The Key of Astrea

by Nicholas Marson

  The walls went black, and the timer stopped with nine seconds remaining. As Jenny removed her key, she almost collapsed from exhaustion. At the same time, her heart thudded in her chest, and a sense of euphoria made her body tingle. Behind her, the door to the gym opened, and Lin walked in. Jenny gave a nervous laugh.

  “Jenny, you were amazing,” Lin said. “Nobody has ever completed every test.”

  “Really? I’m the first?” Jenny knew the leaderboard results, but she still found it hard to believe that no one else had completed all four challenges.

  “What you just accomplished was comparable to a deaf person sitting at a piano for the first time and playing a concerto.” Lin took Jenny’s arm and led her out. “Sure, you played a lot of wrong notes, but all you have to do is work on your technique.”

  Smiling, Jenny scanned the leaderboard for her name. Her spirits dropped as she looked lower and lower on the list. Finally, she found her name in last place with a score of 36. The next lowest was Aindriu’s, at 124, and he had only completed the first test. Billo had the next-lowest score.

  “Your turn, Kensei,” Lin said as she held the door open.

  “Good luck.” Jenny tried to sound cheerful.

  “Thanks.” Kensei looked a bit pale as he entered the room.

  While Kensei was in the testing room, Jenny studied the leaderboard until some patterns emerged from the scores. Everyone except for Jenny had a score of at least 60 on the first maze. A few, like Aindriu, had scored significantly higher.

  It seemed that everyone had a much higher score on just one of the mazes. It must correspond with their chosen key.

  Lin stepped out of the maze room.

  “How do people get those really high scores on one test?” Jenny asked her.

  “They found shortcuts,” Lin said. “Often from a unique ability in their range of affinity.”

  Just like Adriana, Jenny thought. I bet she made the laser shoot directly at the trapdoor with her portals.

  “You’ll need to find a shortcut to have any chance at winning,” Lin continued. “I wouldn’t expect you to find one on your first try. It’s amazing that you finished the tests at all, let alone all of them.”

  “Next time I’ll have the mazes memorized.”

  “That won’t help,” Mazu said. “They change each time.”

  Jenny exhaled noisily. “Why doesn’t the first test have waveforms?”

  “It’s the perception test,” Mazu said. “In my opinion, it’s the keystone of all the tests.”

  “Why? I’m just rolling a ball around a maze. In the others, I’m freezing water, or controlling electricity or gravity.”

  Mazu paused to gather her thoughts. “True, the other tests are all external, so their effects are more obvious. The perception test requires you to improve yourself, and because of that, it influences all the others.”

  “How?”

  Lin said, “My father liked to tell me, ‘A blind man takes a stumbling path through a room, but a sighted man finds the path before taking their first step.’”

  Jenny narrowed her eyes. She still couldn’t see how rolling a ball around a maze could compete with the ability to heat or chill objects at will. She turned around and watched Kensei work through the tests. So far, he wasn’t any faster than her at the first two tests. He failed to complete the electromagnetic test in time, but he was about to start the last maze.

  This is his key.

  After he’d worked through the gravity test, the box turned black, and Kensei stumbled out of the door as if he were drunk. He slid down the wall with Leon jumping up and down on his shoulder the whole time.

  Jenny knelt down next to him. “You alright?”

  “Yeah.” Kensei’s head rolled around on his shoulders. “But my hands feel huge, and the room feels like it’s tilting.”

  “Take your time.” She checked the leaderboard. Kensei’s name had appeared a few slots above hers with a score of 212. “You did great in there. Way better than me.” Even though you scored zero in the electromagnetic maze and I scored on every test. “You must have found a shortcut.”

  “Yeah, maybe.” Kensei’s head rolled as he tried to focus on Jenny.

  There was a jingling sound from Billo’s earrings as she jogged up to them. Billo pulled Jenny toward the leaderboard. “Hey! Congratulations on your first test.”

  “Thanks.”

  Billo studied the board and pouted at Jenny. “Don’t let it worry you; that’s a better score than I got my first time.”

  Jenny sighed and dropped her head. “I’ll do better next time.”

  There was a clamor near the entrance to the gym as a group of gray uniforms walked through the volleyball court. The players stopped their game and yelled for them to go around. The grays ignored them and continued to walk across the court.

  Billo screwed up her face. “What a bunch of bullies.”

  “Yeah.” Jenny’s eyes focused on Sadi, and she felt her body grow hot.

  “I mean, they think they own the place. Just because they’re from this Earth, and they work for Lance…”

  “Yeah.” Jenny tried to listen to her roommate, but there was a pounding in her ears. The grays gathered at the windows to the test room, and for a moment there was silence.

  “Jenny, are you listening to me?”

  “Oh yeah.” She turned to focus on her roommate. Billo had a very dejected look on her face. She obviously was not used to being ignored. “I’m sorry.”

  “It’s okay.” Billo lowered her voice so that the grays would not hear her. “So, how are you going to beat them?”

  Jenny shrugged. “What, me?”

  “You’re the first person to complete all the tests.”

  “Yeah, but my test scores are horrible.”

  “You just need a little practice.”

  Jenny’s heart gave a little skip. Billo was looking at her with the same admiration she had shown Adriana. I completed all the tests; that must mean I have more potential than all the other recruits. “I guess you’re right. After all, I did finish all the tests on my first try.” Jenny lifted her head, raised her voice, and said loud and proud, “I bet I’ll have the high score by tomorrow.”

  “Is that so, Tripper?” Sadi said from behind them.

  Jenny jumped.

  “I’ll take that bet.”

  Jenny’s body flushed with heat as she turned to look at Sadi. “We weren’t talking to you.”

  “Do you think you can beat me?” Sadi asked. “Or were you just trying to impress your Astrean friend?”

  Jenny stood up straight. I can’t back down now. “You heard right. I’m going to beat you.”

  Sadi smirked. “Let’s make it interesting, then. If you win, I’ll take your duties for a week.”

  “Duties?”

  “You know, chores, errands, jobs. And if I win, then you’ll take mine.”

  “It’s a deal.”

  They shook, each giving their confirmation of the bet.

  Sadi studied the board. “Last place, Tripper? Good luck.” She turned and entered the testing room.

  “That could have gone better,” Billo said.

  23

  Kata

  Jenny stood in the gym and thought about her exchange with Sadi. Did I really just bet that I could beat the person with the highest score? There’s no way I can win. Maybe it won’t be so bad to clear the trays from the mess hall.

  “Jenny,” Lin said, “you and Kensei should have invitations on your Topos.”

  Jenny removed her Topo from her pocket and found the invitation; it was for 13:30. She accepted it. “What’s it for?”

  “I have daily check-ins with all my recruits. It’s your opportunity to tell me how you’re doing and how I can help you. Though I don’t know what I can do about you and Sadi, but I blame myself for that.”

  “And while you have your Topo out,” Mazu said, “you should sign up for your next test.”

  “Okay. How?”

&nb
sp; Mazu pointed out which application to open and how to schedule a time. Jenny saw that Kensei had already reserved a slot at 20:30. The only remaining time today was at 21:00. Jenny took it.

  “Billo,” Lin said, “I believe you and I have our appointment in a few minutes.”

  “That’s right. See you back in our room, Jenny.”

  “Bye.” Jenny watched Lin and Billo leave the gym.

  Mazu stepped in front of Jenny. “You should not aggravate Sadi.”

  Jenny took a deep breath. “I’m tired of everyone being afraid of her.”

  “I understand your frustration. To be honest, I would like to see her taken down a peg or two. Just be careful—this is more than just a game to her. It’s more like life or death.”

  Jenny gulped and nodded. She noticed two young men in blue uniforms studying the scoreboard. One had curly brown hair and hazel eyes; the other was taller, with unkempt black hair and light blue eyes.

  Hazel Eyes nudged the tall guy. “Go ahead, ask her.”

  “No.” Tall Guy twisted away. “Stop.”

  Jenny looked at the young men. “What did you want to ask me?”

  Tall Guy went stiff and his face turned red.

  Hazel Eyes answered. “Are you really from another universe?”

  “Yeah.” Jenny looked at Kensei. “We both are.”

  “That’s so cool.” Tall Guy leaned against the window to the test room. Inside, Sadi had already moved on to the second maze.

  “Did you two just pass the gravity test?” Hazel Eyes asked.

  Jenny stood up straighter. “We did.”

  “That’s amazing. Most of us thought it was broken.”

  The taller one looked into Jenny’s eyes. “By the way, I’m Moeshe, and this is Ezra.”

  “Nice to meet you. I’m Jenny, and that’s Kensei.”

  Kensei’s head still rolled around his shoulders.

  “I’m pleased to meet you,” Moeshe said. Ezra elbowed him in the ribs. “Oh, yeah. Ezra and I wanted to know the trick?”

  “Trick?”

  “Of how you two passed the gravity test,” Ezra said.

  “Oh,” Jenny and Kensei both started to say. “It’s like.” Jenny smiled. She pointed at Kensei and said, “You tell them.”

  “Okay.” Kensei pushed himself upright and leaned against the wall. “You know how black absorbs light and white reflects it?”

  “Yeah.” Both boys leaned forward.

  “Well, it’s like that, but with gravity. I make the ball more absorbent than the pieces, and they jump right to it.”

  “So, that’s how you did it,” Jenny said. “I must be gravity color-blind because all I can do is make one side of the ball heavier so it rolls in that direction.”

  “I think it’s pretty amazing.” Moeshe looked at Jenny and fiddled with his hands. “I was wondering…if you have some time…maybe we could discuss the differences between our universes over lunch, if you’re free.” He glanced at Kensei.

  “Uh, sure.” Jenny smiled. “I’d love to.”

  Kensei put himself between Jenny and Moeshe. “But right now, we have more training to do, right, Mazu?”

  Mazu grinned at Kensei. “Yes.” She faced Jenny. “Did you still want me to show you that move?”

  Jenny’s face lit up. “Yes, I do.”

  “Kensei”—Mazu winked and hooked him by the elbow—“let’s go.”

  Jenny waved at the boys. “Goodbye.”

  Mazu led them to a room on one side of the gym. It smelled of stale sweat. Blue tumbling mats covered the floor, and heavy bags hung from the ceiling. In the corner was one of those wooden men used for practicing martial arts.

  “Let’s start with the basics.” Mazu slipped off her shoes and stepped onto the mats. Jenny and Kensei did the same. “Show me your best stances.” Mazu demonstrated by setting her feet shoulder-width apart and bending her knees. She placed one hand forward, palm straight out.

  Jenny only knew fencing stances. She turned her body at an angle, to make herself a small target, and slid one foot forward. Kensei stood like he was guarding a basketball player.

  “That’s good.” Mazu stood and walked around them. She pushed and pulled at their arms and legs, and corrected their footing. “If your stance isn’t strong, then your technique will be weak.” She kicked Kensei’s foot into position. “I’m showing you the basics of fighting, but I want you to know that all fights should be avoided if possible.” She twisted Jenny’s hips. “Real fights aren’t choreographed. They’re messy, and can mean life or death.” She straightened Kensei’s shoulders. “Attack as a last resort, and act as if your life depends on it. Aim for tender areas, like eyes—” Her hand flashed forward, and a blast of wind hit Jenny’s face. Mazu’s finger stopped a centimeter from her eye. “Groin—” Her foot launched up and stopped just below Kensei’s groin. He whimpered and covered himself. “And pressure points.” Mazu pressed her thumbs into Jenny’s and Kensei’s throats at the point where neck and collarbone met.

  Jenny’s body turned to jelly, and she collapsed to the mat. There was a weird tingling where Mazu had poked her. After a few seconds, she regained control and returned to her fighting stance. She watched Mazu warily.

  “Your treatment has granted increased strength and endurance, but not technique or reflexes. You’ll still have to train your muscles to match your wits.”

  “What do you mean?” Kensei asked.

  “Do you remember how we got to this room?”

  “Yeah, we walked.”

  “But did you have to tell each foot to take a step and when?”

  “No, I just thought of where to go—”

  “And your legs did the rest.”

  “Your brain knows how to walk, but you don’t have to think about it. The same goes for writing, speech, and even breathing. You may have more knowledge now, but your muscles still need to learn some basic routines.”

  “Like our stances,” Jenny said.

  “Exactly. A firm stance is useful, but adaptation is more important.” She walked behind them, grabbed the blue mat, and yanked.

  Jenny’s feet slid backward, and she crashed shoulder-first onto the mat. She rubbed her sore arm and scowled at Mazu. Reluctantly, she returned to her stance and narrowed her eyes at her instructor. Getting thrown around wasn’t really what she had in mind for their lesson.

  “Use whatever tools you have available, even if all you have are your teeth and nails.”

  After the rough introduction, Mazu spent the next twenty minutes running through variations of stances. Jenny quickly grew frustrated with her own body. While the ADD had granted her book knowledge of all these techniques, her muscles refused to respond the way she’d expected. She felt sluggish and lacked the flexibility or finesse to hold proper positions. Jenny mentioned this to Mazu.

  “You lack muscle memory,” Mazu said. “The only way to achieve this is by training. I’ll teach you a tai chi kata. I want you to practice it whenever you can. Over time, your muscles will be at the same level as your brain.”

  Mazu demonstrated the kata once, then twice. On the second round, Jenny copied the movements. On the third round, Mazu stopped her demonstration and made corrections to their techniques. After twenty minutes of slow, practiced movements, Jenny’s legs shook with exhaustion.

  Satisfied with their level of effort, Mazu led them to the heavy bags. Jenny stepped up to her sand-filled opponent, formed a proper fist, and punched as hard as she could. She hadn’t expected much, but her mouth dropped open in surprise. The heavy bag jerked back as if struck by a sledgehammer and swung on its mount.

  “Not bad.” Mazu smiled. She brought her arm back halfway, then knocked her heavy bag off the hook with one punch. She easily returned the bag to the hook and watched Jenny and Kensei.

  After several minutes, Mazu brought them back to the mat. For the next fifteen minutes, she showed them some basic throws and holds, including the one she had used on Jack. After each lesson, Mazu made
subtle corrections of position, then had Jenny and Kensei practice on each other. Jenny found that sparring one-on-one was the best teacher of all.

  Kensei twisted out of an arm hold, only to have Jenny counter and lock his head between her legs.

  “Wow, Jenny, you’re good.”

  “Have you trained in martial arts before?” Mazu asked.

  “Just fencing.” Jenny blocked an attempted grab. “I guess it helped.”

  “Yes.” Mazu nodded. “The ADD is better at enhancing existing experience than just adding knowledge.”

  What Mazu said seemed right. Jenny felt fast. Not limb-swirling, bullet-dodging fast, but steady and consistent and with an economy of movement. She’d never had better control over her body in her life.

  Mazu looked up at the clock and sighed. “That’s enough fighting for today. I have a prior appointment, but before I go, I’d like to see you practice with your keys.”

  Jenny bowed to Kensei, then wiped the sweat from her forehead. As she reached down for her key, Jenny brushed her mother’s amulet. Would my mom be proud of what I’m doing? If nothing else, I’m having an adventure, and my mom always loved adventures.

  Kensei held his key out. “What do we do with them?”

  “Try a pattern you learned from the tests.”

  Jenny looked at Mazu quizzically. “Like, freezing water or something?”

  Mazu shrugged. “Whatever you feel like.”

  Something in the corner of the room rustled. Leon woke up from his nap and wriggled free of Kensei’s bag. Kensei picked him up and placed him on his shoulder, but the sugar glider immediately jumped and drifted back to the bag.

  “That gives me an idea.” Kensei gripped his key and concentrated. He jumped, and his back hit the ceiling, three meters up. He floated gently back to the floor, stumbled, and fell onto the blue mat.

  “Well.” Mazu grinned and put her hands on her hips. “I’ve never seen anyone do that before.”

  “You might want to work on your landing.” Jenny chuckled.