With glint in his eyes, Naathan replied. “I believe I have some ideas that might aid you.” Pressing some dials on his workstation, it caused the myriad displays of scenery to disappear and then form into a graph chart with a thick mass of constantly shifting and flowing lines.
“Prior to your adventuring within the Virtual reality, I had no in-depth records of you to reference for the sake of discussion. However, since your first use of the capsule, I have been able to record the brain waves and other physiological markers of you and the other Travelers.”
Pointing at various parts of the chart which appeared to shift backwards, he went on to say. “Comparing your readings in the early stages against those of the others, your brain waves were already in the top five percentile regarding certain markers. However, there was honestly little to go off of in the early stages.”
Naathan pointed again to the graph, causing it to shift forwards until I saw a singular line spike out from amidst the surrounding ones. It then settled for a moment before again spiking even higher. Multiple times this happened before the graph froze in a single position where the line shot beyond its registry.
At this, he expounded upon what I was seeing. “It wasn’t until you began assimilating elemental stones that things began to drastically change.”
Looking at me pointedly he continued. “Even when compared with others who had assimilated those elemental stones, you proved to be quite the outlier. Several parts of your brain became far more active and stimulated than any other individuals involved in this program. This heightened activity was particularly demonstrated in the Nucleus Accumbens, Insula, and the Thalamus. There were other notable areas which became excited as well, yet for the sake of expediency we will skip over those.”
His eyes then bore into mine with severity before speaking on. “Just prior to your involuntary ejection from the virtual reality and subsequent reawakening in the capsule, there was an immeasurable spike of activity in your brain and body. Energy patterns which had never before been recorded burst chaotically from you. To be honest and based off the readings, you were experiencing something far more intense than a grand mal seizure. Following that, all readings just suddenly stopped, as if you were dead.”
Shaking his head in exasperation, he continued. “Even in the virtual reality, you were temporarily lost to our senses in something that was not meant to be accessed by any Traveler. I still cannot fully understand the readings of what transpired, except to say it was exceedingly dangerous wherever you went and whatever it was that happened to you. After several minutes, the sensors monitoring your body in the capsule sounded the highest of warnings.”
He again became silent for a moment, as if striving to find the right words. “Whatever it was you did there, crossed over into your real body and broke something in the process.” My breath hitched as he continued. “The limited analysis we were able to perform, hinted at a natural protection present on all living things, to now be specifically absent in you.”
Confusion and terror filled me at his words! What did this mean!?
With all that I had experienced up till now, my heart felt on the verge of giving out as Naathan spoke of me being broken?! That along with my current symptoms had me petrified in fear. Had I permanently lost my precious gift?!
Regret and sympathy clouded his eyes as he watched me take in his words.
.
.
.
Despair welled up within me, which echoed against the small flashes of unending darkness that I could vaguely remember. Only a tendril of hope, which came in the form of a memory of a whispered promise from a beautiful woman, helped keep my mind firm and not lose all optimism.
Shoring up my determination with that tendril of hope and forcing out the words in my mind, I asked. “Can it be fixed?”
Naathan appeared to struggle a moment with words, before replying. His eyes flashed through several expressions before settling on sheer determination and severity. “What I tell you now, cannot be repeated outside of this place.”
Despite the field of energy separating the two of us, I could feel through sight alone the conveyed importance of his request, and so I nodded with verbal, “I promise.”
Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.
Barely waiting for me to agree, he rushed on with his explanation. “The limited offer avatar which you and other rare Travelers succeeding in acquiring, is a uniquely designed entity tailored specifically to your genetic coding and other factors when exposed to enough mana. Unlike the vast majority of Travelers who chose to customize their own avatar based off their preferences, your 14-year-old avatar is what you would have become had you been born in a world saturated with magic, based on your genetic coding.”
Much of my despair receded as my heart raced at this revelation! Again, I had to clamp down on my power at the rush of this revelation! Despite such, I could not fully contain my excitement.
The young man I wished to become in reality was who I’d truly be!? This was of course done with the inclusion of magic, which was NOW returning!!
Before I could formulate another question on the tip of my tongue, Naathan continued. “All the avatars, both unique and general had certain parameters put in place which protected them from undue influence in the Virtual reality. Yours in particular, appeared naturally resistant to those parameters and protections.”
“I believe, that with enough time and exposure to magic, that your body here on Earth would have become similarly changed as that of your avatar. My theory, is that your virtual reality avatar is more properly attuned with whatever has happened to you here and is thusly better equipped to handle it.”
Stepping behind his desk, he typed several strokes before returning to stand before me. “I have just lifted the restrictions on your capsule and account, so that you may spend an unlimited duration within the virtual reality while we strive to figure things out on our end. Death will still require a 48-hour real time lock-out period, but I will create other accommodations for such incidents.”
Pride shone in his eyes as he then proclaimed. “This knowledge has not yet been released to the general public, but our capsules are able to easily maintain extended dives into the virtual reality. Through use of nanobot technology, all bodily functions such as nutrition intake, waste expulsion, and retention of tissue integrity are able to be maintained by nanites and stored nutrients.”
“Although you may take longer breaks from the virtual reality if you desire, all that will be required of you is to continue the once weekly short report of your experiences there.”
“Uh. . .” The logical and responsible part of my mind had a bit of a short circuit as I registered his words. “I have a full-time job that I work at.” Admittedly, I was in no shape to work my scheduled shifts and would likely run out of sick leave, but it was a very important concern.
Shaking his head with a light chuckle, Naathan added. “As your symptoms are a direct result of actions taken within the virtual reality, it is under our purview as per the contract you signed to fully aid you in recovery, as well as any other measures we deem necessary to return you to baseline condition.”
A vivid smirk then crossed his face. “As the CEO of this company, I have full authority to delegate such aid as I see fit. Seeing as you are such a promising candidate to face the looming challenges this world will undergo; it is in our best interests to hold nothing back.”
Giving a slightly apologetic bow, he continued. “I have already contacted your place of employment and arranged a replacement for you for as long as you need to recover. Additionally, it has been determined that your place of residency is not conducive to your current situation, as any semi-close contact with another individual without the precautions of the inhibiting field will effectively incapacitate you.”
Quirking up an eyebrow he asked. “Would you be amenable to moving to a more remote location for reduced stimulus?”
“Haha!” I had to laugh at the oddness of this situation. Admittedly, a tinge of hysteria may have snuck in. I never could have imagined such a scenario arising from my actions. To be honest, if I could overlook my current suffering, I felt very grateful for this opportunity.
The prospect of having a fresh slate with which to start anew was immensely enticing. I know many who have wished to be struck by the stereotypical ‘truck-kun’ so that they could escape their current circumstances and be granted a fresh start elsewhere.
In life, we are admittedly granted many fresh slate opportunities with various levels of newness. A new job, partner, residence, child, etc. Each of these can be both gratifying and daunting as we seek to not repeat the mistakes of the past and make our life anew.
Too often, life altering mistakes are still made amidst a stagnant environment and an antagonistic reputation. Some things such as negative impressions, toxic relationships, and certain past mistakes or bad choices can be left behind as you head to new pastures.
There are, however, some things that can never be left behind and which will forever drag down upon your soul as you seek to rise above the consequences and the guilt.
In my opinion, what’s most important is taking accountability of your own share of contribution to the development of those mistakes and choices. No one is ever fully free of some contributing factor of their misfortune, whether it be in how it came to be in the first place, how you dealt with it as it happened, or the general aftermath. There is always something that could have been done better.
Sometimes, the realization of what that may be, is not learned or even possible until years later.
Now here I was, being offered up a fresh slate with very few strings attached. My initial move to Missouri wasn’t as freeing as I thought it would be. Yet here, an opportunity of a lifetime was before me.
Seeing my hesitation, Naathan prompted me in a cajoling tone and an arched eyebrow. “Do you have a wish list you could share?”
My lips twitched at the thought of all the things I had dreams about pursuing once I had cured my sister’s disease. Trying out the homestead life on a 20+ acres lot with a year-round freshwater creek running through the property was just the start.
And so, I began unburdening myself with my wish list. This was to the single person in the world who was most capable of granting it. I honestly didn’t believe that he would accommodate everything as some of it was ridiculous like having my own indoor 50-meter lap pool, jacuzzi, indoor rock-climbing wall, multiple outdoor and indoor fireplaces, and more. I especially had no expectation of getting the naturally formed cave to explore for fun.
Still, throughout the entire listing, never once did Naathan even show signs of frustration or boredom. I would have almost compared him to the kind of doting father who patiently listened to all the 30+ things that their young child wanted for Christmas, when all they had was enough money for a present or two. However, he appeared to be actively taking notes and going with the flow without concern.
Eventually, I ran out of dream like scenarios for a personal property. It was only after he asked one last time if there was anything more. As I wracked my thoughts for anything missed, I was suddenly hit with horror!
There was something very important I had overlooked!
I hated myself for taking so long to remember this! Were I in my right mind, I believe I would have warned Naathan at the very beginning of seeing him, yet so much had happened since then. Amidst all of the things that could have been said, there was someone I knew who was hurting and that needed help more than me.
And so, while seething at the inefficiency of the system in not yet relaying my earlier report to him, I told him of my encounter with Lynette and her cousin. . .
.
.
.