‘That kid is a monster,’ Nick thought to himself, as he mentally paid the bill for the meal. His face was pensive as he considered the past few hours. With a polite smile to the waiter, he got up and returned to his lab.
From the moment young Nero banged on the door like a savage, the boy’s psychic field was in chaotic motion. Nick had never seen someone who was observably mentally stable, and yet so extremely NOT at peace. It was like Nero’s thoughts were bouncing around erratically. ‘How does the kid stand it?’ Nick wondered.
Human beings seek a state of unity; it is an irrefutable truth. Nick could quote hundreds of studies that proved, without a doubt, that in the absence of stressors; human beings become introspective and seek to balance their mind, body, and soul. But, this kid Nero treats the entire world as a though it is a puzzle box he has to figure out. Being confused is not unexpected given his situation. But people look for more information, they don’t try to form conclusions without any input. Is that his secret?
Nick walked through the halls calmly, with his hands resting behind his back and his chin up. People nodded in respect to him as they passed by. He offered a nod in return. The subtle adulation of the associates was something that he had grown used to. ‘Nero doesn’t seem to care that I’m the youngest research head of any gate in Dorchester’s history,’ he noted.
Maybe Nero didn’t know the details, but he must have noticed the how people treat Nick. After all, he is incredibly observant. With the observable data at his disposal, Nero should be more respectful, not to mention, wanting to mirror Nick’s success. When Nick was young, he always did his best to copy the mannerisms and thought patterns of those above him, at least when he was in public. It’s how he got to where he is. ‘The boy acts like a combination of a sage and toddler,’ he thought to himself.
And how the hell did Nero come up with all those truisms? The words hold such meaning, such heavy, profound insights. The sector he came from must be very peaceful and united. The sheer venom he displayed when he thought the people of Dorchester were being mistreated by those in power was shocking to say the least. Perhaps the sovereign who controls the sector has figured out a way to eliminate suffering and conflict in his domain.
Nick arrived at his personal lab and sat down. Waving his hand, his station lit up, and a bottle of whiskey and a glass flew over to the desk. He rubbed his chin as his thoughts separated into two distinct streams. While he got the room in order, he analyzed the data he collected from Nero, and brought up the Intake Center’s Thought-hub.
Nick reaffirmed his belief that Nero must stay at the Center. The boy needed to be observed during his growth. Nothing Nick has done up to this point is as important as discovering how Nero sees the world and more importantly, how he sees himself. With that in mind, he pinged Vera and awaited a reply.
He felt the connection open, and heard, “Is there a problem with Mr. Walker’s testing? I have a call scheduled in 10 minutes with Mr. Tipsman’s family, and if there is anything I need to know, now is the time.”
“No problems of any kind. You can tell them that the man inhabiting the body now is most definitely NOT Mr. Tipsman. Please express my condolences and let them know that there is no soul echo, or any remnant of the previous occupant. Their son’s soul passed without issue, and is now moving onward toward his next incarnation,” Nick replied easily.
“That’s great news. I’m sure that will put their minds at ease. Is there anything to note about his testing that needs to be passed on?” She asked. Nick could feel that she was barely paying attention to the conversation.
“Well, there are a few things. However, there is nothing that violates the public health statutes. Everything of note is path related and protected by protocol,” Nick said, while picking his words carefully.
“Nicholas Marcus Salvatore. I’ve known you too long to miss that mind fluctuation. What can you tell me without violating your oath? Choose your words carefully or I’ll send Jesse to audit your combat capability again,” She said, as Nick felt her full attention drop on his mind like a weight.
Nick hung his head. ‘Always with the threats,’ he thought to himself. Although he was very careful to NOT project that thought over the link.
“There was nothing wrong with his results. In fact, his data was remarkable. I won’t talk about his path. But, if I could get him to agree, I’d love to be able to use his testing data to write a paper or two.” He could feel Vera’s scrutiny. “I’m not going to use his data without consent. He’s just interesting. You saw how fast he leveled. And anyone with a strong mind can feel how unusual his psyche is. All of that is public domain, and not a breach of confidentiality.”
He could feel his mind getting agitated, and took a calming breath. Shielding his thought, he said to himself, ‘No good ever comes from arguing with Vera. Just breathe, calm your mind.’
The silence hung over the connection, like a piano about to fall. In a cold voice Vera said, “Nick, Nero’s path is his. The law is absolute. If you interfere in any way, I cannot and will not help you. I let you do his intake testing because I thought you’d find it interesting, NOT so you could acquire a test subject. You wouldn’t have heard of him if I hadn’t brought him to your lab. We both know you have a weakness for interesting phenomena, and this is a trial that you will have to face. How you manage the next few days may very well become integral to your own path. Now, is there anything you need from me, or are you ready to submit your findings to the Intake board?”
Nick sighed and replied, “I hear you and acknowledge the warning. The report stating that nothing dangerous was found will be on the hub within an hour. As for the future, I will be upfront with Nero, and hopefully be able to convince him to allow me to use his data. I will not blackmail or otherwise lie to get what I want. ‘My path is in my control, and my decisions reveal who I am.’”
Vera chuckled. “I always liked Henry Spencer. He was a wise man. In regards to young Mr. Walker, you have time. He’s still young, and I’m sure by helping him, he’ll help you. That is how two paths can go in the same direction. ‘When you try to force a path, you find obstacles everywhere’.”
“Thank you darling, you are a credit to the title of Wayfinder. I’ll see you at dinner,” Nick said with a smile.
If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.
“See you then, my lovable idiot.” She replied and closed the connection.
Leaning back in his seat, Nick looked up at the ceiling. ‘What am I doing? This is not who I am. I am a scientist. I follow where the data leads. Influencing the data will only produce flawed results. I need to approach the situation rationally, like I always have in the past. If important findings come, that will be a result of work, not manipulation,’ he reaffirmed his path in his mind. Collapsing his disparate thought streams, he returned to one mind and focused the whole of it on firming his resolve to be the man he believes he can be.
Nick heard a soft ‘Ding’, and the room started to shake as eddies of essence swirled around him. Nick’s mind went blank in euphoria. He hadn’t leveled in years, and he had forgotten the feeling. As everything calmed down, Nick placed his hands on the desk and panted.
Out loud, and with an unexpected annoyance rising from nowhere, he said “I don’t know how. But this somehow... someway... has to do with that little shit.” He could almost hear Nero laughing from wherever he was.
--------
Unaware, and uncaring of how his presence has affected those around him, Nero walked up to the board that listed all the classes offered at the Center with a smile on his face. There were a few people clustered near the board, looking at what at first looked like large sheets of paper, but upon closer inspection the text seemed to change. Confused, Nero looked around and saw that everyone has a link activated on their temple. With a grunt of annoyance, he stomped off to his room to figure out his link.
As he walked through the halls to the elevator, he pulled out the loose sheets of paper on which he had written down his itinerary for the day. “The first fucking thing on my list is dealing with the stupid link,” he mumbled to himself.
Eventually finding himself in his room, he pulled out the box with the link that Nick gave him. It was a small, thin crystal with one gray and dull side. It was about the size of a thumb digit and maybe twice the width of a credit card. It seemed very sturdy, didn’t bend, and when he tapped his desk with it; it made a strong solid sound. ‘Maybe they are made by this world’s NOKIA.’ he thought in amusement.
Seeing the box had a little 4in x 5in note card in it, he pulled it out to read the instructions:
“For first activation of a Link, place it on either temple and open a connection. If the link does not accept a connection, it may already be linked to someone else, and should be returned to your local distributor. Thank you for choosing Johnson Links, and may your path be wide and clear.”
‘Seriously?’ he thought.
Well, Nick did say that they were easy to use. Nero placed the link, gray side down, on his temple, and felt it stick. When he felt the suction, he tested removal. Finding no issues, he then put it back on and shook his head around. ‘That sucker is really on there. Would be nice technology for sunglasses,’ he noted.
Nero then stood up and walked into the bathroom to look at himself in the mirror. It was easy to see on his head, but it didn’t draw the eye. Nero examined himself from different angles, trying to remember who usually wore one and who didn’t. Shrugging, he returned to his desk and looked at the room station.
He could tell it was the station by the fact that across the top, it said “STATION”. It was about 2 ft tall and roughly rectangle shaped. The casing was a dull, unobtrusive gray, and didn’t stand out in any way. He looked for a connection to the wall, or for any cabling, there wasn’t any. It was just a small box that was bolted to the desk corner. ‘I doubt they worry about people stealing it. Probably bolted so no one knocks it over. Everyone I’ve met is uncomfortably law-abiding,’ he said to himself, as he poked the station.
Satisfied that he had done his preparations, Nero sat down and closed his eyes. Mentally reaching out to the link, he felt a connection form easily. There was a sense of options for the room and a welcome message/feeling that quickly faded. From this mental list, he felt that he could manipulate the lights, read how to use the laundry services, check out mental books that could be loaded into his link, see class schedules, and a whole lot of other options for the Center.
He opened his eyes and refocused on the world. Nero could still feel the connection, but it was muted. Going back to the mirror, he could see that if he focused on the link, it would light up. He played with it a bit. ‘No wonder no one mentioned any of the minutiae of living in the dorms. All the information is just sitting here waiting to be read,’ he noted.
Checking the time mentally, he wanted to see how long he had before his meeting with Mrs. Salvatore. He was connected to the station while that thought came on, and all of the sudden a section he hadn’t noticed activated. There was a scheduled meeting for 3pm at Mrs. Salvatore’s office in the Intake Hall, Gate 7. The ping was just sitting there, waiting for his acknowledgment. He thought, “OK”, and it went away. ‘Huh… this is cool as hell,’ he thought to himself with a smile.
It was an odd feeling to be connected to the link. He could see why Nick described it as ‘non-invasive’. At no point did he feel like his mind was being violated. The link just felt like it was next to him at all times. As long as he stayed within arms reach, he could feel the link. He couldn’t initiate a connection without it being on his head, but he could still feel that it was there. Every time they connected, he had to initiate it. It really WAS like a mental conversation.
For the next few hours, Nero made a detailed study of everything on the Link. To be honest, he was just messing around. Although, from his perspective, it was very comprehensive. He learned the details of what it meant to live in the dorms, and why you could only sign up for classes at the Center’s Rest hub. All in all, it was very informative and served to give Nero the first feeling of being grounded since he got to this world. He didn’t realize how much he missed his phone.
Eventually the time came for him to leave for his meeting. Proudly checking off the first thing on his itinerary, he left his room and headed toward the lobby. About 10 ft from the room, he felt his link lose connection with his room station. He felt around for access points as he continued on, and saw that most of them were closed. Closed stations felt like someone with their back turned, hands on their ears, saying “la-la-la” and ignoring him. Nero could tell that there was a connection to the city, but it was weak and the city wasn’t paying attention to him at all.
As he walked through the lobby, he felt the connection with the classes board, now correctly named “Center’s Rest hub Associate Classes Terminal”. ‘I’m just gonna call it the classes hub. Maybe I should introduce acronyms to these savages,’ he thought as he walked past the board.
When he looked at one of the pieces of paper on the board, he felt that someone was already using it. Abruptly stopping mid-stride, he paid closer attention and moved closer. It seems that each 11in x 17in piece of paper was like a little screen that only one person could interact with at a time. When he found one he could connect with, options came up in his head that he could see mirrored on the page-screen thing, although the screen displayed more detailed information.
He used the link to look up ‘Basic Combat 1’ and saw a detailed schedule of the class with availability and locations on the screen. It was very intuitive, and apparently based on a 10 day week. Either way, he didn’t have time for this now, and closed out his connection.
Eventually he made his way to the Intake hall, where he was greeted by an employee who politely gave him directions to Mrs. Salvatore’s office. Without any trouble, he found it and was about to knock on the door when a weird feeling of being able to ping the door came from his link. As he stood there with his fist almost at the door, he looked around to see if anyone saw his moment of stupidity.
‘I’m clear,’ he thought with a sigh of relief. After pinging the door, he felt a feeling of welcome and assurance that it was OK to go in.