As far back as I can remember, we've always been praised as geniuses. We didn't really get it, but it felt good to be treated like that. We rarely had the chance to interact with other children our age. Perhaps that's the true origin of our codependency issues.
It wasn't until we started school that we realized that we were different. Grade school kids didn't even know high school level math and science, needless to say, we who were reading material for college and university students at 6 were amazed at how little they knew.
At first, it was pleasant knowing that we were able to comprehend concepts that had no meaning to our classmates, it meant that we could do anything we wanted to. But it didn't last long, by the second year we were disillusioned. We lost all interest in everything, apparently being able to do anything means you don't want to do anything. It was the same as having everything, you didn't need anything then.
Obviously, we couldn't literally do everything, but it's the idea that counts. It drove us to despair. We found solace in games, comics, novels, anime, anything that offered a brief escape from the reality we discovered.
Naturally, our grades dropped. But we were still always among top 5, so nothing really changed. Teachers still treated us like rare specimen of perfect students even though we didn't study at all. We just took advantage of our impressive memory to dish out data we acquired when we were younger.
Only our parents noticed what was really going on, but that made it worse. The harder they pushed, the harder we resisted. Slowly but surely, our absent days per term increased till we were exactly one behind the amount to repeat a grade.
It was then that even the teachers realized what had happened. We were then 16 year olds who went for classes just so we could pass. We had no motivation to do anything, we did whatever we felt like on a whim.
The pressure to become more mature, more focused or whatever they termed it as increased and now it was a pronged attack. So we left the house, we were 18 ( finally old enough to legally own property) , in our final year (we never had any intention of dropping out) and had a bit of cash to blow because we played a little with online trading.
Our parents didn't take it lightly, heck..... No one could blame them. Their tactics changed drastically, it was not just about doing what's best for their children but also to save what little was left of their dignity. And so I snapped, he never noticed but I used the most basic method for getting information across.
I threatened them.
They knew what the child they had was capable of, my mother was certain that I could get rid them and not leave a trace. No evidence would lead back to me.
Maybe he did notice, I doubt they'd have told him. But he became a little bit reserved around me. And I...
Stein's eyes opened wide.
What the hell?
He was lying on a bed in a hotel room on the 2nd Level. After Laplace had forced her way into team, they waited for the sun to set and set off for the testing arena to take their ride.
The 2nd Level was completely different from the first, it was designed as a modern metropolis and had no NPCs. This Level had a lot of shops that sold items, some of which were supposedly unique to it. They made reservations for accommodation and split as before.
Coulomb insisted on being alone and Laplace acted like she never considered sharing.
They're really wasting valuable money, who knows what we might need it for.
He stood and walked to the curtains blocking the view of the cityscape below.
The creator is such a child.
The Playground doesn't seem to follow a particular pattern or even show any order. It's probably just a patchwork of different worlds.
I unconsciously expected it to maintain the same fantasy RPG setting.
His hands moved without him really thinking about what he was doing. He pushed the bulky curtain aside and tried to see how far he could see. The room was flooded with light and he quickly abandoned the idea for fear of waking his brother.
He turned to Stein's bed.
His brother was still lost in whatever dream he was having and because their telepathic link, he was vaguely aware of it.
Now he was dreaming about playing chess. The dreams felt more like memories.
No... He was definitely sure that they were memories. The memories stolen from them at the beginning were resurfacing. He wasn't sure if he should wake his brother. It was possible that this wasn't the first time, he just forgot about it. In that case, Stein wanted to see as much as...
Coulomb ?
Why is he in Ein's memories?
He's Ein's opponent?
"Stop it, Raphael."
A hand swung and hit an intruder's hand.
His view shifted, he saw himself.
"Gabriel's here because you can't win without his help, let him handle it.", Coulomb said smiling.
"You really do have a death wish."
"I'm feeling lucky, let's start again but I'll face both of you working together."
They abandoned the board when they heard a door open.
A woman walked in, she stretched her hand towards...
"Tom, I'm back."
"Sorry boys, maybe some other time, okay?".
"Liar, you knew she was coming.", Ein, no, Gabriel flared.
Tom smiled again, "I don't know what you're talking about."
He followed the woman out.
"Marie, I...."
The door cut off his voice. The view slowly shifted towards Stein again.
"Wanna play?"
Stein's hands hovered over Ein's childish frame, unsure of what to do. He felt like he suddenly understood why a lot of oddities had occurred but the answers birthed new questions.
He decided to go to bed and keep it secret until he understood what it meant. Said secret would also be known to Ein but it didn't matter.
"Gabriel and Raphael....".
He whispered in the dark and smiled.
Come to think of it, we never named the pistols. Sol and Luna... I'm sure Ein will like it.
His last thoughts as he lost consciousness.
==========================================
Coulomb sat on his bed.
He'd been waiting for a knock on his door.
He was certain that it was coming. She was coming.
Just when he was reaching the limits of his patience, the door swung open.
"Didn't anyone teach you to knock?".
"I knew that you would be waiting for me, besides your door was open."
"Then why did you make me wait for 3 hours, Laplace?"
Sure enough, the silhouette was revealed to be Laplace when it walked into the light.
"For fun?"
"What do you want?"
"Don't give me that, I'm here because you want something."
She sat on his bed. He pulled his legs towards himself and she took advantage of that to rest her back.
Coulomb stared at her. She turned and caught him staring, she raised an eyebrow.
"Well?".
"I want to know why you told such an unbelievable lie, you said you can't predict the future."
"I really can't, not naturally."
Coulomb remained silent.
She stared at the lights on the ceiling.
"I need to know everything, all the information about an event to accurately predict it. All I can get with incomplete information is variable outcomes with probabilities."
"W...".
"I can't get all the information about anything without conscious effort and it's still beyond my limit for complex events."
She interrupted Coulomb before he could complete a word.
"I understood that from your previous statement, what I wanted to ask was why you're telling me this."
She lost interest in the lights and turned to face him again. Her eyes sparkled in the shadow of her bangs.
"I predicted that getting you as an ally would be for the best."
"Your ability?"
"No, Just intuition"
"You want to become a true ally of mine?..... In that case, I'd need to trust you first."
"Then we'd never get anywhere... I just revealed my secrets to you."
"Hate to burst your bubble but I'm pretty sure that they suspect that you're lying and that's not everything."
"I didn't say I was done."
Roughly an hour later, she left his room. Coulomb had received a lot of valuable information without giving anything. She stealthily made her way back to her room.
All this was done under the watchful gaze of golden eyes.
Behind her door, Laplace sank to the floor. She knew Newton was watching her as she entered and left.
What's up with this team?
It seems like they don't trust anyone.
To be more precise, they actually trust each other.... To betray them when convenient.
She laughed even though she'd lost all of her bargaining chips. She could never survive alone in the playground, so she decided to take her chances with the most deceptive Savant she could find.
H
er meagre memories helped her find him.
Now, if only he'd be kind enough to feel indebted or appreciative of her usefulness.
She suddenly felt exhausted, she didn't even have it in her to make it to the beds. She closed her eyes and slept off, her back against the door.
=======================================
Newton silently opened the door to the room she shared with Schrodinger. Schrodinger was sleeping peacefully, unaware of anything going on.
Newton became worried about her.
How long will she survive in the Playground?
She lay on her bed and tossed a pillow in the air. It remained in the air.
I should probably let Einstein know about that. It's clearly not anything good. Unless it's something like that.
The pillow fell on her head, masking her red face.
Even that isn't a good thing, is it?
She sighed and closed her eyes.
*********************************************
"I really must say that I am disappointed in you, Rodney."
Jay said as he breezed through all the data Rodney had acquired.
"Especially this last part, are you still incapable of understanding how other people feel?"
He stood up and beckoned for everyone to follow him.
While they walked, Marie whispered to Rodney.
"Who exactly is he?".
"An idiot who doesn't know his place."
"Marie, you're asking the wrong person.", Sam said.
"I....".
"Hey, you guys should walk faster.",Jay shouted a few metres ahead of them.
How did he get so far?
"Where are we going?", Marie asked as they increased their speed till they were barely running.
"I think the pilot left something somewhere we can find it, most likely in his car.", Sam answered.
Rodney gave him a weird look.
"From the way he died and the fact that the Savants have forgotten details about this world, I think it's safe to say that the Creator can manipulate thoughts and memories..... At least to read and delete.... Implanting memories is still unconfirmed but I'd rather not toss it aside.... yet."
"So, the trigger was thinking about telling someone what he saw?".
"Exactly!".
"So he could have written it somewhere without thinking of showing anyone!", Marie exclaimed, finally understanding.
"But, is that even possible?", Rodney asked, "And if he did, then why did he choose to die?".
"He'd probably have been killed anyway.", Sam stated like he was talking about what to have for dinner.
"Yeah, he probably wanted to die feeling like he'd made an effort or something.... He did provide us with information", Marie agreed.
"But it wasn't certain.... What kind of idiot chooses to end their life because of some probability, heck.... Even if it's certain I'd rather stay alive for as long as I can."
Marie choked on spit.
Sam turned aside avoiding Rodney's questioning glare.
Rodney pretty much grasped a little of what was going on and shut his mouth.
He had decided that if his father didn't want him to know what was going on, he'd just have to figure it out himself. The reason they chose to die.... Their connection with the duo he happened to meet a few days ago.... And what it has to do with the Playground.
Sam was right on the mark with his assumption. There was a handwritten note stuck to the steering wheel.
We were definitely in a vehicle (think of something straight out of a Hollywood set).
I can't give an estimate on size, but it dwarfed the brachiosaurus.
I'm certain it was a brachiosaurus.
I also saw a room with a lot of children sleeping in tubes.
Creepy, Cryogenic stuff.
I saw a brachiosaurus!.
As to how I saw all this, I think he wanted me to.
I never saw any humans or bots in control (really was expecting robots... So disappointing), which still bugs me.
I saw a freaking brachiosaurus! .
One moment I was in a cockpit, my hands on the yoke... the next there, walked around a little, became unconscious and woke up with the note attached to my dashboard.
As far as I know, I'm could be the only one who saw anything.
I saw a freaking green brachiosaurus!.
Anyways, you're dealing with a time traveller, best of luck young Master.
I looked down on a brachiosaurus.... Life well spent!
There was silence for a few minutes. Jay examined the note over and over again, turning it around as if he expected more.
Rodney grew impatient and tried to grab the second note. He was held back by Jay.
"It's pointless, but let's follow due process.... I'll get some people to examine that note... We definitely won't find anything but it's better to be sure."
The second note was a simple printed threat, nothing like the carefree attitude the Creator was fond of.
DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT.
Tell anyone and you die, try me.
"To figure out how to get around it from just that.... That man was really amazing.",Sam noted.
"Not exactly, it's just that he's been in a similar situation.", Jay said, "I know it's getting late but I have something to show you guys, hang in there just a bit longer."
"I'm losing my ability to get surprised....dinosaurs, Time travel, dinosaurs, playing with people's memories and thoughts, dinosaurs, cryogenics, dinosaurs, giant spaceships, dinosaurs and dinosaurs and even dinosaurs too.", She muttered gradually increasing her volume till hysteria.
Sam grabbed the maniac laughing beside him and shook her violently.
"Get a grip."
"No one said anything about a spaceship.", Rodney said half-hearted. He didn't sound convinced himself.
Someone from the future is playing with us?
What kind of bastard would do this?
This is too much like s......
Something...
I...
Would... Do.....
Me?
Is that why they've been hiding stuff from me?
Rodney joined Marie. His maniacal laugh had a different reason but their voices resonated and struck fear into the hearts of anyone unlucky enough to hear them.
Sam sighed.
My days have been getting longer for the past week.
"Jay, Let's go... To wherever."
***************************************
Ein woke up and saw Stein sleeping on the bed opposite his. Stein looked troubled.
Ein focused on his newly acquired ability and regretted prying into his brother's dreams.
While he was re-evaluating his decision, Stein's eyes popped open. Ein looked away quickly and tried to walk away. Stein's vice grip reminded him that they had no secrets.
"I'm going to pretend like I didn't see anything, so leave me alone already."
"Gabriel ?".
".....?"
"So you don't remember, it's as I feared.... You've probably had those dreams before."
"Dreams?"
Stein told Ein everything he saw in his dream. Ein's expression didn't change until he spoke of Tom. Then he became pensive.
"I'm sorry, you must have been worried about me, that's why you looked so troubled while you slept.... I'm not going anywhere."
Stein smiled faintly. As expected, his brother was able to figure out what really worried him.
"It's just a hypothesis.... Baseless."
"No, that's exactly why."
"Huh?".
"It's emotions which have zero logic behind them that are usually the strongest and hardest to get rid of."
Stein thought a little about what his brother said, Ein was right again... It was because he had no evidence to support his hypothesis that their lack of memories could be a measure of how much they were attached to this world. That's why he feared Ein's dreams, it was likely that he might lose his connection to this world.
"I took the liberty of naming the pistols, Sol and Luna."
"I know, we need to find a better way to keep them, it's a pain to keep pulling out the panel to access it".
They decided to eat first and then find out where the next test would be. Stein went to Newton's room.
He was greeted by the blinding light from the large window.
"Drop the curtains.", he complained.
"What do you want?", Schrodinger asked
"We're going to get breakfast, you guys coming?"
Stein was shielding his eyes from the sunlight so he didn't see Newton coming.
She kicked his stomach.
His temperature dropped by ten thinking of the damage he'd cause. His fears were unnecessary, he merely fell on the ground and didn't go any further.
"It's 12 already idiot, we've had breakfast hours ago."
"Coulomb and Laplace too?"
"Yeah, shortly after they went shopping."
"Well then, you guys interested in an early lunch?".
"Last night, I saw Laplace sneak into Coulomb's room."
"Great, what will you have?"
"What are you going to do about it?"
"Anything we want?... That makes it easy."
"Listen to me !", She emphasized with her fist.
It never hit him. Her tiny fists stopped 2cm away from his body.
"Newton," he said placing a hand on her shoulder, "Whatever they choose to do is none of our business, we're all adults here..... Oh wait, you're a..... Ooof"
He was cut off by her fist, she broke his barrier and hit him. He didn't fly off but he coughed up a little blood. She dragged his body out of the room and slammed the door.
"That idiot, he's too carefree.", She shouted.
"Why were you spying on them?", Schrodinger asked.
"Hey, do you know anything about this Level's test?", Stein's voice came through the door.
"There's a large casino not too far to the west, it's currently locked but from the signs, it'd be open in 2 days.... I think that's where it is. ", Schrodinger answered.
"They can't be trusted. ", Newton answered.
"Says the girl who stayed up at night to spy on other people. ", Stein shouted again.
Stein heard light footsteps, he hurriedly shouted as he ran away.
"I take back what I said, I prefer the old Newton."
Still, I'm glad that my teammates aren't stupid enough to blindly trust each other. As long as Ein and I can remain a symbol of power, the team should hold.
***************************************
"What the hell is this?".
"We spent hours traveling to the middle of Nowhere?".
Sam and Marie asked Jay. They were in a helicopter floating somewhere above the Atlantic. The pilot was busy conversing with someone.
Rodney was eerily silent throughout.
"Were going in, hope you can swim.", Jay said.
They wore the life jackets that Marie had been eyeing suspiciously during the flight. Her worst fears were confirmed.
"If it's an underwater city, I'm going to kill someone.", She said as she fell in the water.
"Congratulations!... Please don't kill anyone, they're the best in their respective fields right now.", Jay said as a tube appeared in their middle.
"All right, In we go".
When they got in, he pressed a button and the tube closed at the top. The water descended, taking them down.
Soon, they couldn't see anything beyond the glass.
"It's the Underwater Mobile City, the first of it's kind, the 3rd greatest Creation of Michael Zimmerman, behold.....".
"Don't say it, don't freaking say....",Marie said, her left eye twitching.
"Atlantis!".
"Dammit!".
"So he's already made it, huh?", Rodney said lifelessly.
The underwater city was pretty much as expected, A lot of lights and transparent substances. But the inside was pretty much the same as any land city, on a smaller scale. It was more like an underwater collection of buildings trapped in glass. At best, an underwater village.
"Now for the 2nd greatest creation, we'll you're looking at one of them, Jae-Jin Zimmerman, head of the Prodi-Zs.... We're the ones who made this possible, sadly the best of us have been taken to the Playground".
"What's number 1?".
"Isn't it obvious? ", Rodney replied Marie with a rhetoric.
"The future head of the Prodi-Zs, Rodney Zimmerman.", Jay said.
"Another long day has started. ", Sam said as the airlock hissed.
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