“I know that I have asked this before but some of the higher ups have awakened an interestin you, they promise a decent salary when you join the Jeffersons.”

  “I’m sorry but my answer says the same; I refuse.”

  “Very well, as expected.” The man sat down and folded his hands. “Have you heard about the theory that we humans are the litter that defile the planet?”

  “That came out of left field. No I haven’t, why do you ask?”

  “The scientist that I consulted has… some screws loose but he is a brilliant mind. One might think that having screws loose is a prerequisite. Anyway. He did give me an answer to your question but there was a lot around it. His idea is that us humans aren’t natural and that nature is doing everything it wants to get rid of us.”

  “And how is this related to the horned men?” Luc asked.

  “Beings from another world wiping us out also falls under that…”

  “You’re right… that scientist is insane…”

  “I agree but he didn’t just say this. Many near extinction events were brought up which he used to support that statement. The disappearance of mana is also something he categorizes as an extinction event.”

  “Hmm? It will be inconvenient but it wont wipe us out, right?”

  “Well you’re correct but in his words, extinction isnt a single instance where a species disappears. It happens in increments, slowly stacking straws on the camels back until it breaks.”

  “Ah, I see what you mean. The disappearance of mana won’t break the camel’s back but it would lead to a degeneration of society and a lot of lost lives…”

  “Precisely! Now I don’t liek how he called us the refuse of the planet but it’s undeniable that our influence on nature wasn’t always the best…”

  “I suppose so…”

  “Now about those so-called protectors. He speculates that the disappearance of them is also an extinction event. He posits that the ‘Silver bang’ 62 years ago and the ‘Frozen Star’ are remnants of it as information from before that time is either lost or undecipherable.”

  The man held up his phone showing a picture of several scientists near some strange relics.

  “The man I talked to had been part of the team that tried to uncover information of most relics shown in hte Frozen Star museum.”

  The man swiped and showed another picture, a picture of a picture book.

  “One of those relics is a picture book, arguably the most useful relic as we don’t require to know that lost language bus as this image shows. Humans used to live with other races in the past. So the question is… where have they gone?”

  Luc bent forward to inspect the picture of the picture book. “Is that a wolfman? And a dwarf? Isn’t this just a fantasy book?”

  The man shrugged as he leaned backward. “I don’t know but the experts seem to be convinced that it isn’t. It’s not my place to say whether they’re wrong or not. But if they’re right and we used to live with other races comparable to humans, then… did we make them go extinct? Or if we didn’t isnt their disappearance not a sign that we might be next?”

  Luc rubbed his chin as this was difficult to believe.

  It was a fact that horned men were threatening them, but he was unsure it would drive humanity to extinction. In his mind, humanity was more of a threat to itself than any outside factor.

  “Okay, let’s assume that’s true, as it’s easy to assume that’s false. What could we do about it…”

  “An excellent question! But I don’t know the answer and neither did the scientist as he hoped those relics in the Frozen Star museum would be able to shed a light on the problem but translation has come to a standstill…”

  “So there is nothing we can do… so you think that the protectors went extinct and that would cause those horned men to drive us to extinction?”

  “As i said, it would more likely add more straw to the camel’s back. I’m not sure how to call it and extinction event isn’t very accurate so excuse my inaccuracy.”

  “I get what you mean. So does this mean that there are other worlds with protectors?”

  The man shook his head. “I don’t know, and he doesn't know either. There is still the parallel universe theory but it’s impossible to prove currently. He did send a message to the higher ups to catch the next eyecorner man they encounter for interrogation. It’s likely we need dedicated equipment for it and have put requests in at Lambert Gadgets.”

  “That’s a lot to unpack. Thank you for providing this answer to my question. It must not have been easy.”

  “Haha! No problem! It was a great question! I wasn’t sure if what you said was true, but I still asked about it. The fact that, that crazy man had an explanation like this might mean that you didn’t make it up!”

  Luc smiled wryly as he di’dn’t entertain the idea that this man thought that he was lying, but he was fully aware that anything that happened lately was difficult to believe.

  “I have another question.”

  Luc hesitated as he was unsure if he should ask this. This man seemed trustworthy, but that could be na?veté on Luc’s side.

  “I had noticed that there weren’t any of the Jefferson family when we got taken in. Is there any explanation for that?”

  “I’m just as confused as you are. We have our own theory that goes along the lines of; we deal with their dirty jobs while they sip tea in their fancy mansions. But we’re not sure. I like to believe that they have a hand in the deeper operations, but I’m too low ranked or ignorant to know if that’s true.”

  “I see, I suppose that makes sense.”

  “Anyway, I still have more work to do. Come hop by if you have any more questions or if you get into trouble again. Hahaha!” the man got up an shook Luc’s hand.

  “I’m sorry, I didn't catch your name.”

  “Ah right, I suppose I never introduced myself! I’m Henry Tanner. Just ask for me when you hop by!”

  Henry left and Luc sat on his couch to process everything he had heard up until now.

  “What is true? What is false?”

  Luc opened his laptop and typed down what he could remember of the conversation..

  Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.

  “Many things sound unbelievable but… don’t the horned men fall under that as well? Also 80% of the population don’t have abilities. Doesn’t that mean that even us ability users fall under that?”

  The existence of magic and ability users made it difficult for Luc to discount anything that sounded unbelievable, as the nature of those could make the unbelievable become reality.

  “Maybe I should visit the Frozen Star museum…” Luc said to himself after he noted donee the part where Henry had name-dropped a mysterious event and object, both which could be clarified in that museum.

  History was nothing special, although how history went exactly was controversial as an event 62 years prior had made things confusing as physical evidence proved that history went differently than how anyone remembered. It was still being looked into, as the relics and documents in the Frozen Star museum suggested that the world was vastly different.

  Normal people didn't care about this, but historians and truth seekers were obsessed bu this strange phenomenon.

  The most popular theory was that the first ability user, which was the strongest, messed up and caused all this.

  Luc himself didn’t know what to believe, but he didn’t believe that as the first ability user appearing 62 years ago was absurd to him.

  Luc looked up information on his laptop and instantly found countless conflicting theories about history and how the world must have been over 62 years ago.

  “I’m getting distracted. This has nothing to do with the horned men…”

  The laptop got put away, and he went to watch some TV.

  The matches were explosive and exciting, but Luc just couldn't focus as the horned men incident was on his mind. Didn’t that incident mean that the horned men could just decide to break into his house and attack?

  Luc got up and ensured all windows were closed and doors locked. Only when he sat back into the couch did he realize that this was of no use, as the horned men could use portals.

  “What if…”

  The laptop got used again and Luc went on the site of Lambert gadgets to find if he could find a device that could block portals.

  No results came up after a 30-minute search, and Luc sighed. “No luck eh… is there nothing we could do against them? It appears that no such thing exists. Maybe nobody came up with… the idea…”

  His phone got put on the table and he stared at the contact info of Charlotte. “Surely, she won’t be able to have Lambert Gadgets make something like that?”

  The call connected after he decided to ring the number, and some rummaging could be heard before a ‘You’re speaking with Charlotte.’

  “Hey, I had a question. Is there a possibility that you can have Lambert Gadgets create a device that blocks portals from forming?”

  “Is this related to the nationwide panic?”

  Luc frowned and looked at his phone as if the phone was crazy. “Huh, what?”

  “Put up the news. The eyecorner men incident has been on the news. It sparked public unrest as there is uncertainty and unease as they could pop up anywhere now.”

  Luc got up, located the remote control and turned on the TV. It didn't take him long to find out what Charlottte had been talking about, as many civilians wanted more information or demanded that the police force and the Jeffersons to step up to protect them better.

  “Oh, I didn’t know, but I suppose it makes sense…”

  “But that’s a great suggestion. I will bring up that idea. Devices to limit the mana use have been a concept for years but there are too many problems attached to it, so that’s an option that’s only theoretical but probably won’t see the light.”

  “A device that limits mana use? Wouldn’t that affect allies as well?”

  “That’s one of the largest issues, correct. The largest problem is that it would become a problem when used in the wrong hands.”

  Luc nodded as he could easily imagine how something like that could happen and become a large problem.

  “So, about that case…”

  “I’m being treated much better thanks to you and Genie. There are still some things that need to be addressed, but at least my function is secure. My reputation will take a while before that adjusts.”

  Luc zapped channels and landed on a new bit where ‘shocking news’ revealed that Charlotte was innocent and that she had been framed. There was skepticism, but at least the word was out there.

  “Oh I heard something interesting. You must have heard about how the horned men are here o collect mana, right?”

  “That’s what you told me, yes. Their behavior also suggested so, why?”

  “It seems that they chose ‘this world’ because there are no ‘protectors’ and someone from the Jeffersons looked into it.”

  “Hmm, and this person is reliable?”

  Luc shrugged, despite knowing that Charlotte couldn’t see him. “I don’t think he was lying, or at least intentionally doing so.”

  “Hmm, very well, if you think he was reliable, then I’m interested in what he told you.”

  “Well it borders on fiction but so do the horned men and some of our abilities so…”

  Luc told Charlotte what Henry had told him, and Charlotte just listened. About the crazy scientist with his theories and the link to the relics found in the Frozen Star museum.

  A chuckle came through the phone, indicating that something amused Charlotte. “I see. Interesting. Warrants looking into it. I have an acquaintance who works in the Frozen Star museum. I have never been there myself, so I think it would be a great idea to have him give us a tour, don’t you think?”

  “I haven’t been there before but… is that a good idea? It’s not like we will understand what hs stumped scientists for decades…”

  “Well, it just so happened that Lambert Gadgets has recently developed a translation device! It still needs testing but… don’t you think this would be the perfect opportunity to test it?!”

  “How convenient… Well, I’m up for it. Maybe some of those texts have recorded encounters with the horned men or ways on how to defeat them!”

  “Haha, how optimistic. Very well. I will contact my connection and I will negotiate a date and inform you. Is that fine?”

  “Sounds good to me.”

  The phone call ended and Luc relaxed in his couch.

  There weren’t many points of interest in Luc’s part of the city but the Frozen Star museum was one of the few. It was actually was number 1 in the top 3 reasons to visit the city Luc lived in, yet he had never visited it. Mainly due to it’s sheer size.

  It put the stadium to shame, and Luc always wondered how many items it exhibited to earn its status as the largest building in the city.

  “Maybe I’m misunderstanding what a museum is.” Luc convinced himself as he refilled a bottle and drank its contents.

  “Crazy times…”

  Luc glanced at the clock and contemplated if he would go outside later in the day to collect boxes.

  It had gone south trice already, so Luc decided against it. He would just be looking for trouble if he went on his nightly raids after all that had happened to him. He just browsed the net to see if he could order useful boxed items.

  “Boxed water? What? Not even in cartons?! Who even…. Ahh the Guillerme brand… weren’t those the guys that tried to frame Charlotte?”

  There were some strange and interesting ideas for items, but most were niche or impractical, illustrating why it wasn’t even close to rivalling Lambert Gadgets.

  Luc closed his laptop as he wasn't planning on buying anything from the Guillerme and wondered what to do.

  Luc heard nothing of Charlotte for the next 2 days. A lot had happened in those days however, as unrest had changed the city a bit. People moved around in clusters to never be alone. It didn’t necessarily mean that they made connections, they just moved like how fish move through a school.

  This caused immense stress on traffic and public places, as certain places were overcrowded while others were nearly deserted. The spread of humans had been normal, and the city had been designed for that. Nobody had expected that an event would cause the population to cluster heavily like this.

  The police force was getting overworked, trying to break up the ‘schools’and to encourage people to spread out more, but nobody wanted to find themselves in a low populated area when an eyecorner man would attack.

  The important subordinating conjunction was ‘when’ not ‘if’ as anyone believed that they were the nest one to get attacked, unaware that an attack was unlikely

  Luc stood in front of his door, watching how people were waiting in front of their doors to wait until other people would go out and follow them.

  It was nothing like Luc had ever seen and at first he believed it to be an elaborate prank.

  His eyes fell on a man walking his dog and not participating with this ‘schooling.’

  The man with the ‘N’ on his cap made a friendly nod toward Luc as he walked into the opposite direction from the school.

  Luc nodded back and tried to determine what the man was saying as his lips were moving. Was he talking to his dog? Or did that man expect Luc to understand him from across the street.

  A ringtone played off and Luc put his phone to his ear. “Yes?”

  “We have a reservation in the Frozen Star Museum, tomorrow at 4 in the afternoon. Does that sound good?”

  “Sounds good to me. I will be there.”

  The phone went into Luc’s pocket and he went inside to prepare to go to arguably the most important museum of the country.