Editing Genius The Transgression/Chapter One: The Cosmos (section)

===Breakthrough:===

Of all the catalysts, the Staunens often experience the least traumatic Breakthrough: any horror they experience is often postponed until they gain sufficient talent and insight to answer the questions they've unwisely raised. Proto-Staunens in the scientific community may operate on either the cutting edge of their fields or in the historical trenches, uncovering forgotten twists and turns that could have utterly transformed a field of knowledge. Whether forging ahead or digging into unexplored crevices, they fall deeper and deeper into mystification and bewilderment. Eventually the fascination reaches a critical mass, turns into obsession, and results in the genius' Breakthrough.

Not all Staunens drift leisurely into a broader world. Others are dragged there in a flash, exposed to things beyond their ken or comprehension, then left abandoned in the cold light of mundanity. Whether they're astronomers or farm hands, geneticists who watch secret words appear in DNA or kids who realize the neighbor's dog talks to Jupiter at night, they've seen too much and now they can't go back. Some just blunder into enlightenment, while a few get introduced by other geniuses, eager to crack open a fresh new mind, but for these Staunens, their breakthrough and the time afterward can be traumatic and confusing as they work to see again what opened their minds.