Episode 1 - Test
# Chapter 1 - Test
After leaving work, I didn't go straight home.
'No, how am I supposed to hold back from testing sensory connection!'
My heart was pounding harder than when I first powered on a new electronic device.
If I had to pick a similar kind of tension—
Like getting a call about a system outage from the person on call while traveling to my hometown with my family for the holidays?
...That wasn't from personal experience.
I meant it as an example.
Anyway, I had to confirm whether I'd really gone crazy or whether I'd really gained an ability.
In the end, I went into a cafe near the office, took a corner seat by the window, and ordered an iced Americano.
When I turned on my laptop and opened the document app, the test cases I'd written down before taking my half day filled the screen.
[Sensory Connection Test Cases]
Target Conditions
1-1. Does it work on objects? ( )
1-2. Does it work on animals? ( )
1-3. Does it work on people? ( △ )
1-4. Does it only work on specific people? ( △ )
Target Range
...
Activation Conditions
...
"..."
I stared at the screen for a moment and let out a small laugh.
'First of all, it seems like it worked on Yu-ra...'
We'd already planned to test in the afternoon anyway.
It was just a different test.
The first thing to check was the target.
No matter how much I tried, there was no response from objects.
[1-1. Does it work on objects? ( X )]
Next was animals.
First, I tried it on a fly that was buzzing around inside the cafe. When I touched my arm, it did fly away, but I couldn't tell whether it had connected or whether it had just been startled and fled.
[1-2. Does it work on animals? ( △ )]
Just then, a dog passed by outside the window.
A golden retriever was walking beside its owner, wagging its tail back and forth.
I looked at its bright, innocent eyes for a moment.
"..."
'Sorry, Chyap-chyu. Just a tiny bit...'
I looked at the retriever's front paw and placed my right hand on the table.
I recalled the sensation from that morning.
The retriever's front paw.
My right hand.
Connect.
...
Nothing happened.
I took a sip of coffee.
"...Yeah, figured."
It really didn't make sense.
A person who'd been perfectly fine until this morning suddenly having superpowers.
I'd probably just been overworking lately—
—Pat.
"Pfft!"
Suddenly, the hard asphalt, tiny pebbles, and the warmth of the ground heated by the April sunlight all flooded into my palm at once.
'It's not just touch—pressure and temperature come through too.'
-Chyap chyap chyap chyu.
Every time the retriever took a step, the feeling of stepping on the ground followed into my palm as well.
Even when I lifted my right hand off the table, the sensation remained the same.
"...This is insane."
A dog was taking a walk on my palm.
I immediately revised the test case.
[1-2. Does it work on animals? ( △ → ○ )]
Suddenly, the morning's events came to mind.
When I'd touched my arm, Yu-ra had reacted too.
I lightly tapped my right palm with my left index finger.
-Tap.
The retriever stopped dead in its tracks.
"..."
'Why are you staring at me, Chyap-chyu?'
The dog looked toward the cafe for a moment, then lifted one front paw.
"Danbi, what's wrong? Is there something on your paw?"
Danbi, who had been sniffing at its own paw, started licking the pad with its tongue.
—Slurp, slurp.
"...!"
The rough and wet sensation swept right across my palm.
'I can even feel this?'
I hurriedly cut the connection.
Click.
The sensation disappeared.
Watching the two of them walk away, I couldn't help but smile.
"...It's real."
It wasn't an illusion, and it wasn't something that had only happened with Yu-ra.
Something had really appeared.
---
After leaving the cafe, I headed to a nearby park.
For cross-validation of sensory connection on living creatures, it was time to make contact with the voluntary, unpaid test agents stationed at the park.
On one side of the park, gallant agents stood lined up as if in formation.
I shook the bag of puffed rice snacks I'd bought from a street vendor.
"Are you ready, Agent Gustav?"
-Coo coo coo.
A flock of pigeons eyed the puffed rice in my hand.
"Good. I like that proactive attitude."
—Swish.
I tossed out a little of the puffed rice.
"Pigeons, let's eat~ coo coo~"
A passerby glanced at me, but I pretended not to notice.
This time, I connected one pigeon's beak to my palm.
—Click.
At the same time, a faint white line stretched between my palm and the pigeon's beak.
It was a translucent line.
'Now what's this line?'
Every time the pigeon pecked at the ground, the center of my palm was pressed lightly.
The type of animal didn't seem to matter much.
This time, I kept the connection and increased the distance.
As the distance grew, the white line stretched along with it.
After going back and forth a few times, the sensation blurred significantly once I passed roughly 15 meters.
'So there's a range limit too.'
[7-1. Whether sensory connection has a range limit ( ○ )]
[7-2. Sensory connection effective range ( approx. 15m / based on animals? )]
Just then, a delivery truck passed along the road through the park.
The moment the pigeon was completely hidden by the vehicle.
Snap.
"Huh?"
The sensation cut off.
Once the truck passed and the pigeon came back into view, it immediately returned.
Click.
"...Line of sight?"
I hid behind a tree and checked a few more times.
If I could see it, it connected.
If I couldn't see it, it disconnected.
Around the third time.
"Mister."
I flinched.
I turned around and saw three elementary school kids staring right at me.
"Why are you playing Red Light, Green Light behind a tree?"
"...I was doing a science experiment."
"By hiding behind a tree?"
"...Advanced science naturally looks a little weird."
The kids looked completely unconvinced.
I wasn't convinced either.
For a moment, the thought of testing it on a person flashed through my mind, but I erased it right away.
'No matter what, that's too much.'
I started to take out the snacks left in my bag, then put them back.
The moment a strange man started handing out snacks to kids, the whole genre was going to change.
"Anyway, get home safely."
"Yes!!!"
After the kids left, I revised my notes.
[8-1. Do I need to be looking at the target? ( ○ )]
[8-2. If it disappears from view? → Sensation temporarily pauses / automatically restores when visible again]
Lastly, I tried adjusting sending and receiving separately.
Receiving only the other party's sensations.
Sending only my own stimuli.
Both were possible.
It was much easier than at first.
[Individual sensory send/receive settings possible]
'That covers the important things, more or less.'
I wanted to test a bit more, but I’d been feeling a dull heaviness in my temples for a while.
It could have been from tension, but it could also have been an effect of the ability.
That was enough for today.
---
By the time I got home, the sun had almost set.
Without even properly tidying my shoes, I sat at my desk and opened my laptop first.
[Key Test Results]
-I've gained a sensory connection function.
-Doesn't work on objects.
-Works on animals.
-For people, only Yu-ra so far.
-Range limit approximately 15m.
-If the target disappears from view, the connection temporarily pauses.
-Individual sensory send/receive settings possible.
-Side effects? Headache?
"Hm."
There were still plenty of things left to test, but my temples were still heavy.
I decided to check the rest slowly and was about to close the laptop when my hand suddenly stopped.
'Now that I think about it.'
I'd tried objects, and I'd tried animals.
I'd also tried a person—just one, Yu-ra.
But.
'What about me?'
I looked down at my right hand.
'Does it work between parts of my own body?'
Right palm.
Left cheek.
Connect.
Click.
"Huh?"
It was on a completely different level from doing it with animals.
It connected the moment I thought of it, without even needing to concentrate.
I lightly scratched my right palm with my left index finger.
-Scratch.
At the same time, my left cheek tickled.
'My own body is much easier.'
While stroking my chin, a very human curiosity suddenly came to mind.
'...'
My gaze slowly drifted downward.
"No way."
'Does it work there too...?'
It worked.
It worked extremely well.
I could almost hear the words "YOU DID" in my ears.
"...."
I quietly stared at the ceiling.
Half a day after discovering an amazing ability, I had come to one profound realization.
Not about the future of humanity.
Not about world peace.
Not about the advancement of science.
But that human curiosity is more vulgar than you'd think.
---
The next morning.
It was a commute no different from usual.
I took the intercity bus to the station near the office, then joined the two-line queue for the shuttle bus.
Just because I'd discovered superpowers yesterday didn't mean my commute disappeared, and superpowers didn't deposit my paycheck for me.
'So incredibly realistic.'
When I got on the shuttle bus, the first thing I saw was Yu-ra sitting by the window.
"Good morning, Yu-ra."
"Oh, Se-ryu!"
Yu-ra smiled and greeted me.
She was sitting alone in a two-person seat, so I naturally sat down next to her.
"Good morning. Are you feeling okay? You suddenly took a half day yesterday."
Seeing her genuinely worried face made me feel guilty for no reason.
She was worried about my condition, but yesterday the one who'd actually been off was her body.
"Ah, yes. I feel better after getting some good rest."
Calling it good rest was a stretch since I'd done quite a lot of testing, but I felt fine.
"That's a relief. During yesterday's meeting, I suddenly felt strange too, and then you did as well. Everyone must be tired these days."
"Haha... I guess so."
Yu-ra smiled without knowing anything.
'I'm sorry, Yu-ra.'
"We can do the test today, right?"
"Yes. I'll do it properly today to make up for yesterday."
"Oh. You sound confident."
"I did a lot of testing yesterday."
"What?"
"Nothing."
As the shuttle bus departed, the station building receded outside the window.
It was an ordinary commute.
The moment I thought that.
Bang—!
Screech!
The bus suddenly braked hard.
"Whoa?!"
Even with my seatbelt on, my body lurched forward.
Yu-ra next to me had it worse.
She'd happened to be bending down to organize the bag at her feet, so her upper body tilted straight toward the aisle.
"Eek!"
Right in front of her was the hard edge of a seat handrail.
At that rate, she was clearly going to hit it face-first.
'Dangerous!'
It was already too late to reach out and grab her.
At that moment.
Yu-ra's waist, thighs, and calves all came sharply into focus in my mind at once.
Deeper than sensation.
It felt like reaching directly into each individual muscle that moved her body.
'Hold on!'
The moment I thought it, dozens of taut threads caught in my mind all at once.
Which thread led where was unnervingly clear.
Instinctively, I pulled on them.
-Clench!
Yu-ra's right foot planted hard against the floor.
Her calf and thigh tensed simultaneously, and her upper body, which had been pitching forward, was yanked back in an instant.
Thunk.
Yu-ra's face stopped right in front of the seat handrail.
"....Huh?"
Yu-ra froze.
I froze too.
"I'm sorry! A car suddenly cut in front of us! Is anyone hurt?"
The driver's voice came from the front.
"...Yes!"
"We're fine."
"...Is this a sign to leave early?"
Answers came from here and there.
Yu-ra also slowly leaned back against the seat and looked down at her own legs.
"Wow..."
"Are you okay?"
"Yes. I'm okay, but..."
Yu-ra rubbed her thigh once as if something felt strange, then looked at me.
"How did I brace myself just now? I was sure I was going to slam into the handrail."
"...."
I wanted to know too.
No.
Actually, I thought I did know.
This time, it hadn't simply been connecting sensations.
I had directly moved Yu-ra's muscles.
Bzzz—
"Ugh."
Suddenly, my temples throbbed hard.
"Se-ryu?"
"Ugh..."
I reflexively pressed my hand to my head.
My vision wavered for a moment, and a long ringing echoed inside my ears.
It was a reaction on a completely different level from when I'd used the ability yesterday.
'...It wasn't just sensory connection.'
"Are you really okay? You look a bit unwell."
"...I'm fine."
"You're not taking another half day, are you?"
"That's not happening."
"Why not?"
"Because I really have to test today."
"...?"
I pressed my throbbing temples and turned my head toward the window.
Then I secretly took out my phone and opened the memo app.
[Sensory Connection Test Cases]
Below that, I added a new item.
[Body Control Cases?]
"..."
It felt too grandiose, so I erased it.
[Muscle Control Cases]
I also added one more line under side effects.
[Severe headache when controlling another person's muscles / additional testing needed]
"..."
Until yesterday, I'd thought sending and receiving sensations was all there was.
But it wasn't.
I could—
[Directly move another person's body.]
The shuttle bus continued toward the office as if nothing had happened.
I hadn't even clocked in yet, and I already had another test to run today.