Putting a Rock in a Backpack

[Jorga the Hutt]

Connory sat in a meditative posture, in a room like any other room, on a world like any other world. Before him sat two objects: a rock, and a backpack. His goal was to put the rock inside the backpack.

The backpack, to be fair, was no ordinary backpack. It was made of metal: the finest Mandalorian steel. Heavy sucker, but not as heavy and not nearly as bulky as a ysalamir nutrient frame. Connory half-rose and gripped it by one strap, then hefted it, gauging the mass. Yes, this backpack would suffice. Inside was room for various supplies, to be sure, but the main function of the backpack was to hold the rock.

To be fair, the rock was no ordinary rock either. Black, a bit crumbly around the edges, but solid throughout the core, it constituted one of the most expensive substances in the universe. A massive lump of this stuff had been found on Kayri some years ago, but the Lords of the Fringe had spirited it away. Connory suspected a connection to that rarest of research materials, Velokite.

One rock, one backpack. If this went well, it could change everything.

 

[Jorga the Hutt]

He'd been worried about whether the rock would function as intended, once placed in the backpack. After all, it was a fairly sturdy backpack. For all that he understood about the Force, he wasn't Force-sensitive. He had been, once upon a time, just for a few months, and he'd learned quite a lot of useful things about how Sith and Jedi and Witches did business. But his knowledge had serious and frustrating gaps. What mattered was determining whether the rock would still be this particular rock once it went into the backpack.

He cleared his throat and glanced at the other person in the room, a Clan Rekali witch who owed him a favor. "All right. Be ready to tell me if anything changes. This could get messy."

The witch grimaced. "I'm aware. Go ahead -- do it. Put the rock in the backpack."

Connory took a long breath -- the moment was momentous -- and put the rock in the backpack.

 

[Jorga the Hutt]

The witch began gagging, clawing at her throat. Connory blinked, but stood in a heartbeat, took half a step toward her-

She chuckled and let go of her own neck. "Got you."

Fething Rekalis. Connory glanced over his shoulder to verify that the rock was still in the backpack. "The effect is still unchanged?"

She shrugged. "Well, I'm what, five metres away right now? And we measured the maximum interference radius at seven metres? Attenuating by inverse-square?"

"Right. So at five metres you should experience the effect to a modest degree."

She began chanting a spell, hand upraised. After several seconds, a small fire burst into existence over her hand. "That was tougher than normal," she said, "and the fire is a good bit smaller than I normally make."

 

[Jorga the Hutt]

"Let me make sure I've got this straight. It's just as difficult to access the Force, and the effect you produce is just as diminished, whether or not the rock is in the backpack?"

"Yes, Connory, that's precisely what I'm telling you." She snapped her fingers and the flame disappeared. "Are you ready for the penetration test?"

"Flattered, but taken," he said deadpan, and nodded. "Go ahead."

She stepped back to the seven-metre mark on the floor, then took one more step just to be sure to clear the effect. She started another chant. This one went much quicker, but took longer, and a larger flame blossomed around her hands. Connory stepped back to the backpack and nodded, raising his hand. The witch flung the fireball. Side-mounted cameras would be measuring incremental diminishment. As the flame approached the rock in the backpack, it reduced in strength. By the time it reached Connory, it was nothing more than a wave of hot air; he felt heat on his fingertips from the fire's last gasp.

 

[Jorga the Hutt]

"Thank you for your assistance, Sheila," said Connory, turning back to the backpack. The metal was, of course, unsinged. He touched it: not even warm. Once he unlatched the backpack, he touched the rock. It, too, was unwarmed.

"What's so interesting?" she said.

"Well, the rock isn't warmed."

"My flame didn't get anywhere near there."

"No, what's interesting is that the fire's energy went somewhere -- where?"

He could hear her shrug, rekali'gam plates rasping against each other. "Same spot I pulled the energy from in the first place: the other side. The spirit world."

"If you say so." There was no way he was going to get into a debate about Dathomiri/Vahla/Mando comparative or combined religion, especially because Rekalis tended to mix the three with abandon. All such issues were tangential to the rock and the backpack.

 

[Jorga the Hutt]

At some point, the witch drifted off to the corner of the room, out of the attenuated edges of the void stone's effects. "You say they found a piece of this big enough to cover a few hundred metres in Force nullification?"

"Oh, we can't call it nullification." Connory pointed at the ceiling. "But yes, the main Void Stone from Kayri, that could partially or completely nullify Force connections and Force abilities over several hundred metres. The Lords of the Fringe walked off with it. From there it just...vanished. Fortunately, this rock isn't from Kayri. Even the main Void Stone didn't originate there. They came from Otherspace."

"That's a myth."

"Aren't you the one talking about the spirit world? No, Otherspace is quite real. I've been there. I designed a line of starships specifically for Otherspace exploration and transportation."

"Transportation of what?"

"Well, Otherspace has all kinds of resources. Like this rock. This rock is not from this universe. As a result, it's stupidly expensive and rarer than an unattractive Sith Lord."

The witch snorted.

 

[Jorga the Hutt]

Connory began easing the rock out of the backpack, to check whether all the action had perhaps resonated the rock against its socket.

"You know," the witch said, and he paused with the rock half-out of the backpack.

"Yes?" He couldn't keep some exasperation from his voice.

"You know, it's sort of ironic, you being the one to make this -- and I use the word 'make' loosely."

"Oh, you mean the great inventor putting a rock in a backpack?"

"Well, it is sort of simplistic."

"To do this, I not only had to design just the right backpack, I had to know more about this rock than just about anyone. I had to do research across two universes. I had to know exactly what I'm talking about, and do the work necessary to make my expertise viable."

"Work like...putting a rock in a backpack?"

Connory sighed and eased the rock back into the backpack. "Exactly, Sheila."

 

[Jorga the Hutt]

"So now you've verified that the void stone has exactly the same effect when it's mounted in the backpack. Did you honestly think a quarter inch of Mandalorian steel, euk'gar, would interfere with a Force effect?"

"If I'd told you yesterday that a rock could interfere with a Force effect, would you have believed me?"

"Maybe. You're Connory."

"No, don't do that. Evaluate an idea on its merits. Anything else invites bias. I've known people with every indication of rank and expertise who had no idea what they were talking about, but still had strong opinions on things. You're a Forcer; I'm sure you've met a few. Don't put me in a position where I have to save face." He fastened the rock back into its bracket and stood, wiping his hands on his pants. "There. The rock is back in the backpack. And still no change in functionality?"

"None whatsoever. Can we be done now? This is uncomfortable."

 

[Jorga the Hutt]

"We'll be done when we're done," he said with some asperity. "Besides, I thought you wanted to stick around for the field test."

"What, bringing one of these into a cell with a chained up Sith Lord?"

"Frankly, Sheila, I would love to have one of those. It's my name day soon, so keep that in mind. But no, I'm referring to another field test entirely, a regimen of demanding exactitude that should confirm this creation's ability to function as intended."

"You're going to get more Witches? Have us make a circle and throw spells at you until you're mildly inconvenienced?"

"I've already done that sort of thing with a lump of void stone alone. This, however, is far more than a piece of rock. This, Sheila, is a piece of rock in a backpack."

 

[Jorga the Hutt]

"I don't get it. What could this final test be?"

Connory knelt again, gripped the straps of the harness, and hoisted the backpack into the air. First he put one arm through a strap. Then he put another arm through another strap. By this point the full weight of the metal backpack rested on his back, shoulders, and hips. He'd designed it with reference to actual backpacks, the kind you could wear for a long time in comfort. Beneath the padding, he'd mounted attachment points. Now, one clicked onto the backplate of his armour. The backpack, attached by a metal cleat and several straps, wasn't going anywhere. In an emergency he could cut the straps and jettison the entire load like an exploding jetpack. But that was not the disk test either. He shifted the backpack one way, then the other, and heard no rattling sound from the well-secured rock. He shifted again and the weight settled into place.

"This backpack with a rock in it," he said, "is actually very comfortable. I'm extremely pleased. Thank you for your help, Sheila."