“It's called a mirage,” Dr. Roberts said, standing in front of Charles. He was holding this tiny little device that was in the shape of a triangle. “This little device is incredibly illegal because it has a unique ability in warfare that even CelTec hasn’t been able to combat.”

  “What does it do?” Charles asked. Charles had made friends in his classes. Both were much younger than Charles; they were probably late 20s or early 30s. One of them was Ginger with short hair and covered in freckles. The other had dark black hair, a button nose, and a tan complexion. They each sat on opposite sides of Charles. Their names were Jonny and Aiki.

  Dr. Roberts looked over at Charles, his eyes filled with wild excitement. “It's special because it's the only device that works only on The Minds, and the inventor was without The Minds. Just pure genius, his name was Alfrid Richards. My great-grandfather," The professor grinned, clearly happy with himself.

  Aiki raised her hand. “No need to raise your hand, just speak your mind," Dr. Roberts said.

  “I thought CelTec was technologically superior to any opposing army.”

  Dr. Roberts was pacing around the front of the room. “Well, wars aren't won with ground soldiers anymore. While it is censored, there have always been resistance groups plotting to destabilize CelTec from within. It's a blessing I get to share this knowledge with you. To know and understand these threats is a great privilege. Now let me show you how they work.”

  He pulled out three of the devices. Setting one down in front of each student. Charles picked up his device; it was cold and rough in his hand.

  “There’s a small knob in the center of each one of the devices. I want you all to locate that knob,” the professor instructed. Each one of the students looked down at their devices. Charles put his hand on the knob, twisting it. A large light shone brightly from the top of the device, momentarily blinding the old man. After a couple of seconds, there was a loud noise of grinding metal. Charles looked up only to see a distorted version of himself.

  “Take a step forward through the screen,” Dr. Roberts said. Charles took a step forward, passing through the distorted film. He felt a cold rush of air against his face. He looked back from where he had just stepped through, only to see a reflection of himself staring back at him.

  “We can’t see your reflection, only you can,” the professor said. “That's part of the trick; whoever ends up activating the mirage will see that it's an illusion, but no one else will be able to tell. At least no one else with The Minds. Aiki, activate your mirage.” The professor said, pointing to her.

  Aiki grabbed her device, twisting it after a bright flash disappeared. After a couple more seconds, she reappeared at the back of the room before disappearing again.

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  “Isn’t it interesting that it plays tricks on our minds? It's clever and our greatest enemies use it to hide from us.” The professor gestured to the devices. This neat little device is one thing that non-minds hold against us.”

  Leon sat towards the back of the classroom as the class came to a close. Dr.Roberts stood in the front of the class as he finished explaining the projects CelTec was working on around the world. There was a drilling expansion that was happening halfway across the world. Rare materials are used to build equipment. Leon was very bored and was on the verge of falling asleep. Despite the boring nature of the class, Leon found the teacher quite kind. Military Minds had started quite chaotically, but after the first couple of classes, more people showed up, and Dr. Roberts began to mellow out. He was very expressive and was able to draw out interesting ideas and questions from the class. He was very approachable, like a friend.

  As the last of the class left the room, Leon approached the professor. “Excuse me, sir, sorry to keep you after class, but I had a question that I didn’t feel comfortable asking in front of the class,” Leon said. Dr. Roberts was shoving his books into his bookbag.

  The board behind him flickered lightly. “Of course, ask away,” Dr. Roberts responded with a smile still on his face.

  “This might be a long but, I was wondering if you knew someone who worked at CelTec. Goes by the name Dullahan,” Leon asked. He watched as the professor's eyes slowly grew wide.

  The professor let out a giant breath, “Ahh, yes, CelTecs poster child. What do you want to know about him?”

  Leon looked over at him and said, “Well, who is he for starters. I’ve vaguely heard of him before, but I don’t know who he is.”

  “Well, for starters, his real name is Tyler Stills, but they call him Dullahan. A Dullahan is a creature of folklore, a headless rider signifying impending death. They say if you ever see one, they will throw blood on you. Permanently blinding you. But the Dullahan in this world is not a myth. But a carefully designed technological weapon.” The professor has a ginger beard that he sat stroking softly. They called him the boy bred to change the world. CelTec’s great success. He was the first and only person who was homegrown straight from a Lab. No parents, just a design hundreds of years in the making that they gave a body to.

  There used to be posters everywhere when I was a kid. Giant posters decorated in yellow and black stars with the slogan, The next great step in evolution. He was more digital than he was human. They say he's the most integrated person with the minds in the entire world. With total access to everything. Most people with The Minds specialize in military, business, marketing, and art. But Dullahan has a unique affinity for all of these things. It would overload the human brain. Dullahan had the support and power of CelTec. With the power to fix everything and the knowledge to realize it was hopeless. Dullahan was designed to make everything perfect, so he grew deeply dissatisfied with his own life. They made him human, but that's not what he was.”

  Leon sat there taking in everything that he could, “So where is he now?

  The professor smirked, “Well, see now that's the thing no one knows. He disappeared from the public eye. Some people think that he's dead, terminated. Other people think CelTec is still using him. The truth is no one knows. CelTec completely stopped advertising him, and when CelTec officials were asked about what happened to him, they dismissed the questions as if he never even existed.

  “Is he evil?” Leon asked.

  The professor answered, “Well, when I was young, he seemed like a kid that everyone loved. But as he grew older, he became colder and more radical. Obsessed with the idea that he needed to create more people like him, I guess that's why they shut him down.”