Sorry folks – I now have a new computer – do I need to say more?


After the first training session, his hands hurt from punching the ball in the Aussie passing method. One hand would hold the ball steady with it resting on top of the palm, and then the other hand, made into a fist, connected with the end of the ball using the inside of the fist where the thumb curled around. The best passers made the ball rotate backward and it reached their targets with surprising accuracy, even over twenty yards or more. By the end of the two weeks of training, he was tired, his leg muscles hurt, his hands hurt, and he could run further for longer than he had ever been able to in his whole life.

The training rapidly became tedious, but when the actual season started, he found he quite enjoyed playing even if he was nowhere near as good as the seasoned players, especially the ex-patriate Aussies. The bumps, scrapes, and bruises he accumulated rather readily were all part of the fun, apparently! Certainly, the other guys seemed to throw themselves about with wild abandon, even though they didn’t wear pads, and he found himself trying to emulate them. One of those unique tenets that many sports have is that in Aussie Rules, you really did have to get stuck in when it was your turn to go. No one wanted to be known as a wimp! Not having any pads on made it damn scary at first, but he found he quickly got used to the physical contact, learned to make subtle adjustments to his positioning, and even started to enjoy the whole thing up to a point.

His folks were bemused by his sudden athleticism and even more so when they discovered he was playing Australian Football! Still, all this physical activity did seem to improve his stamina considerably when it came to using his magic. Translocating items a few hundred yards, two or three times in quick succession, no longer left him weak and worn out. Shoving things around using his kinetic force push spell thing became easier and easier. The temptation to try out the translocating between Earths grew with his increased performance and stamina, but he kept himself under control, although he did spend a lot of time considering the matter.

He was fairly sure that using that same spell and moving fifty Earths east would presumably get him to the Earth that Urasmian was from, in the same relative location, going on Urasmian’s experience. But the spell didn’t let him take much with him, just what he was wearing, apparently. Or, maybe, things that he was touching? There was much food for thought there, but until he decided to try translocating to a different world, there was no way of knowing the answer to a lot of his questions. When he translocated locally, he took everything he was wearing plus anything he was holding in his hands with him. And he was afraid to try translocating to another Earth until he had more confidence in his abilities. Or perhaps he was just afraid? Hmm. Yes. He had to admit he was quite scared of jumping to another Earth. One had to be honest with oneself, after all.

Chapter 12

China girl

Condor Con wasn’t the biggest or the best of the Cons, but it was the first Con that Jason had ever attended and therefore held a soft spot in Jason’s heart. He would never forget the excitement he had felt when his dad had led him through the entrance of the Convention for that very first time! Nowadays, of course, he went to conventions as much for the ‘scenery’ as for the special guests and events at the Cons. And this year, he went as himself, or at least his magical superhero alter ego! Ha. Where else can you dress like a superhero without drawing attention to yourself? At a fantasy Con, of course!