RBR Chapter 10 School

The sound of his cutlery working on the food brought him joy even as grumblings filled his mind. He was back to being in full control of his arms, and more food had been served by Lisa.

The grumblings were music to his ears. Finally, he had managed to come to an agreement with his cells. 'Food was meant to be savored', what a wonderful phrase! Lisa had sagely thrown out such a line, causing his cells to settle down. Of course, it wasn't that simple, they must have glimpsed the advantage in tasting the food, but that didn't stop them from pushing thoughts loaded with dissatisfaction into his mind.

"Mother, what did you mean when you spoke before? It was like you were speaking to something, or someone else." Elec took this time to seek the satisfaction of his curiosity. 

Eric didn't mind about the question as his mind was simply occupied by the new and foreign flavors that wonderfully melded within his mouth. It was pure euphoria, with the cells themselves literally shivering in happiness. He knew his cheeks were colored red, a hue brought upon by the activity of his body. Surpressing the moans he would have released by chugging food into his mouth was a very troublesome task.

"Boy, have you been studying properly? What do I take you to school for?" Lisa's eyes became piercing, causing Elec to shrink back into his chair, probably berating himself within his mind for seeking death himself.

Eric had instantly deduced that studying probably wasn't the boy's strong suit. 

'Studying, school...'

His eyes lit up. An idea had just presented itself.

"Can I go to this educational institution too?" He asked with eagerness.

"I thought you knew everything and therefore, had no need." Lisa gave him a sceptical look.

"The cells taught me when I was unconscious, but it was mostly science subjects...besides, It would do me good to hang out with a few peers." 

"Interesting thought. Sure! Why not!"

"Hah! Mom! How can you allow this? He can't be seen in public! He's..."

'...resemblance to me will cause too many problems for me.' Eric finished within his mind by reading his expression.

"There is absolutely no need for you to panic. You can just tell all those curious that he is your long lost twin brother or something." Lisa's expression made it so that it was final. Elec, who had stood up in rage, pushed back his chair and sprinted out the room.

"...teenagers! So, why do you really want to go to school?" She directed an intense look his way. She didn't want him to lie or give a half hearted answer.

"I want information. What I want appears to be confidential to non awakeners...but surely some of it must have slipped the net." He decided to be honest. Since he was going to be living within this house, he had to at least give the people within a minimum of respect.

"Why do you really want information?"

He couldn't possibly reveal that. His cells had already warned him. Secrecy was the name of the game. Since they adamantly refused to reveal anything about his body, he wanted to see whether he could extrapolate an idea of what he was from the kind of information he was seeking.

"I can't say. But, don't worry. It won't cause any problems." He said even as his hand brought another piece of delicious food to his mouth.

"You should be very very careful with your information gathering. It would be better if no one gains an inkling of what you are. Actually, those cells of yours should never ever reveal their autonomy in the public. Here we have strict procedures to deal with rampagers. You will be sentenced to death the moment that is revealed."

A serious warning worth taking into account. He was sure his cells had heard, after all, they did share the ears. Also, they wouldn't dare jeopardize the experiment. No matter how powerful they could make his body, there was simply no way they could take on six, possibly more people on the same level as that man, Baguma.

He had felt it in his presence. The cells had momentarily shivered, a sign that they currently weren't equipped to take on the man, let alone the entire city.

"I will heed your words."

-----

"I would have liked you to pretend that you don't know me, but that won't be possible, will it?"

That was Elec. The next day had dawned upon Eric's life. The time was 6am, closing in on 7am. The two were in the back of a levitating sedan, levitating! That alone had caused giddy excitement within him. He had known of the vehicle's existence from the cells' descriptions, but that still didn't beat seeing it in person.

"We are just too alike, just that my eyes are darker." He said to the boy, seated on his right. The car was also apparently self driving, everything managed by an AI! This world couldn't get any more interesting!

"Yes, the resemblance truly is uncanny. Why did my father have to take my cells and put them within you?" Elec lamented.

"You aren't really worried about our resemblance...that is minor. What are you really worried about?" Eric wanted to know why the boy hated him. It was stewing with Elec. His eyes weren't just filled with hate, but worry too, as if he was a thief having appeared to take away his most precious thing. He hadn't the slightest idea what.

"My father hasn't named me his official successor."

That answer allowed Eric to connect all the dots, finely gaining a picture on why he was hated.

"I don't really care for authority. Its just illusory power. Is that really what makes you want to keep your distance?" He asked in puzzlement. The cells had implanted an idea that only the strongest survive in the outside world. Why on Earth would he want to rule weaker beings instead of pushing himself to become stronger? He already had a worry that he might be taken over, his brain killed someday. Why would he want to burden himself more?

"It looks like your eyes aren't lying, but I will keep an eye on you. I won't believe you that easily." Elec said in skepticism.

"Our pursuits and goals are far to different from each other. You will come to believe that in the future." Eric said while looking out the window at the streets.

It was entrancing, the scene of many people. Being a boy who had essentially been locked within his mind the day before made it so that even the simple satisfaction he gained from watching the pedestrians was comforting. Teens hovering on boards, chatting with their friends as they made for school...adults, warmly covered up as they hurried to wherever they were heading...all these served to give him a hint of anticipation. Was school going to be interesting? What kind of characters was he going to meet? He couldn't wait.

"My mother said something about your cells being intelligent. What was that about?"

The question caused him to frown. The outside scenery had been more engaging than the inside of this car. He didn't want to speak, but as courtesy, he had to at least be polite, right? He lived with the boy. It would be a good idea if he befriended him.

"You study...so you must know of what ended the Quantum Age, right?" That information had been easily accessible from the internet last night.

"Yes, some mad scientist unleashing something that caused the cells to mutate or something...I don't particularly pay attention during history." 

Eric had the urge to sigh. This boy must have been pampered. This was widely known information. How could he not have connected the dots?

"The cells didn't simply mutate and evolve spontaneously. It was spurred by the fact that they developed a weak connection between themselves...you could call it a sort of collective consciousness.."

His mind slipped back to last night. It had been somewhat shocking to him upon learning that the cells had been locked in a perpetual war with the brain ever since they had gained intelligence, which still begged the question...why did they go dormant within the people? Could it have been related to the brain's evolution? Or could it have been related to something else?

"I have never met anyone whose cells could move without their control...can I designate you as mildly dangerous, or should I treat you with extreme caution?" Elec's question caused a tension to arise within the air between them.

Eric pondered over the question. Would he really be able to hold his body back if it ever decided to, let's say, get the urge to murder the boy next to him? 

Beads of sweat appeared on his forehead as the temperature within his internal being rose. He hadn't considered such a possibility until the boy had asked, causing it to stare him in the face.

Last night, he had only managed to negotiate with them to regain control of his arms. What if one day negotiations were impossible?

The fear of this unknown caused every thought of anticipation and excitement to vanish from his mind, leaving behind only those of bleakness and uncertainty over the future.

"Don't struggle. I am pretty sure my parents wouldn't have allowed your existence if they truly had no way to stop you."

Those words caused a shiver down his spine, his teeth chattering at the image of that blue ball of electric arcs in his mind.

'A slave! A dog on a leash! Who would want that?' He wanted to really scream out loud, but held back, instead opting to take a deep breath, deciding to simply pass the drive to school by looking out the window. Elec had more questions and chat topics, but he simply decided to ignore the teen this time.