In "The Relentless Sun and Thunder", the second novelette of The Casebook of Elisha Grey II, Elisha Grey is called upon by both law enforcement and scientists to investigate the worst heatwave ever recorded in Atlantis. Rolling blackouts across the continent are required; no relief is seen in sight; and while Elisha Grey is noted for having criticized the consequences of the heat produced by using energy from the crystalline grid, the current dilemma doesn't fit the data he's gathered.
His flat mate and associate, Kiara Ptolmai, has another suggestion, based upon stories she had heard while growing up in Chungkuo: that people could learn how to change the weather with their minds. Because of his past studies at the Temple of Learning in cultural anthropology, Elisha Grey considers that her idea could just have merit, and that any idea that could be pursued would be worth the effort given the extremity of the weather and the potential loss of life it could cause. On their way back from visiting the Chungkuo Ambassador's home, they happen upon a painter, one of the few people out in the heat, working on a skyscape featuring a blazing sun. Neither Elisha Grey nor Kiara Ptolmai consider this event a coincidence. The weather changes after that meeting...
What ensues is a journey to the outpost of Albion, on an island with its coast on the northeastern side of the Atlantean Sea, to visit a former lecturer at the Temple of Learning, Rowan Fisher, who had long ago returned to his home because life in Atlantis was uncomfortable for him, as well as his wife -- because of their psychic abilities.
Can people influence weather with their minds? Does such an ability have consequences when it is done without regard for all those who may be affected? In exploring these questions, The Casebook of Elisha Grey II delves into not a criminal mystery, but an exploration of the ethical and moral constructs that inform human behavior when a person's behavior extends beyond the recognized norms of human ability, and the consequences of such action.
His flat mate and associate, Kiara Ptolmai, has another suggestion, based upon stories she had heard while growing up in Chungkuo: that people could learn how to change the weather with their minds. Because of his past studies at the Temple of Learning in cultural anthropology, Elisha Grey considers that her idea could just have merit, and that any idea that could be pursued would be worth the effort given the extremity of the weather and the potential loss of life it could cause. On their way back from visiting the Chungkuo Ambassador's home, they happen upon a painter, one of the few people out in the heat, working on a skyscape featuring a blazing sun. Neither Elisha Grey nor Kiara Ptolmai consider this event a coincidence. The weather changes after that meeting...
What ensues is a journey to the outpost of Albion, on an island with its coast on the northeastern side of the Atlantean Sea, to visit a former lecturer at the Temple of Learning, Rowan Fisher, who had long ago returned to his home because life in Atlantis was uncomfortable for him, as well as his wife -- because of their psychic abilities.
Can people influence weather with their minds? Does such an ability have consequences when it is done without regard for all those who may be affected? In exploring these questions, The Casebook of Elisha Grey II delves into not a criminal mystery, but an exploration of the ethical and moral constructs that inform human behavior when a person's behavior extends beyond the recognized norms of human ability, and the consequences of such action.