NOVEL NEXT Chapter 7: Her
"This time I want someone who has a Memory that they do not know how to use." Noble waited for the inevitable response.
In general, people did not like to admit their own incompetence in front of peers, and teens felt the pull to fit in even stronger than most.
So one by one the hands all dropped, except two: the enigmatic student named Catphine and the dark-haired girl who had been the point of contention between Hamish and Hectare.
Just as Noble was about to call on Cat, the stunning brunette dropped her hand and her eyes darted away. Clearly, she had thought the better of whatever it was she was going to present. Instead of paying rapt attention like she had been, the young lady went to drawing on a piece of paper which she pulled from her bag.
'Curious…'
That left only one volunteer, making the decision an easy one. Noble waved her forward.
"Your name?"
"Elle," the dark-haired student answered. Then, without being asked, she summoned her Memory in a shower of sparks.
What Elle held in her hand was a small bright red sphere with delicate green spikes sticking out at irregular intervals. It looked unassuming, but Noble knew that fact did not mean anything when it came to Memories.
"Tell me about it."
The student closed her eyes and repeated what she saw, "Name: Forbidden Fruit
Rank: Awakened
Type: Weapon
Description: [The wretch soon learned that tasting that which is not yours can lead to dire consequences.]"
Elle's face contorted in pain at the final words. Noble wondered if it had to do with the words themselves or if the runes brought up thoughts of her first nightmare.
The professor had learned long ago that asking where and how the Memories were acquired often led to students breaking down. So Noble simply accepted the information which the students offered freely about their experience in the Nightmare Realm.
Other courses as well as the therapy offered by the school were places which were more suited to working through the trauma.
"And you don't know what the Memory does?" Noble needed Elle to confirm the statement for the other students.
"I have tried everything I can think of but nothing seems to happen. I am beginning to think its enchantment must require essence to use. Either that or it is defective." Elle sighed helplessly. Every young man in the room fought the urge to come forward to comfort her.
Elle either didn't notice or didn't care. 'Must have an aspect or a flaw that has to do with attraction.'
"Bee Two," Noble said gently. "What can you tell me about the Memory?"
Bee Two lit up the object just like before in a laser line of colored light. Then the android whirred quietly before giving the results.
"The runes are all as described. But the wielder is mistaken on one point. This tier one Memory is working perfectly. Its single enchantment is passive, not active. She should be able to use it. Perhaps it is an issue with her skill."
The android flipped its synthetic hair dramatically with the last line. Elle was stunned for a moment.
"Forgive Bee Two. Androids should really not have personalities, but I couldn't resist." Noble treated Bee Two more like a companion and a colleague than an instrument, so the professor had added some sass to the bot for her own amusement.
Elle processed the information. "So I should be able to use this, I'm just not smart enough?"
"No, I think you are just using your head instead of your intuition. Sometimes we bypass our natural inclinations because they don't make sense. Rather than think about what 'should' happen, take a moment and let your hands work on their own. You should feel a gentle pull on your consciousness. Listen to it." Noble's voice rose and fell hypnotically.
Whether this was to soothe the student into listening to her subconscious, or just a mannerism the professor had picked up from doing this hundreds of other times, the effect was the same. Elle closed her eyes and held out the Memory in her hand as she concentrated.
"Do you feel anything?" Noble asked after an extended pause.
"I–I do! It's like there is a string pulling me to do something. The feeling is both coming from within and outside." Elle's words were filled with wonder.
Noble nodded. "Good, now before you act on that urge…"
But it was too late. Elle's other hand flew on top of the Memory as she began systematically flicking her wrists while gripping the [Forbidden Fruit]. Each directional click caused the red sphere to release a cracking sound as if some hidden vertebrae inside were finally being aligned.
The spikes of the ball glowed dimly at first but quickly grew in intensity. With a final flourish, the dark-haired student pushed the final piece into place.
"Done! How did I do?" Elle held out the ball. It pulsed with an ominous light.
Noble's eyes turned grey. "Dismiss the Memory. NOW!"
"What?" Elle did not comprehend the urgency in the professor's voice.
Snatching the Memory from Elle's palm, Noble rushed to the enclosure in the front of the room and threw the [Forbidden Fruit] inside. The door to the chamber was barely shut before the fruit exploded.
Deadly spikes went in every direction, rattling against the clear walls before clattering to the ground. Deep red pulp followed only a millisecond behind, and as it dripped down, the sickening display looked highly poisonous.
"You did it," Noble answered, her face returning to its normal calm exterior. "Well done! Feel free to dismiss it before that juice tries to eat through the floor."
Elle obliged before hurrying back to her seat, somewhat embarrassed. Most of the students were too busy fawning over her to notice the change.
"I am glad that was only an Awakened Memory. I am not sure how much more my chamber could have held!" Noble held up her hands when she saw the alarmed faces. "I am kidding. That thing can hold almost anything you can throw at it."
Hectare raised his hand. "Professor, since you knew that the Memory was a weapon, why didn't you make Elle use the chamber to begin with? I mean we could have been seriously injured."
The students around him exchanged glances. It had seemed like a rather serious mistake.
Bee Two laughed robotically. It appeared that the android had been programmed with some semblance of a sense of humor.
In response to the accusation, Noble nodded slowly. "I must say I am impressed, Hectare. You have made a very astute observation. To answer your question, I intentionally did not put your classmate in the chamber for two reasons. Do you care to guess what they are?"
With the question turned back on himself, Hectare straightened his back. "It's obvious, of course." The young man hesitated, "I–I just wanted the others to realize why you did what you did. I am not sure anyone else was genius enough to understand."
"Very well," the professor opened up the question to the rest of the room. "Does anyone want to show off their critical thinking skills and tell me why I did what I did?"
Noble happily called on the brunette with the wavy hair. Cat cleared her throat. "Well, we have no guarantee that the Memory would not have hurt Elle. It was much easier to throw the fruit into the chamber than it would have been to drag Elle out."
"Very good. Hamish?"
The red-headed boy held a mischievous grin. "Well, now that we know how close we all came to death or dismemberment, we are likely to be more careful. I know I myself would not have taken safety seriously if not for this little demonstration."
"There is great value in showing and not just telling. I could have told you until I was blue in the face to be careful with unfamiliar Memories and most of you would have ignored me. Now, when I say my chamber and my assistance are always available, perhaps at least a few of you will take me up on the offer while you are here. And if a hole gets blown into the side of the student dormitory, it is no longer my fault…probably."
Student after student brought forward Memories to be analyzed. A cloak which kept the user warm from the elements. A charm which allowed the wielder to be hyper-focused. And even a tool which contained an endless amount of powder. When applied to the face, the person took on a completely different, highly appealing visage for as long as the powder remained.
"That one might be worth selling. There is a very big market for cosmetic Memories. That alone could get you enough money for a few years," Noble informed the young man.
Of course, Hectare had to show off his Ascended weapon which had been gifted to him from his clan. Noble gave the Memory the due amount of respect without swelling the young man's head too much.
All in all, the class flew by. When it was time to dismiss, the professor was pretty confident at least a few would return.
"Today was a good class," Bee Two observed.
"It was, wasn't it?" Noble glided to her seat. She set down her datapad and picked up the first sheet in the mountain of pages from the corner of her desk.
Each Memory which was analyzed had caused a report to be printed from a contraption on her desk. The high volume of scans had caused the pile to be unusually large.
The information from the pages could either be discarded, put into the Academy's database, or, on rare occasion, forwarded to the government or another research facility to increase Humanity's knowledge. Noble knew this data would take a considerable amount of time to wade through.
"There's just one problem." The android interrupted the professor's progress.
Noble looked up from the paper. "Oh. And what's that?"
Bee Two pointed to the lone student left behind in the room. "Her."