The Lucid Effect

Chapter Two

Alice sat in a heavy silence while Professor Penning read through her thesis proposal. His office was rather plain, with no artwork or posters on the walls. His bookcase was neat and orderly, filled with books with titles like The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: Why Finn Was Better Than Sawyer and Why Historians Cannot Count on the Count of Monte Cristo.

Though Alice read many books like the ones on his bookcase, and even found most of them interesting, she had no desire to write about dead authors. She oftentimes fantasized about being the first fiction author in a lifetime. What would that look like? Would she be the leader of a revival? Those were some day dreams she had every now and then.

But she was agonizing, not day dreaming. She allowed herself a few glances at her professor's face while he read her proposal, and he did not look pleased. There were a few heavy sighs that interrupted the uncomfortable silence every now and then. Alice wasn't sure if she liked the silence better, or the sighs. Either way, she wished she could just get up and run. Instead, she stared at her hands and kept checking her body posture.

Relax your shoulders. Control your breathing. You're fine, you're fine.

There was another heavy sigh.

"Let me get this straight," Penning began, setting down the small stack of papers. He took off his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose, looking like he was in pain.

"The main character is an orphan from Rome who discovers he is actually the son of two very important, deceased, Egyptian magicians?"

Alice could hear the subtle incredulity in his tone. But she was prepared for this kind of reaction.

"Yes."

"And this character, he betrays Rome by refusing to burn down a library—"

"Yes, the Library of Alexandria."

"He betrays Rome, is tortured, then rescued by some palace workers, and meets the Pharaoh, who he then becomes friends with?"

"More like lovers, but yes."

He raised an eyebrow at her before he continued, "Then he trains to become a magician? Why would they let him train to become a magician if he is from enemy Rome?"

"Because he isn't actually from Rome. There is an incident where he displays powers, and the Head Sorcerer in the palace takes notice and asks the Pharaoh if he can train him. He becomes powerful very quickly, since it is in his blood, and the Head Sorcerer recognizes he may be a part of a certain prophecy—"

"I saw that. But the Roman guy, he what, develops some sort of evil side?"

"Felix."

"What?"

"The main character—his name is Felix."

"Okay, so Felix has an evil alter ego?"

"Yes. Because of the torture that was inflicted on him when he betrayed Rome. They flayed him, cut him, gouged out his eye... And because he was in so much pain, some dark magic inside of him awoke. That is why he is a part of the prophecy, because of this like, dual nature thing he has going on."

There was a long silence. Alice felt her shoulders were tense and her face was burning red. She didn't like to explain her story out loud. When the words left her mouth, she could hear how ridiculous she sounded. But she had made her decision. She told herself over and over, for weeks on end, that no progress would be made unless someone took a chance, that everything great in that used to be in the world was because a person ignored their inhibitions and acted on their dreams.