An exile

An exile

     After the ritual, the Guardians led the team through a series of stages of preparation for interacting with the energy flows. How long it took is not known for sure, since this concept does not exist here. In any case, no one cared, because under other circumstances it would have been impossible to do.

     All team members went through a session of meditation and controlled breathing to focus their consciousness. This helped them reduce their stress levels and prepare their minds for the body's slowed down activities. Friends developed the ability to sense and distinguish between flows. They learned to respond to changes in the energy field surrounding them and increased their sensitivity. Due to the weakness of the human body, the Guardians were advised to pay attention to the creation of a collective energy matrix. It was difficult for each individual to navigate through hundreds of billions of threads of data, but by working together, the success rate increased. An equally important part was the development of the ability to disconnect in time from too intense influence of the flow. Even some Guardians were lost in space due to excessive stay in the "library" of the universe. Some whirlwinds of information knew how to both repel and attract the victim of questions. This was due to the fact that nothing is ever left unattended. An otherworldly system of flow corrections can identify and erase the careless researcher as a bug in the global system. (I'm sure my reader knows how the antivirus system works on a PC or phone, so I won't repeat myself). Special sessions where the main characters interacted with each other's energy field were safer to begin with. This helped them to develop dexterity in the perception and management of energy.

     Alice, skeptical, carefully decided to separate herself from the rest of the group during the ceremony and preparations. She chose a lonely corner under a high arch with an elegant, it seemed, marble decoration. She continuously thought about all these events full of exoticism. Her comrades thoughtlessly delved into their new abilities. "It's all just a game of human imagination," she thought, sighing. Alice did not perform rituals or meditate. LI devoted all her free time to the study of the tree, its roots and shape. It was not possible to determine the logic of energy pulsations, but she created a lot of sketches and descriptions. She analyzed her own sensations and believed that it was possible to explain all this in terms of natural sciences. The fact that she is neither a chemist nor a biologist really bothered her. Meanwhile, as the rest of the team took deep breaths of energy flow, Alice remained outside the cage, trying to keep things under control. She didn't just reject the idea, but also tried to find confirmation from the point of view of science that could explain what was happening. From time-to-time Alice could hear the distant music of the ritual, but she continued her observations from a distance, trying to maintain her skepticism.

     During the group synchronization phase, when the team was trying to create harmony between their energies, it appeared that Dave was having difficulty adjusting. This was noted during exercises aimed at interaction and alignment of energy fields of the participants. Dave proved unable to balance his energy with the rest of the team. The feelings of tension and dissonance were palpable even to friends. The guards constantly pushed their training, so they advised to exclude Dave from the circle. In this way, he kept lonely Alice company.

     Alice, fascinated by the exercises they were skipping, decided to turn to Dave.

• Are you okay? - she asked, looking at his worried expression.
• I'm not sure... There's something wrong with these fields. I can't find my place in this.” His voice sounded lacking in confidence.

Alice came closer to him. They looked at each other and felt that their doubts were shared. The air became saturated and electrified, and their own impressions and uncertainties added to the tension within.

• Maybe they're not who they say they are, - Alice whispered...