In 1942, Nicole Duplantier, a female member of the French resistance against Nazi occupation, discovered an invaluable ability while cozying her way into the German forces’ good graces in one of their largest broadcast stations in France: her thinking caused increased, disruptive electrical activity wherever she focused.

During sensitive Nazi broadcasts and vehicle maintenance, she would sequester herself in a provided office and do the base’s complicated ledger work. She described it as some of the hardest work she had ever done, as she was simultaneously splitting her attention towards the rooms the Nazis were working out of. With her assistance, she bungled their propaganda, caused a number of electrical fires to break out in their garages, and even interfered with an experiment in using radio to relay information to their frontlines.

Duplantier’s sabotage ruined the facility’s reputation, all without once revealing herself as the culprit. Her reputation for her book keeping had her moved into the heart of Nazi Germany, where her interference continued up until the day a Kriegszauber diviner discovered her actions and had her sent to Auschwitz.

When liberated, Duplantier’s psionic abilities were drastically hindered by the Nazi’s experimental mental neutering process, but even in a reduced state, she became lauded as the mother of Electrokinesis, and one of the primary figures in modern-day France’s psionic education system.

The plane touched down at the PJ airport just before ten o’ clock in the morning, and Zi kept one eye on her phone, and one eye on the blonde little girl vibrating nearby.

Taz was glued to the window looking out at Phoenix Town–or PJ, as it was known worldwide. It was definitely your typical little college town, with lots of the stores popped up catering to a certain, youthful clientele–especially since some of that clientele came in with quite a bit of money–and off-campus housing for the staff members.

It also had two much taller buildings than the scattering of smaller buildings, both of which Taz recognized as The European apartments in the eastern quarter, and the Delphi Heights apartments in the north-west.

Taz had probably seen enough of the town through video clips and pictures that she could find herself around by landmarks alone, but Zi didn’t blame the girl for her excitement; you couldn’t experience your dream second-hand.

“Come along, baby, I’ve got a car waiting for us.” Zi called out to her sorta-daughter, and with a giggle of delight, Taz ran after her as Zi led the way away from one of the airport’s six terminals.

It was a small town, so some questioned why it even needed an airport, but it had just enough international interest that people of import from the world over wanted to visit with ease and regularity, and it was an obnoxious drive from Phoenix.

Zi certainly appreciated the ease of travel. She could handle a half hour in the air, and the frequent visits meant she was actually on friendly terms with some of the airport staff.

“—yeah, it came in just yesterday! Thank you so much Robbie, it is so cool!” Taz was on the phone as Zi chatted away with one of the airport’s bigwigs, an older white woman with a dignified air and a friendly disposition.

“We have your usual rental waiting up front for you whenever you’re ready. Did you bring any luggage, do you have a place you’re staying for the evening?” Amalie Grace asked, and Zi shook her head.

“We’re leaving before eight tonight, just giving this one a tour of PA, now that she’s finally attending.” Zi grinned at Taz, who was wandering around in a circle on her own, too energetic to stand still. Melodica hung onto her shoulder, her mermaid tail wriggling behind her as the two both talked with Anna’s ex over the phone.

“Yeah, I hooked it up right away, and Mel and I spent about two hours just jamming out!” Taz giggled, Mel nodding and making guitar motions with her fingers, the noises emerging out of thin air. “Oh, no, mom came up to tell me to stop at lunch… Yeah, she’s been a bit on the edge ever since I finally got admitted~!”

Zi tuned out Taz’s squeals of delight and smiled at Grace’s confused look. “She’s just as much of a puppy as you said.”

Zi laughed, and nodded. “I don’t lie often, Grace. Now, we’re on a bit of a schedule, so…”

“Oh of course, I won’t keep you.” The woman nodded, leading the way to the parking lot.

Taz sat in the passenger seat of the little black economy car waiting for her, and Zi sat down next to her, reaching over to give the bouncing blonde a little squeeze on the knee that drew a big, happy grin from her.

“Staff is going to be pretty light in PA this time of year, so be on your best behavior for the ones I’m gonna introduce you to, okay?” Zi asked, leaning back in her seat as she put the car in drive and pulled out onto the airport’s exit road without much trouble; it wasn’t just the staff that was lessened this time of year, traffic in the town seemed pretty sparse.

“O-okay! Okay, behave, be less blonde, behave, be less blonde…” Taz whispered to herself, and Zi wore an assured grin.

PJ was built along the northern rim of Phoenix Academy, and Taz was staring out the window at the number of buildings and shops in the area. She saw a handful of venues that catered to the more menial aspects of adult life, like mailing offices and banks, but she saw plenty more fast food stores, restaurants, and entertainment centers, including a pretty swanky looking pizza arcade.

Though, the thing that caught Taz’s attention the most were the number of businesses dedicated to psychic customers: a psychic gym that promised experienced trainers in both body and mind; a tea shop right next to a red light that allowed Taz to read all of its signs advertising stimulating brews, calming drinks, and ‘inspirational’ boba; a shop that sold psionic implements, much like the toys from the convention center, but with more complicated make, or were specifically designed to be worn in order to create focus; and, to Taz’s curiosity, some sort of psychic arcade, advertising divination-friendly poker, feats of telekinetic strength, in-house thermokinetic cooking, and a stage for mimicry.

“Not a lot of places advertise stuff for tulpas.” Melodica noted out loud, leaning on her hands as she stared out the window with a disappointed look.

“Watcha mean, honey?” Zi asked, reaching back to stroke an intangible back, keeping her eyes on the road.

“Like, a tulpa meet-up!” Melodica lifted herself up, glancing back at her aunt with a little grin. “Like, y’know, a dog park, but for tulpas!”

“That’d actually be really cool.” Taz said, just imagining hanging out with other psychics, dozens of mermaids swimming above them, chatting away in separate groups, sharing tulpa ideas. “Oooh, could you imagine building an all-tulpa band?!” Taz glanced back.

Melodica squeaked at the idea, her fin swishing against the other window as she closed her eyes, and both she and Taz tried to imagine it… “Mmm, a lead singer in my own band~.” Melodica sighed.

“Taz, Mel?” Zi spoke up, smiling, but wearing a bit of a sad look as they looked her way. “Not that I don’t think it’s a great idea, but… oh, maybe now’s not the time…” Zi mumbled, and Taz and Melodica both leaned closer with curious looks.

“What are you talking about, Auntie?” Mel asked, and Zi’s smile thinned a bit.

“Melodica, darlin’, I don’t think you’re going to find a lot of tulpas like yourself, even at PA.” Zi stated, and Melodica frowned deeply, swimming forward a bit, but not enough to obstruct Zi’s sightline.

“What do you mean? It’s a school full of psychics! I can’t be the only tulpa there!” Mel pouted, and Taz pushed her face through Mel’s, making Zi raise an eyebrow at the sheer oddness of the two phased together.

“Yeah, isn’t tulpamancy one of the elective classes?” She asked.

“It is, baby, it is, but… how do I say this?” Zi asked herself, reaching over to squeeze Taz’s shoulder “This might be a bit of a surprise to the both of you, but…” Zi trailed off for a moment, trying to think of how to continue. “But, Mel, you’re not normal.”

“I’m not?” Mel asked in a curious tone.

“Tulpas are pretty varied and can pass for the real thing if you don’t look too closely. Heck, Madeline sent me the notes she took when she took tulpamancy so we’d know a bit more about you.” Zi reached over, setting her hand in Taz’s lap again, squeezing her knee. “Let’s just say you’re a lot more realized than either of you understand; I think it’d be best if the folk in PA explained it.”

Melodica frowned at that, but nodded, Taz looking equally unsure.

The Phoenix-Paiute Academy for Extracerebral Youths’ campus had a series of tall walls and gates that kept the grounds enclosed, and kept strangers from just wandering in off the street. The fences were made of a time-worn brick, still sturdy and renewed when damaged, and the gates were wrought iron, with looping driveways and barriers leading up to them that prevented a car from easily reaching top speed on approach.

The only gate that had a guard to operate it this time of year was the front gate, where an older gentlemen in a light blue suit and wearing an ESP badge checked Zi’s ID, cross-referenced the day’s registry, and invited her in with a smile, the gate wheeling open to let Zi guide the car inside.

Taz was, once again, glued to the window as she stared at the PA campus she had so long sighed over through commercials, pictures, and internet campus guides.

The campus had very little parking in front of the twin administration offices, and most of them were already filled up. Based on what Taz had read, most people not living on the campus itself bussed in, walked, got dropped off at the front, or scooted onto campus on golf carts with the right tags.

Zi parked the car, and Taz hopped out with a giggle already escaping her, Melodica swimming after her as she ran up between administration buildings, or, more embarrassingly, ‘the frontal lobes’ based on the campus’ conspicuous shape.

“Taz, wait for me!” Zi called out, grabbing her purse and checking her phone, shooting off a message as Taz stared around.

The campus was very modern compared to the traditional Ivy League schools’ more traditional and historical designs. White stone, plaster, and metal were accompanied by large panes of glass, with overhead awnings shadowing the benches in front of the entrances, and intricate wood-like slats creating appealing symmetry, shade, and a touch of architectural artistry.

The bridge between the two buildings was a glass hallway with a sturdy floor and a roof, and beneath it, deeper into the center of the campus, in front of the Dewitt Psionics Medical Center, was the Zhou Ping Memorial Park, with its rows of shade-bearing trees and gardens full of the man’s favorite flowers and herbs.

Surrounding it were the four quarters of Phoenix Academy. The right quarter–the east quarter–of the campus was dedicated to the right-brain disciplines and studies; telepathy, mimicry, dividualism, and also the various arts, from music, to painting, to writing. Psionics that were powered by emotion, imagination, creativity, and the facilities dedicated to allowing a student to express themselves through beauty, ugliness, and everything in between.

The left quarter–the west quarter–was dedicated to the left-brain psionics: telekinesis, biokinesis, and divination. It was supplemented by classes dedicated to the sciences in addition to the psiences, with physics, psychology, biology, and medicine being some of its main features.

Beyond the park, in the southern quarter, were the student facilities, with tall dormitories and a large, gorgeous cafeteria and recreation center.

Taz was hopping with both feet towards the park, the excitement over flowing from her, leaking happy feelings. She couldn’t stop herself from twisting around in place to take in all the sights with wide, curious eyes, and happy squeaks of delight. Melodica was ‘ooh’ing and ‘ahh’ing alongside her, swimming off the grass-lined trail leading to the park, but not straying far from her creator and aunt.

Glancing back at her aunt, she could see Zi pursing her lips at her phone before raising her voice.

“C’mon baby, we’re meeting Mr. Burke in the park.”

“Mr. Burke?” Melodica asked, prompting a nod from Zi, who hustled a bit to keep up with the girls.

“Frederick Burke, the psientist.” She answered, and Taz gave a short ‘ooh!’

“Zhou Ping’s friend!”

“And a teacher of psionic history and law. He’s one of PA’s hardest working faculty members, so you’ll likely have more than a few classes with him if the years soften your mother up.” Zi smirked at the idea. “So you need to be—”

“—on our best behavior~!” Taz and Melodica sang together, their arms thrown out with broad grins.

“That’s my girls.” Zi winked, dragging Taz into a quick hug, and miming a kiss to the top of Melodica’s head.

The three walked through the frontal lobe and started for the small, circular park in the middle. It was a short, rising mound of grass and partitioned flower beds, with plenty of shade to offer, seating to enjoy, and empty plots of grass around the tree trunks to take cover in.

Taz had been expecting PA to feel a lot more mentally active, but she silently chided herself for expecting a school with no students to be busier. Though, ‘no students’ was a small exaggeration as she saw one person laying on the grass under a tree not too far away, and they looked small and young enough to be a student who had stayed over the holiday break.

She put on a small smile, took a deep breath, and sent a small, mental ping in their direction.

Taz was familiar with touching another person’s localized cloud of thought, and feeling it reach out in turn, but the little, psionic ‘hello!’ she’d sent almost immediately resonated through an ambient fog of mental energy.

It was spread out so far and so thin that Taz felt confused more than anything else.

The person laying in the grass flinched, and stirred from their rest, lifting their head. Taz could now see a girl, wearing a white, featureless shirt and matching shorts, almost looking like a hospital patient. One side of her short black hair was shaved to reveal a wicked looking scar on her caramel brown scalp.

Worry began to resonate through that thin fog as the girl looked her way, her eyes wide, her mouth forming a tight-lipped frown.

{¿Quién eres?}

Taz blinked once, then pursed her lips in focus. She knew how to answer this, Uncle Randy helped her with her Spanish classes, after all!

{Yo soy Taz!}

A pause, and the girl’s frown formed a small pout, and Taz could hear the mess of the girl’s thoughts, unfiltered and unguarded, jumbled and filled with noise, impulses, and emotions. It was like listening to Teddy’s thoughts: just a stream of noise, but punctuated with words and resounding moments of silence that took intense focus.

{ir^)&vamos(-=no<||%segura(&%ayud—You can just say ‘Soy Taz’ and it’ll make sense.—tanto$;\pelo+-[¿sirena?}

Taz blinked.

{¡Muchas gracias, chica! Are you okay?}

{~#^No**!#no_))no}{nO_!-NO%%no—I’m fine.—lab&^[email protected](|?rápida—Bye.}

The girl hurried off suddenly, a string of half-articulated Spanish words and sentences escaping her as she fled towards the distant Dewitt hospital, half-stumbling along the way. Taz watched after her in confusion, Zi walking up behind her with a similar expression of confusion as the girl fled.

“Who was that?” Zi asked.

Taz merely frowned, watching the girl go, the fog of thought chasing after her…

“Not sure. I think I need to take more Spanish lessons, though.” She shrugged, Zi patting her back.

“Well, call your uncle up whenever you feel like it. Now c’mon, Professor Burke should be near the memorial statue.”

The center of the park was a circle of bricks laid on their longer, thinner sides in a pattern that created jagged, wavelike patterns, upon which sat a dozen circular tables, and a ring of benches along the outer edge. In the center, surrounded by a knee-high iron fence, was a tall, stone statue.

Taz ran ahead of her aunt, Melodica swimming after her to stand in front of the statue and stare up at it with curious smiles. The stone effigy of Zhou Ping was tall on top of the stone pedestal, but in reality, he was probably only a few inches taller than Taz herself.

He was carved with his most normal public attire: a simple two-piece suit with a long tie and comfortable loafers. His hands sat in a resting position atop the ball-shaped topper of his cane, and his distinctive smile and kind eyes seemed to pierce right through Taz without any soul behind them.

The placard on the pedestal read:

Zhou Ping

1958-2005

“Only bridges–no barriers–to tomorrow.”

Taz had heard the quote before. It was one of his most commonly quoted lines regarding the opening of Phoenix Academy. ‘Only bridges’ was quoted in those big, moralistic speeches almost as much as ‘I have a dream,’ almost to the point of cliche.

As Taz found herself lost in thought at the statue, Melodica’s head turned to face an approaching man.

He stopped just shy of a yard from the two girls, Melodica’s eyes drilling into his as he wore a lopsided smile. He was an aged, white gentleman, with thin white hair covering his scalp and balding in a spot on the back, his big, black square spectacles making his face look small and his brown eyes big. Wrinkles creased his face every which way, looking leathery and spotty, but with the charm of an elder man.

He pulled his hand out of the pocket of his old brown suit, holding a pen in his hand.

Melodica’s head tilted as she stared. He was definitely dressed like an old dude, with a sweater vest and a little red bowtie, worn slacks held up by a crinkly brown belt, and leather shoes. She turned her head to glance at Taz, who was still focused on the statue, and glanced back just in time to yelp, Melodica’s hands slapping shut in front of her face, catching the pen out of the air.

“Ah!” Taz whirled on her tulpa, staring at the pen for a moment before taking it in one hand to examine it, then glared at the old man.

“Excuse me!” Melodica shouted in his face. “I think you dropped this!” She threw the pen on the ground, letting it clatter against the brickwork between his feet as his brow creased, his smile never failing.

Taz glanced between her enraged tulpa and the man in surprise, but the man remained silent.

Melodica leaned into the man, her eyes filling his with a glare. “Well?!” She all but spat. “Do you have anything to say?!” Again, the man was silent, other than his lips parting for a short intake of breath. Frustrated, Melodica thrust her fists down with all the brattiness she could muster. “Hel-lo? You’re supposed to say sorry!”

Finally, the man’s concentration seemed to break, and he smiled. “You’re breathing on me.” He said, reaching his fingers up to wave in front of Melodica’s mouth, causing her to shrink back in surprise.

“Huh?” Was all she could muster at the strange response.

“You’re…” The man trailed off in thought, touching his chin. “You’re using telekinesis to simulate breath. You want me to feel you shouting at me.” He stated, looking amused and intrigued all in one expression.

“W-well yeah.” Melodica’s face flushed red, and the man looked at Taz curiously.

“You must be Natasha Cooper.” He said calmly, only to jerk back when Melodica flew in front of his face again.

“She’s not the one you threw a pen at!” Melodica sneered.

“I’m sorry, miss, but I’m trying to talk to your—”

“Ooooh no, Mr. Burke. I don’t need telepathy to know!” She tapped the breast of his suit jacket, making him glance down at her finger, startled. “You are addressing me right now and—”

“Mel, it’s alright!” Taz sighed in exasperation, only to rear back as Mel was now in her face, her mermaid’s tail stirring the air with visible anger.

“You’re not the one getting stuff chucked at them!”

“It would have just passed right through you!” Taz said with frustration, sticking her arm through Melodica’s belly.

“It’s the principle of the matter, Taz! What’s next?! He’s gunna try and shoot me?!”

“You’re making me look bad in front of the guy in charge of PA’s psience stuff!” Taz whined.

“Well he’s looking pretty bad not apologizing to a potential student!” Melodica crossed her arms and huffed loudly, making Taz groan.

Zi, meanwhile, set a hand on Burke’s shoulder, shaking the man out of his unblinking stare. “Hey Freddy, how ya doing?” Zi asked with a smirk, and the man glanced back as Taz and Melodica continued to argue, stamp their feet, swish their tails, and shake their fingers like disappointed mothers at one another.

“I’m… watching a young woman have a very realistic argument with a figment of her imagination.” Burke answered slowly. “I am fascinated.” He chuckled, drawing a similar laugh out of Zi.

“I told you to be prepared for two of ‘em, didn’t I?”

“You did.” Burke nodded, turning back to stare at probably the wimpiest slap-fight he’d ever seen. “You did…” Neither of them were actually touching each other, but they still acted like they were trying to avoid the other’s hands.

“Pardon me, Freddy.” Zi made her way over to the two girls and lashed out with both hands. Both shrieked in pain as Zi gripped Taz’s ear to get her attention, her other phasing through Melodica’s head, but the girl still winced in pain, even leaning into the pinch. “Girls, calm yourselves! Mr. Burke’s a busy man, so don’t go wasting his time!”

“Sorry, auntie!” Both whimpered, Taz sniffling as her ear was let go, Melodica hiding behind her. Her ear was even a little red from the ‘pinch.’

“Good girls. Now, get presentable and introduce yourselves.” Zi ordered.

Taz swept her waterfall of golden hair over her shoulder and straightened her glasses on her face, while Melodica, free of her earlier outrage, straightened her creator’s wool knight cap and popped open a clam to run her fingers through her own, untouched hair.

Correction: her hair had suddenly fallen askew the moment she’d opened up her mirror to give herself hair to fix. It was an inorganic change, but she didn’t seem to notice, or even care. It gave her something to do, to fix, to follow an order…

When the two girls finished making themselves look less messy, they lined up in front of Burke, Melodica still looking annoyed with him, but she kept her outburst in, while Taz held her short arm out for a handshake.

“Hello Mr. Burke, it’s nice to meet you!” Taz squeaked in excitement. She had a high, adorable voice that made Burke’s smile broaden. “Um, yeah, I’m Natasha Cooper, but everyone calls me—”

“Taz.” Burke finished for her. “Sorry to interrupt, but this is quite an important meeting for me too!” He took her hand and shook it heartily, nearly rattling her before taking his leathery hands back.

“W-wh-really?” Taz asked in surprise, and Burke gave a nod.

“The world of psience moves very quickly.” He explained, beckoning her with a small gesture to follow him over to a bench, where he sat, and Taz sat a comfortable distance near him, Melodica and Zi following. “I received word from our security lead that an evolink at the Phoenix convention center had developed quite an advanced tulpa. When Ms. Cole here contacted me about meeting you, I of course needed to see for myself.”

“Freddy—ahem, Mr. Burke here doesn’t just teach psience, he’s one of its chief studiers, too.” Zi told Taz, resting a hand in her lap.

“Of the many psionic disciplines, one of the least explored is Dividualism and its subjects.” Burke stated, drawing Taz’s attention back. “Do you know what Dividualism is, Taz?”

Taz opened her mouth to respond, but thought back on her lessons with Madeline, Uncle Randy, and Mr. Cole. She’d heard of it, of course, it was one of the eight ‘founding’ disciplines alongside the likes of telekinesis and telepathy. However, she also remembered an interview she’d watched, done with one of the psychics in PA responsible for writing the brochures and their little ‘try at home!’ lessons.

“I don’t know how we’ll ever get Dividualism printed in one of these things.” The woman had said, waving the latest brochure–which, if Taz recalled, was over mimicry at the time. “We get letters about it asking for the basics every now and then, and it’s hard to put into writing: only do this with somebody you trust!” She’d looked so sorry to say it… “Dividualism isn’t just sharing thoughts and ideas, it’s about combining minds, or creating new ones. It’s extremely easy to hurt yourself creating a new identity, or even taking on somebody else’s. We keep releasing pamphlets on tulpas because they’re easy and good for kids, and won’t hurt their heads.”

Taz scrunched her brow together, her lips pursed.

“I think it’s… like… sharing, or taking on different minds?” Taz answered, and Burke nodded, standing slowly from his seat, despite having just sat down, and walking away a few steps, before turning to meander in a slow circle, his eyes not focused on anyone or anything as he began to speak.

“When I was in my–oh, let’s say my mid-forties, I met a young filing clerk in Berlin named Peter whose marriage was nearly in shambles because of a man named Alexander.” Burke spoke the name slowly, almost venomously, then chuckled.

“Alexander?” Melodica repeated with a quirk of her eyebrow, and Burke nodded her way.

“The way the couple described it, Alexander would arrive home wearing the clerk like a suit. He’d show up, tersely demand dinner, and would show no affection to either his wife or his son, eating and going to bed almost immediately after. Peter would wake up, Alexander seemingly having gone away, and find his beloved outraged at his behavior. He would go to work… and Alexander would return home in his place.”

“What was going on?” Taz asked, her eyes focusing on the man almost unblinkingly.

“What was going on was that Peter was the only filing clerk at the law firm he worked at.” Burke answered, turning to face Taz with a wry smirk. “And he didn’t handle just the filing, they had him running around making coffee, or delivering messages across the city, and they refused to hire more hands to help him as they thought it would be too much money. So, to handle the strain, Peter–who I learned was a psychic far later than was helpful–developed a split personality: Alexander, the greatest filing clerk in all of Germany.”

“You said he developed a split personality?” Taz asked with wide eyes, and Burke gave her a quick nod.

“Precisely, he, under the strain of his work but his refusal to quit, put his empowered psionic mind to work creating an entirely new person. This Alexander fellow was somebody who could handle the strain at work, but was unable to relax at home; he was an underdeveloped personality, one that was built entirely for a singular purpose, and lacked the flexibility to handle his alter ego’s personal life. Our friendly clerk did not take the time and effort to help Alexander grow as an individual, and thus, Alexander was stunted, and his more confident ego suppressed Peter until he fell asleep.”

Taz nodded slowly, but by her side, Melodica bristled, squaring her shoulders and leaning forward to give Burke a small, dark look. “And what are you getting at?” The mermaid all but demanded in a shaky voice.

“Let me finish my story and I’ll tell you.” Burke glanced the tulpa’s way before continuing his pacing. “I brought a student of mine with me to help heal Peter’s self-inflicted psychosis. This student of mine was an experienced mental delver, a strong practitioner in the, at the time, burgeoning field of Dividualism. When we offered Peter the opportunity to rid himself permanently of Alexander, Alexander asserted control and begged for his life to not be removed. Let me restate this: Peter, ready to agree to be rid of Alexander, suddenly fell to his knees and begged for his life. I was shocked, to say the least.”

“Alexander wasn’t just a mask.” Taz realized, and Burke gave her a reassuring nod. “He was a person sharing a body with Peter.”

“Isn’t that just… incredible?” Burke asked, glancing skyward with a small, fond smile. “Psychologically, a human being shouldn’t be able to handle being two people, that’s why a split personality is a disorder; it’s disruptive, it’s inconvenient, and it’s the sign of an unwell mind, but a psychic can create a split personality and, through careful work, simulate both.”

Burke sighed, and continued. “With Alexander on his knees, begging us to let him live, and with Peter’s wife and son present, we didn’t know what to do… until my student knelt down and offered to help Alexander learn to live with Peter.”

“Your student was Zhou Ping, wasn’t he?” Melodica guessed, glancing at the man’s statue in the center of the park, and Burke’s smile widened.

“Very astute–Melodica, was it?” She nodded. “Zhou was my best student, my favorite student. My interest in psience began very early in my life, but Zhou was what breathed life into my studies. He wasn’t just interested in the psience, he was interested in the people we studied as well. Over the course of a year, Zhou helped Alexander develop. What was once a man who cared only for his career became a second husband and father to his family, more concerned with numbers and work than Peter, but capable of falling in love with his alter ego’s wife and sharing a life with Peter. Zhou’s guidance let two people live at peace with one another, and he was the best man at Alexander’s wedding to–can you believe it? Peter’s wife.”

Burke chuckled at that, and Taz nodded eagerly, grinning from ear to ear as Melodica sat still, her fists twisted up curiously. “So, what does it mean, then?” She asked, and Burke glanced her way again.

“What all this means, what my point is, what I’m getting at is…” Burke sighed softly. “Dividualism is a very difficult and often dangerous discipline. Creating separate personalities, taking in the personality and memories of a whole different human being, or creating a tulpa beyond simple mimicry and surface-level personality traits, it’s dangerous to the point that classes here are more about avoiding the pitfalls of it. What you did,” Burke pointed at Taz, “was create somebody.”

At that, the aged professor strode over to Melodica, the mermaid girl straightening up in concern as he held his hand out to her. Her hand raised, and slowly settled in his palm. He squeezed it, but his fingers did not pass through her hand. Melodica’s hand was as smooth and featureless as plastic to the touch, but it had give, it had weight.

“Somebody capable of acting on their own, utilizing your very psychic powers to realize themselves unto our world. How often do you feel her using your powers, Taz?” Burke asked the blonde, holding up Melodica’s hand. “Do you feel the strain of her making a physical hand?”

Taz stared as Burke lifted and wiggled one of Melodica’s fingers, almost like he was playing with a baby, and she gently shook her head. “I barely feel a thing. Like, when I think about it, I kinda feel a strain, but… not really? Like resting your leg up on something.”

“That means Melodica is, without needing your permission or even your notice, using your psychic powers in a way that barely affects you. How old were you when you created her? Tell me everything.” Burke ordered.

At that, Taz glanced over at Zi, who gave a little grin. “She was five–more like five-and-a-half at the time, ‘cuz it was around October. Taz didn’t have any friends aside from Madeline, and Madeline was going to school in person while Annie tried to homeschool this one.” Taz’s head twitched when Zi tickled her right behind the ear. “Annie, bless her heart, wasn’t used to being a single mother at all, and didn’t know how to respond to a little girl wanting to babble about toys and cartoons. Lonely kids make up friends to talk to and play with when they have no other options, and this one came up with Ariel.”

“Ugh.” Melodica turned her nose up at her very first name.

“Little Mermaid was my favorite movie at the time.” Taz tried to explain as Burke nodded. “So I made Ariel to hang out with, and, well, over time, I got interested in other stuff and began to change her.”

“When did she start to become independent?” Burke asked, monitoring Melodica’s reactions at remembering her… infantile state.

“About ten years old.” Zi answered for Taz again. “She was spending the night with us one evening. Middle of the night, Melodica–Melody at the time, she changed her own name later–whispered into my ear to wake me up. She was asking for some lemonade. I was a little annoyed, ‘cuz I thought Taz was just being lazy, so I went to check on her only to find her sound asleep in Madeline’s bedroom, Mel still following me around. I shook Taz awake, and she didn’t know what was going on…”

“... but I was really thirsty.” Taz mentioned with a bit of a blush. “I had no idea what was going on, but I woke up feeling thirsty, and asked for lemonade.”

“I brought her a lemonade, and from that moment on, when Melly told me she wanted something, I listened. A few years after that, she was shocking us all by changing her own outfits, or even playing music and picking things up without Taz asking or wanting to. She planned a surprise party for Taz’s fourteenth birthday without Taz ever knowing.”

“I screamed when everyone jumped out… they thought I was in on it trying to plan my own birthday party.” Taz groaned.

Burke glanced between the two young girls, the tulpa and her creator, the imaginary friend and the real girl, and quirked his lips. “Are you capable of turning her ‘off?’”

“Off?” Melodica repeated.

“How do you mean?” Taz frowned in confusion, glancing at Melodica with an uncertain tilt of her head.

“Can you prevent her from appearing?” Burke asked.

“Well, sure, but that’s hard.” Taz answered, and Melodica huffed at the thought.

“Hard?”

“Yeah.” Taz nodded her head. “She’ll just try to get out anyways. The only way to keep her from getting out is by wearing a privacy band, or making her wear feet.”

“Ground prisons.” Melodica snorted, and Burke blinked rapidly.

“So when she is not present, she can force herself to be present?” Burke asked, and Taz nodded, along with Melodica. “Even if you try to prevent it?” Another pair of nods. “Interesting. Taz, for your electives, did you join the Tulpamancy class?”

“No, mom wanted me to focus on non-psionics outside of my core classes.” Taz answered with a pout.

“Hm.” Burke rubbed his chin in thought, and with a little grin, shook his head. “Well that won’t do. How do you feel about taking an extra elective for your first year? Tulpamancy will give you and Melodica a chance to learn more about yourselves and your particular bond. You’ll be well-beyond the other students in practice, but the information you learn may be important!”

“We’d love to!” Melodica swam around Burke, her tail wriggling in delight! “Right Taz?! We can do three electives!”

Taz took a breath to answer with a smile, but paused. In her mind, she pictured a flicker of irritation across her mother’s face, that very gentle, but forceful tone reminding her of what she’d asked, and she quietly deflated.

She looked up at Zi, who, with a small smile, squeezed her shoulder, and nodded. “‘Course she can, Freddy.” She answered for Taz, and glanced down at the girl. “And if your mama tries to give you stink about it, tell her I gave the go-ahead.”

With that, a smile broke across Taz’s face, and she nodded eagerly at the professor, who clasped his hands together with a delighted look.

“Excellent. Well in that case, we’ve sat around telling stories and sharing our abilities long enough. Would you like to see the campus, Taz?” He asked gently, and the blonde shot to her feet, arms in the air, Melodica matching her pose at her side with eager grins. “I’ll take that as a yes.”