Overlap

Chapter 27-B: The Awakening (Part 2)

<11/01/2010- 07:07 | (Enroute), Austell, GA, USA>

Will she really tell me why? Will she give me reason to believe her, try to actually convince me that she really does exist as a tangible entity? Or will Lumina just throw me into an abyss of unprovable tales or lies just to win me over to her side? And what happens if I do decide to believe her in the end? What happens to me then? "Okay..." I softly spoke as I started walking towards the ramp of the bus. "Fine. Just tell me what to do first about attracting less attention, cause it's not working out so far." I kept my voice to a whisper, certain Lumina would hear me either way. I was still getting glances from the students from the same bus stop, curious if I will appear to continue talking to myself some more. I said I would at least listen to Lumina, but I'm not burning down my reputation for this.

"Just remember to talk with your mind for now. And there, take that empty seat."

Lumina could not directly point to anything in a way that I could see, but she told me as much right as the empty seat a few isles back caught the very center of my own vision. It told me how precise her sensory sharing was compared to mine. If she can track not only what I see, but also where my eyes wander, what else could she determine without a second thought? I waited for those walking back in front of me before having access to one of the empty loner seats, taking my stride to the window with a view.

"Project your voice and your thoughts loudly in your mind. They have to be loud enough in dynamic volume for me to hear them. I can't visually see anything that you specifically imagine or daydream, but I can hear what you think, if you give those thoughts enough juice."

So there are some limitations! Not only that, but my earlier tactic of thought projection seemed to be working out too. She really can't hear everything I'm thinking, not right now. But if I return a response with more effort and volume like so, understood, then she can hear that and only that.

"Good," she replied.

She also can't see what I imagine, though I bet she could hear it if my thoughts amplify the noise loudly enough... Not that I had anything worth imagining today. As I stared out the view of my window, noticing the beautiful sunrise over the horizon beginning, I silently conferred to myself just how terrified I was on a deeper level, even though I didn't let it show. I've never been more afraid of anything until right now. I've never had anything like this happen to me. Real or fake, what happens if I can't hide this from the others? Worse, what happens if it turns out my fears are true? What if she is a real Altiri alien? Wanting to prove she exists and wanting to prove I am not crazy are two separate arguments altogether. If someone like that really does exist, if aliens can communicate with humans, then how long will it take until we all find ourselves invaded? What if the invasion never happens physically, but mentally? What if I am a victim of such an invasion, in a process yet to complete with limited time to be myself before I realize it is too late to revert? Or, what if this is a psychological disorder, growing into something bigger and putting me on borrowed time to stay true to who I really am? If that's the case, there is nothing I can do about it either. I certainly don't want to end up in a mental institution.

"You okay?"

Oops! I stayed quiet for too long. I'd rather not let her know that I figured out how to filter which thoughts she can hear and which thoughts she cannot. Someone such as her should be capable of knowing everything about me even before I can think of it, but her knowledge seems more limited than I thought. "Yeah. Hey, I got one question off the top. You can see so clearly through my eyes. So why can't I see like that through yours? Even earlier, your world never came into full opacity."

"That transparency effect is part of my view too, but I can view only your world if I shut my eyes. It won't help you out though. It has to do with connection strength, psionic properties, and shared load variations."