PitBabeS2, Chapter 2 pg7

 pg7

   I chose to pursue a master’s degree in a field completely different from my bachelor’s, for the simple reason that my interests had changed. Back then, I was fascinated by everything non-human—robots, computers, space, or the deep sea. I thought they were easier to understand. Humans are complex and hard to pin down definitively, which made them boring to me. But maybe because I’ve grown up and started living with others more seriously, I’ve discovered I can love and care for people too. Human stories have become more interesting to me. I wouldn’t say I fully understand them, but I feel I see the people in my world much more clearly than before.

   My interest in human rights grew after witnessing the twisted moral corruption of my foster father. I saw countless people harmed, violated, and stripped of their humanity—denied even the right to know who they were or where they came from, with no choice in what kind of adult they’d become. Everything was laid out as if it were God’s will, but it was a thousand times worse because it was the will of a devil named Tony. Though that devil is no longer on this earth, the scars he left behind won’t fade with time. Each child met a different fate—some sick, some disabled, some mentally ill, some dead. Of course, there are those who survived and live “normally,” but beneath that normality lies an unpredictable abnormality, lurking silently like a shadow.

   Tony’s death was just the beginning of change. The impact hit Babe directly, unavoidably. Babe was one of two of Tony’s adopted children whose information was exposed (the other being Pete, who, thanks to his influence in the business world, didn’t seem to face much trouble). To put it simply, because Babe was already famous, his news was blown out of proportion. X-Hunter faced accusations, and countless rumors sprang up within days of Tony’s death. We couldn’t do much—only fix what we could and try to ignore what was beyond our control.

   The broader impact was far greater than I’d anticipated. People with special senses started gaining more attention. Before, society acknowledged their existence but didn’t talk about them much, as many didn’t believe such people truly existed. Special senses are hard to prove visibly. We can’t shoot lasers from our eyes, transform into giant stone creatures, or fly. Mind control, heightened senses, or even mind-reading—these were seen as fantasies or mere superstition by most. That is, until the country’s most influential businessman died and was exposed as the mastermind behind a massive trafficking operation dealing in people with special senses.

   On the surface, it might seem like people like us are more accepted in society now. But dig deeper, and it’s clear it’s just scrutiny for exploitation. The government launched absurd campaigns under the guise of helping those with special senses, offering scholarships and training to develop their potential, only to recruit them to serve the state. It sounds like a great program—except it’s just a new version of Tony. I don’t see how it’s any different from what Tony did. Sure, the kids aren’t sold, imprisoned, or tortured, but in the end, they’re still used as tools for others’ gain.

   I believe in serving the country and the greater good, but dictating the future of an entire group to follow one path goes against everything I stand for. As a kid raised in Tony’s house, I didn’t even know I had choices. I never thought about what I’d do next because my foster father had decided it all—to keep his dirty business running.

   I don’t want people like me to face the same fate as me and the other kids in Tony’s house. I want everyone to have the right to choose their own path. That’s why I’m pouring everything into my project, even though I haven’t come up with an official name yet. (Babe jokingly calls it “101,” and lately, I’ve started calling it that too.) Its main goal is to promote and develop the use of a “sense-suppressing drug,” which is still in the research phase but close to becoming reality. If successful, this drug will permanently disable the special abilities of those with heightened senses, preventing them from manifesting. This is what I call “choice.”

   From my experience and studies, special senses are rarely a free gift. They almost always come with a cost. Take Jeff’s sense, for example. Seeing the future might sound thrilling, like being a seer, and it could be used in countless ways. But for Jeff, it’s nothing short of punishment. He’s forced to know things he doesn’t want to, suffering through closing his eyes and ears, waiting for an unchangeable future, knowing and hurting before others do. It creates relationship issues and barriers to socializing. All of this feeds into a severely damaged mental state, and that’s the price of being “special.”

   Dissolving these senses could offer an escape for those tormented by their own uniqueness—not just from the direct effects of the senses, but also from the society around them that seeks to exploit those abilities. Many with special senses can’t live peacefully because they’re in demand. Some are stalked or even kidnapped. This issue hits close to home with Babe. Being a celebrity already put him under scrutiny, but after the news about Tony broke, the attention intensified. Reporters and groups seeking to “prove the truth” hounded him (many still don’t believe Babe has no special senses left). His privacy is nearly nonexistent, and he’s been targeted by those who think he used his special sense to cheat his way to first place in races. I think that’s utterly ridiculous. Besides Babe, other racers have special senses too, but because he’s number one, people claim his sense gave him a clear edge. Compared to other racers with special senses, the harassment and covert attacks on Babe escalated after Tony’s news.

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