Mike managed to get to work on time Monday, which proved fortunate given the sudden influx of work. After the morning rush, he joined Srinivas for a quick lunch at an Indian buffet and then returned to finish out his work day. They had to continue slightly past their normal quitting time. Due to the rush hour traffic, Mike decided to grab sushi for dinner downtown. After paying, he counted the cash remaining from what Marius had paid him. Less than two hundred dollars remained.
Back at the apartment, he met up with Varanelli to hitch a ride. They were the first to meet Marius at the fountain of Point Park. Srinivas appeared next and a short time later Spencer arrived.
"That's everyone," Marius said.
"Everyone?" Mike looked around. "Where's Jimmy?"
"He attuned as a noetic today, so he will not be joining us." Marius looked around at the four remaining members of the group. "Tonight's trial is not to disappoint me. Take a seat on the fountain."
They sat in a line, Varanelli on the one end, then Srinivas, then Spencer, then Mike. Marius went down the line, starting at Varanelli, and poked each of them on the forehead. Mike felt the whisper of power start and expire in seconds. Marius stepped back to Varanelli and began the process again. Then again.
Spencer was the first to speak. "How long are we doing this?"
"Until everyone has achieved success or failure. I'm playing a numbers game. Another week of private lessons would improve your chances a bit, but not enough for it to be worth my time. I need both quality and quantity for my efforts here to be worth anything." Marius went down the line several more times before offering any instruction. "When you feel the initial phase of attunement begin, try to feel for all three precursors. Don't let yourself be limited to a single talent."
As if on cue, gravitas began to taunt him. Mike clenched his teeth together and called up animas to hold it at bay. The two precursors repulsed one another and vanished.
Another charge. The dance repeated itself with the approach of gravitas followed by animas chasing it away. Another charge. This time animas roared to life, bringing him closer to attunement than he had ever been. Mike called for gravitas, but the precursor that had harassed him so often failed to respond. Before animas could take hold, Marius poked his forehead and a surge of all three precursors reset him.
Breathing hard, Mike fought off the advances of animas by turning to nous, which made its presence known in a shy fashion, holding itself at bay, coming just close enough to prevent animas from blinding him to all other power. And a touch from Marius paused the battle. As the next charge expired, Mike fumbled toward nous and held the still power at a distance, preventing the onslaught of anything else.
"I want you to think about how my charge feels. The blending of all three into a single entity. You can't succeed at melding three separate powers together, you have to attune to a single, chaotic blend."
Again and again, Mike fought to retain a precarious balance, not giving too much of himself to any one of the precursors. Time passed. A lot of it.
Spencer slapped both hands to her face and whispered "no, no, no, no" to herself until Marius had her move away. A little while later, Srinivas slumped in defeat and moved to join her, leaving only Mike and Varanelli to face the ministrations of Marius. Then Varanelli released a torrent of curses and Mike sat alone before Marius.
"How about another thousand dollars, Mike?"
He brought in animas to chase away gravitas once more, then had to call for nous in desperation as the two other precursors raged at the restraints he placed on them. "Sure thing, boss. I'll give your money a good home."
"Give me a win and the money is yours. I need this just as much as you."
"I'm already a thousand percent motivated. If you have any words of wisdom they would be very much appreciated."
"Keep fighting. When the mind is exhausted, it's easier to see how the three blend. And if you do see them together . . . pull with everything you've got."
So the game continued. Off to the side, Varanelli and Srinivas and Spencer talked among themselves. They made to leave at one point, but Marius informed them that they were not free to go. The fountain grew cold beneath him and his back hurt from hunching forward. But the worst of it was his mind. His mind felt like he had been awake for days and constantly performing mental arithmetic. The beginnings of a monstrous headache lurked in his sinuses, held at bay by the sheer exhaustion suffocating him.
Mike couldn't see the precursors blending in any way. The most he could manage was to constantly cycle through the three of them. Gravitas would attack, so he would bring in animas to fend it off, then animas would get too close and he would grasp at nous to make that go away. But, of course, as soon as that happened gravitas would come at him again, sensing his weak connection to the mind power precursor. He began ascribing distinct personalities to all three of them. Gravitas was a glutton who couldn't control his appetites. Animas was a raging lunatic who wanted to fight everyone. And nous was a shy, whiny punk who wouldn't listen to anyone. They were all assholes, that much was obvious.
The charges from Marius became less frequent. On occasion, his instructor would tell him the time. One in the morning. Two thirty. Three. By that point, the others had gone to sleep on park benches, leaving only Mike and Marius to stand vigil as three powers fought over his mind.
As Mike jerked awake after a momentary transition to sleep, he suddenly saw a solution for merging gravitas and nous. In that moment, he knew without a doubt that he could take both of them with the slightest effort. The exhaustion and the cold and the hard seat and the frustration all pushed him to take that compromise and give up.
Aw, hell no, he thought.
Digging deep, Mike called forth animas to do battle with its siblings. The raging lunatic that was animas held back as if afraid to accept his challenge. Mike focused on it, forcing it closer.
Marius reached his finger out to poke him on the forehead once more and Mike swatted it away. Brow drawn down in concentration, Mike forced away all three precursors until his mind went blank.
In that emptiness, he lashed out into the darkness to seize something he couldn't see but knew had to be there. A wildly chaotic jumble of power filled him to the brink in an instant. He had attuned.
Barely able to remain conscious in the aftermath of his efforts, Mike teased free precursor to see what he had gotten. Animas leapt out of the mix to form a corona about himself. That's one. He seized onto the core of power and his muddled mind grew in scope as memes of pride scattered to fill the park. Two. In a rush of triumph, Mike pulled free a thread of gravitas and slammed a hammerfist down on the fountain, sending cracks through the concrete. Three.
"Yes!" Marius seized him by both sides of his head, fingers digging in painfully. The man pulled Mike forward to kiss his forehead. "Yes! Yes, Mike! Yes!"
Mike felt the wild power in the core of his mind and smiled. "Hey, boss, how about that money?"
The laughter of Marius filled the park. "You earned it, my friend. Let's wake the others."
