Chapter Theme Music: Advent 13: Purity of Memory ~ Solar Empire
<01/23/2012 - 07:27 | Link Street (Bus Stop), Marietta, GA, USA>
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In the span of a single day, the world around me turned into the world's most amazing ice land. From every angle I turned my ears, I could hear the stone cold winds around me howling in celebration. The faint glimmer of a winter storm gave bloom to the air without a cloud in the sky, while the grass and plants froze below us.183Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOu40ne3jGd
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My body shivered, trembled, and quaked in protest to the absence of heat around me in my wait, while I struggled to convince myself how wonderful this was through the discomfort. A push and a tug; my mind fought my body in this constant battle I've been part of before. Humans are not designed for extreme temperatures; such cold air hurts us, distorts us, and damages our peace of mind. However, in my situation, it is a necessary part of nature I cannot live without. I've grown to love the cold, to worship the freeze of the air around me, enough to ignore my pain, to ignore my discomfort, to ignore the reactions my body puts out. I huddled up like a snow ball trying to stay warm, knowing I'd still rather freeze than melt.183Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNpgGPoJqm6
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It's the paradox of my only desire, the reason I deny hating the cold like all other humans do, even though it's so hostile to my body. The temperature report for this morning currently had this air set to seven degrees, three if I convert to Nixus. My hands were certainly frozen solid, and my face was as brittle as stone, uncovered by any gloves or a scarf.183Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG8hnMSQX0o
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Right at this moment, with no effort at all, I can see into two worlds simultaneously, one layer behind the other. I can see my own familiar surrounds, and I can also see Lumina's world through her eyes. It's a power that I've been gifted with, given to by Lumina over a year ago. It's the most amazing thing I know to date. So, there's a very good reason why I fight to be in love with the very essence of the chilling cold, whether it's a gentle brisk or an Antarctic blizzard.183Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLG00zoakSm
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Without this freezing cold weather, I wouldn't be sharing my senses with Lumina right now. A connection made at a level above freezing would prevent me from seeing into her world, but go high enough in the warmth, and I can't speak to her at all. For that reason, nobody in this world will ever be able to appreciate the winter cold like I do. I know it's good for me. It's the only tool I have that will allow me to connect to my wife.183Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp8ZlGscw92
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"With all said and done, I'm still really freaking cold." I wished I had a way to warm up my hands at least. The laws of psionics say it has to be cold outside, but not that I have to be the one that freezes over. This has to be a new set record of cold in Georgia. Where did this amazing weather come from?183Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNuVwnsvsvN
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"Quit whining," Lumina deflected. "You're the one who wanted it to get this cold in the first place."183Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcauTHI34dq
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"I'm not whining! I was only stating a fact. I wish I at least had a better coat or something. But seriously, I'm glad that it's this cold." My words, while protected from shivering due to telepathy, didn't hide the natural response from my body to Lumina. She could very much feel my body's upset to the elements; I knew this because, she was thinking along those lines right now.183Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpO8D1VpeWi
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"You're allowed to hide how cold you really are, but don't be afraid to seek shelter if it's too much for you. Lately, I'm wondering where all the snow is. It can get so cold down there, but no snow at all?"183Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUji7NftoU8
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I knew she wasn't wrong. Adding a flurry of soft snow would be the best part of the day, if only I could get out of school to enjoy it. I would have agreed with her right then and there, but something else took my attention away.183Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO7PDNy2mjD
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While I waited on Lumina to finish her rambling, a whole other world flashed before me, replacing all I could visualize with some other place, whether my eyes remained closed or open. At first, I thought it might have been from Lumina, but the strange world totally vanished from my view almost as quickly as it appeared. Before I could react to the strangeness of the moment, the strange vision reconstructed itself all around me once again...183Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf8sLiEugkS
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I recognized the environment I suddenly found myself in, but the experience felt so surreal. I was no longer standing in my own body. My field of view and angle seemed higher than it should have been, as if I were floating upwards like a ghost to my surroundings. Several of the students were minding their own business, chatting comfortably on the seats of the usual school bus. That's about all I was able to discern before the entire world dissolved into nothingness instantly, peeling back the curtain of reality to place me right back at the bus stop. The moment only lasted for less than a full second, but the detail level I was getting confused and terrified me.183Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUZH1KwxvXB
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Once I thought that weirdness was over, the flashes happened again, once then twice in succession. I suddenly saw the interior of my own bus as if I were a spectator there, while the viewing angle radically shifted from the front of the bus to the back, then over to the middle again, far too quickly for me to gripe with the situation. I wanted to do something or say something, but the experience alone had me too entranced to react. Right before the sensory shift shut down again, the viewing angle shifted over to Nae, who was sitting close to the window with her head in her hands. After that, I was at the bus stop again, finally free to react.183Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoHpzMBIMxo
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I didn't understand what the hell I just saw, but I was totally certain it wasn't coming from Lumina. She was still blabbering on about something I chose to ignore, as if she didn't even notice what happened just now. I quickly started to turn myself left, right, all around to see if it would happen again. My heart started pounding in my chest from the confusion. I could have sworn I just saw myself on the bus, but that should have been impossible!183Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4Z9e1tarUo
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"—which is why... Reed! Are you even listening to me?" Finally noticing my nervous shifting pace, Lumina wanted to prove how spaced out I was to her tiny rant.183Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMpUg0ZqLk8
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"What was that, Lumina?"183Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz4JE1qQxbF
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"What was what? What are you talking about?"183Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8gorFa1PVm
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"Did... Did you see it?" She had to have seen what I just saw. We're connected by telepathy, which means anything I see, she should also see, right? I hope so, because I don't know how to explain what that weird flash was about.183Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSr6Jc7rjLJ
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"What are you looking for right now?"183Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1RrBZEYKhg
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No way! How was Lumina not aware of that just now? Did I imagine the whole thing? I wanted to blame it on some benign fluke, but the moment I thought to do so, the weird visions of the bus interior happened again, lasting for a much shorter time than it did before. The flashes were so quick and detailed, it forced my left hand to clasp the side of my head and groan, even though it didn't actually hurt. "What the hell? How can you not see that? Where was I just now?"183Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd0bnGNS6bd
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"... Reed? I think you might want to find a place to warm up in. Freezing to death is a real thing you know."183Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBZck2hbEwo
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"Stop it already! I'm not crazy!" But if I'm really within my own sanity, what was that stuff just I saw? It all happened so fast, most of the details are unintelligible, but I get the feeling I was seeing the inside of the bus I was about to get on, the same bus that I can hear coming right now in the distance. If Lumina didn't sense a moment of that, what does it mean?183Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwgpu2vQQqm
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In a quick recap, I reminded myself that through telepathy, it's nearly impossible for two people to share visual data, if that information either comes from daydreaming or imagination... So then I must have just imagined it, somehow, without even trying to. It felt different though, like I was actually there, or that I was supposed to be part of that moment. Man, if I can't tell the difference between imagination and reality, then I really am going crazy.183Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvyY2ysPQRY
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"Look, I don't know what you saw, but I should have seen it too if it were real. I can tell by the connection strength alone that it's cold enough out there to freeze your own brain. Just take it easy and hide inside your jacket or something."183Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrK4vof8KMB
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I could hear the concern from her voice easily, but I was a little dismayed to know she didn't share the vision with me. Since it wasn't happening anymore, I decided to just take her word for it. I wasn't going to curl up into a jacket ball though; there would be no point now that the school bus was already coming down this very road. "Maybe my brain is a bit scrambled. You know already that I'm no morning person." Despite this fact, I felt as awake as ever, mainly due to the insane chill outside and the slight boost of natural energy I'm getting from Lumina's telepathy.183Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH3XbQN39o3
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"You are the way you are. Mornings are just not your specialty."183Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡetbow2869T
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I decided to keep talking to her as the bus parked in front of us, opening its single bay doors with a squeak. If I keep my mind focused on Lumina, I can ensure I don't feel sleepy or sluggish. "I've been awake for more than one hour today already, so I should be fine already."183Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxDDhZSfda8
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"Yes, but for you, this is still the morning time."183Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdCmWoaBfBM
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"Huh?" I reacted on instinct to seeing something that hurt me through sympathy. I was already about to sit down in the usual seat, but I wasn't expecting to see Nae pouting by herself. Her face was in her hands as she leaned towards the cold metal steel of the frame by the window, ignoring the presence of everybody. I forced myself to sit down anyway, knowing I would block the isle if I didn't, but I was too curious to leave her alone. "Nae?"183Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH9JZ0aYUFn
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"Uuuughmm!" She didn't even lift her head, instead muffling her warning to me, a warning to not ask her what was so wrong.183Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnJq0vQGQ3N
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I knew it wasn't a headache, since I have too much experience to not know. Something was eating at her; even though she wasn't crying yet, I felt it was only a matter of time. "What's wrong? You look so down."183Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhXEkOxeDFk
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"Leave me alone," she grumbled without moving.183Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWIrwULOaI4
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For the moment, I did as she asked, sitting awkwardly next to Nae while neither one of us exchanged a word. The most talkative person I knew was totally silent and mute right now. The moment was so unpleasant and weird.183Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGyKRTyF3Uz
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"Somebody isn't having as good a day as you."183Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMqNngd8CuN
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"Yeah, well that won't last long." I may not be best friends with Nae just yet, but I won't sit by while she sulks about god knows what! She's cheered me up more times than I can count, so it's time I returned the favor. "Come on Nae. You want to know what I'm thinking right now?"183Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ8EpYaDtgL
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I waited and waited, but Nae didn't move at all. She just sat there curled into a ball, breathing deeply like it was the end of the world. I wasn't sure what got her down this much, but I wasn't willing to ask directly, in fear it might make things worse. "Damn. Not even the Arby's slogan can tickle your pickle."183Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbji18tYfdY
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"Reed, what did I say about the way you—"183Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAkQ8JY3kQe
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"Stop it Lumina. I told you before, you're missing too much to know how someone like Nae would react to that. You don't know much about her." It's not like I kept such information from Lumina on purpose. There were countless times now where I enjoyed some of my playful experiences on the bus with Nae, maximizing our use of time since we have no classes together. The Arby's joke normally gets one of us every time. No matter how serious someone is or who they are, if ever they ask Nae what she's thinking, she's thinking Arby's. I follow suit to keep that trend alive, but if that won't make her crack a smile, it must be really bad today. "You don't want to talk about it, do you?"183Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSSqBtVwz2h
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"Nhm-hm." Nae nodded her head, refusing the very idea of talking to me about any of her personal life.183Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFrnwumaBst
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I easily respected that privacy, but I knew I still had to try something. The only thing I can do is try to make her laugh. "Not even about Seba-stain? Or Clorox? What about Juice?"183Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbLxk8Z2wGH
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"I really hope for all our sakes that you're using some kind of coded language." Without the reference, I'm sure Lumina thinks I possibly have brain damage, but I'm not focused on her right now.183Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4lbO1hXOE3
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After a few seconds, I saw Nae lift an eyebrow, slowly turning her head away from her warm hands to meet my face. It was obvious she was trying her best not to show any reaction to my reference, but she was already forming a decent smile. A second later, she started laughing at the reminder of how I've renamed all the characters to our current choice of books. "Seba-stain!"183Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRkgPkED2iL
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"The fuck? That worked?!"183Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyDrn6NXDmz
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Ignoring Lumina's surprise, I kept my focus on Nae, who needed to cheer up more than anyone else right now. "Aaah. I knew either Sebastian or Arby's would work." I knew it was very little help compared to whatever she must be going through, but I also knew I was willing to help Nae with anything. The thought of being able to help her at all made me much happier already. "Look, I know whatever is bothering you must all be personal stuff. You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to, but we've got forty long, boring minutes until we get to school. So I really won't mind listening, if you want me to."183Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4P8zpI17Y9
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Nae didn't say anything to me for a while, but her demeanor changed significantly while she stared at me with uncertainty. She must have been trying to read through me like I was crystal glass for what felt like ten long seconds, but I kept my smile on, willing to hear or not to hear any part of her day. "Okay... Yeah... Okay." Now energetic and certain what she wanted to do, Nae finally agreed to talk about it with me.183Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAV7ZAF3OJD
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"I see you're getting better at this whole, talking thing."183Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO0vYW5RIh6
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"Yes, I know." I pushed down the deeper sadness I've always felt inside from that topic. I really was getting much better at talking to people about things in general. Still, the one most important topic of discussion I wanted to bring up was still locked behind an indestructible fence, and I threw away the key.183Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBixVwkldWw
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"You really do make a good friend Reed."183Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2reQTqFxmo
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I was trying to listen to Nae talk about what got her down today, which wasn't hard, but I knew I wouldn't be able to bolster two conversations at the same time. "Stick around after we arrive Lumina. I have something to discuss with you after we get to school." If I didn't tell her this, I was sure she would phase the connection like normal, all in effort to fast forward and skip the boring classes I had to be part of.183Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP8xUsTcqJs
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"Okay."
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<01/23/2012 - 08:04 | Saffrin Middle School (Halls), Austell, GA, USA>183Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuAQ9LAk8QW
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I took my time walking down the usual hallway of the school. There was plenty on my mind already. Luckily, what Nae told me wasn't something too earth-shattering to recover from, and she seemed to feel better after telling me all about it. "Well Lumina, it's unfortunately time for the first class of my day."183Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKQcPJRNGi9
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"You know what they say. One class a day keeps the sanity at bay."183Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoVPx1aixVL
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"Er, okay. Don't know where you heard that, but it is fairly clever."183Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPzQ77vOI2T
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I could barely keep up with what Lumina was saying today. It felt like my mind was already accelerating so quickly, all without much control, generating whatever background distracting thoughts it wanted to. I found the situation normal enough, when some incredible surge of awakening montrum hit me from out of nowhere. I gasped loudly without meaning to, my shoes totally stopped dead in the hallway. My eyes were wide open with my mouth agape, like I had come to an all-powerful epiphany, despite being in the dark.183Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuguBQxC9As
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Before I could figure out what was happening, the world around be transformed just as it had before; a single and quick flash of light replaced all of my surroundings with a totally different environment from where I stood before. Instead of the school hallway, I was now standing outside in some well-maintained grassy field. It didn't take long for me to realize that I was still somehow on school grounds, as many other students surrounded my area.183Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5AWMtipS9l
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"What the—" It was hard for me to speak, but the effort didn't shatter the experience of where I was. Unlike before, the flashes didn't force me to blink in and out of reality. I remained where I was, in this new place that felt so familiar. After having enough time to analyze all I could see around me, I knew this was one of the fields that our science class uses. I could also see most of the teenagers I recognized from my own science class working on some kind of group project. Of course, when I made the effort to turn my gaze or try seeing something else, I wasn't able to.183Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡByNgvxltS3
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My angle of view was fixed, forced by some unknown presence controlling where I was and what I saw. The world flashed brightly twice more, keeping me in the general vicinity of the field, while changing the viewing angle more than once. On one occasion, I was looking down from a height too far for any person to reach normally, and after the third flash, I noticed that each group was writing on paper while holding meter sticks. From the corner of that view, I could also see Ms. Ray Ray, chaperoning her own science assignment.183Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYYeGNSIhA4
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Everything happened so fast and intense that I couldn't snap out of this or stop it in any way. Another flash kicked off, showing an angle looking right over Ashly's left arm, as she dropped the meter stick on the ground in a precarious manner. Then, the entire space around me suddenly sped up, as if being fast-forwarded through time, but the angle of vision focused entirely on the meter sticks. One after the other, meter sticks started dropping over and over again, being picked up to repeat the cycle. At one point, Ashly then took the meter stick from the tip of her finger and spun it around, though it wasn't what she was supposed to do by the looks of everyone else...183Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM1QUBOhxQ4
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As confused as I was, I tried not to move much, the decision rewarding when I suddenly found myself back in the hallway, as if none of it had ever happened. Only a few random students were giving me glances as they passed by, but not enough to suggest I was acting weird while that strange vision took control of my mind.183Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBY97gDeeW8
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I finally let myself exhale a sheer cold breath of fear, shuttering enough for Lumina to elevate her worry for me.183Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSQB0eKF8Im
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"Reed! What's wrong?"183Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWbyISJIPqb
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I wish I knew that myself. Whatever that was, it was just like before, at the bus stop... Only, this was stronger than before; it lasted longer. I got to make out some of what I saw, even though it made no sense. How did I suddenly end up in a totally different area? It couldn't be my imagination this time, but it wasn't reality either. "It's happening again."183Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2ZZXxsq1O8
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"What's happening?" Lumina had every right to be confused and concerned, but it did me no good for her to directly ask me over and over what I was dealing with.183Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0857JsxlQ6
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"I saw something, something that doesn't make sense, something that never happened... Meter sticks? Something about science class and meter sticks..." I stood still in the hallway leaning on the wall, unwilling to walk to class until I had a grip on whatever was going on with me today.183Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMHICZ0Oedz
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"Meter sticks?"183Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbNuxVsPZH7
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"Lumina. Be honest with me. Are you absolutely certain that you witnessed none of that?"183Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe22qww14VX
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"I... I didn't. Just tell me what this is about."183Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuoAc0tTqRz
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"I don't know. None of this makes any sense!" I covered my head from the top, trying to kill the stress building inside. Now was the worse time of my life to start losing my mind. "It was like I was there, somewhere else nearby. But I wasn't really there, you know? It was only for a moment, but I wasn't in any control of what I saw. It wasn't a daydream. It wasn't imagination either. If it was, then I'm royally screwed."183Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9cucUnfB6q
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"Not daydream, nor imagination... Ugh, wait a sec! You can't..." Lumina froze, for reasons I didn't understand. The level of shock that reached her only confused me, tough she suddenly seemed desperate to figure this out. "Are... Are you using Clair-abilities?"183Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRyMX6uz5WY
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"Clair-abilities?" What in the name of outer space is she going on about? No, Lumina. I refuse to believe this has anything to do with all that weird alien crap. I can't live such an abnormal life to just start getting involved in more impossible things.183Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuPZu8oHAZR
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"Claircognizance? Clairvoyance?"183Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBUgH6XlqKp
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"Clairvoyance?" I blurted out the wild things she was saying, starting with the only phrase I was somewhat familiar with. I had to cover my mouth and remind myself that I was surrounded by students still heading to their classes, though I had time to figure this out. "Don't get all sci-fi on me. You know full well I don't have the capacity for that. And even if I did, I wouldn't know the first thing about using extra-sensory abilities." I knew I was right, but the idea she planted forced me to conceive of the possibility, considering what I just saw. Could that have been clairvoyance? No, of course not.183Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnlELDbDY1H
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"Don't be so quick to dismiss it Reed. It actually is possible for you to use clairvoyant powers and other similar abilities."183Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAJEYfhm7lO
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Eh? I had to repeat what I heard in my mind as she told me that, more than once just to confirm I heard her right. When I realized the value behind what she was saying, it all hit me at once. "Whaaaaaaat?!" Say it isn't so! What does Lumina mean I have the power for extra-sensory abilities?! Didn't she tell me earlier that humans don't have that capacity at all? Why the hell did she not explain this to me before?! Why did she not bother to mention this sooner?!183Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJsALZ0dkYe
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The commotion I generated around me snapped me from the clutches of my trance, as I now realized the minor mistake I just made in expressing my surprise to the world. The entire hallway of girls and boys were staring right at me in silence, confused by why I shouted abruptly into the dark abyss of the universe. "I mean..." "What?" I couldn't blame myself for it, but the embarrassment burned pinkness into my face, as I forced myself to hang my head low and speed-walk far away from the area.183Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiwqhWXD4Su
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"Smooth."183Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtmJV3kHpW1
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"You didn't even tell me to sit down for that one. I blame you. Man, I hope nobody who knows me saw that." Even after all this time, I guess I'm still capable of messing up a bit. I have telepathy, but sometimes, I don't use it when I should.183Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDjCPo5gIRH
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"It doesn't seem as likely that you would just randomly start to develop new psychic powers on your own without any training or explanation. But maybe, you're finally peaking."183Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8CaGKhHudh
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"Peaking? What does that mean? Please Lumina, I can't be left in the dark about this. Is it really possible for a human to just develop ESP powers out of the blue?" If that's really what's happening to me, it would be totally amazing, but also terrifying at the same time.183Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsDkZXaVRdM
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"I told you before already, it is possible. Our Scryers believe it's even possible for humans who have not been purged, but those who have been purged have a much greater chance to develop one of any the clair-senses. Because of you purge, your psionic aptitude has been raised significantly. But if you're peaking right now, I'll dare say anything could happen."183Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh3vB82aWoE
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None of this is real. I must be dreaming, or maybe I'm in some weird story book with a writer who just likes to mess around at my expense. Finding out Lumina was an alien was shocking enough, but now I'm possibly developing new psychic powers? Lumina? Just what kind of impossible power is this purge?183Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS5F3tYDzNZ
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"I'll explain it once more for you. Psionic peaking refers to a phenomena among our purged targets, in which their psionic potential and psionic aptitudes reaches the absolute highest period in that human's lifetime. For every human, even among those with insufficient psionic potential for a purge, their psionic aptitudes rise to strong levels at age ten, and accelerate sometime between the ages of 11 and 18. Not long after that age range, the psionic aptitude gradually becomes lower as that person ages through life, never to peak again. It's one of the reasons we choose such young targets for the purge these days. Back then, we Altiri were not keen to this knowledge."183Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqdIfcJrVrx
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"I don't understand what this has to do with me. Yeah, because of what I know, because I've been purged, I'm an active scion, a person with usable psionic abilities. But I thought my powers were limited only to the telepathy you gave me."183Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXohK08szuf
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"At first, they were. I purged you when you were thirteen years old, but based on what I've seen after the purge, that specific point in time was not your peaking period. When you reach your peaking period, all of your psionic potential can become unlocked in an instant, giving you access to new abilities, if your aptitude is high enough. You're fifteen years old now, which is right in the median range of where people like you might normally hit the peaking phase. Reed? You might be invoking clairvoyance by pure accident without even realizing it!"183Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNGMgySIWKB
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"You're kidding!" I must be the one joking though. Lumina would never joke around about something this serious... What I saw felt so real. What I witnessed felt so certain, like there was some otherworldly force telling me that what I witnessed was for sure going to happen, if it hasn't happened already. However, if I assume it's all nonsense, how in the world do I explain what happened to be back there? I certainly wasn't in control of whatever weird vision flashes were coming my way. Still, if I really am using some kind of clairvoyance without realizing it...183Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfoqdDk4R3B
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The mere thought of it freaked me out in more ways than one. Some part of me knew how exciting and cool it would be if I really could invoke shiny new psychic powers. Another part of me saw all the downsides to such a situation, like the fact that I wasn't in control of the invocations, assuming that's what this really was. What would my entire life look like if I randomly started remote viewing weird places without meaning to? Furthermore, what kind of person would I be with such an amazing power?183Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM2efbYpfPx
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Clairvoyance, remote viewing, the third eye; I've heard enough rumors and mystic stories about the phenomena, but never realized it could be true for humans. Doesn't that mean I could use such an ability to view into Lumina's world from all the way down here?183Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNd8vTXUS8f
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"I don't kid about these things... Tell me then. What did you see?"183Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfKtHXwAnfw
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"I can't be too sure what I saw Lumina. It all didn't make much sense, but I think I was witnessing some kind of science project in progress, outside in the field, with Ms. Ray Ray. Let's hypothetically assume for a moment that what I saw was something that is supposed to happen later. How do I go about proving it?"183Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIcUIE1IvJy
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"Wait patiently and see if anything you witnessed gets repeated in real life. That's the only sure way to know."183Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFjZuFnBOZ1
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So then that's what I have to do? Wait until something stands out? I wanted to deny that this was happening to me at all, but the curious opportunity of a lifetime came to mind. If clairvoyant powers are real, and if I have such powers, it would be proof beyond all doubt that Lumina and the Altiri really do exist, proof I might be able to leverage in this world towards any human who ever doubted me! I don't know if it will be that easy though. It doesn't seem likely or possible for me to suddenly tap into other psionic powers. "The only way to know..."183Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9LnxSiALU9
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"Reed...?"183Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbeL1UywBE0
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For once, I couldn't read what Lumina was feeling right now, though I was having enough difficulty controlling my own breathing and heart rate. Even if I found this to be amazing or exciting, it's still crazy and downright freaky. "What is it?"183Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ63Ai5Uy4FE
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"Nothing. I just... I wasn't expecting this. Your psionic powers are getting stronger!"183Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ00K2utpYF4
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Yeah, now she sounds too excited to sit still. Guess I should have seen that one coming. I figured Lumina would at least realize how crazy this situation would be if it were real, but instead, she's overjoyed by the idea of me gaining new abilities. "Listen. I thought only the purge could raise psionic aptitude and give people weird powers. But the purge signal is gone now. It did its job and left, so I shouldn't get any stronger now, right?"183Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPqnVpBqRdK
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"Wrong. Even after the purge signal fades, it can further increase aptitude, up to a point I suppose. But that's not the only thing that can help raise your potential. Practicing with your active psionic powers, just talking to me as often as you do will make you stronger in that regard. Remember what I said about psionic atrophy? If you stopped using telepathy for about nine or ten consecutive months, the ability to invoke it can disappear forever. But if you practice with it more often, project psionic signals frequently and successfully, you strengthen control and current potential with that ability. A psionic power is like a muscle. Of course, many years from now, this peaking phase will sink back down, down to normal levels anyway."183Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNnvgZtdYh4
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"Interesting..." For once, I fully understood what she was talking about. Lumina and I did have a conversations about psionic aptitude and psionic atrophy in the past. I just forgot about it until now. Basically, I'm going through psionic puberty, or something like that. If what she says is true, and I am developing a new power, I can actually make the ability stronger if I choose to focus on it, assuming that's even possible... "Today will be very interesting, Lumina."183Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡikjiRtCEwx
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"And you were worried that first period would be boring." Though sarcastic as ever, Lumina sounded so energetic and fired up. I had to let her deal with this in her own way. Though rest assured, I'm the victim here. I don't know if I can prove that any of this is really happening, but if it is, may God have mercy on my soul.
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