The Awakened World

Part 1: The World We Live In

The man woke from his sleep. Everything in his small apartment looked the same as always, but something felt different. Something very fundamental had changed; the man could feel energy flowing through his room. Suddenly everything became clear. The man rose to sit on his bed and turned his towards his alarm clock. He raised his hand and thought about the clock in a completely new way, brought about by his newfound understanding of the energies flowing through everything. Suddenly blood red sparks began to circle his raised hand, and the clock rose into the air, and started to hover while gently rotating. The man smirked, and waved his hand, sending the clock flying into the wall, shattering the clock and leaving a surprisingly deep hole in the wall. The newly awakened man then stood up, and grinned. He knew that the world was about to change.

At the same time a small fraction of Earth's population went through a very similar experience. The Awakening had occurred.

Five years later

Brian Stevens woke up, shut of his alarm clock, and started to go about his morning routine. Unlike the Awakened, he had no awareness of the energies flowing through the world. He was a very average human, by any means: average height, build and looks. Or he would have been, five years ago. Now he was part of the second lowest class, and as such considered by many to be trash. After taking a shower and having put on clothes, he left for his university.

Traversal was somewhat bothersome for a member of the lower classes, or a "commoner", as they were referred to by those above them. Private cars were problematic, since most lanes were reserved for people of a higher rank. As such, one of the few choices was to take public transport. This too, was not ideal, as class 2 commoners, such us Brian, had to give up their seats if a person of higher status requested it. Luckily for Brian, the bus was almost empty today. As he gazed out of the window, he saw other class 2 commoners heading to work in the multiple factories of the area. He shuddered at the thought of having to work at such a place; normally people of his status were considered only good enough for the kind of work robots had performed just five years prior. Brian, however; was lucky in the fact that he had the drive to study industriously. Thus, he had cleared a hurdle most others couldn't: he had entered a university.

After arriving at the campus, he soon entered the lecture hall. Today's lecture was about worker psychology. Brian sighed. As one of the very few class 2 commoners he was sure to elicit many a gaze from the class 1 commoners, of whom the students mostly consisted of. But one other person worried him even more. This person then arrived, as if on que. "Speak of the bloody devil" Brian grunted and prepared for the worst. The "devil" in this case was Scott Thompson, a tall and well-built individual with short, black hair that had a red highlight. Unlike everyone else in the lecture room he was part of the "royalty", an Awakened. This was apparent from his uniform, a black coat with blood red lines, an armed escort and, most of all, his extremely confident attitude. Behind him was the second Awakened attending this particular management course, Susan Abbot. She was fairly short, and had auburn hair tied into a ponytail. Like Scott she, too, was wearing a black coat to indicate her status. However, unlike Scott she didn't have a condescending expression. No surprise, Brian thought. For the ten years I have known her she has always been kind, and I'm glad to see that this "Awakened" business hasn't changed that. Brian and Susan had been very close until the day she was awakened. Since the they had only seen each other briefly at times like these, as it was not considered proper for an Awakened to talk to a lowly class 2 commoner.

"Alright, you can go now", Scott barked, "Even if there are a few pieces of trash here, we'll be fine. I mean we're awakened, after all!" The four armed men bowed and left the room, and the two members of "royalty" walked into their specially prepared seats, which were leagues beyond the ones normal students used. The lecturer walked on stage and he, too, bowed for the Awakened, a gesture which Scott acknowledged with a lazy wave of his hand. The lecture itself went smoothly, what with a few patronizing smirks and small bursts of laughter directed at Brian, the "plebeian" among nobles.

As the lecture ended Brian was preparing to leave but soon felt his whole body beginning to levitate. He twisted his head to see what was going on, and his heart stopped for a split second as he saw who was responsible for this. A red helix had formed around Scott's hand and he looked at Brian with an expression that froze the blood in his veins. Scott turned to Susan, who had a look of disbelief on her face. "You have been playing hard to get for the last two months, turning me the cold shoulder. Now I have had enough. we're going out together to eat at the new restaurant downtown. If you decline, then, well...". As Scott spoke these words he twisted his fingers and Brian started to hopelessly float upward. "You can't do this" Susan cried with a horrified expression on her face. "Oh, but I can", Scott said with a soft voice, "He's a mere class 2, one less won't mean a thing". Susan's eyes darted to Brian in the air and then back to Scott who, to Susan's horror, had a dead serious expression. After a second that felt like hour to Brian, Susan responded: "Fine, let's do it. Just let him down, and carefully too!". Scott laughed, and Brian flew down. As soon as he had landed, Brian grabbed his bag and started to move towards the exit. Before exiting the hall, he looked back. Scott shot him a victorious smirk, while Susan seemed to have a look of genuine concern. Brian then continued to escape. "I have caused her problems, haven't I", Brian thought as he caught the bus home. Brian cursed his own incompetence. "But then again, this is the world I live in. I am just a pebble on the side of the road to them, aren't I?" The he remembered the look of worry on Susan's face, and felt increasingly conflicted.