04: Determing Dynamics

II: Learning Their Limits

When you grow up you tend to get told that
the world is the way it is and ... just to live your life inside the world.
Try not to bash into the walls too much.
Try to have a nice family life, have fun, save a little money.

That’s a very limited life. Life can be much broader
once you discover one simple fact: Everything around you that you call life
was made up by people that were no smarter than you.
And you can change it, you can influence it...

Once you learn that, you’ll never be the same again.

Steve Jobs”

I have no use for people who have
learned the limits of the possible.

Terry Pratchett

The two siblings were on their way out the next morning, when Logan knelt, focusing on the grass.

“Aren’t you a little old to be playing in the dirt?” Leslie chided, coming back and cocking her head at his unexpected actions. “Jie and Ai will be here soon.”

“I was thinking about everything we discussed last night. If what we do is affecting others—especially if it may cause harm to anyone else—we’ll need to learn to control and minimize it.”

Leslie approached, peering down at him. “Minimize it? It’s what brought both Ai and Jie into our lives.”

“You know what I mean. If our being together is strengthening these ghosts, we have to determine how to take the energy back or limit how much they can absorb. Unfortunately, if we can’t see them, there’s no way to experiment with it.”

“So...”

“So, we’ll need to practice on something we can observe.”

She knelt beside him, focusing on what he was fussing with. It was an ant he kept diverting as it attempted to escape.

“So, you’re torturing defenseless creatures?”

“Not at all,” he said, lifting the tiny creature and letting it crawl along his hand. “What we have to do is to drain energy, the same way we’re supplying it to these spirits. I doubt it’ll be hard; we just have to figure out how to do it. It certainly shouldn’t harm anything, as long as we don’t overdo it.”

“Okay, so how to you anticipate doing that?”

“I’m not sure. I’m not having much luck at the moment.”

“What’ve you tried so far?”

“Just thinking ‘less energy’ at it,” he admitted. “I also tried refocusing my energy, trying to tighten its scope to this little guy, but it doesn’t seem to have any effect.”

“That’s not terribly precise.” She sat in the dirt beside him. “Let’s consider it. What is it we do when we get together, when our auras overlap?”

He considered her, still keeping the ant from meandering too far away, but didn’t answer, so she continued. “It’s love. We approach each other, eager to see them. We’re filled with joy, hope and want to please them.”

“So, I need to hate this particular insect, but only for short periods of time? Not enough to do any sustained damage?”

She pursed her lips, as Jie’s car drove up. “They say the opposite of love isn’t hatred—that’s simply another aspect of love—it’s indifference.”

“Oh, so the solution is to ignore it entirely?” he teased.

“No but jumping to hate is probably the wrong approach. There are alternatives ... if your current method doesn’t work.”

“Hey, I thought we were going out,” Aiesha called from the passenger seat.

“Sorry, Logan is playing with ants and considering alternatives to love.”

“Is it something we did?” she asked, worriedly.

“This is frustrating,” he groused. “It’s not enough thinking things at something, we’ll need a specific technique. Facing away from it doesn’t seem to have any effect.”

He frowned, his face contorting as he tried different ideas out. “Unloving it doesn’t help, nor does focusing on its negative attributes and then reacting to those. This is irritating.”

“You’re just too accustomed to figuring things out quickly. This takes a little more effort, trying out various methods. You’re a creative, unorthodox thinker. What do you do when you’re ignoring someone?”

“He scowled at the tiny creature, as his face slowly changed from one expression to another.”

“Should we be worried?” Aiesha exited Jie’s car. “He looks like he’s having a stroke or something.”

“No, he’s—”

“It worked!” Logan shouted, pointing at the ant on his arm which seemed stunned, taking a step or two in one direction before hesitating and trying another in a different angle. “Rather than ignoring it, I treated it like you might an old girlfriend. The energy we give off is because of our emotions. This is similar. By reacting emotionally—like you would someone who’s betrayed you, acknowledging them but showing they’re beneath your contempt—it works!”

“Wait, how do you show an ant any—”

“It isn’t literal,” he clarified. “You put yourself into that situation, projecting those emotions towards it. You feel it, and they pick up the emotional fallout. Technically, we’re not actually extending our feelings, but by doing so, it directs the necessary energy where we want. But it’s a very conscious choice.” He grinned. “It helps if you’re not distracted and only think about what you’re doing, which I typically do.”

“What are you two up to?” Aiesha inquired, both girls approaching.

“Don’t come any closer!” Leslie shouted. “Logan’s figured out how to counter our central ability. Move apart so your auras don’t overlap, then sit on the ground, like we are, and find an ant you can experiment on.”

“Are you serious?” Jie stared at them, uncertain what they were up to.

“Trust me,” Aiesha cautioned, “whenever she uses that tone, she’s deadly serious, because it impacts Logan. She’s like a grizzly, protecting its cubs!”

“Hot damn! The opposite works too. If you think of them as one of us, loving it the way we do each other, it recovers immediately. We’ve solved it!”

The girls sat and scanned the grass excitedly, still unsure what they were doing.

“Will a ladybug work?” Jie asked.

“I guess,” Logan said, still playing with his insect. “Both ants and beetles have exoskeletons, which also demonstrates our energy sharing isn’t easily blocked by non-living physical objects.”

Leslie recounted what he told her, starting her own experiment, but working with another ant still on the ground and scurrying away. “It does!” she exclaimed.

“I was observing your auras while you were experimenting,” Jie shouted like an overexcited little girl, hoping to tag along with her older siblings. “Your energy fluctuates dramatically.”

“It’s ... it’s not working for me,” Aiesha complained, pouting.

“That’s why I had you keep your distances,” Leslie explained, “as a further test. This proves what I thought. While we all share the same trait, Logan’s the one who triggers it. Ai, I’m guessing you’re the one who identifies and brings us together. Logan activates our abilities, and Jie, you’re our eyes, so we can see what the hell we’re doing.”

“Then what do you do?” Aiesha pried, as the girls hurried over, carrying their bugs and sitting nearby.

She grinned triumphantly. “I’m the group’s mama grizzly. I’m the one that’ll tear anyone challenging us apart. My brother definitely needs someone watching over him, and though I trust you both, Jie probably does too, since she so small.”

“It works. I did it!” Jie pointed at her arm, her finger holding the ladybug in place lifting, demonstrating it was barely moving. “We don’t have to be right next to you, but the closer we get, the stronger our effectiveness is.”

“Honey, check out the kids outside.” Helen Sykes called to her husband in the other room.

“I see them,” Jonathon acknowledged. “They’re playing in the grass like a bunch of toddlers. And they’ve got a new girl with them too. Some Asian chick. Except now, it looks like Logan’s the center of the group, as opposed to off in his own little world.”

“You should be thankful, honey,” she said, joining him by the living room window. “I was really worried about him, it’s past time he started interacting with others!”

“I’d love for him to play sports with other guys, but it appears he’s now Leslie’s friends’ plaything. That boy’s never going to grow up at this rate!”

“Give the poor kid a break,” Helen chided. “He could stand a few more friends. Besides you’ve never noticed Aiesha flirting with him before. It went over his head every time. I’m glad he’s finally noticing the opposite sex. I was beginning to think we’d never have grandkids!”

“I’m not complaining,” he said. “I’m just shocked. He’s joined them, he’s now the top dog rather than the shy church mouse, and they’ve all reverted to ten-year-olds! But hopefully, this is the start of new things for them. You weren’t the only one worried about him!”

“I hope you have enough for one more, Mrs. Sykes. I can always go out and pick something up if you don’t.”

“Aiesha, we learned long ago that when you’re in the house, we need extra, and it’s not a problem. Even if you didn’t show up, these two hungry vultures will devour anything we’ve saved for you. But seriously, after this long, why do you keep up with that silly missus nonsense. Just call me Helen. However, Logan, of all people, informed us you’d be having dinner with us this evening. Sensing this may be a major announcement, I spent more time fixing something memorable so I wouldn’t worry about what it might be about.”

“There was a reason for it.” He sat beside Aiesha, rather than across the table from her and Leslie. Now his sister sat across from them, grinning happily. “If you’ll take your seats, we can begin.”

“Well, you seem to be taking charge tonight,” his father said, “so I’ll leave the prayers up to you.”

Logan bowed his head, but once the others did, he looked up and opened his eyes.

“Lord, we ask you watch over each of us, especially Aiesha, to protect her from any wayward parental wrath, and shelter our parents from an unexpected heart attack. And I’d also like to ask you keep an eye on Jie Gie, her folks, as well as Aiesha’s, as they’re all a part of this too. Amen.”

More than one set of eyes opened to peer at him during the grace. Aiesha firmly grasped his hand, as she glanced between his mother and father while they focused exclusively on Logan.

“Somehow, your prayer did little to ease our troubled minds,” Jonathon noted.

“Hence the request to watch over your health,” he said, grinning.

“Care to tell us anything before I start serving?” Helen asked.

“More importantly, should I pour us a stiff drink first?” Jonathon pressed.

“Not at all, this is happy news.” Logan turned, staring into Aiesha’s eyes while holding their clasped hands between them for the entire table to see as he leaned forward and kissed her hand. “This dinner was to announce that Ai and I are officially dating, so from here on, you can take the kid gloves off whenever she visits. Consider her a potential family member—barring any major objections from anyone between now and then.”

Jonathan glanced at Leslie before continuing to stare at his son. “And what does your sister think of this?”

“She was the one who got us together. She informed me I’d been ignoring her flirting for too long. She thought, with my Asperger’s, I was too preoccupied to notice it.”

“When he explained he’d never put the moves on one of my friends,” Leslie elaborated, “I assured him we didn’t object and were waiting for him to get with the program.”

“He was cute about it,” Aiesha added. “He took us both out to ensure she didn’t have any second thoughts while we had our first date. Then, when she didn’t raise any objections, we visited my folks so Logan could meet them. And since they’re used to me bringing your daughter by so often, we didn’t want to upset anyone, so Leslie tagged along then too.”

“Yeah, we wouldn’t want to bother someone else’s parents!” Jonathon grumbled.

“Be polite, dear,” Helen urged. “You’ll get your turn in a minute.”

“We’re done with the opening salvo. You’re free to fire at will.” Logan sat back and grinned, not releasing Ai’s hand but at least dropping it into his lap.

“So, how long has this romance been going on?” Jonathon examined the two, his voice deepening.

“Not long. Just a couple of days. We wanted to assure her folks were comfortable with me before we announced anything to you. After all, if they objected, it would be awkward having to retract the announcement a day or two later.”

“It’s not too late to change your mind,” he cautioned.

“So, if you’re truly serious about each other,” Helen said, leaning forward and unwittingly crumpling her napkin, “why drag your sister along on your date?”

“They’ve been friends so long everyone thinks of one when they think of the other,” Logan explained.

“And since he was so nervous about ‘pursuing’ one of my girlfriends, we thought we’d best appear together and present a united front. But trust us, they weren’t about to start making out at the dining room table while her parents looked on. Logan’s not that socially inept!”

“I really wish you wouldn’t speak about your brother that way,” their mother chided.

“We tease one another,” Leslie explained, grinning at him. “He knows it, I know it and Ai does too.”

“Besides,” Aiesha added, “she’s long been his biggest defender, and by acknowledging it with a good-natured joke, it lessens the tension among others.”

“Still, it makes me uncomfortable.” Helen fidgeted with her necklace.

“And it disturbs me when everyone pretends Logan is someone other than who he is!” Leslie’s voice rose as she glared at one parent and then the other. “Expecting him to conform to everybody else’s behavior, is a disservice to him.”

“We don’t like calling attention to his ... disability,” Helen argued.

“Trust me, everyone knows Logan has troubles socially. But pretending he doesn’t won’t help anyone, while openly acknowledging helps others open up, so they’ll finally discuss it!”

“What did I say,” Aiesha said, glancing fondly into Logan’s eyes and ignoring everyone else. “She’s your pit-bull, your overprotective mama grizzly.”

“And don’t I know it. Heaven help whoever gives me a dirty look while she’s around.”

“Or me,” Ai countered. “She’s almost as fiercely protective of me, especially since we’re together.”

“All right, tabling this discussion for now, what was that line about this Je Guy? Who’s she? Is she the little Oriental girl you were playing in the dirt with this morning?”

“She is,” Logan acknowledged, jumping in before Leslie had a chance to further escalate tensions. “She’s South Korean, or at least her father is. He was a U.S. diplomat stationed in Seoul where he met Jie’s mother, an English translator, and they fell in love.”

“Oriental is considered an offensive term,” Aiesha informed them. “If you can’t tell the difference between the people you speak with every day, just say Asian. It’s not much better, but it’s slightly less stereotypical. Not everyone with epicanthic folds was born on the Asian continent.”