BOOK 3: DISCLOSURE / CH. 8:TONY'S REPORT: THE DANGEROUS GIFT
FRIDAY, 7 PM
A lot of speculation has been going on following the revelations from the Institute for the Human Mind. There are some things that Bob McDaniel has not told us yet, some things he cannot, of course, given the reporting restrictions that surround the Institute. And maybe some things that he doesn't know. Of course the long term access that he has been given brings with it the problem that he knows too much, and some of what has become so common place to him is not known to us.
I have been able to secure an exclusive interview with someone who, while not a permanent member of staff at the Institute, is called in to offer advice from time to time, and I asked her about how she had learned of these strange, previously undocumented abilities. When she first heard of them, the Institute's ethical commitment, which could become the basis for a new law, was in an early first draft. There had been no contact with the other gifted around the world, and they had not yet discovered the dangers of using their gift. But those dangers exist and those dangers are real and deadly. There has been some uninformed discussion that the gifted should serve as infallible lie detectors, some even suggesting they be forcibly drafted into public service to the courts. That would be a violation of their rights of course, and also it will not work.
In some ways it is true that they have that ability. They apparently have no problem seeing past even well rehearsed lies which would fool a lie detector. My informant was part of an experiment in this regard. She told an extended lie about her background which she'd told several times before, including to a lie detector, which I might add failed to spot the untruths. The gifted person watched her mind as she told it, saw right through the tissue of lies, saw also where and when and why she'd come up with it.
But it was very hard work, and after fifteen seconds they had to stop from mental exhaustion. About five minutes later this person collapsed.
They didn't collapse from exhaustion, or any previous medical problems. They collapsed because while this gift gives supernatural access to vast quantities of information, it doesn't change the laws of thermodynamics. The gift enables the person to see amazing details, to take in vast amounts of knowledge. But that takes work. About as much work as sprinting up a hill in a panic. And your brain isn't designed to use that much energy.
We've all seen cartoons where smoke comes from someone's ears when they think too hard. That's not true. What is true is that if you're firing your neurons fast enough to use the gift, then your brain is getting warmer than normal. And if you use it too long, it gets dangerously hot. And if you heat it too much then the brain starts to get inflamed. And any medic will tell you that if you start to get inflammation of the brain tissue then you're in trouble, big trouble, because the brain can't grow, it's packed inside your skull. This experiment didn't end in the death of that gifted individual, but it could have if there hadn't been the medical facilities that there are at the Institute.
This is a gift that can kill the user, and that makes sense. The human body uses about seventy-five Watts at rest, and the brain uses about twenty of those. Working at their limit, a sportsman can use something like ten times that, but their brain still uses its twenty or so. If you're doing a lot of brain work then maybe your brain uses more than twenty watts, but it doesn't use hundreds of watts in a sustained manner. This gift somehow pushes their brain into overdrive and it does use hundreds of Watts. It needs to when they're looking so deeply at someone's thoughts, so they can interpret what's happening. But that much brain work means heat, and heating braincells until they're almost cooked isn't a very a good thing if you want to keep on using your brain.
So, can someone with this gift tell if someone is lying? Yes, at a point in time. But could they do that, explore that deeply in someone's mind, for hours on end? Absolutely not. Bob has said that they will not abuse this gift. It's not just that they have high ethical standards and value the free will that the Judeo-Christian belief system tells us we have, but it's also that they can't use it in the way that some people are suggesting.
As I wrote earlier, at the time of my informant's meeting them, there had been no contact with others with this gift. I cannot go into details about the context, because it is sub judice, but the other surprising revelation happened at a time when many people were in need of rescue. An individual had given orders, instructions that — had they been carried out — would have caused much suffering and death. Internal Security had become aware of part of those plans which happened to relate to my informant. They suggested she get to a place of safety, and let's face it, there are few places she could go that are safer than the Institute. So she was there and witnessed what happened at the Institute on that day.
She tells me that someone on the other side of the world woke up with a strong urge to tell them of an aspect of this gift that was unknown to them. This is an aspect that is only ever used with great care and trepidation. I've told you of the risks to them of staring too long at the mind of a person. In this part of the gift they look at something else, and the risks are higher, the information greater. They looked at what my informant described as an annotated sketch-map of the person's sins, and looking at that heated their brain five or ten times faster than looking at a human mind.
Further, they were warned it might bring other risks too. As they looked at the workings of evil, there existed the possibility of evil looking back. Of course I cannot confirm if this is true, but they took the warning seriously, and if we give any credence to the source of their gift, then we should accept that they are probably more likely to recognise spiritual realities than most of us, I think. Through this use of the gift, the horrific plan did not come to fruition. Deaths and suffering were avoided. But the risks of using the gift are high too. A mistake, accidentally looking too long, could cause their death. They have a powerful gift, which obviously needs to be used with care to avoid the destruction of civil liberties that have been assumed for generations, but their use of it is not for personal glory or gain, nor is it without risk. Let us give them respect, privacy and breathing space, for we will probably need them again in the future.
----------------------------------------
“What do you think, Teresa?” They were looking at the screen in his office.
“You've left out quite a lot. I think you're selling yourself short. There's none of your research in there. They'll be looking for that and it looks like all you've done is listen to me well.”
“About the the Institute's founding documents, and your quote about the director?”
“Yes, I know it's something that they'd prefer didn't come out, but someone is going to read them and put two and two together. It might as well be you. Also, at least one set of bad guys knows of the link.”
“You didn't say that. I know, I know. I didn't ask.”
“Actually, if you'd asked I'd have probably said it was an official secret.”
“Then what are you doing telling me now?”
“I made some enquiries.” She handed him a data-crystal.
“What's on here?”
“Go on, read it. There's just the one file on there.”
“It's a letter? Dear Teresa, thank you for the statement. It is not the editor's first offence but he's been doing pretty well since he was last warned. It is not that uncommon for editors to do things that put reporters on the wrong side of the law in the interests of publication. We will of course be checking his movements and contacts carefully given the situation. Your friend reacted entirely correctly. As you asked, we've checked up on him and have no concerns about you discussing those topics with him. In matters you consider relevant and appropriate, you may consider him to have your clearance level. Officially his level is three beta. You decide what he should know of what you know. Make him aware that if he shares what you've told him with anyone not at the Institute, the relevant penalties apply. Bob is cleared to three alpha, if they do end up working together, so he can talk freely to him.
You may show him this letter. Hope to see you sometime soon, maybe I'll meet him in December? M.”
“Who's M.? Dare I ask?”
“She made a call and I was picked up by two agents from Security. I'd said that a lift would be great if they didn't mind, she laughed and said, ‘they can mind if they want to but it's not going to do them much good.”
“Ah. She speaks and people jump?”
Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
“Yes. I don't know how high she is, it's probably best not to ask.”
“But as long as I don't pass things on, you can tell me pretty much what you decide to?”
“She says so.”
“And by the sound of it, Bob could too?”
“Yes, it looks that way.”
“So I guess beta means I can hear second hand from an alpha. Do you know what the number means?”
“I'm not sure, I guess it's level of details, that sort of thing. She did give an example of what it would mean if someone were cleared to level 5 gamma... they'd be allowed to know that her daughter's parents are government employees, I guess assuming they knew her daughter. When her daughter first came she wasn't sure what clearance or none the people there had, and she apparently said, ‘my parents work abroad,’ which is true, but not exactly the whole truth.”
“She's got a daughter at the Institute?”
“Yes. It's technically just a summer job, but she really seems part of the family.”
“Family?”
“The Institute's staff consider themselves to be sort of a family. I'm on the edges, but there's certainly the unquestioning care for each other there.”
“Nice working environment. But you think I should put that bit in about them having a gifted worker?”
“Yes I do. So does she actually. Urm, I hope you don't mind, I told her about your declaration of intent last night.”
“I meant it.”
“So, assuming we keep on getting on well, you're almost family too.”
“And I get to be let in on some of the family secrets? Like who has the gift?”
“Yes. Just don't ask her for an interview, she's allergic to that question.”
“Allergic? Like Sarah Smith?”
“Yes.” Teresa smiled broadly, and Tony began to wonder.
“Teresa, how many people do you know who are allergic to interviews?”
“Just the one, Tony. Just the one.”
“Sarah Smith has the gift?”
“Yes. Though she's not Smith any more of course. You may know, but you may not pass it on.”
“And she gave me a good reference, and that ended up with us here?”
“Yes.”
“Please pass on my thanks to her.”
“I will. So, business! What are you going to put in about the Institute employing Sarah, and where does it go?”
“I think it goes near the top. As to what it should say, I wrote it and then took it out. I'll just recover that version... Here it is:
'The institute's founding document makes fascinating reading. The first and foremost goal of the Institute is to find and document abilities like thought-hearing and the gift. The founding document also lays down that a person with an undocumented ability should be employed by the Institute in some normal job, whatever they feel they can do, with plenty of time given to them to explore their gift. In fact, if any director should fail to persuade them to join the Institute, then the founding document says they've failed in their job and should go get a new one. I have it on good authority that if the director decided to claim unfair dismissal, it would be a difficult case to fight, on both sides. Such a case would have attracted press attention, but there's been none.
So anyone can conclude that either a) the director didn't like their job and went without a fuss, b) the thought-hearer was already on staff, or c)
following the discovery of the Institute's first confirmed case of a thought-hearer, the director succeeded in employing them. My enquiries show that there's been no change of director at the Institute. Perhaps the case would be the same for the gift, if it's not in the same person. I say perhaps, because it would be harder still to pursue the case for unfair dismissal, since the gift — while being a mental ability in some respects — also seems to have elements that cannot be explained by science.' ”
“Not bad, but rather than ‘I have it on good authority,’ why not, ‘a legal expert tells me'?”
“Thank you, change made.”
“I think you should link it to when my demonstration was too.”
“I thought you weren't going to give things away?”
“You might notice that I've had you security checked and been telling my friends about you.”
“Yes. But I'm ignorant. What does that mean about our relationship?”
“That we're officially exploring what we feel about each other and seriously thinking about the future. The way relationships have been going at the Institute recently, we wouldn't surprise people there if we announced our wedding date by the end of the week. Not that we will, I expect.”
“Really?”
“Well, there have been a few romances. One of them is going at normal pace, but otherwise we've got two marriages and one engagement. None were on the cards at the start of June. Of course... we don't have the advantages they do. Or the challenges.”
“Advantages?”
“Oh never mind, I was just thinking aloud. I expect we'll be going at much more the normal speed, Tony. For starters I want to know what your employment prospects are.”
“Oh? You're not planning to keep a roof over my head then? You must earn far more than I do.”
“It's hard to work much if you're looking after babies, Tony. And assuming we marry, then I want some, and I'm not planning to bring children into the world and leave them with some stranger. Just so you know. So, get a good job, please.”
“Gulp. I'd not thought that far ahead. You'd not like to keep on working and then I look after the children?”
“It's a possibility. We'll need to talk about it.”
“Can I put the timing in too?”
“Timing?”
“About it being so early in the discovery process.”
“I thought you had?”
“Sorry, I mean this being two days after they'd discovered the thought-reader.”
“Oh, I said that, didn't I? Yes, I guess so.”
“So, first paragraph unchanged, next paragraph as reinstated and modified, The the third paragraph would be: 'I have been able to secure an exclusive interview with someone who, while not a permanent member of staff at the Institute, is called in to offer advice from time to time. I, of course, asked her about how she had learned of these strange, previously undocumented abilities. Interestingly, she tells me that she was asked to help draft the ethics document. Her first meeting with a thought-hearer was with someone with the gift, and it was within a few days of the initial discovery of a thought-hearer at the Institute. So it seems reasonable to assume that the thought-reader employed by the Institute and the though-hearer with the gift are one and the same person. After all, the discovery is one that the Institute has been waiting for for two centuries, so it doesn't seem reasonable that two thought-hearers should turn up in such a short time.”
Teresa burst into whole-hearted laughter.
“What's wrong?”
“Sorry, nothing. I guess it's God's sense of humour.”
“You did say that there was a man as well. They came together?”
“No. No, but you know Sarah's married. Guess.”
“She found a gifted man and brought him along too?”
“Yes, that would seem reasonable, wouldn't it? Very logical. Try again.”
“She'd already been in love with someone and he persuaded her to try out for the Institute job on the basis of her ability to hear thoughts. And somehow they both got the gift?”
“Closer. She came to the Institute, I think it was the previous Friday, totally oblivious of her ability because it had been electronically numbed when she was young. She and the man who should have been her counsellor started acting like they were in love from the moment they met, if not before, and as their love grew her thought-hearing power grew too. Then she prayed and they both ended up with the gift.”
“So the Institute has two staff members with the gift now?”
“Tony, don't tell anyone, it's an official secret, but there are currently five gifted people at the Institute full time and one person who's going to be visiting regularly.”
“Five permanent staff?”
“No, three permanent staff, one student just finishing her summer job, and her fiancé who's been placed there by witness protection.”
“The student is M.'s daughter?”
“Indeed.”
“No wonder Security are twitchy! But you're telling me too much, surely.”
“You've got clearance, and I trust you.”
“You do, don't you. I'm flattered, but is that wise?”
“I wondered about that, and asked Sarah to have a look in my skull.”
“And she did? What did she see?”
“That someone has been interfering again, and our guess is that it's not the enemy.”
“You're serious? You're saying that you think God has altered your thoughts?”
“In the middle of my thoughts about you there's this thought that you are trustworthy. It's there along with the hopes and fears and memories of how you reacted to me yesterday, your surprise and generous absolution of my sordid history, my uncertainties about whether you're really going to stay serious about me and whether I'm really serious about you, and whether we'll get along long term. But it doesn't stem from any of them. It affects them of course, but in itself, it's not grown from anything else. It just happens to exist there. It's not intuition, that's different. This is just there, ex-nihilo.”
“And that formed part of your decision making to ask for me to be cleared?”
“Yes. And part of the application too.”
“Really? There's space for that sort of thing on the form?”
“Please list any additional evidence in support of the subject's trustworthiness.”
“And you put ‘God says he's trustworthy?’” Tony asked incredulously.
“Not quite. Sarah appended a statement saying, ‘I scanned applicant's thoughts and found a supernaturally supplied thought that the subject is trustworthy. John checked Tony's sin and found him white as snow. We thus conclude that the interference is not demonic.’”
“What! He took that risk? Why?”
“It's a love thing, Tony. They care for me, Sarah led me to Christ and has seen the mental wounds I've got, and doesn’t want me hurt. They've seen ideas planted like that from the evil one as well as from God. You know, you might have been a good actor. I hope you don't mind them checking up on you like that.”
“No, not at all. But urm, where does that leave us?”
“It leaves me not feeling too nervous about taking a risk and doing this,” and she reached across and took his hands and put them either side of her face. Her skin was warm and soft under his fingers and felt wonderful. “I think I want to be kissed, Tony. Is that acceptable to you?”
“I wouldn't want to hurt you by refusing,” he said, looking in fascination at the face of the woman he loved.
“Good.”
After a while he added, “Your eyes are beautiful too.”
“I'm glad you think so. Do I get my kiss sometime soon?” Her eyes seemed to be dancing in good humour.
“I've told you that I've never had a girlfriend before?” He asked.
“Yes, Tony. Are you nervous?”
“No, just... I wanted to savour the feeling of your skin under my fingers and the look of your eyes and everything else. I love you, Teresa.” And he kissed her.
It wasn't the most professional kiss that Teresa had ever received. He didn't quite know what to do with his nose, but she was glad of that. It spoke of his innocence and that was a virtue she cherished now. His kiss was wholehearted, tender and chaste. She buried her head in his shoulder and held him. It was nice to be loved. Did she really love him? She wasn't sure, but she trusted him, which was a better foundation, she felt.