//------------------------------// // Picking Up the Pieces // Story: In Another Life III: A Human(e) Retelling // by Bateman66 //------------------------------// Neuro somberly looked down at the fallen Alistair, who breathed slowly from where he lay on the floor. A few moments ago the room had been sounding like the vortex of a windstorm, with even the simplest of words being carried away by the swelling force contained within the small space. Now, the entire chamber was absolutely still, with no outside interruption coming from anywhere. The Professor of over four degrees in education and science had been expecting for a grand revelation to be made minutes before, a final solving of an age old question that been plaguing himself and others for as long as memory could go. Instead, he’d seen his own elated mood rise to an unimaginable level, carried about by his equally rising expectations, only to see both of them quickly spiral downwards into blackness in less than a second. If he was perhaps younger, or maybe just not as forlorn, he might have tried to resuscitate the situation. Possibly jumpstarting the boy with a stimulate shot, injecting him with a few more ounces of tranquillizer, and having him perform the dimensional transportation tome once more. But his instincts objected to this notion, common sense ruling it was much too dangerous. He’d pushed his luck about as far as it could take him, and he couldn’t risk any internal complications from giving the child another does of powerful psychoactive chemicals. Sighing with a dejected look that pained the crest of his chest, he slowly walked around his desk and toward the lying Alistair. “We could have accomplished such great things together,” he said with an absent disappointment better suited for a co-worker or partner in a profession. “But now…I…we, no longer have the chance.” He clenched his hooves together aggressively and kicked the edge of the carpet, creating a slight ruffle on it. Cursing loudly, he descended into a hail of obscenities and cusses that lasted well over a minute, their creativity matching with that of a seasoned Badlands raider’s. Panting from his strained anger, he rubbed a slight trail of perspiration off the center of his brow and felt a tad bit better. “I don’t blame you,” he announced over his gasping. “At least, I’m trying not to. It’s not fair for me to get mad at you, this is my own fault, and I should fess up to it. It’s just hard, you know?” “Having to place everything that went wrong on yourself, and knowing that it actually is your fault. You want to reject it, to deny it, to try and push it away and place it upon someone or something. But you can’t, because it’s your problem and you have to take it with you, because no other pony will.” Neuro sighed. There wasn’t even a point to his confession. No pony, no pony conscious for that matter, was listening to a word he spoke. Still, it felt a bit better to talk to someone, even if that someone was himself. Trotting over to his wide shaded window, he quickly yanked at the metal pull chain and thrust the shutters open. The dull white light of a cloudy winter day creeped into the room, now adding with the electric lamp light that was already present. He would have preferred a blasting ray of sunshine to lift his spirits, but this would have to do. “I learned enough from what we did today and our session before. Not as much as I’d promised myself, but enough to suffice for most scholars’ expectations. I set the bar too high, maybe it was unrealistic, I don’t know…” He moved his hoof along the line of stubble on his chin, gently pushing the stringy orange hairs sprouting up. “I never disliked…Alistair, never had that born hatred that some ponies have for your kind. Something like that is out of line, dumb.” “I just needed to know your secret. This wasn’t out of spite or anger, just for the pursuit of knowledge, nothing more. And although, I admit, I did stoup lower than I’d be comfortable with, the ends justified the means.” He moved away from the window and back over to Alistair. Standing above the boy, he inspected him quickly, checking for any visual or facial identifiers to serious injury. Thankfully, the boy looked fine, with nothing more than exhaustion about him and a sunken in expression. “That’s good,” the Professor said aloud. “Nothing too bad. It looks like all you need is a little something to eat and a nice long nap. I’m not very well versed in injuries resulting from magic,” he smiled warmly, “but you look ok to me.” “Now come on, let’s get you back up on your feet.” Taking Alistair by the shoulder, Neuro gradually lifted him to his feet until the human was standing wobbly on both of his legs. His eyes still appeared glazed and distorted from the injection Neuro had given him earlier, their focus shifting in and out of whatever was facing. He didn’t seem as confused and out of it, but he hadn’t spoken in what felt like an uncomfortable lapse of time. If given a few more minutes to recover, his senses would probably be back to where they’d been before, probably. Placing a hoof on his shoulders, Neuro looked directly into his eyes hoping that somewhere in the boy’s mind, he was processing what he was about to say. “Alright, you look well enough to leave. But before you go, I want you to do something for me.” Alistair robotically nodded his head, the sedative still giving enough control of his weak conscious. “I want you to forget what we did today. I want you to only remember that we talked causally, ok? I want you to forget. Ok? Forget. Forget. F-O-R-G-E-T. Can you do that for me?” He bobbed his head once more. “I will forget,” he said flatly, his normal lively tone being replaced with one that was not his own. “Good,” said Neuro as he patted him gently on the shoulder. “Now why don’t you get going? Our time together is over. But before you do…” He grabbed something off the top of his desk and then quickly handed it to Alistair. “Take this before you go, it’ll help with your mind.” It was a simple blue bill he’d given to him, no designs or significant features about it, only the simplicity of chalky vitamin-like pill. Without hesitation, Alistair tossed the medicine into his mouth and chewed slowly. Urging him to leave, Neuro made sure he’d swallowed the pill before he opened the office door for him. Gesturing out to the corridor, Alistair nodded at Neuro one last time and stepped out into the hallway. Without another word, Professor Neuro Paraprax shut the door behind him. Turning around, Alistair made sure that the door had been shut fully and he no longer was being observed in any shape or form. Confirming this, he pressed both his hands into his bright jean pockets and strolled down the silent red carpeted hallway, his strides long and harsh against the floor. He held a determination about himself as he walked, feeling a sense of urgency he had not felt since almost being kidnapped a few months prior. He thinks I forgot spoke his conscious bitterly. Thinks he’s going to get off scot free while I bumble around none the wiser that he did anything to me. He turned around and glared back at the door, a considerable distance already separating them. We’ll see about that.