DreamWeaver

� Copyright 2001 by Bram Ransey

Warning: This story contains content of a sexual nature which may be unsuitable for children, minors, and majors suffering from moral righteousness. It may also be illegal for you to read depending upon your community standards, majority status, and local laws. If any of the above applies, read no further, go elsewhere. If you are a minor, the following material may cause you to think beyond the small box your elders are trying to keep you in. This is dangerous. Since this material is corrupting when found on the Internet, I suggest you go to your local library and check out The Ninja by Eric Lustbader. His story is nothing like mine, but it has good sex scenes, and it's surprisingly easy to obtain. I found this out when I was cursed with being too-young-to-think.

Notice: This story, while containing sex, is not a "wham, bam, what was your name?" kind of story. It develops slowly, perhaps painfully so. If you find yourself thinking, "Why don't they just drop this bullshit and screw?" I propose you find another tale, because this one will irritate the hell out of you.

The unfinished story below is copywrited by Bram Ransey , 2001.  It may not be distributed nor altered in any way without express written consent of the author.  For those not living in a litigious society, this means an OK letter with my valid, legal signature on it. 

This story also contains quotes from Concrete Blonde, and the red-haired imp, completely without their permission.

Comments: That said, I hope you enjoy my efforts. And kindly make time to send constructive comments or just tell me that you liked it.

Part 1

I

Thom was five when the man came to his parents and offered to pay for his schooling.

"I know this seems strange, Mr. and Mrs. Andersson, but the Foundation I represent pays for the education of students that fit a certain criteria. Thom meets all the requirements."

"Mr. , ah, Serious is it?" Thom�s father began.

"Sirius, like the star."

"Oh. And just what are these requirements?"

"Well, I�m not at liberty to discuss them in detail, otherwise we might have people attempting to fill them on purpose. I can say that the individuals who set up the Foundation were strong believers in numerology and astrology. They chose to award children with specific numbers made of their names, places of birth, and times of birth."

"How did you find Thom?"

"Oh, that�s easy. Birth records are publicly accessible. It�s a lot of data to sift, but nowadays we have computers to do the work."

"I see. Well, to be frank, it all seems kinda hokey to me. I�m not sure I want Thom�s education being controlled by people guided by astrology and numerology."

Mr. Sirius chuckles, "I understand." Grinning, he continued, "We don�t believe in that any more. It�s just our method of choosing a scholarship recipient. Unfortunately, we can�t change the rules about how we make our awards."

Then, Thom noticed Mr. Sirius� voice took on a subtle pitch. "I assure you, Mr. Andersson, we do not encourage study of the pseudosciences except as interesting sociohistoric phenomena. We are much more concerned with assisting you in bringing Thom up with a solid sense of ethics and strong academic background. I can even provide you with syllabi if you are that concerned.

Believe me when I say that Thom will receive an excellent, well-rounded education. It is his best interest that you take us up on our offer. Of course there is also a stipend for the family to defray any costs we might create as a result of educating Thom."

"How does this all work? Do we send Thom to a boarding school?"

"Nothing like that. He will see a tutor three week days for an hour each and then a couple hours on either Saturday or Sunday. During his breaks, we may increase the tutoring sessions, depending on his progress. In addition to academic studies, his tutor will spend some time teaching him exercises, like a form of yoga or T�ai Ch�i. When he reaches high school, he will likely be far ahead of his classmates, but we recommend that he remain with his age group, no more than one grade ahead of his age."

"What about our daughter, Cassie? It doesn�t seem fair that Thom get a better education than her."

"Most parents spend the money they save on their awarded child on the other children. Plus you can spend a portion of your stipend. Cassandra will not suffer any deficiency in education. And if she desires, she is free to study any of the materials we provide to Thom. The only restriction is that our tutor cannot teach her directly."

"It all sounds wonderful."

"Thank you. Then you�ve decided to accept our offer." Again, Thom heard the odd pitch in his voice.

"Certainly."

"Mr. and Mrs. Andersson, you have made the right decision. Oh, and one more thing, we request that you not tell anyone about our arrangement or Thom�s special schooling. It tends to bring unwanted consequences on the children as well as their families."

II

Thom reflected upon all that had happened since that day. He had extensive tutorials in history, sociology, animal biology, and psychology. They taught him to observe people, to read volumes in the nuances of speech, carriage, and mannerisms. They even had a unique phys-ed program, a cross between hatha yoga and kung fu.

But all that wasn�t half as interesting as when Thom entered his late teens. Gradually, he gained control over his body, able to resculpt it at will. As he advanced, Thom could even cause another�s flesh to morph under his touch.

He was a Shifter, and people would hate him for it.

Now Thom stood at the end of one portion of his life. The University�s graduation ceremony was over, and he awaited his other, true commencement. That evening, while their classmates partied, Thom and the six other Shifters his year gathered in the tunnels beneath the school. Mr. Sirius was already there.

"Congratulations. You have made it through 16 years of academic education. I am pleased with your progress as students, and as Shifters. You each demonstrate considerable control over the corporeal form and adhere to the Code. Now comes the time when you must put your skills into practice.

No longer apprentices, you must take your abilities into the world and live. Use them, always with discretion, for only through application can you expand your talents. As journeyfolk, you have great leeway with your paths. Just remember the Code: Draw no attention. Be mindful of your thoughts; thoughts create reality. Embrace change.

May fortune shine upon each of you."

Thom had considered what he would do after graduation. Mr. Sirius encouraged them to travel, use their abilities in the �real world� as it were. Oh, and they had to pay their own way. Thom�s BA was in Literature with an emphasis on mythology and legends, which qualified him for fast-food indentured servitude.

Fortunately, Uncle Sam came though. His advisor, Dr. Grunfeld, secured a grant to study the origin and spread of urban legends. How she managed that, Thom couldn�t fathom. Still, she needed someone to do the grunt work: travel around and gather the stories. When he found out, Thom persuasively requested that he perform the field work.

Using her contacts, Dr. Grunfeld arranged for him to stay in faculty set-aside housing at 8 different universities around the US. He would spend three weeks at each school, and then visit them again in 6 months. Grunfeld�s contacts also agreed to help Thom arrange interviews with students.

It would be great experience for a future career in academia, and promised to be interesting, if not fun. Thom had another, ulterior, motive for taking the position. It would give him the opportunity to interview people one-on-one. In that capacity, he could use his Voice to elicit their own pesonal myths and fantasies.

The Voice was a powerful tool, but it took time to calibrate. Each person had specific pitches and tones that they preferred. By casting them back at the subject, a Shifter could influence ideas, attitudes, emotions, and decisions. Using the Voice required careful observation of the subject for several minutes, and then cautious tests of tonal ranges.

It also worked well with groups of people, so long as a Shifter only tried to influence large-scale emotions or attitudes. Each group had its own set of preferred tones. The upside for groups was that the more members, the easier to calibrate.

Thom spent substantial time developing his observation skills, even before he was able to alter his vocal chords. Anyone could learn to identify personal response strategies. They could even use them to effect a reasonable amount of influence over the subject. A Shifter could, however, modify her entire speech system (verbal and nonverbal) to intensely manipulate the subject.

Like any Shifter talents, the Voice improved through practice. It could be essential to survival in a world where ordinary people reacted with frightening violence when confronted with a Shifter. Thom took every opportunity to hone his skills with the Voice.

Side research into hypnosis led him to develop a Voice for that in addition to simple persuasion. He was good enough at the latter to have �talked� his way into several co-eds� bedrooms.

DreamWeaver
� Copyright 2001 by Bram Ransey
http://www.asstr.org/~mac_Heath