Thursday, 6 June 2024, 8:27 am
The meeting with the director concludes after some more details were shared on their training schedule and what it would include.
"From here you're going straight to type synchronization." McCain snaps as they exit the Director's office. The group's eyes light up. "Tomorrow we'll do a short introduction course on using your ARCH-units and power-cores. Monday, you start your 6-month training program. Survive it all in one piece and you'll officially earn your place as a full-fledged archaner."
Nods of agreement pervade the group of new recruits, all biting at the chance to discover their ARCH-types sooner than expected. A chattering of discussions breaks out as McCain leads them towards the elevators.
"Hey, recruit!" Ghazal whispers ominously, stretching his lips into Reyn's ear as they move through the hallways of the 20th floor. "How's it feel to be a recruit, recruit?"
"Gaz, you know this doesn't count." Reyn mutters in retort, pulling Ghazal near while flicking around his eyes to make sure none of the other recruits hear their scheming. "Recruitment was supposed to be another month, man. This is unfair!"
"Deals a deal, mate. I'll have that autograph then." Ghazal says with a satisfying smirk, wiggling and pinching his fingers in front of Reyn's chest.
"Gaz! Don't do this to me! It still smells like her. Gaz!"
"Don't you worry, mate, I'll keep it safe and sound. You can have it back soon as you snag Joze. Or at least fucking try, mate. You have my word."
"Gaz… please, man. C'mon…"
"Oh, what's that? You're gonna talk to her right now? Oh! Let me help call her over…"
"Here… just take it you damn jerk!" Reyn snaps as he smacks the autograph onto Ghazal's chest, swiftly clearing him of his breath.
"Oof… easy, you damned plug. What happened to no hard feelings, mate? Man has to keep by his word, right?"
"Just keep it safe, you pillock." Reyn quips as he slips back into the group, keeping his distance from a sniggering Ghazal.
The recruits reach the elevator and with McCain's instructions, GAIA would drop them 32 floors down, arriving at floor B12, the ARCH-Type Synchronization Center. They move through the scientific lab swiftly, the recruits not caring to inspect or survey the new environment or the numerous black-light rooms it offers. Each one is intently focused on speculating the nature of their ARCH-type as they move through the laboratory floor. They run into a familiar fat fellow awaiting them.
"Welcome again my Brannon-Brook beauties!" Dr. Ravinok warmly welcomes his laboratory's group of guests. "Fun times today! We learn your ARCH-types. Maybe we get lucky and find a new unique ARCH-type among you, ha?" The Doctor vanishes as soon as his sentence ends leaving the group to stand around unsure.
"Give him a minute, he does that sometimes." McCain groans.
"Apologies!" The doctor cries as he appears again. "I get excited, I forget not everyone moves through the atoms like me, ha! Come, come, we walk. This way, graduates."
"Their recruits now, doctor. The Director decided to give them a bit of a promotion today." The agent grins, as the recruits all break into proud smiles.
"Oh! Is this so? Well done, Brannon-Brook. The Director must like you. Not an easy man, Mr. Martinez. But he must see in you what I do. Great potential and powerful warriors! Now come! You have me very excited, recruits! Not often we have people of your calibre come through the Crucible. Your ARCH-types should be very interesting indeed! Let's go see, Brannon-Brook!" The doctor bellows as he leads them deeper into the lab, weaving through large chemistry halls and testing centres covered in all manner of scientific equipment and apparatus until they finally find their destination.
"Ugh! Another harness in a cage." Paolo groans as he glances at the room's interior. In the center of the room is another small transparent chamber. Inside, a medical reclining chair awaits, connected to a large machine behind it, trilling in ominous patterns. The rest of the room is covered in the standard GAARD scientific fare and bustling lab-assistants. Most of the graduates have grown accustomed to the menagerie of strange and wonderful machines, barely giving them mind as they focus on their primary goal of becoming a Strike Team archaner.
"Don't worry! Type synchronization is one hundred percent painless! Guaranteed. You just lay down on the comfy chair and GAIA stimulates your ARCH-unit circuitry. Very carefully! The cage is filled with sensors, so we detect any reaction, every reaction! We analyze this and calculate ARCH-type synchronizations. Simple science, really." The group stares sceptically at the doctor as they shuffle into the room and find a seat in a small audience area. "Right-o. Who first?"
There's some murmurs among the recruits as they quickly discuss amongst themselves, but one among them would prove to have little hesitation. "Ghazal Merkaan!" An excited yell comes from among the recruits as a tall, young man shoots up from his seat, hand raised, face wrapped in a shamelessly self-confident grin.
"Ha, a volunteer. Come then, Mr. Merkaan. Let's see what you are made of, ha!" Ravinok laughs as he calls for Ghazal. The doctor's assistants swiftly collect him from the audience section and lead him into the chamber, sitting him upon the centered seat. They diligently calibrate settings on a console next to him and adjust knobs and switches on the devices behind before prompting the machine into action.
"Ready, Mr. Merkaan?" the Doctor asks with a thumbs up pointed at the chamber as he mans a large console across the room. Ghazal lifts a thumb of approval and the doctor starts the procedure.
The machine behind the chair whirs to life, creaking and whining as the apparatus moves its barrel toward the back of the chair, perfectly aimed at Ghazal's nape. Lights and patterns flicker across it as it powers up, its energies building with an intensifying electrical buzz.
"Here we go!" Doctor Ravinok declares as he flips a switch. The machine kicks into action and bright pulses of light leave its tip, wobbling through the air as they get sucked into the back of Ghazal's neck. All of a sudden, his ARCH-unit activates, first with a tiny flit of faint illuminations, but as the synchronization machine pushes more aetheric energy into his body, his ARCH-unit's brightness grows to a brilliance, shimmering with aether.
"Starting type synchronizations." GAIA announces, its voice emanating from every audible device in the room. The machine starts humming and buzzing in oscillating frequencies and hums as the pulses of light that emanate from it change their colors and hues.
"Just relax, boy. Don't react to the reactions!" The doctor warns. Ghazal's eyes widen as his face quickly shifts between looks of confusion, fear and astonishment while his ARCH-unit begins to flicker and spark.
All eyes in the room watch intently as the air inside the chamber fluctuates, swirling with aetheric energy that flicker in and out of existence as little bursts of starlight. The hiss and sizzle of his ARCH-unit signals the arrival of his aetherics and all look on in amazement as little fluttering flakes of fire fade in and out of existence all around Ghazal. Some look like shining snowflakes, while others burst and pop like crackers.
"My god!" Ravinok yells out. "Look at it! The aetherics. Absolutely beautiful, no! You are doing great Mr. Merkaan, just keep still, we are not yet done."
The machine's buzzing and whine switches frequency and its light output changes colors, Ghazal's ARCH-unit crackles with new energy and as the floating flames fade, snapping sparks and fissures of light start to zip and buzz across the room. Flying instantly from end to end and shooting around in every direction. Ghazal grips onto the chair, twisting his head to avoid the flying flashes of light.
"Relax! Relax! Do not worry. Your own creations will not harm you. They are yours to control, my boy. Remember this. You are safe. Just relax!"
Ghazal's nods intently, his eyes closed in fear of the bullets of light as they blitz around the room. He silently prays that none of them hit his body. The machine starts to whine a new tune as it changes colors once more, causing the dancing lightshow to swiftly end. Ghazal tries to catch his breath as sweat collects on his brow, but a sudden cold wisp of wind quickly clears him of his perspiration, and soon the entire chamber is captured in a flurry of swirling air. Ghazal struggles to breath in the torrent sucking through the room.
"Magnificent! Brannon Brook! This is beyond anything we could imagine! Three synchronizations!" The doctor roars triumphantly. "We are witnessing the birth of a new era. The evolution of a new breed of warrior!"
The machine doesn't stop and flicks through a few more frequencies and hues before Ghazal suddenly jerks in his chair, his muscles tensing violently as they multiply in density. His skin stretches and tightens around his body, thickening as it moves until he feels as though his entire body was covered in a coat of thick, leathery hide. His bones creaking as the aether within fortified them exponentially until his skeleton felt like solid steel.
"Synchronization complete." GAIA suddenly trills, and the machine in the chamber promptly shuts down, its lights fading and whines waning as it clunks back into its rest position.
"Unbelieve! Four synchronizations! This is only the 6th time in our history!" Ravinok yells out as he hops around gleefully, his rolls of fat slapping at his body as he bounces. "This is the power of science and human ingenuity! Through the Brannon-Brook initiative, we have unlocked the key to our success. Recruits, you have made this old man proud! Today, you have shone a new light of hope on humanity's future! GAIA let us see his synchronization results!"
"Affirmative." A readout of the Synchronization results appears on a large screen for everyone to see and all eyes in the room stare in shock and amazement as Ghazal's results show on the screen.
—
Pyrokinesis: 89%
Electrokinesis: 77%
Aerokinesis: 58%
Biokinesis: 52%
—
"Incredible! Absolutely incredible." Dr. Ravinok exclaims gleefully as the lab-assistants help Ghazal out of the chamber.
Ghazal confidently struts out with an unshakeable grin. He marches back to the graduate group, quietly accepting praise as he moves through them. Their cheers feed his ever hungry ego as he basks in his own magnificence.
"Not bad!" Reyn says with a smirk as Ghazal takes his seat.
"Four in. Four out." Ghazal replies with a wink and the two have a snicker filled discussion as they watch the rest of the synchronizations take place.
Most of the graduates receive 2 synchronizations of the highest level. Already an uncommon occurrence amongst archaners. Some receive 3, which is considered extremely rare. Ghazal, and one other, receive 4, sending the doctor into jubilant celebration of GAARD's scientific successes and the endless possibilities provided by the growing advances in innovation and engineering.
Jocelyn Webber's name rings out, and she makes her way to the chamber, nervous, but excited at her prospects. She is quickly introduced to the chamber's chair and the machine soon whirs and pulses to life. The audience watches on in stunned silence as Jocelyn's aetherics begin to light up the room.
It starts with a snap of cold filling the chamber, frosting the room's glass walls while tiny snowflakes flick about in the air. The sound of cracks pervades the room, and Jocelyn twists her neck to see spikes of ice emanating from the ground and ceiling. Just as the machine shifts its tune, she is barely able to recognize two crystal-blue eyes staring at her before quickly fading away in a flurry of icy flakes.
A new colour emerges from the machine and the air in the room glitters and shimmers as plips and plops of bubbles begin to emanate around the room. Jocelyn watches in silent awe as a perfect sphere of water grows in the air above her, rippling with ethereal movements as it wafts around the room.
The machine wheezes and the water sphere pops, Jocelyn startles as it bursts into countless droplets, but its drops fade into aether before reaching her. The color of the light hitting her neck melts and mixes as new hues come into existence, but the machine seems to stop, not on a colour, but a shadow of one, and Jocelyn suddenly feels the aether creeping through her body.
It emerges from her flesh as swirling black tendrils, with tendrils upon tendrils. They flick and weave through the air around her like neurons seeking out stimulation, licking at the air and surfaces they come into contact with. Jocelyn looks on with a timid concern, her eyes are stretched and twitching as the black masses emanate from all along her arms.
"Synchronization complete!"
Just as quickly as it started, it suddenly ends and the black tendrils shrink and slither back under her skin. The experience leaves her with a tingle down her spine which grows into a body shaking shiver. She is quickly led out of the chamber while she rubs her head in confusion. She turns her eyes up to the readout screen as everyone looks in anticipation.
—
Cryokinesis: 94%
Aquakinesis: 65%
UNKNOWN: ???
—
The audience oohs as they read the results. A 94% synchronization was beyond exceptional, but the true amazement lay in the fact that a new ARCH-type may soon be discovered.
"Ha! I knew it! There it is, Brannon-Brook! This day will go down in history! You are all a part of something wonderful! New scientific grounds will be broken because of the Brannon-Brook initiative, recruits. This may be presumptuous of me to say, but perhaps many lives were lived, experienced and suffered to allow each of us to meet this moment." Ravinok removes his glasses and rubs at his eyes. No tears, but his emotions still burn through. "Thank you Brannon-Brook, you have made this old man a part of something great once more. For this, you have my eternal gratitude." He finishes as he barely bows toward the recruits, and blows them a kiss.
"Now, enough pleasantries. GAIA, what can you tell us about Ms. Webber's new ARCH-type?" Ravinok yells out from his console.
"Analysis incomplete. Current data processing results suggest a 46% type correlation with biokinesis-based aetheric healing."
Jocelyn's face breaks out into a wide smile. "Healing!" She whispers to herself excitedly, immensely satisfied with the result.
"Hm,… interesting." The doctor mumbles as he scratches his chin in intrigued contemplation.
The day continues and more of the recruits go through the synchronization procedure, each producing powerful combinations of ARCH-types. Reyn's excitement grows as the day progresses, eager to find out what combinations of power he would possess, until, finally, his turn comes to pass. He is moved into the chamber and positioned into the seat. A crack of confidence across his face as he settles into the chair and prepares for the amazing display aetherics that would envelope the room and astound his fellow recruits.
"Ready, Mitchells?" The Doctor yells from his console. Reyn answers the doctor with a raised thumb and the doctor starts the process. The machine springs to life with its electrical hums and pulses and everyone looks on in wonder and anticipation, eager to see what interactions the son of Lunara Mitchells would produce.
The machine hits his neck with powerful pulses of energy. He closes his eyes to take a deep breath, relaxing his mind and body, as he lies bracing himself for the aetheric wonders that would soon surround him. But, instead, he flicks his eyelids open and his vision is immediately gripped by an absolute darkness while all sense of time or stimulation is robbed from his mind and body. And then, a sudden splash.
He again opens his eyes, this time, to a familiar sight. He was him. The him that exists inside himself. The realization brings with it a sigh of relief, though Reyn wasn't sure why he even felt relieved. He was again stuck in his own head with no way out, waiting for some bright light to take him back to his reality.
It was a comforting thought, he realizes. Though he had no idea why he was where he was, he knew where he was and where he would be when he left. It was known when he was floating on an ocean of unknowns.
But, again the question haunts him. Why was he here, was this his aetherics? Climbing into his own mind to let his consciousness relax on a calm ocean? Didn't seem very useful, he thinks. He lay there pondering the thought for what seemed like hours, drifting aimlessly, but endlessly content. Thoughts and ideas and dreams and nightmares all seep into him from the possibilities he floats on, fueling his contemplations. Until a plop startles him out of his trance and he jerks about in the water, twisting and turning to find the source of the sound. But only endless calm water finds him in every direction. Just him and the ocean.
He slaps his forehead as an epiphany finds it. An endless ocean, plopping sounds. Bubbles. It was obvious. He takes several deep breaths and calms his entire body, he is confident in his diving ability. Brannon-Brook made sure he would be. With his body and mind prepared, he takes one more breath and dives below the surface.
He is immediately greeted by an ominous darkness reaching up towards him while rolling strands of light break through the surface of the water, emanating out from obscure origins. Reyn searches around furiously for any sign of anything, but only finds an endless and lonely abyss, licked and kissed by the occasional rays of light.
As he swims he starts to realize that he has been swimming, for longer than he can remember, without an urge to breathe. In fact, he realized, he has been inside his mind for what felt like days, yet no natural biological processes seemed to affect him. No urges to eat or sleep or any other bodily functions. Another obvious observation he missed, he contends, as an urge to slap his forehead assails him.
He floats again aimlessly, now finding himself in the transition zone between the dark abyss below him and the strangely illuminated surface above. He considers more of what he knows and what it means, but he does not ponder for long. A flickering of brilliant light catches his periphery. Deep below him, a twinkling star seems to sparkle. He looks on as the light comes shooting up from the abyss like a bullet. Reyn panics as the object beams toward him, closing his eyes in defeat as it draws near. The sudden movement of water tickles his body and he slowly opens his eyes to find a large, glowing sphere floating before him in the ocean's transition zone.
He moves closer to inspect, the bubble's shimmer pulls him toward it, and as his eyes accustom to the brightness, he begins to see something within. A familiar scene.
He sees himself in his true reality, still relaxed on the chair in the synchronisation chamber, his face a picture of calm and confidence. He moves closer to inspect and his eyes quiver with contemplation. They flick around the luminous sight trying to absorb as much visual information as they can find as he witnesses the scene playout in real-time inside the bubbles swirling interior.
He sees clearly as the real him opens his eyes and looks around the chamber, he seems confused and dejected when the room remains unperturbed by any sign of aetherics. The scene suddenly fades to a shimmering blur of aether, and Reyn's mind snaps back when the realization of the nature of his power hits him. Precognition. As he rubs his head making sense of the revelation, the bubble suddenly starts to ascend and Reyn watches, aghast, as it erupts from the transition zone and bursts with a plop when it hits the ocean's surface.
Precognition. He ponders the possibilities it provides, twisting his mind as he feeds it more and more factors and inputs to process but as he starts to strain under the mental pressure, another bubble suddenly appears. He squints, but it's unmistakable, the shimmer of aether in a glowing sphere shining far off in the distance.
Without thinking he bursts forward and swims toward it as fast as his body can muster. But his mind wants faster, and he feels the ocean itself pull him toward his target and he suddenly bursts through the water like a torpedo. He stops just short of the aether bubble in an eruption of currents and flowing water, yet the aether bubble remains undisturbed. He quickly moves closer and finds the same scene playing out, he notices the scene plays from a new angle, and as he slowly shifts around the bubble, he learns he can view the scene from every angle. It plays again, for about 10 seconds, showing the same events before fading into the same shimmering blur and launching to the surface to pop.
The puzzle pieces were coming together and Reyn was finally finding new answers. He understood his aetherics, and more of who and what he was. And as the understanding settled into his mind, it brought with it a torrent of disappointment.
The glimmer of another bubble appears and he swiftly moves toward it in a burst of rushing water. He finds again the same scene, and watches solemnly. He already knows what he must do, perhaps it was the puzzle pieces coming together or perhaps it was an innate understanding brought on by the aether, but he knew the bubble must burst and he must accept the reality it presents.
Reyn blinks. A sudden bright light burning his eyes.
His classmates stare at the chamber in perplexity, still watching intently as the machine continues to hum and pulse at Reyn's neck. But, the room surrounding him remains unperturbed. No flicker of particles or fluctuations of energy. No strange forces or interactions. Nothing.
"Synchronization complete."
—
Unknown: ???
—
"Hmmmm… disappointing," Ravinok sighs deeply. "But not entirely unexpected. GAIA, analysis please."
"Analysis complete. Unknown ARCH-type detected. No correlation with known type frequencies found."
The doctor's eyes widened in shock as Reyn is removed from the chair and leaves the chamber embarrassed and dejected. The synchronization results disappoint him as the realization of his ARCH-type's potential shatters his conviction and expectations. He sulks away, awash with disillusionment, which Ravinok is quick to notice.
"Chin up, Mitchells. New ARCH-types are always worth celebrating. You never know what it could mean, my boy. There lay endless possibilities in the unknown! Remember this, Mitchells. Endless possibilities! But they will remain out of our reach if we do not learn to understand them. yes?"
Reyn responds with a half smile. "Yes, sir."
"We will learn. We will understand. Patience, Mitchells!" The doctor encourages him as he slinks back to the group. Ghazal welcomes him with crude words of comfort as he returns to his seat. The rest of the procedures finish without incident and 16 new archaners leave the HQ that day. A triumph for GAARD and its Brannon-Brook initiative.
Reyn's disappointment carries him straight to bed, refusing him any further enjoyment of the day. Ghazal knocks at his friend's door a few times during the evening to check on him, but there is no response, instead, Reyn lays pondering the possibilities of his ARCH-type and it's power of precognition as he dwells deeper on the experiences that occurred in his mind, trying desperately to reassure himself that whatever the future may hold, it will be enough to achieve his goal.
"Reject the Impossible!" He whispers to himself, as his tired mind drags him off to sleep.