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Chapter 152: The Complete Idiot's Guide to Ethical Kidnapping
🕑 Added 2019-05-13 20:51:26 +0000 UTCCan I help you? Garth asked, barely able to restrain his irritation.
Ah, sorry, umm, sir. She stammered, her eyes flitting about the room, looking at a bunch of things she wasnt supposed to be looking at. I didnt mean to-
Sir? Does she not know who I am? Garth glanced down at his grey-purple wrinkled skin. No, she does not. lets see what we can do with that.
You didnt mean to what? Garth demanded, deepening his voice and making it not-Garthy. Did you trip, disassemble the laser cutter and secure it to the wall? Then I suppose you sneezed and programmed it to cut a wide cone, which is the only kind of door that would have moved in a four foot-thick wall!
I just, um wanted to see what was on the other side. She said quietly.
Well, now you have, Garth said.
If you little spores could produce a drug that depresses the part of the central nervous system that creates memories for the next say, twelve hours, that would be great.
summoning mana around him, Garth created a channel of air with amnesia-causing spores. Not full-blown retrograde amnesia, just preventing the limbic system from doing its job so great for a little while.
It was just as Garth was creating his vaporized rophypnol that Tad entered the room behind Caitlyn.
Hey I heard some weird stuff going on, Whats Whoah. Tads loose jaw hung open as he rubbernecked around Garths most sensitive equipment.
Seriously?
Garth waved his hand, blasting Tad and Caitlyn in the face with the channel of drugged air. Now I have to move Tads body too and Im weak as hell.
Cleaning this door up is going to be a pain in the ass, Garth thought as he fixed the Caitlyn problem. I mean, thats at least a ton of hardwood right there, and if I ash it, Ill have maybe five hundred pounds of fluffy white ash to deal with. Maybe I can make it grow legs and walk itself out. Or cut it into manageable chunks, make those grow legs and walk out the front door.
Garth had already moved on to cleanup mode when Caitlyn flinched and raised her hand. A gold bracelet on her wrist flared with light and a Force shield popped into place in front of her, turning the drug-laden wind away. Beside her, Tad drew a startled gasp before slumping to the ground.
Oh right, she can see mana.
What did you just try to do to me? She whispered, looking down at Tads collapsed form, her face missing that rosy hue Garth had gotten used to.
Garth strained to lace his pruny fingers together, using his connection to the dungeon to spin his chair to fully face her. It might have been a mistake, since he wasnt wearing anything, but Caitlyn was already too alarmed for that to bother her.
Well, Edward and I dont like people rudely breaking into parts of the house that are clearly not meant to be accessed, but unlike him, Im a generally nice guy. Ill just make it so you dont remember a moment of this, and you can go back to bed. If Edward finds out about this, hell probably kill you.
So, Garth said, leaning forward in his chair. Be a good girl and take a deep breath of the drugged air so we can move on.
With a casual effort of will, Garth dismantled the bracelet with thin strands of Force. The shield flickered out of existence, and the drugged air caught her across the face.
Caitlyns eyes widened, but she clenched her jaw and tried to turn, her face slamming against the newly repaired hole in the wall. The redheaded girl stumbled silently backwards and turned to face him.
I dont want to. She said, using up her precious air.
Obviously.
I want to know.
Want to know what? Garth asked, but the girl stayed silent, eyes on the mana in the air that was swirling around her.
Garth rolled his eyes and pushed the drugged air away from her, replacing it with clean, breathable air that wouldnt roofie her the moment she inhaled.
Speak.
Caitlyn took a deep breath.
I want to know what this is. How it works, how its made, what its history is. She pointed at the ritual circle, the Processing Plant, the Phylactery and its interface. Things like this havent existed on Earth since before the fall of man.
Garth scoffed.
Wrong about that, he said with a smile.
Then tell me if Im wrong. Ive spent my whole life listening to fairy tales, stories about the magical things the ancients could do. Glass towers that scraped against the sky, giant metal machines that flew in the sky, part golem metal police officers who protected the citizens of Detroit. Now the door to all the things Ive dreamed of is sitting right in front of me. I have to take it.
Garth cleared his throat.
That last one didnt actually happen. That was just a story.
Damn. She lowered her voice, crestfallen. What about the flying machines?
Yeah, those were real. Garth shrugged.
A hint of a smile came back to her face.
Well, if thats all youve got to say Garth said, gathering the mana to put her to sleep.
Wait! Caitlyn squawked, pressing her back against the wall. I wont tell anyone, I promise, I just want to learn!
God, I hate it when people beg. Since it usually works on me. Garth wasnt the hardest hearted fellow in the world, especially when his victims had time to grovel. I suppose thats why groveling exists.
I promise, Ill keep it a secret, she sobbed, sliding down the wall.
Oh, goddamnit, now shes crying. A lifetime of conditioning screamed in his ear to do anything to make a crying woman stop. Garth knew that was what was happening, but it didnt make it any easier to ignore.
Look, theres a lot of people out there who can literally read minds, and I would bet anything some of them are in this Inquisition youre so afraid of, so your promise to keep a secret doesnt really hold water, does it?
Ill do anything! I I dont even have to leave! she said, her flecked green eyes upturned. Just let me learn!
Garth opened his mouth with a witty response, then closed it again. He rested his chin on his fist, considering the outcome.
That might work. Creative kidnapping. If this time period is anything like the middle ages, it might not be entirely off the table to legally buy a child from their parents. I could bribe her family to just let me have her.
Garth glanced down at the slender redhead silently watching him deliberate.
Plus nobody says I have to keep her prisoner forever. After just a couple years, I think Ill have enough power to allow her to leave without risking anything. And if the world finds out about my existence anywhere in that time, I could let her go, damage done.
Like a foreign exchange student. That you buy from her parents. Her parents, who are probably under the assumption that youll be raping her on a regular basis.
Oy, this is tricky.
Sir?
Hold on, Im thinking.
He could also use Operant Conditioning to make it more difficult for her to spill the beans, but woven through that thought was the temptation to be a general sleazeball and use it to train her according to his whims.
Man, Im terrible, but I really, reeeeaally wanna do that. I could slowly open the door to a whole world of-
Behind Garths eyebrows, his superego went to war with his Wilson, while he struggled to find a compromise between the two. Garth knew that if he did curse her with the spell, there was every chance of Caitlyn losing her self-determination, becoming nothing more than a plaything, and that was bad.
On the other hand, if he didnt do it, he would be constantly tempted to, and would probably wind up casting a version of the spell on her that was ill advised.
Best thing to do might be to carefully set up a set of rules, and then run them by her. maybe a contract she can rip up if it gets too weird.
Garth briefly recalled when hed reverse engineered the Inner Sphere Postal Services targeting system, that allowed the mail to find someone anywhere in the multiverse with just a name.
Garth had taken a slice of mythic core and mana-sensitive ink to pull the enchantment to the surface of the paper and create an outline of its shape. Good times.
I could probably piggyback the spell onto a contract targeting her or something like that, so if she didnt like where things were going, she could rip it up.
Not a bad compromise That really just leaves the parents.
Let me ask you a purely hypothetical question, Caitlyn. Garth said.
She swallowed a lump in her throat and nodded. ...Okay.
In this day and age, how would I go about buying a girl from her parents? whats the social conventions there?
Sometimes, talented children are adopted or married across families to bring them closer together. The Chairs of the two houses will negotiate terms, then the Patriarchs of each family will review and then ratify them.
That seems long and complicated, Garth said. Any way to speed that up?
In the case that a childs value to their family is greatly diminished, such as in the case of death, dismemberment, brain damage, or any other condition that renders the child unable to perform their duties, the responsible party must pay the Patriarch a penalty and take responsibility for the childs well-being.
Like, you broke it, you bought it?
Im not sure what that means.
Ugh, doesnt that mean Id still have to tell him that I caused irreparable harm to the guys cute daughter? Im sure thatd go over well. Maybe I can shift the blame a little, and wow them at the same time Garths plan once they got back started percolating.
Follow up hypothetical question. Does Ill do anything include being stuck here for at least the next two years, and being subject to a rather invasive curse designed to modify your behavior and prevent you from speaking about my identity?
She met his eye and took a deep breath.
Yes.
Excellent, Garth said, rubbing his leathery hands together. Lets get started with the contract. Fetch me the paper from the corner over there, along with some of the scrap core outside.
Contract?
Yes, I want it written down on paper, so you understand everything that Ill be doing, and to define and limit the powers of the curse.
That sounds good, but what about Edward? Should I wake him?
Im Edward. Garth said.
So youre the nine hundred year old wizard? That makes sense. She said, glancing at his withered, impotent form. Is Edward just a puppet then? Ive never seen any mana entering him.
Less talky, more fetchie. Garth said, using telekinesis to swat her on the butt, opening the wall to the work room.
Caitlyn yelped and hustled out of the room.
I really do need to switch bodies. Garth thought as he inspected himself. He ached everywhere, even his organs, but he needed to stay in this body until hed finished casting her Operant Conditioning. When he moved bodies again, hed take another huge step backward in power.
Garth glanced at the processing plant currently digesting the eleven goblin Heartstones. A tiny drip of liquid fell from the pipe, dropping down onto his Phylactery. The drop of liquid scintillated with the brilliant colors of the rainbow in the instant it hung in the air before spattering on the roots of his Phylactery.
The strange drop of liquid looked a bit like the odd pink, blue and yellow rainbow colors of an oil slick a moment before the tree absorbed it. The sight brought a smile to his face. I really need to let Mark, Mike, and Ike out to play tomorrow. See what happens.
At a certain point their exponential growth in numbers might overwhelm his ability to process the raw mana stones, but it would be an excellent problem to have.
If there was one thing Garth appreciated, it was labor-saving automation.
Thats what being a wizard is about.
*****
Okay, I understand the panic attack if I try to tell people who you are, but I dont know who you are. Caitlyn said, leafing through the long-winded NDA.
It wouldnt take you long. Garth said, pointing over his shoulder at the Phylactery. What do you see?
Purple men in egg-fruits? she asked.
And who do you know that is purple?
Garthspawn Her brows furrowed in confusion for a while, then her eyes widened. Garth?
That wasnt that hard. Garth said. Keep reading.
Youre Garth.
Yes. Keep reading.
The Dark Father of Sin.
People just call me that. My daughters were angels, Im sure.
Caitlyn was slowly backing away from him, eyes wide, breathing in short gasps.
Oh come on, we made it this far. You were willing to trust a strange ancient entity whose identity was unclear with a free pass to alter your behavior, why are you making a big deal out of this now? I thought you wanted to know what really happened back then? Trust me, theres no one on earth who remembers the before-times better than me.
You caused the fall of man. She said quietly.
Lies.
You wiped out an entire city.
Total fabrication.
You carved an evil text into the backs of a thousand men.
What, like the Necronomicon? Garth asked. First of all, there were only five hundred men, and it wasnt some evil ancient spellbook or something stupid like that. I had them write apology letters for attacking Clarkstown and then carved them into their backs. Standard stuff, really. I didnt even skin them.
Cmon, Garth said, exasperated at the typical fear response that had been driven into her by so many fairy tales that painted him as the devil. We both know I could have forced you to forget about all this, and to be brutally honest, youre not important enough for me to trick. This is me humoring your unbridled curiosity.
Garth leaned forward. Do you want to know everything that I know, or do you want to wake up tomorrow morning none the wiser? Choose.
Caitlyn began reading the contract again. What are major and minor positive and negative reinforcement?
Oh, you know, minor and major negative reinforcement are minor and major anxiety in response to a code phrase spoken by me, while positive reinforcement will allow the curse to stimulate the reward circuit in your brain, also to a code phrase. Dont worry, I cant actually see what youre thinking or alter it in any way. Were only concerned with behavioral psychology here. The minor positive reinforcement would be no different than say, getting patted in the head by your dad for doing a good job, or a hug from someone you like.
What about the major positive reinforcement.
Oh, Ill probably barely use it, Garth said dismissively.
But what is it? she persisted.
Oh, its just a teensy, tiny, Garth coughed into his hand, Orgasm.
Caitlyns brows climbed her forehead while her eyes narrowed, looking at him with a bit of disdain. You really are a dirty old man, arent you?
Bah, judge me if you want, just keep reading the contract.
Once Caitlyn read through the entire thing, she finally agreed to two years of house arrest and allowed him to cast Operant Conditioning on her after signing.
I dont feel any different? she said once the spell took root inside her.
Because I havent done anything.
I was half afraid you were going you were going to start toying with me the moment the spell took. She let out a relieved sigh and brushed back her messy red locks.
Pfft, Garth scoffed. You gotta use that shit slowly and sparingly. Especially since Im not drugging you like headmaster Gloria.
What?
Aaaanyway, Garth said, changing the subject. Can I borrow that pistol of yours?
In an odd move, Caitlyn pulled up her nightgown, revealing her long, slender legs. Garths gaze unconsciously climbed up them until he spotted something leather and steel strapped to her leg.
No way, you sleep with that thing?
Its a dangerous world. She said, handing the pistol strapped to her leg to him.
Wonder why she didnt pull it on me. She was probably pretty close to it, though.
I appreciate it, Garth said the minor trigger as he received the gun, causing Caitlyn to smile dreamily for a moment before she frowned, brows furrowed.
Was that a code phrase? she asked, squinting at him suspiciously.
Dont know what youre talking about, Garth said, putting the barrel of the gun to his eyeball.
Wait!-
He pulled the trigger.
Comments
Macronomicon
Yeah, he’s going through those fast.
Frogspoison
2 bodies gone already. Hasn't it barely been a month and a half?
Thundermike00
Wow awful night, watching someone blow there brains out in front of you with your own gun.
Bob
The real question is, can he keep a body he doesn't want all the time? Can he Hulk himself, and stick it in a colossal wooden golem exo-suit? It looks like the has the tools for it.
Kemizle
I know this isn’t a harem but couldn’t he have too lovers that won’t throw the story off?
Tommy Littlefield
Well that’s one way to off yourself and make an impression on somebody at the same time
Macronomicon
Huh? Whaddya mean? That fifteen years is the amount of time it takes a Garth-fruit to mature. He’s got five more mature ones.
BlissForgotten
Brb, waiting on respawn timer? What a world Garth has sculpted.
Thundermike00
No biggie man all humans should visit their mothers during Mother’s Day if they can.
Chad B. Sonnen
His top priority should be to remain hidden. He got duped the first time bcause he was openly making huge waves and should have had a puppet to carry the blame and praises all the same. Even when he finally gains power, it's a safe bet to remain hidden as some lluminati leader.
Macronomicon
Sorry I missed Mothers day, had to visit the In-laws.
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