knew grandpa, he was a man who spoke in cold facts. “Shifters?” I said in a desperate attempt to make sense of it.
“Yes, Elliot. It’s a genetic mutation that occurs from within our line. It had manifested in you. Your brother, nor your parents had not had these genes express themselves. The conclusion that I have is that the shifters are highly random phenomenon. There is not telling to whom it will manifest. Only that at around eighteen years old the DNA along with the maturation of puberty triggers it.”
“Triggers it? Are you a shifter to grandpa?” I asked him.
“Yes, Elliot. I had been blessed and cursed with this manifestation. Herregud. That’s why I opted for…” he contemplated about finishing it, “… Celibacy.”
I nearly chuckled.
“The great genius that we have running in our blood Elliot. Is the gift from this primal energy. Your intelligence will be amplified. Your senses will be amplified. Your strength, your aptitude.. “
“That’s great!” but when I said that his expression turned sour. “With great gift, Elliot, also comes much suffering.”
I felt the heat of his body rising, sort of wall of energy that expanded towards me. Then with a quick bang it collapsed. And grandpa was gone. I heard a screech from the dome. The light from the hole on the top of the dome blinded me for a second. I saw something gliding, glinting against the light.
A flying object. It quickly dove to the sides of my ears and perched on the chair where grandpa sat. It was a hawk! It was larger than usual. The handsome hawk had blue eyes, and long dagger like talons, which scraped the wood through its grip.
“Grandpa” I said instinctively recognizing a part of my blood. Then an explosion came. First it sucked me in, then it pushed me violently. My eyes opened to the sight of grandpa sitting in front of me.
“.. But it must be kept secret.” He said as if not missing a beat.
“Science for all that it can do mankind, will be used to end us. Our whole line will end in laboratory tubes. I know this for a fact. That’s why I wanted to remain celibate. But success brings many females in a man’s life. And I succumbed. For what is life of rigor without the passion of love?”
“What is a life of rigor without the passion of love?” I said in my head. I knew grandpa not be the romantic type, so to utter these words confessed a big part of him. It was true that many females had been in love with grandpa both from the motherland and here in America. I mean he was a good looking guy, intelligent, and owned the patents that made enterprises extremely profitable. Not to mention he was nobility from the old country.
“I just couldn’t do it. A man has only one life to live. Romance should be part of it, no matter the circumstance.” He said solemnly.
“Elliot, since I am the source of your shifting, and thus your pain, I am responsible for you. There are things that you need to know…” he said as if preparing to give a lecture to a class.
He got up and took the large black blanket draped over one of his contraptions. The cover slid to reveal a large metal sphere propped on a metal stand. “The wolf in you can be contained.”
“But it will need time. Time and energy. Time you have. But energy you do not. This right here is a riaxford-radial photoplasma electrifier. A ‘plasmatron.’ The material used comes from all known deposit of the extremely rare Sigmatica materiel. This highly reactant material is extremely sensitive to magnetic waves, so you must ensure that no sources of electricity is present. That is the reason why I had opted not a single electric line be ran to the city. Anything that contain electricity like batteries will also be drained of their energy.”
“The only source it accepts is from atmospheric conditions. There are other side-effects.. but that is all that I have uncovered.” He said in his