The Way Things Seem

by Mackey Chandler

  “Will you let me know what happened?” The bank lady asked.

  “Sure, there has to be something,” he said, like he was convincing himself.

  The deputy consulted with the other one outside and they could see him calling on the radio and then questioning the would-be robber. Finally he came back inside.

  “The Sheriff says to let him go. He had no weapon and the note didn’t suggest he had one. When I asked why he didn’t go through with it he said he decided it was a bad idea. How exactly can we fault that? I did get his information. I’d suggest you close his accounts and have your legal department send him notice he will be in trespass if he enters any of your bank branches.”

  “He’s a customer?” the woman asked in horror and disbelief.

  The deputy just nodded. “What led you to believe he was up to something?”

  “Mr. Carpenter here was watching him. In fact he was so focused on him I put a question to him about the business we were transacting and he didn’t hear me. Then after he said he didn’t like the looks of the fellow I observed he was holding his head down to hide his face from the cameras, licking his lips nervously and didn’t have a check or deposit slip in his hands. In fact, now that I think about it, that was a clue too. He didn’t know what to do with his empty hands.”

  “You’re remarkably observant,” the deputy said to David. It seemed to him the deputy was a bit suspicious. David wondered if the job got to you, so you come to suspect everyone?

  “I’m an observer by profession,” David told him. “I own one of the largest contractors to the government of remote sensing platforms and analysis for the data they collect. We’re the sort of people who observe how many and which cars are in a government agency parking lot in Albania and decide if there a local crisis brewing. It’s actually kind of hard to relax and turn it off.”

  That seemed to make the deputy relax a little. David was expecting him to ask for ID. Now he figured the fellow would just ask the bank for the information later. He probably observed his cards laying on the desk. That was fine. He really hadn’t done anything unusual. If the man suspected him there couldn’t be any close connection between him and the conscience stricken robber to found.

  After the deputy left his cash advance went smoothly.

  “You know, being in the surveillance business, I’d suggest you move your cameras down to eye level or below so somebody with criminal intent can’t pull that trick of hiding his face from the camera.” David showed what he meant by tucking his chin down to his chest.

  “Oh, they know that,” she agreed. “But they have tested and the general public finds the cameras objectionable and invasive if you bring them down pointing right at their face. Most people never look up and the ones on the ceiling don’t offend. It’s not perfect, but it’s better than nothing.”

  “That’s fine, leave those visible,” David agreed, waving a hand at them, “but a very good ultra-high definition camera has a lens smaller than a dime now. You can put a couple up disguised as something else and very few people will ever know they are there. Even a cheap laptop has a good enough camera. You could set one open on the counter behind the tellers and nobody would think a thing of it.”

  The young woman looked surprised. “That’s a good enough idea I’ll suggest it next meeting we have with the higher ups. What is your company’s name rather than name you personally to them?”

  David laid his card on the desk and scooped his money up. “We don’t usually do security type work, but any competent security and alarm business can do that if you explain what you want. Thanks for the transaction.” He stuffed the bills in his wallet and exited.

  The Sheriff’s cars and would be robber were all gone. That was more drama than he’d expected. He did have to think about what he would be able to do if the man had robbed the place or worse threatened people with a weapon. Smacking him in the head like a rabbit with an inexplicably high velocity rock would not be a good solution. It would raise far too many questions. He had to think on how he could use his talents with a little more subtlety. Uncle hadn’t volunteered how the Sahar attacked by hyenas killed them, he’d been happy David didn’t immediately ask how, but now he wished Uncle had eventually shared the knowledge once he saw David wasn’t eager to use it.

  Chapter 17

  Headed back east he took the expressway now, because he was pretty sure there was no search for him or any connection to the failure of the Customs agent’s battery. Traffic was light and he felt good. He stopped at a big box store and got a couple more changes of casual clothing and a bag of socks. The level of hotel he was staying in wouldn’t offer overnight laundry, just a machine he didn’t want to deal with loading and watching. Nothing in the store surprised his new senses. After an hour on the road a rest area came up. David eased over to the right and took the ramp to use the toilet. There were more trucks than cars stopped and a couple people using the dog run. He hadn’t talked to his rocks or sign since this morning so he spoke Mrs. Ayer’s words to all of them after he stopped and put them back in his pockets.

  When he walked toward the door that said - Men’s – with the usual graphic, a tall thin black fellow with dreadlocks came out of the door and visibly recoiled from him. He actually took a couple steps back and put an arm up like he was fending David off.

  David had no idea what the problem was. The man looked like he was having a stroke or some kind of seizure. “Are you OK? Do you need help?” David asked and stepped toward him. That made it much worse, the man turning his head like somebody having a bright light shone in his face and he threw a hand up palm out in a defensive gesture.

  David realized the man’s eyes had gone to David’s chest and then shifted away. He looked down and could see the edge of the sign’s glow in his pocket. It didn’t reflect like normal light and he’d slipped up and put it back in his pocket reversed by accident.

  “Oh, I put this back in my pocket face out.” He quickly pulled it out and flipped it over. “I’m terribly sorry. I didn’t mean to do that. Most folks can’t even see it, as you probably know.”

  The man was leaning back against the brick building. “Do you need a hand to get to your car?” David offered and extended a hand tentatively.

  “Get away from me, you and that,” the man said, staring at his shirt pocket with horror. “I’m not a minion, I can protect myself. I know the sword and shield,” he warned. He made a circle with the palm pointed at David and a new false color David had never seen appeared as a disk between them.

  “I mean you no harm,” David said, showing his own palms to the man. “The disk in my pocket is only supposed to be protective. I don’t intend harm to anyone.”

  “Jus’ stay away.” The man said with the shield between them. The man hadn’t drawn it huge, only as big as a trash can lid, but it seemed to make him feel much better. The color reminded David of gold. He made a wide circuit around David going out onto the grass and hurried to his car.

  A truck driver walked past staring at David and looked back at the retreating man like they were insane. David just lifted his eyebrows and shrugged at the man as if to say he had no idea either. If you could not see the alternative colors their gestures would look bizarre. Inside thinking about it he decided he should have left too. The man might do something to his car. But when he went back out it was untouched and he was relieved. The man would no more have messed with his car than climb the fence to be with a watching bull, but David still didn’t understand the depth of his fear. It wasn’t that he was hostile, it was that the man saw more power there than he wanted to be around on any terms.

  David felt bad about the whole thing. He wasn’t the sort of person who enjoyed a feeling of power from people being afraid of him. Sometimes in his business he was too easy on people, using sarcasm to make his point instead of blunt orders. He was aware employees occasionally got away with things because of that, but neither was there an atmosphere of fear like at some businesses.

 
He’d have to be more careful with the disk. As far as he knew there was no way to turn it off, short of destroying it like he had the one stone. He continued down the road, replaying the whole thing in his mind. Mrs. Ayers intimated he needed other skills Uncle hadn’t given him. He shouldn’t blame him, David decided. He should be grateful for what he was shown and remember Uncle’s instruction was cut short.

  Just like Mrs. Ayers rejected skills she associated with witches Uncle didn’t want anything to do with those of a wizard. But David suspected it was all basically the same physical processes, like fire or electricity. The only real distinction would be how they were used. Not that some might not lend themselves to abuse easier than others. Fire could burn you as well as warm you after all. He certainly didn’t want to disappoint Uncle or his father’s memory in how he used them.

  David was tired early and stopped again well before dark. The hotel might have been the same one he’d left this morning once he was inside the doors. There were green, burgundy and gold logos and decor on everything, all the same. That’s what travelers were buying at a chain, consistency.

  He enjoyed a long shower and looked on his phone for nearby restaurants. There was a Thai place not too far away and that sounded like a nice change. The place was nicer than David expected, with cloth on the tables and none of the cheap ethnic décor some places put on the walls. The colors were subdued and there were real plants not plastic. Portraits of the king and queen of Thailand were present back behind the take out counter and David generally had a good feeling about the place.

  When a man came with a menu David waved it away and asked if he could get Pla Rad Prik? The fellow nodded yes and seemed approving. David added fried tofu with sauce and peanuts and tea.

  When a young woman came with his tea and utensils David got a jolt. The back of her hand had a symbol glowing in false colors. It was a squiggle in writing he didn’t know that looked like it was stamped on her hand in fluorescent ink, but it wasn’t visible to the normal eye. David had no idea how you marked a person with anything like that. The woman gave no sign she was aware of it or reacted to David in any way out of the ordinary.

  David recovered and composed himself. He hadn’t needed to speak to her so he didn’t betray any surprise. His meal went smoothly and the glowing symbol was ignored by everybody. It shook him to be finding things he had no idea existed. He had nobody with whom he could consult to find out what their source and purpose was intended to be. He couldn’t even tell if the woman was aware the mark was on her, and he saw no tactful way to ask. The food was good, but he was made slightly uncomfortable by the mark on her and was happy to leave.

  Tonight he’d stop short of New York in New Jersey and call the attorney Crenshaw’s office near the end of business hours and ask to see him tomorrow. He considered just going in casual clothes, but decided to wear the same suit he’d worn across the Atlantic with a fresh shirt and underwear. If he couldn’t get overnight cleaning he’d hang it to steam in the shower and press it off. Crenshaw was old school and might be offended by khakis and a sports shirt.

  City tax, county tax, state tax and special development district tax were a third of the room price. David had to wonder when they would just seize the property outright. They weren’t a nation so it wouldn’t be nationalization, so what would you call it, besides theft? Still, it was comfortable and they promised his suit cleaned and pressed by 700.

  The secretary at Henry, McPherson, and Crenshaw surprised David by informing him Crenshaw was gone for the day at 1615 and asked if there was a medical emergency or a need for a bond. David would never have suspected Crenshaw would deal with that sort of case or client. But then he had Crenshaw pegged as the sort that would work into the evening too. He assured the young man that leaving a message for him to read in the morning would be quite sufficient.

  David would drop off the rental car and hire a ride into the city in the morning. A car was a liability in the city as far as he was concerned. He’d reserve a second night in case Crenshaw couldn’t see him tomorrow. He thought about calling the office and couldn’t think of a good reason why he should.

  David ordered a pizza delivered, not wanting to go back out and informed the front desk. When it arrived the hotel sent security up with the deliveryman and they escorted him back down. It made David wonder if the neighborhood was more dangerous than he’d thought looking at it. That made him smile and remember the hotel in Djibouti. They were much more concerned about him stepping out in the night than during the day. Perhaps it was the same here.

  He ate half the pizza and had a beer from the mini-bar that probably cost more than the pizza. The pie wasn’t as good as the pizza he was enjoying with Uncle when he’d been encouraged to flee the country. But then it had been delivered warm in a cardboard box, not rushed from a brick oven he could see straight to his table, too hot to touch.

  David lay on the bed, full and reasonably content, thinking deeply about his changes in both his circumstances and the way things seem. The way he saw the world working had changed radically from the things Uncle showed him. Things really were not the way they seemed to him before his quest. He was pretty sure he was really just scratching surface of this parallel world unseen to him before. The way he kept finding new things Uncle never showed him surprised him. It was probably going to be a much bigger deal all around once he got into it than his surveillance and analysis business.

  Already, he was seeing there were people like Mrs. Ayers and the crazy fellow at the rest area who knew and used this alternative reality just like Uncle, but by different rules and with slightly different benefits. It would be interesting to find out how each arrived at their different traditions. David had no doubt that if he showed Uncle the tricks Mrs. Ayers showed him Uncle would clap his hands in joy and declare them wonderful, adapting them to his own use. Yet neither of them were studying why these things worked on a rational basis. Their traditional means of using them was entirely empirical and taught by example or rote.

  There was no use worrying about dealing with Crenshaw tomorrow. The man seemed determined to discharge his duty about the will exactly as his father instructed. It wouldn’t surprise him if his relatives had been busy consulting their own lawyers about the possibility of breaking the will. And what if they did? Would he actually be harmed in any significant way? He had plenty of money to live comfortably. Making more money was a trick he’d learned early on, so he couldn’t see any circumstances in which he would be reduced to actual want.

  His father had made the making of money his actual first goal, how he did it was secondary. He’d switched where he directed his resources and efforts several times over his life to maximize that goal. He’d had no real interest in the food industry, real estate, or investing in stocks except as a way to gather wealth. If he’d lived longer he might well have shifted his business focus yet again.

  David in contrast was deeply interested in both the science behind remote sensing and the deeper puzzles about how to analyze the data collected. He’d found if you excel at a difficult endeavor the wealth followed as a consequence. If people ignored your superior service for something as vital as intelligence for petty political reasons or nepotism they paid a much dearer price that the money involved. They were easily bypassed in the long run by those supplied with better information and superior ability to keep their own activities confidential.

  If Mark and his other relatives wanted to contest with him, he was entirely willing to allow his father’s instructions to eat the inheritance up for legal fees to take place. He wouldn’t even take a hand in it or watch it closely. He had his own life and interests to pursue and wouldn’t get side-tracked into letting a legal battle consume his attention. The new things Uncle taught him were a bigger and more lasting legacy than any lump sum of cash. A shift in the economy like happened periodically could wipe out half the value of that inheritance in a couple days.

  David suspected this new puzzle of all the previously unseen r
eality around him would eventually make him more money than his previous business. He’d have to give careful consideration to how much of his time and attention went to the old business and how much he spent on discovering how this new thing worked.

  That line of thought made David think again of the incident at the rest area. What that scared fellow did was unlike anything Uncle showed him. He’d been able to induce electricity by thinking about the false colors he’d seen in nature, but the hue the man painted with his palm was different. He’d never seen that color examining his surroundings with his new senses.

  Then he had a chill of fear run up his neck at a memory, making his hair stand up. He lifted his arm and discovered he had goose bumps the memory was so strong. The golden color of the man’s shield was the full opaque version of the translucent brassy aura around the hole in the air the crab-like creature had used. Did he really want to mess with anything that might open such a hole?

  David rubbed his arms and let the emotional jolt fade away. It wasn’t unreasoning fear. That creature and any more like it were dangerous. How did one control and minimize that danger? The size of the hole seemed an obvious first place. If the hole wasn’t big enough for that huge claw to grab you and drag you back through it should be safe, if the creature couldn’t expand it once open. On the other hand, he had tools now he hadn’t when he’d seen Uncle deal with the evil thing.

  Uncle burned the claw up after breaking it off. The way it burned suggested the creatures body fluids were more an oily substance like kerosene than water. It burned with a thick black smoke. Now that he could control the flow of heat he could quickly hit such a claw with a hot spot that might even ignite it if the creature didn’t yank it back in pain. Uncle hadn’t used such a thing as a weapon, but David realized Uncle had to concentrate and took some time to even ignite a dry fire started shaved to make it easy to ignite. Similarly, freezing could be a weapon. That had been an entirely new trick to Uncle. He had to explore what you could do with that tool further. He’d heated a small ball of air to incandescence experimenting. He was pretty sure Uncle couldn’t do that unaided. Could he heat it along a line instead of to a point? If you heated it fast enough could you get the nitrogen to lase? Uncle would never even think to try that, because he didn’t understand how things work.