Satin:07/26/1998
June 30, 1998: It is 7pm, and I finally drop the time affect. Rachel wants to talk to Michael about the housing problem Amethyst discovered. Apparently, people are sleeping on the floors in the hallways of the other buildings, while we have a perfectly good empty building full of beds that people should be using. Reuben had acquired some paradox, and now has a beautiful dog's head, that of a black Irish Wolfhound. He looks at a guard and says, "Woof," as we walk out. Poor guy. But I have to say, he doesn't act too startled by our appearance.Out on the quad, there is a huge bonfire with 30-40 people around it. Someone is at the front, speaking to them. It was Michael, giving a sermon. He is preaching about Rachel and her doctrines on accepting others. Someone in the crowd pipes up with, "But did the Death God not say vengeance was our most important duty?" Michael began to answer, but sees us and bows. The others follow his lead as they notice us. Alex says, "No, vengeance is not your most important duty. I said Corruption will be punished. It is not the duty of all men." Rachel approaches Michael and has him stand. She tells him to continue. "As a prophet, what more can I say? The gods have spoken. Bring us new words so I can tell them." Hmm. That gave me an idea. I decide to dance, to look for new words to tell the Prophet, words from the future.
I move to a clear place, and I dance, and immerse myself in a vision. I am standing on the quad, with the bonfire. Flames shot up and rained down on the quad, starting small fires. Suddenly, I saw a large monster machine coming over the wall, spitting fireballs. The machine is I the shape of a lion, obviously made of metal, but by a very advanced craftsman, the joints seem almost seamless. It is a quite impressive machine, and I would have admired it more had it not been spitting fireballs at the quad. I see a naked woman riding the lion, with long black hair, dark skin, and she is crying. I don't see the other mages, but I do se Michael. Then the lion leaps the wall and devours Michael. It was not pretty, and he is probably not going to like these words when I tell him. Then the lions head explodes. I guess Michael didn't taste good. The woman now stands before me, still crying. She looked me in the eyes and says, "All you had to do was help." "Help who?" Seemed the logical answer. "The Machine."
Suddenly, the vision is gone and I sit rather suddenly on the ground. "Oh, fuck!" The vision was not I the far future, and it seemed mostly dark a the time, maybe twilight or sunrise. I put my head in my hands and just sit there. Reuben approaches and helps me stand. "You ok?" "I've seen better." "What do you mean?" I explained, "The future does not look good. But that can change, as is the way of the future. We must find the machine." Reuben asks if it is the machine from the prophecy. Yup. Alex had heard most of this, and pipes up with, "Do we need to destroy it?" "No, we need to help it." I look for Michael, and ask if he is done with his sermon, we must speak privately. He says he is here to serve. As he and the other mages start to go to a more private place, I hang back a minute. I address the crowd, "We have business to attend to. Please, enjoy the night." I then send thoughts of happiness to the gathered people and head off to the others.
Alex asks, "What did you see?" I explain the vision in all its gory details. Michael looks disturbed, as would be expected when you hear your own death prophesized. David then said, "Some machines we shouldn't help." "This one I think we must." Reuben glances around, "Where's Glen?" No one knows. David seems to think we need to destroy Technocracy strongholds. Huh? "What's that got to do with this?" I ask. "They are mostly mages, and I imagine they too are gone like the rest." Conversation continues. I mention I have a good chance of finding the machine, but someone wants to know if it was simply metaphorical, and the vision as it was isn't real, just symbolic. But I disagree. I don't think it was, the rest of the prophecy certainly wasn't. Alex thinks he too can find the machine, so he starts wandering about. At 8pm, I start to dancing, a wild, searching dance, that makes me look like I am frantically looking for something, which I am. Rachel and Reuben stand watch.
At midnight, darkness falls across my vision, and I saw a veil parting. A beautiful city is before me, made of metal, with domes of shiny silver and gold gleaming in the starlight. I feel like there is a wall keeping from going to this world, so I just watch from behind the barrier. I see the lion watching over the city. And I saw the woman standing in front of the lion, looking up at it, and crying. The lion, who was looking at the woman, turns its head to stare straight at me. Um, uh-oh....