Electric Lights
—-

Minus was aware that he was unconscious. He knew he was seeing his past. He saw the memory from the third-person. He was shocked when he heard his own voice begin to narrate the memory.

I lie awake at night, watching the air sparkle, like electricity.

“I understand,” Othin said as the story came to a close. “I have a feeling I know your father. Let’s talk. There are two pills on that table next to you. Take the red one, it’ll make this easier..”

That little pill that tasted like jelly, was the cause of a grand awakening in Minus. Grabbing that electric spark had changed his life. Curiosity. Insatiable. And it would be that way for the rest of his life.

He thought about this for a long time in the black-out that was forced meditation.

—

Jack
I Listen.

The Cost of Magic
Section #21
Electric Lights
flashback

Still Dreaming
—-

Minus walked up a hill. He could feel the cobbled stones under his large, buckled boots. The city was dark and dreary today. A fast rain falling down.

He felt a strong determination in his purpose. He had been charged with delivering a letter of loyalty from his lord, to the Queen. The Queen had few loyal Governors these days. This letter would hopefully spark other pledges of honor from the Dukes and Governors of the land.

He came to the palace door. The roof hung over a small entry way. He took a time out to ring the water out of his clothes and hair, and to check that the package had not gotten wet.

A steward approached him and inquired about his purpose. He explained who he was and what he delivered. The steward rushed off, and two guards came to Minus in a few short minutes, the steward behind them.

“The Queen will see you now,” said the steward.

The guards escorted Minus into the throne room. He looked upon the Queen and saw a shimmering silver light around her.

He woke up.

—-

Jack
I Listen.

The Cost of Magic
Section #15
Still Dreaming

*****

It started off innocently enough, like most things. Especially things in Minus’ life. He often felt like the opposite of King Mitus, since everything he touched turned to shit, instead of gold.

“But it’s different this time,” he thought to himself. He always thought this to himself. He seemed to really like writing an internal monologue.

So, there he was: very happy, very stupid, and very drunk. What was different from every other day? Nothing. Nothing at all. Or so he thought.

It was near midnight, and after several pitchers, when he found himself alone, talking to a girl in her early twenties. The volume was turned down on the rest of the bar. The people moved in slow motion and sound traveled as if through water. Minus loved these moments, when he felt so very at home. These moments seldom lasted, and took much drink to accomplish.

The girl was cute, but young. Minus had already forgotten her name. But this time was different. She had that silken aura glow, like the girl that haunted his dreams. He’d seen her play a dozen roles in his dreams, but she was always obviously the same person. He could always tell by that bright white glow. She was a mother one night, a sister another, a lover more often than anything. In his dreams, Minus never looked the same. He knew who he was, even when dreams happened from odd perspectives, as they often do. And he always knew who she was, even when she was nothing like the night before, or any of the thousands of nights in his life.

This was a long dream. It haunted and beckoned. It tore at his heart strings and played death metal in his rotten soul. Minus was not a bad person, but a person consistently forced into bad situations. He couldn’t really grasp how at least half of his life had actually happened. But it had. Dreams through a Seconal haze. Hadn’t there been another dream-girl a few years(or a lifetime) ago? The Thorazine year that followed that instance had taught him that, no, there had never been a girl in his life with this aura. Even though his pineal gland would ram itself around to try and break free from the anti-psychotic’s numbing embrace.

But the pineal gland survived for moments like this. Brief glimpses at reality on the other side of the vale. And it shouted as he talked to this girl.

Minus fought a little when he felt the vertigo pulling him in. He was never very good at fighting this falling feeling, even though it almost always lead to pain directly. So he funneled down in to the synchronicity that surrounded this girl.

Her name, it later turned out, was Jane. Jane was 22, not really old enough to know better. Minus knew better, he just didn’t care. If Jane had known better, she would not have cared either.

——–

Jack.
I Listen.

The Cost of Magic
Section #1

Spiraling Down.
—-
Snowblind
I’m twisted
I’m losing my faith
I’m falling so far
I can’t get away
Death draws me closer
I can hear no sound
All I can see
is dew-covered ground
It beckons to me
“Come closer my dear”
All life slips away
It’s all I can hear.

——

Fond memories, if nothing else.

Jack.
I Listen.

(poetry)

———————–

Gently slipping liberation
Sweeps over me as I
stare at the stars
Someone touches my hand
But she’s lost to me now
I’m drifting into the stars
The moon is gone,
new and beautiful
somewhere else.
Supernova explosion in the sky
That’s me up there
Becoming stars
dreaming is a disease.
Forthright and falling
She’s lost to me
This darkness consumes me
and I’m even lost
to myself.
To die with the moon
And be reborn in its fullness
life is a wave
ebb and flow
I’m made out of stars
And soon I shall form them
frightened by death
eternal in Light.
Her arm wraps around me
Keeps me from floating
into the sky.

—-

Loki.

Snuffing out the butt in an achingly
overflowing ashtray. Brought back
to the world at hand.

Lost in thought.
Pleasant memories
often hurt more than caustic ones.

I feel the fire
light the flame
cigarettes are all that’s left.

-Loki.

I run a few continuing series on this blog. Here’s some info on what they are, and why they are.

Developmental Theology 089.
– This is a series that covers the very basics of philosophy and religion. I like to think of it as practical knowledge for the modern man. Attributed by date.

Chattanooga: A Love Story
– True stories about my city and the people in it. All names are changed for the privacy of individuals involved. Attributed by fragment.

Ubuntu
– A series of articles about my experiences with this Linux based system. Attributed by phase.

—————————

Okay, some of you may have noticed this is a replica of my “free beer!” page, tab 2. I feel like the page needs some explaining, so here goes, bit by bit.

“Enter the Hanged Man” – This references the tarot card The Hanged Man, with which I identify heavily.

“Loki Liesmith is Jack Lhasa, as well as many other people.” This line implies that I use several pseudonyms.

The following phrases that are also links are things that I feel describe my life. The links lead to the original artist.

After the Snoopy quote, all the writing is original. The last section describes some of the ongoing articles I do.

-Loki.

Enter the Hanged Man.
Loki Liesmith is Jack Lhasa, as well as many other people.
Holy Zombie Jesus!
I’d like to think the best of me is still hiding up my sleeve.
I was born in the back seat of a Greyhound bus, rolling down Highway 41.
Falling down, to you, sweet ground.
I want an easy plateau, some place to rest my head.
I wish I was a fisherman.
“There is no problem so big that it cannot be ran away from.” – Snoopy the Dog
You don’t have to hide.
Dreaming is everything.
Forget as much as you can.
Listen harder.
Run. Fall.
Drink. Find.
Hope…

I run a few continuing series on this blog. Here’s some info on what they are, and why they are.

Developmental Theology 089.
– This is a series that covers the very basics of philosophy and religion. I like to think of it as practical knowledge for the modern man. Attributed by Lesson #. This series is now complete.

Basic Ideology 101
– A continuation of the thoughts expressed in DT089. Focusing on the nature of ideas and the power that they have in our lives. Attributed by Lesson #.

Internet
– A series of articles about my experiences with this Ubuntu, Vista, OS X, and the social web. Attributed by phase. I seldom do these anymore.

The Cost of Magic
– This is my novel. My magnum opus. It centers around a reluctant hero, who somehow always seems to get forced into saving the world. Attributed by Section #.

Monday Updates
– I try to do these every Monday. Just an update on my life, work, writing, in general. Attributed by date.

-Loki.
-Jack.