The Pole Shift

Mnemosyne and Sean

Mnem saw it all, she felt something in the air like music. Humming she thought, tiny humming. The man grew, she looked up at the trees, they were like him, their roots collected the minerals in the earth and clad their trunks with them. This was nature in man. She smiled and watched thinking something sweet was happening. Then Sean went to strike with an arm that wielded minerals and she said:

                "No! Be friends." It wasn't begging, it was stating and she saw no reason why they shouldn't. Sean shuddered as he looked at her the magic left him like a leaf falling from a tree, and all around him fell the minerals he had collected. The man he was about to strike fled, but then the old man strode to them ready to strike Sean. Why was he so hated? Mnem was pondering something to ease the old man when Janet strode up quickly and buried an axe in the man's back.

                There was a long shocked silence. Mnem's mouth opened to say something but Janet snapped:

                "Shut-up Mnem, you're nice, we get it." With her appalling killing and sharp words Janet had taken control of the group. Sean was looking confused, holding his arms up and turning them in the firelight as if they were new to him. Janet was watching warily. "Howdya do that?" She said to Sean. He grabbed at his ear, still drunk and stoned, the power that had filled him gone.

                "I dunno, whispers, a man's voice. I was directed to use my thoughts."

                "But you did do it right? I mean you weren't an interface or tool for that deep voiced dude." Sean rubbed at his ear, the crystal had gone, gone inside he knew, in his tissue, his blood, his thoughts maybe. He paused before saying:

                "Yeah." Janet thought for a moment.

                "How much booze have you got left?"

                "None." Janet gave him a long look, she had heard that one before. She'd been around boozers and addicts in general since she could remember and as they lied to themselves they seemed convincing to others. She knew what to say:

                "I could do with a drink myself, to see the night out. Sit by the fire and talk about what has happened to us all. Play some music if your laptops not busted, I haven't heard a tune for months." Sean looked about him, several bottles glinted empty in the orange light of the fire. It seemed he was telling the truth then John poked up:

                "Here, this?" He shook a nearly full bottle of vodka. John hurried to the circle nd sat down with Janet, shuffling to get closer to her. They sat around the fire telling their stories whilst Mr. Knowles stiffened on the grass below. Mnem's sat close to Sean, leaning on him at times. She filled him with her closeness and as their stories of the last several months poured out Sean felt like he had come home. In the back of his mind he saw their little Island from far above, as if he were a giant on one knee observing an ant farm keenly. He tingled at the thought, and Mnem turned to look at him, her attention drawing him back to the soft light of the fire. Mnem said:

                "I think we have a good place here, I think we might be a beginning." Janet shook her head turning to Sean as well:

                 "You've got a crystal, haven't you been asking questions? There's bad stuff going on, people killing people, and the deep voiced dude, he might not even be a person, something from another Pole Shift that happened thousands of years ago.  He likes us, but I think he is playing. Haven't you been asking questions?" Sean could not answer except look for the vodka bottle and then the ground.