Magic at Work
by Birgit Staebler
It was early evening and the light outside was already
turning into a warm dusky orange, the sun setting earlier now that winter
was approaching rapidly. Electro City rarely saw a lot of snow, but sometimes
flakes would drift through the sky in winter. The temperatures had dropped
as well. Inside the gigantic train parked outside the city center in an
abandoned railway depot, the temperatures were warm and homely. The lights
were on, spreading more warmth, and the occupants were both home. All three,
if you counted the large, black panther currently curled up next to the
couch in the living room. It was dozing quietly while the two humans went
after their own business.
The Magic Express, as the train was called, was owned
by one of the most famous people in Electro City: Ace Cooper, showstar
and magician. Currently the magician was sitting on one of the chairs in
his lab, eyes on a young, red-headed boy who was hacking away at the keyboard.
The teen was about fourteen years old, too skinny for his height, his hair
a wild mass that defied gravity, held out of his face by a headband, and
his gray eyes flicked from the touchpad keyboard to the screen and back
again. He was dressed in bright clothes and dark jeans, chewing on his
lower lip as he worked his magic.
Magic.
Ace had to grin.
Yes, Cosmo was a magician of sorts as well. Ace was no
dummie when it came to computers and electronics -- Angel was his brainchild
-- but there was a limit to his skills. Not so to Cosmo's. They boy was
a true magician of the keyboard. What he had done so far had been incredible
and currently he was working on more miracles.
Ace had been watching Cosmo for the last fifteen minutes
and he was simply amazed. There was no other word for it. Stunned maybe.
Yes, stunned fit as well. Cosmo was handling the computer like he had never
done anything else in his life, as if he had been born with his fingers
on a keyboard. He was writing and rewriting programs, linking them, integrating
them into the mainframe, running test programs, and all with such a professional
air, it was hard to believe he was just about to turn fourteen.
He smiled and shook his head. Cosmo had added some programs
and Angel was running smoothly. Some glitches had been corrected. Ace felt
pride rise inside of him. This was what was hidden beneath this pale, shy
exterior. This was the real Cosmo. And then something surprising had happened.
A few weeks ago he had found Cosmo playing with his show programs. The
teen had been unaware of him watching and when Ace had given the program
a closer look, he had been duly impressed. He had approached Cosmo about
it and after the boy had gotten over his initial shock, he had hesitantly
agreed to help Ace out.
Cosmo was shy, he was insecure and he always expected
to be punished when he thought he had done something wrong. Ace was trying
to show him that it was okay to have his own ideas, to tell Ace about them,
to be Cosmo. Ace never yelled at the boy, he tried to be careful in what
he did and said because Cosmo first interpreted everything in a negative
way, and he had finally seen little results. Slowly, very, very slowly,
the teenager was opening up. He didn't trust yet, at least not enough to
present Ace his ideas or criticize the older man if he thought something
he wanted was dumb, but he was getting there. Ace smiled, pride showing
in the smile.
Cosmo was doing fine. Just fine. Vega was still voicing
his doubts and had loudly protested the very idea of letting the teen work
on Angel or anything that belonged to Ace. But Ace had just told him he
trusted Cosmo. And he did. The cop was simply careful, mainly because his
profession brought with it a wariness that was hard to get rid off, especially
toward young delinquents. Well, he had learned once already that people
could change, that young criminals could go straight, but Vega always argued
that Ace had been different.
Yes, maybe, but so was Cosmo. Ace didn't know what it
was, but there was something about this boy, something that instinctively
told the magician that he was a good person, that he would not fall back
into the swamp of crime he was clawing himself out of. Ace made sure of
that as well.
Now Cosmo sat back, rolling his shoulders, and watched
the final stages of the program unfurl, then turned to gaze shyly at Ace.
His eyes wavered a bit.
"Uh, I'm done," he announced, voice full of doubt.
Ace wished he wouldn't be so shy around him too. Cosmo
wanted to please him, to repay Ace for what he thought was generosity,
and Ace was still trying to work the concept into him that he didn't want
payment. Nor did Cosmo have to try and please him. He could make mistakes,
he could fool around, he was a kid! But he rarely behaved like a typical
kid. He was too serious for his own good, too locked up, but not all innocence
had been purged by the brutality his father had exercised. It was Ace's
hope. If Cosmo was shown he was truly free here, maybe he would come out
of his shell.
"Okay, then how about we test it?" he now asked, smiling.
Cosmo swallowed. "Don't you want to look at it again?"
He shook his head. "No. I trust you when you say it's
done."
Cosmo looked nervously at the screen. "But...."
"Cosmo," Ace said softly, looking at him steadily, "trust
yourself."
The teen mumbled something, hands clutching the console
tightly. Ace waited, not moving, knowing fully well how much Cosmo shied
away from physical touches. In a way he connected it to being hurt, beaten,
abused, and Ace was pained each and every time.
"You really wanna try it?" the boy now asked, voice wavering
a bit.
Ace nodded again.
It was actually a pretty easy trick, one Ace had come
up with a while ago but hadn't had the time to play with yet. It had mostly
to do with controlled fires and lots of special effects. The fire was the
dangerous part because it would encase Ace in a fireproof tube where there
was no escape. Everything had to be timed and the release mechanism had
to be controlled by the computer.
"So, let's see how it works outside a mainframe, shall
we?"
Ace smiled at Cosmo again and tapped a few commands into
the computer. A part of the lab's floor slid open and the fireproof tube
rose out of the compartment. Cosmo fidgeted nervously as Ace prepared,
leaving out the show part. They just had to test the tube. All the special
show effects would be laid out in the Ring Theater and equally controlled
from behind the scenes.
"Ready?"
Cosmo swallowed. "Not really," he managed weakly.
Ace gave him an encouraging smile once more, then he
climbed inside. The heavy door closed after him.
Cosmo felt his stomach lurge and turn into a knot of tight,
cold fear. His hands were shaking and all he wanted to do was run away.
Ace trusted him.... he trusted him that he would try out a program he had
written. He was risking his life!
Oh god......
Cosmo trembled more. Him. Someone trusted him. All his
insecurities rose and slammed in on his young mind. Ace trusted him with
his life!
As the tube closed around him, Cosmo felt like screaming.
The countdown started. Thirty seconds before the cylinder filled with gas
and the gas would be ignited. Sweat broke out on his brow and he twisted
his hands, trembling.
No, no, no......
What if he had gone wrong somewhere? What if he hadn't
tested the program properly? What if one of the links didn't work?
What if....?
And then everything seemed to happen at once. The countdown
reach zero. Flames filled the inside of the tube, encasing whatever was
inside, burning it. Burning Ace.
"Ace! No!!" Cosmo screamed.
There was a flaming inferno in the cylinder, eradicating
anything..... everything.... Ace.....
"Ace!"
Cosmo's fingers flew over the controls and the flames
died down. For a second he was like frozen, heart pounding in his chest,
slamming against his ribs, his throat filled with a lump. He stumbled over
to the tube and gingerly touched it.
It wasn't hot.
It was actually quite cool.
Cool metal.
What....?
His mind started to work..... slowly.....
The metal was cool. Not heated by flames. No flames meant
no fried Magician....
He had written the program.... had rewritten it... but
there had been real flames.... What...?
"Ace?" he asked gingerly.
"Yes?"
The voice came from behind him, startling him, and Cosmo
gasped, bumping into the tube. He whirled around and stared at Ace, unscathed,
not a singed hair on him. And he was smiling.
"You... you're okay," he stuttered.
"Did you doubt your own program?" Ace asked amiably.
"I... I.... I don't know."
The magician grinned and walked over to him. "Trust yourself,
Cosmo." The smile disappeared, replaced by a serious expression. "I do.
You have a lot of talent and you just have to use it. Trust in your abilities.
You are doing just fine."
Cosmo felt so embarrassed and a hot blush crept up his
cheek at the praise and compliments. No one had ever told him that before,
except for his mother. She had always encouraged him to do what he did
best: work computers. His father had seen it as a waste of time, except
when he tried to get his son to hack into an ATM to get to money. Cosmo
had refused to do that at first, but his father had not let him get away
with weak excuses or open rebellion. He had beaten him, he had locked him
in that dark, cramped place until Cosmo had broken, and he had told him
how useless he was.
Cosmo bit his lower lip. It had stuck..... until a man
who believed in him was encouraging him to come out of his chosen hiding
place.
"Cosmo?"
He looked up into those gentle, gray eyes, saw the soft
smile on Ace's lips, and found himself smiling back.
"Okay?" Ace asked.
He nodded slowly. "Cool stunt," he then said.
Ace laughed. "Thank you. And a very good program."
Now Cosmo blushed deeply. "'twas nuthin'...."
Ace carefully touched his shoulder and Cosmo tried not
to automatically flinch away. Ace didn't want to hurt him. Ace wanted to
help. Ace had never raised his hand, had never inflicted pain.... But his
mind was just on automatic when it came to grown-ups.
A gentle squeeze followed. No pain. Just a friendly gesture.
"Cosmo, please..... it was a lot. It was great!"
He shuffled nervously.
"And if you have any other ideas, feel free to tell me."
"Uhm..... okay."
Another gentle squeeze. Cosmo was starting to like the
physical support Ace showed. The magician had held back, visibly, and Cosmo
had slowly figured that he was a more open person, showing affection by
little gestures and smiles. And showing support by a hand on Cosmo's shoulder
or his back. Just like when Cosmo had had to go to the social service for
the first time. He had been scared senseless, but he remembered the strong,
warm hand on his back. The support. The strength. He had been afraid that
Ace was turning him over to a social worker, even while his mind had chided
him. Then he had been scared that social service might take him away. It
was a much more real threat.
But they had let him leave again. Now a social worker
would come to visit every other day, check on Cosmo, and he was slowly
growing tired of it.
"So you think I can use it in my next show?" Ace now
asked conversationally.
Cosmo was stunned. "You... you would?"
Ace nodded. "I would. It works great. A bit more effects,
a little flash here or there, and we can present it." He grinned.
Cosmo swallowed. Wow..... Ace was serious about it. He
could see it. Cool......
The older man laughed softly. "I take that as a yes."
The teen nodded.
"So how about you render some more help with the show
effects....?"
Really cool!
True joy and happiness flooded him. Man, he loved this
job!
"Sure!"
Cosmo caught himself, but the happiness stayed. For the
first time, it wasn't drowned in self-doubt and insecurities.
And it felt good.
He wanted it to stay.