《A Shard of Vitality》 The Discovery 1. ¡®¡¯On this day, we have gathered here to mourn Gerald Scant and to honour the memory of the remarkable man he was. He was loved by many, and admired by many more. As we come together in this sad moment, we shall not weep his death but rather celebrate his life. Gerald¡¯s work will forever live on and be taught through science and even history books many years from now. His breakthrough will be the talk of the century. Gerald¡¯s legacy shall pave the way for many aspiring generations to come.¡¯¡¯ ¡®The soul will forever carry on¡¯ is what Gerald had always said, and he made sure they were his last words too. This had to be the funeral of the ages, for not only all loved ones were present but also all of his colleagues and admirers. The entire funeral parlour was filled with sadness. Everyone shared a deep strong loss and was filled with remorse. Everyone, except for one attendee: his only son, David Scant. David was filled with anger. He could not believe what he was seeing. An entire funeral dedicated to the oh-so-great Gerald Scant. What a joke, he thought. All these lab coat extras did not care about the man himself at all, but only the work he achieved. Gerald was miserable, and the only people in the world who knew were his wife and his son. David knew because he too, grew miserable over his father¡¯s obsession. A scientist with wisdom and wit greater than anyone could possibly dream of achieving. A scientist so brilliant, and yet for the past 10 years no one could place a finger on what he was ¡®wasting his time on¡¯, as many liked to say. People always had something to say. Rumours had it he burned out after his latest publication on ¡®Comatose Communication¡¯ that led to his fame. Other rumours had it he had gone insane, and yet most rumours seemed to believe he was working on his next big breakthrough. Gerald was a neuroscientist. In all his years of practical work, he focused on discovering a pathway to communicate with the subconscious mind. Or rather, transfer consciousness to a certain device or object. ¡®Comatose Communication¡¯ was his major milestone. The publication was on the discovery of being able to communicate with comatose patients. Unfortunately, there was still no accelerated way of full recovery, but being able to communicate with the patient was Gerald¡¯s main concern. This could lead to many more discoveries, and help uncover certain mental illnesses. If a person is able to communicate from within the deep unconsciousness, then a doctor can trace back the root of many severe neuroses. However, after the publication and his first big breakthrough, Gerald disappeared from the media entirely. 2. The funeral service had ended traditionally with a distribution of Gerald¡¯s will. This upset David even more, as all he got was a big pile of money for paying off his college and a letter that only he was allowed to read. David looked up to his dad like no one else did as a kid, he was his biggest fan and always listened to his stories attentively with his ears wide open and his eyes filled with wonder. Only in David¡¯s early teens, did his dad¡¯s obsession start. Because of his upbringing, David started studying neuroscience himself with the main goal of following in his father''s footsteps. Now the main goal that kept David going was to be as close to his dad as he was growing up. He worked his ass off with only one objective in mind: working together with his dad and achieving greatness as a team. Every night in the years before his death, Gerald would not come home before 10 p.m. David saw his father decay years before anyone else did but could do nothing to stop him. All he could do was try to understand him by working hard, and graduating so he could explore his field of work and possibly help him. Now that his dad had passed away, all those years of hard work seemed to be in vain. David did not feel like reading the letter just yet, for weeks after the funeral all he could feel was anger. His mother, Anne, was suffering just as much. Both had realised that nothing had changed, his definite absence almost felt like a relief. They did not have to wait anymore for him to come home, and they did not have to be afraid anymore for the exact phone call they received last week. They knew that his work would mean his downfall, the only question was when. But as they all say, life goes on. Money was not the issue, it never was. The inheritance was sufficient enough to provide for David and his mother until the end of their days if they did not live too luxuriously. But neither of them found any comfort in this. The Scant family, now consisting only of David and his mother, live in a lavish apartment overlooking the Harbor in Boston. They moved here when Gerald started attending more prestigious fairs, expos and conferences. This was approximately a couple of years before his big publication. David was 12 years old, and his biggest worry then was leaving his friends behind. His mother was a social worker, so moving was never an issue for her considering the immense scarcity of social workers in America. Weeks after Gerald¡¯s passing, Anne started working again in a nursing home. Money was never an issue but finding purpose, when all the money provided for you, was. Anne found meaning in taking care of others. Unfortunately, taking care of the people closest to you is often more challenging than detached patients. She never blamed herself for what had happened, but always felt like she could have done more. Anne lost the feeling of being needed at home, so she found it somewhere else. David was not ready to continue his life just yet. He could not handle the pity treatment. His classmates did not necessarily address his sorrow, but they treated him differently. Every act of kindness towards him felt motivated by another clich¨¦ headline regarding his father. Most of them did not even know that Gerald was David¡¯s father before his death, as he always tried his best to keep that under the radar. He did not want any special treatment because of his background. No matter how much he looked up to his dad, David was determined to make it on his own, without taking advantage of his father¡¯s image. 3. Before moving on, there was one thing David had to do: tackle his curiosity. This also meant tackling his fear. There was still an unopened letter left on his desk. A life-changing one at that. David walked up the stairs as slowly as he could. Every step he took weighed more than the last one. Thoughts started racing through his head like a bullet storm. ¡®What if the letter is just a piece of sentimental crap to excuse his absence?¡¯ ¡®When did he write this letter in the first place?¡¯ Would it just be a basic template ending in ¡®¡¯I love you¡¯¡¯?¡¯ ¡®If he wrote this letter recently, was he anticipating his death?¡¯ But most importantly: ¡®What if the letter does contain the truth on what my father has been doing for the past decade, will I be able to handle what I read?¡¯ When the last question seeped through to his mind, David changed his pace and ran up the stairs, ripped apart the seal of the envelope and folded out one single handwritten piece of notebook paper. The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Dear David, Let me start this letter off by saying I am sorry. I have been absent for a big part of your life, and for this, I take full responsibility. I have hurt you and your mother for too long, but I will make up for it, starting now. I regret the pain I caused you and your mother, however, I am not sorry for the way I decided to end my life. Yes, I decided to end it voluntarily. The ambulance workers have found me with a neuron transmitter attached to my head. As the only documentation on the project is stored in a place only you will visit, it will have looked like a failed experiment. No, it was not an accident, it was not an overload in voltage of an experiment and it was most definitely not heart failure or seizure from work-induced stress as many articles shall state and speculate on. My passing is not without purpose. For the last decade, I have been working on the transcendence of human (sub)consciousness after one¡¯s death. After succeeding in communication with comatose human beings, my next pathway was lit up in front of me. When I started this project, I knew it would result in my demise. It was a sacrifice I was willing to make, for the greater good, but I was only ready to make it after complete certainty of the experiment''s outcome. Of course, this has still been a gamble in the end. But understand this son: in the very high probability that I succeeded I am not entirely gone yet. This will most likely come as a shock to you, which is why I am asking you to face the truth whenever you are ready. Take all the time you need, but as soon as you have taken that time I want you to come and ¡®collect¡¯ me. Considering my closest colleagues will still be using my lab, they will be present during the daytime. So I am asking you to set out after midnight. You will find the keys to my lab in my old ragged leather coat, which I hope your mom has not thrown out yet. To disable the alarm, enter the code 117532. Below my desk, where I was found, you will find a button disguised as a piece of gum. It will also feel like gum, but fret not; it is not gum. Press this button thoroughly to open a hatch on the floor. In this ¡®secret compartment¡¯ you will find a pink and (hopefully) glowing crystal. If things have worked out the way they were supposed to, I will be able to explain the rest soon enough ¡®in person¡¯. Tread lightly son, but do not go gentle into that good night because I know you will be able to continue and shine light on my life¡¯s work. Love ¨C Dad. 4. After every word had been read over 20 times, the note was spotted like a cheetah with tears. David could not believe what he read. ¡®¡¯He was willing to make that sacrifice?¡¯¡¯ David yelled. ¡®¡¯A sacrifice mom and I had no choice in at all?!¡¯¡¯ David thought it was the most selfish thing his dad had ever done, even worse than the shallow amount of time he spent with his family. It felt to David like he had been rereading the same fiction like he was part of some practical joke. He was even angrier than before. But he had to find out. He had to believe in the off chance that his father actually had succeeded in his madness. So the following night, he ventured out. He waited for his mother to fall asleep, not go to bed. After finishing her shifts, she went to bed immediately anyway. The day seemed to stretch into the night, but luckily for David, nighttime finally fell upon him. David reached for the keys in his dad''s horrendous old coat and closed the door softly behind him. He grabbed his bike because the car would make too much noise. It would take him at least 45 minutes to an hour to get there by bike, but he couldn¡¯t be cautious enough. He finally arrived at his old man¡¯s lab, shaking with impatience. He dropped his bike in the pathway leading up to the door and jammed the key straight in. David rushed to the alarm threatening to go off, and quickly entered the code. Everything seemed to be going well thus far. David walked straight towards his dad¡¯s desk, which he remembered all too well from when he was still allowed to visit, and reached for the button underneath. The desk was still left untouched, for his closest colleagues were not quite ready yet to start getting to work on what had happened. They were also not quite ready yet to suffer the same fate. The oh-so-great-but-chaotic Gerald did not tell his son that there would be more than one piece of gum stuck to the bottom of his desk. He also did not tell him that only one of them was a disguise. After fiddling with at least 3 pieces of gum without any hatch opening, he went onto the fourth. This one he also pressed rapidly like the last few pieces, again without any expectations. But just before giving up hope, a dull clunk noise came from below his desk. David saw the hatch on the floor open up ever so slightly and knew that he had to remove the tile himself. Upon removing the tile David was shocked. There was a bright pink glowing crystal connected to a whole bunch of wires. The wires were concealed so neatly and were connected to the metal armrest of his father¡¯s chair. No one would have suspected a thing. David was scared of touching the crystal, afraid that it might be the exact thing that led to his father¡¯s death. But if he had to believe his dad, he had no reason to be afraid. David hesitantly laid a single finger on the crystal and felt familiar energy surge through his body for only a split second. He jumped up in his father¡¯s chair but was surprised to find that nothing had happened. After finally catching his breath, it was taken from him again instantly by what happened next. He reached out for the crystal again and now touched it with the entire palm of his hand. ¡®¡¯David! David, is that you?¡¯¡¯ ¡®This is it, I am officially going insane¡¯ David thought to himself, but decided to play along anyway. ¡®¡¯Dad? What kind of sick joke are you playing?!¡¯¡¯ David blurted out while letting go of the crystal, but received no response. He reached out for the crystal a third time, now picking up the glowing cartoonish perfectly symmetrical glimmering shard. It was just barely the size of a litre water bottle. ¡®¡¯David, hold onto the crystal, please¡¯¡¯ said ¡®The Crystal¡¯. ¡®¡¯This is not happening, this is NOT happening.¡¯¡¯ ¡®¡¯Son, please calm down. Sit back, relax, take a breather. It is happening. I take it you¡¯ve read my letter? That also means you have read what is supposed to be happening. What I have done, will change the future for good. However for that to happen, I need your help. In other words; you are going to change the future for good.¡¯¡¯ ¡®¡¯What does this all mean? It does not make any sense at all! You sound like my dad, and for some paranormal reason you feel like my dad, but here I am speaking to a crystal!¡¯¡¯ David said while putting the crystal down again. ¡°Stop! Do not put the crystal down for now. I am only able to communicate with you upon direct contact. This is the one thing that did not go as planned, but we will find a solution together. However, it is me, your father. I will explain everything steadily along the way, but for now, I need you to listen.¡¯¡¯ David agreed silently, all while questioning his entire life at the same time. ¡®¡¯As you have read in the letter, I have been working on directing and preserving human consciousness after one¡¯s death. After 10 long years, I have achieved the unthinkable. I am ¡®living¡¯ proof of the outcome, my experiment has succeeded! Now, it is not over yet. In fact, it has only just begun. This is where you come in. I will try my best in my current form to quickly bring you up to speed on my theories, findings and results of the past 10 years that I was not able to share with you before. Afterwards, I will instruct you on how we will continue this ever-lasting revolutionary project. But firstly, and most importantly: how are your studies going? Have you been able to keep up after my death?¡¯¡¯ A bolt of rage now surged through David''s body after he heard his father speak so casually of his passing. ¡®¡¯How could you possibly ask me that? How could you ask me this casually how I dealt with my father¡¯s sudden death? And even worse, how could you possibly assume without a single conversation or discussion that I would take up the work that led to your sudden death? I¡¯m not having it at all. You hurt me, Dad, and not only me but also Mom. You left an entire world wondering where you were, and here you are telling me as a fucking crystal to pick up where you left off?¡¯¡¯ ¡­ The Crystal remained quiet. It almost seemed to darken. David thought for a split second he had been imagining his father¡¯s voice after all, and then after a while, it lit up again. ¡®¡¯Son, I truly am sorry. Sorry for the way I treated you and your mother. Sorry for all the secrets I have kept and the lies I have told over the past years. But this project I have been working on, no, this cause I have been working on is greater than you, me and the entire population of mankind combined!¡¯¡¯ Gerald preached. ¡®¡¯Give it some time, please just consider it. I want you to see what I have seen! To realize the essence of what I have spent the last 10 years of my life working on! Let me make up for all the time I have spent in this lab and not with you.¡¯¡¯ David contemplated his father¡¯s offer. After a silence that was just long enough to be painful he responded. ¡®¡¯There¡¯s not much else you can do now is there? That¡¯s what you gambled your life on is it not?¡¯¡¯ Before Gerald could respond, David put the crystal in his bag and hurried towards the door. He slammed the door shut and left. Not without locking the door first though, he did not want any more rumours spread about his father¡¯s half death. With Haste, Son 5. The next day David woke up to loud knocking on the door. At first, he thought it was another colleague or admirer wanting to pay respect to the family so he didn¡¯t respond and let the knocking go on. But after a solid 2 minutes of knocking, David could not bear the sound anymore and went downstairs to take a look. He looked through the peephole and saw a man in a lab coat, pacing back and forth before deciding to knock again. Before his fist could reach the door, David opened the door. The man startled at the door opening and fixed his posture cartoonishly. ¡®¡¯Who are you and why are you knocking on my door so aggressively?¡¯¡¯ asked David in an assertive and annoyed tone. ¡®¡¯My apologies, but I hurried here with great concern. My name is John Gartner, and I was very close with your dad. I was one of the lucky few who got to work alongside your father in his lab and assisted him with several tasks.¡¯¡¯ ¡®¡¯Another one who claims to be close with Gerald the Great. Amazing.¡¯¡¯ Responded David as he slammed the door shut. However, the door was met and stopped by John¡¯s foot. ¡®¡¯I know you were at the lab yesterday night,¡¯¡¯ John protested in a voice that tried to hide the pain the door caused him. David was speechless and decided to open the door once more. ¡®¡¯You don¡¯t have to try and deny it. When your father was still alive, our morning routine started with checking the surveillance footage. He was very paranoid about people breaking in, especially closer to the time of his death. We kept this in our routine, strangely enough; force of habit I suppose.¡¯¡¯ David tried to avoid eye contact but accidentally met his gaze after deciding how to respond. ¡®¡¯Yes, I was in the lab yesterday night, what about it?¡¯¡¯ he blurted out, bluffing with overacted confidence, hoping that David hadn¡¯t seen his activities inside the lab. ¡®¡¯Well, you have to understand I am not upset with you¡­ You see, as paranoid as Gerald may have been, there were no cameras installed inside the lab. He did not want to take the slightest risk of the footage of his experiments spreading to the outside world. Your father was working on transmitting consciousness to an inanimate object. This is all he would ever tell us. Whenever we asked about the severity of the experiments, for example addressing the usage of lab rats, he would always ask us not to follow through. One day he told us to stop ¡®prying¡¯ and even said he would have to resort to kicking us out if we kept asking about it. In the months before his death, many lab rats even died.¡¯¡¯ ¡®¡¯Why are you telling me this?¡¯¡¯ David hissed, disgusted by what he was told. ¡®¡¯After discovering about your visit to the lab yesterday, I figured you¡¯re our only hope of getting to the bottom of what your father, our closest friend, was working on. For what reason did you decide to visit, months after his passing, at 01:00 in the morning? Do you possibly know something that we don¡¯t? Your father always spoke very highly of you, but he never once allowed you to visit. So why yesterday all of a sudden?¡¯¡¯ ¡®¡¯I am very sorry to disappoint you, but I only came to the lab yesterday for closure. Like you said, I was never allowed to visit my father at the lab. Not after I grew up anyway, and considering that¡¯s where he spent the majority of his time, I decided to pay my respects to the place sacred to my dad, and said my goodbyes there.¡¯¡¯ John met David¡¯s faked confident gaze with a more sceptical one. ¡®¡¯Well yes, I understand. But at 01:00 in the morning?¡¯¡¯ ¡®¡¯That¡¯s when I was certain there would be no one around, so I could pay my respects without being disturbed,¡¯¡¯ David responded. ¡®¡¯Very well, my apologies for bothering you so early in the morning,¡¯¡¯ John replied at last, still unconvinced. He left immediately after, but not without looking back first. David assumed a second visit would follow soon enough. 6. David closed the door behind him and wiped his sweat off his forehead. He ran up the stairs to his bag containing his dad, ¡®The Crystal¡¯, and emptied it on his bed. He grabbed it with haste and connected with his dad. ¡®¡¯What is it you want from me?!¡¯¡¯ ¡®¡¯Morning, son.¡¯¡¯ ¡®¡¯Your dear friend John just told me about your cruel experiments and started questioning me about the purpose of it all after 10 years of cooperation. Which is totally understandable after being left completely in the dark!¡¯¡¯ ¡®¡¯Oh boy, that might turn into more trouble than I have accounted for, which is why we have to act fast. I will explain everything on the road, but we have to get going soon.¡¯¡¯ The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡®¡¯Go where?!¡¯¡¯ David shouted. ¡®¡¯This crystal cannot be found just anywhere, which I think you could already guess. I told you last night about the essence of you continuing my work, well this is where you start. I need you to travel to Southern Arizona, and hike towards Sonora, Mexico over and through the Patagonia Mountains. This is where you will find more life-preserving crystals like the one you¡¯re holding right now.¡¯¡¯ ¡®¡¯Do you really expect me to just leave Mom and go to Southern Arizona? What am I supposed to tell her? ¡®Yeah so... I¡¯m going on a trip to find some crystals Dad is telling me about. Oh and by the way, he is also not entirely dead and a crystal himself now.¡¯ How ridiculous does that sound?¡¯¡¯ ¡®¡¯The beauty of it all is, you don¡¯t even have to lie son,¡¯¡¯ Gerald responded. ¡®¡¯Tell her that you are going to hike the Patagonia Mountains to find peace of mind after your father¡¯s passing. Leaving details out of a story is not considered a crime, not to my knowledge at least.¡¯¡¯ David was flustered and infuriated by the casual tone of his father. He was speechless. ¡®¡¯More people are going to start asking questions, son. If you succeed in my experiment, I will be able to answer them myself in due time. Or rather, you will. With me by your side, not as father and son but as partners. But only when the time is right. Please, son, it would mean the world to me. More importantly, it would mean the world to the world.¡¯¡¯ 7. David put his father back in his bag again and spent the following 2 days thinking about nothing but the conversation he had held with John, and then with his father. He was not planning on changing his mind until he read a certain headline. He had seen so many headlines that they rarely got to him anymore, but this one stung him so severely that he dropped his phone. He never even bothered to browse the websites these articles were posted on, but this one he received by text from his best mate Frank Brookes. They were close growing up, and even after moving to different cities and taking different career paths entirely, they kept in touch. Normally, Frank would never receive an article like this on his feed let alone share one, but this one seemed to have blown up. The headline read: ¡®Gerald Scant: Genius Pioneer or Total Fraud?¡¯ David soon found that it was yet another article filled with blatant assumptions and lousy accusations, and decided to scan this sad attempt of commentary. According to David, there was no real need to worry until he reached the closing paragraph: ¡®¡¯Countless have supported Gerald Scant, many have admired him and some have even worked alongside him. One of these lucky few is John Gartner. We will interview him next Thursday on 87-Weekly to get to the bottom of Gerald Scant¡¯s lost decade.¡¯¡¯ He threw his phone on his bed and once more emptied his bag. David reached for the crystal, baffled by how quickly he got accustomed to this anomaly and started speaking to his father. After summarizing the article Gerald didn¡¯t seem to be too bothered. Then when he told him about his friend going on air to talk about his lab work the crystal seemed to glow brighter than ever before to David. ¡®¡¯Of course, John. Who else?¡¯¡¯ Gerald grunted, trying to hide his anger in the tone of his voice. ¡®¡¯Do you see the essence of haste now David?¡¯¡¯ ¡®¡¯I do, however I still don¡¯t agree with the sudden mission impossible you¡¯re sending me on,¡¯¡¯ he replied angrily. ¡®¡¯That¡¯s understandable, we will work on that. First things first: booking your flight ticket. Do you need any guidance?¡¯¡¯ ¡®¡¯Just tell me where the most convenient starting point is to reach these damn crystals and get it over with. I¡¯ll book the ticket first thing after dinner with Mom, then I can tell her about my sudden fascination and need for a big trek in the Patagonia Mountains.¡¯¡¯ ¡®¡¯That would be Tucson International Airport. After your conversation with your mother, I will tell you all the essentials you need to know to proceed. How is she holding up anyways?¡¯¡¯ ¡®¡¯How do you think she is holding up?¡¯¡¯ David hissed back after deciding to put away his dad once more. 8. Before Gerald¡¯s passing, David and his mother always enjoyed having dinner together. Back then, it was a rarity when they missed an evening of shared dining. But now, in their separate stages of mourning, they only had dinner together on special occasions, which were thus now only administrative and funerary obligations. David felt that an old-fashioned dinner was long overdue, and decided to pull his mother out of bed after cooking an exquisite ready-to-cook schnitzel with store-bought fries and home-made pepper sauce. It went rusty at first, but after a while, they laughed together for the first time in what felt like ages and reflected on their past weeks. As the evening was beginning to wear its nightly mask, the second wine bottle was filled only with drops. David forgot all about his breaking news for a few hours and got extremely nervous now that he was reminded of his mission again. He regretted not attempting to have an evening like this sooner and was ashamed of only organising one with an underlying objective. The guilt started eating him up, and he decided to get it over with. ¡®¡¯Mom, I have something to tell you.¡¯¡¯ Anne looked at him with a pending gaze. She didn¡¯t reply but knew she didn¡¯t have to either. ¡®¡¯I am going to hike the Patagonia Mountains. My mind has been all over the place since Dad passed away, and I can¡¯t focus on or think of anything else. I think a trip in complete solitude will give me time to reflect and clear my mind.¡¯¡¯ That same pending gaze followed and David was certain his mother would protest. When he opened his mouth to elaborate further, she interrupted. ¡®¡¯Alright dear, if you think that¡¯s best for you then I won¡¯t stop you. It sounds like you have given it enough thought, and judging from your intensity of speaking there¡¯s no changing your mind either. Where will you be starting your track? And when will you fly out? I¡¯ll take the day off and drive you to the airport.¡¯¡¯ David was baffled by his mother''s casualness regarding his journey. Relieved, but baffled nonetheless. When he told her he would like to set out the next day, she was equally surprised but again, not opposed. There was something in her eyes after the conversation. It was a face David could not read. He would ask about it any other day, but for now, he had to put it to rest. There was a big journey ahead of him and only a little time to prepare. The Long and Winding Road 9. After consulting with The Crystal, David started packing his bags. He had been reminded that his father had set out on the same track not too long ago, and was calmed by knowing that he would be taking his glowing-arrogant-crystallised-father GPS with him. The same GPS that told him exactly what to pack for his big trip too. Most of the stuff, apart from clothing, belonged to Gerald. He told his son to take the following: ¡®¡¯You can never be too careful, especially at this time of year. Winter has just ended, but it still lingers like the heat of steaming red coals of a fire that has just gone out,¡¯¡¯ Gerald had said after making sure his son had written all the essentials down. David was never even aware his father had all that stuff lying around. He remembered his old man liked camping, but had not seen him go out for a trip in years. The only trips his father ventured out on were work trips, and David was about to follow in the footsteps of the most recent one. 10. The following morning, David woke up early. His flight left early in the afternoon, but there were still plenty of essentials to be bought. David finished packing by 09:00, which gave him a few hours to get ready for his flight. His mother had taken the day off. She was awfully quiet this morning, even more so than usual. They got in the car, and by the end of the ride, not many words were spoken. Anne looked at her son as if she had something important to say but looked away every time he met her glance. The words seemed to stray from her thoughts when she saw the face that looked so much like his father''s. When David finally got out of the car, Anne grabbed his arm, looked him intensely in the eyes and said ¡®¡¯Please be careful. I know how much he meant to you, but please don¡¯t repeat his obsessive whirlpool.¡¯¡¯ David''s eyes widened briefly with shock but fixed his expression right away. She could not possibly know what he was up to. Gerald never mentioned the Patagonia Mountains to David before, and surely not to his mother. Not that he could remember. He couldn¡¯t be sure, but now was not the time to ask. ¡®¡¯I won¡¯t Mom, I promise,¡¯¡¯ David replied. They hugged and held each other briefly before David set off to his terminal. Once he reached customs his soul left his body for a split second. He realised he had to declare the glowing glimmering bottle-sized shard in his bag and panicked. His bag was already on the conveyor belt. When he was called to walk through the detector nothing happened, but shortly after his bag was put aside. ¡®¡¯May we look inside your bag, sir?¡¯¡¯ ¡®¡¯Certainly,¡¯¡¯ David responded, seemingly coolheaded. The employee instantly grabbed hold of the crystal and examined it thoroughly. In that instant, David wondered if he connected with his dad but hoped for the best. His dad had to be smarter than to reach out to the worker if there even was a way of distinguishing between people, but all David could do now was wonder. To David¡¯s relief, the crystal did not glow up. ¡®¡¯Is there any reason in particular why you¡¯re travelling with this crystal sir?¡¯¡¯ If David¡¯s life were to take place in a cartoon, a lightbulb would now be appearing above his head. ¡®¡¯To redirect all the negative energy that people emit while travelling. People are full of anger, and a suppressed and tense environment like this overflows with negative aura. It affects my mental and spiritual health. The crystal is therefore essential to my travels,¡¯¡¯ David rambled on, with the speed of a con artist proclaiming to be a truth sayer. ¡®¡¯Alright then,¡¯¡¯ the employee responded, trying his hardest not to sound judgemental. 11. Having finally calmed down, David went to his gate and waited patiently for boarding to start. After sitting down, he thanked all the gods he could think of for how the interaction with customs went down. He pondered how his father experienced the situation, being linked with the employee, if he had experienced it at all, and quickly put the thought to rest. He decided to ask once he landed. Gerald had instructed his son to connect with him once he had reached the hotel room close to Tucson Airport. 5 short hours of flying passed, and David had reached his first destination. Customs did not feel the need to reassess his bag, and he was quickly out of the airport and checked into his hotel room. It was a spacious room with a king-size bed and a nice view overlooking Tucson¡¯s highway. David ordered room service and took a shower before consulting with The Crystal. Fully refreshed and ready for bed, he took the crystal from his bag and connected with Gerald. ¡®¡¯Well done son, ¡®spiritual health¡¯ eh? Very clever, no sane person on earth would want to continue that conversation.¡¯¡¯ ¡®¡¯Right. So you did catch on to my customs Hail Mary,¡¯¡¯ David responded. ¡®¡¯Certainly did. Impressive and quick-witted. That¡¯s my son.¡¯¡¯ ¡®¡¯How do you distinguish between me and another person anyway? Do you deliberately choose when to connect? I did not get the chance to ask yet, so how do you experience things in there? There don¡¯t seem to be eyes in the crystal you¡¯re imprisoned in, so how does it work?¡¯¡¯ After seeming to laugh, Gerald responded ¡®¡¯I will answer all of your questions in time, your curiosity is only natural. Let me start by saying I don¡¯t see, hear, taste or smell per se, but I feel. Once I am connected to a person I can deliberately choose to communicate and make myself present. When I am connected to a person through touch, I experience through them.¡®¡¯ ¡®¡¯Right, okay. So that implies that you need physical touch with the object to ¡®wake¡¯, so to say,¡¯¡¯ David responded while scratching his head. ¡®¡¯Yes, for now. However, when you pick up where I left off this will be one of the crucial ¡®bugs¡¯ you will be fixing.¡¯¡¯ Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! ¡®¡¯if I pick up where you left off. What you have done is beyond insane. You have wasted your last decade, in return for being imprisoned in a crystal. An act that I, for many reasons, don¡¯t support. If you had been around, I¡¯m sure you would have known. Regardless, you brought me into this situation which unfortunately does not give me a choice but to find out for myself.¡¯¡¯ ¡®¡¯Plenty of time for discussion,¡¯¡¯ Gerald started. ¡®¡¯We have got a big journey ahead of us. We¡¯re headed towards the border of Mexico. It will be close to a 2-week trip. Sleep is of the essence tonight, as it will be the last comfortable night for quite some time. In the morning, you will take a cab towards the Gabe Zimmerman Trailhead about 20 miles southeast of Tucson. From there, we will start our journey.¡¯¡¯ ¡®¡¯And what if I decide against your wish?¡¯¡¯ ¡®¡¯Then my life¡¯s work will have been in vain. But even so, that would be your choice. And I would have no other option but to respect that.¡¯¡¯ David thought his dad was asking for the impossible, not even regarding the big mission but more so a comfortable night''s sleep. He figured he¡¯d be up all night, thinking over the week ahead. Fortunately, this tired him out quicker than he could wish for and he fell into a deep slumber. The last one for quite some time. 12. When David awoke the following morning, he did exactly as instructed. He reached the Gabe Zimmerman Trailhead by 09:00, after enjoying a luxurious breakfast and a comfortable cab ride. The cave is located south of the starting point, and according to his father, he could follow trail tracks for the first half. This would consist of approximately 60 (relatively speaking) breezy walking kilometres, David thought. He was let down by his expectations within the first 3 kilometres. The start of the trail was much steeper than he initially accounted for. Carrying around 18kg on his back, it would not be breezy at all. The crystal had been strapped to his belt, so his father would always be within reach. For the first 10 km, he did not feel the need to connect with his father. The less contact, the better. He had turned his phone off, and would only activate it when in absolute need of navigational assistance. The track flattened out after the first elevation. It offered David a panoramic view of a desert landscape with several individual mountains lurking from a distance. The path was rocky and dry with the exception of a little water stream now and then. It was a bushy landscape, without variety in vegetation. The occasional cactus bush jutted out on the path, and David needed to be careful not to scrape his clothing on day 1. Other than that the road was very safe and clear of hinderances. Regardless of his disapproval, he had to admit it was a perfect starting point. After walking 15 kilometres, and gaining almost 1 kilometre in height the track split into two. David took the one that headed south, but not before checking with his belted crystal GPS first. The direction was all they spoke of. Another 5 kilometres without speaking passed by, and twilight started to creep in. According to The Crystal, it was best to set up camp before dark. David reached a small grove with soft ground and decided this would be his refuge for the night. He hadn¡¯t set up a tent since he was a kid, so naturally, he was a little rusty. Regardless, he refused to ask his dad for advice. It was an old tent with more poles than he saw the use for. It ended up taking him a very frustrating hour. The camp was set up just in time, for his stomach started alerting all lifeforms nearby. Having snacked tactically throughout the day, he wasn¡¯t starving yet but some warm food would be welcome. David looked at the limited menu that his bag had to offer and started his first night with warmed-up beans fresh from the can. His water pouch was still filled up halfway through due to the filtered water stop earlier that afternoon. Despite his situation, David felt content with the first day and looked over the broad horizon. The first stars started to gleam through and by the end of his meal, they had taken over completely and covered the limitless ceiling known as the sky. He grabbed the crystal and connected with his father to talk the next day through. After the necessary words were exchanged, David put the crystal down. Before he did so, Gerald asked David how he was feeling, to which he, not surprisingly, received no response. The temperature dropped rapidly close to 3 degrees Celsius, which required him to put on an extra layer. David crawled into his tent, zipped up tight and fell asleep shortly after. It was similar to sleep when suffering from a fever, but at least it was a sufficient 8 hours. When he woke up, he felt more refreshed than he had expected to and broke down camp. Judging from the most beautiful sunrise he had ever seen, it was about 07:00 a.m. He checked his watch and found himself to be correct. Proudly, he marched onwards heading south once more. 2 hours later he was well on his way and had a brief moment of realisation that the silence and isolation satisfied him. He had only passed a total number of 3 people in his trek so far. Being alone with his thoughts felt different out in the wild, where he was sure no one could bother or even reach him. More hours passed, and the landscape started to become rockier. More vegetation surrounded David and elevation began to rise again. Higher peaks started to show in the distance, and snowy tops appeared like icy hats on the mountaintops. Freshwater streams passed David by more frequently, and the horizon appeared and disappeared constantly with every climb and descent. His daily beef jerky stash started to run out, and the sun was slowly but steadily on its way down towards the horizon. The track was still clearly visible, but would soon begin to fade. Once David started climbing his last hill of the day, golden hour kicked in. The weather had been extremely fortunate. The second half of the golden hour broke through when he reached the top of the hill. The last moment of golden hour almost feels like a perfect silence, especially in a deserted area like this. When it had reached its end, David had finished setting up camp. It took him half of the time he needed yesterday. David took a moment to reflect on his day and realised he hadn¡¯t spoken to anyone. He decided, alongside the silence ending of golden hour, to break the silence with his father. He wanted to speak but did not know where to start. He was already holding the crystal. Gerald noticed him struggling but patiently waited for David to find his footing. ¡®¡¯We¡¯re about 45 kilometres in, the landscape is starting to roughen up,¡¯¡¯ David started. ¡®¡¯I think tomorrow we will reach the end of the path. I hope your memory has been unscathed by the experiment because I will need your help tomorrow. South is not going to be sufficient information anymore I¡¯m afraid.¡¯¡¯ ¡®¡¯You have done very well today, David,¡¯¡¯ Gerald responded, not quite knowing what to say either. He continued ¡®¡¯I guess all those camping trips as a kid came in useful after all.¡¯¡¯ David noticed his father¡¯s attempt at making conversation but didn¡¯t engage. ¡®¡¯You do know where we¡¯re going tomorrow, right?¡¯¡¯ David started again. ¡®¡¯Yes. Taking into consideration that you have remained on the path, which seems to me like you have, then I will be able to guide us further once the track ends.¡¯¡¯ ¡®¡¯Okay..¡¯¡¯ David paused, and then after a while suddenly asked ¡®¡¯Was mom aware of your experiment?¡¯¡¯ ¡®¡¯What makes you say that? Do you think she would let me go through with it and not warn you? Of course, she wasn¡¯t,¡¯¡¯ Gerald said, in defence of his neglected wife. ¡®¡¯Well, when I told her about the Patagonia Mountains she acted weird. And then when I left the car, she grabbed my arm and asked me not to repeat your ¡®obsessive whirlpool¡¯.¡¯¡¯ ¡®¡¯Oh god. I am sorry, I should have told you.¡¯¡¯ ¡®¡¯So she knows?¡¯¡¯ ¡®¡¯No, however, she did know about my trip to the mountains. She did not know what the trip was for, and never in a lifetime where it would lead. She was infuriated that I took a ¡®vacation¡¯ and left you two behind after spending so little time at home.¡¯¡¯ ¡®¡¯Understandable. Mom always told me you went on a business trip to spare me, but ironically so you actually were on a business trip.¡¯¡¯ ¡®¡¯I¡¯m sorry,¡¯¡¯ Gerald responded again. ¡®¡¯No, you¡¯re not. You have actively made all of your choices believing you could make up for it once you turned into a damned crystal. It¡¯s not the same, dad. And it never will be. No matter what form of inanimate object you put yourself in, we will never be able to feel the warmth a wife needs from her husband, or a son from his father.¡¯¡¯ This stung Gerald in a way that made him realise that even as a crystal, he could experience human emotions. ¡®¡¯You¡¯re right. For us, it will never be the same. But think of all the people for whom it will be different too, positively speaking. People who will lose their loved ones to disease, or mental illness. They get to have the chance to extend their relationship, even if ever so limited. For now. You can help with the evolution, crystals are just the beginning. I¡¯m but a mere prototype.¡¯¡¯ ¡®¡¯Let me ask you a question: are you sentient when there¡¯s no physical touch?¡¯¡¯ ¡®¡¯No, it¡¯s a deepened state of slumber. Similar to death. But I¡¯m sure you will be able to fix that in ongoing vessels if you keep experimenting. Why do you ask?¡¯¡¯ ¡®¡¯Curiosity. I want to have a better understanding of what horror I will be contributing to.¡¯¡¯