D.O.M.R.A.D. # 7

I hate US Air. We booked a flight for my daughter on Sunday, and they cancelled it. She lost a day of her vacation, and they did nothing.

The first flight had not had a connecting flight. The new one did. We asked them to have someone on the ground at the next stop to be sure that my underage daughter didn’t have trouble getting to her next plane. I didn’t want her stranded in a strange city.

They didn’t have anyone there. It was lucky that some of the other passengers were going to the same flight. She followed along with them.

What other industry do you take a persons money and fail to deliver, then make promises and fail to deliver, and still no be held accountable? This is horrible and I am very dissatisfied with the airline.

The problem is that you can’t do anything about it. The tell you what their policies are and if you don’t like it, tough. This is total bullshit, but if we don’t all work together to make a difference, nothing will change.

I keep telling myself that the important thing is that she made it. She didn’t miss out on all of her spring break and she is safe.

I am still pissed though. I would sacrifice someone’s heart to the dark gods if I thought it would help.

Enough griping, I hope you enjoy the story.

L. E. White

Department of Magical Research and Development

# 7

Tom opened the door to his lab and motioned for Sam to go in. “Alright,” he said. “Now that we have gotten away from the rest of them, I think its time to cut the shit.”

“Huh?”

“You might not be a major talent, but you are really close.”

“No way,” Sam said. “There has to be some mistake.”

“There isn’t.”

“How do you know?”

“Because,” Tom said as he walked over to the second door. “They picked me to be your guide this week.”

When the second door opened, Sam’s jaw dropped. It wasn’t a closet, but another full room. There were large rings on the floor and symbols had been painted between the rings. Inside the ring, three naked women whithered around. At first, all Sam could focus on were the six bouncing, jiggling breasts that seemed to never hold still. Then, he curled his lip when he realized that the women were all connected. They looked like some kind of conjoined triplets, but they connected in multiple places.

“Give you credit,” Tom said. “Most teenage boys would have tried to just walk in and join them.”

Sam shook his head and stepped back into the door way.

“This is a demon,” Tom said. “A dangerous creature that feeds on the energy that binds your mind to your body. They eat people and leave them lying around like gum wrappers when they are done.”

“Why the hell do you have it in here?”

“Because they are useful. I will bind this one to a weapon and it will power it up, making it more dangerous. Think of them like adding a ton of dynamite to hammer before you hit something with it.”

Tom walked over and picked up an old revolver. “Come here.”

Sam worked for the next few hours, helping Tom to prepare the weapon. When they finished, Tom had Sam sit down on the rooms only stool.

“Watch carefully.”

Tom began to chant. Each word was deep and resonated in his chest. As he spoke, Sam felt the hair on his arms stand up. The symbols on the floor began to glow and they got brighter and brighter until Sam was forced to cover his eyes.

The light flashed off, the demon was gone, and the ratty old revolver looked brand new as Tom put it into a box.

“That was it?”

Tom laughed. “You just watched a man lock a demon into a pistol and you ask if that was it?”

Sam shrugged and Tom laughed again as he led him out of the room.

“Alright Sam, time to get to the brass tack.”

“The what?”

“Old saying, means get to the bottom of things.”

Sam nodded.

“Most of the people here can’t do much more than feel energy. They do what they can and get together to do bigger things through team work. You understand?”

Sam nodded again.

“I don’t need to get a group together to do most of the things that I want to. You won’t either.”

“How do you know?”

Tom grabbed a crystal off of a shelf and tossed it to Sam. When he caught it, the stone lit up like an light bulb.

“Because it takes someone pretty high on the list to be able to ignite a light stone.”

“Kid, the major talents are one in a billion. You and I are probably one in a million. You will be able to do things the others will never consider. They won’t have the power to have even seen the chance, so they won’t think of it.”

Sam gulped.

“Do you think you would like to be able to see and do things that almost no one else in the world can even dream of?’

His answer was no more than a whisper. “Yeah.”

Tom smiled. “Good, now let’s see if you can help me summon another of those things.”

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Post Lexington Comic and Toy Convention (#LCTC2015) and D.O.M.R.A.D. #6

I have to say I had a blast at the Lexington Comic and Toy Convention this year. We both went down to work the weekend and it was fantastic. My wife got to assist Jim Cummings and she loved it. She has worked with Jim before, and was excited when she found out she would be working with him again. Considering that I know they were drinking together, I have to say I am a little jealous.

I started the weekend helping Deep Roy, but ended up being a general runner and helping everyone. While it felt like I ended up hiking at least a dozen miles over Saturday and Sunday, it meant that I was able to meet more people and hear more stories. I couldn’t have asked for a better experience. I just need to remember to wear track shoes rather than my work boots next year.

Below today’s story are the photos I had the chance to take. There are a few displays, but most of them are of various cos-players who were kind enough to pose. Thank you to every one of you.

My personal favorite in terms of ‘Gee Wiz’ factor is the steam punk ghostbuster. The picture is a little blurry and that is my fault, but I didn’t see him again to get a better picture. I’m hoping to see him again next year and fix that.

I hope you enjoy the continuation of the D.O.M.R.A.D. serial. I am having a lot of fun with the world building. Let me know if you have any ideas or questions from this. Since it is all pre-writing for a future, large piece, I would love to hear what you think.

L. E. White

Department of Magical Research and Development

#6

Walter looked around the room at pictures of Joey shaking hands with soldiers and people in suits. He went along without a word until he stood in front of Walter’s diploma. “You have a doctorate in physics?”

“Yeah,” Joey said as he sat down behind his desk. “I decided to get a conventional education after I finished my degree here.”

“Degree here?”

Joey nodded and indicated the chair across from his desk. Walter sat and looked at the chess board that dominated most of it. “When you come here out of high school, everyone you know will be told you are attending Benjamin Franklin University. If you Google it, you will see that we are a fully accredited school that offers a wide curriculum. We do not have any athletics programs though all students are required to take a few physical education credits.”

“So what programs are there?”

“There is really only one,” Joey said. “You come here to study magic. While we will test to find your particular talents, it isn’t a subject where you get to pick a major.”

Walter made a face and looked down. “So it isn’t a real degree then.”

“Not like you are thinking of one, no.” Joey cracked open a bottle of water and took a big drink. He offered Walter a bottle and he took it, although he didn’t open it right away.

“Walter, we are here to study magic in a scientific way. We do a lot of work and research to help protect our country and to help protect our world. This school offers a degree so that your family and friends will buy what is going on.”

“Then I think we are done here,” Walter said. “I’m not interested in some bullshit degree from a made up school.”

Joey shook his head. “It isn’t quite like that.”

“Then how is it?”

“You get a degree in magic from here, and it is listed as a complicated, hard to define degree that doesn’t use the word magic. You still have all sorts of general education, but your focus will be on magic. Once you are a contributing member of the department, you can take any class you want at any university in the country.”

Walter sat forward.”Any?”

Joey smiled and nodded. “Any. You must continue your magical research though. As long as you are working and you attend the mandatory monthly meetings here, you can go to any college, for any degree, for free.”

Walter swallowed hard.

“That’s why I agreed to do this in the first place,” Joey said. “It is also why we were partnered up. We have a lot in common.”

Walter licked his lips.

“You can’t make a decision without more info though.” Joey hefted himself out of the chair and motioned for Walter to follow. “Let me show you what I’ve been working on.”

Joey put on a heavy pair of gloves and carefully opened a small metal box on his workbench. He lifted out one of a dozen tiny blocks of wood and put it on a scorched steel plate. “This is my most recent project.”

“It looks like a piece of wood.”

“It is.”

Walter looked at him and grinned. “I ain’t making no wise ass comment.”

“Alright,” Joey said. “You know how wood doesn’t burn, but the wood gas does right?”

Walter nodded.

“Well, I am developing a spell that will release all of the wood gas in a burst. Making any block of wood into a firebomb.”

“Why? They already invented grenades.”

“True, but magical fire is needed to summon spirits. By enchanting the wood, I make the fire magical. Then we can use it to create something else.”

Joey picked up the block, whispered a word to it, and sat it back down on the plate.

The door rattled when the block exploded.

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Lexington Comic and Toy Convention plus D.O.M.R.A.D. #5

I am really excited. The wife and I will be working at the Lexington Comic and Toy Convention this weekend. You will be able to expect another post about the wonderful people, complete with lots of pictures of the cos-players, next week. If you are in the area, I hope I get to see you there.

I am also looking forward to getting a bunch of Miskatonic University shirts.

Until then, I hope you enjoy another installment of world building.

L. E. White

Department of Magical Research and Development

# 5

Charity followed Elese down a long hall that was covered with photos. Each photo showed a group of soldiers, a few included people in lab coats.

“These are pictures of the special forces teams that our group has worked with over the years,” Elese said. “In a few special cases, we even get to be in the picture.”

“Why do you work with special forces teams,” Charity asked.

“Most of what we research is for military application. Magic is a very powerful force in nature, but it has some very real limits. Because of that, we try to find creative ways to apply what we know. The government is more willing to fund us if we are working for it rather than for humanitarian efforts.”

Charity stopped and Elese turned around to face her. “You mean we would be working on killing people when we could be curing cancer or something?”

“Not exactly,” Elese said. “The thing is, that its really hard for us to use magic like what you’re thinking of. By being creative, we can find ways to accomplish things without expending a ton of power.” She stepped over to one of the photos and touched the frame. “With healing, there aren’t very many ways to get creative. You have to either eliminate the problem and let the body fix itself afterward or you have to speed up how the body fixes itself.”

She turned around to face Charity and offered her a weak smile. “I started out here researching healing. A lot of people do. None of us ever found a better way for things like cancer. In a way, cancer is its own form of life. It is very hard to change that without changing the person who is being treated in a bad way.”

Charity kept looking at one of the pictures, frowning.

“I am sorry, but everything has limits. Even magic.”

“What about the major talents?”

Elese smiled. “The last guy who tried to do something like that was able to help people, but he could only help one person at a time. He was one of the most powerful people who has ever lived.”

They walked on along the hall, both of them being very quiet.

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D.O.M.R.A.D. #4 – Edited!

Just the story. I hope you enjoy it.

L. E. White

*** EDITED ***

This was listed as #3 because I got the numbering wrong. If you came to this post because of a notification, I am sorry. I goofed.

Department of Magical Research and Development

# 4

“Okay,” Tom said. “What’s your question Dave?”

Dave lowered his hand and cleared his throat. “Are you sure that we are all minor talents?”

Amelia perked up, showing a wide, toothy grin. “No. If you have non-human blood somewhere in your family and we don’t know about it, then you might, with training, reach the mid-range.”

“So you have to train to be able to use your powers,” Walter asked.

“Right,” Joey nodded as he answered. “Just like working out.”

“How are you sure that none of them are major talents,” Sam asked. “If you have to train it, then how do you know?”

Tom looked at Sam for a moment, his eyes narrowing as he did so. “Major talents display differently. Just like intelligence. You can study to learn more and be able to do more, but studying won’t make you smarter. Your IQ doesn’t really change over time. Magical power works the same way. Yes, you can train your power to be able to use it, but it is a mostly set value.”

Charity began to open her mouth and raise her hand, but Elese stopped her. “Would you guys rather see some of what we are doing? Maybe see if you can help us?”

***

Amelia led Dave to a small room that was covered in pink. As he looked around, he raised on eyebrow, his lip curled up in disgust.

“Not a fan of pink?”

He shook his head no, but didn’t say anything else.

“Every one of us that works her has our own lab,” she said. “You may decorate yours in any way you wish.”

She motioned for him to follow her, and they walked over to a table that was covered tools and scrap metal. “My primary talent is binding spirits to items.”

Dave pressed his lips into a tight, flat line and gave her a slow nod.

Amelia grinned and handed him a box. “Take a look at the crystals in here.”

When he picked up one of the stones after opening the lid, Dave started feeling like he was drunk. “What the fuck,” he said, dropping the box and covering his mouth with his hand.

“The spirit in the stone tried to communicate with you. If you had been able to hear it, it would have tried to make a deal with you to get its freedom.”

Dave dry heaved, and Amelia handed him a small trashcan.

“These spirits are pretty simple,” she said. “I move them from the crystal into one of these pieces of metal that I call a cage. I put a symbol of containment on the metal and then the tech guys put the cage into a rocket propelled grenade.”

Dave was starting to get some color back without having vomited. He shook his head just a little. “Why?”

Amelia’s face lit up with excitement as she answered. “Because when the grenade goes off, the explosion releases the spirit. Then it is free to run around and tear stuff up until someone can banish it or re-bind it.”

“So what good is that?”

“Let me show you.”

***

Amelia led Dave out to a practice area which had a bunch of vehicles and equipment in it. The walked up to a table and Amelia picked up the launcher lying on it. “This is an RPG launcher. I want you to face that car out there.”

Dave turned his head to look at it.

“No Dave,” she said. “I want you to turn your body and face it.”

After he did, his guide sat the RPG on his shoulder and helped him get his hands into place. “When you are ready and you have the cross hairs on the car, pull the trigger.”

He grinned when he fired.

The grenade exploded on impact, sending a plum of black smoke into the air. As Dave watched, the fire took shape, molding into the form of a large man. It threw its arms into the air as if it were celebrating a great victory, then charged at the truck that was next in the line.

When the flames rushed around it, another explosion shook the ground.

The spirit managed to get to four of the cars before it ran out of fuel. The fire dropped in size, moving from raging blaze to wisps of smoke in seconds, and then Dave could make out the form of a child that was shrinking as its legs crumbled. It fell to the ground with a crash, and crumbled into dust.

“What the fuck?”

“I know, right?”

Dave looked at Amelia, and he could see light shooting out of her eyes like high beams.

“The spirit, as you just saw, is very dangerous. They are creatures of fire, and they rage around, destroying anything they can touch, until running out of fuel. Then, they die and we summon new creatures.”

“You did that?”

“Kind of,” Amelia said. “I worked with a group to build up enough energy to summon it. I can bind it by myself, but I have to have help to bring it over and lock it into a crystal.”

Dave stared, his jaw hanging open, until A,elia led him away.

As the walked down the hall, Dave shook his head. “What the hell do you call that thing after you bind it to the missle.”

“I still call it a RPG,” she said. “Only after they put the plate into it, it stops being a rocket propelled grenade and transform into a rocket propelled gremlin.

Dave actually laughed out loud while following his guide to what he hoped was another explosives demonstration.