by C. S. Harte
Kayla shook her head. “They never offered that at my high school.”
Helen smiled. “A shame indeed.” She turned her attention to the wall. “Those symbols represent the name of the person who built this pyramid. It reads, ‘He who comes in peace,’ or Imhotep in ancient Egyptian. A curious name for a person wouldn’t you agree?”
Kayla nodded, unsure of how else to respond.
“There are many curious things about this Imhotep fellow. He was born a commoner. His birth name was Kheredu-ankh. Before he died, he was one of the most powerful men in the world. After death, he was given divine status. People revered him as a god. This begs the question, how does a common man from humble beginnings, ascend to god status?”
“Did he have a talent?”
Helen applauded. “Good on you!”
A warmth bubbled up from inside Kayla. Why do I feel the need to impress this woman?
“Yes, he was a gifted like us. We are fairly confident that he was a seer — a person who can see the future. As far as we know, he was the only such gifted with that talent. He had knowledge of science and math that did not exist during that time. He had insights into subjects like stone engineering, bacteria, and human anatomy. His impact on the world was so profound, civilizations like the Greeks, which came two millennia later, also deified him. To them, he was known as Asclepius, God of Medicine.”
“That was a fun history lesson. Thank you. But I'm not sure if it answers any of my questions,” Kayla said.
“There’s a second part to my history lesson.” Helen turned and touched the wall behind her. “Initus.” She paused to separate the commands. “Battle of Yehuling, Yehuling, China, August 1211.”
The Pyramid of Djoser became dust like the previous setting, dispersing into the wind. The scenery changed to a mountain valley. Helen and Kayla were standing on top of a hillside overlooking a large battle.
“I hope your high school education taught you about a famous person named Genghis Khan.”
“No, actually. But I read about him. He was one of the world’s greatest conquerors. United most of Asia and Europe under his rule.”
Helen looked pleased. “Very few people had a more profound impact on human history than this fellow gifted. He had the talent of persuasion, you see. If he was here right now, he could ask us to jump off this mountain perch, and we would be obliged to do it.”
Kayla gasped. “There’s no way to say no to him?”
“No one in history has been recorded doing so.” Helen pointed to the battle raging below. “We are witnessing the Battle of Yehuling. The Chinese will eventually lose this battle even though they had a three to one advantage. All 300,000 Chinese soldiers will die here — a drop in the bucket of all the lives Mr. Khan would take.”
Kayla peered intently at the chaos below. “It’s a surreal feeling to witness history live.” She slowly scanned every inch of the battle.
“Yesterday, the Chinese sent an emissary to try and negotiate peace with the Mongols. Mr. Khan used his abilities to make the emissary betray his masters. This emissary gave the Mongol army the exact location of the Chinese troops and all strategies they planned on using against the Mongols. That was essentially how the Mongols defeated the Jin Dynasty and how one man came to rule most of the known world at the time. Even as a child, he convinced a guard holding him prisoner to let him escape. Imagine how different the world would be if his talent never surfaced.”
“I don’t think I can imagine that.”
“Later, Mr. Khan was revered as a god-king and fathered hundreds of children who later went on to father thousands more children. Depending on which academic you talk to, as many as 10% of all males in Asia share the same genetic material as Mr. Khan.” Helen placed a hand on Kayla’s shoulder. “Think about that for a second. We have a supremely powerful gifted who sired hundreds of children who then sired thousands more.”
“Are you saying there was a big explosion of gifted people in the world during Genghis Khan’s rule?”
Helen rested her hand on the mountain wall. “Initus. Atlantis Hotel, Nassau, Bahamas, present day.”
The studio changed back to the beachfront.
Helen gestured for Kayla to sit. “That was a concern for the gifted who created this house. Power has a corrupting quality when it comes in contact with human nature. History has proven this true many times over.”
Kayla nodded.
“The gifted of the past became rulers of man, killed millions — tens of millions — and then deified themselves. If left unchecked, gifteds will do so again today.”
“Is that why we were brought here? To keep gifted people in check? To keep me in check?” Kayla stammered.
“In essence, yes,” Helen said flatly.
Kayla could feel the anger rising in her. “Who gives you the right to do this? To keep us here as prisoners?”
Helen stood up, taking a couple of steps away from the cabana. She stared wistfully at the kids playing in the pool. “This house was designed by a Creatore. It is he who has brought you here. He will continue to find and bring any other gifted that have manifested their talents.”
“Creatore?”
“Extremely powerful gifteds. More powerful than you and I can hope to imagine. Effectively gods.”
“But how do they know who’s going to be an evil gifted? Not all gifteds are bad. Imhotep advanced mankind as you said. I definitely have no intentions on conquering anything.”
Helen didn't respond to her argument.
Kayla grabbed Helen’s arm. “Did you hear what I said?”
Helen didn’t react.
Kayla walked in front of Helen and saw her eyes were red and watery.
“I apologize. My mind was somewhere else for a moment.” Helen glanced at her watch. “Oh dear, it’s getting so late. You have your first training session tomorrow. I suggest you get some sleep.”
Kayla objected, but Helen took Kayla’s hands and placed it on a nearby table.
“Say ‘porta,’” instructed Helen.
“Porta.”
“Then say ‘home.’”
“Home.”
In an instant, Kayla blinked back to her bedroom. A loud yawn escaped her mouth. Sleep became impossible to fight. She hoped tomorrow would reveal the rest of her answers.
19
The doorbell rang.
Kayla struggled to wake. One night of sleep wasn’t enough to replenish the emotional drain of yesterday. She pushed herself up and surveyed her new living quarters. Her eyes returned a stylish warehouse loft and not a hospital room. It wasn’t a dream.
The doorbell buzzed again.
“Coming. Stop hitting the doorbell, geez.” Kayla opened the door.
“What?” she growled.
Jaime held up his hands in defense. “Morning, sleepy head. I’ve been assigned to make sure you make it to your first training session.”
“Thanks, but no thanks. I don’t want to learn how to fight.” Kayla tried to close the door.
Jaime used his foot to block it. “Don’t think of it like fighting. It’s more like playing around.”
Kayla groaned. “I don’t care either way.”
“You get to beat up Emily!” Jaime grinned.
Kayla’s mood brightened. “You should’ve started with that. OK, let me get changed.” She headed to the bathroom but stopped halfway. “Actually, what do I wear?”
“Jeans and a tee are fine. We’ll switch into our training gear later.”
“Training gear? I hope it’s not skin-tight leotards.”
“We have a stop to make before training. I have something very cool to show you.”
They reached the grand foyer and headed down the stairs. Kayla stopped to look at the decor before following Jaime into the library
The library itself was four stories high, each floor connected by a spiraled iron staircase. Dozens of tables laid in the front of the library arranged in a grid. Behind the tables, rows of bookshelves stood in para
llel lines extending all the way to the back of the library.
Kayla had never witnessed such a wealth of knowledge. She took her time familiarizing herself with the first few books at the start of each shelf. Every book in history must be here! For all the opulence displayed at Eden House, the library represented real wealth to an avid reader like Kayla. She was lost in her exploration when Jaime stopped her. Kayla offered him a full smile. “I love reading. I think I could spend all my time here.”
“I know you want to go kid in a candy store right now, but let me teach you some basics, and you can read whatever you like.” Jaime guided Kayla to a table full of books.
“I’m kinda freaking out. There are so many books.”
“I know. The library is where all the cool kids hang out.”
Kayla pinched Jaime’s arm. “You making fun of me?”
Jaime laughed. “No, not at all. I want to show you something.” He pointed to the stack on the table. “Grab a book, any book.”
For the sake of simplicity, Kayla picked the top book from the stack. “Astrophysics for Normal People.”
“It’s better if you’re sitting down the first time you do this.” Jaime pulled out a chair. He took the book from her hand and placed it on the table in front of her.
Kayla sat down.
“Now put your hand on the cover. The entire hand, palm, everything.”
She did as instructed.
“Say, ‘inhalo.’”
“Inhalo.”
At first, nothing happened. Then Kayla’s body stiffened, and her head jerked back. Her body started to seize as if being electrocuted, though she was not in any pain. After a few moments, Kayla began to relax, her muscles releasing their contractions. She was breathing heavily as her heart pounded through her chest.
“Yup, happened to me my first time too. And I didn’t even know how to read good.” Jaime picked up the book from under Kayla’s hand and repeated the process with himself. “Inhalo.” His reaction was mild and brief.
Kayla rubbed her temples and placed her head down on the table.
Jaime tapped Kayla’s head until she sat up. “I’m going to give you a quick quiz. Could you briefly describe what the space-time continuum is?”
Kayla covered her face and spoke through her hands. “The space-time continuum is a mathematical model that combines space and time together to help people understand how the universe works. It assumes the universe is a four-dimensional plane of existence —”
Jaime held up a hand. “That’s good enough.”
“How did I know that? Did I just read the whole book?”
Jaime feigned a frown. “I’m afraid so. There isn’t much of a plot. The beginning may have started with a bang, but there’s no end. Weak character development. I would’ve picked a book with more action myself.”
Kayla jumped out of her chair, laughing. “Can I try another book?”
“Yes, you can. But wait. You have some required reading for today. And don’t overdo it on your first day. You might go into a coma or something.”
Kayla gasped. “Really?”
“I think so. That’s what would happen to me if I read too much before I came here.”
Jaime lead Kayla to another table with multiple stacks of books. “Your goal is to read all these books. The first set today. The rest whenever you can.”
Kayla pulled the first stack closer to her.
US Army Manual on Hand-to-Hand Combat
Martial Arts Styles Around the World
Sword Fight Like a Samurai
Hand Weapons! Go!
Sun Tzu - Art of War
Kayla rolled her eyes. “Even if I read all these books, it doesn’t mean I automatically know how to fight.”
“That’s what I said at first. But try it. You won’t know that you know, but when it comes time to use a block or strike, you just know.”
After the first five books, Kayla’s dizziness intensified. She persisted, finishing the entire stack of 12 books. I do kinda feel smarter.
Jaime waited in the graphic novel section, checking on Kayla’s status periodically.
“Done?”
Kayla nodded. “Does this mean I can kick your butt now?”
“Sadly, you probably could’ve kicked my butt before reading those books.”
Kayla laughed. She rested her head on Jaime’s side. Her eyes became unfocused. I miss Tommy. I wonder if he’s thinking of me. He needs to know that I didn’t choose to leave him.
She lifted her head to stare at Jaime. There was something different about Jaime. He had more freckles on the left side of his face than the right. His nose was askew pointing to the left. He always seemed happy, his playful smile was permanently affixed to his chin. Then it hit Kayla. Jaime is kinda cute.
Jaime raised his eyebrows. “You’ve been staring at me a bit too long. Is there something on my face?”
“It’s just that you remind me of someone in my previous life.”
Jaime’s voice dropped to a whisper. “I know how you feel. I left behind someone important too.”
“Tell me about your life before. And that someone.”
“I was a baseball player. Pretty good one if I do say so myself. And I do say so myself. I was the ace pitcher on my high school team with a crazy good fastball. I thought I was gonna get drafted in the first round. Everyone thought so too. I was gonna get rich, become famous, and stuff.”
Kayla beamed a smile. “Wow, that sounds amazing!”
Jaime grinned. “It was. I am. About the person I left behind, I guess you could say she was my high school sweetheart. We grew up in the same neighborhood, her house just a block down the street. We were friends for a long time, but high school and puberty made us explore… stuff. We made each other laugh all the time.”
Images of Tommy filled Kayla’s mind as Jaime rambled on about his former girlfriend.
Jaime's smile faded. “I’m starting to forget what she looked like.” He paused before turning his attention to Kayla. “Tell me about him.”
“I don't know who you're talking about.” She smirked.
“The guy you were thinking about when I was telling my story. The one who stole your heart.”
A warmth exploded over Kayla’s face. “Tommy didn’t steal my heart!”
“Tommy, huh?”
Kayla sighed. “We were starting to get close. We had the same crappy foster parents.”
Jaime gasped. “You were an orphan?”
“Yes, long story for another time.”
“That is something we have a lot of.”
“Speaking of time, Helen mentioned time doesn’t behave normally here. What did she mean exactly?”
Jaime shrugged. “You’re not asking the right person. All I know is that I’ve been here for about five years and I haven’t hit my growth spurt yet. It’s really bothering me.”
Kayla smiled. “You know, a lot of people will kill for that — to be young forever — even if it means you never get taller. Do you know anything about Helen? Like, how long has she been here?”
“No clue. But it’s a long time. Rumor is, Masa has been here even longer.”
“That would make Masa really old.”
“Would explain why he’s so grumpy.”
They both laughed.
“Speaking of Masa. You need to see him next. He’ll be giving you a proficiency test on what you’ve just learned.”
“I thought I was going to start training my powers today and beat up Emily.”
“You have to catch up to us first. Besides, at your stage of development, Emily would stomp you hard and enjoy doing it.”
Kayla started to sweat. “Had I known I was gonna get tested, I would’ve studied harder.”
“Don’t stress. It’s not pass/fail. It’s keep failing 'til you pass.” Jaime nudged Kayla out of her seat. “Let’s get going before he starts another ice sculpture or something.”
20
“Hello?” Kayla walked into the Studio
D for her hand-to-hand combat training. “Anyone here?”
Studio D was a quaint one room dojo, unlike the sprawling virtual worlds of Bonfire Beach or the Atlantis Resort.
Kayla stepped inside. The floor was tiled wall to wall with soft bamboo mats. Her feet bounced with each step. There was a wooden training dummy on the far right. The near left corner had a privacy screen. Training swords and other weapons lined the back wall in an ordered chaos. Rice paper walls defined the edges of the room.
Masa entered after Kayla, passing by without saying a word. He sat down in the exact center of the dojo, calves folded under his thighs. He closed his eyes and remained perfectly still.
Looks like he’s meditating. Either that or he doesn’t like me. Why did I have to weird him out the first time we met? Kayla emulated her instructor. After an extended period of waiting, Kayla opened her eyes and stared at Masa. “Um, excuse me. Have we started today’s lesson?”
Masa pointed to the privacy screen.
Kayla scratched her head. Am I supposed to get dressed? She lifted herself up but stumbled after the first step. Her legs fell asleep after not moving for so long.
Masa didn't react.
Why do I keep embarrassing myself in front of this guy. He must think I’m stupid. “Sorry,” she said wincing in pain. Kayla pushed herself up again and jogged in place, trying to recirculate blood into her legs.
Two items of clothing were hanging behind the screen. One was a full-body suit — black with circuit board patterns. The other was a karategi, the distinctive white robes used by karate students. It came with a white belt signifying Kayla’s current novice level.
Kayla examined the uniform in front of her. She poked her head from behind the screen. “Both of these are too big for me. Is there a different size?”
