Only a moment ago he was focused and relatively calm, so the sudden welling of emotion is baffling. That Raquel keeps her hold of him prevents him from shoving away the tangled emotions slipping out, and the inclination to pull away from the physical comfort fades. His hand covers his eyes as his muscles ratchet in release of tension bit by bit as she allows him time. Time to acknowledge the pain he so readily ignores.
His palm is wet as it moves from his eyes nearly a minute later, and a slow, shaky exhale marks the start of calm breathing. Swiping over his eyes more gently, he murmurs another apology as she releases him and guides him to the seat next to Sadie. He sinks into the seat close to her side, and gladly gives her his dry hand to hold hers in turn. A trace of a smile answers her own, feeling a little dazed.
Mind drawn back into focus by the questions, he clears his throat softly once then nods as he starts to answer, “Yes. The Numbers have two functions that we know of so far. Tying us to an individual that influences us personally, and allowing us access to a hidden Network. Think something like a forum that only we can see or hear. Expression of our individual Number, writing it for example, connects us to this Network. Everyone with a Number uses it to share information and converse, which is how we’ve identified one another safely. I’ve tested the conversations on the Network for consistency, so it does not fluctuate over time when we review older entries despite it seeming to exist as a shared mental construct.”
Allowing for questions about the Network, he returns to the other function, “As for how the Numbers effect us personally, they do change more than merely our appearance. Physical items have appeared out of thin air for instance, or we remember something that did not happen to us as if we lived it. What we are capable of can change as well... For myself, I’m far stronger physically speaking than I should be, and much more mechanically skilled. I’ve studied electronics, but I had never worked on a motor vehicle of any kind before I built my motorcycle. I didn’t even need to look at a blueprint before I planned it and built it from parts out of the junkyard.”
no subject
His palm is wet as it moves from his eyes nearly a minute later, and a slow, shaky exhale marks the start of calm breathing. Swiping over his eyes more gently, he murmurs another apology as she releases him and guides him to the seat next to Sadie. He sinks into the seat close to her side, and gladly gives her his dry hand to hold hers in turn. A trace of a smile answers her own, feeling a little dazed.
Mind drawn back into focus by the questions, he clears his throat softly once then nods as he starts to answer, “Yes. The Numbers have two functions that we know of so far. Tying us to an individual that influences us personally, and allowing us access to a hidden Network. Think something like a forum that only we can see or hear. Expression of our individual Number, writing it for example, connects us to this Network. Everyone with a Number uses it to share information and converse, which is how we’ve identified one another safely. I’ve tested the conversations on the Network for consistency, so it does not fluctuate over time when we review older entries despite it seeming to exist as a shared mental construct.”
Allowing for questions about the Network, he returns to the other function, “As for how the Numbers effect us personally, they do change more than merely our appearance. Physical items have appeared out of thin air for instance, or we remember something that did not happen to us as if we lived it. What we are capable of can change as well... For myself, I’m far stronger physically speaking than I should be, and much more mechanically skilled. I’ve studied electronics, but I had never worked on a motor vehicle of any kind before I built my motorcycle. I didn’t even need to look at a blueprint before I planned it and built it from parts out of the junkyard.”