Chapter 32: The Secret of the Crystal

Nathan and Miranda had spent months working on the trials, testing and retesting their theories, and making adjustments as they went along. But as the behavior of their subjects became more and more erratic, they knew that they were missing something. There was a piece of the puzzle that they had not yet uncovered. One day, as they were sitting in their lab, pouring over data and discussing their findings, Nathan had an idea.

"What if we're missing something fundamental?" he said.

"What if there's a variable that we haven't considered?" Miranda nodded, intrigued.

"Like what?" "Like...like something beyond the physical realm," Nathan said.

"What if there's a spiritual component to the crystal that we haven't yet tapped into?"

Miranda's eyes widened, and she leaned forward. "What do you mean?"

"I don't know," Nathan said, his voice growing more animated.

"But think about it. We know that the crystal has power. We know that it can do things that we can't explain with our current understa