Elixir Project by Kary Oberbrunner

Author:Kary Oberbrunner [Oberbrunner, Kary]
Language: eng
Format: epub, azw3
Publisher: Author Academy Elite
Published: 2016-12-06T04:30:00+00:00

Chapter

Twenty-Eight

“Edge, make sure you give them their elixir-gills, too,” Tilda says. “I don’t want any oxygen-deprived clerics out there.”

Edge hands me four green pairs, and I distribute them to Karme, Phoenix, and Damon.

“Make sure you put them on correctly like this,” Edge says, demonstrating. “Thinking underwater requires breathing underwater.”

“Clerics, your goggles enable you to experience whatever you imagine,” Tilda explains. “Use this creativity to your advantage. If you remove your goggles while in the pool, your entire cohort is automatically disqualified from the Idea Verdict. Lastly, remember to work together and communicate.”

“Underwater? How?” Karme asks.

“You’ll communicate with each other through your thoughts.”

“Excuse me? ” Karme says.

“Is it that difficult to comprehend?” Tilda says. “I assumed your studies in quantum physics would have tipped you off.”

“Yeah, that isn’t my best subject. I might be switching majors soon.”

Tilda ignores Karme’s confession and goes right on talking. “If you choose to work independently, you’ll overstress your fellow clerics and inject an unhealthy amount of cortisol into the cerebrospinal fluid in your area. This error will create a cloud of orange fluid and send you to the surface in a mild state of cardiogenic shock—the fastest path to losing this Verdict.”

“I don’t care about losing,” Lyric says. “I want to know how to win.”

“Easy, Lyric,” Tilda says. “The underwater scoreboard tells you who wins. Whichever cohort achieves a flawless idea makes it onto the scoreboard. Look for your color—soma, yellow; amrita, blue; and ichor, green. If you can sustain your flawless idea for thirty seconds, the Verdict ends and the Boon point is awarded.”

“Put fifteen minutes on the scoreboard,” McNultey says. “And start the countdown timer. If your cohort isn’t in the pool when the buzzer sounds, my EMF gun will make you wish you were.”

I walk with Phoenix, Damon, and Karme to the west side of the pool. We huddle together in the middle of the walkway.

“Okay, guys, what’s the plan?” Phoenix whispers.

“Got anything, Aryedne?” Damon asks. “Edge handed you the silver case for a reason. He must think you’re the leader, and I tend to agree.”

Though I’m flattered, I’m also intimidated at the thought of picking our strategy. Part of me wants my Boon as much as the other clerics and another part of me is still worried about Cai’s warning in my dream and what happens if we don’t lose. “I have some ideas, but they’re only ideas.”

“It’s better than what I’ve got,” Phoenix says.

“Yeah, we’re listening, roomie.” I love the way Karme’s such an encourager. Her confidence gives me confidence.

“Okay, I think I understand the part about communicating with our thoughts. Uncle Cai often brings home new gadgets to show off. Some of these devices you control with your brain. They call the technology auto-elixir. Headsets to play video games, interfaces to drive your car, prosthetic limbs to make movement easier, and even speakers that let you select your favorite songs by merely thinking about them.”

“Makes sense,” Phoenix says. “For decades, EEGs have recorded the electrical activity inside our brains. We’re constantly sending and receiving signals.

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