Dear Dairy
Renraku Pocket Secretary
Personal Dairy activated
[Enter Password: **********]
[Password Accepted]
[Text Mode Activated]
[Access Entries: April 23-May 7]
SavedApril 23, 2059
9:02 am
Dear Dairy,
Hello, it's me again. Sharon Tsung. Did you miss me? I know that it has been a while since I wrote anything down, but I am trying to get back into the pace. After spending nearly a month in the hospital, I consider myself lucky to be able to write anything.
Gideon's gone. He left yesterday and I never knew it. I would never have found out if Lenny hadn't came by this morning. I don't know why he left. Lenny didn't know either. What was he thinking? Why did he leave? I can't believe it. It's hard to believe. After all these months we finally lost a team member. Only we didn't lose one to a bullet or magic, we lost one to his own inner demons.
I wonder why Gideon decided to leave? Maybe it was something that happened on the run? I couldn't get Lenny to tell me much. I wish I was there for those first few days. Then I would know all that Lenny knows.
Could Lenny be hiding something? I think that it's unlikely. He holds back sometimes, but I don't think he means it. He's trying to do what's best for me and the team.
I'm proud of Lenny. I'm proud of the way he stood up for Abigail Starlight. If it wasn't for him Abigail would probably be dead by now. Instead she's on every news channel. Congressman Wesson is hving more than his fair share of trouble from the whole thing. Personally, I expect him to drop out of the race within the next month. I don't see how he can recover from a scandal of this magnitude.
Saved
April 25, 2059
9:00 pm
I tried to call Tart today. I was wondering if she wanted to go by the mall at the acrology. I didn't get an answer at her new apartment. I didn't think much of it. I can't say I blame her for moving. Nightsky told me what happened. I tried to reach Tart this afternoon, but I still didn't get answer.
I stopped by Tart's new apartment. I couldn't get her to open the door at first. I did hear something on the other side. It sounded like crying. When Tart finally opened the door she looked like she had been crying. I didn't know what was wrong. I didn't know what I could do. Tart's eyes were all puffy. Her hair had a strange look to it too. It was like it had been fixed earlier, but it was a mess now.
I thought she would never calm down. No sooner had the door closed than Tart burst out in tears. It was after midnight before I finally coaxed her into telling me what was wrong. Her mother had died. Not in the natural way either. She had committed suicide. No wonder Tart was a wreck. The last time she had seen her mother was weeks ago. Even then it was the first time the two of them had laid eyes on each other in months.
"I told her I would be back to see her tomorrow." Tart had said. "But tomorrow came and I didn't."
I know it's hard for Tart, but I don't know what to do. Just like I didn't know what to do for Gideon. Gideon left without giving a reason to anyone. If Tart leaves, at least I'll know why.
Saved
April 28, 2059
5:46 pm
Hello, Dairy. It's me, Sharon Tsung, again. Who else would be writing you?
I saw the little man today. The Monk who wonders the astral plane. I didn't know what he wanted. I wouldn't have known he was there if he didn't want me too. That little Monk, with those glowing robes and cynical little smile. I don't know if he is a magician or a spirit. Every time I assense him I can't form a clear answer.
He said I was ready to learn stronger magic. He said that there were things out there that normal magicians would never know of. I was going to be one of the few that did know.
But why is the Monk willing to teach me? What does he gain out of this? My common sense warns me not to trust the Monk. The rest of me wants to know what the Monk is willing to teach. I want to learn. It's torture for me to know that something exists, but I can't see it. I want to know what it is. I'm not worried about what it will cost me. At least, not right now.
I have not told anyone about the Monk. I never mentioned him to Lenny or Hector. I don't believe they would understand. They don't know what it is like to be with the magic. So they won't know how wonderful it can be to learn more.
Saved
May 1, 2059
7:06 am
Lenny called me yesterday. He set up two new safehouses for the team to use. One of them use to be some kind of delivery business that went bust. It is a lot large than the old hunt in Boise. The second safehouse is an old lighthouse on the coast. I don't think anyone knows it exists. When I got there it was run down and filled with cobwebs. I can't believe that Lenny wants to use it. I did my best to setup some astral security around both places. Nothing too extreme.
Yesterday was the first time I've seen Riggs in a week. He was around hooking up utilities to the new safehouses. The little fellow was just as jumpy and arrogant as he has ever been. Some things never change.
The Monk is here. Astrally manifested in my living room. I wonder what he wants?
Saved
May 2, 2059
5:24 am
I know now what the Monk wanted.
He took me to the astral plane, but he didn't stop there. He talked more than anything else. The only thing that bothers me is that he talks about common things rather than magic. Things such as the weather or the people on the street. I think he found the park in downtown the most interesting. We must have spent more than an hour there. All sort of people drew his attention. He said that people were the key to magic. I had never paid attention to people when I was learning at the university. That, the Monk had said, was the difference. I wasn't looking at magic from the right perspective. The Monk said that I knew this, that I was subconsciously changing the way I saw things.
The Monk shows me things that I did not know were possible. There's a completely different way of working magic out there. It's so simple a child could control it. I've lways considered myself a smart person. I spent years studying my craft, but I never knew the things that a little old man knows. I am so lost. Metahumanity really has no idea what magic is. We don't know what we are dealing with. Why, with magic we can reshape our world into a paradise. It would be so easy to do. I asked the Monk if it was possible and he said yes. But he also said it would never happen. Civilization was built on conflict and suffering. Building a utopia was not mankind's goal.
I don't know if the Monk is right or not.
If he is right then why does he bother to show me these things? Isn't he worried that I would destroy myself? I asked the Monk this very same question. He responded by taking me from the metaplanes to the alleys in the city. He showed me a scene where a gang of squatters were rioting against Lone Star. He asked me what I sw when I looked at the rioters. The rioters had anger and fear flooding out of them. Their presence filled astral space with hopeless decay and futility. I couldn't stand to assense them any longer.
Then the Monk asked me to observe the street corners. A few kids huddled together away from the riot. He asked me what I saw in them, but he told me to look beyond their aura. To find out what was inside. I found hope. A child's hope. Children always have hope. They lose it later in life when they discover how utterly hopeless the world is.
The Monk smiled at me, making his point. People are stupid. A person, though, is a jewel of intelligence.
I have to get ready. Lenny and Hector invited me to a social gathering this evening. Hector is entertaining some new clients. It is not strictly business. I think I'll call Tart and see she wants to come along. She could use a chance to get out.
Saved
May 7, 2059
10:54 pm
I am so tired. Hector has hired us for a few bodyguarding assignments. Its small time, but it is better than doing nothing. Nothing happened in any of the dozen meetings that we watched Hector for.
There's a big assignment coming up. Hector's got a rigger who is making a smuggling run to New Orleans. Its a three week trip. Riggs is going. He has family living in New Orleans. I haven't decided if I am going to join the group yet. I suppose I might as well.
I haven't seen the Monk in the past few days. I wonder what happened to him?