Genie and Engineer 1: The Engineer Wizard (5 page)

So he pressed forward.

“If you had a wish, what would you wish for?” Paul asked,
again watching closely.

The genie now stood less than three feet tall and was still
continuing to shrink. His turban was a dirty gray now, and the ruby was gone.
He looked increasingly old and worn out.

“Those who serve reap many blessings,” he mumbled feebly.

Paul felt like he was on firm ground now and decided it was
time to make his offer. “There is a wish that I want. Just one wish. But I want
no strings. Therefore, I will make you a deal. You can have the other two
wishes for yourself, to use as you would wish. Is it a deal?”

Without a word, the genie vanished, and the empty garage was
all that Paul could see. Getting slowly to his feet, Paul mentally kicked himself,
thinking that he had blown an opportunity to have a genie grant him a wish.

“Geez, man!” Paul screamed, balling both of his hands in
frustration and shaking them at the rafters. “Where did you go, Genie?! What
about my offer?! Where is my wish?! Blast it, what a total idiot I am! How many
times am I ever going to have a chance like this again? What am I going to do
now?”

Then a solid explosion of white light blinded him, and after
that, there was nothing.

Unknown location

December

Friday, 10:17 p.m. PST (by Paul’s watch)

P
aul
slowly
became
aware of a softness supporting him. Gradually, this was followed by a sense of
the warmth of the sun on his face, the fragrance of flowers, a warm gentle
breeze, and the general sense of being outdoors.

He snapped open his eyes. He was lying on an incredibly large,
cushy bed, a pure blue sky above him. Sitting up, his eyes bulging, he saw that
the bed was in the center of a patch of closely mowed grass. Scattered around
the lawn were manicured flower beds in which brilliantly colored flowers of
many different types swayed quietly in the light wind. Fifty yards beyond him,
in all directions, the lawn and flowers ended abruptly. Beyond that was the
most incredible vista he had ever seen.

Mountains all around, all of them snowcapped and breathtakingly
majestic. A few pure white clouds swam among the peaks. It was a magnificent
vista of nature, overwhelming in scope and power, yet peaceful and serene. Paul
stared at it for several moments, unable to move or even to think.

A truly inspiring scene, but eventually, Paul wondered where
the heck he was and how in blazes he had gotten there.

“‘Look...just so I can tell my friends what this dream is
about, okay? Where am I?’” he muttered, quoting Kevin Flynn from the movie
Tron
.

Slowly getting to his feet, Paul walked to one edge of the
plateau and looked down. It was a sheer drop, thousands of feet to the bottom. Nothing
but rocks everywhere below him. Indeed, the bottom of the chasm could not
properly be made out due to the haze of distance. Dizzy, Paul hurriedly backed
away and turned around.

The bed was gone. In its place was a modest alabaster round
table with decorative metal legs, the type often seen on the sidewalk in front
of a French café. A matching set of cushioned wire-framed chairs bracketed the
table. A tall frosted mug was parked in the center, a rainbow-colored straw
poking out the top.

This sudden and soundless exchange of furniture made Paul’s
skin crawl. He crept warily to the table and picked up the mug, taking a
tentative sip through the straw. The flavor was unfamiliar, but incredibly
delicious.

“Good, is it not? It was always my favorite drink. Please,
have a seat,” said a deep bass voice from behind Paul.

His heart racing, he spun around, apprehensive. There stood
before him a middle-aged man, balding, with black hair, a dark green short-sleeved
shirt, baggy gray pants with a wide belt around the waist, and a large metal
armband on his right arm. Instinctively, Paul knew that this was the genie,
though the man bore no resemblance to that visage now. Puzzled, but for some
strange reason not feeling threatened by him, Paul relaxed a little, lowering
himself slowly into one of the chairs, where he waited for the genie to join him.

A mug identical to Paul’s magically appeared in the genie’s
hand, and he sat in the chair across from Paul, imbibing his drink deeply.

They sat in companionable silence for several moments,
continuing to sip their drinks, while a million questions roared through Paul’s
mind. However, he managed to swallow his impatience while he waited for the
genie to speak first.

“You have no idea what has happened, do you?” the genie casually
asked.

“No, I don’t,” Paul replied guardedly and with a small shake
of his head.

The other man nodded, apparently expecting that answer, and
he casually leaned back in his seat. “Many centuries ago, I was a young man, an
apprentice to a merchant in the area you know as Saudi Arabia, in a city that
no longer exists. I fell in love with Princess Aria, a beautiful, sensitive
girl. And she loved me too. But her father, Sheik Taslim, was not amused that
his daughter was interested in a mere commoner. At first, he forbade me to see
his daughter. Then two of the palace guards, dressed as thieves, broke into my
room and beat and robbed me. It took weeks for me to recover, and then the
merchant unexpectedly sacked me. I was penniless and heartbroken. I pretended
to leave the city but snuck back in at night. Aria and I met and fled the city.
I had it well planned, and we managed to escape pursuit for two months. But
they caught us. Instead of killing me, Aria’s father gave me to an evil magus,
a man who experimented with magic. The magus was trying to create the perfect
genie, and I became his experimental subject. In a way, I was lucky. His
experiments did not kill me and actually did make me into a genie of sorts. But
the wishes I granted were imperfect.

“A part of the spell he cast upon me was that someday, a
generous man could release me from the enchantment if I were allowed to use one
of the wishes. However, I was forbidden to tell anyone of the conditions of my
genie spell.

“At first, I thought it would take very little time for
someone to figure out my predicament and give up one of his wishes. I had no
idea that people were so greedy and so unimaginative.”

The genie smiled at Paul. “I gave up the hope long ago of
ever being free of the spell. I can’t tell you how grateful I am that I no
longer have to wander the face of the earth granting imperfect wishes to greedy
people. Thank you.” His sincerity touched Paul’s heart.

But Paul’s feelings at this point were otherwise quite
mixed. He had helped someone out of a difficult jam, yes. But at the same time,
he had lost the opportunity to use any of the wishes for his own purposes. With
a sense of regret, he put that consideration to one side. No sense in crying
over spilt milk. There were other issues that he was still confused about.

“If you are no longer a genie, how did we get here?” he
asked, waving his arm around. “And how do you make things appear and disappear?
Oh, and where on Earth are we? What is this place?”

The genie gently smiled again. “I will answer your last
question first. This place is a special wizardly retreat, created for wizards
of ancient times to visit, to rest, and to contemplate new magical spells. It
is apparently a forgotten place too, since I have found no evidence that it has
been used in centuries.

“As for your first question, you gave me two wishes,
remember? I used one wish to make myself into a wizard, one who can manipulate
space, matter, and the laws of physics. I then used the second wish to free
myself of the genie spell.”

Paul blinked in surprise. From genie to wizard? Okay. That
was truly interesting. Up until now, he had never believed in wizards. Oh,
Harry Potter was supposedly great entertainment (since Paul hadn’t seen the
movies or read the books, he could only accept what others had told him about
them), but science allowed no room for wizards or magic in real life.

Or even genies, for that matter. Yeah, okay. That was a
really good point. Maybe it was time for a new scientific hypothesis: if genies
were real, then maybe wizards were too. Right.

The genie continued on, oblivious to Paul’s suddenly
thoughtful look. “And now, I ask, what great thing may I do for you to repay
the gift that you have given me?” he asked. “What is the wish you wanted me to
grant?”

Paul blinked again, his breath catching in his throat. So,
there might be a chance to have a wish fulfilled after all?

He jumped to his feet and began to slowly pace back and
forth. How to best ask for this wish?

Tentatively, Paul cleared his throat. “I was, ah, going to
ask for world peace,” he stated, faking a degree of nonchalance but anxiously
awaiting the genie...uh, wizard’s answer. Would he say yes?

The wizard/genie stared at Paul for several moments and then
softly began to chuckle.

“Paul, in all the centuries of my existence, and I say this
quite truthfully, I have never before known a more humble, selfless man on the
face of the whole world. Truly, it is an honor to meet you,” his voice rumbled.

“So, you can grant me my wish?” Paul asked, a hopeful lilt
in his voice, as he stopped pacing.

The wizard/genie smiled apologetically at him. “I regret I
cannot do so. I am not a god, so I am not able to bring about world peace. Some
things are beyond even the power of magic to accomplish. I’m sorry, but you
must choose some other wish. No, hold on a moment. That is not quite true. I am
no longer a genie, but a wizard. You need not confine yourself to one wish. I
now have the power to grant you multiple wishes. I can grant you fame, power,
money, love, a younger, healthier body, and a long life. Would those things
interest you?”

Paul’s shoulders slumped, disappointed, but he was quickly
trying to find alternatives to his first wish. He barely heard the wizard’s
counter-offer. It overtly reminded Paul of the American Dream, a vision by
which he was so thoroughly disenchanted. Did he want more of the same things he
already had, but at some higher level of comfort? A small man in the back of
Paul’s head was shouting through a megaphone, “No way!”

Another idea came to Paul.

“Okay, if world peace is too much to ask for, what about my
stepson, Douglas Bouffard?” Paul asked, trying to keep the squeak from his
voice, hoping for a more positive response this time.

The wizard/genie cocked his head to one side, looking
suddenly thoughtful.

“Still thinking of others, heh?” he inquired with a small
grin. “Very well. Hmm, let me concentrate for a moment.”

Closing his eyes, the wizard/genie hummed softly to himself
for a minute. Apprehensively, Paul watched, his body tense, a small twitch
developing in his left pinky as he grasped the back of the white chair.

The wizard/genie opened his eyes and frowned. “I just used a
small spell to call forth the specifics on Douglas Bouffard. Yes, I see why you
are so concerned about him. Not a very nice or productive man, is he? I
understand your desire to help him. Very well. What did you have in mind? Do
you want me to force him to be a good person? I can do that. In his case, it
would require a total replacement of his personality. Is that what you want?”

Startled, Paul quickly shook his head. “No! Not that! I
don’t want you to wipe out his personality! Isn’t there some other way? Can’t
you just...you know...make a few tweaks to his character...to kind of make him
be a better person...?” Paul’s voice trailed off into nothingness.

The wizard/genie gently shook his head. “In his case, a few
tweaks, as you call them, would not accomplish all that much. However, there is
an alternative, one that is more difficult to bring about and less certain in
the end results.”

“And that is...?” Paul asked, raising his eyebrows.

The wizard/genie pursed his lips in thought, staring off
into the distance. “I can arrange a series of events to instantly punish him
for bad deeds and thoughts and to reward him for good ones. Despite how far
gone his morality is, I believe that a series of such events will force him to
want to change. In all honesty, he will probably never become a truly good
person. But with the proper punishments and rewards, I think he will cease to
be the loathsome, degenerate person he is now.”

Nodding in agreement, Paul gave a sigh of relief and slowly
lowered himself back into his seat at the small table. “Yes, that sounds good
to me. You can do this?”

Smiling generously, the wizard/genie replied, “But of
course. It will take a little time, but you can consider it done.” Then he
clapped and rubbed his hands together. “And now, Paul, I really must insist. I
want to do something for you. I have seen your life, your existence, and I have
seen the path that you walk. In two more miserable years, in your current mode
of reality, you will die of a massive heart attack. I’m sorry, but I simply
cannot let that happen to you, not after the great gift you have given me. You
like to help others. For once, let someone else help you. Let me return the
favor that you have done for me. Tell me how I can help you.”

The twitch in Paul’s finger subsided, and the tension left his
body. Doug would now get the help he needed. For that, Paul felt profoundly
grateful.

“Thank you for promising to help Doug. And I appreciate your
offer,” Paul heard himself say, “but I really can’t think of anything that
would fix my life. I’m afraid that it is a little too late for that.”

The bearded man stared at him with a bitter smile. “Paul,
please! Don’t go back to your beastly existence. I’ve told you what will happen
to you. Don’t you value your life more than that?”

Paul winced and looked down at his hands. “True, my life
isn’t all that great. However, I’m serious. It really is too late to do
anything meaningful about it. And to be honest, I really can’t think of
anything else that I want. Certainly nothing that would make me happy.”

The bearded man frowned and leaned back in his chair.

“I am sorry to hear you say that, Paul,” the wizard/genie
rumbled. “But I am a stubborn and patient man. There must be a way....” And
then he paused.

And smiled. Then he chuckled in mirth. And then he openly
laughed.

“Yes, of course!” the wizard/genie boomed. “Why did it take
me so long to see it? Tell me, Paul. You seem to be concerned about people. How
would you like to help a lot more than just your stepson, Douglas? A lot more
than just him. People that are starving, people that have lost loved ones, or people
that have fatal illnesses? Doesn’t your heart ache for them? Don’t you want to
help them as well?”

His forehead wrinkling, Paul was puzzled by the other’s
questions.

“What are you saying?” he asked the wizard/genie, his
eyebrows scrunched together in bafflement.

The bearded man leaned forward. “How would you like to be a
wizard too?”

Paul found himself speechless, his throat suddenly dry, and the
very idea of being his own wizard, of casting magical spells, to be a
mind-boggling concept. His whole body tingled intensely from head to toe just
thinking about it.