Phoenix was three years old when he stopped talking.Not gradually. Suddenly. One day he was chattering constantly. Next day, silence."Something's wrong," I said to Sarah. "He won't speak. Won't make sounds. Just stares at me when I ask questions."Sarah examined him. Ran tests. Checked everything."Physically, he's fine," she said. "Brain activity is normal. Well, normal for Phoenix. Actually it's extremely elevated. He's thinking constantly. Processing enormous amounts of information. But he's not translating thoughts into speech.""Why not?" Reaper asked."I think he's overwhelmed," Sarah said. "He's connected to hundreds of thousands of minds through the network. He's hearing everyone's thoughts. Feeling everyone's emotions. Processing everyone's experiences. It's too much. He's shutting down verbal communication to handle the input.""Can we reduce his connection?" I asked. "Limit his access to the network?""The shield protects him from external influence but doesn't limit his n
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