The Core: The First Guest

17. Choices

"So, does anyone have any idea what the heck all that was?" I asked when it was over.

"We were going to ask you the same thing." The stranger asked as he crossed his arms and gazed intently at me.

"Not a clue, usually my dreams and nightmares go in an entirely different direction. I don't have trouble remembering reality while I am dreaming, regardless of how the dream goes or what happens. This time it was different, reality was fading as if I had just been dreaming rather than how the dream should have faded upon me waking." I said as I scratched my head. "Also the detail was through the roof! I mean, I have vivid dreams but that was way more clear than I have ever experienced before." I said as I thought back to how real everything felt.

"That was my fault." We all heard Silver say as he stood with a guilty look on his face. "The memory thing anyways. I knew from the research of your planet's species that humans claimed to have their dreams fade when they woke up, but when you started a dream by seemingly waking up, it confused everything and switched the order around. In my defense, it was my first time experiencing a human dreaming and I must say... your mind went crazy with absorbing and directing your Simulation Access. The longer you dreamt the more your mind started to use more and more processing power. For a mind like yours, one that hasn't been trained to live solely virtually its entire life... your dreams make me want to understand what your mind tries to do when you shut down. It seemed like it was trying to work out everything you had seen and done since arriving all at once. It was quite fascinating."

"Fascinating? Fascinating??? This alien "Guest" hacked our communication connection and systematically broadcasted through our Core and beyond while absorbing more processing power than should physically be possible by one primitive entity." The stranger spouted, clearly getting more upset the more he listed off what had happened. "By the way, who are you anyway? I don't have you listed as a science or security team member on this Core?" The man said as he inspected Silver intently. "I am Silver, I am the System." Silver answered plainly.

"You are what?!" he shouted as panels swept up in front of him instantly and he seemed to freeze in place. "Why can't?... why won't?.... what is going on?" the man nearly started shouting at the end when the panels in front of him seemed to deny the actions he was trying to perform.

"No one here can do anything that he, the "Primitive Alien Guest", does not want." Silver said in response as he pointed at me.

"That is impossible! I am the Head of Security for our Core! No one can deny my Scan and Detain keys..... why is Authority not working!?" He spun in place, finding me as the target for his anger, and stomped over to me with red in his eyes.

"Father stop please!" Elaya cried in a panic.

"You! Alien! I demand that you stop blocking my keys and Authority at once!" He said as he got right in my face, his bristly six o'clock shadow chin about to get into my personal space when I willed him to stop. And what do you know? It worked. I mean he really stopped. Like completely, no blinking or breathing or moving at all.

"Oops, sorry, too much will there," I said as I released him from the complete stoppage and simply stopped his ability to move from his present place.

"You dare!" He shouted and tried to strike at me. I felt my pulse pick up and my fight or flight response kick in. I had only been in a handful of fights growing up and they always seemed to not go the way I expected them, everything was just too fast and clumsy.

So I tried to be faster. Everything around me froze in place. Everything in this white and quiet open expanse that Silver had made and brought us all to so we could see the simulation together just held still.