The Tree of Knowledge Ch. 4 (Patreon)

SKYWALK

School was… school. Without the constant threat of bullying, it became actually kind of enjoyable. I didn’t have friends. No one really approached me, but this time their standoffish nature was entirely different. 

I was awe inspiring. I was the Scion Girl, even though I hated such a stupid name. I existed before Scion decided to pick me up and take me on a skywalk. PHO was going crazy over me, and the hallways cleared a path for me when I walked through. What this meant, going forward, I didn’t know. 

I sat in the school’s library during a free period, doing homework that was coming more easily to me than ever before. Knowing that I could work without fear of reprisal or bullying made it incredibly easy to finish things. The existence of a free period, something Winslow didn’t have as far as I knew, allowed me to finish at least most of my homework before the day even ended. 

I was winding down, having finished a biology assignment when I realized a boy was standing right near my table, seeming conflicted about something. He flinched a little when I noticed him, afraid of something.

He was five foot nothing, shorter than average by a long way even for our age, but I still got the impression that he was older than me. Blonde hair cut in a bowl cut that framed a pair of big glasses and a bigger nose. His face was covered in acne.  He was neither thin, nor fat, and had a decent amount of muscle tone, though he would never be attractive. 

“Uhh… you need something?” I asked quietly.

“Y-yeah. I think. Uhm. Is… is it true that you can… uhm. Actually talk to Scion?” he asked, stuttering the whole way. His voice was lower than I expected, but squeaked occasionally as if he were still not quite done with puberty. 

I didn’t really know what to say. At this point, everyone pretty much assumed I could, and I’d never been told I should keep my ability to communicate with him secret, even though I was still pretty sure I wasn’t a parahuman, and Scion was just willing to communicate with me for some reason of his own.

“I… yes. Sort of. He doesn't think like people do. Doesn’t talk like us. But yes, I can,” I told him. 

He beamed brightly. “G-Good. Dad thought… well. Listen. About four years ago, Scion saved my dad. He was fishing out in deep ocean when something busted his rudder. I don’t really know what happened exactly but he got caught in a storm and his boat capsized. Scion pulled him, my uncle, and a few of their friends out and put them on land. They’d have all drowned if not for him so… I just wanted to say thanks. Actually tell him, you know? Don’t know what I would’ve done.” 

I blinked. Intellectually I knew Scion saved people all around the world. All the time. He’d been doing it for longer than I’d been alive. Logically someone here in Brockton would have reason to thank him, but I didn’t expect…

“I… just a moment. I’ll tell him. Uhm. What’s your name?” I asked. 

“Oh, I’m ah… Bradley. Bradley Owens. My dad is Jim Owens.” 

I looked out towards the bay. Something unerring in my psyche knew without a doubt exactly where Scion was currently hovering. Bursts were becoming more simple, but I rarely actually had any reason to contact Scion. He seemed perfectly content to wait around for whatever I asked him to do. 

Gratitude.

The burst contained the whole conversation, all packaged into a feeling. A sensation that spoke of warmth and gratefulness, that I could actually feel from Bradley, as well as impressions of a capsized boat and Scion rescuing humans from the ocean.

Scion responded in hardly half a moment. 

Query: Purpose?

He didn’t understand why I was telling him this. No, it was deeper than that. I struggled to understand all the layered meanings that existed within each conceptual burst that Scion sent. Sometimes, I could grasp them easily, but other times it took me hours to fully comprehend their meaning. 

This one was at least a little straight forward. Why am I telling him this, mixed with, why should he care, mixed with how will this help the cycle?

I decided, roughly, on an emotional burst. One that conveyed the small but expected bit of elation that came from being thanked. From being appreciated. 

Joy.

The burst contained elation but emphasized the humility in it. The happiness at being of value. The wholeness of camaraderie, the joy of a son at seeing his father alive.

Scion’s response was as cold as it was impersonal. 

Irrelevant.

I grimaced. Irrelevant. That’s all it was to him. Irrelevant. All the people he saved, all the good he’d done, all the lives protected… and for what? Nothing more than twidling his thumbs. 

Negation! Relevant! Dire!

I responded quickly and harshly. He had to be made to understand. He had to see just why humans were relevant. If he didn’t…

I shuddered again, thinking of the cycle. Thinking of the monster in a paragon’s clothing that my world had been attached to. 

“Uhh… you okay, Taylor?” Bradley asked nervously.

I flushed, feeling a little embarrassed. 

“Sorry. He… like I said, he really doesn’t understand people. Like, at all. He responded by asking me why I was telling him about this. Sorry. I’m… I’m working on getting him to understand, but it's like he’s from another planet sometimes.”

The boy’s face sank. “Oh. I… ah okay. Well. Thanks. I’ll let my dad know… uh… something I guess.”

“I’ll… keep working on him. Bradley, right? I–”

I felt sorry for him. I didn’t really know what he’d been expecting. An autograph or something? Maybe that I could put him in contact with Scion? I didn’t know. But he looked so depressed that I made the mistake of reaching out and putting a hand on his shoulder. 

Golden light filled the room.