Adam and Ephraim hadn’t spoken much after he mentioned the field testing. He had simply wanted to check in. That had meant a lot. Adam didn’t get much contact. Ephraim was really the only person he interacted with. Him and Victor that is, and Victor didn’t really count. Victor didn't really see him as a person anymore. He was a commodity. Maybe Victor had always seen him this way. He had always been rather cold as an adoptive father. 

The LUMA had arrived the next day. Calibration it seemed didn't take a long time. Either that or Ephraim had anticipated the need beforehand and already had it prepared. That was acceptable. At the very least it didn’t bother Adam at all. Adam put the device on his bedside table. He didn’t know if it was on, but that first day he really didn’t pay attention to it. He did everything as he had before, just knowing that this device was (maybe) watching and listening. 

It was the next morning that the LUMA first spoke to him.   ”Good Morning, Adam.” as it spoke a pastel blue light appeared from the device. 

Adam had no idea what triggered it. Perhaps some algorithm knew he wouldn’t speak until it did. Maybe it had gotten tired of waiting. Ephraim had said that it would be calibrated to him. ”Ummm…good morning…” he wasn’t sure what else to say. It was a little weird speaking to an AI.

”How are you, today?” the response seemed generic and mechanical, but from what he knew of the tech, this would change as he spoke and it learned his patterns. 

”Umm…okay I guess. How are you?” his own response was automatic. Why ask an AI how it was doing?

”I'm very well. Thank you for asking!” the voice, despite coming from a machine was very human. Ephraim had said they were indistinguishable. 

”I'm glad to hear that. You called me Adam?” he asked, surprised it hadn’t been his code name. Then again, it hadn’t been Victor that had ordered the LUMA.

”Of course. That is your name isn't I? Adam?” it paused, but the light didn’t go out. Was it thinking? ”Would you like me to call you something else?”

Adam actually smiled a bit at that as he pulled a Coke from his fridge and sat down on his bed. This thing (even thinking of it as a thing was already beginning to feel wrong) was supposed to be a friend. ”No - Adam is fine. What do I call you?”

”You can call me LUMA.”

Adam paused. It just seemed too generic a name. ”Do I have to? I mean, can I call you something else?”

”Of course you can! I can be customized. You can change my name, color, and even my voice. I can present as male if you would like as well. Would you like to change any settings?”

Adam was quiet for awhile. Part of him still felt weird talking to it, but it also felt natural and it felt a little good knowing he had a companion with him - even an artificial one. It didn’t even occur to him that it might be a little sad. ”Can you change the light color to the color of the sky, but leave the voice the same. It’s…comforting.”

The light changed immediately to sky blue. ”Awww - thank you! That’s very kind. Settings saved! Would you like to change my name?” the LUMA actually sounded excited. 

Once again, Adam went silent, thinking. The light stayed on, anticipating. ”Yes, please. Change it to Eva.” Adam said it with the long “e” sound. He was Adam - the first of his kind. It only made sense that his friend be named similarly.

For Faith Devere mornings always started with the same routine; an early wake-up, followed by showering and brushing her teeth. On bad days – usually when her insomnia flared – she cleaned the apartment until the chemicals stung her hands raw. On good days she listened to the low hum of Cadence Mathis while she was getting dressed and combing her pale hair into a bun. She always made herself a cup of green tea, brewed for exactly three minutes, and held it fragrant and warm between her palms, but somehow she never managed to finish drinking it before she left.

She lived in one of the single-occupancy domiciles Paragon supplied for its employees, a privately owned corporate neighbourhood designed entirely for its tech professionals: simple square dwellings, one stacked atop the other, each one clean, sleek, and identical. It didn’t matter to her; her private life was as sterile as the four walls which boxed her in. And it meant the commute to her office was only five minutes.

At the start of her day Faith always ate her meals in the company cafeteria, alone but somehow less lonely than eating at home. This early it was always quiet, which is how she preferred it, and those faces which she did happen to ever recognise – such as Dr Muller, who she suspected might sleep sometimes in his lab – she did not speak to, nor they to her. Today the tables were all entirely empty though.

Good morning Dr. Devere.

The voice of the LUMA was hers. Its default, anyway, and that’s the one the company used in all its buildings. The strange disconnectedness of hearing herself greet her entrance so warmly each morning had long since reached a point of numbness, though. When Dr. Audaire had suggested to her several years ago that her voice was perfect: calm, soft, the ideal pitch and temperance, it had made her glow to think he had noticed those small things about her. The recognition meant something, the same as it had meant to her when he swept her under his wing as a lost and awkward twelve year old at Mindworks. But now that pride was no longer warm and sustaining; it was a leaden bullet in her chest.

Your usual table is free. Shall I order your usual breakfast?

“That’s perfect. Thank you, Luma.” She murmured it on rote; she was always polite to the AI. As formal as she was with her flesh and blood colleagues.

Lyra hadn't been working at Paragon Group for long. She hadn't even been out of a job before she started working under Dr. Muller. She rolled her eyes at the thought of it. Working for the man she was compared to throughout her career. Almost, so close. Just under par. It was annoying.

But it also kept her top of her game. She had to be the best or she'd never surpass him. It was a friendly competition in her head, though she'd only ever met the man most recently when he interviewed her for the job. But it was more like they recruited her and it was a sales pitch. She was more than eager to take the job.

But Dr. Muller was out of the office for the time being and she could revisit some of her old research while on the clock. It of course was still relevant to what she was doing, but this was a side project. One that Paragon was most welcome to should she actually go anywhere with it. It wasn't about credit or even acknowledgement it was about what was right.

She scoured the Atharim documents that had been found in the bunkers when Vaia Plus unearthed it. They were stole, and she bet they weren't the only copy floating around former employees hands. They had been astounding and strange. And she was certain they held the key to understanding the link between Channelers and whatever power they held. There had to be a way to find them.  To track them.  To anything. They weren't a menace to society. And they needed to be stopped. And the Atharim, those so called hunters were doing a poor job of keeping the public safe.  Even if the building had been evacuated, people could have died! No one had, which was odd in and of itself. But security wasn't her thing that was someone else's job. She had no aptitude for it.

There had to be something there she thought to herself as she flipped through the files she knew she shouldn't look at here at work.

Occupation: Genetic Engineer
Born In: Transylvania, Romania
Age: 28 (Born 2018)

Personal

Lyra Kovacs was born on a farm outside of Transylvania, Romania. Her parents loved her dearly, but they soon realized her restless curiosity would never be content with farm life.

Lyra developed an early fascination of all living things, at first it was just observation at a young age, and then as she grew to understand death and things outside she began dissecting and understanding how they worked. Her fellow students thought her morbid and gross but she didn't much care what they thought.

There was a time when her parents believed that Lyra would not make it through school until they pushed her up a few levels in her schooling and augmented it the best they could with online courses. Lyra gradated highschool at 16 but before she could continue on with her education at the University of Vienna she fell ill.  She was sick for two weeks before recovering like nothing had been wrong.

She continued her education at an accelerated pace, discovering an uncanny affinity for understanding the inner workings of creatures and objects simply by thinking about them. It became part of her research.

One particular student before her, Kaelan Müller, haunted her. Her brilliance was constantly measured against his, causing a phantom ache of inadequacy.

Lyra continues on to get her PhD in Genetic Engineering from the Zurich Institute of Technology at the age of 26 all the while working with Vaia Plus on a secret project combining the DNA of other creatures to create super soldiers.  Though the project ultimately fails the research was astounding and Lyra learned much about the combination of strange DNA and creatures that she never knew existed.

After the fall of Vaia Plus and the rumors of a Channeler who had caused the collapse, Lyra set out to design a creature that would seek out people who could do extra-ordinary things -- these Channelers.

Lyra stole a copy of the information gleaned from the Atharim bunker that Vaia Plus found and is using it to fuel her own personal research.

Whether out of fear, envy, or scientific curiosity, Lyra can’t decide. But she knows one thing — the world can’t survive power it doesn’t understand.

Professional

Dr. Lyra Kovacs is a geneticist whose quiet brilliance has long been overshadowed by louder, bolder minds. Trained at Zurich Institute of Technology several years after Kaelan Müller, she spent her early career striving to match his precision and innovation—often landing just behind his breakthroughs.

At Vaia Plus, Lyra served as a senior researcher on the _Creature: CxR Project_, integrating data from the recovered Atharim archives into genetic prototypes. She specialized in cross-species cellular integration and neurochemical stabilization of parasitic mutations—work that became both her legacy and her regret.

When Vaia Plus mysteriously imploded in Moscow, its foundations turning molten before solidifying into volcanic rock, all personnel survived thanks to a total evacuation triggered by simultaneous fire alarms. Lyra was among those standing in the street as the structure folded in on itself, leaving a crater of stone where the labs had been.

Rumors quickly spread that a rogue Channeler caused the event. Lyra, who had long observed unexplained energetic reactions in her specimens, began to suspect that the “magma bloom” wasn’t geological at all—but the resonance of unconfirmed power.

With Vaia Plus dissolved and its data lost, she was approached by Paragon Group under Kaelan Müller’s direction. Taking the offer, she steps once more into his shadow—determined this time not to be the one left behind.

Character Notes

Lyra channeled at the age of 16. She was performing a dissection of a rabbit and willed herself the knowledge of the inner workings/damage of the rabbit liver with a 'wishful thought'. "I wish I could see inside the liver without cutting it open."

Lyra does not know she can channel, and she can currently only delve at will as long as she's having that 'wishful thought'.

She uses this knowledge to push forward her genetics engineering and will continue to use it going forward to create a genetically modified creature to hunt and kill channelers.

It had only been around a year since Elyse had left, but it felt like it had been so much longer. Still, the streets of Helsingør were completely familiar to her. She had walked these streets since she had been a little girl. Back then, she had often held the hand of her father and mother. She had always felt safe here. Even now, after all of it, she still felt safe. She had debated whether or not to even make the trip to her hometown, but deep down, she knew she had to do it. She needed a final page to close this chapter of her life, and the end of the year seemed an appropriate time to do it.

Elyse had asked Rachel if she wanted to come with. It hadn't surprised or upset Elyse when Rachel had said she wanted to, but didn't think she could handle it. Rachel was doing so much better now that she had been only a short time ago, but she still struggled. Elyse thought she would see this trip as sort of an extended date. Rachel wasn't ready for that, and truth be told, Elyse wasn't either. They both needed to heal more even if they both liked each other. Elyse gave a brief smile as she crossed a street. Thinking of Rachel usually did. She was glad that they both liked each other well enough that Rachel felt comfortable speaking the truth with her and Elyse felt comfortable accepting it.

Elyse wasn't alone though. Anna had accepted her invitation to come. It had been Rachel's suggestion to Elyse to invite Anna. Elyse was glad for that. She didn't want to be here alone. The pair had flew into Copenhagen the night before and this morning had traveled into Helsingør. Elyse was showing Anna around.

"That's Kronborg Castle," she said, pointing at the large building that could be seen over the houses. "Where Hamlet takes place."

Anna gave her a smile. "Can we see it while we're here?"

"Of course! They have tours. Let's do that tomorrow." Elyse said, directing Anna down a side street. 

The pair followed the street for several more blocks.  The houses were getting farther apart as they got into a more affluent neighborhood. There was a park nearby, and Elyse led them into it. She wiped the snow off of a bench and sat down. Anna sat next to her as Elyse looked across the street. A house sat there, well maintained with a "For Sale" sign in the front. Elyse didn't say anything. Anna knew why she was here, and she knew the importance of the house that kept Elyse's gaze.

Seeing her childhood home with a sign out front hurt. It also brought back memories - most of them happy, but now tainted with the pain of her father's betrayal.  Elyse had made the decision to sell the house. Sage had assisted in making that happen and taking care of the rest of her estate. Elyse already had some liquid assets from that. The house was all that was left that (technically) still belonged to her. 

Elyse wasn't aware that she had started to cry until she felt Anna's warmth wrap itself around her. Elyse leaned into her, resting her head on her best friend's shoulder. Anna was as perceptive as always said nothing. She was just present in the moment and that was what Elyse needed.  The sting of betrayal hurt, but Elyse was glad she had come. There was a peace she was beginning to feel that had been a long time coming. Elyse wiped at tears, stinging in the cold. She would endure for now.

Shale House

Rachel headed downstairs and made herself a quick breakfast. She was both excited and nervous about today. It was exciting to be heading to Belizna to get a feel for the place she was going to call home as well as learn more about our channeling the power. She was feeling pretty excited about the whole thing. Unfortunately, Natalie was busy, so Rachel wouldn’t be spending the day with her. She should have actually felt less nervous because she was going with someone she had met - albeit briefly. Emily had forged a friendship with Zhenya Disir over their business acumen. Rachel had the pleasure of meeting her at Emily’s wedding along with her adorable little girl. 

Emily came down and gave one look at Rachel’s breakfast. Rachel could swear she saw her sister’s face turn green. Baby Vanders did not approve. Rachel smiled. ”Morning, Em!”

Emily gave a smile in return, even if forced through the nausea Rachel knew she was feeling. ”Good morning. How are you feeling about today?” Emily knew what was happening. 

”Nervous - but the good nervous.”

Emily nodded. ”Hows his voice today?”

Rachel frowned a bit. ”Quiet - but I have my ear buds in case he decides to speak up.” Her psyche had chosen the voice of the late Lucio Pirrozi to speak towards all her insecurities. Hayden had suggested having a voice of someone who was strong and gave her hope counter it. Emily and Jared had been all too happy to provide. 

”Good! You can always text if you need something too. Zhenya is good people as well and she knows her stuff. I told her about the circumstances of you coming into your power. I’m sure she’d be willing to help. She’s good at it too. Listen to her.” 

Rachel nodded and the two passed the time before Rachel had to leave. 

Name: Irihapeti te Rakena-Williams
Age: 26
Origin: Aotearoa New Zealand
Occupation: Conservation field biologist at the University of Moscow
Powers: As the reincarnation of Papatūānuku, the Māori creation goddess, Iri's powers come from and are directly related to the earth. Her strongest talent is that of Singing, and reading the earth and its needs. Though she is entirely unaware she can channel, her strengths lie in earth and water and she has a small talent for healing.
Channeler experience level: New/blocked.
Current strength level: 6
Potential strength level: 34
Reborn as: Papatūānuku, Māori creation and earth goddess.
Other reincarnations: Yelendrian Sedai of the Blue Ajah (third age).
 
 
Pyschological description: Iri is Māori, and as such, many of her values emphasise community, relationships, and the connection to and stewardship of the earth and all it's resources. She is hard working, and always prioritises family, iwi (tribe), and duty. As is the case for many New Zealanders, she is friendly, easy going, and shows her affection through teasing... until she's angry, and then everybody knows it. Iri is pragmatic and hands on, and though she is an academic by career, she stays involved with the practical side of her profession wherever possible.
Physical description: Iri has the creamy brown skin typical of Māori, with thick, dark almost-black-brown hair, and equally dark eyes. She prefers to wear practical clothing that would not be out of place in a sub-tropical rain forest, but is as equally happy to dress up, should the situation call for it.
 
Biography:
Aotearoa1[ New Zealand, a small group of islands isolated at the bottom of the South-Pacific, has always been at the mercy of Mother Nature. Earthquakes are a daily occurrence, though most go unnoticed, and geothermic activity is prevalent. Tsunami warnings are so common that any ten year old could tell you what to do, and dormant volcanoes litter the landscape – in fact, the largest city, Auckland, is built on the slopes of over fifty such volcanoes. Needless to say, when the earth began to try and rid itself of it’s most destructive virus, those in New Zealand didn’t see anything out of the norm. Until it kept happening. Until the sea rose up and claimed countless towns. Until the Southern Alps shook off their mantle of sleep. Until Auckland drowned in magma.
 
But New Zealanders are resilient, and lucky. They were masters in the art of alternative energy generation – prior to the end of the world, 80% of their electricity was created by renewable means. They had vast stores of fresh water, and endless fields in which to grow food. But whilst they persevered, life was not easy. It was into this life, of returning to the land, of unimaginable isolation, of safety and destruction, that Irihapeti te Rakena-Williams2 was born, the youngest child of Ngaio and Tama, and a daughter of the Kāi Tahu iwi3 . 
 
Growing up in Christchurch, Iri had a relatively safe childhood. Granted, it was not the childhood her parents had, and it was much less connected to the world, but she had access to education, safety, and never lacked for food, comfort, or love. As a modern Māori, she walked in two worlds; one foot as kaitiakitanga4 of the land and te ao Māori5, and the other in modernity. Now, more than ever since colonisation, the use of traditional Māori practices has become more common, more easily integrated with the knowledge and ways of modern life.
 
Many Māori returned to their iwi when Papatūānuku6 rained her wrath on the land, and the cultural bias of New Zealand gradually shifted so that the Māori ethos was more widely accepted. Whilst New Zealand had always been more ready to pay for the sins of it’s forebearers than other countries, there were still points of contention. Iri was raised in a world where these slowly ebbed away, making room for new knowledge and ways of life that more harmoniously combined different perspectives and traditions.
 
As a child, Iri was rambunctious, opinionated, and sassy. From the moment she became aware, Iri was enamoured with nature, and why it existed as it did. As the youngest of four siblings, she was both babied, and quick to grow up. She always wanted to follow after her siblings, and was determined to be involved wherever possible. School, both primary and secondary, blew past in a parade of endless kapa haka7 practice, scientific exploration, books, netball, events at the marae8, and whānau9. Every opportunity she was given, Iri made her way into the many places of untouched nature, finding peace and a sense of belonging amongst the cool, hushed boughs of dappled light and loamy earth. And if the earth also took sustenance and fortitude from this, well then, it was simply seen as nature regenerating after suffering greatly.
 
But life did not exist without difficulty. In the summer of her fifteenth year, Iri spent a night in the bush that bordered her grandparents property. She had done so a thousand times before, and she was more than capable of keeping herself safe. Nature, however, is not often governed by expectation and preparedness, even if you know the area like the back of your hand. All it took was a  miscalculated step whilst scrambling across a narrow ravine, and Iri went plumetting – and somehow, at just the right angle, jagged rocks and reaching tree limbs rushed past her face, narrowly missed her flailing limbs. Further chance would see the soft fronds of the native ferns grow in such a way as to soften her unexpected descent, and cushion her gently when gravity had finished its job. Days later, and telling herself it was simply because the evening had grown frigid during her camp, Iri fell violently ill. When, after months of recovery, the same illness returned, her family began to suspect Iri had contracted the new illness sweeping the globe. Each bout of sickness came sooner and more violently, and it seemed inevitable that Iri would be one of the unlucky ones who would perish as the fevers ran their course. At the suggestion of the tribe elders, Iri was sent to a small, West Coast hapu10, where another woman had survived the sickness and could help Iri with her recovery. There, Iri spent her time cloaked in the nature of the whenua11 and learned to meditate. Six months passed in this way, and whilst Iri never quite felt the sensations that Aroha[12] described, she felt herself come close, but it always remained just a hairs breath away. Aroha12 often mentioned that she felt Iri was ‘blocked,’ though Iri hadn’t the faintest idea what that actually meant or what she was blocked by. Life, however, gradually returned to normal.
 
University, at the rebuilt and refurbished University of Canterbury, was spent focusing on conservation biology, an area New Zealand has always been a leader. It afforded Iri opportunities to work in multiple areas of conservation, and in the few years since university she has made her career in environmental conservation and regeneration. That her studies or programme outcomes are almost always overwhelmingly successful is considered a blessing; for how could somebody falsify something everybody could see with their own eyes? Did the kaumātua13 whisper that there was an other-wordly element to her success with and connection to nature, one that maybe harked back to her illness? Of course, but most just wrote it off as the spiritual considerations of their ancestors.
 
Eventually, whispers of Iri’s skill and success in environmental regeneration found their way across the globe – and she was offered a position at the University of Moscow as a field researcher in flora conservation. It seemed, as her first task, Iri was to be sent to a place called Belizna, where she would be able to conduct a small conservation research programme that would hopefully breathe new life into the derelict grounds. It wasn’t typically the type of job Iri worked at, but it did offer the opportunity to understand what she loved most in a different environment, so she went.

Continued from here

Rachel gave the address to Cruz's driver. She watched the buildings pass as he drove. She remained silent, trying to focus, but then decided to text Elyse and see if she was awake.

Hey Elyse! Awake?

Not really...but awake enough to text - everything okay?

Everything good  I actually just met with Cruz. It was nice to catch up a bit.  He wanted to check on me. He suggested asking Nox for someone to talk to about my issues. Going to meet him now.

Hayden?

Rachel smiled. Yeah - that's him. He knows me, but I don't remember D:

He's a good guy. Helped me a lot - especially when things started happening with my parents. Hey there's something I should tell you.

Rachel frowned. What? Something wrong?

Not at all. I just think you should know. Hayden and I have been intimate with each other in the past. I just don't want you to be blindsided or anything. I hope that it doesn't bother you or make you reconsider given how things are with us right now.

Rachel didn't answer for a bit. She hadn't expected that.  It didn't exactly bother her. It wasn't like it happened yesterday - or that they were together. Doesn't bother me. Thanks for telling me though.  Not exactly ethical for therapists to sleep with their patients - my professors would have had a hay day with that. You don't think he's gonna...with me do you?

No. And he's not really a therapist, but he's good at reading people and understanding what they need. That's what I needed at the time. I think he'd know that's the last thing you need right now. I just wanted you to know.

Rachel smiled. Thanks! Almost there! I'll text or call when done, and while I'm thinking about it. Thank you for being so patient with me. I care about you a lot.

It's okay! Take as long as you need hon. I care about you a lot too...and hey! Proud of you!

That felt good. It felt good that Elyse was willing to wait and not push for more. There was a spark between them. They both knew it, but Rachel knew she couldn't handle it right now. She had some fears with getting intimate with anyone.

The driver pulled up at the bar "Safe Harbour." Unnecessary "U" in the name made her think that Hayden was from England. Rachel thanked the driver and he reminded her that he would wait for ten minutes if she needed. She sent Cruz a message letting him know she had arrived, then opened the door to the bar.

If working with Nox's arm was anything to go on and the nano-tech he hacked from Paragon he was finding joy in it. Oddly, following in his parents footsteps. He didn't need a job. He didn't need to do anything, but Paragon was like a black box that Sage couldn't see into. He wanted to see in so bad. It hurt.

But they would only let him in if they trusted him. And to do that Sage was prepared to work. Not work hard or work to gain their trust, but actually take a 9 to 5 job. He didn't need much sleep and he could multi-task better than anyone else he knew -- thanks to the processor in his head.

And they knew about that. What else did they know he'd been doing?  He needed to know.  And then there was little Liam Haart. He was not so much an enigma -- and he could give him a good word. Though The Wicked Truth wasn't applying for a job -- Sage Parker was.

He threw together a resume establishing his credentials and just sorta sent it in to Ephriam Haart himself. Whether or not the man saw Sage wouldn't know but it was best to throw it straight up the top. He could email it -- and he did, to Human Resources, but he also send a hard copy to the man himself.  This way it had to be sorted. Paper mail was a thing of the past but it still happened. People still sent shit that way. So Sage wanted to stand out among the others. He could change a billboard, or a taxi sign, he could do anything and everything digitally to get seen, but this analog archaic way was the best way.  And the most ironic 

He probably wouldn't get a call.  Cold Calling was not a good way to get in. But he hoped that his research and his projects would get their attention. He had skills they wanted.  He had hacked their systems and they might figure that out. He might get in trouble.  He might be applauded.  He might be sued.  But it wouldn't take much to wash that all away.  Get lost in system.  He had his ways.

So now he just waited.  And toyed with all his little projects and filtered through the information Marta had done for him. And all the new Atharim details coming in from Eliot's Reliquiae.  Seems he was pushing on Nox hard. Nox fit well with what he was seeing.  Nox would probably balk at it but he'd do it. He was always Atharim.  He would die Atharim. And this would be his cause to die for.  And then there was the boy who Zephyr had kidnapped. He really should tell Nox.

So he did that too.  Sent Nox a text. Your handlers kidnapped a boy from your alleyway. You might wanna check on him.