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Shape of Things to Come
Part 1:In the Fullness of Time
Chapter 7 |
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Shape of Things to Come
Part 1:In the Fullness of Time
Chapter 7 |
Naturally, as soon as Phoebe arrived home and saw her sisters, she had lost all semblance of maturity and understanding and angrily cried her heart out. Therefore, after supper that Friday evening, a few of the members of the Halliwell extended family, Paige, Piper, Fern and Leslie sat around the table in the dining room offering support and sympathy as Phoebe again poured out her tale of woe. She was also listened to by the three of the four dogs, who lay around the floor, particularly watching Piper and Leslie who were both soft touches for titbits, although tonight Phoebe was getting some sympathetic tail wags as the tone of her voice gave away how upset she was.
The other members of the family were busy. Charlie the youngest sister of the Simpsons, still in her final year at the same university as Phoebe worked, was having drinks with her college friends at a regular bar. Donald the eldest brother was kinda, sorta, maybe living with his girlfriend and Robbie the youngest was in his first year at college and living at his dormitory and doing whatever it was that he and his classmates did. He was not of the mind to discuss it.
Leo had left for P3 already, even though it was far too early for any even moderately serious club clients but the piano bar and drinks part of the business was doing well, especially as a number of restaurants had sprung up around the club, and it was popular as a meeting place.
Over the years, Piper had kept P3 fairly well clear of any illegal trades but as did all clubs and social businesses, P3 had some occasional problems with people in the drug trade trying to bust in on them, and some clients getting overly dosed up. It was inevitable given the club’s success. The family took these episodes seriously, not the least because they had found evil used the trade to try and destroy the witches every so often. Piper, for self-protection, had developed a good relationship with the local police, mostly through the influence of the family’s police friend Darryl Morris who was now a commissioner.
Every now and again the police or some agency would make a visit to P3, mostly to scare the wrong trade away. Piper and Leo in fact welcomed the visits which became part of their profile and made P3 safer, especially as the area was now something of an entertainment enclave with a number of other clubs, bars, restaurants and social activities and the family had much less control over what went on around the precinct. In return for cooperation, the police generally gave the family some warning of their visits and the resulting publicity usually scared the area clean for a while. The police had told them that there was going to be a visit that night. The family knew it was not serious bust or it would have happened on Saturday night when the whole area was jam packed. However, they felt that someone who had a voice of authority should be there rather than leaving the manager, Reggie, to deal with it on his own and Leo much preferred it was him rather than one of the witches. He was always concerned that despite the good relations with the local police, evil may have insinuated itself into the police force and could take actions that left the business vulnerable or exposed magic.
Cole was somewhere guarding the realms. He had just sent Phoebe a message saying he was off, family code for guardian work and Leslie said it had been in a rush just before closing the shop as she called it. Phoebe knew he was working on some complicated conspiracy with other magic creatures in some of the adjacent realms, and assumed it had something to do with justice but he was comparatively close-mouthed about what was happening and she had long since accepted, mostly, that guardian business was not witch’s or even wives’ business.
Mandy was in the parlour, talking to her riding friends online about horses. The family around the table could hear her giggling happily. Neither Piper nor Phoebe were predisposed to let her talk online unsupervised. After some pouting about this rule, Cole had negotiated that she could do it in the next room if the door was open and an adult could hear her, and every so often walk past her. The poodle and two cats were sitting on the sofa beside her.
Both the younger boys had gone to an evening photographic group night. All four parents had been scratching their heads as twelve-year-old Wyatt and thirteen-year-old Patsy approached their teens. Neither boy was particularly interested in any team events although tennis was acceptable. Thanks to a local retired paparazzi photographer deciding to fill in some time starting a boys’ photography club at the local community hall, despite some concerns about the man’s credentials, their problems had been solved.
The man was not only an inspired artist but something of a hero to the boys for his exploits as paparazzi, particularly his numerous arrests. He created an outlet for mostly boys in the area because he thought that the boys needed a productive growing space. Wyatt and Patsy loved it although neither would actually admit it. They spent weekends and holidays travelling all over San Francisco, practicing their photography as well as taking trips further afield with the photography leader. Patsy loved it because of the precision and particularity that photography required and Wyatt loved it because it gave him some artistic expression without the artistic work.
Piper was inclined to be concerned about the boys taking their bikes all over San Francisco but Phoebe and Cole managed to sort of reassure her that the boys needed to expand their horizons and if their parents restricted them, they would do it on the sly. Leo was glad for the activity because cycling up and down San Francisco hills meant he did not have to worry to about the effect of both boy’s decided preference for McDonalds over Piper’s beautiful home cooking. Phoebe never worried “Just boys being boys” she said.
Melinda had a meeting at a teenage safe junk food restaurant with mostly school friends and a few others to plan their activities as wildlife warriors. A meeting which Piper hoped was about raising money to adopt another elephant and not about organising protests against anything the group perceived as injurious to animals. Something that frightened Piper.
Around the table, fairly confident that their missing family members were not going to endanger magic that night, Piper, Leslie and Phoebe were all enjoying one of Piper’s better French wines, courtesy of a supplier who was very grateful for the business as Phoebe described again, the horror of her day. Fern was not drinking because she had volunteered to be the boys’ and Melinda’s taxi service later that night and Paige still never drank alcohol.
“I would not have minded” Phoebe declared as two of the dogs wagged their tails sympathetically “if they had told me they had a complaint and we discussed how valid it was, but I was condemned as racist, as sexist and as a religious phobic, without even being allowed to say my part.” She sniffed back more tears “And the department head just sat there looking embarrassed and agreed that the university could not be seen to be bigoted. And last week she congratulated me on the successful way I was handling difficult subjects.”
“You sure you did not accidently say …. well words that you shouldn’t say these days?” asked Paige carefully.
“Of course not” replied Phoebe indignantly “You know I feel that denying those words existed historically means denying how awful they were.”
“History” Piper muttered.
“But” persisted Phoebe ignoring her “I know far better than to use them and explain why in an open classroom these days. That HR bitch. Honest to god, she was just…evil, totally determined to …to gag… me, like I was doing something wrong. To make me the villain.”
“Sounds like prosecutors” mused twenty-eight-year-old lawyer Leslie who worked for Cole. Leslie, was taller than her sisters, and wore almost invisible glasses. Her dark hair, usually pinned up in a severe style, was loose and inclined to stand on end. She was also a little tipsy because she had had a very long hard but not profitable week in court as counsel to the victim of a difficult rape case and was facing the prospect of quite a few more. “The more prosecutors damn people, the worse their case. If they have real evidence, they just present the evidence. Although in Carol’s case they have the evidence. I just wish they would use it more. Cole says… ”
“We know what Cole says” Piper snickered.
Leslie grinned.
Phoebe ignored them “And worst of all other people, colleagues who hear about it will just…be really wary, especially those on short contracts, which is most of the teachers. And the head of the school, sitting there, like she wasn’t an academic. Like she was trying to discourage students from any critical thought on social issues.”
“That’s HR” agreed Fern. Fern was twenty six and working through her PH.D in museum studies under the supervision of Mary a world renown scholar and someone Fern idolised. Fern was a pretty girl dark haired, who adopted large glasses and a slightly dotty academic demeanour. The demeanour was not false but the other side of Fern was that she was a girl who liked men, and loved parties and travel. “Mary, my supervisor” she explained while the others around the table rolled their eyes “wanted to quit last week, in tears because HR was threatening her over a paper she wrote ten years ago, discussing issues about returning indigenous items in museums to the original owners.”
“Isn’t that a good thing?” asked Paige.
“Sort of” said Fern in a slightly superior voice because she was still young and she was an expert on the subject. “But there are considerations whether the repatriation is to very non-indigenous governments, that maybe did not exist when the things were taken or to the descendants of the people themselves, if there are any left. Complicated question. Which is what Mary wrote about ten years ago.”
Paige smiled slightly at Fern’s superiority. She was very proud of the three Simpson girls’ college achievements.
Fern continued, becoming quite angry at the thought “When I think about it. Mary got the same treatment as Phoebe. Someone of Mary’s stature” she said incredulously “someone who has devoted their lives to dealing with these issues but has enough… brains not to come up with a one size simplified answer that can be rattled off by… museum administrators when the question comes up. And HR people.”
“Juries always want straightforward, good or bad answers” Leslie explained. “Cole says as soon as you complicate it you lose half the battle.”
Fern snorted at her big sister.
Whilst the rest of the family recognised Fern’s retreat into superiority as finding her place in the world, her big sister was not inclined to indulge her. Too often Leslie used a Cole says or according to the law to deflate her younger sister’s superiority. Piper rolled her eyes and Paige smiled proudly.
“It’s as if there is a plot to terrify anyone into not questioning anything, you know… follow the party line and do as you’re told.” Phoebe claimed.
“Nothing new. Hierarchical intuitions have always been like that” said Paige who spent her working life finding ways around bureaucrats dictates, well-meaning and not.
“Yes, but this was worse, this was not stupid or power suckers, this was… well evil” insisted Phoebe
Everyone at the table took a deep their breath. Phoebe believed that anything bureaucrats did to influence what she called pure research was evil.
“I mean you know questioning accepted viewpoints. Introducing ideas that contradict established ideas has always been dangerous. I mean…look at Galileo. He was accused of heresy and threatened with death when he said the world was round.” Phoebe continued.
“I hate history” Piper told everyone at the table, loudly.
“We know” Paige smiled.
“That’s what it’s like again. Galileo.” Phoebe maintained “Not just shouted down but threatened. In a way questioning, thinking about things has always been dodgy but its...today…universities EVERYWHERE…people who question or encourage others are being treated well….the way heretics were in Galileo’s day.”
“I hate history” said Piper into her glass.
“We know” Leslie grinned. Lawyer-like she considered what Phoebe was saying “Maybe, Phoebe if this was worse than the usual bureaucratic garbage at universities….”
“It was” Phoebe replied unhesitatingly.
“Its evil that’s shutting down contradictory ideas or complex understanding” Leslie continued “Maybe that’s what they want, I mean attacking people like Phoebe and Mary, who have… what is the word” She took a sip of wine, ”gravitas… credentials.”
“Phoebe had gravitas?” asked Piper.
Leslie grinned but continued “Not just stops them thinking but more important shuts down anyone encouraging students to think. If it can happen to well-known people…”
Fern interrupted “But Mary said, the thing about the process of critical thinking is its not just random unconsidered ideas being flashed around. You presented evidence, you documented how you got to your findings and then let the ideas be tested. Mary says the ones who attacked her didn’t want testing ideas. They want to shut them down.” Fern these days was a little inclined to quote Mary says about almost every subject.
“Exactly” smirked Leslie as her sister pulled a face. “Phoebe said her students complained. Who is doing the shutting down? Who is they?”
“Evil” muttered Phoebe.
“Is it students?” Lawyer Leslie pushed ignoring Phoebe. “Failing because professors think their ideas are wrong.”
Phoebe shook her head. “No one would fail a student for having wrong ideas. Only unsubstantiated ones. In fact, they could be failed for having right ideas if they weren’t substantiated.”
Piper looked horrified “Failed for being right, what do you mean?”
“Oh, I don’t know” said Phoebe thinking hard. “You could fail someone for declaring something that is racist is racist…if they you don’t provide the evidence to prove it. A colleague did that and the student got … nasty. Said it did not have to be proved because it was self-evident. Colleague explained self-evident was subjective and not universal.” Phoebe thought about it “Come to think of it though, student administration kind of forced him into passing the student, because they said they did not want to explain this to non-academics when the student started making a public nuisance. Told him the university did not need the bad publicity or they would lose students and after all the thing was racist.”
Everyone around the table snorted.
“And there goes academic integrity” said Leslie the lawyer.
“Isn’t it true though” said Fern “That the purpose of providing documentation and evidence for even blatantly obvious truths is to protect people forcing unquestioned untruths on the world.”
“I can see why demanding evidence would get you into trouble.” said Piper “Its bloody hard work to provide evidence. Ask Leo” she said “Of course you have to get other people to start sprouting the untruths as truths to make it work. Propaganda. Ask Leo” she said “He’s been working on how to find truth for fifteen years.”
“We know” said Paige dryly.
“Easy to shut down truths. If the organisation does not require evidence. By claiming unsubstantiated untruths are fact,” said Leslie. “You should hear witnesses do that when they really don’t know for sure, especially corporate ones. Cole says” she stopped when she saw Piper’s expression.
“HR and hierarchies threaten independent thinking, by taking away the freedom to say truths, where there is evidence for them.” Fern told them, her voice still superior “Mary says its because universities are doing everything they can to get rid of tenured professors and replace them with people who are scared they will get fired if they upset the hierarchy.”
“Works. I see the ones who try to buck the university system at the employment centre” said Paige pondering it. “Looking for jobs as waiters, and security staff. Casual work.”
“Its evil,” insisted Phoebe. “Trying to control the world by damning thinking.”
“Its working” answered Leslie the lawyer. “Ask Cole.”
“Ask Mary” sighed Fern.
They heard the front door bang and then words as Charlie youngest Simpson daughter joked with Mandy and spoke to each of the animals in turn before she came into the dining room. All three dogs wagged their tails, and two stood up to greet her. She was a thin, very fit wiry girl, and her dark hair was blue and red streaked and her clothes had a decided punk look to them. She also had very dark eyes, which could flash black when she was using her magic firepower. Like her sisters she wore glasses, a family trait that Piper knew well, was incredibly expensive.
It was also something of a nuisance because all the Simpson sisters had to remove their glasses to use the family magic weapon of blinking firepower. The other family trait, strongest in Charlie was recognising evil as soon as it came fairly close.
“You’re home early” Piper commented as Charlie said a general hello to everyone. “Its Friday.”
“Got an early shift tomorrow” Charlie replied. Charlie, like her sisters and brothers, was determinedly to pay her way in her last year of college and was working casually in a warehouse. Without asking she helped herself to a glass of wine. “I’m twenty-one” she said as Paige frowned slightly “and sensible” she added. Piper laughed. “Why so glum?” Charlie asked.
Phoebe once again went into her tale of the day’s woe.
“You need to be careful of HR” Charlie told her lounging down on the spare chair. “I went over there last week to see about a job they were advertising and honest to god the evil coming was so bad I had to get out.”
“There are demons over there” gasped Phoebe “Why didn’t you say something?”
“You told me I couldn’t go blasting evil just because its there” Charlie said mock innocently. “They were working in HR. You can’t vanquish people for that.” She grinned “Can you?” she asked as Fern and Phoebe regretfully shook their heads. “It was a lot worse than the last time I was there a few months ago” she added.
“We need to check tomorrow” Phoebe decided indignantly.
“Not much good looking tomorrow. Weekend”. Paige said “Monday guys.”
Phoebe frowned “Okay Charlie, you and I will check out HR on Monday. See just what sort of evil is there.”
Charlie nodded in agreement.
“You are going to just check, aren’t you?” Leslie asked seriously. “Nothing else. I mean you guys are the ones always preaching about not being vigilantes or starting up fights and stuff that exposes magic to the world.”
“I.will.just.be.checking.what.is.there.” Phoebe enunciated very clearly because she and her sisters had insisted hard and long to the girls about not exposing magic to the general world, about being careful where they choose to fight.
“I’ll go along to make sure” Paige said dryly earning a glare from Phoebe.
“You won’t need Power of Three?” Piper frowned “I’ve got a meeting with the proprietors on Monday morning.”
“About parking?” asked Leslie.” Cole says…” she added the stopped.
Piper nodded.
“Aren’t you going to Ireland with Mark for a weekend?” Phoebe asked Paige. “I thought you were taking Monday off?”
“I’ll meet you at the university” Paige told her “You need supervision” she added, as Phoebe pulled a face. “Don’t blame you for wanting to kill someone over today, but best not to be tempted.”
Charlie put her glass down and stood up. “I’m going to bed” she announced. “Sorry about it all Phoebe.”
“I have a few files to read” said Leslie also standing up.
“You need to get out and have fun” Piper told her and Leslie winced.
“She needs to go out and get laid. The girlfriends and I are all going to P3 … and beyond tomorrow” Fern told the family. “Leslie and Charlie are coming too. We can hope.” She added. Leslie gave her sister a glare.
Piper nodded. Fern was the most popular girl in her group because she could get them into P3 for free when the best bands were playing.
Leslie frowned. “Maybe I’m going out tomorrow night. Maybe not.”
“You are. I better go pick up the kidlets” Fern said glancing at her watch. “Don’t want Lindie getting mad because I’m late.” The last time Fern was late to pick her up Melinda orbed and had an awful row with Piper and Leo about doing it.
Fern and Charlie left to return to next door through the yard, two of the dogs followed and Leslie stood up and started to walk then half turned, helped herself to three cookies from the cookie jar. “Better look at those files” She said “Ahh well. As Cole says if you want to scare the opposition in court, be over prepared and act like you’re not.”
Phoebe glanced at her sisters. She took a deep breath and finally asked “Leslie about what Cole says… the reason you don’t date so much isn’t because you keep comparing men you meet… to Cole. I mean he’s…”
“No” answered Leslie firmly “I know what he is, well not completely but enough. I love Cole, both as a mentor and part of the family. I have huge respect for what he does, I mean in court and the little I know of the other, but I mean… you don’t tell me everything… much… about you and him, Phoebe but I do know whatever happened, you had to deal with some huge evil to get… to the other side. I’m not prepared too. Ever. And as for the rest of the male variety, they mostly just piss me off. Except Leo and my brothers.” She shrugged awkwardly and went into the yard to return to next door leaving the three charmed sisters to look at each other.
“You know what the problem is” Phoebe started to say.
“I don’t need a PH.D in psychology to know the problem is her shit of a father” Piper interrupted.
“He doesn’t mean to be a shit” Paige told them. “It’s just he loved, needed, depended on Jade and he just couldn’t cope when she died and he’s hurting still and he lashes out at them, pushes them away.”
“And he makes no attempt to be a father, which is evil in my view” sighed Piper.
Paige shook her head. “John’s not evil, just a shit. I mean … I talk to them all of them. John just can’t deal with magic.”
“And that’s not evil” said Piper sarcastically “He’s a shit and you don’t have to justify him... ”
“I’m not justifying him. I want to kill him” Paige insisted. “And seeing I can, I have to be really careful not to … want it too badly.”
Her sisters smiled wryly, understanding how she loved her adopted family. “I should tell you” Paige continued “Leslie saw him at her grandmother’s the other day and he gave her a hard time. Took it on himself to inform his daughter the lawyer, she wasn’t getting anything in his will and dared her to fight it.” As Piper and Phoebe exchanged furious glares, Paige continued “Then last week Robbie asked him for help about a job while he is at college, thought John might be able to find one for him in the company, seeing his father wasn’t paying for the college fund. The shit gave him a hard time about leching off women.”
“I want to kill him,” said Phoebe.
“Ditto” said Piper.
Then all three laughed remembering how many times they had wanted to kill John over the last ten years.
Piper and Phoebe helped themselves to another wine. Paige stood up and walked over to the coffee machine and poured herself another cup of coffee.
“You won’t sleep,” Piper told her as she watched.
“My body clock will be screwed anyway” Paige shrugged. “Ireland is eight hours ahead.”
Paige had somehow or other over the last twelve years kept her relationship with their whitelighter Mark mostly a secret from the magic world. She and Mark did this by insisting that their relationship was separate to their magic connections, and never ever letting them conflict, regardless of the consequences. Mark made a point of never prioritising Paige above what was expected of a whitelighter when the witches were fighting evil, and Paige never asked him personal favours that she would not normally have asked a whitelighter. As Phoebe told Piper, he was helped by the family’s growing suspicion that Paige’s whitelighter heritage meant she was not quite the mortal they had thought, and his healing powers were not needed for her as much as them.
“Premonition?” asked Piper.
“Yeah” nodded Phoebe.
Concerns that the Powers that Be somehow finding out and punishing Mark were also eased by the fact that Mark, seemingly alone amongst whitelighters, could manage the Charmed Ones without sending them totally into conflict with the Elders and causing ruptures and violent storms in the spirit winds. After years of crossing swords with the Charmed Ones to their disadvantage, the Powers that Be had a very good reason to give Mark a wide latitude, something he dryly thanked the Charmed Ones for on a regular basis, a thanks Phoebe and Piper just as dryly accepted.
Paige and Mark also made sure that they kept their relationship to places off the elders watch lists. Paige had made a special spell that protected them when they were not in the Manor which always had a protection mostly to keep any magic beings from monitoring what Cole was doing. The Elders were well-aware of the block but to keep the peace, accepted explanations of the power of the magic nexus which surrounded the Manor.
Over the last couple of years Paige and Mark’s together time had been helped because Mark commenced whitelighter duties to carefully watch people who had magic abilities that needed whitelighter supervision but were not ready for direct contact from the magic world. These were tricky assignments because the whitelighter needed to be familiar to the magic charge if contact became necessary but not to panic them so they felt stalked. Just as in the early days after the witches answered their magic calling, Leo had casually passed Charmed Ones in the street, or in safe spaces such as supermarket parking and merely nodded, so they were not to alarmed when he finally admitted what he was, Mark had to spend considerable time just being in the background for these charges.
At present he was gently directing, but not intruding on two Irish sisters who were empathic psychics. Mark unobtrusively guarded the Irish sisters by staying in local pubs, and organising to pass them in the street, or be seen in the pubs or at local football games. Just a regular visitor to the area, that they recognised but about whom, they were unconcerned. Given these sisters calling, it was important they did not pick up magic vibs when whitelighters were close to them, so it was the elders who insisted on the magic blocks.
The work was slow but not onerous and Mark had reached the stage where the Irish sisters were giving him polite nods of recognition. Paige often went with him on these visits as he had lots of downtime and it gave them some special moments to themselves. The small town where the sisters lived was in a beautiful spot on the west coast of Ireland with wonderful walks and views over the Atlantic. Mark was of the opinion the sisters had chosen to live there because they were very frightened of the power of their magic gift. Paige silently thanked them for their isolation because she loved the time she spent with Mark in the beautiful area. She was going to meet him at their favourite pub in the morning but the time difference meant it did not open until nearly noon, and she had to wait until the early hours of morning Californian time so she was happy for her sisters to keep her company for part of the night.
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