Mindseeker

Chapter 2: Infixation

Kota buying weed isn't the worst possibility I'd imagined.

The exchange ends, and Kota makes his way up the bank to a secluded hill. It's about as far from the jogging path as you can get, deep in the leafy oaks and brush.

A pungent odor of marijuana soon wafts toward me. I take a mask out of my pocket and slip it over my face. No, I'm not that against smoking. In this case, it's simple biology. Any kind of intoxicant, drugs, alcohol, even cigarettes, makes an Incarna lose its connection to the Synthnet. 

My Psychord is currently getting high alone in a park. He's completely compromised, and there's nothing I can do to stop him, so I don't dare let my guard down.

Twenty minutes later, I'm glad I do. Someone else is approaching. I'm not clairvoyant or anything. The Synthnet gives me a sort of short-ranged intuition, like mental radar able to sense someone else's presence with uncanny accuracy.

 At first, I think it might be the dealer, but when I spot him, I know it isn't. This guy is older, maybe forty. He comes off as a total hobo, dirty clothes, scraggy beard, shifty eyes under dark wild eyebrows. His hair is matted and greasy. Maybe he smells the smoke and is just hoping to score a hit. Maybe he's after something less savory. I don't intend to let him get close enough to Kota to find out.

I slink from the bushes to intercept the hobo. He pulls up short, tense, clearly surprised that anyone would notice him here. He reeks of stale sweat and putrid body oil. He must realize I'm just a kid because his surprise shifts quickly to bold confidence.

"What you doing here, kid?"

I level him with my gaze. "The only thing that matters is what you're doing here."

"None of your business. What? You get lost after recess or something?"

"High schoolers don't have recess, idiot."

He looks me over. "Why don't you just beat it, huh? Take your dumbass mask and your punk mouth with you."

I know there's nothing I can say to get him to leave. I could fight him. This Incarna has never fought before, but that hardly matters. Like all Incarna, my body is in excellent physical condition. I'd be more than a match for this greasy creeper. 

A simple mental request to the Synthnet would provide me with full knowledge of self-defense skills or martial arts. In two seconds flat I could become the equivalent of a teenaged mutant ninja turtle. But a fight might attract attention, and this is definitely not how I want Kota to meet me.

My mind reaches out to the Synthnet for something else. It's hard to describe the power the Synthnet gives us. It's all about visualizing. The Synthnet is always connected to me. I don't have to find it, or summon it, or chant some magic words. The power is there with a thought, but drawing it up to sufficient strength takes some effort. It's like pulling on a bowstring, the old longbow kind. The further you pull, the harder the resistance gets.

Infixation is one of our greatest powers. We don't mind control people. Mind control implies total and direct command of someone's actions. Only Consulars are strong enough for that kind of effect. Rather, we implant thoughts or ideas in someone's head so that they convince themselves to do what we want them to do. It's not perfect. Sometimes the first ideas don't work, and we have to Infix more, but if the Infixation is strong enough, gets implanted firmly enough, and the idea is well chosen, then the target should act as we expect.

I wasn't about to take any risk of failure here, and I wasn't concerned with the consequences, so I implanted three different ideas into Hobo Guy's mind all at once.