Condition Evolution 4 by Kevin Sinclair (parable of the sower read online .txt) 📗

Age: 31 GY

Transcendence Level: 108

Strength: 220/1000

Agility: 75/1000

Speed: 108/1000

Intelligence: 10/1000

Constitution: 221/1000

Wisdom: 5/1000

Mental Resilience: 122/1000

Mental Clarity: 100%

Potential: 99%

“Correct me if I’m wrong, but the scores for Intelligence and Wisdom don’t look particularly inspiring,” I remarked.

Fiekela laughed again. “That is of little concern. It is merely a side effect of your memory loss and will recover quickly. Soon you are to be one of the best trained beings in the galaxy.”

“Thanks… I think. Sounds a bit exhausting, but okay. There's something else that keeps playing on my mind,” I stated, causing five heads to snap around. Ten eyes looked at me with some intensity. It made the whole thing uncomfortable.

“Hey, you know what, it doesn't matter.”

“No, please ask,” Fiekela said overeagerly. I could feel an air of tension spring up, hinging on my response.

“It’s just… well, you’re all much taller than me. Why am I so short?”

“Oh,” Fiekela responded. The air of tension disappeared, quickly replaced by one of amusement.

“We are not really sure why you are short. Perhaps it is an effect of your high Potential.”

I just shrugged. Any answer was as good as the next.

Fiekela continued, “For the rest of the day you are to return to your abode where we will give details of the training agenda for the coming days.”

“Okay, I need to get my head around this. Do I... uhm know anybody?”

“Why yes, you know all of us here and others through the village. You are well liked. In time you will reacquaint yourself with everyone, reforge old bonds, so to speak.”

“Oh, I look forward to it,” I said. Though I didn’t mean it. I didn’t feel particularly comfortable around these people I was supposed to know. I had an overwhelming sense that there was something that they were not telling me.

“Come, we will leave your Mindscape and allow you to become familiar with your quarters,” Fiekela instructed.

Everyone returned to Normal-State. Fiekela stood up immediately, making his way over to me. “Come, Vakuna,” he ordered simply before walking off.

I looked at the other four council members. I only knew Galivea’s name, but I didn’t feel compelled to find out the others’. They looked at me like an object. Rising from the seat on stiff legs, I followed him silently from the hall, taking everything in with rapt attention. I needed to take in as much as I could to fill this empty void inside my mind. We left the building, coming out onto a street filled with other small detached buildings. Following the tall man, we headed past several buildings until we arrived at a turning connecting that street to another. We silently walked down one side of the street, past quaint houses with lush meadow over the other side.

When we came to a stop, Fiekela gestured. “This will be your house, for you alone,” he announced proudly as we entered. He guided me briefly around a lounge room, a kitchen, bathroom and bedroom. Then he looked at me expectantly.

I wasn’t sure what emotion I was expected to show, so I just smiled and said, “Thank you.”

“Do you wish to acclimate yourself to your new home, or do you wish to begin training?”

Despite not being entirely comfortable with Fiekela, I didn’t feel like being alone with my empty head either. “I'm not tired and I’m comfortable enough to begin the training. It can only help to bring me closer to uncovering my identity.”

“It most certainly will, Vakuna. We have brought the most prodigious minds together to develop your regimen, and we are expecting momentous results. I must admit, I am quite excited to witness your journey of development. You are all but a blank slate, with the Potential to become the closest to an Aakmaat that has ever been known.”

While I couldn’t fully comprehend what was happening here, the fact that he said I could be developed from a blank slate didn’t sit well with me. A host of strange words I knew I shouldn’t say came unbidden into my mind. I shied away from them, but thought more about what he’d said. It was true that I needed to gain some kind of perspective, but I had to make sure I wasn’t being manipulated too much by these people. Hopefully, whatever memories I had lost would return in time, but if they didn’t, I knew, without doubt, I wanted to be whoever I was and not whoever these people thought I should be. I let it go for now so as not to cause tension, and instead asked a different question. “What’s an Aakmaat?” I asked, more sharply than I intended.

He didn’t seem to mind, answering easily as we made our way back out of the small house. “An Aakmaat, my dear fellow, is what you might consider a god; omnipotent, immortal, all-knowing. We believe they are the architects of our universe.”

I had to take a few seconds to gather my thoughts, but before I managed a response, he spoke again. “The unit we have set up for you is not far away. Please don’t be too shocked by what we have devised. It won't be nearly as torturous as it may first appear.”

Having no context for his statement, I just nodded and followed. Soon we arrived at yet another small building closer towards the main street. Inside was sparse, and there were no dividing walls. The room we entered encompassed the entirety of the building with only one large cupboard in the corner. I suppose it could have been a toilet, but as Fiekela headed directly toward it, I assumed that was unlikely. The door opened up to reveal a well-lit void in the floor. I looked down. It was deep, though I could make out the bottom.

“What now, then?” I asked.

“We go down, Vakuna. For now, allow me to assist you down, but soon you will be able to make it back out using your own abilities.”

I felt Fiekela’s presence engulf me. My stomach lurched when my feet suddenly lifted from the ground. I realized