what Kieth was saying, even if he could give his cat wings.

“No you can't cast spells. That's what I meant when I said your talents are being frustrated. You recall that suppression field in your dream? It not only weakens invee who come here, it pretty much completely squelches adepts. That's why you read so much about wizards and such in ancient history and especially in legend – which is often just even more ancient history – and you don't see any wandering about today. Once the suppression field was put up what we know as true magic was effectively banned from Earth. You Chipper, are a special adept. Most adepts just live their lives never knowing and never having a reason to suspect. Their talent eventually dies of neglect. In your case however, your frustrated talent in a desperate effort to find an outlet managed to some how ride the thoughts of magical beings, using the magic within them as the power source to do so.”

Chipper began to ponder the air. This was a bit to take in. “So could I use the magic within these magical beings to do something other than just read their thoughts?”

“No. The magic within a magical being answers only to that being. That's why you end up seeing things through their mind's eye, so to speak. It's the only thing their magic will let you do because it doesn't put you in control.”

“Okay”, Chipper drew the word out. “So what is to be done about that?” What was it about Chipper's dreams that demanded the attention of someone who could be off saving the world? Chipper's mind was nowhere near ready to let that go.

“Two things need to be done about that.” Kieth stood up and walked over to the porch railing. Looking out he continued what he was saying. “First off your dreams are likely to get you in trouble. You are likely to end up knowing things that very dangerous individuals don't want you to know. If they find out you will be in great danger. Because of that you need to tell me all that you experience in these dreams. That way I can help you avoid being discovered and if it comes to it, I can protect you.” Kieth turned his back to the railing and looked at Chipper.

“The second thing is that your talent as an adept is apparently not going to just go away, unlike most other adepts on Earth. If you are just left on your own with this, your talent may find yet other outlets. There is no telling what potential chaos that could bring with it. The Lady tells me she is mulling over how best to deal with you being an adept in such unusual circumstances.”

Kieth's explanation made sense to Chipper but now his mind turned strongly after another question. “How is it that you can cast spells? Are you an invee?”

“No”, Kieth answered tersely.

“Then if you are an adept, how is it that you can do the things you do on Earth.”

“That question can only be answered partially, Chipper. While I would like to think of myself as an adept like you, there are reasons that I am likely to never be sure of that. Even that much of an answer to your question – what I just said – is much more than I should tell anyone else, but what you already know demanded that much of me. You see Chipper I am the guardian of a secret, a secret that only the Lady and a couple of her closest allies knows, a secret that must not be revealed. For reasons I must not even begin to explain. You will have to be satisfied in me saying that being the guardian of that secret makes the things you see me do possible.”

Kieth's words seemed to spiral about in Chipper's mind. He was not sure in the least if what was just said satisfied his question but he found himself losing his train of thought. So he sat silently, looking out at the trees, wondering if he might get a glimpse of a flying cat. He heard many wings fluttering and lots of chirping in one direction and then another, but he could not see Kaiser. He wasn't so interested in where the cat was so much as his mind was now grasping for something to focus on. What was happening? Was this just another dream? The son of a dead president sat before him with a gigantic book written by a man with a funny name who has traveled all over the universe. A cat has taken wing and is even now terrorizing birds up high in the trees, and he is being told he is an adept and some things called golden apples – that he just dreamed about – are real and likely very dangerous. His dreams and his reality seemed to be merging. If that was so, how could he know if he was even awake right now and not just having another dream, he wondered.

While Chipper was looking for the cat in the sky Kieth walked over and opened the cabin's screened door. “You know I thought being a teen-aged guardian to this secret was going to come with a bit of a reprieve from work until I grew up, but then you came along and made things .. interesting.” The hinges squeaked as he opened the screen door. “I think you could use a soda. I know I can.”

Chipper could hear Kieth's foot steps clod across the wooden floor and the slight mechanical sound of the refrigerator as he opened it. As the door closed Kieth spoke from inside the cabin, “I must apologize. I only have one kind”. Kieth came back out to the porch and handed Chipper a cola can. “Drink it. You probably need it about now, the caffeine I mean.” Chipper realized he did feel a bit light-headed. He popped open the can and took a sip.

“Caffeine is not something someone should take in too much of but it has its times”. Kieth sat back down in his chair.

After another sip Chipper began to feel more normal. “But, how did you know I needed that?”

“A lot of thinking in the morning, especially about things like this, it can do it to you”.

Kieth paused and leaned forward, looking Chipper right in the eyes. “Chipper, I know we have just met and all and this may seem a bit overwhelming, and it should be, so listen carefully to what I am about to say.” Kieth's eyes seemed to study Chipper's face as he spoke.

“I know you probably already figured this out but you must not tell anyone about this, my abilities, yours, the Lady, the golden apples, my flying cat, nothing. If you do people will think you're crazy or – even worse – someone powerful will find out you know more than they want you to. Do you understand?”

“Yes sir”, answered Chipper in a subdued tone.

“Sir?”, Kieth leaned back and laughed a little, “look at me. Guardian of the secret or not, I am still just a kid like you. We are Chipper and Kieth, not Chip and sir. Deal?” With a slight grin on his face, Kieth extended his hand and the two boys shook.

“Now, I need to do some planning about the golden apples and you will be wanting to get back to your dad.” Kieth got up from his chair and headed to the cabin door. On his way another question forced its way out of Chipper's mouth.

“Kieth, are you sure we are on the right side?” Chipper surprised himself with the boldness of his question, and worried that it might have been too confrontational. It was out now though, so all he could do was wait and see how Kieth would take it..

Kieth stopped at the door and turned to face him with a neutral expression. “We are protecting Earth. While that sort of thing doesn't always make one a good guy, in this case it does”. Kieth opened the door and was about to step through it when he looked back over his shoulder. “Oh, and I am very glad you asked that. It means you care about the right things.” He then paused for another moment, smiled, and said, “Feel free to stop by whenever. We don't have to be all about business all the time. If you want a friend along on one of your hikes for example, I like hiking too.”

Golden Apples

With a novel nearing completion, polishing and what not, I am once again posting a chapter from a novel that was considered practice by its author.  It is the chapter right after the one posted last week.  It's not bad stuff at all.  In case you're wondering why the author abandoned trying to get it published, it was because he found the plot too complex, the voices lacking, and the escalation of the plot far from consistent.  None the less, some interesting stuff I'd say.  Hope you enjoy. 

+++++++

As he fell asleep that evening the events of the day were returning to him and his mind seemed hard pressed to try to make sense of it all. Chipper's psychiatrist, Dr. Gibson once told him that when the mind had many new things to consider, weird dreams should be expected. This night was full of them. First he dreamed about being a wizard and shooting fire balls from the top of his newly found staff. He was shooting at some unseen opponent in the distant sky. It was like a jet fighter game he had played on his computer once, only in this dream he was a wizard with his trusty staff instead of a pilot in a high tech jet fighter. It was obviously just a dream. The sort he thought too weird and too nonsensical to bother sharing with anyone.

Other similarly weird dreams followed that one and Chipper remembered only bits and pieces of them in the morning, but the last of his dreams he remembered in great detail. Like the two others from previous nights, it just suddenly started happening with Chipper seeing and experiencing things as though he was someone else. This time he was seeing things as though he were some girl named Hermie who was in a very different place than Chipper had ever experienced, full of marble and other smooth stoned buildings. At first Hermie was sitting in a room with an elderly man behind a large marble desk. The desk went all the way to floor like an altar.

His gray hair seemed to almost match the color of his skin. Hermie thought it was most unfortunate that her school master was required to wear a white robe. If it were not for his piercing pale blue eyes the gray mass that was his head might be mistaken for a huge collection of dust and lint pouring out of the top of his ever so clean white robe.

“Hermie, I have something that I must tell you.” The man spoke as someone very used to being in a position of authority. “As you know I have been trying to persuade the Guard that they could use your talents.” The old school master reached across the white marble of his desk and picked up a life sized black stone statue of a hand and forearm with a gold metal bracelet extending to its elbow. The bracelet was made to look like the ones warn by the soldiers in the Guard. It was a gift that had been given the school master by Guard officers in appreciation for all of the fine new recruits he had sent them over the years. The fact that he was grabbing it now as he spoke made her think that he must feel a need to emphasize how much influence he has with them. That worried her since he would not need to remind her of such a thing if his efforts had been successful.

“They were very stubborn” he said. “Insisting that they could only use someone with a talent they were well practiced with. They told me that since you would only be mimicking someone else's talent you would always be green at whatever you do.”

“But sir,” Hermie interrupted, “Most members of the Guard don't even have pronounced talents.” Hermie pointed at the statue in his hands. “That's what those gauntlets are for.”

The school master tilted the statue in her direction and shook it at her.

“Hermie! Don't interrupt an elder. You will do yourself great harm if you demonstrate disrespect for authority like that.”

He then put the statue down off to the side and fixed his gaze on Hermie who was a little surprised by his sudden sternness.

“Now let me finish what I have to tell you. I, like yourself was not satisfied with their answer so I took the most unusual step. I addressed the matter to the High Counsel.”

“You went that far for me sir?”

She knew the school master had agreed to help her get placed in the Guard but she had no idea that he would be so determined as to appeal to the very ruling council of the Invee Republic.

“I am very grateful sir”.

The school master shook his head.

“Unfortunately you may change your mind when I tell you the rest. I seem to have made a grave mistake in the process of trying to help you.”

“Sir?”

Concern and confusion combined in her voice.

“In the process of trying to argue that it would be a mistake to simply let your ability to mimic other's sit idle I seem to have caused a different kind of reaction than I was aiming for.  They now see you as something of a threat.”

“A threat sir? Why would they think I was a threat to my own people?”

“Unfortunately Hermie, the High Council has not yet recovered from the death of the royal family. I thought that after these decades had passed they would have but I was wrong. Apparently paranoia lies just a scratch-depth beneath the surface with them and I was foolish enough to provide just such a scratch. They have decided that you must not be allowed to roam freely amongst your fellow invee for fear that you may come upon a talent that could cause great harm. They have instructed the Guard to take you in to their ranks so they can strictly control your every movement.”

“Strictly control? What does that mean?”

“It means Hermie that you will be under constant supervision. You will never be able to go anywhere or do anything without their knowledge or approval.”

“Am I to be treated like a criminal without ever committing a crime?”

The girl began to cry as she spoke.

“What have I ever done wrong?”

“I am so sorry Hermie, but it is not as if you are going to be a prisoner. You will be a member of the Guard.”

The school master got up, walked around his stone desk and placed his hands on her shoulders. “All members of the Guard give up some of their freedom. It will just be a lot more in your case, a lot more, but you will be a member of the Guard.”

He hoped that last part might make it seem much better but Hermie buried her face in his robe and cried into it. His voice then became quiet and gentle.

“Hermie, I could have just not told you and you would have happily accepted the Guard's invitation, but I owed you at least this much, to warn you about what is about to happen.”

As she cried she could see nothing but the darkness inside her clenched eyelids. Her own people feared her as if she was a monster. She wondered if she had enough tears in her for the way she felt just then.

The crying stopped and the darkness gave way to the light of a forested lake shore. A few years had passed. A distant thunder, constant and rumbling, came from the direction of cascades rolling over a distant cliff-line. Hermie was no longer a girl about to graduate from school but a woman.

There was a slight young man standing at the water's edge with long strait white hair and a pale complexion to match. His name was Winter. Hermie thought his near albino appearance to be delightfully exotic from the day she met him and this day he looked quite smart in his black and gold Guard uniform.

He faced the water but he knew where Hermie was without looking her way. Of course he did. That was his talent, knowing. He usually knew exactly where each and every member of the High Council was at any given moment as well, along with many other things that boggled most minds to understand how he could. This day he knew something he actually hadn't for a long time, what he wanted.

“Hermie”, he said without turning his gaze from the lake, “I know what talent you bring to show me today before you even present it to me for my analysis.”

“That mind of yours, Winter's mind”, Hermie responded, “is truly one of the great wonders of the universe”.

“Perhaps at times, but not his time. I know this time because I manipulated the mission.” Winter looked over his shoulder at her.

“I cheated”.

“But, Winter you confuse me. Why would you cheat?”

Winter turned around to face her. He was smiling as his pale blue eyes looked right into hers.   “Because I decided two things a few weeks ago.”

He looked down and smiled and then back at her.

“One is that I love you too much to ever risk you being taken from me. The other is that you and I must leave our homeland and wander the universe together. We must become renegades.”

Hermie's emotions were now just as confused as they were intense.

“I love you too Winter, oh do I ever, but why must we run away and violate our people's most sacred law? We are together here in the guard.”

The Invee's most sacred law was that no invee was to ever leave their homeland – The High Plateau – unless under orders from the High Council. To leave under any other circumstance had a penalty of death, if caught. Those who did for the most part never returned which was punishment enough in Hermie's mind. Others were found and killed by special guard members called 'Rogue Hunters'. Hermie needed Winter to explain what would ever make him feel such an extreme and dangerous action was necessary.

Winter placed his hands gently on Hermie's shoulders, locking his gaze tightly into her eyes. His smile now was gone.

“Hermie, I know what they have been doing here with us, sending you off to mimic different invee's talents and having me guess at them and analyze them. They have been preparing you to become a spy. Someone who will need to take on an identity not your own and maintain it for as long as the mission requires, easily months or even years at a time in some remote place in the universe. I could not endure the thought that you could be sent away from me for so long, and that is exactly what they are planning to do.”

He stepped toward her and embraced her. He then spoke very quietly to her.

“I arranged things so that you would mimic this flying man's talent so that you could fly us both off The High Plateau. Once down there, there is an adept in Tibria that will send us to a rogue world. Then we will be free to be together for eternity”.

“But Winter”, Hermie's voice broke slightly, “what will we do to survive out there?”

Winter placed a hand on top of her head and began to run his fingers through her hair.

“Hermie, with your ability to mimic the talents of others combined with my ability to identify all the who's and what's, very little will be beyond our reach. I've thought it all out. At first we will find talented thieves, I will do that. You will then barrow their talents and use them to steal things they were planning to steal themselves. We then will move on, leaving each thief to take the blame. The thieves will get what they deserve and we will get what we need to survive and then some. We will be like vigilantes of sorts.”

“But Winter we would still be thieves ourselves, criminals. It would be ...”

Hermie looked into Winter's eyes. As she did her reservations vanished. It became clear to her that he was all that mattered to her. Any risk for her to be with him was worth it.

“How could I doubt the mind of Winter? Any life with you is better than anything else. When do you want me to sprout these wings and fly us away from here?”

Winter turned his back to her and said, “The sooner the better Hermie. My manipulations will be discovered sooner or later. We need to be off before they are.”

Then the sound like a tent flap blowing in a stiff wind suddenly came from Hermie's back as she extended her mimicked wings and grabbed hold of Winter. The two lifted into the air. The scene of the lake, the forest, and the cascades along the cliff line began to fall beneath them. The gold and greens of the forest canopy became more like a mass of color than a collection of trees. Hermie clung tightly to Winter at first but as she picked up speed she found that the wind resistance tended to push Winter against her allowing her to rest her arms.

He pointed out a direction for her to fly and they darted off in accordance. Soon they had reached the High Plateau's edge and she swooped down into the clouds beneath it. All became a solid grayish white as the sound of wind rushing past them filled Hermie's ears. Then there was silence and the grayish white gave way to the fine details of a black sphere with geometric patterns carved into its smooth surface. More years had passed. Now Hermie found herself looking into a glass museum display case.

She just needed to reach through the clear glass case as though it were not there, grab the black artifact, and run through a few walls as though they weren't there until she was outside the museum. With the talent she had recently mimicked that all would be simple. Then she would meet Winter at the ship with the artifact and they would be on there way to yet another world, another score completed by the greatest and least known thieves in the universe. It was a typical routine job for them except for one unusual detail. Johann, the thief who's talent she was mimicking risked not being in town when they stole it, and that would spoil their efforts to frame him. He seemed to be quite the spontaneous traveler, so Winter had taken it upon himself to strike up a friendship with the thief and make sure he was entertaining him near the museum when Hermie performed the heist.

Hermie performed her part without complication, as a matter of fact she could not remember if she had passed through three or five walls on her way. These sorts of things were routine and easy for her. The only details that mattered much to her anymore were the details of her moments spent with Winter. As she made her way out of an ally by the museum the bracelet on her left wrist started to vibrate slightly. It was Winter. He needed to talk to her before she got to the ship for some reason. This was very unusual. She lifted the bracelet to her mouth and spoke into it.

“Winter?”

“No time to talk.” Winter's voice came excitedly out of the bracelet. “Johann is an agent of Emperor Kahzmit. He knows what we've done. You must run and save yourself now!”

“Winter?!”, Hermie shouted into the bracelet.

“I can't get away. He will have me soon. Run Hermie, run!”

In the background, she could hear a pounding and then a crashing sound. Then she heard Winter give out an agonizing scream that cut off in the middle. Hermie stopped in her tracks to take in what just happened. After several seconds she threw the artifact down the ally the way she had come. It could be heard bouncing off the ground and then a wall before crashing into some unseen pile of objects in the darkness.

“No!”, she shouted half sobbing. “You can have your stupid artifact. Give me my Winter back! All I want is Winter.”

She leaned over sobbing. A few tears hit the gravel below her. Then she remembered that she was also in danger and needed to run, as Winter asked her to. She ran out of the ally and down the street. She spotted a wooded area just a block away and started to run towards it. Her tears were still flowing and breaths were mixed with sobs as she went. Before she reached the woods she was no longer able to see through her tears. She ran on blindly. Taking sobbing breaths, and saying to herself with words that she could barely fit between them all, “Where will I go without him?”.

She could not see. It was as if her tears were replaced with a dark blind fold. Then suddenly there was light and clearness. Perhaps only a few months had passed this time. Her tears were gone and she was standing in a frilly pink bathrobe in front of a refrigerator, her hand on the door handle.

Now we she was on Earth, a planet forbidden for all invee. She fled to here because she knew it would be the last place anyone would expect her to go, maybe someone else with a different ability but not a mimicker. She would have no invee to mimic on this forbidden planet. All she could do was torture herself by trying to mimic some of the normal folk and in so doing see what abilities they would have if they were invee, what abilities she could not use to save herself. It would only be a matter of time before she would get caught by rogue-hunters or maybe the other enforcers, the torchites. All she seemed to achieve by coming to Earth was to buy herself time, but time for what? It was like hiding down a well with no way to get back out.

Things, however were looking up for her as she stood there in front of a refrigerator. Someone had unwittingly thrown her rope, so to speak. His name was Jeff Proctor, a young archaeologist who sought help translating some unidentified text on some surprisingly ancient European artifacts. Hermie found his plea on the internet and recognized the sample text as her own people's writings. A few email exchanges later she was hired to assist him and a few evenings later she was living with him in his apartment.

The writings were the account of some member of a royal court named Scribner who was sent to hide objects referred to as “golden apples”. To Jeff these golden apples were well known objects of myths and legends, but to Hermie, she knew their powerful reality. The golden apples were what transformed normal humans into magical beings, what her people are, invee. All of the apples were supposed to have been removed from Earth under the same treaty with the Torchites that made Earth a forbidden destination for invee, but rumors abounded that a few had not been accounted for. These writings of Scribner gave Hermie hope that the rumors were true. If she could get these golden apples she could bring out the normal humans' abilities and mimic them. Jeff had provided her a “rope up”.

Becoming Jeff's live in girlfriend just seemed smart to Hermie. He was her way to her goals so it made sense to give him as much reason as possible to keep her with him until she got what she needed from him. This became especially true to her when she discovered what Jeff's ability would be as an invee. He would be a creator, one of the most powerful by far of the invee abilities. A creator is what Kahzmit is, the man who took Winter from her. She could not believe her luck. In Jeff Proctor she found, not only her way off Earth but a way to turn her grief into revenge. Vengeance was now her ultimate goal. There was no reason to leave Earth, to save herself, except to avenge her beloved Winter.

Pulling the door open she grabbed the milk and sniffed it. Her nose wrinkled and the rest of her face started to follow. It had definitely gone sour. The sink was just an about face and half step away so she soon was pouring the smelly liquid down the drain and running the water after it.

As she did this it dawned on her that the sour milk could easily be Jeff some day. Once they leave Earth and he discovers that she is bent on avenging the death of her one true love, he may not want any more of it. When that happens she will have to be ready to quickly mimic his ability and leave him, maybe even kill him. She believed Winter was too good of a man not to be avenged, even if other innocent men must die to achieve it. While she hoped that Jeff wouldn't make that necessary, she was now prepared. Besides, she actually found Jeff to be an annoyingly wimpy man. He couldn't even stand up to his supervising professor most of the time. In a way he was already like that sour milk to her. That she should have to sleep with such a wimp in order to avenge Winter – a man who defied the entire Invee Republic for her love – sickened her.

Hearing the apartment door start to open, she quickly tossed the empty milk carton into the waste can and put on a smile.

“I have good news Love Bunny”, said Jeff, “We will be leaving for Croatia even sooner than we had hoped.” Jeff Proctor, a brown haired brown eyed young man with a thin nose, closed the door behind him. He then walked over to the kitchen counter and placed a small plastic bag down. “As a matter of fact we need to start packing because the plane leaves Lexington in three and a half hours.”

With that news, Hermie found it much easier to smile at the man she had just been equating to sour milk. The image of her beloved Winter flashed through her mind. Vengeance was growing nearer.

“Soon, my beloved Jeff, we will find the golden apples of legend.”

She reached across the counter and grasped the hand he was using to pull prescription bottles out of the bag.

“When you partake of one of those apples you will no longer need those chemicals.”

Jeff stopped and looked Hermie right in the eyes.

“I'm not doing this for me. I'm doing it for you and for my discipline, archeology. My supervising professor has just approved me going on the Croatian pyramid dig but he warned me that anything I may find to support that the mountain is in fact a pyramid will be best kept to myself until well after I earn my doctorate. He says the powers that be are nowhere near ready to accept the existence of human civilizations in Europe predating the Egyptians. I fear he may not have really intended to give me the approval. I think he was counting on me being brought to my senses before I could secure transportation. Why else would he approve of me doing something that he thinks wont help me get my doctorate. We got lucky to get such an early flight. I want to get out of here while he is still technically approving the trip.”

Hermie stepped around the counter and moved close to Jeff. He immediately embraced her. Hermie spoke with the kind of voice one might use to talk to a cute puppy.

“You are such a clever one.”

They kissed for a second or two. Then with her normal voice, “I must get packing. The golden apples and Jeff Proctor's destiny awaits us”.

The alarm by Chipper's bed went off and the dream was done. Chipper's eyes opened suddenly as if he had been awaken by a dowse of cold water.

“Golden apples? Croatia? Pyramid?”, he spoke to himself. “Yuck! I kissed a .. Yuck!”.

Chipper sat up turned his legs so that they dangled over the side of his bed. Another one of those dreams, Kieth said he would have more. He looked at his laptop on the rustic wooden desk across the room. He thought perhaps he could do a search on the golden apples or the name 'Jeff Proctor' but then he noticed the dark brown rock on his bed-stand. Grasping the rock in his hand he held it out in front of him. This time he had something different to do. The stone began to glow red.