They're coming to take me away, ha-ha...

[Brian]

"A little, sometimes," she admits.  You're trouble, and you're going to be in trouble ... but I think you've got a chance.  Most of the people here can't be brought into discussions on escaping.  They ... the section three metas sweep minds every once in a while.  She sighs.  "I wish I could see something meaninful, but it's all going blurry for me these days."

I'm better than most, and I can still only read you when you relax.  You can't be read ... and neither can I.  Bridgett doesn't know.  That's the hard part about organizing it.  All of us together could probably fight our way out of here pretty easily.  Maybe even half of us could.  But they'll know it's coming ... and the last thing you want is them to put you in solitary.  Sensory deprivation does bad things to some people ... especially like us.  Mikey ... used to be a lot smarter.  He's retreated into himself over that.

The merest fraction of a smile enters her thoughts, though it doesn't touch her lips.  And that small part inside of himself is hidden from them, too.  It's with us, but won't come out until we're ready.

[Bjorn]

Bjorn chews his tongue.  "The other day, didn't you say you saw something about me?  Can you tell me what, or is that prying?"

Thanks... I think.  Hm.  Peterson was supposed to have me tomorrow for M tests.  That's mental defenses, right?  If Richmond doesn't get his way, I might have to run the risk of punishment and do something stupid to get Peterson from running tests on me.  If they find out I'm hard to read, it might get that much harder to plan things.

Mikey... can you tell me more about him?

[Brian]

"I....  I saw you with a broken sword," she admits.  "Whatever that means."  I saw you with an invisible weapon, fighting against a guard.  As far as Peterson goes, I know something's going to happen to him soon.  I don't know what it means, but I see an image of him, and ... symbols of gambling.  But all of them are broken.  I hope it means his luck runs out.

They probably already suspect you've got some kind of mental defence, and it doesn't always get you put in solitary.  You can ... we don't have time, though.  I can teach you how to let someone read only what you want them to see.  But it's going to take more time then we have, I think.  You'll be classed M, but if you let one of their people read you, they'll decide it's a low enough class that you're not a huge risk.

As far as Mikey goes, he's a TK.  As strong as he is with just his muscles, his telekinesis is probably a dozen times stronger.  He can't move things at range, but he....  You see an image of a much angrier Mikey slamming his fists into the dropped bulkhead behind the security door, until the bulkhead buckles and gives way.  He would be 'dangerous', but after ... I don't know how much time, because of how they run things.  After a while, though, they let him come back, and he was like that, instead of the person he used to be.

[Bjorn]

"It means," Bjorn mutters sourly, "that it's been too long since I practice my martial arts, and my teacher is going to kick my ass."

They gave him his fear of the dark to put an additional control on him. It's not quite a question.  Alright, then.  That solves one of the problems -- maybe two, in fact.  The real question, for now, is what I can do.  Maybe the doctors can answer that for me, but I think it might be better if I could figure it out on my own.

A little mental hesitation, then, Is there any way you can help me with that?  Either directly, or telling me some place or somehow I can practice without being watched?

[Brian]

A place we aren't watched?  They have cameras behind the mirrors in the bathrooms.  And while they encourage ... 'romantic' interludes between patients, they don't provide privacy.  All I can really say is that a hot shower fogs up the mirror.  And, ah, you're kind of going to be on your own while showering, though....  She smiles at you, and shakes her head.  "Your teacher doesn't sound very friendly."

Lazarus might be able to help you.  He can make a link with minds ... if he can make a connection to you, and then me, I won't need to be in the room with you, which might lessen suspicion anyway.  You can shower, and try something there, and we'll try and figure out what you do, or what controls it.

[Bjorn]

The bathroom mirror I took care of already.  Just hung a jumpsuit over the mirror.  The rest of the plan sounds good, though... could you 'talk' to Lazarus for me?  Telepathy is probably a bit safer than asking out loud, still.

Bjorn smiles back.  "He was a great guy.  He just had very... direct opinions about the importance of practice."

[Brian]

Okay.  But first, I think we should teach you what we can of only showing people what you want from your mind.  "I'll believe it when I see it," she says somewhat dourly.

[Bjorn]

Gah.  Waiting.  I hate being patient.  But you probably have a point.  Can we do that here, or...?

Out loud, Bjorn simply snorts, and starts rooting around in the lawn for pebbles to toss into the fountain -- not really expecting to find any, of course.

[Brian]

It's good for you.  Your chances of a break-out attempt decrease the longer you stay here, she sends.  At least, statistically.

You don't find any pebbles, just clods of dirt.  When you look at the fountain, you see that it's probably about a meter deep, and four meters across, rougly.  There's a wide grate at the bottom, at the base of the cement foundation that holds the pipes above the water level.  The jets go a good meter and a half into the air.  The grate looks to be about a half meter per side, and is held down with four huge bolts.

Assuming you aren't doing anything else at the moment, however, Megan begins instructing you in the fine art of arranging your thoughts so that people who can't read through your defenses only see what you want them to see.

[Bjorn]

Bjorn pays attention first and foremost to Megan's teachings, but he also studies the fountain thoroughly.  What exactly is the jet mechanism?  What's the grate made of?  Are there any bubbles rising from the grate?

[Brian]

The crate looks like it's just steel, or some rustproof equilvelant.  There are occasional air bubbles rising from it, but not many.  You suspect it's the intake for the fountain, but it's too dark to see very far into.

Then again, the edge of the fountain splashes into the river, which then arcs around and into another pool, and you'd expect a drain to be put there.

[Bjorn]

When Megan is done explaining, Bjorn asks her, Do you know anything about how this fountain is hooked up?  It's strange... there's an outlet for the water, but it's huge, almost a storm drain, which doesn't make any sense.  If this was just a closed-loop pump system, all they'd need would be a relatively small pump....

[Brian]

The fountain?  Not really, I never thought it was special ... they have one almost just like it in sections two and three.

[Bjorn]

Damn.  I wish we had a way to find out -- it might be a lot easier than going out the front door.

Hm.  Could you let me know when you've set things up with Lazarus?  I'm going to talk to Mikey, I think.

[Brian]

A way out ... that would be nice.  I'll talk with Lazarus a bit, but I'm drained, and talking to you through your defenses is even more tiring ... keep practicing the trick I showed you to keep the thoughts you'll let them read on the outer edges of your mind.  I'm going to rest up ... I think we've got some big days coming up, soon.  Megan yawns expansively, ruffles Bridgett's hair in passing, and strides off towards her room.  "Night," she says aloud.