In medias res. It means to start in the middle, but is it truly the middle if it’s a start of something?

God, I feel old. Hell, even the idea of God and hell feel old.

“God” is just a verbal anachronism now, “Hell” too for that matter. A verbal tic from a bygone age of unenlightened minds, mystic mumbo-jumbo, and monkeys trying to make sense of things not understood. Science has “proved” that it/he/she doesn’t exist. But I don’t know if I believe that... most people call me an old kook. I feel old, at least I resemble that part. This moment in time feels like an argument on whether God/god exists, or maybe it's just whether hell exists.

Wait… I was in the middle of something. Fuck... Static. Shrieking. White. Red. Black. Burning Flesh. Screaming? It’s amazing what the mind can overcome when it’s pushed past its limit to interpret signals. Screaming? ...Shit. That’s me. I’m screaming. I sound like a little bitch right now. I certainly don’t sound like a hardened veteran of the “Last War”. I certainly don’t sound like one of the first recipients of the engraph limb replacement systems… the ones that you couldn’t use anesthetization for. They used pain to map the nerves. They connected better that way... So they said. I didn’t more than grunt then. But, screaming? That’s new for me. I’m not saying that I am the world's toughest guy. I just learned how to shut my mouth on it. How to bury it deep. Once you learn that pain is just signals, informing your body, that something has gone wrong, It gets easier to tune it out. Like an incessantly screaming child. A child. That’s right I'm doing this for a child, but here I am screaming like one. Ugh. Mewling even. A scream, “Fuck!” It drags out to its own eternity. The mind does funny things when it’s overloaded with signals.

What feels like minutes pass. A ringing in my head driving out all thought. Panicked voices screaming all around.

“Fuck! Install the inhibitor now! The uptake is too fast. Screw decay sickness. This guy is showing twice the normal resonance?! What the fuck is happening? Was he exposed to a Wildling?” The angry male voice tiraded.

“Unless the forms are inaccurate, he shouldn’t have. We have seen increased resonance with recipients of the engraph series before. This much is abnormal, but we should be fine. It was theorized that the engraph series of limb replacements were a precursor to the VALENT implant. Those also tapped into the code.” The insistent female tried to insistently reassure.

His angry voice continued unabated. “This is twice! Twice! Even taking into account an engraph, that's only ever been around 1.25 total measured resonance. You can’t even begin to explain this deviation, except by wildling exposure. This asshole! He lied. I say we install the inhibitor now. Leave him a train wreck. If we don’t stop him he could destroy this entire wing!”

She countered more insistent, “Look around, this isn’t even as bad as a wildling outbreak. There has been no damage to the containment unit yet. Sure, there are spikes and fluctuations, but for some reason, the power spikes are self-contained. As long as the VALENT implant holds stable, it will be fine. Hell! If it burns out, he is the only one in danger.” She muttered resigned under her breath, “As a vegetable. That’s all that will be left. God, please N, keep it together.

“This is on you. This was your recommendation. I still don’t know how you got it past the board. Most qualified veterans were already signed up. I even lost out on this docket slot! Where the hell you find this dinosaur? I swear you will lose your license if this goes sideways. Hell, I think I should still put you on notice for review. This whole mess stinks! We are at least removing the engraph unit until he stabilizes” Angry male number 1, continues his grouching. I can’t hear them anymore.

The Blizzard inside my brain once more taking me away. “Dinosaur” he called me. What happens when you don’t kill the dinosaurs on Earth? Well, apparently, things go a little funny. Apparently, the killing off of our earth’s dinosaurs resulted in our earth remaining in a lower valent longer. It allowed us to develop technology in an entirely different way. We harnessed a system of exchange based on electricity. Considering what we have access to now. Electricity as a power source seems like such a comical system. Although our ability to do more with less really gave us a leg up. It made us flexible, creative, and in a weird way powerful.

I know what your thinking...what an exposition dump, this guy is just running on about a voodoo nonsense, but honestly, this is the foundation of how it all “starts”. Plus this moment of reflection is the only thing buying me space and time from the screaming that my body is doing. Trust me, I majored in philosophy, for what good that did me in the “Last War”

Variable. Aether. Linking. Extraneous. Neuronic. Trigger. In case you were wondering. VALENT. You know that “garbage” genetic material that they taught you about. Well, it’s actually way more important than you know. In an Aether rich environment, it behaves like iron filaments. They all line up and form a neat system that allows what the nerds call “magic”. I’ll tell you what it is. It’s called Dimensional. Instance. Resonant. Extant. Controlled. Tear. also known as DIRECT. The 90’s were hell. Why was there such an emphasis on acronyms? The “magic” happens when you use your VALENT to create “Directions”. There are machines that can create Directions, but they are massive. To utilize an ambient Aether source requires collectors, and since our earth, known as Exarch X07 Province, is still in a very low Valence state, the collectors are quite large. As time goes on and the Aether becomes denser, much of that technology will shrink.

Yeah, valence. Like, The valence shells that contribute to an atom. More electrons fill up more shells...so on so forth. Well more things are affected by those states. Pretty much everything of substance has “shells” that can be filled up. Our earth didn’t pass its first state until quite recently, it was actually the spark that started the “Last War”. Sudden storms and what appeared to be unnatural phenomena were just the result of a transition to a higher energy state.

The world has taken on a funny blurry filter. Last I checked everything didn’t look so fuzzy, or vivid. This seems like one of those awful Aether Camera filters. ...Shit. I look down to be greeted with my very own, brand shiny new, VALENT Device. Mine apparently came in black. I don’t remember a model that comes in black, especially in the first tier. Those are usually brightly colored.

“Good afternoon. Helloo? Can you hear me? An impatient nasally voice implores for my attention.

My head swivels in the direction of this obnoxious/nauseating experience. “Owwww, woah. ...Can we keep it down? I haven’t felt like this since armistice day. Woohugh” I finish under my breath “God, that was a lot of drinking.”

I don’t think I had ever heard such an indignant tsk before. “Tsk. Whatever. I am your Aetheric device counselor. I have 200 more people to meet today. At least that’s a group class. Not even sure why you are in one of the suites.” She acerbically and nasally intoned.

“Wait? What? The suites? How the hell did I end up here? This should have been a normal VALENT device initialization. I can’t afford this. Get me out of here!” I start hollering as I panic.”

“Whoa, there soldier. This has already be compensated for. I am guessing what you are experiencing right now is Pure Aether distortion.” She nonplussed, if not indignantly, continued. “You jumped the first three states. Your body is currently trying to handle the large flows of Aether it is trying to process.”

“Wait, what?” Feeling a little repetitive. “I’ve never heard of more than a single tier jump, and those are usually from early graduates. I’m… Well, I’m old! We were worried if I would even register for one shell, let alone have the capacity for more than three!” I shook my head in shock as it came out a little forcefully in my voice. I instantly regretted it. A green and blue sludge blossomed spectacularly out of my face...Well my mouth really, but if you have never seen it coming at you, you wouldn’t understand.

“What the fuck! They said you were stable! I am filing for bio-pay right now. I will not put up with this garbage.” After a couple of quick motions on her Databoard, a few mechanisms popped out of the wall and immediately started cleaning up. She moved off to the side a couple of meters and stepped in a Fresher unit. The Tube slid down and immediately filled with the foam solution. A moment passed and it cleared, and the tube raised. “That smell. I will never get used to that smell. Can. You. Please. Place the waste mask over your mouth before we begin talking again?”

I reached to the side of the bed and pulled the wastes mask over my face. An amazing device that revolutionized hangovers, Aether induced or otherwise. “Sorry.” I barely managed to get out. “Please, continue”

“Ugh, at least you have manners.” Disgust still curling up her lips a little. “The device in your chest was a special acquisition as a, supposedly, distinguished member of military service. Which would’ve been given to you anyway, upon reaching the appropriate tier. Although, I would like to draw your attention to the ankle inhibitor shackle attached to your ankle. That will be in place until a few matters are resolved.”

Slowly pulling the blanket back I do see a sleek silver device. “Uh, what?”

“There seems to be a belief that you falsified documents prior to the installation of your VALENT device.” She continues to nasally drone on but makes more motions on the databoard. “You will receive one week of Aether acclimatization and recovery treatment, then you will be sent to the office of DIRECT for further training. Finally, they will send you on to the Skeleton Crew assignment facility to determine your Coffin and deployment status.”

Confusion coming across loud and clear. “I was under the impression I would have a month to train and acclimatize. What happened?

“Ex. Ten. U. Ating. Circumstances. Apparently, as part of the compensation program, you have been scheduled to, for the requisition of your military grade unit, You have been put on an accelerated program. To cover that further, these gentlemen will assist you.” Punctated on ‘these’, the door opened and two men stepped inside. A snide look on her face…clearly loving her flair for the dramatic.

“Ugh, huuurk” was all that came out as I once again spewed a mix of Aether and bile into the waste unit.

The two men were not amused.

The men proceeded to question me, grill me, give me the Spanish Inquisition, and generally drag me over the coals. The short of the long. They knew that I had falsified my documents regarding wildling exposure and that I should thank my lucky stars, that my engraph unit helped to buffer the extreme uptake in Aether, otherwise I would have been a vegetable. I knew it was a risk going in, but I had no idea it would’ve gone this south. I guess that’s what I get for taking the word of a black market retailer.