Tag: collective thinking

Chapter

Warning: Artifact DetectedWarning: Artifact Instantiation Anomaly Detected

by Tower Curator — Dyna’s back hit hard against the hotel kitchen’s cupboards. Her chest violently rose and fell as she took in breath after breath. Sounds of footsteps had her tightening her grip on the compact pistol. Reaching into her evening gown, she pulled out her mirror. Each of the two lenses showed off different perspectives. Two different people were watching her. With her back to the kitchen island, they couldn’t see her directly, but it was enough for the mirror to work. One of the perspectives came from…
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Chapter

Butterflies

by Tower Curator — “How is Ruby?” Dyna looked over to the sole bed in their cheap motel. Sitting atop the quilted faded floral covers, Ruby laid on her back with her hands pressed against her eyes. Her face wasn’t quite back to normal yet, but it was at least bearable to look at. She mumbled something under her breath over and over again. Leaning a little closer, Dyna frowned. “I’m not going to kill him. That would fail the mission. I’m not going to kill him. That would fail the mission. I’m not…
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Chapter

Measure of Success

by Tower Curator — “So,” Dyna said, handing over a pen that hadn’t existed an hour ago. “What do you think?” “You get me out of isolation just to show me this?” Ruby asked, looking distinctly unimpressed. “It isn’t even a nice pen.” “I am sorry about that, Ruby,” Walter said, arms crossed over his vest. “Things have been… hectic.” “Oh, I understand. You get a fancy new artificer and forget about me,” Ruby huffed, glaring through the shielded glass. Mel sat on the other side,…
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Chapter

Mountain Man

by Tower Curator — Dyna had been seeing a therapist, Doctor Bellows, for the past several months. Once a week with a few exceptions ever since the mirror became a proper artifact. The sessions were fairly relaxed, though they did have a goal. Two, actually. For one, she was supposed to work on her self-esteem issues, which Dyna thought she had mostly under control. Coming to the Carroll Institute with no demonstrable psychic ability had sent her mental state into a spiral of self-defeating despair. That, she thought, she…
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Chapter

Emergency Planning

by Tower Curator — The good news was that Dyna’s arm had not broken. Dislocated, yes, but not broken. The doctors reset it. It still hurt like hell and had swelled up a bit, but at least she didn’t have weeks or months of sitting in a cast to look forward to. Which was more than could be said for poor Hematite. Dyna still wasn’t sure what had happened there. With her luck and the stories Dyna had heard about the precog, she figured Hematite should be able to walk away from anything unscathed. But perhaps her…
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Chapter

Therapy Session

by Tower Curator — Dyna watched with a wince as a wooden letter block slipped out of Hematite’s grip. Hematite ground her teeth together, stilled and took a deep breath, then tried again. Her arm shook and her eyes were filled with concentration, but she managed to stack the block on top of another. The moment of victory crashed down along with the tower of blocks as Hematite’s thumb nicked the edge of another block as she tried to pull back from the tower. Hematite slumped over, sighing to herself. She stared down at…
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Chapter

Calm Before the Storm

by Tower Curator — Ruby stepped outside the station wagon, moved around back, and opened up the same weapon-filled case that Dyna had seen Emerald get into. “I know you… forgot your gun,” Ruby said, reaching inside to pull out a small pistol. “We’ll have to train more. You’re still not comfortable carrying it around.” “I don’t even have a permit or license or whatever,” Dyna said. It wasn’t a strong protest. There just wasn’t any point in arguing. With Ruby here and the case of weapons at her…
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Chapter

Paranormal Investigation

by Tower Curator — “Where is Hematite going to die? How is Hematite going to die? When is Hematite going to die?” Each question brought with it a scratching noise as the rough felt under the planchette slid across the larger board. Some questions Dyna asked got definite answers. Where was Hematite going to die? Central Park. Presumably a park in or near Idaho Falls and not the famed park in New York. The latter was a bit too far away to fit within the time scale of when Hematite was going to die. Two…
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Chapter

Countdown

by Tower Curator — Dyna had a problem. Lots of problems, actually, including several that she probably didn’t even know about. But this particular problem was obvious and cumbersome. Encumbering, one might say. Artifacts came in all shapes and sizes, as long as the artifact could be considered a single object. A pocket watch was made of many parts, but all those parts made just a watch in the end. Dyna’s mirror consisted of a case, two reflective lenses, and a camera lens, yet it was still just a spy mirror. Ruby’s…
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Chapter

Tick-Tock

by Tower Curator — Having Emerald back changed a few things in Dyna’s life. Training sessions were rougher. More intense. Dyna had no idea how she would have kept up were it not for the multitude of gadgets that she was cycling through. Before Emerald left for Korea, she had participated in training. At the time, she must have been going easy. Either that or she was especially upset about taking a paintball to the face. It was hard to tell. Emerald almost perpetually had a serene smile on. Ruby acted differently as…
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