The Ace (Stray Kids Kim Seungmin)

32

"Tell me more about Season X," Mr Brown commanded, leaning against the countertop of his kitchen with the rim of a mug of coffee at his lips.

It was the first time he invited a member of staff from his workplace to his apartment because he had always viewed doing so as unprofessional. However, he strongly believed there was more to what Avery had told him that she didn't feel comfortable enough to admit at work.

He wore a simple red t-shirt that night with loose blue jeans and black socks. His hair was dishevelled and he had exhaustion written all over his face. Avery was the polar opposite, wearing an identical white suit to the one she always wore in work and her hair was tied into a taut low ponytail.

She sat at his kitchen island, right leg crossed over her left one as rested her teacup and saucer on it. Her lips curled up into a subtle smile at his words, bringing the teacup to her mouth and sipping it slowly.

"What do you want to know, sir?"

"Please, we aren't in work right now, call me George."

A chuckled slipped past her lips. "I had always expected your first name to be less -- I don't know -- generic, George. You have such a unique aura to you. To be honest with you, I kind of expected more," she joked.

"I was named after my father, Colonel George J. Brown. He was a bland old man who learnt the joy of a monotonous life after he retired. I learnt from him to live an action packed life but not enough to completely wear myself out by forty years old. So I became a producer." He smiled at her. "What led you to pursue a career in science?"

"Both my parents were astrophysicists so, naturally, I was exposed to science since infancy. I didn't share any enthusiasm for stars and planets and galaxies with my parents, instead, I was always more interested in neurology and understanding how the human mind works. I knew by the time I was in middle school that I wanted to discover the limits of human intelligence."

"And that's what you did through Season X, right?"

"Season X was the result of my greed for knowledge, yes. But it wasn't mine alone. This simulation has been in place for thirty-five years, Mr Brow-- I mean, George. The limit of intelligence was discovered by the fifth anniversary of the simulation and the only reason it continued was for entertainment purposes. We scientists were still learning more about different brains but I wanted more. I needed to know what would happen if those boundaries were... tweaked."

"You interfered with the way their brains normally worked?"

"I didn't physically change anything. You see, Season X was a carefully planned out, intricate experiment. It took five years of scientific and technological intelligence before we deemed the experiment ready to start. We knew from the initial planning that we needed minds that we could easily mold into our own and minds we could manipulate and force out of basic human limitations. We needed the young."

"And so you asked for parents to volunteer any children they had between five and fifteen. I remember when that article came out ten years ago. I thought it was shocking. It was completely unheard of."

"It was a completely unheard of experiment. An experiment that could so easily get out of hand, that was so unstable that we constantly had to be alert. We tested the children for a year, learning everything we could about them and how they perceived life. 'Eliminations' occurred every month. You see, George, we were looking for the smartest kids we could find from all over the globe and not just intelligence wise. We looked at their mannerisms, their attitudes, their interests and more because we needed a variety of children to get the most accurate outcome. By the end of that year, we were left with fifty-two children. And so the experiment began."

"You told me you got student from secondary school to top universities, though. Were you lying to me then?"

"Not entirely. Before placing them into their respective Pens, we taught them at a secondary and tertiary school level to ensure they knew all they needed. They were never physically in those schools but they may as well be."

"You taught them?" he raised an eyebrow. "How?"

"In their unconscious state, we taught them through affirmations. Their brain were like clay, so easy to shift and mold and alter. We took their original personalities then merged them with qualities we believed would suit them best."

"You brainwashed them?"

"We merely enhanced their personalities. Everyday we would remind them of who they were meant to be but it takes longer for some to transform into their characters than others. That's why not everyone arrives in the Pen at the same time."

"Melody Singh arrived the latest in her Pen. I thought the Aces are meant to be the smartest out of the rest of the kids."

"Shifting their perspective of themselves into what we want them to be like has nothing to do with who is "smarter" than the rest. Besides, Melody's case is... different. In fact, we questioned whether we should even resurrect her."

"Did you just say 'resurrect her'?"

"The Ace of Clubs can read minds, the Ace of Diamonds can speak objects into existence, and the Ace of Spades can slow down or speed up time. All other Aces have a 'superpower' they can unlock at any given moment except the Ace of Hearts. The Ace of Hearts has two lives. So, yes, it took five more years but I finally managed to resurrect Melody."