by P. J. Hoover
“I could help you if you want,” Benjamin offered, walking over to him. “By the way, I’m Benjamin Holt.” Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to make a friend here.
“Gary Goodweather.” The boy extended his hand and Benjamin shook it.
“What homeroom are you headed to?” Benjamin asked.
“0713,” Gary answered.
“Me too,” Benjamin replied, easily picking up on the lingo. “We could take turns carrying your bag until we get there.”
Gary shrugged. “As long as you don’t mind.”
“I don’t mind.” Benjamin hefted the bag onto his right shoulder. “Wow! What do you have in here anyway?”
“Oh, you know, just the basic stuff anyone would need—clothes, shoes, my chess set, books…”
“Books! No wonder it’s so heavy. Why’d you pack books?” Benjamin asked.
“I haven’t read them yet, and this summer school thing came along so fast, I barely had time to throw them into my bag before it was time to go,” Gary answered. “Anyway, I really like to read and re-read the actual books. I always get more and more out of them each time I go through them. You know what I mean?”
“Not really,” Benjamin answered. He’d have just memorized them and been done with it.
Out of the corner of his eye, something green caught Benjamin’s attention. He turned to look, but all he saw was an empty bench. It must’ve been his imagination. After the morning he’d been having, everything could have been his imagination. Without hardly thinking about it, he pinched himself again. Still not a dream.
They turned left down Tertiary Hallway Number One. Again he caught sight of something green, but, when he looked, he saw another empty bench. Great. Now there was some fast, imaginary, green thing following him.
About halfway down the hall, there were four large doors stretching to the ceiling. Benjamin and Gary saw the one marked with the three and walked in.
As soon as they were in the classroom, Benjamin dropped Gary’s duffle bag from his shoulder. It landed on the foot of the blond girl Benjamin had seen at the luggage terminal.
“Ouch! What’d you do that for?” For a second, Benjamin thought she was going to punch him, but instead she started rubbing her foot.
“Oh, I didn’t even see…” Benjamin began.
“Hey, be careful with that. The chess set is my favorite, and it’s kind of fragile,” Gary said to Benjamin.
“Oh, sorry. It was just really getting heavy,” Benjamin replied. He turned to the girl. “Sorry, I didn’t see you standing there. I just couldn’t carry that thing any more. He packed books in it,” Benjamin said, motioning his head toward Gary.
“Well, you never know when they might come in handy,” Gary said.
“Yeah, well just be careful next time you drop something,” the girl said, still nursing her foot.
“You’re one to talk about dropping stuff,” Benjamin replied, referring to her suitcase at the luggage terminal.
The girl flushed red, obviously getting the reference. “I didn’t see you using telekinesis on that duffle bag,” she said. She whirled around, her blond hair turned bright, flaming red, and she stomped away.
“Did you see that?” Benjamin asked Gary. “Did you see her hair? It just changed color. I swear it did.”
“Yeah, I saw it too,” Gary said.
“That’s a little weird, don’t you think?” Benjamin said.
“Well, I don’t think you should say anything. You already made a bad impression,” Gary said.
“Hey, Benjamin!”
Benjamin grinned from ear to ear when he heard Andy’s voice.
Andy hurried over. “I was wondering when you were gonna show up.”
Nearly every head in the room turned to look when Andy called out to Benjamin. Apparently not everyone here had a best friend along. Benjamin noticed the blond—well, actually, now the red-headed girl—had also turned to look. Pretending she wasn’t watching, she started talking to another girl nearby.
“Andy! What’s up with this summer school thing? When I got the call this morning—or whatever it was—I couldn’t believe it.” Benjamin looked curious. “And do you have a teleporter in your hallway?”
“Unfortunately, ours is in my sister’s closet,” Andy said.
“How long have you been here?” Benjamin asked.
“For at least two hours. I was the second person here. It was just me and that girl over there for like a half hour.” He motioned over to the brunette girl now engaged in conversation with the blond/red-headed girl. “But then more people started to filter in.” Andy turned to Gary, seeing him for the first time. “I’m Andy Grow by the way.”
“Gary Goodweather,” Gary answered, extending his hand which Andy shook.
“Gary insisted on bringing his duffle bag with him rather than leaving it in the luggage terminal. He packed books in it.” Benjamin laughed.
“Why didn’t you just memorize them?” Andy asked.
“Well, I just really …” Gary began.
The brunette girl had made her way over to Andy with the now blond again girl in tow. “Hi, Andy,” she said.
“Oh, hi, Iva,” Andy replied. Benjamin noticed Andy was staring at the girl. Not that he could really blame Andy. She was beautiful. Her dark hair was long and straight and reached well past her shoulders. Her light brown eyes lit up her face, and, apparently, Andy’s also.
When Iva turned to Benjamin and Gary, Benjamin felt his face heat up.
“Hi,” she said, “I’m Iva Marinina, and this is Heidi Dylan,” she motioned to the blond girl. Benjamin glanced to Heidi, but felt his eyes being drawn back to Iva. He looked down at his shoes, then back at Heidi, hoping Andy hadn’t noticed his reaction.
Heidi gave Andy a big smile though Andy’s eyes were still glued on Iva. She then turned to Benjamin and Gary, barely smiling as she rubbed her foot.
“You’re rubbing the wrong foot,” Benjamin said.
Heidi smirked, but then put her foot down. “Sympathy pain,” she said.
“Yeah, whatever,” he said. “I’m Benjamin Holt.” And then he put on his best smile. No need to make enemies the first day. Even if she was making more of the foot thing than was necessary.
“Gary Goodweather,” Gary put out his hand to greet them. They both giggled when they shook his hand in return.
“Did your hair change color a minute ago, or was that my imagination?” Benjamin asked Heidi.
Gary elbowed Benjamin in the side.
“Well, I know it did,” Benjamin defended himself.
Heidi reached up and smoothed her hair. “Oh, yeah, it does that sometimes when my emotions flare up.”
“That’s pretty cool,” Iva said. “You mean you can have any hair color you want?”
“Well, not really,” Heidi answered. “It’s changed color like that ever since I was about five, but I still haven’t figured out how to control it. I always have to wear a hat in public.” She shrugged.
“So you and Benjamin know each other?” Iva asked Andy.
“Yeah, we’ve lived next door to each other our whole lives,” Andy replied.
It was at that moment the large entryway door closed with a suctioning sound. Everyone turned to look.
“Welcome to summer school!” the voice of Proteus Ajax sounded from the front of the room. Everyone’s eyes locked on the man who had just appeared behind the teacher’s desk. “My name is Proteus Ajax, and I believe I’ve had the pleasure of already meeting all of you wonderful Year One Denarians.”
“What’s a Denarian?” Andy whispered.
“A person between ten and twenty,” Gary replied. “Haven’t you read the dictionary?”
“Are you kidding?” Andy answered.
“Please take a seat. We’ll get our business out of the way and then break for the day,” Proteus Ajax instructed.
There wasn’t a great rush for the desks, but eventually, everyone sat down. Heidi and Iva sat in the front row, and Benjamin, A
ndy, and Gary went to sit in the three seats just behind them. Just as Benjamin was about to sit down, the green thing returned. And vanished. But this time he was sure of it. There had been something there. But what in the world is green and fast and can disappear into thin air? He looked under the desk and chair, but saw nothing. As he stood back up, he realized he was the only student still standing. Every face in the room stared back at him.
“Oh, uh, I just thought I saw something, um, green on my chair, and then it wasn’t there, and, uh, I thought maybe it was under the desk, or something,” Benjamin’s face heated up as Heidi and Iva looked at him like he was a total idiot.
“Yes, well, please go ahead and sit down, Benjamin Holt, is it?” Proteus Ajax said. Benjamin nodded and quickly sat down.
“You thought you saw something green?” Andy whispered. “Do you realize how stupid that sounds?”
“I think I have an idea,” Benjamin muttered under his breath.
“Nothing like drawing attention to yourself on the first day,” Andy replied.
CHAPTER 4
The World According to Proteus
“Who would like to guess where we are?” Proteus looked around the classroom. A fast hand went up.
“Yes, Ryan Jordan?”
“Are we on Mars?” Ryan asked. Several students laughed out loud. “My older brother told me I was going to Mars.”
“I’m afraid your brother played a bit of a practical joke on you,” Proteus said. “And everyone can refrain from asking about the other major planets you know of.”
Iva raised her hand.
“Yes, Iva Marinina?”
“Are we in Atlantis?” she asked.
“Good guess,” Proteus said.
Iva smiled.
“But no, not Atlantis.”
Her face fell.
“You’re close though,” Proteus said. A standard map of the world appeared behind him, with all the major land masses illuminated. However, on the far left and the far right were two connecting sides of another large land mass, one Benjamin had never seen before. The map slowly shifted right, until the two halves joined.
Proteus Ajax pointed to the land. “Ladies and gentlemen: the continent of Lemuria.”
So this was the new world his parents had hinted about?
“Let me give you a brief history of the Earth and Lemuria.” Proteus said, leaning back on his desk. The map in the background turned into an image of mostly water. Large land masses started moving.
“When the Earth was young, millions of years ago, it was nearly all water. Land masses began to form and move around. I am sure many of you have heard of these large land masses—Pangaea, Gondwanaland, and many others. These land plates form the theory of Plate-tectonics.” The map kept shifting as Proteus spoke. “The jigsaw puzzle of taking all of the continents known to humans and fitting them together is well-known but not exact. There are holes when the land masses are placed together. One of these missing land masses is known as Lemuria and is located in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.”
Okay, so Benjamin was in the middle of the Pacific Ocean on a continent called Lemuria. Given his morning with the talking mirror and the ugly picture teleporter, that seemed reasonable.
“It is on this continent that telegens developed 900,000 years ago,” Proteus said.
“What are telegens?” Benjamin asked.
Proteus waved his arms around. “We’re all telegens. People from Lemuria are called telegens.”
Benjamin nodded. Okay, so his parents had been telling the truth about him not being human. Maybe.
Proteus continued. “Telegens developed rapidly, both physically and mentally. For thousands of years, they lived on Lemuria, and then 400,000 years ago they expanded out to Atlantis.” The map shifted to show a second large oceanic continent.
Benjamin looked at Iva. She sat up a little straighter in her seat and smiled.
“When humans first appeared on Earth 200,000 years ago, they had no idea about Lemuria or Atlantis,” Proteus said. “And they looked just like us—at least on the outside. But their brains were like infants compared to ours.”
“They did advance though; think of ancient civilizations you know—Greek, Egyptian, Indian.” He rubbed his hands together. “And that’s when the problems began. Lemurian telegens thought humans should never know about us; Atlantis did not agree. And so a shield went up around Lemuria, and 25,000 years ago, a mighty cataclysm was caused. The continent of Lemuria sank into the Pacific Ocean, and an advanced lookout system disguised as a ring of volcanoes was placed around it, known as the Ring of Fire.
“But then the telegens of Atlantis started to cause trouble. They mixed with humans and gave them knowledge. And all they asked for in return was worship and sacrifice. They came to be known as the ancient gods and goddesses of these civilizations.
“Gaea was the first and many others followed. If their wishes were not granted, they were fierce in their punishment.”
Gary raised his hand. “So you’re telling us that all the Greek and Egyptian gods and goddesses were actually just normal people from Atlantis.”
“If telegens are normal. And actually, it wasn’t just Greece and Egypt. It extended to all ancient civilizations—Norse, Indian, Sumerian, Chinese. Most of the mythological stories you hear are based on fact.”
“So what happened to Atlantis?” Benjamin asked, raising his hand as he spoke.
“Well, through the Ring of Fire and the use of highly trained agents, Lemuria kept watch over the events on the Earth. Humans were almost totally enslaved, and Lemuria was helpless to prevent it.
“Finally, 10,000 years ago, Lemuria devised a plan to stop the telegens of Atlantis once and for all. A protective barrier similar to the one around Lemuria was erected around Atlantis. A mighty flood was caused, and the continent of Atlantis plunged to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. However, in this case, the barrier was designed not only to keep humans out but also to keep the telegens of Atlantis from escaping. The civilizations the false gods had come so close to destroying were restored and repaired. Telegen agents were placed among the humans to keep watch. And, for humans, recorded history began.” The map behind Proteus adjusted to no longer show either Lemuria or Atlantis.
Proteus Ajax rested his hands on his desk. “Any questions?”
“So, are telegens and humans genetically identical?” Gary asked. “I mean, will humans eventually become as advanced as we are?”
“Doubtful,” Proteus began. “Is anyone familiar with DNA?”
Gary nodded his head so hard it made Benjamin dizzy.
“Excellent. Then you understand minor DNA differences can account for major differences in cerebral abilities.”
Gary again nodded his head so hard Benjamin wondered if it would come off. Andy elbowed Benjamin who tried not to laugh.
“Why haven’t humans discovered the sunken continents?” Heidi asked. “I mean, they’re huge. Wouldn’t it be kind of hard to hide those?”
“The barrier around Lemuria creates the illusion to an outsider of looking deep onto the ocean floor. The illusion will withstand any sensory test given to it by humans. From an insider’s point of view, it’s just as if you are outside, above the depths of the ocean. The weather we have here perfectly reflects the weather conditions above the surface. The night stars and sky are exactly the same. The wind blows; the seasons change. There is essentially no difference,” Proteus Ajax finished.
“Yes, but how long will the barriers last?” Benjamin asked.
The smile fell of Proteus’s face. “Someone always has to ask that. And the official answer is forever.”
“And the unofficial answer?” Andy asked.
Proteus sighed. “Here’s what I can tell you. The barrier around Lemuria is fine.”
“And Atlantis?” Benjamin pressed on.
“Is failing,” Proteus said. “Telegens are already getting out. And if the barrier’s not fixed, it probably won’t last longer than another
decade.”
As Proteus said it, Benjamin realized this must have been what his dad and Joey had been talking about this morning. People escaping from Atlantis.
A girl in the front row raised her hand.
“Yes, Suneeta Manvar.”
“Who rules Lemuria?” she asked.
“A future leader in training.” Proteus smiled at Suneeta.
Andy groaned and rolled his eyes at Benjamin. “Teacher’s pet,” he thought to Benjamin.
Benjamin stifled his laughter.
“The people and continent of Lemuria are overseen by two rulers—twins—a brother and a sister. The supreme rulers are chosen based not only on their mental abilities, but also on their compassion and tolerance. The rulers are not always twins—it’s not a requirement—but twins are always more powerful together.”
Benjamin immediately thought of his twin brothers, Derrick and Douglas, and their unusual, strong telekinetic abilities at such a young age. Well, that explained that.
“One last question?” Proteus Ajax announced.
Benjamin cleared his throat. “Why do we all live somewhere besides Lemuria, and why has all this been kept secret until now?”
“Each agent family is placed somewhere on Earth for a specific purpose. As to exactly what that purpose is, you would have to talk with your parents. But I have to warn you—they may not be able to tell you.”
“You mean our parents are spies?” Andy asked, not bothering to raise his hand.
“We prefer to use the term ‘agent’ instead of spy. Anyway, to address the second part of the question, you have never been told who you really are as it has been determined that under the age of thirteen, the information cannot be trusted to be kept secret,” Proteus explained.
“Ah, Benjamin Holt, I see you have made a new friend.” Proteus smiled at Benjamin just as Benjamin felt something settle down upon his left shoulder.
CHAPTER 5
The Fast, Green Thing on Benjamin’s Shoulder
