Chapter Theme Music: Triste Gaîté ~ Electrypnose (Sweet Sadness)155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFNO4W1CFRW
<03/29/2013 - 12:58 | Cage High School (Library), Austell, GA, USA>
155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8j6fiD97Ml
Every now and then, I would duck out of certain classes I was ahead in, spending more time in the school's media center even if I didn't have a lot going on. For one, it was quiet in the library; nice, quiet, and relaxing. After how I've been feeling for the past week, being in this quiet space was a godsend for me.155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjGQh4AR5Kg
155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYJ6xO1NcOR
"Just take it easy then. It's not like you to keep getting so wound up like this." Lumina was talking about me, referring to the strangeness of my most recent days.155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqygqujRKyE
155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpMDxeCwAgS
I was feeling anxious, nervous about something I didn't understand, though Lumina mistook this behavior of mine for the onset of UAD. At first, I thought it was UAD too, but by now, I knew it was something else. "I don't know what's going on Lumina. I can't really explain it, but these sensations keep popping into my head at random, not that I can make sense of them. It's not UAD."155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3tcBFNKCTk
155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzxghgtsYBD
Complementing my own warning, I jerked up from my seat and gasped, my mind immediately overwhelmed with confusing emotions and visual imagined flashes of a stranger. It pertained to the same student sitting right next to me. Though she noticed my odd twitchy behavior, I didn't speak to her or try looking her way. The moment I experienced just now, even though it left as soon as it came, I felt as if I somehow learned something about this student that I shouldn't normally know, mainly some of her own personality, and all without ever speaking to her. It wasn't the normal chain of observative thoughts I have of others; this time it was intrusive and forceful, far outside of my own control. Normally, I would just assume it was my imagination going wild, but this has already happened before this week, dozens of times just like this.155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrfLUo9gXP5
155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTFGf30dVho
"You're really jumpy, that much I can see."155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjYT687hlEQ
155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPoNEaMlvNH
"Just give me a moment Lumina." I had to give myself some time to figure this out on my own, since none of it made sense to me. Maybe it was because of all the caffeine I've been drinking lately, but something outside the ordinary persisted in my own sensory input today, and I needed to find out why... This girl next to me, my mind seemed responsive to her a moment ago. I wonder what would happen if I tried to let it happen again, whatever it is.155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ75bVybTuH1
155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVK8eH3PTBP
Lumina gave me the time I wanted, so I decided to put a theory to the test. I've already been experiencing these weird moments of delusions for a while now, but I'm becoming suspicious about whether these spurts of information are real or fictional. There's only one way to find out. The random information I keep getting out of the blue, the way it keeps flooding my mind at random, there's only one phenomena I can think of that would cause this.155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBNRHxZMAYV
155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuUfNWVGzzg
I shut my eyes, calming my mind and sorting my thoughts for full mental concentration. I carefully compared the difference between the different types of psionic projection, like the two modes responsible for calling or hanging up on Lumina. There was still another type of psionic projection, one that relied on echo return data and less energy. I tried the technique I learned before, expecting to learn nothing of it. However, when I waited long enough in the middle of my own concentration, it happened again.155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt6YX3aMTES
155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLch7ShtjTF
Scattered, fragmented visual moments about this mysterious student next to me flooded into my mind, though these visual moments were more detailed and lasted long enough for me to understand them better. In the time span of about eight seconds, I saw the random school moments of this student throughout the rest of their day, broken down, but enough to learn something of it.155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuNpnv5YzKi
155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXrkE4bMnWV
"Are you okay?"155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMixZIDDZuX
155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm1a9UA3Dwm
"Just give me a minute Lumina... And don't interrupt." After already invoking the ability successfully, assuming I wasn't just losing my mind, I knew I wouldn't need to do it again for the same target. However, I had to be sure if this had any merit or not. So, I spoke up to the stranger. "Excuse me?"155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡakTffht68W
155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2kPK8LjgJJ
"Yes? What is it?" The girl didn't appear to be in any particular mood aside from neutral, indicating that she was either tired or didn't care why I would suddenly start talking to her.155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVnskkZVcSS
155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiU5sf88PJP
"This question might sound like it's coming out of thin air, but by chance, do you have band or a music class later today?" Of the flashes I saw, the most notable ones involved this girl messing around with instruments in the only music class we have in school. I asked her a specific question for this very reason.155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoAUZifcDYX
155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjLML8UoAb3
"Y— yes? Why do you ask?" She was obviously confused about how or why I knew something as random as this, but I couldn't give her the full version.155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6O8u6VzSf8
155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkJcD9VeRJu
"Don't worry about it... Just, have a good day, I guess."155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkzvYosGSYV
155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfOSTyaZFcH
"Oh... Okay then." The awkwardness could be felt from across the room, but my mind was as far away from the social situation as it could be, given what I just confirmed.155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHS70e6QaaC
155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqbbeZvBff6
"What the heck was that all about?"155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8HRGSFlADY
155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSEM6uE0o3p
"Lumina? I need you to know something, and when you do, I need you not to freak out or get overexcited about it."155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDbnhNDwyQc
155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlqDlBrON15
"Just spit it out."155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK2dbFbpqAk
155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8aveXxDsR2
It's harder to spit out than she realizes. After all, once I make this declarative statement, it won't be easy to take it back. Still, I'm now more sure than ever what's really going on, the reason I've been on edge all week. "Remember that weird moment a while back when I was having clairvoyant visions of the future? Well, guess what just came back to me."155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYKIIAW8vuI
155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNA9VNPwCUh
Naturally, she was shocked. Anyone would panic a little to learn that a human being suddenly develops a new psychic power. "You're having clairvoyant visions? Oh my god! I didn't know!"155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkTeIoyFsgu
155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOHSEvnmLrC
"Neither did I, until just now."155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy6EslpRYD8
155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡePlWe2NhAM
"You just invoked it a second ago, when you shut your eyes?"155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR6fjPl3fJI
155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAJTuj0krj1
"Yes." Her phrasing reminded me that Lumina can't actually see any aspect of my clairvoyant vision when I invoke it, despite the two of us being telepathically linked. I don't know if it's by design, or if it's because the Altiri don't have the power to use future-sight clairvoyance.155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVOp4TBXjCf
155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUYO0hbA2HA
"That's incredible! Unless you don't want the ability, in which case, maybe not..." Yeah, she can't hide her own excitement either, just as I thought.155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyXQf5SN8Gg
155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJGUxx8poC5
"I just want to know more about this thing. I mean, why did it suddenly come back? Why now? And why do I suddenly have more control over it than before?"155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNvzZMeo897
155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG9UW9GUUyD
"Maybe the ability of clairvoyance for you was never developed in the first place, not completely, until just now. I mean, you never invoked it manually on your own in the past, did you?"155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6OJIqMYuCU
155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlssHhDsXRp
"You have a point there." Lumina planned to teach me manual control of clairvoyance, so that it would stop happening automatically. It was a good plan at the time, but after that day when they first started, it went away on its own, so we never had to worry about it. "I don't know. Something about this is strange. It isn't like before Lumina. I feel three times as alert as I normally do, like there's this constant buzz in my head. I keep feeling strange things coming off other people at random that don't make a lot of sense."155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFiNZkyeUbr
155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9ME87bmiBO
"If that's true, then... Yes, I understand now!"155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUYpmDb7PHu
155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGZtMmHdZKS
"You do?" Enlighten me, master of psionics.155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ08FkLTt5cy
155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlDrF6tEhQp
"The way you've been feeling for the past week must actually be residual psionic data your brain is picking up, a precursor to activating one of any Clair-sensing ability. This isn't like before. Maybe what I said then only applies now, about you reaching your peaking period."155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv3AJD70HaO
155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡio9dN16JwY
"Peaking period?" I remember hearing that phrase before, but does it mean what I think it does?155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSO1aRWCg8n
155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTQ7amMkxJ6
"If you're reaching your peaking period right now, then it means all of your psionic potential will be at its absolute highest! You actually can learn how to use clairvoyance if that is the case, perhaps even more than clairvoyance."155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDNCiURsHNz
155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuMyLkXhBFd
"Right, that peaking period." I remember now. It's like puberty in a psionic sense. Active Scions only reach a peaking period once in their life... "Does this mean I'll have better control over our own connections?"155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYYxa1s5gn9
155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6XoSd2cFT4
"I don't know how it will affect telepathy, but you should at this point be capable of more than you were before."155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd7V1ga2AYx
155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4qlvyNz9Kf
"Okay, then tell me this Lumina. If I do decide to suddenly use and start invoking future-sight clairvoyance, what then?"155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡepsnG5gha8
155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzNEVEoKtWB
"You can do whatever you want with it. I mean, I can teach you how to control your psionic concentration better than you already do, and in a sense, learn clairvoyance perfectly. But I've never personally used that ability in a future-tense before."155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqZyrTwJYo7
155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzc9AQGVIEY
"That means I'll be able to see into the future with clairvoyance, the future of any person I target... It's not the same as a premonition though, is it?"155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwKMCcQi5lc
155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVbH9vhFuTf
"It's not the same. Even future-sight clairvoyance has some expected rules it would follow, like the fact that you would only see up to eighteen hours into the future max, and only if that target is in the physical location you focus on when invoking the ability. Plus, it won't work on everyone, such as the ten percent."155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnMhpWGl6vI
155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXB1VklNwkQ
Many memories of our past conversations were called up at once, which nearly confused me, so I had to slow down a bit. I wasn't too sure before why I was so against the idea of clairvoyance; maybe I was just scared. If these aren't like premonitions, then I can't accidently wreck the entire future so easily with this ability; the eighteen hour rule makes it a little safer. Plus, it might be nice to be able to learn things about people I shouldn't possibly know. Maybe I can use the opportunity to prove to others that Lumina exists... Or maybe it will make me look like a creep. "Either way, if I try to ignore it, I'm sure the ability will start going off on its own, and I don't want that anymore." If I'm going to learn random aspects of people's lives from a remote distance, I'd rather be in the control seat of that.155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWdTGKQ9w5k
155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKNLz11gCMk
"Very well. I'll teach you all you need to know. You may have just used it a moment ago, but there are some rules to follow for mental and psionic concentration."155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjvNIRt4GxV
155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrKiyq6SM0M
"Alright. I'll let you teach me. Just don't get carried away." I might as well give it a shot. Days ago, I wondered if I could use the information I learned about the History of the English Language as a means of proving Lumina's existence to everybody around me, but it turns out that won't work. It worked for me because I'm the one who matched the data up perfectly. However, for anybody else who wasn't there in the moment, the matter would simply be my word against theirs. I found my concrete evidence, but it only applies to myself, not anyone else. I guess that's better than no evidence at all, but maybe I can expand on it if I learn to master clairvoyance and demonstrate the ability to other humans successfully. Heck, maybe I can become like a super hero or something, with a real crystal ball, running around stopping disasters before they could start.155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZtymSGfbvP
155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbbNs7dzQFL
"The first element you need to practice is patience. Don't get carried away. Your peaking period can last for months or even a year; there's time to learn everything and master it."155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk5Pi8Ld4iS
155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzyH3eIOHAt
"Okay, what's the second element?"155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi1CwH78V1T
155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNfGXlsRlaZ
"Hydration. I know you already drink lots of water, but prior to each attempted invocation of clairvoyance, you should take bigger chugs to avoid damage from the ability use."155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi1C0l0PFhK
155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwDaOl92zoG
"Jesus! How much water does psionic power drain anyway?" It's true; this is one symptom of being with Lumina all the time. I now drink nearly a gallon of water a day just to feel healthy from the effects of constant telepathy, and I got to that point without realizing it. I'm also so used to it now that I drink this much water on days Lumina and I are not connected. But now I have to drink even more just because of clairvoyance?155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVZ4FtFYLJv
155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhVkVAJJ2y3
"Any psionic power will drain you, mentally, physically, and it can even stress your psionic core out a bit."155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI0vODhv4ac
155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnatIODnBiR
"Psionic core?"155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGhFqwwyK09
155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡySlziU9iZD
"The psionic core of the brain. It handles stress known as psionic load whenever we use psionic abilities, such as telepathy. When you get used to these abilities, it can handle more. However, you have to keep these abilities in constant practice after they've been learned. Fall out of practice for too long, and the ability atrophies, like a muscle."155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEezTYucPfv
155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDC1S9La1F9
There was already one annoying aspect to this I didn't want to deal with, the need to constantly invoke clairvoyance after learning it. However, I'll deal with that later. "Well I'm not really going to learn anything just sitting here. I figure learning clairvoyance will stop making me feel so on edge all the time."155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFws5xeQr8V
155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz6P3puSQM2
"Like I said, it's probably your mind picking up residual psionic passive projections from potential targets of Clair-sensing abilities. Once you start using clairvoyance more, those background sensations causing you distress should disappear entirely."155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ6OR3rDknb
155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ05JSDHeyft
"Then what are we waiting for? No better time than now."155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsFqn816haY
155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSfBMx1Y0ey
"The third element you need to master is total mental concentration. Luckily, you already have pretty good control over this. Despite how many chaotic thoughts you have every moment, you seem to be capable of incredible moments of concentration."155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYDqg56fan0
155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdgkTSlBGZQ
"That's because I practice controlling these thoughts all the time, especially in my writing. It's useful when I can turn all of those side thoughts to focus on the same item at once. I can use it on books or anything else."155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcjMN7fET5h
155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt1ulzeBSp5
"Clairvoyance works based on sight, so you will have to concentrate on the desire to see the future of whoever you target. Since we are still practicing, you should use yourself as a target to determine success and validity. You may not hear any sound like Altiri can, but that's a physical limitation to the human body and simple clairvoyance, so I wouldn't worry about it."155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIPD1XzlCNE
155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm3IXIDhoat
"Let's do it then Lumina. Let's prove once and for all if these psionic powers are real or not, beyond a shadow of a doubt."
155Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG3v9sWXQWs
