March 31, 2020 • 14 mins
"The Lekar's Fortune" by Alex Shvartsman
A Lekar, who consumes and imprisons illness inside of herself, finds something more valuable than riches.
Author
Alex Shvartsman - alexshvartsman.com
Cast
D.E. Medus - david.medusmedia.com
Art
Episode art is a modified version of Old lady's atonement flickr photo by hnt6581 shared under a Creative Commons (BY) license
Music
Into the Unknown by Oddsprite
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:08):
Hello and welcome to meet thispod episode 10. I'm your host de
Mitas. Our story for thisepisode comes to us from Alex
Schwartzman. Alex is a writer,translator and indologist from
Brooklyn, New York. Over 100 ofhis short stories have appeared
in nature analog, strangehorizons, intergalactic medicine
show and many other magazinesand anthologies. He won the 2014
(00:31):
W SFA small press award forshort fiction, and was a two
time finalist for the CanopusAward for Excellence and
Interstellar fiction 2015 and2017. He's the editor of the
other notified funny objectsannual anthology series for
humorous science fiction andfantasy, and of future science
fiction digest. His epic fantasynovel or Adonis crown was
(00:54):
published in October of 2019.His website is www dot Alex
schwartzman.com. There are linksto Alex's site and where to buy
her Danny's crown in the shownotes. Without further ado, the
law cars fortune by AlexSchwartzman.
(01:20):
Who Nothi is making house callsthank you for coming lekar the
man's voice is both tired andhopeful. The lecarre notes the
cheaply made furniture and barewalls of the small home. A woman
sits on the couch her eyes redand puffy. She stares into space
(01:41):
and makes no move to acknowledgeyou Nothi. Her husband looks
grim and determined his handstremble slightly, as he offers
her a bundle of bank notes. WhoNothi glances at the notes. It
isn't much but there is morethan one way to pay for her
services. You understand howthis works? Who not the asks.
(02:05):
Both of them nod. Neither willlook her in the eye nor each
other. Lead me to him. She saysthe man shows her to the next
room where a four year old boyis lying in bed and healthy,
walks in and shakes her headwhen the father tries to follow.
She shuts the door behind her.The boy is burning up with
(02:30):
fever. She lives her hands onthe child's forehead and focuses
on his illness. It's merelypneumonia, and disease that
should have been treated withherbs and mixtures instead of
magic. The family was too lacksor too poor to seek such
treatment in time. The sicknesslingered and grew. It had taken
(02:51):
firm hold of the child's lungs.It's too late for the healer.
She realizes as she studies hissmall sweat drenched frame.
without her help. The child willbe dead within a day. No Nothi
closes her eyes and readiesherself. She focuses on the
prison in her mind which holds1000 deaths. She wills the
(03:14):
tiniest opening into existencetaking great care not to permit
any of her wards to escape. Shebegins to hum softly using her
magic to draw the pneumonia outof the boy. She traps the malady
contains it within a mentalcell. A few minutes later, the
boy's fever is gone. Hisbreathing steady. The lecarre
(03:38):
feels bloated like a balloonoverfilled with water, stretched
to its limits and ready toburst. She exhale slowly forces
herself to focus again andbegins humming a different tune.
She grabs hold of anothersickness, one that is more
potent, more dangerous. One thattakes up far more space and her
(04:02):
prison. She pours it into theboy she feels instantly lighter,
as if an enormous pressure islifted off her temples. The
malignant tumor she expelled hadbeen a challenging prisoner to
contain a burden that requiredvigilance and fortitude. One
(04:22):
that she bore for far too long.It Nestle's in the child's brain
now. Bonatti exits of the roomwithout looking at the boy
again. I bought you a decade.She tells the father perhaps
longer then he will need anotherlacquer. But she knows that this
(04:45):
family will never save up enoughto pay for a lecturer to take on
this tumor by the time it isfully grown. The man Thanks for
profusely but his wife staresdaggers that do not be until
finally she can hold Back nomore doubt. She's tells her
husband don't thank her. Thewitch has done us no favors.
(05:09):
When off he has heard it allbefore, but she can't help
responding. Your son will livelonger. He has a chance now.
Without my ministrations hewould have had none. The woman's
tears are directly in the eye.Your user is merchant, not a
healer. You tray death for worsedeath and profit from the
(05:31):
exchange. I don't know how youlet us live with yourself. Then
she spits on the ground that donot these feet. Do not the
pities the woman's lack offacility for logic. This forlorn
creature knows nothing of theburden she bears of the strain
of containing so many deaths forso long. She thinks back to her
(05:54):
years of training. To hermentors patient guidance, it
takes a special mind to become alecarre a special strength. His
words reassure her just as theydid back when he lived. Without
another word she turns to leave.The father trails her tries to
(06:15):
apologize for his wife'sdiscourtesy, who Nothi ignores
him and walks away.
Back in her home, or not thegradually releases the pneumonia
into her own body. Her adultimmune system would be able to
handle it, and she cannot affordto hang on to every sickness she
(06:38):
captures. Her prison is nearlyfull as it is replete with much
worse things. It isn't oftenthat she can unburden herself
the way she did with the tumor.And even with it gone, she can
feel the rest of her deathsconstantly pushing probing
against her prisons walls. Fourdays later, she is coughing,
(07:03):
nauseous and feverish. When herStewart arrives with news go
away, she croaks I won't see anyclients but another week. This
can't wait insists I found avessel. The news Joel to Nothi.
If true, this is a rare once ina lifetime find. A vessel is a
(07:26):
healthy body of someone with atalent for magic, which also
lacks a conscious mind. Hermentor searched desperately for
one late in life when he felthimself becoming too weak to
contain his captive deaths, butdidn't succeed. The steward who
served her mentor before her waswell trained to never see
(07:48):
searching. She has to hurrybefore the other lecarre is to
find out about the vessel tosome would spend all their
treasure to possess such aprize. Who not the chance to
pneumonia back into her mentalsell. She needs to be in her
best form for this. She arrivesat a house in the prosperous
(08:10):
part of town and she is usheredto a young woman's bedside. The
girl fell in her temple on asharp edge or so her widowed
father claims there are telltalesigns that insinuate a different
story. Her body is perfectlyhealthy though. Besides a few
bruises, her mind is gone. Shewill never wake up from a coma.
(08:37):
Oh, nothing can sense the magicwithin the girl. She is indeed a
vessel. The greatest fortuneimmature lecarre could hope to
possess. What's more, the fathereager to keep the circumstances
of the girls injuries discreetdemands only a small fortune.
(08:58):
The word of the vessel hasn'tspread sparing or Nothi the
necessity for a bidding waragainst other like ours. She
hands over the money and isalone with the vessel at last.
The girls magic is strong. Ittakes a special mind to become a
car. Had things turned outdifferently. She could have made
(09:19):
a fine one. And healthy wondersbriefly if her magic could
overcome the girl's death wakeher from the coma. But even
attempting this would beludicrous, akin to a diver using
a mallet to shatter the finestlargest Pearl she found in her
lifetime just to learn if itwould break. Who not the places
(09:41):
her hands on the vessels warmforehead and opens the gates of
her prison wider than everbefore. She chants cancers and
plagues heart disease and strokeschizophrenia and smallpox pour
into the vessel until for thefirst was time in decades, who
(10:02):
northeast prison is vacant. Thelecarre staggers out of the
house lightheaded and weak. Shecan't think can't focus. Is this
what she's supposed to feellike? She lets a steward help
her into the carriage and driveher home. Moments after she
crawls into her bed and permitsherself to lower her eyelids.
(10:27):
Sleep claims her. In themorning, she wakes with a
feeling of anguish, guilt andrevulsion of the things she's
done the way she is, her callingas a car hit her all at once.
She has never felt this way. Notbefore her apprenticeship to
become a car nor sense. It isinfinitely worse than corralling
(10:51):
a multitude of deaths within hermind, and she can't bear it. And
Aarthi remembers with perfectclarity, her calm demeanor, her
ability to survive and evenflourish. While plying her
trade. The detached clinicalmanner, she can no longer muster
(11:13):
and takes a special mind tobecome a car but perhaps what
makes it special is a flawrather than a gift.
She comes to believe thatwhatever depression or mental
block had allowed her tofunction must have somehow been
poured into the vessel, alongwith all the other sickness.
(11:34):
Whatever thing made her brokenand allowed her to live with
herself. She must have it back.She rushes over to the vessels
home but she's too late. Theyoung woman passed away
overnight extinguished by one ofthe many deaths meant for
others. The body has alreadybeen burned. And Aarthi leaves
(11:57):
the vessels home and stark andWindows staring at her with
cincher. She picks up the bassas she struggles to cope with
the guilt in her heart. Theweight of decisions she made
feeling much heavier than hermind's prison ever had. Her feet
hit the cobblestones fasteruntil she was running down the
(12:19):
streets of her city. eyes stungby sweat her lungs burning in
agony. She is an expert clickare able to capture any sickness
contain any disease, but shedoesn't know how to outrun her
(12:40):
humanity
meet a spot is always lookingfor great stories with some
fantastical element. Check outthe Submissions page over at
Metis pod.com/submissions. Andwhere did working on some fun
(13:02):
stuff for the show and thecommunity surrounding it. So
stay tuned and remember to rateand review and share the show
all around. The music you'rehearing is into the unknown by
odd Sprite. More of odd spriteswork can be found at odd
sprite.com links in the shownotes midis pod is released
under Creative CommonsAttribution non commercial no
(13:23):
derivatives license. That meansshare it all you like just don't
change it or sell it. We'll seeyou next time folks. Have a good
one.
Hello and welcome to meet thispod episode 10. I'm your host de
Mitas. Our story for thisepisode comes to us from Alex
Schwartzman. Alex is a writer,translator and indologist from
Brooklyn, New York. Over 100 ofhis short stories have appeared
in nature analog, strangehorizons, intergalactic medicine
show and many other magazinesand anthologies. He won the 2014
(00:31):
W SFA small press award forshort fiction, and was a two
time finalist for the CanopusAward for Excellence and
Interstellar fiction 2015 and2017. He's the editor of the
other notified funny objectsannual anthology series for
humorous science fiction andfantasy, and of future science
fiction digest. His epic fantasynovel or Adonis crown was
(00:54):
published in October of 2019.His website is www dot Alex
schwartzman.com. There are linksto Alex's site and where to buy
her Danny's crown in the shownotes. Without further ado, the
law cars fortune by AlexSchwartzman.
(01:20):
Who Nothi is making house callsthank you for coming lekar the
man's voice is both tired andhopeful. The lecarre notes the
cheaply made furniture and barewalls of the small home. A woman
sits on the couch her eyes redand puffy. She stares into space
(01:41):
and makes no move to acknowledgeyou Nothi. Her husband looks
grim and determined his handstremble slightly, as he offers
her a bundle of bank notes. WhoNothi glances at the notes. It
isn't much but there is morethan one way to pay for her
services. You understand howthis works? Who not the asks.
(02:05):
Both of them nod. Neither willlook her in the eye nor each
other. Lead me to him. She saysthe man shows her to the next
room where a four year old boyis lying in bed and healthy,
walks in and shakes her headwhen the father tries to follow.
She shuts the door behind her.The boy is burning up with
(02:30):
fever. She lives her hands onthe child's forehead and focuses
on his illness. It's merelypneumonia, and disease that
should have been treated withherbs and mixtures instead of
magic. The family was too lacksor too poor to seek such
treatment in time. The sicknesslingered and grew. It had taken
(02:51):
firm hold of the child's lungs.It's too late for the healer.
She realizes as she studies hissmall sweat drenched frame.
without her help. The child willbe dead within a day. No Nothi
closes her eyes and readiesherself. She focuses on the
prison in her mind which holds1000 deaths. She wills the
(03:14):
tiniest opening into existencetaking great care not to permit
any of her wards to escape. Shebegins to hum softly using her
magic to draw the pneumonia outof the boy. She traps the malady
contains it within a mentalcell. A few minutes later, the
boy's fever is gone. Hisbreathing steady. The lecarre
(03:38):
feels bloated like a balloonoverfilled with water, stretched
to its limits and ready toburst. She exhale slowly forces
herself to focus again andbegins humming a different tune.
She grabs hold of anothersickness, one that is more
potent, more dangerous. One thattakes up far more space and her
(04:02):
prison. She pours it into theboy she feels instantly lighter,
as if an enormous pressure islifted off her temples. The
malignant tumor she expelled hadbeen a challenging prisoner to
contain a burden that requiredvigilance and fortitude. One
(04:22):
that she bore for far too long.It Nestle's in the child's brain
now. Bonatti exits of the roomwithout looking at the boy
again. I bought you a decade.She tells the father perhaps
longer then he will need anotherlacquer. But she knows that this
(04:45):
family will never save up enoughto pay for a lecturer to take on
this tumor by the time it isfully grown. The man Thanks for
profusely but his wife staresdaggers that do not be until
finally she can hold Back nomore doubt. She's tells her
husband don't thank her. Thewitch has done us no favors.
(05:09):
When off he has heard it allbefore, but she can't help
responding. Your son will livelonger. He has a chance now.
Without my ministrations hewould have had none. The woman's
tears are directly in the eye.Your user is merchant, not a
healer. You tray death for worsedeath and profit from the
(05:31):
exchange. I don't know how youlet us live with yourself. Then
she spits on the ground that donot these feet. Do not the
pities the woman's lack offacility for logic. This forlorn
creature knows nothing of theburden she bears of the strain
of containing so many deaths forso long. She thinks back to her
(05:54):
years of training. To hermentors patient guidance, it
takes a special mind to become alecarre a special strength. His
words reassure her just as theydid back when he lived. Without
another word she turns to leave.The father trails her tries to
(06:15):
apologize for his wife'sdiscourtesy, who Nothi ignores
him and walks away.
Back in her home, or not thegradually releases the pneumonia
into her own body. Her adultimmune system would be able to
handle it, and she cannot affordto hang on to every sickness she
(06:38):
captures. Her prison is nearlyfull as it is replete with much
worse things. It isn't oftenthat she can unburden herself
the way she did with the tumor.And even with it gone, she can
feel the rest of her deathsconstantly pushing probing
against her prisons walls. Fourdays later, she is coughing,
(07:03):
nauseous and feverish. When herStewart arrives with news go
away, she croaks I won't see anyclients but another week. This
can't wait insists I found avessel. The news Joel to Nothi.
If true, this is a rare once ina lifetime find. A vessel is a
(07:26):
healthy body of someone with atalent for magic, which also
lacks a conscious mind. Hermentor searched desperately for
one late in life when he felthimself becoming too weak to
contain his captive deaths, butdidn't succeed. The steward who
served her mentor before her waswell trained to never see
(07:48):
searching. She has to hurrybefore the other lecarre is to
find out about the vessel tosome would spend all their
treasure to possess such aprize. Who not the chance to
pneumonia back into her mentalsell. She needs to be in her
best form for this. She arrivesat a house in the prosperous
(08:10):
part of town and she is usheredto a young woman's bedside. The
girl fell in her temple on asharp edge or so her widowed
father claims there are telltalesigns that insinuate a different
story. Her body is perfectlyhealthy though. Besides a few
bruises, her mind is gone. Shewill never wake up from a coma.
(08:37):
Oh, nothing can sense the magicwithin the girl. She is indeed a
vessel. The greatest fortuneimmature lecarre could hope to
possess. What's more, the fathereager to keep the circumstances
of the girls injuries discreetdemands only a small fortune.
(08:58):
The word of the vessel hasn'tspread sparing or Nothi the
necessity for a bidding waragainst other like ours. She
hands over the money and isalone with the vessel at last.
The girls magic is strong. Ittakes a special mind to become a
car. Had things turned outdifferently. She could have made
(09:19):
a fine one. And healthy wondersbriefly if her magic could
overcome the girl's death wakeher from the coma. But even
attempting this would beludicrous, akin to a diver using
a mallet to shatter the finestlargest Pearl she found in her
lifetime just to learn if itwould break. Who not the places
(09:41):
her hands on the vessels warmforehead and opens the gates of
her prison wider than everbefore. She chants cancers and
plagues heart disease and strokeschizophrenia and smallpox pour
into the vessel until for thefirst was time in decades, who
(10:02):
northeast prison is vacant. Thelecarre staggers out of the
house lightheaded and weak. Shecan't think can't focus. Is this
what she's supposed to feellike? She lets a steward help
her into the carriage and driveher home. Moments after she
crawls into her bed and permitsherself to lower her eyelids.
(10:27):
Sleep claims her. In themorning, she wakes with a
feeling of anguish, guilt andrevulsion of the things she's
done the way she is, her callingas a car hit her all at once.
She has never felt this way. Notbefore her apprenticeship to
become a car nor sense. It isinfinitely worse than corralling
(10:51):
a multitude of deaths within hermind, and she can't bear it. And
Aarthi remembers with perfectclarity, her calm demeanor, her
ability to survive and evenflourish. While plying her
trade. The detached clinicalmanner, she can no longer muster
(11:13):
and takes a special mind tobecome a car but perhaps what
makes it special is a flawrather than a gift.
She comes to believe thatwhatever depression or mental
block had allowed her tofunction must have somehow been
poured into the vessel, alongwith all the other sickness.
(11:34):
Whatever thing made her brokenand allowed her to live with
herself. She must have it back.She rushes over to the vessels
home but she's too late. Theyoung woman passed away
overnight extinguished by one ofthe many deaths meant for
others. The body has alreadybeen burned. And Aarthi leaves
(11:57):
the vessels home and stark andWindows staring at her with
cincher. She picks up the bassas she struggles to cope with
the guilt in her heart. Theweight of decisions she made
feeling much heavier than hermind's prison ever had. Her feet
hit the cobblestones fasteruntil she was running down the
(12:19):
streets of her city. eyes stungby sweat her lungs burning in
agony. She is an expert clickare able to capture any sickness
contain any disease, but shedoesn't know how to outrun her
(12:40):
humanity
meet a spot is always lookingfor great stories with some
fantastical element. Check outthe Submissions page over at
Metis pod.com/submissions. Andwhere did working on some fun
(13:02):
stuff for the show and thecommunity surrounding it. So
stay tuned and remember to rateand review and share the show
all around. The music you'rehearing is into the unknown by
odd Sprite. More of odd spriteswork can be found at odd
sprite.com links in the shownotes midis pod is released
under Creative CommonsAttribution non commercial no
(13:23):
derivatives license. That meansshare it all you like just don't
change it or sell it. We'll seeyou next time folks. Have a good
one.
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