Stork looked around. He was still in a lecture hall, which was good, but not in the lecture hall he should be in, which was bad. Also the people around him did not look like second year Practical Magic students. They looked like, well, not magic students at all. They looked like students, he admited, but the clothes were all wrong. And the notebooks and pens. And the lecture hall. And the lecturer. That was definitively not Professor Trott, lecturer in Advenced Teleportation. What have I gotten myself into now, Stork thought, moaning silently to himself.
He decided to stay in his place, far to the left on a back row, and try not to draw unnecessary attention to himself. When the lecture was over he would slip quietly away, and try to figure out where he was. No-one seemed to have noticed him, and he hoped no-one would look his way either. He looked for the nearest exit, and noted that it was right beside him. Good, he would be able to get out without notice. His robes would probably look weird if someone saw him, he thought. Then he looked down at his robes, and realized they weren't robes at all. They had been turned into a green shirt and a pair of blue pants. Jeans, he realized they were called, and at the same time it dawned to him what might had happened.
Stork didn't get much time to contemplate this, as the lecturer finished the lesson and dismissed the class. Stork sliped out to the hall outside. He stoped and looked around in bewilderment, trying to decide where to go next. As he stood there a blonde girl approached him.
"Hi", she said. "I haven't seen you before. Are you one of the new exchange students?"
"Umm... Exchange student?" Stork said, trying to think. Yes, that would be a good explanation. "Yes, I am," he replied.
"Great! I'm Hannah. I'm in the welcoming commitee for exchange students. I didn't see you at the information meeting yesterday, did you arrive late?"
"Yes," Stork nodded, "I arrived today." That was true, wasn't it?
"Oh, then I understand why you look so bewildered. Come, let's go to the Cafeteria, so I can tell you what you need to know, and then I'll show you around the Campus if there is time. I assume you have your schedule?"
Stork looked at what had been his Teleportation notes, and found an empty notebook and a schedule on pink paper. Good, The magic is still working, he thought"
"Great, we have the same classes! Then you can just follow me, and I will help you out," Hannah exclaimed as she examined his schedule.
Stork let himself be led towards the Cafeteria.
"What is your name?" Hannah asked.
"Stork."
"Stork? That's an unusual name. Where are you from?"
Stork thought for a moment. He wondered if the people in this world knew about the other worlds, and magic. Quickly he decided that it probably would be simplest if he tried to explain the truth.
"It's a bit complicated... I don't think I'm from this world, actually. I'm not really an exchange student. Or rather, I wasn't, but now I am, if the magic works correctly." Stork knew this would sound crazy to someone who didn't know about magic. Hannah stoped.
"What are you talking about? Not from this world? Do you mean not from this continent? Magic?"
"Do you people know magic? Trans-dimensional teleportation?" he asked.
"You mean magic like card tricks or pulling rabbits from hats, or magic like in fairytales and fantasy books?"
"I mean real magic. Like transmutation, teleportation, levitation... Things like that," Stork replied, and started thinking that perhaps this wouldn't be so easy anyway.
"Oh, come on... be serious... Is this a prank? I'm not gonna fall for this. Where's the hidden camera?" Hannah looked around suspiciously.
Camera? That word didn't quite make sense to Stork. It must be something they didn't have in his homeworld.
"I am serious. All right, I'll try to show you. I don't know if this is going to work. Magic is always a bit different in other worlds, and since you don't know magic it's probably very weak or very different here," Stork explained and looked around for a calmer spot. He saw a door leading out from the building they were in, and beckoned Hannah to follow him out.
They were on a small yard, surrounded by buildings on three sides. There was no-one else on the yard. Picking up a rock from the ground Stork looked up at the windows of the building. No-one seemed to be looking.
"Here, hold this," he said, puting the rock in Hannah's palm. She looked quite doubtful. Stork began probing for Power. The magic in this world felt weak and very different. He was almost convinced that this was a really bad idea, when he found a weak strand of Power that resembled the Power he was used to. He created a mental image of the strand of Power twisting around the rock, just like he had learned in the first year's Elementary Levitation and Telekinesis classes. Bracing himself for any unexpected effects he let the Power loose, and directed it to the rock.
The rock started vibrating in Hannahs hand. Then it rose slowly up into the air. Hannah wen pale and her eyes widened as the rock rose to hover above her head. Stork felt the Power strand starting to slip, and was just going to release it when it got out of hand and the rock started flying around in mad circles. Desperately Stork reached for any Power he could find and tried to weave a protective cage around the rock. The unfamiliar Power didn't behave as he had ecpected, though. Instead of forming an invisible shield they started glowing in purple and green around the rock, creating a spectacular light show.
Suddenly the Power that held up the rock disappeared, and the rock fell down. Stork released the other Power strands quickly, and the lights disappeared. Hannahs knees decided to take a break, and Hannah sat down on the ground with a soft thud.
"Either that was a heck of a lot of strings from the ceiling, or I'm going crazy," she said with a shaky voice.
"Or I'm telling the truth," suggested Stork. Hannah rubbed her temples.
"I think I'm getting a headache," she said weakly. Stork thought that she really looked a bit ill.
"I know this might be a shock for you, but it seemed like it was better to tell you, so that you know what's going on. Come, let's go and sit down somewhere, and I'll try to explain what I think has happened," Stork said, helping her up.
They went back inside and to the cafeteria. Hannah bought coffee for them, still feeling a bit shaky. Actually she would have liked a drink, but the pub at the Campus wasn't open yet, as it was still mid-morning. They sat down at a table, and Hannah took a deep gulp of her coffee.
"Explain," she said. "And it'd better not be a stupid student prank."
"If it is a prank, I'm the victim. I rather suspect it's an accident, though," said Stork, and started explaining.
"I assume that you don't know that there are other worlds, or universes or dimensions, whatever you would call it. There are thousands of them, at least as far as we know. They are similar to each other, but still different. In some of the worlds, like the one I come from, magic is powerful and widely used. In your world the magic Power seems unreliable and weak, and I can understand why you haven't discovered it's uses, as it is quite unusable. You have probably some other energy forms that you use to accomplish what we do with magic.
Anyway, there are ways to travel between the worlds, using what we call trans-dimensional teleportation techniques. I believe I was brought here by a trans-dimensional teleportation spell that somehow misfired. I don't know exactly what happened, so I don't know exactly how to get back, or if someone will be able to fetch me back soon. Probably not, as I'm still here."
Hannah shook her head.
"I don't believe this. What drugs are you on? Do you except me to believe all this? I don't know how you did that fancy trick of yours, but things like this don't happen. This sounds like a cheap plot from one of those stupid fantasy books," she said, and Storks heart sank.
"I've showed you, and I've tried to explain. I don't know what more to do to convince you. I guess you must take my word for it. Or you can just ignore me. I'll get along, I think. It can't be that different from home." Stork shrugged and looked at the cup of coffee he had got. It smelled quite nice, but looked murky. Everyone else seemed to enjoy it, so he decided to take a sip. It tasted bitter and not at all as good as it smelled.
As Stork was puting down his cup on the table, someoene passed behind him and accidentaly bumped hard into his arm. As the cup started falling to the floor he instinctively grasped for a Power strand. Luckily there happened to be a good, strong strand there, right when he needed it, and he managed to stop the cup before it crashed into the floor. Suddenly remembering where he was he let the cup down on the floor with a clink, but without spilling a drop of coffee. The passer-by turned and apologized, but didn't notice his cup-trick. Hannah, on the other hand, did.
"That could have been just luck. Damn, this does not look good at all. Now I'm starting to wonder what I'm on. So, if this all is true, how come you know our language? And wear our clothes?" she asked, desperately trying to find a flaw, beside the fact that things like this didn't happen.
"An advanced trans-dimensional teleport spell will see to that whoever is teleported will fit into his or her environment at arrival. The clothes are transformed, as are all other items that get teleported. Also you'll know the language, or at least words for everything that has an equivelence in the world you come from. For example I don't know what this drink is called, since we don't have that," Stork explained. "A really good teleportation spell will work a while after you've been teleported, too, fixing things so that it seems like you actually belong where you are. I said previously that I'm an exchange student, so if the spell was powerful enough I probably am." Hannah searched through the papers in her binder, and pulled out a list of names.
"Hmm... I have a list here," she said, starting to look through it. "Stork Bethson, is that you?" Stork nodded. "I can't remember seeing you on the list yesterday, but I'm not sure about it either. Damn, this is getting really weird."
They were interrupted by a couple of girls who came up to their table, each with a cup of coffee.
"Hi, Hannah! Who's this? One of your exchange students? Can we join you?" one of them asked. She had long black hair and dimples.
"Sure, sit down. This is Stork. He's from... umm... Finland," Hannah replied. Looking at her list she saw that the country field for Stork now said Finland. She couldn't remember what it had said earlier, and had a feeling that it hadn't said anything.
"Cool! Where is Finland? Can you way something in Finnish?" said the other girl. She had short red hair and a very small nose, Stork noted. Hannah got a bit nervous.
"Umm... Minun taskussani on kaksi lentävää lehmää," said Stork.
"Cool! What does that mean?" asked the redhead.
"It means 'There are two flying cows in my pocket,'" replied Stork, and knew that it was true. The magic was still working, he was a full-featured exchange-student from Finland. The girls laughed, and Hannah looked relieved.
"Will you come with us and see a movie tonight?" asked the black-haired girl. Stork didn't know what to say. There was a limit to the magic, and he couldn't quite understand the word 'movie'. Hannah saw his bewilderment, and came to his rescue.
"Of course you will! It will be fun, won't it Stork?"
"Sure, sounds great," he said, hoping for the best.
Hannah and Stork didn't have time for a Campus round, as the next class was starting. Stork felt that since he was here, he could as well go to class and try to learn something about the world. The subject was Mechanics, and Stork was fairly curious about the local physics. Soon he learned, though, that the lectures in this world could be as lulling as the ones at home. Even though he was interested, his eyelids were geting heavy. He didn't dare to fall alseep again, though, so he forced himself to listen to the monotonous voice of the Mechanics lecturer.
After the Mechanics class it was time for lunch. Hannah took them to the closest Campus restaurant.
"So, what do you want to eat? Do you have any money, by the way?" she asked. Stork checked his pockets and found a wallet. He should have quite a lot, if his homeworld money had been transformed properly. He had just recieved money from his parents, and hadn't had time to deposit it in the University Vault. In the wallet he found several pieces of paper but only a few coins.
"Wow, you're rich enough," said Hannah when she saw the money.
"It's just a few coins," said Stork, rather disappointed.
"No, not the coins, the bills. This is a lot of money," Hannah said and pointed at the pieces of paper. Stork looked at them, and noticed the intricate pictures on them.
"Oh, you use pieces of art for payment? Interesting, I've never heard of that before," he said.
"No, they're not art. They're money. One of those bills is worth five hundred of these coins," she explained, pointing to one of the larger coins. "Well, not the paper itself, it's just a special kind of paper with a special picture printed on it... but since everyone agrees on it's worth then it's worth it. It's kind of a symbol for the true value, if you get what I mean."
"That's smart. You don't have to carry around all the gold. You can keep it at home instead."
"No, we don't use gold at all. Money is not about gold. Well, it could be, and sometimes it is, but mostly it's about work. If you work a certain time, you get a certain amount of money. If what you do is difficult and few others can do it, you get more money in the same amount of time. Then you can use the money to pay for other people to do something for you. Or you can buy things, like food. Talking of which, I'm hungry."
"Oh. That kind of makes sense. It's like how we use gold, although gold is valuable in itself," Stork pondered. Then he realised he was hungry, too. "What is there to eat?"
Hannah tried to explain the lunch alternatives to Stork.
"Pasta Bolognese is pasta with minced meat sauce," she started, and seeing that Stork was bewildered at the word 'pasta', she continued explaining: "Pasta is made of wheat and water and sometimes egg, too. It's good."
"I'll have to take your word for it, I guess," Stork said.
"Then you have fish'n'chips. It's fried fish with fried potatoes," Hannah continued. Again Stork looked confused. "All right... potatoes are a kind of root. We eat them a lot. You can boil them, mash them, fry them... there's a lot you can do with potatoes."
"I think we have something similar, but it doesn't translate..."
"Then there are salads and sandwiches and pizza. A sandwich is bread with stuff on it, like cheese and ham, and pizza is bread baked with tomato, cheese and all kinds of other things on it."
"What do you recommend?" asked Stork.
"I'd say try the pasta. It's cheapest, and it's usually good," said Hannah. They bought themselves some Pasta Bolognese and Hannah got them each a glass of Coca-Cola.
Stork looked admiringly at the bills he recieved as change when he paid his food.
"They are really intricate and beautiful. They're printed you say? I've never seen such detail in a print. Who prints them?" he asked as they sat down at a table.
"The state prints them. It's illeagal to try to copy them. Also the state can't just print more money when they need it," Hannah replied.
"Yeah, that would be like creating gold. Alchemy is forbidden in my world. If someone succeeded it would make the value of gold go down. There are gold mines, of course, but digging for gold is hard work. Creating gold by alchemy would be like cheating. I've never thought of it that way, actually."
"For money to make sense there must be a certain amount of work behind it. Even this food is actually an amount of work. I could always grow and cook it myself, but since I don't do that I must pay someone else to do it for me. I do other things instead," Hannah pondered.
"But I got my money from my parents. So now I'm trading their work for food for me. That's, of course, not my problem... Now I must try this food, and remember to thank my parents when I get home."
Stork examined his cutlery and tried to get some spaghetti onto his fork. Hannah showed him how to roll up the spaghetti properly, and he managed to eat some.
"Mmm... this is good. It tastes rather like Granny's meat sauce with... umm... darn, it doesn't translate. It's good anyway" he said, and reached for his glass of Coca-cola. The brown, bubling liquid smelled like nothing he had had before. "What's this?"
"That is Coca-Cola. It's good, try it. It will make you slightly more alert, too. It looked like you would need that," Hannah replied, referring to his sleepiness in the Mechanics class." Stork took a sip of the Coke. It tasted odd but not bad.
"Interesting. Not bad. People drink this a lot, it seems," he noted, looking around and seeing glasses of Coke on most tables.
"Yes. They've made it slightly addictive or somethin, so that you'll want more. That's not so bad, though. There are worse addictions, like smoking for example. Do you have tobacco in your world? Do you smoke?"
"There is a plant that seems to almost translate to tobacco. Some people smoke it's leaves in pipes. It makes them calm and alert. I don't smoke it, though. It's expensive, and some say it's bad for your lungs," Stork replied.
"I don't smoke either," said Hannah. "Here it is known to be bad for the lungs. Besides, anyone should be able to tell that inhaling smoke can't be good... It smells bad, too."
"I'm still not quite sure I believe this, you know," Hannah noted after a short pause when both of them gorged down some spaghetti. "On the other hand I'm not sure I care whether it's true or not. If this is a prank and you have a hidden camera somewhere, then you've done it so well that you deserve some good material."
"What is a camera?" Stork asked between a bite of spaghetti and a sip of Coke. Hannah looked dejected.
"It's a device for taking pictures. Like small paintings, but without having to paint. Some cameras record moving pictures, too," she said wearily. "I'll show you later."
"Small paintings without painting? That would make all painters unemplyed..."
"We have painters, too. Paintings are appreciated for the artistry and effort put into them. Photos - the images you get from cameras - are too easy to make, so they aren't as valuable. Except if they are really artistic. It's like making gold that doesn't shine like real gold, it doesn't become as valuable."
"So these... photos?... aren't as good as paintings?" Stork asked.
"Well, they're more exact than paintings. But sometimes that's not what you want. Artistic expression is highly valued, too. There are artistic photos, too. I think I'll better show you later, ok?"
After lunch they headed away from the canteen.
"I need to... umm... use the... you know..." Stork said, feeling a bit uncomfortable for having to ask.
"Oh. The toilets are over there. The mens' room is the one to the right," Hannah said, pointing. Then she added, for clarification, "It's got a man on the door. The ladies' room has a woman with a skirt on the door."
"Thanks," Stork nodded gratefully and went in.
The lavatory didn't look quite like what he was used to. The sinks he recognized. They had sinks in the University toilets, too, and running water, although their water system was powered by magic. The booths he could guess what they were. There were porceline things that looked a bit like deformed sinks on the wall. He hadn't seen those before, and couldn't figure out what they were for. There was no-one there to ask, either. He wasn't sure he would be able to ask anyway. He went into a booth and looked at the toilet seat. That he could guess what it was. He looked at the toilet paper, and guessed correctly what it was for, too.
When he was finished with his buisiness, Stork tried the flushing knob. The sudden flow of water starteled him. Then he flushed twice more. After that he opened the lid for the water-tank, and flushed again, fascinated by the simple but smart mechanism for regulating the water flow. He exited the booth and washed his hands. There was a device beside the sinks, with a picture on it showing hands held under the device. He put his hands like the picture described, and felt a warm flush of air, accompanied by a blowing noise. They have some kind of magic here, although it's not the kind we have, he thought. He wondered how the lamps worked, too, and assumed they were powered by a similar magic.
Hannah waited for him outside the toilet.
"Did you figure it out?" she asked with a grin.
"Yeah. You must explain how the lights and everything work, though. You say you don't have magic. What do you call the power then?"
"Oh, that's electricity. The next class is electronics, so I should perhaps explain some of it to you first," Hannah said. Physics was her favourite subject.
"We have some known forces of nature. Gravity is one, it draws us to the ground. Another is magnetism. Magnets attract iron, and other magnets. Magnets have two poles, what we call a north pole and a south pole. North poles of magnets are drawn to other magnets' south poles and vice versa. There is also electrical force. Between two particles with opposite electrical charges there will be an electric field or tension, and the particles will be drawn to each other. Actually it's all about electrons, which are small elemental particles with negative charge. An object with an excess of electrons is said to have a negative charge, and something with too few electrons is positively charged. If you put those objects close to each other the excess electrons will try tho jump from the negaticvely charged object to the positively charged object. Electrons can move through air, which creates lightning and sparks, but they move more easily through materials we call conductive, like metals or some liquids.
When the electrons move from one point to another through a thin metal wire, the wire gets hot from the fricition and can start glowing. That's how some of the lights work. Moving electrons also create a magnetic field. If the electrons are made to move back and forth the magnetic field will change it's direction at the same rate. That can be used to make a magnet spin, which in it's turn can make something else spin. There are tons of other uses for electricity, too. I can try to explain them later. Now we have a class to go to."
Stork thought he understood some of it, but felt that he would need to study this more. At least he thought he understood how the lights worked. Magic - no, electricity - was forced through too thin wires, which made the wires glow, just like a stick you twisted fast and hard against a piece of wood. The Electronics class seemed to be about how to conduct this electricity thing through metal wires in different patterns. It seemed very complex, and it was difficult to grasp how the electricity and magnetism worked together. There seemed to be many aspects to this electricity thing.
There were no more classes on the schedule after the Electronics class, so Hannah gave Stork a tour of the Campus. She showed him the cafeterias, canteens and reading-rooms. Then they went to the library. It was larger than Stork could have imagined. He thought the library at the University of Magic was huge, but it was nothing compared to this. He got a sudden urge to stay here for a year and just read everything about the world. Then he realized that a year wouldn't even be enough.
The tour continued with a visit to the Science student's pub.
"Do you drink beer or cider? I think I'm going to need one..." Hannah said.
"Sure, and we seem to have both at home. Or at least something similar," Stork replied. He could use a drink, too. Hannah bought two lagers and they sat down at a table. Stork tasted the beer. It was bland but not unpleasant.
"Every world seems for some reason to have alcohol. Some forbid it, but it exists anyway."
"Most peoples here have discovered alcohol, too. It's not that hard, I guess. Just leave some fruit juice for too long, and you might get alcohol. Or mold... And those who don't have alcohol have something else instead, like tobacco. Some have several kinds of drugs. I guess that's kind of natural. At times you try to eat everything you find, and discover that you get weird effects from eating some plants. Probably they didn't realise it could be dangerous... I can't figure out how anyone got the idea to smoke stuff, though," Hannah pondered.
"Perhaps they dropped some leaves on the fire, and noticed that inhaling the smoke was fun," Stork suggested.
"Could be," Hannah agreed. "Then they made pipes to be able to smoke more efficiently. Still feels sort of weird, though."
"Will you be around long, do you think," Hannah asked suddenly.
"I've no idea. I can't get home by myself. First, I don't know how to do a trans-dimensional teleport. I kind of missed the most important bit of the class..."
"Yeah, what really happened?"
"I don't know for sure. I fell asleep in class."
Helena smirked at this, and Stork continued: "When I woke up I was here. I remember that Professor Trott was going to do a trans-dimensional teleport at the end of the lesson. Somehow he must have accidentaly fired that spell on me..."
"So now you're stuck here? Can't they teleport you back?"
"No, not without help from this side. They'd have to teleport someone after me, if they know where I am. I suspect they don't, since they haven't come yet."
"So what will you do?"
"Perhaps there is someone here who could help me teleport a message back home, to help them locate me... Meanwhile, I was rather hoping I could learn as much as possible about this world. It's so different, and there seems to be a lot to see," Stork said excitedly.
"But where will you get money? You've got a bunch, but it won't last forever, you know. And you'll need a place to stay, too."
"Don't you have dorms or something? I'll get around somehow..."
Helena thought about this for a moment.
"Exchange students usually get rooms at the campus. We'd better go see if that magic of yours still works, or if I can do some magic of my own," said Hannah.
They went to the administration office.
"This is Stork Bethson form Finland. He hasn't got his room assignment yet," Hannah explained to the woman in charge of exchange students.
"Stork Bethson... Didn't all the students get their rooms yesterday?" the woman asked
"Stork arrived late."
"Oh. There's a few of those every year. Well, let's see... Oh, here he is on the list. There doesn't seem to be a room assigned to him, though. I'll have to check if there are any rooms free." She wrote something on the computer. "Here, there is a room in dorm B, third floor, that you can have. Do you have an ID and your student card?"
Stork looked bewildered. "In you wallet," Hannah hissed to him.
"Oh, here..." Stork searched in his wallet and found three cards in a strange material. One of them had a picture of him. He handed the cards to the lady, who took the one with the picture and one other. He put the third card back.
"Here you go. Hand this paper to the dorm administration in dorm B, and they'll give you the key. Have a nice stay," the woman said, handing over a paper along with Stork's ID and student card.
Hannah had noted that Stork's third card was a Visa.
"Did you have money deposited in a bank or something in your world?" she asked heim.
"Yes, I have money in the University Vault. Why?"
"Come, you might have even more money. That third card you have is a Visa." Hannah led them to an ATM. "Put your card in there," she said, pointing at the slot in the ATM. Stork did so.
"What now?"
"You should have some kind of code for it. Do you have any lucky number or something? It should be four figures. You get only three tries, though... Enter the number by pressing those keys."
Stork thought for a while, and pressed four keys. Hannah told him to press OK. He did so, and the machine asked how much he wanted to withdraw.
"Great, it worked," Hannah cheered. "Don't withdraw now, you have enough. Just ask for your balance. Here, press this," she pointed. Stork did so. The card poped out, and a piece of paper came out thhrough another slot. Hannah took the paper.
"It seems like you money problems are solved for a while, at least. This is enough for at least six months. Perhaps even a year, if you don't waste too much."
They still had several hours before the movie, so they went to inspect Stork's room. As they went outside, Stork stared wide-eyed at the cars driving past.
"That's a car. Also called automobile. Try not to stare so much. They do have cars in Finland, too," said Hannah.
"Are they driven by electricity, too? They smell bad and are very noisy. Although the streets here don't smell half as bad as at home. Not as much smoke and latrine. People smell less, too," Stork noted, sniffing the air.
"Cars move by mechanics and chemistry. Small explosions in metal cylinders make pistons move. The pistons turn an axle that rotates the wheels. There's more to it, but the principle is quite simple." Hannah liked explaining these things.
"Sounds dangerous. I must learn more about that. But now I want to see my room."
The official in building B took the paper and gave Stork his key, after a brief glance at his ID. Stork and Hannah took the elevator to floor three. This time Hannah didn't have to explain. Stork assumed correctly that the elevator was hanging in wires and, using a counterweight, being pulled up and down by some electrical device.
They found Stork's room and entered it. It had simple but functional furniture. A single bed, a desk with a chair, a couple of closets, a bookshelf and an armchair. It also had a toilet and a shower. Stork sat down on the bed. It was softer than the ones at the University dorms he was used to.
"You'll need to get some more clothes and stuff. Perhaps get some pictures on the wall or something, too. We might have time to shop a bit before the movie," said Hannah. Stork agreed to this. If he was going to stay for a whie he could as well settle in a bit.
There was not much else to do in the dorm, so they set out for the nearby mall. They went by bus, which was an exciting experience for Stork. He found the bus quite comfortable and very practical. No need to care for horses or bullocks to pull the carriage, and the speed was higher, too. Also the roads were much smoother than the ones he was accustomed to.
They arrived at the mall in a few minutes. Stork was awed by the multitude of wares in the shops. He had never seen so many colorful clothes at once, and everywhere he looked he saw items he could only guess uses for. First they headed off to buy miscellaneous necessities. Hannah picked out some soap, shampoo and other hygiene products for Stork. He had never seen a toothbrush before, but understood it's use when Hannah explained. Stork browsed pencils and notebooks for almost twenty minutes before picking a pencil with hologram patterns and and a notebook with yellow fur coating on the cover. They picked up an alarm clock that looked like a fat blue rabbit. Stork saw a poster with a wizard holding a blazing crystal ball, and decided to buy it. It reminded him of his uncle.
With two plastic bags full of necessities they headed off to a clothes store. Stork had only the clothes he was wearing - jeans, a green shirt, shoes, a short jacket and underwear - and he needed to buy all kinds of clothes. Again he had trouble deciding, since he had never seen so many different kinds of clothes at once. Finally he settled for a pair of beige pants, a blue shirt, a bunch of t-shirts in different colors, and some underwear. He could always buy more later, and he really felt that he wanted to browse longer and try on all the clothes before buying more. Also he was uncertain of how long his money would last, and wanted to take it easy with spending it until he knew what everything cost.
After droping of the purchases in Stork's room, Hannah and Stork went to meet Jessica and Lin, Hannahs two friends, at the movie theatre. The girls chose a movie and bought tickets for them. Stork still didn't know what a movie is.
They had almost an hour until the film started, so they went to McDonald's for some food. Hannah ordered a Big Mac & Company, and Stork ordered the same. The fries were good, but the dressing on the hamburger was sticky and strange. He ate the whole burger anyway, since he was hungry.
While they ate, Lin and Jessica tried to ask him about Finland.
"Is it snow and cold there all the time, like they say? And dark? Are ther polar bears there?" Jessica asked.
"Do you have McDonald's in Finland?" asked Lin almost at the same time. Stork didn't know what to say. The teleport spell had worn out and gave no hints.
"Umm... no, there's no McDonald's in Finland. But it's not that cold all the time." He hoped this would be true enough. He wondered what a polar bear was.
"Silly, everyone knows it's just cold and dark in the winter in Finland. The sun doesn't rise at all in the winter, but in the summer it doesn't set at all," said Hannah to Jessica. "Stork has had a long day. Can't you let him be for a while?"
"All right, all right... So, what do you do on your free time, Stork?" Jessica asked. Hannah sighed. She liked Jessica well enough, but the girl didn't know how to shut up for five minutes. Luckily this was a question Stork could answer.
"I sing. And play... umm... this Finnish instrument. I don't know how to translate it. It's got strings, anyway." Hannah was surprised at this. Stork didn't look like someone who could sing.
"Cool. Maybe you can sing some for us sometime! Lin, have you seen the latest Christina Aguilera video? Isn't she such a slut!"
Jessica and Lin started discussing the skipmy outfits of some of the modern female artists. Hannah and Stork finished their hamburgers in silence.
While Jessica and Lin visited the ladies' room at the movie theatre, Stork asked Hannah what a movie is.
"It's like a play, but the actors have been recorded with a film camera. A film camera takes pictures very quickly, and when you display the pictures at the same rate it looks like the pictures move. Thus the name. Movie - moving pictures. You'll see. Just remember, nothing is for real. It's just a play."
Stork was curious to see what it would look like. Hannah was slightly worried that he would make a scene, and started regreting their choice of film - an action movie with probably some love scenes, too.
They took their places in the theatre. Lin had bought some popcorn for them, which was yet another new taste experience for Stork. Then the commercials began.
"It's just commercials. They're trying to make people buy things. Don't believe what they say, they exagerate everything," Hannah whispered. Stork stared wide-eyed at the moving pictures.
"Where does the sound come from?" he whispered back. He coudln't see any musicians or actors speaking anywhere.
"The sound is also recorded. It's electronics," Hannah explained quickly. Electronics - a kind of magic. That explanation was enough for now for Stork.
"What are you whispering about?" Lin asked Hannah.
"Stork has never seen a movie before. Umm. In color, that is. They only have black-and-white movies in Finland. Without sound," Hannah whispered back.
"Poor guy... good thing we took him to the movie, then," she replied. Then they had to stop whispering, because the movie started.
Stork had never seen anything like the movie before. He hadn't even imagined anything like it. He had seen storytellers use magic to create images of important parts of stories, and he had seen plays, but this looked so real. At the same time it was very exagerated. The blows the men took in the fights would have been enough to kill or at least mutilate for life, but in the movie the characters just went on as if nothing had happened.
He was also very much in awe for the weapons in the movie. There seemed to be huge metal tubes that shot out fireballs, and small, noisy handheld things that could inflict damage from a distance. Stork concluded that they were some sort of projectile weapons. The only weapon he recognized was a crossbow, although it didn't have exactly the same design as the ones he had seen before, and the arrows had explosive tips.
What shocked him most was, however, the passionate love-scenes. He had heard descriptive tales about war and violence before, but when it came to love and intimacy, there would at most be a very polite kiss. Preferrably on the hand. In the movie the couple started kissing passionately and removing their clothes... Stork closed his eyes. Then peeked a bit, and blushed. He decided to close his eyes for a while more. Curiosity overcame him, and he looked again. No-one else seemed to think it was embarrasing to watch, so he tried to watch it, too, so that he wouldn't draw attention to him, and reminded himself that it wasn't for real.
Luckily the love-scene was fairly short, and cut when the couple hit the bed, or poor Stork would have had a hear-attack. He was still in a light shock when the movie ended and the lights turned on.
"What did you think," asked Hannah as they were walking back to the dorms.
"It was... umm... interesting," said Stork. Hannah nodded.
"Anyway, it's time to sleep now. I live in building A, so I can follow you to your building. Do you remember where the cafeteria we were at before is? I'll meet you there tomorrow at eight for breakfast. We'd better get you some breakfast things, so that you can cook in the dorm kitchen, but it's too late for that now. Do you think you can set the alarm clock, or should I come by and wake you up?" Hannah asked, not quite knowing why she felt so responsible for him.
"I think I can wake up. I'll meet you at the cafeteria. I'll ask if I don't find the way. It's ok, I'm from Finland," Stork grinned.
They arrived at dorm B. Waving goodnight Hannah continued to dorm A. Stork went in, and wondered if he would be able to operate the elevator. It seemed to be on another floor. There was a button by the elevator door, and Stork pushed it and waited, hoping that he didn't look silly. The elevator came down, and Stork felt slightly victorious. He went in, and pushed the button with the label three, and as the elevator started moving, Stork felt that he might actually manage.
In his room Stork started unpacking his previous purchases. Then he suddenly realised how tired he was. He looked at the alarm clock, which Hannah had set to the right time for him eralier. The time measurement in this world was different - for some reason there were twenty-four hours in the day but only twelve on the clock. Still he could understand the time, thanks to the teleport spell. It was late, and Stork decided that he'd continue the unpacking the next day. He found the sheets they had bought and made the bed. When he had undressed and was turning off the light he remembered the toothbrush, and decided to give it a try.
He squeezed some toothpaste on the brush. He didn't know how much to take, so he took as much as there was on the drawing on the tube. The toothpaste tasted very... stingy. He tried his best to brush the teeth, and not to drool too much lather, and made a mental note to ask Hannah to show him how to do this properly. He washed out his mouth with water and finally went to bed.
At first Stork had troubles falling asleep. The day's events flashed through his mind like the commercials before the movie. His mouth tasted of toothpaste, and the bed lacked the familiar lumps of his bed at the University dorm. Eventually the fatigue overcame him, and he fell into a restless sleep, dreaming about electrons moving through a metal wire, making cars explode in a spray of Coca-Cola. That didn't make much sense, but dreams seldom do.
Hannah was sitting in the cafeteria, holding a cup of coffee. She hadn't slept much that night. Her head was full of questions and doubt. Magic was physically impossible. Thus Stork's story couldn't be true. What if he didn't exist at all? What if it had all been just a bad dream? She looked at her list of exchange students. He was still there. Stork Bethson from Finland. Damn. So, what if it was all just a prank? No, Stork radiated some kind of honesty, that made her want to believe in him. But what if he was some kind of pshycho? Perhaps he was so crazy that he believed it himself, which made him seem honest. If it was so, what about the rock? And the coffee cup? Were they illlusions or tricks of the mind? It couldn't be real. You didn't have to have a PhD do figure out it was physically impossible. Unless, of course, there was yet some forces of nature that science didn't know about.
She was wondering whether to see a doctor or priest when Stork came in. He looked tired, too, but still cheerful.
"Good morning to you," he said. "What do you eat for breakfast here?"
"Coffee, a sandwich, things like that," Hannah answered numbly. If he's acting, he is good at it. Should I take him to see a shrink? Why do I even care? That was the question that troubled Hannah the most. Why did she feel she had to take care of Stork? Why coudln't he be somebody else's problem?
Stork inspected the sandwiches and cakes at the counter. He picked a ham sandwich and a cup of coffee. Then he looked at the pastries, and asked the girl behind the counter to choose one for him. She picked a blueberry muffin. Stork paid, and sat down at Hannah's table.
"I had some trouble sleeping. The bed is very soft compared to what I'm used to. And I had quite weird dreams, too. Probably that movie thing, or something," Stork said.
"At least you slept enough to dream. I don't think I slept much at all. I have some trouble geting over this, you know."
"Yea, I know. We've done some case studies on the first encounters with new worlds. At first, when our mages discovered trans-dimensional teleporting, they sent people to just any world they managed to teleport to. The inhabitants of some worlds got quite scared, since they didn't know about other dimensions. It usually resulted in theological breakdown and sometimes even in civil wars. I'd expect you to have trouble with this, too. I really didn't think about the consequences... Perhaps I shouldn't have told you the truth. I just don't know how I would have coped otherwise..."
They ate their breakfast in silence. Hannah thought that it is better to know the truth. She would just like to be sure of what the truth is.
"So, what is on the schedule today? What is this Differential Calculus?" Stork asked, pointing at the first class marked in the schedule.
"It's advanced mathematics. It's the class you woke up in yesterday," Hannah replied. "How much mathematics do you know? Do you know any integral calculus? Perhaps it would be better if you took some other class instead."
"I know some mathemathics, but we don't study it much. I've never heard of integral caclculus. Do I have to go to the class?"
"No, they don't care. Especially since you're an exchange student. You can even change to another class. Perhaps you could take an introductory math course instead. Or just go to the library and study. Actually, why are you even staying here? You could do anything."
"Well, since I happen to be enrolled it might be interesting to learn something, too. Although I think I should start on a lower level. The library sounds like a good idea. I like libraries," Stork replied.
"Do you remember how to get there?" Hannah asked, and when Stork nodded she continued, "If you want to enroll on another course you can go to the place where we got the paper for your dorm room. They can help you out."
Stork nodded. He thought he could find his way there again. He could always ask someone if he got lost.
"I've got to go to class now. Umm... I'll be having lunch with Lin and Jessica in the same canteen as yesterday, if you want to join us." Hannah felt weird. Should she just leave him like this, to cope on his own?
"Sure. I'll see you then," Stork waved happily as Hannah rose and left for class.
Stork was happy as he headed to the library. He loved books and libraries. So much knowledge written down for anyone to read! He even loved the smell of the leather binders and the dust. This library didn't smell of leather and dust, but it had a quite pleasant smell of paper. And it was so big! Thousands and thousands of books, and he wanted to read them all! Stork didn't know where to begin. At first he wandered aimlessly among the shelves, just reading the titles. The books were categorised on subject, and there seemed to be an endless number of subjects. Then he found the fiction section. He soon realised that all the books there contained stories. He wanted to read all of them, too.
After an hour of aimless browsing, Stork decided to organise his reading. He went to the information desk, and said:
"I want to know everything. Where do I start?"
The lady at the desk looked at him over the rim of her glasses.
"Perhaps you should start with an encyclopedia? Section two, third shelf," she pointed.
"Thanks!" Stork said and went to the shelves she had pointed to. He had no idea of what an encyclopedia was. On the third shelf in section two he found several series of books with lables like 'A-Bes' and 'Bet-Cle'. He picked up a 'A-Bes', went to the closest desk and started reading.
After a few pages he realised that although it was interesting it would take too long to read the whole encyclopedia. He put back 'A-Bes' in the shelf, and looked around. In a shelf further down he found something called a childrens' encyclopedia. It was much smaller - only one book instead of twenty, so he picked that up instead, and sat down again. He saw that the librarian was still looking at him. He smiled and waved to her.
Two hours later he was at the letter K. His notebook was full of notes on things he wanted to read more about. He realised that he was quite hungry, and looked around to find a clock. It was allready lunchtime, so he put back the book in the shelf and picked up his notes. Waving once more to the librarian, he left the library and went to the canteen.
Hannah, Lin and Jessica were allready eating. Stork ordered today's special, which was roast chicken with rice, and joined the girls.
"So, how was Differential Calculus," he asked.
"Interesting. I think I understand Laplace transformations now," Hannah answered.
"I think it sounds so difficult," said Jessica. She studied History.
"How was the library, did you find what you looked for?" asked Hannah.
"Yes. It's great! I've never seen so many books at once before! The library at my university is so much smaller."
"What is your university like? Do you have lectures like we have?" asked Lin.
"Yes, we do. It seems like lectures are as boring everywhere, too. I tend to fall asleep," Stork replied, and the girls giggled.
"Is that why you study in the library instead," Lin asked.
"Yes. I can't follow what they say on the lectures. I'd rather study my own way." This was at least partly true. Stork didn't like lying more than necessary.
"What do we do tonight? It's Friday, you know," Lin asked.
"Let's take Stork to a night club! I bet you don't have night club like ours in Finland," Jessica said excitedly.
"Umm... sure, that sounds fun," said Stork, making a mental note of looking up 'night club' in the encyclopedia before the evening.
Hannah felt resigned. It looked like Stork would be her responsibility whether she wanted it or not. Better make the most of it then, she thought, and tried to feel as excited as Jessica.
After lunch Stork went back to the library. Hannah told him that he probably would want to wait a while until taking the Introduction to Computer Programming course that was on the schedule for the whole afternoon. She also promised to explain what a computer is, as the description in the encyclopedia had been quite vague. Stork picked up the encyclopedia again and continued reading.
In another two hours Stork had read two thirds of the childrens' encyclopedia, and felt that he needed a break. His head felt quite stuffed with information that needed to be sorted out. Actually he had more questions unanswered now than before. He would have to ask Hannah about many things yet. He liked Hannah. She was friendly to him, and seemed to know a lot. He looked at the clock on the wall. Hannah's class didn't end until an hour later. Stork decided to go to the cafeteria and have a cup of coffee while waiting.
In the cafeteria he saw that there was something called tea and hot chocolate, too. Coffee made him slightly more alert, but it tasted quite bitter, so he decided to try some hot chocolate instead. Tea seemed to be something like the herbal brews they had at home, so that wasn't as exciting.
As Stork siped his hot chocolate Jessica came in. She bought a cup of coffee and joined Stork.
"Taking a break, eh? So, how do you like it here? It's different from home, I guess," she asked cheerfully.
"Yes, it's very different." That was the least you could say.
"Tell me a bit more about Finland. How is it there?"
Stork was happy that he had read about Finland in the encyclopedia.
"It's in the north, so we have long, cold winters with a lot of snow. It's not very hot in the summer either, but in northern Finland the sun doesn't set in the whole summer. There are a lot of lakes and there is a lot of forest."
"Is it beautiful? Have you seen the sun in the middle of the night? That must be really cool!"
"It's a very beautiful country. Blue lakes, green forests, snowy fields in the winter..." There had been a couple of pictures in the encyclopedia. "I haven't seen the midnight sun, though. I've never been that far north."
Jessica had to go to her final class for the day, and Stork was left alone again. He had another cup of hot chocolate and sat studying the material his spoon was made of. It was some white, brittle material that seemed to be expendable, since people threw the spoons away after using them. He had noticed that many other things were made of a similar material, too. It seemed very practical. It was light and durable and could be colored in may different ways. It didn't get hot when it was in the hot drink, like metal did. There was really a lot to learn in this world.
When Hannah's class was over she joined Stork in the cafeteria.
"What is a 'night club'? It wasn't in the children's encyclopedia, and I forgot to look it up in the big encyclopedia," Stork asked her.
"Oh, a night club is a place where you go to drink, socialise and dance. Usually you can gamble, too."
"Rather like a tavern, then?"
"Well, something like that, I guess. I'd expect the music to be different though. It's quite loud, too, especially on the dance floors."
"I've been wondering about that. How does that recorded music work?"
"Well, there are several ways to record music, actually. Do you know that sound is actually vibrations in the air or whatever material it is moving through?"
Stork nodded. That was known even in his world.
"If you let the sound hit a thin membrane of some kind, like a sheet of paper or something, that membrane will start to vibrate. Those vibrations can used to control an electric current. Then the variations in the current can be recorded in many ways. The most straight-forward is probably the vinyl record, where a needle will transfer the vibrations to a rotating disc, leaving tracks on the surface. For that you don't even have to transfer the music via electricity, I think.
When the record has been made you can reverse the process. You put a needle in the track and make the record spin. The needle starts vibrating, and the vibrations can be amplified with electricity or even just a big horn. If you use electricity, the electricity can be used to make a large membrane vibrate, which creates the sound. We call those membranes 'speakers'."
Stork was impressed. He was also astonished that no-one in his world had thought of something like this.
"Then you can listen to the record as many times as you want?" he asked.
"Yes, and the record can be copied, too."
"But then the musicians don't have to play the song more than once. What do they do when they've recorded it? How do they earn money?"
"Well, first of all they get money for each record they sell. Lots of people buy the records, so they can earn a lot on that. Also they still perform live, too. People like hearing that, and seeing their favourite artists. Then they make more records. Some artists have recorded over a hundred hours of music. That's a lot," Hannah explained.
"Oh. That kind of makes sense. Are there a lot of musicians then? Shouldn't they run out of songs to write, when they can make hundreds of songs each. Or do they all sing the same songs?"
"There are thousands of musicians. Somehow they all manage to play different songs. There are of course very many types - or genres - of music, and new genres are created all the time. You've heard some of it in the mall and restaurants, and some in the movie last night. Tonight you'll hear what people like to dance to nowadays."
Before they could go to the night club they had to shop for some appropriate clothes for Stork. They went to the mall again, and found a glossy red shirt that Stork liked. It looked a bit like silk, but was even glossier. His friends at home would have been envious. Also he bought a pair of black pants to go with the shirt. Hannah bought him some hair styling gel. Later, at the dorm, she helped him style his medium cut blond hair in the latest fashion. Stork thought it looked like he had forgot to comb his hair in the morning. Hannah, Jessica and Lin spent an hour dressing. Stork wasn't used to seeing girls in such revealing clothes, but he thought they were all very pretty. They headed off to the night club.
The first thing Stork noticed as they entered the club was, of course, the music. He didn't think of it as music, though. It was loud and not very melodic. The beat was fast and made him slightly nervous. The girls seemed to like it, though. Then there were the lights. The club was quite dark, except for the flashing lights at the dance floor. They made Stork's head spin, and he hadn't even had any beer yet.
The girls soon remedied that. They bought them all some beer, and the company sat down at a table.
"How can anyone be social in here?" Stork shouted to Hannah. "I can't hear my own thoughts!"
"Either you shout or make signs. But mostly you dance. Or make out in a corner, like that," she shouted back and pointed at a couple on a bench nearby. Stork was shocked. People didn't do that in public where he came from.
"So how do you dance to this music? I feel mostly like hoping up and down," Stork shouted.
"Basically that's exactly what you do. Drink your beer and I'll show you."
Stork drank his beer. Lin and Jessica were shouting something to each other. He couldn't make out a word of what they were saying. Everyone around them at the other tables seemed to be shouting, too. Except for those who were making out. So this is fun, Stork thought. It might take a while to get used to.
When Hannah had finished her beer she suggested that they'd go dancing. Stork was curious to see what the local dance looked like. He was quite surprised when he saw the people apparently jumping up and down on the crowded dancefloor. Some moved a bit sideways, too, and moved their arms as well as they could. Hannah and Stork joined the crowd, and Hannah started to dance. Stork tried jumpign up and down. Then he tried some steps sideways, and steped on someone's toes. He aplologised, or at least tried to. He decided to keep jumping mostly up and down.
In a while the loud rythmical music caught him, and he started to relax. It was actually quite nice to be absorbed by the music and just let the body move. Without noticing it himself, Stork actually started dancing. He looked around for Hannah. She had moved away a bit. People here didn't seem to dance with each other very much. That didn't bother Stork much. He was too absorbed in the music to care about others.
They grabed another beer each, and found a table to sit at.Dancing was quite hard work, though, and soon Stork felt warm and tired. Hannah indicated that she wanted a break, and they left the dance floor. There wasn't much more to do than drink the beer and look at the people passing by. Talking was too difficult in the noise. Stork didn't know if it was the beer, the music or the dancing, but he felt actually quite happy.
They danced some more and drank some more. A couple of hours later Stork was getting tired, and they decided to leave. They found Jessica at the bar, talking (or actually shouting) to a young man. She said she didn't want to leave yet, they should go ahead without her. They looked for Lin, but she found them first. She agreed to leave, too.
Neither of them wanted to go home just yet, so they went to a nearby cafe, which was open even though it was late, and had some coffee and a sandwich.
"So, what did you think?" Lin asked Stork.
"It was interesting, and more fun than I'd thought. It was quite loud, though," he replied.
"Yeah, it is. It wouldn't have to be that loud, but they think people want it that way," Hannah said. "Actually your hearing will suffer after a while".
"That's probably why so many want the music to be loud. They can't hear it otherwise..." Lin pondered. "Then they want loud music everywhere, and ruin their hearing even more. It's actually a bit silly, come to think about it."
They all agreed.
The next morning Stork slept long. Finally he woke up, as Hannah knocked on his dorm room door.
"You awake yet?" she asked, as he opened the door.
"Umm... yea... seems like that..." he answered sleepily.
"I thought we'd have some breakfast and then go see the Museum of Modern Art."
"What exactly is a museum?" asked Stork. There were no museums in his world.
"Oh, a museum is a house where things like art or old historical items are displayed. In an art museum you can see paintings and sculptures."
"Why?"
"Well, if the museum is a private museum, the owner may have thought that he can't keep his collection all to himself, and lets people see it for a fee. The museum can also be owned by the state, in which case it displays items that are of cultural value and that everyone should be able to see. In the Museum of Modern Art you can see works by our most famoust modern and contemporary artists. That should tell you a thing or two about our culture..."
Stork thought it sounded very interesting.
Hannah had brought some breakfast ingredients, and they ate in the common kitchen in Stork's dorm corridor. After they had eaten they took the subway to the city centre.
"Who thought up these... trains you called them?" Stork asked.
"Well, first someone discovered that wagons moved more easily on rails than on roads. Then a man named Watt discovered the steam engine. That works a bit like the motor of a car, if you remember the description, but uses only one cylinder and steam instead of explosions. Soon someone started using steam engines for pulling wagons on rail, and the modern trains and railroads are developed from that. These trains use electrical power to move forth. They're underground so that they don't take up space on the surface and are independent of the other traffic."
"It's great, and so fast. People must really love these," Stork said.
"Well, they always complain when there are problems with the trains and they don't run on schedule. It's annoying even when it's five minutes late."
"Five minutes? How long would it take them to get where they are going if they didn't go by subway? And why can't they take an earlier subway instead, so that they have plenty of time?"
"With all the traffic in the mornings it would take half an hour more to go to the city centre by car instead of by subway. Today everything must be very time- and cost-effective. You can't waste five minutes to catch an earlier subway, you don't have time for that. Everything is run by the clock. We have a saying: 'time is money', and that's quite true."
"If time is that important, why does anyone go by car instead of subway, then?" Stork wondered.
"Some people don't live near the subway, and would have to take a bus to the nearest subway station. Others don't like the subway. There's too many kinds of people here," Hannah explained.
Stork looked around. There was a noisy group of teenagers two bench-rows forward from them, and a man who looked like he'd slept in his clothes for a week in the opposite corner.
"Oh. The nobility don't want to travel with the trash. Have we seen that before..." he said sarcastically.
"Something like that," Hannah agreed.
They arrived at the museum. Stork had never seen a building like that before. He had never seen buildnings like most of the buildings in this world, but the museum was even more different. It didn't seem to have any straight corners, and some of the walls were painted in very cheerful colors. There was a lot of windows, too. They didn't seem to be square either. He wondered what it would look like on the inside.
They want in, and Stork wasn't surprised to see that the architecture on the inside was similar to the outside, although whiter. All walls were either painted light gray or were of a light wood. They left their coats in the warderobe and Hannah paid their entrance fees.
Stork didn't know what to expect of the art. Still it was nothing like what he had expected. In the first room there were huge paintings that looked mostly like a child had painted them, or like the artist had accidentally spilt some paint on the canvas.
"Is this art? I'd call them accidents, or something," he said to Hannah.
"Well, they are considered art. Very artistic accidents, perhaps..."
"They can't be expensive, can they? Anyone could paint those."
"They are very expensive. It's because the artist is very famous, and because they actually are planned, even though they look like accidents."
In the next room there was, among the others, a painting with a huge blue square on a white background.
"What about that one? It wouldn't be hard to replicate. I could do it. Anyone could do it," Stork said.
"Still, noone else has done it before him. If you copy it it wasn't your idea."
"But if I painted a red circle instead? Then I wouldn't copy..."
"It would be the same idea anyway. Besides, it's also the artist that counts. You're not famous."
"So, how did he become famous? By painting blue squares?"
"Usually the great artists have shown that they can paint really well, first. Then they become established and create their own style, or even their own genre. It must be different from all others, and yet 'right'," Hannah explained.
"So that's why they've started painting blue squares on white backgrounds: because others have already done everything else?" Stork said, grinning.
The sculptures were, as usual when it came to first visitors in modern art museums, what Stork liked the most. Especially he liked the fountain made of old trombones, and the giant nose made of stone. They were so absurd that they almost made him laugh. He started to understand what made some of the art so special: he wouldn't have thought of making a giant nose out of stone.
Also they saw a temporary photo exhibition. Now Stork could understand why some photos were cheap and others not. By then, he had seen several photos that weren't nearly as nice to look at as the beautiful paintings there used to be on the walls in his homeworld. These photos were different, though. They were all in black and white, and it was sometimes difficult to see what it was that had been photographed. Still, they had composition and balance, and communicated some kind of emotions. Some were sad, others melancholic, some happy and a few were... well, 'diffuse' was the closest description Stork could think of.
They had lunch at the museum's restaurant.
"This museum thing is so good. Do people come here often? They should," Stork said.
"Some people do, but some don't. Not everyone is interested in art, and especially not in modern art, as they don't understand it. It's mostly the so called 'cultural' people who come here. They are often artists or writers themselves."
"So you mean they come here to see each others' art? But isn't the art made for everyone? Why do they make art that only other artists understand?" Stork asked. This felt confusing.
"Ordinary people don't have money to buy art anyway. The rich, who can afford it, don't always care what the art looks like, as long as it's 'right'. Thus the artists can pretty much decide what is 'right' for the moment. That's not what they would tell you, if you asked them, but that's what I think."
Oddly and unfortunately this made sense.
Before leaving the museum they visited the gift shop. Stork bought a poster with a picture of the painting with the blue square, and a couple of postcards with pictures of the sculptures. He wanted something to hang on his dorm room wall. It felt very 'right' to buy cheap photos of expensive art. Stork felt it had great symbolic value.
The next morning Hannah and Stork were having breakfast at his dorm again.
"I'm starting to think I'll probably have to find a way to get home. Not that I'm in any hurry to get home, but since the magic here is so erractic it could take time to find someone who can help me with it. It doesn't seem like the people at home are able to get me home, either. It's been three days now, and in that time they should have figured out where I am if they could," Stork said.
"What is it that you need to be able to get home?" Hannah asked.
"I need someone who can help me cast a trans-dimensional teleport spell. I know where to direct it, that's the first thing you learn when studying teleportation. There's even a special place at the University where you can teleport messages to, if you get in trouble. I just don't know how to cast the spell, and even if I did know that I wouldn't know how to control the Power Strands here."
"So, you need a magician. That could be hard. There are many people performing magic tricks and claiming that they have supernatural powers, but most of them are fake."
"I don't think people who know real magic will be too loud about it either. In worlds with weak magic it is common that the people who can use it keep quiet about it or try to hide it. Some use parts of the magic to accomplish things in another area, like becoming great doctors or winning money by gambling. Some even get worshiped as gods. Others have less luck, and draw peoples jealousy on themselves. They won't be as successful."
"So how will you know who is real?"
"That will probably be tricky. The first problem is, though, to find good candidates. Do you have any idea how to find them? They need to be practicing magicians, probably not doctors or others who just use the magic for their work. Some of those probably don.t even know they're using magic, and won't be able to help me."
Hannah pondered this for a while.
"It's not like they advertise in the Yellow Pages," she said. "But perhaps on the Internet! There are all kinds of weirdos there."
"What is the Internet?" Stork asked.
Hannah took Stork to the computer labs at the University.
"First I think I should better explain what a computer is. In short it's a electronic device that can make calculations very quickly, like millions of additions per second. It's based on what we call semiconductors and microelectronics, which probably is too complex to explain quickly to you.
"Anyway, a computer can take input from the user and process that according to rules - also called programs - and then give some output. It can also store the information for later use. All input, output and operations are stored in binary format, which is an 'alfabet' using only ones and zeroes. A sequence of eight ones and zeroes is called a byte. There are 256 different zero-one-combinations that you can make with a byte. A zero or one is balled a bit, by the way.
"Bytes can be used to represent letters, instructions, numbers... If you use several bytes in a row you can get even more combinations. The computer can do different operations on the bytes, for example add, multiply or compare the values in two bytes. With these operations it is possible to make the computer do mostly anything.
"Nowadays the programs are very complex, and the ways to give input and display output are many. The most basic input method, used in the early computers, was to enter numbers and instructions by seting a series of switches to on or off. The computer them interprets the instruction by activating the correct circuits, and produced a result by lighting an array of lamps. That was later improved, so that you could use a terminal with a keyboard to enter the information and see the result. Then they made computer graphics, where the computer controls the light projected to small dots on a screen, and thus can display arbitrary images. It can also for example process and deliver sound.
"This here is a computer. That is the screen, or dosplay, where you can see what input you are giving and see the result. This is a keyboard, that you can use to enter text and numbers, and some other commands. The oval thing here is called a mouse. It controls what we call a cursor that can be moved around on the screen. By pressing the buttons while the cursor is on a special area of the screen you will issue different commands to the computer, depending on the program. The computer itself is there, under the table."
Stork marveled at this technological wonder. He tried moving the mouse, and saw the small arrow move. He had made it do something!
"What can you do with it? And what is Internet?" he asked.
"Oh, with a comoputer you can do almost anything these days. You can write text more efficiently than by hand, since you can go back and insert text in the middle of what you already wrote. Or you can do bookkeeping, and let the computer do all calculations. You can use it for listening to music or watching movies. You can play games with it. I might show that to you later...
"Computers can be connected to each other using cables and special circuits that make the computers be able to send information to each other via the cable. That way you can easily share data or programs between two computers. The Internet is a world wide network to which computers can be connected. All the computers here are connected to it. This makes it possible to find information about mostly anything right from here.
"Everyone who wants and has access to a computer that is permanently connected to the Internet can share information on what we call the World Wide Web. The information is marked what we call Hypertext Markup Language - HTML -, which makes it possible to point out other documents on the web in a way so that when someone clicks on the pointer - actually called a link - the refered document gets fetched and displayed. That way all pages can be linked together in a huge web-like structure. The web has become very popular, and millions of people all over the world have published information about themselves or something else that they want to spread to everyone. I wouldn't be surprised if it would be possible to find some magicians there, or at least clues to where to find them."
Stork was geting confused, but as long as this could help him he was happy. Hannah opened a web browser and surfed to Google.
"This is one of the most popular search engines. A search engine has a huge index of all webpages it can find, and can look up the words you enter in this box in the documents. It then tells you which documents matched the search. Any suggestions on what to search for?"
"Well... Magic perhaps? Or magician?"
"I think that's too common. We can try anyway," Hannah said. She entered 'Magic' as keyword and hit 'search'. She got over ten million hits.
"What about transdimensional teleport?" Stork suggested. Hannah tried that. It gave nine hits, and none of them seemed right.
"Let's look at some of the 'magic' hits. Perhaps we can get some ideas," Hannah said, and made the seadh on 'magic' again. The pages were a lot about games and other clearly irrelevant things.
"Try 'magic' and 'spells'," Stork said. Hannah did that. Now the number of hits was limited to half a million.
They continued adding keywords and constraining the search until there were about a hundred pages left. Then they started looking at the pages they got. There were many people who claimed to be witches and mages. After browsing through most of the pages they chose a dozen or so that seemed likely. Then they composed an e-mail that didn't make them sound crazy and didn't reveal too much while being clear if the reader knew magic and sent it to the prospects.
"Now we'll just have to wait a few days and see what they say," said Hannah
Stork was hopeful.
After lunch Stork and Hannah went to the mall to shop some more clothes for Stork. He was very intrigued by the different styles available.
"Are the different styles for people from different professions or clans or something? Whenever I see a group of people walking together they are often dressed the same way."
"That's true. People often want to communicate what kind of person they are by wearing a certain type of clothes. It's like uniforms, but not that strict."
"We have the same kind of structures in my world. Mage students wear robes, soliders wear mail, and peasants often wear traditional clothes from their village. All villages have some details that make them different from the others."
"Here it is slightly more complex. It's not only your profession or origin that decides your clothing. It's also your interests, and often what kind of music you listen to. For example those boys probably like skateboarding and listen to hip-hop," Hannah pointed at a group of boys in baggy pants, "and those probably like music like heavy metal or black metal." She pointed at some teenagers wearing black clothes and t-shirts with band names. Most of them had dyed their hair black.
"So it's important to choose the right kind of clothes? Can they tell by your clothes what you like?" Stork asked. Hannah was wearing a pair of blue jeans and a beige t-shirt.
"Well, at least they can assume that I don't listen to their kind of music. I think they can guess fairly well, actually."
"So what should I wear? I don't want to send out the wrong signals..."
"There is always the normal mainstream fashion, like what I am wearing and what you are wearing right now. I think that's the safest."
"Sounds good to me," said Stork, and they went to buy him some mainstream clothes.
As they sat in a café that afternoon a couple of girls in tight low cut tops and short skirts walked by. Stork tried not to stare.
"Why don't they wear more clothes? It's not that hot here," he said to Hannah.
"That's the current fashion. Or at least one part of it. They wear that to look pretty."
"I think they should cover up a bit. Do guys really like that the girls display themselves to just about anyone?"
"Well, men are usually attracted to sexy women, although not all men like girls that show everything. Young girls tend to think that, though. When men make pictures of 'beautiful women' they are usually sexy. Thus it's natural to think that men want women to look like that."
"So it's only young girls that aren't engaged or married that look like that?" Stork asked.
"No, some girls dress like that even though they have boyfriends or husbands. Some claim that their boyfriends and men want them to dress like that. Others say they like to look pretty."
"Why would a man want his wife to display herself for other men? Doesn't he get jealous? I know I would."
"I think some guys want to make other guys jealous. It's cool to have a sexy girlfriend, or something."
"But does he love her for real then? Or is she just for show? Why do the girls accept beeing just pretty display objects?"
"Sometimes they do the same on their side. If they've got the coolest boyfriend in the neighbourhood the other girls will be jealous. It kind of works both ways."
"Do these people actually try to find a life partner? Or are they just trying to gain status and respect among people of their own sex?"
"Often they don't. They don't really try to find good partners, just cool ones."
"But shouldn't a good partner that you can live with be more attractive than someone who's just pretty or something?"
"One problem is that girls tend to like tough, cool guys, and think that the nice guys who'd actually make great life partners and fathers are boring. Perhaps they 'learn' that attitude from their friends, or perhaps it's some older instinct. A thousand years ago it was important that the man can fight, but not today. It is possible we haven't adapted to that yet," Hannah pondered.
"And the guys want girls with generous... attributes... and wide hips, so that they can make children," Stork suggested.
"Yeah. In times when the men were out hunting or fighting each other they perhaps didn't need to get along with their wives, since they didn't meet much anyway..."
"Now it could almost be a drawback to look good. If you look ugly you can almost be sure that when someone falls in love with you it's because of who you are, and not because of your looks. If you look good you'll get lots of people drawn to you just because of your looks. That increases the risk that you marry someone just because they are pretty, or rather that someone marrys you just because you are pretty," Stork speculated.
"Perhaps that's why good looking actors have so many divorces," Hannah said.
"Divorces? You mean they break up their marriages?"
"Yes, and then they marry someone else, who is younger or better looking. Then they divorce again... Not all actors do that, but many do."
"Isn't that hard on them? What about their children? What happens to them in the divorces?"
"A divorce is always trouble, but sometimes it's better for everyone. Sadly the children are often just tossed around. What I wonder is why some people make the same mistakes all over again when coosing a new partner. It's not only actors who divorce a lot. Almost everybody does..."
"Do you think people will ever learn? Will the girls learn to choose men after other qualities than how tough they are, and men learn to choose women not only by their looks?"
"Probably not. You can always hope, though."
Stork and Hannah had no class on Monday morning, so they went to hang around at the mall instead. As a couple of security guards passed them, Stork asked:
"Is that the town guard?"
"Well, not exactly. Those are security guards hired by the mall. The town guards are called police, and they have different uniforms and can carry guns," Hannah explained. Stork nodded.
"I was thinking last night... Who makes the laws here? Do you have a king or a council or what?"
"In this country and in most advanced countries we have something called democracy. That means that the people get to elect representatives, who then make the laws and rule the country. The head of the group of representatives is the president or prime minister, and will represent the whole country."
"Wow. Does everyone get to vote?"
"Yes. Every adult gets one vote. We don't have any nobility or privileged groups like that. Two hundred years ago or so many countries gave nobility more votes than peasants, and women didn't get to vote at all, but that has changed now. Any titles people may get are mostly for show."
"But don't people have very different opinions on how the country should be ruled? And do everyone know what is best for the country?"
"Well, if people are stupid and elect bad governments they will hopefully realise that and vote for someone else the next time. Too bad, though, that few parties have exactly the same opinions as the people."
"Parties?"
"Yes. They were formed about at the same time as modern democrary was born. A group of people with similar opinions form a party and try to decide on a set of common opinions and goals. Then people who think those opinions are good can join. The party nominates a number of candidates for the election, so that the members of the party and people who support the party without being a member can vote for the same people."
"That is smart. That will increase the chances to get their voices heard."
"It has evolved even further. Nowadays, in many countries, you don't have to vote for a specific person. You just vote for a specific party, and they decide whom to send as a representative. If a party gets many votes they can send many representatives."
"Well, that could be good if you don't know the people you vote for. But if it works like this, why don't the parties have the same opinions as the people who vote for them?"
"The main problem is that the parties don't always do what the people who vote for them want them to do. Instead they try to convince people to think like them. Also many politicians have been politicians all their lives, and don't know anything about ordinary people's lives. Or at least that's the impression people get."
"But if they are elected to be representatives for the people, should they really have their own opinions? Shouldn't they just do what the people who voted for them want them to do?" Stork asked.
"There are so many things they have to decide all the time, that they can't ask the people before making each decision. The voters will just have to trust them to make the right decisions."
"Then why don't they decide the way they think people want them to? Or can't they figure that out?"
"I think they mostly decide the way they think is best for the country. They think they know best, and many times they do, too. What I don't like is the foul play between politicians. They try to make each other look bad, and to make people like them and vote for them not for their opinions but also for other things. And they try to change peoples' opinions."
"Should they really do that? If the people really has the power they should have it completely. If they make stupid decisions they should have to pay for them."
"Perhaps you can say that it's exactly what they are doing. They've decided to give their representatives too much power, and now they are paying for that..."
Stork nodded. That was one way of seeing it. This democracy thing seemed quite complicated.
Stork admired some of the fantasy book covers.
"Some of this looks just like home. The clothes are similar, and the houses and everything. It's almost as if they had been there."
Then he saw a book with a woman clad in a symbolic amount of armor, only covering what modesty demands, fighting a huge monster. Her sword was almost as long as she was.
"That, on the other hand, looks nothing like home. How can she fight with that sword? Where does she keep it? And why doesn't her armor cover any vital parts?"
"That's how some people like to draw female warrirors - more female tham warriors... It's sexy, or something."
"There is nothing sexy about fighting. Believe me. I've seen the soliders practice. They have no time to think about what the opponent looks like, much less what they look like themselves. They are sweaty and dirty, and after real fights also covered with bruises and cuts where-ever they don't wear armor. After marching for a week they soon realize that only practical equipment is worth carrying around. That jewelry she wears would be tossed into the first lake they'd pass..."
"It's just a book cover. And it's fantasy. So they use their artistic freedom and make it appealing to the public."
"Even if I accepted the clothes, or rather lack thereof, I can't really accept that sword. If she had a scabbard for it she couldn't draw it, since it's too long. Or at least it would be very impractical. But she doesn't even have a scabbard. So where does she keep it? There is a reason why you keep yolur sword in a scabbard you know. If it's an ordinary sword you want to protect it, and even if it's a magical sword you want to keep it in a scabbard to avoid accidentally cuting yourself or others with it..." Stork sighed.
"Well, perhaps it's a magical sword that shrinks into a small dull dagger after use or something... Or perhaps it's the artistic freedom again..."
"All right... do people really buy this? I wouldn't."
"Some do. This is again an example of a situation where an unrealistic female body is shown as an example of perfectionism. Or at least that is how girls interpret it, especially when they hear immature boys talk admiringly of it. So, the girls think they have to look like that. Actually, I'm starting to think that too... At least I think that to appeal to a certain kind of men you have to look like that... That's what I don't like with these pictures. Her clothing and sowrd may be unrealistic, but her body proportions are even more unrealistic. But I'm afraid I can't do much about it... Every time I've tried complaining about this someone calls me feminist and thinks I'm just jealous or something. So a part of me has stoped caring."
"What is a feminist?" Stork asked."
"Oh, a feminist is a woman, or at least usually a woman, fighting for women's rights. As I said earlier, a hundred years ago women weren't for example allowed to vote. Women were basically considered worth less than men. They mostly cared for the household and the children, while men got educated, worked and earned money. They had all high positions in society and ruled the countries. Women got their status from their huband's status."
"That sounds very strange. Why woulnd't women be equally valuable as men? Sure, they are often not as strong, but strength isn't everything. They are as smart and as competent in making important decisions. Our king has actually more often been a woman than a man, the last few hundred years, and noone thinks that's strange. The heir just happened to be female. I mean, this is as stupid as saying that people with dark hair and skin are better or worse than people with light hair and skin."
"We've had our share of that, too, and unfortunately still have some problems with it. The woman's rights issue isn't completely solved yet either. Very many countries have still not had even one female regent yet. Countries with kings have on some rare occasions had female regents. Historically it was when the king didn't have any male heirs. Nowadays many countries have decided to let women be regents, too, if they happen to be the firstborn child, but then the king or queen doesn't have any real power. The prime ministers and presidents, that are elected by the people, are still usually men."
"Why? Doesn't the people trust women or something? Shouldn't at least the women trust other women?"
"In some countries the women are too indoctrinated and don't trust a woman as a leader, either, but usually it's because there aren't any female candidates. The candidates are chosen by the parties, and since the parties still are ruled by men they don't let women up the higher levels where they might be nominated for president or prime minister. Actually, Finland has a woman as president. I think they had one female candidate at the last election, and she almost won over the four-five male candidates even though she was from a small party. She didn't win that time, but the parties suddenly realised people wanted a female president, and at the next election almost all candidates were women, and a woman won, too. I read about that in the news. I just don't understand why our politicians don't get the hint."
"Well, I'm glad I'm from Finland, then. It seems to be a progressive country," Stork grinned.
Later that day they sat in a café and had some coffee.
"You said earlier that there has been problems with people thinking that someone is less valuable because of their skin or hair color. How could they think that?" Stork asked.
"Hundreds of years ago people from Europe started travelling the seas, and found other countries. In the south the people had dark brown skin and their technology wasn't as advanced as the europeans'. Actually, they lived in huts and had what we call very primitive eqipment. This the europeans interpreted as lack of intelligence. They brought back these black people to their homelands and used them as slaves. To them, the africans were just animals without culture or intelligence. They actually thought that the black were stupid, and never even tried to find out if they really were."
"Why didn't the africans complain? Why did they let themselves be treated that way?" Stork asked.
"At first they really were technologically less advanced, and had no chance of defending themselves against the weapons the europeans had. The ones who got enslaved were of course kept so that they couldn't escape or do anything to oppose the opressors. Id they tried they were maimed or killed, or their friends and family were maimed or killed. In short they didn't have much of a chance."
"So, what happened? Are they still enslaved? Or have people realised how wrong that is?"
"One of the largest slave holding countries in the world was the USA. They imported slaves from Africa, and sold cotton, tobacco and other wares to Europe to make money to buy more slaves. The slaves were used to harvest the cotton and tobacco, and thus their 'owners' could make more money the more slaves they had. In time the slaves realised how many they were, and started to protest. Also there was a civil war in the USA. The people in the northern states wanted to forbid slavery, while the southerners, who had the slaves, wanted to keep them. Eventually the slaves were freed. Most of them were born in the USA, so they stayed there. Also they thought there was more opportunity for them there than back in Africa, that is still behind in technology.
The white people in the USA didn't want to give the black people full equality though, since they still thought the blacks were stupid and had no culture. For example black weren't allowed to vote and they weren't allowed into the same hospitals, busses and shops as the white people. This created a lot of resistance, of course, and after many fights and demonstrations the black won and became equal. The problem is that some whites still haven't realised that skin color doesn't matter, and think blacks are less valuable. That is called racism, and it's not only a problem in the USA, although it's one of the clearer examples. There is probably racism in most countries in the world. It can also mean that the colored native population in a country think that white europeans are less worth than themselves. In some counrties where there are many immigrants both some of the natives and some of the immigrants think they are better than the other group. It's never quite easy. Then we've had madmen like Hitler, too, but that's a completely different story."
"I like stories. Tell me," Stork said.
"About ninety years ago a war started in Europe, when a rebel who wanted to free his country, that was occupied by another country, and shot the king or heir of the oppressing country. There was much politics involved, and soon many countries across the world were involved. That war is now called the First World War. Several years later the war ended, and half of Europe was in ruins.
"This was a perfect oportunity for Hitler, a young power hungry politician in Germany, to gather support. He was a great speaker, and told the German people that Germans were the best people in the world and that they should basically rule the whole world. In that time the larges group of people in Europe that weren't originally European were the Jews. They originate form the middle east, and have both their own religion and language. Many europeans didn't like the Jews, since they were different and people are afraid of that which is different. Hitler spoke of this and made the people really hate the Jews. About 70 years ago Hitler's propaganda had been so successful and gone so far that he had become the ruler of Germany. Now he wanted more, and thus attacked a neighbouring country. Soon other countries had joined the fight, and the Second World War had started.
"During the war Hitler started 'purifying' the German and other European peoples. He gathered all who were non-european, like the Jews, or 'faulty' in some other way in concentration camps. There he let them starve, and he let crazy people do horrible experiments on them. When they became too many he started killing them off. People were packed togehter, a hundred or so at a time, in rooms that they thought were showers. Instead of water, the nozzles sprayed in leathal gas, and the people died. During the Second World War Hitler managed to kill over a million people in the concentration camps. Most of them were Jews. That is one of the more horrible effects of racism and power hunger that we have seen in history. What is even more frightening is that some racists still support Hitler's ideas."
Stork was stunned at this. Killing a million people just because they had a different culture? What kind of maniac was that? And how could the German people allow that? He asked Hannah this.
"Most of them didn't actually know what was happening behind the walls of the concentration camps, or at least we can hope so'. The people had heard Hitler's propaganda, and actually believed that the Jews were the vermin of Europe, and were happy that they were taken away. They probably didn't think much on where the Jews went. Why should they? They just wanted to get rid of them anyway. Now many people have realised how stupid they were, and regret their unreasonable hate for Jews."
"I should hope so. They should be really ashamed. What kind of sickos can still support that? It seems like your world has isn't as advanced as I thought from the beginning..." Stork said. Hannah agreed to that. There was still so much stupidity in the world.
"It seems like there are some significant differences to how math and physics work here and in my world," Stork said to Hannah when they had lunch the next day. He had been to an introductory math course and a course in elementary physics.
"Different? In what way?" Hannah asked.
"Mainly it's the constants. They are all different. At least most of them."
"Constants? How can they be different? They are constants!"
"Oh, they can. The math and physics constants and laws are different in every universe. If they weren't, there wouldn,t be differences in the magic in the wirlds either. Your world seems to have very different constants from our world, though. It makes everything a bit trickier," Stork explained.
"Which constants do you mean, exactly? I can figure the speed of light would be different, but e and pi and those must be the same, I assume?"
"The speed of light is different in almost all worlds. It has so much influence on everything else that it kind of decides how different two worlds will be. The speed of light is almost 25% higher here than in our world, which explains why they are so different. But the other constants are different, too. For example pi, the relation between a circle's diameter and circumference, is something like 3.14 here. At home it is exactly 3.2."
"What? That can't be. Or have you just not calculated it more exactly?" Hannah exclaimed.
"They've calculated and measured it in thousands of ways, and each time they get exactly 3.2, so it is correct. I think they've even proved it somehow, although I don't remember how."
"You must be kidding. That is basic trigonometry and geometry. That can't be changed! And it would change so many other values, too." Hannah protested.
"Of course! It influences most other mathematical constants. All the trigonometrical values are different and e is different, too," Stork explained. When Hannah still looked doubtful he continued:
"A few days ago you didn't think magic existed, or other universes either. Now you have accepted that. Why is this more difficult to accept?"
"It's... I don't know.... Perhaps the laws of nature that the existence of magic defies are so abstract, that it's easier to accept that it's possible that they are wrong. But pi has been known for over two thousand years, and it's so concrete that it's difficult to imagine anything else."
"For me it is very difficult to accept that your pi has an infinite number of decimals. How can it have that? And it can't be expressed in fractions, either, so it's not just because you use a ten-based system. To me, that seems like there is something really wrong in your mathematical system..."
Hannah saw the point, but wasn't still fully convinced. She didn't know if she could really become convinced either, since it was impossible to prove while staying in this world. It was like saying that there were worlds with only two dimensions, or worlds with four dimensions, not counting time.
"Actually, given the constants in this world it isn't so strange that you have so much technology and so little magic. It seems like they work very well for mathemathics and physics, but will disturb the Power seriously. My teachers would know more, of course," Stork said later that day.
"Do you know how much the constants differ from world to world? Are there worlds with even less magic and more technology?" Hannah asked. After having thought about it for a while, she actually found this concept quite intriguing.
"There are definitively worlds with more magic. In some worlds everything is held together by magic. The beings there don't resemble us much at all. They aren't even what we would call solid, as they are magical, too. Theoretically there could be worlds without magic, but we haven't been able to confirm that, since we need magic to get there. Those worlds would probably be eitner very advanced and technical, or consist of total chaos. The scientists are still debating that. Some mean that there needs to be a small amount of magic to 'start up' the processes so that planets and stars can start forming, and so that life can start evolving, so that a world without magic would be just chaos, or perhaps just empty."
"How can two worlds be so similar as our worlds, then? Why are you human, and not any other form?" Hannah asked.
"The worlds, or universes, are kind of grouped together and actually overlap a bit. This is on a whole different level than in the normal four dimensions, including time as a dimension. There is also a fifth dimension, and it's in that dimension that the worlds overlap. Moving from world to world is thus just a matter of moving in that dimension. At one point the scientists believed that there is a sixth dimension, and that each universe has a unique sixth dimension, but that thought has now been abandodned. In popular speech we sometimes still call the universes different 'dimensions', though. That's why the spell for moving between them is called trans-dimensional teleport, too," Stork explained.
"So our worlds are in the same group and thus evolve in the same way?"
"Yes. Two overlaping worlds influence each other fairly much. The more they overlap the more similar they will be. Ours, I believe, are fairly close. The constants are within the same range, and as you have noted the inhabitants are quite similar. Actually, with a good teleport spell, you wouldn't know that, since it would fix the appearance as well as everything else, but in this case we are actually quite close."
"But how did you end up on this planet and not somewhere else in the universe? You could have ended up anywhere!"
"The trans-dimensional teleport only teleported in the fifth dimension. It can be made to teleport in other dimensions, too, but luckily it didn't. Since our worlds are so close, there happened to be a lecture hall exactly at the same place in both our worlds. That, I believe, is quite much by chance, though. I could have ended up in the middle of the street instead. Maybe the fact that both universities are old has something to do with it, and perhaps the spell helped with the adjustments."
"So, when you do these teleport spells, wouldn't it be easy to get lost?"
"Yes. That is why the first thing we learn are the coordinates, in all dimensions except time, to a certain spot in the university. If we get lost we can always teleport back there."
"Speaking of teleportation, we should probably go and see if we have got any replies to the emails we sent out," Hannah said.
They went to the computer lab, and Hannah loged in. She had got three e-mails. One was a cute picture of a kitten in a large wine glass. It was from Jessica. Number two had the subject "Free XXX teen pics". Hannah deleted that without even looking at it. The third was a "make money fast" chain letter. She deleted that, too.
"I guess we'll have to wait a few more days. If nothing happens before the weekend we'll have to find another way, I think."
Stork agreed. It seemed complicated to get home, so even though he wasn't in a hurry it seemed like a good idea to at least look for a way to do it.
On Tuesday afternoon Hannah wanted to go to aerobics, and suggested that Stork would come with her. He agreed, although he didn't know what aerobics was. Again, they had to shop for some more clothes for Stork, as he didn't have any aerobics equipment. While they shoped Hannah tried to explain the basics of aerobics to Stork.
"Since people don't have physically heavy work anymore, but instead sit down at a desk all day, they have to do something to get excersise. So, they do some sports. Some play games like football or tennis - I'll explain those later -, some run or swim or something, and some do things like aerobics. Aerobics is designed to train all muscles in the body while being good excersise, too. It's also quite fun. It's a bit like dancing."
"You mean people exhaust themselves without reason? What's wrong with siting behind a desk all day and then relaxin all evening? I know many people who would like that..."
"The problem is that the body is designed for moving around, and if we don't do that we'll become more tired and easily get ill. The back will start hurting from being in an unnatural position all the time. It's basically not good for us."
"I thought moving too much was bad. Many peasants and workers get worn out and can't work. Their backs can't take it after a while."
"Yes, working too much is bad, too. The best is somewhere in the middle."
"So why don't people just get another job where they get to move? Why don't they do something useful instead of playing games?" Stork asked.
"They want to have fun. It would probably make more sense to work or clean the house or something, but people need recreation, too, so they do somehting that is fun instead."
They went to the gym. Hannah showed Stork where to change. They changed to the training clothes and went to the aerobics hall. The aerobics leader turned on the music and started doing some opening moves. Stork tried to follow the best he could. It was difficult, and it felt like he suddenly had an extra leg and at least two extra arms. He noted that some other people were almost as bad as he, which made him feel slightly better.
As they got to the complex aerobics moves with sideways steps and hops while wavin your arms Stork was almost ready to give up. He was hot and couldn't keep up at all. This was very different from dancing. Then the music changed and the leader got down on the floor and started doing push-ups. That didn't look so difficult, Stork thought, and tried some push-ups, too. He did three, and then it felt like his arms were shaking. It seemed like he wasn't in such a good shape after all. Then came the leg-lifting and back-lifting and other weird moves. That looked very silly to Stork, and he actually refused to do some of the moves. He needed a break anyway, so he just lay on the floor, panting. He hoped that people didn't stare too much.
After the longest 45 minutes of Stork's life it was finally time for stretching. Stork noticed that he was quite stiff compared to the others, but the stretching felt good anyway. The last five minutes they just lay down on the floor. That seemed like the absolutely best part of the aerobics pass.
Afterwards Hannah congratulated Stork.
"Great, you did a good job there. I didn't think you'd hold out that long!"
"It was the worst thing I've ever been through! I'm totally exhausted! And you say people do this voluntarily? And they think it's fun?" Stork exclaimed.
"It is fun after a few times, when you've learned the moves. It's like drinking beer, the first times it is awful, then you learn to like it and eventually you can't live without it."
"But it looked so silly! Grown-up people doing silly hops and jumps, not to mention some of the things you did on the floor!"
Hannah smiled.
"It can seem a bit silly, but since everybody is equally silly you don't have to think about it."
"I must have looked silliest of all, not being able to keep up in the moves. It was so difficult!"
"No-one cares. New people always look silly. Actually it's good to have some beginners in the group, too. It makes the others feel better, since they look better..."
"So was that why you brought me? So that you would look better?" Stork teased.
"Of course," Hannah teased back.
That night Stork slept very well. In the morning his body ached all over. He swore never to do anything like that again in his life.
So after class that afternoon they took all Storks dirty clothes to the nearest laundromat. They put the laundry in the washing maschine, added some washing powder, inserted some coins and started the machine. Stork watched through the glass as the cloths spun around in the machine. He was fascinated.
"This is so much easier than washing by hand! It's so clever!" he exclaimed.
"I told you it was easy. Now we just have to wait for half an hour or so, and then put the clothes in the drier, wait another half an hour, and then it's done."
"This must really save work. But I still don't understand why the clothes needed washing allready. If washing takes a tenth of the usual time, but you do it ten times more often you don't save any time in the end."
"Well, perhaps not, but you get cleaner clothes... Although some people was more often than they would need. There are people who wash a pair of jeans after using them one day. I use them about a week before washing. T-shirts and underwerar are another matter, those I ony use one day before washing. It's more hygienic that way."
Stork had heard a lot about this hygiene thing. You had to take a shower each day and after excersizing. You had to keep food utensils very clean, and store food hygienically in the fridge. Back at home people took a bath perhaps once a week if they did heavy work, and only washed their face and hands daily. Food was kept on the table unless there were mice, in which case you had it in a cupboard. The floors would be swept daily to keep mice and other vermin away, but that was about it.
"How often did people wash clothes before the washing machine was invented?" he asked.
"Perhaps a few times a year. Not so often, at least."
"And no-one complained because the clothes were dirty? So why do people care so much now? I bet the washing machine was highly appreciated when it came, but now that you wash every week it sounds more like a burden."
Hannah agreed. Instead of shortening the time used on washing clothes you started to wash clothes more often.
"Same goes with other inventions, too, it seems," Stork continued. "For example the subway hasn't made it easier for people to get to work. Instead they just travel further than before. And the demands have increased. Now it is a catastrophy if the subway is five minutes late, or if there is a stain on the clothes."
"Perhaps people just can't sit back and relax. They would rather raise the life quality. But they do have more free time than before, too. A hundred years ago people worked over ten hours a day, six days a week all year. Now they work eight hours a day five days a week, and have vacation."
"But if you ask them if they would rather have more vacation or more money, what would they choose? And if you told them that they could wash their clothes every second week instead, if they just ignored some stains?"
"I think people would want the money, and they would keep washing."
The washing program was finished, and they emptied the machine. They put the clothes in the tumble drier, inserted some coins and turned it on.
"You've said that there are people without work. Why is that? If there is less work to do than there are people to do it, why don't the ones who work give some of their work to the others? Share the work, so to say? Or just give away the food and stuff to those who need it," Stork wondered as they sat down to wait for the tumble drier.
"Actually, that is a fairly good question. I think it is related to why people wash their clothes more often when it gets easier. When a farmer can suddenly grow twice as much wheat than before in the same amount of time and on the same area, he won't cut his production to half and work half day. Instead he wants to trade more wheat to products."
"So, let's say at first everyone are farmers. Then suddenly they find out that if they irrigate their wheat fields, they can produce twice as much. But instead of slacking half day, half the population become tailors instead, and produce clothes to the farmers, and trade them for food," Stork pondered.
"Something like that, yes. The farmers don't just want to give away the food, and why work less when you can have more food instead, and trade it for clothes." Hannah liked this kind of speculations.
"What happens when the tailors invent scissors and can produce twice as many clothes in the same amount of time? Then half of them would have to become smiths instead."
"Yes, and the smiths produce ploughs and sharp scissors, making the tailors and farmers more effective. And then they invent the billows..."
"But who made clothes before there were tailors? And who made the scissors before there were smiths?" Stork wondered.
"The farmers must have made their own clothes, and the tailors their scissors. So now they don't need to make them anymore. Although they need to keep producing more than they need themselves to afford to buy clothes and scissors," Hannah figured.
"So they've kind of caught themselves in a trap? They've come accustomed to the tailormade clothes, and don't want to go back to the homemade clothes."
"Yes. That's kind of what has happened for real, too. Everyone is so accustomed to having nice clothes and expensive things that they must keep on making a lot of money to afford to buy it," Hannah said.
"And the ones who don't have any jobs? Are they the smiths made obsolete by the invention of billows?"
"Yes, and they can't find anything new to make, because people wouldn't afford to buy it anyway, as they now have to buy both food from the farmers, clothes from the tailor and knives from the smiths... The production is too effective, but at the same time people don't have enough to trade with. That sounds quite backwards. Actually it should be a paradox."
"But if the farmers still produce the same amount of food, and the unemployed can't afford to buy it, then the farmers won't be able to sell all the food. Won't they get too little money then?"
"Not necessarily. If the production of food has become so effective that the farmers don't need to sell everything to buy what they want they don't have to care."
"Why can't they just give the food to those who don't have any money, then?"
"That would be unfair. That is exactly why communism doesn't work for real. Communism is an ideology where everyone basically produces something best they can and then get all they need from the others. It has been tried, but doesn't work so well, since people tend to want to use others but don't want to be used themselves. If noöne else works, why should they work? And if they do work, why should they give the production away to someone who doesn't?"
"Communism... I think I read about that in the library. It seemed like a good idea, but it would fail if anyone tries to take advantage of the system. And if I know how people are, they will try to take advantage," Stork said.
"So, since the farmers don't want to give the wheat away they can either make people buy more wheat or produce less. If they produce less they will definitively make less money. So instead they try to sell more. They can even lower the prices, but just enough so that they will sell more and make more money at the same time."
"Can they do that? Would people really buy three times as much if the price is cut in half?"
"Yes, many would. But in the end the prices for wheat will have to go down so much that the farmes could as well have given it away. But they still think it's better to sell it. It's the human nature to be jealous if someone gets what they need for less effort. Actually, that's also why communism was tried in the first place... quite a paradox, that too."
The dried stoped, and Stork emptied it. He admired how clean the clothes were now.
"I guess I can see why people prefer clean clothes to more time. It does look and feel quite nice," he concluded.
"What are all these other mages about? They don't seem to have much clue on magic for real," Stork said as they sat down for a beer in the pub.
"There are always some people trying to fool others to make money. There must be some of those in your world, too," Hannah answered.
"Well, not that many at least. There are so many real mages that a fake mage wouldn't have much to do. Although I can understand that in a world like this, where there are few real mages, the fake mages might be able to fool people. I guess it's difficult to distinguish tricks from real magic if you haven't seen real magic..."
"Yes, it is. Also there are many people who hope that there is magic, although the common belief is that there isn't. There are actual movements, like Wicca and differen New Age movements, that believe in magic. I always thought it was mostly bogus, but now I'm not so sure. What if some of them actually know some magic?"
"If they are like those first two mages, and all those that we skiped while searching the Internet, I don't think there are many real mages here at all. We have a branch of mages who believe in the inner strength of people, and make people help themselves by manking them think that they are helped by magic. It actually works sometimes, and I would suspect that your so called mages work in a similar way, too."
"That is possible. Many people really want to believe in it, and when they believe in some things they become true just because they believe in it. Also when a spell doesn't work, they blame other things, like that the spell was done incorrectly, or that something else made it fail. They don't necessarily believe that the spell just can't work."
"At the same time, willpower is an important ingredient in all spells. It is possible for people to work magic without knowing it. There are probably some mages around that don't know that they are mages."
"What about belief in gods or some higher power? Can that 'trig' magic, too? If you pray really hard to God for something to happen, would it be possible that you actually make it happen by magic?" Hannah asked.
"Well, that depends on how you see god. If god is everywhere around you, like magic is, you might access the magic by praying. But if god is a figure, some kind of being, then it would be more difficult. Prophets, on the other hand, are often either magicians or great philosophers. Some of them are just great speakers, though," Stork explained.
"Do you think the prophets in our world were magicians? That could explain some things."
"Some of them probably were. I wouldn't know for sure, though. I believe my teachers could answer that, if you described to them what the prophets did."
"In that case we should better find a way to teleport. Otherwise we won't be able to ask your teachers anything," Hannah grinned.
The next morning they had got a reply. It now seemed clear that the mage knew about trans-dimensional teleportation. In addition, she lived in the same part of the country, so it would be possible to go and see her. Stork thought about this for a short while, and decided that even though he would like to stay longer it would be good to get home soon, too. He could always come back. So, they sent yet another email to the mage, suggesting a meeting.
After the morning classes and lunch, Stork visited the university library again. This time he picked a book on the history of the world. He skimed through the first chapters about the prehistoric times and the antique. What he was interested in was the development of the world after they had come as far as his own world. That might help him understand how this world worked. It might also give him ideas on how his own world could develop.
He soon identified the early renaissance as the development phase best describing his own world, but with sime differences. They had better knowledge of the world than the European renaissance people had had, and they were more advanced in many fields of science. Partly their world was almost as advanced as this world. Still, on cultural and social level they were in the renaissance age. That was intriguing, and he wondered why not all development had advanced at the same pace.
Stork read about the scientific and cultural development from renaissance to modern times. He noted also that the history was full of wars. Wars weren't uncommon in his wordl either, but he was surprised and depressed to see that an 'advanced' world like this still had wars. There also still seemed to be poverty and famine. He could understand that all illnesses hadn't been cured, as there always seemed to be new illnesses coming when old ones were defeated, but that problems caused entirely by humans themselves weren't solved wasn't what he had hoped. He had hoped to find a 'cure' for war and poverty, but there didn't seem to be one. Perhaps it wasn't so strange that there were wars raging here and there in his own world, too, even though most people agreed that war is a horrible thing.
That evening Stork discussed his findings with Hannah.
"Perhaps to understand why there still is war you must understand what causes the wars. What are people fighting about right now? The history book wasn't that updated..." he said to Hannah.
"Well, there is the war in Northern Ireland. There they are fighrting about territory. The land was occupied by the Brittish a long time ago, but the Irish want the Brittish to go home. The brittish have had the land for so long that they won't let it go. That's a quite common story, actually."
Stork nodded. That was a common dilemma in his world, too.
"In Israel the situation is similar. Two peoples are fighting over the same bit of land. It's very sensitive, since there is religion involved, too. Actually, religion is involved in Northern Ireland, too. The Irish and the Brittish have slightly different religions. They believe in the same God, but in slightly different ways."
"So people fight over land and religion? They really do that still? Can't they just live together?" Stork asked.
"Not after fighting for so long. Both sides are see the others as the scum of the earth, and won't accept to live along with them."
"What about this USA and Afghanistan thing I keep hearing about? Those countries aren't even near each other. I checked on a map..."
"That's a quite different story. About a year ago some Afghan terrorists flew some airplanes into a few buildings in the USA. Two very high buildings collapsed, and thousands of people died. USA was, of course, very angry and strook back."
"Well, that's understandable. I'd probably do that too. But why did the Afghans do this? They are a much smaller country and can only lose."
"It wasn't the Afghanistan government that ordered the attack. That was an independant terrorist organisation that just happened to be based in Afghanistan. Although at the same time, USA helped to overthrow the oppressing Taliban government in Afghanistan. What is weird, though, is that it was USA that once helped the Talibans to gain control over Afghanistan... You see, they wanted the previous govenment overthrown, too."
"What do the USA have to do with the governments in other countries? Shouldn't that be the country's own affair?"
"The USA want of course to protect themselves. If they can help to overthrow a hostile government they decrease the threat to themselves, too. Also they like to 'preserve the democraty', as they say. Although that might just be propaganda to make them look better."
"Well, isn't that good?"
"Many think that the USA goes too far when protecting their interest and the 'democracy'. More than ten years ago they intercepted a coutry trying to occupy a small neighbouring country. With the help of the USA the small country remained free. The actual reason for USA to help them was that they wanted to buy oil from that country, and if it had become occupied the price of the oil would have gone up a lot. The problem was that there were many people killed, even civilians, although the USA promised 'minimal casualties' and that no civilians would be killed. That wasn't the first or the last time the USA had interfered in other wars and said the same thing. They have yet to show the world a 'clean' war with truly minimal casualties and no civilian victims."
"In war people always die. How could anyone believe that the USA would be able to fight a war without killing people?"
"I don't know. It's their propaganda, although people don't call it propaganda. Also americans are the descendants of the europeans' ancestors, if you get what I mean, and the europeans feel more related to them than to people in, for example, Afghanistan. Thus they are more prone to believe the Americans than the Afghans."
"I had hoped that the people in this world wouldn't have let themselves be controlled by such primitive mechanisms. I guess that was in vain. You are still humans, after all."
"Yes, we are still humans. Unfortunately."
Before going to their dorms for the night, Stork and Hannah checked the email again. They had got a reply from the mage. She suggested that they'd meet already on Sunday. Apparently the phase of the moon and sun influenced the magic, and Sunday would be a good time to cast the spell. The next chance would be four months later. Stork had hoped for some more time, but four months was a bit too long. He could as well give it a try now. It wasn't even sure it would work, and if it did he could always come back some time.
So Hannah decided to go with Stork, at least if the teleport spell would succeed. It would be interesting. She called her mother to say that she would be away for a while.
"Hi mom, It's Hannah."
"Hi honey! How are you doing? How's the studies going?" her mother asked.
"I'm fine. The studies are fine, we have mechanics and transformations and stuff like that. It's interesting. How are things back home?"
"Oh, we're doing just fine. Your brother got highest marks in a math test."
"Great! Congratulate him from me. Look, I'll perhaps be going away for a week or so. We have an exchange student who's going back home for a while, and he invited me to go with him for a week or so. I thought that would be a great experience."
"An exchange student? Are you sure it's safe? What if they try to keep you there? Or sell you or something? Where is he from?"
"Oh, mom, it'll be safe. He's very nice. He's from Finland. That's a civilised country, they wouldn't do anything bad." That seemed true enough. She didn't like lying, but in this world, Stork was from Finland.
"Finland? Isn't it cold there? Well, I guess I'll have to trust you. I can't stop you from going, can I? You must promise to be careful, though! What's his name, by the way?"
"Stork. Stork Bethson. He's studying science, too."
"Will you call me from there? And tell me everything is all right?"
"I don't know if I'll be able to. I'll call you when I'm back, though."
Her mother sighed.
"All right then... Have fun with this Stork," she said
"I will. Bye mom. Say hi to the others from me."
"Bye honey. And be careful!"
Lin and Jessica were envious when she told them she would go and see Stork's home country.
"Oh, how exciting! You must tell us all about it when you come back!" Jessica said. Hannah promised to tell them. She would have to look up something about Finland to tell them when she got back.
Hannah and Stork looked up the buses. The place where they would meet the mage was an old burial ground a few miles outside town. There was a bus that went there from the city centre and stoped fairly near the burial ground. The mage had suggested noon as a good time to start casting the spell, so they decided to try to be there a couple of hours earlier. Hannah sent an email to the mage, confirming that they would come.
On Saturday they cleaned out Stork's room. Hannah stored his things in her closet, in case he would be back any time soon. There weren't so many things anyway. The alarm clock that looked like a fat blue rabbit she put on her nightstand. They thought about what to do with his dorm key, and decided that Hannah would keep it and return it after his rental period expired.
That night Stork lay in his almost empty room and thought about home. He missed his friends at the university, his family, although he didn't see them except for holidays, and even his favourite tavern. At the same time he would like to stay longer. It would be good to get home, though, to a world that he knew, and where he could work magic. That was probably what he missed most - being able to cast a spell properly.
Hannah was geting used to all the confusion and weirdness. She realised that she didn't even think visiting another world seemed strange anymore. Ten days ago she hadn't even known there were other worlds. It's strange how quickly you could adapt to things like that. Now she had no doubts at all that Stork was telling the truth.
They took a double seat on the right side of the bus, so that they would have a clear view out through the window. Stork sat closest to the window. As they drove through the city, he admired the many buildings. He had seen them before, but he was still fascinated. At the outskirts of the city they saw apartment buildings and smaller houses with pretty gardens. Then they got out from the city, and fields and forests stretched out in all directions. This looks almost as home, Stork thought and felt a bit homesick.
The journey took about an hour. The bus stoped a few times and let off people. Then the bus driver anounced the stop where they were geting off. Noone else left the bus at the same stop. Hannah thought that was good, since she didn't fancy having an audience. As the bus drove away, Hannah picked up a map that she had bought at the bus station. The old burial ground was by a small road that crossed the road they had come on. They started walking.
The day was warm, and there were no traces of autumn yet. The smell of warm grass filled their nostrils. Birds chirped in the trees, and insects buzzes busily among the flowers by the small road. The road was not much more than a dust path, and Hannah could feel the rocks through the thin soles of her shoes. She was glaad they wouldn't have to walk that far.
Soon they saw the burial mounds by the road. The mage hadn't arrived yet, so they found a nice spot in the sun and sat down to drink some Coca-Cola that they had brought with them. Stork closed his eyes. He smelled the grass and the flowers. A faint wind brushed his face, and the sounds of the leaves rustling in the trees and the voice of a nearby stream filled his ears.
"It's funny. I dreamed of something like this just when I was teleported here," he said, opening his eyes. The world was still there.
"That sounds like a lovely dream. I wish I would have dreams like this when I fall asleep in class, too," Hannah answered.
"It wasn't so nice to wake up and realise that the rustling of the leaves actually was sheets of paper being turned, and that the bubbling stream was a lecturer talking about Laplace transforms. Especially not the Laplace transform part. I was expecting a lecture on Advanced Teleportation," Stork noted with a grin. Hannah laughed.
A white car drove up the dust road, and stoped right before the burial ground. A dark haired woman dressed in jeans and a pink t-shirt stepped out.
"You must be Stork and Hannah. There aren't many people tourists coming here nowadays," she said as she approached them. "I'm Agnes." She stretched out a hand, and Hannah and Stork shook it. Hannah was slightly disappointed. She had half expected long black skirts and purple robes.
"I skiped the fancy outfit today. On your email it sounded like you know what you're talking about and don't need any illusion on the side," Agnes said, noting Hannahs querying look. "Could you help me unload the car?"
They went to Agnes' car. She extracted a camping table, a blanket and a bag. Stork got the table, Hannah thee blanket, and Agnes carried the bag. She led them to the middle of the burial ground.
"The table is for the letter you want to teleport. If we put it on the ground there would be too much grass around it," Agnes explained. She spread out the blanket on the ground a few meters away. "We can sit on this while we wait for noon. That's when the magic is most stable. The spell doesn't need much preparations. Do you have your letter ready?"
Stork nodded.
"Almost. I just have to fill out the coordinates for this place. You said you can only teleport objects. Do you think you could assist with teleporting us, too, if they do most of the work on the other side?"
"I'm not sure, as I haven't done anything like that before. I've only done teleports. Perhaps it would be safest if someone got here and helped. It could be unsafe if I did it on my own."
"The magic here is different. I'm not sure our mages will be able to work it properly. I think you can do it. It's even easier than teleporting."
Agnes agreed to give it a try. Stork completed the letter.
"Anyone want some chocolate cake? I baked it yesterday," Agnes said, digging up a cake from her bag. She pulled out a thermos and four mugs, too. "I have some tea, too, if you want."
They accepted the tea and cake, and sat on the blanket, enjoying the sun.
"Why did you choose this spot for the teleportation?" Stork asked.
"The magic is stronger and more stable here. There are some spots like that here and there all over the world. Even though people haven't known magic they've somehow sensed it. Thus the magic places often became holy. In many of those places there are temples or shrines. This burial ground is probably also here because of the magic. The ancient people sensed that this place was special - holy perhaps - and put their graveyard here. Many famous holy places are magical."
"Like Stonehenge? And the pyramids?" Hannah asked.
"The earliest pyramids are on magical spots, but not all of them. Stonehenge actually isn't. It's on a rather un-magical spot. It's more uncommon, but some very unmagical spots have turned into holy places, too."
Stork felt for the Power. The Strands were truly stronger here, and didn't seem as volatile as in other places.
"You can feel it, can't you," Agnes asked Stork. Stork nodded. Yes, he could feel it.
As noon approached they started preparing for the spell. Stork put his letter on the table. Agnes pulled out some crystal pyramids from her bag and put them around the letter.
"Some of these actually work. They stabilise the magic that goes through them," she explained.
"Do you want me to help? I can hold some Strands for you, if you like," Stork offered.
"That ould be good, if you manage to hold them."
"I can do my best. The magic here is stronger than elsewhere. Just tell me which ones you want."
Hannah understood nothing, as Agnes and Stork started searching for useable Strands. She looked at her wristwatch. It was noon.
"It is time now," Agnes said. She closed her eyes. "Can you show me the coordinates?" she said.
Stork closed his eyes, too, and concentrated. He formed an image of the coordinates and let a Strand carry it to Agnes. She nodded silently, and started concentrating on the letter. Stork could feel how she wraped Strands around the letter. He passed some new Strands to her as he saw the portal beginning to take form. The portal was very abstract. It was more like a feeling than a gate. It wraped itself around the letter, and twisted and turned. Agnes fed it Strands, and pulled at it to steer it. The portal stabilised and starting closing in around the letter. It started shrinking with an accelerating speed, and in a moment it was gone. The letter was gone, too.
All Hannah could see was Stork and Agnes standing there with their eyes closed. Then, suddenly, the letter blurred and disappeared. It was done. The two mages opened their eyes, and joined her on the blanket.
"What now?" she asked.
"Now we wait for an answer. There should be someone checking the room for incoming teleports regularly. I suggest we have some lunch in the meantime. Spellcasting makes me hugry. Especially here," Stork said. Hannah and Agnes agreed.
They munched on their sandwiches and some chicken that Agnes had brought.
"How did you find out about teleporting," Stork asked Agnes.
"There are some mages in the world that know about it. The knowledge is passed on to those with enough magic ability," she replied.
"There can't be many in this world who know about the other universes."
"No, and we try to keep it to ourselves, too. Only those who are stable enough and trustworhty enough are told. Apparently my teacher thought I was worthy."
"Have people from this world been to any other world? Do you know if there has been visitors from other worlds?"
"There have been visitors, but I haven't met any. Not until now, at least. People have been to other worlds, too, but that is very rare. You should consider yourself lucky," Agnes said, nodding towards Hannah.
"Would you like to come, too?" Stork asked.
"Perhaps, but not this time. You'll need me here to do the teleport. I'm fairly content with geting to meet you at all. It is always nice to work with a competent mage," Agnes said, smiling.
"I'm just a student. You should see my teachers perform magic. Perhaps we could arrange for you to come over some time, too."
Around one o'clock Stork and Agnes felt a surge of magic in the direction of the table. A piece of paper appeared with a slight poof. Stork picked it up, and opened it.
"They say they are glad to hear from me, and will be glad to open a portal for me. They welcome you too, Hannah. They say they'll have the portal open in about fifteen minutes."
"Then we should better get ready," Agnes said. "Move that table away, and put the blanket there instead," she pointed, and started gathering the remains of their lunch. Stork picked up the table, and Hannah spread out the blanket on the spot where the table had stood. Agnes put the crystal pyramids in a circle around the centre of the blanket.
"You'll have to assist me again as much as you can," Agnes said to Stork. Stork nodded. He wouldn't be able to assist when the teleportation began, but he could help gathering Strands before it.
As the time drew near, Stork and Hannah steped onto the blanket and into the circle of pyramids. Stork closed his eyes and started gathering Strands. He felt Agnes gathering Strands, too. The Strands didn't feel as powerful as before, but they were still plentiful. Suddenly Stork felt the portal starting to open. Agnes took hold of it and started stabilising it. The portal was large and took a lot of Strands to stabilise. Stork grabed all the Strands he could, and passed them on to Agnes. He wouldn't be able to hold them soon, as the portal started to wrap itself around them. He grabbed Hannahs hand, and tried to relax. He felt the portal engulfing them and starting to close.
Agnes worked franctically to keep the portal stable. The Strands were getting thinner and more volatile, and she had to get new ones all the time. The bunch that Stork had gathered for her helped a lot, but as he was engulfed by the portal she knew he wouldn't be able to help any more. Then she felt the portal becoming stable, and starting to shrink around it's passengers. She stoped gathering Strands. The mages on the other side would have to do the rest. Carefully releasing the Strands she felt the portal close, and saw Hannah and Stork blur and wink out of sight. They were gone.
Hannah and Stork were led out to a long hallway. There were narrow windows at one side, and Hannah noted that the outer walls were very thick. Through the windows Hannah saw a courtyard. They seemed to be on the second floor of one of the wings of the building. The inside of the walls were plastered and painted in a dull white color. The floor was made of wide dark wooden boards, worn smooth by thousands of feet. The lower part of the wall was paneled with boards in a matching color. There were some paintings on the inner wall, and lamps fit into the outer wall between each window. The lamps weren't lit for the moment, and Hannah couldn't see if there were candles inside.
They walked along the hallway and passed several doors and a stairway going up and down. Almost at the end of the hall professor Trott opened a door and showed them into a room.
"Welcome into my study. Please, take a seat at the table," he said.
Hannah entered the room. The walls were paneled with the same dark wood, but all the way up to the ceiling. The ceiling was also paneled. There were no windows, and the room was lit by the fire in the fireplace at the left wall, and several lamps set into the walls. Hannah could still not see what lit the lamps, but it didn't seem to be candles, as the light was steady and whiter than an candle's flame. There were some paintings on the walls, and some shelves with odd items. At the right side of the room there was a low table with four armchairs around it. The table was set with four teacups. There was a steaming pot of tea, and two plates full of food. Hannah didn't feel very hungry, but some tea might be nice.
They all sat down around the table, and professor Trott poured the tea. Stork was hungry again after working magic for the teleportation spell, and grabed some meat pastries. Hannah tried a cookie.
"I guess you would like to know what happened, Stork," professor Trott said when he had poured the tea. Stork nodded between bites. "I was preparing the portal and was seting the coordinates when one of your fellow students, Nicket Grotson, hit me with a pingh spell in the arm. The teleport portal sliped, and accidentaly closed in around you before the coordinates were correctly set. Nicket has been disciplined, of course. He said he was aiming the pinch spell at you, but missed. He claimed that you were sleeping."
Stork blushed. "I believe his claim was, umm, correct... I'm sorry professor..."
"Well, I hope you consider this a warning what might happen if you sleep in class," professor Melck said. She had caught Stork sleeping in her classes, too, from time to time. Stork blushed a bit more.
"Anyway, we tried to find out where you had been teleported, but as the coordinates weren't set that was fairly impossible. We contacted all our contacts in the worlds we collaborate with, but none of them had seen you. So all we could do was to hope that you'd find a way to contact us," professor Trott continued.
"When we got your letter we were surprised that you had managed to contact us at all. We have been studying that world for a while, and the magic there is ver unpredictable. It was good that you could find some local help. It seems like you've managed to learn something after all, desipite your occasional sleeping in class." professor Melck added.
"I think I won't be sleeping in your classes anymore. Now that I've seen an other world, it seems so much more interesting. I learned so much while I was there, and there is so much more to learn. I would have liked to stay there longer, and I certainly would like to go back," Stork said.
"I'm glad. We'll see about your going back. We certainly won't let you go until you've learned teleportation, but after that nothing is impossible. You are a fine student, after all," professor Trott noted.
While Stork finished his pastries, professor Melck addressed Hannah.
"We haven't had a visitor fron your world yet, although we have been watching it from time to time. It will be very interesting to talk to you about it. Stork wrote that you know a lot about the physics of your world."
"Wel,, I'm still just a student, although I study physics. I won't be able to tell you everything."
"No matter. You know much more than we do anyway, and will be able to tell us a lot. We will give you opportunity to study our world, too, ofcourse. How long were you planning to stay?"
"Well, not longer than a week or so. I will miss to much of my classes otherwise."
"That is shorter than we had hoped, but it'll have to do. I think there should be a room prepared for you, and then we can find you some more clothes and other things you will need."
Hannah looked down at her clothes. Her jeans and t-shirt had turned into a long, green robe. Stork was clad in a similar robe, too.
"Yes, the teleportation spell has altered your clothing, as well as leting you understand the language. I assume it did the same for Stork when he was teleported to your world. The modern teleport spells are very sofisticated in that way."
When everyone had finished their tea, Hannah was shown to her room. It was a small room with a bed, a desk and a chair. It had a tiny window overlooking the courtyard.
"It's larger than my room," Stork noted. "That's because you're a guest, not a student. First year students get to share rooms with others. Second year students get their own rooms, so that we can practice our spells, but they are smaller than this."
After inviting Stork and Hannah to dinner that evening, professor Trott and professor Melck now left Hannah in Stork's care.
Stork took Hannah to the University's tailor. She had some clothes in stock that fited Hannah. She got a finer robe for better occasions, a spare robe for everyday use, and some fresh sets of underwear. They took it all back to Hannahs room.
"How do the lamps work," Hannah asked, noting that the lamp in her room now was lit.
"Oh, it's magic. That might prova a problem for you. The lamps turn on automatically in the afternoon, but you will have to turn it off by yourself. For that you'll need to use some magic. Ordinary people don't usually use these lamps, but here at the University everyone knows magic, so we use magic lamps since they are better than candles. We'd better get you a candle instead, and I'll turn off the lamp for you.
They went to the central supply store at the University, and Stork asked for a candle. He had got a note form professor Trott, authorising him to get any supplies Hannah would need. The storekeeper gave Hannah a bunch of candles, a candle holder and a small stick-like device.
"This is a lighter," Stork explained as they were walking back to Hannahs room. "It's magic, but doesn't take magic to operate. You just press it between your fingers, like this," he showed. A flame appeared at one end of the stick. Hannah tried it, and managed to get a flame, too.
"Cool," she said.
Back at Hannah's room they put the candle holder on the table, and put a candle in it. Stork lit the candle, but not using the lighter. Instead he just looked at the wick, and a small flame appeared. Then he looked at the lamp, and it turned off.
"Now it won't turn on again until someone turns it on manually," he explained.
"How did you do that?" Hannah asked and pointed at the candle.
"Magic, of course. You can't guess how nice it is to be back in a world where the magic works as it should," Stork answered smiling. "Usually we don't use magic for things like lighting candles, but since I have been without magic for over a week I just had to do it that way."
"Where is the toilet and bathroom," Hannah asked.
"Oh, there are toilets at the end of the hall. There is a bath ine floor down from here, and one in the student's dorm. I'd better show you around."
Stork showed Hannah around the University. The buiding was huge, and Hannah was soon lost. Stork promised to show her to her room that evening, as she expressed her concern for not finding her way back. He also showed her his own room. It was in a separate building, the student's dorm building, and was truly smaller than hers. He had a bed, a desk, a chair, and small shelf with some papers and odds and ends. Then they went to the library. It was also in a separate building. It smelled of old parchment and paper, and of leather and dust. There were shelves filled with books and scrolls from the floor to the ceiling. The library was dimly lit, except for the study pulpets, where students were looking through books they had borrowed from the shelves.
They went to the huge canteen on the first floor of the main building.
"This is were meals are served. Teachers and staff sit over there, and students sit everywhere else. Senior students may sit with the teachers, too. Tonight we'll be eating with the professors in Melck's study, but breakfast tomorrow is served here. It's possible to go down to the village to have dinner, too, but since the food here is included in the fee most students eat here. We go to the village now and then when we want to celebrate something, though. One of the taverns has the most wonderful steak you'll ever eat."
Talking of steaks made Hannah feel hungry, and Stork noted that it was time for their dinner with the professors.
Professor Melck had the dinner served in her study. She had a larger table with dining chairs. The food smelled delicious.
"Welcome, Stork and Hannah. Please, sit down! Have you had dime to get settled in?" she asked Hannah.
"Yes, thank you. Stork showed me around the University, and helped me get the things I need."
"Good. You have a busy week coming. There will be many people wanting to meet you, and I'm sure you have a lot you want to do yourself. I think we should better make some sort of schedule for you, so that you don't get overworked."
They sat down at the table, and Professor Melck served the food. It was a stew with meat and vegetables. Some of the vegetables looked like the ones Hannah was used to from home, like the carrots for example. Others were new to her. Professor Trott poured them some wine.
"You do drink wine, don't you? We don't usually serve wine for dinner, but for this occasion we thought we would make an exception," he said. Hannah accepted the wine gladly.
"As we said before, we've been watching your world from time to time. It is difficult, since the magic there is so weak. I know there are other people in your world that have had visitors from other worlds, and that some of them have been in other worlds themselves. Apparently they haven't talked about it much, though. I believe there has been some 'fiction' written about it by some of them, though. Others were believed to be crazy, when they talked about it. I don't believe your world is ready for magic. I'm not sure it will ever be, either," professor Melck said.
Hannah agreed. Some people believed in magic, but most of the ones who believed also knew that it was only a belief. There is a vast difference between believing and knowing. Many religious people would still be shocked if their deity suddenly appeared to them.
"I undestand that. I won't be talking about it when I get home. I don't think people would believe me either."
"Did you tell about Stork to anyone else?" professor Melck asked.
"No, only to Agnes, the mage who helped us teleport back," Hannah replied. "To all others we told that Stork was an exchange student from another country. That would explain his occasional bewilderment, too."
"Occasional? I was kind of lost most of the time..." Stork noted.
"That was wise," Melck nodded.
"How much did the teleport spell help? I assume you got clothes and the language. What about other things?" professor Trott asked.
"I got registered at the university as an exchange student. And I learned some of the foreign language that I was supposed to know..." Stork answered.
"Another language? That's interesting. Well, we'll have time to talk about that later. Now we should perhaps talk about Hannah's schedule for the week."
"You should probably join your classes again tomorrow, Stork. I believe you have a whole week to catch up. What would you like to do, Hannah?" professor Melck asked.
"May I suggest that she gets an introductory lesson in magic? So that she could at least turn off the lamp in her room. We got her some candles, but lamp light is much nicer," Stork said. The professors agreed.
"We can find some graduate student who can teach you the basics," Trott said.
"You mean I could learn magic? I thought you had to have special abilities for that," Hannah said, surprised.
"No, the basic things mostly anyone can learn. There are some people who have difficulties, but that is quite rare. I think you should be able to learn, too. At least we can give it a try. That is, if you want to, of course."
"Of course I want to. It sounds very exciting."
"What else would you like to study here?"
"Well, your science would be interesting, too. Both your magic and non-magical science, I mean. I heard there are some differences, and I'd like to see that with my own eyes."
"No problem. We'll be able to find people to help you with that, too."
"I could help a bit. I don't have classes all the time," Stork offered. Hannah was grateful for that. It was nice having a familiar face around.
"Yes, that is probably a good idea. You are the one who knows her world best, and you know the differences," said Melck.
When they had eaten Hannah had a schedule. While Stork was in class she would study magic and science, and talk to the professors and researchers at the University. The rest of the time Stork would show her around. When everyone was content, Stork and Hannah said good night, and Stork followed Hannah to her room.
"We don't have alarm clocks here, but there is a morning bell ringing an hour and a half before the first class. I can come and meet you here half an hour after the bell, if that's ok for you," Stork said. Hannah agreed to that, and they said good night.
Hannah visited the toilet. The toilets were different than what she was used to. They were more like outhouses, but indoors. They didn't smell, though. The sinks had faucets just like home, and she wondered if they were powered by magic like everything else. Hannah washed off and went back to her room. She found the candleholder and the lighter, and lit the candle. The room was still quite dark. She undressed and found a nightshirt among the underwear she had got from the tailor. Blowing out the candle she went to bed. It was harder than she was used to, and slightly lumpy. Hannah was so tired that she soon fell asleep anyway.
The next morning Stork fetched her an hour after the morning bell, as he had promised. First, they went to the bathroom, so that Hannah could wash off properly. After that they went to the canteen for breakfast. The breakfast was sturdier than Hannah was used to. There were sausages and chicken, fresh bread and cheese, and fruit of unknown kinds. Hannah had a cup of tea and some bread with cheese. She didn't like eating heavy food in the morning.
"It feels almost a bit strange being back," Stork said, siping a cup of tea.
"I guess it's nice to be in a familiar environment. I'm starting to understand your bewilredment. Everything is very confusing. At the same time things are still just the same. People have breakfast, go to the toilet, study, drink and sleep, just like at home. They just do it in a different way."
"Yes, I guess it's very alike that way. We have the same needs, and we have all found ways to fill them. Sometimes the ways are different, and some things are more complicated here, or simpler. It's the same whereever you go, even when you travel to another country in your own world. People do the same things, but perhaps in a different way."
"Hey, Stork, I heard you've been offworld! And brought back a girlfriend, I see," a young man shouted, and came and sat down at their table with a plate in one hand, and a cup of tea in the other. Stork blushed violently.
"Hi, Laki. This is Hannah. Hannah, this is Laki, a big-mouth that I'ce been stupid enough to call a friend," Stork said. He looked intensely at Laki's arm for a short moment.
"Ouch!" Laki exclaimed, rubbing his arm and grinning. "You of all should be careful with those pinch spells!"
"I can aim them correctly, unlike some I've heard of. What happened to Nicket, by the way?"
"He's been doing laundry service the whole week, and they've taken away his town privilegies for a couple of months. They might revise that now that you're back, though."
"I'll talk to Professor Trott about that. Going offworld wasn't that bad after all," Stork said.
"As long as you got back... They were quite worried, you know," Laki said. Then he turned his attention to Hannah. "So, you're an offworlder. I've never met one before. How do you like it here?"
"It's a bit confusing, but everyone is so helpful, so I'll probably get along," Hannah replied.
They chated about this while finishing their breakfasts, and then Laki had to go to class.
Before going to his class, Stork showed Hannah to a small study, and introduced her to a young mage called Aliss.
"Hello, nice to meet you. I haven't met an offworlder before, it's really an honor," Aliss said. Hannah was starting to feel like a circus animal.
"I'll meet you in two hours, for morning break," Stork said, and ran off to his class. Aliss gestured for Hannah to sit down.
"I have been told that you don't know any magic at all, since the magic in your world is very volatile. Is that correct?" she asked.
"Yes," Hannah replied. "In my world we don't use magic at all. Or at least very little. The few who know magic keep it secret, and most people think that magic doesn't exist. I thought that, too, until I met Stork."
"Well, then we'll just start with the basics. The first step is to sense the magic, and to learn to see the Strands. That's what we call the lines of magic that are all around us. They can be sensed with an inner sense. They will be percieved as colored strips around you. Strands of different colors have different strenghts and qualities, in the same way as different colored light has different wavelenghts. Now, if you just close your eyes and just try to relax."
Hannah relaxed and followed the instructions Aliss gave. After a while she thought she saw something out of the corner of her eye. It was a small, flickering motion. Then it was gone again. Aliss described to her different ways to clear and open her mind. Hannah had difficulties concentrating. It felt like trying to learn how to whistle. People had told her over and over how to do it, and in different ways, but she just couldn't do it. She was almost giving up when she saw the flickering again. This time it grew stronger. She tried to relax more, and open her mind the way Aliss described.
Then, suddenly, the world was filled with color. It was like serpentines floating around, running in all directions. They twisted and turned, some slowly and others quickly. There were Strands of all imaginable colors, and even some in colors she couldn't have imagined, and afterwards couldn't describe. It was very beautiful.
Hannah could see - or rather sense - Aliss among the Strands. Aliss was somehow controling some of the Strands, so that they twisted and turned around her.
"Very good," she head Aliss voice in her head. "I can sense your presence now. You see the Strands. Beautiful, aren't they? Don't say anything, or you'll risk closing your mind again. Learning to do other things while keeping your mind open is a whole other lesson. For now you should just try to familiarise with the Strands. Look at how they behave, and get to know them. Don't try to do anything with them, just watch."
Hannah watched the Strands dancing around her. After a while she could distinguish different patterns. Strands of different colors moved differently. The bright yellow Strands seemed to be drawn to the dark green ones. A hue of coral red Strands danced wildly, trying to avoid all other strands. Slow navy blue ones floated around, apparently not caring about the others, until a bright pink Strand moved too close. Then the blue Strands kind of contracted, and tried to shrink away.
"They are almost like living creatures, aren't they? Still, they are just Power in different forms. Kind of like chemicals, that interact with each other in very different ways. Now it is time to close your mind again," Aliss said. Reluctantly, Hannah released her state of mind and came back to reality. She felt a bit dizzy.
"We'll do that again in a moment, but you should have a fruit and some water, first. The Power makes you hungry."
The second time was still difficult, but easier than the first. This time Hannah knew when she was on the right track, at least. They practiced finding the correct state of mind four more times, and then it was time for the morning break. Hannah was surprised how fast time went by. Stork was waiting for her outside the study.
"How did it go? Did you see the Strands?" he asked.
"Yes, they are so beautiful! Do they look like that in my world, too? Will I be able to see them there?"
"They are fewer and wilder there, but basically they are the same. It will take some training to be able to see them there, though. It should be possible for you, anyway, now that you know what to look for," Stork replied. "I guess you are hungry now?" he added. Hannah noticed that he was right. She was quite hungry indeed.
When Stork and Hannah got to the canteen they were immediately stormed by a group of students. The word had spread, and everybody wanted to meet the offworld girl.
"Hey, she's just like any one of us. Let her be, would you," Stork tried to say to them. Noone listened. Everyone wanted to ask Hannah something.
"Come on, there's nothing here to see... Move along!" Laki said, coming to their aid. "I'll cast frog spells on all of you if you don't move along. She'll be staying for a week, so you'll have plenty of time geting to know her."
The students backed off a bit, but kept staring. Hannah felt like a freak show. Did she look that different? Now she was really glad she had kept Storks background a secret. The ones who would have believed her would probably have acted like this.
Stork, Hannah and Laki had some quick snacks, and fled the canteen. People stared, whispered and pointed everywhere they went. When they passed the kitchen a voice said,
"Hey, Stork, in here!"
"Nicket! What are you doing here? I thought you were in the laundry," Stork replied, recognising his friend. They went into the back room of the kitchen.
"I was, but they complained and wanted me transfered. I can't see why... I was only talking a bit..."
"A bit? When have you only talked a bit?" Laki said.
"Every second?" Nicket suggested, grinning. "Hi, I'm Nicket. You can kind of thank me that you are here. And I can than Stork that I am right here, too," he said, extending a hand to Hannah, grinning even broader. Hannah shook it.
"I'm Hannah. You'll be thanking me that Stork is back and you won't be stuck here forever," she said, grinning back.
"I saw the crowd out there. You'd think this place is full of old ladies, judging from the speed all rumors spread here. It's like you were a three-headed cow or something. You might want to stay clear of the canteen while you are here, or at least until the crowd has lost interest. I can get you food here, instead."
"That sounds like a good idea. I'm sorry, Hannah, I hadn't expected this. I thought they would be more civilised about it," Stork said.
"It's not your fault. I came here out of my own free will."
"So, shall we go to town tonight and celebrate your safe return?" Nicket asked.
"That sounds like an idea. Hannah, what do you say? Would you like to see how we dance and drink?"
"Sure, I'm on. Although I don't have anything else than this to wear."
"That's all right. The students often go to town dressed in robes. You won't attract too much attention that way, either," Stork said.
It was soon time for Stork and Laki to go back to class, and Hannah had an appointment with some of the researchers at the Institution of Extradimensional Studies. Stork showed her to the Institution's common room, and ran off to his class. Hannah was greeted by an elderly mage with a short tidy beard.
"Welcome, miss Hannah. I'm Professor Kloss. Unfortunately Professor Melck couldn't be here. Please, take a seat," he said, indicating an armchair by the fireplace. There were two more mages in the room, a young woman with a long braid, and a older woman with short grayish hair. Hannah sat down.
"We are very excited to have someone here from your world. We haven't had any visitors from there before. We didn't actually think it would be possible, as the magic there is so unreliable. You must have been very lucky to be able to teleport out," said the woman with short hair. The younger woman with the braid looked shyly at Hannah.
"We had some help from a local mage. There are times and places when and where the magic is more stable, and we took advantage of one such time and place," Hannah explained.
"Yes, that is a fenomena known to exist in some worlds. Tell me, do you know how the local mage helped you? I assume it was Stork who cast the spell?" Professor Kloss said.
"No, it was Agnes - the local mage - who opened the portals. Stork didn't know how to do it. He just helped her gather the magic."
"Oh, so you do have made some advances then? Our studies have shown, up until now at least, that you are far behind in the study of magic. Trans-dimensional teleport is a fairly advanced spell. I wouldn't have expected anyone in a world like yours to have gained knowledge of it. Do you know how they got it? Do you know what other spells your mages have knowledge of?" the professor asked. Hannah didn't quite like the way he seemed to brush off their world as uneducated if they didn't have magic.
"I have not studied the art of magic myself. I am a student of technology. Physics, mathemathics and such. We are fairly advanced in that area."
"Oh, how quaint. Would you tell me of some of the technological solutions you have to compensate for your lack of magic? How, for example, do you illuminate your rooms? Do you still use candles?"
From the questions Hannah got the following two hours, she concluded that they couldn't have studied her world very much. They didn't seem to know wmuch about technology, either, and thought magic was the answer for everything. She hoped that not all would be as... conservative as these people. She was glad Stork wasn't, at least. Hannah answered all questions as well and politely as she could, but at the end she was almost boiling inside. She was relieved when the appointed two hours ended, and she finally could leave for lunch.
"Ouch, I didn't know they would be that bad," Stork said when Hannah told him, Nicket and Laki about her meeting. They were having lunch in the back room of the kitchen. "I suspected they would be a bit old fashioned and not as open minded as we are, but it was worse that I'd thought. Again, I'm sorry I dragged you into this."
"I would like to say it's all right, but I'm not quite sure it is... I'd rather not have any more 'interviews' like this..." Hannah replied.
"Well, you won't then! I owe you for bringing Stork back, my kitchen duty will end today, so I'll see to that you won't be bothered by the dull professors any more!" Nicket said cheerfully.
"What is your plan? Go and tell the professors that they are annoying? They won't like that," Laki said.
"What if I said that I want to make this up for Stork and Hannah, and take them on a trip around the countryside? I'm still suspended for another week, although my kitchen duties are gone, so I would miss the classes anyway. I'll convince them to give you and Stork some leave, too."
"I would be happy to get out of this place for a while," Laki said, "but will they let Hannah go just like that?"
"She's a guest! They can't hold her if she doesn't want to stay. Tell them you'd want to see some every day life, too!"
"I think it sounds like a good plan, assuming that you can talk the professors into it," Hannah said.
"It's agreed, then! I'll go and talk to them right after I'm off duty. I'll tell you how it went tonight. We are going to town, aren't we?"
"Sure, I miss the beer at the Wheel," Stork said.
"I miss beer. Just any beer," Hannah said.
In the afternoon Hannah had another magic lesson with Aliss. This time she got to try to touch the Strands. It was difficult. Every time she tried, she would loose her concentration and the Strands would disappear. It was only a matter of practice, Aliss explained patiently.
Stork didn't have any more classes after the afternoon break, so he continued to show Hannah around the campus. When most of the other students had either gone to class or to the common rooms, they went to the canteen to have a snack. Hannah was hungry again, after the magic lesson. This time only a few students wanted to come and talk to Hannah, and the rest just stared from a distance. Hannah answered the students' questions politely. Hannah and Stork fled the canteen as soon as they could.
An hour later Hannah and Stork met up with Laki.
"Nicket told us to go ahead, he'll find us at the Wheel. He has another hour of kitchen duty, and then he'll go and talk to the professors," he told them. Stork fetched an oddly shaped case from his room, and without further protocol they left for town, and the Wheel. Hannah didn't have any make-up to put on, and her only choice for clothing had been the fancy robes she had received earlier, so there was no reason for stalling. Actually that felt quite good.
They went to the town by foot. It was an half an hour walk. The town was fairly large, and even had a wall around the central parts. The Wheel was at the outskirts, outside the walls, by the small river that flowed throught the town.
"This wasn't much more than a trading post for the farmers until the University was built, and that was sheer luck, too. The University's founder happened to think that the hills around here looked peaceful. He liked to have a peaceful view when practicing magic. Also it's well away from the borders, and thus won't be affected as much by war," Stork explained to Hannah. To Hannah the place still didn't look like much more than a trading post, but she assumed that the cities in this world were generally smaller than at home.
It was already geting dark outside when they entered the Wheel. Inside it was light and warm. A group of mage students sat at a long table by a wall, and sang loudly. There were quite few guests at the other tables.
"The Wheel is one of the student's favourites in town. The locals tend to keep away, as the students generally get quite noisy. Most other guests are travellers who stay here because of the low prices," Laki said as they were greeted by a loud cheer from the table of students.
"I think we should get another table," Stork suggested. "There is of course always room for another at a long table, but sometimes it's more comfortable to start on a new table." They sat down at the table next to the other students. Some of them greeted Stork and Laki happily, and looked curiously at Hannah.
"She's an exchange student," Stork explained to the crowd. That was actually true by now.
"Oh, the one from the other world! Cool! Have a beer!" the crowd cheered. They didn't seem as curious as the ones in the canteen.
"These are older students than the ones that crowded you in the canteen," Laki explained. "They are more used to weird things happening. The first year students aren't allowed to go to town on weekdays, so you won't see any here tonight, hopefully." Hannah was grateful for that.
Stork ordered them mugs of beer. It was served in wooden tankards and smelled nice. It was different from the beer at home, but very good, Hannah thought.
"So, what do people do here, except drink beer?" Hannah asked.
"Well, we usually have some singing and dancing, especially later in the evening, and some gambling for those who like it. Other than that, people just talk, drink and be merry. It's actually possible to talk here, unlike in the tavern we went to in your world," Stork answered.
"Did I hear someone say 'singing'? Someone named Stork, perhaps?" a student shouted from the other table.
"Yea! Stork! Stork! Stork!" the crowd started chanting. Someone got up and put a chair on an empty table.
"But I haven't even finished my first beer yet," Stork protested. The crowd didn't seem to care.
"Then finish it quickly!"
"Stork is a quite good singer," Laki noted to Hannah, and she remembered that Stork had said something about that once. "He always brings his lute, because they always make him sing something."
Reluctantly Stork picked up an oddly shaped instrument with strings on from his case, and climbed up on the table. Finising the last of his beer he started plucking the strings and tuning his lute. Or, at least 'lute' was the closest word Hannah could find for it. It wasn't quite like the lutes she had seen before. The crowd gathered around the table on which Stork sat. Some started moving tables and clearing the floor. The landlord protested half-heartedly, but as he knew how the students were, he didn't really try to stop them.
Then Stork began to sing. He had a really pleasant voice, and played the lute very well. The songs were catching and cheerful and the crowd started dancing. The dance reminded of some of the folk dance Hannah had seen at home. Hannah and Laki sat and drank their beer and listened, as Hannah didn't dare to try the dance. She would at least need a few more beers for that.
"Hey, have you started the fun without me?" Nicket exclaimed as he entered the tavern. He spoted Hannah and Laki, and joined them, signaling the barkeep for a beer.
"How did it go with the professors," Laki asked.
"Get Stork down from there, and I'll tell you. I want food, too. You haven't eaten yet, have you?"
"No, we were waiting for you," Laki answered and waved for Stork to come down. Stork finished his song and steped down. A beer was immediately brought to him.
"It's a great way to earn free beer, at least," Stork said, indicating his lute. "So, how did it go, Nicket?"
"Well, I told Professor Trott that I was afraid Hannah would get the wrong impression of our world if she only saw wild students and nutty professors. Although I didn't really call the professors nutty, he wouldn't have liked that... Anyway, I said that she wants to see the world for real, too, and that we could volunteer to go with her. Stork should go, since he knows her best, Laki since he's from around here, and I because it's my fault all this happened."
"All right, come to the point, will you? What did they say?" Stork said impatiently.
"He said 'That sounds like an excellent idea'. He wants to see us all in the morning, but then we're free to go."
The company ordered some of Today's Special. There was only Today's Special or soup, so the choice wasn't hard. Today's Special was roast pork with vegetable stew. It was delicious. They had some more beer to the food. Hannah found that the beer was actually quite strong, stronger than what she was used to. Luckily the food was plenty, otherwise the beer might have made Hannah quite tipsy quickly. While they ate, a couple of the other students took over the table and sang aa few duets. The songs were merry, and the crowd cheered. Many of those who weren't eating danced, too.
While they ate, Stork, Laki, Nicket and Hannah talked about what to do the rest of the week.
"We could go and visit your family, Laki. That way Hannah would get to see some ordinary people, too," Stork suggested.
"Sure, I haven't seen them for a while. We'll probably have to sleep in the barn, but that's okay for a couple of nights. We'd better bring them something from town, though, since we are so many. Preferrably something edible."
"That's easy. We'll get some of those smoked and dried hams at the market. Your parent's don't have that many pigs, have they?" Nicket said.
"No. Dried meat is a good idea. Probably some imported dried fruit, too."
"What do we do after that? We shouldn't stay there more than a couple of days," Stork said.
"Why don't we wait until then and see what we feel like?" Hannah suggested. The others agreed to that.
When Stork had finished eating he was soon called up on stage again. He played and sang some merry songs, while people danced. When he saw that the dancers needed a break, he sang a slower ballad about summers long gone. Then, to Hannah's surprise, he played Hotel California. She remembered that Stork had liked it, when he heard it at the mall, and had been humming it to himself. She was surprised he remembered it so well, he even managed to imitate the guitarr solos quite well. The words were translated, of course, and didn't match perfectly, but Stork did a good job on it anyway. When he finished, the crowd cheered.
"That's a new one! Did you write it yourself?" Laki asked.
"No, I heard it in Hannahs world. I'll have to work a bit on the text, though. It doesn't translate perfectly."
"It's quite different, but beautiful. Do you remember any more songs from there?"
"Not that well... I decided to concentrate on keeping this one in my head, so I didn't try to learn the others. Perhaps Hannah knows some?" Stork replied.
"Oh, no... I cannot sing so well," Hannah replied. "And I can't play the lute either."
"That's a pity. Well, perhaps I'll be able to come back and learn some more of your music," Stork said. The crowd was craving him back, so he went up on the stage again.
When Stork played the first chords of the next song, the crowd cheered loudly, and everyone rode from their chairs to join the dance. Nicket pulled up Hannah.
"You must dance to this! Everyone dances to it! It's one of the most popular dances around here."
"But I can't dance," Hannah protested.
"Yes you can, it's easy! Come, I'll show you!"
Nicket took Hannahs hands and pulled her with him to the crowd. He showed her the basic moves. It didn't seem that complicated. Then he increased the tempo, to match the others. Hannah almost triped over her feet.
"Relax, just follow the flow! Don't try so hard! Don't look at your feet, look at me!" Nicket said. Hannah tried relaxing and looking up. After a while she understood what Nicket meant. It was easiest not to think, but let the feet think for you. It wasn't any more difficult than an aerobics pass.
After a few verses the tempo of the song started increasing. Hannah tried to keep up as well as she could. It was geting more and more difficult, but it was fun, and she laughed. Soon she noticed that some couples started triping, and left the floor, laughing. Nicket was good, and Hannah found that she was actually quite good at it, too. There were only a few other couples left when they finally had to give up. This was way more fun than aerobics, Hannah thought.
When the last couples gave up, Stork was starting to have difficulties, too. When noone was left dancing he increased the tempo one more time and played the final verse. Then he gave up, too, and the crowd applauded and cheered. They all agreed that Stork deserved a break, and a beer.
"So, how did you like the dance?" he asked Hannah, as soon as he had sat down and caught his breath. Playing the song was almost as exhaustive as dancing to it.
"It was difficult at first, but then it was fun. I can understand why everyone likes it so much."
"You danced well. I think you've done something like this before," Nicket said.
"She has... They have this excersise that's worse than any dance you've seen... She made me try it, too. I couldn't keep up at all, but she just kept on hoping around, like she was walking or something," Stork explained.
"You never dance anyway, so you aren't supposed to keep up," Laki teased. "And soon you'll have trouble keeping up even when you play..."
"I could have played much faster, but I didn't want to upset the dancers... And I wanted to save some strength, in case they want to do some duels, too."
"Aw, that's just an excuse..." Laki said. Stork threatened to punch Laki on the arm, and Laki decided not to finish the sentence.
While Stork rested, two of the students, a young man and a young woman, entered the dance floor and stoped in the middle, a few steps away from each other, and facing each other. The audience cleared away, and sat down at the tables to watch. The young man lifted his arms in front of him, and held out his hands with palms up. Suddenly a bright blue globe appeared in each of his hands. The woman extended her arms, too, and produced a pair of green glowing globes. Slowly they let the globes start hovering above their hands. Then the globes started moving slowly, as if they were juggling them between them in slow motion.
"Whatch the Strands too, if you can. This is impressive," Stork whispered to Hannah. Hannah concentrated, and managed to find the state of mind where she could see the Strands, too. The mages controlled the globes with Strands, the green globes were controlled with green Strands and the blue ones with blue Strands. Both of the mages held a set of blue and green Strands, and when a globe went from one person to the other, it hovered for a moment between them, as they transfered from one mage to another.
Slowly, they increased the speed of the 'juggling'. Then one of them added a pair of red globes, controlled by red Strands. They kept increasing the speed and adding globes until they had a dozen globes in six different colors. The Strands moved in intricate patterns to keep the globes in control. It was almost like a dance, and the mages' coordination was perfect. Then, when Hannah thought that it couldn't get much more complicated than it already was, the mages started transfering the Strands between them, too. In a cascade of colors the Strands and globes hovered between them. It was almost hypnotic to watch it. As a final move, the mages levitated up the globes above their heads, and made them dance around in a circle, while the mages passed the Strands to each other. They ended the finale by leting the circle of globes shrink into a single shimering white globe, that vanished with a bright flash. The crowd exploded in cheers, and the mages bowed.
"Those are graduate students. I've seen that number a few times before, but it's always as impressive. I've seen them do it with a third person, too. I wish I could handle Strands like that," Stork said.
"And they are all different colors, too. They must handle them all a bit differently. The yellow ones are very twitchy," Laki added.
"I think the best part is that it looks good even if you don't see the Strands. That's a sign of quality. They've really put some thought into the show," Nicket said. "Did you manage to see the Strands," he asked Hannah.
"Yes. It was so pretty, it looked almost like a dance! And all those colors... I wish I could do something like that," she replied.
The crowd craved more entertainment. Nicket stood up, and shouted,
"If Stork will play, I'll challenge anyone on a duel! Who is up for it?"
Immediately a young mage stood up and accepted the challenge.
"You can't beat me, Nicket," he shouted.
The crowd applauded and cheered as the duelists went to the clearing on the floor. Stork picked up his lute and took his place on the chair on the 'stage' again. He struck a few chords, and started playing a quick tune. Nicket danced some quick steps in the middle of the clearing, and bowed at his opponent. The opponent repeated the steps, and then danced some slightly more difficult steps. Nicket imitated them, and challenged with a quicker series, as Stork ingreased the tempo. The opponent answered with a series that included a hop and a kick. Nick imitated, and added another hop with a different kind of kick. This way the duelist continued, while Stork increased the tempo, until Nicket's oponent finaly fell on a complicated set of hops and steps that Nicket had challenged him with. The crowd cheered, and another mage student steped forward to challenge Nicket.
The dueling continued for a few songs. Nicket lost his third duel, and joined Hannah and Laki to watch the rest of the duels. The mage that won over Nicket also won the next three duels, and got no more challenges. Stork proclaimed him the winner, and steped down.
"My fingers are wearing thin. No more playing tonight," he said, as people tried to convince him to continue playing. "Besides, I want to get some sleep soon," he added to his friends as he sat down. "We need to be rested tomorrow."
Hannah was yawning. "I could use some sleep soon, too. It's been a long day."
"All right, all right... We can always party more some other day," Nicket said. He looked quite tired himself, after dancing most of the evening.
That night Hannah fell asleep quickly, not even thinking about the lumps in her bed.
After the meeting with Professor Trott, the company split up to pack their things. Hannah didn't have much to pack. She had got a leather backpack from Stork, and stuffed all her clothes in it. She also packed a couple of candles and the lighter, in case she would want a light, and all other useful items she had got from Stork, like a hairbrush. They met up on the courtyard. The boys were also carrying backpacks. Stork had his lute case straped across his pack, too. As they walked to town, Hannah was glad that her thin-soled shoes had turned into comfortable boots. It would have been difficult to walk longer distances in her own shoes.
In town the company went to a butcher's shop and bought a dried ham for Laki's parents. They also visited a general store for some dried fruit.
"My little sisters love these," Laki said, offering some bits to the others. Hannah tasted a brownish dried blob. It tasted like something in between dried apricots and raisins.
"Is there anything more we should get?" Stork asked.
"I brought some utensils for cooking," Laki said.
"And I pinched some foodstuff from the kitchen," Nicket said. "I think we can get the rest when we need it. As long as we don't plan to sleep outside it should be all right."
So, the company started walking towards Laki's parents' home. They lived half a day's march from town, according to Laki. The road was well used, and the company met several other travellers on it. It went along the river for a while, then turned away from it, into the fields that surrounded the town. About an hour after leaving town they passed a small village, or rather a gathering of houses. It was the farms that owned the fields they had passed, Stork explained. Near the houses there were pastures with some goats and ducks. The goats stared idly at the passers-by.
Around midday they stoped for some lunch. They sat down under some trees that grew on a small hill by the road. Nicket produced some bread and cheese from his pack, along with some fruits that looked a bit like apples. Stork dug in his backpack, and pulled out a bottle of wine, and Nicket cheered happily. They didn't make a fire, as the day was warm and they didn't feel an urge to cook.
They ate without any hurry. They would make it to Laki's home before sunset anyway, so it didn't matter whether they ate for half an hour or two hours. Hannah found this lack of stress just wonderful.
"I'm so glad that I don't have a time to keep, or anything that i must do," she said to the boys. "At home there are always things you must do, places you must go to... and schedules!"
"We have that, too, but not as much as in your world," Stork replied. "Sometimes we can just relax. People here aren't that demanding on their free time either. In your world some people seemed to work hard on relaxing..."
"That is true. They have so little time to relax that they want to do that as effectively as possible."
"Is there a more effective way to relax than just sleep?" Nicket asked. He was lying down in the grass, and had pulled his hood over his eyes to shade them from the sun.
"Maybe not really, but sleeping isn't so interesting. People must be stimulated and do new things constantly, in my world."
"Doing new things is exhausting. It's like studying all the time. I like doing things I know well, like sleeping. And dancing, sometimes," Nicket said.
"We have noticed that..." Laki said. "I like doing something new now and then. But not constantly. You must do something that you are good at now and then, too. It makes you feel better."
"At least sleeping makes me feel better," Nicket noted and pulled down his hood a bit more.
Eventually the company felt that they have to move on. Even Nicket was willing to go, as his back became stiff from lying o nthe hard ground. The afternoon sun was warm, but a light breeze kept the weather brom being too hot. It was perfect weather for walking.
"Why don't you use teleportation for travelling? Wouldn't that be faster than walking?" Hannah wondered.
"Teleportation takes a lot of magic, and it's quite exhaustive to perform the spell. So for ordinary people, walking or riding is cheaper. Only the rich can afford teleportation, and they do it only when they are in a hurry," Laki explained.
"I have seen many things here that seems like you could do much easier using magic. Haven't you just developed means for that yet, or does it take too much effort? How difficult is it?"
"There is a lot of research done for making it easier to use magic for practical purposes, but magic is still fairly expensive. For example the taps at the University are powered by magic, but ordinary people wouldn't afford that. I believe the lighters are the most widely spread magical items," Laki said.
"I got a lot of inspiration for new things we could do with magic when visiting your world. If we only could leash it the way you leashed the... power you use," Stork said, not being able to translate 'electricity'.
"Still there would be the cost of magic. Also I know that there are mages who oppose the efforts to make magic cheaper. They make a living by performing different tasks by magic, and are afraid that they'll loose their income," Laki noted.
"There is always resistance when you develop techniques that makes something easier. In my world, the people protested when the first machines for manufacturing cloth were made," Hannah said.
"Yet the improved technique will gain everyone, as the prices go down... But it's difficult to see it that way, I guess," Stork concluded.
Evening was approaching when the company came to a small village, consisting of a handful of houses. Laki led them to the second largest of the houses. There were two girls playing on the yard.
"Laki, Laki!" they shouted excitedly when they spoted him. Laki ran up to them and hugged them both in a big hug, laughing.
"Hello, girls! I brought some friends... You know Stork and Nicket. This is Hannah, she's from another world. Hannah, these are my sisters, Willa and Fienn.
Is mother around?" Laki asked them. The girls pointed at the house.
"Did you bring presents?" they asked, following Laki and the others to the house.
"I don't know. Did we? We'll have to see..." Laki teased.
"Mommy, look, Laki is home," the girls said as soon they entered the house, running up to a woman who stood at the table, preparing food. She looked up and smiled as she saw her son.
"Oh, I was sondering when you'd come by!" she exclaimed, giving Laki a warm hug. "But I didn't expect you home in the middle of a week. Did they give you leave? All of you, too?" she said, indicating Laki's company.
"We're showing Hannah here around. She's an offworlder. We got a week's leave for that," Laki said.
"Oh, hello, Hannah. I'm Stella, Laki's mother," Stella said, shaking Hannah's hand. Then she went back to her cooking. "I'd better prepare some extra food, then. You will be staying for a couple of days at least, I hope?"
"Sure, at least for tomorrow. We haven't planned much further yet. It depends on what Hannah will want to see. For now, we're mostly rescuing her from the professors at the university. They seemed to want to take her apart..."
"Just because she's an offworlder? Can't they see that she's a human, too? What are those professors thinking of..." Stella sighed.
"We brought some dried ham from town," Laki said, giving the packet to his mother. "And here I think we have something more... it looks like some dried fruit... I wonder if anyone would like that..."
Laki's sisters were jumping up and down from excitement.
"We want, we want," they said. Laki gave them the packet, and they quickly dug into it.
"Just one piece each before dinner," their mother said. The girls pouted a bit, but took only one piece each and gave the rest to Stella, who put the packet in the cupboard.
"Why don't you show Hannah around the farm? You can sleep in the hayloft as usual. Can you find blankets by yourself?" Stella asked. Laki nodded, and gestured to the company to follow him.
First they went to the second floor of the house. Laki opened a large chest and pulled out several woolen blankets that he gave to the others to carry. They went back down, and out on the back yard.
"There's the barn and the hay loft. We'll put the blankets and our packs there first, then I'll show you the rest. Father and Kvist will be coming in soon, too. They're probably out working in the fields," Laki explained, and led them to the hayloft. "We could fit in the house, too, but the hayloft is much more comfortable as long as it isn't cold."
When they had unloaded their packs, Laki showed them the other farm buildings. Laki's sisters followed them around, gigling. Stork created a small, glowing globe that danced around the girls' heads. Willa tried to catch it, but it evaded her. Fienn concentrated for a while, and created another globe that hovered in front of Stork.
"Beautiful! You have learned! I'm sure you'll become a great mage, just like your brother," Stork exclaimed. Fienn shone of pride.
Soon they spoted two men approaching from the fields. It was Stork's father and brother. They waved when they recognised Laki and his friends.
"Skiping school, are we?" Kvist teased.
"No, we have leave to show Hannah around a bit. She's an offworlder. She wanted to see how we live here," Laki explained.
"Well then, welcome Hannah," Laki's father said. "I hope Laki and his friends are taking good care of you. We wouldn't want to make a bad impression to offworlders."
"Than you. They are being very nice, and it has been very interesting and educational this far," Hannah replied. They all went inside.
"The food will be ready in half an hour, if you'll set the table," Stella said as they entered. "But first you must wash off."
Everyone went back to the yard. Kvist lifted some water from the well and pured it into a large basin.
"I'm afraid it's quite cold. I know you're all used to hot water at the University..." he said.
"That's all right," Stork said. They all washed their hands and faces. The water was truly ice cold. Kvist handed them some towels, and they dried off.
Back in the house Kvist opened a cupboard and extracted some wooden plates, some tin cups and some cutlery, and handed them to his father and brother, who set the table. Stella added a final touch to the stew she was preparing, and lifted the pot onto the table. The stew smelled delicious. They all sat down around the table, and Stella handed out the stew. Kvist cut some bread for eveyone. It was baked earlier the same day, and smelled delicious, too. Hannah realised suddenly how hungry she was.
While they ate, Laki exchanged the latest news with his family.
"The harvest looks good this year. We're hoping for another week of weather like this, then we'll gather in the grain. The vegetables are nice, too, although we've had some problems with vermin due to the rain we had a few weeks ago," Laki's father said.
"Fienn has been geting extra lessons in magic. Her teacher says she's got talent. And Willa is learning to take care of the goats," Stella explained.
"I've got my own goat now," Willa said proudly. "Will you come and see my goat tomorrow? It's in the pasture behind the hill."
"Of course we must come and see your goat," Laki replied.
"So how are the studies going for you, son?" Laki's father asked.
"Just fine. I passed the exam in Theoretical Magic last month."
"Passed? He got the highest grade, best in class," Stork said. Laki's parents looked proud, and Laki blushed. He didn't like braging.
"Now we're having Advanced Teleportation and continuing on the Fire Magic course. I'm also taking an extra Magic in Agriculture course. That's very interesting, and I belive there are many things in agriculture that could be improved by magic."
"As long as it isn't dangerous or too expensive," Laki's father said. "Speaking of which, we could use some help mending the roof of the barn. Some of the boards have come loose. Maybe you could take a look at it tomorrow?"
The young mages agreed to that.
"Oh, and my weather glass has started behaving oddly. Do you think you could take a look at that, too?"
"Of course, although I don't know how much we can help you with that. It's a complicated aparatus, and we haven't had more than an introductory course for magical devices," Stork said.
After dinner Stork and Nicket helped with washing the dishes, while Laki got to see Fienn's and Willa's latest achievements. Fienn displayed proudly a wooden spoon she had made, and Willa showed an apron she had sewn and embroidered herself. When the dishes were washed the family and the guests gathered around the fireplace.
"Have we told you yet how Hannah got to be here?" Nicket said rethorically.
"No, let us hear that," Laki's father replied.
Nicket told them about the lecture in Advanced Teleportation, and about Stork's adventure. Stork filled in a bit here and there, but for the most part Nicket told the tale correctly. Then he told about Hannah's arrival, and how everyone at the University wanted to see her and ask her about all kinds of things.
"That is why we asked for leave to show her around, so that she would get away from all the curious eyes at the University," he concluded.
"That was a fine story well told," Kvist said. "Although I hadn't any idea that University studies could be that adventurous."
"I rather think it seems dangerous. What if he hadn't been able to get back?" Stella said.
"I believe everyone will be more careful around teleportation spells from now on," Laki said. "Stork won't you play us that new song you learned in Hannah's world?" he asked, quickly changing the subject. Stork nodded, and picked up his lute.
Laki's family didn't get entertainment like Stork's singing that often, and they liked it a lot. After playing Hotel California, Stork continued with some merry dances. Nicket asked Hannah for a dance, and Kvist invited his mother. Laki danced with both of his sisters at the same time. Then Willa performed a solo dance with intricate steps, missing only a few steps, and they all applauded.
When they all were tired from dancing, Stork played some slower love ballads. Fienn's eyes gleamed as she looked dreamily at Stork. Hannah suspected that Fienn had a crush on him in secret. Little girls always liked older boys who could sing well. Later, when they went to the hayloft for the night, she said this to Stork.
"Yes, perhaps you are right. I'm trying not to encourage her too much, but I don't think it'll do any harm. When she grows older she'll notice the boys in her own age, too. Or rather, when the boys in her own age grow older, they will become more interesting. In her age boys are still immature and not the least bit interested in girls. I have a sister who's a few years younger than me. I remember that she was all over my friends in a certain age. Then, when she grew older, she forgot all about them and started chasing boys in her own age."
"I think it's cute," Nicket said. "It must be wonderful having little sisters. I only have two older brothers, and they were always mean to me."
The hayloft was still quite warm and smelled, of course, of hay. They all wraped up in their blankets in the soft hay.
"I remember how I used to do this with Kvist when we were little," Laki said. "Kvist used to tell me spooky stories. I usually got afraid of the dark in the middle of the night and wanted to go in, but I didn't want to tell Kvist that, so I stayed anyway."
"Anyone know any good spooky story?" Stork asked.
"Of course I do!" Nicket replied. "I know as many as you want to hear!"
"Not too spooky, or Laki will be frightened," Stork teased.
"Hey! I can cast pinch spells in the dark, too..." Laki reminded Stork.
"Let's hear one of your stories, Nicket," Hannah said. "I like ghost stories."
Nicket started telling. He was a good storyteller. He also had the advantage of magic, and could use it to create special effects. He made the hay glow ghostlike, and the walls creak. At one point he even made it feel like a cold hand on everyone's shoulders. Eventually, though, Hannah started nodding off, and Nicket's stories grew less enthusiastic. In the end they all fell asleep, and slept soundly to the morning.
They woke as the sun rose. They could smell the scent of fresh baked bread from the kitchen. It was Kvist who had baked. The scent made their mouths water, and they hurried to wash off and enter the house for breakfast. The rest of the family was already up, and Stella was seting the table.
"Good morning, everyone. Did you sleep well on the hayloft? Not too many spooky stories?" Stella greeted. "The breakfast is served."
Everyone sat down at the table. Stella had made a pot of porridge, and they ate it with fresh milk and bread. Hannah hadn't had porridge since she was little, and she thought that it tasted wonderful. The bread was warm, and they got some delicious cheese with it.
After breakfast they went out to look at the barn roof. Several of the plates had shifted, and some of the underlying boards were loose, too. There was a pile of new plates and boards on the yard.
"We were thinking of gathering the neighbours for fixing the roof, but as you are here you can help us even better," Laki's father said.
"I can go up on the roof," Laki volunteered. He had done this before, and knew what needed to be done.
"I can go too," Nicket said. Kvist produced two long, thick ropes from a shed, and Laki and Nicket tied them to their waist. Stork levitated the other ends of the ropes across the roof to the other side of the barn, while Laki and Nicket climbed a ladder up onto the roof. When they were on the roof, Kvist secured the ropes to a pole on the other side of the house, so that if Laki or Nicket fell the rope would stop the fall if none of the mages managed to cast a levitation spell first.
Laki and Nicket started by removing all broken plates and planks, and levitating them down from the roof. Then Stork levitated up the new planks, and Laki and Nicket nailed them in place. Then the mages levitated up the plates, and soon they were in their places, too. Kvist untied the ropes, and Laki and Nicket climbed safely down.
"That was quick. It would have taken us a whole day to do this without you," Kvist said. It wasn't even lunchtime yet.
"I bet you are hungry now, after all that magic," Stella said, bringing out some bread and cheese, and some of the dried ham that they had brought with them.
The mages gourged down the food.
"Will you come and look at my goat now," Willa asked impatiently. "We can do that before lunch, can't we mother?"
"Just don't stay too long," Stella said. "I'll prepare lunch for the same time as always, and those who are late will be eating cold food."
"It won't take that long," Willa promised.
The goat pasture was a half an hour's walk away.
"This pasture is only for the young goats that don't milk yet. The milking goats are on a pasture nearer the house, so that we can milk them every day. This pasture is fenced, so we don't have to watch the goats all the time, but we must come and count them every day," Willa explained to Hannah.
"What if one has run away, then. Can you find it again?"
"Mostly we can. They don't run away much, though."
"Who heards the goats when they are on a pasture that isn't fenced?"
"I do, when I'm not in school. This year I only go to school two days a week, but next year I will go four days, just like Fienn. But now she goes five days, because she has magic classes, too. She will be a mage when she grows up. I think I'll be a farmer. Or maybe a potter. My best friend's mother is a potter. She makes so many beautiful things. I want to make beautiful things, too."
Eventually they arrived at the pasture. Willa quickly counted the goats.
"Twelve. They are all here. Good, it's so annoying if they run away. That one over there, with the black patch in the face is mine," she said, pointing at a goat.
"Oh, that's a fine goat. You've tended her well. She'll milk next year." Laki said.
"Yes, and mother has promised that I can learn how to make cheese then."
They watched the goats for a while. Laki and Willa climbed over the fence, and inspected the goats for injuries or signs of illness. They all looked good.
Lunch was just ready when they returned to the house. It was leftovers from the previous day's stew, and some pancakes. This was delicious, too.
"Will you look at the weather glass?" Stella asked when they had washed the dishes.
"Sure, we'll see what we can do," Stork replied. Stella opened a cupboard and picked out a strange looking device. It consisted of a wooden frame with a glass lens in the middle. It had some metal parts sticking out like antennas.
"It's for predicting the day's weather," Stork explained to Hannah. "They aren't exact, but fairly good anyway. It's got some built in magic, that makes it work."
"What's wrong with it," Laki asked.
"It doesn't predict correctly at all anymore. It can't even tell what weather it is now," Stella said. She adjusted a metal lever on the back. The class turned dark grey. "See, it says it's stormy out, even though the sun is shining."
Laki and Stork probed at it and tried to figure put how it controlled the Strands.
"Maybe it just needs calibration," Nicket suggested. They probed at it a bit more, and found out how to calibrate it. They adjusted the metal antennae, and pulled at some Strands, and suddenly the glass cleared.
"Now it shows the right weather, at least. But we don't know if it will predict correctly. Does any of your neighbours have a glass, so that we can compare?" Stork asked.
"No, they don't. If this one is broken we won't have one in the village, as they are too expensive to buy."
"Then let's hope it works now," Stork said. He turned the lever on the back. The glass stayed clear. "It predicts fine weather for tomorrow, too. And for the rest of the week." He turned the lever even more, and the glass turned dull white. "But in two weeks it'll start raining. Although we can't be sure it works right..."
"We'll just have to hope that the weather doesn't turn until we've harvested the grain," Stella said.
During the afternoon the mages helped with several other minor chores at the farm. Especially the levitation spells came in handy many times. Hannah helped out as much as she could, although she could only do simple tasks like sweeping the floor, washing dishes and carrying firewood. She enjoyed the simplicity a lot. There were always things to do, but you had time to do it, and wasn't in a hurry. She found that she liked working with her hands. When she was finished with one task, she didn't want to sit down and do nothing, but rather asked for a new task. This way the whole afternoon passed quickly, and when dinner was finally server, Hannah was tired but happy.
After dinner they thought about the next day.
"Tomorrow is market day in the city. I think you'd like that, Hannah," Stork said. "It's almost a day's journey onwards, but it could be worth it. Also you'd get to see the place where I grew up."
"Yes, you definitely should see a real city. It's much larger than the University's town," Nicket said. "And it's got many more taverns."
"That sounds interesting," Hannah agreed. Although she liked the quiet country life, she also wanted to see more of this world.
"You can borrow the wagon and the horse. It won't go much faster than walking, but it'll save you some effort," Laki's father offered. They accepted the offer gladly.
"Shall we bring back something for you from the city?" Laki asked.
"Yes, actually you could. There are some things I've been thinking of geting, but I haven't had time to go to the city. I'll make you a list."
"If the education is paid for by tax money, won't the taxes be high then? What about those who don't want education, but have to pay the taxes anyway?" Nicket asked.
"Yes, the taxes are quite high. On the other hand the taxes pay not only for education, but also for health care, defense, streets and bridges, the town guard, and many other public services. The taxes are unfair in the sense that those who make a lot of money and pay a lot of taxes will pay for the well being of those who don't make that much money, but it is believed that everyone gains from it anyway."
"I can only see gains for the poor. Why would the rich want to pay for other people's education and health care?"
"Some don't want to, and do their best to avoid paying taxes. But they don't have much choice. The tax levels are determined by the elected parliament, and since there are very few really rich people, the 'poor' have a majority in the parliament and thus get to decide." Hannah got to explain the concept of democracy to Laki and Nicket.
"So if the majority of the people have brown eyes, and they decide that all blue eyed should pay more taxes, the blue eyed must do that?" Nicket asked.
"Yes. Although they wouldn't probably decide anything like that. Everyone would fit into some minority group, and they know that if they vote that some other minority group gets higher taxes, they know that their own minority group might be next. It's better to be fairly nice. Sometimes, though, some specific minorities have troubles geting their voice heard. Then they'll just have to tell as many as possible about their situation, and try to gain sympathy, so that people will vote in favor of them."
"Couldn't it be easy to exploit that kind of system, if you're just a good speaker and know how to gain people's sympathy?" Laki asked.
"Yes, and unfortunately many people try to exploit it, too. There are some laws to prevent it, but it isn't always enough. But as soon as someone discovers a flaw, they usually tell everyone about it, and the flaw will be corrected. I think the system will balance itself eventually. Unfortunately we aren't there yet."
They stoped briefly for lunch. Stella had given them some fresh bread, cheese and vegetables. They ate hungrily, and stretched their legs. Hannah felt quite shaken, the road was far from smooth. An hour after the lunch break they drove past a large stone house with a beautiful garden.
"That's the local governor's house," Stork pointed. "His daughter is a student at the University, too. She started there this semester."
"Yes, I remember when she got there. She had barely been outside the house, and didn't know anything about the ordinary people's life," Laki said. "At first she thought that everyone was as rich as she was. Then she learned that there were differences, and was quite shocked."
"I remember she considered servants to be a secondary class of people. She treated them almost like objects, or animals. She wasn't mean to them, she just ignored them when she didn't need them," Nicket said.
"That wasn't her fault. That was how she was brought up... How would she know what the world is like when noone had told her? I think her parents did wrong in protecting her from the reality for so long," Stork said.
"She thinks that, too, now. She's stoped talking to them, I think. I remember the first time she went to town with the others, and saw a beggar. She was horrified that noone had told her about this before," Laki said.
"She seems to be a nice kid, although she was a bit spoiled. She's learning quickly, though," Nicket said, and the others agreed.
In late afternoon they saw the city. It was several times larger than the University's town, and had two city walls. As they approached, Hannah could feel the smell of the smoke from all the chimneys. She had always thought the cities in her world smelled, but this was much worse. They passed the city gates, and the stench of the streets engulfed them.
"Ugh, what is all that stench?" Hannah asked.
"Yeah, cities smell bad. That's because they throw the litter on the streets. And because of all the manufactures. It's good that the tanners are on the other side of the town. This smell you can get used to, at least, but not the smell of tannin'," Laki said.
The streets were covered with mud and litter. As they stoped by an inn, Hannah hesitated to step down from the wagon.
"Yes, it's dirty. Cleaning of the boots is included in the inn's fee," Stork said.
A stable boy took care of the horse and wagon, and the company went into the inn. Stork paid for a room with four beds.
"I hope that's ok for everyone. The prices are high this time of year," he said. The other agreed.
"It's too bad my parents don't live here anymore. Otherwise we could have stayed at their house. I grew up in this city, but when I was fifteen we moved to the sea, to be closer to the harbors. That's where most of the buisiness is," Stork explained.
They put away their packs in the room Stork had rented, and went back down to the common room for some dinner. The stew was warm and filling, but didn't taste much. It had probably been cooking all day. The bread was fresh and good, though, and the wine was decent.
"Was that a lute I saw in your pack previously," the innkeeper asked them when they had eaten. Stork nodded.
"Yes, that was my lute."
"Do you play it? If you play well I'll let you play for drinks for you and your company. That is, if you want to, of course."
"You have a deal, master innkeeper," Stork said and went upstairs to fetch his lute. In the meantime the innkeeper cleared some room on the floor.
Stork's playing was a success, as always. People gathered in from the streets, and drank a lot of beer and wine. The innkeeper was overjoyed.
"Are you staying another night? I'll let you stay for half the price, if you play here tomorrow, too." Stork accepted the deal, even though he knew that the innkeeper would profit from it much more than that. He liked playing, and money wasn't much of an issue for him.
It was late when the company finally went to bed. They were all exhausted, and slept long in the morning. At breakfast, which consisted of bread, cheese and bitter tea, they planned the day.
"First we should go to the marketplace. It's busiest before noon. Then we can make the purchases for Laki's father," Stork suggested.
"We should show Hannah the Governor's castle," Nicket said.
"I thought we drove past his house yesterday," Hannah said.
"That was his house, where his family lives most of the time. The castle is kind of his office. The Governor stays there most of the time, visiting his family in the weekends."
"You could show us around the fancy part of the town, Stork," Nicket suggested. Hannah thought these were all good ideas.
The marketplace was busy with people.
"Hold on to your wallets. There are pickpockets here," Stork warned the others.
"Will they dare try pickpocketing mages?" Laki asked.
"Some of them might. They even try to pickpocket the town guard sometimes."
"What makes the people so poor that they are desperate enough to try stealing from guards?" Hannah asked.
"There are too many people here, and too little work for them. They come to the city to seek their fortunes when they don't have any land to farm. Here they don't find a profession where they would be needed, and are forced to support themselves by other means. It's all those people who have become redundant in their old professions, and haven't yet found new niches," Stork said, explaining to Nicket and Laki the model that he and Hannah had been developing the previous week.
"But can't they just go back to farming?" Nicket said.
"They don't have land for that. You'd have to create new farmland, but that's a lot of work. Also the owners of the forests you'd need to cut down will want money for it, and they don't have that," Laki said.
They wandered for a while around the marketplace, looking at all the different wares. Hannah marveled at the strange fruits and vegetables. She also noted several vegetables and fruits that looked just like the ones in her world. She realised she knew their names, and assumed that they were the same.
"How come some of the animals and plants here are the same as at home, but not all?" she asked. "I thought our worlds had developed similarily."
"They have, but not everything is alike. Especially the vegetables could be expected to be different, since their development has often been influenced and controlled by the farmers. Here we have tried to get apples as sweet as possible, while in your world you may have tried to get them larger, or greener. Some vegetables are crossings between others, and might not exist in the other world," Stork explained.
Laki started looking for the wares on his list. Many of them could be found in the marketplace, where he prefered to shop. The people selling wares in the marketplace were often the manufacturers of the wares, while storekeepers bought the wares from the manufacturers and then sold them on, thus raising the prices. Nicket helped Laki to barter for some of the more expensive items. At one stall he managed to barter for some red ribbons, to give to Laki's sisters. What they couldn't find in the marketplace they bought in the shops nearby.
By lunchtime they had bought everything on Laki's list. They droped off the purchases at the inn, and went back out for some lunch. They found a baker's shop and bought some meat pastries and some fruit cake, and ate it while they walked towards the centre of the city. The Governor's castle was in the middle of the city, behind high walls. The outer courtyard was open for everyone in daytime, and the company went there for a look. The castle was more like a fortress than a castle. It was built of stone, and had thick walls with narrow arrow slits.
"In case of siege, the people in the city would first move inside the inner city wall. Then, if the enemy breaks through the outer wall, most people would move into the castle. Unfortunately everyone wouldn't fit, though. I believe the rich merchants and nobles would be the first to move in, and the poorest would be left outside," Stork explained.
After visiting the castle, they walked about in among the fancy houses near the castle.
"These are the quarters where I grew up. That's the house where we used to live," Stork pointed. A man in fancy clothes approached them.
"Well well, isn't it young Stork Bethson? And your mage friends, I assume?" he greeted, as he saw Stork.
"Mister Loti," Stork greeted, and introduced his company.
"Yes, I heard from your parents that you are studying to be a mage. How quaint," Mr Loti said. "I hope your parents are well. I haven't spoken to them for a while, as I haven't had buisiness in that part of the country lately. I'm dealing in horses now."
"Oh, horses. I hear that is a profitable buisiness nowadays," Stork said politely.
"It's a living... Well, I must be going now. Say hello to your parents from me when you see them," Mr Loki said, shaking Stork's hand. He nodded at the others and continued past them.
"Some of them really think they own the world," Stork said. "Quaint? What a jerk."
"I'm glad you didn't turn out that way," Nicket said. "You should be glad, too."
"I am. I'm glad all the rich merchants aren't that way, either. But still too many are. I think you can understand why I don't visit my parents much. They want me to be social with their friends. The last time I was there they tried to introduce me to a lot of 'nice girls'. They were either complete airheads, or ruthless buisnesswomen, the lot of them."
"That sucks. I'd rather see you with my sister than one of those," Laki said.
"And what's that supposed to mean? That I'm not good enough for your sister?" Stork said, raising his eyebrows questioningly.
"You're just filling her head with silly ideas, like becoming a mage..." Laki said, nudging Stork in the ribs.
"Oh, that of course. We can't have that, can we. She should become a farmer, just like your father..."
"I'm so glad I have an older brother who loves farming," Laki sighed. Nicket said nothing. Both of his brothers were mages, but still his father wanted him to become a mage.
In the evening they went back to the inn. The innkeeper welcomed them, and served them some stew. The innkeeper circled around them impatiently, and as soon as Stork had finished his meal the innkeeper started clearing the floor. Stork got the hint and fetched his lute.
"This might be our last evening at a real tavern before you go home again," Nicket noted to Hannah. "So you'd better come and dance now that you have the chance." Hannah agreed to that, and they danced away most of the evening. Laki found some local girls to dance with, and also managed to borrow Hannah from Nicket for a dance or two.
When Stork needed to rest his fingers and voice, Nicket agreed to perform some magic tricks. The audience here wasn't as picky as the mage students at the Wheel, and they applauded and cheered loudly at Nicket's fairly simple juggling and levitation tricks. Still, Stork was the centre of the attention for that evening, and the innkeeper wouldn't want to let him stop until most of the guests were lying under the tables. When some of the drunk guests started fighting, Laki and Nicket helped the innkeeper to throw them out. They also levitated out the guests who had passed out under the tables, and the rest left voluntarily after a while. It was well past midnight before the company finally got to bed.
On late Friday morning - although the names of the weekdays were different in this world - the company had their breakfast. The innkeeper was very pleased with the previous day's sales, and tried to convince them to stay a few more days. Stork refused politely, and finally the innkeeper gave in.
After breakfast they packed their things in the cart and prepared for leaving. The innkeeper gave them a packet of bread and cheese, and a bottle of wine for the journey.
"It's not often we get mages like you here. You'll be welcome back the next time you're in town," he said. Stork thanked the innkeeper, and they all climbed up in the carriage. Laki took the driver's seat.
"The week is soon over. I hope you've seen what you wanted to see, Hannah," Stork said when they had left the city.
"Oh, I could stay for much longer. It's all very different and interesting. It's not at all like in the fantasy books we have. There everything is so romantic and filled of adventures. Mages are powerful and wise, or sometimes evil. In your world people are just people. They eat, work and sleep, just like everyone else. The toilets stink, the fires smoke, and the streets are muddy. Mages are like ordinary scientists. It much more real."
"Yes. But then again, who would write a story about that? Noone would read it anyway. It would be totally dull. Stories are about extraordinary people and extraordinary events," Nicket said.
"But still they could be more realistic. Noone writes about how hard it is to get a decent bath when you have to carry the water from a well and warm it up on the fireplace, and that you only have soap and no hair conditioner. I haven't washed my hair for days. At home I washed it every day. For some reason you always assume that it's the same way in the books. In some books the ladies in the company take a bath at every inn. That just isn't realistic."
"Not unless you are at the University, at least," Stork agreed.
The weather was still warm, and the sun was shining. Their journey was pleasant, except for the unevenness of the road.
"In your world we'd be at the University by now," Stork noted.
"Yes, but then we wouldn't have all this time to just think and talk," Hannah said.
"We could sit in a comfortable chair and think and talk instead of in this cart."
"We could, but we wouldn't. That would seem like a waste of time."
"How can talking be a waste of time? You learn a lot by talking to others," Nicket said.
"Is that why you always talk so much? You want to learn?" Laki said.
"No, I want to educate everyone else..."
"Speaking of educating... How do you actually cast spells? What do you do with the Strands to make them levitate something, for example?" Hannah asked.
"The Strands are actually a kind of force field, that you can control with your mind. The different colored strands behave differently, and can thus be used for different things. Usually they don't interact with things much, but you can control them to for example lift objects. You just grab mental control of a Strand, and make it wrap around the object you want to levitate. Then you make the Strand lift the object," Stork explained.
"How does the mental control work?" Hannah asked.
"That we don't know for sure. Some scientists believe that there is a certain amount of magic within us, and that we use that magic to control the Strands around us. Others believe that it's another force, that is tied to the Strands, that is used."
"There are beings in other universes that know how it works, but they won't tell us. They say we wouldn't understand anyway until we find out by ourselves," Laki added in.
"The science of magic is mostly practical. We know how to work the Strands, and by trial have found out different things to do with them. Theoretical magic is still quite a speculative area of science."
"You seem to know a lot about your world that we didn't know about our world when we were in the same... stage of development. For example you know about the peed of light, and such things. How come you know that, but not the nature of magic?" Hannah asked.
"We've been able to study most of the physical properties of the world using magic, and we've gained some knowledge through exchange with other worlds. But it's difficult to study the nature of magic using magic, and those who are better than us on magic are reluctant to tell us about it, for some reason. Perhaps they are right, that we aren't ready for such information," Stork replied.
"Then why don't you use physics more? You could have many mechanical solutions to problems that you are trying to solve by magic."
"Physics work a bit differently here than in your world. Also scientists tend to want to use magic as much as possible. That seems more reliable than mechanics."
Their lunch stop was much shorter this time. As they had left late, they didn't want to stop for long, so that they would be at Laki's house before sunset. During the journey Hannah told Laki and Nicket about electricity and other scientific discoveries in her world. Stork told them about how he had experienced it all.
"Wasn't it scary not having magic?" Nicket asked Stork.
"Not very much. There were a few times I had to stop myself from trying to cast a spell, but mostly I didn't feel any need for spells. Mostly everything was taken care of by the devices they had. It was actually quite comfortable, as it was easier to just push a button than casting a spell."
"Was it difficult to use all their devices?" Laki asked.
"No, most of them were really simple. Although some things, like that computing machine, and that horseless cart, seemed quite complicated. It was difficult to understand how they worked, too. I would like to go back there and study them more."
The sun was approaching the horizon as the cart approached Laki's parents' farm. Laki's sisters spoted the cart, and ran up to meet with them. They ran excitedly alongside the cart for for the last bit. Laki's parents came out on the porch to meet them.
"Here, I'll help you unload the cart," Laki's father said. "Did you find everything on the list?"
"Yes, and we even have some money left. Nicket was a good barter," Laki replied.
They unloaded the cart, and carried their packs up to the hayloft. Laki gave the ribbons to his sisters, who were overjoyed.
"More presents? You are spoiling your sisters," Stella said. "Well, it's time for dinner now. I made some roast steak."
The steak smelled delicious, and the hungry travellers ate with good apetite. After the dinner they talked about their day in the city, and, seeing Fienn's pleading eyes, Stork played a couple of unes on his lute. Then it was time for bed, so that they could rise early the next morning, to go back to the University. Hannah liked sleeping in the hayloft. The air was cool and fresh, and the blankets were warm. The hay was a bit rough, but much softer than the lumpy beds that she had encountered everywhere else.
They left early in the morning, thanking Laki's parents for their hospitality. Again they got some bread, cheese and fruit for the trip, although they planned to be back at the University soon after lunchtime. The morning was pleasant for walking, not too warm but not cold either.
"I haven't walked this much for a long time," Hannah said. "It feels good."
"We don't walk much either at the University. Down to town, at most. Or run from one class to another," Laki noted.
"I think that's great. When I was little I had to walk an hour to and from school," Nicket said.
"Me too, but I rather liked it. It gave you time to think," Laki said.
"Just like on the cart... And I would still rather sit in a comfortable armchair by the fire. Or sleep for an extra hour."
"People are different, I guess..." Laki replied.
"I hope the weather glass will work now," Laki said after a while. "It seems like it's predictions were correct this far, but you can never know for sure. It would be bad if it started raining unexpectedly this close to harvest time."
"How does the weather glass work? How can the Strands predict weather? I thought weather predictions were difficult. At least they can't predict weather perfectly in my world." Hannah said.
"We haven't had that course yet, but I think it both reacts on the Strands and on other things, like the humidity in the air. Strands react to weather, you know."
"How do you get the magic to stay in devices like the weather glass and the lighter?"
"Some materials can actually hold Strands. There is a special process that can capture Strands in items containing those materials. By combining the materials and making items of certain designs you can make the captured Strands behave in different ways. Some of these items will even recharge themselves with Strands. For example the weather glass does that. Other items, like the lighters, will be used up in a while. They can often be recharged manually, though."
After a short break for some bread and fruit they continued their walk, and their talk. Hannah was getting a bit tired when they finally saw the town. Soon they were back at the University. This time noone stared at Hannah. They seemed to have forgoten all about her by now, which was quite a relief. After unpacking in their rooms and washing off the dust in the bathroom, the company gathered in the canteen for lunch. Some of the boys' friends greeted them, and a few first year students whispered a bit behind Hannah's back, but there was no big commotion. The company could have their lunch in peace.
Half an hour later Hannah, Stork, Nicket and Laki were at the staff's common room. It was a fairly large room, with two fireplaces and several low tables with armchairs and sofas. Hannah thought it was quite cozy. Tea and biscuits were served at one of the larger tables, and Professor Trott, Professor Melck and some others were gathered around the table, notebooks in hand.
"There you are! Please, sit down and make yourselves comfortable. Have some tea," Professor Trott exclaimed. The company sat down and Stork poured them tea.
"I was thinking we should let you decide what you want to talk about. We would like to know what the main differences are between your and our world," Trott said to Hannah.
"The main differences? Well, they are actually fewer than you'd imagine. Yes, the worlds are different physically. You have magic, we don't. We have physics, you don't. Or at least you don't use it as much. At the same time, we have the same issues, the same problems that we need to solve. You solve some of them using magic, we solve them by physics. Other issues haven't been solved yet. Neither of our worlds know how to get rid of war, illness, poverty or famine. Perhaps we know some of it in theory, but have difficulties doing it in practice.
"One major difference is, though, that we seem to have tried more ways of ruling countries. You still have monarchies of one sort or another, while we have moved on to systems where people are equal and get to vote about decisions. Still, we haven't succeeded in finding the perfect society. Most systems seem to lead to that one person gets most of the power anyway, and the ordinary people don't have much power to object. We have also made other mistakes, like using slaves. You don't have racism or sexual discrimination, but you have a class society where the rich and noble are considered better than others.
"People everywhere look for the same things. We want to live, and to decide our own fate as much as possible. We want food and clothes, and a place to live. We just have developed different means for achieving these things."
"That is an interesting insight. Did you come up with it yourself? There are philosophers here who claim that same theory," one of the professors said. Hannah sighed. They still didn't take her seriously, and mainly considered her a subject to be studied.
"That is what I have concluded from my observations and my conversations with Stork, Laki and Nicket," she replied.
"I have been thinking in the same direction, too," Stork noted.
The rest of the interview continued in the same direction. Hannah was asked to tell about the governmental models from her world. She told them about democracy and communism, and also about Hitler. The professors were interested, but not impressed. They asked many questions on how a democratic society could work. Then they wanted to hear about the company's experiences during the week, from Hannah's point of view. She told them about how relaxed she had felt despite the work she had done, and she had to explain all about the stress in her world. The professors made notes, and nodded at all the right places.
Finally Hannah had no more to say, and the professors had notes to study for several weeks. Hannan and they boys were released, and they immediately headed off to the canteen.
"I thought that would never end," Nicket said. "Now I understand why you wanted to get away."
"At the same time I feel that I'm obliged to do something for them, in return for them leting me come here," Hannah replied.
"I hope they don't get the wrong impression of your world, though. It seems like they aren't as open minded as one could hope," Stork said. "They seem fairly interested, though, and Trott ans Melck seem to be genuinely curious. I'm hoping they'll let me return there some day. I think I've found what area I want to specialise in..."
The dinner at the canteen was great, as usual, and the company ate a lot. They were just wondering how they'd spend the evening when one of Stork's classmates came up to them and said,
"Hey! You're back! Right in time for the show! Some fourth year students have promised a magic show this evening in the great hall! You must come and see it!"
"That sounds like a plan. We can always find something to spend the time on until that," Nicket said.
"It'll be a great last night festivity for Hannah, too. Those magic shows are often really impressive, even better than the one we saw at the Wheel," Stork added.
The show wouldn't start for another hour, so the company went up to one of the students' common room. It was larger than than the staffs' common room, but not as cozy. There were students sitting in sofas and chairs around the tables, reading, talking and playing games.
"Do you have a piece of paper, compasses and a pen? And something to measure with? I would like to check something," Hannah asked as they sat down at a table. Stork guessed what she wanted to do, and produced the things she needed from a desk in the corner. Hannah drew a circle on the paper. Using a piece of string she measured the diameter and the perimeter of the circle. The perimeter was exactly 3.2 times the diameter. She measured again, and got the same result. She drew a larger circle, and measured again. The result was still the same.
"What are you doing?" Nicket asked.
"Calculating the relation between the circle's diameter and perimeter. It's different here than in my world.
"It is? Weird," Nicket said.
"You shoudl know that is possible," Stork said. "You've taken Introduction to Universes, too."
"Yes, but I slept through most of the classes, didn't you notice?"
An hour later most of the students gathered in the great hall. It was larger than the canteen, with seats in long rows and a stage at the front. Nicket managed to find them places near the stage. When the hall was almost full, the lights were turned down, and some music started to play. Hannah looked around, and saw a group of musicians on both sides of the stage. The lights continued to fade out until the hall was almost pitch black. Then a single globe of light lit on the stage. The music increased in tempo and volume, and two more globes appeared on either side of the first globe. More globes were added, until there were nine of them in a row, hovering above the stage. The music stoped, and the globes exploded in a cascade of colors. Nine hooded mages clad in dark green robes appeared where the globes had been.
The show continued for over an hour. The mages juggled with globes and created beautiful patterns and images with light. The mages levitated each other while jugling globes or spraying light in all directions. Sometimes Hannah concentrated and looked at the Strands, and sometimes she just watched the light show. It was all very well coordinated and the coreography was great. The music was also coordinated with the moves, and beautifully played.
The finale was extravagant. The mages stood in a circle on the middle of the stage, and slowly rose from the ground until they levitated high above the stage. Standing in mid air they slowly turned to face outwards. They all stretched out their hands, and from their hands began falling cascades of glittering colors. The colors spiraled down to the stage, and joined eventually in a huge spiral in the centre of the circle. The spiral flowed upwards through the circle of mages, and from there it sprayed in all directions, like a giant fountain. Then the flow began to shifting colors periodically, making a hypnotic pattern. The mages started waving their hands, creating ripples in the flow. Then they held their hands still again, and the color shifted to a gree color matching their robes. Slowly the mages started sinking to the stage, and the flow altered and sthe spray closed in over them. When they were almost touching the ground, the cascade engulfed them altogether, forming a globe around them. The globe began shrinking. It shrank until it finally was only as large as the first globe that had appeared. The nine mages were gone. As the music slowed down and came to an end, the globe winked out and the hall was dark again.
The lights were turned on again, and the audience exploded in applauses and cheers. The nine mages appeared on the stage again and bowed, removing their hoods. They looked quite exhausted, but smiled broadly at the audience.
"I want to become as good as they are," Nicket said later, as they were leaving the great hall.
"But that's just tricks and entertainment. Don't you want to do something real instead?"
"Entertainment is real. It's important, too. Or what do you think, Stork? Isn't your lute playing important?"
"It is important, but I wouldn't like to have it for profession. I only do it for fun," Stork said.
"I don't want to be an entertainer either, I want to make some money to become a merchant," Nicket said. "And I think I can make enough money as an entertainer. Or at least I'll have fun while trying."
In the end Hannah fell asleep, and dreamt about magic and Strands, and about Laki's parent's farm. She slept fairly well, but still morning came too soon. She was still tired, and wasn't in a hurry, but couldn't sleep anyway, so she got up and dressed. Visiting the toilet she reminded herself that at least the toilets were better at home.
Hannah found Stork, Laki and Nicket in the canteen. They were already seated at a table, and seemed to have just fetched breakfast, but not started on it yet.
"Good morning! You're just in time, we were just starting to eat. Go and fetch yourself a plate and sit down," Stork greeted Hannah as he spoted her.
Hannah filled a plate with sausages, bread and meat pastries, and sat down with the boys.
"The last breakfast at the University... Does it feel good to go back?" Stork asked her.
"In a way, yes. I miss some of the comforts at home, and my friends and family, of course. At the same time I like the calmer pace here. It has been great to live in such a... simple world for a change. If you know what I mean by 'simple'... People are just as content with everything here as they are in my world, although everything is somehow simpler. Of course everyone complains about something, but the troubles are so different. Here you don't have to worry about all the things you miss, as there are fewer things to miss. At home people try to do everything at once, and get all stressed out when they miss something. Here you work hard, but not at so many things at once."
"I think I see what you mean. Here we sweep the floor. In your world you'd probably sweep the floor, eat and talk to someone at the same time," Stork said.
"Something like that, yes. We can't seem to do one thing at a time anymore, and the few occasions we do that, we must do it as quicly as possible, as there are so many other things to do later."
"That doesn't sound so practical. And what other things do you have to do there that we don't do here? We eat, sleep, work and get entertained. What more can you need?" Laki asked.
"That's basically the same things we do, except we want to be entertained all the time, and not just be entertained, but also develop ourselves. People put very much effort into 'personal development' and 'effective relaxation' nowadays. Just watching a show isn't enough. You must learn from it, or at least get some interesting insights from it, or you think the time is wasted... It's all so crazy... And I've been glad to have been away from it all for a while."
The teleportation wouldn't be performed until a few hours later, so after breakfast the company went to the students' common room. The room was empty at this time of the day.
"What will you do when you get home?" Stork asked Hannah, as they sat down in the common room.
"I'll probably just try to gather myself again. I'll have to call my mother, I think. She's probably worried because I didn't call her... After that... I don't know. I should try to catch up with the studies I've missed. But somehow it seems... pointless? Now that I know of the other universes, and of magic, it would feel much more interesting to learn more about all that. I would like to learn magic, and become a mage. Physics suddenly seem so stupid. You are all so good at magic, and I feel like a loser compared to you. You know so much that I don't know."
"No, you mustn't think that. You are a mage. You know the magic of your world. Physics and mathemathics are the magic of your world, and you know so much about it. You probably know more physics and mathemathics than any of the scientists in this world, even though your physics are a bit different than ours. You shouldn't throw all that away, just like that," Stork protested.
"I think you are going to become a great scientist in your world. You have the right mind for that. You think like a scientist, analysing everything from different angles, and have an open mind. You are a typical science student, whether the science is magic or physics," Laki said.
"That's probably why I want to learn magic, too. I wanted to learn physics, because I did think that physics is like magic. It can be very incomprehensible if you don't know what's going on, so I wanted to know what's going on. I wanted to take away the magic from it, so to speak, and see it for what it really is. Now I find that there is real magic, too. That kind of confuses things up a bit. How can I even believe in science now? For hundreds of years scientists have claimed that there isn't any such thing as magic, and now I learn that they have been wrong all the time. How am I supposed to believe in everything else that they have said? What if that is wrong, too?"
"One thing a scientist must learn is that theories are just theories. They can be proved wrong. See this just as one more theory proved wrong. Some other theories may be affected, but not necessarily all of them. It might also help explain some of the mysteries that are yet unsolved," Laki said.
"So, you see, I must learn magic, so that I can understand how it affects everything else," Hannah said.
"You must understand the physics, too, then mustn't you? I'd vote that you start by learning all that, then perhaps studying magic at the side, to later study the effect of magic on the physics. Although people will be skeptical if they learn about what you study..."
"Yeah, they will think I'm crazy. And, as stated before, my world isn't probably ready for magic just yet, so I can't show them the truth, either."
"You could just keep on studying physics, you know. It works quite independently of magic, especially in a world like yours with weak magic. If you want to become a real mage, you must learn the magic of your world's magic, and your world's magic is physics. I think it's as simple as that," Stork said.
"But don't you learn physics, too? You don't learn only magic, because magic depends on physics, doesn't it?"
"Yes, it does... but only on low levels. When we study magic on higher levels, the physics are already counted in. It comes kind of naturally. I think that in your world, the magic is already accounted for in the physics. That's the natural process. You have determined the physics by measuring, even though many things are calculated, too. All formulas and constants that don't fit into reality are adjusted so that they fit. Since magic is a part of the reality, it will thus be a part of your physics," Stork explained.
"That sounds probable..." Hannah said. "Although there is one thing I still don't understand. How can pi be different here? The circle needs to be disorted or something for that to be possible."
"Oh, still stuck on that? I think the latest theories say that in some worlds the circle's perimeter extends in another dimension, and thus becomes longer. I never really understood that explanation, though. I believe you need very open minded mathemathics for it," Stork explained.
"Probably. I think I'm going to have many sleepless nights over that when I get home."
"So, will I ever see you again?" Hannah asked the boys.
"I certainly hope so. I would really want to come back to your world some time, preferrably some time soon," Stork replied.
"We'll have to see what the University staff say about that, though," Laki said. "At least they'll want us to write those reports on this week, first..."
"Oh, I hate writing reports. Oh well, I guess it's good practice, or something," Nicket said. "Although I can't figure out for what..."
"Some day you might need to write to the authorities to get you out of some kind of trouble that you've goten yourself into. Then it's good to have practiced some academic writing," Stork suggested.
"I guess I could try to prove to them that I don't need to pay taxes for my buisiness," Nicket said.
"If you manage to do that, could you throw in a word for me, too?" Laki asked, grinning.
"Do you really want him to do that? At least I wouldn't trust Nicket's writing skills. You'll just end up paying double taxes," Stork said. They all laughed. Nicket tried to cast a pinch spell on Stork, but missed and hit Laki instead.
"If he writes as bad as he casts pinches, he'll end up paying more taxes than he earns money," Laki laughed, rubbing his arm.
The time for the teleportation approached. Hannah felt a sudden sadness as they left the common room and walked to the Teleportation Room. She took a long last look at the University, as they walked through the corridors. The courtyard was empty and calm, as the students were either away or indoors, studying or socialising. Even the weather was a bit moody. It was overcast, but not raining. Hannah thought of Laki's parents' weather glass, and wondered if it still shoewd the right weather.
Eventually they arrived at the Teleportation Room. The door was open, so they entered it. Professor Trott was already there, preparing the spell while he waited for them.
"Good, right on time. I have already made the preparations. Have you said your goodbyes? No? Well, when you are ready, you can step into that circle there," he said as they entered. Hannah nodded and turned to the boys.
"Well, I guess this is it. I don't really know what to say. Umm... Bye, I guess... and thank you, all of you. It has been really great to get to know you, and your world. And thank your parents from me once more, Laki. They were very nice," she said.
"I'm the one who sould thank you," Stork said. "I probably gave you quite a shock, but still you helped me out. And I still don't really know why..."
"I don't know either. You looked like you needed help, I guess," Hannah smiled.
"I must thank you, too, for helping Stork back. Otherwise I'd have still been doing kitchen duty," Nicket grinned. Laki didn't say anything, just nodded. Hesitating a moment, Hannah steped forward and gave them each a hug. That seemed right.
Hannah steped into the circle drawn on the floor in the middle of the room and nodded to Professor Trott.
"I'm ready now," she said. The professor started concentrating. Hannah concentrated, too, to see the Strands of this world one last time. She saw the professor wield them, very expertly, and start weaving the portal. The Strands moved easily at his command, and very exactly. As the portal was finished and started closing in around her, Hannah released her concentration. She looked at the boys one last time, and smiled. She saw them smiling back at her as the portal closed.
Laki, Nicket and Stork didn't speak much about the events of the previous week the days after Hannah's return to home. They all tried hard to adjust back to normal, even though it had only been a week's change. Stork tried hardest of them all, but at night he lay awake in his bed, thinking of everything that had happened. The week in Hannah's world had been strange, but it was equally strange to have Hannah here and hear her view on his world. He now had a very different view on it himself. It really gave you some distance to hear an outsider's opinions.
Eventually they had to start talking about it, though, as they had to write the paper that they had promised Professor Trott. Stork was afraid that Trott and the rest of the staff wouldn't understand them, and especially that they woudln't understand Hannah. Laki and Nicket shared his concern, and they pondered about whether they should modify the report to suit the professors, or if they should try once more to show them how it really is. Stork voted for telling the truth, as he hoped that it would lead to more studies of Hannah's world, which would increase his chances to get there again. He managed to convince Laki and Nicket on this, too, and they spent many late nights on trying to formulate the paper so that it best reflected the truth.
To their disappointment the paper passed without much notice. They got highest grade on it, but noone commented on the contents, and eventually it ended up in the archives. Now there wasn't much more for them to do about the matter, and their lives could return to normal for real.
Stork had now found a new, interesting direction for his studies. Extradimensional studies felt suddenly much more interesting than before, and he never fell asleep on a lecture in Advanced Teleportation again. In fact, he got the highest grade in that course, and even better score than Laki, who usually was best in class. Also, he started studying his own world more. He realised that he didn't actually have to go to other worlds to study other cultures, but that there were other cultures much nearer. Now he wanted to know everything about their governments, their people, and their traditions. He started studying people, and how people interact with magic and technology, while he previously had been very focused on the magic itself. He realised that magic and technology were nothing without the people using it.
Also, Stork went to see his parents. They hadn't heard about his little adventures, so he told them the whole tale, and of his new interest.
"What will you gain by studying people?" his father asked. Stork's parents always wanted to gain from everything.
"Gain? I will gain knowledge. I will gain knowledge of what probably is one of the largest mysteries of all: ourselves," he replied.
"Of course, but what will you do with that knowledge? You can't sell it, you know..."
"No, at least not directly. Science isn't something you sell. It isn't something you do to make money," Stork said. They had had this conversation before, many times. He knew that his father now would claim the opposite.
"Yes it is. You develop a new magical device, and then sell it to people. Or you make a new spell, that people can cast for money. Everything is done for gain."
"All right, perhaps all science makes money in the end. In that case the study of our mind would make money in the end, too, wouldn't it?" That was a reply Stork hadn't thought of before. Now he hoped to be able to change the course of this conversation. "You just can't see it yet. And besides, if I had figured out a way to make money from it, would I tell you about it? You might steal my idea."
Stork's father hadn't expected this answer, but the answer made him happy.
"Finally you're talking like a buisinessman. When it comes to convincing your oponent, you may use all means possible, except outright lies. Using their own arguments against them is great. I think you may be learning something about people already, my son."
"So you are saying that you approve?" Stork said, surprised.
"Of course I do. As a buisinessman I need to know a lot about people, too. There are many things you must know and remember when doing buisiness, especially that in the end, everybody is just interested in what is best for them. Even when they seem to help someone selflessly, they actually hope that some day, when they need help themselves, someone else will help them in turn. Sometimes they don't know that themselves, but it is true. You always do things to gain something. Sometimes you can only gain a sense of pride or satisfaction, but even then it is still about yourself. Keep that in mind, my son, and you can go far."
Stork thought for a long time about what his father had said. Was personal gain truly the heart of everything? When you thought about it, it made sense somehow. Since people hawe free will, they will decide their actions according to some rule. Even if they choose the path that hurts, they must have based that choice on something. If you included a sense of satisfaction as a possible gain, every choice you made would be made with personal gain in mind. This gave an interesting base for Stork's studies on people. From here he could start building a model on how people worked, and for there a model on how societies work, both in this world and in other worlds. He would need to study different cultures to be able to really understand the choices people made. With this insight, Stork felt that he had enough to study for a lifetime.
"Hi, mom, I'm back now," Hannah said on the phone, calling her mother.
"Oh, I'm so glad that you called! I was a bit worried when you didn't call me before. Did everything go all right?" her mother answered. She still sounded a bit worried.
"Yes, yes, everything went all right. I just couldn't call from there, I didn't have any oportunity, and it would have been expensive."
"All right then... Did you have fun? Were they nice to you?"
"Yes, it was great. I learned a lot, and got time to contemplate on things. Everyone was really nice, although some people were a bit too curious. We took a trip to visit one of Stork's friends' parents, who live in the countryside. That was really great. There was no stress, and they were very hospitable."
"So it was a bit of vacation for you, then? That is good. I think you need some time off from your studies now and then. I hope you didn't miss too much while you were away, so that you must work twice as hard now, though."
"No, I can easily catch up a week. More than that might have been difficult, so even though I had liked to stay for longer I thought it was better to come home."
"That is very responsible of you. Sometimes I wonder why I worry so much over such a responsible daughter..."
"I think it's normal to worry a bit, so don't worry about your worrying at least. Well, I've got to go now, I have some stuff to do before tomorrow."
"Of course. You probably have work to do, too. Well, call again soon!"
"I will, mom. Bye!"
Lin and Jessica were of course curious about Hannah's trip, too. Hannah met them in the afternoon on the day she came back. They had some coffee at a small cafe. Hannah realised that she hadn't even missed coffee while she was in Stork's world.
"How was it? Was it as beautiful as they say?" Lin asked.
"Yes, and even more than that. First we stayed at Stork's university, but then we went to the countryside and visited one of his friends' family. That was really cool."
"Was it a real farm? Did they have cows and stuff, too?" Jessica asked.
"Yes, it was a real farm with fields and everything. They had goats, a lot of goats. And we got to sleep in the hayloft."
"Cool! I've never slept in the hayloft! Was it exciting?" Jessica exclaimed.
"Well, it was very comfortable. You slept very well there. The air was much fresher and cleaner. And you sleep better when you're tired. We helped them mend the roof, and clean the house and stuff like that, so in the evening we were quite tired."
"Did you go out? Did they have good beer? And music?" Lin asked.
"Yes, we went out a couple of times. The beer was different, but not bad. The music was different, too. More like folk songs and such, but cool anyway. People liked to dance, too."
"Folk songs... weird... Did you dance, too?" Jessica said.
"Yes, one of Stork's friends taught me the dance. It was actually very fun. Quite difficult, too. A bit like aerobics."
"So why didn't Stork come back with you? I thought he would stay here the whole semester?" Jessica asked.
"Oh, he got changed plans. His, umm, family wanted him to stay for a while. He might come back later, though." Hannah hadn't really thought of any good explanation for this yet.
"That's too bad. I thought he was quite funny. And nice. Although he was a bit weird, too," Jessica said.
"I like weird guys. At least they are different from the rest..." Lin said.
Yes, at least Stork is different, Hannah thought. If they only knew exactly how different.
The days after her return, Hannah felt almost a bit empty. Her whole world had been turned upside down in less than three weeks, and now she was supposed to go back to normal? She was still uncertain of how to handle the whole magic thing. Sometimes she almost managed to forget all about it, or believe that it was all just a dream. Then she sat down and concentrated hard, and saw the eractic Strands of magic. That was the ultimate proof. Or was it? Perhaps she just imagined them? Or was it a trick of the mind? But all that she had gone through couldn't be just 'tricks of the mind'. It was all too real for that.
Sometimes Hannah missed Stork and his friends, too. She missed their conversations on everything from science to politics and philosophy. She missed the new perspective Stork had on everything. Lin and Jessica were great friends, but thy were a bit shallow. Especially they didn't know what Hannah knew. Most of all she missed being able to talk about these things to anyone. Noone would believe her, she thought. Then she thought about Agnes. Agnes knew about magic and other worlds.
Hannan sent an email to Agnes, and invited her for a visit. Agnes drove there in her car, and they had lunch together in a quiet restaurant. Hannah told Agnes mostly everything about her week. It felt great, finally being able to talk to someone about it. Agnes was curious about everything, but not as bad at all as the professors at Stork's university. Agnes knew enough to keep a proper distance, and also knwe how shocking the last couple of weeks must have been for Hannah. She told that she had gone through a similar phase when she had first learned of magic. The first period you went from disbelief to denial, then to hope and a tentative belief. Then, during a longer period, all thoughts and questions would pop up again and again, until you finally found a way to accept the facts. It would take time, and lots of thinking and laying awake late at night, but it would pass eventually. It also helped to have someone to talk to, and Agnes told Hannah to feel free to email or call her at any time. Hannah was very grateful of this.
During the following weeks Hannah truly jumped between hope, faith, disbelief and denial. She tried hard to concentrate on her studies, but often found herself thinking about something completely different than the subject at hand. She started reading fantasy books, that she had prevously thought were mostly just silly. She read all the famous fantasy authors, and found traces of the truth in some of them. She wondered which of the authors really knew about the other universes, and which had just made up their worlds. Also, Hannah started writing down her thoughts in a diary. She had noticed that her thoughts often went around in circles, following the same tracks, and tried now to break the circles and find new paths by writing down what she had already thought of.
Lin and Jessica of course noticed that Hannah was behaving differently after she came back. They tried to ask her if something had happened during her trip. Hannah tried to convince them that she was just thinking of the meaning of life, and things like that, and that they had talked a lot about those things when she was away. Lin and Jessica didn't quite believe that, so in the end they decided that Hannah was in love, and that she needed something else to think about. They started draging her off to the pubs and nightclubs they had used to go to, and forcing her to have fun. Later Hannah thought that this was probably what had finally helped her to regain her senses, as she realised that the existence of magic and other universes didn't have to change the fact that music, beer and good company was great. And if that was still unchanged, why should anything else be different?
Eventually Hannah found new energy, and found that physics and mathematics still were what she wanted to study. She worked hard for several weeks, and managed to catch up with all the courses while keeping her social life intact. She now knew that this really was the way to become a mage in this world. Science was the magic she needed, although at times she still searched for the Strands, and watched their erractic dance.
It was a few days after the Christmas break, and Hannah was in the cafeteria, having coffee with Lin and Jessica. She didn't think much about magic and other universes anymore, although she still missed Stork from time to time. It was funny how you could miss someone you'd only known for a couple of weeks. Suddenly Jessica pointed at someone behind Hannah, and exclaimed:
"That looks almost like Stork, doesn't it?"
Hannah looked around. At the far end of the hall she could see three figures, clad in fairly ordinary clothes. Two of them looked quite bewildered. Hannah recognised them immediately, and rose up.
"Stork! Laki! Nicket! Over here!"
The boys spoted her and came over, shining up noticeably. Hannah was so happy that she gave them each a big hug.
"So, you came back after all?" she asked Stork.
"Yeah, and I brought a couple of friends, too... They heard so much about this place that they just had to come and see for themselves," Stork replied happily.
"Oh, Lin, Jessica, this is Laki and Nicket, whom I told you about. Laki, Nicket, these are my friends Lin and Jessica," Hannah said, introducing everyone to each other.
"Oh, Stork told me that there would be pretty girls here, and he did indeed tell the truth. A pleasure to make your aquaintance, ladies," Nicket said, bowing gaily. The girls giggled.
"Are everyone from Finland as strange as Stork?" Jessica asked, laughing.
"Oh, no, not at all. Some of us are even stranger," Nicket replied with a faked seriousness, making Jessica laugh even more.
"How long will you stay this time? And what will you study?" Hannah asked later, when Lin and Jessica had gone to class. "How much have you arranged?"
"We should be exchange students from Finland, again. It even seems like we know Finnish properly, all three of us... We'll be staying until summer this time. We've arranged for our return already. We did some studying and calculation on the fluctuation of the magic here, and found a time and place in about six months from now. I'm here to study a bit more of your science, but also what you call psychology. Laki is hoping for some agricultural studies, and also some socionomy, while Nicket wants to study economy and politics. I hope we can find at least some of those courses" Stork replied.
"That shouldn't be a problem. Let's go and get you some place to stay, and to get you enrolled on the courses. Then I guess I'll have to start over again, showing Laki and Nicket how things work."
They wondered whether to tell Lin and Jessica the truth. It would be difficult for them to accept it, but it would also explain a lot of things that otherwise would seem odd. On the other hand their coming from Finland seemed to be enough to explain most of it. In the end they decided to tell them, anyway. This time they were better prepared, and could demonstrate the magic better. Jessica almost fainted, and Lin thought they were making a sick joke. In the end they were convinced, although Hannah knew they would go through what she had gone through previously. Later Lin said that she wished that Hannah had said something earlier, as they could have helped her better. Then she admited that they probably would have sent her to a shrink. She and Jessica were glad that they now knew the truth, anyway.
Now Stork, Hannah, Nicket, Laki, Lin and Jessica had all the time in the world. They would have six months to do and study anything they liked. But first, they went to see Finland for real.