The Unskillful Thaumaturge

XXXIII

"Oh, hi, Morgan... I just wanted to let you guys know, the DIAO's going to go talk to you tomorrow... yeah, I really don't have the time to explain." Lillian spoke this quietly into the phone. "Just be honest with the DIAO, tell them anything they want to know."

She caught a glimpse of Leslie's face in the mirror across the room. "Yeah, Leslie's here, I have to go. I'm fine, yeah. See you next month." Taking the phone from her ear, Lillian hung up.

"DIAO again?" Leslie wondered.

"Nah, it was Mor- my mom."

"Oh." Leslie sat down on her bed, legs dangling over the edge. "How's Intro Thaum?"

"It's going fine. I have homework that I should probably be doing." Lillian walked over to her desk and sat down, pulling a sheet of paper out of her backpack and scribbling her name on the top. "Intro Thaum isn't actually that bad," she explained without looking up. "The theory behind it is pretty simple and is actually a lot like physics. I'm doing pretty well in the class. If any of that stuff changes, I'll let you know. But in the meantime, will you let me study?"

❧☙

Dakota sat, legs crossed, across the table from Dr. Hests, listening to her discuss her recent research into remote tracing as he took another bite of his grilled cheese sandwich. "And so what we figured out is that thaumaturgical signatures can be traced back up to fifteen years if you know what you're looking for. We were even able to test the signature of that vegetation at the site of the Thaumatogenesis. Of course, it's not like we can go any further back, but it's still pretty fascinating, no? And we're experimenting with tracing signatures almost a mile away. Of course, it's difficult to find anything unless you know exactly what kind of thaumaturgy is being used, and even then, it still ends up being pretty hard."

Dakota nodded, feigning interest. "So what level of knowledge do the tracers have about the thaumaturgy being used? Do they know just what field it is and where, or what?"

"So with the research we've been doing, the tracer knows who the thaumaturge is, where the thaumaturgy is being done, and what field is being used. And from that, the tracers are usually able to figure out more specific things about exactly what's happening. The most important thing appears to be who the thaumaturge is- since there's so much going on, the tracers are able to distinguish the event they're looking for by looking for that particular person's thaumaturgical fingerprint, so to speak. The knowledge of where, and what field it is, seems to be less important. Though we've had several cases where, when we really specify about the location and the type of thaumaturgy, the tracer is able to figure out who's responsible."

"Are you looking into any applications from this?" Dakota asked as a waiter came by and stood quietly to the left of the table. "I feel bad eating and all when you haven't even ordered," he muttered.

"No worries," Dr. Hests replied, quickly requesting a sandwich. The waiter scribbled her order down on a paper pad and then left quickly. "Yeah, I think the main thing we're looking into right now is possible applications in being able to determine the general shape of objects in a room. Outlines. Seeing without actually being there, if you will. The idea could have great implications in advancing technology to help visually-impaired people. And the new law which restricts barriers on air will help the idea along. The general principle of it is that pretty much everything these days has a barrier on it, and barriers are traceable. So people should theoretically be able to mentally see the outlines of objects in a room if they're able to trace barriers from far enough back. It doesn't help with color perception at all, though."

"Your research is very interesting. I wanted to ask- who are the tracers and thaumaturges in the experiments?"

"Mainly undergraduates. It isn't really that difficult for anyone skilled in thaumaturgy, and students of all levels are involved. The lower-division students usually just help run the experiments, though."

"Have you been involved in any of them?"

"Occasionally. The tracers say I have a distinctive signature because of my efficacy, so sometimes I participate in the time experiments."

Dakota took the last bite of his sandwich and sipped from his water bottle. "How are you looking to advance this research?"

❧☙

Galena discussed the case with Rolf as the minivan bumped along the highway. Although it was only about an hour's drive from Dorena to Eugene, she was glad to have company. She had never liked long drives very much, and there was enough to talk about in terms of the case that she was, for once, happy about the amount of time.

"Lillian called me yesterday about her eye twitching," she mentioned partway through the drive. "Mine did at the same time again."

"And you said you think it's because Beanie knows your mother?"

"Yeah. I want to know how she's involved in all this."

"It does seem kind of weird, though, that your mother is suddenly involved with this. Didn't she encourage you to get a job at the DIAO?"

"Well, I kind of wanted to anyway, but... but yeah, she was interested in having me start. I thought it was because she just wanted me to get a job, but... you're right, that's suspicious too."

"If you think of anything else, tell us. She may be your mother, but she has answers, and she knows Beanie, and we need to know what she knows. And if any part of this is hard for you, just take a break."

"No, I'm okay," Galena responded, her voice quivering slightly. "I can deal with it. It's just weird to think that she knows about this and that I didn't know."

"Well, with luck, soon we'll all know."

"We're here!" Derek called from the driver's seat as the minivan sped by a sign labeled "Welcome to Eugene".

"Where are we going first?" Erica asked from the back.

"The police station. The interview with the funeral home people isn't until three."

"Do you know how long it will take to look through the records?" Evan wondered.

"I'm not sure," Galena said. "Hopefully it gives us enough time to talk to them before the funeral home."

"Hopefully we're able to find them at all," Rolf responded.

"I wonder if today will help," Derek remarked.

"I honestly don't know what to think," Galena replied. "There's a lot we can learn, but at the same time, it's possible we don't find out anything at all. We'll just have to wait and see."