Fragment of Destiny

Demetrius sat in an empty classroom his eyes fixed on the desk in front of him. Holding his pendant, he steadily flipped through the foundational guide to biological engineering with his free hand. He glanced at each page before sliding to the next. It was tedious work but the wealth of information was glorious. He was almost finished with volume six out of nine, only four hundred more pages to go.

His steady plodding was interrupted as Si entered the room. Without looking up his mind paired the weight and pacing of each footstep to a name.

“Hey, Si. Have a seat I am almost finished,” Demetrius said continuing to cycle through the pages.

“That is super creepy how you do that,” Si said, taking a seat in the row in front of Demetrius.

“I don’t know how you do it, man. Just sit here all day and scan book after book. At this rate, you are going to need retina implants. Aren’t you sore from sitting there?”

“Very.”

“You should get out try getting some sun in you. Second-winter hasn’t started yet you know. It’s not like you have to stay huddled up in here all the time.”

“Is it time for your practice or time for lunch?” Demetrius asked still turning pages.

“Don’t give me that. You know why I am here.”

Of course he did, “Still haven’t mastered breaking loops then?”

“I can break most of them, just not consistently.”

“Maybe I should just hit you with an electric shock one of these times. Think that would be enough to knock you out of a loop?” Demetrius said with a wide grin.

“Ha-ha, very funny. Look, there is no way I’m doing that. Just spot me like you promised.”

Demetrius continued reading occasionally kicking Si in the shin under the desk when he got himself caught in a loop. No reason he couldn’t spot and study at the same time. Demetrius had wavered back and forth so many times over his desired field of study. First, it had been politics, then social and economic developments, then history, then the sciences. Even now he was unsure if he preferred magnetic propulsion, nano-tech, or biological engineering. However, the more he read, the more, he was leaning towards bio-engineering. Of the three it seemed the most challenging. Demetrius kicked Si in the shin again.

“Can you do something besides bruising my shins?”

“I could always just shock you.”

“You’re actually serious, aren’t you?”

“It has a proven track record as a permanent catalyst.”

“True but you don’t use it to break loops.”

“That’s because I don’t need to, but if you recall as I am sure you do. I went through with the shock training. I just happen to be one of the lucky few who doesn’t need something so severe to break out.” That was true, except when he got stuck thinking about Tess. That was one loop he could not break with a sharp sound memory. It was no fun remembering being shocked silly. It made him feel a creeping tingle all over his body even as he suppressed the memory.

“Why don’t you try this if you’re sick of me kicking you,” Demetrius said and reached down into a small pack beside his chair to grab a pair of headphones. “I am going to load some sound files. Let me know if they are too loud.” Tapping his desk, he dumped sound bites into a player and set it to run at two-minute intervals.

“Is this what you used to train by yourself?” Si asked taking the headphones tentatively.

“It is just something I used to help the process,” Demetrius said sidestepping the question. They had been forbidden to train alone. Doing so could be quite dangerous. If you failed to break out of a loop, the loss of connection to the real world could become permanent. “You better get to work. Don’t want to be the only student who fails to graduate because you can’t break a loop.”

Si grunted and gave Demetrius a thumbs up. Demetrius pressed play and continued reading. Occasionally he tabbed over to a working model of his own physiology. He had pieced it together in an attempt to understand the changes occurring as a result of contact with his crystal. If he could do that, then perhaps there would be a way to replicate it.

A moment later the door at the back of the class opened again but the sound was muddied. Too early for students, then who? Demetrius turned to find Lead Instructor Barrett and an older man with a mop of graying hair. His face was beginning to sag with age, but his eyes were sharp and focused. Demetrius knew him, though it had been over a year since they last met. Arthur Labou, the lead researcher for the bio-engineering division here in the capital and Tess’s father. Demetrius couldn’t make out what the two were saying, but their body language made it clear they were talking about him. There was a moment of deliberation before they approached.

“Demetrius, I want you to meet Arthur LaBou. He is the head researcher for-” Instructor Barret began.

“I know who he is,” Demetrius said holding up a hand to interrupt his instructor, “But why are you here?” Demetrius asked meeting Arthur’s eyes.

Arthur smiled, it was the same smile Tess gave whenever she wanted something from him. With it coming from her father, Demetrius couldn’t help but feel on edge.

“I have been watching your research for a while now. It has been very interesting. Especially your recent venture into bio-engineering,” Arthur said and gestured towards Si, “Can I have you take him outside for a bit? I have something I want to discuss with Demetrius alone.”

“Yes, of course,” Barrett said motioning for Si to follow.

Si jerked back and quickly pulled off the headphones, noticing Barrett and Arthur, “Are we in trouble?” He asked.

“Not yet. Follow me,” Barrett said before ushering Si outside.

Arthur waited until the door closed before addressing Demetrius. “Like I was saying I have been watching your work,” Professor Labou reached down and toggled over to Demetrius’s genetic computations, "While what you have here is something, I could easily generate in my lab, using established programs and protocols; the fact that you managed it manually and with no prior training is in a word, astounding.”

“So, all my work is useless?” Demetrius asked.

“Yes and no. The work itself is trivial. However, the experience of doing it the way you have isn’t. You have a great deal of potential and I would hate to see it wasted.

“You want me to apply for an assignment with the bio-engineering division when I graduate?”

Professor LaBou smiled, “Not exactly. This is quite rare for our department, but I want to offer you an internship until you graduate. Then an assignment within my facility to follow.”

Demetrius was stunned speechless. He had thought the professor was here to shut him down, but this?

“So how about it?” Professor LaBou asked.

Demetrius realized he had been just staring at his shoes. “I…” He paused grasping for the right words, “I don’t know what to say. I feel you have me at a disadvantage. Who in their right mind would refuse such an offer?”

“Are you saying you don’t want it?” Arthur asked.

“No. This is just very sudden and you know my father is a lead researcher for nano-tech.”

Arthur sat down and rested a hand on Demetrius' shoulder, “Demetrius, you are an adult now. This is about what you want. Not what your father wants or even what I want. I believe you could get any assignment you apply for,” He said and withdrew his hand. “I was mistaken. I assumed based on the relatively small amount of time and effort you put into both magnetic propulsions, and nano-tech, compared to what you have invested in bio-engineering that you had already made up your mind. Never the less my offer is still in effect and I stand by what I said. You are far too gifted to waste your ability on something trivial. As for nano-tech do you think you could be your father’s superior? Skilled as he is, you would quickly outpace him. Could you honestly handle having him as a subordinate?”

Demetrius flinched visibly at the thought. He knew what professor LaBou was doing, even so, it was still working. The more he thought about and weighed the options the more he knew pursuing bio-engineering was what interested him most. Despite this, a part of him wanted to turn Professor LaBou down simply because he was trying to manipulate the outcome.

“I don’t know,” Demetrius said meeting the professor’s eyes. “I don’t know if I could handle that, or if it is even what I want to pursue. Can you tell me more about what I would be doing as an intern?”

“I cannot. All our work is classified, and as such anything, you would be exposed to as an intern would be as well. Should you accept the offer, you will be sworn to secrecy.”

“Can I take some time to think it over?”

“You can. However, I will need an answer from you in the next three days.”

Demetrius nodded, three days. That would be more than enough time to look at every angle objectively. To be honest, he already had. Yet he still wanted to give his initial emotional response time to settle before the decision was made.

“Thank you. It is a very generous offer, and I can assure you I am very intrigued. I will get back to you within the three days.”

“I look forward to hearing some good news from you,” Arthur said as he pulled out his phone and typed something on the screen, “This is my direct line,” He flashed Demetrius the screen before clearing it and slipping the phone back into his pocket. “I assume that was enough time for you to see and remember my number?”

Demetrius chuckled softly. He had only been allowed to look for a fraction of a second, “More than enough time. I will let you know when I decide.”

“Then I will allow you to get back to your research. I took the liberty of forwarding you some books and a few declassified reports to look over once you finish your current reading,” Professor LaBou said as he headed for the exit.

“Professor,” Demetrius said softly stopping Arthur mid-stride. “How is Tess? I haven’t been allowed to leave the school of intellect and I have not seen her here. So, it’s safe to assume she has an ability derived from a different pillar. How is she?” Demetrius could tell by her father’s posture that he had struck a chord with his question.

“I don’t know. I have not heard from her since she enrolled,” Arthur said attempting to mask his quivering tone.

“Why are you lying to me?” Demetrius demanded, though his tone remained far more docile than he felt.

“Why do you call me a liar?” Arthur asked even as he turned away.

“Your posture betrays you as do your eyes. You don’t have the look of a father who is grieving over separation but secretly proud of his daughter. It’s just grief. What’s happened?” Demetrius asked. He was amazed at how calm his voice sounded even as his mind began to generate hundreds of horrifying scenarios.

Arthur sighed and took a seat near the back of the room, “I am starting to think you may be too smart for your own good. Though I suppose you would have found out eventually,” Arthur let out a deep breath before continuing. “Tess has been discharged from the academy as a crystal-less,” He closed his eyes and put a hand over his face as he said the words.

At that moment, the entire room began to spin and Demetrius felt as if someone had just ripped the entire foundation of his world out from under him. A freezing emptiness swallowed him, and his mind reeled unable to comprehend the magnitude of Tess’s fathers’ words. Tess had and would always be better at everything than him. It’s just who she was. Until this moment that had been one of the fundamental truths at the core of his being. Demetrius had never realized or understood just how much of his own identity was rooted in the idolization of Tess and her near infallibility.

Slowly he started to reconstruct himself piece by piece and after several minutes he once again had feeling in his limbs. His hands tingled with the sharp pain of a thousand pinpricks as he placed a trembling palm to his cheek. His eyes burned and felt swollen even as his hands came away wet. Had he blacked out? He couldn’t remember. He felt another jolt of terror. He couldn’t remember…

Demetrius looked up at Professor LaBou, who had by now composed himself. “I can see why you lied to me,” Demetrius said in a soft voice wiping his face dry.

“How is she handling it?” Demetrius asked, struggling to keep his mind from running off into even worse horrors than before. Having an upper caster wash out as a crystal-less was rare but not unheard of. Of those who did nearly all found suicide to be the only answer to their new bleak reality.

“It has been hard on her, on both of us, but she will make it. I have hired someone from Raiden’s den to look after her and keep her busy for the time being,” With that, he quickly turned to leave.

“Who did you hire?”

“A friend,” Arthur said refusing to give more explanation as he made his exit.

Demetrius turned back to his desk but couldn’t focus. It felt like he was being dragged in a million directions at once. Then he did something he had not done since his first week at the academy. He removed his pendant and placed it on the desk. It helped, but it did not stop his mind from racing. A few moments later Si was sitting in the row in front of him, just staring.

“What?” Demetrius asked his tone held more anger than he had intended. If it bothered Si, it didn’t show.

Si shot a glance to the door then back at Demetrius, “Well, what did he say?”

Demetrius looked at Si confused for a moment before his thoughts connected.

“Are you ok man?” Si asked.

Demetrius looked down at his crystal inside the student’s pendant as it lay on the desk, “I don’t know.”