«Helpful information, thank you very much.»

«Oh, nevermind, one good turn deserves another,» – Borya made a brilliant display of the wisdom Bob and widely yawn: - «Moreover here's boring to death.»

«Could you tell me anything about spheres of development?» - Kyon had a good idea about an overview due the book he has read, but this information was insufficient.

«Sorry, guy, I'm not really an expert in the matter. You should better ask Byron. I heard his brother is a true earth elemental master, sort of, but they don't get along too well.»

{So it wasn't fantasy! Wow... Magic?} Ken took a deep breath.

«I see, by the way, how it happened that you got here?»

Borya was a peasant of the 15th groups, who signed the contract for his family to receive money. They lived, as you might guess, poorly.

Time pa.s.sed, minute after minute, growing into hours. Martha cared about the patients, and the bald man from time to time threw carnivorous views on her. He hadn't seen a beautiful woman for a long time.

Night had come. Lighting crystals flashed as if on command and almost went out, leaving the room with a dim light only.

Martha held the last examination for this day, wished Kyon good night and left.

Staring at the ceiling barely visible in the light of the «lamps», the young man reflected:

{First of all, you will need to buy at least some information in the weekly shop, probably, it should arrive soon. Where I came from, how I got here, how much freedom costs... Who owns information – owns the situation.}

Eyelids became heavier, there appeared an immensely-gray s.p.a.ce in his eyes. The only thing that attracted his attention was a bright azure ball. It was beckoning. The closer you approach to it, the bigger it becomes until you walk into it and it swallows you up.

*dream*

The door opened with squeak, Martha entered the hospital dragging a sack. She threw it into her office, the she locked the door and went away again.

It was early morning. Kyon, blinking sleepily, stared at brightened lamp.

{d.a.m.n it, to wake up because of the creak at such an unholy early hour…}

However, what sense to be angry in vain. Something another excited him now. Mindful of recent experience, Kyon knew that as soon as he starts to remember a dream, the memories of the previous life's rapid stream will flow into his head. When this process is underway, the feelings are unpleasant... However, there was no point to wait awakening of other inhabitants of the hospital.

The young man focused and reminiscences whirled in his brain like a wild hurricane. His body broke into an icy sweat, his hands shook, the surrounding picture blurred, merging into an obscure spot. Wasting no time, Kyon began to scatter information as it became available. Day after day, from 4 to 8,5 years. This time the process was much easier and more productive than the first one - everything took some 10 minutes.

{Amazing, just incredible!} - Kyon was delighted, his eyes sparkled either because of excitement or because of suddenly oozed tears. He finally recalled enough from his past to understand himself. - {This world is what I need! It was as if I had been given a real ordeal which I desired so much! There was a meritocracy in the precedent world, but in this world the mightiest are the authorities. It means, I will fight on a strange field, according to someone else's rules, and I will definitely reach the top! Engaging ... Interesting ... Cool!}

When he finished the test, his foster father immediately sent him to study at the best school in their civilization, where he spent the subsequent period up to 8.5 years.

The school was on a remote planet, but the journey took only a couple of minutes. Yeah, dad just activated the archway -- the tunnel in the bas.e.m.e.nt, step forward -- and they're in the point of destination. What a technical achievements!

School, but rather those who stood behind it, took for education people with extra abilities from all planets. The selection criterion was predisposition to control the information field. In other words, to the energy of the azure color, the gift is innate and extremely rare, happy owners thereof are less than 1% of all people. No technology a capable to reproduce this type of energy. It weightless like air, malleable like water and is controlled by its master like gentle brute.

Scientists had long proved that the world, all its interactions and laws are based on exchange of information. And this energy allows you to make up a bridge between the master and the universe, thereby changing it. So to speak, it is programming of reality at the level of its source code.

Its single name is «synergy», short for «blue energy».

Synergy by orders improved human susceptibility to any information, increased reaction, body control, ability to any intellectual activity, speed of thinking, equal to the most powerful quantum computers. It also had many uses unrelated to thinking abilities, as it was the very nature, the very essence of the universe.

Like anything, Synergy could be developed.

If you want to become stronger - pull iron, if you want to enroll in athletes -exhausting training is what you need. Brain could also be trained through constant reading, development of memory and thinking. This rule was absolute, and the development of Synergy was no exception.

Scientists have identified the main six areas of development and one legendary, one that in real life no one has ever met, but theoretically might be real. The possessor of the latter becomes a G.o.d by having unlimited capabilities up to changing the laws of physics.

1)" Schoolboy "2)" Student "3)" Bachelor "4)" Master "5)" Candidate of Sciences "6)" Doctor of Sciences "7) the Legendary" Supreme mandate « – this is the cla.s.sification of areas of Synergy that was generally accepted and approved by everyone.

The transition to a new stage was accompanied by the feeling that a stretched elastic band burst like cotton. It was characterized by a significant increase in mental energy, the very quality of Synergy changes, new abilities become available, new facets open up…

Raising up to the next stage took years of practice, each stage was to be achieved with more and more efforts, especially when a person became older.

Tests, tasks, puzzles, combinatorics, training... the farther you go, the harder the tasks, the more effort to enhance the area.

Only 1% of people had Synergy. Among them, only 1 in 10 million achieved Master degree, 1 in 10 billion could reached the stage of Candidate of Sciences. Only one person managed to become Doctor of Sciences for all the history, and even though all of humanity had pinned great hopes on him, he disappeared in the endless expeditions in search of the truth.

The possessors Synergy of high ranks ruled the world and lead it in the right direction, but despite the possibility to prolong life indefinitely, the older you were, the more difficult it was to achieve the next stage... This phenomenon turned out to be an incomprehensible mystery – apparently, eternal life was still not subject to the living creatures.

Laurel, aka Kyon, had no problem while being admitted into the school. Having pa.s.sed the mandatory research, he shocked everyone – it turned out that the little boy had already achieved the peak of the second stage! To be a Student at the age of 4 was equivalent to meet the Phoenix in the sky. After some discussion the School Masters came to a decision and a.s.signed and without further discussions put him on individual training, because the potential of the boy was limitless.

Thus, by 8.5 years he entered the beginning of the third stage and continued to develop actively, almost reaching the Master's degree. To become a Master in such an early age... Unprecedented result.

The school in which studied Laurel, educates each student to deprive them of the shackles typical for all human beings… Shame, uncertainty, complexes, bad habits, all kinds of beliefs and prejudices are to be eliminated.

However, the elders also did their best to transform a boy into a person who would enter the realm of the Supreme mandate – in fact, they brought up the future G.o.d of their world. Necessarily well-mannered G.o.d! They stubbornly instilled in him the best human qualities: so he was able to distinguish the good from the bad, understood human nature and the essence of progress, saw things that the average person has no capabilities to see…

And also inspired him with the idea - to reach the top of development. His nature easily accepted it, as he was very fond of new challenges; he was always a curious child, poking his nose into all areas unknown to him.

His success could not help pleasing the teachers, however, a significant problem loomed on the horizon soon. With such rapid pace of development, the boy very soon will have no tutors. Without worthy rivals and suitable conditions the future of the hypothetical «G.o.d» was vague

{I wonder what stage I stopped at the end of his life...} – Ken desperately wanted to know everything. Unfortunately, at the moment his memories were limited to only eight years of age.

{Something's wrong, I'm missing something…}