(6.5k words, 30-40 min read)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The man in the green coat had grabbed Langley during the fall through those clear tunnels. Mariah and Langley had kept their hands together and crashed through the mirror with the man, feet underneath them. Langley felt his hand slip from Myles\u2019s while Mariah lost grip of Marshall\u2019s. Gravity switched sideways and both Astronomers plus the green-coated man landed on the tinkling glass shards, rolling a few feet before coming to a stop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cLangley, ow!\u201d Mariah said, prying at her hand. \u201cLet go.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Archibald Langley had begun white-knuckling Mariah\u2019s hand and their fingers were interlocked, but Myles\u2019s wasn\u2019t which was probably why it slipped. He let go and stared at the stranger who was rising slowly, holding his side gingerly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWho the hell are you?\u201d Langley said, putting himself between Mariah and the man. Then he started checking himself for cuts from the glass.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAtlas Black.\u201d The man winced as he took a deep breath. \u201cAnd you\u2026 are not Myles Willis.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhat did you do with the rest of them? Or what are you doing with us?\u201d Langley said. \u201cAnd how do you know Myles? Sorry, who the hell are you and what is going on?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou made a terrible jump, but that was expected. I thought Myles would be jumping alone, so imagine my surprise when I see five or six additional bodies jumping with him.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhat do you mean, \u2018terrible jump\u2019? We\u2019re alive, aren\u2019t we? And what was that falling thing that we just went through? And where are we?<\/em>\u201d Langley\u2019s voice shook. The chilly air around them didn\u2019t help. \u201cIt\u2019s so cold,\u201d he noted, rubbing his triceps. \u201cJust like Myles predicted.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n All around them were giant mirrors, big enough to jump through. They were lined against the walls of the room.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Atlas sat up and heaved a large sigh. He wiped his hands together and said, \u201cWhich question would you like me to answer first?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWho are you?\u201d Mariah said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAtlas Black. I\u2019m my own person with my own affairs learning at my own pace and believe that the human experience can\u2019t be measured by comparison, which means we can\u2019t truly judge others, nor should we. My affairs are my own, but I didn\u2019t mean to kidnap you and I wasn\u2019t planning on kidnapping Myles Willis either. I needed his help and he most likely needed mine. It\u2019s likely that you want my help as well, hm? It sounds like you\u2019re lost.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOkay, where <\/em>are we?\u201d Langley said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s the year 2037, and you are on the floating Earth 27, a mile or so from the city of Stablefield.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201c2037?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI believe so.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHow did like thirty years pass already?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Atlas said, \u201cIt was a sloppy jump at best, but it was a jump. Usually, jumpers are able to just shave a few seconds off, instead of weeks or days. Years, however, signify that you probably don\u2019t know what you were doing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHoly shit, thirty-seven years. No way.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mariah could tell that Atlas was telling the truth. \u201cThat means\u2026 our parents are really old?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s sad to see others grow old. Jumping isn\u2019t for everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMy parents,\u201d Langley started and his eyes seemed to glaze over.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhat? Your parents could still be alive, Langley,\u201d Mariah said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNo, the novis got \u2018em\u2026 I guess thirty-seven years ago now.\u201d There was a bizarre feedback loop striking Langley over and over. It said: Your parents are dead. No they aren\u2019t. You won\u2019t see them again. But that\u2019s impossible, of course I will. Your parents are dead. No they aren\u2019t. You won\u2019t see them again. Impossible, of course I will.<\/em> And that feedback loop inhabited his mind with such deep roots that he couldn\u2019t hear or feel Mariah shaking him and asking him if he was okay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHe\u2019s in shock,\u201d Atlas said. \u201cOr nearing it. Let\u2019s lie him down.\u201d Atlas led Langley, who followed well enough, and brought them through the rest of the house they were in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cDo you know this house?\u201d Mariah asked in a gasp. The air was hard to breathe here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt would be best if you didn\u2019t think too much. Your guesses are only going to scare you more than the truth,\u201d Atlas said as he brought them to a large sitting room that smelled like rotting fabric and wet sponges. There was a neatly-made sleeping bag on the ground. \u201cSit on the sleeping bag.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOkay.\u201d Mariah sat. Langley sat down without a word. He was staring hundreds of miles away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou\u2019re gone, aren\u2019t you?\u201d Atlas said, crouching in front of them. His lengthy green jacket brushed the ground now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cGone?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOblivious to the void, don\u2019t know jumps, don\u2019t know about the curve, about the 90 worlds?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mariah looked at him and almost smiled in her blissful ignorance. Atlas Black didn\u2019t make sense at all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAnyway, that\u2019s what we call those who don\u2019t quite know. It\u2019d be better if you just slept and we\u2019ll talk later.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cTalk about what?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Atlas opened his mouth to answer, stuttered, and then simply put his hand on her forehead and found that little blue malleable bubble in her head and popped it. She slumped to the side, asleep.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Langley started at the action and jerked into a crabwalk pose, backing away from Atlas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cShe\u2019s only asleep, kid. Don\u2019t worry.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou\u2019re gonna kill us!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Atlas shook his head with such honesty that Langley believed him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019m helping you. There\u2019s too much to take in right now,\u201d Atlas said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cDon\u2019t touch me!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou don\u2019t have an option right now.\u201d Atlas rose and walked toward Langley who was now against a wall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cDon\u2019t touch me!\u201d was the last thing Langley shouted before Atlas put his hand on Langley\u2019s forehead and put him to sleep. Then he dragged Langley back to Mariah and let the two of them warm each other and covered them with a blanket on top of the sleeping bag.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mariah woke up first in a hazy daze. Her own breathing was deep and realized her muscles were starting to sore, though she hadn\u2019t done any running aside from before the mirror. She was thirsty. Langley was next to her, hood still up (she noticed several spots of blood on the hoodie now and wondered\u2026 were those from his parents?)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Atlas had dragged a small sofa into the room and was liquidized in his slumber: he was on his stomach, his mouth was partially open, one arm was under his face, and the other was brushing the floor. He still had his black boots on his perfectly relaxed legs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Well, he didn\u2019t tie us up or anything<\/em>, Mariah thought and wondered if she should wake him up. Then Mariah just sat for a while thinking about where she was. They\u2019d crashed through the mirror and fell toward those glowy lights. When they hit one, they fell through a different mirror. After that, Atlas said he was looking for Myles. They were safe from the novis and had fallen asleep despite the adrenaline in their bloodstream. Now they were somewhere else completely. The entire floor was both wooden and noticeably slanted by a few degrees. They were in a room with light from a single window. She looked up to see the beautiful ceiling woodwork and ancient wallpaper.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Officer Baker was killed in front of them. She\u2019d seen some people die recently. Not a few hours ago. Mariah shuddered and took a few deep breaths.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Langley was waking up next to her. Mariah watched him blink for about twenty seconds before he looked at her. The right side of his face had a uniform fabric pattern pressed into it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMariah Smith?\u201d Langley said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLangley\u2026?\u201d Mariah said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWait\u2026\u201d Langley said. \u201cOh\u2026 oh, fuck. I\u2019m still in this nightmare.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAre you okay?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n He shrugged. \u201cI don\u2019t know\u2026 I just want to sit and think.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mariah looked at Atlas who had closed his mouth and had his eyes slightly open.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAre you awake?\u201d Mariah asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Atlas nodded faintly. \u201cHow are you feeling now?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBetter, thanks.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Langley looked at Atlas without a response.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Their backpacks were nearby; Atlas must have removed them after they fell asleep. Mariah drew the walkie talkie from her backpack and tried to power it on. \u201cIt\u2019s not working.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Langley took it from her and tried the power button. She was right; the walkie talkie wasn\u2019t working. He handed it back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhy were you looking for Myles and how do you know him?\u201d Mariah asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI need his help,\u201d was the answer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhat is he going to help you with?\u201d Langley said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Atlas murmured, \u201cIt\u2019s\u2026 a long, long story.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIs that why you gathered the mirrors? You knew he was going to travel here through one and you just hoped you gathered the right one?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIf I wasn\u2019t able to intercept him, that was the idea,\u201d Atlas said. \u201cI\u2019ve never done any of this before. But it appears it partially worked, since I was able to catch two of his friends. If I happen across him again, he\u2019ll have a solid reason to trust me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHow will you find him?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Atlas opened his eyes. \u201cNot sure. And I don\u2019t want to think about it too much since today has been long. How are you planning on finding him?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe just got here; we have no ideas yet. And why are we breathing so hard?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou came from what year?\u201d Altas asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhat\u2019s the year? 2000?\u201d Langley said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNot anymore,\u201d Atlas said, rising to a seated position. \u201cIt\u2019s 2037 where the landmasses float and the kids have superpowers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Langley was surprised at how unsurprised he was to learn that kids had superpowers. He was more surprised at that second fact: \u201cThe landmasses float?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s why you\u2019re having trouble breathing. You come from before what they call the Rise.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cCan you help us?\u201d Mariah asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou can stay in the mansion for a while, but I won\u2019t be here for much longer. I\u2019m on a bit of a schedule.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cCan\u2019t we help you somehow and then you help us?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Atlas shrugged wearily like one who received an eviction notice an hour earlier. \u201cIf you\u2019re prophets, then yes. I can\u2019t tell what you are because you\u2019re quite underdeveloped, but the odds are low that either one of you is a prophet.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBut I am a prophet,\u201d Mariah said. \u201cI was the one who directed Myles and the rest of the Astronomers to escape through a mirror.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIs that right? How do I know that\u2019s the truth and you aren\u2019t just scraping for food, shelter, and whatever else you can get?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBecause I\u2019m from 2000 and somehow I know a good deal about the fraise which didn\u2019t show up until fifty years later,\u201d Mariah said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMyles could have told you,\u201d Atlas said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cGive me a few days. I don\u2019t know how long the fraise takes to develop fully here, but once it does, you\u2019ll see that I\u2019m a prophet and whatever he is.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHow did you know your abilities will get stronger?\u201d Atlas asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mariah shrugged. \u201cIt just seemed right.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLike it was something you\u2019d known for a long time? Like you were somehow used to this being a fact?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mariah nodded and Atlas murmured knowingly. Then Mariah asked, \u201cWhy did one of us need to be a prophet?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cDreamscoping. If you are a prophet, you can locate Myles if you\u2019ve known him in person.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhat is dreamscoping?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Atlas\u2019s face remained at peace and unchanged. \u201cWe\u2019ll talk after we eat something. Follow me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Atlas led them downstairs. As they passed through the living room, they passed even more mirrors, a few covered by white sheets. All of the different angles of them shone back, appearing in the light from the window. As they stepped, they could see themselves, almost like they were being watched, in all of the mirrors. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s like being inside of a disco ball,\u201d Langley thought aloud.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Langley moved slowly ahead of her, keeping his right hand against the hallway wall. Both Astronomers stared cautiously at the reflective glass all over the room as if they didn\u2019t want to disturb the mirrors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhy is the whole house tilted?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Atlas said. \u201cThe way the house landed. It was on a small rock floating around, but the whole rock landed with the mansion on it and it crashed here. It\u2019s not very safe to live in because it could collapse, but I would sense that before it happened.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n They entered the kitchen. There were a few small metal pods that let off short blue flames and he fired one of these up under a large pan. He opened a cabinet, removed one of many cans, twirled the can opener around it, and emptied out some stew.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As they waited for the soup to heat, Langley said, \u201cDreamscoping is some kind of mental communication? Like mind-reading?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Atlas sat down at the table which was covered with many essential items for survival. A couple of ropes, a couple of small pieces of equipment that she didn\u2019t recognize, a flashlight that was smaller than any flashlight she\u2019d ever seen, small canvas bags filled with many somethings, and a water bottle which seemed futuristic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Atlas said, \u201cYes, but mind-reading and actual telepathy are far different from dreamscoping. Telepathy doesn\u2019t work over great distances unless those two people are bonded unnaturally close and both are gifted. Dreamscoping is the precise navigation of your dreams to the point where you can invite and draw people into your dream as they sleep. With prophets, there should be almost no trouble locating and drawing Myles and I into your dream, Mariah. You will be the host and we will visit your dream. Creatures like the Quaker or certain grispers similar to Freddy Kreuger can do this too.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLike novis?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYes, novis too. You know about novis, then?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAlmost got killed by a couple less than an hour ago,\u201d Langley said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHm,\u201d Atlas said from his seat. \u201cYou both okay?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYeah. We think the rest of the Astronomers are too.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWho are the Astronomers?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThat\u2019s our club. Blink, Pretty, Marshall, Myles, Mariah, and me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAh, I see.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThen if dreams are some kind of creation of our own that we have a lot of control over, what does that make nightmares?\u201d Mariah asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNightmares are usually your brain\u2019s automatic fabrications, but some are actual hauntings in your nightmares. Those are far different.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mariah held up her left hand. \u201cWould the novis that bit my hand in my sleep be an actual haunting?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Atlas inspected the hand over the table. His eyes dilated partially and his face stayed stony. \u201cA novis did this to you?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mariah nodded. \u201cAbout six years ago. Well, six of my years. You know about novis?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cFascinating; was this all they did to you?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYeah.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cTesting the pickings,\u201d Atlas said. \u201dBarbaric.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou don\u2019t seem shocked by any of this.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSome people just have wild lives that they grow used to. There\u2019s nothing wrong or right about it\u2026 it just simply is,\u201d Atlas answered. \u201cI\u2019m sure it\u2019s a lot for you to take in right now, eh?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe came from Pennsylvania,\u201d Mariah said, sitting at the table. Langley followed suit alongside her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Atlas\u2019s eyes sparked. \u201cPennsylvania? A state?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYeah. From back in 2000.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Atlas leaned a few inches over the table. \u201cWhat is it like? What were the 90\u2019s like?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBitchin\u2019,\u201d Langley said, leaning back. \u201cWe had an arcade and our Nintendo 64.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou had houses?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYeah, of course. We bike everywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Atlas\u2019s eyes glowed. \u201cBiked everywhere. I remember doing that as well. My first jump was in \u201889.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mariah cocked her head to one side. \u201cYou\u2019re like us, aren\u2019t you?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI wouldn\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou\u2019ve been jumping since 1989?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThere are many different variations of jumping and different means to do it, but yes. I\u2019ve jumped probably hundreds of times by now.\u201d Atlas leaned back. \u201cI need Myles\u2019 help for this next one. I don\u2019t usually work with others, let alone someone I hardly know.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSo how are we gonna find him?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cDreamscoping. I\u2019ll have to teach Mariah, of course.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI don\u2019t even know how we will start,\u201d Mariah said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s like teaching someone to swim. Everyone has their own experience ultimately and there\u2019s only so much that words can do to explain. And Langley will feel this same trial-by-doing with whatever fraise he is. We won\u2019t worry about starting quite yet.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cCan\u2019t you use your propheting to find out?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Atlas shrugged. \u201cThat\u2019s a long answer. And if I did, it would be out of my control. But technically yes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt would take me hours to explain why. I sense you know absolutely nothing about most of the bigger picture of everything. What you need to focus on is what you can control, which is next to nothing. If you try acting outside of that, you\u2019re most likely going to be disappointed and discouraged.\u201d Atlas\u2019s response seemed to snap out of his mouth, but not without patience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSo what do we know then?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe best way to start with that, is to pretend you don\u2019t know anything. How often do you think like that?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMan, I\u2019m twelve years old. I barely know how I think to begin with. Stuff just happens to me,\u201d Langley said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSee that, that attitude you just described is why the fraise is able to exist inside of you at all. Bottled wonder. That\u2019s what the fraise is, Langley and Mariah. It isn\u2019t about brain development, it\u2019s not about growing up, it isn\u2019t about responsibility\u2026 it\u2019s about your ability to admit you\u2019re wrong. Humility. It\u2019s about your thinking, how you view things. How honest are you with yourself? Are you actively looking into the world with an introspective lens? One that is constantly on in the background, filtering out those things that give you a drive to create something beautiful? Sexual drive doesn\u2019t count; that\u2019s instinctual and requires no training for any creature. This creative drive\u2026 it\u2019s dying out, but it\u2019s essential. I\u2019ve jumped many times, each time a little further into the future. The human race is actively allowing this creative aspect of their lives to fall away. They want it to leave so they can better feel the thrills someone else<\/em> created. The fraise is special, and it\u2019s in you right now as it is in me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Langley and Mariah let those words douse the air like humidity. They heard the words for the most part, but more so they understood the meaning behind the message Atlas just preached.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI thought only kids could be fraisers?\u201d Mariah said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOnly those who maintain a childlike wonder and humility remain fraisers,\u201d Atlas said. \u201cFraiser adults are rare. And often bizarre, but riveting, fascinating people. Frankly, I have a hard time growing bored with myself and all the things I\u2019m up to, but I do find others so remarkable. Showstopping. Visceral. Surreal.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSo it\u2019s the weird, non-pedophile adults that would be fraisers?\u201d Langley said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI often thought Albert Einstein would be a fraiser,\u201d Atlas said, \u201cand Aldous Huxley and Nikola Tesla and Shakespeare. Real truth-seekers, they were. But they didn\u2019t get the exposure of this planet and the drastic change it is going through. It\u2019s like this planet is pubescent in a way.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cGreat\u2026 description. Puts it in quite the weird light,\u201d Langley muttered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAtlas, what\u2019s going to happen to us?\u201d Mariah asked quietly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Atlas was sitting back already and the only thing that moved were his eyes. They jumped to Mariah. \u201cThat\u2019s entirely up to you, but I can certainly recommend what you should focus on for now. Additionally, I can tell you what I know is happening around here.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSo, what should we focus on?\u201d Mariah asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAnd what\u2019s happening?\u201d Langley said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019ll give you the short answer. If I were you: Focus on learning your fraise since it has almost no development as of now.\u201d Atlas said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHow did it start developing at all? How did Myles and I have some of our prophecy functioning when we were in Pennsylvania? That isn\u2019t normal.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou said you came here through a mirror?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYeah\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWas this mirror in a mansion, a room with an odd feeling, at the bottom of a lake\u2026 or somewhere else it shouldn\u2019t have been? And was it relatively nearby?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt was in a mansion; how did you know that?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Atlas waved the question aside. \u201cDoesn\u2019t matter. Some mansions travel, usually with monsters in them. They\u2019re both entities which help each other: The monsters navigate, the house moves, and the monsters eat as they move around. Usually they need something like a mirror within the mansion to travel. I knew you could travel directly through a mirror, but it\u2019s beyond my skill set. Most jumpers can interact with silver, but because of my situation, I am unable to. If the mansion was nearby, the temporary bond with another world was close enough that it stimulated your prophetic fraise. I find that the prophetic fraisers have the most sensitive fraises and can notice change in their powers faster than any other fraiser type.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Langley put a hand on his forehead. \u201cThis is so fucking wild. I was sleeping in my bed last night. In Pennsylvania. Now I\u2019m on some Dungeons and Dragons quest and I\u2019m about to get powers. And I\u2019m in the future? Like 30 years?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cProbably a shock to you, yes,\u201d Atlas said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAre we going to be okay?\u201d Mariah said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIf you\u2019re in my care, probably.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNo, I mean, will we be okay<\/em>?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Atlas looked at her, reading what she meant. He peeked at what was on the front of her mind, what was being whispered around her brain. The current brain activity: Are our minds going to be able to handle this dramatic change? Will we be able to keep up? Will we go into some kind of extended shock? <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMariah, Langley, you\u2019re both more resilient than you knew. Nearly fifty times more resilient. This might be a lot to take in, but I always find that a sleep after a jump is best. And to not do too much talking. Jumps are disorienting.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWell, then, thanks for putting us to sleep. What was that?\u201d Mariah said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cProphet trick. I\u2019m sure you\u2019ll learn about it at some point.\u201d Atlas rose to his feet and began sorting through some materials and supplies laid out on the table in an organized, but lazy display. Mariah spied the walkman among the supplies, she sighed. That was something familiar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou have a walkman,\u201d She noted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe more analog you aim, the more reliable your equipment, 95% of the time,\u201d Atlas said. \u201cThat walkman hasn\u2019t been with me long, but it\u2019s authentic. Straight from the 80s.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHow can you tell it\u2019s authentic?\u201d Mariah said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cPick it up.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Mariah put the headphones around her neck first and picked it up. She opened the player and inspected the tape inside. It was an album called 1989<\/em> by someone named Taylor Swift. \u201cI don\u2019t know this album,\u201d She said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cForget the cassette for now,\u201d Atlas instructed. \u201cClose the player and hold it. Tell me if you feel anything\u2026 and try your best to reach out with your mind. It won\u2019t make sense what I\u2019m saying or what you\u2019re trying to do until you do it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mariah was about to ask one of the several questions she had about \u2018reaching out with her mind,\u2019 but she stopped herself and instead focused on the walkman. Her thumb instinctively perused the buttons on the side. It looked like a standard walkman; from what Atlas said, she should be able to know somehow that it was authentic. Reach out with your mind. Reach out with your mind. She thought a few times. Reach out how? It was like she\u2019d said a word too many times and it sounded ridiculous. There wasn\u2019t a way to \u2018reach out with your mind.\u2019 She tried for another thirty seconds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mariah put it down. \u201cI can\u2019t reach out with my mind.\u201d Speaking made the phrase sound even stranger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI would have been shocked if you had succeeded,\u201d Atlas was still focused on the materials on the table. \u201cI can\u2019t determine how fast your fraise is developing, but I can sense it growing incrementally. Still not strong enough for you to use at will.\u201d Then he looked at her. \u201cYou\u2019re wondering why I asked you to try at all?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYeah.\u201d Mariah decided to stay straightfaced, though she wanted to ask how he knew. She knew how he knew. He was a damn prophet, just like she would be soon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThough it shouldn\u2019t be possible for you to, there\u2019s always a possibility. I always try just for the possibility. You\u2019d be amazed at what I\u2019ve seen people able to accomplish just because they never gave up on a small thing like that, or they tried against all odds.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mariah picked the walkman up again and studied it with that same mental studying she had been using. Even a spark of the fraise, a little whisper in the mind, was all she wanted. Atlas said there was a chance that her fraise would work even though everything indicated it wouldn\u2019t work. After a minute of staring and nothing happening, she put it down again. \u201cRats.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Atlas flipped a chair around and sat with his arms folded onto the backrest. He put his chin on his arms and let his eyes ease shut.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mariah had hundreds of questions, but she started with, \u201cWhat was that other prophecy trick you used to put us to sleep?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIf you consciously put part of your body onto another\u2019s brain, or somewhere close enough, you can do many things to that person\u2019s mind. One of the easiest things to do is make them sleep since it\u2019s something the brain naturally does. Another would be to help them remember something. The only issue with that one is the prophet helping them remember will see the same memory.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIf it\u2019s easy, could I learn that first?\u201d Mariah asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe easiest thing a prophet could do with their power is what you were just trying to do. Learn the history of an object.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBut the history of an object\u2026 it\u2019s all just atoms after all, isn\u2019t it?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Atlas\u2019s chin was on his folded arms and he was opening and shutting his mouth, letting the top part of his head rise and fall. His teeth made little clopping sounds as they clipped together. \u201cNothing is \u2018just atoms\u2019. Objects can emit unique energies even if they\u2019ve been melted down and recast from a million different plastics.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWouldn\u2019t the energy from those million plastics come from whatever you made?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cDepends on how much of that was used. I like the example of C.S. Lewis\u2019s wardrobe from The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. It was built of wood, but of what wood? A magical wood from an apple tree planted in a different world. Was the whole wardrobe built of that wood? No, ma\u2019am; there were screws, nails, pegs, and hinges. But prominently the wardrobe was built of that tree\u2019s wood and it affected the wardrobe\u2019s mechanics. Turned it into a bit of a portal, didn\u2019t it?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI love the Narnia books! Did you read all of them?\u201d Mariah pulled a seat from the table and laid her arms on the table, one on the other. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBack to front several times. You?\u201d Atlas said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAll of them twice. There weren\u2019t any other fantasy books in my house growing up.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cStrict parents?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mariah scoffed and nodded. She\u2019d give anything to be back there now. \u201cWe\u2019re Christian.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Atlas\u2019s eyebrows bounced. \u201cIs that right? What do you think of Christianity?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou need to do what God says, or it displeases God.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHm,\u201d Atlas said, ending that topic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhat do you believe, Atlas?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Atlas started tempering with the table spread again, rearranging several small coils and pieces of metal. \u201cThat is the kind of question that requires extensive knowledge about what I\u2019ve gone through. In other words, I won\u2019t be answering that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cDo you believe in God?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Atlas\u2019s answer was instant: \u201cWithout a doubt.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAre you Christian?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cQuorux.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cPardon?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt means \u2018I know the answer, but it would take so long to explain and I don\u2019t want to provide an explanation right now.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mariah nodded and looked down to the table. He sure was cranky.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHave any plans for now?\u201d Atlas asked Langley.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Langley shrugged. \u201cI was hoping we could stay with you? We just want to find our friends and figure out how to get back to Winton.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Atlas\u2019s eyes seemed to sympathize. \u201cYou can do that for now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mariah sensed there was more to that answer. \u201cWhat do we do right now? What would make our fraises grow faster?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Atlas tapped a black, zipped-up toiletries bag on the table. \u201cThis would do the trick. Psilocybin.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhat\u2019s that?\u201d Langley walked up to it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cA psychedelic.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201c…what\u2019s that?\u201d Langley said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThink magic mushrooms, 2CB, rubelite, LSD, mezwick\u2026 MDMA, DMT, ketamine\u2026 Do any of those mean anything to you?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMushrooms\u2026 can\u2019t you get addicted to those?\u201d Mariah asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIf you can, call me an addict. My mom makes some great mushroom soup every year for thanksgiving,\u201d Langley said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cPsilocybin mushrooms are non-addictive, but the experiences you can have from them are irreversible. There is such a thing as a bad trip, but that ordinarily only happens without the proper mindset. And my belief is that\u2019s what the user needed anyway.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThat\u2019s a bag of drugs?\u201d Langley said. \u201cSuper illegal, huh?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNot as much in the future, especially where apocalypses happened. Marijuana became legalized around 2012 in most worlds, far before any world\u2019s Catastrophe. The rest of the drugs, most of them psychedelics, became legal either just before or shortly after.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMy plan was to administer some of these to Myles if he came late so his fraise would be ready for the plan to be executed. And right now, he\u2019s late. I was supposed to at least see him before a specific date, but I haven\u2019t seen him yet. But I do have you, Mariah, and you may also know how to navigate a mirror, but we won\u2019t know unless you take some of this. Will either of you?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cDon\u2019t they fry your brain?\u201d Mariah said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNo. Who told you that?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cEveryone,\u201d Langley chimed in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cDo you think they\u2019ve done any psychedelics or any other kind of drug? Excluding hard drugs?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMaybe?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI can assure you, they probably didn’t. Nixon largely demonized psychedelics because humanity started realizing a large government is both doomed to fail and doomed to corrupt. People started being less selfish and disrupting major businesses such as pharmaceuticals and therapeutic sessions. Those who did psychedelics became harder to control because their minds were stronger and their thinking clearer. Isn\u2019t it shocking that those who have the least experience with the drugs seem to know the most about them? Charles Schulz would call that type of person an \u2018unmarried marriage counselor\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIs that one of your friends?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Atlas smiled. \u201cI wish. He wrote the Peanuts comics. You should know that comic?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOh, my dad works for a newspaper. He told us around the dinner table once that Charles Schulz died earlier this year. Or\u2026 whatever\u2026 the year 2000,\u201d Langley said. \u201cHe knows a lot about what was happening. We used to read the Snoopy comics all the time in the comics-section of the newspapers my dad would bring home. But only the Sunday ones had any good comics, unless you followed along day-by-day. They didn\u2019t have Peanuts in the Winton Daily. Only the Sunday ones.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhy do you wear such a baggy hoodie, Langley?\u201d Atlas asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Langley adjusted his hood, straightened the drawstrings so they were even, and squared his shoulders, smiling. \u201cIt\u2019s just sick, man. It\u2019s a sweet hoodie.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI agree. I was wondering if there was any history behind it?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cCan\u2019t you sense that if there were?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMaybe if I touched it. If I\u2019m not touching it, I\u2019d have to work to know those facts.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOh. Nah, no special history. I found it in a thrift store and just walked out with it. Then my mom found out in the car and we turned back and bought it. I got in trouble for that and had to pay for it myself because I didn\u2019t want to give it back,\u201d Langley said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAny story behind your jacket, Atlas?\u201d Mariah said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cQuorux.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhy oh you are em oh em,\u201d Langley said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mariah spelled the letters Langley had said. \u201cWow.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cCan\u2019t get her off my mind after last night,\u201d The words fell out of Langley\u2019s mouth like water.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A silence seeped into the surrounding air as Atlas smiled again and said, \u201cWhat is stopping you from taking these other than what you\u2019ve previously been told? Have you seen the side-effects you\u2019ve been told about firsthand?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mariah shook her head and Langley said, \u201cDon\u2019t they turn you into a hippie?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLet me put it this way,\u201d Atlas said, \u201cI\u2019ve done psychedelics dozens of times and have been told I know my way around these tools. That\u2019s what they are ultimately, Langley and Mariah. They\u2019re tools to help you understand the universe, understand God, understand it all. And many people don\u2019t need them to become enlightened, to overcome trauma, to break habits, or understand love and society, but, without question, they help.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI just still don\u2019t think it\u2019s a good idea,\u201d Mariah said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Atlas huffed out a breath of air. \u201cI know what you\u2019re thinking right now, and what you\u2019re thinking isn\u2019t seeking the truth. Your decision is still only based on fear which is an emotional decision, not a logical one.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou\u2019re saying taking drugs is the right decision?\u201d Mariah folded her arms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Atlas said, \u201cI\u2019m saying using psychedelics will help you; they won\u2019t harm you, especially with the small dose you would be taking, I\u2019d be shocked if you had any visuals.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhy not just slip some into our water or something?\u201d Langley said. \u201cThat\u2019s what I would do.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s important that you accept the drug. The set and the setting are instrumental to getting the most out of the experience. You shouldn\u2019t be fighting the drug, you should be walking with it, looking at where it is pointing, and learning from it. Think of it like an excellent conversation with the part of you that is God.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAtlas, we are not God,\u201d Mariah frowned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNo. God is omnipresent, omnipotent, and perfectly loving. There is good in us that God put there which dwells in us and that is the part of us that is God,\u201d Atlas said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis is just fucking nuts to me,\u201d Langley said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIf I asked you right now, \u2018will you take psychedelics?\u2019 what is your answer: Yes or no?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mariah stayed quiet, clawing into every recess of her mind for a reason to refuse; all she could hear were her parents\u2019 advice to never accept this kind of offer from a stranger, but a deeper, older part of her resounded. It was a voice she was unfamiliar with: Her own voice. And it was saying you aren\u2019t comprised of your parents\u2019 wishes and are not alive to please them. You\u2019re here to please God. What is God wanting you to do right now?<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI trust you Atlas,\u201d Mariah said at first. Then she seemed to fall back into thought. Mariah, have you considered the possibility that you were fed underdeveloped information about drugs? What if this is a good thing being suppressed because it shows great truth and fools simply can\u2019t handle it? So they bury it as best they can?<\/p>\n\n\n\n She found herself saying with little doubt: \u201cYes.\u201d After saying this one word, she felt a weight fall away from her. Part of that weight was fear; she started wondering if the rest of what she knew was fact or was simply what she was told. She felt a drive for the first time in her life. It was a drive to question everything that she was told. I\u2019m actually\u2026 excited to find what I can learn from this!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Atlas\u2019s face didn\u2019t change as he and Mariah turned and looked at Langley.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Langley shrugged. \u201cWhy the hell wouldn\u2019t I trust the instinct of two prophets? You promise this is safe?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAs safe as going for a drive in a car.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLast time Mariah was in a car, it wasn\u2019t that safe; they used it to ram a novis.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou did what?\u201d For the first time, Atlas looked surprised. \u201cYou rammed a novis with a car?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWell, Blink Mayer did. Pretty, Mariah, and Marshall were with him. We\u2019re pretty sure we broke one of its legs.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIncredible,\u201d Atlas whispered. \u201cI think I need to hear the entire story from the top. Any story with novis and survivors is remarkable.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cQUORUX<\/em>,\u201d Langley mocked and Atlas shook his head with a smile. \u201cI still feel like we\u2019re way behind on what is supposed to happen. What schedule are you sticking to and what don\u2019t we know that we should probably know?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Atlas said, \u201cStablefield and the Ledge are two things you should see before the exchange. Stablefield is dangerous, but we could see the Ledge whenever we want.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhat are either of those things?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOne is the cliff which drops into the planet\u2019s endless ocean below. The other is the largest city on the Hook where the most trades happen, however most of it is controlled by the Cavaliers. Do you know who the Cavaliers are at least?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Astronomers shook their heads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHeavens, so much to catch you up to,\u201d Atlas muttered before saying: \u201cThe Cavaliers are a gang of fraiser-hunters who usually capture you alive so they can sell you either as slaves, though your life won\u2019t be too bad, or to collectors. I think we should see the Ledge.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWait, what are collectors?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cUsually monster collectors. They feed you to them. Fraisers are worth good money and if you\u2019re smart, raiding villages is an excellent way to gather them. Which is what the Cavaliers mainly do. They raid, some factions actually devote whole facilities to women to breed fraisers and treat both mother and child as best they can. It backfires greatly on them since the mothers often become so attached to their child, they run off together.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cFuck.\u201d Langley\u2019s eyes swelled with fear. \u201cWhy\u2026\u201d He wanted to ask so many questions that began with the word \u2018why,\u2019 but they all crowded his mouth at once and none of them made it out. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Mariah looked at Langley. He could see in her eyes that she didn\u2019t feel so safe with Atlas anymore and neither did he. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou\u2019re thinking I may be a threat as well,\u201d Atlas said. \u201cAnd that\u2019s wise; you don\u2019t know me. You catch on quickly which will only help. I personally dislike the Cavaliers. I had a wonderful childhood and wish the same upon every child. But I can\u2019t bend over backwards for every pair of children I come across and give them some of my psychedelics.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAtlas, why did you come here in the first place? What\u2019s your motive?\u201d Mariah said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Atlas smiled. \u201cNow you\u2019re asking the interesting questions. The non-quorux answer is: I\u2019m here to save a fraiser by the name of Coh.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cFriend of yours?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cChild of a friend of mine. He\u2019s doing me a favor and in return, I\u2019m rescuing his kid. Ideally, I could use the help of you two and Myles.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHell, why not all of the Astronomers?\u201d Langley said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe Astronomers?\u201d Atlas cocked his head.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThere are six of us. Pretty, Marshall, and Blink can help you rescue Coh too. Where is he?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThere\u2019s an open market in Stablefield that is happening soon. I hear the Shepherd, a collector, is to be docked nearby. I\u2019m not worried about how we will break him out of captivity, I\u2019m worried about how we will get away. It\u2019s likely we will have to fight our way out.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOnce Mariah and I are practiced up in whatever fraises we are, we will be able to help out a lot more.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAnd what other fraiser types are there, Atlas?\u201d Mariah asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI hope you don\u2019t mind the short answer, because I don\u2019t want to give the long one,\u201d Atlas said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe\u2019ll take what we can get.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThere are minders, hushes, prophets, and hangers\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Mariah and Langley Chapter Seventeen (Spring, 1937) (6.5k words, 30-40 min read) The man in the green coat had grabbed Langley during the fall through those clear tunnels. Mariah and Langley had kept their hands together and crashed through the mirror with the man, feet underneath them. Langley felt his hand slip from Myles\u2019s while … <\/p>\n