by P. S. Power
Ben decided not to mention that part yet. After all, they didn't need to deal with something that might not be a problem. Especially since them knowing about it wouldn't help then. They couldn't fix him. No one could. If he even needed to be repaired.
They did turn to look at him, which got him to grin, and walked toward the door, following his mentor. She had a very round behind, he noticed. It was all muscle, but it was large enough to still count as shapely. Ben would have thought his hormones were all out of balance, but the fact was they'd always been pretty much like they were now. It was part of being young, or so he'd heard.
Now he had to wonder if that would ever go away.
Mags hopped up, and skipped a few steps over to him, and tried to take his right hand. The one with the pill bottle in it.
"Oooh. For me? How thoughtful!" She shook the bottle, holding up for inspection. "Climatrophile? Well, that's a start. I really want some Zenestros. That will leave you seeing stars." Then she faked putting the bottle in her pocket, and acting sly about it. After he didn't respond with more than a soft smile, she handed it back, sighing. "I should get my own."
"I grabbed that for you. Though you have to share if I ever have to go days without sleep again. So, what's next?"
That, it turned out was lunch. Glenda grabbed a tray and walked out with it, but called out to him first.
"You can eat, but carefully. No junk food."
They did have that. There was a dessert selection laid out at lunch and an even better one at the evening meal. It was pretty tempting, but he had roasted chicken, and a wider selection of fruit. Grapes, pears and some raspberries. It was all really good and for the first time in nearly two months he actually felt full. Not stuffed, since he left about half of it, trying not to go against the spirit of what Glenda was going for.
Control over what he ate.
Lissa made a point of sitting right next to him, and kept touching him through the whole meal. It was all about reassuring herself that he was right there. Her little trick to keep herself from going insane. Ben stopped eating before the others, but kind of picked at the chicken, since it was particularly tasty. Probably thanks to all the protein in the dead bird. Not that he was sensitive that way. It was dead and he hadn't killed it. Him not eating it wouldn't have brought it back to life or anything.
As they all ate, and chattered a bit, Kent came into the facility, since he was still there not having been pulled yet. A sudden desire to hit the man in the nose came across him, which wasn't normal for him. It had to have run across his face too, since Lissa actually grabbed his arm.
"Calm. Center yourself and think first." That was all she said, and it was done softly enough that only the people with them seemed to pick up on it.
Micha nodded however, and faked a smile.
"Thank god I didn't have to blow him. I got assigned to Clyde instead. He's actually nice, really. It was for work, so it didn't last. If... Well, if things were different..." She didn't explain that part, so faking his own unmeant smile, Ben nodded.
"I can see that being hard to manage. This place isn't that big. You run into people, right?" Like he just had, with Kent. Richard. The self-promoting asshole spy.
Of the three he knew of so far, they'd all been men. That was either due to some kind of bias in hiring, or the people that were willing to go undercover, be genetically altered and meditate for hours each day tended not to be ladies. In the space around him it really did seem to be about half however, so it might not just be that. At his table things were skewed a good bit more toward the feminine however. That was just happenstance however. He could turn them off in the way they really wanted.
That got him to really smile, which got Micha to do it back.
"What?"
"Oh... It just occurred to me that my best power so far is turning people off. I guess I always knew I had it. It just never seemed that special before." His voice was cheery enough, since, while being ugly bugged him, the idea of being alone didn't. Sex was fun, but there was porn for that, and he'd be fine. Maybe even better off in the long run, if he wasn't too attached to anyone. His father had lived that way and been fairly happy about it.
Mags nodded, and took a big, somewhat sloppy, bite of her burger. She did wipe her face immediately after, so it wasn't that disgusting.
"Heh. Yeah. I can see that one." It was said matter-of-factly enough and of the people there only Lissa responded to the words.
"Damn, Mags. That's a bit harsh." She didn't reach out toward him, but her face flushed a bit. Embarrassed. Probably about having thought the same thing a moment before.
"Eh, well, don't worry. I get better cheekbones and a good jaw line I hear. Soon, why, I should be nearly average even! The nose stays though. It's a family tradition and part of my heritage."
Mags ate more and then dropped her burger.
"Jewish? Crap. I don't know anything about that. I was raised nominally Christian. It was a family thing. You know to make people think my dad isn't a psychopath? Politician though, so... That doesn't work too well. Hanukah, that's in... October?"
The funny thing there was that she really didn't seem to know the answer. Since public schools taught all the major religions that was surprising. Then, she might have gone to the private kind, and that was a thing he knew nothing about. He'd had to walk his butt three blocks each day to get to Hillary Clinton High School for four years, like most kids did. Even for him taking a bus didn't make sense at those distances. Though he had when he was younger. There had been talk the whole time about just moving schools online, but it was felt that being able to talk to people face to face was actually an important life skill.
Which was right. Out of all the things he'd learned that had been the most important thing so far in his life. That, reading, and basic computer work. Even at the coffee shop those things had actually made a difference. Now he was leaning on the ability to get along with people pretty hard as well.
"It's in December. It varies a bit each year. Not that it matters. My dad... We always celebrated Xmas." That got two nods and a bite of sandwich which was roughly directed his way. Most people weren't Christians now, but the one holiday had managed to stick and change into something different.
Mags finished chewing before speaking this time and cleaned her face again. It was nearly like being reminded that she wasn't actually insane had helped her adapt back to being with people. Not that Ben could prove it.
"We did the whole Christmas thing. It's about the same, but the songs mention Jesus a lot more. Good though. So we can just do that? Get a fake tree for our place, and drink eggnog?"
Lissa smiled, and touched his hand again.
"That sounds fun. We should do that."
It was Micha that said what he was thinking, if in a cuter fashion.
"I didn't know you were all dating. Congratulations! Are you getting married soon?" She filled the words with snark, but Mags just fixed her with a dead eyed gaze.
"What do you mean you all? We're all going to be living together, so it kind of makes sense. Either we do that, or no one touches anyone, ever. Otherwise it won't work. Is Clark going to be in on it? He's dreamy."
They all actually looked at Ben, like he knew the answer to that one.
"Um. We should go and ask? As soon as we're all done eating. We need to get him in for the afternoon stuff anyway. That mental training? Glenda sounded like it was promising. We should all try to learn how to find and hold the right state, when we aren't being bombarded constantly." That had to make it nearly impossible to start something like that.
It might not be possible anyway, but if it was at all, it would be worth doing. Especially if he wasn't going to be around to help people out.
The others started debating the finer points of group dynamics and whether or not it meant having sex and with whom. It didn't really seem appropriate for the dining hall to him, but no one seemed upset by the idea of them discussing things like that.
Ben nodded
along, since it didn't seem all that real to him. Oh, if Mags wanted a tree and some presents, that sounded nice. Fruitcake would be good as well. He really liked it. Probably because it had ten thousand calories per bite. It wasn't until Lissa took his hand again that he realized his mind had floated off into other things.
It wasn't really a vision. Not exactly. It had a real feeling quality to it however. How he could tell the difference he didn't know, but it was there. This was a memory. One of his father, that had taken place when he was a little boy. Probably about five or six. Even then he'd been chubby, but in a fairly cute way. His dad had set up the living room of their apartment when he'd been asleep. When he woke up it was filled with presents, all brightly wrapped up, and a nice tree. None of it was that expensive, but a lot of work had gone into making it all nice.
He came back from that with a start, because it had been more real than the room around him for a bit.
"We're going to head out. Unless you want something else?" Lissa didn't seem worried, but had understood that he wasn't with them, if not why.
"I'm good. I had a... memory, I guess? Incredibly vivid. My first real Xmas? So not that bad. Let's go?" He tried to just get up, but while the others moved Micha moved in along side of him, and took his arm in her hand. Lissa had the right hand in hers, so his tray was in his left.
"How vivid?"
Ben walked toward the window near the back left hand side of the room, and dumped his tray in the trash can first. That way it could all be sorted later and composted. He thought that the meat would have to be taken out first, but didn't know why that was. Until the room vanished again, and his third grade teacher was going over the process in front of him, for the class. He was able to pull out almost instantly however, which brought reality back.
"Um... Enough that if I was walking I'd need to stop?"
"Is that expected? Part of what was done?"
"Ah... That. Well, they kind of did a lot of things that... No one understands yet. So it's probably part of it. It's all been in other people before? Shouldn't be a problem."
He was lying, naturally, but did it easily, and once his tray was set down, put his left arm over her shoulders and gave a brief squeeze. She leaned into it enough that everyone got the idea that she wasn't offended by the move. That was just normal. You either did that kind of thing to signal what was happening was all right, or the other person, Ben in this case, would have to stop doing it instantly. At least he had been taught that in school. That kind of thing had been an actual class. It was hard to know about the others. His school might have been different, though he doubted that.
Mags grinned.
"Like I said, dating. So, I'm the filling in the sandwich for tonight? We're going to need toys for that, because I plan on being demanding." Then she walked out, like it wasn't a joke. Even though it was clear to at least him that it really was.
On the good side it got Kent to stare at them, seeming jealous.
It wasn't as good of a retribution as a solid groin kick, but it would have to do for the time being.
Unless he could come up with something better than that. So far he had nothing though. Anything he did would just get him in trouble.
Chapter fourteen
Clark was easy to find, being in his cabin. The man even shook his hand at the door, his face looking freaked when the thing opened. That was because the rest of the psychic crew was right there, and in the past the feedback between them had actually hurt if they got to close to one another. Now they were all pretty much like normal people to anyone reading them from outside the group.
Inside however, it was nice and quiet.
"Ah. That really is nice. Is something going on?"
The man addressed Ben, as if he were saying that his power to help them made him the boss. It was probably a natural enough thing, but it left him feeling a bit uneasy. He had the leadership qualities of the guy at the back of the crowd, most days. In the main he just went along with what everyone else wanted. Anyone else, if he were going to be totally honest about the whole thing. It made him seem easy going, he hoped.
He did know the plan however, so tried not to seem like a complete idiot about the topic of what came next.
"We all have a meeting. The hope is that we can figure out some kind of different meditation or mental state that will let us all..." He waved at the world, trying to think of the right words. "Go places alone? It might not work, but even if it only cuts things in half, it's worth learning."
Clark fastened his door, just pulling it shut, which made it click, and walked away with them. There was no keyhole on the door however, or pad to unlock it.
"Um, how does that work? The door?" He was curious, but then realized that if there was a trick, the other guy may not want him to know it. He could have valuable stuff in there for all Ben knew. Computers, or his sex robot. Maybe even the web.
That was a thing that Ben had missed a lot in this new place. It had been his life for so long, and now there was a hole in it. One that could only really be filled with VR. He had a sneaking suspicion that they were allowed that kind of thing there, and that most of the others had it. Glenda was just trying to break his addictions for him.
Which, given their long term goal, taking down the oppressive government, made sense. The less he carried with him that way, the less often it would get in his way, or slow down his training, when that actually started.
"I think we need to meet up with Eugene?"
Lissa smiled at that and moved to take Ben's hand again. Like she owned him. It really was a bit possessive. Given that she wasn't going to be interested in him for anything else, it had to be all about some primitive instinct telling her to keep him safe from the others. So they couldn't run off with him, leaving her without his skills. The idea was funny, but it was hard to limp along and hold her hand. Mainly because her time of being bed ridden had faded a lot faster for her, or was going away, much faster than his little hardships were for him.
Clark was off to the side, but looked back and then smiled at him. It was friendly enough and not judging the hand in his, Ben didn't think.
More considering than anything else.
"It's just a bar that falls when the door is closed. I need to be away from it, but I can pull it up telekinetically, and push the door open. It falls when I get to close... They explained that? You were given all the TK alterations that you didn't already have?"
Ben thought that was right, but had no clue what the tall, muscular, guy was going on about.
"Nope? They really haven't told me much of anything. Not about that. I tried moving a tray in the dining hall, but that did nothing at all. I figured that it just hadn't kicked in yet?"
The expression on the others man's face was hard for a bit, but then he nodded.
"That one messed up people for centuries. Telekinesis doesn't really work that well close up. It's a system for moving things where you aren't. There are a couple different types of it, but like me, you're supposed to have all of them. So, you can do things like influence the fall of dice and things like that, as well as lift and move decently large things. Again, all of it works best if you're away from what you're doing. That takes remote cognition, to know about it, but they wouldn't give you one without the other. That would be about useless. You probably have some of it going on already, being that you did before too, even if you didn't know about it. We can set up a test later? It really can be useful, once you learn the rules for how to use it."
Ben thought about it for a bit, and then sighed. That was fake, but he managed a weak smile, which he figured would sell the joke pretty well.
"So, no flying?"
That got a laugh, and a nod from the six-six giant.
"Right. Now, if we worked it right, you might be able to help someone else fly, at a distance. There's really an optimum range for it. You can't work that way more than about twenty kilometers away from your body. Influencing things, the die rolling stuff? Now that doesn't seem
to have a range, which makes it useful in a way as well. It also isn't that strong of an effect. Not even with the whole package working. Though, with an hour's worth of focus you can say, break a computer system pretty well that way. At least a small one. Just though you don't think that you're the new god of the psychics that way. I think the idea with making us this way is just to give us an extra edge." For what, he didn't say.
Lissa knew where they needed to go, and when they got to the correct building, which had some nice bushes around the front of it for decoration, he got a small shock.
Eugene was just Gene. The one that had been helping take care of Lissa. Apparently that being done, he'd moved into a new job almost instantly. It made Ben feel more than a little lazy, to be honest, given his own job. Holding hands and learning basic skills still. Sure, he did a great job holding hands, and it was useful, but that wasn't real work or anything. Just something that happened without his input or direction.
The man they were there to meet smiled at them, and nodded.
"Great! You all made it. I have some ideas worked up, but after we practice, we might have to separate you in order to test things. You can do your thing out to about two hundred feet, Ben?"
"A bit less than that. Think a hundred and it's closer."
That info just got the man to smile a bit. He glanced at Lissa, but there was no more emotion to it than there was with anyone else. If anything he was paying most of his attention in a split fashion, between Ben, Clark and Mags. Micha and Lissa weren't ignored, but his looks at them were merely polite. When he looked at Clark there was a sense of challenge coming from the man. With Mags it was wariness, and with Ben... Well, as far as he could tell, that was about academic interest. It was hard to tell, since Ben was only using face reading for it and a bit of body language. The skill was much more refined now than it had been before, but that didn't make it the same as mind reading.