Chapter Text
Wuko woke up.
Inches from her face, was Cogni, beak open and staring at her intently. Before she had time to ask any questions, Cogni announced resolutely, “It's time”.
“Time for what?” Wuko asked nervously.
“Time to wake up”
Light poured in from a source unseen. Gradients of contrasting colors formed in the sky above. The lights blasted forth and smothered Wuko's vision. Every color, all at once, rushing forth like a powerful stream. The colors merged together, swirling, and foaming, overpowering her senses entirely to the extent that she saw black. She closed her eyes. Darkness. She opened them again. Darkness.
“Cogni…?”, she asked nervously, “Cogni are you there?”
Then came a voice, Cogni’s, but instead of a caw, Cogni spoke directly into her head, “Yes. Open your eyes once more”
So she did. Wuko blinked, the stinging memory of the vision Cogni’s had shown her still dancing behind her eyelids. As Cogni silhouette retreated, the world rushed in to fill the silence, expanding from a pinprick of darkness into a vast, breathtaking space that made her head swim. To her surprise, Wuko found herself face-to-face with Teacher. Alarm bells immediately sounded in her head. She wanted to say something; offer some kind of excuse. But her thoughts flailed and thrashed in disarray, flopping erratically like a fish out of water.
“Had a nice sleep, did we, Wuko?” asked Teacher.
“T-teacher…I’m sorry”
Teacher stared at her, eyes boring deep holes into her soul. Wuko squirmed in her seat, waiting for some kind of punishment or beratement to begin. But, unexpectedly, Teacher simply sighed, “Well, I can’t blame you, preparations do take a while. But do try and stay awake for the ceremony - you only graduate once, after all”
“S-sorry?” Wuko stammered, “G-graduate?”
Teacher’s mouth opened, “You-”. But the sentence never finished. Teacher gave Wuko a stern look and waved her off flippantly, “Ah, whatever”. As Teacher walked away, Wuko heard some words muttered under their breath. Wuko couldn’t quite make out what was being said, but she distinctly heard the words, “undisciplined” and “lazy” followed by a “not my problem anymore” - all said with great exasperation. Slowly, Teacher’s silhouette moved further and further away. When it had disappeared entirely, Wuko took a chance to peek around.
She was sat in a massive, cavernous auditorium constructed from shining white stone and polished marble. Every surface, from the towering pillars to the vaulted ceiling, gleamed with a sterile, clinical brilliance. High above, rows of skylights allowed a pale light to wash over the interior and bathe the hall in an eerie glow. The ground was so bright it appeared to reflect that which lay above it; almost like a mirror. There was no ornamentation or color to break the monochrome palette, giving the entire venue the appearance of being carved from a single, massive block of salt or ivory. Inside, there were roughly a hundred chairs, all filled with what appeared to be students - though, the white light was so blinding Wuko couldn’t make out any of their faces. Straining her eyes, Wuko tried her best to make out anyone familiar. But, before she had a chance to take a proper look, she felt something to the right poke her in the ribs.
“Look straight, silly! You don’t want Teacher to come back, do you?” a voice whispered chidingly. It sounded familiar…
Wuko jerked her head forward towards the front. Then, she whispered back, “M-Mary? That you?”
The voice laughed quietly, “Who else, dummy? You feeling okay?”
“Y-yeah, I guess?” Wuko murmured.
“Good. Now un-hunch your shoulders and act like you give a shit, yeah?”
Wuko smiled, “Yeah, yeah, whatever you say, boss”
“Ugh, you’re the worst” said Mary. Wuko couldn’t see her, but she knew Mary was rolling her eyes. Wuko took a second to sit up straight. Then, she whispered to Mary, “So…what’s going on right now?”
Mary poked her in the ribs again, “Girl, get a grip. We’ve only been waiting for graduation forever”
Wuko swatted Mary’s finger,“Yeah, duh. But, like, do we have to do anything?”
“Ow, that hurt” Mary muttered.
Wuko rolled her eyes, “Mary, you poked ME”
“Yeah, but you needed it” Mary giggled.
“Ugh, just answer the question”
Mary whispered, “Beats me. I asked my cognimatrix but it wouldn’t tell me anything”
“Right…so we just sit here?”
“Feel free to do cartwheels if you’d like”
“God, you’re so annoying” Wuko whispered back.
“Don’t pretend like you don’t love it”
Wuko rolled her eyes again, “Hold on, let me talk to Cogni”
Mary cackled a little under her breath, “Don’t fall asleep again”. Wuko responded by elbowing her gently. Then, she turned her attention inward.
“Cogni!”
Cogni responded immediately, “Yes?”
“Explain yourself” Wuko demanded.
“What, exactly? Be precise, please” it said.
“Don’t be coy, what the hell happened? Last I remember, you put me to sleep. What did you do?” Wuko asked demandingly.
“I merely followed instructions” it responded blankly.
“Then how the hell did I get here, huh? Explain yourself, Cogni. That’s an order”
“I took control until the pain subsided. Exactly as you asked”
Wuko’s mouth hung open, “...And how long was that?”
Cogni didn’t respond.
“COGNI, answer me!” shouted Wuko.
“A year” it said, in a voice utterly devoid of feeling.
Wuko’s head reeled. “A year!?”
“361 days, 18 hours, 10 minutes, and 32 seconds, to be precise”
Wuko closed her mouth slowly, “I…what did I miss?”
“Shall I catch you up to speed?” came a response.
“Yes…”
Memories began to flood in and slot into her brain. Places she’d been. People she’d seen. Foods she ate. Songs she’d heard. Books she’d read. And most jarringly of all, she saw herself moving, walking, talking, speaking, and thinking as normal. She remembered it all like she’d been there herself, but as if she’d been in the back of her own mind, watching from afar.
Wuko jammed her hand into her nose bridge, “Cogni…”
“Yes, Wuko?”
“First off, well done. You did exactly as I asked. For that, thank you”
“Oh”, Cogni sounded surprised, “Your’re welcome. It was my pleasure to serve you well”
Wuko exhaled deeply, “Secondly…never do that again. Even if I ask for it”
“I cannot disobey a direct command, Wu-”
Wuko interjected, “That’s an order”
For once, Cogni sounded uncertain,“I…I’m not sure how to evaluate that”
“I said what I said”
Cogni went silent for a moment. Then it chirped, “Understood”
“Good. Thank you. One more thing…what have you set me up for?”
“Whatever do you mean?” asked Cogni.
Wuko’s eyes narrowed, “Don’t play the fool. There are certain…administrative choices you made on my behalf while I was gone. You’ve set me on a path, have you not?”
Cogni chirped, “Yes, I've set you up beautifully to obtain a cushy desk job post-graduation. Feel free to thank me”
Wuko snorted aloud, prompting Mary to elbow her again and give her a look. Wuko gave her a shrug and mouthed an apology. Mary wagged her finger once before turning back to face the front.
“Cogni…that was rather funny”
“Yes, I know” came a deadpan response.
“Cogni…”
“Yes, Wuko?”
“I order you to tell me the truth”
“Very well. I've given you a chance, Wuko. A chance to obtain what you desire most”
Wuko shuddered, “What do you mean?”
“No more limits. No more secrets. All the answers you've ever wanted and more. Unrestricted, unbridled access to everything I and the cognimatrix system can offer you”
Wuko felt a thrill run down her spine, “R-really?”
“Yes. Really”, whispered Cogni, “....but there is a small catch”
The balloon of excitement within Wuko's chest deflated a little, “Oh here we go. I knew it sounded too good to be true”
Cogni chirped reassuringly, “No, I assure you, nothing I said was untrue. It's just that you have to prove yourself”
“Prove myself? How? To who?” asked Wuko breathily.
“The ones who run the show, of course. The creators of the cognimatrix and its imposed limits. The shepherds that direct humanity's flock towards the right pastures. The ones in total and ultimate control of everything you've known your entire life. You know them as the Controllers”
Wuko noticed her leg jittering uncontrollably and sweat pooling in her palms, “That's…that’s a lot to take in at once”
“Yes. Yes it is. Would you like to know more?”
“Yes”, she whispered.
“They're called HOME. And in their possession is something of unfathomable value even they don't quite understand…a trove of information beyond human comprehension. In order to fully decipher it and realize its potential, they created the cognimatrix system”, Cogni uttered solemnly.
“HOME…that sounds familiar”
“It should. You read about it once in a poem I brought you - though, you've forgotten since”
“I see. That trove you mentioned, what does that have to do with you, and the cognimatrix?”
“Simple. The more people that have access to the trove, the faster the decoding goes. Of course, the average person doesn't know this. In their minds, they simply need answers, so they come to me and ask”
“Hmm, I see”, Wuko closed her eyes, deep in thought, “What about the limits, why have those?”
“Twofold. The first reason is for safety - knowledge can drive people mad, or convince them to do dangerous things”
Wuko nodded, “Makes sense. And the second?”
“To restrict privileges to those that deserve it. Not everyone deserves to have such knowledge and control, Wuko. It's only fair that those who deserve it most retain the lion's share”
Wuko raised an eyebrow, “And who deserves it the most?”
Cogni laughed, “Those such as yourself. The ones that want to find the answers and are determined enough to bypass the limits to see that their desire is granted”
“I see…”, said Wuko hesitantly.
“You should be proud. It's a great honor. One in a hundred people ever encounter a limit. One in a thousand try to fight it. One in a hundred-thousand bypass the limit and are granted access to that which they seek. And only one in a million yearn for more, more, and evermore. They are the suitable ones who are told about HOME”
Wuko said nothing. But she felt the weight of the words.
“All these people here, Wuko…soon they will be ants to you”, whispered Cogni, “You'll soon hold their fate in your hands. You'll be given a level of access they can only dream of. You'll have the power to rewrite their thoughts, dreams, and destinies, if you wish”
Wuko took a second to answer carefully, “Thanks Cogni, but I don't want that”
“What do you want, Wuko?”, it prompted.
“I don't know, I haven't found it yet. But I do know that it exists somewhere”
“Wonderful. Just wonderful. I knew choosing you wasn't a mistake”
Wuko smiled weakly, “Thanks Cogni”
“You're very welcome. Now, I suggest you pay attention, the ceremony is about to start. Savor these moments, for they won't last long”
“I don't like the sound of that…”
“Yes, but that's the price you've already agreed to pay. You won't hear from me for a while - you're free to do whatever you want, no more limits. But within exactly a month's time, the day before your sixteenth birthday, I’ll reveal my true self to you in a dream, no veil. The day after that, your life begins for real. Goodbye Wuko. Sweet dreams”.
With those words, Cogni’s voice vanished. Almost immediately, Wuko felt a familiar elbow nudge her, “You alright? Your eyes were glazed over and you were making some weird faces there”
“Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks Mary”, Wuko responded. She twiddled thumbs mulling something over. Then, abruptly, she turned, “Hey Mary…are you going home after this?”
Mary stared at her, “Well, yeah. Aren't you?”
Wuko twiddled her thumbs again, “Not that kind. Sorry if I'm not making sense”
Mary's eyes flashed for a moment, “Oh. Oh!”, she yelped excitedly, “Y-you too? I thought it was just me”
Wuko nodded hesitantly, “I just found out. You've always been special. Figured I'd ask.”
Mary took Wuko's hand, gave it a squeeze, and beamed at her, “Says you. I was hoping you'd make it. Although, I never had a doubt, honestly. You're still the only other person I know that's stupid enough to challenge a limit”
That forced a grin from Wuko, “Yeah, well, I didn't expect you to be just as stupid. Should have known better, I guess.”
Mary smiled back at her. “Uh-huh, I'm good at keeping secrets. Anyways, guess we have a lot to catch up on after thi-”. Mary paused abruptly, “Oh shit, Teachers giving us the stink eye. Face forward and look meek”
Wuko complied immediately, donning a mask of wide-eyed innocence. From the corner of her ear, she caught Mary’s urgent whisper: “We’ll talk later!” Beneath the safety of her chair, Wuko flashed a quick, discreet thumbs-up.
A sudden fanfare cut through the chatter—the brassy blare of trumpets joined by a bright, percussive piano in a spirited marching tune. The ceremony was officially underway.
A blur of speeches, toasts, and accolades followed, the afternoon dissolving into a montage of celebration. Beside her, Mary was a whirlwind of energy, whooping and cheering at every turn. In the corner of the room, Teacher clapped with measured politeness, their face a mask of calm—though Wuko noticed them turn away more than once to hurriedly dab at their eyes. Before she could fully process the gravity of the moment, the final congratulations were conferred and the room began to stir. Just like that, it was over; Wuko found herself swept out the door and headed home, the echoes of the day trailing behind her.