Two Contracts

In the following days, Jade kept noticing strange phenomenon everywhere. For example, he noticed, one time, that he was capable of smelling the food that was being prepared in the canteen. And not only that, he also was able to discern with clarity between the different smells of different ingredients. And while the temperature was a little bit in the hot side, Jade found himself drowning in his own sweat.

Nothing of that made sense to him. It was as if his senses get enhanced to an inhuman degree at random times. He could be sleeping soundly, only to wake up frightened due to the squeaking of locusts.

Their usual voice seemed like a high pitch screech to his ear drums.

It was starting to feel like torture to him.

***

When the three days passed, as has been promised a well dressed man showed up in the university and was now in an empty study room waiting for the student to show up.

Jade was actually there in the room 10 minutes prior to the rendez-vous time, but he suddenly felt a powerful need to empty his bowels so he went to the toilet as fast as he could.

When he finally came back, he could see that the man was a little bit annoyed of his disrespect of time. He was a middle aged bearded man, with grey strands dispersed everywhere.

" Sorry for being late " said Jade shamefully while feeling the same uneasiness he felt when he first saw Nicolas and Arnold.

" Don't be! What matters is that you are now here and we can finally start. My name is %#&$ " his face changed a 180 degrees to a cheerful smile.

Jade didn't hear what he said in the end even though his mouth was moving.

He brought out two papers that were full with words to the brim.

" These are two contracts I'll ask you to sign. The first one is necessary in order for me to give you any kind of information. As for the second ... well let's just say it will be optional to sign it and you will understand more about it after signing the first contract and hearing what I have to say"

Jade take a look at the first contract. After reading it carefully, he found two points that he needed to follow.

Firstly, he can't discuss the information he is about to hear with anyone, unless that person is already aware of it.

Secondly, even if he managed to stumble upon someone who is aware of this, he can't reveal his source of information to them.

After pondering for a few minutes, he decided to sign this contract, giving priority to learning as much as he could about what's happening to him.

After signing the contract, he gave it back to the nameless man.

" There is no convenient approach to this situation that would ease your awe, so I will just give you the information and give you time to absorb it and accept it." Jade nodded hesitantly.

" You see, normally, our body functions and interacts with the world around it spontaneously without us deciding for it what to do. For example, our heart beats at a certain rate and we can't alter that rate with just a thought. Same goes for every sense we have. You can't decide the input that comes from your eyes or ears, you just take that input and try to work with it to the best of your capabilities.

" And here comes your new found abilities. Whether it happened on purpose or just by luck, you are now capable, theoretically speaking, of altering your body's functions with but a thought.

" Maybe you won't see it now at your current state, but with proper training you will be able to turn these accidents to abilities that you can use at will " At this point Jade was starting to feel dizzy, not knowing how to react to what he was hearing.

" Just to eliminate any doubt you might still have, I think you have noticed that you weren't capable of hearing my name, that was me altering my voice tone in a certain way. Some thing else you could learn to do is become transparent for example " he said so while waving his hand through the table as if it was just a hologram.

" I believe these information should be enough to enlighten your mind. Now for the training to actually occur, you must sign the second contract. " He said so while handing Jade this contract.

" I should tell you at that point, that these contracts are made in a specific way that connects to your mind, so that if you breech their articles, we will be notified and you'll be punished accordingly. "

Jade found this a little bit unsettling, none the less he started going through the document's articles . He stopped abruptly in one particular article that stated that after he graduated from his university, he should join AYAX - the name of this organization - and work for them for at least eight years.

It wasn't actually a bad offer at all, after all it did promise a very good amount of money, an amount that he probably won't be able to achieve even if the app he was developing actually was successful.

Though if there was anything Jade valued more than money, it was his freedom. And this principle of his was completely disrespected by this article. After all, being forced to work for someone didn't scream freedom that much. And so, while knowing he won't be getting the training he so desperately needed to at least stabilize his condition, he chose to decline this offer.

He wasn't sure if his choice was the right or the wrong one, however he was one hundred percent positive that he won't be regretting this decision.

The mysterious man stood up, arranged the documents back to his bag.

" Mister Ars, this is an open offer that won't expire unless you make a deal with any other organization, so take your time and think about it carefully " and then he went out and closed the door behind him, leaving inside a very confused Jade.

***

Jade went directly to his room, unable to assist to the afternoon class. Now that he had a chance to calm down a bit, Jade started to see how the thought of him staying as he is right now was simply unbearable, after all that would also take away from his freedom.

And since that fateful day, he swore to never compromise when it came to his freedom. So he decided to not approach this as the lesser evil kind of situation, but simply try to find a third option that was more convenient to him.