Turner. Jonathan De Montfort

son. Relax.’

      Hero picked a chair and tentatively reclined, resting his back and head. The seat was comfortable. Was this a dentist’s chair? What was he gonna do? He tried to control his breathing, but he was still huffing from the walk over.

      The master handed him what looked like a high-tech helmet. A dangling wire ran inside to two LCD screens. ‘Put this on.’

      He did as he was told. ‘What is it?’

      ‘A VR helmet.’

      Hero turned it over in his hands.

      ‘Our abilities as humans come from our brains’ perception of the world around us,’ the master said. ‘So we need to train ourselves in a way that allows our brains to perceive the world more effectively. The helmet works to train your perception.’

      He slipped on the helmet and leaned forward so the master could connect the wire. ‘Okay, but how?’

      ‘The lights and sounds cause your brain to go into a meditative state that help you focus. They’ll make it easier to take on board the training we do here.’

      He was a little worried about that, actually. Exercise hurt—like other things that happened in a dentist’s chair, for that matter. His skin felt tight, his muscles like stone, reminding him of that woman with the snakes in her hair. What was her name? Medusa.

      I wonder if that’s where they got the idea.

      ‘Will it hurt?’

      ‘Not at all. In fact, you’ll probably enjoy it. Close your eyes and relax. Ready?’

      He closed his eyes, struggling to look more relaxed than he felt. ‘Yes.’

      The Light Master switched on the device. Multicoloured light exploded like fireworks in front of Hero’s eyes, and pulsating sound filled his ears. The sound seemed to be outside his head, even though he was wearing a helmet.

      Then the rain came, the sound pouring around him. It was so relaxing that he felt a little dizzy. Gentle words floated through the water from an angel in a faraway forest: The relationship between the world and people is a simple one . . . Inside the world beat the hearts of every person, and inside every person beats the entire world . . . The love of every person has the capacity to bring the whole world together as one or to tear it into fragments that would be lost in a cosmic instant in the infiniteness that is the universe and time.

      Colours folded in on themselves, creating a tunnel of light that he was speeding through. The angelic voice melted into the sound of the rain.

      The lights and sounds had stopped. Hero breathed quietly. His body was like jelly, and his head pulsed with an echo of the light and sound. He was alone in the room, a single spotlight creating a pool of illumination around his chair. Through a window, he saw that night had drawn in.

      The main lights flickered on when he stood up, extinguishing the spotlight. He slipped off the helmet and walked into the main gym. The Light Master was training James and two girls in sword fighting. Hero leaned against the door jamb and watched as their swords popped in and out of hazy focus as if caught by a low-speed camera.

      ‘Forward and rotate, forward and rotate,’ the master called. He turned his attention towards Hero. ‘How do you feel?’

      ‘Good. Really good,’ Hero replied.

      ‘Step into the ring. Let’s practise.’

      Hero joined the others in the centre of the mat. James and the girls stowed their swords in a rack, then rejoined Hero and the Light Master.

      ‘Okay, let’s do the short form together.’

      He picked his teeth. He had no idea what was going on. His mouth felt as if he’d been eating sand.

      ‘But what do I do? I’ve never done this before.’

      ‘Follow me. Trust me, you’ll get it.’

      The master took up the opening pose. In silence and slow motion, he led the traditional t’ai chi short form practice of thirty- four moves. Hero copied the beautiful, arcing shapes as closely as he could. It was almost too easy. From Parting the Wild Horse’s Mane to Fan Through the Back, the moves seemed natural, as though he’d done them before.

      I even know the names of these moves. This is freaking me out.

      They closed the sequence with the Crossing Hands and then returned to the stance.

      ‘What did you think of that, Hero?’ the master asked.

      ‘It felt good, as if I’d actually done it before.’

      ‘In a way, you have.’

      He frowned. ‘I don’t think so. I’m sure I’d remember, if I had.’

      The master smirked. ‘Not only does the meditation open your mind, it trains you in our ways.’

      Who were these people? This is like something on one of those conspiracy theory shows. Except it’s real.

      ‘You could think of it as reconfiguring your brain to insert knowledge.’

      ‘I didn’t even know that was possible.’

      ‘One of our greatest discoveries, actually.’

      Hero glanced at James. ‘Why don’t they do this at school, then?’

      The master moved away from the centre of the mat. ‘The rest of the world hasn’t caught up with us yet, son. And we should all be thankful for that.’

      ‘You don’t know the half of it, bruv.’ James was grinning at him.

      He did his best not to look as self-conscious as he felt.

      ‘Let’s take a look at how you did your first time,’ the master said. ‘Come on.’

      The Light Master beckoned Hero to the video monitor at the edge of the gym and pressed Play.

      Hero watched for a moment and shrugged. ‘Looks like it’s stuck on fast forward.’

      ‘No, Hero, it isn’t.’

      ‘Eh?’

      ‘It’s not on fast forward.’

      He peered at the video playback. ‘It can’t be. That’s impossible.’

      ‘Look closely. You can see the dust moving away from your body.’

      The master was right. Shock waves rippled away from him with every motion.

      ‘That is how fast you move. And in time, you’ll move even faster.’

      Hero stared at the recording. He thought he’d performed the short form as precisely and accurately as a brain surgeon, but in fact, he’d been moving so fast that his image blurred as the video struggled to keep up.

      ‘But I wasn’t even trying.’

      ‘Exactly. It’s taken us many years to work out that it takes no effort at all. Once we realised that, we managed to even the balance a bit.’

      ‘Balance? What do you mean?’

      The Light Master and James exchanged glances. The air became thick, and for a moment it seemed as if time had paused.

      ‘Tell me, Hero, has anything unusual happened to you recently?’ the Light Master asked.

      Hero was silent, still trying to digest what he’d seen. There was something else at work here. ‘Well, apart from being bullied . . . Although I’m not sure that’s unusual, exactly.’

      The Light Master returned his tentative smile, then became sombre. ‘I think you know what I mean.’

      Hero nervously glanced between the people on the mat.

      ‘The voices,’ he said at last.

      ‘And what do those voices say?’ the master