Chapter Theme Music: Far Centaurus ~ John Standford
<01/04/2011 - 13:11 | Saffrin Middle School (English), Austell, GA, USA>149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5CiI7dkfxP
149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS7vcVhgF32
Thanks to the enlightening moment I had today in gym class, I could feel my mind speeding up with the lifting mood. The hundreds of thoughts per second in my head were accelerating a little more, putting me into what I would call a work-mood. Since this is English class, I could in theory work on whatever I wanted to, since I'm already days ahead of my assignments, but I still need to make sure nothing new gets added on.149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7diwmjLQcN
149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrxH6O2dBEJ
So, I sat patiently in a random empty cluster of desks as everybody was already settling in for the usual. I felt calm, and at the same time awake and alert, ready for any action. Lumina on the other hand was not too familiar with the routine I was engaging with, and spoke up first once she noticed the difference.149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwMLnhlcNVD
149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKmLcMfuF0d
"How come you're not sitting by your group today?"149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOhIz3P7D8q
149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡExa9CtYIPA
"I just don't feel like it for some reason. Plus, I'm not staying here once the roll call is over with."149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqPVJ7o3vHj
149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPkz3FpM84q
"You're not?"149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLdDttp0qVN
149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡab3fGzHghl
"Nope. I have plans to head to the media center again, login, and work on some of my stuff from home. But I have to stay for roll call first." It's become a bit more routine for me lately. I've been ducking out of classes where I'm ahead, and going to the media center. They've got computers we can all use, and all I have to do is access my flash drive and work on the new projects.149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlSp5ByK9EW
149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYIyNV6mG8K
"Oh. That's interesting."149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6Lyb7JzY9z
149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcShtEexikG
"Yeah, I've decided to work on it at school during my free time as well as at home. It really helps me out with this UAD thing. It feels amazing to work on all of these projects."149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkULaJdVqdb
149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ79sRPqDTQM
"Well, I won't argue that it's a bad idea. I just wish you could sit with your friends more often."149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡscxPRUatRv
149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOaHyzl0OVb
"I can do that anytime during class, but I may have to wait ten minutes before I can actually do anything. Looks like there might be a new assignment?"149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF3dlboMEtK
149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡklfMfofE2a
"Want to talk about stuff to pass the time?"149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTWbY3jBNSN
149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJOOxfzlxeH
"Sure, I guess... But no more of those embarrassing stories." I'm still trying to mentally recover from some of the things I said to her, uncertain what came over me earlier.149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt6xEvouaWN
149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL41qTtT9Ww
"Okay... What about whatever else is going on in your life?"149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9qbZ4SfcYD
149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUyHRD1KBrK
"Like what? I don't really get to do anything anymore because of school. I don't have any strong friends for me to hang out with outside of class. And I don't have any upcoming field trips either."149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjcB3Vr1w1W
149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJVJwUOd7ms
"What about your Sunday School?"149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO7hvoknD0y
149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVdIy2r0iyV
"Oh, I stopped going to that the day after my parents split..." It was a strange thing for her to bring up. It's been too long now, and I've nearly forgotten about going to church. But I'm not unhappy for this outcome. "Now that I think about it, Sunday School might be a big waste of time."149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvIzvMvdPdS
149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjNXDwkUtSJ
"It is? I mean, I wouldn't know."149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxSKRrcMZsS
149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzYjUS4QU6r
Right. Lumina has no churches of worship in her world. It would have bothered me at first, but something different happened instead. "It's an interesting subject; religion. I've been reading the Bible lately."149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNn52kYwRzL
149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuzSxW3EWvW
"Really?"149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ78uNK2czOC
149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7OZ1VfrcZY
"Yeah... The more lines I read out of that text, the more I feel like it's all just someone else's mental mess thrown together into some crazy book just to tell a popular belief about the afterlife. I keep coming across inconsistencies that make no sense, and horrific verses about the way we are seen or treated by this so called God. Does that sound crazy?" It's really the first time I've started to question this whole religion nonsense. The only reason I wanted to read the Bible in the first place was to find out where the Altiri come into play with the sacred verses. If God and Jesus played key roles in prophesizing the Bible, then surely there would have been at least a single mention of aliens. But there isn't a single mention of it in there. Instead, I'm learning something different.149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡILE9wJjCxJ
149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKUbLvboRLh
"Hardly. You know I'm not that religious."149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDXt5EeQDwQ
149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7isNHQPRjF
"No, I didn't know that. I still believe in God for the most part, but I just don't know what to make of it anymore. Still, I never took you for a complete atheist."149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpfaKR9mKnI
149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPwx6wYdqdp
"Well, look what happened once upon a time, when the Altiri did believe in a god."149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf7mqsdxAC9
149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKHMaWys6nR
"Legasso was no god. And your people came a long way of understanding to learn that. There is no reason to be afraid of having that kind of faith."149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnu1GQ56Qhb
149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4qnWf7YgmX
"Can we really just accept that?"149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRwq0HQ23y0
149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB2FD2A9JmV
I wanted to quickly reassure Lumina that she doesn't need to be an atheist, but what I said earlier was tugging on my mind more than before. I'm literally asking Lumina to believe in God when I've just now pointed out that the Bible isn't making any sense. So is it even right for me to try and convert her? "I don't know. Like I said, the Bible has so many inconsistencies and contradictions. But even if there weren't, I can't find anything in any passage mentioning the Altiri civilization."149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0zuy1yzvAg
149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcd4hhkyhQn
"We only played a small role in getting humans to make any reputation of us."149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcoeV4hRHTZ
149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr41tCtYQx5
"But that's exactly my point. If humans wrote this material, and only did so based on what might have made sense to them at their time, then all of this religious nonsense is nothing more than a high quality lie. But does that really mean that God is fake? How did the universe come into creation? And what would be the planned involvement between humans and Altiri? A plan has to exist, because you and I are talking with each other right now."149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtV0M2P7SZV
149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8gAc9LwHI9
"Yeah, but nobody really knows that Reed. That's my problem with religion. Nobody seems to really know what's going on, even if they claim to."149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi7RIYt3PkZ
149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3EK4VrQFAj
"Okay... So where do you think people go after they die? And don't tell me about the ten-day purgatory thing. I want to know what happens after that, if a transperation fails." She has to know something about that, right? The Altiri wouldn't just embrace oblivion knowing that transperation is a mere possibility.149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHTt22RAmqI
149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuhNOs4A2nI
"Well... I don't know. But not knowing has no merit on what I believe to be true regarding a divine deity."149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8yPUANRUyS
149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLeEpKReODY
"Sounds to me like this whole Christianity thing is all false, and that we're starting to abandon it altogether."149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhW1AXo4X6n
149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3raOUVgCVZ
"Fine, but I never believed in that stuff to begin with."149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0KrR4PkWWH
149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfj0IHpCPgx
"I can live with that Lumina. Still, I wonder what my parents would think if they knew what I was thinking right now." I can take a few harsh guesses. My parents are die-hard Christian conservatives, and any potential deviation from the teaching of the church is returned with harsh torment or punishment. They would probably disown me.149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXmneyN2D8U
149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgfexfq7c6O
"Probably what I would expect; an all-out rebellion. They'd rush to have you baptized or something stupid." So she thinks the same way as me on this.149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe4iaAVCMfo
149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLBFzrOORbC
"Does baptism even do anything?" I heard all about it before. They throw holy water on someone and it forces them into loving Jesus, or something like that. It doesn't make any sense, but I don't really want to try it out for myself anyway with the way things are going.149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6Zkt76OBX8
149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGNE3bM5WZi
"It's just a highly effective placebo effect."149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaWHiVYfZqo
149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfbXvxxVbkt
"I see... Well there is no need to worry about it anyway. It's not like my parents are going to suspect your presence anyway. The more that dickhead gets involved in my life, the more I resent mom for letting him live there."149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ367UVRSYKF
149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡewbhUcjRvU
"You're talking about your stepdad?"149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiEoK36gpxr
149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMq3M42tU5d
"Who else? That guy is like, the heathen of all heathens. And if he even thinks about trying anything physical, I'll stab him a hundred times with a knife and call it self-defense."149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3SeDn8sukS
149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9CMjaTENOs
"I taught you well."149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNVbhQimGdx
149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDw0jSuWPsy
It's nice that I can say something like that and get no negative judgments from her. I've hated Peterson long before Lumina and her purge ever showed up, but he seems to be getting even worse of a person with each passing day. The man is an abuser, though he's holding back to pretend like he's not. How else could I explain such vile yelling and violence from his cursed tongue? I really am serious about killing him in self-defense. I have the right to protect myself from people like that, family or not. "That you did."149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡllgP8Wq6n2
149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7ln0MX5E6u
After having enough, and analyzing the interesting way our conversation drifted into religion, I stood up from my desk, asked the teacher for the usual, and made my way down to the library as planned. I wasn't exactly bored enough to be at the first stage of UAD, but working on my own projects anyway will prevent it from even coming up in the first place.149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡppHKa0nitZ
149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5jUbZ2RUkN
"So what is it you come here to do?" Lumina asked as I was logging myself into one of the workstations.149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBzYr8mBnr7
149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAxL3SGDeMA
I pulled up the document I was working on, bringing up a six-page long, two-chapter story I'm trying to launch.149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡynB8aX1fCW
149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5b8gzkeKPw
"So you do like to write, or type I should say."149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5SxYtFq7H4
149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlwbST6AYFn
"Yeah, writing too much hurts my hands, and my thumbs can't even keep up with the speed of my thoughts, but I can keep up on a keyboard, so typing is just how I do it now."149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWypOiHmvj2
149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjmLlMG0LQG
"You ever think about publishing one day?"149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkL4lzgPFHY
149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLtfzh3dnoa
"As much as I expect this habit to continue. This is more of practice. I'll work on something big soon."149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ23XOSunFEu
149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYUdMBaIs01
"You really enjoy it a lot. It's good that you have a hobby!" Lumina perked up her voice to show her enthusiasm, but I had to correct the error of her ways.149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8tiL9gszzu
149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZrJZFHK8vn
"It's much more than a hobby. Plus, it helps my UAD too."149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEIXLqkodTl
149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlZhtHacASw
"How?"149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIkxxvpHVg5
149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUd0DFt461o
"Remember when you said this might all have something to do with my ADD?"149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡynIFN7X3zp
149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKdm4MgzwFd
"I did mention that."149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ8mtQK4UUX
149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi6aREPYM5p
"I think you were onto something. Every second of every day, I have all of these background thoughts bouncing through my head; ideas, sounds, images, they're always there."149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYhmjePa7Xh
149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXTdtHkMjic
"That sounds exhausting."149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWlqTJ5PTlI
149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfdYpDxdKgX
Under ordinary circumstances, it would be. "But when I'm writing, I can focus all of these side-thoughts to the same subject, and generate a lot more detail as I type. When I'm working on that, it's actually really fun. It's the opposite of exhausting! It gives me this good buzzed feeling in my head. I think my mind just craves having something to focus on all day long."149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ3dDhyek1C
149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJeiMJE4wLy
"That's so weird... Uh, in a good way." Fearing she might have offended me, Lumina tried to put herself in my shoes for a change. But I couldn't blame her for being curious, as this was strange to me too.149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRGEFvulTJK
149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYzhgo4Rs6K
"Nice save," I replied sarcastically.149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5iBjQbDcZb
149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGRgf34dlAp
"No, I mean it Reed! If you can have that much fun making all of these books and wipe your UAD out completely, then it means you're cured!"149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡomLiPDDucC
149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoKnPbM2O1d
I felt hesitant to agree with her, only because it sounded too easy. However, I knew the truth already; that when working on this stuff, my UAD is kept far at bay, far away enough that I forget it existed in the first place. And to think I made this book brand new after hearing Laura's suggestion about it... "Yeah..."149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLsuWQaCYw6
149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz1wXGEpuNe
"What's wrong?"149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFdPtj8TIUA
149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrYyaSdJ3W7
"It's just that, I wish I were more perfect like you, Lumina. You have it so good up there. If I were an Altiri instead of a human, I wouldn't have this stupid UAD problem in the first place. And if it's not UAD I'm dealing with, then it's this strange bad luck with technology. And if it's not that, it's those stupid godforsaken headaches! The last one I had made me want to just quit on everything."149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqWThw1dnch
149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhZpaBXTi7L
"I'm sorry Reed, but I can't help you with that. If I could turn you from a human into an Altiri while you are still there on Earth, I would have done it by now."149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK4rgj1XY0g
149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIRd7TXWnvp
Well, I'm not making any progress with the book, but I'm just fine talking to Lumina. Even though we ran out of things to say about how our worlds work, we're still finding things to talk about anyway, which I presumed would be impossible. "Hey Lumina? I should have asked this earlier, but is there a remote possibility for a purge or telepathy to cause headaches down the road?" They've been getting worse and more frequent lately, and I have to wonder if this relates to the purge as well.149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdRB2jO9Ggm
149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7h9gAuf8It
"It's definitely not. We've confirmed from all our other reports that headaches are an isolated phenomena that only humans experience. Purging them seems to have no effect on whether they get them or not."149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGE7oLaLnVK
149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjvnuvP9X0o
"But then, you have purged a human who used to get them a lot, right?"149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2aCLBENqRF
149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOixgFjJ864
"Are you getting them more often Reed? It's not good if that is happening to you." She evaded my question of her data, but I don't really care anymore anyway. "Still, it has nothing to do with the purge. Of that, I'm sure."149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpoElf2XolN
149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMgmgzeZhOF
"Well, at least that's something. I don't normally get them often, but they have been bothering me more ever since I developed those new allergies. Man, being a human sucks!"149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBParTIYW8a
149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIVn7dNdNxU
"You'll get used to it."149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvozLPypb4X
149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxRooR7Vx3p
Am I not used to it now? "It really takes learning about the universe being shared with ancient Altiri aliens to make one really not appreciate anything about Earth anymore."149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAjveZqxldY
149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡICvBlcWKn0
"I take offense to that. Ancient? Are you calling me old?"149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ69MKq5klO1
149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJrwgjOeEfF
"Er, well... You are three thousand six-hundred sixteen years old. A four digit age should be hard to remember, but..." But it's too incredible for me to forget.149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdKljttUqTn
149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuWQgyl1N3S
"So you are calling me old!"149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs6bbqPFZNP
149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTKgsLuBPi1
Does she not realize the plight of my jokes? Truly, she is really old, but it's not as if I think it's a bad thing. "Stop assuming things. You might be 3,616 years old, but you still don't look older than eighteen or nineteen."149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpdAkVGJSLo
149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaADP8a9i2P
"And you better remember that!"149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRQt0QSknmc
149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgxYvv4vHKz
"I don't get it. What's the big deal with women and their age?"149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxt9ak4jOR5
149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzFWMl2WlCl
"You'll understand when you're older Reed."149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeAVgNHuXh1
149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPraA4WESLE
"Oh ha-ha! I see what you did there. Whatever. I've only got a few minutes now, so it's pointless for me to work on the script."149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjvy3IliaFV
149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7pCmJLBnnZ
"So now that's my fault?"149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8oJQEMZlp8
149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjUkv26tXPI
"You were talking about me after all, so..."149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYOHA87x8gw
149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFIFNNTFNHe
"Sorry you didn't get your twenty minutes of work in. Are we about to see another psychotic rage attack?"149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjbZ7C50olX
149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHBoMrj2hYj
"Of course not!" How can she think that? I'm not that sensitive to the UAD. Guess she's not in a joking mood today. "Talking to you counts as keeping my mind engaged anyway, as long as the subject is interesting enough."149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeW1ur9fp9Q
149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9BLCTETK65
"Oh."149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrKnXad4HHE
149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY84asyy2GT
I thought I already mentioned as much, but maybe I didn't. "You really are an interesting person Lumina."149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBhQFYBlUJa
149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnB3DtiNyVP
"Why, because I'm an alien?"149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnQSPTiu4k7
149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9NNqdARqEl
"Maybe... But there's a lot more to it than that. You're actually your own person. It's not that I thought you weren't, but... I guess seeing you like this just makes me believe in you even more. I can have faith that you are real, because everything you do or say isn't something I can expect; it's not some simulation or some hallucination."149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ46PdIEjCke
149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ33OssSSxRG
"I'm glad you think that way, but what made you decide to believe in me? You never did find any hard proof."149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq4U53lmoBW
149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAntQFojhCT
I know Lumina is happier with my decision, but I also know why she's asking. She wants to know the reason why I've chosen to embrace all of this, instead of tossing it aside like I was going to on day one. "Well, let's just say for now, hypothetically, that I am insane."149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsXax7TOhCN
149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaKKZmsXC85
"Okay..."149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDpvex2H5Ju
149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdQp8lVEmbf
"I find it far too difficult to believe that the human mind would be capable, even with my special imagination, to create an entire dynamic person out of some wild hallucination, to give me all of those crazy dreams and montrums that didn't make sense to me at the time, or to show me several more Altiri people with their own distinct personalities. Not to mention that this is no longer a forced meet-up between us. I could literally just shut all of this down and never see you again, if I really wanted to. I don't think hallucinations give us that kind of choice to make." Lumina is her own person. She's helped me and stayed friends with me time and time again, but not because some mysterious force in the world was making her do it. That fight we both almost had about mutual hatred for heathens showed me that Lumina was actually willing to abandon me if I didn't at least agree so some things. She has perfect freedom of her soul, as do I. Imaginary people don't have that; they run on a script.149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx98AvorB62
149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4oDxGAYhkU
"Are you maybe thinking about shutting it all down?"149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJYbjt7W9OZ
149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl12owZtP6M
"Hell no! You are my new friend now Lumina..." Ever since this started, she's been on my mind, Lumina or the crazy things that she told me. At first, I was only curious. But now, I want her here with me. I want her around me at all times. I've gotten used to her presence, and shutting it all down now accomplishes nothing. "Actually, it's been more than a month now since we met. I think that technically makes us best friends now. And Lumina? As your best friend, I want you to know that I would never-ever abandon you! I wouldn't do that for anybody I feel that way for, not in a million years! So there's no need to worry about stuff like that. You're stuck with me, whether I'm insane or not. That's what I've decided."149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZAdboB4Okj
149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3qfP0ty6CA
"Reed..." It threw me out of my self-inflicted trance of words, but I heard Lumina sniffle a bit, leading me to believe that she was suddenly crying a little. "I... I'm so happy that you feel that way about me."149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡer2rhBHuhS
149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6JKxqhrKhw
Rubbing the back of my head like it was all no big deal, I realized only now what I was saying. I meant every word, but I wasn't expecting a speech like that to flood through the gates of my heart. I've really never had a best-friend like her before, but from media and other things, I had a good sense for what a great friend should be like. I can't be embarrassed to call her my friend in any circumstance, because Lumina really is that awesome! "See? I told you so. People don't have to be space aliens or go through incredible circumstances to be friends to each other. We just need to try, and really mean it, together. If only everyone else had that mentality, I could have more friends, and the Altiri could purge everyone."149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD8jejO3R8q
149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP2ana2Djrp
"Well, two thousand people at the most... But a lot of humans are sick in the head Reed. I already know that you aren't crazy or insane. You're a good person, and something big happened to you."149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQr8U80A8dE
149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLV0prK2gJE
"You happened to me Lumina, and I'm not at all upset that it happened either. I think... I like things better this way." Yeah, keeping Lumina connected to me more often really has been paying off. I've been talking with her about random things for a month now, and I'm having more fun hanging out with her than with anyone else, despite the extra effort I put in with the other humans... But she just gets it or something.149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUtBxPa1qum
149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡETN8C2jLnc
Before I could continue my thought process, the school bells rang, signaling that it was time for me to go to my final class of the day. "And now I have to go to music class."149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3H3OUfDnFS
149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDIfYqz672L
"Maybe you could sing a song?"149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsLJMdvD5uf
149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVemUqTw5Me
Lumina has the jokes today. "I don't sing."149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5bPmg47cI8
149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhKiHDY4TQu
"Not even for me? You made me sing earlier when I didn't want to."149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc9Ep1lKUPx
149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOSJlfu4spl
Damn! I can't underestimate her for a single second! She got me! I can't say or do anything to get out of this situation either. I really can't sing. I've tried, and when I did, I was surprised the mirror didn't shatter right in front of me. "Whatever. I only play instruments, and not well when I do."149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1cvMF6pTdi
149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKxNSTAcOcs
"Now that I think about it, I've never seen you too often in your music class before, other than that one time."149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDIo7EeElDn
149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC2J2vPlTze
"Well today you can have all the special privileges. Spy on anybody you want through my eyes."149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNEhq1kONjD
149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2hb9eMqMbB
"You make it sound so creepy."149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoLVffTygT9
149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsJeCtUtNd5
"That's because it is." Lumina still doesn't exactly get the whole privacy thing, but she grew up in another world, so I'm just ignoring it for now. Altiri people are always so direct and assertive; maybe that's why they don't see anything wrong with spying. Still, if everybody on Earth is being watched by Altiri clairvoyants anyway, does the concept of privacy from them even matter anymore?
149Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd62QqhDyJG
