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agreement to Ethan’s sharp words.
    Gunther nods solemnly. “That is the concern. You see, to continue the story, Thunder found the three children in the Grey and brought them back.”
    I have no idea what that means, but even six-monther Owen looks horrified. “Um, the gray stuff is bad?” I hazard a guess.
    “The Grey,” says Callie, “is the very last safety feature of the Barriers before you enter the deepest layers. Not typical for trainees to get there, even if they know about it.” Her questioning eyes slide to Gunther’s face. “Is this why you summoned me?” Without waiting for an answer, she turns back to us. “You see, once you’re eighteen, you can no longer cross through the layers. It is our humanity that allows it in the first place—that we can be open to the possibility before we experience the reality.
    “The older people get, the more distant from the possibilities they become. It’s like our brains harden over time. As infants, we can still see angels, can you imagine? We’re still a part of the most innocent of layers. By the time we reach adulthood, we’re firmly planted here.”
    “What happens to you then? I mean, what’s the whole Bender thing about? That’s what we are, right? Is it normal to be able to Bend, or whatever?” Jamie could ask another hundred questions, but Callie interrupts.
    “Good questions.” She winks at him. “First of all, a Bender’s job in life is to create balance in the, um, physical world, I guess you’d say. The youngest of us can do this simply by practicing those random acts of kindness you hear about, simple things like smiling at someone new, helping out in some way. Anything to put positive vibes out there. Benders don’t ever have to enter the layers if they don’t want to, because of that ripple effect. The positive vibes out here help keep the Sliders at bay, but can’t destroy them. In order to do that, you have to enter the Shadow Layer and strike at the beasts themselves.”
    I interrupt. “What happens if you do attack them in our world? Wouldn’t that make it easier for us—I mean, not to have to do all the Bending stuff?”
    “Well, remember Sliders need a host in the physical world. All you’d be doing is killing or attacking the host, and the essence of the Slider would just be able to reattach to someone else.
    “Interventions of a non-violent sort can produce a separation-effect between the Slider/host position, and with this the human typically fares far better. No injuries. This is where counselors, or people with similar professions, play an active role. Counselors who are Benders can be quite effective in these situations—for the health of the human, but not the destruction of the underlying beast.
    “Sliders themselves have no qualms about destroying humans. Though at our layer they are only strong enough to latch onto a host, through the host they can inflict all manners of pain and destruction. It is not unheard of for them to manipulate their host to purposely attack Benders.”
    I can see this making sense to me at some point. I nod for her to continue, while gnawing my bottom lip. It’s still weird information, but Callie’s explaining it well. She’ll be a great teacher when she graduates.
    “Back to what Jamie asked, though: Yes, we are all Benders here, and, yes, it’s common. It’s just not a trained thing for most people. Like, people will describe themselves as glass-half-full types, and say they made it through their situations because of positive thinking. A condensed population that seems to have a high Bender count, so to speak, is in the foster system. Young kids who have faced a lot and are making it through and becoming stronger for it.
    “That’s kind of where the eighteen-and-older group comes in. We try to get jobs where we can continue to help the cause. We have people placed in various foster agencies who are good at sensing potential, and they can place these kids with Shifters like