Read Online World of Lupi 10 - Ritual Magic by Eileen Wilks - Free Book Online Page B

Without ensorcellment, this would be as brutal as if a cardiac surgeon were to cut open a patient without benefit of anesthesia and saw through his ribs to gain access to his heart. Even if the patient did not die from shock, his screams and writhings would render a successful outcome unlikely.
    That brought a few moments of profound silence. Edward broke it. “If Julia’s memory is gone or—or whatever, what good will this surgery do?”
    Julia’s condition is fragile. Dr. Babbitt is aware of this. He makes several errors, but his observational skill is sufficient for him to recognize what I perceive more directly. He intends to propose that she be incarcerated in a facility where her environment can be regulated in an attempt to shield her from some of the shocks of adapting to a time, place, body, and people she does not recognize or understand.
    Deborah looked horrified. Her voice wobbled as she addressed Dr. Babbitt. “You want to lock her away?”
    The doctor’s eyes were soft with distress. “This wasn’t how I meant to bring it up, nor is that how I’d phrase it, but . . . yes. Essentially I agree with, uh, Sam about her condition. She needs to be in a controlled environment.”
    Such incarceration might delay the fragmentation of her mind. It will not prevent it. An accurate projection of when such fragmentation will become irremediable is not possible, but without my intervention, it may take place quite quickly. I am particularly concerned about the strength of her mother bond. Her mother died forty-five years ago. She is not aware of this.
    “No,” Grandmother said. “She asks for her mother. We make excuses. We have not told her that her mother died many years ago.”
    That is wise. I do not judge her mind capable of sustaining such a shock. Withholding this information is a temporary solution, however. She will either guess the truth or construct elaborate stories to protect herself from that. Already she has begun to do the latter. Eventually these stories will acquire permanence, and there will be no way to supplant them with observable reality.
    Eventually Julia really would be crazy, in other words. Rule’s throat went tight with sudden grief.
    Edward spoke slowly. “You say you can prevent this. How?”
    I propose to buttress certain mental constructs and alter others. I do not go into detail as you lack both the language and the conceptual background to understand, but several of them relate to her temporal sense. I will distort that to mimic the buffering provided by the passage of time. This will give her a better chance of surviving the blow to her mother bond and aid her in accepting her current body and other aspects of reality.
    “A better chance,” Lily repeated. Her voice was level. Her hand gripped Rule’s so tightly his fingertips tingled. “How much better?”
    Substantially better. I do not affix numbers to what is essentially unquantifiable. You should all be aware that, regardless of your individual or joint conclusions regarding competency, I will seek Julia’s permission before proceeding.
    Mequi’s eyebrows lifted. “Mentally, Julia is twelve years old. You consider a child competent to make such a decision?”
    Your species employs a far greater degree of custodial care for its young than mine finds either necessary or desirable. Respect for this species difference does not require me to violate my ethical standards. Julia Yu has done nothing that would entitle me to subvert her autonomy. I will not proceed without her consent. You should also know that delay is inadvisable. The sooner I am able to proceed, the better the outcome will be.
    Edward Yu spoke. “In the interest of speed, then, we will now discuss which course to follow—that of Dr. Babbitt or that of Sun Mzao. We will go around the table. Mother, will you begin?”
    “I prefer to go last, Edward.”
    “Very well. Jim?”
    Mequi’s husband didn’t want to talk about the dragon’s proposed