Secrets Revealed [Log]

[warped_replica]

Date:End of June

[Ever since the night of the celebration that had captured so much attention when the aurora appeared despite the Earth being inappropriately tilted along its axis for such a phenomenon, Benjiro had been preoccupied by the familiar experience. The number that had returned had burned itself into his mind. He jotted it down on post-it notes or briefly in search engine lines before being respectively crumpled or deleted. He figured his neurons must have misfired, conjuring the number and causing the odd cluster of temporary symptoms that had long passed. Surely, his brain had latched onto the random numerical sequence as significant secondary to the anxiety brought on by the incident. Writing it then, would give him a way to express it harmlessly.

That only worked for a few days.

While writing on his tablet at lunch, he scrawled the number out in some empty space. Before he could turn the stylus over to erase it, something else followed without his input. Messages began appearing. He shut the case cover without powering down. Later that night, when everything was calm and he was certainly alone, he opened it to examine once more. The text was gone...until he wrote the number again. With the return of the text, he started to drag and move it around, revealing more. What had seemed entirely random came with names and clues connecting those names - and beyond even that, audio played. Once he had combed through what he could find, he tried to screenshot the text so he might access it from his photos without entering the number only for nothing to show when he checked the images on the device and again at his computer.

Reliably, the words would appear with the use of that number, but he couldn't seem to capture it electronically.

Since then, he has checked every evening with the number to monitor, reviewing whatever new occurrences he could find through it. More names...one that came with a surname. One that was undeniably familiar as some of the voices in the audio had been. As the first names had been in the first entry he found.

Nearly two weeks since the aurora, late in the afternoon, he stands at the doorway of the office belonging to Professor Jacob Petty with a paper notebook held tightly in both hands. School was over, and technically, these were not his office hours. That alone made the teenager more uneasy as he stared at the floor leaning with his back to the wall and his bag hanging from one shoulder. He has been doing his best to keep focused on everything, especially classes, but by now, his preoccupation with the strange connection has begun to show physically after skipping more sleep than usual.]

Comments

[brofistsforall]

[Technically, he could leave at any time, but the life of a professor could be long and unpredictable. Jacob was staying late today, grading, and...well.

Taking notes about a number of his own.

He could think of no logical reason behind all this - but there had to be one. Somehow, someway. But it was frustrating, now, and he was just about at the end of his rope. Petty sighed and got to his feet, resolving to at least get back to more comfortable surroundings at his flat, gathering his things and getting to the door and-]

-Ben? Can I help you?

[warped_replica]

[His bowed head snaps up as the door opens, and he stands up from the wall in a hurry, rising just a second off his heels in the motion.]

Professor Petty! I uh... I was hoping I could talk to you. O-or maybe set up a time to come talk to you about something. It's not about school.

[His shoulders are stiff with nerves, and his hands tighten a little more on the notebook he holds as he sinks back down onto his heels.]

[brofistsforall]

[Benjiro's not always the most relaxed of people, but his demeanor has Jacob arching his brow and stepping aside the door to allow him in]

I have a few minutes. Is everything all right?

[warped_replica]

I...I don't know.

[It's an honest answer, the teenager doing his best to repress the fear trying to creep into his voice. Gaze faltering down again with the admission, he keeps it down as he gratefully takes the space opened and walks through the doorway into the office.

He waits long enough for his teacher to shut the door before he opens his notebook and holds it out to him. The page is opened to one of a few pages of transcript he has written down himself from observing the network as a way to record what he only otherwise can access with his number.]

Does this look familiar to you?

[brofistsforall]

[Well.

That's worrisome.

Jacob closes the door behind him, not bothering to hide his own concern. Immediately he gestures for the boy to take a seat, then pauses, looking at the notebook.

It's an interesting mix of emotions that cross his face. Surprise, alarm, worry- and then, a sort of resignation as he lets out a heavy breath.]

You're part of whatever this is too, aren't you.

[warped_replica]

[Benjiro follows the cue to sit without much thought to it, moving to the seat meant for a guest. From that seat, he holds out the open notebook, and the position gives him a clear view of the reaction it elicits from his professor. His breath pauses as he watches, resuming only after the man speaks.

So it was really him he identified. Then he wasn’t simply perceiving familiar names and voices.

He nods his head once in confirmation as he closes the notebook to hold on his lap.]

Yeah... The number was in my head before, but not so incessant until after the aurora.

[brofistsforall]

[he closes his eyes as Ben speaks, listening. Thinking. Then, absentmindesly, tapping his desk]

Numbers. It always comes back to that. I can't fathom what it means, but there has to be something.

[he opens his eyes after a pause]

Was there anything else? Other than the number. Maybe some sort of change?

[warped_replica]

[Wild theories have been ptiching through his mind since this started, and he is eager to try to collaborate.]

I couldn’t find any relationship between my number and some of the constant sequences I could find like the Fibonacci sequence. So I’ve considered the numbers might be identification sequences, or triggers to activate something only we’re sensitive to...

[The question regarding a change makes Benjiro pause to think. His gaze drifts briefly to the sling that the professor wears, but he looks up from it quickly.]

Nothing overt. I don’t remember anything changing from the first time after I had just moved here, and...well, I walked a little funny the day after the aurora, but that went away.

[brofistsforall]

I'd tell you mine, but I'd rather not see if that can connect me here. It's fascinating to see how that happens. [But he leans forward, ignoring the look at his sling. Yes, he knows, but...

He's not certain. How can he be? It's different, but it never healed right. Maybe he's just being optimistic...]

I'm curious to see if this'll lead to anything else. Call me crazy, but I have the feeling this is only the start.

For Sadie

[warped_replica]

[As preoccupied as Benjiro had been with trying to understand his number and the new communication pathway opened by it, it had not kept him from noticing the changes in his classmate’s behavior. Her body language had been rather closed off in class; never making direct eye contact with him or much of anyone else, and Sadie had certainly not lingered at the end of lectures. Having found her name and heard her voice amongst the messages he could see with his number, it gave him reason to keep his distance and not disturb her. Then, after speaking with Professor Petty, his caution gave way to a sense of guilt. He would not be much of a friend if he now kept his access a secret after confirming the experiences as a shared phenomenon.

Waiting until near the end of their shared math class the next day it convened, Benjiro stands from his desk during a lull in the lecture to approach the teacher at the front. After a quiet but short discussion, having asked a question on the material, he moves to return to his desk along a different path. Passing right by Sadie’s desk, he drops a small folded bit of paper next to her arm and keeps walking. He returns to his seat and puts his focus to his papers with no more than a quick glance over to see if she had noticed the delivery.

Opening the paper, she would find his request written in pencil: I have a number too. Can we talk? Meet me in the courtyard at the end of the day.

The courtyard seemed ideal. End of day, everyone else would be in offices or filing out, and it would allow them to watch for anyone approaching from any direction that might overhear the conversation. Now it was a matter of whether or not she would come.]

[dragoonrouge]

Sadie didn't immediately open the note, instead she waited until she had left the classroom and headed to the library for her free period. Reading the note made Sadie freeze in her seat. If Ben could see that bizarre Network...and with the way she'd been behaving recently...

She covered her eyes and focused on her breathing. It would be fine. It was Ben, even if she had been a pretty shitty friend since the aurora Ben would be alright with it right?

-

Finally the school day was over and Sadie slowly packed up her things, giving most of the other students time to clear out before she made her way to the courtyard.

Spotting Ben she made her way over to him, fidgeting nervously with her satchel strap. "Hi..." The greeting hung awkwardly in the air before Sadie takes a fortifying breath, "You have a number too...?"

[warped_replica]

Benjiro had calmly but directly headed to the courtyard immediately upon release from class. Positioning himself in the center of the space, he set his backpack to the ground and pulled out his notebook with the observational log. Notes of his own thoughts occupy some of the other pages in his shorthand, and it is the earliest of these that he turns to as he waits for Sadie. These were the core of why he had remained silent.

A quick skim had served to give him a solid grasp of a script he has been mentally rehearsing to explain, but when he spots Sadie approaching, it starts to slip.

The timid speech, the way her hands are working at the strap of her bag...it makes his stomach drop. He answers with a soft tone to his voice and brow knitting with concern, “Yeah, I have a number too.” He glances to his notebook, but keeps it closed for now as he lets it fall to his side in his left hand. “The aurora was strange enough, but using a number to connect to messages that only we can see and hear is really next level. I was actually questioning my sanity.” His last statement is accompanied by a sheepish sort of smile as he uses his right hand to reach up and rub behind his neck.

Dumb, huh?

[dragoonrouge]

Contrary to what Ben might expect about being honest about having his own number, Sadie doesn't relax or look any less nervous. She tries, shooting him an attempt of a smile but it ends up looking wobbly and upset at best.

"I'm-I'm glad it isn't just me," She admits, "Everyone else seems to be older and then there's Mr Petty being on it too which is super weird-" She cuts herself off and bites her lip.

"When the aurora was out...did something else happen to you?" She ventures cautiously.

[warped_replica]

Although his hand lingers behind his neck, his smile fades when she cannot muster the same. Then his concern turns to worry as she speaks. Has she felt isolated despite reaching out through the channels to others? There may well be one other individual younger than them if the voice he heard was any indication, but it is true they seem to share in occupying the younger side of the spectrum of those involved.

Fingers sliding from his neck to hang off his shoulder instead to straighten taller, Benjiro notes the sudden stop and shift. The question is one he answers with a half shrug and a side tilt of his head towards his right only to drop his hand back down, “Sort of. I’m assuming you aren’t referring to that hollow feeling. I was dizzy, and I couldn’t walk right, but it improved the more I moved around.”

He pauses, then gently as he can, he asks, “Sadie...did something else happen to you?”

[dragoonrouge]

Sadie doesn't look at Ben, fiddling once more with the strap of her satchel until he mentions dizziness and struggling to walk.

Sucking in a breath she steps closer, only able to nod in response. Reaching up, Sadie closes her eyes and gently removes her sunglasses. Tucking the glasses onto the collar of her t-shirt she opens her eyes.

Instead of her normal, human, light-blue eyes, Sadie is starting at Ben with a pair of feline eyes, a clear and bright Amber colour with vertically slitted pupils, and when her eyes catch the glare of the sun her pupils glow briefly like a cat's eyes at night.

"It started with the shining pupils after the Aurora."She sniffles and bites nervously at her lip before continuing," And then they started to change colour, and the pupils..."

Said eyes start to glimmer with unshed tears, and Sadie's sniffles increase as she fights off her umpteenth crying session since her eyes had changed.

[warped_replica]

Leaving it to Sadie to approach, Benjiro attentively watches her from where he stands by his backpack. It is only when she removes her sunglasses that the reason for her avoidance and her agitation speaking with him becomes clear among other cues he had been unable to understand. His own eyes widen as his brows lift right up in surprise, jaw even dropping enough to part his lips slightly in the center. Her eyes were blue last they spoke face to face at the celebration!

Questions buzz into his thoughts as she explains. Did she develop a tapetum lucidum? What might have caused her eye to create pigmentation? How did her iris musculature alter to reshape her pupil? The ratio of her sclera to her iris seems unchanged so...

So what.

The sight of her welling tears and the repetition of sniffling shuts down the logical intrigue in an instant. Benjiro doesn’t hesitate as he simply drops his notebook onto his bag and steps forward to close the distance between them enough to reach out with one hand to place on her shoulder and extend the other to hover invitingly just in front of her opposite arm. He has a slight frown in his expression, worry still tinging it, but he stays calm as he speaks, “Hey, it’s going to be okay... You aren’t alone.”

He doesn’t know what he can do for her, but he’ll figure something out.

Things I am realising; Sadie cries a lot

[dragoonrouge]

Sadie watches Ben's reaction carefully through the tears, wringing her the strap of her satchel harder as she sees Ben's face go slack with shock.

The moment he puts her hand on her shoulder and tells her she isn't alone Sadie's face crumples and she throws her arms around his shoulders, crying into his shoulder.

"I've been so scared!" She sobs, voice slightly muffled.

For Walter

[warped_replica]

[After spending time hanging out with Sadie, Benjiro had returned home.  Before tending to his homework however, he sat to compose a message to the other person whose name he knew from the psychic forum.  Speaking with both Professor Petty and Sadie had instilled confidence not only in the experience as real, but in the concept that those involved need to seek each other out for support.  Especially those already within his social network.
 
The email to his friend Walter is kept simple, still wary of leaving trace of involvement beyond the paper notebook that could be so easily disposed and his frequent observation of the network itself.]
 
Hey,
 
No doubt you’ve been more busy than usual, but if you have any time to spare soon, I would like to meet up and talk.  I have a number too.
 
-Benjiro

Date on this thing?

[iamnotgod]

[Well, that reveal was both a jolt to his systems and... a relief? He'd already been clued in that this wasn't a hallucination, though it was still utterly bizarre. Still, comparing notes could only be a good thing.]

Definitely.

Can you come by my place tomorrow at 5:00 PM? Schedule should be clear by then. We could trade.

-Walter

[Confirming the information without leaking any himself.]

Roughly 2 weeks after the aurora

[warped_replica]

Yes. See you then.

-Benjiro

[Gathering his thoughts late into the night by jotting them into his notebook, Benjiro stows it into his backpack before settling to sleep. He keeps busy through the next day, but finds it harder to keep focused as time grows closer to the meeting. Prompt to leave to make his way there, the teenager actually arrives a few minutes til and forces himself to keep a mild cadence as he makes his way to the door of the flat the last of the distance. Reaching the door, he’ll knock and grasp the straps of his backpack to wait.]

Before June 30th, then?

[iamnotgod]

[That puts them in almost the same book, then. Walter ends up managing to sleep in for once, having just wrapped up another job. The day is spent mainly doing research, both for a menagerie of side-jobs and on the nature of the Network. There are a lot of questions still to be answered, though - and, Walter thinks, a good deal yet to be even asked.

The door opens two minutes before five, and his relieved smile is the first thing he greets Benjiro with.]

Glad you could make it.

[There's tension in his shoulders, but he does his best to not act like something stressful or suspicious is going on.]

I do have ice cream, if you want some.

[But studying comes first for both of them, so it's no big deal.]

It can be a day or two after if you want Sam’s entry active

[warped_replica]

[Bowing his head with a curl of his shoulders in the motion, Benjiro greets Walter in turn. His own expression softens from serious contemplation to a friendly smile tempered only by the looming task of figuring out what is happening here in Mossgate. He steps inside, and checking with a glance down, slips out of his shoes to socks to follow suit.

At the offer of ice cream he smiles a little more.]

Maybe in a little while. Thank you.

[Allowing Walter to lead to a place to converse, he slides off one strap from his backpack to draw it around and fish out his notebook. As he zips the bag closed again, he makes a proper apology for waiting so long to send an email.]

I became aware of what the numbers access a few days after the aurora, but I didn’t want to use it until I understood more. I’m sorry for not saying something to you sooner.

Well, the day after that discussion they go flying, and we haven't threaded it yet. |D

[iamnotgod]

[Walter nods.]

Hey, it's fine. I sure panicked that night... and the second time something happened to me, too. I could've stood to be more careful, myself.

[And yet, somehow, it hadn't backfired on him.]

You took the smart route - though, what have you managed to figure out so far?

[All this while, he's going for his own notebook, which is more filled-out than it was on the 15th by any measure. Some of the pages are also just copies of the content.]

Whichever day works better for you is fine by me

[warped_replica]

[A twist of concern in his expression, he prompts for clarification.]

Second time? After the aurora?

[Not yet referencing his notebook, Benjiro tries to skim over the basics of what he understands so far.]

Thus far all messages and activity captured with the numbers has remained consistent and present. The oldest messages have not altered or become unavailable. All of the people I know that have a number live locally, but that could mean only people here have numbers or cells of number users do not overlap. Age does not seem to be a factor in who has received a number or not, and birthplace has no apparent bearing on inclusion. Access to the messages is limited to completion of the number written out, but it works in a variety of formats including Japanese characters.

Further more, those with numbers have experienced a consistent sense of feeling hollow with any changes they undergo, and these changes include physical alteration beyond human biology.

29th, then. Keep 'em close.

[iamnotgod]

[Walter winces.]

Yeah.

[He lets Ben continue with his recap, though.]

It's... aggravating, but locality seems to be the main factor for this... activation, should we call it? If you're here in Mossgate, you can access the Network.

[Not that he knows the full limits of that range just yet. Something to find out sooner rather than later.]

I was able to arrange rocks into numbered groups and got a result that way a few days ago.

[One of his run-related excursions. Something he could do "on impulse" without people noticing.]

And that's happened to me, too. The- physical altercations.

[There's a pause as he considers how to say this next part:]

I think I just got speed. A large way past how fast any human can react. It wasn't fun in the least, but it's not as overwhelming now.