by ToGard
Chapter 8
A plush lavender horse reared up on its hind legs and galloped about the playroom under its own power. Its owner, a five-year-old girl, watched at it with squealing delight as she hovered in midair above her myriad of toys.
At the entryway, Dr. Bill Garner, Morgan le Fay, and an effortlessly disguised Jack Ogden watched Anne play with the projected manifestations of her imagination.
“Remarkable.” Morgan whispered.
The horse made a cartoonish grin and Anne did a back flip in midair. She flew across the room, holding her breath and phasing through her plastic castles and toys as if she were as much a projection as the horse.
“This is her whole world. We found that she does not know why we all don’t fly or tunnel on a daily basis. Of course, like all children, she sees the adult world as boring, and usually works to make it more to her liking.”
“Of course, the little terrors grow into big monsters that way.” Jack intoned. His face had an odd lucidity; his features shifted whenever he moved, bordering on looking like a proposed four-dimensional painting.
Garner nodded.
“The problem is that she wants interaction of equal kinds, but does not understand that she is unique.”
“So, she goes all poltergeist and ruins the upholstery then.” Jack said.
Garner chuckled.
“Oh yes. It’s a pain in the neck to deal with.”
Bill Garner was a very lanky man. He was tall, wore very thick glasses, and had a thin brown moustache that matched his receding hair. Morgan noticed with disgust that it sounded like phlegm inhibited his voice, making his breathing sound like a rock scraping over pavement.
Garner continued.
“We believe in the needs of each individual, yet with our young Anne, we directed her toward being a happy young girl. She is free to use her power to her own means and whenever she wants, as long as no one is hurt. This is to help detour being rebellious when she’s older. We fear that if she’s not content, she could be very dangerous. We try not to let her get away with her wrong doings, but it’s a challenge, as her parents will attest to.”
Morgan held her thumb and index finger above her lip, as if she were to pinch it. Anne let the horse dissolve. She held her right arm to her side and an animal cracker floated over to her hand. Anne nibbled on the cracker and looked at Garner. She waved at them and sent them each a cracker. Jack absorbed his through his palm.
Morgan nodded and studied the cookie.
“I am intrigued, yes, but a question lingers, Dr. Garner. For what was I brought here, long after I was banished from the Meta Corps daycare?”
Garner pressed his lips together and furrowed his brow. He didn’t answer for a moment.
“Why was I brought here?” Morgan asked with a firm tone.
Garner’s heart rate increased and it showed through his sudden fidgeting and straining voice.
“I have spent my life trying to explain psychokinesis in the lab. The best thing to come out of it is a form of biofeedback, where one can manipulate part of their brain and an EEG reads the patterns that equate them to a desired function. Some of our metas are labeled as such strictly because of their artificial accoutrements. They are cyborgs.
Anne though, well… Our second most powerful meta next to Anne, Geoff Teslowski, he is able to pick himself up and fly fast enough to break the sound barrier. He has problems lifting anything else heavier than he is with the will of his mind though. He only has a four-foot radius before whatever he’s holding drops off suddenly.
Anne displays much of the same skills that Geoff does, but she can project her thoughts like a hologram and tunnel in addition.”
Jack scoffed; it was a wet, metallic sound.
“So Anne is a collective hallucination and she’s not real. That’s not a problem, it just means that we’re all mad.”
Morgan watched Anne watch them, both with intense curiosity. Anne eyed Morgan’s cookie, and Morgan took a bite. Anne giggled.
“What are the limits of her telekinetic force? A person of her stature is unable to lift a sofa by their will alone.” Morgan asked.
Garner nodded.
“That’s about right. Anne expressed strain when we asked her to lift a 16-gallon tub of water. She could only lift the tub an inch off the ground, and she ended up physically tipping it over. That sent the water flying across the room at an increased velocity.”
Morgan stared at Anne. She got bored and flew off, creating a translucent rainbow in her wake.
“You have yet to tell me what I was summoned for, and I can assure you that I was not brought in to suck the marvelous teat of your credentials again.”
Garner got close to Morgan, to which she recoiled slightly; his breath smelled of artificial fruit and intestinal acids.
“I want to run some tests on her, but because of a child’s aversion to needles, I have yet to get a blood sample. I have several ideas for evaluating her, and I need someone of a higher stature to help explore her powers and create a consumable form.”
Jack frowned.
“Yeah, we all know how that turned out, nudge, nudge. I’m still paying court fees.” He scoffed and rolled his eyes.
Garner continued.
“I have a high-powered scanner that I would like to have rigged with an inescapable chamber for her. I have tested the scanner and results are positive, yet they take a notoriously long time to complete. Most importantly, Morgan, I do not want her harmed as we work.”
Jack stepped up and added to the conversation, his body rippling noticeably.
“So, wait, what do you want Morgan to do then? Trap the girl, build her a cage, or figure the munchkin out for you? She’s a doctor, not a steel welder.”
Garner wagged a skinny finger at him. Jack stared at him like he planned to set his greasy hair on fire.
“Look you, Anne is the closest that man has ever gotten to ascension by way of a natural mutation. Anne may be our future.”
Morgan could not help but have a flashback triggered by Garners statement. She sat on a stage… next to Walter, overlooking an audience as a male barked out promises to the crowd, so very long ago.
“I am the closest that we have ever been to ascension by way of Gaias power, I am your future!”
Morgan warped back and saw Anne approach her with a grin and her full attention.
“Hi! You’re scary.” She said with a playful grin.
Morgan sneered.
“And you’re stupid.”
Anne giggled.
“You’re funny too.”
Morgan nodded.
“Charmed to hear that.”
Anne giggled again and floated away. Morgan watched her, inspired by her untimely flashback.
“I require a few days to prepare, for I have my own tests that I wish to run. I have my own inquiries about our Miss Anne Redford.”
