Kindling - Sensory overstim

The first of many fragments.

Jenny Homan

Nov 28, 2023

Hi everyone.

Remember I muttered a little last time about not jinxing a milestone… Well, it happened!

This is a huge -

Thank you

- to each and every one of you! And a special thanks to my dear friend

Joseph Wiess

for the perfect suggestion, from now on, unless someone objects, I will call you guys,

Sparks!

Just by the way, this was thrown together in a hurry, so please forgive the typos.

I know today it’s Tuesday, and I’m late. Believe me, I am acutely aware of the fact because I’m missing my fix of notifications on that little bell, but I don’t have anything ready for you today.

And I hate that!

My life has suddenly become so busy and cluttered that I can no longer maintain my routine and it drives me crazy!

Routine is everything to me, it’s what keeps me sane. Without it, the embers in my bottle get ANGRY and start to burn faster and hotter than usual, things start to slip and I have trouble prioritizing what’s important and it’s like if just ‘one more thing’ goes wrong, I’m going into meltdown! UGH!!! The ore (that’s what I like to think my memory is made of) melts down and in the end, all that is left is slag and and i have to rebuild the fire from scratch.

I am hoping we will be able to return to our regular programming soon, okay, enough excuses, but I really am sorry, and I want to make it up to you all.

So today I am giving you some Kindling, if I may borrow the concept from

Nathan Slake

’s Fragments of Precipice. More than worth a look if you have the time (which I seem to sorely lack these days, unfortunately.)

This Kindling is not officially part of BE, or at least not this version. It is part of this world we are in, and it relates to our favorite little girl, but it takes place in the ambiguous ‘before.’ I’m not really sure where it fits in, or if it fits in at all.

Pending its reception, I might consider making these fragments a more regular appearance. But be prepared that they will be random, in no logical order, and with little context, because they are pretty much just the random bits of inspiration that get the embers started.

It has been many many years since I have actually considered this story a ‘book’ because I never really thought that it would ever become one but I suppose, that hope has been rekindled now. I think this one fits in somewhere in what I am starting to think of as Book Two, which tells the story from the Teleran side, which I will tease you with some more as we get a little closer to the end of Book One (we are almost halfway now - wink wink.)

So without further ado:

"Jenina!?" Teag called angrily, walking with a will into the third dingy little lab in what had thus far proved a disappointing search for his student.

"She can't hear you, Sir." A voice, smooth as silk, uttered softly from a dark corner behind a screen. Teag spun around hastily almost missing James and regarded him irritably. Teag was disgusted by everything about the man right down to the greasy brown hair hanging before his tired myopic eyes.

“This session should have ended hours ago.” He growled taking a step back, closer to the door.

"She's in sensory overstim," James explained as if it were supposed to mean something to the blonde buff trainer. Teag crossed his arms, regarding the kneeling little girl suspiciously, her soiled clothes and loose hair a tangled mess. He hated it when the Mind Smith let her get so disheveled, but it couldn’t be helped. The man listened to no one, and his experimentation sometimes lasted days. It was a pity he was so effective, and couldn’t be got rid of.

"See the moth?" James asked smugly, indicating the tiny insect flying in a circle a few centimeters from the girl's nose. His hand was shaking slightly. Teag grimaced. Pathetic druggie. Teag had long known James was on Masso, but he never thought the idiot was stupid enough to get addicted.

"That is the only thing that exists in her mind at this moment. She can see the dust molecules that cling to the scales on its wings. The colored spots and lines are so intense that they are leaving streaks in the wake of their movement and the black bands on the body swallow all the light that falls on them.” James’ tone was close to whimsical. Full of himself. Teag thought observing his student as her Mind Smith explained the extent of her situation.

The five-year-old girl was squatting in a square of blue light in the middle of the lab, completely unrestrained, but immobile, staring up at the black and orange butterfly as if it were a god.

James closed his eyes, looking pleased with himself and muttering something about adjusting her input a smidge, to include some infrared and ultraviolet on the spectrum. Jenina blinked a few times as drool dribbled down her bottom lip. Not quite perfect. Teag thought, clenching his fists as he resisted the urge to wipe his own chin in sympathy.

"She seems utterly subdued." Teag mused aloud, marveling at how still his usually boisterous student seemed. The Smith must have worked her to exhaustion.

"Oh yes, Sir.” James perked up immediately, “Jenina is totally entranced by the sight of that insect to the exclusion of all else."

"And if the bug flies away?" Teag asked wryly.

"Not possible," James stated matter of factly, reaching out a hand towards the moth as if to call it to him.

The expression on Jenina's face changed from blissful to concerned, and then the insect, which had been fluttering lazily in a narrow circle, started to move erratically.

Jenina grimaced as James slowly pulled his fingers into a fist. The moth hovered frantically flapping its patterned wings and then paused mid-air, entirely motionless. Jenina's hands which had been hanging limply at her sides flew to her head and her mouth opened in a silent scream as the moth suddenly exploded with a tiny pop, and then she collapsed, twitching violently within the blue square.

James turned to Teag, "In sensory overstim, the stimulus is used as a focus. With her super-augmented sight, Jenina perceived the death of that insect with such intensity that it might as well have been her own, but the stimulus was the only thing keeping her sight concentrated. When it disappeared, there was nothing left to keep the environment from flooding her senses and overloading her mind, causing it to reset itself by seizing. Damn, I’ll have to undo that last augment. It was almost perfect.”

"And what is the point of this?" Teag asks irate.

"In short, sensory perception and refinement. In battle one must be able to follow your enemy's movement and even the slightest weight shift can serve as a warning - any opening to be exploited. I can make her able to see that, right down to heat signatures and air currents!" James exclaimed getting more passionate with each syllable. Teag shook his head and turned round.

"Have her ready for practice in an hour. Make sure she’s clean and tidy that loose hair, it’s a hazard," Teag ordered as he stalked away to the sound of James' maniacal cackling.

Thanks for reading! As always, the easiest way to ensure you never miss an installment is to click here:

It’s completely FREE! Also, interacting and engaging with you guys on anything to do with this story is one of the best parts of my week. I promise I would genuinely LOVE to know what you think so far, please feel free to:

Bottled Embers

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