Another Passage

Chapter 2

After the bell rings, I head home. I don't participate in any extra-curriculars or clubs. Too much hassle and I don't have the time or interest. The streets of The Hub are a strange sight, a clash and fusion of different cultures. Depending on the sector you are walking through the street lamps can be powered by flame, magic orbs, or plain ol' electricity. The architecture also reflects this blend. There is this one street full of these Victorian houses with modern twists, such as pure black paint with carbon fiber finishes. I wonder if regular dimensions have fusion like that. Probably not, since without The Hub each dimension is pretty much isolated or at least, that is what I've heard. It would be awesome to visit another dimension, but I could never have that opportunity like Louisa said, I am a ticking time bomb. It is only a matter of time before I explode, which is why I have to stay contained within the confines of The Hub.

"It is cloudy, today." I think as I look up at the sky. Not the type of cloudy that suggests rain or the kind with sun peaking through. This is the gloomy, sticky, and slightly moist cloudy with low hanging clouds. There is an urban legend here in The Hub that the weather here is created from a single wizard of a magical alpha dimension. According to legend, the weather here is correlated with his emotions and when he died he became a part of the weather, so on days like this I like to think The Great Wizard is feeling melancholy or conflicted. I wonder what will happen when I die. I look at the ground, a cobblestone sidewalk with an unnatural iridescent shimmer. I love walking through the magical sectors of The Hub. The streets are lined with fortune tellers and oracles some in caravans while others set up shop in market stalls. These neighborhoods are often the most colorful. The houses sometimes change color depending on the planetary alignment or weather. The smell of peppermint and prunes wafts through the streets with an odd bitter note to remind you that it is a magically produced scent and not a natural one.

My mother always says that magic is a shortcut and that the real thing is always better, but she is from a less magically powerful dimension. Wizards and witches from alpha dimension or high ranking beta dimensions can create spells that are as real as anything naturally produced. Magic is such a funny thing. I wish I could use magic, but unfortunately, since only my mother has witch's blood the recessive trait did not pass on to me. The only benefit is that I am slightly more sensitive to magic's presence than the average person. When I'm sick and my mother brews a wellness potion, I heal much more quickly than a regular person, but I cannot produce any magic of my own. It is an interesting predicament and another downside for me as an inter-dimensional. My father's blood is of no benefit to me. I know I sound cold and callous thinking that, but even though I love him as a father, I have to deal with the stigma against gamma dimensionals along with being an inter-dimensional. I wish I could live in one of the magical sectors, but my parents could never afford a house there. I live in the poor underbelly of The Hub.

Most inter-dimensional and gamma families live there because it is cheap to live in and most of us are poor due to job discrimination of such groups. What an interesting world we live in: a place where your origin defines your abilities. A ridiculous concept with no merit. If given the opportunity I bet a Gamma child could be just as good at technology as an Alpha child, but most of our parents are from dimensions of  less advancement and they cannot get high quality jobs because of their lack of skills due to the lack of training in their dimensions. This makes it impossible for children of the less fortunate to attend good schools and learn the skills they need. I am one of the lucky ones, I got a scholarship to Zöllner Academy (named after the man who created the subject of Transcendental Physics in dimension Alpha-1). My eduction is as good as any Alpha's. Job recruiters won't be able to use my education against me like they did with my father. He tried applying for a secretarial position, but he lacked formal technological training, so his resume was tossed without a second thought. He had the necessary skills from his previous work experience, but it was not enough.