The waiting hall of the Synarc Evaluation Center was filled with the quiet noise of nervous children and their parents. White lights reflected off polished floors, and rows of metal chairs stretched along the walls where families waited for their turn.
On the far wall, a television played the morning news. Most people ignored it. After all, today was far more important—for the children sitting in that room, this was the day that would determine their future.
In the world of Meridian Union, every citizen received their Synarc neural implant at the age of thirteen. The implant allowed the brain to resonate with Synarc particles in the atmosphere, giving people the ability to manipulate the world around them—heat, wind, water, even force itself.
The level of control varied from person to person. But the result of the test determined everything: education, career, status, and future.
Among the waiting children sat two neighbors who had grown up together.
Aurora Ling leaned forward in her chair, her long red hair hanging, bright eyes scanning the hall with excitement. Her hair was braided and tied loosely behind her head like a crown, and there was a restless energy in the way she bounced her leg.
Beside her sat Bumi Tiang with unkempt brown hair. Unlike Aurora, Bumi sat quietly with his hands clasped together, staring down at the floor. His shoulders were slightly hunched with the biggest possible frown.
Aurora glanced at him. "Hey, Bumi."
He looked up.
"What has that floor done to you?" she said with a grin.
Bumi gave a weak smile. "I'm just thinking."
"Think any harder, and the floor is going to crack with your death glare. " Aurora leaned back and crossed her arms confidently. "You worry too much."
Bumi leaned back, letting out an exhausted sigh.
"That's easy for you to say. You've always been good at everything. School, sports, competitions. Save some talent for me." He lets out a small chuckle. Bumi had always needed to try harder just to keep up with his peers, never excelling but not below average.
"Hey, that's not true! You're great at being average!" Aurora said playfully.
"Aren't you supposed to cheer me up?"
"I wanted to, but I thought teasing you would be funnier."
"—In other news," above them, the television news anchor grabs their attention. "Sources report that a senior employee of G-Inc is expected to hold a press conference tomorrow morning regarding internal company matters. The announcement has drawn attention from several regulatory authorities."
"Isn't that your parents?" Bumi asked.
"It is. Apparently, they are talking about some serious matters about great, great, great, great, great grandpa." Aurora says counting the amount of "great" in her statement.
"That's like five generations ago, no?"
"I think so? My dad always changed the topic when I asked anything abouty family; I gave up eventually even trying."
The receptionist called a name. "Aurora Ling."
Aurora immediately jumped to her feet. "That's me!"
She turned to Bumi and pointed at him confidently. "Don't run away while I'm gone."
Bumi chuckled quietly. "I'll try not to."
Aurora followed the technician through a sliding door and disappeared into the testing room. The minutes that followed felt longer than they actually were.
When the door finally opened again, Aurora walked out looking extremely pleased with herself. The technician behind her held a tablet, whispering something to another staff member.
"Exceptional neural resonance," the technician said quietly. "Highly compatible, and what's more is that it has great control over light."
Aurora stopped in front of Bumi and placed her hands on her hips. "Well?"
Bumi tilted his head. "Well, what?"
"Say something!" She demanded a slight frown.
"Uh...You're amazing?"
Aurora laughed, "Hahaha, keep the praises coming!"
"As expected of Aurora! The greatest!
"Mhmm."
"The most talented."
"Mhmmmmm."
"The cutest."
"Mhmm—wait, what—" Aurora's glee immediately turned into a blush. " What do you mean by the cute—"
"Bumi Tiang." The receptionist called out.
"That's me…" He stood up quickly and brisk-walked toward the testing room.
"Hey! You still haven't answered me!" Aurora cried out.
The room was colder than the waiting hall. Medical equipment lined the walls, and a reclining chair sat in the center.
A doctor gestured for him to sit. "Just relax," the doctor said calmly.
Bumi nodded as a small device pressed against the back of his neck. The scanner buzzed to life and began reading his neural patterns. Several screens flickered with data.
One technician frowned. "Resonance levels are… low… extremely low…"
Another technician adjusted the settings. "Try running the scan again."
The machines fired up again, with the same hum and buzz, but the test results did not change. The doctor looked at Bumi carefully.
"Mr. Tiang."
"Yes."
The doctor sighed quietly. "I'm afraid that means the Synarc implant would be unsafe for you."
Bumi blinked. "What do you mean by that?"
The doctor spoke gently. "You cannot receive the implant. Your body, your cells, will reject it. At best the implants become useless and get broken down; at worst… let's just say that you'd be lucky if you were comatose."
For a moment, Bumi could not process and comprehend words. In his mind, he was trying to gather his thoughts. No resonance means no implants, and no implants mean no Synarc control. In a world built on Synarc technology… That meant he would be below that of a human.
When Bumi returned to the waiting hall, Aurora immediately noticed his expression. "Hey… what happened?"
Bumi looked down. "They said I'm not compatible; I can't get the implant."
Aurora froze. "What do you mean?"
"I can't get the implant." Bumi repeats.
Aurora stared at him as if the idea itself didn't make sense. "I know you can't get the implants, but what do you mean by 'can't get the implants?'" "Do you need money? I can get Dad to help! Do you need another test?"
"Getting the implant could end me…" Bumi laughed quietly. "Apparently my cells interfere with the neural signals."
Aurora tried to fire back. "I'll—I—" but she knew that nothing could be done. For a few seconds, she said nothing. Then she stood up and grabbed his wrist.
"Ugh, come on. It is not like staying here will help you be more compatible. Plus, this room is going to kill me with boredom; the news keeps rambling on about policies and all this adult talk. I need some air."
They walked outside the building and sat on a low concrete wall overlooking the street. Cars moved below them, and tall buildings stretched toward the sky. They looked out over the city.
"If you can't use Synarc…" Aurora clenched her fist, punching the sky. "Then I'll just become strong enough for both of us."
Bumi looked at her. "What?"
Aurora turned to him, smiling. "I'll become the strongest Synarc user in Shin Tamasek."
"How does that help?"
"If you stay by my side," she continued. "I can credit you for all my accomplishments, and no one would dare look down on my sidekick!"
"Your what?" Bumi tries to clarify but is stopped when he sees Aurora smile. Letting out a sigh, he could only respond with, "Whatever you want."
Then she extended her pinky toward him. "Promise me this: We will always have each others back."
Bumi hesitated before taking her pinky. "What if we end up on different paths?"
"Don't be silly. I'm going to be the strongest Stnarc users to help people! As long as we are helping the world, we will always be on the same path." Aurora responds with glee.
Later that night, the city sirens began. Red and blue lights flashed across the quiet streets of the residential district. Police drones hovered above a large house surrounded by yellow tape.
When Bumi and Aurora arrived at the street corner, they saw the crowd of officers first.
Aurora sprinted. "That's… my house."
They ran closer but were stopped by an officer. "This area is restricted."
Aurora looked past him toward the house. "What happened?"
The officer hesitated. "I'm not allowed to share the details."
"That's my house!" Aurora tried to explain.
"And I own half the estate." He replies sarcastically and out of annoyance. "Miss, I can't just tell you what's going on just based on what you say—"
Aurora takes out her identification card, pointing at her address.
Immediately the mood changes. The once stern face of the officer softened with sorrow, his voice with sympathy. "Miss Ling… There's been a case of unauthorized overclocking leading to synapse psychosis."
Aurora felt her stomach drop.
The officer knelt down slightly so he was at eye level. "The Synarc psycho killed 2 people before succumbing to his injury..."
Aurora's voice trembled. "Is my parents…?"
The officer didn't answer immediately, but the silence was enough.
"Preliminary reports indicate a Synarc-overclocking incident…" an Investigator walked up and spoke to the two. "…The suspect is believed to have exceeded safety limitations using illegal stimulants… his intention is still unknown."
"WHO?" Aurora questioned. "Who would do such a thing?"
"I'm not allowed to disclose this to the public," the investigating officer replied. "However, since you are the victim's child… but I must inform you that the images you are about to see are just a recreation of the Synarc psycho's face. It's not his actual face, as the current state of his body is… not in one piece."
Aurora nodded while trying to stop the tears from running down her face.
"In that case, my preparator looks like this. His name is—"
"Dad?" Bumi cuts off the officer, his world stood still, unchanging.
Aurora slowly turned to look at him. Her expression was that of utter horror. To them, they knew that the promise they had made that morning suddenly felt very far away.