Title: Cosmic Mindscape: Rise of a Hidden Power

Chapter 10: Chapter 10



The clatter of keyboards filled the office space as Alex absentmindedly scrolled through emails on his screen. It had been a week since he last dipped into smart mode, a break he knew his mind desperately needed. But the itch to push again had been gnawing at him, especially as he went through the usual motions of his job.

The office wasn't particularly large, but it was busy. His small bookkeeping company catered to local businesses—most of it was routine, balancing accounts, double-checking payroll, or filing taxes. His colleagues were scattered across the room, each hunched over their own workstations, plugging away at numbers, deadlines looming. The hum of chatter occasionally cut through the rhythm of the office.

"You know," came a voice from the desk next to him, "I still don't get how you do it, Alex."

It was Lisa, his colleague and probably the most outgoing person in the office. She had this way of always getting people to talk, even if they didn't want to. Early thirties, sharp with her words but not unkind, she had the kind of personality that filled the room without being overwhelming.

"Do what?" Alex asked, snapping out of his daze.

"Get through all this without going insane," she said, gesturing to her own screen filled with endless spreadsheets. "This stuff is mind-numbing sometimes."

Alex smirked, leaning back in his chair. "Well, maybe I'm just already insane. That'd explain a lot."

Lisa laughed, the sound drawing the attention of a few others in the room. "Yeah, you'd have to be in this line of work." She tapped her pen against the desk before looking over at him again, her expression more thoughtful. "But seriously, you're always so calm. Everyone else has their little freakouts, but you just... coast."

Alex shrugged, not really knowing how to explain. If only she knew how much of that calm was a result of his system, how his mind was working at a different speed than theirs, even in his normal mode. "I guess I just take things slow. Not much rattles me, you know?"

"Wish I could do that," she said, rolling her eyes. "You hear about what's going on in the news? Feels like every day there's some new disaster. I was reading about how climate change is going to mess up the economy even more than we thought."

Alex nodded. He hadn't really been paying much attention to the news lately, focused more on his own problems than the world's. But Lisa always had a way of dragging him into conversations like this, and it wasn't unpleasant.

"Yeah, I saw something about that," he said. "It's wild how things just keep getting worse. Makes you wonder what kind of future we're headed toward."

"No kidding," she muttered, turning back to her work for a moment. "But what are we supposed to do, right? Just keep our heads down, keep working, and hope the world doesn't burn before we retire."

Alex chuckled softly. "Pretty much. I'm just trying to make it through this week without messing up someone's tax return."

As their conversation wound down, Dan from accounting wandered over to their area. Dan was the quiet type, older than Alex by a few years, with a perpetually tired look on his face. He had a dry sense of humor that sometimes caught people off guard, but Alex liked him.

"Hey, did you two hear about the company BBQ next weekend?" Dan asked, leaning against Alex's desk.

Lisa groaned. "God, I forgot about that. Do we really have to go?"

"It's a 'strongly encouraged' event," Dan said, using air quotes. "But basically, yeah, if you want to keep on the boss's good side."

Alex rolled his eyes. "What's with this company and their obsession with 'team-building' events? Can't we just, you know, do our jobs?"

"Right?" Lisa chimed in. "I mean, I like some of you people, but I'm not trying to spend my Saturday making small talk while pretending to enjoy burnt hot dogs."

Dan smirked. "It's free food. That's enough for me."

"You always think with your stomach," Lisa teased, shaking her head. "You're lucky no one here competes for the same clients, or we'd be having barbecues every week trying to one-up each other."

As the conversation shifted to other office topics—clients, deadlines, the general absurdity of their daily lives—Alex found himself relaxing. The temptation to dive back into smart mode was still there, always tugging at the back of his mind. But for now, these mundane conversations grounded him in a way he hadn't expected.

It was strange, really. He had this incredible power at his fingertips, the ability to process vast amounts of information, to simulate realities, to achieve things others couldn't even imagine. And yet, here he was, discussing office politics and upcoming company events, blending in with the crowd.


Tip: You can use left, right, A and D keyboard keys to browse between chapters.