3 Bright Eyed

Dinner went well, as the two conversed. Zeph learned that this world wasn't the one from his memories. He suspected that of course. The fact that he came back from the dead was a big give-away. There was also that magic crystal that taught him a new language. Oddly enough though, this world was remarkably similar to his last. There was technology just as advanced as what he remembered, but it functioned through a combination of science and magic. The biggest difference was that the world, Ern as they called it, was riddled with monsters. Yup, honest to goodness magical beasts ready to rip, tear and ravage any poor soul who came across them. The result was that mages were set as the protectors of mankind. The less battle inclined helped progress society, while the others kept everyone from getting killed. Zeph told Bernard what he remembered of his world. The old guy was somewhat impressed to learn how far society had advanced without the use of magic but claimed that a world without monsters should have at least gotten that far. They were playing on "easy" mode as he called it. Zeph started to realize how peculiar his new grey haired friend was as they spent more time together. He was happy, exuberant, and showed all the symptoms of a sugar rush whenever the conversation steered towards something that interested him. It took a bit of getting used to, but Zeph was really starting to like this old man.

Bernard, on the other hand, was pleasantly surprised at his newfound friend's demeanor. He was very well spoken and he was a great listener. It seemed that Zeph had at least started to accept his new existence, which was good. As Bernard noticed how stable and calm the boy was, he started to get the urge to gather data. Experimentation had to wait though. This young man in a child's body needed to know a bit more about his new living environment. Bernard almost laughed out loud when he saw Zeph's reaction to the fact that dragon's existed, those mean bastards. Zeph was also surprised to find that much of the country was untamed. Large cities were spread throughout land where monster populations were low. 'It seems like nature did a better job of keeping humanity in check in this world than my last one,' thought Zeph. Finally, the conversation hit the point that Zeph was most interested in...Magic!

"So basically, we were able to pull mana from the environment and use it as a power source. Mana, by the way, is what we call the raw form of magic. After years of trial and error, we were able to create mana engines and generators that don't give off any pollution." Bernard finished his summary on how cities provided power to the citizens.

"That's pretty impressive. Good news is that I won't miss the internet, TV, games and all the other modern luxuries that I remember. By the way, speaking of magic, is there any possibility for me to learn some?" Zeph said with an expectant look.

Bernard almost laughed. Partly because Zeph looked like a puppy eyeing a piece of bacon, but mostly because the boy was almost walking magic. If this kid couldn't do magic, then the sky might as well turn purple and rain lemon bars.

"You can my boy, and I believe you'd be damn good at it. Problem is we don't know the full extent of what your new body is capable of. This brings me to a question I've wanted to ask. Would you mind living as an experiment?"

"Huh! Zeph said slightly shocked. He was feeling great knowing that he could use magic, but the next part short-circuited his brain.

"It won't be anything threatening or dangerous. I, along with your help, will test out your capabilities, boundaries, and for lack of a better term....functionality. Basically, I want to see how you work, why you're alive. I mean your soul is currently residing in my life's greatest work. And that work is functioning way beyond what it was intended to do. In return, I'll give you a place to stay, an Identity and try to answer any questions you have about yourself or this world." Bernard said, trying to persuade Zeph.

Zeph blinked at the explanation and then paused. "Sure I guess that's okay. I mean I'm pretty curious about that stuff as well.

"Great we'll start in the morning. Until then I'll get my lab ready. While we're at it I'll tell you more about the city and teach you a bit of magic. I'll also prepare a set of my old clothes for you to wear; we can't have you running around in a sheet.

"Sounds good," Zeph said as a smile spread across his face.

"Are there any other daily supplies that you'd like? I'll order them tonight and they should get here in a couple of days."

Zeph thought for a little bit, "I think just some clothes and toiletries should do it. That'll cover my immediate needs."

Dinner finished and the two cleaned the table and placed the dishes in the dishwasher. Then they headed their separate ways. Zeph was shown to the guest room, while Bernard headed toward the lab with a giddy look slapped across his face.

________________________________________________________________

It was the next day and the two had finished breakfast. They were currently now in the lab. Bernard had cleared an area for their testing last night. Zeph started to marvel at the size of the house. He hasn't seen the outside yet. But if the rooms were any indication, it was a mansion. While he was busy looking around, Bernard started setting up everything for his experiment.

"So, Bernie, I noticed that you got a lot of expensive looking stuff and this house is huge. What exactly do you do for a living, aside from kidnapping poor helpless souls?" Zeph smirked

"Lift your arm," Bernard said as he placed a sensor on the boy's side. "I'm actually retired. As you can see, I have a penchant for inventing things. I was actually a fairly renowned magical engineer. Some of the more arcane oriented technology used by the government was in part designed by me."

"Wow!" Zeph said blinking. "I wasn't expecting that. You must be pretty important right. Oh! That must be where that word crystal came from, you invented it. I have to admit, that's pretty cool Bernie."

"Thanks, but I'm not really that special. That 'word crystal' as you call it was actually my last invention. It wasn't well received." Bernard replied recalling the past, his mood dipping for a few moments.

"Wait! That got you fired?"

"Yes, yes it did."

"But why, I thought it was pretty damn handy."

"Well, I had the idea to use magic to project ideas and knowledge directly into the brain and the 'word crystal' was my first try at it. After finishing the prototype I brought it up to some of the executives at R&D. That's when shit hit the fan. A Few years back, there was a rogue warlock going around using mind magic on a bunch of innocent people. Trying to build an army of mindless slaves, you see. Well, my invention had just enough in common with mind control magic to piss off the big wigs upstairs, and PR told them I was a liability. So my project was shut down never to see the light of day. I was already on the ass end of a series of less than satisfactory projects, so they let me go." Bernard said with a hint of anger and frustration in his voice.

"Hmm, I can see how that looks like mind control on the surface."

"Yeah, but the difference is that mind control doesn't allow you to think, it gives you commands that you are forced to follow. My Learning Gems, patent pending, force you to think. After all, you have to use that noggin in order to retain the information." Bernard defended his project."

He then made his way towards a monitor and began to give Zeph some instructions. Zeph moved his head, lifted his arms, ran in place and went through a slew of physical activities while Bernard just nodded and wrote stuff down on a clipboard. It was strange, even though Zeph knew he should be out of breath, he wasn't. In fact, he felt like he could run all day. Another shocking discovery was his strength. It seems that he was able to lift 5 times his body weight.

"Astonishing!" Bernard exclaimed.

"I know right, it's like I'm a friggin' superhero. So, how close are we to the magic lessons?" Zeph said, in order to get Bernard's attention away from the clipboard.

"Pretty close just a couple more tests. I'm gonna take a blood, and hair sample." Bernard replied while walking to a desk and pulling out a couple of supplies.

"Cool, by the way....ya got any more of those Learning Gems, patent pending?" Zeph chuckled as he sent a sly smile at Bernard.

Bernard blinked a couple of times before catching the underlying question. Then a wide smug grin crawled across his face. "Yes, Yes I do!"

___________________________