"The first death dreamer officially awakened only 50 years ago, 250 years after the first psionic. It was, by far, the newest field, and much of it was still an enigma. Despite the lack of information, it is the weakest ability to awaken, and has limited application. The majority of employment opportunities are investigation oriented, focused on police and military forces."
Kinson winced as he read. This article, which he had found on EverythingPsi.org, actually conclusively claimed that death dreaming was the weakest ability. They weren't any "generally considered," or ''widely known as." He took a deep breath, his finger hesitating over the exit button. Then, he shook his head. Although it was irritating, at least he would know what others thought of him. Fortunately, his frustration took a back seat and interest returned as the next section explained the various dangers of death dreaming.
"It is tantamount to suicide to enter a deathdream without the aid of the DeathDream System (DDS), a recent invention powered by psionic energy, which monitors and regulates the state of a deathdreamer. The most common danger is posed to one's identity. A psionist can easily lose their sense of self and detachment from the dream world and undergo an identity crisis, which frequently persists once the psionist has reentered reality. Furthermore, it is not uncommon for a deathdreamer's soul to completely dissipate upon immersing itself within the deathdream. . These fatal cases have only occurred in the absence of the DDS, but the cause still remains unknown. It is thought to be related to the class of psionist, and is now prevalent among weaker psionists."
Kinson nodded. Sure enough, everything was just as he remembered. When he first awakened his ability, he was extremely excited, and went around learning every random fact and Rome about death dreamers. However, after he proved to have no talent, his enthusiasm quickly waned, and he stopped following it as closely. Now, a few months later, he barely remembered anything more than common knowledge.
Feeling inspired, he opened his local government related news app to check on any developments in various psionic fields. The main headline caught his gaze, and his eyebrows rose higher the more he read.
"This just in! The Council of Titan has officially declared the planet in a state of emergency. Deep space pirates have been discovered gathering in the far side of the rings of saturn. Their current objectives are unknown, but the council has appealed to the FFA. In addition, the council of Titan has asked us to issue the following information."
A video appeared behind the news anchor, featuring a rough looking man in a cleanly pressed military uniform. The camera somehow caught the gleam of his many polished badges which lined his breast, sending sparkles of light into the lens.
After a second or two of silence, the man cleared his throat. "Residents and visitors of Titan, we do not issue this warning to cause any alarm. You may think of this as simply a notice. While these criminals are armed and dangerous, we assure you they are not in a position to threaten your families and livelihoods. You may notice increased military air and space traffic, as well as a shortage of some goods, but this is expected, and will be quite temporary. Thank you for your patience."
"Space pirates, huh? That sounds pretty exciting. I wonder if anyone at the BPI knows about this," Kinson scratched his chin thoughtfully. Some of his new coworkers did have ties with the military, after all. If he had remembered to collect anyone's contact information, he definitely would have asked. The was always tomorrow.
With nothing else to do, Kinson whiled away the rest of the evening watching a random movie he found online. "The death curse of the Asteroid." Final conclusion: Every bit as cringy as it sounded.
Early the next morning, Kinson rushed to the BPI. For some reason, the passages were relatively empty, so his footsteps echoed loudly throughout the massive tunnels. Upon arriving, he looked for the elevator, only to realize he forgot the route.
"Hey Charlotte, remember me? I'm looking for directions to the deathdream department, again," he said, walking up to the receptionist.
"Good morning, Korben!" Charlotte greeted cheerily.
"Uh, it's Kinson," he rolled his eyes.
"Oh, sure. Anyway, I actually wrote down the turns for you" Charlotte began rummaging around her desk. It seemed even more of a mess than usual.
Kinson raised his eyebrows, staying at her. "You did? I hadn't thought you'd, uh, go through all the effort."
"you've talked to me like the times! How could you assume that?" she said, looking a bit hurt.
Kinson gulped. Did he offend her? His brow soon smoothed as she continued talking.
"But on the other hand, you're actually right. Griffon requested I do it, and it's not like I could refuse. Even though you're a guy, I'm sure you can understand," Charlotte said with a small blush.
Huh? What was this development? He supposed Griffon was a bit good looking, but nothing to write a book about!
"Here you go! Be sure to mention this to Griffon," Charlotte finally handed him a note paper.
"Sure. Have a good one!" Kinson said, taking the paper.
Fortunately, the instructions were sound, even if the handwriting was a bit hard to read. He quickly scanned over the list as the cheesy elevator music serenaded him in the background.
The last few turns felt pretty familiar to Kinson. Horace, that feeling completely disappeared when he stood before the last four. He took a deep breath, soothing the anxiety which had again risen in his hit. Then, he stepped forward and opened the door.
The door clicked, but failed to open. Kinson stepped back and looked up in confusion. Why was it locked? He shrugged, then reached forward and knocked.
The door was much sturdier than he expected. Kinson rubbed his hurting knuckles and decided to never underestimate doors again. Strange, why wasn't anyone coming?
He waited for a few minutes, before knocking again. A moment later, the door finally opened and an irritated Kael stuck her head out.
"What? Oh, it's you. Come on," she said shortly, stepping back.
"Sorry, I wasn't sure what to do," Kinson said, walking in.
The office was much as he remembered it, save for a few key changes. About half the room had been sectioned off with what looked like temporary walls. Strangely enough, the dividers rose all the way to the ceiling, completely blocking it off. In addition, most of the desks had been removed, replaced by several different complex looking machines.
"There you are! I was wondering when you'd show up," Andres wore an old looking military coat today. Although the cloth was faded, the buttons sparkled as though they had just been shined.
"Yeah, sorry about that. I arrived on time, but got myself locked out," Kinson rubbed his head, embarrassed.
"Oh, I should have given this to you last time," Andres handed him a key, "Sorry about that."
Kinson pocketed the key. He would have to get a cool keychain for it later.
"Since we are working on such confidential projects, it's only natural we hide behind locked doors," Griffon said, joining them from the other side of the room.
Seeing Griffon, Kinson thought for a second. He lifted the instructions, showing it to him. "Oh, yeah. Charlotte sent her regards."
"What an interesting lady," Griffon laughed.
Kinson pondered whether he should tell him. Before he made up his mind, Kael returned from wherever she had gone, interrupting his thoughts.
"Alright, let's go. You only have a few hours here, so you can't afford to waste time," she turned, heading towards the sealed off portion of the room.
"Man, what did I do to upset her?" Kinson muttered, walking after her.
"Good luck!" Griffon called.
After he had left, Andres and Griffon resumed talking. From their tones, it seemed this wasn't the first time they had this conversation.
"Are you sure about him? I really can't see him becoming anything too special," Griffon admitted.
"Just wait. He will bring a great change to the entire alliance," Andres said calmly.
Griffon nodded. A change was exactly what was needed right now. The current situation among the alliance was rather stale, and it was quickly becoming apparent mankind was not as united as everyone seemed to think.