Chapter 293 – Incentives

Sebastien

Month 10, Day 3, Sunday 3:15 p.m.

Professor Lacer froze at her soft but undeniable accusation. He swallowed, and his eyebrows twitched with some emotion she couldn’t decipher, but he said nothing. 

As Sebastien continued, her voice shook. She hated the display of vulnerability but realized that allowing some truth into her lie would make everything all the more believable. “Your comrade Hite seemed very certain about his authority and not at all worried about punishment.” She swallowed hard. “It’s well-known that one’s vows to the Red Guard supersede all others. Those to wife, guild, and even the Crowns come second to those made to the Red Guard. You recognize no borders and no kings above your purpose…right?” She took a few deep breaths, trying to calm the deafening rush of blood in her ears and reel in the weightless sense of detachment that was threatening to pull her away from her body, away from full awareness of the moment. That psychological defense mechanism would only dull her ability to react and thus bring her closer to ruin. 

Professor Lacer pressed both hands to his forehead and then dragged them down his face as if trying to pull off his own skin. Abruptly, he turned his back on her, walked to the window. He didn’t even pause to look out, but spun back around, picked up his coffee from the small table, and with a violent hurl, shattered his coffee mug against the floor with all the force his body could muster. Shards of porcelain and splashes of hot liquid burst out from the point of impact. 

Sebastien flinched, and she thought she’d frozen, but only when Professor Lacer’s gaze landed on her hand did she realize she’d palmed her Conduit. 

The older man let out a low groan that sounded almost pained, then with a swipe of his hand—that was preceded with a sudden foreign daydream hinting at the spell he was about to be cast—mended the mug and returned all the coffee to it. She hadn’t even noticed the Conduit in his hand. It was as if the violence had been her imagination. Professor Lacer leaned down and carefully picked up the mug with a delicate grip around the small handle. He returned to the kitchen, where he poured the coffee into the sink. 

Sebastien didn’t put away her own Conduit. 

After almost a minute standing over the sink, Professor Lacer returned to the couch opposite her, where he sat down. The threatening aura that had swirled around him earlier was gone, as was all evidence of his sudden rage. “Have you seen the decorative rubber-plum trees in the garden at Pendragon Palace? The High Crown’s late wife had them planted and worked to design them with the arborsmiths. They mimic the shape of fantastic beasts, various species of people, and even objects like massive swords.”

Sebastien blinked, raised her eyebrows, shook her head dizzily at this sudden change of subject. “I have not.” 

“You might think, and it is often the case, that each tree of the same species, planted in the same soil and tended in the same way, grows up to look similar. Rubber-plum trees have very flexible and visually appealing wood, which makes them desirable for arborsmiths, but they also have peculiar sap—it flows easily and has trouble hardening to seal with wound. This means that trying to prune them to control their shape, as one might when sculpting hedges or coniferous trees, is dangerous. Rubber-plum trees will, in effect, bleed to death. But the trees at Pendragon Palace are very healthy, and yet have submitted to the Will of those who tend them. Do you know why?”

Sebastien reached up to rub the skin between her eyebrows, but didn’t speak. 

“If one carefully binds the tree as it grows over the course of years, one can guide it into a shape it would never take naturally, until the only resemblance it bears to others of its kind is that it has branches, bark, and leaves.” Professor Lacer held up his empty palm, and an illusion of a purple-barked sapling formed there. Then time seemed to speed up, and the tree grew around ropes and ties and metal bindings until it formed the shape of a beautiful woman rising out of the water, with leaves forming her hair, minimal clothing, and the sea-spray at her hips. 

Sebastien couldn’t help but note that Professor Lacer’s illusion…actually wasn’t that impressive. Perhaps it was the lack of shadow to eliminate its transparency and add an extra layer of depth. Or perhaps he was still somewhat flustered and not trying that hard for realism. 

“Do you grasp my point?” he asked. 

“Not at all,” she admitted.

He sighed. “The same can be done with humans. For instance, when a tooth grows in at an undesirable angle or position, you can of course have it pulled and regrown with healing magic, but did you know that it’s also possible to apply long-term, consistent pressure to the tooth until it shifts into…or out of, place? If you do it slowly enough, I am told there is no pain.” He leaned forward, pressing his fingertips together, and said slowly, “Vows can be subverted, Sebastien. And I have never been the type to simply accept shackles or puppet strings. Do you understand now?”

Professor Lacer had hinted at this to her before—as Siobhan—but she had no excuse to question him about it while maintaining her mysterious persona. However, Sebastien remained skeptical.

When he had attacked her for asking about his vows, he had indicated that he was obligated to kill anyone who knew, and that was why he attempted to remove her memories. She had assumed this was due to his vows. If he had long subverted them, did that mean he had attacked her willingly? Belligerence rose up and spilled out of her mouth before she could stop it. “Does that mean if I declared my intent to breed Aberrants for a certain purpose, right here, right now, you wouldn’t stop me?” 

Professor Lacer looked at her as if she were an imbecile. “No. I would stop you, you fool.” 

Sebastien grimaced. “Fair enough. That was a stupid question.” 

“However, if you were to call upon me for help because you were being abused by one of my colleagues…I could help. Do you trust that I would?” 

‘Do I trust that?’ she wondered, looking down into the dark reflection of her coffee. ‘If the situation was like I said, could I have depended on him?’ She instinctively wanted to say “no.” But that was only because she had lost all sense of security with him. She didn’t know what might and might not lead him to betray her. Still, as far as she knew, he had never lied to her, even when the truth was unpleasant. And hesitating for too long might make him suspicious, so she nodded. “And if—hypothetically—the Raven Queen didn’t just save me, but also wiped the memory of the entire encounter from Hite’s mind…would that still be okay?” 

When he was silent for a moment, she peeked up at him, but as soon as their eyes met, a sharp laugh burst out of him. “Amazing. She wiped his memory?” 

“Hypothetically.” 

“Well, hypothetically, she must have done a very good job. It was just him, no escorts?” 

Sebastien shook her head. 

Professor Lacer crossed his arms. “Hite hasn’t reported any altercations or signs of mental tampering. Of course, he would have also had to admit why, and the fact that he sneaked out of the base alone to kidnap you. Since his application to make you a research subject was denied, he probably couldn’t explain it without causing himself even more trouble. But for her to wipe his memory, he must have left the base in his real body, not using one of his remotely controlled puppets. Or…she has some way to piggyback on that cretin’s connection to his puppets to access his mind?” He looked at her expectantly. 

“I have no idea. I didn’t even know he used puppets.” She also hadn’t considered that agents might be tracked, which could give away her lie. 

“Not many do. It makes it easy for him to get away with…well, things like this. For certain kinds of operations and against certain kinds of enemies, it can be incredibly useful. But this time, it appears he miscalculated.” He laughed again. “As to your earlier question, I am also able to avoid reporting.” 

Sebastien sighed with relief. If that was the case, it meant that he probably wouldn’t dig into her lie. It also meant that, maybe, he hadn’t told them about his altercation with her other identity, or what she’d discovered. She tilted her head with an impish expression. “About subverting vows…can you teach me?” 

He let out a wry scoff. “Do you have many vows you need to escape?” Before she could even think to answer, his expression shifted from amusement to grimness. “Ah. Perhaps you do. The method will change slightly with each type of vow and with the specifics of the agreement, but one thing remains constant. You must use your Will to push against the restrictions, little by little. Where to do so is as much an art as untying a knotted tangle of yarn, but it is easiest to start with weak spots and edge cases. If some part of the vow can be interpreted in multiple ways, pick one and focus your Will on believing that interpretation, and that one alone. It is like casting a spell, but without any channeling of power. You must push against the vow in this way for days, months, and perhaps even years, knot by not and loop by loop. It is very exhausting to remain so focused for such long periods of time, and I would caution you not to add on extra time trying to loosen a vow on top of the hours of spell practice you are already doing every day. Prioritize one or the other.” 

Sebastien wondered if this would work for the kind of binding pact she had made with Legion. It seemed not, but that didn’t mean it was foolproof. “Is there another way? Perhaps…rather than to loosen the vow, you change the shape of your own body to slip free from its shackles? Say, to convince yourself that you were no longer the same person that had once made the vow?” 

Professor Lacer raised both eyebrows. “Sometimes you do surprise me. That is also valid, but dangerous for what I hope are obvious reasons?” 

“They are obvious,” she agreed. 

“Most vows have some kind of binding object or external witness. The process will be much quicker if you can get rid of it. In my case…I have been working on the most offensive constraints of my vows for decades but have recently escalated my efforts. I know my limits and can avoid damaging my mind. If you attempt this and ever feel strain or pain, cease your exertion and let the vow rest. It is not common knowledge, but Will-strain is possible even without channeling active magic. It is only that you cannot become an Aberrant without channeling magic.” 

Sebastien pressed her lips together, and after a moment of hesitation, decided to take a small risk. “If there are people like you, who have subverted their vows, and people like Hite…are the Red Guard’s vows still useful? Are they, as an organization, really most focused on preserving the future of the world? Or do they care more about preserving themselves?” Even if he couldn’t give her any confidential information, a tiny hint as to whether she should trust them with the most important issues would still be useful. 

Rather than answer her directly, he crossed his legs, one ankle over the other knee. “Some people believe that human society is inherently broken,” he began in a tone she recognized from his lectures. “I do not agree, because if that were the case, we would have been wiped out by now, and to the contrary, we are flourishing by many metrics. We have high populations, control most of the known lands, and produce many wondrous inventions and powerful thaumaturges. However, I do believe that the world becomes imbalanced and certain systems become broken, leading to cycles of destruction and rebirth. Tell me your thoughts on this. Why does this happen? Why do we have wars that are a net loss to both sides, empires that crumble, and institutions of learning that bar as many people as possible from gaining knowledge? Consider it a test of your logical faculties.” 

Sebastien had not been prepared for a pop quiz, but she straightened her posture and took a couple of minutes to think frantically. 

Professor Lacer allowed her the time, pulling out a binder and pen from what must have been an expanded pocket inside his long jacket and making some notes on the papers within. 

Finally, Sebastien spoke. “Some philosophers believe that all sapient beings, and perhaps especially humans, are inherently evil.” They had learned about this in Ilma’s history class. “But I don’t believe that. We aren’t that different from other communal animals, and I don’t think it would be reasonable to characterize, say, wolves or razor-backed geese as inherently evil. But it might be partially true that we are inherently selfish. Many of us can be amazingly charitable and giving to those we consider ‘our own’ while committing heinous atrocities on outsiders.

Professor Lacer put away his binder, watching her with a small smile.

Sebastien continued. “Isn’t that why those indigenous to the Northern Islands are called ‘the People?’ To force others to remember that they are, in fact, people, and should be treated as such? Before that, they were being forced into slavery, unwilling contracts as familiars, and many tribes had been wiped out in bloody slaughter. That largely changed after their massive compulsion ritual.” 

“A salient point,” he said. “But what about those whose in-group only contains themselves?” 

Sebastien immediately thought of Ennis. “Those people do exist,” she agreed darkly. “If there are enough of them, I could see how that could cause societal breakdown. If even one out of five employees in your company will lie and swindle your customers as well as your suppliers, cook the books, blame anything that goes wrong on someone innocent, and then flee in the night with every valuable thing they can get their hands on…how long can you remain in business?” 

Professor Lacer chuckled, perhaps noticing the revulsion in her tone. “And what about those who are motivated by power, influence, and reputation?” 

Sebastien narrowed her eyes. “They might be incentivized to act unselfishly because they want the benefit to their reputation. But they’ll just as easily build themselves up by tearing others down. In that case, the act itself doesn’t matter—only the way it’s perceived by those they care about. You can gain power by being a great leader and visionary, but you can also gain it by ruling through fear and brute force. If you want prestige, you can gain it by being exceptional…but you might also gain it by suppressing anyone else who might surpass you.” Munchworth came to mind as an example of the last. 

“In fact,” she continued, “the fact that the University restricts access to only a few thousand people each year out of the entire population of Lenore could be interpreted this way, on a larger scale. Thaumaturges are a powerful class, made so partially by the rarity of those who are truly competent. With the way the University works, those who enjoy status now are unlikely to be made irrelevant by an overwhelming influx of new talent. Beyond that, the current system makes it difficult for those who did not grow up as part of the ‘thaumaturge class’ to join it. Someone like Newton had to fight to get into the University in the first place, and would have had trouble progressing beyond an Apprentice-level certification. That had nothing to do with his talent. Which means that Lenore would have been without a potentially powerful resource. Multiply that exponentially, and we’re weakening ourselves, just as surely as if we were killing our babies in the cradle. We’re not only putting ourselves in danger of not being able to respond to true and widespread disaster, but we’re losing the potential advancements and improvements to society as a whole that all those people could have made. Who knows what the true cost of this system is?” 

Professor Lacer twirled his pen around his fingertips idly, like a street magician performing sleight-of-hand tricks. “What about Aberrants?” 

Sebastien hesitated. “Newton Moore wasn’t any more likely to break than someone like Damien Westbay, was he? Are there…statistics on that?” 

Professor Lacer gave her a very small but approving smile. “An interesting question. Setting it aside, do you not think that the risk of more Aberrants is worth suppressing the number of thaumaturges?” 

“If you’re going to make that argument, why not cull every single thaumaturge on the planet and get rid of all magical knowledge? Then the risk of new Aberrants is zero. Obviously, we’ve decided as a society that the opportunity cost is worth it to us. Anyone who is fundamentally anti-magic is considered a crazy zealot. And whether or not you think that stopping all Aberrants should be the primary goal, I can tell you that I certainly wouldn’t agree to give up magic. I am too selfish.” 

He waved down a book from one of his shelves, flipped to a page around the middle, and turned it toward her so that she could see. “To answer your earlier question, there is a very small correlation between class and break event rates. But it’s speculated that has more to do with the deleterious effects of malnutrition during childhood and the lack of exposure to magical concepts than any genetic predisposition. Children of wealthy families who experience severe trauma during childhood are also more likely to break.” 

Sebastien pressed her lips together, wondering what that said about her. She had more than her fair share of trauma, and she’d even gone for a few months as a child without ready access to food. On the other hand, she had the Naught bloodline, which, according to both Legion and her grandfather, should make her more stable.

Professor Lacer floated the book back up to the shelf and stood, waving for her to follow. “Another way our social systems can break down is if those in positions of power have a goal to be seen as a great leader, rather than to benefit those under their reign as much as possible.”

“They care about the newspaper headline, so to speak,” Sebastien said, walking behind him as he made his way out to the back of his cabin, where he had a small fenced yard that was obviously neglected. 

With a few waves of his hands, he cleared the random weeds sprouting up from the ground, leaving behind only white stone. “Indeed. Those people might make choices that seem grand and benevolent, but the execution is lackluster or even a net negative. For example, a few years before you were born, the High Crown launched bold and much-lauded campaigns to give healing potions to the poor in a region being swept by plague. However, if you dig into it, you will find that campaign was rife with corruption and ended up distributing counterfeit and expired potions en masse, killing more than they saved. That part never made it to the papers,” he added dryly. Without preamble, he said, “Show me how you cast that gesturan spell, third sequence: refinement of the nine heavens. You said you have mastered it?”

Sebastien hesitated. “Mastered might be an exaggeration. But it serves me well.” 

He rolled his eyes. “Just cast it.” 

She took off her boots for more precise control and sank into the starting stance. With a deep breath, she began the tonal pseudo-song that followed each patterned movement. A filament of light began to trail after her outstretched hands almost immediately, lingering in the air longer than it used to, until one could almost see the entire pattern she was building within a sphere around her body. 

Professor Lacer watched her silently, and she stopped after the first repetition, waiting for his judgement. He merely nodded with satisfaction and returned to their previous topic. “Another failure that rulers motivated by their own reputation often make is being too afraid to try innovative solutions to recurring or long-term problems. They seem to feel that the possibility they could be vilified for making the wrong choice if it doesn’t work is worse than the reality of the the status quo, which is already not working.” He paused and looked at her expectantly. 

Sebastien’s body felt warm, limber, and a little tingly with energy. “Oh! That happened when Prince Phagura wanted to build warded stone roads to enemy countries to facilitate trade and discourage warfare, but his father refused for fear that it would make it easier to be attacked. He was afraid of the ridicule if long-distance road construction cost too much that would otherwise go to the defense budget, if magical beasts couldn’t be properly discouraged by the ward stones, or if the enemy refused to set aside war in favor of trade contracts. The roads didn’t get built until after he died. But now, Prince Phagura’s roads have been built everywhere and are the main method for long-distance overland transportation. His gamble paid off. And that cowardice backfired on his father, because no one remembers him as King Pheneku, they only remember him as Prince Phagura’s foolish father.” 

“A pertinent example. You have had that gesturan primer for a while. Show me what you have learned.” 

She started with earth, drawing up the packed white stone below, forming it into a hard ball, which she slung around her body and then launched at Professor Lacer with a thrust of her hand. 

He caught it with the grip of his own magic, brought it closer, and inspected it for a moment before crushing it. “It could be more compressed. Try again.” 

This spell didn’t require her to use her voice, nor even her full concentration. As she made a second attempt, she asked, “What about when the people who make the rules only care about benefitting those who can directly make it worth their while—the wealthy and powerful? That’s only sustainable until the common people reach a breaking point. Man-made famine has been the cause of several historical rebellions and regime changes. Often facilitated by a powerful thaumaturge who wanted to take over under the guise of deposing the corrupt existing regime.” 

He approved of her stone ball this time and motioned for her to continue demonstrating. “Why don’t commoners put more pressure on those in power to actually serve them?”

“Apply pressure…with what power, what free time and energy, and what imagination?” 

Professor Lacer tilted his head to the side. “Imagination?” 

“You might know that your life isn’t good, but without context or experience, it’s difficult to comprehend how you might change those things. People’s worldviews are like the parable of the frog in the well. Education frees the mind. Without it…” She trailed off, forming the stone into a spinning disk, which she slung at him like a weapon. It exploded in the air between them, dust and fragments of stone catching on the spherical shield he had cast around it so that neither of them would be hurt. 

“Good,” he said. 

“With a bit more control, I might be able to make it into a dust bomb or control the shape of the fragments that explode,” she said. 

“Does the primer cover that?”

“Well, not exactly. But these things are really a matter of practice and control. It’s the Will that matters.” 

His smile grew wider, but he didn’t comment. “You cite a lack of experience and education, but I would argue that you have left out the shackles of laziness and the fear of being different from those around you. Imagine a man who has an idea to improve his neighborhood’s safety and lower crime rates by banding together and going to the coppers to request better standard response times. He brings this idea to his neighbor, and that neighbor acts as if he’s abnormal and childish, then encourages him to go get beaten by the coppers alone and not drag others into it, the chances are greater than even that he will drop the idea entirely. The fear of being judged, the desire to fit in, is a powerful motivator. This is not some particular failing of the individual. It is human nature, and even you and I are not immune.” 

While forming a spinning disk of water and struggling to keep the edge thin and hard, Sebastien couldn’t help but imagine how one might use that to their own advantage if planning a revolution. Would that same neighbor still disagree if two people had the same idea, or three? Or would he be the one to conform instead? 

“Let us return to your earlier idea about how small, individual acts stemming from selfishness can become widespread, and how systemic inefficiencies or incorrect methods actually hurt everyone—even if only in ways that aren’t immediately obvious. Do you think that you and I are the only ones who have noticed this phenomenon, the only ones who can see the opportunities no one is taking advantage of?”

“Definitely not,” she replied immediately. Oliver recognized it, and even if he was the only one she knew actively moving heaven and earth to change things, surely he wasn’t alone in understanding. For instance, someone like Professor Ilma almost certainly understood these things as well. “There are a lot of idiots and ignoramuses in the world, but there are also many intelligent, insightful people. It’s not as if these concepts are so radical or difficult to understand.” 

Professor Lacer snorted sardonically, though he didn’t argue. “That explosion barely splashed me. Try again. The water should sting, at the very least.” He waited for her to go through the process of gathering water from the surroundings, compressing it into a ball, slinging it around her body as she formed it into a spinning disk, and then shooting it at him. This time, it almost reached his neck before it burst with enough force to create an audible cracking sound, like a drop of water falling into a red-hot pan, but on a larger scale. “Much better,” he praised. “No one could ever complain about you being a slow learner.” 

Sebastien grinned brightly. “The Raven Queen told me you said I was a kinetic genius!” 

Professor Lacer scowled immediately, rubbed his lips together, and then let out a very grumpy “humph!” before muttering something about “big mouths leading to big heads.” 

Sebastien couldn’t resist. “She also told me you said I was very talented.” 

Somehow, Professor Lacer’s scowl grew even darker. He looked away. “Of course my apprentice is talented. It would be an insult to me to waste my time mentoring and instructing some mediocre child.” 

Her heart warmed, and suddenly, she noticed that, without realizing it, she’d stopped being so afraid. She was Sebastien now, and Professor Lacer wouldn’t hurt her as long as she kept being Sebastien…and only knew things Sebastien could know.