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I was nervous. I really was. I trusted that Darcey was going to do the right thing. The news was worldwide.
‘Darcey Dyson an interview with iLUMiNO.’
Barkley wanted to go with me, but I told him how strange that would look, iLUMiNO, Barkley and Darcey Dyson all in the same place again.
I looked at my birthday cards on the sideboard. I'd put them all up and I admired them. Mum and Dad’s card was gone. I'd put it away. Instead, I had the cards up from my friends. Mum and Dad’s card was back in the draw where it belonged. I was beginning to heal.
It was 6:55 pm. The interview was scheduled for 7 pm. I poured myself a shot of vodka and drank it neat. Dutch courage. Glancing again at the wall clock in the kitchen, it was now or never. I transformed into iLUMiNO and created a portal directly to the studio. I had learned from my previous portals not to make the oval shape so big. Now you couldn’t see where I was coming from in the background. To the observer, it looked like someone was stepping out of thin air. No oval portal, just a line of golden energy and then out pops a leg, arm, and then body.
Arriving at the studio, with five minutes to go before we were supposed to be live on air for the world, I was surprised to see that the studio was in darkness. Normal strip lights high above the studio lights were on, the glitz and glam of the studio were gone revealing it to be what it was, just a normal workspace.
A young guy wrapping cables up with headphones on dropped his cables as he saw me appear out of thin air.
Looking around and helping him pick the cables up, “Where is everyone?” I asked. “I’m...
“iLUMiNO, I know who you are,” he said.
“I’ve got an interview with Darcey in four minutes. Which studio are they in?”
“It's on the rooftop. Did you really...”
That’s all I heard as I stepped through the portal appearing just above the rooftop.
I hung there mid-air for about thirty seconds. I could hear a producer or director screaming, “Where is he?” But he wasn’t to be seen, this was coming from a walkie talkie.
The set consisted of four lights, with white umbrellas on them, two remote-operated cameras, two armchairs, and a television screen between them in the middle with the news logo on the screen. The only person at the top of the building was Darcey Dyson. She picked up the walkie talkie and replied. “He will be here, trust me”.
It was a strange set up for an interview. Yet I felt comfortable with it. I didn’t know how it was going to play out, but this was my chance to show the world what iLUMiNO could do for it.
I slowly landed and walked up to Darcey. She shook my hand.
“Hi, you made it. We're about to go live,” she said as she clipped on a microphone to my chest. “Are you ready?” she asked as she smiled and pushed her earpiece out of sight from the camera.
I was nervous I will admit, but I nodded and smiled back.
The TV screen between us changed from the news logo to the opening credits. I could hear Darcey as the voice-over, even though the volume was turned off. Another skill of mine, I almost laughed.
The screen was showing clips of me from various sightings. The last one being the footage of me at the Leicester Square bombing. I could hear the producer in Darcey's earpiece, “Live in five, four, three, two...” The screen faded to black and the news logo reappeared.
Darcey looked directly into the camera.
“Ladies and gentleman of the world, iLUMiNO is the name that everyone is talking about. Who is he? What is he? What does he want? Should we be scared? We have taken precautions to make this interview safe.” She looked over at me. “You are, after all, a wanted man.”
As she said those words, snipers on nearby rooftops around the set made themselves visible and eight armed men wearing bulletproof vests and protective headgear came rushing onto the roof terrace, all raised their weapons and pointed them towards me.
At first, my heart skipped a beat. I was shocked, but not frightened or intimidated in any way. I knew I could leave this place in a fraction of a second, or I could create a hold and stop time by stepping into the neutral zone. I could even instantly go somewhere else if I wanted. I understood why the precautions were in place.
“I understand,” I said.
“Right, I know some of these questions have been asked before, but I want this interview to start from the very beginning. Are you human?”
“I am human.”
“Would you give some of your DNA to the authorities to prove this?”
“Not willingly, no.”
“And why is that?”
“Because I also happen to still lead my normal life. Before what happened to me, the event that made me iLUMiNO, I had a normal life. I still do, and I want to hold onto that aspect of myself.”
“Right. Ok, I kind of understand that. So tell me what happened to make you into iLUMiNO?”
“My guide said...”
“You have a guide? Can we see him?”
“I don’t think you can see him here physically. Let me try to explain. There are many levels of reality. Scientists have theorised on this, and well, I can only explain it as this... We live in this one, in this reality that is me and you sitting here now having this conversation. What we don’t realise is that there are other levels of reality that co-exist within ours.”
I paused as I thought and tried to explain it from a different angle. “There are millions of things that exist in our reality but we can not see all of them. Liken it to our electromagnetic spectrum. On the visual aspect, we can see light. However, we can not see gamma rays, X-rays, ultraviolet, infrared, microwaves or radio waves, but we know they exist. I have a guide who exists, but he exists outside of our visual spectrum. But it goes further than that, he exists outside of this reality.”
“So this guide, outside of our reality, invisible to us. Is he your mentor?”
“I guess you could say that, yes.”
She looks at the camera, as if to roll her eyes, but she gets straight back into the interview. “So let's go back. You said you had, or have a normal life, one without powers and super abilities I assume. So, tell us what happened to you? What was it that made you into the super-powered being you are today?”
“It’s called the Schumann Resonance. In scientific terms, it means global electromagnetic resonances which are generated by lightning. The energy is absorbed into the crust of the earth, then discharged from the earth’s surface into the ionosphere. I just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Or maybe it was the right place at the right time, who knows.”
“So it was a natural event? You mean to say, this could happen to anyone?”
“The chances of it happening again are nil. It can't ever be recreated again, ever. And one would have to know when and where the next blast of energy would be. Scientists don’t have the infrastructure to know when the next blast or beat will be, but they can hear it from outer space. On the space stations, they can tune into the frequency, they call it the earth's pulse.”
“What abilities do you have? We know you can fly. We have seen your healing abilities, and you can manipulate objects, not to mention popping in and out of nowhere. Is there anything else you can do?”
“Erm, well right now, I have just learned that I have extra sensitive hearing. The TV monitor there that played the opening credits. I could hear that over your earpiece. What else have I done? Oh, I've walked through solid matter and I can heal myself, as well as others.”
“Solid? As in like a wall?”
“Yes, I have walked through a wall. Well, actually, I floated through a ceiling.”
I laugh to myself remembering the fall from my rooftop.
“You have been in the limelight for three months now. You are what the world is talking about every day since your arrival. Since the day you saved me from the shooting. Thank you by the way for saving my life.” She places her hand on my knee, her gratitude was genuine.
“But the one question on everyone’s lips is,” she turns directly to the camera and addresses the viewers. “Were you the Leicester Square Bomber?”
As soon as she finished asking the question two more men walked in. The camera zoomed capturing them in the frame. Two police officers, one in plain clothes and the other one in full police uniform. He had these reinforced handcuffs out ready to pounce. The armed men leaned in with their guns aimed directly at me.
I looked at Darcey, and frowned with disappointment. This was my moment, I either disappear, never to return as iLUMiNO or let them take me away. The latter was not going to happen.
“I’ll repeat the question iLUMiNO. Did you plant a bomb at the screening of Matrix 4 at Leicester Square cinema?”
“No, I didn’t. I have no reason to. I was trying to...”
“Stop, stop right there iLUMiNO! We don’t want to hear your explanation!
“But I...” I began to protest.
She leaned forward and placed a finger on my lips.
“You don’t have to explain yourself iLUMiNO, because...” She looked directly at the camera. “It was me who planted the bomb.”
“Darcey?” I spluttered.
“I wanted to frame you. To turn the public against you. I didn’t believe we needed you. I wanted to use you to boost myself further up my career ladder.” She leaned in towards the camera, “I am not a bad person. I’m not, honestly.”
She pulled out her earpiece, stood up and stepped forward presenting both her wrists out in front.
The plainclothes policeman nodded to his colleague who then placed handcuffs on her. The camera still had its red light on, I knew this meant we were still live. He read out her rights and she was lead off the set.
I sat alone on the outdoor studio news set, the red light was still on the camera, it was still broadcasting live to the world, no one else around just me and billions of people watching. This was my time.
Looking head on into the camera I stood and made eye contact with the world.
“I am here to provide a balance of energies. To rid the earth of negative energy. In doing so, enriching the earth to become a better place to be for all who inhabit it. There is a right and a wrong in the universe, and the distinction is not hard to make. Following the right path, you will find you are much stronger than you think you are. Trust me. I am no saviour or second coming, nor am I your god. I am just like you. A human being with a kind heart. Be the better you”.
I smiled directly into the camera, winked at the audience and soared into the night sky. My story had only just begun.