Finally, the day of the audition arrived. Kon was wearing a turtleneck sweater to hide the dials on her neck.
This audition was being held at the office of a major talent agency. They’d produced a ton of successful stars in the past. If she did well here, going pro was practically guaranteed. That’s what the ad she applied to had said, anyway.
I should have expected it for an agency like this, but there sure are a lot of people here…
The waiting room was packed full. She glanced around at the other singers who were auditioning today and fiddled with the neck of her sweater.
I’m going to be fine. No matter how many rivals I have, I can do this, because…
Because she had the Voice Changer Dials. No, her real singing voice that the dials had helped her bring out. She did her best to reassure herself, turning the dials back and forth. She had to get her tone, pitch, and volume just right before the audition started.
✦ ✦ ✦
Eventually, the time came for Kon to take her turn.
The audition was divided into two sections—singing and self-promotion. There was no one song specified, so entrants could sing whatever they wanted. Kon had chosen the one she’d sung at karaoke that day when she first got the dials. The up-tempo song about fantastical nighttime scenery.
Here I go…!
At a cue from the judges, an instrumental version of the song began playing. As the intro neared its end, she took a deep breath and started to sing. She didn’t even need a mic—her voice reached right to the back of the room all on its own.
The judges gasped. As the song went on, their expressions softened, and they became more and more enchanted by Kon’s performance.
✦ ✦ ✦
♪ Like a rainbow casting shadows on a moonlit night
All that’s left are the echoes of our melody…
✦ ✦ ✦
Even when she got to the hardest part of the song, she carried it off without a hitch. She continued singing perfectly through the final note.
I did it! That might just have been the best performance of my life…!
Kon clenched her fists in triumph. The judges’ eyes were sparkling.
Now for the finisher!
After the singing portion of the audition, she had a chance to promote herself in whatever way she wanted. And she knew exactly what she was going to do.
✦ ✦ ✦
“My specialty is hitting high notes! I’m confident I can sing higher than anyone else. Here, I’ll demonstrate…”
She placed her hand on her throat and began singing that tricky line from her audition song again. But she didn’t just sing the same line over and over again—every time she repeated it, she sang it a little bit higher.
✦ ✦ ✦
♪ All that’s left are the echoes of our melody…
♪ All that’s left are the echoes of our melody…
♪ All that’s left are the echoes of our melody…
✦ ✦ ✦
With each line, she turned the Pitch dial on her neck, taking the key of the song up higher and higher. Higher…and higher…and higher… Until suddenly, the dial wouldn’t turn any further to the right.
Oh no, what do I do now?
Kon weighed her options. The judges seemed pretty impressed already. But was that high enough? Was this really the highest the dials could make her voice? Was this enough to back up her claim that she could sing higher than anyone else?
Is this my voice’s natural limit, even with all its potential brought out? No, I won’t accept that!
She could do better than this! She just had to push herself even further. If she gave it her all, there was no limit to what she could do!
She yanked hard on the Pitch dial, and then…
✦ ✦ ✦
Shwk!
✦ ✦ ✦
There was a noise like something breaking, and Kon’s singing cut off abruptly.
Huh…?
Her lips were still moving, but no sound was coming out. Never mind singing, she couldn’t even speak anymore. She couldn’t so much as whisper.
Whichever way she turned it, the dial on her throat just spun in place. She desperately tried to fix her voice, but it was no good. The Tone and Volume dials didn’t do anything. Her voice had just…gone.
✦ ✦ ✦
Kon had wanted to be able to sing higher than anybody else. Was this the end of that dream?
Not quite. Technically, her voice was higher than all the other singers’ now. Higher than any human’s voice. In fact, her voice was so high that it was now beyond the range of human hearing.