Sky Light

The ability to see the river flow only worked at night. At daytime, it was like the stars, covered by the sunlight.

'What could cover a thing like that?' Allen thought so, a little exhausted.

He was sick. He checked with the institute’s doctor, but the doctor could not find out much.

Probably the reason the government asked not only the doctors to look into the matter but the research institutions too, especially considering where the thing started from. They did not specialize in diagnosis.

The place where he had the injection mark was also not looking good in its appearance.

He was constantly at the place where he was working alone, trying to figure out what was wrong with his body, as other doctors could not help. One thing he got confirmed was when, after selecting some student assistants and some other research assistants from 3 to 4 stars, that they went to their assigned area and were face to face some of the injected people.

Most of them were people that were tested on by consent, the ones that had done so to reduce their criminal sentence and so on were not given to them. It would end up being too much for them to handle. But that was also why the people present were low.

The volunteers were there, the situation among them was still to be seen. Allen wanted to know about their situation, so he first asked all of them to continue resting in their observation room. He only singled out a comparatively old man, that was around 45. Allen talked to him and quite liked him, especially that he was brave enough to volunteer and his family was happy to send him too… that was good, right?

“Not that they were not afraid, but the helping counts.”

“What made you volunteer in the first place, mister?”

“It just runs in the blood. My father and his father had always been volunteers for many causes and movements in society. How could I not be one when my elders were all like that?”

“So, when did you first-” While Allen was talking, the man lowered his neck a bit and seemed a little more relieved… that was a thing happening to him too lately...

“Did something happen?”

“Not completely sure what. But yes, something”

“Is the urge to lower head… linked with the neck having cramps of a sort?”

“Well, I didn’t know you could do medical diagnosis. I am not buying medicine based on your advice, though. The institute’s doctor said that there was no problem I needed to think of. The things he gave are doing benefit to me. It eased things by a little already”

‘You are calling giving pain-killers easing things a little’

“So… What other things, peculiar things have happened until now since you got the injection… Oh, I was trying to ask before. When did you get an injection? Do you know when others got injected too?”

“Hmm, can’t say for sure about others. But they have injected most of them for less than 48 hours, while I have been for over 72 hours. Big accomplishment I know, but family taught me to never be proud, so not being arrogant about that. The strange things, a few things I could say. I have volunteered before too, but I never hallucinated in any of them before… it was-like-I don’t know how to say it…”

“Are you perhaps talking about a hallucination that occurs at night only?”

“Yep, the same. Some kinds of light in the night sky.”

‘The night skylight? Not a river? Neither a ground light?’

“A light at night, like a meteor shower?”

“Not exactly. It was more like a-like a-faint beam of light. That is all I can think to describe it. Other things that I could say are that I kind of feel a little more energized. My family would probably like that. Nothing else in particular. If you want to know more about it, you should probably talk to the person who was injected in the first phase of selection. I believe probably around 4 days ago.”

“Four days ago… By the way… do you know what is the minimum age for a person to volunteer?'“

“If you want to, I don’t think you can right now. It will affect your decision-making and result gathering. I think the institution can also not give you any precious injection so fast…”

“No, not asking for me. But for a close relative of mine”

“I think it is around 15-16 as according to the official age of maturity of the county.”

That was a bit of a problem. Wasn’t his sister also around that range… not to mention that he had not seen her for many days, there was no contact.

“It is a male?”

“No, it is a young woman”

That… even if not his sister, was not a wonderful thing. The family of theirs was thinking what.

“I would like to ask you to gather more information from her about the symptoms and all. If you could kindly do so… please think of my problem too before answering”

The man looked at him a little and then laughed and assured him of his help.

Allen just wanted him to ask some questions though…

It was very problematic for him that the institute put a woman in the research subjects that they gave him. This was the only team of the institute, so they could also not transfer her anywhere else. But it was not suitable for him. He was an unmarried man… not good if he had to talk to a younger woman alone. He may talk to her when others were gathered, but definitely not going alone, didn’t know if it was his sister. She could have had her name changed, too. He could think of some way how that could happen.

If the old man was not handy, he was going to make him gather all of them and only then talk to the person in question.

‘ Hope this does not reach that far’ Allen looked at the spot that was very weird in appearance now. He had seen the appearance of the other injection spot too, but it was not like that in the least bit.

After that, he received a message from the institute to go to the class that they assigned him to… ‘Could at least give him a break from that duty. This is well above my paygrade’

The president expected him to take on the task that he did not trust the other 4 star researchers with, he also had a responsibility to search for his sister outside the classes where he had done so already, and somehow kind of deal with the injection problem that he had now. His mind was freezing with all the things he had to do. He quickly went to take a bath, sat silently in a clean place, and calmed himself down.

What in the world was he trying to work for now. The president of the institute escaped somewhere. His team scattered. No contact with his family and other relatives. He placed all of those thoughts away from him and tried to focus on the matters he needed to do now.

“They have injected others now. The domains will not get settled by themselves. I cannot explain the shock wave created by the institute without imagining the involvement of the president. The only thing that counts now is the effort, required to do the task ahead of me. Plans will not work anymore. They stopped from the moment the institute came down”

And he had to repeat that process multiple times that same day.