Awakening Book One of the Trust Series(22)
Caitlyn was amazed even by the capability to do that. Hearing him state that Actuals can levitate was one thing, but seeing it first hand was completely different. She was enthusiastic to try. “How so?”
His left hand grabbed two of the balls, letting them rise a foot above his hands as he talked. “All these balls are the same shape and size. But the balls are made out of completely different materials. This ball-” He indicated the ball on his left hand, “is made out of cork. The other one is made out of copper. Why would this be important?”
“May I?” she asked pointing to the balls.
“Absolutely.” Garrett levitated the objects into her hands.
Caitlyn examined the two balls briefly, feeling the orbs in her hands. “They have different densities.”
She was pleased when Garrett grinned widely. “Exactly! The denser the object, the more difficult it is to levitate the object. The cork is much less dense than the copper ball, so the cork ball is easier to lift. It takes more concentration to lift the copper ball.”
“So when we start levitating, I’ll start with items low on the density scale.”
“Yes. Most times, a student will learn to lift multiple objects of a lighter density before they are ever able to levitate a small ball made of gold. Some Actuals, whose specialties lie within other talents, are never able to lift even that.”
Garrett returned most of the balls to the corner, where the room lowered the items back to wherever they came. The one exception to this was a plastic ball that remained on the table. Caitlyn looked at him questioningly.
“For those that master levitating, the next step is manipulation of physical matter. It is one thing to lift it, but quite another to be able to bend it to your will. This ability is much less frequent within our society.”
The plastic then began to shift and change, the material molding to whatever it was that Garrett desired. What was once a ball, now slowly morphed into a single plastic snowflake, intricate in its design.
Caitlyn picked it up gingerly, turning it to examine the back and sides. It was flawless. “That is amazing.”
“It takes a massive amount of concentration to do that. We will not begin to work on that until you have mastered levitating. Because it is so difficult, it is tested for in the Threshold, but not required to accomplish to pass.”
She handed the snowflake back to Garrett, who set it back on the table. “What else will we work into the training?”
“Well, the last ability that you will be tested on is healing. Healing is even more complex than matter manipulation. What is interesting about that is while some folks may not be able to manipulate matter; they have the uncanny capability to understand the abstract art that is healing. Healers by profession need to have an intricate knowledge of the body. Without that, someone who attempts healing anything significant can do irreparable damage to the subject of the healing. They are a doctor in every sense. I can teach you to heal a cut or a bruise, but anything larger than that, you would want to consult a Healer.”
“What if I have that ability?”
“A healer goes through more training than anyone else. The Trust has its own hospital, and someone that chooses Healing as a profession goes through a lot of biology and human anatomy courses with specialists. The main healers have gone to Medical School and have their doctorates.”
Caitlyn listened to Garrett’s various explanations; completely absorbed by the fact that humans can do all of this. He then took her on a tour of the facility; at least, the parts that she was allowed to enter. There were conference rooms, other training and testing rooms, two libraries, media centers, and even a gym with a pool on one floor. Caitlyn was amazed at how all of this could be at one facility without the knowledge of the town while it was being built. Garrett had advised her that the lower half of the building was completely off the grid. It was not in any way reliant on the town’s water or power supplies. If she was impressed before, she was surely blown away now.
As they returned to the training room mid-afternoon, she was lost in her own thoughts mulling over the possibilities. What if they were wrong about her? What if she did not have any special abilities? What if she was a disappointment to Garrett? It was with that last thought when Garrett’s voice again snapped her out of it.
“Nonsense. You are not going to be able to disappointment me. Ready to start?”
“Excuse me?”
Garrett laughed, throwing the cork ball at her. “I said, are you ready to start? The only way to remove those doubts is to start training. We still have a couple of hours to kill. I bet within three weeks, I’ll have you levitating.”