Subject: Tulpamancy Room Change

From: Doctor Caitlyn Yume

CC: [email protected]

Good morning, Taz and Melodica.

Your Tulpamancy lesson will be taking place in the Dewitt Hospital today, subterranean lab #2. Walk in with this info in your head and the receptionist will send you our way.

Dr. Yume.

P.S. Taz-Chan, Mel-Chan, please bring your guitar! We have a special activity prepared for you today! :)

Much love, Kaguya-Hime.

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The only way to reach the hospital’s subterranean level was via a handful of elevators, pretty much one in each wing of the building.

“The subterranean level was developed with critical cases in mind.” Andrew Ng, the same nurse that had guided Taz to Dr. Dewitt’s office before explaining as Taz and Melodica stood in front of the elevator. “It’s very rare for outsiders to come downstairs; that is to say, non-doctors or psientists who aren’t family to the patients we keep below.”

“Why below ground?” Taz asked as they stepped into the small, sturdy elevator, being mindful of how she swung her guitar case so she didn’t take Andrew’s knees out from under him. “I feel like I’d get really… um…”

“Claustrophobic?” Melodica offered, and Taz nodded.

“Yeah that.”

Andrew pursed his lips thoughtfully, and shrugged. “Well, we try to avoid traumatizing our patients as best we can; you’ll see what I mean when we get down there, but it was a major collaboration with the art sector.”

When the elevator doors opened up, Taz stepped out into the hallway and blinked, Melodica giving a long, awe-filled ‘ooooh’ at the sight. They were in another hallway, but the decorations…

The floor was a light green tile, with some lines here and there to give the illusion of grass, and over the tile was painted a slowly snaking golden trail, clearly inspired by the Wizard of Oz. The ceiling was blue, with clouds painted in, and along the sides of the hall were small, out of the way planters with big, green plants ranging from snake plants, to parlor palms, to calatheas.

The walls were lined with pictures and artwork, mainly of nature, but several pieces of art that were clearly drawn by students were pictures of families, or places like cafes and theme parks.

It was very pretty, and Taz couldn’t imagine something like this in someplace sterile as a hospital.

“It’s… so different from what I expected.” Taz admitted, stepping out onto the golden brick road.

“It’s strange for a lot of people, but Zhou Ping insisted, despite the costs.” Andrew admitted, joining her in the middle of the hallway. “PA almost went bankrupt multiple times before the first student even stepped foot on campus, but he called for help across the world, and somebody would always answer.”

“All to keep the patients at ease…” Melodica mumbled, and Andrew nodded.

“Many of the patients in the subterranean level can’t function well around unrestricted thought. Sometimes, when the campus is empty, we take them topside to enjoy the park, to have grass under their feet again, and real sunlight.” Andrew smiled, though sadly at the thought. “We try to keep a constantly shifting environment of artwork and music so they can be more at ease, but also be stimulated by more than white walls.”

They started to walk down the hall, following a sign on the wall that read ‘Sub-Labs’, walking at an easy pace and passing by a handful of white-coated workers as they found their way through the below-ground labyrinth.

“My mom told me that we don’t have a basement in our house because Arizona soil is really bad for it.” Melodica said out loud, Taz nodding her head at the stirring memory, staring at a mural of circus tents and performers on a broad stretch of wall.

“It really is. PA – and the entirety of PJ, I’m pretty sure – only has two basement levels like this: ours and the ESP’s. Theirs’ is much smaller though, and is designed specifically to keep potential threats to the campus, or from the student body, locked away until the right people can come grab them.”

“Aww man, the ESP have a jail?” Melodica blinked in surprise at the information.

“Sometimes we have students who… well, there are psionic juvenile detention halls, but not in PJ, and sometimes that sort of anti-social behavior doesn’t manifest until a student is away from home.”

Andrew told them some more as they walked, mainly pertaining to the activities the critically psionically damaged could enjoy. There was a gym they could visit, as well as a sorta living room area where they could mingle with doctors and nurses and each other, watching TV and playing games together.

“Some of our worst cases can’t even enjoy that, though.” Andrew scratched his head with a frown. “A full privacy helmet can’t even keep them safe. A few of them are stuck in their rooms almost all day.”

“Like Sofia.” Taz said.

“Yes, like Sofia. She’s a very unfortunate case… that poor girl…” Andrew rubbed his chin.

Taz nodded her head, but found a sense of unease filling her. She’d heard that name before, but why did she think of it so quickly…? Maybe she was an au natural diviner?

She hadn’t noticed how quiet Melodica had gotten.

They continued their walk until they came down a hallway that was sparse with doors. Andrew gestured down the hallway. “Lab #2 is the first door on the right. First on the right.”

“Alright, we get it!” Melodica pouted, and Andrew sighed.

“Just making sure. The second room is just an observation room, but… anyways, get in there.” Andrew smirked, taking a keycard to open the door up. Taz and Melodica walked in, and the door shut behind them.

“Ah, right on time!” Dr. Dewitt exclaimed. “And you brought your equipment, perfect!”

The rotund man was sitting in a chair next to a pair of computer monitors. The wires at the ends of the monitors attached to the base of a large metal dias, atop which sat a wide, but short glass containment tube, topped with a metal roof. Taz stared; it was as big as her room back home!

“Whoa…” Was all she said, Melodica momentarily forgetting to walk as she hovered towards it, staring at the interior, which contained just a simple medical cot and a pair of metal chairs.

“Over here, girls.” Both girls looked away to see Ms. Yume typing away at a computer on a program that immediately made Taz think of business; it was some kind of sheet with tons of fillable squares and labels: ‘Experiment Label’, ‘Subjects’, ‘Parameters’, Taz could make out before Kaguya caught her attention with a pleasant wave.

“Konnichiwa, Taz-chan!” Kaguya cooed, offering her a short bow. “Konnichiwa, Mel-chan!”

“Uh…” Taz blinked, trying to remember her foreign manners, and gave an overly stiff bow alongside Melodica. “Arigatou, Kaguya-hime!”

“Konnichiwa.” Melodica repeated, imitating the bow. “So what’s all this, Ms. Yume?”

“Dr. Dewitt wants to run some tests, and figured now was a better time than eating up your weekend, considering this could take all night.” Ms. Yume smiled at her, and pat an empty seat right next to her. “Take a seat, Nora should be arriving soon. She’s quite excited to meet you.”

“Nora?” Taz asked, sitting down, Melodica hopping up on the counter nearby, kicking her legs idly.

“Nora Pedersen, one of our critical care patients.”

At that, Dr. Dewitt spoke up from where he was typing into a computer attached to the two monitors. “Nora was the victim of an attack by another psionic. During the struggle, her assaulter used telepathy to mentally overwhelm her with psionics, and in the process, damaged parts of her psionic brain.”

“Oh god.” Taz winced at the description.

“What did they want from her?” Melodica asked.

Dr. Dewitt shook his head. “That is better left unsaid. For now, focus on this,” Dr. Dewitt turned to face Taz, “Nora was forced onto the Mustafi Spectrum; she once had a healthy mind, and has a point of reference for ‘normal.’ Today, we will be using this data chamber,” he gestured to the large, glass cage, “to be monitoring both of your vitals whilst Dr. Yume and I divine your unique auras.”

“Will that be like…” Taz suddenly went pale. “Are you guys gonna poke me with needles or anything?” Melodica grimaced at the thought.

“Nope.” Yume held up a small white pad. “We’re using telemetry for that.”

“Tele-what?”

“Like in medical dramas when they stick pads all over a patient’s chest? Y’know, electrodes.”

“Oh! … Am I going to have to get naked?”

“Good lord, girl,” Dr. Dewitt sighed, “we are professionals, don’t be so dirty!”

“I’m not being dirty, it’s a legitimate question!” Taz whined, blushing as she crossed her arms over her chest.

“No.” Ms. Yume smirked. “These are going on your face, your mosquito bites are safe.”

“WOW.”

“Caitlyn…” Dr. Dewitt pinched the bridge of his nose. “Maturity, please, maturity…”

“Aww, but Hugo, she’s getting so red!”

“Amusing, yes…”

Melodica idly imagined putting a kettle of water on Taz’s head…

“You are a shameful woman, Yume-sensei.” Kaguya pouted, her hand passing through a seething Taz’s shoulder comfortingly. “But no, you will be wearing the clothes you came in with, aside from electronics on your person.”

“Well good.” Taz crossed her arms and huffed. “Super duper great!”

“Oh don’t act so huffy, girl.” Ms. Yume chuckled. “I didn’t have a cup size until I was, like, thirty. Now curb the attitude ‘cuz, until Nora gets here: did you do the reading I assigned you?”

Taz deflated, her lips puckered into a heated pout, but she nodded. “It was kinda-sorta-really hard to get through some of, like… like what was it, Mel?”

“The language they used.” Mel’s nose crinkled. “Like it was all ‘I inscribe my transcendental soul upon the weave of’ gag.”

“I haven’t read anything that pretentious since I got assigned Shakespeare last semester…”

Ms. Yume gave a barking laugh, and had to force herself to calm down so she could speak. “My Soul Alights was written with one hand on the keyboard, one flipping through a thesaurus, yeah. But you get it, right?”

“Oh, yeah, I finished the essay.” Taz passed over the written page and Ms. Yume sat back to read it. “I really liked the theme of, like, your tulpa being a representation of your soul.”

“I mean, they are, aren’t they? Except yours apparently split in two, because that one,” Ms. Yume pointed at Melodica, “is a whole case of weirdness. So, tell me, what do you think Melodica represents to you? Ah!” Ms. Yume held a finger out to Melodica before she could answer. “I want to hear Taz’s answer, not yours.”

Taz mulled the question around in her head for a moment, but her brow pinched together in uncertainty as she sought her answer. “Well… Mel’s always been a lot more bold than me. Brave, too. Like even before she had her own personality, she was the one encouraging me to sneak snacks for dinner, or watch scary movies.”

“She represents a desire for bravery, that makes sense.” Ms. Yume turned to Melodica.

“And what do you believe you represent, Mel-chan?” Kaguya asked curiously.

Melodica snorted. “Easy. I’m cool, Taz is a loser!”

“Oh I am not!”

“You are too! You dress like a boy, and can barely talk in front of Noelle!”

“She’s hot! You’re not much better!”

“I am too!”

“Are not!”

“Yuh-huh!”

Ms. Yume just watched the two argue with a little grin, shooting a look Kaguya’s way, who silently agreed with a bow of her head. “Alright you two, that’s enough.”

“YUH-HUH!”

“NUH-UH!”

“YU—oh, sorry Ms. Yume!”

Ms. Yume shook her head. “Taz, did you ever want a sister growing up?”

Taz hesitated to answer. “I don’t… think I did? Maddy – our best friend, from a family we’re really close to – kind of filled that role. She wasn’t around all the time, but some of my first memories are with her and Aunt Zi.”

Ms. Yume nodded. “And you still have this bond with Maddy?”

“Yep!”

The teacher gave a curious hum. “So Melodica isn’t filling in a hole in your life. She certainly isn’t a parent, a teacher, or a lover.”

“People fall in love with their tulpas?” Melodica looked mortified.

“So to speak. Some do, and even carry on a romantic relationship, but as you can imagine, courting a split personality/sub-personality isn’t exactly healthy, nor legally recognized. It is rather common for tulpas and their masters to have a semi-sexual relationship, considering they often carry similar desires, stimulants, and moments of self-passion.”

Taz and Melodica stared blankly at the woman, who continued to ramble.

“Of course, they can’t really touch one another, so it’s mainly in terms of visuals and innuendo-laden encouragement. Sort of a self-cheering squad as a masturbatory aid. Though I am curious, considering Mel’s ability to manifest herself physically…”

Taz and Melodica quickly looked away from enough, both turning bright red.

“Nevermind.” Ms. Yume shook her hand to dismiss the topic. “I’m rambling at this point. Back on topic, I’m curious as to how Melodica developed, but it may be impossible to tell unless you have picture-perfect childhood memories of the process.”

“Nope.”

“Blank.”

“Sorry.”

“... Right. Well that aside, something to consider going forward is trying to plumb your own memories to figure out what you were thinking about at the time, what you were feeling. Maybe keep a diary that you fill in as you recall information. It may be important to understanding Melodica’s development from a base thoughtform to an advanced psionic entity.”

“O-okay. I can try and do that.”

Ms. Yume clasped her hands together and smiled. “I’ll get you both a diary.” She faced Melodica. “Any memories you might have would be incredibly helpful as well.”

“Right…” Melodica touched her chin in thought, her brow furrowing as she sank into her own thoughts deeply enough that, when she got to her feet, she forgot to float to the ground first. “What is my first memory…?”

“Wish I could help, but, uh, that one’s all you.” Taz grinned, getting a raspberry in return.

The door made a soft chirp, and all eyes turned to face it as the door opened. A girl that Taz estimated was a few years older than her walked in wearing what looked like a white set of pajamas, her rusty, reddish-brown hair long at the sides, but more trimmed in the back, with a set of bangs covering her forehead.

She walked inside with a little smile, keeping an upright posture and a steady pace on her feet.

Dr. Dewitt was the first to greet her, standing up from his chair to lumber over and take her hand. “Welcome, Nora, good to see you. How are you feeling today?”

“I’m well, doctor! No tests today, so I’ve just been relaxing.”

“Good, good. I hope to see some excellent data today.” He pointed a large finger at Taz and Melodica, directing the girl’s curiosity. “Nora, this is Natasha Cooper and her thoughtform, Melodica. They will be your partners in this experiment.”

“The healer!” Nora said with open delight in her voice. Taz’s mouth opened a little in surprise as Nora scampered over, and up close, Taz could see heavy bags under her eyes, reminding her a little too much of Theresa. “You’re the one who plays the music!” She sounded… genuinely happy, and Taz, with a blush, nodded.

“Yeah, me and Mel both.” Taz gestured to the silver-haired school girl by her side.

Nora stuck out a hand to each of them, flinching only the tiniest bit at Melodica’s strange touch. “You don’t know how happy I am you’re here! We’ve all heard there was an evolink capable of… helping us.” She tapped the side of her head, smiling as she did.

“Yeah.” Taz nodded. “I mean, we definitely want to help.”

Melodica walked closer, and Nora’s expression fell to confusion as the tulpa touched her cheeks, rubbing her thumbs along those heavy, dark bags under her eyes. “You haven’t been sleeping well.” Melodica said out loud.

“Oh, haha, no.” Nora tried to put on another smile. “I just started some new medication and haven’t been transitioning well.”

Ms. Yume gave a soft, concerned smile as she reached up to rest her hand over Nora’s forehead. “Still? It’s been a week and a half.”

“I know.” Nora mumbled, frowning in shame. “I’ve been sticking to it, but…”

“There’s only a few more doses left, Nora, and then we’ll have you back on your old medication.” Dr. Dewitt squeezed her shoulder comfortingly. “Taz, Mel, Nora here has what we refer to as Involuntary Psionic Fits and Psionic Emission Abrasion. In short: the damage she suffered causes her to use her psionic abilities at complete random, particularly when she’s asleep.”

“Which means I wake up to a messy room when it’s not under control.” Nora tried to joke, but simply looked exhausted.

“Additionally, it’s created a condition where using her psionics causes her mental pain. Her total condition manifests as completely random headaches and power surges.”

Nora nodded, looking just… ready to collapse. “I haven’t slept well, and it’s a pain in the ass.”

“W-well!” Taz straightened up, Melodica joining her as they both stared at the girl in a combination of horror and pity. “We’re here to help you however we can!”

“Mm.” Ms. Yume hummed. “No.” She stood slowly, making the two girls briefly glare, though a gentle wave of her hand from Kaguya got their attention.

“Girls, remember, you are here to assist in an experiment. It is important you do what is asked of you.” Kaguya gave Nora a consoling look. “You will help her, I promise, but we want to create an environment in which we gather the most usable data possible.”

“In doing that, we may be able to figure out a better cure for these psionic problems.” Dr. Dewitt explained gently.

Taz and Melodica both looked annoyed with the request, but gave a small, determined nod. “We’ll stick to the program.” Melodica stuck her tongue out, and Dr. Dewitt gave them a thankful nod.

“Good. Now, we’re going to apply some electrodes to you both, and then you’ll go ahead and get in the study chamber.”

Taz had four electrodes placed on her face: one over both sides of her forehead, and one over each temple. Nora had those four, and two more placed underneath her hair in the back of her skull.

Then, with the press of a button, one section of the wide, glass tube rose upwards into the ceiling. Nora walked in first, and without even needing any instruction, climbed onto the patient’s bed and laid down comfortably, Taz and Melodica following inside, with Taz pulling out her guitar.