Of Soup and Nihilism

[Apex]

Zergo watched his master leave the pyramid's chamber. Zergo then went to the center of the room, and sat himself down. He began to think about what exactly an illusion was. In essence, an illusion was a representation of a phenomenon, whether visual or auditory. The trick was utilizing what Zergo thought of as the particle perception to mimic a phenomenon. Basically, many particles had to be intricately controlled at once, and they must all be unique - they must all have different levels of energy, as well as other characteristics, in order to produce the desired illusion. Zergo thought about the durasteel box his master "produced" before. While it seemed like it was actually a complete durasteel box, it was only an illusion. But what many people fail to realize is that force illusions do exist on some level. The box Geist created was in reality just the outermost layer of it which is presented by particles manipulated by the force to certain energy levels to produce differing colors.

Thus, to produce the complete box, each particle had to be given a specific amount of energy in a given formation to produce the desired image. Zergo thought that it was also possible to use the force to influence another's mind. One could make another think that they are experiencing a particular stimulus or event. But the problem with this, is that it is subjective. Environments and resistances differ between people. By doing the first mentioned method, this was averted.

Zergo then began to actually perform. He focused on the durasteel box which his master made before, and he began to make it himself. It was perhaps the easiest of illusions - durasteel boxes were rather stagnant and plain in color. Therefore, they were easier to produce and maintain.

He knew how to produce more complicated illusions after seeing that his theory worked in making the box. But, how could he maintain such a thing? He would need his master for help.

 

[Dmitri]

Geist Weiss returned the next day, a good night's rest behind him. He wasn't surprised to find Zergo up and early, still practicing.

"I see you've managed to copy the illusion of the durasteel box," said Geist. "So your skills lie with light-based ones. There are others, such as hallucinative. Still, let's stick with your forte, which is the light-based one. What else can you do?"

 

[Apex]

Zergo sensed his master walk in. He really didn't sleep at all - the only relaxation he had was from the constant state of meditation he kept himself in when he was thinking about illusions. He came to the conclusion that the illusion of complete invisibility was perhaps the hardest of illusions. It required knowing one's body, and then knowing the complete-360 degree environment around oneself visually. Zergo heard his master's request. He wanted to make himself invisible, but knew he could not do so completely as of yet. So, he took control of the particles surrounding his head, and gradually began to manipulate them so they represented the environment as if the head was never there at all. Now he would try another challenge. It was challenging, though it was just a small baby step in a larger scale illusion. What appeared to be Zergo's head then appeared to be cradled in his two hands. Zergo knew he would have to practice it more... because if he did he could amplify it to a larger scale and then give his body false movements while hiding the real ones.

 

[Dmitri]

"Interesting," commented Geist in response to Zergo's illusion attempts. "More practice will be needed to master these completely. They'll take weeks, but you're getting the jist of things."