Psychic Powers?
Saint Giles fell into deep thought, while Ryan remained expressionless, though his inner turmoil was evident.
Sensing the emotional fluctuations of his two sons, Samuel Young decided not to keep them in the dark.
Ensuring that their conversation couldn't be overheard by anyone, Samuel raised his left hand and twisted his wrist, turning his palm upward. Then—
*Whoosh!*
A bright, golden flame appeared, floating above Samuel's left palm.
"This is one of the ways psychic powers manifest," Samuel explained, extinguishing the golden flame with a clenched fist. He then elaborated for his sons:
"Simply put, psychic power is the ability to draw energy from the Warp and, through the user's thoughts, create supernatural phenomena in the physical universe."
"Magic?" Saint Giles asked as he looked down at his upturned hands. "When I was helping Uncle Morgan attack Minova, I could already sense where enemies were hiding, almost like the mind-reading technique you use, Father."
Ryan also raised his hands to examine them but quickly lowered them, asking, "Father, if using psychic powers requires drawing energy from the Warp, what exactly is the Warp?"
Noticing that Ryan had touched upon a crucial point, Samuel clasped his hands behind his back and walked over to the north-facing observation window in the office.
Looking out over the forward base and the gradually revitalizing New Los Angeles, Samuel's tone grew somber as he said, "The reason I called you both here today is not just to understand and use psychic powers. There's another reason—I believe it's time for you to learn about the existence and dangers of the Warp."
**Dangers?**
Saint Giles and Ryan immediately grew serious, ready to listen carefully to their father's next words.
"My children, the floor we stand on, the air we breathe, and the space we inhabit are all part of the physical universe, something you've learned about in your studies.
But the physical universe, home to countless living beings, also harbors emotions, feelings, and souls. So, where does a soul go after death? In the primary universe, no, in both Earth-01 and Earth-02, most religions claim that good people go to heaven to enjoy bliss, while evil people descend into hell to suffer punishment.
In reality, after death, a soul goes to a pure... spiritual world, a non-material universe composed of the souls, minds, and mental energies of living beings, known as—
**The Warp.**"
At this point, Samuel stopped gazing out the window and turned to face the slightly confused Saint Giles and the subtly perplexed Ryan.
The reason Samuel had chosen to inform his two sons about "psychic powers" and "the Warp"...
It wasn't that he was deliberately excluding Robert (Guilliman); it was simply that Robert was currently on Earth-01, helping him handle matters in Europe and was too busy to attend.
Moreover, given what Samuel knew of his sons, Robert was less sensitive to psychic phenomena.
He planned to find time to have a private talk with Robert after finishing his work in Universe-03, to avoid any misunderstandings.
As for why he was telling his sons about this now, it was because his psychic powers had increased dramatically.
This growth was literal and rapid.
Before opening the third spatial gate, Samuel's psychic perception radius was around twelve kilometers, allowing him to clearly sense intense emotional fluctuations within that range.
However, in a corrupted city like Minova, even from over three hundred kilometers away, Samuel could still sense emotions like violence and despair.
Additionally, the closer intelligent life was to him, the more clearly he could "see" their thoughts, as if individuals like the Invisible Man from Vought International, or those who had shrunk themselves, had nowhere to hide.
Yet since 1993, Samuel had rarely stayed in North America, leaving Vought International with little opportunity to employ their tricks.
Moreover, Vought International was now embroiled in its own troubles, struggling to stabilize its stock and appease Washington after the Sage Woods incident, leaving it with no energy to harass competitors.
Returning to the topic of psychic powers:
After opening the third gate—or, more precisely, after Atlas absorbed nearly six million human compatriots and began rebuilding Los Angeles—Samuel's psychic powers experienced an unprecedented surge.
His perception range, originally a twelve-kilometer radius, expanded to one hundred forty kilometers.
He could now easily unleash supernatural abilities, such as elemental attacks like the "flame" he had just demonstrated to Saint Giles and Ryan.
The intensity of these powers could be controlled, but Samuel, preoccupied with various matters, hadn't yet tested his exact limits, only making rough estimates.
If he maximized the flame's power, it should equate to a blast with a yield of around two hundred tons of TNT.
Telekinesis, including grasping, moving objects, and dismantling, had become second nature to him.
Most importantly, when using his psychic powers, Samuel confirmed that he heard no whispers and sensed no attention from the Chaos entities in the Warp.
He felt as if he had become a true "invisible man."
Based on this, Samuel hypothesized that the rapid growth in his psychic powers was due to the increase in the company's "employees," or rather, the growing number of people who regarded him as their "boss."
Consider that Atlas was responsible for almost every aspect of the six million people's lives in New Los Angeles.
These compatriots, aged 18 to 60 and in good health, needed to work to earn the vouchers they exchanged for supplies—essentially working for Atlas.
Although Samuel's initial intention was to revive the economy and assist the engineering department in speeding up the city's construction and creating value, another factor in cutting off free support for these six million people was that excessive "benevolence" would quickly lead to "laziness," "entitlement," and a sense of "complacency."
Everything should be done in moderation.
But this approach had also led Atlas to gain millions of employees in just a few months.
Through these details, Samuel concluded that his physical strength was linked to the number of spatial gates opened and the actual expansion of the company, while the growth of his psychic powers was associated with the number of actual employees.
After all, every employee had their own emotions, thoughts, and souls, and if they viewed him as their "boss," it indeed contributed to his psychic growth...
Moreover, his psychic powers directly affected Robert, Saint Giles, and Ryan.
This was why Samuel had decided to begin discussing the truth about "psychic powers" and "the Warp" with his three sons.
Delaying or concealing this information was not a viable option.
Lying could lead to severe backlash if it was ever exploited.
With this in mind, Samuel concluded that the best solution was to have a serious conversation with his sons.
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