Training Room, Lambent Laboratories, Cell 3,

Africa Dome

Onyx sensed the girl through the training room's door. The resonance he had felt yesterday had grown stronger, less erratic. It hummed, drawing him toward her.

She was alone, hunched over the Zener table, seemingly asleep. His mouth thinned. He stalked past, stepping into the observation room. Jasper stared at the console in front of him, his attention so intent on the screen that he didn't notice Onyx's entrance.

"You're wasting time." The old man didn't respond and Onyx suppressed a hiss. "Jasper!"

The man spun around, eyes wide and lips parted.

"This is remarkable," he whispered.

"What?"

"She's... she's getting them all. Every single one."

Onyx stepped closer, his lips twitching. Jasper waved his hand toward the screen and Onyx pressed his eyes closed as he struggled to contain his impatience. When he opened them, he could see the selections the girl was making. Her score was outlined above the current gray block and card selection area.

"Her score is only ninety-three percent," Onyx said.

"She got the first few wrong, but I think that was because I was standing behind her. She hadn't begun to concentrate her energy yet. Her mind was still ruffled."

"It proves nothing." Onyx snorted. "Most Augur traits can be ruled out as coincidence or luck. She needs to manifest an intelligible vision. That would be proof, once the facts from the vision can be confirmed."

Jasper swung around to gape at him. "This is only her first day. She will improve with time—"

"Time is in short supply. Put her in the tank."

Onyx didn't think it was possible, but the man's lips parted even further, until his mouth formed a perfect circle.

"The... tank?" Jasper's words were barely audible.

Onyx nodded sharply. "Prepare her."

"Onyx... no. It's too soon."

"Are you disobeying a direct order?"

"She's exhausted." Jasper's lips flapped, his hands twitching in the air in front of him. "Overwhelmed. There are traces of amphetamines in her system, and she has mild alcohol poisoning. In her condition, she could easily have another seizure and—"

"What's this pathetic affection you've developed for the new recruit?" Onyx hand lifted, his fingers curled into his palm. The other remained clutched in the small of his back, held in a fist. "You are a scientist. Start acting like one."

"It's too soon, Onyx."

They stared at each other, brown eyes meeting blue. Their faces were frozen; Jasper's in pleading, his own no doubt in frustration. After a few seconds he realised the screen behind Jasper was motionless. His eyes flicked to it. The girl had stopped.

He turned to look out into the training room. Peppermint slumped on the table, her arms crossed in front of her for a pillow. Purple hair hid her face, but he could see from the rise and fall of her shoulders that she was asleep.

When he turned back, Jasper's head was tilted to the side. "Let her rest, Onyx." The man's bushy eyebrows lifted. "Tomorrow she'll do better."

Onyx let out a short sigh, twisting his head back to the girl.

Time.

It slipped away from him too often of late, evaporating under the intensity of his work. There was so much to be done, so many mysteries he had to pin down, dissect, annotate. Yet, despite this sense of urgency, his constant companion through every waking minute, he knew Jasper was right. Some minds were brittle. If you attempted to bend them too far, too fast, they snapped and splintered in your hand.

Apply the same pressure at a slower rate, over a longer period of time, and that same brittle substance would yield without shattering, becoming malleable.

He became aware that Jasper had been speaking to him and spun around.

"What?"

The old man shrank back from his expression and he took a breath, smoothing his features.

"I was saying, I feel quite strongly that she's an Augur."

"Yes, you've mentioned this."

"But I felt something, when she was in meditation today."

"Use your words, Jasper."

The man seemed to struggle with himself. His lips trembled as his eyes scurried around the dark room, hunting for inspiration. Onyx waited him out but not without his fists tightening.

"It was... different. She was... anticipating me."

"You're not making sense," he said, staring at the man.

"I... it was probably nothing. Most likely my imagination."

Onyx shook his head and opened his weConnect. Two p.m. The day was evaporating. If the girl was not going to be of any further use then he had work to do.

"Take her to her room."

"Tomorrow will be better."

"So you keep assuring me."

Onyx paused as he left the training room. His eyes were again drawn to the girl. An Augur. Perhaps an Augur. The only psi ability he had no use for. Which meant she would undoubtedly be disposed of in a few days.

And if she was going to be disposed of anyway... Onyx realised he was tracing his bottom lip and withdrew his finger, glancing briefly toward the observation room. He would have to keep a careful watch on Jasper. The man seemed overprotective of the girl, likely because of her age. If she'd been twenty years older, Jasper wouldn't have raised an eyebrow, never mind an objection.

The girl shifted into a more comfortable position. Onyx's eyes slid over her. Then he shook his head and left the training room, his mind fixed on the task ahead.

. . .