Jonah was a young scholar with his whole life ahead of him. His parents belonged to the nobility on his world and had paid heavily for his education in Nudo. Better yet, they had recently allowed him to buy another slave to assist him while he spent his time studying and learning the difficult discipline of magic.

So, as fate would have it, he suddenly found himself in the only slave center that housed the humans of the newly discovered world: Mother. Not that he was particularly interested in the new world, but he happened to be nearby when he got the news that he could buy another slave and there was no other center on the way from there to the city he was going to study in: Luscus. If he wanted a slave to help him with his journey, he had no choice.

At the slave center he was escorted by the Noni guards to the common cells, where the able-bodied men were kept. The cells were large and contained many people inside, but they were not particularly cruel or sadistic; there was plenty of room for everyone to lie down, extra chairs and even a bathroom. That was the standard and all slave centers had to follow it.

Jonah stared at the men inside the cell. As usual, some went right up to him and asked him to pick them up. Some threatened him, others begged him with tears in their eyes, but Jonah was already used to seeing those kinds of people in the slave centers. None of them were looking to serve him, but an opportunity to run away. No, he didn't want to spend money on someone to free him, he wanted a faithful servant, so he had the guards lead those first men away to look at the rest who had stayed behind. There were almost all kinds: big and small, skinny and obese, from twelve year old boys to seventy year old men.

Jonah was an educated young man, empathetic enough to understand that a newly discovered world would have a population that probably knew nothing of the outer universe, nothing about the vast network of worlds on which civilized beings like himself lived. No, none of that. For them, the last few weeks would surely have been very confusing.

The boy ran his gaze several times over the group of people, examining the details in their faces and bodies. What did he want? He hadn't asked himself so far, but if he had to choose, and he had to, he supposed he wouldn't want to buy a little boy he had to teach everything about life, nor an old man who would die on him in a couple of years. No, no one much older than him, for he wanted to establish the chain of command quickly and there was a possibility that these men might have hierarchical ideas related to age, like many primitive societies. No, better someone about his age, young like him.

Unfortunately, there were not many of those left; the healthiest and fittest slaves for work were the quickest to sell. In that cell there were only two young men left; one was a big, fat boy; but one of that size would surely eat a lot and work little. Jonah looked at the other, a skinny, tired—eyed boy with a slightly annoyed expression on his face. He didn't like that expression, but besides that, he was the best there was at the moment and Jonah didn't have time to wait for the next month for the new slaves to arrive.

—I'll take him— he pointed with his finger.

The guards approached him and led him towards the exit, where Jonah was waiting for him. When they were face to face, each examined the other without having many illusions. Jonah opened his mouth to ask his name, but the boy beat him to it.

—Why me?— he asked.

—What?

—Why did you choose me?

Jonah raised his chin a few degrees, slightly annoyed that the first thing this slave did was to question his decisions.

—That doesn't matter, you're my slave now.

—OK.

—You'll do what I tell you, no tantrums.

—Aha.

—From now on you are a tool, an object I can use as I please.

The boy nodded. Jonah stared at him even more irritated.

—Did you hear what I said?

—Yes, I am your slave and your property— he answered indifferently.

He was not used to slaves taking their lack of freedom so well. The new ones usually burst into tears or tried to attack their new owner, while those who were already used to it carried a slightly stooped posture and spoke slowly, lacking any hope of changing that miserable life. The boy, however, didn't seem to mind at all.

—What is your name, slave?

—Arturo.

He hesitated for a moment, but finally held out his hand to Jonah, who ignored it completely.

—Follow me— said Jonah.

They left the slave center and set out immediately for Luscus, the city where Jonah was currently living and studying. He gave Arturo food and clothing. They then set off for the train station and sat down to wait for their train to appear for boarding. Fortunately for them, the station was not crowded.

Jonah sat in one of the many empty seats, at the end of a row. Arturo tried to sit in the one next to him, but his master stopped him with a wave of his hand.

—You can't sit there— he said —you're a slave, it would look ugly. Sit here, on the floor.

Jonah pointed to the space on his other side, where there was nothing. Arturo felt a bit sad for not being able to rest on one of those seats again, but he swallowed those thoughts and went to where Jonah indicated. As he did so, he realized that the latter had chosen such a place precisely to give him that space, although he did not know if this gesture was kind or vile.

They waited there for a while. Jonah took the opportunity to tell Arturo who he was and what he would have to do in his work as a slave.

—I am an apprentice— he explained— I am studying to be a mage someday.

—A mage?

—That's right. You didn't have mages back in your world, did you?

—Yes, but they were just people who did visual tricks.

—Ah, so charlatans— said Jonah, amused at the thought— Yes, there are charlatans in Nudo and in various worlds, but real mages are something else. A real mage can use magic, literally modify the world around him, isn't that fascinating?

Arturo was not pleased that Jonah treated the magicians of his world as charlatans, he certainly loved the magic tricks and the illusions they could perform, but he kept his opinion to himself, because he supposed a slave should not give it unless he was asked for it.

—What's that about modifying the world?— he asked.

—Well... modify it, with the mind. For example, a mage can lift a glass without touching it or generate air currents with a movement of the fingers.

This aroused Arturo's curiosity, an aspect of him that Jonah did not know. Immediately a thousand questions popped into his head, so many that the first one burst out under pressure.

—And how can they do that?— asked the slave.

Jonah smiled at him, happy to talk to someone ignorant and interested in a subject he knew, more or less.

—Perhaps it is too complicated for someone with your primitive reasoning capacity to understand, my young slave, but it is something like that— he raised his hands to help him in his explanation— you have a mind, don't you? That mind is in your head... but that is not all of your mind. A part of this mind is also in different, parallel planes, zones of reality to which we belong, but which we cannot perceive. It is through these parallel planes that someone can technically extend their mind into the things around them and move them.

Arturo opened his eyes wide. To his surprise, what Jonah was saying made some sense.

—But not just anyone can do it— he warned him, curbing his excitement— First you need remarkable intelligence, and even with that, you have to go through a lot of mental training. Only then can your mind begin to open, little by little. Magic is a discipline that requires a lot of study and dedication.

—Unbelievable... What is this "opening the mind"?— Arturo asked.

—It's when you manage to control the extensions of your mind at will. That is, the phenomenon of taking control over reality itself, of becoming a mage. That would be me.

—How does a lot of study prepare you to be a mage?— Arturo inquired.

—You ask a lot of questions— said Jonah— but that's all right, it's natural for you to be ignorant. After all, you come from a primitive and uncivilized culture. People need to study a lot because magic is not something that belongs to our level of intelligence, but to superior beings: the lumini. They gave us the gift of magic and even today they continue to give it only to the aspirants capable of enduring it.

—The luminis?— repeated Arturo, fascinated by Jonah's explanation.

—As I said, they are superior creatures. We have a level 9 intelligence, along with several other species, like the nonis, much to my regret— he said this slowly, so that the people around him would not hear him— but the luminis are superior, they are level 10. They know secrets of the Universe that those of us of level 9 could never understand. They can see reality in different ways and manipulate it to their will, although they are usually very kind.

Arturo kept looking at his master with surprise.

—So these lumini can open people's minds? How do you know if you're ready? What if they open the mind of someone who isn't?

Jonah waved his hand and made an expression on his face as if he had sucked a lemon.

—That doesn't matter, I'll study and become a recognized mage on my own. I wanted you to get the idea, slaves who don't know what their masters are up to are shameful, isn't that what happens in your world?

Arturo shook his head.

—There are no slaves in my world, at least not legal ones.

—Oh, that's strange— said Jonah— And what do people do without slaves?

Arturo was at first surprised by this comment. Then he opened his mouth to explain Mother's systems of government, but his master cut him off immediately.

—Never mind, after all, your kind already belong to the civilized people of Nudo. Focus on me. Your goal in life now is to make me comfortable to study and someday become a mage, understood?

Arturo did not usually get angry, but at that moment he felt displeasure at the way Jonah belittled the people of his world. But he knew he would achieve nothing by pleading, so he nodded his head silently.

Soon his train was ready and the passengers began to board. Jonah took Arturo to a carriage in the back, with small seats and several windows the size of an eye, so that only light could enter. It was one of the slave cars. The boy climbed in and squeezed between a fat human and a noni. From then on his life would be full of discomfort, he just hoped he would get used to it quickly.

From his seat he had to wait for the rest of the slaves like him to climb up and settle in. Eventually two guards with laser rifles were planted at the entrance to wait. The space quickly heated up from the density of people, the boy felt his cheeks flushing. Half an hour later, the train gave a few jolts and began to move.

The heat wouldn't go away, there was little light and they had no backup other than the walls. His body began to ache from holding it in one position, but changing was incredibly difficult in such a cramped space. Sweat and body odors didn't help either.

Still, the boy was upbeat, or rather, he was distracted enough not to bother with these details. His previous conversation with Jonah had him intrigued. It sounded like a fantasy tale. Arturo couldn't wait to see one of these mages and bombard him with questions: How was his mind connected to the things around him? Where did he get the energy to do it? To what size could he modify his surroundings? Could he change the composition of atoms of an element? Could he move entire mountains and rivers? And what if two magicians tried to do the exact opposite at the same time? How did magic apply to everyday tasks? The questions kept popping up and wouldn't leave his head alone. He found himself needing to take paper and pencil to write them down, but he was a slave, he only had the clothes Jonah had bought him and even that wasn't his.

The train traveled through various terrains; much of the desert, a few mountains, large valleys covered with nothing but dirt. It was a common Nudo passenger train, hovering at a height of between 72 and 164 cm above the tracks on the surface and had a defense cannon system to take out any monsters that approached it.

It was a normal trip like any other, with no problems. The slaves rode quietly and tightly in their wagons, the customers were comfortable in their stalls, some sleeping, others drinking their beverage of choice. At the front of the first wagon, the two drivers were talking about different models of shoes, when suddenly they noticed something strange on the road: near the rails on their way, a few meters to the right there was a huge cliff.

—That's new— commented the chief driver.

—Do you think the terrain is unstable?— asked his assistant.

The chief driver thought about it for a moment.

—No, I've been driving in this area for years. The closest point from the cliff to the tracks has always been about twenty or thirty meters farther.

—So what happened?— asked the assistant.

The chief conductor pondered for a moment, trying to come up with a solution. The train approached the tracks next to the cliff, but they were still on the ground. He knew there should be no problem if they simply passed. Still he slowed down. Then he remembered one of the more particular beasts.

—Shit!— he exclaimed.

Hastily he reached a hand toward the brake lever and pulled it. The train slowed with a jerk and sent several passengers to the ground.

—What are you doing?— pleaded the attendant.

The chief conductor opened his mouth to answer, but then the train passed the point closest to the cliff. At the same time, a herd of big, hairy monsters emerged from the earth on the other side, threw themselves on the train and rammed it. They barely managed to move the vehicle a little. Behind them, however, emerged a much larger and more robust monster, about seven meters tall. The huge monster ran towards the train and pushed it with its enormous strength. The train went off the tracks, rolled to one side and fell straight down the cliff.