"SOGAT - Chapter 0" by Robert Hansen

SOGAT

By Robert Hansen

Prologue

71 years ago

A distinguished looking woman in a suit and tie, who just happened to be the head of the World’s Nation’s CIA was standing on a tall podium before thousands of cameras. “You see, five years ago with project green-eyes we discovered something,” she paused for a moment, for emphasis. “It wasn’t, however how to change someone's eye color after birth, as you have been led to believe,” again, she paused, this time longer, and silence fell on the room. Finished with her pause, she continued, “What that something really was, is that humans are capable of using magic,” This time the pause was not initiated by her. The gasps of the crowd would have drowned her words out. “All those things that aliens can seem to do, but we can’t, they did it with magic. We’ve learned quite a few more things from project green-eyes. One of them is that these abilities tend to appear around the age of six or seven. Another, is that there may be some humans who will never be able to use magic. However, the strongest of us could reshape reality itself. So today, the 31^st of June Ten thirty five, N.E., we will all know that we aren’t the weakest race in the universe.” With that the air around her lit up with fire and it shot up towards the sky in the form of two dragons. The two dragons exploded, leaving the words Project Green-Eyes in the air. “A school will be opened for particularly impressive magic-users, SOGAT, the School of Gifted and Talented.” The words above her changed to SOGAT, then to School of gifted and talented. “The test to determine if child has to go to school or not will remain unchanged, except that it will be faster. In addition when the child turns three they won’t be injected any more, but the information will just appear in their heads. This means that the scandals about children going insane from it will be gone.” She smiled for the cameras, for that, which happened just two weeks prior, was the biggest scandal in history “If they retain this information then they are legally independent, as always. However, now the information will be tested 4 weeks afterwards instead of the previous two weeks, so, then there will be no flukes of children wandering the streets with not enough knowledge. Now in other news from our glorious government…,”

A man in the back of the crowd muttered to himself, “Making children independent? Why is this world so screwed up? It's only been ten millennia.”

The man shook his head as he walked away. Then, in a moment, he was gone.

6 years ago

A black-haired man with sick delight in his eyes. He was in a room with a young boy, and a middle aged couple tied to chairs. Hiding in a corner shivering in fear was a little girl that was two, about to turn three, with her hands tied behind her back. A blond-haired man had just pulled his hand out of her head.

“All right,” the blond man said, “She will remember everything that happens in the next 2 months.”

“Well, little girl, ready to see your foster family die?” the black-haired man asked now grinning with anticipation.

A moment later the three lay dead, their mutilated bodies sick to look at. See little girl, that’s what happens when you call 911 in a nerve gassed building. That I gassed. Somehow, you managed to not fall asleep from the same nerve gas, but it doesn't matter, they'll never catch me. I'll just do it again. We’ll let you live, even though you’ll probably end up committing suicide.”

“No,” the little girl managed, her eyes fastened to the floor. If the men had seen them, they would've run. After all, one's eyes resembling yin-yangs is a sign of great power. At two, the power was unimaginable.

She suddenly looked up. The man jumped back in surprise. “Oh, and what are yo-, ah why’s my skin glowing? It feels good...” then a scream of pain and terror. He lay next to the dead bodies of his victims.

She looked to the other man and said, “You next.”

“What do you mean? I feel nothing. Just a breeze-” he fell without a scream.

The little girl let her head fall back, with her feeble hands out of their bonds, and fainted.

5 years ago

“Excuse me ma’am,” said a dignified man.

“He didn’t pass right?” a bored looking woman asked, “Look, I know the drill. ‘I’m sorry, he failed,’ but I gotta go.”

“Actually, Quilson passed ma’am. Where is the father? I need to tell him this as well.”

“He’s not here,” she said, waving her hand as if to brush the subject away. She had taken the baby away in court and she didn't have any desire to tell this man about it.

“Oh, well, he’s legally independent he can leave you at any time,” he was interested in her reaction to this, for he had never said this before.

“Wait... no... he can’t leave me, he's my son! My two year old son...” she fell to her knees, holding her head in her hands.

A man, hidden in a tree, was holding a bow that shimmered in the dark air. He was aiming at her and muttering, “You are a sad, sad woman.”

A little boy, whose most striking feature was his silver eyes, walked out, “Don’t worry, I won’t leave you, mother.” He reached up to hold her, and she leaned down to embrace her son, but the sniper bullet hit its mark, Quilson’s mother fell to the ground. Quilson saw this. For a moment, his silver eyes cracked, revealing unending darkness. Then, suddenly, the sniper tumbled out of the tree, his entire body crushed.

A medical team came out of the building and picked up the two bodies. A few odd looks were thrown his way, but no charges were brought up.

“But you’ll leave me.”

“Aren’t you proud of me daddy?” said a little girl with bright green eyes. She was grinning wildly.

“Of course I am dear,” said her father. He was using telekinesis to float a metal to give her. He was smiling as well. Suddenly blood sprayed out all over her and the medal clanged onto the ground. A slit throat. The perpetrator was so fast he was already running away. But he was too slow. Her eyes turned blood red, and, immediately, the person tumbled through the air to land with a sickening splat behind her.

Her eyes went back to normal and she picked up the medal. She stumbled away crying.

“See, I did it,” a boy said to his mother and stepfather.

“Good. Wonderful, in fact. Now leave.” his mother said.

“B-but,” the boy stammered out.

“Leave. Now. I don’t care what you thought we said.”

The boy turned and left.

“Let’s use him as target practice,” the ather suggested.

Both of their hands lit aflame, as they prepared to throw fireballs at him. Then they noticed that his footprint were lighting aflame. The flame raced up towards the house. The house lit on fire and killed the boys step parents. The boy heard the screams, but he didn't turn. Just kept walking. It's what he would do for a long time. Walk, and never – ever – look back.