Thalo leaned back in his chair, his fingers drumming on the edge of his laptop.
"That''s... definitely not normal. I''ve never heard of a device doing that before. Not unless it''s tapping into something deeper. Something that shouldn''t be messed with."
Kale nodded.
"This is bigger than we thought. When you activated it, it triggered something in your brain, something psychological. That''s why we need to run these tests. If it''s affecting you like this after one use, who knows what it''s doing to your mind long-term."
Mateo looked down at his hands, the weight of the situation finally hitting him.
"I just... I don''t get it. My father—he must have known something about this. I need to know why he left."
Thalo gave a small, sympathetic smile.
"Hey, bud. We got this. We''ll figure it out together."
Kale placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder.
"Yeah. We''ll get to the bottom of it. But first, we need to check you out. We need to understand what''s going on with your brain."
Mateo took a deep breath and nodded.
"Okay. Let''s do it. I need to know what this thing is doing to me."
Mateo muttered, trying to avoid her gaze.
"Though, I still don''t understand why you''re so concerned, Kale."
"I feel fine. Really. No headaches, no dizziness. Everything''s normal."
Kale, however, wasn''t convinced.
Her hands moved quickly, ensuring that the electrodes were properly attached to his scalp, monitoring his brain activity as well as his cortisol levels.
"Just because you feel fine doesn''t mean everything''s fine. You''ve only used the device once, but it could still be affecting you in ways you don''t even realize."
She said, her voice serious.
"I need to run the test, alright? Just for peace of mind."
Mateo sighed, leaning back in the chair and throwing a glance at the Reality Tuner on the desk.
"Alright, fine."
He relented.
"Let''s get this over with."
Thalo, who had been sitting quietly beside them, raised an eyebrow.
"What are you gonna do, Kale? Hook him up to an EEG and see if his brain''s going haywire?"
"Exactly," she replied, her voice steady.
"I want to see how his brain responds when he uses the Reality Tuner. We''ll track his cortisol levels too. They can tell us a lot about how stressed his body is."
Mateo grumbled but didn''t protest any further as Kale finished setting up the sensors.
"Okay," she said, stepping back.
"I''m going to need you to activate it now. Just like you did last night."
Mateo hesitated for a moment, then reached for the Reality Tuner. His fingers brushed over the cold metal surface, the hum it emitted feeling almost familiar by now.
He pressed the small button at the top of the device, and the room around him flickered for an instant—just as it had the night before. His vision blurred, and the edges of the room seemed to melt into something more fluid. The hum deepened, reverberating through his chest, syncing with his heartbeat.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.
Kale''s eyes locked onto the screen in front of her, watching as his brain activity spiked.
His cortisol levels, normally steady in the morning, shot up in a sharp wave. Her brow furrowed as she examined the data.
"Mateo," she said slowly, her voice laced with concern.
"Your cortisol levels are through the roof. And your brainwaves—look at this."
She pointed at the screen, where jagged, erratic patterns filled the graph.
"This isn''t normal. Your brain''s activity is all over the place."
Mateo blinked, shaking his head.
"What? That can''t be right. I feel fine."
But Kale wasn''t buying it. She leaned in closer, her eyes scanning the numbers.
"The stress your body is under is incredible. It''s like your fight-or-flight response is constantly triggered. This device is messing with you, Mateo. It''s affecting your nervous system, your brain—it''s not just in your head. This is real."
He ran a hand through his hair, feeling the tension coil inside him.
"I feel like I''m just... exhausted, that''s all. Maybe it''s nothing."
But Kale''s eyes remained fixed on the screen, her suspicion growing. She didn''t believe it was "nothing." Her fingers hovered over the keys, but before she could say anything more, Thalo piped up from behind them, his attention fully absorbed by the screen of his laptop.
"Guys," Thalo''s voice was low, almost too calm.
"There''s something weird going on with the code. I''m going through the Reality Tuner''s programming, and there are encrypted lines hidden in there. At first, I thought it was nothing, just random bits of data—junk code or something."
Mateo turned toward Thalo, furrowing his brow.
"Encrypted lines? What does that even mean?"
Thalo''s fingers tapped furiously across the keyboard.
"I''m not sure, but something doesn''t sit right. I was poking around, trying to figure out how this thing works, and I found these strings of text buried deep in the code."
Kale, who was still monitoring Mateo''s condition, looked over at Thalo.
"What kind of strings?"
"Just... random letters and numbers," Thalo replied, his voice flat.
"But as I looked closer, something caught my eye."
He paused, his eyes scanning the screen.
"It''s like the code is reacting to emotional input. I ran a few tests—made some minor changes—and every time there was an emotional spike, the encrypted strings would shift."
Mateo asked, now genuinely confused.
"What are you talking about?"
"I mean," Thalo continued, a slight edge of unease in his voice.
"There are phrases hidden in the code. Phrases like... ''I see you.'' It''s almost like this thing knows what we''re feeling, knows what we''re doing."
Kale''s eyes widened as the pieces began to fall into place.
"So, you''re saying the Reality Tuner isn''t just a device... it''s interacting with us? Almost like it''s... aware?"
Thalo nodded slowly, the weight of his own words sinking in.
"That''s what it seems like. The encrypted phrases—''I see you''—they''re not just gibberish. It''s as if the sphere is aware of every move we make, every emotion we feel."
Mateo stood up abruptly, his mind racing.
"That''s insane! It can''t be—"
But then, his words faltered as he felt a sudden chill run down his spine. His heart raced, the hum from the Reality Tuner still echoing faintly in his chest.
"It''s not just in the code, is it?" Mateo whispered, his voice shaking.
"It''s... in the air around us too. I felt it. Last night, when I used it... it felt like something was watching me."
Kale looked at him, her expression serious.
"I think it''s more than just watching. I think it''s interacting with you. And it''s not just your brain—it''s affecting your body, your nervous system. That device, that sphere—it''s doing something to you, something we don''t fully understand."
Thalo slammed his laptop shut, his face grim.
"We need to figure out what it really does before it gets worse."
The three of them fell into a heavy silence, the tension in the room palpable.
Mateo''s hands were trembling again, but this time, he wasn''t sure if it was the Reality Tuner''s influence, or the cold reality of what they were dealing with.
"I can''t stop now," Mateo muttered, more to himself than to anyone else.
"I have to know what it''s doing. I have to know what my father... wait a second! Mikhail!"
He said softly, his voice barely a whisper.
"Mikhail was the one who gave it to me."
Kale and Thalo both paused, looking at him in confusion.
Thalo asked, eyebrows furrowing.
"The old man with the old rusty, right? You best bud?"
"Yeah," Mateo interrupted, his mind racing.
"He was the one who gave me the Reality Tuner. I''ve been so focused on what it does, I never stopped to think—maybe he knows something about it. Maybe he knows what''s going on with this machine."
Kale hesitated, slowly removing the EEG sensors from Mateo''s head.
"You think he''s connected to this somehow?"
Mateo nodded, his eyes still distant as he processed everything.
"It''s the only lead we have. If anyone has answers, it''s him. We need to talk to Mikhail. His information might help us understand this thing better—understand why it''s doing what it''s doing."
Kale carefully removed the last of the sensors from Mateo''s head, her fingers delicate but quick.
"Alright, let''s go talk to him then."
As the last of the equipment was detached, Mateo stood up from the chair, a newfound determination in his eyes.
"We have to move fast. I don''t know how much time we have before—"
He cut himself off, realizing he didn''t know exactly what was coming, only that it was far from good.
Kale and Thalo stood with him, ready to face whatever came next.