Perceiver2’s darkly clad frame swallowed the young girl’s shadow as he stood behind her.

She closed her eyes.

He nudged her shoulder. “There will come a time when you’ll train with only internal vision, PT6. This is not it.”

Her eyes flew open and she blushed. “I apologize, sir.”

“It’s alright. More times than not, you’ll see the most subtle things before you have to waste precious energy reserves. Even with internal vision, you may still overlook subtlety.”

“Yes, sir.”

Perceiver2 waved his hand. A large crowd of citizens dressed in identical tan jumpsuits, each with a white number sewn on both sleeves, rounded the corner of a building and walked along a sidewalk several yards in front of them.

PT6 stepped back. “I didn’t know there would be so many.”

He placed his hand against her back. “The size of the group is not important.”

“Do they really travel like that in the subdomains?”

“Does it matter?”

“Well, you could have started me off with a smaller group.”

He raised his hand. The group paused. “So you want everything to be easy. Let me ask you this: Does an attitude like that lead to success or failure?”

PT6 stepped forward and turned to him. “Failure, sir.”

“Who is your favorite Perceiver?”

“Uh.”

He crossed his arms and his black sleeves melded into his midsection. He smiled. “It’s alright. You don’t have to choose me.”

She sighed. “Perceiver6, sir.”

His sudden grimace disappeared. “Why?”

“I’ve heard stories about how hard she works. Her skills are incredible. They say her gifts are legendary. She doesn’t give up. She never-”

“Fails? Possibly because she accepts every challenge?”

“Yes, sir.” she raised her own hand and waved the citizens on.

He grinned and stepped up behind her to monitor her thoughts.

She took a deep breath and urged the power bank in her center forward until it tapped into her eyesight. With it now under her control, she pushed her vision to extreme orders of magnitude until tiny bugs appeared on the sidewalk near the line of citizens. She zoomed out a bit and scanned.

“Gray shoe string sticking out of Number Five’s cuff. Nobody wears shoes with strings in the subdomains. Inside the Syndicate Domain, we all wear black shoestrings. Number Nine left her zipper down about a quarter inch. Number Twenty-one irons his jumpsuit. I can see a half inch crease in his pant leg.”

She squeezed both of her hands into fists, drawing more energy from her center. Her eyes zoomed out. “Number Twenty-two’s pants pocket is sagging. He is carrying something heavy, not bulky but flat. Number Thirty-six is hiding something in the cuff of his pants. I believe it is a folded up document.”

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

She zoomed out, panned left, and zoomed back in. “Number Fifty-one is fidgety. He tries too hard to walk like the rest. Number Sixty-two blinks more than normal.”

The muscles in her eyes flexed. “Number Sixty-eight bites his fingernails. Number Seventy-three is wearing a necklace with some sort of locket attached.”

“How can you tell?”

“The front of her jumpsuit doesn’t lay flat against her chest.” She closed her eyes and an image of the inside of the locket flashed in her mind. “The picture inside is not appealing.”

He patted her shoulder. “You just couldn’t help it. Could you?”

Her center retreated and she smiled bashfully. “Sorry, sir. How did I do?”

“It’s a good start.”

“Thank you, sir.”

“But not quite good enough.”

She stared at him, puzzled.

“You missed an obvious one.”

“Which-” She skimmed the group.

“Number One.”

She observed Number One, an outlier, just apart from the front of the line. She frowned. “No shoes. How did I miss that?”

“Think about it and let me know when you figure it out.”

“Ugh.”

“You did well. Just remember the obvious is never subtle.”

“Right. What’s next?”

Perceiver2’s body grew rigid. “Hello, Jaden.” He turned around.

The gray-haired man didn’t take his eyes off Perceiver2. “PT6, go eat breakfast and then prepare for your daily training with Lang.”

“Yes, sir.” PT6 hurried away.

Jaden raised his hand. “You citizens can go now. Thank you for your time.” He turned to Perceiver2. “What are you trying to do here?”

Perceiver2 stepped past Jaden toward the parking lot. “I don’t know if you heard, but PT6 looks up to Perceiver6.”

Jaden caught up and stayed at his side. “I heard.”

“It’s dangerous for PT’s to idolize Perceivers who use such methods.”

“I agree. But you aren’t a trainer and it’s not for you to decide. She’ll find that out on her own.”

“Perceiver6 didn’t find out. Look at her methods. Now PT6 will continue down that path if Lang continues to instruct her. Can’t you take her into your group?”

“I have to follow the guidelines set forth by the Control Center Board.”

Perceiver2 leaned against his car. “Does anybody there owe you a favor?”

Jaden laughed. “You owe me plenty.” He patted Perceiver2 on the shoulder.

“Then it won’t hurt to ask you for one more.” He opened his car door. “I’d better get going.”

“Day two in the Institute Subdomain?”

“Yes.”

“Good luck.”

Perceiver2 pulled the door. “I make my own luck.”

Jaden stopped the door before it slammed shut. He then gently closed it before leaning over the open window. “That you do. Be sure to follow procedure this time. I can’t keep covering for you.”

“Yes, sir.”

Jaden scoffed. “I don’t find that very convincing.”

The car engine rumbled to life. “I’ll do my best.” He put the car in gear.

Jaden stepped back as the car crept away. He closed his eyes. The car skidded to a stop and he crouched at the window. “Patience was never your best trait. If it makes you feel any better, you’re almost there.”

“Almost?”

“Yes, almost. Continue to perform as you have and you’ll reach Perceiver1 status in no time. Use your abilities efficiently. You don’t need the pills.”

“I do. And I don’t use pills.”

Disappointment showed in Jaden’s eyes.

“I’ve already put in the time. What more can I do?” He leaned over the steering wheel. “It’s all political anyway. I keep telling you the current Perceiver1 is dangerous. He’s also a fraud.”

“He earned his chance to lead. And you’re right about the time you’ve put in. You must continue to-”

Both said, “Perform.”

Perceiver2 smiled. “I’d better go. I wouldn’t want to anger the board.”

“Again.” Jaden tapped on the top of the car before Perceiver2 sped away.

A few minutes later, he pulled up to the kiosk and scanned his identification card. The large gate opened just wide enough for the car to fit through. As he cruised inside, he eyed the tower that rose above the wall and the speaker attached to its underside. He thought about why the speakers existed when they served no purpose to the function of the towers. Another useless tactic.

He proceeded through side streets and alleys to the entrance of the three-story garage. The tires squealed as he sped in a circle to the second floor before finding a spot in the middle of a line of cars with dry-rotted tires. He checked the time on his smart device, disabled the GPS, and threw his pack around his waist. Pausing at the doorway, he reached into his pocket and his sleek black clothing instantly changed into a virtual tan jumpsuit. He stepped outside and started down the sidewalk. Occasionally, his hand swung a little too close to his cloak causing his fingers to disappear. When he passed through a sunny area, the cloak sparkled.

Across from the alley, he edged his way to the rear of the citizens waiting at the bus stop. His smart device buzzed in his pocket and he cleared several GPS alerts. He typed in, “GPS malfunctioning”, and closed his eyes waiting for his collection to appear.