Later that night. Mr. Boris & Mama Ivana sat in the bedroom.
Ever since the party Mama Ivana hadn't talked much but Mr. Boris had been with his wife for a longtime he already knew what was going through her mind.
"Ivana, I understand what you are feeling." Started Mr. Boris but before he could finish. Ivana turned around with a face in anguish.
"Do you? Do you really? After I asked you and the kids not to go ahead… you just…" it was as if she was chewing on something bitter, her face clumping together harder and harder.
"We both know that Greyham is an evolved and every day he looks up at the sky longingly, it's quite obvious what he will do next. Have you – off all people forgotten what happens out there with the evolved? The army, the kings and the world. Have you forgotten what it's like out there? It's not like he's trying to be a policeman or an operator… this this." She said with tears falling down her face. "I'm afraid he... he"
"So are you saying that we should not give him a chance at having a life? Are you saying that because of some fear that he will be hurt, he shouldn't get his legs fixed?" Mr. Boris said this as his face hardened.
"No... No I was just..." She was conflicted.
"Regardless of what we may think, we are simply a checkpoint in these children's lives. We are here to guide them and give them a chance at a better life, some of them could have died on the streets as an infant like a dog. Some of them could have met some unsavory characters and became criminals. Too many things could have happened. But because we found them, we gave them love, we gave them wisdom and did our best despite our short comings. How many of the children that have come out of here could you call a criminal? None. When they leave we connect them with the right people to give them a start in life, beyond that… beyond that…" Boris muttered and continued.
"Right now is Greyham's chance, a shot at a life, no matter how short, no matter how bright we must accept it. Holding someone back from their dreams only makes them much more miserable, especially if that someone is Grey" said Mr Boris
Mama Ivana immediately went into her side of the bed. She knew that once Boris started he would never stop. However what he said made sense and she hated it, although there were something's she didn't agree with. She knew that the time had come and she had to find a way to let go.
That morning, Mama Ivana woke up with eye bags, she had not slept well last night. She went into the kitchen very early to prepare food for the kids when she found a well-dressed Greyham eating in the kitchen.
"Morning Mama." He greeted her as he munched on cereal.
"Morning Dear, sleep well last night?" She responded.
"I could barely sleep." said Greyham
"Ha-ha what time is your appointment with the doctor?" asked Mama Ivana.
"8am, Mr. Boris said they'll be coming to get me." he spoke after he finished eating and moved to drop his plate in the kitchen sink.
"Alright I hope it all goes well." She spoke as she sighed. Thinking about her conversation with Mr. Boris.
"I hope so too." As he responded his heart palpitating in excitement.
Planet Urania was known as a Backwater planet, but really there was nothing backwater about it. It was the base of a militaristic government known as the Dragonsgate an arm of the Jade Imperium. What was back water about it was that it was at a place in the galaxy without a lot of resources, and by extension there were less organizations around. Still it was closer to the central galaxy this meant it still saw a lot of movement within its space. This was why the jade Imperium had a presence here as Urania was one of its bases.
Urania was positioned at a very good location for them, they could send out a force in several directions and they could reach their respective locations in due time, however the true resource of Planet Urania was its inhabitants. The species of Lizardmen that originated here were now known as the Uranian's. The Uranian's boasted of good physical abilities, they had a blue skin tone and a tail. What made them truly special was that they were a warlock species, they could integrate the blood of any other creature and draw from its blood, any form of power. Of course the purity of blood played a big role in how much they could benefit from this but the point is, This was too attractive for the jade Imperium and this was why they were here.
Thousands of years later, The Uranian's have been integrated into the galactic society and the planet looks nothing like it was back then.
The streets of Summerfield were a bustling hub of activity, teeming with various extraterrestrial creatures of all shapes and sizes. Since the entire world was run by a militaristic government, one could see this reflected in the the city. The houses were towering structures that looked like an ice cream twist, with their unique design of spiraling and curving shapes. They were made of a smooth, white material that gleamed in the bright sunlight, giving the impression of a frozen treat, in the far distance one could see large sized cannon like structures which would shoot down anything brazen enough to invade. The streets were lined with guards in full military attire, standing at attention, making sure that the civilians were in compliance with the strict laws of the government.
As you walked down the street, you could see Uranian's going about their business, some riding on strange floating vehicles, while others hustled and bustled on foot. The air was filled with the chatter and calls of the various alien species, creating a symphony of strange sounds. The smell of exotic spices and cooked food filled the air, making your mouth water. Strange, glowing orbs floated overhead, casting an otherworldly light and through here passed a bus dashing past at great speeds.
The inside of the bus was truly something to behold. The bus was equipped with state-of-the-art technology and amenities that were designed to provide the ultimate level of comfort and luxury for whoever had the pleasure of sitting within it.
As soon as you stepped inside, you were greeted by plush, leather seats that were designed to adjust to your body's shape for maximum comfort. The seats also had built-in massagers, heating and cooling functions, and individual entertainment systems with large, high-definition displays, Holograms and robotics stock to its ceiling like little spiders. The bus also had ample legroom and a spacious layout, with a mini-bar, a lounge area, and even a small kitchen or dining area. The bus also featured advanced climate control systems that could adjust the temperature and humidity levels to suit the passengers' preferences. Everything screamed comfort, in one of the seats next to the window was a man. He had black and blue hair, a fade cut with hair left on top. He wore a slick suit and had wide rectangular goggles that flashed a warm light on the man's eyes, it was a screen.
"Sir, we've almost arrived." A voice sounded within the googles.
"Have you alerted Boris that we will be arriving in due time?" asked the man.
"Yes sir, they are already waiting for us at the entrance." Responded the one within the goggles.
"Alright." Replied the man as he looked out the window of the bus, various buildings cascaded past in great speeds making everything blurry.
It wasn't long before the bus would arrive at the orphanage. A well dressed Boris and Greyham were already waiting at the entrance. When the bus came to a stop, the kids marveled at its design. Mama Ivana held them back from doing anything stupid.
The bus door made a small sound and its door slid down, folding into a stair that suspended in the air just below the ground. The man inside walked off it naturally and approached them.
"Mr. Boris it has been a long time." Said the man.
"Mr. Leon, I wasn't expecting you..." said Boris as he shook the hand of Leon. He glanced at Greyham and said "Grey, this is Leon – the owner of limitless Inc."
"Hello Mr. Leon." said Greyham unsure of how to greet him.
"Mr. Karmen, a pleasure to make your acquaintance. Are we all ready?" said Leon.
"Yes we are." Responded Boris. And followed the man into the bus.
When they arrived at the bus, Greyham and Boris halted at the bus staircase. However Leon simply said. "Don't worry about it." And Greyham started floating into the bus.
'He's an evolved?' Thought Greyham as he was welcomed into the world of luxury and technology. When Boris had finally entered, he briefly took a look back to see his wife, who was close to tearing up. She looked away. Greyham saw this and thought she wanted to cry because of him, while he felt warm inside he couldn't really see this as a reason to cry. Wasn't he coming back?
The bus began to move, Greyham & Boris sat next to each other, while Leon sat himself just opposite them.
"This bus is amazing." Said Greyham.
"I travel a lot, so this bus is useful for various things and needs that I have." Said Leon his goggles flickering as he caressed his chin in contemplation. He glanced at Boris.
"Ha-ha are you familiar about your dear father Boris's history?" Asked Leon.
"Um...i know that he was a doctor." Said Greyham as he stared at Boris inquisitively.
"A doctor huh? Mr. Boris at his peak could have stepped into any door and he would have been welcome. He was that great. " Said Leon. "Mr. Boris, we at Limitless welcome your skills, our previous offer still stands."
Boris simply sighed and said "Those days are over President Leon. I'm no longer the man I once was."
'wha! If you are such a great doctor couldn't you have helped me earlier?' was the thought that passed through Greyham's mind.
"Ha-ha it's not like that, Mr. Boris was a specialist. A Powerpractor."Leon guess see what Greyham was thinking" In addition to his medical skills, he could also assist the evolved with various problems they faced. He was a general surgeon who became a geneticist. This is what made him an effective Powerpractor." Said Leon.
Greyham turned to look at Boris in a new light. A lot of the children would get sick in the orphanage but would be subsequently treated by Mr. Boris and rarely did the children need to go to the hospital unless it were something serious. 'But to think he could do so much more than that. I wonder what happened.' Thought Greyham while Boris simply shook his head with a smile.
"The reason why I'm bringing this up is because, Mr. Boris is someone with an experienced eye. He is a person who has seen a lot of things, someone who a child evolved like you, with barely any experience in life, could never hide from." Leon finished off.
"!" Greyham was surprised. But it made sense to him. He sighed 'I'm still green compared to the old man.' Greyham was aware of how serious the matter of evolved was. Once a kid from the orphanage had been revealed to be a potential evolved and he was picked up by the Dragonsgate Military. Nothing crazy happened, it had been fast and clean. The kid was never seen every again and Mama Ivana was devastated. When everyone was scanned last time he wasn't pinged for having anything. But it's hard to say what would happen now.
"I can understand why you've tried to hide it from your family at the Orphanage, when Mr. Boris and Banely came to us. It's because they trusted that limitless would be the best place to house you." Said Leon, while Boris nodded onto the side.
"I understand that it has been rather difficult finding someone that would help heal you while you are an evolved. One mistake and you would have never been seen at Summerfield ever again, it's not like Evolved are being taken to concentration camps and slaved away for life. The series of events is rather complicated when you are discovered to be an evolved. Now as an evolved myself I'm in a unique position to speak about what you can expect from being an evolved. But before we get into that, I will speak about what will happen from now on." Loan spoke as he removed his goggles and slowly put them down, revealing his blue eyes.
The Iris of his eyes lit in a warm blue color, glanced towards Greyham and it made him gulp. It wasn't scary just weird and surreal he had never seen a person like this.
"We will heal your legs and you will join, Limitless Inc." he said "an unaffiliated Evolved is an unprotected evolved. Even within our walls, we can't clamp down on all the information that goes out. If we were to heal you and someone found out what you were, it would spell trouble for your orphanage." Leon finished speaking as he glanced outside the window.
"Is this all necessary?" asked Greyham.
"It is, you see in a population of one million people you will only find about 2 – 3 thousand evolved. There are certainly many evolved, yet not all those are equal. Some are not combat evolved. This further brings down the number of available people that we can all work with in terms of combat and utility after all some Evolved are truly useless. For the government it's even less now that companies like us are involved. It's really a scramble for resources so to speak." Responded Leon.
'Wow so I'm a resource now?' thought Greyham as he responded "but isn't the government stronger?"
"You are right, the government is strong. The jade Imperium is a giant and the Dragonsgate is simply nothing to scoff at. Yet they can't really stop us either otherwise things wouldn't be good for business. Therefore a law was passed down for all those organizations in Jade Imperium territory. To put it simply the government has first pick on all evolved and finally private evolved are required to serve at least 1 year military service. What this means that if limitless were to discover an evolved at the same time as the Dragonsgate. They take that evolved. They have many ways to take evolved from us, so long as nothing is signed or an agreement is made between us, you might as well belong to the government. But even if we manage to get some evolved we have to pony them up to serve at least 1 year military service. " said Leon.
"You mean that I will have to get into military service? Can I refuse." Asked Greyham.
"Greyham, The Jade Imperium isn't just a government, they are no different from an empire. It's not as simple as saying no." Mr Boris pitched in.
"Well you can post pone it as long as you can if you want." Added Leon "but eventually..." he continued. "That's not even the end of it. You can still get engaged by another organization and some of them won't do it nicely. It is illegal but there do exists slave evolved out there and if you are truly unfortunate there are people out there that want to become evolved and thus are willing to eat your organs to do it and that's only what we know of. The government and private entities protect you from all sorts of danger. That our name is like shield." Leon said this as he took a concentrated look onto Greyham once more to see if he understood.
"Right, we still need to test out your potential as an evolved. However if you want to get special treatment you've gotta earn it. Trust me it will be worth your effort. Until then I'll look out for you. And trust me when I tell you, my treatment versus an entire galactic organization treating you well. I assume you can image what is the difference yes? " asked Leon.
"President Leon I'm currently unable to imagine how big your favor is. But I understand that I'm only getting this treatment because I am an evolved. Even still one day I'll repay this kindness. " said Greyham. Even if this favor was conditional. Having heard some of the troubles, evolved go through, he understood that were he found still a cripple. His life could have gone very differently. This was for him a pivoting moment.
'Young one you are still naïve' thought Leon. "As long as you understand, after the procedure you will still have to do physical therapy. Again I've been told about your dream for flying. But let's talk about it once we see what you can do, once we know what you are capable of you will then be made an offer – something of material value will be on the table like money for example. Training will be offered according to your capabilities and then from there we put you to work. You still have to earn your keep. " he brought down a hologram looking screen and lay it up on the table, it flipped and revealed itself to both Boris & Greyham. It was contract.
"This is an evolved contract, it's bare for now and will be amended in the future. However you can only enter limitless as an evolved only after you have signed that agreement." Said Mr Leon as he put his goggles.
Greyham looked through the agreement. It really wasn't much at the moment. Just a few details and a sentence that asked him to confirm if he agreed to fall under Limitless incorporated.
He asked "how do I sign?"
"You simple put you thumb on that spot." Leon pointed at a spot on the agreement "and say the following out loud. Agreed."
Greyham did as he was told and said "Agreed" he then felt something stand into his thumb and drew blood. Leaving his thumb with a small red bubble.
"Excellent, Now welcome to Limitless incorporated." He shook Greyham's hand and followed with Mr. Boris.
"What happens next?" asked Greyham.
"Why don't you step into my office?" said Leon as he stood up and the bus door opened.
Greyham followed, now no longer hesitant to show off his floating skills. Boris who was watching all this happened was still surprised even if he had seen this many times already. Even knowing, he still wasn't used to it.
When Grey saw what was outside, he stopped abruptly and awkwardly and his floating got a little wobbly but became sturdy
"What is it?" Asked Boris. When he also saw what was outside the bus he frowned.
What the hell?