Chapter Theme Music: Far Centaurus ~ John Standford
<01/04/2011 - 13:11 | Saffrin Middle School (English), Austell, GA, USA>126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkSulguJVtS
126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXT6psvchz8
Thanks to the enlightening moment I had today in gym class, I could feel my mind speeding up with the lifting mood. The hundreds of thoughts per second in my head were accelerating a little more, putting me into what I would call a work-mood. Since this is English class, I could in theory work on whatever I wanted to, since I'm already days ahead of my assignments, but I still need to make sure nothing new gets added on.126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDUpXjpsrg3
126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzLk2TnoOXy
So, I sat patiently in a random empty cluster of desks as everybody was already settling in for the usual. I felt calm, and at the same time awake and alert, ready for any action. Lumina on the other hand was not too familiar with the routine I was engaging with, and spoke up first once she noticed the difference.126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy64lw8SVQX
126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiTYDCPrln6
"How come you're not sitting by your group today?"126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ52Ndcq1VBL
126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlszpWSxPfu
"I just don't feel like it for some reason. Plus, I'm not staying here once the roll call is over with."126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLZ4n4zOI40
126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT2fzYsikBS
"You're not?"126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGsb2Y5Z18V
126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdNxBm1pRFj
"Nope. I have plans to head to the media center again, login, and work on some of my stuff from home. But I have to stay for roll call first." It's become a bit more routine for me lately. I've been ducking out of classes where I'm ahead, and going to the media center. They've got computers we can all use, and all I have to do is access my flash drive and work on the new projects.126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1RM6i7SVUD
126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFddmqIgRUu
"Oh. That's interesting."126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ2OXIq1H4j
126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe5uAbsV9Vk
"Yeah, I've decided to work on it at school during my free time as well as at home. It really helps me out with this UAD thing. It feels amazing to work on all of these projects."126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ82gyt6jzU5
126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmovzmr2ger
"Well, I won't argue that it's a bad idea. I just wish you could sit with your friends more often."126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFmuCsqn14q
126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0x42aEwuZw
"I can do that anytime during class, but I may have to wait ten minutes before I can actually do anything. Looks like there might be a new assignment?"126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwUu8xDcJB8
126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW073KEc6Kh
"Want to talk about stuff to pass the time?"126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡySirr4WCl8
126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGiKRxChUGI
"Sure, I guess... But no more of those embarrassing stories." I'm still trying to mentally recover from some of the things I said to her, uncertain what came over me earlier.126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl2Q4vcUffs
126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGMkjWu6nGx
"Okay... What about whatever else is going on in your life?"126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOmiQ7VXgZj
126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ01vYIWGqiX
"Like what? I don't really get to do anything anymore because of school. I don't have any strong friends for me to hang out with outside of class. And I don't have any upcoming field trips either."126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrhMrzXGpcm
126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUWlXvDXage
"What about your Sunday School?"126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrjUrhWc9nS
126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE6N633IzO3
"Oh, I stopped going to that the day after my parents split..." It was a strange thing for her to bring up. It's been too long now, and I've nearly forgotten about going to church. But I'm not unhappy for this outcome. "Now that I think about it, Sunday School might be a big waste of time."126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8Tp5if9JAY
126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnrANsxks4c
"It is? I mean, I wouldn't know."126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk24fdF60rn
126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKUEmK6GJlc
Right. Lumina has no churches of worship in her world. It would have bothered me at first, but something different happened instead. "It's an interesting subject; religion. I've been reading the Bible lately."126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSaQVKWer4v
126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkZa5VQcdOg
"Really?"126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4aKZcIlo87
126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb1C23gjL5g
"Yeah... The more lines I read out of that text, the more I feel like it's all just someone else's mental mess thrown together into some crazy book just to tell a popular belief about the afterlife. I keep coming across inconsistencies that make no sense, and horrific verses about the way we are seen or treated by this so called God. Does that sound crazy?" It's really the first time I've started to question this whole religion nonsense. The only reason I wanted to read the Bible in the first place was to find out where the Altiri come into play with the sacred verses. If God and Jesus played key roles in prophesizing the Bible, then surely there would have been at least a single mention of aliens. But there isn't a single mention of it in there. Instead, I'm learning something different.126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKlwab1myJF
126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDMlOO1LGBG
"Hardly. You know I'm not that religious."126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5g1n2dF4PT
126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQqrCxI1BTt
"No, I didn't know that. I still believe in God for the most part, but I just don't know what to make of it anymore. Still, I never took you for a complete atheist."126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsU0cMVPgHA
126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ771mkbRWbY
"Well, look what happened once upon a time, when the Altiri did believe in a god."126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ821oGF8aJO
126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9jn64tFslz
"Legasso was no god. And your people came a long way of understanding to learn that. There is no reason to be afraid of having that kind of faith."126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtgjyxm8fuL
126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNEi82fmZgX
"Can we really just accept that?"126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkxq7Tx85GJ
126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNRrt4HJ6HL
I wanted to quickly reassure Lumina that she doesn't need to be an atheist, but what I said earlier was tugging on my mind more than before. I'm literally asking Lumina to believe in God when I've just now pointed out that the Bible isn't making any sense. So is it even right for me to try and convert her? "I don't know. Like I said, the Bible has so many inconsistencies and contradictions. But even if there weren't, I can't find anything in any passage mentioning the Altiri civilization."126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbwzM0PuGJl
126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb02T4d2cWr
"We only played a small role in getting humans to make any reputation of us."126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyyqiiRgVov
126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwj1u6rpnca
"But that's exactly my point. If humans wrote this material, and only did so based on what might have made sense to them at their time, then all of this religious nonsense is nothing more than a high quality lie. But does that really mean that God is fake? How did the universe come into creation? And what would be the planned involvement between humans and Altiri? A plan has to exist, because you and I are talking with each other right now."126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ4kQdIrP3s
126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL1EyA0Vw9u
"Yeah, but nobody really knows that Reed. That's my problem with religion. Nobody seems to really know what's going on, even if they claim to."126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH5W8q9FSJ3
126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtxt2G0CCVF
"Okay... So where do you think people go after they die? And don't tell me about the ten-day purgatory thing. I want to know what happens after that, if a transperation fails." She has to know something about that, right? The Altiri wouldn't just embrace oblivion knowing that transperation is a mere possibility.126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNqkqjSFfDa
126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv6lz0KtSC0
"Well... I don't know. But not knowing has no merit on what I believe to be true regarding a divine deity."126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3gPH0myXVe
126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXqKdzfvTad
"Sounds to me like this whole Christianity thing is all false, and that we're starting to abandon it altogether."126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiEYgNHIbtw
126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOthrse1US6
"Fine, but I never believed in that stuff to begin with."126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWR25BxQi3Q
126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRj1vBNtU7P
"I can live with that Lumina. Still, I wonder what my parents would think if they knew what I was thinking right now." I can take a few harsh guesses. My parents are die-hard Christian conservatives, and any potential deviation from the teaching of the church is returned with harsh torment or punishment. They would probably disown me.126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ96AagiOsQy
126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH6TzeMtPgY
"Probably what I would expect; an all-out rebellion. They'd rush to have you baptized or something stupid." So she thinks the same way as me on this.126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfx9haadfvK
126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOIpjOqnbq5
"Does baptism even do anything?" I heard all about it before. They throw holy water on someone and it forces them into loving Jesus, or something like that. It doesn't make any sense, but I don't really want to try it out for myself anyway with the way things are going.126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡax6GkELCY3
126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6VTft9I0Ww
"It's just a highly effective placebo effect."126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVEYrD0Axu8
126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwGRNeU0OBt
"I see... Well there is no need to worry about it anyway. It's not like my parents are going to suspect your presence anyway. The more that dickhead gets involved in my life, the more I resent mom for letting him live there."126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlrhMaFvget
126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFJky9MAt4Y
"You're talking about your stepdad?"126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbgd0v7zec0
126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFFpBvgaku2
"Who else? That guy is like, the heathen of all heathens. And if he even thinks about trying anything physical, I'll stab him a hundred times with a knife and call it self-defense."126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBgd8mjclaZ
126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkDOmLtOUhs
"I taught you well."126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7OPcKfsCE8
126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0rgB1bx00i
It's nice that I can say something like that and get no negative judgments from her. I've hated Peterson long before Lumina and her purge ever showed up, but he seems to be getting even worse of a person with each passing day. The man is an abuser, though he's holding back to pretend like he's not. How else could I explain such vile yelling and violence from his cursed tongue? I really am serious about killing him in self-defense. I have the right to protect myself from people like that, family or not. "That you did."126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTrELd9t0Of
126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFBKE0C46WQ
After having enough, and analyzing the interesting way our conversation drifted into religion, I stood up from my desk, asked the teacher for the usual, and made my way down to the library as planned. I wasn't exactly bored enough to be at the first stage of UAD, but working on my own projects anyway will prevent it from even coming up in the first place.126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGilZqQjlvy
126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCMpTmOnvBo
"So what is it you come here to do?" Lumina asked as I was logging myself into one of the workstations.126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf22soxIBy2
126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOGvehrAScS
I pulled up the document I was working on, bringing up a six-page long, two-chapter story I'm trying to launch.126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡidg8EsCjyU
126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCCk4QqpegQ
"So you do like to write, or type I should say."126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTGut2prPPe
126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJZ2Y8EUnN5
"Yeah, writing too much hurts my hands, and my thumbs can't even keep up with the speed of my thoughts, but I can keep up on a keyboard, so typing is just how I do it now."126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyYQhqNH2fi
126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT4Pa5TLaLG
"You ever think about publishing one day?"126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWDtoXbyIZZ
126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK6SibJWHMH
"As much as I expect this habit to continue. This is more of practice. I'll work on something big soon."126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuesG4LL4Q3
126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyWV0GGb7Tw
"You really enjoy it a lot. It's good that you have a hobby!" Lumina perked up her voice to show her enthusiasm, but I had to correct the error of her ways.126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVqVahuq9nj
126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX6dNvYtEn3
"It's much more than a hobby. Plus, it helps my UAD too."126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz2jyFTMPUf
126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMQ5yZsxBcS
"How?"126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWtuzGCR4iL
126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTvGbv6fSXP
"Remember when you said this might all have something to do with my ADD?"126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeFHUaxpuFR
126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSHIhqhnJXV
"I did mention that."126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTQirOtKJz5
126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmQoKq9MAOt
"I think you were onto something. Every second of every day, I have all of these background thoughts bouncing through my head; ideas, sounds, images, they're always there."126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKiqJ0NYheR
126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGSCw02aUiw
"That sounds exhausting."126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaJzVn4gviJ
126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡClfcRup5e5
Under ordinary circumstances, it would be. "But when I'm writing, I can focus all of these side-thoughts to the same subject, and generate a lot more detail as I type. When I'm working on that, it's actually really fun. It's the opposite of exhausting! It gives me this good buzzed feeling in my head. I think my mind just craves having something to focus on all day long."126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbOPdFdU6Ax
126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu6j0TdKIyM
"That's so weird... Uh, in a good way." Fearing she might have offended me, Lumina tried to put herself in my shoes for a change. But I couldn't blame her for being curious, as this was strange to me too.126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxJxOTCAYyD
126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxyPuk1Bij1
"Nice save," I replied sarcastically.126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuLKbBx43LZ
126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFPtG1zA8Mq
"No, I mean it Reed! If you can have that much fun making all of these books and wipe your UAD out completely, then it means you're cured!"126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPCJXO2OaJk
126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2cJUblPebN
I felt hesitant to agree with her, only because it sounded too easy. However, I knew the truth already; that when working on this stuff, my UAD is kept far at bay, far away enough that I forget it existed in the first place. And to think I made this book brand new after hearing Laura's suggestion about it... "Yeah..."126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4b21WMbLy5
126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtIwilc7pDi
"What's wrong?"126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMWp9gGAa3L
126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVrauYV5DCM
"It's just that, I wish I were more perfect like you, Lumina. You have it so good up there. If I were an Altiri instead of a human, I wouldn't have this stupid UAD problem in the first place. And if it's not UAD I'm dealing with, then it's this strange bad luck with technology. And if it's not that, it's those stupid godforsaken headaches! The last one I had made me want to just quit on everything."126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxfbtDHCWEb
126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAHGP5PHdxB
"I'm sorry Reed, but I can't help you with that. If I could turn you from a human into an Altiri while you are still there on Earth, I would have done it by now."126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbLYYiy7cfl
126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyOHho2EqEM
Well, I'm not making any progress with the book, but I'm just fine talking to Lumina. Even though we ran out of things to say about how our worlds work, we're still finding things to talk about anyway, which I presumed would be impossible. "Hey Lumina? I should have asked this earlier, but is there a remote possibility for a purge or telepathy to cause headaches down the road?" They've been getting worse and more frequent lately, and I have to wonder if this relates to the purge as well.126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8uulZAkgVl
126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsv3mS5f84I
"It's definitely not. We've confirmed from all our other reports that headaches are an isolated phenomena that only humans experience. Purging them seems to have no effect on whether they get them or not."126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ57ogkYmfSc
126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ3prchkW0Q
"But then, you have purged a human who used to get them a lot, right?"126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtNObzE50jI
126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ667xUUONoR
"Are you getting them more often Reed? It's not good if that is happening to you." She evaded my question of her data, but I don't really care anymore anyway. "Still, it has nothing to do with the purge. Of that, I'm sure."126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMqmTw4fBYR
126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSO3Td2dHOv
"Well, at least that's something. I don't normally get them often, but they have been bothering me more ever since I developed those new allergies. Man, being a human sucks!"126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcI1s8KoRiW
126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIjCYLtj5yb
"You'll get used to it."126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVTSXTiamAy
126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7Ju9oBjgeS
Am I not used to it now? "It really takes learning about the universe being shared with ancient Altiri aliens to make one really not appreciate anything about Earth anymore."126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5iizlMEa8g
126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNQYY5kzzeb
"I take offense to that. Ancient? Are you calling me old?"126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQKX0t49crX
126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5tB3JuEZal
"Er, well... You are three thousand six-hundred sixteen years old. A four digit age should be hard to remember, but..." But it's too incredible for me to forget.126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxgBSYbx2kJ
126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB5ELjmPLwj
"So you are calling me old!"126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPqCCym8mMP
126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy2uxUTERbA
Does she not realize the plight of my jokes? Truly, she is really old, but it's not as if I think it's a bad thing. "Stop assuming things. You might be 3,616 years old, but you still don't look older than eighteen or nineteen."126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyvW8iMi4mM
126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD2BhtohtzG
"And you better remember that!"126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqAS9Gja0yp
126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXlAKabVHWR
"I don't get it. What's the big deal with women and their age?"126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpOX1BroBOq
126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjJaNyxHLQu
"You'll understand when you're older Reed."126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZlL9iZv9OL
126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ5gSE38klb
"Oh ha-ha! I see what you did there. Whatever. I've only got a few minutes now, so it's pointless for me to work on the script."126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrxiv1EQ6rm
126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGMQyRhPrX1
"So now that's my fault?"126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ479safu81d
126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWEAszUQx1m
"You were talking about me after all, so..."126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdzAA0u9NT4
126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCMxq0Gueev
"Sorry you didn't get your twenty minutes of work in. Are we about to see another psychotic rage attack?"126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8IHtFraX4C
126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG0SnjeX7J2
"Of course not!" How can she think that? I'm not that sensitive to the UAD. Guess she's not in a joking mood today. "Talking to you counts as keeping my mind engaged anyway, as long as the subject is interesting enough."126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrrBLOXnkQS
126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzmyHsZIZW7
"Oh."126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQRSEj6Sv6f
126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrywlJi6pGw
I thought I already mentioned as much, but maybe I didn't. "You really are an interesting person Lumina."126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu7yWAt84Gv
126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO3gfRDljyS
"Why, because I'm an alien?"126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOmZfhSmBiU
126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs9HaGzVlVy
"Maybe... But there's a lot more to it than that. You're actually your own person. It's not that I thought you weren't, but... I guess seeing you like this just makes me believe in you even more. I can have faith that you are real, because everything you do or say isn't something I can expect; it's not some simulation or some hallucination."126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZQTjHA9bHG
126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPwkZZxpaXe
"I'm glad you think that way, but what made you decide to believe in me? You never did find any hard proof."126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡER1wORWAhE
126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg5md0wYRBD
I know Lumina is happier with my decision, but I also know why she's asking. She wants to know the reason why I've chosen to embrace all of this, instead of tossing it aside like I was going to on day one. "Well, let's just say for now, hypothetically, that I am insane."126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPdjowaQ0fV
126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxIKTFjIJvN
"Okay..."126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw73ZL3dD8b
126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT7sJwoogpI
"I find it far too difficult to believe that the human mind would be capable, even with my special imagination, to create an entire dynamic person out of some wild hallucination, to give me all of those crazy dreams and montrums that didn't make sense to me at the time, or to show me several more Altiri people with their own distinct personalities. Not to mention that this is no longer a forced meet-up between us. I could literally just shut all of this down and never see you again, if I really wanted to. I don't think hallucinations give us that kind of choice to make." Lumina is her own person. She's helped me and stayed friends with me time and time again, but not because some mysterious force in the world was making her do it. That fight we both almost had about mutual hatred for heathens showed me that Lumina was actually willing to abandon me if I didn't at least agree so some things. She has perfect freedom of her soul, as do I. Imaginary people don't have that; they run on a script.126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcYJbBVpUFF
126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVxjVRJIRek
"Are you maybe thinking about shutting it all down?"126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYw30Q85znI
126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc3zpldUXYc
"Hell no! You are my new friend now Lumina..." Ever since this started, she's been on my mind, Lumina or the crazy things that she told me. At first, I was only curious. But now, I want her here with me. I want her around me at all times. I've gotten used to her presence, and shutting it all down now accomplishes nothing. "Actually, it's been more than a month now since we met. I think that technically makes us best friends now. And Lumina? As your best friend, I want you to know that I would never-ever abandon you! I wouldn't do that for anybody I feel that way for, not in a million years! So there's no need to worry about stuff like that. You're stuck with me, whether I'm insane or not. That's what I've decided."126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa6U8saK50R
126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ397lmo2bMk
"Reed..." It threw me out of my self-inflicted trance of words, but I heard Lumina sniffle a bit, leading me to believe that she was suddenly crying a little. "I... I'm so happy that you feel that way about me."126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjKPTYi4Bjo
126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuxyydn5Fxr
Rubbing the back of my head like it was all no big deal, I realized only now what I was saying. I meant every word, but I wasn't expecting a speech like that to flood through the gates of my heart. I've really never had a best-friend like her before, but from media and other things, I had a good sense for what a great friend should be like. I can't be embarrassed to call her my friend in any circumstance, because Lumina really is that awesome! "See? I told you so. People don't have to be space aliens or go through incredible circumstances to be friends to each other. We just need to try, and really mean it, together. If only everyone else had that mentality, I could have more friends, and the Altiri could purge everyone."126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWfReIst5na
126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJpotlOkdG9
"Well, two thousand people at the most... But a lot of humans are sick in the head Reed. I already know that you aren't crazy or insane. You're a good person, and something big happened to you."126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNu7CjqU554
126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTlebnHTzxT
"You happened to me Lumina, and I'm not at all upset that it happened either. I think... I like things better this way." Yeah, keeping Lumina connected to me more often really has been paying off. I've been talking with her about random things for a month now, and I'm having more fun hanging out with her than with anyone else, despite the extra effort I put in with the other humans... But she just gets it or something.126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNmOu3wS4UE
126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTEt3FXN0mw
Before I could continue my thought process, the school bells rang, signaling that it was time for me to go to my final class of the day. "And now I have to go to music class."126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR6YIF0Ycst
126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRWm6NgjuP3
"Maybe you could sing a song?"126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSVlwYQ0JnU
126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEmFve2DQSi
Lumina has the jokes today. "I don't sing."126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl3fTFXP3Qd
126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQLJC42Uhti
"Not even for me? You made me sing earlier when I didn't want to."126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw6dF5Vmj92
126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGSHiHvGAM6
Damn! I can't underestimate her for a single second! She got me! I can't say or do anything to get out of this situation either. I really can't sing. I've tried, and when I did, I was surprised the mirror didn't shatter right in front of me. "Whatever. I only play instruments, and not well when I do."126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡumkPdxhuxO
126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI4zW7DKzwq
"Now that I think about it, I've never seen you too often in your music class before, other than that one time."126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuOEJ6mUyIv
126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCICajvt2N7
"Well today you can have all the special privileges. Spy on anybody you want through my eyes."126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGOg7F3nyBK
126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxxbNc0AHth
"You make it sound so creepy."126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG3kyJWYIMX
126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtHmNxxDXDC
"That's because it is." Lumina still doesn't exactly get the whole privacy thing, but she grew up in another world, so I'm just ignoring it for now. Altiri people are always so direct and assertive; maybe that's why they don't see anything wrong with spying. Still, if everybody on Earth is being watched by Altiri clairvoyants anyway, does the concept of privacy from them even matter anymore?
126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO73FdSjpBh
