The Silverist (old version)

Chapter 10: Part 2

I thought about how all that time I spent was on concentrating only on the interior of Eric's room, when I forgot about the exterior. After all, I possessed my powers, which could be utilized not only as a brute force intended for violence, but for problem solving as well.

Though I did not know the first character of Eric's secret encryption, I knew the second. To the code pad inside of Eric's room the second character was useless, but the code pad outside could be of use. When I grabbed the ball-chain stylus, a plan formulated in my head. Using my powers, I was going to control the pen of the code pad beyond the door and manipulate it so that I would unlock the door from the outside, without having to remember the first character, though, I had never tried to perform anything of the sort.

Since the stylus was not made of metal, I was only given the chain to work with in order to control the object, so for my plan to work, I had to control metal through metal. Initially, I tested my powers with the pen inside Eric's room, but I could only wave the pen back and forth in an awkward fashion, for the chain was connected only to one end of the stylus.

I used my initiative to figure out a solution that would give me better control of the pen. So I slowly pulled up the pen using the chain, then wrapped the stylus with it like a coil, giving me a better grip. It was then that I could control the pen as if I was just holding it with my own hand.

A smile was brought to my face, for my abilities never ceased to dazzle me, yet. Once I stopped playing around with the chain and stylus, I positioned myself as close to the door as possible and used my powers to search for the identical object right outside the door. I closed my eyes, unsure of how exactly the process would play out, and focused as hard as I could. This went on for quite a while too, but as I was about to give up, I saw it. Somehow, I gained access to not only the ball chain connected to the stylus outside the door, but I was also enabled to see the physical metallic environment beyond the door. My powers gave me some sort of 'sixth sense' where I could envision and pinpoint the exact location of metal.

This specific ability did not operate on a physical level but on a subconscious level, for my mind was the key in utilizing my powers in this situation, rather than my eyes. The best explanation to how this ability worked was that it acted similarly to a sonar detector except it only detected metal objects and nothing else. I was prone to plastic, wood, concrete, dirt, and organisms, especially humans, just to name a few.

Unfortunately, this had meant that any human being could see whatever I did to the other side, which included making pens float. Though humans had minimal amounts of minerals in their bodies like potassium and magnesium, I was unable to track these extremely minute amounts, for there was only so much I could do with these powers so far, as I was yet to learn to summon the other capabilities of my powers.

Though I was seemingly unable to know when people are walking by, almost everyone in the building was a Silverist, which meant they had tattoos. Thanks to George, I knew that tattoos were made of some sort of metallic powder, which was metal nonetheless, so I was able to see whether or not people were approaching near the door. I was glad to have found a solution to counter the problem with the people the outside, for I would have resorted to luck as well as my hearing.

Before I removed the stylus from the exterior pad, I waited patiently as two Silverists walked by, revealed by their tattoos. When they escaped my 'line of vision', I continued. All of my abilities, as strong or useful as they may seem, had their limitations for I could only be so close to a god. I knew that I was yet to further develop my powers, and my ability to locate metal without eyesight was no exception, for this 'sonar' ability had the radius of little over ten feet.

Initially, I pulled the chain downwards to make the stylus fall as close to the floor as possible. Using common sense, I presumed that the end of the chain closest to the floor was attached to the pen, so I lifted that end in an upwards motion. As I slowly pulled up the invisible stylus, which had the possibility of not even existing, I made a coil with the rest of the length of the chain, like how I practiced with the one inside Eric's room. Just as I was about to wrap the chain around the stylus, another batch of Silverists halted my progress and so I let the pen drop with the force of gravity.

I impatiently grunted and hit the door in frustration which made a slight rumbling sound. There were three of them, for there were three tattoos; however, as two of them continued walking at a steady pace, one of them stopped unexplainably. The tattoo went through a few twists and turns before the ball chain unexpectedly started to lift up without the use of my powers. I soon realized that the Silverist was picking up the stylus and placing it back on the pad as a polite gesture for Eric. I then knew that the stylus did indeed exist, for there was no reason for someone to just pick up a random ball-link chain.

Though the Silverist put me back to square one, they at least proved the stylus' existence. I restarted, taking the pen off the code pad again, with more haste that time. I then manipulated the chain into a spiral to surround the stylus. Once I held the stylus in place, I could move the item at my free will. Also with the help of my powers, I was able to find the rough position of each button on the touchscreen, thanks to the circuit board and the frame of the code pad.

Without any more interruptions, I gently entered the first passcode, which was the number string. With a levitating stylus, I attempted to surpass the first encryption, but unexpectedly received the same demeaning-toned beep from the first time I made an error with the number string. Before I could make the mistake of experimenting with the position of the buttons, I realized that I had entered the code in reverse, for I faced the opposite side of the code pad.

As I was about to reenter the numbers, in the correct orientation that time, I was yet again interrupted by another pack of Silverists, which made me start to consider how many people were awake so early, but I was not surprised when I remembered the group that had to board the four o'clock train.

My mind let go of any control I had over the pen and allowed gravity to do the rest, which unfortunately untangled the chain encompassing the stylus. After they passed Eric's door, I did not bother waiting and so I lifted the chain up again. That was when I saw one of the tattoos stop travelling in midair. I held my breath, knowing that a Silverist had just witnessed a live demonstration of my powers in the most subtle way. 

Thank you so much for reading once again.

I can't believe I still have readers that are this far.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter and hope to see you read The Silverist - Chapter 11: Part 1, due Wednesday!

Take care!