Aldous sipped his coffee and stood in front of the mirror. Steam rose from the brew and produced a cloud on the glass. He raised a forearm to clear it but hovered over the spot. Any smudge would stand out on a white shirt.

A quick internet search of Gregory the Great had revealed him to be what Aldous had expected: an eccentric stage presence with a pension for the delightfully unexplained. Magic wasn't his favorite spectacle, but any excuse to get out of the house at his age was a good one.

The drive was quiet. He followed the GPS through empty streets and towering Douglas fir trees. A hazy blanket of cirrocumulus clouds hovered 10,000-feet in the air. Miniscule droplets of water misted onto the earth, breathing life into the land.

Dr. Glass’ house sat nestled in the middle of a cedar grove. The sharp, fresh scent of the evergreens seeped into the enclosed atmosphere. Rhododendrons and Azaleas sprouted alongside cobblestone walkways. Dark water-stained shingles covered the one-story building. A gray Lexus was parked outside of the garage door.

Aldous’ leather shoes clicked on the slick walkway. He pressed the abalone doorbell and waited. A dog barked from the other side of the door. He could hear the nails tap against a hard floor. 

The door cracked and Dr. Glass blue eyes peeked through the gap.

“Aldous! I’m almost ready, please come in out of the cold.”

Aldous stepped over the threshold and onto old, hardwood floor. He took a moment to admire the elegant, but simple decor. A painting of an octopus that wrapped itself to the side of an orange coral was positioned along the hallway wall. “It’s a gorgeous property, you’re practically in the middle of the woods out here.”

“A bit more than practically. Could I get you water or coffee? You can wait here in the living room. I’ll just be another few minutes.”

“No, I'm fine. Thank you, though.”

Julie smiled and walked down the hallway. Warm light crept out from recessed bulbs and illuminated an artistic flair throughout the room. Small figurines of mythical creatures were perched on top of a nightstand next to the couch. A large piano took up a good portion of the living room’s floor space. 

Aldous walked over to the instrument and ran his fingers across the smooth ivory. The craftsmanship was exquisite. The maple wood was polished to a mirror’s finish. Wood grains trailed their way through a clear coating. Aldous was unable to find a single blemish on the piece.

His index finger paused over middle C. His digit was held in place by fear, but only for a moment. The note echoed out across the wooden floors. His body tingled at the sound. He had not played in many years. A melody tickled his fingertips and he sat down.

His hands danced across the keys with nimble precision. Sloppy placement and execution were quickly turned into movements trimmed and polished by repetition. It was a simple song, one that he had learned when he was still a young man. A small sheen of sweat coated his brow and his shoulders shook with each crashing crescendo.

He finished the piece, accenting the last note with a twirl of the pinky. His fingers trembled. The skin of his hands had gone blotchy and a slight tremor arrested them. He took a deep breath and steadied himself on the bench.

“That was unexpected,” Julie remarked from the corner of the room.

“I haven’t played in a long time. I learned it back when I was young.”

“You still have quite the talent.”

Aldous waved away the compliment. “My father was the real talent. I just tinker.”

She smiled and looked at a hanging clock. “Are you ready to go? I don’t want to be late.”

“Of course.”

Aldous stood on shaky knees. The joints popped and ached but he kept a cheerful demeanor. He took one last look at the octopus painting and shuddered. A cold dread had gripped him in paranoid paralysis. Cold sweat tickled his upper lip.

“Are you okay, Aldous?”

His mouth hung halfway open, gulping like a fish out of water. “Yes, of course. It’s quite the painting.”

“It’s been in my family for a few generations. It’s worth nothing more than the price of the frame but I always liked it.”

They walked to the car in silence. The light misting had turned into a moderate northwest drizzle. He held the car door open as Julie clambered in. The dry cabin was a warm welcome as Aldous turned the engine over.

“Any news on the autopsy?”

“Sergio was just getting started when I left, I’m sure there will be an update tomorrow. But, please, let’s not talk about work. I’ve had enough monkey talk for a lifetime.”

“Apes,” Aldous mumbled.

“What was that?”

“They’re apes, one of the five greats just like us.”

Julie rolled her eyes. “Sorry.”

Other than the engine rumble, silence purveyed over the car. He considered turning on the radio but decided against it. “How long have you been in Tacoma?”

“I grew up here. Well, thirty miles from here, just across the bridge. It was a little town called Port Orchard. Couldn’t have been more than 15 thousand strong.”

The name rang a bell, but he wasn’t able to picture any landmarks in his head. “Did you like it?”

“I liked it enough. How about you? Were you born here or did you find your way?”

“Washington wasn’t even on my radar until I got into the field. I grew up in a little town outside of San Diego called Escondido. It wasn’t a small town by any means. But, for a satellite town of one of the biggest cities in the country, it seemed small.”

“San Diego sounds nice.”

“It was,” Aldous confirmed. “Until I saw this place. The green always outshined the sun to me. The summers were too hot for me anyway. So, here I am twenty years later. What about you? You ever want to leave this place?”

Julie scoffed. “Why would I? This place, it’s… nevermind it’s dumb.”

“No, continue please.”

Julie brushed a lock of blonde hair behind her ear and leaned in towards Aldous. “This place has magic in it. Even as a scientist, when I get alone in these woods or feels so alive. More alive than any other place I’ve been.”

Aldous nodded. “Have you been to the Hoh rainforest?"

She shook her head.

 “You’ve got to go. Moss hangs down from 200-foot tall trees and there’s foliage big enough to hide a warehouse. Elk walk around unafraid. There’s no other place like it on Earth. And, it’s only a few hours from here.”

“It sounds like magic.”

“It is.” Julie was quiet for a moment. “How did you get into genetic engineering?” 

“It was a long time ago, I was one of the first. I had a crisis of faith back in my twenties. Science gave me a framework and structure to put the world back into. If it hadn’t been genetic engineering it would have been environmental biology or some other scientific endeavor.”

“I wondered if you were religious.”

Aldous shook his head. “A long time ago. What about you, how did you get into it?”

“I was a nerd, some would say I still am. I studied over at UC Davis in California. I interned at a small lab right outside of Seattle and I’ve been in it ever since.”

He smiled, remembering a trip to the college town. “How did it hook you?”

Her eyes rolled to the top of her head, searching the inside of her skull for the correct phrasing. “I think it’s the ingenuity of it all, being on the front lines of it. It’s human evolution in action. It’s so exciting, I don’t think I could do anything else.”

Aldous smiled. “That’s an inspirational way of looking at it.”

The Tacoma Dome loomed on the horizon. Aldous exited the freeway and rolled into a dimly lit tunnel. Noises from engines and the street life above were muffled and cut out at their depth. Old cement pillars stood as industrial monoliths; holding up the weight of the world above them.

Anticipation built the closer they got. Traffic built up and roadside parking became sparse. Had he overdressed? It was only a magic show. His collar bit into the flesh of his neck. The chill air cooled his moist temple.

Aldous backed the car into a compact roadside space. He held his breath as the brake light grazed an inch away from the neighboring SUV. He turned off the lights and put the car in park. 

Excitement tingled his frontal lobe. The monstrous dome towered two hundred feet above the street. An 80-foot by 40-foot American flag was posted at its pinnacle. The woven cloth soared on the night breeze, flowing like moving water.

The gridded streets were a bustle of anxious energy. Drivers honked at overzealous pedestrians and cyclists as they swerved through the flow. The city shouted. Their destination was still a turbulent block away. 

Julie turned to him. “Have you ever been here before?”

“Just by it, never in it. It’s so big, I didn’t realize magicians were so popular.”

“He’s a mentalist,” she corrected.

“I didn’t know there was a difference.”

“You’ll see soon enough.”

A line had built up 50-yards outside of the gate. Teenage dates and middle-aged nuclear families huddled together, whispering in excited tones. A billboard above the dome displayed The Great Gregory’s piercing stare. He held a tarot deck illuminated by an ethereal spotlight.

“I’m glad we got here early,” Aldous said.

Julie turned. Excitement had lit up her face. “We’ve got good seats, too!”

Aldous handed his ticket to the bouncer who punched it and waved them through. The inside of the dome was a complex structure of triangular wooden beams suspended by steel cabling. The main stage rose through a layer of vapor. The majority of the stadium seating was sectioned off with cones and tape. The few thousand attendees were concentrated to the first dozen rows of the venue.

Julie pulled Aldous down the steps. The hard concrete jarred his knees and hips. The excitement was palpable in the room, hovering over the crowd. Their conversations sounded like the buzz of a beehive. Their seats were in the fourth row from the front. 

The spotlights drifted over the crowd, stirring the masses as one would a stew. Patrons sat shoulder to shoulder, at the will of everyone’s shifting bodies. Aldous could feel his heart pound against his chest. The cotton button-down shirt scratched against his neck. A thin sheet of sweat settled onto him.

Julie pulled him down into the plastic chair. “I brought something for us.” 

She pulled a thermos from her purse and popped the cap, taking a swig. Aldous took the beverage and sniffed. The rich and tangy scent of red wine wafted up into his olfactory glands. He smiled and took a sip, letting the bitter tones take hold of his taste-buds.

“It’s not that cheap garbage, either.”

He took another pull from the container and passed it back to Julie. “What are we, high schoolers sneaking booze into a show?”

“Shh, you don’t want a bouncer to hear you. Besides, a little fun will do you some good. It’ll keep you young!”

Aldous had to admit, the energy of the room excited him. His gaze bounced from the rustling cloud to the thick navy blue canvas that obscured the stage. He could picture the Great Gregory pacing back and forth behind the curtain, running through each parlor trick in his mind’s eye before their execution.

As Julie took a sip from the thermos, the lighting dimmed to an ethereal luminescence. Aldous straightened his back and pinned his eyes to the stage. Assistants blew trumpets from each corner. Purple banners that depicted ancient hieroglyphs hung from each of the four instruments. A gust of wind cracked by Aldous’ head straight toward the stage. The cloud vapor stirred and rose into a pillar on the platform in front of the curtain. each trumpeter gave one last lungful, and the pillar of smoke collapsed into nothing. A man in his young thirties stood at the epicenter of the tornado. He twirled a purple silk tophat between his fingers, eyeballing the crowd.

“Ladies and gentlemen, prepare yourselves to be perplexed beyond your most perplexing dreams, prepare yourself to be amazed as you have never been amazed before! I am The Great Gregory!”

The audience roared back his enthusiasm. Kids emptied their lungs and adults pumped their fists in the air. It could have been the hive mentality, but the vibe was electric and alive around them. Gregory stood perched on stage, commanding endearment and love from the crowd as a conductor would the crucial note. His eyes sparkled with mischievous intent.

“No doubt, many of you are skeptical. That is understandable. But, by the end of the night, every single one of you will be convinced of my abilities!”

The lights flashed and with a flurry, he produced a tarot deck. “Six of you will receive a card tonight. That card will determine the fate of your entire life! Think long and hard before you touch it. Once the card had been touched, your future is sealed.”

Aldous felt Julie’s hand squeeze his elbow. The Great Gregory flung a card into the crowd. The piece of cardboard sailed on an invisible draft. The gloss face reflected with each rotation against the spotlight. A hand reached up and plucked it from the air. Two fingers closed on a pair of swords.

“Excellent, we have our first participant! Please, come to the stage.”

A brunette woman no older than 25 pushed through the packed audience. Her red turtleneck sweater was highlighted by a floodlight that tracked her movements. The mentalist bent down and helped her onto the platform.

“What is your name?”

“Molly,” came her squeaky reply. 

“Alright, Molly. Do you trust me?”

On the screen above the stage, a 20-foot tall display of Molly nodded in affirmation. 

“That’s very good. Could I see the card that picked you, please?”

Molly handed over the card of fortune. Gregory smiled and balanced the card on the palm of his hand, facing the crowd. He gazed intently at the intricate card. With a wiggle, it pulled up and hovered a foot off of his hand.

The crowd gasped. Jaws unhinged and stopped between their knees. The Great Gregory traced his hand around the floating two of swords, displaying the authenticity of his magic.

“You are having some family conflict in your life, yes?” 

Molly nodded. Her eyes were wide as saucers. 

“It’s your father… No, grandfather.”

Molly face perked to attention. “That’s right! He-” 

The Great Gregory held up his index finger, indicating silence. “Wait, don’t tell me.” His face turned grave, sunken and sad. “Your grandfather, he has a medical problem.”

Molly gasped. “Yes, how did you know?”

“The cards know all. His heart is weak.”

“He won’t go to a doctor, I’ve tried everything. I’ve begged! But, he’s just so stubborn”

Gregory leaned in and whispered something inaudible into her ear. Molly’s lip trembled on the big screen. Her face went white. Her eyelids were sealed shut, acting as a dam to the tears behind them.

Gregory snapped his fingers and flames sparked to life lining a path off-stage. “The cards do not always have good news, but it is always news worth hearing. That will be all the assistance I need from you, madame. Please, be careful on your way back to your seat.”

Molly used shaking legs to pull herself to the stage’s edge. The heel of her shoe snapped at the base, sending her plummeting into the front row. Shouts and tangled limbs emerged from the scene. A stranger lifted Molly back onto her feet. Dark wisps of hair were arranged in a wild manner around her face. She sunk into her shoulders and limped her way back to her seat. 

Aldous watched, a grin placed on his mouth. While entertaining, the great Gregory was not extraordinary. Aldous had yet to see any wholly unexplainable tricks. But, he was intrigued. 

Five tarot cards were from his sleeve and spread across his face. The malevolent grin peeked out from behind the glossed cardstock. His face was slick with sweat, but his gusto didn’t reflect his spent appearance. 

The second card jolted into the air, fluttering 50-feet above the crowd. It flipped over itself, somersaulting down into the masses. A young boy jumped to his feet and clambered onto his chair. He plucked the card from the air, producing an ear-splitting grin and a collective gasp.

“We have our second participant. Yes, make some room for the young man.”

The child’s sand-colored hair streaked down the aisle. His cheeks were flushed with excitement. He placed his hands on the stage and lifted himself to his feet, his card held high like an admission ticket.

“What is your name, sir?”

“Timothy,” came an eager reply.

Julie passed Aldous the thermos and he took a swig, savoring the dry beverage.

“Well, Timothy, give me your card will you?”

The boy passed the item to the mentalist. He squirmed in his shoes. 

“Ah, yes. I see. The trickster, you must be like me.”

The Great Gregory held the card up to the cameras. An evil-looking man tiptoed across a paved road. His mouth was spread into a characteristic grin. The card went up in a puff of flame, gone in an instant. In its place was a pocket-sized dictionary.

“Here you are, Timothy.” He passed the boy the tome. “I am going to walk to the other side of the stage. When I am on the other side I’m going to have you pick a word, any word, and hold it in your mind. Think of nothing else, but do not tell me. You got that?”

Timothy wagged his head up and down. Gregory flipped his maroon smoking jacket in a flurry and turned toward the opposite end of the stage. He took long, dramatic strides before coming to a halt. Pulling the brim of his tophat over his eyes, Gregory called out to the participant. “Alright, Timothy, pick your word! Any word will do.”

The boy thumbed through the book. His face squished into a knot of concentration. After a moment, the pages stopped turning. 

“Have you got it? Now, I want you to close your eyes and picture it in your head. Think of nothing other than that, okay? Just each letter on a blank piece of paper. Yes… just like that.

“You, there!” the Great Gregory thrust out his index finger at a woman in the front row. “What is the first word that pops into your head? Don’t think about it, just answer.”

“Otter!”

The cameras focused in on Timothy’s face. It was frozen open, agape at the trickery. 

“Was that your word, Timothy?”

He nodded. Enthusiasm flung his lengthy curls to and fro. “How did you do that?”

Gregory threw a sly grin at the boy. Leaning down, he whispered something in his ear. Timothy looked confusedly up at the stage personality and trudged off of the platform.

“That brings us to the third card.” He flipped each card through his knuckles as one would a coin. The third tarot flew out into the crowd. It fluttered, flipping against itself before sliding along the cement floor until it was motionless at Aldous’ feet. He looked at the facedown card like he was waiting for someone to pick it up. He felt the crowd’s stare singe his nerves. He bent and picked it up. A monkey sat underneath a tree, a red apple glistened in its hand. Its face was sculpted into lackadaisical chagrin. The Fool was printed across the bottom of the cardstock.

“Sir, right this way. Your fortune awaits!”

He put his weight on creaky bones and shot Julie a half-hearted smile. She shooed him on, her face flushed with the first hints of an alcoholic buzz. Aldous walked down the row, holding his breath to reduce his size. Onlookers gave him jealous looks. Children gazed up at him with anticipated eyes.

A bouncer rolled out a portable staircase and set it at the base of the stage. Aldous took the steps carefully, not wanting to make a fool of himself. The stage lights felt like condensed solar rays. His skin pricked as the photons burrowed themselves into his dermis.

Gregory walked up to him with an outstretched hand. “Your name, sir?”

“Aldous,” he spoke firmly. The eyes of thousands stared back from the darkness. Silhouetted forms murmured and shifted. He took the man’s hand and shook.

Gregory’s eyes widened, his sweaty palm clamped down on the elder’s appendage. He leaned in and smiled. “That is quite the name. May I see which card picked you?”

It was an odd choice of words, for an odd fellow. Aldous produced the tarot, hesitating for a moment. 

“Don’t worry, I won’t bite.”

He gave up the card. 

“Ah, yes. I see.” The Great Gregory hurled the card at the floor of the stage. The corner embedded itself into the wood. The card was facing the crowd. “The Fool!”

Gregory shot Aldous a look and a wink. “Has anyone here ever seen someone be hypnotized?”

There was a smattering of cheers from the audience. The room was getting stuffy. He couldn’t escape the lights. A large pit had taken root in Aldous’ throat. Gregory led him to the middle of the stage. 

“Oh, I almost forgot my chair.” 

Gregory threw down a fist full of black powder. It erupted against the ground in a gray plume of smoke. Small sparks lit up the interior of the cloud. It looked like a miniature thunderstorm, each spark crackling with energy. Two seconds later, the action ceased and a small wooden chair had emerged. The crowd gasped, throwing their hands together in applause. 

“Please, have a seat.”

Aldous did as commanded. The chair wobbled on uneven legs, the back dug into his shoulder blades. They say that there are two kinds of people when it comes to hypnotism. There are those that cannot be put under, and those who can. Given his scientific background, Aldous doubted his susceptibility to the ploy. But, an ember of doubt burned in his chest. 

“Have you ever been hypnotized before?”

“No, of course not!”

Gregory reassuringly patted his shoulder. “It can be a little alarming, but just try and relax. I mean you know harm, I swear it. Watch as I put him entirely under my will! Now, close your eyes.”

Aldous did as he commanded. He could hear Gregory breathing into the microphone. Each rustle and comment from the crowd jarred his senses. 

“I’m going to count down from fifteen. With each new number, I want you to let a little bit of yourself go. Fifteen, fourteen, your body starts to feel lighter. Thirteen, twelve, you start to feel yourself separating from your body.”

Aldous felt an icy hot tingle run along the back of his neck. The light that shined through his lids dimmed. The crowd’s murmur faded into the background. He was calm.

“Eleven, ten,” the calm was cleaved in two by a resounding snap of the mentalist’s fingers. “You are letting the stage and crowd fall away completely now. You are somewhere else.”

Aldous felt as the chair tumbled into vertigo. He wanted to open his eyes and end the stumble down the rabbit hole, but he couldn’t remember how.

“Six, five, almost there, Aldous! Four, three, two you sink all the way to the bottom. One,” with another snap, the vertigo was sucked from his sensory perception.

The uneven chair shifted back and forth against the imperceptible dark floor. The air was heavy. The air felt muted against his ears, soft like cotton, but heavy as liquid concrete. Aldous gripped the armrest and sucked in a breath of oxygen. He was in a vast emptiness. He had been here before.

“Don’t be alarmed. You are quite safe down here.” Gregory walked in from his periphery.

“What is this place?”

“This place has many names.” He paced 15 steps ahead of Aldous. The matte black floor soaked up any reflection of his purple suit. “The Akashic Records, Realm of the Gods. More recently, however, it has been labeled the subconscious or the collective conscious. None of them capture the true essence of this… plane.” 

Aldous stood out of his chair. His knees gave no resistance to the movement, spared the usual friction. There were no doorways or neon exit signs to guide his way out. “I’m… hypnotized?”

Gregory smiled. “Yes.”

“What’s happening to my body, outside of here?”

The mentalist waved, dismissing the question. “Some nonsense, a silly tap dance, a little foolish but harmless.”

“Why am I here?” 

“Ah, now to the root of it. I don’t think you coming here tonight was an accident. Something drew you here.”

Aldous clenched and unclenched his hands at his side. “What do you mean?”

“Strange things have been happening to you.” It wasn’t a question. “I think this is a rather strange thing, don’t you?”

Aldous felt his stomach start to knot in a queasy lump. He hadn’t answered his question. “Why am I here?”

“I don’t know, but something tied yours and my strings together. It wasn’t an accident, and I don’t know who it was.” 

Aldous brought a shaky hand to his glasses. “I’m afraid.”

Gregory leaned in and put a hand on Aldous’ shoulder. “I would tell you not to be, but for anything to have this much power here…” The purple-clad man faded out his sentence.

“To have this much power here, what?”

A flash of fear darkened his eyes. “It is not from our world. It is old, older than anything I have ever felt. It has got its fingers tangled in the fibers that weave our entire world.”  

“I’m just a molecular biologist-”

“You’re not just a molecular biologist,” he cut off. “Not anymore. We’re part of something bigger, now.”

“What do we do?”

“There is only one thing to do. We wait until things become clear.”

Aldous’ fingers trembled. “I want to leave this place.”

Gregory tipped his hat. “Our time is done, for now. I don’t think this is going to be the last time we see each other.”

Aldous opened his mouth to speak but words escaped him. He felt vertigo start to return. The chair reappeared behind him and he smacked down into it. His knuckles turned white against the armrest.

“One more thing,” Gregory called. His form slipped farther away by the second. “Who is Ivan?”

Before the molecular biologist could answer, his vision swirled into a typhoon of gravity and space. With a climactic pop, the stage reappeared in disorienting clarity. Faces smiled up at him. Grins spread from ear to ear. The electrical buzz of humor swept across the room. Someone let out a clap and unleashed a wave of applause.

Gregory smacked his hand down onto Aldous’ shoulder. Aldous turned and the performer winked at him out of the corner of his eye.

“Thank you so much, sir! You've been an exquisite volunteer. You are free to go back to your seat.”

Gregory leaned down and gave a hand to the elderly gentleman. He leaned down next to his ear and hushed a message. “Be careful, stay safe.”

Aldous rose to his feet and held the rickety chair for balance. Sweat had cooled on his neck and raised goosebumps across his skin. The lights were very bright. He stood still, confused as to where the stairs had gone. He needed off the stage, there were too many eyes on him. The bouncer who brought out the staircase stood silhouetted in front of a spotlight. He waved Aldous over. His face was a chiseled expression of professional attentiveness. 

Gregory was announcing his next trick, but the noise was lost on Aldous. The only thing he heard was the pounding in his ears. Blood rushed from his heart to the rest of the body, carrying with it cortisol and adrenaline. He pushed his way through the pre-occupied crowd to his seat.

Julie smiled at him. The wine had stained the skin of her lips. Mild red lipstick had been transformed into a dark and sultry tone. “That was amazing, was it a trick? What am I talking about, of course it was. I’m surprised you went along with it.”

“It was real, or at least I think it was real,” Aldous muttered. “Could I get a drink?”

She gaped and him the steel thermos. “What was it like?” 

He took a gulp, swallowed, and filled his mouth again. “I don’t know, I wasn’t even there. I mean I was, but my mind was somewhere else.”

Her eyes widened. “Like a dream?”

Aldous shook his head. “No, something very different.”

She looked at him in awe. “Oh, I knew it was real!”