The Games Heroes Play (6 page)

“Ok, the biggest picture is of a woman.  She is blond, and a little shorter than you, I would say.  She is playing tennis, and is pretty good, despite being past her prime.  You are actually
there playing with her, and you are having trouble returning her serves.  She has blue eyes.”  As Jay described the scene, he was able to see it clearer, and the other pictures around also got larger and clearer.  “Another picture is of the same thing, except that there are descriptions around it as well.  The woman is your mother, and you are thinking of how you were never able to return her serves when she got going.  Another picture is just scattered words, expressing amazement of my ability, and a little confusion, and maybe some fear.  Another picture is of you taking a test for class, and failing constantly.  You can’t seem to pass it…”

“STOP!!”
  Michael yelled.  Those around turned to see what was going on.  After a moment of awkward silence, they realized there was nothing exciting going on, and returned to their meals. 

“I’m sorry,” Michael said after a few moments, “you got a lot further than I was expecting.  You are very talented, the rest of us need to concentrate to see even the first picture that clearly.”

“But I thought you said everyone was able to see my dream last night?”

“As I said, you were thinking loudly at the time.  Also, most of the kids were watching you sleep in order to see your dreams.  For most of us it isn’t a problem keeping the thoughts out of our heads, it’s a problem keeping them in.”

Jay was not sure what to say. 
If it’s not normal to be able to see the thoughts so readily, then why can I? 
Jay
could not
figure it out.  He knew he had developed the ability late; much later than was normal, and possibly later than has ever happened before.  Why should his ability be so powerful when those who have had it longer are still struggling?

Michael and Jay finished their meals in silence, each lost in their own thoughts.

“THERE HAS BEEN an incident in the dining hall, sir.”

“That’s not my concern; take it up with the disciplinary office.”

“It involves the boy you wanted watched, Captain.”

“Jay?  What happened to him?”

“It wasn’t a matter of what happened to him as much as a matter of what he has done.  A classmate asked him to read his mind, and Jay cracked him wide open.”

“Physically or mentally?”

“Mentally, sir.
  He apparently was able to see much further than the other boy expected, and kept going further until the other cried out for him to stop.”

“That’s not significant.  We knew this boy was reading clearer than the rest, and if the other boy was letting him in, it would have been all the easier.  Make note of the event, but it is not worth immediate attention.  Is that all to report?”

“No sir.  The boy, Jay, has also had a significant change of mannerisms.  He is eating more than three times what we considered to be reasonable for him, and his movements are becoming quicker.  He also has had no physical conditions since arriving here.”

“Correction, he has had no conditions since leaving home.  There were no problems on the plane either.”

“Yes, sir.
  His movements are notably faster during Introduction to Defensive Tactics, or while in the common areas, and less notable during the other two classes, or while in the dormitory.”

“The connection is the Hermes.”

“Yes, sir, he seems to move quicker when around Hermes.  We believe he is subconsciously emulating their movements.”

“Or consciously.”

“Sir?
  We would have seen if he were consciously making the effort.”

“You forget
,
he blocked his thoughts completely from two trained readers before any education at all.  It’s possible you could have missed something in there.  Don’t get over confident in your abilities, or under confident in his.”

“Sir, he has not made any attempts to block anything since arriving.  On the contrary, he has been unusually open…”

“Dismissed, soldier.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Soldier.
  I wish to be made aware long before he starts getting dangerous.  If his ability to read minds gets out of control, I want to be ready to handle it as necessary.”

“WHAT ARE THE three biggest limiting factors of a Hermes speed?”

“One, they think at the same speed as everyone else. 
Two, the environmental limitation on movement.
  Three…I can’t remember the third reason.”

“Come on Jay, this is the easy one.  Three is gravity.  No matter how fast they move, they still fall at the same speed as everyone and everything else.”

Jay and Michael had been studying for over three hours for their third week’s Introduction to Defensive Tactics test the next morning.  Despite Michael’s laid back nature, Jay had quickly learned that he was a very bright kid.  Even now, their studying was being conducted for the sake of Jay.  Jay has been doing extremely well on the applied parts of his classes, but the information side was more difficult than he had expected.  Introduction to Defensive Tactics has been particularly difficult for him, as the first three weeks have all been memorization of facts and figures. 

Jay blamed his difficulty with the memorization on his constant trouble with his mental images.  He
found that
he needs to
coordinate
his sleep perfectly with everyone else in order to get any
sleep
at all.  If the others are still awake, he is kept up by their thoughts cycling through his head.  If they are asleep, their dreams are constantly moving in and out, and those are worse because of how variant and sudden their appearances are.

He has also been distracted by certain patterns he has been noticing in the collage of thought images.  He noticed that there were a few images that were constantly there, lingering in the corners of his mind, showing small versions of the entire collage.  At first he figured someone was reading his own mind, and seeing the collage.  He thought very little of this at first, as he was constantly around mind readers.  After three weeks, however, it has begun to bother him.  If these images are due to someone reading his mind, then that person must be reading his mind constantly, as the images were always there.  Jay had wondered if his own thoughts were being mixed in with the collage; that maybe he was simply reading his own mind along with everyone else’s.  He was not quite sure that was it, however, because when he concentrated on himself, the
pictures got no bigger.  The meaning of these pictures was one of a million things Jay still wanted to learn.

“Ok, well I guess we can call it a day.  You should be fine for the retake of your defensive tactics week two test, and worst case scenario we can always keep reviewing this material and you can take the week three test again next week.  Things should be a little easier for you for a while, we’re going to begin applying what we’ve learned on Monday, and you seem to do better when you can get up and learn actively.”

“How do you know we’re working on applied material Monday?”  Jay
did not
recall the professor mentioning that in class.  He feels like he would have remembered something like that.

“Open your notebook to the very first page.”  Jay did as Michael suggested, and sure enough the first thing written on his notes from day one was the syllabus.  Jay could see on the timeline
that
weeks
four through six involved defense from each of the three power groups.  It said that each day would touch on a different defensive maneuver, alternating between the groups being defended against.

“Well that looks like fun.”

“Yeah, right up your ally.  I’ll be curious to see if any of their defense against the Prometheus tactics work against you.  Maybe next week you can help me study.”

Jay knew Michael said this out of jest, but he still felt uncomfortable talking about his ability.  Ever since he learned that he was abnormal, even compared to the other Prometheus, he has been wondering why the power has developed differently for him.  He made sure to block these thoughts as best he could from Michael.  They hadn’t learned blocking thoughts in class yet, but he was able to figure out the basics of some minor blocks on his own.  One thing he was
surely getting out of class was that it was his best time to think.  It seemed like his abilities thrived under pressure, when a professor was nearby waiting to see if he could do the task required of him.  Unfortunately this
did not
seem to apply to the defensive maneuvers class.  Jay wondered if this was in part due to a subconscious feeling that he
did not
need to prove himself as much to that professor since he was a Titan instead of a Prometheus. 

When they got back to the dormitory after studying, they noticed two signs posted on the door.  The top one read: “Simulation Games Try-Outs:  Next Friday by the Track”.  There were three pictures surrounding the words; one of a Prometheus tripping a Hermes, one of a Hermes running circles around a Titan, and one of a Titan holding a Prometheus up by his shirt.  Jay figured the pictures must have been drawn by a Titan, since even in the picture where the Titan was being bested it looked big and powerful.  The second sign was written in hand writing.  It simply said “Dorm room meeting, 7 o’clock.” 

CHAPTER 6

AT 7 O’CLOCK on the dot, Duke stood up out of his bed and began to speak in a loud voice. 

“Ok, this meeting should not take very long, so if any of you are planning on meeting up with any cute Prometheus females after this, you can’t blame your tardiness on me.”  Duke was a friendly guy, and Jay could see he enjoyed joking with “his first years”.  Duke paused for laughter, but the group was too busy wondering what the meeting was about to laugh, and Duke himself was the only one to so much as chuckle.  After an awkward moment, Duke continued.

“As you can see from the sign on the door, there will be try-outs for the Simulation Games.  First of all, I wanted to clarify the poster; it says ‘next Friday’, but it is not talking about tomorrow, it is referring to a week from tomorrow.  I don’t want any of you showing up a week early and making yourselves look stupid.  Second, I actually don’t want any of you showing up at all.  I can’t forbid you from trying out, and I’m not trying to.  I just want to warn you, since every year the older students enjoy going to the try outs and mocking the ambitious first years.  I don’t care how good you are, you will not make a team your first year, and probably not your second either.  That being said, I am required to explain the process to you anyways.”

Jay could see that Duke was trying to speak as monotone as possible for the explanation to make it sound uninteresting, but the whole room listened intently nevertheless.

“The simulation games are organized as a requirement for the advanced strategic leadership class, but it is considered a high achievement for any student to be on the winning team.  Each student in the advanced strategic leadership class will orga
nize a team of themselves and twenty
other students to compete.  The games will be single elimination tournament style, with the matchups randomly chosen.  The winning team gets to face off against the teachers in an exhibition match.  It’s actually pretty neat to hear the stories about that match, although the teachers always win…”  Duke seemed to realize he was starting to get excited, and quickly changed back to his monotone voice.  “The games are each unique scenarios.  The teachers come up with them for the student games, and then one of those scenarios are randomly chosen to be used again in the exhibition match.  I highly recommend trying out…in two or three more years.”

With his speech given, Duke looked around the dorm room.  To his dismay, all eyes were still looking intently back at him.  He knew at least some of them would not listen to his advice. 
I warned them, and now it’s all up to them.
  Duke decided.

Jay
could not
help but smile over the response to Duke’s speech.  All the students were nodding their head, as if agreeing with Duke’s warnings, but yet every one of them wanted to try out.  He
did not
need to look at individual thoughts to figure this out, his collage was full of the same things; almost all of them showed excitement and anticipation.  Some were making plans to work extra hard this week to be ready, some were trying to read others minds to see if they would be willing to try out with them, and none were giving Duke’s words of warning any thought at all. 

There were only three groups of pictures that were deviating from this hesitant excitement.  There were the pictures of the mini-collages that were constantly in his head.  Whoever was reading him must not be interested in the games, he decided.  Then there were Duke’s thoughts, which had already changed to his schedule for the next day, trying to decide if he could fit a
workout in between morning classes and lunch.  Jay had quickly realized he could easily read Duke’s thoughts without getting caught.  He tried not to do it too often though, more out of respect than fear.

Then there was Michael.  He was thinking about the games, just like everyone else, but he
was not
thinking about try
outs this year, he was thinking about the next. 
I guess he’s not planning to try out this year
,
Jay thought.

“Of course I’m trying out this year.  I just don’t plan to make a team until next
,”
Michael responded with a smile, still
looking at the floor.  It had not
occurred to Jay that Michael might be listening in on his thoughts as well.

“Excuse me?”  Michael and Jay looked up to see a confused and angry Duke looking over at Michael.  Clearly Duke thought the comment had been directed at him.  It made sense for him to think this too, since the room had been silent since Duke finished telling them about the games.

Michael
was not
sure how to respond.  With Michael’s silence, Duke continued.  “Let me tell you something punk, you are not going to make a team, not this year, and not next.  You know how I know? 
Because you are nothing.
 
Nothing but a first year.
  There’s nothing special about
you,
and no reason why any team leader would pick you or any first year over a student who has experience.  I hate little runts like you who think you’re all that.  If you were any older I’d make you eat your words…”

“Duke!
  Knock it off, he was talking to me!”

It was difficult to tell who was more surprised by Jay’s outburst; Duke, Michael, or Jay himself.  Duke was the first to shake off the silence.

“If you ever tell me to knock it off again, I’ll knock your nose off, right off of your smug little face.  That goes for you too, you little snake.”  Duke turned and walked straight to his office, slamming the door behind him.  Jay was really sorry for the events that just took place.  He thought Duke was a really nice guy, who cared for how he and the rest of the first years fared in the school.  Jay
did not
want to be at odds with him.

It took Jay a moment to notice that Michael was also gone.  One good thing about having the bed next to the bathroom, it was easy to slip away if one of them needed to be alone.  Jay wished he had learned how to push pictures out of his head, so he could keep himself from eavesdropping on Michael’s tear stained thoughts.

JAY FAILED BOTH of his defensive techniques tests the next day.  He knew the material this time, but his thoughts
could not
help but wander, trying to think of some way of straightening things out with Duke.  Jay could see that Michael had also failed his defensive techniques test.  They took that week’s test at the same time, and Jay
could not
help but notice that Michael was looking out the window the whole time.  When the test was over, Jay noticed Michael go to put the cap back on his pen, only to realize the cap was still on.  He had never actually gotten around to writing anything, so had never removed the cap in the first place.  Michael walked out ahead of Jay, and Jay had to hurry to catch up. 

“Don’t let it bother you, Duke was just upset.  It was a misunderstanding and it will all be forgotten before you know it.” 

“I don’t think it will be forgotten that quickly.  A number of older kids have started calling me snake.”  Michael
would not
look at Jay, but at least he was talking again.  Jay decided it would
be best to try to make light
of the situation.

“Well, you knew you’d get a nickname at some point.  Personally I think it has a nice ring to it.  Maybe we could negotiate for something a little more exciting, like viper or cobra.”

Michael
did not
smile, but Jay could see a slight humor pass through one of his pictures.  The instant he noticed it, however, it was gone.  Michael stopped walking and turned to face Jay. 

“Can I ask you a question?”  Michael asked Jay.

“Of course.”

“Why don’t you ever mind your own business?”

This
was not
what Jay was expecting. 
The problem here is Duke, why would he be getting mad at me? 
Jay thought.  He almost expected Michael to answer his thoughts, but after a few moments, Jay realized he had to respond. 

“I’m sorry if it seems like I am intruding right now, I was just trying to make you feel better.”

“No, it’s not that, this conversation is fine.  It’s fine because we can verbally tell each other what we want to say.  It’s the fact that you are in my head right now.  Why can’t you just let me have a few thoughts to myself?”

“What are you talking about?  I’m not trying to read your thoughts at all right now.”

“Don’t lie to me
Jay,
I can feel you in here.”

Jay
was not
sure how to respond.  The fact that Michael had called him Jay proved to him that he was not messing around. 
He can feel me in there? 
Jay
did not
like the idea of this. 
If he
can feel me intruding on his thoughts when they are merely a part of the collage, does everyone else think I’m trying to read their thoughts too?
  “I’m sorry, Michael.  I’ve told you about the collage.  That’s all it is right now, and you are mixed in there somewhere.  I’m not looking at your pictures, so I am not consciously reading your mind; I guess I’m just taking in more than I want to.  I don’t know how to shut it off.”

Michael looked down at the floor.  “I guess I just wanted to be alone for a few minutes last night, and I felt like you wouldn’t let me.  You’re my best friend here, but sometimes I guess I get tired of constantly feeling you pulling my thoughts from my head.”

“I’m
sorry,
I didn’t realize it felt like that.  Maybe we could do some independent research to learn how to better control the flow of thoughts?  Maybe there is some sort of block that I can do to block myself or something.”

Jay had meant this seriously, but Michael apparently found it slightly amusing, because a small smile showed
up on his face.  Jay continued, “
a
nd
I give you permission to read my thoughts all you want.  Seriously, we have all the same classes, we share a bunk bed, we eat all our meals together, why not just cut to the chase and share a mind altogether?”

“Or maybe I can just pretend you are my conscience, checking to make sure I am staying pure in thought and deed.”

“That could work too,” Jay put his arms up in imitation of a spirit, “Michael, this is your conscience speaking, forgive your friend for his inadvertent intrusions.”

“Alright conscience, you’re forgiven,” Michael responded with a smile, “and my name’s not Michael,
it’s
Snake.”

AS EXPECTED, DEFENSIVE T
actics class was much more interesting to Jay that Monday.  They were working on defending against Hermes, and students were being paired up in groups of three, one Hermes with two non-Hermes.  The Hermes would tap one of the others repeatedly in different spots, as if they were attacking them.  The one being “attacked” would defend their vital areas and wait for a moment when the Hermes would slow.  The third person would watch and give critiques at the end of the exercise, then they would switch places and the Hermes would go after the one who had previously been watching.  The teacher had given them a few techniques to try, some involving distracting the Hermes, and some involving getting them off their feet to be stopped by gravity’s effects. 

When it was Jay’s turn to be attacked, he decided to try a technique using gravity.  He took a low position in a crouch, blocking his face and abdomen from the Hermes, but making sure he could still watch the Hermes.  The exercise began, and Jay saw the Hermes look towards him.  The Hermes suddenly dashed over to Jay and moved in for a tap on his shoulder.  Jay instinctively crouched a little further, and to the surprise of both him and the Hermes, he dodged the tap.  The Hermes was immediately caught off balance, stumbling past Jay.  Jay realized this was the position to finish the technique, so he grabbed one of the Hermes flailing arms in his left hand, scooped up the Hermes legs with his right hand, and suspended the Hermes in the air. 

“Stop
,”
t
he teacher called to the class.  He walked over to where Jay stood.  “Put your classmate down.”

Jay looked down and noticed that the Hermes was still suspended in his arms.  He had been so surprised at how quickly the technique had worked that he had forgotten to finish the move by pinning the Hermes on the ground.  Jay quickly let the boy back onto his feet.

“How many touches were landed before the attack was stopped
?
”
t
he teacher asked the Titan who was observing the maneuver.

“None sir, the larger Hermes stopped the smaller Hermes before the first touch,” the Titan responded.

“Oh, are you a Hermes?  I have in my records that you’re a Prometheus,” the teacher asked Jay. 

“No sir, your records are correct, I am a Prometheus
,”
Jay responded.  He
did not
like that the whole class was watching them.