“Frankenstein we live in a world where nature obeys a set of fundamental rules. What goes up must come down, sunrises from the east and sets in the west, summer comes after spring, autumn comes after summer, and so on. Just like all things, there are exceptions to the rules; in situations where supernatural forces are in play those rules can be exempt, but we can agree that without supernatural intervention the world operates in a predictable pattern that can largely be explained with logic and reasoning. Wouldn’t you agree?” the principal asks but this time I recognized it to be a rhetorical question, something the principal likes to ask.
“A plane is the opposite of that, it cannot be understood with logic or reason but operates on a set of bizarre and alien rules inherent to itself. They are best understood as realities that exist outside of our realm, where laws of space and time might not necessarily apply.”
“While trying to categorize the planes is futile, planes are commonly observed in two forms, path planes, and free planes. Path plane is what you might expect, a plane associated with a path and only accessible by pathwalkers of a level 3 on that path. If the path plane is somehow disrupted or damaged, the effects will be felt by all pathwalkers of that path. This has led to many theories trying to explain the existence of a path plane and its relation to the path itself, but all you need to know is that a path plane is almost always a reflection of that path and its design really shows .”
“Pathwalkers?” I said astonished at the dull naming convention of the academy extends even to the supernatural.
“I know what you are thinking. Yes, they are what the name suggests, have you seen our textbooks? We scholars are not great at naming names, we leave that to the poets.”, the principal then continues.
“Then there are free planes, the categories for this are broad. The general consensus is that planes that are not path planes are considered free planes. The creation of most free planes is considered to be a part of natural phenomena like the raising of tides or rainbows after the rain. Their content ranges from generally harmless to extremely dangerous and while not much said about them they all share the chaotic nature that comes with being a plane.”
“The academy has been studying planes since the discovery of our own. The nature of planes makes observing any measurable data impossible as such we can only examine the commonalities amongst different planes but over time we have developed some theories. One hypothesis proposed was that path planes are conduits that channel the flow of powers to the pathwalkers of that path. Whether a path plane is created due to someone on that path reaching level 3, or it is there all along and being level 3 gives you the ability to access it is a topic for another day. Efforts on trying to prove this theory have been slow as access to any path plane are guarded by their pathwalkers and most of them do not want us to experiment on them.”
“In recent years, a member of our path has expanded this theory to free planes, claiming that if path planes are conduits to the flow of power to their pathwalkers then what of the free plane? Could they also be a conduit of power?”
“He tested his theory… and the result did support his hypothesis,” the principal said this emphasizing on the ‘did’, his expression bitters like someone who sampled dark coffee for the first time.
I picked up on the implication but was almost afraid to ask what happened to him, almost: “What had happened to him?”
“He found a free plane and set out to prove his theory by claiming the plane and redirecting the flow of power onto himself. That’s when we learn that while the free plane does conduct some flow of power, the power flowing through the path pane and the power flowing through free planes have inherently different properties. If we were a cup, the power provided through the path planes would be hot oil, while the power provided by the free plane would be water, and you know what happens when you mix those two,” the principal spread his fingers outward and his palm open to help simulate the visuals at the same time moving his lips making a silent pop sound.
“Your sacrifice shall-”, the professors around me start saying those words, “-carry the flame forward,” I recite that second half of the phrases with them have heard it once already.
“Recently, the team carrying on with researching this theory has found a new free plane, but after their entry, we’ve heard no response from them. A second team was sent to find them, they went dark as well, then a third team was sent and they shared the same fate. At this point, we’ve realized that sending in people of our path was not the best course of action. The plane might have inherent properties that conflict with that of our paths. There have been cases where the plane causes complications amongst those with a particular path yet harmless to others. ”
“Frankenstein, if you want a quicker way to obtain power, this would potentially be the alternative. Note that while the method, in theory, should work, there are not enough documented cases to guarantee its success, those that did showed powers equivalent to that of a level 2’s close to level 3’s.”
This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it
“...” I tried to inquire further but was weighed back with the fear of potential failure; that vague description of fate befell on that unlucky fellow kept appearing in my head.
“What’s the chance of survival for those who did try this method?” I asked hoping that the answer would provide some comfort in choosing this method.
“...7 out of 10,” the principal said after a moment of consideration.
7 out of 10, 70 percent. I’ve often read stories of men going on voyages and expeditions where the odds of success are even less than that. Whenever I see those stories I often imagine what I would do in their shoes, thinking that I could do better than them in the same situation. How I would map out my course, how I would carefully consider and plan out my approaches, how I would never leave things up to chance. Perhaps I’m not better than them at all.
I took a deep breath and exhaled: “What do I need to do?” I asked with renewed determination.
The principal smiles.
“Frankenstein, please step in the center.”
I stood up from my chair, ignoring the part of me shouting for me to stop and marched toward the center. My steps felt heavy as if dragging through mud accompanied by the crisp sound of my shoes hitting the marbled floor syncing with my heartbeat, as it beats louder and louder. SILENT! I have arrived at the center and was greeted by the always screaming Icarus starring towards me.
Those who are seated stood up and formed a circle around me. The principal along with anyone else wearing glasses takes them off, “When you are in the plane don’t panic, just follow what feels natural. While it is not required of you it would be a great debt to us if you could bring back the leader of the first expedition, Dr. Harold Lee.”
They closed their eyes, when they did so I felt a sudden change in the world around me. It became dark and silent, all light was sapped from its sources. When their eyes reopened I could see bright lights shining through their eyes and mouth like that of a lantern in the night, reassuring, warm and soft.
“1… 4… 2… ”, the sounds of turning gears ringing in my ear as those digits spoken in the background, I feel my senses begin to slip away. What are the numbers they’re speaking? Are they Coordinates? Codes? They are the last thought I had before the light intensifies into a blinding haze as the final number’s spoken. The floor slowly disappears around me and the afterimage of Icarus became the last thing I saw.
----------------------------------------
As the flash faded and the lights in the room returned once more, the center of the circle became empty and those who stood slowly made their way back to their seats. The figures slowly disappear one by one until there is only the principle and the head of biology remains.
The head of the biology department for the first time let go of his ever-smiling facade and breaking the silence in a displeased tone.
“You lied to him.”
“I didn't lie, everything I said was true.”, the principal responded.
“You made it sound like the plane was harmless to him, that the only reason they failed to return was that they were of our path. You made it sound like he was going to have a chance of surviving what a pathwalker could not.”
“I said that might be the reason, besides we don’t have evidence that a specific plane is dangerous, just because we didn’t hear anything from them doesn’t mean they are dead. We have to be hopeful, they might still be alive. I have hope that young Frankenstein will succeed where others have failed.”
“You also lied when he asked about the chance of success with this method, only 1 in 10 cases do.”
“He asked about the survival rate of the method, I just truthfully responded. In 7 out of 10 cases the participants, well, … they survived don’t they?”, the principle stuttered on choosing the words to describe the condition of those participants.
The head of the biology department looked at the principal, with a face showing anger and disgust at his methods. The principal confronted his gaze with a cold expressionless face.
“Don’t look at me like that Lawson, if you were truly empathetic you would have spoken up and said something yet you stayed silent. Are you really in a position to lecture me about morality? ”
Dr. Lawson closes his eyes as he gives out a long sigh seemingly defeated by the principal’s argument. He opens his eyes mentally exhausted and with profound sadness:
“Is this worth it?”
“If this hypothesis is indeed correct then this could be a new method for a person to gain power, we need that person to be one of us. If this is what you are asking then yes it is worth it.”
Dr. Lawson opened his mouth as if wanting to say something but ultimately didn’t and looked away.
“......He would’ve made a great member as a part of us, you know.”
“......His sacrifice shall carry the flame forward.”
Dr. Lawson disappointingly looked at the principal one final time before disappearing like the rest.
The principal now alone, painfully shuts his eyes, as the room fell into silence once more.