"One step at a time, Mr. Rein. There is a proper road one must travel to find the truth, and I think you still have a few more miles to go. So patience. There's plenty of time, this I promise."

Aron was anxious. He wanted answers. Still, he sat down and listened. If what Dr. Kane said is true, than rushing the process could only take longer. The boy took a deep breath. When he finally felt like he had composed himself, Aron looked back up at the man.

"You mentioned essences? How does that fit in to this?"

Obviously the man had been waiting for this question, and smiled.

"A brilliant place to start. As you might know, scientists thirty years ago found that a small residue was detectable on every human being. Samples of the residue generated results of a substance that had no physical properties, was not definable under any state of matter, and was naturally drawn to their "hosts." The more samples that were gathered, the more scientists began to notice a pattern. The residue came in many different forms, and people with similar residues acted alike. At first people thought that the residue was somehow drawn to a person who exuded certain personality types, but experiments on children showed that every human being was born with the residue on them. Scientists eventually classified the residue Essence, and believed it a way of predicting the behavioral patterns of individuals."

"These essences were divided into 47 known types, commonly referred to as the personality trait they were associated with, such as Anger or Faithful. Essential Genetics was created when Geneticists discovered the essence was a genetically transferred trait, though it followed patterns that no one had ever seen before. The patterns of predicting probabilities of certain types of essences became a respectable skill, thus I sit here today. People began to use this knowledge any way they could, and essences were the new fad. People needed children with certain types, couples were matched up by their essences, and so on. Essence types were even printed onto driver's licenses and birth records. "

Aron had heard bits and pieces of this his whole life, but still listened carefully. Hearing the whole story put together was an interesting experience.

"Here's where things start getting a bit more personal. About sixteen years ago, I was doing a follow-up check on a friend's newborn when I discovered something unusual. The baby had an essence type never before seen. This discovery took place around two years before required essence tests, so I had no way of investigating if any other children had developed a similar essence. That baby's name was Michael George Blace, the boy sitting next to you right now."

Aron couldn't help but glance over at Micy, who was sitting there as if nothing had happened. When Micy noticed the stare, he just smiled and shrugged.

"Hey, I'm still human."

Aron shook his head, and looked back at Dr. Kane.

"If there was a whole new essence, why would this be a secret?"

The doctor leaned back in his chair, and glanced around at the room.

"This whole facility is proof that someone wanted this covered up. Michael was a stepping stone. His whole existence invalidated the claims science had been making, and would have brought doubt upon the entire branch. Besides, the government wanted a chance to experiment on him, try to use him as a fresh slate to see how essences worked. Michael's parents had no control over what was happening to their child, so I, his godfather, got myself wrapped into the middle of the project so I could keep an eye on him. I don't know what would have happened to him if I wasn't here. When Michael turned eight, it seemed like there was no more use in studying him, and the project shifted to finding new subjects, allowing the boy to go home. He would come back for check-ups every year, but aside of that, he was free."

"The fact that it was impossible to find anyone with a special essence like his was unlikely, due to the fact that none had been registered in the nationwide survey, spared any other children from a similar fate. The only people who could hold the essences were those born before the registrations. Then, last year, I noticed something I never had in Michael's essence. There were two small, near-undetectable signs of a separation, as more essences had separated from the first. More surprising was the fact that each gave off a different essence count. When comparing the three essences, I noticed that the three together formed something bigger, as if the three essences were actually just three parts of one great essence. With this discovery, I named the essence Trinity, and classified each of the parts due to the unusual characteristics they exuded: Balance, Light, and Darkness."

"Michael's was composed of Balance, and seemed to give off an intangible pull to the others, which was what my original plan on tracking down Light and Darkness relied on. Unknown to the rest of the group, I attempted to use Michael to locate the other two pieces of Trinity. Unfortunately, I discovered that Balance also had a pull to every other type of essence, though not quite as powerful, making the plan useless. Of course, the real path opened up to me through tragedy."

Aron was having a hard time taking this all in. It was a lot to handle. His mind was wrapped up in the story, and he couldn't help but constantly take looks at Micy, who was sitting through the story listening intently without doing anything, though he did seem to give a slight wince every time the doctor said Michael. Obviously he didn't agree with that name.

"The tragedy," Dr. Kane continued, "was the disappearance of Michael's parents three days ago, on his sixteenth birthday."

Aron felt a chill run up his spine. If he didn't know better, he could have sworn the doctor had started talking about Aron himself.

"Not knowing what to do, he came to me for help. I had to admit that I was curious at why this would happen. When I discovered that there was a boy nearby who had the same situation, I had to admit I was tripping over my own feet. When I discovered the two of you to be born less than a minute apart of each other, I knew I had to get you here. Thus I sit before you today, telling you all of this, hoping against hope that you hold one of the two missing pieces."

Well, needless to say Aron had no idea what to say, and looked over to Micy again. Once again, the boy just shrugged and smiled.

"Hey, we're still human."