Alex (Rottenham)'s Questionnaire

So, I was asked about where I live. Right now, I’m staying in a Yale dormitory while finishing my doctorate in psychology. My roommate left earlier this year, so I have the whole room to myself. It's not large, but it's more space than I'm used to since I left home.

I just need a place to sleep and a desk for reading or using my PC. My wardrobe consists of only three black outfits that I rotate. You could say I'm a bit of a minimalist. This lifestyle stems from having to live under the radar for much of my life—the less, the better. I'm low maintenance, which helps me save money for emergencies and allows me to move quickly when needed.

I have been working part-time jobs since I left home at 15 years old, and I've been saving and investing most of my earnings since I didn't have much use for the money back then. Additionally, I have been awarded multiple scholarships that fully covered my student loans. Currently, I rely on the campus for food and shelter, but I may need to rent a small room during the summer vacation. However, I avoid renting in New York because it's too expensive for my liking. I prefer the countryside, where I can relax a bit and have time to read and conduct personal research, which is my biggest expense.

What kind of research, you may ask? Well, it's of the supernatural variety. I seek out shady dealers and places to collect stories, accounts, and information about the supernatural to conduct my own investigations, all as a scientist, of course.

My one and only ambition is to one day bring pride to my family name. Since I was young, I was taught to avoid giving my full name unless absolutely necessary.

I remember the look on one of my teachers' faces back in California when I was just 8 years old—a mix of fear, anger, and disgust. You see, my family has a troubled history with supernatural criminals. Every generation or so, our family is 'gifted' with one child possessing psychic powers, and most of the time, it doesn't end well.

Even though my family and I are normal people, we still suffered discrimination. My intelligence, far beyond that of kids my age, only exacerbated the situation. This led to me being homeschooled until I graduated high school. I left home determined to bring honor to my family name, either by becoming a Nobel Prize-winning psychologist/neurologist or by understanding our bloodline's 'curse' and finding a way to rid us of it.

I may not have the resolve to kill for it, since killing is what ruined our name in the first place, and I always believe it's unnecessary. But I'm very prepared to die if that meant that my dream comes true, since I'm very sick of this life of hiding where I can't make any real deep connection with others. Either live respected like any other sapien, or die trying.

The biggest event that changed my life happened in 2009. My cousin committed a mass murder at his high school using telekinesis. This incident fueled hatred towards anyone with supernatural powers, especially our family, since the locals knew this wasn't our first encounter with such events. That was the day I learned about our family's dark history.

I noticed the change immediately when I saw the neighbors and grown-ups looking at me differently, treating me and my siblings harshly all of a sudden, even though I was only 9 at the time. I lost all my friends, and everyone started calling us freaks. I went home crying, and that's when my father told me about our bloodline. He explained the situation and how, from that moment on, I could no longer trust anyone since our name had become notorious throughout the country.

Since that day, I stopped trying to socialize and instead developed a deep obsession with the supernatural, trying to understand it more. I devoted myself to finding a solution to our family's curse.

If I had to name some of my acquaintances, it wouldn't be difficult since there aren't many people in my life. For diversity, I'll present one family member, one friend, and one academic supervisor.

Starting with my father, Bill Rottenham; a great civil engineer who is about to retire. He is a calm man whose only goal has been to protect and raise his family, no matter how bad things have gotten throughout the years. I never felt anxious because his gentle smile, focused eyes, and calm demeanor made me believe that everything would be alright and that he had everything under control. Even though we haven't talked in years, he is still my role model and the one I look up to.

Next is perhaps the only person I can call a friend: Abigail Bailey. She's a British exchange student, and maybe her ignorance of my family situation made me trust her more, or perhaps it was her brilliant mind, sense of humor, or interest in the supernatural... or a mix of all. Whatever it is, we have been friends since I started at Yale five years ago. Even now, she still doesn't know my 'real' last name, because every day I fear that telling her would mean losing this peaceful life I have now, or worse, losing her.

Now you may ask, "Wait, how doesn't your classmate know your last name?" That brings us to my closest acquaintance for now, a professor and the director at Yale. He supervised my interview, saw potential in me, recognized my talent in the field, and saved me from discrimination by using my mom's last name to hide my identity. He has been pushing me forward and supporting me since day one. Despite his looks and old age, he has a great sense of humor outside of work, and he knows how to comfort and support others. He's a wise and gentle man who means the world to me. Without his support, I may have given up a long time ago. He's my godfather, my brother, my best friend, my mentor—all of it.

The first few years of my life were peaceful, if you don't take into consideration my mother's death. She passed away while I was still young, giving birth to my sister, so I didn't have much time with her. I was just 5 at the time, and everything I know about her is from pictures and my dad's stories. Other than that, I grew up safely in a quiet neighborhood in California, playing with kids my age, helping my father with housework when possible, attending school, and excelling without even trying.

I would say I had an average childhood, fitting in well with others and being loved by adults for acting older than my age. But everything changed in 2009. I had to be homeschooled and lost everyone I considered a friend. People started discriminating against me and my family once they heard our last name. We had to isolate ourselves to stay safe and make others feel safe.

My father had to hop jobs continuously, but he didn't mind and always acted the same at home, as if nothing had changed. He was a wise, calm, and loving father who made sure all the outside hate never got to us.

I have never really been in a relationship. I'm not very good at communicating with the opposite gender, or with anyone, for that matter, since I never had the opportunity to develop my interpersonal skills. The only female I have a real connection with is Abigail. Though we always say that our relationship is that of best friends, I may have some feelings for her. She's like a funnier, more attractive female version of me.

But even if what I feel for her is love—and I can't really be sure, because I don't know what love feels like—I still won't ask her to be my girlfriend. I don't want to be in a relationship while hiding so much. I know my secret would come back to bite me later as long as I'm hiding it, and I don't want to risk losing what we have, whether by confessing my feelings or by telling her the truth about me.

When I was young, I used to fear many things: the darkness, dogs, insects (though that was more like disgust, actually). But as I grew older and started to realize the real horrors of this world, those fears seemed petty. My father, a courageous man, helped me get over those trivial fears. He was always there for me when I was young, assuring me that everything was going to be alright.

Now, as an adult, if I had to choose a fear that truly haunts me, it wouldn't be death. It would be the fear of others around me discovering my true identity and fearing me. More precisely, I fear the loneliness that would come from it. I've already experienced the hate and fear in everyone's eyes when they knew my family's history. It was the lowest point of my life.

I know I'm not a social person. In fact, I value and enjoy my time alone. But there's a huge difference between being alone and being lonely. Even now, I still have some good friends, a best friend, and great mentors who love me and cherish my company. But what if one day they all discovered that our relationship is built on a lie? That I'm a fraud who lied to the people closest to me about my identity? They would surely feel betrayed. And once they discover my 'real' identity, like everyone else from my birthplace, they would fear and/or hate me. I would become an outcast and a fraud with no hope, place, or future in society.

This lie and secret have always haunted me since I graduated high school and left home to start anew. Being discovered is my biggest fear.

I'm more of a minimalist myself, always traveling for research, so I don't usually form attachments to material things. However, there are a few items I keep close for the secrets they hold rather than any emotional value. These items include two notebooks and a ring.

The first notebook is Peter Rottenham's journal, a part of our family heirloom that my father shared with us after the accident in 2009. It contains writings from Peter, one of my great-great-grandfathers who was the last in our branch to manifest our psychic abilities. It lacks details due to age and being passed down, but it confirmed the generational awakening of our powers. I keep it hidden as it holds the very secret I'm trying to protect.

The second notebook is my research journal on our family bloodline. It's where I document my attempts and findings, aiming to uncover more about our psychic heritage. It's also kept concealed for similar reasons as the first notebook.

Lastly, there's the ring, an heirloom from my father's side of the family. Crafted by Peter Rottenham to help him maintain sanity, it's passed down through our branch. Though its full effects are unknown to regular wearers, my father believed in its significance.

Before leaving my hometown for my research journey, My father entrusted these heirlooms to me with the condition not to jeopardize my safety in any way.

I've come to realize that since leaving home, I've merely been surviving in hiding. My research into the occult has yielded little in the past five years. Before the contract, encountering anything supernatural was exceedingly rare, hindering my pursuit of the truth about my cursed bloodline—the very mission that drove me to risk my life with the contract in the first place.

Instead of advancing towards my goals, the contract has overwhelmed me, focusing more on survival and mastering my newfound powers than gathering the crucial information I need. I've neglected my studies and research, veering off the path I set for myself. It's imperative I find a lead soon, leveraging my powers and contacts to plan my approach.

Moreover, each practice session with my powers deepens my understanding of how minds function. I must test the theories I've developed; perhaps a breakthrough in my research awaits. Time is short—ever since awakening Mind's Reach, I've become a ticking time bomb. The uncertainty of when I might lose control looms over me, compounded by the constant danger during contracts. I refuse to let my life be in vain