I. The Imprint
"Have you fully thought this out? This field is still very theoretical. The limited applications so far could change drastically within the next couple of decades." An old man gently questioned. Across from him sat a young boy, who met his gaze with resolve and anticipation. The shuffling of papers and an occasional cough could be heard in the background. The room, perhaps too brightly lit, housed 5 different large desks. Each desk were adorned with a computer and a scanner. Of the 5 desks, only 3 were currently being used by the employees, which drew the ire from the long line of impatiently waiting people.
"I have. I am prepared for this." The young boy answered. He ignored the anxiety deep inside him and attempted to maintain a calm front.
"Very well. I'll need to see a valid form of identification." A paper slid across the desk towards the boy. "We need an initial in each of the boxes and a signature at the bottom the page; don't worry about the date or rest of the information, it will be updated automatically."
The young boy handed over his drivers licence before beginning to fill out the form. The paper was swiftly and neatly filled out, then returned. The old man stood up from his chair and handed back the ID.
"Alright Jack, please follow me." He said with a smile
The man walked towards an open door behind his desk. Jack followed closely behind, his deep brown eyes gleaming with excitement and his hands clenched in nervousness . Walking through a hallway with neat row of doors on both sides, the old man eventually stopped.
"Room 113, this one is yours." He held open the door for Jack and beckoned him to enter. The room was bare, covered in the same lifeless beige paint as the reception. On one end of the small room stood a single hospital bed which was covered in a flimsy paper sheet, the kind that would make loud noises at the tiniest of movements. On the other side rested a simple wooden desk and chair. A metal plaque was placed on the middle of the desk, a unique engraving of interconnecting lines encasing a glyph on the surface. The glyph resembled the letter 'g' and was the only part of the engraving covered in a gold luster.
"Once you are finished you can exit directly. If the imprint breaks please let me know." With a nod Jack sat down at the desk and took a deep breath. "Good luck" the man expressed as he closed the door and left.
Jack stared at the plaque intently as he attempted to calm himself. This was the moment he had been preparing himself for. His choice had been finalized, and his future path had been decided. All he needed to do was engrave the imprint.
By imprinting the crux of the soul, humans develop an affinity towards the domain of the imprint. Like many other animals, the chances of an receiving an affinity at birth are simply nonexistent. There is simply no gene or possible gene mutation that could allow humans to have one. As the evolution of humanity never steered towards affinities, they instead utilized their ability to form complex thoughts to grasp it for themselves. Through various pioneers and perfectionists, humanity has experimented, improved and perfected this process. The culmination of the years of research demonstrated a main concept, that the initial imprint should be both simple and meaningful towards the users notion of affinity.
Finally ready, Jack readies himself and starts tracing the glyph with his finger. Inside of his soul, a golden outline forms as it follows the tracing of his finger. Jack slowly continues tracing the symbol in a steady motion. Nearing the end of the symbol, Jack stops his finger at the final point. He pauses and takes a deep breath before finally lifting his finger from the plaque. As he does so, the imprint on his soul starts to glow brighter and a deep humming comes from within. His soul has started to slowly change and attune itself. No longer still, the soul starts to shift and form a pull around the crux. A ring seems to form and encircle the crux, a bit fuller on one side then the other, it slowly moves and creates a flow in the soul.
He smiles.
"It's done."