SECTION 1- DAY OF AWAKENING
Our memories.
Our beautiful home, Earth…Terra.
Due to pollution and the destruction of the environment as a result of human civilization, this planet became a place where people could no longer live. Forced to come up with a solution, humans formed a special governmental system called Superior Domination. They abandoned the ruins of Terra…and searched for a new world in space.
Lightning crackled through the sky, and thunder sounded across the city. The buildings rumbled with the fury of the heavens that swirled with dark, menacing clouds. Sparks exploded from the impact of the bolts, igniting trees and grass—only to be extinguished by the never-ending rain pouring over the area.
Despite the dreadful weather, the interior of the mysterious building was calm and still, devoid of any hint to the storm raging outside. There was a long hallway; it was lit by dim violet lights, the air chilled and crisp. It stretched onward with no doors, windows, or decorations. At the end was a doorway with no door—a sheer, purple chiffon portiere concealed the room beyond. Peaceful harp music was playing nearby, echoing through the hallway and bouncing off the walls. The sound was ethereal, sending chills down the spines of those who heard it.
The young boy walked down the calm hallway cautiously, staring in confusion at the unfamiliar walls; clean and colored a deep blue. He had soft golden hair, and eyes green like the forest. He was sorely out of place: he wore green pajamas, with no shoes or socks. Even with his clothes, the expression of confusion on his face was enough to give away the fact that he had no idea where he was, or what he was doing there. How had he arrived in this place? Where did the hallway lead?
He made his way curiously toward the door, wear the harp music was loudest. He approached the portiere and peeked through; he was able to see through it to the massive room beyond. There was a large staircase that went up too high for him to see where it led; to the right, another smaller staircase. Both staircases had intricately designed gold railings, and looked to lead to terraces. The floor and stairs all looked to be made of beautifully-polished marble. In the center of the room stood a tall sculpture that looked to be composed of several different planets, with gold ribbons weaved between them. Saturn at the bottom, perhaps Jupiter at the top. The boy searched the harp but couldn't see any within sight—yet the music was clearly coming from somewhere within the room.
Beyond the sculpture and the terraces, the room appeared to go on forever into darkness. It was like looking into an abyss.
The boy stepped out from behind the chiffon drapes, and into the doorway.
Sitting on the staircase leading to the floor of the room in front of him was a man. He was cloaked in a long green robe. His skin was a dark ebony tone, and his black hair was cut very short—he had a sharp widow's peak. Teardrop earrings dangled from his ears, and there were two lines painted on his face like tattoos, running through the center of his eyelids vertically across both sides of his face, from his hairline down to his chin. He held a lyre in his arms, the instrument the boy had been unable to find within the room earlier. He must have been the one playing the beautiful music.
He looked at the boy over his shoulder, and the music ceased. He stared in silence, with deep, dark eyes. He stood from his place on the staircase and faced the blond boy; seeming discomforted by his presence, he went up the staircase to the doorway. Before passing through, he slowed to stare at the boy for a long moment. The boy, unsure what to make of the encounter, simply stared back in surprise. The dark-skinned man turned away at last, and passed through the doorway peacefully.
"Welcome, Soldier."
The voice was eerie and echoed through the abyss-like room, almost like a wind chime. The boy's attention was seized completely. He turned back to face the interior of the room, and finally noticed that at the base of the smaller staircase, there was a small table with a woman sitting beside it. Tarot cards were spread across the glass tabletop, and the woman was holding a single card in her hand that read "Wheel of Fortune." She almost looked like she was staring intensely at it…until the boy realized her eyes were sealed shut. As long as he stared, he never saw them open.
But staring at her face awakened him to her beauty. Her skin was fair, and perfectly flawless. Her lips were tiny, and very pink. She wore a long, flowing purple gown, and her blonde hair was so long, it gathered on the floor. Shimmering gold jewelry sparkled on her body: a beautiful golden necklace inset with a ruby sat on her collarbone, and long oval earrings dangled from her ears behind the hair framing her face. She had an aura about her that consumed him. She was intriguing and mysterious. He'd never seen her before, yet she was so familiar.
Realizing they were alone in the room, the boy assumed her greeting was for him. He walked down the staircase toward her, approaching her curiously, and straining to see her cards and how they were set up.
He opened his mouth to greet her, but when he went to speak, the words that came from his lips were not his own. "Are you fortune-telling again?"
The boy covered his mouth in shock. It wasn't him who had asked the question—the voice was undoubtedly deeper. Yet the words had definitely come from his mouth.
The woman replied in his direction, "Yes, I can see our future on Tarfel." She smiled sweetly, her face looking right at the boy—but now he realized it was not directed to him.
Once again, another man's voice seemed to come from the boy, who stood there in awe at what seemed to be happening. "Our…Mu's future."
Finally, things fell into place. An unknown force pushed the blond boy backward a few steps, and as he stepped back, he felt himself being pushed from within something. He watched as he emerged from the back of another person. He stood a few steps behind him, staring at his back intently. This was a completely separate person, who had been standing in the same place as him, in the same room, and had been speaking to the woman before him. The boy looked at himself—he himself was ghostlike; he was see-though, and was glowing like a spirit.
The young man before him had an ethereal face, with perfect features and flawless skin, just like the woman. His cropped hair was as white as snow, and his eyes as red as blood. On his head, he wore some kind of headset that covered his ears. It was unlike anything the boy had seen. He wore an ecru-colored coat and dark gray pans, with matching ecru boots. Draped from his shoulders was a dark blue cape that went to the floor. Though it gathered slightly on the polished marble, it wasn't the least bit dirty. The floors were so clean, the fabric was kept ethereal itself. But the man's face was the most ethereal…his eyes were deep and almost sorrowful. He had an aura unlike anything the boy had ever felt.
Now the woman spoke directly to the man standing in front of the boy. "The awakening of a lion will come upon us. A great power will be added to our headwaters."
But the man shook his head. "That's enough."
He turned, and walked toward the staircase. His cape cascaded behind him, flowing almost like water. The boy stared at it, entranced by its movement. He had no idea what kind of fabric it was made from. The man spoke to the woman as he walked, though he did not look at her, "What's the power? Weapons? Or personnel? If we get it, can we fly out to space?!"
He stared up at the planet sculpture with a great sorrow in his eyes. A deep sadness could be seen on his face. He stared at the top planet with a longing that struck the boy's heart as though the emotion was a physical knife.
The woman stood and faced him, though her eyes still never once opened. She didn't answer his questions. "Soldier."
Seeming to overcome his moment of sadness, he turned to look at her over his shoulder again. "Show me your Terra again." He smiled sadly at her.
She gave him a sincere smile, and stepped away from the table. She walked toward him with the confidence of someone with their eyes open. She knew exactly where she was, and exactly where he was in relation to her. The boy watched as she approached him. Perhaps she was blind. The woman reached out and took the man's hand. "Okay." She lifted his hand up, and held it dearly as though she was holding the most delicate object in the world. "Leave your soul with me and match your wavelength with mine."
The words made no sense to the boy.
However, suddenly the room seemed to be vanishing from around him. He could only imagine the feeling he was experiencing was something akin to being pulled back out of reality. The room was pulled away from his vision like rubber being stretched, and the boy fell into a void.
Behind him was a magnificent galaxy, shining with color.
Though he couldn't see her, or the man with her, he could hear the woman's voice. Now it felt that she was speaking directly to him. "This is the Galaxy. Can you see it?"
The boy screamed in terror; he was being sucked through space toward the galaxy. Despite his panic, he could hear the man's voice replying. Once again, it felt like the voice was coming from within him. "Yes, it's beautiful."
The stars flew past the boy so fast, they looked like mere lines of line. Then everything fell still, and the boy looked at what was before him.
But the man's voice spoke aloud from within the boy once again. "The sun… My life is too short for me to fly that far. …I must entrust someone with…"
The boy cried out again, staring in horror at the approaching sun.
"…my life. My memories. I need someone who will live my future!"
Suddenly, the boy was struck with a pain resonating through his entire body. Yet the pain felt strange, as though it was not his own. Somehow, he knew the pain belonged to the white-haired man who was speaking through him.
Before him, the sun was gone. It was replaced with an image of a beautiful, blue planet. It was unlike anything the boy had seen. But it was crackling with static, like he was staring at a corrupted screen.
The man's pained voice rang in the boy's head desperately. "Someone, someone, someone!" The boy felt the man's pain reach its peak, and he screamed—right at the boy— "Someone!"
The last thing the boy heard was the woman's panicked voice, "Soldier!"
The boy shot upright with a scream.
He was breathing intensely, grabbing at what he could reach. But all he felt was the soft comfort of his blanket. Beside his ear was the ringing of a familiar alarm. He took a moment to breathe, and realized he was in his bed in his home, with the sun shining through the window.
It was all just a dream…again.
Sweat poured down his face. It was a dream. He'd had the dream before. But every time, the dream had felt so terrifyingly real. He knew that he must have been experiencing the event in the dream through the eyes of the white-haired man. His pain had felt so real. His agony and sadness. The boy felt like it was his own.
But now he was back in his room, away from the stormy place he didn't know. He took a long moment to catch his breath before silencing his alarm. It was normally a nuisance, but in this moment…it was a comfort.
On the first floor, the boy's father sat at the table, dressed for work, drinking coffee. He wore a crisply-ironed white shirt with a green tie, and his hair was blond and his eyebrows thick. His mother was wiping off her hands on a cloth. She wore a dress and an apron, and had shoulder length black hair that was a straight as a pin. She called toward the staircase, "Jomy! Hurry or you'll be late for school!"
Jomy, from his back, called, "Right away!"
His mother gave a defeated sigh at his tardiness and less-than-enthusiastic reply to her call. From the table, her husband smiled. "What's wrong? He's like this all time."
She walked toward him with a worried aura about her. "But that boy, he'll be fourteen tomorrow. It's his Day of Awakening." She watched her husband gulp down his coffee. "After he takes his adult examination, he's gotta make it on his own."
He stood up from the table, setting down his mug. "Every boy's like that." He gave her comforting smile, which never failed to make her feel better. "Parents tend to worry if their child will be all right…but then they pass the exam and become adults."
Jomy came into the room, dressed in a tan sweater and deep brown pants. He had managed to compose himself after his elaborate dream. "Good morning, dad, mom!" He sat at the table, and his mother shadowed him.
"Hurry up with your breakfast and leave or you'll be late again."
Jomy gave her a corny smile. "Don't worry. With these legs of mine, I have plenty of time."
His mother wasn't amused. "There you go again!"
"I'm eating!" Jomy exclaimed, ignoring his mother's clear dissatisfaction with his response.
His father stared at him, "Jomy. You shouldn't worry your mom so much."
But thirteen-year-old Jomy was painfully oblivious. "What worry?" He ate a sausage.
His father swung his pale green coat over his shoulder. "I guess, like, don't run to school and get into an accident on the way."
"I don't get it."
"I'll be on my way." His father stared toward the door.
"See you later," his mom replied.
"Oh, right. I'll be home early tonight. We'll celebrate the eve of the Day of Awakening with a little party."
"Right on!" Jomy exclaimed.
"My, this child!" His mother's mood finally seemed to be improving a bit. Even his father's spirits were raced.
"See you."
"Have a nice day!"
But his mother wasn't letting him off the hook. "Hey! You've gotta hurry too!" They heard the sound of the garage door opening.
Jomy rollerbladed down the sidewalk, with the ping of a possible tardiness pumping his adrenaline. Ataraxia, the City of Education, was an exceptionally peaceful place. The houses were gorgeous and well-kept; the trees were green and flowers in full bloom. Lawns were mowed, concrete driveways un-cracked. Students were walking down the sidewalk on their way to school, while the white-collared adults drove past in their sparkling cars on their way to work.
Jomy was quickly catching up to his friend on his rollerblades. As he passed his friend going full speed, he called, "Sam, you'll be late at that pace."
Sam, out of breath and sweating through his letterman's jacket, wasn't too happy with his friend's actions. "Jomy! You're breaking the rules using Speed Wheels!" Sam tried to run faster.
"It's better than being late! See ya!" He waved and took off even faster, and the distance between the friends was quickly growing.
"Wait! That's not fair!" Sam yelled.
The school's massive glass walls and windows were sparkling serenely in the sun. Jomy, having arrived at school just on time, set his rollerblades in his locker.
"Good morning, Jomy."
Jomy turned to face the girl who'd greeted him. "Oh, Suena." Suena was a beautiful girl with long blond hair, pulled back in a pink bow. She had blue eyes as clear as a pool of water.
But she had a stern look on her face. "Hurry up. Class is about to begin. Isn't Sam with you?"
A locker slammed behind them, and they both looked. Sam was hunched over at the end of the row of lockers, breathing heavily. They could practically feel the heat emanating out from inside his green letterman's jacket.
Suena stared at Sam, concerned. "Sam?"
"I-I made it," he struggled to say through his breaths.
Jomy whistled at him. "You're quite an athlete, you really pushed it."
Sam rushed forward and grabbed Jomy by the collar with both fists. "Jomy! You!"
"Wh-what?"
Suddenly, the voice of a teacher rang through the hallway. "Jomy Marcus Shin." The thick guidance counselor was standing beside Suena with her hands on her hips, glaring at Jomy unhappily. Her blond hair was curled, as usual.
Sam and Jomy stared at her. Sam was still holding Jomy by the collar. "Yes?"
"Come to the counseling room."
Sam released Jomy, and placed his hand on his friend's shoulder reassuringly.
"S-sure."
In the lunchroom, a group of friends were gathered around one of the round white tables, bolted to the black and white checkered tile. Jomy sat on the tabletop, with Sam sitting backwards in a seat and Suena standing beside him. Sam leaned in toward Jomy, who had just finished describing his dream.
"Really? A good looking girl, huh?" Sam prodded.
"The same dream?" Suena asked. Jomy agreed.
Sam was uninterested. "But that's so lame of you… How could you let a handsome guy enter the scene?"
"You idiot. I'm sleeping. It's not as if I can control that."
"Hmm… But what's the meaning of that 'Mu's future' the handsome guy mentioned?"
"I don't know. It was like "Mu's future, our future," so maybe Mu is a race."
On the far side of the room, a security camera had locked in on the group of friends. It focused on Jomy.
"Mu, huh?"
Later that day in gym class, Jomy—part of the blue team for their soccer game—called out to his team member, "Bring it out front! Out front!"
"What are you doing? Get back!"
The ball flew far up into the air. The came down directly above Jomy, who bounced it off his chest, and then clicked it mercilessly into the goal. Sam—the goalie—jumped to try and stop it, but was too slow. The ball hit the net, sending a ripple across the ropes before falling to the ground. A whistle pierced the air.
Jomy, on the ground, threw his fist up. "Yeah! We take the lead!"
As though to ruin his great mood, a tiny hovering sphere flew down to him, with a camera lens gazing right into his eyes. From its top, a tiny yellow flag shot up, and it said in an automated voice, "Offside."
Jomy was horrified. "Wh-what?!" He stood up and balled his fist at the referee automaton. "What was offside about that? I checked the line before I dashed out!"
The automaton had no reply, and didn't budge. It just hovered in front of Jomy's face, glaring through its lens while its yellow flag flapped in the wind.
Sam, wearing a red jersey, walked up to his friend with the ball tucked under his arm. "Oh, well. We're still tied. Let's keep the game going." Two more hovering automatons glided over.
Jomy reached out and grabbed the daring automaton in his face, and it's panicked electronic voice rang out from its spherical body. "Wha-wha-what?" Jomy raised the sphere up and threw it down onto the ground of the playing field. The yellow flag broke off, and tiny bolts of electricity crackled around the damaged area. The sphere's voice glitched out, and grew deeper in tone as it spoke. "O-o-o-offside!" It died.
Jomy stood there angrily. Sam stared in surprise. The two other automatons hovered around his head, repeating "Eject! Eject! Eject! Eject! Eject!"
Jomy pushed one away from his face. "Shut up!
"Eject! Eject! Eject! Eject! Eject!"
The two automatons continued on repeat while Suena watched Jomy storm off the field from the sideline. "Jomy…"
Now, Jomy was in the counseling room. The counselor, in her pale pink blazer, let out an exasperated sigh. She stared at Jomy with a concerned look on her face. "I've been counseling for many years…but you're the first student to case not one but two problems on the day before his adult examination."
Jomy sat with his hands folded in his lap. "The referee robot was malfunctioning."
The counselor held her face. "Yes. Sure it was, after your impressive blow." Jomy frowned. "All right. Go back to your classroom. Say your goodbyes to everyone properly."
"Right," he sighed.
Back in his classroom, his counselor was explaining. "So, the Day of Awakening is the day you take your adult examination and move into the society of adults." She stood at the room's teaching podium while Jomy stood beside her, staring out over the students of his class without focusing on any particular one. "I'm hoping that Jomy will be considered to join the Members."
But Sam, a few rows in, called out, "Not a chance. They're a group of elites who lead humanity, right? In Jomy's case, forget his grades…there are too many problems with his personality."
The class erupted with laughter. Jomy frowned at his friend, but the counselor was bothered by the joke. She looked at him. "Now Jomy, make your final remarks."
With an air of confidence, Jomy folded his hands behind his back and looked out over his peers with a smile. "I don't believe I was offside when I took that shot earlier."
The class laughed harder, and now the counselor was worried. She stared at him with a furrowed brow. With a slight arrogance, Jomy closed his eyes and looked away from her.
That evening after school, Jomy was leaving the grounds beside Sam and Suena. Suena smiled at him, "You were just like yourself, right to the end." But Jomy wasn't satisfied, and stopped walking. His friends stopped and looked back at him.
"What's wrong, Jomy?" Sam asked.
Jomy turned back around to stare at the school grounds. "Just think, I'll never be coming back here again." His friends fell silent, watching their friend as he stared at their school, sparking in the sunset. "It makes me feel a bit lonely."
Suena chuckled at his sudden weakness, and he turned to look at her. She was smiling warmly. "Growing up is a wonderful thing. So, it's strange to feel lonely about it." Jomy was staring at her, wide-eyed.
He tried to smile. "You think so?"
"Pull yourself together! You're becoming an adult sooner than us." She approached him, and kissed him on the cheek. "I pray that you pass the adult examination with flying colors. Good luck!"
She turned and broke into a run down the sidewalk, reaching back to wave at her friends. Sam watched her go happily, but Jomy was discontented. "Goodbye, Suena," he thought with a heavy heart, fearful that once becoming an adult, he would never see his dear friend again. A heaviness fell upon his heart.
But the lighthearted Sam held something up to him. "A birthday present." He smiled. "Take it."
Jomy reached out and took his present, staring at it with amazement. "It's the Dreamworld Hundredth Anniversary Commemorative Pass!" He was overwhelmed with such a strong happiness—he stared at it.
"You really wanted it, right? It's got my name on it though…"
Jomy was practically bubbling with happiness. "Thank you. I'm really happy!"
"We'll always be friends," Sam said with a grin. "I hope we can meet again someday as adults!"
Jomy smiled, nodded, and held his present close.
Back in his room that night, Jomy sat on his neatly-made bed. He was leaned over a well-kept photo album, studying the pictures inside. He heard a knock on his door. "Come in!"
The automated door slid open, and his mom was standing in the doorway. "Oh, my. What are you looking at?" He smiled down at the photo album, full of pictures of him with his parents when he was younger. His mom didn't even need to walk over and look at them to know what they were pictures of. "Photos from our visit to Dreamworld." She walked over and sat beside him on the bed.
"Yeah," he agreed. "We won't ever go there together again, will we?"
"Of course not," his mother replied. "You're about to become an adult."
"Hey, mom."
"Yes?"
"Won't you feel lonely? I'll be gone from his house after tomorrow."
His words struck his mother like knives, and it showed on her face. She quickly teared up, and grabbed Jomy in a hug, pulling him close. Jomy dropped the album onto the floor as his mother cried over him. "Jomy," she sobbed, "There's no way I'm not gonna be lonely. What a silly question." Her tears streamed down her face, dripping into Jomy's hair. "But, a human can't be a child forever. No matter how lonely one gets, or how one may suffer…they must still become an adult."
"Mom…"
"You'll be just fine. You'll have no problem making it on your own, Jomy."
"This is Universal Control. AD06223."
The cylindrical building towered over the city, reaching to the sky like it was reaching for god. It—and all of its accompanying buildings—were glowing with an orange hue from the lights. The sky was dark and covered with ominous clouds. The orange glow from the buildings reflected on the cloud, like the glow of a distant fire.
"There are indications that the Mu have made contact with Jomy Marcus Shin. We request an immediate in-depth psychological test."
A huge truck sped down the empty highway away from the tower, its orange headlights lighting the way. And with it went a feeling of dread.
At Jomy's house, a feast was nearly prepared for the celebratory party. Jomy's mother was laboring in the kitchen, scrubbing a dirty pot clean when the doorbell pierced the silence of their house. She looked toward the door. "Oh, darling! He really has come home early. She left the pot, and went to the video screen beside the door. She pressed the button to see who was outside their front door. "Hello."
But the person she saw was not her husband. It was a man in a stark white coat, with glasses and a mustache. Behind him, another man in the same clothing. In the distance, the large ominous truck.
The first man held a badge up to the camera for her to see. "We're here from Universal Control. Is Jomy in?"
"Y-yes."
The man with the mustache looked back to his companion and nodded to him. The second man walked forward toward the door, going out of the view from the door's camera.
"Um, has Jomy done anything?" his mother asked with sincere concern.
The door opened, and she gasped. Not two, but three white-cloaked men stepped inside into the dark doorway. "Excuse us." Jomy's mother opened the door to their kitchen and blocked their path.
"U-um, wait a minute. What is going on here?"
The man with the mustache stepped forward to the front. "The management center has requested that we do a psychological test before tomorrow's adult examination."
"Psychological test?"
Upstairs, Jomy was just finishing his shower. The streams of steaming water died off, and Jomy wrapped a towel around his waist. He pulled the door to the side and stepped out of the shower, headed for the drink machine. With the press of the left button, a cup popped out. But no matter how many times Jomy pressed the right button, no drink ever filled that cup.
Instead, a thin purple gas spurted from the machine, filling the shower. Jomy breathed it in and quickly grew dizzy, and within seconds he had lost consciousness. He collapsed onto the shower floor, still as stone and barely breathing.
The door slid open, and two of the men in the white suits were there in the doorway wearing ominous gas masks. Their eyes were concealed behind dark, tinted purple glass. Jomy's mother stood several feet behind him, watching them with great discomfort. The two men stepped into the bathroom and looked down at the unconscious boy. "Okay. Let's carry him to the test vehicle."
Outside the bathroom, his mother stood with the man with the mustache. "Is everything really all right?" she prodded, practically begging for any kind of better explanation. The two men in the bathroom lifted Jomy up and began to carry him out.
"Please do not worry," the man replied. "We're just analyzing about thirty thought and emotional patterns. The men carried Jomy down the hallway, and his mother looked on in horror.
"Hey! At least put some clothes on him!" she cried. She stormed over to the bench outside the bathroom and picked up Jomy's neatly folded pajamas, and held them to the men stubbornly. "Here."
The mustached man rushed over. "You're not even a blood relative," he snapped at her. "Aren't you getting a little too emotional?"
Defeated, Jomy's mother handed the pajamas to him, instead, and stared at the floor in sadness. The man nodded to the others, and they continued to carry Jomy out. "Please leave the rest to us."
Outside, the Universal Control truck was parked in their driveway, blocking Jomy's father from finally arriving in his small yellow car. His father parked his car on the street, and approached his wife who was standing outside the trailer impatiently. She saw him approaching, and ran toward him in a panic. "Darling!"
"What's going on?" he asked, staring at the trailer.
Inside the soundproof trailer, Jomy was strapped into a chair in the test chamber. There were bars holding his hands and legs in place, and a bar around his neck. He was inside an egg-shaped machine that was spinning around him. Jomy was screaming in agony. Whatever the men were doing to him was painful and invasive, and there was nothing he could do to resist them. From the terminal controlling the machine, the mustached man leaned over the tech who was running the examination. "Now at level nine." Jomy's agonized screaming could barely be heard from beyond the wall where they were working. "If we go any further, there's the risk of a mental breakdown."
This pain reminded Jomy of the pain he felt in his recurring dream…the pain that the white-haired man would feel. And it was almost unbearable. This was real.
"Any psionic reactions?" the mustached man prodded, leaning farther over his tech and staring at the screen.
"None detected."
"I see." He stood up straight and looked through the glass at the boy strapped to the machine, practically being tortured. "If he is a Mu, he would've either awakened or gone into a mental breakdown long ago."
Jomy's eyes were as wide as they could go, staring right into what he believed to be his death. But suddenly, the machine's spinning slowed. The pain began to subside.
"Very well. We'll conclude our testing."
His restraints released, and Jomy's body was spent. His head collapsed forward as he quickly lost consciousness and everything went dark.
The men carried Jomy back into their house, and his parents followed. Jomy was returned to his bedroom, where his mother sat on the bedside and diligently watched over him. His mother stroked his face lovingly, staring at his serene expression while he slept.
Outside, his father watched the Universal Control's test vehicle back out of their driveway and leave.
"Nothing abnormal was found. The adult examination will take place tomorrow as scheduled. Please put your mind at ease." The mustached men had reassured them.
But Jomy's father stared at the departing truck with a heavy, suspicious heart. "'Put your mind at ease?' Yeah, right." He walked back inside, and looked at the table full of uneaten food his wife had spent so much time preparing. "She put in a lot of effort."
He heard the clicking of her heels as she came down the staircase from Jomy's room. "How's Jomy?" he asked. She looked at him.
"He's sleeping well." She walked over to stand beside him in their dining room. "I made a whole lot, but looks like it's all gonna go to waste."
"We'll eat it tomorrow. His birthday is tomorrow, after all."
His wife reached out and clutched the arm of his coat. Tears began to fill her eyes. "I'm not qualified to be a mother…seeing how I feel all this sorrow on my child's Day of Awakening." She curled against his arm, and her tears streamed down her cheek.
But her husband didn't chastise or scold her. He just smiled down at her. "I understand how you feel…but we need to behave like adults, too."
Upstairs, Jomy was sleeping soundly. All of Jomy's pain—even in his unconsciousness—had finally subsided. Even though he was asleep, Jomy could feel a serene sense of comfort. An energy caressing him while he slept.
Beside his bed, watching over him, was an apparition of the white-haired man. He glowed like an angel, staring down at the sleeping Jomy with a calmness that was unbefitting to the agonized, terrified man Jomy had seen in his dreams. He seemed to have found a comfort somehow, and that comfort seemed to be Jomy. He watched him with a smile, his eyes soft. "Jomy Marcus Shin." His ghostlike voice echoed through the room, but Jomy didn't stir.
Jomy didn't even know he was there.
The next morning, Jomy was dressed in his beige and red coat, a brown shirt, and brown pants. He came down the staircase, feeling revitalized. He had a new air of confidence. It was as though something had soothed all his worries overnight. He could still feel the calming comfort caressing him like a hug, although there was nothing there. It felt like he had someone watching over him.
He looked at his parents confidently. His mother was cleaning up the dishes, and his father was looking down at him proudly.
"Dad, mom, I'll be on my way."
His mother went to stand beside her husband. "I'm sure you've already been told in school, but you're free to go wherever you want on your Day of Awakening. You'll be done with your adult examination before you even know it."
"Mom, thank you for yesterday. I'll try my best to become an outstanding adult. So, you don't have to cry anymore."
But those words looked like they might make his mother cry. "Jomy."
"You take care, too, dad." His father gave a grunt of approval, and his mother started to tremble with sadness. She was visibly holding back tears. Jomy began to back away, then turned and broke into a run toward the door.
"Goodbye!"
"Jomy!" his mother called after him. She tried to run after him, but her husband grabbed her arm with a firm grip and shook his head. She began to cry as she stared at the unmoving doorway her son had just passed through for the last time.
Far away in Universal Control—which was now free of its dreadful orange glow, and was glittering in the sunlight—all of the new adults were being closely monitored on their Day of Awakening. "Maria Jones moving along Second Street. River Christy is approaching test room twelve. Prepare to guide."
A tiny woman was sitting at terminal A05. "Jomy Marcus Shin has begun to move. Surveillance level RED-3."
A security camera's view of Jomy was visible on the massive hologram screen. Two men in suits were watching him closely from above the observation terminals.
"He just received an in-depth psychological test yesterday. Keep a close eye on him."
Near his house, Jomy was boarding a bus. He scanned his card, and the automated voice said, "Thank you for your patronage" as he climbed the steps into the body of the bus. He took a seat next to another man he didn't know, and stared out absentmindedly.
"Where should I go?" he thought.
On the bus's small screen, an advertisement for Dreamworld was playing. A woman was standing in front of it with her child. "Our fantasy space…the Fanatic Dreamworld. The Ferris wheel, merry-go-round, underground coaster and rare animals…"
"I wanna ride that!" the child yelled, pointing to the screen.
"…are all open for your entertainment!"
"It urns round 'n round!" The kid was so excited. On the screen was a picture advertising the rare animals exhibit. The animal pictured almost looked like a fox, with the wide eyes of a lemur, the tail of a squirrel, and the feet of a rabbit.
Jomy looked around. He thought to himself, "I see. This bus goes to Dreamworld." The bus was full of parents and children. Jomy thought back to looking at the photos of himself at Dreamworld with his own parents. It warmed Jomy's heart. "I rode that coaster long ago. I was clinging to mom because I was so scared… Why not go there? Dreamworld."
And with that, Jomy made up his mind. He rode the bust to Dreamworld, where a significant group of park goers were gathering to indulge in the fun of the theme park. Jomy joined the group approaching the entrance, looking around with a powerful feeling of nostalgia. "Wow. It hasn't changed one bit." He watched a coaster cart zoom past on its tracks.
Curiously, Jomy approached one of the rare animal exhibits. He could hear the voice explaining the creature to the group of onlookers. "The Weeping Mouse is from Mars."
A small girl said, "It's like a raccoon!"
Another boy argued, "No, a squirrel! Look at its big tail."
Jomy was taller than both kids; he looked over their heads into the glass at the animal in its exhibit. It was exactly like it was pictured on the bus. It was definitely a unique animal. It stared out at the people with its wide golden eyes. All of the children were mesmerized by it. "It's so cute!"
Jomy stared at the tiny captive animal, and felt sad. "I feel so sorry for it," he thought, staring at the poor Weeping Mouse. "It's locked in such a small cage." The voice explaining the animal continued to drone on.
For a brief second, Jomy locked eyes with the small animal.
I wanna get out.
Jomy was struck—it felt like a lightning bolt shot right into his heart. He stared into the animal's eyes, and could hear a tiny, high-pitched voice.
I wanna get outta here.
The animal was staring right at Jomy with an intense look in its eyes. It was speaking to him.
A terrible pain struck Jomy's head. He grunted and held his head, trying to cope with the sudden pain. The colors of the world seemed to reverse and distort, and all sound was blocked out. All he could hear was the voice of the mouse. Every word was painful. Like every word was a physical object striking Jomy's head.
I wanna get out and go home.
Jomy forced his eyes open and stared at the discolored mouse. Everything else around him faded.
You can come home with me. This is not where we belong.
Jomy reached out with a trembling arm to touch the glass.
But when he touched the glass, it sent a painful shock through his arm and throughout his body. He cried out and pulled his hand away, holding it. All of the kids and parents gasped and looked at him in surprise. Nearby, a man was staring at Jomy in awe.
An employee began to scold Jomy. "You can't touch the case! There's a barrier around it. Didn't you hear the warning?"
"But this guy!" Jomy exclaimed.
The man nearby watched him closely. He had short, dirty blond hair, and wore glasses. He had on a salmon-colored turtleneck, and a green coat. He thought to himself, "He was just reacting to the Weeping Mouse's telepathy. There's no mistake about it. He's a Mu."
Jomy, who had fled from the agitated worker, was standing against a wall around a corner. His hand was still tingling from the shock; he held it against his chest, but breathed a sigh of relief to be away from the situation. "What a surprise… What was that just now? It was as if it spoke to me… That's not possible." Though Jomy had convinced himself he'd imagined it, he knew he could never imagine the creature's sad eyes. That was real.
Back in Universal Control, the new adults were still being closely monitored. "Tom Wayne adult examination complete."
The woman charged with monitoring Jomy also gave her report. "Jomy Marcus Shin approaching test room ninety-nine. Prepare for adult examination."
The 'test room ninety-nine' that Jomy was in fact approaching within the theme park was just another attraction. It was called the Underground Coaster, and was the source of some of Jomy's nostalgic memories of the park.
He thought to himself, "The underground roller coaster… This brings back memories." "Okay!"
He ran in through the entrance and jumped into the car. He pulled on the provided helmet, and the guiding voice chimed in. "We will now show you to a secret underground world. Ready for launch." The cart—modeled to look like a spaceship—closed up, and a hologram of an underground cavern activated around him. Jomy's 'spaceship' flew off into the cavern, and he steered it enthusiastically between stalactites with a yell.
The woman monitoring him reported, "Jomy Marcus Shin has entered test room ninety-nine. Commencing adult examination."
Jomy was speeding through the underground cavern when suddenly, a bright white light engulfed him. He was floating, naked and exposed, in an abyss of white light. The ship was gone, the cavern was gone. Everything was gone.
Then the white light faded, and he was in a room of purple lights. Floating in front of him was a massive teardrop-shaped form. It had a face on the front, with the number 5 beneath it. Its face was asymmetrical, and a very stark white. Its eyes were uneven triangles, and it was smiling. Smiling right at Jomy.
It spoke with a feminine voice, though her mouth didn't move. "Welcome, Jomy Marcus Shin. I'm one of the Terra's Number Computers…Terra's Number Five."
Jomy was suspended in the air, unmoving. He looked at the massive robot's unmoving face. "Terra's Number Five?"
It was still looking at him with an almost discomforting face. "We will now begin your adult examination. First phase, memory deletion."
"Memory deletion?" Jomy asked. The room they were floating in suddenly came to life—the entire wall of the cylindrical room was covered in screens. Images of his memories appeared. He looked around at them in shock.
"Begin deletion."
An awful pain struck Jomy in the head, and he grabbed his head and screamed. Some of the screens began to vanish, leaving only static. Jomy could feel the pain of his memories being erased from within his mind.
"Dad…Sam…Suena!" he cried as he tried to resist forgetting them.
The computer's voice rang through his pain. "It's all right. There's nothing to be afraid of."
Jomy stared in terror at a screen that was showing a memory of his mother. "Mom…!" His eyes began to lose their twinkle as he lost his memories…as he lost who he was.
Then suddenly, the static was drowned out. A familiar voice rang through his mind. A voice he'd been hearing in his dreams.
"Don't get caught, Jomy!"
The woman monitoring Jomy's test cried out, "Powerful psionic reaction detected! Type Blue!"
The men overlooking the observational terminals were shocked. "What?! Is he a Mu?!"
The man standing beside him was calmer. He pulled a speaker up to his mouth. "Closing Dreamworld. Request dispatch of security squad."
One of the women working at the terminals confirmed, "Dreamworld emergency closing."
Suddenly, Jomy wasn't alone. He felt someone holding him. And when he looked to the side, there was someone there.
The white-haired man from his dreams.
He was hovering beside Jomy, holding him close and staring hatefully at the machine. His blue cape was cascading around them both. The presence of this man sent an undeniable feeling of safety over Jomy despite their situation. It felt that, somehow, this strange man was protecting him.
The man spoke to him, this time in a regular voice. "Don't let go of your memories." The screens stopped going to static. "They're from the fourteen years of your life since you were born."
Jomy stared at the man's face. "Who are you?"
"Blue," the man replied. "Soldier Blue."
The screens disappeared and the room's lights turned red. Somehow, the machine's asymmetrical face distorted, and the face looked angry. "Be gone. You're a disturbance. Be gone!" she screamed. Bolts of violet lightning began to fire out from her forehead, aimed for the two men. But Soldier Blue pulled Jomy out of harm's way. Jomy wasn't sure if they were moving, or teleporting. The whole thing was a blur.
Soldier Blue focused his attention on Jomy. "If you have a strong will, you can save your memories. Don't get carried away with the flow." He continued to protect him from the machine's electrical attacks.
"Be gone!" the machine screeched.
"Don't get separated," Blue said, before pulling his cape around the two of them. They were pulled through a portal of some sorts, and out of harms way. When Jomy opened his eyes again, they were in a different part of the room. They were definitely teleporting.
They began to fly around the room. Blue left a trail of light between his teleportations, and he began to attack the machine.
"Be gone! Be gone!" she cried, unable to fight back. Blue struck her on the face. He pulled back, holding Jomy tightly to his body, and threw his hand up. A ball of light formed in his hand, and with a yell, he threw the energy into the machine's face. The machine tipped and let out a cry.
"Psionic level at highest point," his monitor reported. "There's no mistake about it. It's Soldier Blue!"
The man with the speaker continued on. "Jomy Marcus Shin is a Mu. He'll be disposed of. Linear pod maximum speed course out."
In the test room, things were calm. The machine seemed damaged, and made no more noise or further attempts to attack. Jomy was staring only at Blue's face. There was nothing else he could look at. "We're getting out, Jomy!"
Then Blue vanished. The test room vanished. Jomy was back in the underground rollercoaster. He let out a cry of surprise and quickly avoided the stalactites. He came out into an open cavern, and unable to react, he sped right toward the wall.
In his moment of panic, his body began to glow blue.
His coaster cart broke through the wall of the ride, breaking out and skidding across the cement. It landed upside down.
A group of soldiers at Universal Control were charging toward a ship, armed with guns. Their faces were concealed by dark helmets. "Security squad emergency dispatch. A Mu incident has just occurred at Fanatic Dreamworld! Confirm whether Jomy Marcus Shin is dead or alive."
At Dreamworld. Jomy was half-hanging out of his destroyed ship. His helmet was in pieces several feet away. He was beginning to regain consciousness, and could hear the intercom speaking out over the park. "Thank you for coming to Fanatic Dreamworld today. We are sorry for the inconvenience we are causing our valued customers, but the Security Management Bureau is conducting an unscheduled check."
Jomy awakened, and struggled to pull himself out of the wrecked spaceship. He was careful not to get cut on any of the glass littering the cement around him. He stood, and held his arm in pain. "What just happened?" He looked back at the hole in the wall he'd made, and then turned and looked out over the park. It was completely barren, deserted of all people. "Was that the adult examination?"
The overhead continued, "Anybody still within the grounds is asked to make their way outside. We look forward to seeing you again."
Jomy could somewhat remember what had just happened, and took a few steps forward. "Blue?"
He looked over the edge of the ridge and saw the last group of people making their way through the gate of the park.
Jomy continued to walk, trying to process what had just transpired. "He was from my dream."
He was suddenly distracted by a voice—a tiny voice.
Let's go home.
He looked. Just off to the side was the tiny exhibit for the Weeping Mouse. The tiny animal was staring at him through the glass again, speaking to him.
You too.
Jomy approached the glass of the exhibit. The mouse had its paws against the glass, and it was looking at him. "You can speak?" The mouse made some cooing noises at him. "But that's impossible."
He reached out to touch the glass, but suddenly it exploded. The Weeping Mouse leapt from its cage and jumped to Jomy. Jomy caught the mouse in his arms. It dug its claws into his coat and cooed at him, looking happily at his face. Jomy looked at the shattered glass in surprise. "What happened?"
Suddenly, a deep voice came from behind him. "Jomy Marcus Shin."
Jomy turned to face him. The group of soldiers were standing there, all aiming their guns at him. The soldier at the front had a smaller handgun. "You have been deemed inadequate, and thereby shall be punished."
Jomy took a step back fearfully. "Inadequate? Punished?" Panic overtook him. He held the mouse tightly, and faced the soldiers in desperation.
"What do you mean 'punished'?!"
