“Umm…well yeah,” Jay responded. He figured Duke had probably read his mind, as this was exactly what he was about to say.
“You first years always think so loud at the beginning,” Duke said with a laugh. “I put your things at the foot of your bed. You should probably use this opportunity to take a shower as soon as we’re done here. It’s 6am now and classes start at 8. That means all the other students will have the bright idea of getting up between 7 and 7:30 and trying to take a shower all at the same time. You're off to a good start kid.”
Jay decided Duke was a good enough person, and started to ease up. He also decided it would be best to let Duke do all the talking.
“Good choice, I’ll talk and you listen. I like your thinking kid. Alright, here’s your class schedule, and a map of the school. And here’s your schedule for the first week, since it will be a little different than normal. The dining hall is open 24 hours a day. Not really something we Prometheus take advantage of often, but those Hermes and Titans sure can eat. If you get lost around the school, just ask a fellow Prometheus how to get where you need to go. Don’t be loud at night, don’t eat in your bed, don’t bother the older students unless you have to, and don’t read minds outside of class, and only when instructed to in class.”
“Don’t read minds?” Jay was surprised by this rule.
“Yes, don’t read minds. I realize you’re new and can’t control it most of the time, but really try not to. It’s offensive to those who you read, and it’s obvious when you do it. If they can read minds they’ll see you in there, and if they can’t, they could probably tell by the goofy look that will be on your face while you’re trying.”
But you were just reading my thoughts. Jay thought to himself.
“Yes, I was reading your thoughts. The rule is for you first years, not for me. And if I ever catch you trying to read my thoughts, which I will if you ever tried, you would severely regret it.” Duke’s demeanor was suddenly fierce and firm. Jay knew he meant what he said.
Duke brightened up again and continued, “other than that, just find me if you have any questions. I won’t be in here all day waiting for you to need me, but at night I will, so approach me then. Or wake up early, and we can have more delightful meetings like this one.”
Jay realized the conversation was over, so he thanked Duke and went to gather his things for a shower. Jay had not looked at his class schedule in the hopes of not seeming overly excited, but now that was away from Duke he pulled the sheet out. It listed the time, place, and instructor for just three classes; Introduction to Mind Reading, Introduction to Defensive Tactics, and Introduction to Physical Preparedness. They certainly want to give us an introduction, Jay thought to himself.
JAY TOOK AS quick of a shower as he could. He had planned to take a relaxed shower since he had gotten up so early, but he was uncomfortable with the fact that the shower room was just one big room with faucets around the outer walls. He had always been on the shy side, and he did not like the idea that if anyone else decided to take a shower now, there would not be any curtain or wall between them. Jay dried himself off and dressed in the bathroom outside the shower stall into the uniform that had been sitting on his bed. He had noticed most of the students wearing them around the day before, so he figured they must be the school uniforms.
Jay stepped out of the bathroom and put his things in the bag that hung at the foot of his bed. At least I don’t have to walk far to and from the bathroom, Jay thought to himself, reflecting on his bed location.
“Hey, looks like Decathlon is ready to start his day.”
Jay was surprised to hear someone speak so loudly when there were so many still asleep. He looked over towards the guy who was speaking, and noticed there were actually more than he thought that were already getting up, and that they were all looking over at him.
“Hi.” It was all Jay could think to say. Somehow this made the situation even funnier for them, and those who were still asleep woke up from the noise of the laughter. Luckily the event was not dragged on, as people started racing to get their things together in order to get a spot in the shower. Decathlon? Why did he call me that?
“Because of the dream you had last night.” It was the boy sitting in the bunk right under his bed. Jay had not noticed him there while he was standing by the bed getting his things ready. Jay was not sure if he should be upset that this kid was reading his mind without permission, but he quickly decided he did not care.
“What dream did I have last night? I don’t remember having one.”
“That’s always how it is. A reader can see the dream and remember it while they’re awake, but the dreamer is asleep, so the dream often never converts to their conscious memory. You really shouldn’t have gone to bed so early, being such a loud dreamer. Honestly, it’s probably the only thing most of us could see last night.”
Jay got a distressing thought of all these guys sitting in a circle around his bed, laughing at some bizarre dream that he had been having.
“What did I dream about?” Jay finally asked the boy, who did not seem in a rush to get ready.
“A decathlon,” He said simply. The boy must have noticed Jay wanted more information, so he continued. “You dreamt that you were at the school track, and were competing in a type of decathlon. You were running faster than all the Hermes, lifting heavier weights than the Titans, and outthinking all the Prometheus. One thing’s for sure, you don’t lack confidence.”
Jay was relieved to hear that his dream had been so tame, but he was also a little surprised at its content. For one thing, he had never been confident. Even now, he was petrified that the collage of read thoughts that were currently going wild through his head would come to a halt just before classes, and he would make a fool of himself. He also could not recall ever seeing the school track. He’s sure Lieutenant Johnson must have shown it to him during the tour, and he just does not remember due to his wondering thoughts, but he is still surprised that it would show up in his dream.
Jay decided it did not really matter, so he gathered his things to head to class. “Wait up Decathlon, I’ll walk down to class with you, we have the same schedule,” The boy said, still lying in bed. Jay wanted to ask him how he knew they had the same schedule, but figured it really did not matter. The boy swung his feet out of bed and threw his uniform pants and shirt on right over his pajamas. “Alright, I’m ready,” The boy said, grabbing the top sheet from his bed and throwing it over the rest. “They like when we make our beds.”
Jay smiled. This was not the type of person he expected to find at the Academy, but he was nevertheless happy to have made a friend. They turned to leave.
“So are we actually going to class Decathlon? You know it doesn't start for another hour right?”
Jay had been so preoccupied he had not noticed the time. He realized the boy was right. “How about we get some breakfast?” Jay suggested. He was not sure why, but he was starting to get surprisingly hungry.
“Sounds good to me. I’m Michael by the way. If you want you can call me Mike. Or Mickey, or M, or hey you, honestly I really don’t care what you call me. I figure I’ll get a nickname at some point, everybody does.”
Jay was surprised this boy, Michael, could be so relaxed while having such a firm understanding of what was going on. “My name is Jay, but you can call me Decathlon,” Jay said jokingly. He figured if that was the name they were going to give him, he might as well get used to it.
JAY WAS DISSAPOINTED when he walked back to the dormitories that afternoon after classes. All three classes consisted of the same thing; the professors introduced themselves, tried to intimidate the students into taking the class seriously, explained how things worked at the school and in the classes, tried once again to intimidate the students, and then were dismissed. Jay was looking forward to learning more about his ability, and how to use it properly. Jay liked the way the classes were set up though; they allowed for students to go at their own pace, and made sure th
e students learned the material before they could go on.
Each class was one hour and fifteen minutes long, and met Monday through Thursday. Fridays would be set aside as testing days to see who had successfully learned the previous week’s material. The tests were graded on pass or fail, but the professors would only pass students if they had the material down perfectly. If a test was not passed on one Friday, the student would have to retake the test on a later Friday until it was passed. The professor would continue teaching class at the normal time as if everyone had passed, then would hold an extra session in the evenings for each class, where students can come in and go over past material. Once a student passes every weekly test for a particular class, they can take the class’s final assessment, which consists of material from the entire semester. When a student successfully passes this final assessment, they can go on to the next class for that particular subject. There are two weeks between semesters where students can attempt final assessments. If they pass, they may begin the next level at the start to the following semester. If they do not pass, they repeat the same class they had previously taken.
Jay was glad to see there were not many second year students in his classes. He was excited to learn, but he was also still nervous that he would not be able to keep up. He decided he would attend the evening sessions even if he were passing the tests, just to make sure he knew what was going on.
The one thing Jay wanted to learn more than anything else was how to control his ability. He liked that he was a reader, but the constant flow of pictures going through his head would never stop anymore, and it was beginning to cause him headaches.
“How do you deal with the pictures?” He asked Michael while they got dinner that night.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, you appear to be so relaxed, how can you be relaxed with so many pictures going through your head all the time?”
Michael looked confused. “Have you tried just not looking at people?”
Not looking at people? Jay could not figure out what this had to do with mind reading. He looked down at his food, but the images did not change in the slightest. “I’m not looking at anyone right now, but it hasn’t changed.”
Michael stopped eating. “Describe the pictures. What does the one in your head look like right now?” Michael’s attention was caught, now that he realized there might be a difference between their abilities.
“There isn’t just one picture in my head, there’s a million. They keep racing around. It’s like a collage of small pictures, some moving, and some stationary. If I focus on someone, their pictures get bigger.” Jay gave his description as if this was common, but the confusion on Michael’s face said otherwise.
After a few moments of thought, Michael got an idea. “Read my thoughts, Decathlon. What am I thinking right now?”
Jay liked the idea of giving the pictures a purpose, so he looked at Michael to make the pictures larger.
“No, look down at your food and read my thoughts, you said the pictures were the same,” Michael told him, not believing Jay would be able to see the pictures like he said he could. Jay knew which pictures were Michael’s, since he knew which ones had gotten larger when he looked at Michael. Jay looked down at his food, and focused on those pictures. As he did, they began to get bigger. Once one of them was large enough, he began to describe it.
“Ok, the biggest picture is of a woman. She is blond, and a little shorter than you, I would say. She is playing tennis, and is pretty good, despite being past her prime. You are actually there playing with her, and you are having trouble returning her serves. She has blue eyes.” As Jay described the scene, he was able to see it clearer, and the other pictures around also got larger and clearer. “Another picture is of the same thing, except that there are descriptions around it as well. The woman is your mother, and you are thinking of how you were never able to return her serves when she got going. Another picture is just scattered words, expressing amazement of my ability, and a little confusion, and maybe some fear. Another picture is of you taking a test for class, and failing constantly. You can’t seem to pass it…”
“STOP!!” Michael yelled. Those around turned to see what was going on. After a moment of awkward silence, they realized there was nothing exciting going on, and returned to their meals.
“I’m sorry,” Michael said after a few moments, “you got a lot further than I was expecting. You are very talented, the rest of us need to concentrate to see even the first picture that clearly.”
“But I thought you said everyone was able to see my dream last night?”
“As I said, you were thinking loudly at the time. Also, most of the kids were watching you sleep in order to see your dreams. For most of us it isn’t a problem keeping the thoughts out of our heads, it’s a problem keeping them in.”
Jay was not sure what to say. If it’s not normal to be able to see the thoughts so readily, then why can I? Jay could not figure it out. He knew he had developed the ability late; much later than was normal, and possibly later than has ever happened before. Why should his ability be so powerful when those who have had it longer are still struggling?
Michael and Jay finished their meals in silence, each lost in their own thoughts.
“THERE HAS BEEN an incident in the dining hall, sir.”
“That’s not my concern; take it up with the disciplinary office.”
“It involves the boy you wanted watched, Captain.”
“Jay? What happened to him?”
“It wasn’t a matter of what happened to him as much as a matter of what he has done. A classmate asked him to read his mind, and Jay cracked him wide open.”
“Physically or mentally?”
“Mentally, sir. He apparently was able to see much further than the other boy expected, and kept going further until the other cried out for him to stop.”
“That’s not significant. We knew this boy was reading clearer than the rest, and if the other boy was letting him in, it would have been all the easier. Make note of the event, but it is not worth immediate attention. Is that all to report?”
“No sir. The boy, Jay, has also had a significant change of mannerisms. He is eating more than three times what we considered to be reasonable for him, and his movements are becoming quicker. He also has had no physical conditions since arriving here.”
“Correction, he has had no conditions since leaving home. There were no problems on the plane either.”
“Yes, sir. His movements are notably faster during Introduction to Defensive Tactics, or while in the common areas, and less notable during the other two classes, or while in the dormitory.”
“The connection is the Hermes.”
“Yes, sir, he seems to move quicker when around Hermes. We believe he is subconsciously emulating their movements.”
“Or consciously.”
“Sir? We would have seen if he were consciously making the effort.”
“You forget, he blocked his thoughts completely from two trained readers before any education at all. It’s possible you could have missed something in there. Don’t get over confident in your abilities, or under confident in his.”
“Sir, he has not made any attempts to block anything since arriving. On the contrary, he has been unusually open…”
“Dismissed, soldier.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Soldier. I wish to be made aware long before he starts getting dangerous. If his ability to read minds gets out of control, I want to be ready to handle it as necessary.”
“WHAT ARE THE three biggest limiting factors of a Hermes speed?”
“One, they think at the same speed as everyone else. Two, the environmental limitation on movement. Three…I can’t remember the third reason.”
“Come on Jay, this is the easy one. Three is gravity. No matter how fast they move, they still fall at the same speed as everyone and everything else.”
Jay and Michael had been studying for over three hours
for their third week’s Introduction to Defensive Tactics test the next morning. Despite Michael’s laid back nature, Jay had quickly learned that he was a very bright kid. Even now, their studying was being conducted for the sake of Jay. Jay has been doing extremely well on the applied parts of his classes, but the information side was more difficult than he had expected. Introduction to Defensive Tactics has been particularly difficult for him, as the first three weeks have all been memorization of facts and figures.
Jay blamed his difficulty with the memorization on his constant trouble with his mental images. He found that he needs to coordinate his sleep perfectly with everyone else in order to get any sleep at all. If the others are still awake, he is kept up by their thoughts cycling through his head. If they are asleep, their dreams are constantly moving in and out, and those are worse because of how variant and sudden their appearances are.
He has also been distracted by certain patterns he has been noticing in the collage of thought images. He noticed that there were a few images that were constantly there, lingering in the corners of his mind, showing small versions of the entire collage. At first he figured someone was reading his own mind, and seeing the collage. He thought very little of this at first, as he was constantly around mind readers. After three weeks, however, it has begun to bother him. If these images are due to someone reading his mind, then that person must be reading his mind constantly, as the images were always there. Jay had wondered if his own thoughts were being mixed in with the collage; that maybe he was simply reading his own mind along with everyone else’s. He was not quite sure that was it, however, because when he concentrated on himself, the pictures got no bigger. The meaning of these pictures was one of a million things Jay still wanted to learn.
“Ok, well I guess we can call it a day. You should be fine for the retake of your defensive tactics week two test, and worst case scenario we can always keep reviewing this material and you can take the week three test again next week. Things should be a little easier for you for a while, we’re going to begin applying what we’ve learned on Monday, and you seem to do better when you can get up and learn actively.”
The Games Heroes Play (The Academy Trilogy) Page 5