On the Survival Habits of Genii Loci in the Modern Era
Professor Terrence Wilkes
Howe's Bestiary
Many legendary creatures have become reduced in numbers or gone extinct in the written history of Man. However, others have continued to thrive, either adapting to the new circumstances, or not being affected by them at all. In the quickly changing world of the twenty-first century, many creatures and entities are finding new ways to survive.
Genii loci have dwindled greatly in modern years. However, this is not, as some have theorized, a recent development. In truth, they have been growing smaller and less powerful for at least the past thousand years, if not longer. This can be tracked easily by reading accounts of Genii over time. In the 13th century we find accounts of a Genius Loci taking up an area at least fifty miles across, and capable of destroying entire towns (Ecgbert, p. 203, 1245). Three hundred years later, the most powerful Genius Loci known takes up a mere two mile circle, and can cause, at best, cave-ins and bad weather (Habbock, p. 45, 1595). This has followed linear progression, until the last known genius loci was unable to control more than a single parcel of land, and was at first mistaken for a poultergeist.
It has been theorized that all genii loci were once part of a larger superentity (Roux, p. 34, 1992) that has fragmented over time, and continues to do so, each generation having a smaller spark of the original's power. Others theorize that the genii loci lose more and more of their power as humans populate the world (DeForest, p. 11, 2001). However, this fails to account for the historical tendency of genii loci to inhabit areas populated by humans.
Whatever the reason, their modern day scarcity and frailty cannot be denied. They were thought to have gone extinct. However, they have been discovered to have made a number of adaptations to modern society, and seem to have reached a form of stasis.
Three were discovered in the city of Las Vegas, Nevada, United States of America, during a recent survey. Perhaps three dozen more have been reported worldwide. Rather than the small towns and rural areas they were believed to be hiding in, they have taken to urban environments.
A reading of coyote's entrails led the research team to an elderly woman pushing a shopping cart around downtown Las Vegas. The team searched the area for several minutes, trying to find the genius loci, when the woman asked them what they were doing. The head researcher gave the cover story (that they were looking for damage to the road on behalf of the city), but the woman stamped her feet and said, "Sam says you're lying." When asked who Sam was, the woman simply pointed to her cart.
The head researcher thought she might be hallucinating (as she exhibited several classic signs of schizophrenia), but then the mass of detritus in the cart moved, and the lens from a pair of sunglasses grew out on a stalk, made up of plastic cups and fliers. It moved around, looking at each member of the team in turn.
The head researcher began to question the woman, Agnes Staughn. She revealed that she'd found "Sam" ten years previously in the cart of another homeless person who had died, apparently of drug overdose. She had a symbiotic relationship with the genius loci, providing it with locomotion and collecting trash for it, while it advised her and gave her protection from thieves and the authorities.
The others found were in similar situations, having taken up symbiotic relationships with a pawn shop owner and a colony of rats, respectively. Interestingly, according to the pawn shop owner, Dominic Lopez, and Ms. Staughn, the genii loci, rather than become weaker, have remained in a similar size and potency in the years since the symbiotic relationships were established. The genius loci in the pawn shop has even grown slightly. Similar results have been reported from other cities. It is possible, therefore, that the genii loci, rather than being on the way out, may be thriving.
Bibliography
- The Boke of the Olde Earthe, Brother Ecgbert, 1245
- On the Matter of Yorkshire, Mysteries of England, Arthur Feskew, James Habbock, Fallen Kingdom Publication House, 1595
- The Book of Eleven Hours, Volume IX, 7th Reprinting, The Weeping House, Roxana the Helot and Badr al-Rashid Ibn Ya'fir ibin Abulaziz al-Misri, Ronald Chang, Last House on the Left Publishing, aprox. 1946
- Modern Geomancy #43, "Whither Gaia; Wither Gaia?" Dr. Armand Roux, March 1992
- The Final Warning, Shelly DeForest, Soft Rains Publishing House, 2001