I once participated in a D&D d20 campaign run by game writer and editor Steve Creech. We were allowed to use any d20 sourcebook and my first character was a d20 Modern stuntman (Fast and Tough) named Duncan who specialized in fight scenes. He (and the other characters) were Taken to another world where they had to work together to survive.
After a couple of months of playing, I told Steve that I wanted to create a second character, one using the Psionics sourcebook, which was already being used by another character. I created an offshoot race of humanity genetically engineered for psionic abilities and created the character of Chime for the campaign. After several more games, I wrote this story about her return to her own world to acquire things she would need but could not get in a fantasy world.
No writing is ever wasted: I am presently adapting much of Chime and the world I created for her as an independent novel.
Chime appeared in a grove of crystal trees in a public park near the University. She chose not to try to return to her student quarters: after missing such a long time, they would certainly have been transferred to another student and her few personal possessions returned to her family. Nor could she return home, because possibly one of her parents, or certainly a sibling or close cousin, would be there, and she explicitly did not want to involve them in her plans. Seeing them, it would be hard to avoid the temptation of staying, thus forgetting her commitment to Nigel and his dream. No, she chose this place, largely for its privacy but also for its personal familiarity with it: she was learning that the more familiar the location, the easier it was to reach.
Seeing the pale sun still high in the afternoon sky, Chime decided to wait there until seeing her friend in the evening. To pass the time, she decided to spend the afternoon hours in quiet mediation, a common sight on her world, especially here in the peaceful park. While her exploration garb, so different from the flowing robes her people favored, would draw a small amount of unwanted attention, if she turned her back to all observers and spread her silver hair across her back, she would easily be able to disguise it. In any case, the polite Ellori society would refrain from overtly noticing her so occupied in the intensely private practice of personal meditation. Plus, she would be able to recover the energy drained by the dimensional travel, which she deemed might be needed later.
An hour before sunset, the traditional time for the evening meal, Chime stopped meditating and concentrated on her friend’s dormitory room: she was confident that her friend would be alone and waiting for her. As an advanced student as well as a sensitive precognitive, sound of stream rushing over pebbles was accorded the privilege of a single dormitory room. While they had not been particularly close as students, they shared several mutual friends and Chime had been in her room many times her first years at the University. Chime also knew that Stream possessed a powerful precognitive ability that of times gave her the reputation of appearing unworldly and unconcerned about current events. Despite that, she also possessed both a love of romance and adventure and a keen disrespect for authority. Of all her friends and acquaintances at the University, she was the most suitable person to assist Chime.
Chime appeared in the center of the dormitory room. It was not surprising to find Stream not only expecting her, but she had also prepared a full traditional dinner for her, as well.
Chime and Stream embraced physically and psychically, Chime letting her emotions spill over the telepathic link as she had kept herself from doing for many, many months. Her gladness at being able to return home, her joy at seeing an old friend, her pride at learning and demonstrating a series of difficult skills to master, and her sorrow that the meeting would be short and the parting long, all passed through the link, as did Stream’s mirrored joy, plus her concern for her friend, missing for several months, in an unknown and possibly dangerous situation. Chime promised to explain further, but first explained that she could only stay a short time and that she needed to obtain a number of items before she left.
To begin with, Chime wanted to change into the comfortable robes that were the standard dress among both sexes of her people. Chime and Stream were physically similar, so Stream loaned her a spare robe. Chime reveled in the feel of her accustomed garb: despite the best attempts of seamstresses and dressmakers at Nigel’s court, they had never quite been able to reproduce the luxurious feel of Chime’s native world’s clothing
While they ate, Stream filled Chime in on the events of the past several months, in the peculiarly rapid fashion common among practiced telepaths. *There was no explanation for the disappearance of your study group, only the rumor that you and the rest were possibly taken by some criminal organization for ransom and placed under a psychic shield to prevent discovery. It was also rumored you might have been taken for experimentation by the Ranli. But any real information has been so highly classified that even your mother’s uncle with all his connections couldn’t find out anything.*
It was as Chime had feared: one of the covert departments of the Commonwealth had become involved with the disappearance of her group, most likely one of the ones dedicated to monitoring and policing psychic powers and effects. Or, if the rumors about the Ranli incursions on out-worlds was true, then possibly the military was involved. Either one would be difficult to avoid, especially if the Commonwealth discovered the true secret of her disappearance. It was also disturbing that the other members of her expedition had not been heard from, either.
Stream continued: *Ever since, rumors of Ranli incursions into Commonwealth space have become more frequent and the Commonwealth military has been mobilized. Several advanced students here in the University have already been accepted into accelerated military training programs. They’ve even gone as far as set up a training center here.*
Chime pondered that last statement. Some of the equipment she wanted was definitely of military grade.
In return, Chime showed Stream the world she had been sent to or drawn to: a world of power both similar and dissimilar the psychic powers they were familiar with, a world of such diverse peoples as to rival the Commonwealth itself. She showed her Nigel and explained his dream of uniting his lands in peace; the people, Taken like herself and others, which he depended on to further those dreams, the opposition he faced.
When she was finished, Chime handed Stream a memory crystal. *I have recorded everything I have learned or theorized about this world in this crystal. There are also notes on the other worlds; the places the other Taken were from, including one that has a race much like our Precursors. See that it is given over to the proper authorities once I have left.*
*There are also some private personal messages on that crystal. I trust you to deliver them.*
By this time, it was late in the evening, and Chime was impatient to begin collecting the items she had come to obtain. Stream pointed out the list of textbooks from Chime’s “shopping list”. As she was enrolled in concentrated training in precognition, Stream had little use for any of the other textbooks. However, this dorm was home to a number of advanced students, and these books would be simple to locate. Most would allow them to be borrowed for an evening, as Stream would claim, and Chime would arrange for them to be replaced. As for the rest, Stream said that she had a few ideas and would be back to discuss them. She gave Chime a conspiratorial psychic “wink” and left.
Chime had little fear that Stream would be discovered, especially by psychic means: when she so chose, Stream’s precognition gift had the secondary and well-known effect of causing a considerable amount of psychic static, which was another reason for her isolation. She was so often chided for it that everyone else took it for granted. Beside, it was a strong taboo among their polite society to pry.
While Stream was obtaining the requested textbooks, Chime accessed the local news network function on Stream’s data terminal. She downloaded news of her family’s public activities since her disappearance, loading them into a blank memory crystal she borrowed from the stack on Stream’s desk, particularly seeking out any pictures of her parents and siblings.
Stream returned after about a quarter-hour, holding a handful of golden‑, blue- and violet-edged memory crystals. Much to Chime’s surprise, four more students were standing in the doorway behind her, and they flooded into the room to greet Chime and insistently query her about her disappearance. Stream had told them that Chime needed their help for a project she was developing, leaving the entire situation deliberately vague.
The first three were Ellori, the same as Chime and Stream. Weight of large stone against the earth, bird’s song across an open meadow, and rainbow arch across a clear sky were all advanced students, one or two years ahead of Chime at the University. Boulder was in the advanced military training program, honing his telepathy and precognition skills as a battlefield communication and tactical specialist, while Birdsong and Rainbow were just beginning their advanced training in mind healing and physical healing, respectively.
The fourth, however, was an unusual sight: floating through the doorway was a Crystallon, a race of psychic AIs. Created just under a century ago, and acknowledged as a member race of the Commonwealth many years later, they were still an unusual sight. This Crystallon introduced itself as KXV-3871, specifying both its contributing programming lines and its serial number, but asked to be called “Carillon,” referring to an ancient joke involving the creation of the Crystallons that most other races could not appreciate. Combining advanced artificial intelligence constructs with psychic crystal technology and nano-computer engineering, Crystallons specialized in telekinetics.
All four were at least a year older than Chime and knew her only through word of her disappearance, so they were insistently curious about her. Once the door was closed and Stream’s privacy screen reactivated, Chime repeated her description of her adventures with Nigel and the other Taken. After Chime explained what she had done and what psychic abilities she had developed, all four agreed with Stream’s comment that she was even more advanced than they.
As Chime repeated her story for the new visitors, Stream rummaged through a closet and produced a large pocketed satchel and placed the memory crystals into one of its many pockets. She also folded Chime’s exploration clothes into a small bundle and slipped them into the bottom of the satchel, adding another set of robes on top.
*I have accessed the public history database regarding dimensional teleportation,* the Crystallon stated, *and I have determined that it is the rarest and least-known aspect of psychoportation abilities. There have been only seven individuals identified with such abilities in the history of the Commonwealth, the last reported being over 25 standard years ago.*
*There are rumors, though, of hidden Commonwealth departments developing dimensional shifting amplifiers and enhancers,* put in Boulder, *but those rumors have the same validity as rumors of existing Predecessors from the popular media with zero-respect or worse ratings.*
*Don’t forget that Chime’s (sound of wind chimes on the spring breeze) great-uncle Threbus works for one of those secret departments,* said Stream unexpectedly. In response to Chime’s annoyed glare, Stream continued *It is not as secret as they would like, as much as they would like to believe it so.*
*But, secret or not, there are a number of organizations within the Commonwealth that would want to investigate your abilities, Chime, or worse. Some are so secret that they are above the law, and a few others do not bother with respecting the law at all.*
Birdsong said *As an adult, Chime should be free to choose her own destiny, even if it was following a dream in another universe. Ellori law is liberal enough to permit it and Commonwealth law could not override it. The Ellori government would have to step in, if anything would happen.*
*I don’t have the time or luxury of going through the official review process to be recognized as an adult. I must return quickly, and there would be too many questions asked about my absence that I cannot answer.* countered Chime. *Therefore, under Commonwealth law, I still subject to a number of restrictions to my actions.* For instance, the Commonwealth could use the law prohibiting the introduction of Commonwealth or Ellori technology to unclassified worlds without competent supervision to prevent her return, even if it only meant wearing her personal defense belt, a common item within the Commonwealth.
KXV-3871 replied *Ellori law allows for any citizen who can demonstrate competence with any advanced psychic abilities to request immediate adult status: such requests are automatically granted. Teleportation and especially dimensional teleportation are both evidence that Chime qualifies. In fact, I could code the request myself and issue it after Chime leaves, thereby retroactively justifying her actions.* What was left unsaid was that it justify most of her planned actions.
Chime explained that she was prepared to pay for anything she obtained. Gold and other formerly precious metals and jewels were plentiful in the Commonwealth, but Chime brought with her a number of small pieces of jewelry that she had acquired over the past several months: nothing particularly expensive where they originated, but quite unique and therefore fabulously valuable here. The Commonwealth was large enough and wealthy enough that there were several known collectors of alien or transworld artifacts who would pay a great deal for even one of these pieces. Her friends would be reimbursed many times over, even enough to reimburse the Commonwealth for anything of theirs she would acquire. To ensure that she could not be traced through psychometry, Chime had purposely isolated these pieces. Once they were in others’ hands, even if for a few minutes, that would overwrite the faint impressions she had left on them. Chime was also hoping that her adopted world’s effect that somehow made it difficult, if not impossible, for her people to previously telepathically trace her across the dimensions would continue to protect her.
First, the group went outside of University grounds to the cluster of shops and stores that seem to accompany every University throughout the Commonwealth. Passing the bookstores and exotic food vendors, they entered a two-story shop that catered to students traveling to restricted planets.
Using Stream’s credit access, Chime purchased a heavy winter coat composed of a synthetic fur blend, much warmer and lighter and much less irritating than the rough fur coat she had been given. She looked over several other pieces of equipment, finally rejecting them for the simple reasons that she was unfamiliar with them and could only return with a small quantity of goods.
She would have wanted a better Personal Defense Belt and Personal Defense Weapon, but the ones she wore were the only ones commonly available. The availability of any advanced type was restricted to the military and law enforcement, as was any other item of psychic offensive or defensive use.
The prizes, however, were a personal data module and a video recorder that were designed for use on undeveloped planets, so they were self-powered and could recharge from regular sunlight. They came equipped with two spare interchangeable molecular storage modules but Chime bought a dozen extra modules, giving her roughly a week’s worth of storage. She also added an electronic mapping compass that interfaced with the PDM.
The six stood outside the remote building that housed the military training facilities. The building was secluded behind a low hill from the rest of the University. Since this was only a minor training facility, without military or Commonwealth secrets to guard, security was limited to strong walls, secure locks, and passive internal security scans, without even an AI watching over them all. While such would be sufficient on most any world, such walls and locks were ineffective to a large minority of her people, although her people were also unusually law abiding and conscientious about the use and misuse of their psychic abilities. What Chime and her confederates were doing, even by association, would be considered quite irresponsible, bordering on reprehensible.
Boulder handed Chime his ID chip, which would allow her to bypass the security inside the building. What he didn’t have was a way inside, but Chime told him that he had an answer for that. Chime concentrated a moment, and then the world seemed to fade into a grey mist before her eyes. The wall before her seemed as insubstantial as air and she stepped through it as though it didn’t exist. Moments later, the world reappeared and Chime stood inside the entryway.
What the rest of the group saw was Chime fade away quickly but not immediately in the manner of a teleport. Such an ability was another aspect of teleporation skills, one that had little practical use in the Commonwealth, for exactly the reason Chime was using it for.
Following Boulder’s directions, she found the storage locker containing the spare shield bracers. Unlike the practice weapons, all of the defensive equipment was fully operational. She slipped one over her left forearm and mentally activated it. The silvery metal immediately flowed shut and the blue crystals along its sides flashed once and then subsided to a dull glow. As Chime expected, it was completely discharged and would take several hours to recharge fully. She mentally marked it off her list and left the building as she had entered it.
Next, the small group visited the University’s psychoportation laboratory, where Chime was hoping to locate crystals used as training aids for teleportation skills. She entered the same way, but did not require Boulder’s ID chip, as security here was much less restrictive.
She easily located the small storage area. As she had expected, but hoped was wrong, there was nothing present that involved dimensional teleportation. She hoped that the cause was only because of her brief search, but knew deep down that the Crystallon was right: dimension teleporation was very rare, the province of highly secret research, not a common Ellori University training program.
However, she was able to locate several teleporation amplifying and storage crystals. Such were typically used in training students in the use of their teleporation ability. Personal and impersonal teleportation were the most heavily-emphasized skills of all those engendered by the psychoportation ability: its most talented adepts usually were employed by the military or shipping companies, plus the occasional private ship owner, to “jump” starships between planets. The other psychoportation skills were primarily used only by such advanced adepts as in the military or for espionage or criminal actions, not subjects the University would normally train.
Chime selected one each of the most commonly used crystals, and touched them to the psychically sensitive metal of her choker and headband, where they melded into place. She was about to leave when she noticed a small, heavily shielded box on the top shelf of the locker. Taking it in her hands, she could recognize a faint psychic signature even through the shielding. Upon opening it, she discovered a small golden crystal that shimmered to her psychic senses. Why the instructors would store a power crystal here, she had no idea, but even such a small one was a treasure worth more than she had hoped for. She quickly added the crystal to her headband.
The conclusion of Chime’s acquisition excursion was a party that lasted until the early morning for everyone involved. Chime appreciated the chance to catch up on the University gossip, and was glad of the chance to practice her ti-shaara performance skills once again. As for the rest, any excuse for a party was gladly, not to mention enthusiastically endorsed.
The party gained attention and grew to include almost everyone on the floor, moving into the floor’s common area. Fortunately, very few people present knew Chime personally and she remained an anonymous participant for the duration. Unfortunately, Chime’s run of luck had run out, as one who did know her, and know her personally, arrived just as the party was winding down.
Everyone was wandering back to their quarters, except for Rainbow and Chime, who returned to Stream’s room. There, Rainbow massaged Chime’s shoulders as she used her own psychic healing powers to counter the physical strain of Chime’s exertions this evening, when the musical sounds of the door chime announced a visitor. Outside stood mournful song of the wind across desert sands.
Windsong immediately recognized her missing fellow student Chime. Chime recognized Windsong, remembering her as an inveterate gossip and self-appointed enforcer of societal ethics with a well-known sense for recognizing inappropriate behavior. As she recognized Chime through the opened door, both Chime and Stream saw Windsong’s momentary surprise turn into a self-satisfied smirk.
It was easy, now, too easy for Chime: long practice at Nigel’s side and in his service had accelerated Chime’s abilities beyond what a normal University student of her grade should ever accomplish. Windsong never even realized that Chime had pierced her meager psychic defenses, and before she could call out, Chime lightly touched the center of Windsong’s brain that controlled sleep functions. There a brief flash of recognition in Windsong’s mind as she realized what Chime had done, as at the same time she toppled over into a deep slumber.
Stream and Rainbow looked on aghast as Chime dragged the unconscious Windsong into the room and closed the door. It was obvious what Chime had done: not only had she violated one of the strictest social taboos of their society, she had done it with a shocking ease and ferocity. Stream almost feared to look Chime in the eyes, only to see a resignation and even a little shame there.
*She will not sleep for long, so I must hurry,* said Chime.
Chime reached out her mind across the dimensions, seeking one unique thing: the crystal ring that resonated with her own mental signature. It was on the finger of Dexter, who was going to act as her anchor in returning home. She located the signature among the confusing chaos of the sprawling dimensions and gently nudged Dexter’s mind to indicate she wanted to communicate with him.
He gladly replied, and their minds merged in the rapport that enabled her to return quickly. She grabbed the carry-all and disappeared, smiling at Stream in farewell as she disappeared.
