To Perceive an Image

Thirty-Three: Images of Plausible Theories

This woman didn't bat an eyelash when she asked me if I was curious about the longevity of their trip because I had plans to ruin their trip.

Are you asking because you want to plant an explosive on the train track?

Why? So, you pack our clothes and throw them out?

So you can plot ways to kill us?

There have been many moments in my life that I've spent doubting my parents' sanity, but this one comes to a close second. The first one will always be my mom's outburst about the money I forgot to put in her account.

It's true what they say, even though no one has ever said it. The hardest part about being a psychologist is not being able to diagnose people outside of your clinic. Because shit, I have an accurate diagnosis for my parents.

So, although my relief will be short-lived, it's still a relief, and I'll enjoy any minute I can spend away from my parents. Also, I can be as noisy as I want as I crawl through my wall and not worry about waking my parents up. Flynn always chooses times that are the latest of the night or the earliest of the morning to meet. What a weirdo.

He's a morning person, and that automatically makes him weird.

I know I can go straight to the Image World from the park, but I'm hungry and want to help myself to whatever we have at home. It has become quite embarrassing how often I meet khalto, and my stomach growls before I can even greet her. I buy their groceries and eat a quarter of them, which is unacceptable.

Issues about my parents aside, my thoughts stumble back to that hunk of a building I walked away from. Okay, let's not hunkify a building that has people with bad intentions working inside.

However, a crazy idea has me borderline growing my ego and shrinking the amount I grew.

No implication about the existence of a projector displayed itself in Flynn's words. Does that mean the people who created it don't even know about it?

I doubt it, but it's a plausible theory.

You know what, I'll work from that thought.

Let's say they don't have a flying clue, which would mean that the person who owns the store I got this from actually had a stranger throw the projector in his face before leaving. Dramatic explanation, but it suffices. A good question now would be to ask who the person who threw it was and why.

It wouldn't make sense for anyone working inside that building, who I'll assume had a part in creating the Image World, to throw away a tool used to reach it. I'm canceling the possibility of someone who had a hand in creating the Image World being the culprit. There's no way one would give away the projector knowing its powers.

Maybe the person was someone who got thrown into severe shock after feeling their arm disintegrate and thought the Bubonic plague demon came to get them. That would explain nothing, but I'll stick to that thought.

Does that mean I'm built differently for still finding it in me to climb through my wall?

Good thing I'm a psychologist, or else I would've sent myself to an asylum.

I can threaten them into submission with my requests using the projector.

Cue my ego growing and the kinky-minded individuals snickering.

Cue my ego shrinking when the logical part of my brain reminds me of my insignificance. In the fancy, uplifting tone of motivational speakers, I'm significant. Imagining the scenario of me threatening an entire system of who knows how many people alone has me cowering away. There's no way it would work.