The Evolution of Genius: Every Night, I Get Smarter!

The sound disappeared for a second before coming back. It happened repeatedly, and confusion spread among the crowd.

People started panicking, thinking there was a problem with their ears.

Some people tried to get away from the situation by running away in a hurry. The whole scene was filled with confusion.

My mind raced through various possibilities. I quickly ruled out the notion of an attack from other clusters; their inability to breach the barrier was a comforting thought.

The Quantum Pathogen from the higher dimension crossed my mind; could the architects be involved? Were they angry or trying to push me to learn more about the higher dimensions?

Then what I think about is maybe it’s the quantum Pathogen from the higher dimension; then are the architects angry about something? Or are they just trying to push me to learn more...

Oliv nudged my arm and yelled, "Max! What’s happe..." Her voice was cut off as the sound disappeared yet again.

In the middle of the floor, there was a sudden burst of flames that shook the room.

The intense fire seemed to appear out of nowhere and spread quickly, defying any logical explanation as it consumed the surroundings.

Things that should not have caught fire were caught in the flames, and fear spread through the once-lively atmosphere.

Sensing immediate danger, I urgently instructed Veronica, Oliv, Milena, and Robert to drop to their knees and stay close.

We tried to get to the safety of the bubbles through the chaos. The fire seemed to be spreading faster and faster.

The fire started in the bar, where we had just been having drinks. Flames danced up, kissing the roof and spreading across the whole floor.

How could such an intense fire erupt without any apparent source?

Thankfully, the bubble system, designed for emergencies, proved its worth. Bubbles arrived one after another, providing a means of escape for those caught in the situation.

The air on the floor began to fill up with thick smoke. Crawling on all fours and coughing, we found our way inside one of the bubbles. The bubble was crowded, but it was free of smoke and fire.

The sound kept cutting in and out, disorienting everyone. Veronica was struggling, lying down, and coughing heavily. She inhaled too much of the smoke.

Damn. It was my fault for bringing her here.

Milena, trying to communicate amid the sporadic sound interruptions, managed to convey, "Caught! The bubbles in .... kind of situation should go .......... the hospital tower. It isn’t far away."

The bubbles swiftly made their way to the hospital tower, racing even faster than usual. In less than 30 seconds, they flooded into the tower.

People in red clothing with prominent white crosses rushed up to the opened bubbles, swiftly picking individuals and placing them on floating beds.

The beds were hurried into rooms, and doctors dashed around in a frenzy.

As a doctor approached our bubble and opened it, he urgently shouted to his colleagues, "Quickly! Those who need help the most! Grab them and put them on, we need to connect them to oxygen."

I pointed to Veronica, saying, "Here! This girl is having problems breathing. Please help!" Two male nurses swiftly picked her up and placed her on a stretcher, rushing her into a separate room.

As I attempted to follow with Oliv, the doctor gestured for us to wait inside the bubble, explaining, "It’s too crowded. The fire happened on all floors. We’re going to be checking on all of you. You can come inside when it gets better."

A nurse in pink clothing approached us, and at first, I didn’t think much of it.

However, when I looked at her face, I realized this was someone I often encountered in the oddest of places—Lilian Veri, The Architect.

I gritted my teeth as I struggled to maintain composure. Was this all her doing? What did she want from me? The urge to leap at her was strong.

Lilian Veri smiled at both me and Oliv and greeted, "Hello. There is a request for you, my dear Max."

She paused, seemingly checking on someone nearby, and then continued, "We are going to need you to be more aggressive; otherwise, we will destroy everything you have accumulated so far."

I asked her seriously, "Am I gonna get any reasons why? Or is it just for fun?"

Another quick check on another person, and as she looked at me again, she added, "It is what it is, Max.", she came closer and whispered into my ear, "You have no right to object. You better do what they want, or..." 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

She gestured toward her neck, ominously. "They will make everything disappear."

With that, she calmly walked away as if nothing had ever happened.

I was left there stuck in the stop looking at her back.

Oliv putting her hand under my shoulder worriedly, asked, "What is this about, Max?"

I looked at her, and said, "I don’t know Oliv. But... for now, I think I should do what they want. I don’t want to risk anything. As soon as we get Veronica out of here safely I will take care of this."

She looked at me confused but nodded her head.

We sat in the bubble for another hour, watching as people gradually left, heading back home.

However, we stayed, patiently waiting until we could enter inside to check on Veronica. After a few more minutes, I finally stood up and approached one of the doctors passing by.

"I’m sorry! Could we please check on our friend? Is she okay?" I asked.

The doctor looked at us and asked, "What’s her name?"

I responded, "Veronica Hayes."

The man nodded and said, "Please, wait a second."

After a short pause, he returned and gestured for us to follow.

We entered a pristine white room, its walls were similar to the laboratory I had visited before.

There, Veronica lay on one of the beds, already disconnected from all the apparatus, breathing steadily.

Oliv rushed up to her and exclaimed, "Veronica!"

After this, I came up close to Veronica and asked, "Are you alright, Veronica?"

She nodded and replied, "Yeah, I’m fine."

Feeling a sense of responsibility, I said, "I’m really sorry for this, Veronica. I shouldn’t have brought you here."

Milena looked at me and refuted, "No, Max. It’s my fault. There is just no way I could have predicted that something like this could happen. There have been no incidents like these for decades now."

Veronica looked at as, shook her head, and said, "Guys... stop. I mean, it’s not your fault."

Well... this was in a way my fault or at least it has happened because I was there, but I decided to keep it to myself.

I said, "I think this is enough entertainment for one day..."

Veronica agreed, and we stayed at the hospital for another hour until she received the necessary paperwork to leave the tower.

As we left with Milena and Robert, our tracks went in different directions. On the way back to Germany and Veronica’s house, I was thinking about everything other than what had happened at the bar.

I knew I needed to talk to The Lord. Maybe saying his name would be enough.

After dropping Veronica off at her house, Oliv and I returned to Boston.

Once I was alone, The Lord materialized right in front of me, entering my house through the wardrobe.

He calmly said, "Don’t worry. I know exactly that you want to meet me. Just wanted to give you some time to think this through."

I said, "I think we should find a secluded spot"

The Lord agreed.

We moved to the laboratory through the wardrobe. Stepping out, I looked at The Lord and then voiced my frustration, "If they want War then they will get a War. None of this world is real anyway, is it?" I was ready to give them what they wanted.

"We are humanitarian, Max. I will not do anything against my code." The Lord responded

I countered, "No, no. We’re going to be doing it against the other clusters.... and please, speed up my process. I want to get through the 5th and 6th layers as quickly as possible. Scholar Samuel? Was that his name? He was supposed to teach me the 5th layer. Send him quickly."

Upon mentioning Scholar Samuel, The Lord gritted his teeth and sighed.

"What?" I asked confused.

He explained, "Magnificence Scholar Samuel is... he is unique. He will definitely not listen to me or work together with me."

"What?!" Now I was perplexed.

I pressed on, "Ok... ok. What about the Jumping technology? Are there any breakthroughs?"

The Lord replied, "Yes, there are improvements. We learned that they used the extra comets moving in the opposite direction as markers in a person’s mind to help them get back to their body."

"So, is our version going to be ready soon?" I asked eagerly.

The Lord’s eyes gleamed with confidence. "We think a couple of days maximum," he assured.

I said, "As soon as it’s working... let me Jump."