Six Digits

In the middle of high school, Victor’s life changed a little. His “madam” stopped spanking him and switched to other punishments that hurt him more in terms of shame than pain, but the boy, and later the young man, did not understand this. No one had ever taught Victor to feel embarrassed about anything or to accept embarrassing situations with a heavy heart. Lira didn’t disclose much about her life, but the young man discerned that his friend’s parents were adopted due to her fear of her grades. According to Victor, close native people could not treat their child that way. “Hi, happy birthday!” she said with a smile to the boy, who looked more like a teen. “Thank you very much!” Lira was glad about the date, but she didn’t know how her friend found out about it. For her, a simple flower was more valuable than all the most beautiful bouquets. This was particularly true because the girl’s birthday wasn’t being celebrated at home, so bouquets weren’t expected. Lira hasn’t had a birthday party since she turned ten, right before the end of junior high school. On her birthday, she got a good, but not great, grade. She thought that would mean punishment, but she didn’t expect this. After informing her that her birthday party was over, her parents reprimanded her harshly. The pain was so intense that I’m at a loss for words! After that… Then it became clear that things would stay that way. * * * “The girl’s parents’ actions were cruel, Teacher.” Why did they do that?” Of course, Sveta thought back to her childhood. She could see that living with relatives wasn’t that different from being an orphan and having a miserable childhood. “They thought it was best for her,” the young demiurge’s mentor said with a sad smile. This is the reason it’s important to remember that no noble reason can make cruel actions okay. A young man, whose name the girl couldn’t remember, sighed and said, “There are people like that.” They think that school and being successful are the most important things, so they force kids to follow their rules. “What a wild thing to say,” Alira said in a sad voice, taking it all in. For her race, children were very valuable, and she didn’t get why someone would act that way. “And this jump,” she said, pointing to the picture. “What does it mean?” Svetlana thought back to what she had read recently about “the symbol of predestination.” That’s when souls can fall in love, but they can choose not to.” The teacher looked at his students with a smile and said, “Yes.” The Demiurges learned a lot from this story, even though it wasn’t easy. “And the jump changes, which means… Well?” “Forming many parallel paths…” Alira let out a heavy sigh. “From now on, they live in many worlds… Despite the absence of a will in the universe, the deities were unable to explain the specific events that transpired in the lives of two gifted individuals during that period. It was the will of the universe. Furthermore, the concept of the universe was not widely understood. However, the lesson continued as it was deemed necessary. The young demiurges were curious about this world. * * * Lira was dreading the end of middle school, but Victor didn’t seem to mind at all. He didn’t think he had a good chance of getting into high school “by the age of sixteen,” and teachers didn’t believe they could tell students early. However, as the tests approached, affecting not only the final grade but also the admission to high school, the teachers began to convene more frequently to discuss potential candidates. It was mostly the competition and the level of gift development that caused trouble. Teachers and inspectors only looked at how much development there was in dynamics before the age of 18, and didn’t put kids into groups based on their strengths and abilities. “Swenson has no parents,” the class curator said. The fourth sheet states, “He possesses an anchor that enables him to achieve exceptional outcomes.” The government official agreed, saying, “Very interesting.” He or she looked at the proposed text. “So the threat of violence against a girl raised the risk four times?” One-of-a kind effect. What about this person? What’s her name? The curator asked, “Wonson, sir.” “From the way she acts, it seems like no one would cry for her for too long if something happened.” We made the decision to relocate them to the island. In their conversation, the mentors seemed to be making a threat, but it wasn’t really there. Talented individuals in this world manipulated time, willingly sacrificing those without families or not facing punishment. The gifted government kept things secret, even from its own people, and had some very strange, seemingly odd goals. But not much was known about the World Council of the Gifted’s goals because everyone strictly followed the orders of people who called themselves mages. Members of the group of mages said it had always been that way. Fear, or the need for survival, was the driving force behind this. In fact, it wasn’t always that way, but power can change even the best people. Svenson and Vonson faced a difficult decision. They were set to be the next test subjects in an experiment that had already claimed the lives of fifty people, but the gifted continued to conduct experiment after experiment, hoping that one day they would find themselves in a distant location and be able to… The greatest enigma, however, was the question of what a gifted individual ought to do if thrust back in time. The goal, though, was clear to everyone in the class: the gifted must rise above the “herd” of the not-gifted. There have always been people who wanted to put some people above others, so the idea wasn’t new. Also, the people who were deciding didn’t think that two teenagers who weren’t useful to anyone were at all pitiful. Most gifted people didn’t think pity came naturally. * * * Lira felt a chill run down her spine as the examiner said, “Demonstrate a transformation that allows you to find out the current time.” Her fear of failing made her squirm and lose focus. “Make a list of the things that affect the outcome.” All of a sudden, Victor’s light handshake gave the girl confidence, and her fear went away. The examiner didn’t notice when she smiled and nodded in thanks. Lyra took a deep breath and began to answer. She confidently stated, “We perform the transformation with two hands.” “The left hand maintains stability, while the right hand forms Ekar’s sign in this manner.” The results of her actions were evident in the air. “Like any change that uses gifted people’s abilities, it depends on what they already have,” the girl said. “Also, the outcome of this transformation changes based on time zone.” “Is there anything else you want to say?” A dull voice emanated from the black box of a device made by the gifted. The old word “artefact” was also sometimes used for them. “In magic-free zones, transformations are not possible,” Lyra said in a serious tone, forgetting to add that note. The examiner said, “Excellent.” Let’s move on to the next question. Swenson, what transformation does an object go through to become something else? “There are no such changes,” the young man said with a shaky head. He had been in the school library for hours. He tried to make Lyra’s birthday present extra special, but he failed. “Very well,” said a voice that didn’t care. Even though it wasn’t the first hour of the test, the examiner kept coming back to these two like a dog on a bone. Lyra and Victor had the potential to think through the questions, but the examiner prevented them from doing so. The questions covered both secondary and intermediate school. Holding onto each other, they literally crawled out of the classroom where the test was taking place. But that wasn’t the end of the day. The curator of their graduating class asked Swenson and Wonson, “Please come in here.” The two young men looked at each other. “Of course,” Lyra said, wishing she could sit by the water and take it easy after such a long test. But she didn’t want to go against what her mentor said, because it was dangerous to upset the teachers these days. The young men went into their mentor’s office, where they had seen him before in a picture. They had known him for many years. The curator offered to sit down and then took a close look at his students. They were embarking on an unknown journey without a clue. Naturally, no one inquired about the study subjects’ readiness for this journey. No one inquires about the preparedness of the individuals they are testing. The curator smiled and said, “Congratulations, young people.” He then took out two envelopes and gave them to Lyra and Victor. “You have earned enough points to transfer to Allisongan High School. You will start there in two weeks.” We’ve talked to your parents and guardians about you. Lyra said, “Okay.” She was glad she wouldn’t have to spend the holidays with her parents. The man went on, “You will get to the island by ship.” He wasn’t trying to warn the students that it might be their last trip. “I hope you won’t do anything to hurt our school’s reputation.” Vic and Lyra both said “thank you” at the same time. The curator quickly told the kids to leave and went on to other things. Lyra felt a lot better as they left the school, but the boy was tense because he was thinking about “something he didn’t like about the behavior of a familiar teacher.” “Shall we sit down in the park?” The boy said something and decided to think about it again later. “Come on,” smiled the girl, who was getting more and more interested in him. They were sixteen, which meant they would be adults in just two years. Lyra thought that once they were adults, all the bad things would be over, and her parents would no longer be able to control her. Additionally, magic high schools were typically located on islands to maintain confidentiality. This meant that they were boarding schools, which made the girl very happy. Still, Victor liked the idea of not returning to Madame, even though it was impossible at the boarding school. Because of this, children at gifted schools didn’t have to leave for the holidays, and they could live there for four years without leaving. After that, he’d be an adult and be able to live on his own. There were only two weeks left to wait.” Lyra suddenly said, “I don’t want to go home,” as she sat down on a bench. This part of the park didn’t have many people, so the girl took it leisurely and rested. “Are you getting hit?” Victor asked with worry because he knew they couldn’t do anything about it, even if they did. “I wish they’d hit me,” Lyra said with a heavy sigh. “At least it won’t hurt too much.” “Don’t ask?” The boy asked in a way that showed he understood, and when he saw the girl’s agreement, he just put his arm around her. “It feels good when you hug me,” she said, trying to figure out how she felt. “That’s good,” Victor said with a sad smile. He smiled as if this was something he had never done before, which made the smile a little wonky. After sitting still for a while longer, the girl reluctantly got up. She had to spend these two weeks at home. Lira didn’t think she’d be able to leave the house because she thought her parents would try to make things better before she did. It was awful for her to get along with her parents. Victor went back to his house because he didn’t want to call this place “home” after saying goodbye to his friend. The young man felt more at home at school than where he lived. Victor went to the city library because it was on his way. He was daydreaming about having his own house one day, or at least a room in it. He tried to walk home for as long as possible.