Ch. 17
Evan once again spent his Saturday at the research lab. Robin escorted him as usual, and Dr. Campbell had him assist with a number of experiments. Most of the time Evan didn’t have to do anything more than touch something, but Dr. Campbell did insist on getting a substantial blood sample from him one time. He let them take what they wanted in the hopes that it could help their research.
The last time he was there, Dr. Campbell had talked about using his new data to tweak the design of the magic transference device. That’s what they called the machine that could harness a person’s magical energy and direct it to be used as desired. Dr. Campbell thought they might be able to power more than just lights with the new design.
That was what was on the agenda for this day. Dr. Campbell and the other scientists had rigged up the magic transference device in the main lab and were hoping to activate some of the more difficult artifacts with Evan’s help. The same metal ball as before was placed on a stand, so all Evan had to do was put his hand on it.
He did as he was told and put his hand on the ball, but there was no reaction from the artifact. The scientists didn’t lose hope, however. They made some changes to their design and had Evan try again when they were ready. It was simple enough work for Evan.
It was after about the fifth time they modified their machine that something amazing happened. Evan placed his hand on the ball like usual, only this time there was a noticeable humming sound that was heard in the lab. Everyone stood still as they watched in anticipation. The machine was attached to a mechanical arm that was holding an artifact. The artifact looked like a short staff with a cone at the end. As the entire lab held their breath, they saw the cone at the end of the artifact begin to glow green.
Cheers rang out from everyone as the experiment appeared to succeed. The artifact was active. The next step was to see if its function could be used. Evan hadn’t been told what the artifact was supposed to do, so he just watched eagerly to see what was going to happen.
A couple of scientists brought out a large pot full of dirt. They placed it on a table near the artifact. Dr. Campbell then worked the mechanical arm holding the artifact to move it closer. The artifact was lowered until the glowing tip touched the dirt in the pot. A miracle happened before their eyes as a plant quickly sprouted out from the pot. Evan’s jaw dropped as he watched an empty pot fill with a fully matured rose bush in just under a minute.
The machine was shut down and cries of joy were shouted all around. It was a total success! They had harnessed Evan’s energy and activated an artifact perfectly. Evan was congratulated many times as if he had done something amazing. He felt weird since he literally just stood there, but he was happy that everyone was so thrilled. The atmosphere was more like a party from then on, and he realized that they were done for the day. He was wandering around the lab talking to different people when he was unexpectedly met by the main man in charge.
“Congratulations, Evan,” General Carn said, shaking his hand.
“General Carn,” Evan said in surprise. “Thank you. I didn’t really do much.”
“Nonsense,” he said. “This wouldn’t be possible without you.”
“I guess,” Evan said with a shrug.
He wasn’t just being modest. He really didn’t feel like he deserved much credit for this.
“Come, walk with me,” General Carn said waving him away from the others.
Robin followed along a few paces back as the General led him down a hall.
“I’ve been told that you haven’t settled on a major yet,” he continued.
“That’s right,” Evan said.
“I take it then that you don’t have a career in mind for after college?”
“I’d like to present an option to you that you may not have considered yet,” General Carn said. “I’d like you to join us here. Full time.”
“You mean, like, join the military?”
“Yes. I think you could accomplish more working with our resources than in any other field you might choose.”
“What would I be doing if I joined? I don’t really want to be a soldier.”
“You wouldn’t be doing anything like that,” he said. “You’d be working with our research teams mainly. After that demonstration earlier, I’m sure you can imagine the potential good that could come from your ongoing cooperation.”
It was true. Even just from the effects of that one artifact, it was easy to think of ways that it could reap huge rewards. The ability to rapidly grow plant life could revolutionize farming and food production. It was truly a miracle.
“You’d be paid well,” General Carn said. “And you’d be able to work on our bases across the country. There would be no need for you to struggle here at the academy to learn magic from scratch. Our technology could unlock your true potential.”
“…”
“In fact, you could join us now, if that’s what you wanted,” he continued. “There is no reason for you to have to go to school if you don’t want to.”
“What about the people here?” Evan said. “How would I be able to help them repopulate?”
“Ah, yes. Here, let me show you something.”
They finally stopped their walk as they came to a secure door that Evan had not seen before. The general punched in a code on the keypad, and the door opened. They walked into the room only to come upon another highly secure door. This time the general put a card into the machine and pressed his thumb against a pad. Reading his fingerprint, the door opened, and they finally entered their destination.
“This is our vault where we keep some of the most powerful artifacts we have,” General Carn said. “Some of the items stored in here truly have the power to change the world.”
Evan looked around at the artifacts locked away behind glass doors. There was no telling what they could do just by looking at them. Still, he felt like they gave off a very ominous feeling. Maybe it was just the atmosphere of the high security vault, but it felt like these were dangerous.
“This one here, is particularly special,” the general said.
He pointed to a case with a large metallic orb inside. It looked plain to Evan.
“We call this one the converter,” he continued. “This artifact was given the power to enhance human DNA with the characteristics of other animal life.”
“Wait,” Evan said understanding immediately. “You mean this thing can make new species like vampires or werewolves?”
“That’s right.”
“Wow.”
“Using this artifact, you could recreate the miracles of the ancient mages,” General Carn said. “You could create new, healthy members of each different monster species and help their numbers grow strong once again.”
“Oh yes,” the general said. “Unfortunately, the power required to use this device could only be generated by someone like you. But if you chose to work with us, Evan, we could use this power to save all the people of Tourmaline.”
“…”
“If that isn’t enough to convince you, just think of the status such great power could bring you.”
“What do you mean?”
“Imagine, Evan,” the general said. “You could reshape this wretched world into a better home for all humans. Using artifacts like this, you could change the human race, one person at a time. All human weakness could disappear. And by holding the key to that power, you would hold more influence over the nations of man than any leader throughout history. All of this could be possible with our support.”
Evan was amazed at the possible future the general was showing to him now. He had barely wrapped his mind around having a unique magical gift, there was no way he had ever considered trying to shape the country to his will with his power in the future. It felt… wrong. He knew the general was just giving his best sales pitch, but he didn’t think it would be right to use his power for such things. Also, he was enjoying his college life, and he liked the friends he was making. Even if he was excited about what was happening at the research lab, he didn’t feel like he wanted to do that full time right now.
“That… doesn’t really sound like me,” he said slowly. “I like my normal life at the academy. I think I want to stick with that for now.”
“I see,” General Carn said.
They stood silently appraising the surrounding artifacts for a few moments.
“Well, it’s just something to consider for the future,” the general said. “Come on, let’s get out of here.”
They left the vault and the general left Evan and Robin shortly after that. With the research done for the day, Robin escorted Evan back to the campus. He was thinking hard about his conversation with the general during the ride back.
“What did you think of all that with the general?” he said.
“It sounds like he really wants you to join them,” Robin said.
“Do you think that would be a good idea?”
“…”
She was silent as she thought for a moment.
“There’s a lot you give up when you join the military,” she said finally. “Even if you had a high rank, you would still be made to take orders.”
“Right,” he said.
Robin didn’t add anything else, so he just thought to himself for the rest of the trip home. It was the weekend, so he was going to have plenty of time to mull over everything. It was only his first year of college, so he hadn’t given too much thought to what he was going to do after graduation just yet. After the earlier conversation, however, he was starting to feel he was going to have to make big decisions about his future sooner rather than later.