It was sadly ironic that my life included such a stereotypical flaw within it, the one of a beleaguered main character who struggled to save a sick family member.
What hurt even more was that it was my fault and negligence that such had occurred. I won’t go into all the details, but needless to say, my younger sister had been afflicted with a mutated disease, one which had proved surprisingly resistant to treatment amid the flourishing medical advancements of today.
The guilt brought on by my failure to protect her, was the catalyst which changed the course of my life. Switching my early college major to study pharmaceutical botany was just the start of it. . .
The global corporation Millennial Enterprises which stood at the top of medical advancements was my aim for future employment.
Previously before I turned 20, I had studied architectural engineering as my major due to my love and fascination for new and old construction. In my opinion, the essence of a well-designed home or place of business can create a remarkable synergy within the occupants and patrons. There was a hard limit to what technology could or was allowed to do, when it comes to original artistic renditions of various emotions and beauty. Many creation artists had been grateful when AI development had been curtailed more strictly along the lines of restricting the prevalent use of stolen content.
Unfortunately, life happened.
Following a fateful trip to Hawaii with my family as I took a break from college courses, during a time which should have been one of fun and joy, a terrible accident led to my sister’s minor injury and subsequent terrifying illness. Being the protective older brother that I was, I took the blame deeply to heart and suffered a near mental break down shortly after returning to school. The guilt and hopelessness of the situation had become too much to bear, especially after seeing what became of her in response to the disease rampaging through her comatose body.
After the accident, my driving force was to find and create a cure to my sister’s illness and calm the enflamed lines of karma and guilt which haunted me. I willfully took on this burden and knew I would need to be absolved of it before I could safely return to my original path of pursuing architectural artistry.
.
.
.
My task, upon researching into it was daunting to say the least. Were it not for two particular factors, I likely would have wallowed in depressive misery and never stepped forward to tackle this behemoth undertaking.
A glimmer of hope in the midst of my blackest despair came in the form of a random science article. . . It spoke of how many new and derivative plants and other organisms had resulted from the effects of the war.
Based off of history and older generation stories of fact and fiction regarding nuclear fallout, one might imagine radiation poisoning being the greatest factor.
Thankfully, deadly mutations such as tumors, irradiated flesh, poisoned ground water, and zombies, among other fears of nuclear war, did not achieve any real level of notoriety.
There was a distinct absence of prolonged radiation sickness in the aftermath of the war. Most victims either died quickly, or had their symptoms cleared up by the latest in medical advancements. Instead, there were fully living and thriving organisms which had undergone various mutations from the fallout and which still found a place for themselves among the stabilizing ecology of Earth.
This led me to an epiphany of sorts. The saying “Mother Nature finds a way” struck me in that moment as I considered the origin of my sister’s disease in this new light. For every illness there is a potential cure.
Prior to the arrival of Millennial Enterprises, many diseases still lacked a curative treatment plan. However, after its reveal, near every conceivable disease had been countered by the rapid development of its many medical advancements. The situation where my sister’s disease proved resistant to its modern-day medicine, alluded to the possibility that the answer may be found within the newly mutated flora which had not yet been fully assessed.
This is what led to my change in college major.
.
.
.
There was, however, something more to me. It was something far more personal which kept me from floundering in despair at the impossibility of it all.
And that would be my secret ability.
A gift is what I would call it. . ., even if at times it felt like a heavy burden.
Although it came from no one or nowhere that I could specifically point to, I could almost guess it to be an inheritance of sorts. I knew of no one else who could have wielded such an ability save for perhaps my grandfather.
He had never mentioned it before in person. And yet, the saved songs I had received from him as part of his material inheritance once he passed on, led me to believe that he too might have been blessed to be a vessel to the gift which I now held.
For as long as I could remember, starting among the earliest years of childhood, I could stimulate a unique power or feeling within me.
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
Presenting itself frequently in the form of rushing chills and warmth as it cascaded through my body; This feeling, seemingly supernatural in nature, could stir up the mightiest of emotions and offer the greatest of comfort to me in times of emotional turmoil and need.
The vast majority of the music which I had inherited from my grandfather, set itself apart from the current popular music as it was able to deeply stimulate the feelings of my gift. I was on rare occasion able to find something new which could also stir such powerful sensations within. However, most music fell far short of being able to elicit these remarkable sensations.
When my ability was stimulated or engaged, be it through music, breath taking scenery, emotional fluctuations, and other means, it would often reach a point where I would develop a deep soul gnawing desire to do something great and share those feelings with another.
Yearning to find a similar soul who could feel and experience such things, I carefully researched online for any signs of others who had experienced similar sensations. I never did find any definitive proof of such. What I did find, however, convinced me to bury any thoughts of disclosing knowledge of this gift to others deep within my heart.
.
.
.
Individuals, somewhat like myself who had an open mind and an inquisitive heart, could discern the whispers of forbidden information hidden between the lines of conversation. Those somewhat in the know, only alluded to things they felt were best left unsaid. The more ignorant or daring might briefly raise a shout, and yet their voice or podcast was frequently silenced when it contained just a little too much detail. It wasn’t rare for them to go missing or lose their own life amidst an unfortunate accident soon after.
The remainder of the public were left to cultivate paranoid theories which few dared to even whisper about.
What I had managed to determine, was that beyond the more simple and seemingly harmless transformation of certain plant-life, there were growing stories of animals and even people who had become affected by mutations stemming from the war.
Mainstream media and the re-established government organizations of America did not publicize such. They even stamped down on the rare small time media outlets which touched upon such topics.
In my opinion, this was nothing like the disappearances of tyrannical gang leaders and drug lords amid the early return of structured society long before I was born. Stories of survivors during those times spoke with pride for having lived to witness such incidents which brought about a more stable and healthy return to societal growth.
No. This had darker undertones to it, wrapped in nefarious secrets. I don’t believe it was the same group or individual to facilitate or plan out these two types of disappearances.
Seemingly random people and animals would go missing between one day and the next, never to be seen again. The softly spoken rumors which accompanied those disappearances, predominantly included claims of it being those who demonstrated signs or made statements of having supernatural abilities or various mutations.
All it took was for a friend, family member, or random person in public to make a concerned call to the police, public school, or other government run agency. Shortly after such a call, the target of their concern would frequently disappear.
I was terrified by the thought of being killed or swept away into the unknown, simply for being different from others. As such, once I discovered the likely validity of these rumored claims, any discussion or hint of my unique ability was silenced and kept close to my heart. . .
Time passed by as I continued my new studies in pharmacology.
.
.
.
Now, at 22 years old, I had yet to delve deeply into the botany side of pharmacology on the institutional level. Seeing as I had only just completed my bachelor’s degree, the next step would be to start specializing in my field. Having achieved my initial foundation, I believed that I had learned enough to approach those whom I believed could provide the greatest aid in my endeavors. It was my corporate idol, Millennial Enterprises.
Their response to my reaching out to them for a scholarship and a potential extern or internship resulted in something vastly outside my expectations.
Decades after having released the necessary technology to design full-immersion virtual-reality, they were finally stepping into the market themselves. This was much to the dismay of the entertainment sector!
In reply to my inquiry regarding financial and educational support for my continued education, they invited me to participate in their own created virtual world.
This truly stumped me!
In the past, I most likely would have leapt at such an opportunity. However, I had some serious reservations about it. Like most children who had access, I spent much of my childhood as an avid participant in the virtual reality gaming industry. As time passed, I eventually become disillusioned to its enticing call. For despite my many endeavors to the contrary, it proved incapable of expanding upon the development of my own unique ability.
Up to this point, virtual reality still maintained a single and terrible flaw. While it was capable of seamlessly integrating and incorporating various styles of martial arts and other measurable achievements possible in reality, magic was an entirely different matter. Many platforms did well to mask this flaw amid spells and spell circles which required mathematical calculations, certain hand movements, and other mechanical triggers. This allowed for a great diversity of development in the fantasy genre.
What it could not do, as I had tested on those platforms, was create something unique or magical, simply from remaining still and allowing my inner energy to flow or rampage about.
The technology was incapable of reading my will or thoughts as I sought to manifest even a hint of my ability in those games.
Having ones hopes dashed against the very real rocks of failure countless times can be daunting by itself. Add to that an absence of even a hint of progress or solace as encouragement, and it tends to build up resentment and an aversion to a reminder of those failures. Now that I was being invited back to participate in such a wearisome endeavor, I was originally quite resistant to the idea. Returning to the world of virtual reality for anything other than relevant education and communication felt like a betrayal to myself and my sister.
My aversion to virtual reality then became moot. Returning to it in order to explore their world became the singular requirement for financial aid and consideration for further collaboration. . .
Upon agreeing to their request, things progressed rather rapidly.
It wasn’t long before I found myself suited up in a uniquely designed avatar and thrust into an intricate world of fantasy and mystery.