Adhara's Sonder

Chapter 4: Water to Fire

"Good morning!" signed Maria as she came downstairs. "I'm headed to class. How's Cyrus?"

 "Still working," Adhara replied. 

"Still?" 

"He has worked continuously since we returned from the foundry with the diamond." 

"I wondered why I hadn't seen him around the house, but I thought I was just busy studying." Maria raised her eyebrows. "Two days straight is a lot even for him. I wonder what he's been eating."

"Primarily energy drinks and smoothies."

"I guess...that kind of balances out?" Maria lowered her eyebrows. "Does he seem okay?"

"He's verging on mania and his hygiene has become offensive. He has tripped the breaker on four separate occasions." They heard a loud click. Adhara opened a panel in the wall and flipped the breaker back on. "Five."

"I noticed that," Maria sighed, heading back upstairs. "I'd better go talk to him." 

Maria knocked on Cyrus's workshop door, carefully easing it open. Cyrus had disconnected the overhead lighting long ago, so the only illumination in the room came from several computer monitors running equations, desk lamps, and the large semicircular window behind Cyrus's desk. Sunlight filtered through papers, maps, and diagrams Cyrus had taped to the glass. 

"Maria!" Cyrus turned from his desk. His thick hair was tangled, his beard shaggy, and he had matching shadows beneath his eyes and armpits. Maria shook her head at the all too familiar crazed look about him. "Come in, come see!" he beckoned her closer.

She approached his workbench, carefully stepping around stacks of paper. She noticed the fingerless gloves he was wearing and the tangle of metal bracing, with multicolored wires that coiled around his fingers.

"I made this emitter array for the Lorentz tractor field to fit onto my hands!" he exclaimed, presenting his hands. Each finger had a laser diode mounted at the first knuckle, and in the center of his palm, he had mounted a round apparatus with coils of copper wire and a glowing blue center.

"I made this—" Cyrus heaved a metal backpack onto the table— "it's a power supply for the diamond. I used airplane parts and big capacitors." Maria could see the diamond nestled in the center, within a cage of solenoids and bracing. She also noticed the diamond had been cleaved into clean facets—Cyrus must have cut it somehow. Through the smoother surfaces, she could see glowing particles spiraling within the verdant depths.

She tore herself away from the diamond. Cyrus was straightening thick cables between his gauntlets and the backpack. He pulled the pack onto his shoulders, staggering under the weight. He flexed his fingers, grinned at Maria, and crossed over to turn on his eyewash station.

"So now, with them together..." he murmured, "I can do this!" 

Cyrus thrust his hand dramatically at the faucet. The diamond on his back glowed, spitting soft beams of green light out into the room. His palm crackled and the water streaming into the sink, which had been falling in a gentle arc, began to bend towards him. Their hair stood on end; Cyrus breathed slowly and steadily pulled the stream of water from its faucet out to the middle of the room. When he stopped, the water began to coil in on itself and formed a blob floating in midair.

Then, Cyrus raised his elbows, widened his stance, and brilliant light streamed from his palms, illuminating the amorphous water. A flash of lightning barely caught their vision before the water was vaporized and disappeared completely. 

"I can move the water and split it into hydrogen and oxygen!" he exclaimed, grinning at Maria. She smiled back appreciatively.

"It's amazing," she signed. "Just like everything you do."