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Speaking to the Slug

Date: 28-Jan-2009/7:12+3:00

Tags: , ,

Characters: psychic, me

I was walking by a large restaurant which had a neon sign on it for a psychic. It felt strangely legitimate to me, and I went in. Some of the people I'd been hanging out with were rambling about psychic phenomena, and she grimaced at me.
psychic: "I don't do hexes, or lift curses, or anything like that."
me: "I'm not interested in that. In fact, I don't believe those things are real."
psychic: (surprised) "You don't?"
me: "No, I'm interested in things that have mechanisms. I mean, I guess there might be a mechanism for one to give the appearance of a curse... like you poison somebody and then tell them 'you are cursed!' But I was wondering if you would just see what you can figure out about me--if you get any weird vibes."
She agreed, and came close to me. She started crumbling what looked like pieces of sushi rolls in her hand while she thought.
Note I had sushi for dinner.
psychic: "You are part of a group. This group is able to move itself. You move out of a body if it seems too dangerous and go to another one."
me: "How does that work?"
psychic: "I am speaking to the slug now. He says... there is a part of the brain one can go through."
Note There is a mollusk known as a slug we are all familiar with. But I found an interesting other use of the term... to describe dicytostelids. These are a kind of amoeba that can function autonomously as most amoebas would, but sort of like Voltron are able to group together and form a collective organism if they like... when they collect in this way the result is called a "slug". They have been used as a model organism in molecular biology and genetics, and is studied as an example of cell communication, differentiation, and programmed cell death.
me: "Okay, so what am I that talks to you right now? A member of this group? The collected thoughts of this group? The host organism being manipulated by this group?"
psychic: "Yes...there is a debate, within the group. One side says there is too much attachment, they wish more freedom to go to other parts of the body."
She pulled out a book which was handwritten, and she changed a couple words in it. Then she put a golden seal on the page somehow, which was raised up--and then put the same seal on another page. She signed a name by the change she made.
me: "Why did you do that?"
psychic: "I want to test your theory, that he isn't just looking... but is also changing things."
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copy write %C:/0304-1020 {Met^(00C6)ducation}

The accounts written here are as true as I can manage. While the words are my own, they are not independent creative works of fiction —in any intentional way. Thus I do not consider the material to be protected by anything, other than that you'd have to be crazy to want to try and use it for genuine purposes (much less disingenuous ones!) But who's to say?