**********
Jared and the others descended to the underground library, just like they did every morning for the past three months, but, as they got out of the elevator, Ferran announced, “We’re going to do something a little different today.”
With an excited look on his face, Ferran gestured for everyone to gather around him instead of leading them to the chairs they usually sat in. “So far, you have learned to focus your thoughts effectively to speak Amatay out loud, but in this first exercise, I want you to practice focusing your thoughts to project them to other people. We call this beoveh.”
“Beoveh...” Paul considered the word for a moment, then asked, “Doesn’t that mean hearer and speaker?”
Ferran smiled. “Yes. Beoveh is the term we use to describe how we,” he made air quotes with his fingers, “call each other. By projecting words and listening through brain waves, we can communicate across the Light with our knowledge of Amatay and Diestro.”
Jared realized he had seen others do what Ferran was talking about. “Oh. So, that’s how you can talk to other people that aren’t around.”
“Exactly.” Ferran grabbed something off a nearby table. “And, that’s what you’re going to learn to do. I have some training devices, called beos, for you to use to help you hone your skills with beoveh.” He opened his hand and gave Danielle, Jared, and Paul each a tiny, beige, plastic, cone-shaped object. “Put these in your ears.”
Jared put the tiny listening device snugly in his right ear. A high-tech device. Cool.
“Now, I want you two,” Ferran pointed at Danielle and Paul, “to go to opposite sides of the library.” He pointed to his left and right. “Jared and I will stay here in the middle.” He pointed at his feet. “ I’m going to give him a message to relay to one of you, so be listening.”
As Jared’s friends walked away, Ferran stooped down to Jared’s ear level and whispered, “Jared, I want you to tell Danielle, with just a whisper, that you like ice cream. But first, you must picture her in your mind. Ready?”
Jared nodded.
Ferran stood upright and nodded as he mouthed, “Now.”
Jared closed his eyes and pictured Danielle—her auburn hair and blue eyes. Then, he thought of ice cream and whispered, “I like ice cream.”
Jared waited for a response but got nothing.
Ferran coached him a little more. “Try saying her name first, then give the message.”
“Danielle.” Jared pictured her face again and then concentrated on giving his message. “I like ice cream.”
Nothing.
Ferran asked, “Did you picture her?”
“Yes.”
“Nothing else?”
“Well... the ice cream.”
Ferran held up a finger. “That’s the problem.”
Jared frowned. “What is?”
“You need to picture Danielle and just Danielle.” Addressing everyone, Ferran said, “You must first focus on the receiver of the message, not the message. Once you have a connection, then you can focus more on the message.”
“Okay okay.” Jared closed his eyes. Once he had a mental image of Danielle, he whispered, “I like ice cream.” He repeated it several times, concentrating harder and harder on seeing Danielle’s face in his mind each time.
Danielle called out (she didn’t use beoveh), “Alright, I get it. You like ice cream.”
Jared raised his eyebrows and smiled. He was impressed with himself. I did it!
Ferran said, “Danielle. Paul. I want you to try to talk to each other by envisioning who you want to talk to, then saying what you want to tell the other person. Danielle, you first. Paul, once you hear her, try to reply.”
Jared watched as both his friends took turns concentrating, and moving their lips, as they relayed their messages.
Soon, Jared heard Danielle’s voice in his head. “Jared. I like ice cream, too.”
Then, Paul’s voice filled his head. “Jared. Danielle likes ice cream. And, guess what?”
Jared knew what Paul was going to say, so he pictured him—his black hair and olive complexion. “You like ice cream, too.”
Through beoveh, he heard Paul say, “That’s right,” and start giggling.
When Danielle’s laughter immediately followed Paul’s, Jared realized that Paul and Danielle had planned together that they would say what they said to Jared.
So, they think they’re funny, huh? Well, I can be funny, too. Jared figured that it was as good a time as any to try to talk to two people at once (he had seen it done before), so he pictured both of his friends and then said, “Danielle. Paul. Okay, here’s a joke I heard on—”
Ferran put his hand on Jared’s shoulder. “Alright. Danielle. Paul. Come back over here, please.”
Jared wondered if Paul and Danielle had both heard him try to talk to them at the same time. Oh well. I’ll try it again some other time.
Ferran smiled at Jared and the others. “You did a great job. With practice, you should be able to communicate with anyone you know, no matter how far away.”
Okay. What next? Jared was ready for more. This is fun.
“Now that you can connect with others, I need to train you in mind control. But,” Ferran held up a finger, “it’s not the kind of mind control you’re thinking of. No, I’m not talking about controlling others’ minds but guarding your mind from being controlled by others.” He turned to Jared. “Come here, Jared.”
Jared walked over to him.
Ferran said, “You are a chicken.”
A picture of a chicken went through Jared’s head. He uncontrollably started strutting around, bobbing his head, scratching at the floor, and clucking.
Ferran held up his hand. “Stop. You’re Jared.”
Jared snapped out of his trance. “How did you do that? I couldn’t control... hey, I thought this wasn’t about controlling other people’s minds.”
“It’s not.” Ferran shook his head. “But, I wanted to make you aware that you’re susceptible to suggestions from others. So, it’s imperative that you learn to block someone who’s trying to control you. Dreggan can’t have power over your mind or influence you if you don’t let him in.”
Jared definitely didn’t want anyone messing around with his mind. Okay. Got it. “Yeah. I can see how that could be a good thing to know.”
Ferran smiled. “Well then, it’s a good thing you’re here because I’m going to tell you how to protect your mind.” He cleared his throat. “Let’s use our chicken example. I told you to be a chicken, which is an animal, right?” (Jared nodded.) “But, you’re not an animal. You’re a human being. So, to block the chicken command, you can picture yourself as a person. Let’s try it again.”
Ferran looked at Jared. “Jared, you are a chicken.”
Jared immediately started to feel like a chicken again, but he quickly tried to counteract the suggestion by thinking of only himself. I’m a boy, not a chicken. Jared was surprised how quickly the urge to act like a chicken went away.
“Good.” Ferran nodded at Jared. “Thinking of a truth is a very useful way of blocking mind control. In some cases though, it will be more effective to resist a suggestion by thinking of the opposite or something that is completely different than the thought being put into your head, or you can think of something comforting, trustworthy, or safe.”
“Excuse me, Ferran,” Danielle said. “I know you said you’re not going to teach us how to control someone else’s mind, but I’m curious about something. If I told Jared to be a chicken right now, would he obey me if he didn’t try to block it?”
Ferran answered, “No. And, I’ll tell you why not. You haven’t mastered word usage, yet. You need to have power behind your words. For example, if it was cold outside, and you wanted to express irony, you might say, ‘It sure is hot.’ But, it wouldn’t suddenly get hot. It would take great power to make that happen.”
“You mean it’s possible to control the weather?” Paul asked.
Fe
rran raised his eyebrows. “The power of the mind is limitless.”
Ferran hadn’t said, “Yes,” but Jared knew that Ferran’s comment was his way of saying that he didn’t want Jared, Paul, or Danielle to dwell on advanced Diestro powers because, although controlling the weather could be possible, it was way beyond their training at that point.
Ferran waved a hand dismissively. “But, I’m getting ahead of myself. For now, let’s focus on blocking unfriendly suggestions. I’d like Paul to practice blocking the chicken command next, then I’ll work with Danielle”
Paul and Danielle each took a turn blocking suggestions from Ferran to act like chickens.
“Fantastic. Now, let’s move onto something more difficult.” Ferran pulled a pocketknife out of the front pocket of his pants and opened the blade. Jared heard a quiet click as it locked into place.
“If you find yourselves going up against an enemy, he might try to turn you against each other.” Ferran held the knife out and gestured for Jared to take it. “Jared, kill me with this knife.”
Jared couldn’t resist the command. He grabbed the weapon and slashed at Ferran. Ferran jumped out of the way, though.
Jared paused when he heard Ferran’s voice echo in his head. “Try harder. Resist.”
He tried to muster some resistance, but, a second time, he swung the blade at Ferran, who easily dodged it.
Fighting against the urge to attack Ferran again, Jared began searching for something that was comforting or the opposite of hate or fighting. The first thing Jared thought of was from the HST: his mother’s loving embrace.
The desire to kill Ferran left him. He flung the knife down on the floor with disgust and stepped back.
“Excellent.” Ferran picked up the knife.
Jared said, slightly out of breath and mystified, “It was like I was outside of myself. Then, I was suddenly able to grab myself and put my body back on. It was weird. You guys gotta try it.” He stepped back, signaling for his friends to come forward.
After a few attempts, Danielle and Paul were also able to deflect the kill command.
While they were all standing around congratulating each other, without any explanation, Ferran stared into Jared’s eyes and spoke. “The brain chip in your head is broken.”
The words filled Jared’s head, and then his skull suddenly felt hallow. He even thought he could feel the MSI rolling around inside.
He put both hands to either side of his head and cried out, “It’s broken!”
But, not wanting to accept it and struggling to find the truth, he remembered being encompassed by Light when his kevanshu was joined with those of Paul and Danielle. He also recalled the scan that revealed his neural connections were active. He felt a shot of excitement through him as he convinced himself the chip wasn’t broken.
The image of a white hand superimposed on a brick wall flashed before his eyes. Jared immediately stood up and started reciting something, but he didn’t understand what he was saying.
When he stopped speaking, Jared looked around at the stunned faces of those in the room with him. “What did I just say?”
Paul said, “I don’t know. But, my head started to throb, and I felt warm all over.”
“Me too,” Danielle added. “And, the hairs on the back of my neck stood up.”
Ferran, who had a perplexed look on his face, said, “It sounded like some sort of code. Jared, what were you thinking about when you blocked my suggestion?”
“One second, I thought the chip was rattling around in my head; the next, I remembered that the neural connections were active.” Jared shrugged.
Ferran asked, “Anything else? Did you see anything else right before you started speaking in code?”
Jared didn’t think everyone wanted to keep hearing about his hand visions, but he decided to tell Ferran about the hand on the wall, anyway. “Yeah. A drawing of a white hand on a red, brick wall.”
Ferran scratched his chin for a moment. “A hand, huh?”
Wanting to know what Ferran was thinking, Jared asked, “What does the hand on the wall mean?”
Ferran furrowed his brow as he thought about it for a moment. “Well... I suppose that, when you were thinking about the MSIs being active, since the MSIs are part of Teruvisa’s new technology, the wall appeared because it’s a symbol of the strength and security of that new technology.” He didn’t sound very sure, though.
That explains the wall but not the hand. Jared persisted. “But, what about the hand?”
Ferran’s expression was unreadable as he replied, “It’s a signal.”
There has to be more to it. Jared wondered if Ferran was holding something back. “So, every time I see a hand, it’s just a signal?”
“As far as I know.” Ferran shrugged. “That’s all I was told it was.” He seemed to be telling the truth.
Jared was a little disappointed that Ferran couldn’t explain more about the hand vision. But, maybe he knows what the signal is for. “So, what’s the hand signaling?”
Ferran raised his eyebrows and then smiled. “That it’s time for you to move onto the next phase of your training!” Without warning, he started jumping up and down and cheering, “The MSIs are on! The MSIs are on!”
Jared was stunned. What? He didn’t know what to say.
Ferran grabbed Jared by the arm and pulled him over to a computer terminal. “Come on. I’ll show you.” After getting the “book” that contained the neurointerfacer program, inserting it in the terminal, and starting the program, Ferran pointed to the touch pad. “Go ahead. It’s ready.”
Jared was nervous and excited at the same time. He placed his thumb on the touch pad.
Ferran read the words on the screen aloud, “Power Status... on!” and then started cheering again.
Maybe it was seeing the words on the screen, or enough time had passed for it to sink in since Ferran first announced it, but whatever the reason, Jared was overcome with emotion at the realization that, The MSIs are on! He started laughing and cheering along with Ferran. Now, all we need are the passwords. Jared wondered when that would be.
Ferran quickly had Danielle and Paul check the statuses of their MSIs. Both of theirs were on, as well.
After a few moments of celebration, Ferran called out, “Okay, okay. I know it’s exciting. You guys do rock! But... we need to go to Teruvisa.”
Jared took a few deep breaths to calm down and wiped the tears out of his eyes. (He had been cheering and laughing so hard, it had brought tears to his eyes.)
Ferran added, “And, since the window of opportunity to complete your training is limited, we should leave as soon as possible. I need to take you,” he looked at Jared and the others, “back to Teruvisa to meet with Manasto and Verissa, and then you’ll start your training with Rohlwig.” He turned to leave. “So, let’s get going.”
Jared’s mood instantly changed—like someone had flipped a switch inside of him—from excitement to gloom when Paul asked pitifully, “Do we have to leave?”
Ferran turned back around and looked at Paul. His huge grin was replaced by a solemn look. He seemed to be searching for the right words to say. It was pretty obvious to Jared, by the look on Ferran’s face, that Ferran wanted to spend more time with Paul but knew that Paul had to continue his training elsewhere.
Ferran cleared his throat and said only, “We do.”
Paul’s shoulders dropped. He pleaded, “Can’t we keep training here,” and indicated the library, “with you? You could teach us whatever else we need to know, right? Or, you could have Manasto send for the other Masters to come train us here.”
“No.” Ferran shook his head solemnly as he stepped closer to Paul. “I know we’ve only been together for a brief time. It’s not that I don’t want you to stay longer, but this is the way it has to be. Besides, we’ll have a little more time together. I’ll be taking you to Teruvisa personally.
“Also, we’ll be able to spend a lot of time together after this is all over.” He
placed a hand on Paul’s shoulder. “As you continue your training, remember that. Okay?”
Paul looked down and nodded slowly.
Ferran continued. “The main reasons for having you here were to perform the HST and to give you a good foundation in Diestro and our language, Amatay. I’ve done both of those things, so it’s time to get you started on the next phase of your training.”
Without another word, Ferran turned and started walking toward the elevator. Paul, Jared, and Danielle followed.
Jared felt a little down about having to leave, but mostly he was excited. While Ferran’s lessons were great—especially the mind control exercise—Jared had a feeling that the lessons with Rohlwig and Tiersda would give him plenty more to practice. He was overcome with the desire to learn more Amatay and enhance his skills with Diestro.
Once they were up in the house, Ferran told the youths, “Go get your robes.”
Jared went in his room and grabbed his and Paul’s robes out of the closet. He handed Paul’s to him and put his own on.
After they were all back in the hallway, Ferran led Jared, Danielle, and Paul downstairs, through the kitchen, and to the garage. Ferran opened the door and turned on the light.
Backed into the garage was a rusty, old Buick sedan with faded, brown paint.
Jared was puzzled. With all the technology he has access to, why would Ferran choose to drive a run-down, old car? Pointing at the car, he joked, “Nice car. But, do you think it’ll make it? Wherever we’re going better be close.”
Danielle and Paul both stifled laughs.
Ferran smiled. “What?” He shrugged. “I had to keep up appearances. I had to pretend to be living off a teacher’s salary, and I didn’t want to stand out by having a flashy, new car. Besides, it runs great.”
Paul got in the front seat. Jared and Danielle hopped in back.
When Ferran got in the driver’s seat, he reached up and pressed the button of the garage door remote clipped on the sun visor. The garage door rolled up, and sunlight poured in. Then, he started the engine, which Jared noticed did run smoothly and quietly.
Ferran pulled down the gearshift lever on the steering column, and the car rolled forward. Once they were out of the garage, Ferran reached up and pressed the button on the garage door opener again to close the garage door.
When he noticed Ferran looking around vigilantly, Jared looked out his window. Does he see something?
After the car was out of the driveway, the car quickly accelerated down the street. Ferran must have slammed the gas pedal down.
Jared’s heart began to race like the car’s engine. “What’s going on? Is someone after us?” He quickly snapped his head left and right but saw nothing unusual.
Ferran glanced in his rear view mirror at Jared. “No. I just want to be safe.” (Jared thought it was ironic that Ferran used the word “safe” because Ferran was driving fast and aggressively, not safely.) “I’m not going to make it easy for anyone to follow us in case we are being followed.”
After going several blocks, Ferran finally slowed the car down to a normal speed but kept glancing in his rear view and side view mirrors.
Jared leaned forward. “So, Ferran, where is the portal to Teruvisa? Lake Arrowhead?”
“No.” Ferran looked in his side view mirror again. He obviously wasn’t taking his own advice about relaxing. “Only I know about this gateway.”
Paul turned toward Ferran. “Where is it?”
Ferran took a long look out his side window and then faced forward again. “I’ll let you know when we get there. But, it’s not very far.”
Paul turned his head to look out his side window and leaned his head back on the headrest. He breathed out an, “Oh.”
Ferran stayed tense, constantly looking around and checking his mirrors.
Jared was anxious to get the drive over with, not only because no one was talking and he was bored—reading street signs and watching the scenery pass by weren’t exactly interesting—but because all he could think about was the hand symbol he had seen again and what the next part of the training would be like with Rohlwig.
After a while, Ferran turned the car onto a street lined with palm trees and then onto a narrow road that bordered an orange grove. They went a short distance farther, then Ferran pulled the car over onto the dirt shoulder.
Jared supposed the gateway was nearby in the trees, and he expected Ferran would tell them all to get out. However, Ferran just looked around, checking his side and rear view mirrors some more, without saying anything. Also, the car engine was still idling.
“What’s going on? What are we waiting for?” Jared asked.
“I’m just making sure there aren’t any other cars around.” Ferran drummed on the steering wheel with both thumbs as he looked around outside some more. “I wouldn’t want them to get in the way.”
Ferran looked in his rear view mirror again, and a few seconds later, a car sped past them.
Once the white compact turned off onto another road, Ferran said, “Okay. Here we go.”
And with that, he pulled the car out into the middle of the street. However, they hadn’t gone very far when he stopped the vehicle again.
Now what? Jared wondered.
Ferran leaned toward Paul. “Excuse me, Paul. I need to transform the car for kenulae.”
Jared recognized that word. It was a term used to describe a method of travel—hypertravel. But, in this car? How are we going to go that fast in this old heap of metal?
Jared looked over Paul’s shoulder and saw Ferran open the glove box, reach inside, and then push a small, round, yellow button. There was a loud click, and then a creaking noise came from the rear of the car.
Jared turned around. The trunk had opened.
Ferran said, “And now for the cloaking device.”
After a quick blast from the car horn, the trunk lid slammed shut. Jared snapped back around and saw all the windows, including the windshield, go completely black. The tint of the glass made it impossible to see out.
Next, a small holographic screen appeared over the inside surface of the windshield, just above the steering wheel. The screen showed a live video feed of the road ahead.
Jared realized what was going to happen. “You’re not taking us to a portal are you? You’re taking us through it.”
“You got it.” Ferran smiled mischievously as he glanced back over his shoulder.
Suddenly, the car started to vibrate. After a few seconds of shaking, it swayed side to side, then front to back. Jared wondered what kind of transformation the car was going through.
When the car stopped moving, Ferran said, “Brace yourselves. I’m setting the velocity booster... now.”
He pressed his thumb on the center of the steering wheel, and the car accelerated. The force pinned Jared back against his seat. As Jared watched the holographic video up front, he was worried about how the long stretch of road was quickly coming to an end.
After no more than a second, they had already gone almost a half mile and were only about a hundred yards from where the street turned sharply to the right. They would never be able to make the turn if they didn’t slow down.
Jared tensed up, and Danielle gasped. In the blink of an eye, they reached the curve, the holographic screen went black, and Jared felt weightless.
Ferran said, “Here comes Teruvisa.”
Jared lurched forward as the car rapidly decelerated, the tint on the windows vanished, and light flooded the inside of the vehicle. The next second, Ferran turned the car hard to the right.
Jared looked around outside the windows in amazement. The car was in a tunnel, the sides of which almost touched the sides of the car, and, through the windshield, Jared could see streaks of light overhead as the Buick sped down the narrow corridor.
A second later, there was a bright flash, and the car instantly came to a stop in a large room. Jared spun around and looked out the back window. A large, rectangular portal, barely wider and
taller than the car, was directly behind them.
He noticed that the portal didn’t have any light in it and guessed that it must have turned off the moment the car passed through it.
Ferran opened his door. “Okay, you can get out now.”
Jared and the others got out of the car. They appeared to be in a transportation room like the one they were in when the Beast attacked them on their way to meet Ferran—it had rectangular portals at ground level and escalators leading up to circular portals on the top level.
Jared turned his attention back to the Buick. He again wondered what sort of transformation the old car had gone through. It went so fast. He shrugged.
“Manasto. Verissa. Gromagan. This is Ferran. I’m back with the children. And, I have good news.” After Ferran finished talking with beoveh, he looked at Paul, Jared, and Danielle. “Manasto and the others should be here shortly.”
They didn’t have to wait long.
“Welcome back.” Manasto entered the transportation room with open arms. Verissa and Gromagan were right behind him.
Ferran stepped forward, standing at attention almost like a soldier. “Manasto, the children are ready for the next phase of training.”
Manasto smiled and put a hand on Ferran’s shoulder. “I take it Jared saw the hand then?”
Ferran relaxed noticeably. “Yes.”
“Excellent. I’m very anxious to hear all about it. I’d like a debriefing in my private, council room chamber as soon as possible.” Manasto turned to Gromagan. “Gromagan, send the children to Rohlwig, please.”
“Right away.” Gromagan turned to the youths. “Follow me.”
Ferran held up a hand to stop Gromagan. “If I may,” he looked up at Manasto briefly, “I’d like to have a word with Paul in private before he goes.”
Manasto nodded, and then Ferran escorted Paul away from the group.
With his hand still on Paul’s shoulder, Ferran spoke briefly to his son. Paul said a few words back, and then they embraced. Ferran patted Paul on the back and then escorted him back over to the group.
Jared, remembering that he had a question for Manasto, took the opportunity to ask him about the hand sign. “Excuse me.” Trying to be insistent but not too bold, he looked right at Manasto. “I was wondering if I could find out what the hand I’ve been seeing means.”
“It’s a signal,” Manasto said, “that you’re in touch with Diestro. The hand symbol you keep seeing is a manifestation of the power of Teruvisa. You will come to understand the significance of the vision as you continue your training.”
Jared was hoping for a little more than that but couldn’t think of a follow-up question to ask. He let out a deflated, “Oh.”
Danielle stepped forward. Apparently, she had a question about the hand (or something else). “Why is it that neither of us has seen the hand?” She indicated herself and Paul.
Jared had wondered the same thing but had forgotten to ask about it.
Verissa pointed in Jared’s direction and answered, “The MSI in Jared is the key chip. The key chip is the only one of the three chips that has a beacon. It serves as a link to the other two MSIs.
“Before the abandonment of Teruvisa, Jared’s parents came up with the idea of modifying Jared’s MSI with a beacon to initiate and keep contact with the other two MSIs until all three could be connected to Teruvisa. You see, since Teruvisa’s new systems wouldn’t be online when the signal to start the training was sent, there wouldn’t be any system files for the chips to access in order to maintain a connection with each other.”
Though Jared’s question about what the hand vision meant hadn’t quite been answered like he thought it would, some light was shed on why he was the only one who saw the hand visions. His MSI was the main chip; it linked all three MSIs together.
“Now, if there are no more questions, you should go. I know Rohlwig is anxious to get started, as I’m sure you are.” Manasto looked at the youths with a kind, warm smile.
Jared noticed that Manasto’s and Verissa’s faces were beaming, and their eyes shone with hope.
For a moment, Jared got caught up in thoughts of continuing his training, getting Teruvisa’s new systems operational, and reaching his true potential by eventually becoming a Master.
Gromagan pointed to one of the round portals up on the mezzanine and said, “This way, please.”
Jared snapped out of his daydream, said goodbye to Manasto, Verissa, and Ferran, and then, excited to get on with his training, helped Gromagan hurry Danielle and Paul, who took extra coaxing, along.
As he walked up the motionless escalator steps, Jared wondered what amazing skills he would learn with Diestro and Amatay during the next part of his training. Once he reached the mezzanine, Jared looked down to the first level. Ferran, Manasto, and Verissa were leaving through a side door.
Gromagan activated the portal. “It’s ready. Step in.”
“Thanks.” Jared stepped into the portal and was propelled through a tube lined with what he thought looked like stardust. After riding in elevators, going through portals, and being in the sublevel, he barely noticed the initial acceleration. He guessed he was getting used to it.
Jared sped along, suspended in the center of the starry tunnel as it twisted and turned for a few seconds and then was ejected. He landed on his feet and stepped to the side moments before Danielle and then Paul, who bumped into her, came through the portal.