The Quantum Games

Chapter Seven

“Diversity of thought is the spark that ignites innovation.” - Coach Williams.

Emy & Nadia

“Okay, time for the truth. Did you know I was in your English class before the Games?” Nadia confronted Emy with a smile as they made their way to the mini-arena in the center of the Hangar.

“Did you have any idea I was on the soccer team?” Emy shot back with a grin.

“Yes. I watched every game and every practice. You played goalie, and Trish was a midfielder. You took practice very seriously, while Trish, well, not so much. I admired that even as a goalkeeper, which some might find boring due to the lack of action, you were always engaged. You were always moving, always in the right position, always trying to predict the next move or pass. Trish, on the other hand, seemed to stay in the same spot.”

“Oh,” Emy quickly retracted her sarcastic humor, realizing Nadia knew more about her than she knew about Nadia. “I’m sorry, Nadia…”

“No, no, don’t be sorry. I was just joking.” Nadia deflated a bit.

“Don’t you dare take that back; you clearly won. I’m just a bit embarrassed, that’s all. You mean so much to me now, and I knew nothing about you.”

“It’s okay, I…” Nadia started, but Emy cut her off again.

“You know, I can remember every play of every game my senior year of high school? Every pass, every play, every player on the opposing team. Even in my first year of college, it’s easy to picture the players’ faces, reactions, and skills. It’s like when I was playing sports, my mind just locked in. We were playing a game, I had a goal, and everything just clicked…”

“That’s quite incredible…” Nadia responded.

“I’m sorry, that wasn’t meant to be a brag. I guess I’m trying to say that I wish I had played against you or seen you in that light before… School, class, really anything outside of sports, and hanging with James at his parents’ house was a struggle for me.”

“I get that… I don’t think you would have liked me either,” Nadia admitted.

“Oh?”

“I shut people out. I think you’ve heard my nursing story by now or at least have an idea of what happened, but what you don’t know is who I became after that incident.” Nadia paused, questioning why she had been opening up so much lately, but she pushed that aside. “I went into a dark place.”

Emy stared silently at Nadia, recognizing that this might be the first time they had directly talked about something other than hero stuff.

“I disconnected from friends, pushed away the remnants of my family that still supported me, and sought ways to cope… Fun was hard to come by. The further I separated myself from the things I loved, the further I moved away from the things that made me feel something… Besides a few teachers, Will was the only one who challenged me and pushed me to talk. Trust me, I shut the door and tried my best to separate myself from him, but he had a way of finding his way back into my life. Anyways, I get it. Having your safe space, moving forward with what you know, and just trying to survive.”

The two stood in silence for a bit before they entered the arena. Emy started to smile. “Come to think of it, I’m glad we didn’t meet back then.” Emy laughed, confusing Nadia beside her. “We were kind of a mess. We would have hated each other.” Emy finished with a giant smile, and Nadia immediately joined in with a laugh and a small snort.

“Well, that was new!” Emy looked at Nadia. “Did you just snort?”

“No.” Nadia covered her face. “I don’t snort.”

“Yeah, and Will doesn’t like talking… My ass, you didn’t.” Emy joked as they both went inside the arena, filling the area with laughter.

As the translucent walls were erected around them, Nadia started the conversation again. “I actually have a few ideas this time if you don’t mind talking through them with me.”

Emy was taken aback and a bit proud of Nadia’s newfound openness. “Always… I have a few ideas myself, but it’s all theory at this point. It would be good to hash it out.”

“Do you think all Skills are interconnected?” Nadia asked, pausing to gather her thoughts. “I mean, you’re a Generalist, right? In my head, you have precise control over how your energy interacts with the environment. For others like me, we need specific capabilities to adapt and modify, but they all stem from fundamental reactions. Everything we do is based on manipulating the atomic and quantum mechanics around us. I guess I’m asking if you’re starting to see the relationships between your Skills and how they influence each other?”

Emy noted the question, “It’s hard to say… Based on the Professor’s guidance on our Talents and teaching, he intends for us to have open-ended skillsets, never crossing the line and letting us dictate how we manipulate and grow our talents. I’ve always considered that to allow for us to make our ceilings. Which makes sense in a way… if we hear about others only doing certain things, we might believe that to be the limit…” Emy said as she stepped back from Nadia and attempted to feel her latent energy around her. “I think our energy naturally behaves differently, similar to our genetic makeup, meaning some people are better at certain things, but that isn’t to say that growth and development aren’t finite. It’s just that two users with the same amount of practice, but one with a greater starting energy stream, will naturally be better. But with that said, I think we all have the same potential with Willpower.”

“Yeah, that’s kind of what I was getting at… Our energies are naturally different, but our Willpower guides them in similar ways. The main difference is how effectively our Willpower can mold and shape our energies,” Nadia said, then shifted topics slightly. “I’ve seen you alter the chemical makeup of things, disintegrating physical matter on the spot and even going a step further to dissolve it into, well, nothingness.” Nadia laughed as Emy smiled. “You know what I mean… you can create mini voids out of thin air. So, it got me thinking: yes, your Energy is different from mine, but what if I could develop the same type of Willpower or Skill within my energy? Could I remove or disperse matter within myself or others? Can others change the environment within their energy’s control to make it more suitable for them?”

“Have you tried?” Emy asked, unsure if it was a possibility or not.

“Well, when I use my Body Manipulation skill, I can move, manipulate, and modify everything inside my body, but what if I attempt to remove things with my energy based on the environment around me? Could I then add it back?” Nadia sighed. “Honestly, I’m not even sure of the applications of this for me, but I have to imagine there’s something to it.”

“No, no. I get it. You’re saying that if your energy is applied in a way that aligns with your natural Talent, it can achieve the same effects as other Skills.”

“Yeah. So, please also tell me that you have an idea of where I’m going with your skills,” Nadia said, changing the subject and taking Emy by surprise.

“Wait, what? No?”

“Not even a little bit of an idea?”

“Well, small ideas, but nothing too groundbreaking yet. You heard the professor, and I need to ‘do less’ with my void skills, whatever that means.”

“Emy, you are seriously the most incredible person on our team, but I swear, others can see further into your future than you.”

“Yeah. I get that…” Emy started to talk again, but Nadia abruptly cut her off.

“Emy, I think you can fly.”

***

Williams and Tuck

“Any idea why I chose to pair up with you this time, Tuck?” Professor Williams asked, glancing across the strategy room table where Tuck remained seated after everyone else had left.

“You wanted another go at me like in the Tutorial?” Tuck grinned.

Williams chuckled. “I don’t think I could manage that kind of push anymore,” he said, recalling their initial meeting where he had to provoke Tuck to activate his powers. “Besides, that was digital Williams, so it doesn’t count,” he added before returning to his original question. “But seriously, any thoughts?”

“I think you’ve made it clear that you’ll guide our journey and offer direction, but you won’t teach us directly. So, I assume I need to reflect on my Talent.”

“Strong and wise! You’re right. Tuck, you were the main reason for the earlier exercise to start this intermission. From the beginning of the Games, you took on the role of a tank, from grabbing the Grimbletooth attacking Nadia in the opening moments to bulldozing the door down and now wielding a massive Warhammer against your enemies. It’s been all about maximizing your range and damage,” the Professor noted, pausing to let Tuck reflect. “Now, don’t get me wrong. The team needed a tank, and you stepped up. You filled the role, but I won’t let that be your only purpose. Yes, you’re big and strong, but if I’m not mistaken, you played one of the most agile roles in football as a defensive lineman. A role that requires power, finesse, adaptation, and strategy to be successful.”

“Is this like your comment about my Electron Surge skill being as good as those Mistblades one day?” Tuck asked.

“Yes, but it’s more than that. Your perception of yourself plays a huge role in your energy manipulation. If you believe yourself to be big and slow, your energy will become big and slow. So, why would you want to be big and slow when you can be big and quick?” Williams smiled as he posed the question.

“I’ll take that as a rhetorical question,” Tuck chuckled. “Are you saying I should focus on other skills?”

“No, not at all. Quite the opposite. Think about your primary skills, Electron Surge and Repulse. Identify the fundamental change or action driving those skills, then make a list!”

“A list?”

“Yes, why not? List the skills and capabilities you think someone with high agility would have. How do they move? How do they react? How do they think? Use that list to find ways to connect them to your existing skills. Sometimes, a list is all you need to trigger a new mindset.”

Tuck stared at Williams, still a bit bewildered by the question, so the Professor continued, “Look, a list is purely a way to connect two diverse thoughts in your brain, aiming to find commonality. If you have another method, use it. It’s all about adapting skills in new and unique ways. Take time to think about it, and maybe collaborate with Emy and Nadia over the next few days to identify new capabilities.”

Tuck grasped the Professor’s point but left the office still somewhat confused. How am I going to get a pen and paper? He wondered when a prominent voice spoke up in his mind, sounding almost offended by Tuck’s thought.

“What is this, the Stone Age? I can visualize Einstein’s theory of general relativity right in front of you… I think I can handle making a list for you.”