He could feel it more clearly now. There was something behind this part of the wall that interacted with his new sense. Given the nature of the sensation and how it worked, he had a good guess as to how it had come to be. While his body had been improving—or better said, evolving—with each absorbed orb, the same had been true for his brain. In this case, his mind seemed to be developing in a direction that allowed it to emit and sense electromagnetic waves.

“Mind emitting waves… truly. But… how much voltage do I have up there to emit such perceptive electromagnetic waves… and how come I sense them back?” he thought aloud, marveling at this new ability. While a part of him was still uneasy with his mind being tampered with, he couldn’t deny that another part of him felt a thrill at being able to master this superhuman-like ability. How far could he go with this?

He pondered the mechanics of his new sense. ‘The neurons must be generating stronger electrical impulses, enough to create detectable electromagnetic waves. But the real marvel is the ability to sense these waves in return. My brain has developed or enhanced structures to receive and interpret these signals, essentially turning me into a living radar.’

The implications of this evolution were staggering. ‘If my brain can emit and detect electromagnetic waves, what else can it do? Could I eventually communicate without speaking, like telepathy? Maybe I could control electronic devices just by thinking about them, like turning on lights or hacking computers. And what about moving metal objects with my mind, like telekinesis? That would be so cool.’

He pressed his forehead against the wall again, trying to sense more. Each time he did this, the clarity of the interaction grew stronger. ‘The brain’s plasticity is astounding. It’s adapting, forming new neural pathways to accommodate these abilities. The more I use this sense, the more refined it becomes.’

Alonso’s mind raced with possibilities, his background in Physics coming back with full clarity as if he were a Master’s student doing research again. ‘With practice, I might be able to control this sense with precision, to focus on specific frequencies or types of electromagnetic waves.’

He found himself smiling and had to shake his head to return to the matter at hand. His growling stomach helped him refocus, the urgency of finding something to eat compelling him to push forward and stay on track.

He looked at the left button, and without hesitation, he pressed it.

The wall then moved slightly back. No sound was emitted, and it was an incredibly smooth process. But that was not the end of it. As soon as it stopped, three more buttons appeared on the wall, making a new total of five, symmetrically spaced, with one button in the middle.

‘Same thing again?’ Alonso thought as he stared at the new buttons. He calmly went through each of them, both checking if there were any new features and scanning what was beyond them. After two rounds of repeating the process, he was left with two buttons: the one in the middle and the one next to it on the right. There was something straight beyond this point. Given the nature of his sensing, he guessed it was something metallic, as it would be a good conductor and easier to detect.

He chuckled, suddenly thinking of himself as one of those metal detectors used at airports and how he could get an easy job there. The absurdity of the thought brought a momentary lightness to the tense situation.

Focusing back on the task at hand, Alonso considered his options. He took a deep breath and decided to trust his newfound sense. He tried it several times until he was confident the object was behind the button in the middle. Without hesitation, he pressed it.

The same procedure as before happened. The wall moved slightly back, and more buttons appeared. This time there were thirteen in total.

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‘Really?’ he thought, unable to help but smile. True, the challenge was harder than before and required more precision, but he wasn't worried. He knew he had this.

He scanned the new array of buttons, his enhanced senses focusing on detecting any significant changes or signals. Alonso repeated the process, moving his forehead close to each button and feeling for the electromagnetic interactions. The sensation was becoming more intuitive with each attempt, his brain adapting rapidly to the task.

As he moved along the row of buttons, he felt the familiar twinge that indicated the presence of something, perhaps metallic, behind them. It was subtle, but distinct enough for him to identify. He went over the buttons again to confirm, feeling more confident with each pass.

A thought struck him—if he could sense the metallic object from different angles, he might be able to triangulate its exact position. He positioned himself at various points along the row, pressing his forehead against the wall and noting the strength and direction of the sensations. Each time, the twinge provided a clue, a piece of the puzzle.

Slowly, a pattern emerged. By comparing the intensity of the sensations from different buttons, he was able to narrow down the object's precise location. He repeated the process, each pass making the image clearer in his mind.

Finally, he was confident. Alonso stood in front of the button he had determined to be directly in front of the object. With a steady hand, he pressed it.

The wall moved back again. The initially narrow room was getting closer in size to those before. Perhaps this was the last part of the challenge.

When the wall stopped, however, all the buttons disappeared except for three. This step back made him frown slightly. It did not make sense for the test to be easier now, right?

But when he got closer, his question was answered straight away. Each button had an image depicted on it. The one to the left was a square, the one in the middle a triangle, and the one on the right a circle.

“Damn,” he couldn’t help but say. The challenge was clear. He had to detect the shape of the object behind the wall. Now, this was not easy.

Alonso took a deep breath and closed his eyes, focusing on his newfound electromagnetic sense. He moved his forehead close to the wall, trying to perceive the object's shape. At first, it was just a faint twinge, but he concentrated harder, letting his brain adapt to the signals.

He started by moving his head slowly from left to right, feeling for any changes in the EM waves. He noticed slight variations in the strength and direction of the waves as he moved. 'If I can map these variations,' he thought, 'I might be able to deduce the shape of the object.'

He repeated the motion, this time breaking it down into smaller sections. Each time he detected a change, he noted its location relative to the buttons. Gradually, a pattern began to emerge. The signals were stronger and more consistent at certain points.

Next, he moved his head vertically, scanning for similar variations. The changes in the EM waves formed a grid in his mind, allowing him to start visualizing the object’s contours. He felt a stronger signal at the top and bottom edges, suggesting a definite shape.

‘If the object has sharp corners or curved edges, the EM waves should reflect or refract differently,’ he reasoned. He began to trace these contours more meticulously, mapping out the strength and direction of the EM waves with each movement.

Alonso's background in Physics was crucial now. He knew that EM waves interacted differently with various shapes. A square would have distinct reflections at the corners, a triangle would show a steady decrease in signal at the angles, and a circle would produce a uniform gradient in the EM field.

He concentrated on detecting these patterns. Sweat trickled down his brow as he focused intensely. The object seemed to have distinct changes in the signal at certain points, which indicated it had angles. However, the steady gradient of the EM waves suggested fewer reflections and a more uniform decrease, ruling out the square.

He felt the excitement build. ‘This has to be it,’ he thought, his heart pounding in his chest. He visualized the object, a perfect triangle, its angles creating the specific EM wave patterns he had detected.

Finally, he was sure. The object behind the wall was a triangle. Taking a deep breath, he stepped back and pressed the corresponding button.

There was a tense moment of silence, and then the wall moved back once more. As it did, the room expanded, revealing a staircase leading upwards.