Location: USMB 14-5-20.

Date: Located in File 29412.32.2.

Time: 1021 hours.

Subject: Aaron Lowes.

Re: ‘Annihilation’ Attempt.

So, I take it that you don’t need me to describe the day that they just appeared out of thin air…..

- - - - -

Report: Summary of Alyefani Appearance on this plane of existence

Date/Time: Located in File 29412.16.1.

Source: News Report, AP, taken from Time Magazine article in regards to the event.

To them, it must have been like seeing chimps banging rocks together.

At best, it could have looked like children smashing their toys together, laughing at the sound that they made, the pieces that fell off, the noise that echoes through the room until they found us in our dark corner.

But there we were, for them to find us: a sentient species with a huge toy, ramming things at each other and watching how they exploded. If it weren’t atoms that were involved in those collisions, we probably wouldn’t have looked much better than a rerun of Beavis and Butthead or Jackass.

It began at what we thought was one of the paragons of human ingenuity, engineering, and learning: The CERN facility in Europe, the site of the Hadron Supercollider, the massive band of atomic highways specifically designed to put its travelers in collision courses with each other in the off chance that observing the chaos afterwards could give us insight into the nature of time, space, and our place in the universe.

It was, quite literally, a day like any other. Investigations days later - investigations that stretched into months later - determined that there was no specific event or discovery on that day that would have heralded their appearance among us. There was nothing special heralding the event; the weather was moderate, traffic was light, and Geminis were told to be patient for their long term goals.

And suddenly, out of thin air, the air got thinner….and split open.

At the visitor’s welcome center of CERN, on the Switzerland side, a rent appeared in space and time, a cat’s eye in the open air…and they stepped through.

No one was screaming. We know this from the security feeds. Everyone was frozen in shock - but not in fear. One would suppose that, being scientists, they were less interested in “what is going on” and more in “how did that just happen”.

In that moment, mankind received its first glimpse of its mutually paired brethren in the last thousand years. It was the return of the ‘Elven’ nation.

By now, it’s doubtful that anyone on earth - certainly no one that’s been reading the news, watching television, tracking the internet, or just gossiping wildly - doesn’t know what they look like. Thinner frames than ours, more porcelain-like skin. Pointed ears, sharper features. Shorter bodies, longer fingers. Until one is familiar with their people, one might think that they are very difficult to tell apart. As a piece, they all have long hair, slender frames, thin arms and legs. They have a dancer’s grace and an emperor’s quiet demeanor. They walk in sync with each other without realizing they do it.

So imagine, if you will, that five of these ephemeral creatures, almost identical to the point of genderlessness to our inexperienced eyes, stepping through a hole in the air to stop before a room filled with scientists of every potential field of study. Imagine the calm gaze from those almond-shaped eyes, the regal bearing only slightly hindered by the occasional twitch of a pointed ear, the elegant hand raised in peace. And imagine this being opening his mouth and uttering, in a gentle, unoffensive tone…

“Howdy, sentient kinpersons of Terra Firma. We are the Alyefani, and we contemplate for you no soreness.”

It could be perceived as good that the unofficial, working language at CERN is English. Of course, considering the confusion that abounded after that enigmatic phrase, it could be said that another tongue might have been better. Still, we should count our blessings; the confusion and desire to clarify and understand was the best way to interact with any group of scientists. And it could be argued easily that CERN’s are some of the best.

And let’s be honest - it could only be providence itself that made them appear in Switzerland, a nation of strong but kind government. In any other country, they could have been interrogated, incarcerated, or imprisoned…and I challenge anyone to imagine what could have happened to us if they were. The mind shudders.

Within hours, government officials of Switzerland and France were in attendance. Within days, representatives of governments from around the world had met with our new friends.

It is from this point that our world changed.

Report: Transcript of UN Initial Meeting with Alyefani.

Date/Time: Located in File 29413.1.14.

Speaker: “I bring this meeting to order. In light of our recent visitors, we will be putting aside our normal procedure and come straight to the topic of our meeting today: the introduction of the leader of the Alyefani, his Royal Highness Surelni na Nuerfeshtan. Please welcome him.”

Applause lasting for thirty-two seconds. Speaker steps down, Nuerfeshtan steps to the podium.

Nuerfeshtan: “Perceptive fellows and sagacious ladies, on behalf of the Alyefani people, I do greet you. I anticipate to detailing, to your specifications, the many inquiries I am certain you have before me. I note with gratefulness that we have here the individuals of Learnedness that I hoped would attend us.”

Nuerfeshtan bows to two rows of scientists in attendance.

Nuerfeshtan: “While I have great eagerness to address the multitude of inquiries abuzz in their cerebellums, I acknowledge that those in attendance from ruling groups have precedence here. I will address their inquiries initially.”

Half the room’s governing representatives stand up. After some deliberation, all sit down but Roger Winterhalter.

Winterhalter: “Roger Winterhalter, sir, for the United States. I’d say that most of us are concerned as to why your people are here in the first place. What do you want?”

Nuerfeshtan: “Want? Why, we are domiciled.”

Winterhalter: “Domiciled? I don’t understand you.”

Nuerfeshtan: “Ah. Atonement. Your language has so many words of similarity, it is hard to determine the best chosen for each instance. We are…home. Home? Yes, we are home.”

Winterhalter: “Home? You are claiming this planet for your people?”

Laughter from Nuerfeshtan.

Nuerfeshtan: “No, no, very much not! This would be unceasingly bad. It is like a neighbor returning from furlough -“

Winterhalter: “A vacation.”

Nuerfeshtan: “- yes, vacation! Thankfulness to you. It is like a neighbor returning from vacation. Do they lay claim to your house? No! They go to their own. Your lands are inviolate. Fear us not. We will be good neighbors, engage in trade, and partner along just fine.”

Nathan Pella stands up.

Pella: “Nathan Pella, sir, for Australia. I wonder where your home is, sir? There are those who say that the elven homelands are in England, or in Norway…then there are those that say that your home is one plane along Yggdrasil, the world tree of Nordic myth…and still others that would not be surprised if you laid claim to the North Pole!”

Laughter about the room. Winterhalter sits down. Nuerfeshtan whispers to a support member, then laughs himself.

Nuerfeshtan: “No, no, we are not taking over or occupying those lands…though we would not mind to visit them.”

Pella: “I’m sure England will be glad to hear it, and Santa would be glad for the help. We’d have to ask around for a doorway to Alfheim.”

Nuerfeshtan: “It is not mandated; we still possess that key.”

Pella smiles at Nuerfeshtan, who smiles back. Pella’s smile fades.

Pella: “Wait, do you mean to say…”

Nuerfeshtan: “This time would be beneficial to move towards our Learnéds and resolve their queries.”

Giovanni Giorrino stands.

Giorrino: “But what country, what place, will you be living in?”

Nuerfeshtan: “This is a query whose resolution will be found soon, and very at that. Trust me, your places will be left as alone as you wish them to be.”

Nuerfeshtan turns to the scientists, who look at each other.

Nuerfeshtan: “If you Learnéds have inquiries, I would be ecstatic to resolve them.”

Neil deGrasse Tyson slowly stands up and moves to the microphone.

Tyson: “Sir, my name is Neil deGrasse Tyson…”

Nuerfeshtan: “Ah! Learnéd Tyson! Much we have heard your deep tones. It is pleasure indeed to see you here. Ask much and richly.”

Tyson: “Well, most of my colleagues and I are very interested to hear how you came here. We’ve all seen the tapes of your…entrance…at CERN. How do you do that?”

Nuerfeshtan pauses for a span of fifteen seconds, clearly in contemplation.

Nuerfeshtan: “Learnéd Tyson, does my speaking sound of a strangeness to you?”

Tyson: “Well, to be honest, yes, it does, a bit.”

Nuerfeshtan: “Words not matching up with your means of using them, this is so?”

Tyson: “That is so.”

Nuerfeshtan: “The reasons for this are many. This mouth we use, or any -“

Tyson: “Tongue. Tongue, or language.”

Nuerfeshtan: “Thank you. This tongue is linked to your minds, your mindsets, your cultures. You think in certain ways, and you use words in those ways. My path is clear so far?”

Tyson: “I’m following, go on.”

Nuerfeshtan: “The word that we use for how we came back to this page -“

Tyson: “Page? …..umm….oh, I think you mean ‘plane’.”

Nuerfeshtan: “But is that not….no, I perceive; multiple uses, yes. Rightness, this plane. Yes, that usage fits well. The word that we use for how we came back to this plane is one with meanings in your tongue that you would find silly and ridiculous. But it has stronger meanings in mine.”

Tyson: “I think I know what you’re going to say, sir.”

Nuerfeshtan: “Say it if you like it.”

Tyson: “You’re going to say that it was magic.”

Nuerfeshtan: “That was my wordchoice, true.”

Muted laughter from around the room.

Nuerfeshtan: “To you, that word means silliness, I know. It means fakery and mystics and even lies. This I know. It amazes me. I have need to apply new additions to the word. Thus is the reason that we so wished to have Learnéds such as yourselves here with us today. Will you hear me?”

Tyson: “Of course, sir. Go on. But I warn you, we’re a tough crowd to convince.”

Nuerfeshtan: “You and yours would not be Learnéds otherwise. I rise to this.”

Tyson nods, looks for his chair, pulls it around to where he is, and sits down, crossing his arms.

Nuerfeshtan: “We have been….watching…CERN experiments for a longish time now. The collider’s actions are like the dropping of pebbles into a very still lake; anyone on any shore can perceive the rippling. A beacon. You are following?”

Tyson: “Yeah, I follow you.”

Nuerfeshtan: “We saw these ripples, and opened tiny holes to peek at you. We learned of you, how your tongue changed over the years, how your peoples grew up. We saw, too, how your thinkings of the world around you grew. With nearly pride, we saw how you absorbed the wisdom of the dimensions in space.”

Tyson: “Coming from you, sir, that can only be a compliment.”

Nuerfeshtan: “I thank you much! These words are very appreciated. Now, tell me: you are a Learnéd, a scientist, a doctor. Surely you know of the four forces of this universe.”

Tyson: “Of course. Gravity, the ElectroMagnetic, Strong Nuclear, and Weak Nuclear.”

Nuerfeshtan: “It took us some time to understand the verbage you assigned to those concepts, but we are matched. Do you know what the four Old elements were?”

Tyson: “Yes. Earth, Fire, Air, and Water.”

Nuerfeshtan: “This is also so. Do you see it yet?”

Tyson: “See…see what? No, I don’t see what you mean.”

Lawrence Krauss jolts in place. He speaks, too far for the mic to pick up. Tyson turns to him.

Tyson: “What?”

Krauss speaks, but the mic does not pick it up.

Nuerfeshtan: “I think your friendly Learnéd is perceiving the gist of my lesson.”

Tyson: “Well, I’m not. Spell it out for me.”

Nuerfeshtan: “With glory! Let us look at the Gravity. It is limitless, universal. It is, by that nature, strong. Solid. Everything is attached by it. Much like how people of old saw the Earth.”

Tyson: “Okay…”

Nuerfeshtan: “ElectroMagnetism. It reaches as far as Gravity! But is it flexible, maleable, chaotic, powerful, yoke-able. Much like the Wind, or Air, this is so?”

Tyson: “Well, yeah, okay, but…”

Nuerfeshtan: “The Strong Nuclear Force. You call the heart of a star a ‘crucible’, yes? A ‘forge’ of elements from light to heavy? And the energy of the crucible or forge is that of Fire, yes?”

Tyson: “Wait, are you trying to say…”

Nuerfeshtan: “And the Weak Nuclear Force. Elements fissioning to make smaller elements. Elements that break down, decay, break apart…corrode, you might say, or erode. Much as Water does to a stone in a stream.”

Tyson: “You couldn’t possibly be trying to say that the forces that bind the universe together are just forms of magic!”

Nuerfeshtan: “No, opposite! Opposite! The old elements were the ways in which the people of old understood those forces, how they yoked them to task. The words they used to describe those same things. Different words with different meanings then and now. Much like my talking here! With perception of those forces, their applied wills, and an understanding of their place in spacetime wholeness, they used forces of science in ways you call magic.”

Tyson: “But that doesn’t make sense! You can’t do that, just will something to change like that!”

Nuerfeshtan: “However you can.”

Tyson: “No, it’s not possible. It…”

Nuerfeshtan: “Learnéd Tyson, please be of calmness. I will explain. And with respect, I say: surely it is not the way of your Learnéds to instantly dismiss what you do not think to be true without experiment?”

Tyson is quiet as he visibly calms himself.

Tyson: “I apologize. You’re right, you deserve every chance to explain. Especially when I remember that you literally walked out of thin air just a few days ago!”

Nuerfeshtan: “Your patience is a present to me, Learnéd Tyson. I continue. You have a nice home?”

Tyson: “I do.”

Nuerfeshtan: “You have a person that cooks for you? Makes meals, cleans?”

Tyson: “My wife does most of that…but I could get my ass kicked if I used those same terms, lemme tell you.”

General laughter.

Nuerfeshtan: “Hah! I am understanding. Tell me, if she cooks something in your kitchen, can you smell it in your dining hall?”

Tyson: “The dining room, yes.”

Nuerfeshtan: “Your bed chambers?”

Tyson: “Bedroom, yes.”

Nuerfeshtan: “Your library?”

Tyson: “Office, yes.”

Nuerfeshtan: “Your garderobe?”

Tyson: “Uh…..bathroom, yes.”

Nuerfeshtan: “So these rooms, they are connected. Where does one room end and the next begin? The air from one mingles into the other, bringing scents with it, without being concerned with where it’s supposed to be.”

Tyson: “I’ve heard that analogy before for other things, how does that apply here?”

Nuerfeshtan: “It is truthfully said that atoms are mostly emptiness. This is true to you as well?”

Tyson: “Yes, that is so.”

Nuerfeshtan: “On the scale of atoms, tell me: where do you end and the world around you begin?”

Tyson frowned and said nothing.

Nuerfeshtan: “You breathe. You eat. You are constantly exchanging the atoms and molecules in your body for those in the world about you. You know of Maxwell’s Demon, that creature that could track atoms in their paths? Imagine how horrible we must be perceived to it: constantly shedding and absorbing multitudes of atoms as we go about our days! The things in you are the things in nature. Stardust, it has come to my ears that you have called us this. And you are right. Concentrations alter, densities alter, but we are still linked - personally, actively, really - to the rest of beingness. Through the forces of nature, we affect the things around us, with the perception that they are extended parts of us. We move them about like we move our limbs.”

Tyson: “It can’t be that easy.”

Nuerfeshtan laughs.

Nuerfeshtan: “Easy is not a word for this by any translation, no! No, it requires many things to…erm….manipulate. Yes, manipulate. The first thing needful is perspective. To understand, to perceive the space about us, to see how we are an ingrained part of being. Next is willpower - to extend yourSelf through that understanding, to have a mind of strength, working outside of your balance. Next is study; to learn not just limitless, but limits, to see how the world works, and thereby see what does not work. Finally, one must have the Talent for ‘magic’ itself, the ‘power’ to move nature in the ways you question. Without all those things, you are limited to your body abilities.”

The room is quiet, thoughtful. Tyson is shaking his head, but not speaking.

Nuerfeshtan: “Perception shows what you can do. Willpower is the distance of intent. Study shows how it comes to pass and places limits. The talent itself is the means of reaching out to accomplish it.”

Tyson: “I would have thought that perception and study would be the same thing.”

Nuerfeshtan: “Are philosophy and science the same thing?”

Tyson is again silent.

Nuerfeshtan: “Again, I speak in parallels, in examples. Not in realness. There is more that helps make it function - it comes with facileness to my people, but not so to yours. As of science, think of my people like protons, and yours as neutrons. We have a plusness on our own; on your own, you are plusless. But when we are paired together, energy swirls about us, and we can make atoms.”

Tyson: “What are you saying?”

Nuerfeshtan: “I am saying that we are here to teach. We can make you appliers of self-distant-forces. We wish to show yours how to be, well, magic.”

The hall then dissolved into a mass of shouting.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Location: USMB 14-5-20.

Date: Located in File 29412.32.2.

Time: 1022 hours.

Subject: Aaron Lowes.

Re: ‘Annihilation’ Attempt.

…or when they pulled their home up from the bottom of the ocean…

- - - - -

Report: Summary of Alyefani Appearance on this plane of existence

Date/Time: Located in File 29412.16.3.

Source: News Report, taken from Rolling Stone magazine.

In a day.

In a single day, the world’s been changed.

Don’t misunderstand; this isn’t a woeful, airy claim speaking about unforeseen problems and a generally dismal outlook. Far from it; the general air is incredibly positive.

And literal. The world has been altered before our eyes.

The meeting of the Alyefani with the United Nations and several dozen prominent scientists eventually reached a consensus; the scientists could neither prove nor disprove what the visitors were saying, and the politicians could not deny them from inhabiting a part of the planet that they were assured that noone else was living on. With Switzerland acting as sponsors, more mages were brought through to our world from theirs.

I just want to point out how amazing it is to use the term ‘mage’ for an actual magician in a real news story. So the world isn’t just changing in literal ways, but in literary ways.

Everyone had an opinion on that day at the United Nations. Everyone came out to face a starving media horde. Everyone stood and voiced opinions and dropped clever sound bites. Even those not in attendance later spoke up regarding the event. Stephen Hawking, who was presented with a video of the entire proceedings (a recording never presented directly to the media, it should be noted), later stated:

“Robert Heinlein once wrote of a character explaining magic in scientific ways. The main character quickly noted that the analogy of the explanation ‘did not quite stand up’, but considering that he saw the effects of the magic firsthand and had no deeper understanding for it, saw that arguing on the topic further would be foolish. This is much where we see ourselves now. We have been provided with analogies of how science and magic can be used in tandem together. But while the analogy might fail with deeper application, we can hardly doubt the evidence of our eyes: the veil parted, and through it, a sentient people have joined us. We must reevaluate what we consider to be observable truth and mere supposition. Still, it is our responsibility to doubt, learn, and grow. This is an opportunity for understanding like none we have experienced before.”

The only group actually voluntarily losing volume on the matter of our new neighbors is the religious front. Though exceedingly vocal early on, warning of threats from demons and witches and Satan’s forces, every single religious leader who has met with our guests has left contemplative…and quiet. Those few violent leaders have gone back to their cells and mostly disbanded their groups of followers. One claimed that he knew that he was standing before Angels, though the Alyefani report that they did nothing to encourage that perception.

Many have attempted to reconcile the presence of these newly returned neighbors with what holy texts they could find. Their searches were not assisted by the Alyefani themselves; the ‘elves’, as many people still call them, using an outdated simplified pronunciation of their true name, do not profess to any vestiges of faith beyond a reverence for those natural forces that bind the universe together. Other than more ancient religions such as Nordic Odinism and tellings of fables and mythologies, scholars of the past have come up empty handed in placing these people in our history.

This has been noted by our scientific community as well, in that we have no fossil or historical evidence that the Alyefani had ever lived side-by-side with us. Their answer for this was, primarily, that they did not.

“We had our demesnes, and you had your own,” his Royal Highness Surelni na Nuerfeshtan was quoted as saying. “We kept our cultures separate. In the old time ago, when trust was rare, science was unknown, villages were isolated, and violence prevalent, we made ourselves known but distant. We helped with what we could, but did not interfere. We separated ourselves to give us all a respite of fear of the alien unknown and allow you to grow independent. Clearly, it labored.”

Those who have noted the Alyefani difficulties in choosing proper synonyms in their speech have marveled at the prince’s rapid improvements. In a month or so, they have processed a great deal of our global culture - as well as a great many local, national ones - and are presenting themselves with surety and clarity.

For the most part. There’s always that little word or two that sticks out, jolting the conversation train slightly, like a penny on the tracks. It’s not the derailing of that first introductory phrasing, but it pops its head up at unexpected moments.

So, in those few weeks since they appeared before us, mankind has been stumbling to understand these new planetary partners. The internet has been, of course, an incredible boon in disseminating their words (fumbling as they sometimes are) to us. Of course, the internet has also been doing what it does best: trying to turn these new people into sex symbols.

The amazing thing, however, is how that fails.

They are ethereally beautiful…though ‘handsome’ would be a better term. Mankind generally uses the term ‘beautiful’ for something that it admires and desires. Allusions to ‘half-elves’ and their geneology have propagated through books, movies, games and even our mythologies for a very long time. One could look upon a picture of one of these Elves and imagine the concept of falling in love with their regal demeanors and quiet depth.

But in person, it’s much different. One cannot step within ten feet of one of these amazing, breathtaking creatures without respecting them…but there is no sexual desire at all. From anyone. Who’s ever met them. Ever. It’s not something that can be easily explained in mere words; in the presence of one of these majestic souls, the idea of coupling with them is the farthest thing from your mind. No, they are definitely our friends, not potential mates. We can watch movies like “Lord of the Rings” and harbor crushes on Legolas or Arwen with impunity, but when confronted with the real thing, when you’re standing before them, the originator of the archetype, the world changes.

When these things were brought to their attention, none of them did much more than laugh - as did those who showed them. When before them, the thought of functioning with them in a sexual pair is rendered ridiculous. Not by word or deed from them, but by a mutual understanding that we can be Societal BFFs without being Friends With Benefits.

So yeah, that’s us - the Hetero-lifemate Silent Bob to their Jay. This should be interesting.

- - - - -

Report: Summary of Alyefani activity in the North Atlantic

Date/Time: Located in File 29412.16.5.

Source: News Report, taken from The Huffington Post.

This should be interesting.

I knew it would be. I was standing there, in Brazil of all places, right against the edge of the land, against the edge of the ocean, with some colleagues, various global nationals…and a handful of magicians.

Four Alyefani highmages stood on the shore, executing a careful box dance with each other, whispering softly in tandem with each other.

Their acolytes motioned us to move back from their work. They made it clear, wordlessly clear, that it wasn’t for the preservation of some types of secrets, but for the preservation of our health or lives.

Farther back from the shore, I could hear the police and local forces keeping observers at a distance. There were wisps of Portuguese floating in the air, curiosity and suppositions in foreign tones. I could imagine that there was a similar sight at the other locations; quartets of Alyefani mages were clustered and muttering the exact same way in Cape Verde, in Iceland, in the United States - somehow all muttering in unison.

Their mutters were slowly rising in volume, slowly coming to some kind of climax. Their dance-like motions became pointed, directed.

The air around us became charged with a green glow.

The wisps of talking in the distance cut off as with a knife.

Over the next five minutes, the intensity of the muttering and of the light rose. The four were slowly moving apart from each other, still in unison, as the light between them got brighter and brighter, a visible source in the center, a hovering green orb that grew bigger and bigger as those chanting voices grew louder and louder. The orb grew larger than a car, than a garage, than a house. When the orb was about fifty feet high, and the mages were yelling their chants, they simultaneously moved to the inland-side of the orb and…

….well, they pushed.

I’m told that the other nations saw their mages doing the same thing as the exact same time. And I’m told that on the International Space Station, the view was even more amazing.

Four rays of light stretched out across the surface of the earth, merging together on a spot over an empty part of the Atlantic Ocean. The lines met, joined, grew at the focus. The whirling astronauts could only marvel at the sight as their orbit took them out of view of that part of the planet.

By the time they came back around again, a new island was formed in the Atlantic Ocean.

But no, let’s be fair. It wasn’t new. And it wasn’t formed.

It was old - very old - and it was raised.

Atlantis was back from the depths.

- - - - -

Report: Undercover agent investigates tour of Atlantis. Voice recording of trip augmented by commentary. Still pictures of tour located in 29319.4.1

Date/Time: Located in File 29419.1.2.

Source: Agent SW412434

Atlantis was back from the depths.

From the water, you can’t tell that the island is the size of Spain. Geologically, the island is centered at a point near 39º North latitude, 54º West longitude. Being in tropical waters, the weather is warm and humid, wind tending to come in from the northeast.

This report is supplemented with commentary from the recording device hidden in my lapel. Recording began the moment I stepped off the ship. The elf that approached us was female, blonde hair, 5’3, dressed in a human woman’s business suit of light colors. Refer to file 29319.4.1 for pictures taken with monitoring equipment.

Liatallis: Good morning! It is pretty to have you here with us today. My name is Sashia ne Liatallis, and I will be your guide. Are there any inquiries before we begin?

Noone spoke.

Liatallis: Wonderful! Let us begin.

With this, she began walking us to the nearest building. It seemed to be made of marble and possibly with Greco-Roman lines, but the lack of water damage made smaller details difficult to see at the moment.

Liatallis: Many years ago, Atlantis was the home of the Alyefani people. While there were many visitors from neighboring countries, there were few human residents. When pressures of the times made it difficult to justify our presence here, our mages found a nearby plane and moved our resources there. The land was pushed back down to the seafloor, and there was no trace of us left.

Me: Excuse me, miss, how exactly were they able to move so many millions of tons of earth and rock, and move it so far to be above water, let alone -

Liatallis: I’m sorry, that part, I cannot divulge. I am not a magic user myself, so I’m afraid that the specifics of the process are outside of my expertise. It has been explained to me that it is not unlike a rug pushed up in the middle. If you pull the edges, the rug flattens. The contents underneath are filled in by the earth below, being melted.

Me: Molten.

Liatallis: Yes, thank you! Molten. The things on the top stay as they were - just as the pattern in your rug does not change. But that is just the barest explanation of how it worked. I would risk that your own mages - once properly trained in the art - will be able to explain it better than I can.

Me: You would bet, or wager, not risk.

At this point, Liatallis turned back to me, smiling broadly.

Liatallis: It is very kind of you to help me understand the proper verbage.

I smiled and said nothing. It occurred to me that my superiors would probably not appreciate setting myself apart from the other visitors. I wasn’t going in as a spy - I’m not a spy, I’m a scientist - but I was going in, quietly, to investigate their doings for my country.

So…yeah, like a spy. Spy Lite.

Liatallis: As far as how our buildings are here, they were always ours. We transported them from their places in our alternate dimension to where they sit now. It is quite easier than needing to move then block by block!

I smiled and nodded, as did most of the others around me. I scanned over the things around me, turning my whole body and not just my head so that the camera in the lapel would capture as much as possible. The ground was grassy - I wondered if they could have moved the sod from their extra-dimension as well as their buildings, and wondered why they would do that.

Man #1: Miss, what was it like in your home dimension? Was it anything like this?

Liatallis: That is a good point to make clear; this is our home dimension. This is us returning home from a long stay away. But to answer your question, the dimension we have been inhabiting isn’t just like Earth, it is Earth, with some small differences.

Man #1: Like what?

Liatallis: Like…well, for example, an asteroid impact a few thousand years before we arrived decimated the land populations on almost every continent. Those who were there were still living in small villages, rather primitive. We left them alone and stayed on our island; they had no way to reach us. The few villages we did try to reach out to were unceasingly violent. We don’t know why. We suspect it’s an inherent understanding that we were not from their universe, that they rejected us as quickly as you accepted us.

The group was silent for some time after that, trying to picture a world exactly like this one where a freak incident (or, historically speaking, a different freak incident) caused the devastation of our entire species and literally threw us back to the stone age…unless we were there already.

From here, she started explaining various aspects of Alyefani culture, government, social interactions…but for all the things she talked about, she was curiously silent on the topic of the mages and how they were revered and what they did and how the rest of the society kowtowed to them. I was only aware of it from outside reports myself. All around me, I could see various laborers lugging and carting things from building to building, sleds and wagons of unusual design and such - but I didn’t see a single person casting a ‘spell’ or levitating a heavy object for someone that needed help.

At one point, I did see a magic user talk by, straight past someone who was trying to lever a heavy block into place…and they didn’t even acknowledge each other. Not only did the magic user never think to assist the person that was doing the hard work, but the laborer clearly had no thought of asking for it in the first place.

We went past several fields of freshly turned earth, set up for massive farms for sustenance. Others discussed the origin of their seed; whether it was from the alternate dimension or if it were from our own.

Notation: The rest of the tour is listed as “Top Secret” and stored in File 29419.10.1

Liatallis: That would be the end of our tour, then. I thank you again for joining us, and hope to see you all again for the testings! But I did want to say…

At this point, she approached me, resting one hand gently on my upper arm, and actually tapped on the camera/microphone in my lapel with her other hand! She winked at me as I froze, but spoke to the group as a whole.

Liatallis: You won’t need to bring machines of such with you. At least, not such tiny ones. We will be entirely up-forward with you, and hope that this trust will allow you to be the same with us in the future.

It could have been nothing, but several of my fellow tourmates looked slightly sheepish at that, before turning back to the ship in the harbor. Liatallis then smiled and turned back to me.

Liatallis: I apologize for singling you out. But to us, those things are very obvious. When light or sound hits something, it is absorbed. But your little recorder pushes the energy from that somewhere else…and our Talented ones can see this. For your kindness during the tour, I thought you would wish to know. Next time, bring a real…camera, they’re called?

Me: They are. Thank you for your understanding.

Liatallis: Ah, that’s the point. Understanding. I think we’ll get there in time, do not you?

Me: I do. Thank you again.

At this point, I got back on the ship and within minutes, it was making its way back to the mainland.

Next Chapter: Chapter 2: Testing, Revelations