Ch 21: Experiments
"Bloody hell, Merlin, can you be any louder?" Arthur fumed. "I think you have successfully scared away any and all possible game at this point."
As if on cue, Merlin tripped, and with a short yell of surprise fell into a tree, causing the few remaining birds in the area to take flight. Arthur sighed, rubbing his temples in exasperation. They had left early that morning on a much needed hunt. Of course, it was also an excuse to get out of the castle with only Merlin, but that decision was looking less and less like a good one as the morning progressed. So far Arthur had nothing to show for his hunting efforts.
"Forget I said anything," Arthur mocked as he hauled Merlin to his feet. "Well, no game around here anymore, so we're going to have to go further. Honestly, how can you still be clumsy after having hundreds of years practicing how to walk?"
Merlin winced at Arthur's tone. "Uh, well I'll just go back for the horses. You can fume and rant here while you wait."
Arthur lunged towards Merlin to tackle him for this, but the warlock had darted out of his reach – the only time Merlin ever showed any grace, Arthur decided – and set off back into the trees towards the horses.
When Merlin returned with the horses, Arthur smacked him upside the head before mounting. "Ow, Arthur. You should really learn to respect your elders."
"I don't think you count. You hardly act your age, much less look it."
"I believe that someone told me once that he always wanted me to be me."
"Don't throw my words back at me. And for the record, Merlin, I meant those words when I said them." Arthur spurred his horse, leaving Merlin standing there.
"Always so dramatic," Merlin mumbled as he set off after Arthur.
Later that day, they stopped in a small field under the shade of a couple of trees for lunch – Arthur had still yet to catch a deer, but he had shot down a few pheasants.
Merlin was fumbling around with his saddle bags, when his eye caught something he had packed earlier in a moment of inspiration. He had been in the armory, getting everything ready to leave when he spotted the gun cases on the back wall, gathering dust for disuse. Merlin never held or shot a gun, but he always wondered why the magic had affected guns. Gunpowder had been in use for centuries – since the 1600s, before electricity and other modern technologies. Merlin opened the gun case and pulled out a small handgun. He shivered as he held the weapon. Something in him rebelled at the gun. But guns were another part of the mystery of why technology had fallen in the wake of magic. Merlin could not deny that overall, life had been better with electricity – and frankly, he missed the music saved on his mp3 player. He needed to find a way to allow magic and technology to coexist, before the world slipped further into the dark ages.
Merlin glanced at Arthur, who was currently eating a sandwich, and pulled the pistol from his bags. "What are you doing?" Arthur had paused, sandwich halfway to his mouth, and was watching Merlin steadily.
Merlin looked at the gun in his hand. "Well, Arthur, I've really had enough of you, so I thought I'd end this now." Merlin tried to keep a straight face, but he digressed into giggles by the end. Taking a deep breath, he calmed himself, "I wanted to experiment. See if I could make it work. I mean, I don't approve of guns at all, but it's another clue to figuring out how to fix everything."
Arthur shook his head and took another bite of his sandwich, chewing slowly as he thought. "It's not going to work – you're going to shoot your foot off."
"I have to try. I mean why do guns not work? It doesn't make sense. Everything else is because of electricity." Merlin walked a little bit away from the trees. He raised the gun as if to fire. "I mean, there's no electricity for the magic to mess with. I should just be able to pull the trigger–"
"MERLIN DON'T!" Arthur scrambled up, dropping his sandwich.
"– and shoot." The words were accompanied with a loud bang, and Merlin was thrown to the ground.
"Oh god, Merlin," Arthur breathed fearfully as he rushed to Merlin's side.
"Ow," Merlin winced, rubbing his back as he sat up. He looked around. "Did you see where it shot?"
The intense wave of relief that wash over Arthur was shortly followed by a wave of anger. "You idiot! You didn't even try it with magic that time. We don't use guns while the magic is up because they misfire and have a tendency to explode."
"Ah right, so that must have been a misfire," Merlin looked up at Arthur and backtracked at Arthur's furious expression. "Cause it didn't explode..." He looked at the gun that he had somehow managed to hold on to and then back at Arthur. "I'm gonna try again."
"You are not."
"Yes, I think I am. I think I'll pull age rank on this one. Stand back, boy!" Merlin grinned cheekily at Arthur as he stood back up and raised the gun.
"Merlin, do not shoot that gun again."
"Arthur, move back. I can't do this with you standing right there."
"I will take it from you."
"I will make you move." As Arthur, lunged forward to grab the gun, Merlin's magic pushed Arthur back out of what Merlin considered the hazard zone for the gun.
"Merlin!"
Ignoring Arthur a second time, Merlin shot the gun. However, this time before he pulled the trigger, he cast a magic shield between the gun and himself to prevent backlash. This proved to be a wise decision as the end of the gun promptly blew up. The shield caught all pieces of shrapnel, protecting Arthur and Merlin.
"Huh." Merlin looked at the mangled gun in his hand and dropped all the shields, allowing Arthur to come running up to him. The barrel of the handgun was ripped, as if the metal had torn like paper, and was twisted around unrecognizably.
"Oh my god. When we get back to Camelot, I am removing every single firearm from the armory and placing them under lock and key. And then I'm giving everyone express instruction to detain you if they ever see you handling a gun again." Arthur grabbed the mangled metal from Merlin's hand and stomped back to the trees. Arthur clicked on the safety, and took out the remaining bullets in the gun, before he placed it beside him on the ground. He then picked up his sandwich from the ground, brushed off any dirt, and continued eating.
Merlin followed morosely after Arthur and sat down beside him to eat his lunch as well. All further experimentation ideas were swiftly cut off by glares from Arthur. The silence that followed was almost like a weapon of its own, and Merlin fidgeted under Arthur's anger.
Uther was sitting behind his desk in his personal study when a knock on the door announced the arrival of his three o'clock appointment with scientists from the Magical Recovery Project.
"Come in."
The door opened and Dr. Karl walked in, dressed not in his typical lab coat, but in slacks and a dress shirt, suitable for meeting with the king. He was followed by a woman with dark brown hair and crystal blue eyes. Uther did not look up from the report he was reading as the two scientists entered, closing the door behind them. "Please sit."
Uther let them situate themselves before he set down the report he was reading and looked over his desk at the two scientists. His cool gaze faltered and his blood stuttered when he locked eyes with the woman.
"Oh," Dr. Karl said, "Your majesty, allow me to introduce you to Dr. Nicole Wade. She's been the lead researcher on the side project for Technology Recovery. I thought she had some relevant information to discuss with you first, before we discuss the progress of the other project."
Karl's words had faded to the background as Uther stared at the woman in hastily shuttered surprise. Nimueh. No recognition crossed her face as she spoke a properly addressed greeting to Uther. He nodded at her and said some trite greeting back as he wondered whether she remembered their previous history. His next thoughts were about whether she had magic again and if so, how could a magic user rise to a premier position in his research facilities undiscovered?
The room had fallen uncomfortably silent as the scientists waited for Uther to speak.
"Yes," Uther said smoothly recovering, "Dr. Wade, please tell me about the recent advancements in your project."
"The Technology Recovery project is progressing well. The current paths we have been working on include efforts to counter the magnetic effects of magic. It appears that the magic has created a magnetic polar shift in the earth, which explains why the magic effects were global. We've had some contact with researchers in France to discuss theories and we brought in an electromagnetism expert. We built a room in our facility where we can change the magnetic fields of the room to manipulate electric current flow."
"Have you managed to make electricity work again?"
"No, sire. But we think that we are on the cusp of a breakthrough. If we can successfully make electricity work again, then we are a step closer in creating a world where magic and technology can coexist."
Uther frowned at the woman, multiple thoughts warring inside his head. Should he let her go? She might not actually be a magic user in this time period, despite being gifted at it in her previous life. He couldn't do anything until it was somehow proved in one way or another that she had magic again. Plus, in this life she had done nothing against him, unlike the previous time where she had deceived him and murdered his wife. He could not fault her for the past – a past that she might not even remember.
"I do not believe that magic and technology can peacefully exist. This is a war Dr. Wade, and we will use all methods to ensure that technology prevails before the world slips further from the height of civilization it once claimed."
Uther watched her face carefully as he spoke and noticed the tic in her mouth – a slight downturn of the corners – as he spoke of fighting against magic. Still not enough proof, but suspicion had been raised and he would add her name to his task force's watch list.
"Thank you for the update. You are excused. I will speak with Dr. Karl privately now."
Nicole frowned slightly, but quickly schooled her expression as she rose to leave. She had been hoping to hear the details of the top secret Magical Recovery Project to which her research fed. Her security classification did not reach high enough to allow her access to those labs and project information. She had her own suspicions about the true purpose of the project, but her hopes of learning more were dashed with her dismissal.
As the door shut behind Nicole Wade – Nimueh – Uther turned to Dr. Karl. "Well?"
Karl jumped in his seat slightly nervously as he looked at the king. "I'm afraid that the project has not advanced as we had hoped, sire. We have managed to create a serum that works for four weeks with no lasting effects. The drug is not permanent and is deactivated by hormones over this time period – especially quickly in women due to hormonal cycles, sire. In men, the effect is slightly more potent, but also is deactivated within six to eight weeks of injection. Animal tests and human trials have shown no causes for concern in toxicity or long-term effects. We are researching a more permanent medicine. The chemical you brought us – snake venom, you said – has been very potent and we are in the process of discovering how to replicate its effects. That being said, it will take some time before a permanent cure can be created. The current drug does not cure magic, it only works as an inhibitor – a block – and so it wears off."
Uther frown increased, causing a slight expression of fear to flit across Dr. Karl's face. "But this temporary medicine can be placed into production for immediate use, correct?"
"Yes, sire."
"Then we will move forward with producing that medicine for production to allow us a way to detain magic users. I will transfer production to another lab. In the meantime, you and your team will focus on this permanent cure. Make it work, Dr. Karl. You are dismissed."
Dr. Wade had waited patiently for Dr. Karl to finish his discussion with Uther. When Karl exited the office looking slightly green, Nicole took pity on the man and whatever had gone wrong in his discussion and instead of heading directly back to the labs, they stopped for tea in one of the upper town cafes.
The two researchers finished their tea and walked down the main road through the lower-income suburban areas outside the Camelot city walls to the hidden research facility on the edge of the city. They were innocently discussing matters not concerned with their research – such as the price of grain and Dr. Karl's family – though Nicole had tried to pry research information out of Dr. Karl over tea. As they were walking, a shout of heads up caused everyone to move out of the road. The researchers quickly moved to the side to allow the two horse riders to thunder past. Nicole saw Prince Arthur and an unknown man riding thundering past, a large deer draped over a third horse – the spoils of the Prince's latest hunt, she assumed.
As she watched the riders continue down the road to the castle, something clicked in her mind and she gasped in surprise. Dr. Karl looked at her in concern as she raised a hand to her head, rubbing her temple in pain. "I suddenly don't feel well," she said slowly. She took a few more steps forward down the road, before she swayed dangerously and collapsed. Dr. Karl almost missed catching the woman, but he managed to pick her up, and since the lab wasn't far, he carried the unconscious woman to the research facility, where she could be looked after there.
In the week that followed, the gun incident was not spoken of between Arthur and Merlin, however Arthur followed through on his word and had all the firearms removed to the vaults.
"You know, a lock won't do much to keep me out."
"Merlin, so help me god, if you dare to go into those vaults without my permission, I will not hesitate to kill you myself."
The gun incident did not waylay Merlin's other attempts to reconcile technology and magic. He was caught several times taking various pieces of technology and moving them to Arthur's study. TVs, printers, old cell phones – all in disuse, so nobody really minded that they were taken, but it raised some eyebrows at the speculation of what Arthur's PA was doing hoarding such electronics.
Arthur wasn't able to prevent Merlin's experiments with the electronics. And honestly, if Merlin was going to be experimenting with magic, Arthur would rather that Merlin did so in Arthur's study where no one would see. However that didn't stop the frowns and glares whenever he heard a triumphant "Aha!" from his study followed by a loud crash-bang and whatever Merlin was working on exploded.
Merlin had received a thorough scolding the day Arthur had discovered the scorch marks on his expensive cherry wood desk. But since the damage had already been done, Arthur allowed Merlin to continue, provided that Merlin did not burn down the room, of course. Arthur withdrew from all attempts of actually doing paperwork in his own study and now did his work at another desk he had placed in his bedroom.
Their lives fell into a routine. Whenever Arthur was doing paperwork in his rooms, Merlin was either experimenting or helping Arthur. While Arthur was training with the knights, Merlin gave magic lessons to Morgana. And of course, wherever Arthur went, it seemed a shadow named Merlin followed.
A/N: Sorry that this chapter is late! I'll make it up to you all I promise!