Any science, sufficiently advanced, can be called magic. It is the simple nature of man that he should think as such. Great men have always looked beyond such primitive notions and understood that just because something can’t be explained, it doesn’t mean that no explanation exists. And as such, it is with great consideration that I stand before you to say that we, the scientific community, have found evidence of magic.
Such a thing is not said lightly, I assure you. And it is only after exhausting all other notions and hypotheses that we present this conclusion.
The subjects in question, who will henceforth be referred to as Magi, have presented skills and abilities that transcend the laws of the physical realm. These Magi are able to manipulate matter in a way that is unprecedented in the history of the known universe. It does, however, bring to light new questions regarding the recorded occurrences of magic in the legends of old. While new discoveries slowly quashed one myth after another, it seems that our knowledge of the universe was more limited than we ever realised.
As a man of science, I must admit that this discovery has awakened in me a joy I had not felt for many years. The potential for new knowledge, even that which contradicts all we believed to be true, is reason for celebration as we can only expand our limited view. However, with regret, I do not come here as a man of science, but as a citizen of Earth, and as such I have no choice but to present my unbiased findings. The Magi are dangerous. Their powers can not be predicted, nor controlled. Even a single Mage poses a genuine threat to human life.
It is with a heavy heart that I must recommend the Council act against this danger now, before it is too late. The Magi are few, but their numbers will grow, and so too will their capabilities. Act, I beg of you. Act against those who could destroy us, and our world, on a whim. The Magi must be stopped.
Maxwell read over the speech with a contemptuous snort. He crumpled the page and tossed it into the air where it burst into flames. The yellow-white flare lasted only a moment, fading into nothing before it could even hit the ground. Maxwell rifled through the other files on the desk, but it seemed the Professor had printed only one copy. With a bored shrug, he turned around, stepping over the Professor’s body. The body shimmered as he crossed the room, until an orange flicker began beneath it. The orange spread and the body was engulfed in flames.
Maxwell went out into the hall, stepping over the unmoving forms of the lab staff. Each one of them erupted into flames as he passed. When Maxwell reached the street, he turned to look at the building. Orange light flickered in the windows. He was tempted to simply let the building burn, but there was always the chance the fire department would arrive in time to salvage it. Better to be safe.
Raising a hand, Maxwell focused on the building. The walls began to disintegrate as the molecules broke apart into atoms, and those in turn dissolved into their parts. Within moments, there was nothing left but a bare lot.
FFM Day 27:
Prompt: Catalyst
C. A. Harland 