Darklight: Precipice

Part 32: Nexus Shift

Soran was sat up in his bed gazing out of the window onto the city below. It was a clear autumn day, not a cloud in the sky. Anyone who forgot the season could have been fooled into thinking it was a glorious summer day. But there were a few things that pointed to that lie...The sun was just too low in the sky, the breeze that ruffled the leaves of the planted trees was just a little too brisk and the people on the streets weren't milling about chatting and enjoying the weather, they were walking quickly – completeing their errands as soon as possible to get back into the warmth of one of the many monolithic structures that made up Utopia City.

That unease, that knowing that something wasn't quite right was exactly how Soran was feeling now. But it wasn't regarding the weather or anything that mundane, it was something.... more. He couldn't place his finger on it, but it was more.

He was even distracted by the feeling when Natasha came to see him. It had been months for her since she had a conversation with her husband, but for Soran it felt like only a few hours had passed. He felt more detached from her than ever... detached from reality. Was his mental health slipping further, was his Depersonalisation Disorder worsening? Had removing the inhibitor to save their lives in the Necropolis cost Soran his sanity? He didn't really know. But Natasha could tell that he wasn't exactly all 'there', she always knew. But for the sake of their marriage she his how she was feeling, acting as if nothing had happened. And of course Soran knew this, and in her heart of hearts she knew that he knew.

Of course Natasha had plenty to say regarding Soran's actions behind her back and his agreement with Raine that if he ever became uncontrollable she would administer the Reticence serum that would render him braindead. They had almost had a full blown shouting match, but Soran stopped reacting to her increasingly voluminous accusations and she knew that he was recessing into his detached state again, so gave up. She left him with a kiss on the cheek. That had been three days ago.

There was a gentle knock on the door of his private hospital room, snapping Soran back to his senses.

"Hello?"The voice came as Rosaline's face appeared around the side of the door.

"Good morning" Soran replied with the faintest hint of a smile. Rosaline entered the room fully.

"Mind a chat?" She asked. She seemed to know him so well, know how to deal with his complex emotional states. He found this curious, and a little disconcerting.

"I suppose not" Soran replied, shifting himself into a better sitting position in the hospital bed. Rosaline took the chair by his bed.

"Bet you're sick of hospitals aren't you?" She asked with a smirk.

"I've spent far too much time in them lately. Funny, there's very little difference between Utopian and Arcadian hospitals despite the advances in technology...." Soran mused.

"Huh?"Rosaline replied with a look between awestruck and confused.

"Nevermind" Soran cut in before she could continue. "Can I help you with anything?"

"Well" Rosaline started, also adjusting her sitting position now. "In the days since you came out of your coma you've seemed.... distant. And before you say anything, I mean even more distant than usual".

How the hell did she know that? This was too weird, Soran didn't like it.

"I don't know what you're talking about" Soran replied and looked out of the window again.

"I'm talking about that" Rosaline said, pointing at his face. "You're not all here, something's distracting you".

When Soran looked back to Rosaline, his expression had changed dramatically. There were lines around his eyes, lines of hate and rage that highlighted the genetic similarities between himself and Rammachandra. It could have been her boring her eyes into Rosaline.

"I don't know what your game is, Lady Kisa" He spat. "But your interest and seeming concern for me can frankly end. This trying to get into my head thing you have going on isn't going to work. You have no idea about me, about my mind, about my experiences. So keep your 'concern' for someone who gives a fuck".

But she didn't look surprised or angry... she didn't even flinch. She just grabbed the top of Soran's wrist and said:

"I feel it too".

He didn't know how to react to that. His expression was one of surprise, he just stared at her blankly, all evidence of Rammachandra gone from his face and replaced by shocked confusion.

"I told you about Nexus Theory, Soran. And what you're experiencing is something having an adverse impact on the Nexus. Something has changed, something here on Saxosis has warped the Nexus, changed it".

"How do you know?" Soran asked.

'I'm a scholar, Soran. I've studied Nexus Theory for a very long time. All Skry will feel it, a funny distraction that they'll put down to low blood sugar, or stress or anxiety... But the signs are there. Something has changed and it doesn't bode well".

"What makes you think that this is something bad?" Soran asked. He didn't really want to know the answer.

"Because only an event of great magnitude could have this kind of an impact on The Nexus. It's cataclysmic".