Three weeks later.
The world had not returned to normal.
It had learnt to carry on without it.
Barcelona was still rebuilding.
So was Spain.
And beyond its borders, the same images were beginning to recur in different languages.
A laboratory in Tokyo.
A rescue team in France.
A road closed in the United States after the appearance of an altered animal.
Researchers in Brazil comparing samples recovered after the Fall.
Different countries.
Different protocols.
The same word appearing more and more often.
Ether.
The Fall was no longer just a Spanish catastrophe.
Or a European one.
It had divided the history of the world in two.
Before.
And after.
But life went on.
Trains ran late.
Children went back to school.
Bars opened in the morning.
People argued over parking spaces.
Shopped.
Worked.
Fell in love.
Got angry.
Came home tired.
The vast majority of the population had not manifested any affinity.
They did not move the wind.
Did not control water.
Did not produce fire.
Did not make plants grow.
Nothing.
And yet they were still doctors.
Firefighters.
Engineers.
Teachers.
Police officers.
Soldiers.
Electricians.
Drivers.
Scientists.
Mechanics.
Programmers.
Fathers.
Mothers.
People.
The world had discovered the Awakened.
But it still depended on everyone else.
Daniel went down the stairs more carefully than he would have liked to admit.
On the last step, his side protested.
He stopped.
Breathed.
Waited for it to pass.
“They told you not to push yourself.”
Daniel looked up.
Lina was leaning against the wall in the entrance hall.
“I'm not pushing myself.”
She looked at the stairs.
Then at him.
“Of course.”
“I'm walking.”
“Like an eighty-year-old man.”
Daniel walked past her.
“An attractive eighty-year-old man.”
“You'll have to take that up with the man.”
A smile slipped across Daniel's face.
They went outside.
The visible wounds had almost disappeared.
The others took longer.
Daniel still found that out from time to time.
A sound too sharp.
A sudden movement.
The memory of the ground coming closer.
Darian's voice.
Accept your position.
Daniel kept walking.
He could no longer change what had happened.
The only thing he could decide was what he did next.
Both phones vibrated at the same time.
Lina took hers out.
Daniel did the same.
INSTITUTIONAL NOTICE
EXTRAORDINARY BRIEFING
GOVERNMENT OF SPAIN / STATE ETHER AGENCY
12:00
Lina checked the time.
11:41.
“Dad says the Prime Minister's appearing.”
Daniel read the notice again.
“Then it won't be to announce another form.”
“Don't underestimate the Government.”
Daniel laughed.
“Let's go.”
“Home?”
“If Mum finds out we watched it on our phones instead of the television, she'll disinherit us.”
“Good point.”
At twelve on the dot, millions of screens showed the same image.
Televisions.
Phones.
Computers.
Screens in stations.
Hospitals.
Universities.
Police stations.
Barracks.
Bars.
The official coat of arms appeared for a few seconds.
Then the image changed.
An auditorium full of journalists.
The Prime Minister walked up to the lectern.
No one was speaking in Daniel's house.
His mother was sitting at one end of the sofa.
His father remained standing.
Lina beside Daniel.
The Prime Minister began.
“A few weeks ago, our country faced something no Government was prepared for.”
An image of the Fall appeared behind him.
It did not last long.
“We lost lives.
“We saw our cities change.
“And we discovered phenomena we had considered impossible until then.”
The image changed.
Spain.
Europe.
The planet.
“Today we know that we were not the only ones this happened to.”
A pause.
“And we also know that our response cannot consist solely of reacting.”
The Prime Minister stepped slightly away from the lectern.
“We have to learn.
“Prepare.
“And build.”
He looked to one side.
“To explain the next step, I will hand over to the Director General of the State Ether Agency.”
Daniel leaned forward a little.
Now, finally.
The Director of the A.E.E. took his place at the lectern.
He had no papers.
“Good afternoon.”
The planet appeared behind him.
Small dots began to light up.
“Over the past few weeks, Spain has exchanged information with dozens of countries.
“Laboratories.
“Universities.
“Emergency agencies.
“Scientific institutions.”
The dots multiplied.
“There is still much we do not know about Ether.”
The screen went black.
“But now we do know something.”
A single word appeared.
PATTERNS
Daniel did not look away.
“Thousands of evaluations have enabled us to confirm that the known manifestations can, for now, be grouped into seven broad patterns of affinity.”
Lina stopped moving.
A symbol appeared.
Then another.
Another.
Until there were seven.
The Director waited.
“Today we officially present...”
The insignia grew larger.
“...the Seven Houses.”
The first filled the screen.
AE-01
HOUSE AERIS
WIND
A rapid sequence of images.
Evacuations.
Mobility.
Rescue at height.
Exploration.
“Aeris.
“Programmes relating to mobility, rescue and rapid response.”
Lina watched the emblem.
She said nothing.
But Daniel knew her.
Her breathing had changed.
The second symbol.
AU-02
HOUSE AUREL
LIGHT
Search.
Protection.
Research.
Support.
“Aurel.
“Applications in protection, assistance and research associated with the Light pattern.”
The screen darkened.
SE-03
HOUSE SERPENTIA
SHADOW
Reconnaissance.
Containment.
Operations in reduced visibility.
Tactical support.
“Serpentia.
“Specialisation in reconnaissance, strategy and operations where control of the surroundings is decisive.”
Red.
IG-04
HOUSE IGNIS
FIRE
Emergencies.
Thermal control.
High-risk intervention.
Defence.
“Ignis.
“Training in the safe use of thermal manifestations and highly demanding operations.”
Blue.
NE-05
HOUSE NEREA
WATER
Rescue.
Containment.
Maritime operations.
Protection.
“Nerea.
“Control, rescue and management of environments where water can become a tool for intervention.”
Green.
SY-06
HOUSE SYLVAR
The screen showed vegetation.
Land restoration.
Crops.
Biological research.
“Sylvar.
“Study and development of manifestations linked to plant and biological responses.”
Finally...
a flash.
VO-07
HOUSE VOLTRIS
ELECTRICITY
Energy.
Infrastructure.
Communications.
Technology.
“Voltris.
“Applications in energy, technology and support for critical infrastructure.”
The seven insignia returned to the screen.
Daniel watched them.
Seven paths.
Seven ways to belong.
Lina already knew which was hers.
Daniel did not have to wonder which was his.
None.
And the strange thing was that...
this time...
it did not hurt in the same way.
Elsewhere in Barcelona, Flora was sitting on the kitchen worktop.
When Sylvar appeared, she raised her eyebrows.
“Sylvar?”
Her mother smiled.
“I like it.”
“It sounds like the name of a perfume.”
“Then it must be a very expensive perfume.”
Flora burst out laughing.
Then she looked back.
On the balcony, a leaf began to unfurl too quickly.
Flora saw it.
Breathed.
Concentrated.
The growth stopped.
Her smile changed.
That did matter to her.
Armando had stopped training.
He stood in front of the television in the gym.
NEREA.
Beneath it:
RESCUE
CONTAINMENT
PROTECTION
The trainer appeared beside him.
“I suppose that's yours.”
Armando nodded.
“Yes.”
“Would you join?”
Armando did not take long.
He remembered an empty hand braced against the ground.
A sheet of paper.
A zero stained with blood.
“Yes.”
He added nothing.
He looked back at the screen.
Nair had started following the briefing on his phone.
He ended up in front of the television.
His little brother pointed to Aeris.
“That's you.”
Nair tilted his head.
“I hope I'm a little better-looking than the coat of arms.”
“No.”
Nair looked at him.
“Thanks for the family support.”
The boy pointed to the screen again.
“Are you going to join?”
Nair stopped joking.
“I don't know.”
“But you've got wind.”
“Having something and knowing how to use it aren't the same thing.”
The boy frowned.
“That sounded very grown-up.”
Nair smiled.
“Don't tell anyone.”
Ander had a ball under his foot when Ignis appeared.
One of the boys with him gave him a light tap on the shoulder.
“That's yours.”
Ander looked at the phone.
“Looks like it.”
“Fire. Attack. Defence. Suits you.”
“You've summed up five minutes in three words.”
“I'm efficient.”
Ander gave a lopsided smile.
But he kept watching.
Far more closely than he wanted to let on.
Arisha did not react when Nerea appeared.
She simply took a screenshot.
Saved it.
Then she opened the A.E.E. notice she had left unanswered all morning.
She read it again.
This time she did not close the app.
Clara was in a café.
The cup in front of her had sat untouched for several minutes.
She watched Aurel appear.
Then the others.
She listened in silence.
The sound of a phone came from another table.
A video.
Shouts.
Movement.
Security.
Clara did not need to look for long.
She recognised Daniel.
A recording of the fight.
It had been circulating for days.
She looked away.
She did not want to see him fall again.
She returned to the briefing.
Darian was watching a public screen.
Serpentia appeared.
The young man beside him laughed.
“That really does suit you.”
Darian slowly turned his head.
The other boy stopped laughing.
Darian looked back.
SERPENTIA
SHADOW
STRATEGY
CONTAINMENT
He did not seem excited.
Or surprised.
As though the system had simply ended up giving a name to something he already knew.
In the auditorium, the seven insignia disappeared.
Three words appeared.
TRAINING
RESEARCH
SERVICE
The Director continued.
“The Houses will be voluntary structures for specialisation.
“No one will be forced to join because they have manifested an affinity.”
A journalist raised her hand.
The Director gave her the floor.
“Doesn't the Government risk creating first- and second-class citizens?”
A murmur ran through the room.
Daniel raised his eyebrows slightly.
The Director answered directly.
“Yes.”
The murmur grew louder.
“That risk exists.
“Which is why it would be irresponsible to pretend otherwise.”
The journalist listened attentively.
“Belonging to a House will not grant additional civil rights.
“It will not confer legal privileges.
“And a greater capacity for Ether will not make anyone a higher class of citizen.”
Another hand.
“Will the Houses be military units?”
“No.”
The answer was immediate.
“The Armed Forces will remain the Armed Forces.
“A citizen does not become a member of the military by possessing an affinity.”
The screen showed different agencies.
Civil Protection.
Healthcare.
Law enforcement agencies.
Defence.
A.E.E.
“There will be programmes of cooperation in rescue, security, defence and responding to threats.
“Including the Altered.
“But any operational role will require training and specific authorisation.”
Lina looked at Daniel.
Daniel was still listening closely.
A third journalist was given the floor.
“There's been a lot of talk about levels. Classifications. Even ranks among the Awakened.”
The Director shook his head slightly.
“The technical parameters will continue to exist.”
They appeared on the screen for just a few seconds:
RESERVE
FLOW
CONTROL
SYNCHRONY
Daniel felt something in his stomach.
Four words.
Four zeros.
“But those values are not a measure of a person's worth.”
The screen changed.
OPERATIONAL AUTHORISATION
“When certain roles require proof of readiness, we will use training, experience and specific evaluations.
“Not a table designed to decide who is superior to whom.”
Daniel slowly relaxed his hand.
He had not realised it was clenched.
The Director moved on from the questions.
“There is another issue we want to clarify today.”
The image changed.
People working.
Firefighters.
Medical staff.
Engineers.
Soldiers.
Technicians.
Scientists.
None of them was using Ether.
“Based on current data, people who have manifested an affinity still represent a minority of the population.”
Daniel looked up.
“The appearance of Ether has not made the rest of society dispensable.”
A medical worker was treating an injured person while an Awakened woman held pieces of concrete aloft.
An engineer examined the structure.
A firefighter went in.
All needed.
“An Awakened person does not replace a doctor.
“Or an engineer.
“Or a firefighter.
“Or a pilot.
“Or a scientist.
“The Houses will depend on thousands of people who will never manipulate Ether.”
The image froze.
“Just as everything else depends on them.”
Daniel listened without moving.
This time they were not talking about him.
Not exactly.
And that was precisely what mattered.
They did not need to talk about him.
They were talking about millions of people who did not have an affinity either.
People who still had a place.
A journalist spoke from a row to one side.
“So can a person without an affinity work for the A.E.E.?”
Daniel stopped breathing for a second.
Lina turned her head towards him.
The Director nodded.
“Of course.”
The screen changed.
PATHWAYS INTO THE A.E.E.
RESEARCH
HEALTHCARE
ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY
LOGISTICS
COMMUNICATIONS
ANALYSIS
RESPONSE AND RESCUE
OPERATIONAL SUPPORT
Daniel read the last one.
Then read it again.
“An affinity will be necessary for certain roles.
“For others...
“it will not.”
A new screen.
PHYSICAL TRAINING
FIRST AID
INCIDENT PROTOCOLS
EVACUATION
SURVIVAL
COORDINATION
Daniel leaned forward.
There was no Reserve.
No Flow.
No Control.
No Synchrony.
The Director went on speaking.
Daniel barely heard him.
For the first time since the A.E.E. had begun measuring people...
there was a door that did not start by asking how much Ether he had.
Lina was looking at him.
It took Daniel a few seconds to notice.
“What?”
She pointed to the screen.
“Nothing.”
“You're looking at me.”
“I'm watching how you watch.”
“That's unsettling.”
Lina smiled.
Daniel turned back to the television.
OPERATIONAL SUPPORT.
He did not know exactly what it meant.
Yet.
But he wanted to know.
The briefing ended shortly afterwards.
The internet needed less than a minute to lose its mind.
#SieteCasas
#Aeris
#Ignis
#AEE
Polls.
Videos.
Memes.
Debates.
People arguing over which House was the most powerful before the Houses had even opened.
Others insisting it was dangerous.
Families asking whether their children would be forced to join.
Experts explaining how little was still known.
And people speaking with absolute certainty about a system that had officially existed for less than an hour.
Daniel's phone vibrated.
Group chat.
FLORA:
Sylvar.
Another message.
SYLVAR.
Another.
Who chose that name?
Lina laughed.
Her phone was receiving the same messages.
NAIR:
Aeris > Sylvar.
FLORA:
Blocked.
NAIR:
That doesn't seem very Sylvar of you.
LINA:
Aeris is still winning.
FLORA:
You don't count, you're Aeris.
Daniel wrote:
Does any of them have a café?
Flora replied almost immediately.
Dani.
What?
That's not an affinity.
Daniel looked at the list of pathways still on his screen.
He wrote:
We'll see.
He stared at the message.
For some reason...
he did not want to delete it.
Send.
His father sat opposite him when the living room grew quieter.
“What are you thinking?”
Daniel shrugged.
“I don't know.”
“Liar,” Lina said.
Daniel looked at her.
“Can you let me have a conversation?”
“You've been reading the same thing for fifteen minutes.”
His mother looked at Daniel's phone.
“What is it?”
Daniel put the phone on the table.
OPERATIONAL SUPPORT
His father read it.
Then looked up.
“You don't have to decide anything today.”
“I know.”
“And you don't have to prove anything either.”
Daniel said nothing.
He knew exactly what he meant.
Darian.
The blows.
People watching.
“I don't want to prove anything.”
His father waited.
Daniel looked at the screen again.
“I want to stop turning up at places without knowing what to do.”
Something in his father's expression changed.
Daniel continued.
“With Clara, I was lucky.
“With the animal...
“too.
“With Armando...”
He stopped.
He did not need to finish.
“I always get there.”
Daniel looked at his own hands.
“But I don't know how to do anything when I do.”
His father was silent.
“Then learn.”
Daniel looked up.
That was all.
Then learn.
That afternoon, the first guidance messages began arriving.
Not memberships.
Not yet.
Invitations.
Information.
Invitations to find out about the programmes before deciding.
Lina's phone vibrated.
AE-01 — AERIS
ORIENTATION DAY
Lina read the message twice.
Daniel saw her smile.
Flora received:
SY-06 — SYLVAR
Armando:
NE-05 — NEREA
Nair:
AE-01 — AERIS
Elsewhere in the city...
Ander received the orientation information for Ignis.
Arisha opened the one for Nerea.
Clara received hers.
She stared at it for a long time.
Darian saw this appear:
SE-03 — SERPENTIA
He did not need to read it twice.
Daniel waited.
He did not want to admit he was waiting.
But he was.
Five minutes.
Ten.
Fifteen.
Nothing.
It made no sense.
No affinity had been recognised in him.
His file had not even quite fitted into the categories the A.E.E. used.
There was no House that could call him.
Twenty minutes.
His phone vibrated.
Daniel grabbed it too quickly.
Lina noticed.
She had the decency not to comment.
Daniel unlocked the screen.
STATE ETHER AGENCY
No coat of arms.
No House code.
No affinity.
Only:
GENERAL ORIENTATION
Beneath it:
PATHWAYS FOR THOSE WITH NO RECOGNISED AFFINITY
Daniel stopped moving.
He opened it.
RESEARCH
TECHNICAL SUPPORT
LOGISTICS
ANALYSIS
RESPONSE AND RESCUE
OPERATIONAL SUPPORT
He tapped the last option.
The page changed.
PRELIMINARY REQUIREMENTS
Legal adulthood.
Medical fitness.
Physical evaluation.
First aid.
Emergency protocols.
Evacuation training.
Psychological evaluation.
Specific training.
Daniel read slowly.
Once.
Then again.
Nothing about affinity.
Nothing about Reserve.
Nothing about Flow.
Nothing about Control.
Nothing about Synchrony.
Lina came closer.
“What did you get?”
Daniel showed her the phone.
She read it.
Her expression changed.
“Are you going to do it?”
Daniel kept looking at the screen.
He thought of Clara, trapped.
Of that animal.
Of Flora.
Of Lina.
Of Armando.
Of the people around Darian.
Of all the times he had moved first...
and thought afterwards.
He could not learn to control an affinity he did not have.
But he could learn first aid.
He could learn to evacuate.
To endure.
To react.
To be more than someone who stepped in the way and hoped to withstand the blow.
Daniel tapped an option.
VIEW ADMISSIONS PROCESS
“I'm going to find out more.”
Lina smiled.
“That doesn't answer my question.”
Daniel looked at her.
“I learnt from you.”
“How awful.”
Daniel smiled.
That night...
the seven insignia were everywhere.
Aeris.
Aurel.
Serpentia.
Ignis.
Nerea.
Sylvar.
Voltris.
In the news.
On social media.
On public buildings.
In conversations.
Seven new paths in a world that, weeks earlier, had not even known what to call what was happening to it.
Daniel stepped out onto the balcony.
Barcelona shone before him.
In the distance, an advertising screen showed the seven emblems.
One.
Another.
Another.
Daniel watched until the last one.
None was his.
He did not try to imagine an eighth.
Not this time.
He lowered his eyes to his phone.
OPERATIONAL SUPPORT
VIEW ADMISSIONS PROCESS
Daniel tapped.
The page began to load.
For the first time since the A.E.E. had begun measuring him...
a door was not asking how much Ether he had.
Daniel went in.
CUT TO BLACK.
END OF EPISODE 12 — SEVEN