The Mule

This is unfinished just looking for thoughts/comments APOLOGIES for the horrid grammar yes i know i suck at it.

Prelude

An old homeless man walks up to my booth at the cafe' slumping down in the seat across from me. Looking into his rheumy clouded eyes I manage a quick smile and ask and whom do I have the pleasure of speaking with. He sightlessly stares back and says I understand you are writing a history of the Birth and the Purge. I startle quickly at the sound of his clear lucid voice. quickly i look around for any sign of a Humanity First patrol. The old man chuckled dryly and says i wouldn't worry nearest patrol is at least 2 blocks away,

I settle back and nodded to him as i reply yes i am. He stands abruptly we will be in touch with you when we have more time confused i look at him wondering why the sudden change as he leaves staggering slightly weaving his way through the crowd. As i watch him go i think back on what got me interested in all this to begin with.

Day Of Birth

About a tenth of the population went catatonic within 3 days in may between the 12 and 15th, hospitals were overloaded with seemingly healthy patients till they were put under a cat scan.. their brains showed normal indicators of high stress.. everything else was off the charts areas of the brain would light up and go dark. Hospitals after Day 1 had to turn away patients and in less civilized countries found a more permanent solution, mass graves are still being dug up to this day. To everyone else these days are a remembrance of panic and chaos. Some of the most memorable incidents are of the plane wreck that occurred when both pilots went catatonic within 30 minutes of each other. The frantic efforts of the co pilot to wake up the pilot and then deciding to land the plane per instructions of the air traffic controller. The terrifying moment of knowledge, as the black box records the sudden lack of response as the plane plunges into the tarmac. Other stories of the numerous car wrecks and bodies collapsing on the sidewalks and the often told story of a bank robber who went into catatonia as he was mid heist unsuccessfully ending his career as a robber.

Exactly 1 month later from the day the person went catatonic they woke back up. Psis called it the day of birth, born in blood and screaming all across the world. One of the first cases to wake up was a local minister that had fallen into a catatonic state while volunteering at a soup kitchen with his family. He woke up surrounded by his family and several members of the congregation about 20 people in all. There’s a video about this to this day its used as a warning for how not to awaken a psi. Everyone was allowed in the room as a celebration commenced the preacher screamed and convulsed for about 30 minutes till he was sedated. The man later that week was allowed to go home. His parish convinced he was possessed performed an exorcism on him and unfortunately he perished in the rites. This was a common response in the heavily religious communities a person afflicted would commonly go into church and start violently spasming and screaming. Fortunately most made it through the first day. However then the suicides started in ever increasing amounts its around this time people started to realize what indeed had happened to the people who had fallen into a coma. The first news story was over a scandal where a political figure that had been an advocate against gay marriage turned out to have a secret affair with a female prostitute in las Vegas her family was appalled and conjecture was that the prostitute had gone to a news agency for money because she had been spurned. eventually the story broke that an aide had “read her mind” and then dug in finding financial records that proved the affair. originally even this story was buried till the avalanche of people having this ability came forward. Immediately the country went into a state of panic and the dark days came to the psi.

Interlude 1

Too soon my next encounter would happen with the homeless man. I was in my apartment in downtown new york went a knock came at my door. when i opened there he stood waiting. Mister i gotta have a name to call you the homeless man is just not going to cut it. He smiles a small smile and says i've never gotten to choose my name before, tilting his head he grins and says you may call me Mule. looking oddly at him i say Mule? grinning he replies I'm sure it's partly because i can be a jackass. Laughing i invite him in at ease with his relaxed nature.

He looks at me and says i heard you writing about the beginning and i wanted to share a better story than that tired line about the hooker and the senator. I take a long look at him realizing what he's saying and say well if you have something better by all means share. he settles back into my couch and says what first the beginning of the end or the end of the beginning? I look at him quizzically as he slumps down head on his chest and begins to speak slowly.

Solitude

I woke up dizzy and confused but feeling lucky to be alive see i was one of the several that was in a car wreck. mercifully my family had me in a “overflow facility” the name for the private hospitals that were happy to give you private rooms and more space.. for a price of course. I was young and rich at the time and my family had me taken well care of. luckily early on the facility found morphine to be a huge help in quelling what were termed “voices”. when i first came to i unlike most patients was mostly silent probably cause i was a late arrival on day 2. most had left or been drugged into a stupor. so imagine my surprise right before i was given that first drip of morphine to hear the most beautiful voice in my empty room saying it will be alright you're safe and calm. I immediately fell for it the passion and the sincerity of it held me tight in its grip and then i blacked out for 3 weeks my family opted for the “safer” cure. i was held safe with morphine and eventually in a coma while the world raged through the birthing throes of the psi. when i came to finally lucid i was alone on one of my families estates .. quietude surrounded me my family had abandoned me stating with what was now known they felt it was safer for me to gain a semblance of control before being introduced to people again. you must understand i come from a very political family and with the upsets in the world ranging from the scandals to government facilities being exposed to private corporations freeing their dirty laundry my family panicked. I don't blame them for it and can't say i would've done different. it felt like i was abandoned and i missed that voice my only contact with another person as a psi. i wanted to reach out but upon reaching the nearest city i was overwhelmed by the cacophony of noise in my head the worries and cares of mundane and not so mundane life. slowly i inundated my self by learning the range of my abilities i could only “hear” for about 100 yards which turns out is pretty good for a psi or at least for psis that survived there is theories that there were psis that heard for miles upon miles but the prevailing theory is they died screaming in the weeks after the awakening. It was on one of these forays into the regular populace i had my first encounter with Humanity First.

Interlude 2

Humanity First i shudder hearing those words worry crawling along my spine as i look into those knowing eyes of Mule he smiles and says ah you norms and your worries for us the Redarms don't really affect us now they have moved from more of a terrorist group to a political front and a facade to keep the public calm. But back then that was the hardcore groups the ones dedicated to the cause and weren't afraid to exercise their power. nodding i clear my throat and ask so how did you get lucky enough to escape them? chin settling into his chest again he sighs well back then Redarms weren't really clever they just thought simple thoughts murderous and evil the filthiest you could possibly imagine. See while i was out the world had started to cope with this strangely governments were silent assuming they were scrambling to hide everyone that knew dangerous things. But in lieu of a government response citizens formed groups to “out” and then rally publicly against the people they found reading thoughts. See they were of the opinion we could turn it off we had less control over it in those days than you do over your ears. Morphine was a solution but the messes that created was almost as bad as the screaming waves of thoughts you could hear.

The Beginning of the End

The estate of mine was located in the rolling hills of Kentucky nicely secluded from most people eventually i wandered out. only so long watching things on tv and hearing opinions before i wanted, no needed to be near people. I knew a small bit about the Redarms and Josiah Herman on tv but it wasn't covered much due to the overwhelming amount of information coming in. Much too little was done before it was a national movement and a force to be reckoned with on many levels. However i dressed warmly and headed into the small town near me as i had found it seemed to be less intense than approaching the city limits (locations!) I had tried first daytime was the best people were busy a low hum of noise that was manageable but on this occasion i decided to be adventurous and head out at dusk to see what it felt like. My good luck ritual included stopping at this gas station a sunoco it was my favorite spot to visit always during the day this man named earl must of been in his nineties was manning the store. He was genuinely kind and always had a nice thing to say to me. so as i pulled in imagine my shock as i didn't feel his languid thoughts. There was a large van parked haphazardly in the front of the store i didn't see much honestly its what i heard suddenly overwhelmed with angry disjointed thoughts from a few sources and one that mostly sounded darkly happy I was worrying about that voice and what was happening inside and if i should call the police. stupidly i stopped my car in the parking lot worried and as i got out of the car suddenly i felt earl in my mind screaming at me to run and to hide better cause they knew there was a shelter around here. I was so focused on what he was saying it was so loud that the gunshot shocked me silence fell which shocked me more i couldn't hear anything at all looking up i saw 4 men with red armbands run out of the store and into the van as it peeled away the noise returned in a wash as the last thing i saw before swimming into unconsciousness was the plate.It was “H First” then i passed out from the pain.

Interlude 3

Looking up i see tears swimming in those brown eyes of his i listen knowing his story wasn't uncommon humanity first movement reacted swiftly and violently and moved from tennessee to kentucky and georgia before sweeping a path through the eastern seaboard and southern states. the few psi i has spoken too had similar experiences hearing another psi ambushed and beat or killed. The Redarms were generally more organized taking the psi to a secluded location after doping them up with morphine to both block them from hearing and from thinking clearly. But in the early days any person was fair game to them for whatever punishment they thought would fit the crime of being a mindspy as they called it.

A throat clearing half sob brought me out of my ruminations as i focused back on Mule who was clearly lost in memories as much as i was. Do you want to continue this later i ask him. looking at me he says clearly I will be ok but I think i shall tell you about Teddy now. Teddy? I ask who is that. The first officer on the scene that shook me out of the dazed trance i had fallen into after waking up and finding Earls body on the floor. I should start before that cause Teddy was also a psi and the beautiful voice i heard that day. See i was originally at St Marys down in (main town) and eventually moved to an HCA facility where Teddy was assigned as security.

Teddy

Mule’s head drops down in that familiar position resting against his chest as he says Ill take it from here. Sighing he leans forward hands clasped.i was contracted to provide security to the facility because it was constantly besieged by people begging trying to get their family members out of the facilities. Confused i look at him but unsure of whats going on i write furiously keeping my notes as he continues. The Health Care Association was a private organization only special care to those people afflicted that had resources to be able to afford their treatment. I remember day 2 clearly as i had been assigned early in the day as the news had reported on these facilities leading many civilians to assume they would take anyone or maybe they didn't care and thought they could fight their way in. Day 2 was hell it reminded me of the crushing press of people you would see during riots in Iraq. He looks up and says I served for 4 years and 1 tour before joining the force casually. Still shocked i just stare at him as he half shrugs consciously and then says we were tasked with keeping order and containing the crowds. During one particularly intense rush of people at the gates as we were given the green light to use deadly force as people threw bricks and refuse over the fence. I remember clearing the fence and seeing that tattered still breathing small body against the fence a child had been crushed against the fence i rushed out as the crowds dispersed feeling the sting of the rubber bullets and beanbag rounds. She was still breathing and i felt nothing but anger as i was forced to load her into an ambulance instead of taking the child directly into the facility owned by HCA. It was the last i saw of her as suddenly I took 2 bullets to my shoulder and my side from an enraged civilian I stared confused into their angry face as I blacked out.

I was immediately rushed to a hospital and treated however during surgery i lapsed into a coma. imagine my surprise as i woke up 6 weeks later in a hospital bed to the mental confusion of my nurses as they entered and exited my room I had learned from the military that doctors tend to overdose instead of underdose so as i was put on a drip for my pain i resisted the urge to press the button. I checked myself out the next day as emergency personnel i was allowed to cause of the massive rise in suicides along with other dramas. I found out quickly that looking directly at people with nothing between us i could hear the persons thoughts but if my eyes were closed i couldn't “hear” anyone. There’s theories on why the psi’s react differently to the power some so called professionals say its a defense mechanism of the brain and that our brains created filters through which we could deal with people. They point to the overwhelming majority of psi’s having limits on range or have to see or hear or touch a person its rare to find a psi that has a large range like hers without a filtering element.

Interlude 5

I ask him her’s? who is that? He looks at me grinning and says Julia the love of my life. that beauty that managed to avoid civilization for weeks before having to deal with the mess that we were in. I look at him confusion written so plain no psi ability would be needed. He smiles sadly and says No, that's not my story to tell you should ask Mule sometime. I stare at him too shocked to form a thought. He starts back in with not a word more on the subject. As i settle back in my chair too shocked to form a question.

The End of the Beginning

I took to constantly wearing shades don't ask me why but it worked i could function just like anyone else. It was hard to justify even to myself that i could hear thoughts of suspects. I was assigned desk duty as i healed but soon enough i was pressed back into patrolling duties not because i was healed but because we just were so short staffed. There were incredible stories just incredible of what was happening a popular rumor was of one woman that murdered her whole family after reading the mind of her husband and the affair he was having with her sister.

There are just so many stories i could go on for days on them people exploiting others for gain like the con artist who would say he could speak to dead relatives and would just be reading their minds and riffing off of the information he had found. Then the Redarms started showing up always with that damn red armband preaching about how the aberrations were deliberately mindspying on the rest of the population and that they had a right to defend against the mental assaults. They would actively go out and pretend to commit crimes by mentally planning them out or by spewing filth mentally to try to get a reaction. I had found out about them through a C.I. of mine back then there was no mercy they would find someone they thought was a “mindspy” and they would beat the person senseless at the least sometimes worse as in the case of Earl.

So due to my injuries i was loaned out to a very understaffed department in the boonies i guess it was seen as a kindness because of my “ability” to ferret out suspects when they were telling the truth or not was getting noticed. He shakes his head. Earl was a good guy very down to earth and had a pretty good idea of what was going on. He was one of the first i met that also could read minds he only could do so when he touched the person. I found out before he did as one day he caught a shoplifter I picked up from his mind he was concerned cause when he touched him he read as he called it that the boys dad was going to beat him again and he didn't know how to tell me that. I guess i was lucky i had been there several times before on several different complaints of noise and loitering and never had picked up any sign at all that he was one of us.
But that day i decided to show him that i knew what he could do and that i could do the same even if it was in a different way so putting my hand on his shoulder i thought directly at him. i admit my first words weren't really spectacular but i remember them to this day. I said if you can hear me let me know looking at him at the same time. He looks back at me and goes of course i can hear you officer and I'm not pressing charges so you can let him go. Ironically that was our only interaction you would think after this huge event that put such a schism between us and the regular population that we would seek out others like us it was the opposite for me. I wanted nothing to do with others i just wanted to be left alone and do my job. Earl was polite and never intruded my thoughts by touching me and i made sure to keep my shades on out of a similar respect.

That was the week before he died to those punk Redarms. I happened to be in the neighborhood when a 10-10 was reported at his location. He looks up and shakes his head sorry possible crime reported with shots fired. I was nearest so i was there and i saw just her car parked with her slumped down i cleared her for injuries and then went inside to check and that's when i saw Earl. They had beat him pretty badly and then shot him in the head. I went outside again and went to Julia’s car and woke her with a pack of smelling salts from my car kit. As she woke up she looked at me with the deepest blue eyes i had seen and even with my shades on I knew she could read my mind as I thought its going to be ok don't worry she looked in shock so i called for a bus to take her to the hospital which she refused adamantly. As i started taking down her witness statement she reached up and before i could react had taken off my shades I instinctively looked in her eyes and it felt like the whole world stopped as we thought furious thoughts blushing and shying away as our thoughts intertwine i felt closer than i had to a person at any point in my life it's the hardest situation to explain it's like hearing one guitar strum a solitary note then all of a sudden you notice a second guitar has joined with another perfectly insync note. That lasted for about ten seconds till i got pulled away from her to deal with some other people that were bystanders and that was the last i saw of her that day. She had been questioned and released by my partner as i questioned two very sketchy teens that seemed to want more gory details about the shooting rather than to tell me what they had seen.

Me and my partner were assigned to work the case as we were the only two that had been attached to this town office with any actual murder case experience apparently it was their first murder in 20 odd years at least in city limits the meth heads out in the country usually fell to state or federal control. It seemed pretty open and shut we had the plate number and when we ran it imagine our surprise when we found it that it was registered to the owner of a local construction company. When we went to go investigate he of course denied all knowledge and said the vehicle had be stolen that very day. For me it was plain as day when i looked at him he was thinking stupid pigs will never find the van and can't prove we shot him anyway. You can have no idea how frustrating it is to hear thoughts like that that seem true and not instantly react to them. Which i did when i attacked him and beat him senseless while my partner tried to pull me off. My partner was somewhat aware that i knew things i shouldn't at opportune times for us. After he yanked us apart and took me back to the station i awaited the inevitable firing that would come or at least reassignment it wasn't the first time i had gone off on a suspect for a reason no one else could hear or know about and i was pretty sure i was going to get fired for this assault so I waited for days to hear the complaint and to be pulled into my loo’s office. We worked other angles on the case going no where near him again just waiting to be pulled from the case. It never happened I slowly began to realize a few things like out why he didn't press charges. He knew i read his mind and he was going to settle it similar to the way he did with Earl.

Interlude: Mule

Suddenly he looks at me as says i have to go now Mule is impatient to talk to you. Suddenly Mule cocks his head and begins to speak slowly smiling I cant read your mind if your wondering that i can never tell when it's just me in here. I ask him what he means and he shakes his head slowly i can't read your mind. i can only read and talk to psis i have met before. I think back and go but you did. When we first met you did and again before you came here. he shakes his head dismissively as he says that's not me. They are reading your mind as they ride in my mind with me helping me and keeping me safe. I look at him and say what do you mean they ride you? He looks at me and says have you ever tried explaining how to ride a mule to a person that has never seen a mule? i hear them speaking and i speak for them and then speak for you to them and i share what they read from your head with them if they ask. I shake my head How can you do this over such distances i mean i assume they are far away from you and i know Teddy says is sight based.. He smiles and says I can talk to any psi i meet and they can hear me anywhere I don't know why. He looks at me cocking his head and says can you hear me? I give him a strange look as i say no? He grins and says so why did you say no then? I look at him temporarily doubting my sanity till he bursts out into a queerly high giggle. i ask how can he not get confused or get the intent or meanings wrong hoping to get the conversation back on track. He looks at me and says how do you speak and not get annoyed hearing your own words in your ears? I struggle to find a different way to put it and as i form and discard half sentences he laughs and says while this is such a slow form of communication I'm finding great enjoyment in it I don't think I've used my voice in some time. He looks at me again as I try to figure out what to say or ask. He meanders over to my heavily bolted door as he plays with the bolts and says I was like them once but then I was remade to shield and serve. I look at him a cold shiver running down my spine as i hear those words I whisper you were in Project White Noise? He nods solemnly as he opens the door and disappears into the hallway any desire i have to follow quashed by that realization.

Project White Noise is one of those government projects that should've never happened I didn't know much about it except it was supposedly scrapped after some large scandal that involved higher level military brass and some senators officially not much is known except that motto to shield and serve. There are dark rumors of psi’s being treated no better than slaves hooked up to machines to make some sort of shield against other psi’s. But the most disturbing portion was after the project was closed no one associated with the project came forward. The brass were reassigned, demoted or fired and nothing was said as it was classified and won't be released for another 50 years. The story died almost as quickly as it started even while the rumors still swirl. Watching my door shut I thought of all the questions welling up inside of me and the single overriding thought of whether i would be able to ask them. I poured myself a stiff drink of scotch that i saved for situations just like this and wondered when i would next see Mule and who I would be talking to.

Interlude 6

I had just settled back to watch my favorite news series catching up on the news that happened while i was working when there was a knock on the door. I toyed briefly with not answering it as i had just gotten comfortable suddenly i heard a rattling sound on the lock. I turned my head while lounging on my couch just time to watch my dead bolt slide back alarmed i rushed to the door. Peering through the peephole I saw Mule intently working with lockpicks in his hands on my second deadbolt. I shout half alarmed and half relieved one moment as i unbolt my door. As the door swings open mule limps inside arranging himself gingerly on the couch. I sit down in my recliner my favorite spot to think and mute the tv. I look at him and say Hello Mule? He looks at me and says no not quite but then again yes i guess so. So whom do i have the pleasure of addressing then? He looks at me you're the one writing the story aren't you? Mule just said this was a safe spot we could lay low for a bit. I look at him and say yes i'm writing a book on psi’s and various personal recollections of different people. He nods well if it's going to be written down then you can call me Cloak. I'm sure you'll be interested in my stories see i worked for the government up until the start of Project White Noise. I got wind of it early and retired myself, but In the beginning it was all panic then exploitation and finally silence.

Daggers and Cloak

The early days of psi disoriented governments around the world, I was working as a data analyst for the CIA. I passed out like everyone else survived the hospital thankfully due to the my type of job i was put into a higher clearance ward that was much more sensitive to our needs. Almost instantly upon awakening I noticed i could read minds when I could hear them as soon as they were out of my hearing range it was gone. I instantly thought of my job as an analyst and saw an opportunity for advancement or a specialized department if more people had similar skills. I still believed in our government and was 100% sure that this type of usage of our mental powers would help prevent terrorist attacks. I went immediately to my section chief and was immediately put into a soundproofed room where i was put through testing to prove and test the limits of my abilities. Ironically I have no limit on distance i can hear a conversation halfway across the world and as long as they are speaking and thinking in english i can read what they are thinking. I wasn't as useful as the agency had hoped seeing how languages was not my strong suit. Very early on I learned recorded conversations and conversations on a delay didn't do anything for me it had to be live and happening within a few microseconds any longer delay and poof my link couldn't be established. First thing for me was to undergo language crash courses until they realized that unless you had a concrete grasp of the language it simply went by too fast to be able to make but the barest sense of.

While all this was going on for me the agency was setting up a department solely based for psi powers to be used to spy both abroad and home. As there was no legislation against it and they had no interest in prosecuting anyone it was completely legal and we wanted to exploit that loophole for as long as possible.

The worst parts were the new security measures that went into place everywhere in the building if i was not in my now soundproofed research room I was “escorted” and made to wear a pair of soundproof headphones. Off duty i was allowed to do whatever i liked I learned nationwide every media outlet had been forced to put all “live” broadcasts on a 10 second delay just enough to stop anyone from reading anything off of the news. Then one day it all went quiet. I went into work immediately checking in at special security and waited for either of the two guards to assign me a security guard for the day. What happened was strange, they wrote down for me to take off my headsets and that it wasn't a concern now i nervously took them off and as they started to explain a new project was in place to protect the nation's secrets i gasped in shock I couldn't hear their thoughts at all. As i stared slackjawed they looked at eachother and then smiled. It's working in here it looks like, the guard said I don't have to be a mind reader to see the look of shock on your face. He handed me a badge and said you're to report to an offsite location to continue working on surveillance work with the rest of your department.

I was being relocated just like every other psi, we were put into a large warehouse separated into cubicles one area blacked out for the psis that worked off of sound, sound proofing for the hearing versions. I had known another guy that ended up over in the psi department he was a spotter. That's what we called the sight guys with very limited range due to needing glasses to see far. Marvin was an odd case almost useless in our superiors opinions, without his glasses he could see barely 20 feet but if he put his glasses on he completely lost the ability to read anyone. Obviously not good for field work but interrogations is where they set him up he knew 8 languages and before everything happened he was a very reliable translator. I met up with him one day and asked him how it was going. He looked at me frustrated “Im not cut out for interrogation the things they do in there don't help half the time and just cause the subject to be incoherent mentally”

I nodded sympathetically i didn't feel either of us was cut out for that sort of work but thankfully i never was brought in for that kind of work. He looked at me through his glasses and says I'm thinking about getting lasik if it fixes my eyesight i will be able to read people at range and maybe put back into the intel gathering field instead of this. He shakes his head and looks down I can't sleep at night the images keep running through my mind of what happens in there. I wish i could tell you about it but.. He sighs softly. I look at him and say Marvin I understand you can't it's the rules. You want to go out for a drink and cool off after work? He smiles, a rare occurrence for him and says yea that sounds like a plan.

We went out had a few drinks at a karaoke bar Marvin had a great voice ironically live music is one of my favorite pastimes i hear the voices and they intertwine with the song being sung in their head at the same time. He was very impressive singing a version of “sittin at the dock of the bay” I asked him about it and he was at first really surprised but after another round or two he admitted he was originally a classically trained singer until halfway through college and changed his degree to something a bit more practical. He indicated he was going for lasik later in the week and hoped it all went well. After a great night bullshitting about my exe and his wife and two kids we said our goodbyes and set up for a tentative time in the future to celebrate his new eyes.

Two weeks passed I didn't see him at work but i didn't think it was unusual i knew it took some time to adapt and heal after a surgery like that. Another week passed without me seeing him i called his phone and it went straight to voicemail. I left a voicemail and left it alone. Later that night i recieved a text to meet me at the bar. I saw him sitting at the bar obviously trashed beyond reasoning. I asked what had happened to him but he wasn't coherent at all just half teary eyed and the other half only god knows. I took him home and his wife put him in bed i waited in their front room uncomfortably looking at the pictures of his two daughters and son in a soccer uniform. She came back down looking worn out and apologetic, she introduces herself as Tammy and says he's afraid he's going to lose his job, he got that eye surgery without approval and the doctors say no matter what he's going to have a slight ghost image when he's looking around it made his ability completely useless he read anything at all from anyone anymore. He's going in next week to see what will happen. As she is talking i start hearing her thoughts about bills and house payments and how her nursing job won't take care of all of the bills and an underlying thought about how she is worried about his state of mind and if he's going to be ok.

I leave a bit disturbed about the whole situation and bury myself in my work hoping to see him next week if not for anything else but to say goodbye and good luck. On the following friday I was leaving work a bit early so i could beat the rush and i saw him. He was looking pretty upbeat and i only caught him for a minute as we were both in a hurry but he said it was going to be ok because they offered him a different job in a new project called White Noise and we agreed to meet up later in the weekend to catch up and see how everything is going.

We met up at the bar and after a few songs and beers he warmed up to the subject and explained that the government had a new group being formed for a new kind of defense against psi powers. He explained that delays with media weren't enough and that officials needed to be public and if psi’s were there in person they would potentially be open to the psi. He sounded so excited that there was going to be a way to protect all this information that was sensitive from the public.