Concern shadowed Naathan’s face as he sent Andrew back into protective stasis. Despite all the technological breakthroughs he had learned from and built upon since his own transformation, he had never come across a situation like this. New technology had to be made, specific to the unique energy signature now radiating off this young man in order to evaluate the changes in him.
Although it was a generally accepted ideal amidst believers of religion and secular spirituality, there had never been any definitive scientific proof to confirm or deny the presence of the soul, spirit, or essence of an individual. The belief that an individual is made up of more than chemical biology and electrical impulses had never been confirmed through technology, . . . that is until now.
The moment that Andrew breached the barrier between his home Earth and alter-Earth where his Avatar dwelt, alarms had sounded on his capsule, reflecting extreme fluctuations in brainwaves and other sources. Something happened to his original body! A never before seen or recorded energy burst from his in-stasis body, spilling through a roughly torn hole in dimensions much like what happen to his sister Inaaya almost 50 years ago, to then traverse to where his active consciousness lay. It was magnificent and yet simultaneously terrifying!
Several tests and new sensors had to be calibrated, derived from comparing Andrew’s body in both its conscious and unconscious states against that of many other sample pools of other Travelers. Naathan was finally able to pin down the unique energy signature which differed between them. With this difference now recognized, a myriad of sample tests began to be performed on people, animals, and plants across the spectrum. All of the readings were now coming back showing faint traces of that unique energy being present upon every living being and creature.
A barrier however, also appeared to be present which prevented the new sensors from picking up anything further or deeper. In Andrew’s case, such a barrier was simply no longer there. This was not a matter of his avatar or original body having absorbed mana particles, but something more.
In those few individuals, including himself who secretly wielded magic on Origin Earth, the readings were near identical with those who had no magic. Andrew alone was an anomaly in which his soul was bare.
The ramifications of such a development could not be measured. Naathan couldn’t help but feel a spike of fear rush through him that perhaps the energy field was there for a very good reason.
The discoveries that he had already made, revealed a newly acquired sensitivity triggered by proximity to others. Surprisingly, Andrew had reported such an ability already in the Alter-Earth with his Avatar.
Was there something intrinsically different about him which allowed such a mutation to exist? Additionally, had the recent course of events not occurred, would things have turned out as he had theorized? Would this protective covering eventually be shed from Andrew’s original body as he evolved through time and exposure in a mana saturated environment?
All these concerns played within his mind as he pondered its development. It was good that Andrew had been very receptive to relocation and seclusion as Naathan wanted to test out several budding theories in a safer environment.
A tinge of guilt then stole over him. Not until after the fact, did he realize that he could have put Andrew into to stasis and transferred his consciousness to the Avatar. This would likely have alleviated the worst of his active symptoms while they conversed.
However, weighing the pros and cons of such an accommodation, he knew doing such was likely to stimulate some questions that he was magically bound to silence on and incapable of answering. . . The guilt still stung.
A quick thought entered along with that guilt. Making some quick adjustments to the reporting relay system, he changed the destination of any future urgent reports from Andrew to go directly to his own console with immediate notification.
The guilt faded notably with his decisive action.
A wry smile then played upon his lips as he recalled the young man’s request for trying out the homesteading lifestyle. It was certainly a surprise, yet easy to accommodate as it was the least he could do, given the suffering Andrew had to endure.
Nanite enhanced hands played across the console in front of him as he entered various commands for his personally designed Artificial Intelligence to begin research on. VEDA was her name, meaning knowledge or wisdom in his native Indian tongue.
Many projects that required far more time than he had on hand demanded the creation of this entity despite his own greatly enhanced intellect and nano strengthened body. After entering several parameters which Andrew had spoken of longing for, he left VEDA to do her work within the constraints of her programming.
She should have no problem with the acquisition of land, construction of the structures, and relocation of the general homestead animal life. Knowing her penchant to streamline things, Andrew wouldn’t have to do a thing to keep everything living as craftily hidden machines did most if not all the work. Nothing like the true risks, responsibilities, and back breaking work of a homesteader would be required of him.
“Huh, I should probably change that.” Humming to himself, Naathan made an adjustment to the homestead plan, allowing Andrew to progressively take full responsibility as he became more capable. It would be harmful rather than helpful to coddle him forcefully. Additionally, in consideration of Andrew’s occupation path in both realities, he added on a special garden for which he would import mana touched plants.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
A frown creased his lips in thought. He would have to utilize some extra precautions as the presence of mana, despite how little it would be as it was tied up in the plants, could play havoc with the localized technology if not careful.
Who knows, maybe something might come out of this to surprise him.
Leaving the remainder of such responsibilities to VEDA, he now was freed up for a task which required a more human touch and sense of ethics and morals. His eyes hardened as he recalled what Andrew had told him regarding those four wolfen Travelers and Lynette’s cousin. Bitterness filled his mouth as he viewed the scenario which had been confirmed through the use of time and spacial viewing magic with his sister’s aid.
Most times it was an enjoyable experience to interact with his precious little sister. She was still barred from crossing back over to visit physically in person for certain unrevealed reasons. However, she could still utilize some of her powers in her origin reality as she had acquired the powers of a deity with control over time and space. It still boggled his mind that such was possible.
Naathan chuckled as he considered their interactions. Despite all her powers, knowledge, and the over 1000-year difference in age she had from him now, he still doted on her like the little sister she used to be.
So many things had changed in his life since that fateful and lethal exposure to magical radiation near 50 years ago. Were it not for Inaaya’s parting intervention, he likely would not have survived the incident to become the powerful man he was now.
Now, he held the world of technology and medicine at his fingertips, with much of its development coming from his direct creations. Yet he could not act fully unrestrained.
Although his grey-scaled conscious and pragmatic view of life prevented him from abusing his powers and abilities on a large scale, he knew that were he to ever overextend his reach in unfair dominion, he knew of groups and individuals both mundane and with their own growing magical powers, that could prove troublesome if not outright deadly to find conflict with.
He wasn’t the only one who was greatly changed from the effects of war and mana’s slow saturation of Earth. Most of those changed in such a way early on and who had more time to develop their abilities, stayed relatively in their lane and under the radar of the vastly not yet evolved humanity. Not all of these hidden elites were altruistic and limited by clear ethics. Fortunately, a non-verbal pact of sorts had settled in place among them.
Those who sought to intrude upon another’s protected domain would be met with violence and other forms of retaliation. It was the general ‘unknown’ of what they might face which held the less savory of adversaries in place. Unfortunately, the helpless populous within their own domains were not as lucky.
Naathan was logically seeking to strengthen the integrity of his own domain and future. Although he currently wielded a great amount of power due to his unique ability, the status quo would not remain as such. He was in a unique position as his Earth had a good while still before it became as saturated with mana as it was in the alternate reality. Technology still reigned supreme and electricity generally worked as it should for the sake of modern conveniences.
He was walking quite the tightrope as he juggled generation breaking technology with mana which altered a few key laws of known reality. He could dampen the effects of its interruptive nature while physically close by, even being able to capitalize on the perks of both within a small distance. Eventually, things would change beyond his control.
As the Earth became more saturated with mana, his technological supremacy would suffer as the internet, appliances, and electrical grids failed. Once all was said and done, he would be far weaker as magitech was not nearly so prevalent in either world.
It was for this, among other reasons that Naathan sought to empower the general populous. His way of providing those with a medical background and a good set of standards with a more optimal start, was intended to set the board more so in his favor. It was his opinion that it is far better to arm the general public with proper skills and knowledge to combat adversity, rather than wholly rely upon the local government and assumed good will of those in authority.
Often, it is those in power which grow corrupt to varying degrees, or at least it is their actions which are more heavily felt. Few are willing, or even able to put sanctions on their unlawful actions.
Too many in the past and still today’s time, are be blinded by the ideals those in leadership tout. Their devout faith in those ideals frequently lead them to disbelieve, deny, and generally not care about their unlawfulness so long as it serves their purpose and sense of justice.
It is almost as if they cared more about lip service then actual achievements. Whether or not those leaders follow through with their commitments was a concern for another time. It’s the thought that matters right? Right?!?
Anger clouded his thoughts for a moment at the ignorance of many within the populous of the changing world.
At the same time, while those who are wealthy and in power generally affect things on a large scale, the poor and middle class are not entirely blameless. There was a saying, ‘The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.’ Being both perpetrators through action and facilitators through inaction, many an individual has troubled the lives of the innocent.
Those four wolfen Travelers were perfect examples or middle-class criminals. They did not come from exceedingly wealthy backgrounds, and yet, through their singular activities they had caused great harm to many innocents.
With the digital world at his finger tips, Naathan was able to pull up deeply hidden records of multiple past sexual assaults, perpetrated from each of the four young men. This was more than enough to justify some punitive actions which he delighted in cooking up. Of course, he would additionally facilitate the fortuitus placement of certain hard evidence to several governing and policing agencies in which to convict the four cretins. But first, he wanted to ensure that they got a special dose of karma.
Joel, Lynette’s cousin was a more difficult case to deal with. Other than having atrocious social skills and a nauseatingly large pornography collection which rivaled most porn sites, he had yet to step out into committing any actionable offenses. His actions however, when witnessing Lynette’s sexual assault did bring up some grave concerns. Prior to this event, he appeared to not consider his cousin as anything more than an eye sore and someone to bully.
However, like many predators in the past, a catalytic event tended to be what knocked them into the deep end. Given his circumstances and general character, he was very likely to begin preying upon his cousin in a very different way now. This absolutely needed to be stopped!
And so, Naathan entered in new parameters for VEDA to research regarding the Lynette’s relocation to a more stable household. He wouldn’t be able to save everyone due to needing to avoid the appearance of grossly overstepping legal tape and other boundaries. However, for a prized Traveler such as Andrew, he could make a unique exception.
A slightly pained smile grew on his face as he recalled his own experience with abuse.
Having grown up for most of his childhood in a squalid Indian village and being ostracized for his parents’ decision to marry for love rather than filial piety; Naathan was no stranger to many of the terrible acts that others could visit upon you in their own unsatisfying lives. Too frequently, logic and reason, much less empathy did not enter the eyes of the perpetrator as they sought to act out their warped impulses upon the innocent or less guilty.
Many a downtrodden individual will seek to find an outlet by which to release their pent-up frustrations, gaining a form of satisfaction from the degradation of another. Barring his own singular incident of well-hidden cyber-crime for medical and financial purposes, his family members had been innocent and unwilling sin eaters amidst their village.
His cynical and grey-scale standards were born from such an upbringing. Unless it supported his goal in preparing humanity for the coming resurgence of magic, he would not make a particular effort to eradicate ill deeds done by others. In this instance, when a Traveler like Andrew came to him with a request, it would be prudent to aid him in balancing the scales of justice. Such action should engender a more congenial relationship between them.
While Naathan had become jaded and more selfish regarding life through his adversities, Andrew was still deeply moved by emotion amidst his logic. He still believed in lofty ideals and held a drive for multifaceted self-improvement.
With a powerful and unique gift alone setting him apart from the world, what more might Andrew accomplish with his personality and particular set of standards? Shutting down his computer after having completed the needed interventions, a smile tugged at his lips as Naathan sought to imagine the miracles this young man may very well provide in the future. . .
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