5 The Old Doctor

Mist followed Elders Smith, Yemay, and Soturi into the building. The trio went to the second floor which was completely empty. Only Mist and the three elders were on the second floor. Elder Smith ordered a few things while Elder Yemay supplemented his order. Very soon several dishes came out and every one of them was a kind of dessert food!

At first, Mist wasn't sure about the food in front of him, but after testing a couple of the dishes he quickly dove into the food and ate relentlessly. After Mist had more than his share of sweets, the group walked to a new place. According to the elders, the new place was part of the Elders' Hall, the Testing Hall.

"This is where we test all potential disciples." Elder Yemay said. "Would you like to become a disciple?" Elder Smith asked. "What's a disciple?" Mist asked. "A disciple is a very special student. We would teach this student all the knowledge we have," Master Soturi said.

"Hmmm. My father says the more a hunter knows the more he can hunt," Mist replied. For the first time, a genuine smile appeared on Elder Soturi's face. "Your father is a very wise man. I think he is very likable," Elder Soturi said.

"Father is very wise, he is already twenty-one years old and is the top hunter of the village. He once killed a Yanak by himself. "I'm glad you are interested in being our disciple. First, however, we need to determine if you're what we're looking for," Elder Yemay said.

"Okay," Mist said. Even though he really didn't understand what was going on, or what it meant to be a disciple.

"Great, Mist, please come and sit on this chair," Elder Yemay indicated a strange metal chair. It was just his size and when he sat on it he felt it was very comfortable. He had never seen such a chair. The seat had a reddish-brown cushion and padding of the same color on the armrests and the neck rest.

A semi-circular gate rose from the floor and a circular tube extended from the ceiling. Out of the tube was a collection of crystals pointing at Mist's head. Elder Smith placed two blue stones in Mist's hands. Each hand had one bluestone. As soon as the bluestone touched his palm, Mist couldn't remove the stones. It was like it became part of his hand.

A multi-colored stone inset into a headband was placed on Mist's head. Elder Smith walked up to a metallic panel and Mist could see he was twisting parts of the panel and pushing some strange stones. Finally, Elder Smith turned his head toward Elder Yemay and nodded. Elder Soturi stood to the side and observed everything.

A new circular platform ascended from the floor and a circular disc descended from the ceiling.

"This might sting just a little," Elder Yemay told him. He merely nodded, still not understanding what was going on.

Mist felt a strange numbness spread throughout his body. Next, a stinging sensation at the base of his skull could be felt. It was extremely uncomfortable but not so much Mist would cry out about it. The crystals above Mist's head began to glow in resonance with the blue and multi-colored stones.

The new platform began to glow and slowly an old man appeared. The old man was wearing a suit and tie. The Suit jacket and pants were a dark grey color. He was wearing a blue shirt and two cufflinks with strange symbols. Dark black dress shoes with dark blue socks. He held a glossy black wooden cane in his right hand. Long grey hair nearly reaching his shoulders gave him an eccentric look. There was a stern look on the man's face. He was patiently looking around at his surroundings as he continued to materialize. Finally, the man seemed real and solid. Instead of moving, he quietly remained in place.

"He's strong, there's great spiritual energy coming from him. Very powerful!" Elder Smith said as his eyes got larger.

Mist sat quietly watching everything unsure of what was going on. He only knew this old man appeared out of nowhere as if by magic! Mist was really interested in this old man. The old man seemed very interested in him. He looked towards him kindly. He wasn't very far away from Mist and greeted him.

"Hello my little friend," the old man said. Hearing the old man speak, the three elders were very shocked. To their knowledge, this wasn't supposed to happen. They quickly came to the old man and examined him.

"Hello," the old man smiled at the elders.

"Senior, you're able to communicate!" Elder Smith said.

"If you didn't want to talk you shouldn't have called," the old man laughed.

"Sir, can you tell us about yourself?" Elder Yemay asked. "You woke me up and don't even know who I am? Very sloppy work my young friends!" he replied. "Please senior," Elder Soturi said with a slight bow.

"My name is Dr. Carter Alan French. I am the greatest mind of the twenty-first century! I am a Polymath," he said proudly. "What is a Polymath?" asked Elder Smith.

"A Polymath or according to the older way of saying it, a Polyhistor, a person with a wide range of knowledge in several different fields. I hold degrees in fields related to Chemistry, Medicine, Biology, Electrical Engineering, Architecture, Music and know more than sixteen dead languages and am fluent in twelve living languages. These are a few of my degrees. I am also known for my contributions to economics, politics, and philosophy," he explained.

"To put it simply you are a man whose knowledge is both wide and deep," Elder Yemay said. "Something like that," Dr. French smiled slightly in response. "Sir, pardon us for disturbing your sleep, we only meant to test the boy to see if he would be suitable as a disciple for us. We did not expect to speak with his root," Elder Yemay said.

"Oh, you know something about roots and branches, eh? Very impressive, but there's one thing you've gotten wrong my dear. I am not that boy's root, I'm merely another branch that birthed him. Our tree is very big, and you don't have the power to connect with his root. Even my branch might be a bit much for you!

However, I think I understand what you want to do. This boy is ideal for your plans if I help him that is," the old man said. "I never could have done this in the past but I think I understand a few more things now, young man! I'm going to give you a gift but you must use it well. Don't let me down and become an agent of evil," he said.

Strange energy flowed from the old man to Mist. As the energy flowed into his body, Mist felt very strange. Suddenly, he was overtaken by a strong need to sleep. Falling asleep, Mist lost all awareness in his surroundings.

"As for you folks, I'll give you a present as well. It's really for the boy, but you'll also find it useful. Energies flew out of the platform once more moving towards a rack of transparent crystals. After the crystals glowed for a few minutes, the old Doctor faded away.

"Take care of my boy, he could be very important one day!" with those words, Dr. Carter Alan French returned to the ether from which he came.