Word: Aeromancy

aeromancy

[air-uh-man-see]

noun

1. the prediction of future events from observation of weather conditions.

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              “So what did you drag me out here to show me?” Dave asked once he had finally reached the top of the hill.

                “You asked why I’m so good at guessing things, right?  I figured I might as well show you.” Julius said.  He stood looking at the almost cloudless sky instead of his roommate. 

                “Great, so why are we out here?”

                Dave looked around at the large field of nothing.  There was tall grass for what seemed like miles in every direction and very little else.  The only thing that interrupted the grass were a few low shrubs here and there.  Dave so no reason to be there, but he had still followed Julius out of sheer curiosity.

                “Two reasons, one is that there’s nobody around or miles.  The second is that it’s a wide open space with a  great view of the sky.”

                “So?  We could’ve just gone up to some roof top and gotten the same effect.”

                “Not really.  City air’s no good.  This is better, trust me.”

                Dave wasn’t so sure.  Julius was good at guessing correctly, but he had a tendency to misjudge how important things were.  Dave had little doubt that was the case here.

                “If you say so.”  Dave said halfheartedly.  “So, what’s the secret to your lucky streak?”

                “Well, simply put, I’m an aeromancer.”

                “A what?”

                “An aeromancer.”

                “What, you mean like a wind mage?”  Dave asked, calling upon his somewhat limited knowledge of the fantasy genre.  “So does that mean you can , like, call up gales and wind and stuff?”  Even as he asked, he didn’t exactly believe it.  Julius waved his head like a bobble head figure.

                “Mmmm…well, yes and no.  I guess I can kick up a good stiff breeze.”  He turned his hand at the wrist in a circle.  Dave heard the distinct sound of wind moving.  That caught Dave’s attention quite a bit.  he actually wondered if he was just hearing things.“But it’s not my specialty.  See, I’m more of the old school aeromancer.”

                “Old school?”

                “Yeah.  See, these days the word mancy is kind of a blanket term for a magic user with a  specialty.  You know, pyromancer for a fire mage and stuff.  But it didn’t always mean that.  It used to be a subtype of divination.  Basically we use our specific element to tell the future. Well, to an extent anyway.”

                “So, what, the wind tells you the future?”

                “Well, the weather specifically, but yeah.”

                “And that works?”

                                “Mostly.”  Julius said, turning his attention back to the sky.

“Mostly?  How so?”   

“Wind is kind of fickle.  It tells the future all right, but it’s not always what you want, and it has a sense of humor.  A big one.  Unless there’s something really big happening, it can be kind of minor.  See, once I asked if anything bad would happen to me in the next week, and Wind told me I would stub my toe.”

                “And did you?”

                “Yup.  Hurt like hell, but that was it.  Tons of things that were worse than that happened to me.  Wind had a big laugh at that.”

                “Huh.  So what about the guessing thing?”

                “It all depends on the questions.  If I ask the right question, it can be fairly reliable.”

                “Huh.”

                “Yeah, but still…”

                “What?”

                “I just wish I was a hydromancer, you know?”

                “No.  Why?”

                “Hydromancers are the best.  See, each element is different.  Wind has the best foresight, but it’s a joker.  Earth Is nice and reliable, but it tends to have a skewed sense of time.  Short term for us is a few days.  Weeks at most.  But for Earth, it’s decades or even centuries.  So yeah, you have to be really specific about time with Earth.  Fire is…temperamental.  It’ll tell you your future, but only if it feels like it.  If it doesn’t, you’re lucky if it doesn’t try and burn you or something.  Plus, it doesn’t necessarily have the best foresight.  But Water, that’s the best.  Good foresight, cooperative, and tells you more or less what you want to know.  So yeah, Hydromancers get it good.  I mean, yeah, I’m glad to be in touch with any element at all, but still.”

                “Huh.”

                “Yeah, so, that’s my secret.”

                “So, can you show me something?  You know, ask it a question?”

                “Sure, hang on.”

                Julius held his hand up over his head.  Wind started swirling gently around his hand.  A few grains of pollen or dust accompanied the wind, letting Dave see—more or less—that it was real.  Julius let out a long, slow breath, and repeated it several times with different pitches and lengths.  Then the wind blew around his head and he stopped all movement and closed his eyes, listening.  It wasn’t long before he dropped his hands and huffed.

                “Well?  How was it?”  Dave asked.

                “I asked Wind if anything bad was going to happen to either of us in the near future.  It said a bird will poop on your head soon.”

                “Ah.  That sucks.  How soon is soon?”

                The sound of a bird of prey reached his ears.  Julius looked up to see it.  Dave had a sudden bad feeling, and so refrained from following suit.  Sure enough, he felt something wet hit him in the exact middle of the top of his head.

                “Sense of humor, huh?”   

***********************************

Amazing how the meaning of words can change over time, isn't it?   It happens to words all the time in our language.  It's kind of interesting to look into.  Well, if you happen to be in to languages and stuff. 

Word: Nimiety

nimiety

[ni-mahy-i-tee]

noun, plural nimieties.

1. excess; overabundance:

nimiety of mere niceties in conversation.

2. an instance of this.

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               Mr. Tavin sat at the head of the large table with his fingertips pressed lightly together.  The other people at the table shuffled papers and looked over reports as a few late comers entered the room as quietly as they dared.  It wasn’t until all seats were filled that he began speaking.

                “Thank you all for making it.”  He said.  His eyes moved around the room, lingering on those who had come late.  “Now that everyone’s here, we can begin.  What’ve you all got for me today?”

                None of the others spoke.  They simply shuffled and fidgeted in their seats.  Mr. Tavin could already tell he wouldn’t like whatever they had to say.  Finally one of them gathered the courage to say something.

                “Nothing good sir.”  Said the middle aged man.  “All resource intakes are at an all time low, and there’s not much that can be done at this point to change that.”  Mr. Tavin could see the sweat starting to form on the man’s forehead.

                “Really now?”  Mr. Tavin asked.

                “Y-yes, sir.”  Said another one, this time a much younger man.  “Food production is still falling, wood isn’t growing fast enough to meet demand, and all metal resources have been mined out to the point where getting access to more simply no longer worth it, or too dangerous.”

                Mr. Tavin had suspected as much.  It had been the same as the last two meetings.  He had tried to get his people to work on the ever increasing resource issue, but so far nothing had worked.  He leaned back in his seat and thought.

                “Is there anything we have enough of?  Anything at all?”  He asked.  It took a few seconds before anyone said anything. 

                “Actually, there is sir.”  Said one of the older members.  Mr. Tavin said nothing, although his ears perked up.  “The population still continues to climb.  Frankly, there’s far too many people around, and yet the numbers just keep going up.”

                “Really now?  So we have dwindling resources and an overabundance of people who need them.”  Mr. Tavin wanted to launch into  a long string of swears and curses, but that would be in poor taste.  It was getting worse every time.  “Is there any way we can use that to our advantage?  Any way at all we can use that high population growth to help solve the other problems?”  It was a long shot, but there might be something they could do.

                “Well, there’s always the Soylent Green approach?”  Said the younger member.

                “The what?”  Mr. Tavin asked.

                “It’s from an old movie.  The major corporation put our food rations that turned out to be human bodies.  Maybe something like that?”

                “Hmm.  An interesting idea.  Use half the population to feed the other half.”  Mr. Tavin hated himself for even considering such an option.  “But no, that wouldn’t work.  It would involve too many sudden disappearances and lead to too many questions.  All it would take is one misplaced tooth or bone and we’d be in more hot water than we can handle.  Anything else?”

                “Well, there’s always human experimentation.”  Said one of the female members. 

                “Go on.”

                “We use the excess population as guinea pigs for various experiments.  We can maybe find a way to use them to fix various problems with resources in that way, at least if we’re lucky.”

                “Hm, interesting.  Very interesting.  Reduce the population and attempt to find a solution to the problem at the same time.  Yes, that could work.”  Mr. Tavin said.  “And if we spin it right, nobody will complain.  Ask for volunteers for the experiments and promise them things like food or money or some such and we’ll have more than enough test subjects.  And if we say it’s for the good of humanity than nobody will complain or question it.”  It wasn’t ideal, since there were so many things that could go wrong with human experiments, but it was likely the best idea that would be presented.  The meeting had just started, so there would be quite a bit more, but best to put out as many tendrils as possible.

                “So, I have your permission to start, sir?”  She asked.

                “Yes you do.  Write up a formal proposal with what sorts of experiments you have in mind, and make sure you keep me in the loop at all times, understood?”

                “Yes, sir.” 

                “Good. Now, any other ideas?”

                As the other members struggled to come up with something, Mr. Tavin eyed the woman who had presented the idea.  She would be interesting to work with, he could already tell.  Human experimentation was a tricky business, but she was right.  Using the people for such things would go far.  After all, even if there were sacrifices, there would always be more people.  

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And thus, and evil corporation is born....Dun dun dun.  Why do I get the feeling that there'll be a lot of these in the future?  Hmmm......

Word: Kerflooey

kerflooey

[ker-floo-ee]

adverb, go kerflooey

1. Informal. to cease functioning, especially suddenly and completely; fall apart; fail:

As soon as the storm hit, every light in town went kerflooey.

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               Alarms filled the cold metal corridors with ear splitting noise, and the strips of normally white light turned red.  People started moving quickly, each one trying to find the source of the alarms.  Connor, for his part, was mostly panicking.

                “Oh god, oh god, we’re all gonna die.”  He said, looking around with wide, terrified eyes.

                “Only if you don’t start trying to find out what the problem is!”  One of the people nearby said.  Connor wasn’t sure what was more embarrassing; that he had said it out loud, or that he had been overheard.  What made it worse was who had heard it.  Connor recognized his commanding officer, Leon Nire, immediately.

                “S-sorry, sir.  I-I just…”

                “Stow it.  We’ve got more important things to worry about than your panic attack.”  Leon said.  The officer looked at the computer terminal on his wrist.  He swore louder than what was probably intended.

                “What is it, sir?”

                “Everything.  Every single system on the damn ship is going down.” Connor felt all the blood in his face drain away.

                “Wh-what?  B-but isn’t that impossible?  I-I mean, don’t we have backup systems?”

                “We do.  That’s what’s going down.”

                “Well don’t we have, I don’t know, backups for the backups?”

                “Yeah, they’re called the main systems.  Those are all being fixed.”

                “We’re all gonna die, aren’t we?”  Connor said, this time addressing Leon.

                “Don’t think like that.  We’ll get this thing back up and be on our merry way.  Now get to work and make it happen.”

                Connor was about to ask what he should start fixing, when the ship answered his question for him.  A small spout of white gas erupted from a panel near the two men.  Connor recognized the location as one of the CO2 filtering pipes, which meant that pure carbon dioxide was now entering the atmosphere they were all breathing.  Connor wished he had a suit handy at that moment more than he was willing to admit out loud.

                “Uh, should I start with that?”  Connor asked, already knowing the answer, and dreading it every second.   

                “That’d be nice, yes!”  Leon shouted.  Connor took a deep breath and started pulling the panel off in an attempt to get at the leak.  The hissing gas made it difficult, and it only got worse when the panel was actually off.

                “And here I thought this ship was state-of-the-art.”  Connor said as he quickly patched the leaking pipe. 

                “It was when it was new.  Now, not so much.”  Leon said even as he found a problem that needed his attention.

                “You know what we should do?  You know, when we aren’t in danger of being sucked out into space or something?”  Connor said when he finally stopped the leak.

                “No, what?”  Leon replied.

                “We should invent a time machine.  That way we can go back in time, find the guy who thought space travel was a good idea, and shoot him.”

                “We’ll talk about that later.  In the mean time, go that way and find something that needs fixing.  It won’t be all that difficult, trust me.”

                “Uh, y-yeah, right, of course, sir.  I’m on it.”  

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Space travel is cool in concept, but I really wouldn't want to be a part of it.  The part about space being a big void of death and emptiness is kind of glossed over in most sci-fi stories, isn't it?  Yeah, I don't think I'll be trying out of astronaut school any time soon.  Not that they'd want me to begin with, but still.

As a side note, is it just me, or is this word something one would see in a Calvin and Hobbes comic?  

Word: Peripatetic

peripatetic

[per-uh-puh-tet-ik]

adjective

1. walking or traveling about; itinerant.

2. (initial capital letter) of or relating to Aristotle, who taught philosophy while walking in the Lyceum of ancient Athens.

3. (initial capital letter) of or relating to the Aristotelian school of philosophy.

noun

4. a person who walks or travels about.

5. (initial capital letter) a member of the Aristotelian school.

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                 The gentle rain falling outside wasn’t nearly loud enough to drown out the knocking on the front door.  Mary and Ryan looked at each other, the question on both of their minds not needing to be spoken.  Neither of them was expecting company, and there wouldn’t be any deliveries to late in the evening.  Without a word, Ryan went to open the door.

                “Hello, sir.”  Said the strange, young man.  “I’m a traveler, and was wondering if you’d let me come in out of the rain.  Maybe even stay the night.  Don’t worry, I’ll be out of your hair by morning, I promise.”

                “Uh...”  Ryan said.  He wasn’t quite sure what to think of that.

                The man looked to be in his late twenties or so, and had on slightly worn clothes and a large backpack.  He didn’t seem like a bad person, but that didn’t mean much.  Still, he couldn’t in good conscious let someone stay out in the rain, even if it wasn’t a terribly bad one. 

                “Thank you so much.”  The man when Ryan invited him in.  He walked into the couple’s house and looked around for a bit before saying anything else.  “Very nice home you two have here.”

                “Uh, thanks?”  Mary replied, not quite sure what to think.

                “Oh, where are my manners.”  The stranger said suddenly.  “I’m Nick.  Nice to meet you both.”

                Ryan and Mary hesitantly introduced themselves.  Conversation was hesitant after that.  Nick seemed quite willing to have a conversation, but the two of them were not nearly as eager.  It wasn’t until Nick’s stomach gave its thoughts that the small talk stopped.

                “Well, that was embarrassing.”  Nick said with a hearty laugh. 

                “No, no. It’s fine.”  Mary said.  “It is close to dinner now, after all.  Hang on, I’ll go get it all ready.”  Nick stood up quickly.

                “Hang on, let me take care of it.  Just tell me where to kitchen is and I’ll take care of everything.”

                “Uh, you can cook?”  Ryan asked.

                “More or less.  I’m no pro, but I know my way around a frying pan.”

                When Nick was pointed to the kitchen, the sounds of rummaging and exploring soon came from the room.  He would ask an occasional question about something’s location, but other than that he didn’t say much else.  Mary tried to go in and do something, but she was quickly booted out, with Nick claiming that he worked best without prying eyes.

                When he was finished, he was guided to the kitchen and laid three bowls of something in front of each of them.  Neither Ryan nor Mary could tell immediately what it was.  All that they could tell was that it was some kind of meat and vegetables.  Even knowing what they had in stock didn’t help as much as it should have.

                “Well, dig in.”  Nick said, happily taking a forkful of the mystery dish.

                Ryan tentatively speared one of the chunks of meat and ate it.  To his surprise, it actually tasted quite nice.  When Mary saw his positive reaction, she joined in the meal as well.  Once food was being eaten, conversation came much quicker and less hesitantly for the small group.  Mary even went as far as to ask for the recipe.

                “So, Nick, tell us about yourself?  Why’d you come knocking on our door?”  Ryan asked between bites.

                “Well, I’m something of a wanderer.  I simply go wherever my feet take me, as the saying goes.  And it just so happens that I was nearby when the rain started.  I asked at a few other places, but well, you can imagine how that went.”

                “I bet.”  Mary said.  “So do you walk, drive?  What?”

                “I walk.  And I don’t have any place to go, really.  I’m just seeing the sights, taking it all in.  You know, traveling for traveling’s sake.”

                “That’s unusual in this day and age.  Why do all that?”  Ryan asked.

                “It wasn’t exactly my plan.  See, at first I was doing the nine-to-five slog like everyone else.  Went though a few jobs trying to find the right one and never did.  So I gave it all up.  I gathered a few things, took out what money I had set out.”

                “A few things?”

                “Mostly clothes, a small tent, a nice multi-tool, and my recording things.  That’s a camera and a sweet little e-notebook thing.  Here, I’ll show you.”

                Nick scrambled for his backpack, returning a few minutes later with the devices.  He held a small digital camera and a tablet. 

                “One’s for recording sights and sounds, the other’s for thoughts and experiences.”  Nick said.  “It’s great having these along.  Without them I don’t think I’d be able to keep walking like I do.”

                “I didn’t think you’d be so high tech.”  Ryan said.

                “Most don’t.  But yeah, these are so much better for me than film and paper.  With those I’d need a much bigger suitcase for all the pictures I take and notebooks I’d fill.  With these I just need a few SIM cards and I’m good.  I’m on my third for the camera and second for the notepad.  Plus, with these I can take videos and still shots.  Can’t do that with an old school camera.”

                “True.”  Ryan said.  “So, how long do you stay places?”

                “Usually I stay in any given town about a week.  Enough to take a few odd jobs for some spending cash and to take in the local flavor.  Most of the time I find a good cheap motel, or camp out if the weather’s nice.  But for private residences like this one, a day at most.  Don’t worry, I won’t be overstaying my welcome.”  Both Ryan and Mary were glad to hear that.  He seemed nice enough, but that didn’t mean they wanted a long term squatter.

                “So, what kinds of things have you seen?  Any good stories?”  Mary asked.

                “Lots of things and many stories.  Trust me, if I go into any detail, we’ll be here a very long time.”

                “Well, how about just one then?”

                “Well, I suppose one wouldn’t hurt.”  

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Did you know that ancient Greeks would always accept visitors, no matter who it was?  The thought was that you should be good to travelers because you never knew who was a god in disguise.  That's also why in all those old Greek stories, people are always being let into other peoples houses and then given gifts. Weird by our standards, but perfectly normal for them.  Amazing how times change, isn't it?