Zed: A Rings Of Gaia Story

ZED was not blessed with long life like Merlin Parnassus, but, by using the power of a ring of Gaia, he had avoided his ‘Day of Reckoning’. If the ring was held by ZED and a pregnant woman when she was at 26 weeks term, ZED’s spirit could move into the new foetus. His memories would be stored in the ring of Gaia when his body died. The pregnant woman was one of ZED’s granddaughters.
If they were very beautiful then ZED would make them pregnant himself despite strong warnings of possible deformity. ZED wrote-off the warnings as religious twaddle.
ZED was born, at home, on the 2nd of May 1610AD in the Villa Zenith, Havana, Cuba. The midwife was a sister from the local Abbey. The large villa was south-west of the city; some people might call it a ranch. The family name was “Zoe”; it means ‘Life’ in ancient Greek.
The Zoe family arrived in Havana in 1600AD; the family was matriarchal, and ZED had been raised by a disciplinarian mother. They were staunch Catholics and attended church every Sunday. ZED’s education began at 4 years old. He worked hard on Spanish, Mathematics and Latin. At 11 years old, his world expanded into Classics and Art; he was encouraged to draw and paint but wasn’t very good at it.
ZED acquired the ring, in 1640AD, when he was 30 years old. It was handed to him as a bribe to lose the case. ZED came from a long line of lawyers, most of whom were barristers at court. Taking bribes was commonplace; a barrister would fail to submit evidence or to ask vital questions; direct falsifications were rare.
The ring looked genuine and ZED took the runes as hallmarks. He placed it in the top pocket of his waistcoat and forgot about it. He found the ring, a few months later, when he was sending the coat for cleaning. He had a momentary thought:
‘I could wear it if it was bigger.’
And the ring expanded between his thumb and forefinger. The expansion was dramatic, doubling its diameter.
‘Now you are joking. I meant just enough to fit my middle finger.’
The ring shrank back to just a little bigger than its original size. Totally perplexed, and not thinking about his actions, he put the ring on his third finger of his left hand; the ring shrank a bit more, so it would not go over his knuckle. His mind froze; he left the ring where it was. It couldn’t harm him, could it?
ZED had several strange dreams over the next few months; all were trying to convince himself that Real Magic existed. With active cases keeping him busy he rarely had a spare moment. He tried to replay the memories of the fateful day that he had put the ring on. The stress was getting to him. During a massage, his mind focused on the ring:
‘Let the ring expand.’
The ring expanded and fell off his finger onto the tiled floor. The ping was clearly heard; the masseuse picked up the ring and gave it back to ZED. In a moment of clarity, ZED realized that the ring had expanded; it had changed size only when he had been thinking about it; it must be Real Magic!
After retiring for the night, ZED looked at his ring and thought:
‘what are you?’
‘Close enough. The question should have been ‘who are you?’ now, are you going to speak to me properly?’
‘But of course. I had no idea that you were sentient.’
‘Strictly speaking, no. The ring is just a magic ring containing permanent magical essence that is programmed for many tasks. You might say – I am an artificial intelligence.’
‘Do you have a name?’
‘No. I was awarded to the champion of the Isthmian games. I suggest you call me Izzy.’
‘Ok, Izzy. Tell me your history.’
‘I am the fourth of 5 rings made in Sparta in 500BC. A merchant carried us to the Oracle of Delphi where we were blessed by Gaia. Each ring was loaded with permanent magical essence that was dedicated to serving the ring bearer. We were empowered with the knowledge of Real Magic. Gaia’s intention was to create leaders who could educate and protect the Earth. Man tends to be self-destructive and Gaia needed agents who could go out and repair the damage.’