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Cam's in the library, waiting for Renée. "Waiting" here means "browsing until a quarter hour after ostensible meeting time". Renée is supposed to meet him here - on the way home for both of them, him from high school and her from elementary where she teaches kindergarten - but she is rarely punctual. Her co-workers or stray parents or the principal keep her after and Cam does notebooking, does homework, looks at the contents of shelves. It's a fine arrangement.
Today the contents of shelves don't seem so pleased with the setup, and one attacks him when he stumbles into a stack. Specifically, it tumbles onto his head. That's gonna hurt for a while. He picks it up to tuck it away again.
It says, So You Want To Be A Wizard.
Heh. Mis-shelved. This is a nonfiction row. Or maybe it's about stage magic or something? Cam's not going to find any use in that either, he can just about eat dinner without impaling himself on a fork and certainly shouldn't be handling delicate props, but it could be diverting while he waits for Renée and he wasn't finding anything else. He flips it open.
It's more interesting still than that; it's presenting itself like an actual guide to wizardry. This'll kill a whole afternoon with pleasant escapism. Cam checks it out, then turns around and spots Renée coming down the sidewalk. He bags the book and goes out to meet her.
At home, he takes it out of his backpack. The plastic film on it - it did have some, right? Just like every other library book? - is gone. Maybe it didn't have any. He didn't write it down; he's not sure. It doesn't look like a library book now. But it still says So You Want To Be A Wizard and he still wants to pretend to be a wizard for a bit, kill some time, put off U.S. History homework. He flips it open. He reads.
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lifes_sake
"I don't eat animals!" says Leafy. "Am I a vegetarian?"
lifes_sake
"You're way better, you have so much moral high ground, you're an autotroph," says Cam. "Which I guess is a kind of vegetarian, technically. I wonder if I can just be an autotroph." Does the manual know? It was iffy on permanent superpowers, but maybe he can just declare himself not in need of nourishment and his body will believe him well enough to be getting on with, three times a day unless he wants a glass of milk or an apple.
"I don't want high ground," says Leafy, "water drains away from it!"
...It's possible that at this point Leafy is teasing a little.
...It's possible that at this point Leafy is teasing a little.
lifes_sake
"But it's closer to the sun," says Cam innocently. "Hey, manual, can I just not eat, one way or another, and be okay?"
"No," says the manual. "You can convince your body to put off its needs, but not indefinitely."
"Yes, but not indefinitely."
lifes_sake
"Ooookay."
He'll look up some information on nutrition.
"Let's see the spells for that so I can mark 'em."
For while he does that and sets up interviews with various members of the plant and animal kingdoms.
He'll look up some information on nutrition.
"Let's see the spells for that so I can mark 'em."
For while he does that and sets up interviews with various members of the plant and animal kingdoms.
The underlying principle seems to be that you can convince your body its needs have been met, but if you keep on doing that, it will catch on and stop believing you. The more of its needs you are actually meeting, the easier it is to fool it about the gap.
lifes_sake
Fair enough. Maybe he can find suitably ethical multivitamins.
Bleah, this isn't going to be fun.
Can he talk tofu into actually tasting like chicken, maybe?
Bleah, this isn't going to be fun.
Can he talk tofu into actually tasting like chicken, maybe?
Yes he can!
lifes_sake
Oh cool! Well then, that makes this much simpler. He puts a new color of post-it on the spells that he will be using for compensating for his newly expanded ethical sphere.
On his way home, he spots a woodpecker. "Hey woodpecker," he says, not getting too close.
On his way home, he spots a woodpecker. "Hey woodpecker," he says, not getting too close.
"Hi!" says the woodpecker.
"What kind of a question is that?" says the woodpecker aggrievedly.
lifes_sake
"I'm having an ethical crisis sorta thing. I'm asking everything. So far, trees, smart, grass, stupid, muffins, stupid, goats, not too bright."
"What's a muffin?"
"Whatever, then," says the woodpecker, and takes off.
lifes_sake
Okay. Woodpecker: possibly brighter than a goat. Or at least less obsessive. This calls for no revision to his current meal plan.
Renée is still on board with experimental vegetarianism, and dinner is a tofu thing. He takes one bite of it, and then Renée has to go to the bathroom, and he mutters at it the spell the manual provided for this purpose, that he'd like it to taste like chicken.
Renée is still on board with experimental vegetarianism, and dinner is a tofu thing. He takes one bite of it, and then Renée has to go to the bathroom, and he mutters at it the spell the manual provided for this purpose, that he'd like it to taste like chicken.
Using the Speech in conversation is not materially different from using English except in terms of who understands you; using the Speech in the casting of a spell carries with it a subtle sensation of being listened to, as though the Universe is paying special attention.
It also takes energy. Not a lot of energy, for such a small spell, but a noticeable amount - like climbing half a flight of stairs.
It also takes energy. Not a lot of energy, for such a small spell, but a noticeable amount - like climbing half a flight of stairs.
lifes_sake
Hmm.
He would like to read more about the energy requirements of spells. He anticipates doing a lot of them, after all. Will this harm him? Will it be unpleasant? He would like to be on the correct page of the manual before Renée gets back from the bathroom, please.
He would like to read more about the energy requirements of spells. He anticipates doing a lot of them, after all. Will this harm him? Will it be unpleasant? He would like to be on the correct page of the manual before Renée gets back from the bathroom, please.
In short: Doing spells is tiring. Doing bigger spells is more tiring. But it isn't any likelier to harm him than any other form of exertion. Less, actually, since the amount of moving around involved is negligible.
Somewhat, yes.
But, separately, his actual power output will decline with age. The most powerful wizards are children. Older practitioners have to make do with using less power more efficiently.
But, separately, his actual power output will decline with age. The most powerful wizards are children. Older practitioners have to make do with using less power more efficiently.