BOOK 1: SERENDIPITY / CH. 15:TERESA AND THE ETHICAL STATEMENT

WEDNESDAY, 21ST JUNE

The next day they talked to Kate about the idea of an ethics committee. She'd been thinking along similar lines, and called the Institute’s legal advisor. John called Arwood. Surprisingly, everyone was free that afternoon. They'd sent Teresa, the legal advisor, an early draft of the document that they thought they should send to clients, and managed to convince her it wasn't some kind of practical joke. When she arrived, she was wearing thin leather gloves, as was John. Sarah had found some elegant silk gloves in a fancy dress shop. John thought they went very well with her dress, but admitted he was just possibly biassed.

Teresa listened to their account of Monday's meeting and agreed to recite a poem to herself while touching fingers with Sarah. But for the second mode, she wasn't sure.

Sarah warned her, “We had someone volunteer on Monday who thought he would try to confuse us so we wouldn't find out something. But that meant he was worrying about the very thing. What he thought was camouflage was about as opaque as that window there, so it didn't work. Do please make sure that you only think about a memory you don't mind sharing, Teresa, we don't want to learn secrets or breach confidentiality. Perhaps a childhood memory, something nice and safe.”

Kate added, “And of course if there is some accidental leak, John is bound by his professional non-disclosure rules, and Sarah's signed them even though she's not a professional psych-counsellor. But if you don't want to risk it, there are a couple of us here who can give sworn statements if you like.”

“So you're saying that you could be reaching into my mind right now, rifling through my memories, and I wouldn't know?”

“Well, their eyes glaze over or they shut them when they're looking, and no, they can't read your memories unless you think of them. But they've asked us to formulate an ethical policy which includes a strong privacy element. They won't look unless you ask,” Kate said.

“Even so, I don't think I'm prepared to accept that level of intrusion.”

“But you do accept that it's possible? That we're not wasting your time?” John asked.

“Well, since I'm pretty sure that you're going to lose clients if you put out that document, so I'm convinced you're convinced or crazy. I don't think you look crazy.”

Kate asked, “So, do you think we should try and hide this from our clients? We felt disclosure was more appropriate.”

“No, hiding this would open you up to all kinds of entrapment or breach of faith lawsuits. As I see it, you need to do several things. First, disclosure, in a way that's less technical than what you sent me. Second, a cast-iron ethical code with stringent penalties for breaching it. That should reassure some clients. Thirdly, offer your clients several options regarding how to proceed. For the ones who aren't reassured, you could offer them, I don't know, a change of counsellor if they want one, perhaps even a separate facility where you guarantee that there are no mind-readers. And of course offer them a no-fault termination of contract.”

Kate winced. “That'll have the accountants screaming, but yes, some people will want out, and we don't want long expensive court cases.”

“You're going to lose them even if you don't let them go easily, and this way you'll be reassuring people about your integrity, I think,” Arwood commented.

“I wish we knew more about how it worked. If we could invent some kind of jammer, then it'd probably do a roaring trade,” John mused.

“If people trusted the testing of it. If the institute invented it then there'd be no independent test,” Teresa pointed out.

“True. But irrelevant to the real discussion we're supposed to be having,” Kate reminded them. “Ethics first, or disclosure statement?”

“I vote for ethics, if that's OK. I don't know if you need me for the disclosure bit,” said Arwood. Everyone agreed.

“So item 1, No disclosure of what you find out or No scan without consent?”

“I think no disclosure. There might be uses for scan without consent which don't need disclosure. I don't know what, but maybe locating missing people,”

John volunteered.

“Is that possible?” asked Kate.

“I don't know, but I wasn't in line of sight with Sarah the first time I read her thoughts,” John answered.

“Let's not think of everything that might be possible, guys, that way lies madness. How about stating principles you'll uphold rather than actions,” Arwood said.

“Sanctity of the freedom of thought?” suggested Sarah.

“Second only to sanctity of life?” asked Teresa.

“I'm not sure it is,” responded John. “Look how many wars have been fought for different freedoms. The freedom of thought is probably the most important freedom there is.”

“But if you knew someone had been about to launch that missile...” prompted Kate.

“So more like second only to the immediate prevention of heinous crimes. Would you agree?” suggested Teresa.

“I think I'm happy about that. But what about a self-defence clause?” asked John, thinking of when Sarah had escaped molestation through her gift.

“Hold on, guys,” Arwood interjected, “I don't know. Either people can plan crimes in freedom, or they can't. And while you can't allow yourselves to become thought police, neither do I think you would stand by and let someone commit a crime if you know they're about to commit it. John, Sarah, I don't think you'd be able to stand by and let someone get mugged or robbed, but those don't count as heinous crimes in most peoples' books. You can't stand by and bury your heads in some naïve idealistic document, your consciences won't let you. I think you need to temper that idealism with reality.”

John realised that Arwood was 100% correct. “You're right of course, Arwood. So, do we temper it by saying we will not deliberately seek to violate that principle, but that should we become aware of what, a strong intention to commit any crime? Then we will act as responsible citizens should.”

“Teresa, how would that sit with you?” asked Kate.

“It sounds good, you should probably put something in about becoming aware of past crimes too.”

“Should that be unpunished crimes?” Sarah asked.

“Probably, but you're hardly going to ask, now are you?” Teresa asked.

“Do we put in some sort of clause about the seriousness of the crime? I mean, at the moment you're probably reporting a ninety year old for walking out of a sweetshop without paying when he was 12.”

“That's where the responsible citizen bit comes in. Wasting police time isn't responsible.”

Line by line, clause by clause, they worked at the document that they hoped would keep Sarah and John on the right side of public opinion and the law. Then came questions of penalties and enforcement.

Kate summarised the problem. “Let's assume someone makes an accusation. Within the current context, I wonder what we can do. One option is to leave it to the normal courts, but this document has little legal standing at the moment. If there were a large thought-reader community all with the same gifts, it would, I presume be possible to establish guilt in a quasi-judicial system relatively easily. But the entire community we know of are engaged to be married and we're presumably not going to ask them to testify against each other. What do we do?”

Arwood took up the tale. “Firstly, let's assume we become aware of someone else using their abilities to defraud people. Then what? We denounce them to the police, who they maybe run rings around because they can see through the interviewing strategy?”

Teresa answered, “Nothing else we can do, unless you want mobs, vigilantes and lynching.”

Kate spoke, “But if this was written into law, then it'd have teeth. And then you two would be called on to be expert witnesses or something, and it would end up as their word against yours and a battle of wills. Can you imagine what it would be like to have Sarah as your enemy, John?”

“I know that you would probably prefer me not to say this Kate, and I don't know about your sensitivities Teresa, sorry if this causes offence. But Arwood, you've forgotten the source of this gift. Kate, Teresa, this second mode of the gift isn't something we were born with, it isn't something we developed from years of mental exercise. God gave it to us. I think we can safely assume that God isn't going to give it to crooks. We don't need to worry about what happens if we meet evil mind readers with this second mode. Or, if we do somehow meet them then I think the battle will not be fought out in court, but through prayer. I don't think we need to dream up horror scenarios. The Lord God Almighty is more than able to take this gift away from us or anyone else.”

“Hallelujah!” Arwood said.

“Amen!” Sarah agreed.

“I just pray you're right, John,” Kate said.

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Three faces turned towards her in shock.

“What? It's just an expression!” Kate protested. “I didn't mean anything by it. Actually, Sarah, I want to talk to you later.”

Surprised, Sarah said “Uh, OK, we can talk.”

Teresa had been convinced long ago not to mix work with personal stuff, so wasn't at all comfortable talking about faith with colleagues. But she was somewhat relieved to think that the scariest side of this might only be open to trustworthy people. She asked, “So, where does that leave the enforcement clauses?”

Arwood suggested, “How about them offering some sort of bond or security, I don't know, a reasonable chunk of their personal wealth, say ten percent, or a year's salary, to be forfeited if they are found to have breached the ethics code. Plus termination of employment from the Institute.”

“Yes,” said Sarah. “That'd make people think, I'm sure. But yes, if that's what it'll take. And I think the chunk should be scary, not just ten percent. Say half, plus the year's salary.”

“Ouch!” John commented.

“Maybe, but industrial espionage can pay very well,” Teresa pointed out.

“And if we add to the forfeiture any proceeds from the breach of the code?” suggested Kate.

“And how does it get enforced?” asked John.

“Through the courts,” Kate replied, “but how does guilt get established?”

“Well, if it's for financial reward, that could be shown,” Teresa said.

“But just because someone with a grudge puts money into your account, that doesn't prove they paid you to commit espionage. And I can imagine plenty of people deciding they wanted to get rid of mind-readers enough to engineer evidence for something like that,” John said.

“You can instruct your bank to reject unexpected large sums or to put it into an escrow account if you're worried about that,” Teresa said “It's done by some consultants to avoid similar allegations.”

“So if someone tried to entrap us, then the bank would have records that showed we never got it? I like it. In that case, I've no objection to it,” said Sarah.

“So, Teresa, with this ethics document in front of you, would you feel more comfortable with these good people demonstrating their gifts, once they've signed it? Or would you like to take it on trust?” Arwood asked.

“Well, the document isn't signed, and actually I think it'd be very good to let some colleagues look at it first, maybe a judge too, but yes. The fact you're willing to put in such stringent clauses makes me pretty sure you're not planning to do anything unethical. And yes, it would probably help me convince people that this isn't a practical joke if I can say that you proved it on me.”

“Does that mean you don't want to wait until we've signed?” Sarah asked.

“No, I'll think of something suitable and you see how quickly you can come back with the answer.”

“OK, I've never tried a speed test before, but yes, let's, it's a good idea,”

Sarah said. “Nod when you're ready.”

Teresa started to think of a nice sunny day, playing on the beach as a child. She nodded, and saw Sarah's eyes seem to lose focus momentarily. Then Sarah said, “Sandcastles, on a beach, I'm not sure where, but you were cold. And having such a lovely time you didn't want to stop.”

“That's amazing, Sarah! You got that in what, a second?”

“Something like that, yes. It's a bit like suddenly opening your eyes, it takes a while to focus. I probably could have got just the seaside bit sooner actually, but didn't think of stopping without focussing fully.”

“And you can keep it up a long time?”

“I'm not sure. To spend too long in another person's mind, it gets a bit confusing. Plus, it's really hard to avoid bumping into things if you try moving, or to notice what's going on around you. The most we've managed was what, a quarter of a kilometre without leaving the path and walking into a tree?”

“I think that was only because there were no trees there,” John corrected.

“But sitting still, you could keep it up for a few minutes?”

“I've done it with John for that long, or rather, we've done it together to sort through a memory. But... actually that's fairly different. Because we're both able to do it, it's more a like a faster way of talking things over. I think the longest I've observed someone's thoughts was Ed, and that was what, five seconds, Kate?”

“I'd say so, yes.”

“And actually Sarah and I spent more than half of that time in discussion, this thinking together thing. It was probably only two seconds.”

“I don't think I could watch someone's thoughts for very much longer, really,” concluded Sarah.

“I'd agree. I think there's too much coming if it's not interactive. Interactive slows things down, and you can help the other understand things. Why are you asking?”

“Well, if I tell a judge that I've met people who can see thoughts, then he'd want to know if you could watch someone's thoughts and say when they were lying. And if you could, then shouldn't you be doing it, rather than coming up with ethical statements saying you won't.”

“We thought about this last night, and were pretty happy to remember that bugging or phone interception doesn't happen without a court order, and that it certainly wouldn't be allowed to bug the conversation between a lawyer and his client.”

“You're right. And this would be more invasive than even that. OK, I agree, but would you be willing, just for a test, to see if you can catch me in a lie?”

“If you want us to, I guess we can try. So you want John or me to watch your mind for as long as we can, and see if we can catch you out?”

“Can I suggest that I watch Sarah, while she's watching you? Just in case it gets too much for her?”

“OK by me. I'd prefer it was her anyway.”

“Arwood, do you want to stay, or did you need to rush off?” Kate asked.

“You're welcome to stay, but if you need to go, it seems we've left ethics and moved into experimentation.”

“Oh, I can stay a while longer, and this could be an interesting few minutes. Teresa, you do realise that you're likely to have some stray thoughts if you keep up a monologue for a few minutes, don't you?”

“Yes. I guess that's why I'd prefer Sarah to read me.”

“I could get it second hand if I'm monitoring Sarah,” John reminded her.

“But I think you're going to be more concerned with her well-being than my thoughts, aren't you?” Teresa countered.

Sarah laughed. “See John, everyone who meets us can see you're my knight in titanium armour!”

“I think I'm missing something here, but yes, he does rather exude protectiveness, doesn't he? Shall we start? Can someone time this?”

Teresa started a short history of herself, who her parents were and where she'd lived, gone to school and how she'd become interested in law. Sarah watched, and after 10 seconds it was clear that she was struggling. John called a halt after 15 seconds. Sarah was exhausted, and John poured her a cup of tea.

“There was something wrong right from the start, but I couldn't work out what it was to start with. You knew what you were saying. You'd said it before, and your thoughts were confirming that you'd said things right, and you were happy that you were getting it right, but I realised it was a script. It wasn't that you were telling the truth, it was just that you were remembering it right. You'd said it before. The first time, oh... Can I tell them?” Sarah stopped herself.

Teresa was a little embarrassed, but said it was OK and Sarah continued,

“The first time was at a kind of charity beauty pageant, when you were a student. You came second, possibly because of the privileged upbringing you'd invented. What you said about your parents was um... embellished, and the school that you mentioned was the one you would have wanted to go to, but only visited once. The park you said your house was in was actually publicly owned, while you gave the impression that it was your family's own. Teresa, I caught quite a lot of shame from you. You don't need to be ashamed of where you grew up or your parents’ jobs. They worked hard and so have you.”

Teresa went bright red at this. “Actually, that's not the source of shame. The real shame was getting my first job because of that stupid pageant.”

“Oh. But you did let your employer know?” Kate asked.

“Yes, actually they were from the area so knew it was a pack of lies, but they said that if I could be so convincing under those conditions then they knew I'd be able to stand the pressure in court.”

“So your dad wasn't an artist specialising in murals who's had work on show in several big art galleries?” John asked.

Teresa admitted, “He's actually a painter and decorator. He helped paint the walls of some of the museums.”

“Cunning, close enough to the truth, but quite a big fib too. I'd be interested to see if you'd pass a lie detector test with it,” Kate wondered.

“I have, actually. Well sort of. The conclusion was that there was some uncertainty about how truthful it was, but nothing was conclusively a lie. But Sarah, how are you? For me it was a bit of fun, but it looked tough for you.”

“It was tough. Exhausting actually. A cross between trying to read something that's going past too fast and swimming in a fast moving river. I think if John hadn't stopped us I'd have pulled away.”

“I'm not so sure, Sarah. I'm glad I stopped you when I did. You seemed to be on the verge of exhaustion and yet you wanted to stay longer. You probably should have pulled out earlier, but I think you were on the edge of losing awareness, love. And that was scary to see.” John reached for her hand and thought to her [I saw this, love.] As before, Sarah received a little memory burst from John. He was right. It was scary.

[Explore together?] She asked and after he'd checked how she was, he agreed. She focussed on John and together they explored what had happened from their combined memories. As she'd became more and more tired, it had become harder to concentrate on Teresa's thoughts, and in order to compensate, she had focussed her awareness more and more on Teresa and less on her surroundings, less on her state of health. Because John was not looking in such detail, hadn't been so much concerned with Sarah's exact thoughts as with how she was reacting, the amount of information he'd had to process in one go had been closer to what they were doing now. His role had been much less demanding. They dropped back to normal.

“Out of interest, how long were we out just now?” John asked.

“Urm, about 30 seconds. We were starting to worry.”

“Sorry,” Sarah said. “We wanted to check up on our memories of what had happened before they faded.”

“And have you?” asked Kate.

John answered, “Yes, we have. Firstly, I think it'd be entirely reasonable to say that what we've just been doing — and what Sarah once called communing — an entirely different mode to what what Sarah was trying with Teresa.”

“How? Can you explain? I thought they were both reading thoughts?”

“I think I can,” Sarah said. “What I was just trying to do was record and analyse every thought that Teresa was having, to see if I could catch her in a lie. A bit like a computer trying to decipher and analyse what a vehicle on the road is doing by watching the way energy is flowing, angle of wheels, and so on. It's possible, but hard to do. Actually I'm amazed it's possible at all. Whereas, when I'm doing this thinking together type of thing with John, the analogy would be that the computer asks for a route plan from the vehicle and the vehicle hands it over, along with information about traffic around it and so on. Or like two processors working in parallel. They can ask the other for data and hand over what they've found out, that sort of thing. They don't need to analyse the activity of the other, because they're cooperating. In yet another analogy I guess it's like a couple dancing together when they both know what the dance is, versus someone trying to keep up in a complex dance by watching everyone on the dance floor at the same time.”

“And Sarah was trying so hard to keep up with Teresa's thoughts that she'd lost her sense of proportion and was pushing herself towards a blackout,” John concluded.

“That's a pretty scary assessment, Sarah. But why was it so much harder than the spot check on what I was thinking?”

“I don't know. I guess a series of spot checks might have been as useful at that, except that some of those thoughts I picked up were only there for a very little while.”

“So rather than a single flash photo you were trying to get a high speed film of my mind?”

“Maybe.”

“Well, it doesn't matter really. I think I can tell any judges who ask, that right now, yes you can beat a lie detector, but only by pushing your brain so hard that you pass out after 15 seconds. That's not particularly useful for a court room, you know.”

“No, sorry.”

Arwood responded , “Don't be silly, girl, you didn't want to be thought police in the first place! All you've done is demonstrate that if you try it then you're almost unconscious after 15 seconds. That should probably go into your disclosure document.”

“Yes, I think it probably should, after some testing to see if it's really energy usage or something else causing the exhaustion.”

“I don't know what causes it, but I do know that I seem to be getting a splitting headache now. Excuse me.” Sarah stood up, took a step towards the door and collapsed.

“Sarah!” John jumped forwards and caught her.

“Take her to Janet to check for bleeding or any other physical trauma, John. And Arwood, help him, please,” Kate ordered. “I'll call ahead.”