SCI FI FANTASY SATURDAY MAR. 2: More from "Reflections of a Magic Mirror"

(For more snippets by other cool writers, go to http://scififansat.blogspot.com/)

The reason this story scares me is all the stuff I'd want to write about: fun-house mirrors, rear-view mirrors, lasers, even disco balls. All embodied by the Spirit of the Mirror.

And I haven't even finished in ancient China, where the magic mirror begins his memoir:

     I began as a plain round mirror of bronze, fashioned in the early part of the Han Dynasty.   By “plain” I mean I had no will or consciousness, but by the standards of the West I was beautiful and ornate. My golden face was flawlessly smooth, thanks to the bronze-smith’s two belligerent apprentices, who constantly fought or gambled with each other; whoever lost had to take the next turn at polishing me.

     My reverse side, in the manner typical of Han mirrors, was molded with a central knob surrounded by a square, representing China itself. Chevrons at its corners divide the circle into the “Four Seas” – that is, everything outside of the Middle Kingdom proper. This, of course, required four triligands and four elshapes for the proper balance. Between here and the rim were more symbols of equally obvious cosmological significance, and the rim was an arabesque of dragons.

     Actually, this was during the Year of the Rooster; the use of the Holy Ones instead was simple flattery. This was unusually blatant of Liu An, but considering the plans he had for me, he’d need all the help he could get.