On the West Coast of the United States was one of the most prestigious private universities in the world. From above, it could be mistaken for a small city given its size. Being the brainchild of a billionaire businessman, it was quickly built even though it was a large project. At the prospect of a specialized university, the government also actively gave grants to help with school funding and scholarships for talented students who couldn’t otherwise afford it. It was the first of its kind, being a university which contributed to all studies. No matter what the focus of study one wished to take, or how many years of education, it could be found there. Medical, Business, Legal, etc., no field was left untouched.
The teachers were hand-picked by a select committee to ensure that they were of the highest quality. State of the art technology was used in the classroom, and it was upgraded continuously whenever something new came along. To assimilate the new and unique concepts and technologies were something the university was known and strived for. Because of this, they were able to quickly respond to the ongoing event known as The Convergence.
While none could say for certainty when The Convergence started, it began in earnest a little over one year from the present day. A vast number of people, primarily teenagers and young adults, disappeared without a trace. After a short amount of time had passed, several returned with stories of fantasy worlds and wielded abilities unknown to science. Along with these people, many displayed unique abilities which could only be described as supernatural.
With state-of-the-art facilities, The University soon became a place of research into these people and The Convergence. The founder of the school invested heavily in these matters as he had quickly founded a corporation, known as The Otherworldly Corporation, which publicly dealt with the research of technologies from other worlds and engineering them for the public.
Because of the vast amount of funds and assistance from the government due to its own interests, classes, and unique learning for the people known as SUPERs were soon initiated.
It was at this university, in a lower division psychology class, that a group of students was gathered. There was still some time before class, and the room was relatively empty, with only a small group of students and the teacher.
“Man, tests sure are a pain.” One of the students said.
“So true. I wish they were easier.” Another replied.
“That’s what you get for coming to this school. There are no easy courses. I’d like to see anyone do well here.”
“Then what about The Thinker? I heard he was a genius that took on not only an amazing amount of classes but finished most of them early and got special privileges from the school.”
“That’s just an urban legend.”
“Oh, he’s no legend.” The teacher interjected as he had listened in to their conversation. “Well… I guess you can call him a living legend.”
“Wait, do you know him?” One of the students asked.
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
“Yes. He was in one of my classes several years back. I was quite surprised to have a 14-year-old kid in my class.”
“Wait, 14? Only 14 years old?”
“Yes. He showed up and tested out of most of the lower-division courses. Calling him a genius would be an understatement. Not only was he 14, but he would often engage me in a debate over philosophy in class. Though it was enjoyable, I had to put a stop to it relatively soon to keep the class going. But I took the time to talk to him quite frequently.”
“What was he like?”
“Quite cynical for his age. I heard his family was in an accident and he was the only survivor, so it was understandable. Being so young in this environment could only make it worse as I imagine he didn’t feel he had a place in society.”
“Still, doing all of that. How do you get that smart? Did he do nothing but study?”
“While he did study, it was only very shortly. You see, he has something very few people have and I imagine most of us want. Photographic memory; a nearly perfect recollection. He would effectively glance at a page and remember it completely. He aced every test I ever gave him and finished the class in a short amount of time because he worked ahead. Though I don’t usually allow such a thing, I made an exception.”
“That’s basically cheating!”
“Some may see it that way, but there is no way around it. Even though he is an extreme case, is it right for anyone to deny one’s inherent ability simply because it makes their life easier than others?”
“What happened to him?”
“He struck my interest, so I kept tabs on him. He shot through most of the classes he took. Due to this, he was very quickly approached by the school and given special privileges along with the promise that he could take any class free of charge. They even paid for him to study abroad in Japan for some time.”
“Man, I’m so jealous. Not only is he insanely smart, but he also doesn’t have to pay school fees.”
“Society generally elevates the strong and those with a promise to benefit it. You should remember that and focus more on your studying. Now as I was saying, this last year he actually finished his doctorate in humanities. I think the area history and religion though I hear he personally dove into mythologies extremely deeply. He had done all this before he turned 18.”
“The more I hear about this guy, the more he sounds like a monster. Do you know what he did once he graduated?”
“I believe he planned to continue studying. However, I’m not sure if that is any longer the case. I heard he had a clique of friends, but that fell apart at some point. About three months ago, he disappeared without a trace. I find it very probable that he ended up as an Abductee of The Convergence. In fact, I can nearly be sure of this as one of my colleagues pointed out a scientific magazine to me. Starting two weeks after he disappeared, various articles began appearing in a scientific magazine involving theories of the nature of The Convergence due to personal experiences. Though much was left confidential about the author, he went under the pseudonym ‘The Thinker.’ Given that he was aware of that nickname and the scientific magazine is very heavily involved with this university, I would be more surprised if it weren’t him.”
“Wow, not only is he a genius who gets things for free, but he also gets to go to a fantasy world. That’s not fair.”
“Do you know what you should all take from this?” The teacher asked them, to which they shook their heads. “As The Thinker himself once said: ‘Life is not equal; thus, it is fair.’ Also, you should study more.”
“I doubt he said that last part.” One of the students said with a sigh as the teacher laughed.
It was at about that time that a two-dimensional door, which looked like a reflectionless mirror, appeared out of nowhere. From this door, five figures appeared in a darkened bedroom.