Chapter 2: Opening the Cage

"You're blind to trust the facts that are presented to you on the silver platter, you need to question them and find contradiction in them. Don't be blinded by what you see."

Helen Keller had once saw and heard the world in its full glory shaded by all of those different vibrant color from the color spectrum with her eyes and ears as all people naturally did.

Yet, these abilities that many people had taken for granted had all vanished for her. When she was nineteen months, still a baby; just barely over the age of one. She caught a disease that the doctors had described the disease's symptoms as 'the acute congestion of the stomach and brain.'

Her world had turned murky with the colors and edges of shapes blurring together like a style of painting being painted on the blank canvas by a painter, the vibrant colors losing their clarity and smearing against each other as she watched in silence.

As she lost her vision and sight, her connection to the beautiful world had been severed. She never knew what kind of treasure that the world had given to the people that it had nurtured.

Like the orange sunrise, with the sun peeking out of the dark horizon, slowly rising to brighten the darkness of the sky in its blazing glory. While Helen couldn't see it, she could feel been embraced by the sun's warm ray.

Helen Keller sat on a chair in front of the window as she observed the starry sky out of the windows. Everybody had slept in their bed with blankets covering them and keeping cozy so silence had taken reign of the house.

There were so many stars were widely dotted across the night sky that it was pointless to try and count all of them with the naked eyes.

"Do you enjoy observing the stars at night?" Asked a rabbit with antlers sitting on the floor next to her chair, looking at her.

Helen looked down to see the jackalope looking up at her. She got off the chair and bent to place the rabbit on the windowsill, as the blue curtains on the sides of the window rustled as the cool wind blew into the room. "Of course I do, for many years, I couldn't see the world properly. I had to watch in silence as the world spin around without me. I lived on the words of people around me." People with disability were considered to be unfit to live independently by themselves without the help of others.

They were labeled as a 'liability' and a 'luggage' by the general public, much less understanding and unsympathetic of the plight of these disabled people tried to overcome challenges in their daily life that normal people didn't were there.

She sat back down on the chair, as she resumed to observe the white speckles twinkling in the sky. "I had often wondered myself, what the world was like for people who weren't deaf or blind like me. I wanted to see it. I wanted to see it all by myself, what did they see around them."

The rabbit sat on the windowsill as it looked in the direction of where Helen stared. "People will take for granted the gifts that God had given them as they didn't suffer for them like I did, they don't understand the real value of these gifts. People who have missed out on receiving on God's gift, are the ones that understand the real significance of it." Back when she hadn't made a wish to Jubey, she had occasionally looked up to the night to see the stars; she saw sea of blackness with faint specks of white smudges along the background of the night. She had often pondered what the world was like; she could never see the fine detail that the scenery had to offer for her to see.

"Jubey…" The girl had pondered as she stared into countless stars littered across the sky, wondering if there was any limit to what people were potentially able to reach. "Is it possible for America to reach the stars and beyond it, I mean like visiting the heavenly bodies like Mercury or Venus. One day I want to visit God up there, I would love to talk him to thank him for returning my vision and hearing to me." If god were able to send down more of his messengers to grant the wishes of his children, then the major problems of the world would be cleanly solved without much of those complex aftermaths that had followed after the solution.

Jubey smiled brightly at the girl's curious nature of what had laid beyond her line of sight and possibly her comprehension of the universe in this time period. "I see why not, America is a young country that has plenty of potential. It takes many years for America to complete that journey to reach its full potential to be ripe for the taking. Patience is a priceless lesson, that is learnt not bought." Indeed, the experiences encountered during the journey would determine the path of the future.

She felt the pain thrashing everywhere from the inside and outside of her tiny body; the pain had threatened to rip apart her body to shred. Sweat had poured from her pain racketed body causing the bed sheets beneath her to become saturated with sweat.

She wanted to die to ease all her pains, as she lay tormented on the bed surrounded by her own sweat. She wanted the pain to stop tormenting her. But how could a small child understanding the meaning of suicide to ease ones' pain.

Her parents stood near the bed as they watched as the doctors tried to diagnose their daughter who laid on the bed in daze, having no coherent ideas as to who these people in her parents' bedroom or where she was at the moment.

Pain had filled her thoughts, leaving no more room for other concerns she would have had if she were not in so much pain with these strangers that had continued to prod her.

They tried to diagnose what illness had been inflicted on the young female infant who had contracted it at such a young age by using several non-intrusive methods.

She was in feverous state with temperature higher than thirty-seven degrees, beyond the normal human temperature; saliva had drooled out of the sides of her slightly opened mouth. Helping her into a sitting position so that they could properly examine her, one of the doctors had supported her up by holding both of his hands on the side of her back as the other doctor attempted to examine her.

He had gently plied her already opened mouth to open more wide so he could examine the state of the inside of her mouth and her throat.

Her sore throat had swollen up and was inflamed. Her tongue was bright red than normal with a white patch on the top middle of her tongue, which was shaped like a strawberry.

Her whole body was covered in red spots as if she had caught the chicken pox; her cheek was bright red while the area that was outside and around her mouth was pale and white.

She had groaned as the doctors were examining her, in the dimmed room of her parents.

As one of the doctor had shone his light from his torch into her eyes; she squirmed and grunted to move away from the source of blinding light that had irritated her eyes without having a clear idea where to go, as all she wanted to do was get away from that source of light.

The headache had bounded against her head like someone who used her head as anvil, it had broken any chain of thoughts she had into many fragments that was incomprehensible.

To see if the disease had affected the brain as well, the doctor attempted to move the girl's head around to see if it was flexible to follow the direction that he had tried steered her head. He found that her head had stubbornly resisted against at his attempts to move it in his own direction.

Packing up their equipment into bags that were labeled as being used and needed to be sterilizing for future on the later patients of the doctors. The doctors had come up to the parents of Helen.

"So doctors, have you found what kind of disease is effecting, my daughter." Bags had appeared under the eyes on both of the couple, the sheer of stress of looking after their infant had taken its toil on the couple. They couldn't get enough sleep with waking every now and then to check on their daughter.

"Dear Madam and Sir, from our diagnosis performed on her, we have founded out that she is suffering from the acute congestion of the brain and stomach." One of the doctors had reported from his physical examination on the girl.

Yet they weren't precisely sure what disease had the girl had caught. "However, we are not sure what is the precise disease that is inflicting your daughter at the moment, it maybe scarlet fever or meningitis. But there could be a possibility that it is a combination of these two diseases as mentioned."

Her parent wanted to be certain of what disease that the child had contracted so they could buy the right treatments for their daughter, so the mother couldn't accept this uncertain answer of the doctors. Still she held on to hope that the doctors could identify the disease, she want solid answers not wild guesses. "Doctor, how can you not be sure what disease that my child is suffering from?"

"Madam, there are many diseases that exist around the global that occasionally share the same symptoms with each other. On that occasion, it is even possible but very rare for a specialist doctor to misdiagnose the disease on their patient due its similarity to other diseases." The doctor explained to her, in basic term so she could understand.

The doctor held out a written note for the couple to take it from him. "I will give you the prescriptions to buy the necessary medicine for your daughter, I am sorry that we can't do much for her."

Years had passed, as Helen had survived from her ordeal from the depth of hell but carried the incurable scars of her survival through her childhood.

Helen had made gestures with her fingers as to how someone would drink a cup of water to the daughter of the family cook to get her a drink.

It took one gesture for little girl to understand what Helen meant; she had rushed to get a cup of water that Helen wanted to take a drink. The small girl had lived long enough in the house with her mother to understand what had Helen tried to communicate to her.

Despite seeing the world in murkiness and, she was able to make out the shape of the cup presented to her by the servant's daughter.

She thankfully took the cup from the servant and leaning the edge of ceramic cup on to the bottom of her lips to drink from the cup to quench her thirst.

Despite her disabilities and the fact society had labeled her as a damaged package that was liable to make more errors than a normal person.

She had still managed prevailed as the challenge of the daily life to find some sort of ways to communicate with the world.

Kate, Helen's mother sat with her husband at the table for lunch, she was thrilled as she couldn't wait to share her discovery with her husband from what she red in a book. "Arthur, there a successful case that is documented in a book where a deaf-blind person like Helen has been integrated has been into society."

"Really?" Her husbands had stopped sipping from his tea and place the cup on the table with a small clink. "Where did you hear this from?" He couldn't believe that there was a way to teach people were deaf-blind like his daughter. The public believed it was lost cause and a waste of time to integrate defective people like Helen back into society.

She placed the book on the table in front of her husband with a certain section bookmarked by a bookmark. "American Note written by Charles Dickens on the education of the Laura Bridgeman who is deaf and blind." She looked at her husband, determined to know his opinion on this.

Looking at the daughter gesturing commands to the kitchen cook's daughter. "I suppose we have to try something like giving her the education, she need in life." The family had nothing to lose from asking for help for their daughter, they were rich. It was better for Helen to integrate into society that looks down at her. Living a hollow life in your own house without any sort of communication and been cut off from the outside world was more of a terrible option than to receive unnecessary pity and looks of scorn from people, glancing at you.

Obstacles encountered in the daily life that were caused by disabilities could be solved by different solutions by relying the other senses of the body that were still working; people who were blind could hear words with their ears and people who were deaf could see with their eyes.

Being deaf and blind was a whole set of problems that demanded new solutions to be founded.

Helen couldn't understand what this Anne Sullivan had tried to communicate with her about as she held on to doll on one of her hands. It was gift from Anne to her, as she started to mentor Helen.

Anne Sullivan still gestured some words on her hand so much that Helen had reach the boiling point, she was frustrated what this lady had tried communicate to her. They done this activity repetitively to the point where Helen wanted to rip out her hair in frustration, this had gone nowhere and she couldn't understand anything this lady had tried to gesture with her hands.

She wanted a break from all of this practice; they had been sitting here for a long time. Her legs were starting to cramp up from sitting down too long without moving around.

Helen stood up from the chair and threw the doll in anger that Anne had given her as present across the room, which shattered against the wall with a loud crunch. The pieces of the doll fell down along with the doll itself on the ground, below the wall it had hit.

Anne sighed with her fingers touching her forehead in exasperation as she looked at the mug that stood in front of girl on the table.

Helen had realized something as she looked at her; her teacher had fingers of her right hand shaped into the letter 'w' as well as touching her mouth while her other hand was under the cold water that run from the tap, draining into the sink.

Anne had repeated this lesson repetitively, in hope that Helen would pick up what the gestures that she had made had meant.

She looked at her teacher's gesture then at the water running from the tap of the kitchen on to her teacher's hand.

The idea had sunk into her mind now she understood what it meant, what her teacher had tried to show her.

She quickly copied her teacher's gesture, showing that she understood it to the teacher who smiled at her out of being able to teach her student.

She pointed to bunch of snapdragons sitting in the vase on the table, gesturing that she wanted to know the gestures for those snapdragons.

Anne Sullivan and the rest of the family members had fallen asleep as Helen looked up the night in her room, trying to observe the stars but all she saw was faint white smudges.

"Hello, Helen."

Where did that strange sound coming from? It had sounded so clear like water and loud than any other sound she had heard in her entire life.

She wondered who had said that. Could it be was a fragment of her mind.

As she turned toward her bed, she saw white blur standing near a vase of purple snapdragon on the table. It looked like rabbit but she couldn't see it properly.

"I'm a jackalope, one of the many spirits created by God. I been sent down as a messenger of God to earth and I have heard your plight. Tell me a wish that you desired to be granted." A voice in her head had told her.

"Jubey." asked Helen as she looked up from reading a book as she sat on the couch as Jubey sat on table looking her.

"Yes." The rabbit said as it lay with its body stretched on the top of table in front of Helen.

Helen wanted to share the news of her recovery that she could see and hear again with Anne and her parents, made possible the miracle performed by this messenger of God. "Is possible for me to tell my parents that a miracle perform by the messenger of God has restored my hearing and sight?" Perhaps, she could help people with similar disabilities like her. She wanted to ask permission before she could announce to Anne and her parents that she could see and hear, after it was God's gift that blessed and cure her.

The rabbit looked solemnly at her, as if she uttered something blasphemous against God. "Helen, you shouldn't really tell about your parents about your restored sight and hearing. Remember the witch-hunts that took place in the past of North America, Europe and Africa and still are? Many innocent people along with their families were killed and hunted by the mobs that probably treated them less than how they would treat animals. After all, they were believed to have practiced to dangerous black magic by the general public. What make you think this won't happen to you?"

Helen was a little stunned at the question; that the cat had leveled at her. "Were those people like me who had their wishes granted by the spirits like you. Why would the public want hunt them? Didn't they receive blessings from God? I mean didn't they use magic for good of society?" Didn't these people make wishes to God for benefit for themselves and other around them? What had gone wrong there, the girl couldn't figure it out.

The rabbit looked at her, before turning its head to the window. "Witch-hunt can start for many reasons, the common ground is the belief that any negative impact on someone or people is usually caused by someone casting black magic. This is fuelled by the superstition of people's culture but can be used to cover the real reasons as to why people are targeted. Negative human emotions like envy and anger are strong motivator for people to commit these act." The lecture of the rabbit started to sip into the girl's mind. She wasn't aware of this problem; she lived in her own world.

Helen placed down the book she was reading on the table next to the rabbit, innocent people being used as scapegoat made her frowned in disgust. Where was the justice in that? "That is completely unjustified, they are just using innocent people as scapegoat for their own problem. Why can't we be allowed to use magic without being prosecuted to help other? God couldn't have let his messengers grant wish that could harm innocent people." God loved his children, didn't he? After all why would he send down his messenger to help people?

"Well, people are willing to find an easy solution to their problems, to alleviate their problem and fears." The rabbit had nodded in agreement with Helen. "It is much easy to get rid of people who are different from the rest of society. People who have disability like what you had who live in cultures where superstition run rampant are considered to be cursed by the demons and evil spirits." Helen frowned in response as her hands grasped the front part of her dress. She wasn't a damaged good; she could hold her own weight by herself.

The rabbit had opened the book that Helen had placed on the table with its paws and started flipping through the page of the book. "God can use magic to perform miracle, it considered to be blessing by the people. However for people to use magic, it is forbidden. It is sorcery. It is black magic."

The rabbit turned to look sincerely at her. "There are things that you won't believe that people will do. Religions along with their gods interpret by people are never perfect as they claim to be."

Codex: Incubator

A species of alien that is able grant the wishes of people.

They don't often stay in a static form, often varying in appearance in order to appeal to their contractee from appearing as normal humans, divine figures to mythical creatures to their own advantages.

Incubators can express a range of emotions, and can sympathies with their contractee. They can manipulate their wisher into contracting with them, using details from the person's problem, culture and religion, anything to make person listen to them.

They need to understand the role and view of the characters that they are playing to the contractee. Any deviations from the role character can cause people to become suspicious depending how well they are taught on the respective Holy Scripture.

An example of this, would be the incubators pretending to be divine figures in the holy places of worship to their contractee, causing the contractee to feel compelled to agree to the 'divine mission.' from massagers of god. Even the most devoted follower of their religion has been known to fall prey to this act.

However, Incubators are selective in the people, who they contract. Like people who are clinical diagnosed to be a sociopath, who have a mental condition called anti personality disorder. They are people don't stress much from daily life like normal human. Feeling devoid of emotions that they can't enjoy small things in life, so they go for manipulating people their irresistible charm.

While normal people have some kind of moral code that they stand by. Sociopath ignores this code for own interest. Not having any standard or limitation makes them harder to control, so very few uncontrollable people are contracted as an experiment.

Authors Note:

What Jubey is trying to explain to Helen is that it is hard for people to define what is the difference between the miracle used by God and magic (sorcery) used by other people, beside of being persuaded by other people's opinions.

Helen lives in small world, where she understands the problems that are caused by her disability. What she doesn't understand the other problems in the world due to the small world she lives in.

Those other problems like a complex parts of puzzle that need to observe in order to understand the complexity like just because you are a minority suppressed by the majority doesn't mean that you don't have your own problem like black supremacy or forced marriage in the caste system in India.

Like a pet bird in a cage, it wouldn't know to fend for itself if it is set free, as its owner is the one feeding food to it.

A canon magical girl from the anime is Joan of Arc, who was canonized as one of the saint of the Catholic Church; I wonder would she still be considered a saint, if she got her power from someone other than god assuming that the incubators could be considered to be demonic spawns from hell.

There are many saints from Catholic Church, I wonder if I should make them encounter the same predicaments with incubator as Joan did. (It would make their status, as saints at least questionable, being deceived by incubators into the incubator are massagers sent by God)

I wonder if you made a wish with an incubator, would the gods from different religions find it in their heart to be able to forgive you?

I would like to have constructive criticism for this fanfic and other fanfics on my profile.