An excerpt from 'The Book of Trade', an anonymous guide to the economics of Genesis

First, you must understand that, like the economies of our previous existence, the economy of our new world is based on scarcity. To determine value, we must first determine how much of a thing exists. For example, we can gain better understanding over the economics of the substance 'Delurimite' by understanding how scarce it is and how useful it is. Given that Delurimite has the ability to quickly heal damage to the body and that it is relatively difficult to find, we can deduce that it is worth a significant amount. The exact amount, however, is dependent on more than a few different variables.

I hold my fingers against my nose, pinching the bridge tightly.

“Again. Visualize what you want to create in its entirety and make sure not to leave out any details. You have to command the Mana with your Will or it will just fall apart.”

Joselin, sitting down with crossed legs on the floor of the hall, looks up at me and listens intently. Her hair is unkempt, wildly tossing around in all directions, and a few beads of sweat can be seen on her forehead. The frustration she feels is visible in more than just her eyes. It shows in the tightening of her forehead, the scowl she’s trying to keep off her face, and the quick flair of her nostrils.

“Yes sir.” She replies, her voice completely emotionless in a way I’ve come to recognize; it’s the signal that she won’t be able to go on for much longer.

Joselin closes her eyes again and falls into the breathing pattern. Slowly bringing the air into the lungs, holding it there for a few moments and then gently releasing it out your nose in a steady stream. Once the lungs are empty, repeat again. She follows this pattern for a minute or two, taking herself into the right mind state.

There. Her body subtly releases tension and I know that she’s reached it; a state of relaxation where the mind and body have aligned.

I begin to speak softly from a few feet away. “Feel the Mana flowing through your body. It starts in your Well, circling around your source of power. As soon as it leaves the Well, it begins to move throughout your body like blood. Feel it follow the veins of power that it has created within you. Now, increase the flow to your hand. Draw more from within you and let it build up. Then, as soon as you feel it is enough, visualize your idea and create.”

I watch as her face gives away how she’s feeling. A second of nervousness. A flash of confidence. Fear for a split second before it is wiped away. They tell the story of how close she is to finally achieving her dream.

We are close enough that my Field gives me an awareness of her Mana flow and I can feel the buildup in her hand. It still hasn’t reached dangerous levels yet but it is slowly approaching. This continues for a few more seconds and I feel her reach the threshold of where I’ve let her go in the past. This time, however, I find myself … letting her continue.

There’s something different about her demeanor on this attempt. The Mana isn’t beginning to coalesce on its own and her channels aren’t suffering from any overload. It feels as if she has somehow managed to gain control.

Is this finally it? Will she really be able to finish her goal in the short amount of time that we’ve been working together? I’m fully aware that she has a prodigious talent for Mana and its manipulation but … to create a Higher Energy with only three months of training seems incredible. If I hadn’t been helping her and the other students during every waking moment of the last three months, I’d be a little jealous.

A wave flows out from her and I watch in fascination as a ball of green energy rises from her open palm. It flickers with a calming light and I can see movement within. Small strands of living energy worm their way around inside, dancing around a light within the core. A few strands randomly conjoin to form a more complex version of themselves and then break apart after a few moments, only to repeat the process in an endless loop.

She opens her eyes and a huge smile breaks out on her face. For the first time in months, she looks alive. Gone is the stress of being the prodigy among a class of excellent students, the pressure to continue succeeding without any failure. It’s replaced with an almost childlike wonder and a real sense of accomplishment. She’s pleased and she deserves it.

“I did it! I freaking did it!” She exclaims, jumping in excitement.

“You really did Joselin, it is amazing. What does the Skill say?”

Her eyes blur, looking at her notifications, as she narrates. “It says … Congratulations! You have discovered the Higher Energy Healing (R-2) Lvl 1! Within you is the soul of a healer. You understand the importance of healing instead of wounding, of fixing the problems of the body rather than causing them. Use this Energy to pursue your purpose and you will find your way. Increased Skill level allows for more abstract combinations.”

Interesting. The description seems to suggest that using the energy will help her find her way. Is it implying that she will gain access to a Way specifically tailored around her healing or is it more of an abstract suggestion? My curiosity to know how Genesis works urges me to ask more questions but I know that isn’t the most important thing right now. Right now, I need to celebrate the success of my student.

“Congratulations Joselin, this is a massive accomplishment. To think that you finished it in less than three months … I’m blown away.”

Her eyes regain their focus as she looks at me with happiness and admiration. While she’s usually reserved and goal oriented, it’s obvious that this accomplishment has stripped down most of her wall. Tears well up in the corners of her eyes as she responds. “I wouldn’t have been able to do this without your teaching. I … words can’t express how grateful I am.”

“I may have help you find the path but getting this far was only because of how hard you worked. You managed to accomplish something extraordinary and my teaching certainly can’t be given credit for that.”

She laughs. “Don’t sell yourself short. I know how bull-headed I can get when I want something. Seriously, I can’t thank you enough. I’ve always wanted to help but I just couldn’t bear the thought of hurting someone. Now … now I can finally do something.” Tears begin to well up again and she sobs gently.

I lean forward and gently rest my hand on her shoulder. “Hey, it’s okay. You’re going to be a huge help around here. In fact … I want you to follow me. I need to show you something.”

She wipes away the tears and I help her to her feet. Exchanging a few positive words of encouragement with the other students, the two of us leave the hall and are bathed in the light of the newly named constellations, twinkling against the black tapestry of the night sky. The Spear, a series of four stars in a straight line with two stars on either side of the endpoint, lies directly above us. The Shield, a majestic name for four stars that are basically just a oddly shaped rectangle, lies just above the horizon.

Say what you will about children, they aren’t very creative when it comes to names.

I set a brisk pace as we walk down the streets down towards the gates. The occasional patrol passes by us, bowing to me as they pass by, a few even whispering words of gratitude. Few of the regular civilians are still up at this hour, but the few we manage to cross paths with bow deeply when they see me. These frustrating gestures have become all too common lately.

My parents plead innocence but I know that they are encouraging the practice. The only other person who still behaves normally with me is Julian. He refuses to let his employees in the Management Office bow to me and his rule has led to them remembering that I’m just another person.

But that is a problem for another time.

We reach our destination and I stop Joselin outside of the building. From the outside it looks like nothing more than a typical small building; muted brick walls, with the occasional darkened window, hold up a perfectly flat roof of black tiles. A sign hangs from the wall, the words ‘Guard Property: Do Not Enter’ written in bold red ink.

“Do you know what this place is?” I ask her. She shakes her head as she looks around confused. Although we are close to the wall, this part of Everwall hasn’t been fully repaired yet and is thus largely avoided.

“Before we go inside, you need to understand something. From what we know, Genesis gives our bodies an incredible ability to heal. As long as the Physical Attributes are high enough, infections be they bacterial or viral aren’t an issue, allergies disappear, and our health seems to be almost perfect.”

“I know. What does this building … oh wait, are ther –”

“Unfortunately, we also discovered that although Genesis maintains our bodies in peak conditions, we can still be permanently injured. Gravely wounded body parts. Missing limbs. Destroyed organs. These are a few of the worst examples. Genesis may keep the body alive but … the quality of life isn’t pretty.”

I gesture at the building behind me. “This is where we keep all the people who are too injured to fight. Their bodies are still technically working but some of them are in constant agony. They are kept alive even when they would be better off dying.”

Her face is completely pale and her hands cover her mouth as she realizes the implications of what I’ve just told her. I’d known how hard this would hit her, which is exactly why I had kept it from her. She’d been pushing herself hard already and I’d known that if she knew these men and women were suffering, she’d push herself harder than she could handle.

“How … how long have they been here?” She croaks.

“It depends. Some for a few weeks, others for a few months. I don’t want to put too much pressure on you but I’m hoping you’ll be able to help them. Do you want to go inside and try?”

The silence of that moment stretches time out. I can hear the wind rattling a loose window just above us and the creak of metal as a door sign swings back and forth. The breeze brings the faint smell of the docks, largely diminished by the distance but still distinguishable from anything else.

Joselin shatters the moment. Swallowing deeply, she sets her shoulders and responds. “Of course. That’s what I’m here for.”

A sense of pride wells within me; this kind and sympathetic woman is a better student than I deserve. I know that no matter how long I live, I’ll never forget this moment.

Nodding, I lead her into the building and open the door, quickly shutting it behind her. An overwhelming smell of chemicals and human excrement hits us like a freight train and I hear Joselin gag at my side. Even knowing what was in store, I can barely keep myself from doing the same.

We walk down a long hallway, a seemingly endless expanse of doorways, each one holding a mortally wounded guard or citizen who Genesis won’t let die. It doesn’t take us long to reach a specific door. It doesn’t look any different from the others. Same grey paint, brass handle, and faint light slipping through the crack underneath. The only difference is the name written in chalk on a board nailed to the front: Chris Richer.

The sight of the name in a place like this fills me with a sense of guilt. Chris had been one of the first guards that I had interacted with when I came to Everwall. He was kind enough to send a seemingly hungry soul to Angie. He was the first person not on the Council to accept me as a randomly selected.

He was only in this place because he had sacrificed himself to protect me when I fell unconscious.

I open the door and try not to let the feelings of guilt show on my face as I walk in. Chris lies on a refurbished hospital bed, wearing nothing more than a pair of sweatpants. The past few months haven’t been kind to him. He’s become skeletally thin, unable to eat without extreme pain, and incredibly pale. His wound is also visible without a shirt. An enormous gash rises vertically across him, showing how he was ripped from stomach to lung. Despite this, he smiles at the sight of me and manages to gasp out a few words. “Heya … Boss-man … howya … doing?”

Sitting down on the chair next to his bed, I squeeze his hand. “I’m doing okay. I’m actually here because I want to introduce you to a friend of mine. Chris, this is Joselin. Joselin, this is Chris.”

She nervously steps forward, obviously shocked from the sight of him. Her face is pale but she pushes past it and clears her throat before speaking. “Nice to meet you Chris.”

He just nods his head and raises an eyebrow at me.

“Chris here got himself injured protecting me when I fell unconscious. He was part of the first class combat squad and decided to protect the rear when the others were carrying me back. Apparently some monsters attacked so Chris decided to buy the rest of them time by fighting them off. I’m just thankful he didn’t die.”

The last sentence causes his face to shift and he leans his head back onto the pillow, eyes staring up at the ceiling. I know he disagrees with me. He would rather have died out in the wilderness than live this life of suffering.

But he doesn’t know about what Joselin might be able to do.

Stepping away from his bed, I stand next to Joselin and whisper. “I know this is an extreme first case but I’m hoping your energy will be able to help him. Just focus on keeping a stream of energy flowing into him and focus on repairing the damage of his body. Hopefully that should be enough.”

That same sense of pride fills me as she steps up next to Chris’s bed and places her hands on his chest, closing her eyes as she goes through the breathing technique. He looks over at me in complete confusion but I raise a palm to calm him down, using the other hand to place a single finger in front of my lips. Discovering a new Skill is much harder than just using one. If silence is what Joselin needs then silence is what she will get.

A faint stirring within my field is all the notice I get before her hands light up in that green energy. It’s pulled away from her and into Chris’s body and he watches in shock as his body begins repairing itself in front of him. He lets out a gasping breath as air floods into his newly formed lung and his stomach presses out as it reforms and repairs the damage. The gash also fixes itself, the green energy transforming into new flesh.

Joselin collapses onto the chair as she finishes, panting heavily and leaning back. I can see that she’s exhausted but her eyes are filled with pride, the same that I have within me. To see my student accomplish something so incredible is more fulfilling than anything I’ve ever done.

Chris jumps off the bed and looks up and down his body, almost unable to believe that the life of suffering was now over. He spins on one leg and falls onto the ground in front of Joselin, tears of pure happiness streaming down his face. I can’t imagine what it was like for him to have been on the edge of death for that long, unable to cross that final threshold. Doomed to suffer endlessly.

“Thank you, thank you, my god ma’am, I can’t thank you enough –“

I walk out the room. This is her moment, not mine.