Bubble Energy Taken by Force

Changes in the Brain

 Stephen couldn't believe the galloping power under his fingertips. Its speed took his breath away. He hardly had a chance to gasp once before the cloud tops shrank to cotton speaks hugging the earth. The sky deepened to navy blue, then brighten to a lighter shade as he rapidly shed the altitude and reduce speed.

"Hey, this is responding much more smoothly. What have you changed?"

"Nothing. The functions remained unchanged since Jim modified five constants before the bad guys entered the tunnel. Maybe you're adapting to the balance. Your flight path is remarkably steady. You're displaying much better control since..."

"... since I got knocked out from that surge. Don't tell me my brain got scrambled." The Superjet wobbled a bit before he forced it back under control.

"Judging from your vastly increased skill in handling the Superjet, you apparently can use more of your brain's capacity."

"It can't be. That old wives tale saying an average man uses ten percent of his brain is just airy-fairy superstition; it started when nobody really fully understands its design. In reality, he needs every part of his brain to properly function. A stroke or any damage to the brain can ruin his day."

"You are correct saying that all parts of the brain is active. The issue is that people often use it inefficiently. Errant thoughts, distractions, and anxiety can all reduce the effectiveness of the brain's true capability. In order for the brain to most efficiently store, process, and retrieve..."

"No more database theories, please. They make me feel sleepy." For long moments afterwards, he heard nothing but the forceful wind clawing against his shields. He felt nothing more than the physical sensations, without fearful words telling him various ways he could die or suffer. After decades of endless chattering, his anxious emotions had at last silenced their voices. He began to luxuriate in his emancipation. "You know, for the first time since childhood, I am able to think clearly. I'm truly free to again pursue a fruitful future. I don't know how, but we may have stumbled into something even greater than Bubble Energy. Thank goodness the programmers had set this flight in debug mode to record every nanosecond of all telemetry data. This could be something incredible."

"Excuse me, we are approaching the bad guys. They appear to inhabit the ranch house straight ahead. I'm awaiting instructions."