Psi Tales: The Vortex

Must move fast. But – the shadow reminded himself – never faster than the speed of attunement.

○ Opening Era: Spring, 2026, Costa Rica

On top of a ridge at the edge of a jungle there perched a shadow in the shape of a man. In fact, the shadow was also a man, more or less.

The shadow picked up his night vision binoculars and held them to his mask. He focused them on the ecovillage in the distance. He zoomed in, looking for any sign of the prophet, René Donnadieu. He saw only Donnadieu’s guards. They were knocking on the doors of followers. Timidly, the prophet’s followers came out of their bamboo lodges and geodesic domes. They were all dressed in loose-fitting white linen. Mostly American and European hippies. Mostly young 30-somethings, like himself. All holding crossbows or rifles. Must move fast. But – the shadow reminded himself – never faster than the speed of attunement. 

The shadow folded the binoculars away and slid back into the deafening chorus of cicadas amidst veiny jungle trees. He took out an ornate box containing a small candle and matches. He sat crosslegged behind a tree that would hide the light. 

The shadow began as his master had instructed, by meditating on his given names. He let go of Bai Zhaoguo, a name given to him by addict parents. He let go of Shi Tong, a name given to him by a corrupt Shaolin abbot. He became Hyat Ohn, stone laughter, pronounced it in his mind like the clap of thunder, each syllable honed by his order over hundreds of years to transmit the most direct suggestion of its true meaning. 

Hyat struck the match and lit the candle. He smiled once again at the irony of a covert agent who was dependent upon a very non-covert meditation: fire kasina, meditation upon a flame. He could do nothing about it. It was the technique he’d accidentally mastered as a young boy. Despite its capricious nature, the flame had been the one steady thing in his childhood. To the annoyance of the many teachers he’d sought after fleeing his home, no other technique had stuck.

The first shot rang out over the ridge. It sounded more like a pistol than a rifle, meaning the Tico militia had finally invaded.

Hyat did not flinch.