Prisoner of the Mind (Project Archon Book 1)

by Kal Spriggs

  ***

  Chapter 6

  From what I learned, the testing process was quite rigorous. They wanted young, capable men and women of high intelligence and education. They precisely targeted psychics who had remained concealed in the greater population. That gave them both a starting point, but also a way to disassociate themselves if things went wrong… who would believe that ESPSec recruited psychics in order to make them stronger?

  --Memoirs of Shaden Mira

  My greatest hurdle has always been my supposed superiors. The Bureau of ESP Security and their constant turf and budget battles with the Bureau of Interior Security. You would think that with one organization designed to ferret out psychics and the other designed to ferret out treason and corruption, they would have little overlap. But these things are never about stated goals, they are always about power.

  --Dr. Jonathan Halving, Project Archon Notes.

  “What the hell was that?” Jonathan Halving demanded as soon as he had Cyrus and Janecek back to his office. The whole thing had him on edge, everything from the female’s rampage to the boy resisting his mental commands. The fact that Angel would be out for a day of recovery didn’t make him feel any better.

  Janecek grunted. His face pulled into a grimace of pain and e shot a nasty glare at Cyrus before he spoke, “I went through the standard training with the girl, same as I did with the boy yesterday. Wasn’t getting anywhere, so I gave her a little mental nudge.”

  “You used telepathy?” Cyrus asked, “I know you’re clumsy, but I wouldn’t expect that much of your personality to bleed through.” Halving hid a grin at Cyrus’s open disdain for Janecek. Not that it was entirely fair, Janecek did have some fine control, he just tended to push beyond his capabilities.

  Janecek sneered, “Old man, one day, Jonathan won’t need your smart mouth any more…”

  I can’t have that, Halving thought. “I don't need your clumsy stupidity right now, Mark.” Halving’s icy voice leeched the anger out of Janecek's face. “You’d better do something to make me realize you’re worth the time, effort, and money that you cost me.”

  The blonde man’s face went pale and all traces of his normal sneer vanished.

  “Sir, I just nudged her a little. Her mind reacted. She’s got Psi Gamma abilities. I wasn't expecting that, I had no preparations or defenses. She’s powerful too. She saw my thoughts and my memories of the last time she manifested her abilities, which led her to what we did to her.”

  “Telepathy.” Halving frowned. “That should be impossible.”

  Cyrus spoke, “I always said that Psi Gamma and Psi Beta abilities are linked…”

  “Yes, Cyrus, thank you for the I-told-you-so,” Halving frowned. He stared at Janecek for a long, brooding moment. He almost probed the man’s mind for confirmation. He knew he didn’t need to though. Janecek would never dare to lie to him, not with his life on the line.

  They hadn’t prompted the woman’s synapses to develop telepathy. For that matter, her body shouldn’t have the trace proteins for the process, despite Cyrus’s assumption that Psi Gamma and Beta were interlinked. I still think Psi Beta is more a manifestation of a combination of Psi Gamma and Psi Kappa, but either way, it doesn’t explain telepathy.

  Unless, of course, his handler had neglected to inform him of something.

  “I’ve got a job for you, Mark,” Jonathan Halving said, “a way for you to avoid making this into a problem which would require a scapegoat.”

  ***

  “Would you like to explain this, Colonel?” Halving asked. He had wanted to ambush her in her office, but with her security and general paranoia, he felt the hallway outside would make a less threatening environment.

  He watched her hand drop to her holstered pistol as he surprised her. Probably better that he had done it in a public location, he decided. Her reflexes were fast enough that if she had drawn her pistol, he would have had to take direct methods to stop her.

  “Explain what?” Colonel Givens asked.

  Halving extended a fat folder towards her. “This is a partial file on the surviving female test subject. It is certified by the ESPSec psychic who prepped her for my lab. She showed signs of Psi Gamma, specifically level four telepathy before she entered the program.” As always, Mark Janecek had delivered, though Halving wished he could have put his hands on the full file. That one, it seemed, was restricted to a paper copy in Beijing.

  Colonel Given’s eyes went wide, “That file is restricted—”

  “She just attacked two of my trainers and then she and the male subject got in a little psychic duel,” Halving said, his voice harsh. “That you withheld this information suggests either your intention to cause the failure of this program or a gross disregard for basic security protocols.”

  Colonel Givens met his icy glare with her own brown eyes and didn’t so much as flinch. “ESPSec believed the benefits outweighed the risks in this case. If the psychic conditioning and mental programming held, it wouldn’t be an issue.”

  Halving grimaced, “Well then, I believe you and I need to speak with Doctor Sheng, because her mental programming did not hold. The female screamed ‘they raped us’ when she tried to pulverize two of my instructors.”

  “Was the female subject harmed?” Colonel Givens asked.

  Jonathan cocked his head slightly. He felt his internal radar begin to give him alarms at the woman’s obvious interest in the female subject. Combined with the concealment of the female subject’s telepathic abilities, it suggested something very sinister. “I put her into an induced coma. She’s come to no permanent harm.”

  “Good. From now on, see if it is possible to restrict her use of telepathy to prevent a further episode.” Colonel Givens’ voice had become brusque. It was as if she had dismissed all of his arguments and accusations as unimportant. “Do you think that is possible?”

  Halving ground his teeth, “Possible... but dangerous. It’s likely that such programming can encounter… issues. If she realizes the block is there, she’ll discover she’s been tampered with. That will cause much the same result as her finding it in someone else’s mind.”

  “What about the male?” Colonel Givens asked. “You said they dueled. Did he manifest his abilities successfully?”

  Halving grimaced at the change of subject. This discussion had gone awry, and with no further leverage, he had no choice but to let the matter drop. “Yes. Honestly, the timing is extremely frustrating. Under any other circumstances I’d have wiped the memory, except it’s the first time he’s manifested the powers consciously.”

  “Yes, such progress would be a painful loss,” Colonel Givens said. “I take it you’ve taken some steps to minimize any chances he’ll fight his programming?”

  “Of course,” Halving answered. “Though, again, the more we tamper with their conscious minds the more likely one of them will realize we have.”

  She shrugged, “We have time and I’ll secure more funding. Your results thus far are more than I’d expected.” She nodded sharply, “Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to make a call regarding Doctor Sheng’s… mistaken diagnosis.”

  Jonathan Halving matched the Colonel’s smile. In that, at least, they agreed.

  ***

  “Chairman Hoi, thank you for meeting with me,” Colonel Givens said.

  The Chairman stared across his desk at her and withheld his grimace at her presumption to speak first and her terse greeting. As an Amalgamated Worlds Command Council Member, he afforded more respect than that. Generally, he would expect a standard period of pleasantries, dealt with through one of his many aides, until he finally allowed the conversation to come to business.

  Without that time, he felt on edge and ill at ease. He understood the importance of secrecy. It was, after all, why he didn't allow any of his aides at this meeting, but he didn't have to like the necessity. “Has Doctor Halving’s research begun to yield results?” Chairman Hoi asked. If she must get right down to business, he thought, be
st to get it over with.

  “Yes, Chairman. It appears that he’s found a viable process of creating loyal psychic weapons,” Colonel Givens said. “However, neither of the two surviving test subjects are fully operational yet.”

  “Then the research is not complete. Why have you wasted my time?” Chairman Hoi frowned. Such information could travel the normal means of communication. The Colonel could report to her superiors, who could in turn report higher. He hated how the westerners often skipped the proper bureaucratic channels for such discourse. If they weren't so effective at the tasks we give them, he thought, I would dispense with their services entirely.

  “I wanted to speak to you regarding Operation Trojan, Chairman.”

  Hoi’s back straightened and his eyes narrowed. “Is the room fully secure?”

  “I swept it before your arrival, Chairman. I also have a pair of ESPSec telepaths blocking both our minds from outside observation and two more watching their minds for any signs of treachery.” Colonel Givens folded her hands behind her back. “One of Halving’s men might have accidentally and prematurely triggered elements of Operation Trojan. It appears that he is as yet unaware of the underlying program, but this is clearly a failure on Doctor Sheng’s part to—”

  “Doctor Sheng assured me that Halving’s people would not be able to detect or trigger his programming,” Chairman Hoi said. Sheng was his brother’s nephew. While Hoi did not understand the finer details of what Sheng had explained to him, he did know that the man showed surprising expertise for someone so well-connected. That in itself told him that Sheng would not make a mistake. If Sheng had wanted, he could have had a cushy administrative job rather than dealing with criminals and westerners. Not that the two are much dissimilar, Chairman Hoi thought. He fought back a sneer at the Colonel’s obvious attempt to discredit the psychotherapist.

  He felt a bit of sadness that while a series of weak and corrupt western politicians had broken their people of political power, they had not crushed their individual arrogance. They still somehow believed themselves equal in standing to all others, despite his people’s domination of Amalgamated Worlds. Unfortunately, their individual drive and dedication often made them necessary in the military and in security forces. Their politicians and businessmen also managed to rise as far as the Amalgamated Worlds bureaucracy would allow such inferiors to travel. Though I’d rather do without them, he thought, they refuse to accede when even when shown they cannot be correct.

  The female Colonel seemed to want to make that point clear to him, “Chairman, this is a clear mistake by Doctor Sheng. I ask at the least that he be sent to analyze the female and discover if any damage has occurred—”

  “Colonel, that is unnecessary.” Chairman Hoi said. He looked over at the clock. “Thank you for bringing this to my attention. Unless there is an actual issue with Operation Trojan, all further reports should be sent through your proper chain of command.”

  The blonde woman straightened slightly, and Hoi felt amusement at the anger in her face. It was good to remind ones inferiors of their standing. It kept them humble.

  He waved, “You are dismissed.”

  ***

  Chapter 7

  At the root of our differences, it comes back to a divergence in philosophy. Now that I've had time to read up on people like John Stuart Mill and John Locke, I finally understand. Some people will always see utilitarianism –that the end justifies the means-- as a method to justify any action. In their minds, the well-being of the group trumps anything else. This communal approach denies individual rights and responsibilities... which in the end, strips away the protection of everyone. In essence, they rely on herd survival. They empower the lions to rule over them while saying that the lions will only take one or two of us as prey. They don't see their inherent hypocrisy until they are the ones that the lions take.

  --Memoirs of Shaden Mira

  The greatest irony of my research is what I have revealed as far as the psychic potential hidden in our very chromosomes. The proteins that I must synthesize within my lab are not only easily produced by the human body, their production is directly tied into our very DNA. The Bureau of ESP Security has known this for decades, even as they continue to stir up anti-psychic propaganda, knowing all the while that the genetics for psychic potential lie within almost every human. In fact, some ninety-eight percent of humans contain the necessary genetic markers that indicate the potential for one or more psychic abilities, and nearly seventy percent of all humans have the complete genetic sequences necessary to manifest actual abilities. All they lack, of course, is exposure to the necessary environmental catalysts to trigger it. The ironic part, of course, is that what humanity so hates and reviles is actually the very potential within themselves...

  --Dr. Jonathan Halving, Project Archon Notes.

  “I don’t understand,” Shaden said. He stared down at the pile of rocks that remained stubbornly immobile. “I want to move them, I know how to move them. I’ve done it before… why can’t I do it now?”

  Jancek grimaced, “It’s got to be something you messed up. Focus, clear all the crap out of your head and concentrate.”

  Shaden bit back a retort and stared down at the rocks again. He could feel Jonathan Halving behind him. The doctor’s eyes bored into the back of his head. Shaden closed his eyes, he sought out an inner stillness, and just as his mind seemed to clear, a shout and a large crash came from behind him.

  Shaden bounded to his feet and spun. He saw a man fly out a ground floor window, and heard a chorus of shouts and thumps from within the building.

  “Stay with him, keep working!” Halving snapped, and ran towards the sounds of fighting.

  “Hey, Shaden, back to work,” Mark Janecek said. He sounded bored.

  “What’s going on?” Shaden asked. “Is that the other student, the woman?”

  “What, Kandergain?” Janecek asked.

  “That’s her name?” Shaden turned quickly, and he noticed that Jancek’s normally smug smile had vanished.

  “Ah, something like that,” Janecek said. His eyes narrowed, “Don’t worry about her, she’s not right in the head.” He pulled out his can of dip and pinched out a wad of tobacco. “Work on the rocks for now.”

  “Why’s she—”

  “Just work on the fucking rocks okay?” Janecek shouted. Shaden froze in surprise. The other man’s face flushed with anger. The muscles on Janecek’s jaw stood out as he gritted his teeth.

  “Okay,” Shaden said and raised his hands to calm his teacher. “I’ll work on the rocks.” He had no idea what he did to set Janecek off, but he knew better than to ask further questions. What have I become involved with, he wondered. The recent behavior of his instructors and of Doctor Halving left him confused. They spoke of their service to Amalgamated worlds, yet their actions, their behavior, suggested otherwise.

  Shaden focused on the rocks in front of him. He tried to close out the distant shouts, but he could see a pair of men run towards the chow hall, their weapons drawn.

  They wore military uniforms, and he recognized them as Special Forces troops. He could not imagine why they had such elite soldiers to guard the facility. None of Halving's people wore uniforms, he had noticed, which seemed strange. The ESPSec agents and the soldiers seemed to keep their distance, too, almost as if they didn’t want direct involvement. He saw them sometimes at meals, seated by themselves. They never even looked at Shaden or acknowledge his existence.

  What are they afraid of, he thought, not me, not even Kandergain, it’s almost as if they dislike something about us, something more than our psychic nature.

  Shaden didn't know why, and that bothered him more than anything else.

  ***

  “I understand the female got out of hand again?” Colonel Givens asked as Halving stepped out of the restraint room.

  He gave her a sharp nod. His eyes went to the one way window, behind which lay the comatose female test subject. “Yes. Two of my men were serious
ly injured, four more will need at least a week of light duties.”

  “I thought you said you could contain her?” The ESPSec Colonel said.

  “I can, but as you can see, I’ve got two subjects, and both of them take up inordinate amounts of my time,” Halving snapped. He saw the Colonel’s hand drop to her pistol and he fought back a surge of rage.

  If the idiot woman thought her rank and weapon would protect her from his abilities then she had greatly underestimated him. She'd developed a mental shield through training, but while that might protect her mind from his telepathic talents, but he could crush her into a red paste or stop her heart with just a thought.

  Her superior look and arrogance tempted him far too much.

  Halving pushed the homicidal thoughts away and rolled his head around. His neck popped and cracked. It didn’t kill the anger, but it gave him a moment to get it under control again.

  “The problem, Colonel, is that I think we’ve gone as far as we can with two subjects,” Halving said, when he finally felt calm enough to speak.

  “Two weren’t an issue before. Nor were the seven we started the final phase with,” Colonel Givens said with narrowed eyes.

  “No, not then. The problem is, that both our subjects have developed two very different, and very delicate issues,” Halving said. “The female has developed telepathic, and now empathic abilities. While a delicate hand can still mentally condition her… it takes someone familiar with the project and with excellent control.”

  “You’re saying it has to be you,” Colonel Givens said.

  “Yes, either me, or maybe Doctor Sheng, if you or I trusted his work,” Jonathan said. He'd aimed the dig perfectly and he saw her snarl in frustration.