Psycher Chronicles

Chapter 23

Teaming Up

(Phil Tulley)

To say that Phil was angry would be an understatement. He was livid, going so far as to even curse, worse than the time he caught his finger in the widget after his granddaughter told him to watch his hand. Of course, at the time he had not heeded the warning and continued to work away diligently, never realizing the amount of pain and humiliation that he was about to face.

This time he felt the same amount of pain and embarrassment, but this time the source of his emotions were for a much different reason.

“What do you mean you think my granddaughter was cheating. Either she was, and you can prove it, or she wasn’t.” Phil said angrily.

He was in a meeting with Ms. Green, Misha’s basketball coach, Ms. Philips, her computer something teacher, and one of the vice principals of the school.

Despite being outnumbered three to one, Phil felt he was easily holding his own, particularly as Ms. Green was backing him up.

“I found your granddaughter passing programs without even touching the keyboard.” Ms. Philips said.

“Yeah, she gave you an answer for that, she wrote a program that scrolled through pages faster so she could focus on the actual test questions being asked.” Phil said, hoping he remembered the point that Misha had said. While he never really cared about computers, it was clear that Misha herself cared about them, which meant that Phil would at least try to understand the basics.

“Yes, which she shouldn’t have been able to download, as the computer was locked off from all other internet connections, other than to the source where the questions are generated.” Ms. Philips stated.

“So, you admit that the computer was locked off? Also, she wanted me to tell you to look for the account creator and the file creation date time tamp?” Phil said, now pulling out his card of concepts he needed to bring up.

“Yes, I saw that, the file I found “Misha’s forwarding powershell script was created during class and is listed as being created by Misha’s classroom account.”

“So what is the problem then?”

“The problem is that, well the program that was there was elegantly simple.”

“So anyone could write it.”

“Technically, but to be able to parse down the commands it did down to just two hundred words is something beyond most master programmers.” Ms. Philips concluded.

“I’m sorry, so what exactly is the issue here then?” Mr. Vann, the Vice Principle assigned for students whose last name began with T through Z for the school.

“The program is too elegant for a mere student to write, meaning she had to have taken the program in from somewhere.” Ms. Philips said.

“So your whole argument for why you have assigned Misha detention is because she produced something that you don’t think she is capable of creating?” Phil asked, trying to make sure he understood the comment.

“Yes, while I was unable to find any external connections to sites other than the testing site, her programming, along with her perfect score on the questions being asked indicate a high likelihood of her cheating.”

At that point Phil did something that no one who had gathered expected. He relaxed. He visibly let out a breath and just chuckled slightly to himself.

“Is something about this funny?” Mr. Vann asked.

“Honestly, yes.”

“You mean to say…” Ms. Philips began but was cut off by Phil who raised a calming hand and began speaking.

“That girl, she is probably the smartest girl on the planet. I am not just saying this as a proud grandparent, I mean it. She is probably not only the smartest, but most self-aware person I have ever met.” Phil began, and then paused for a second, before continuing. “Have you ever met someone who was smart, not just smart able to retain facts, but able to retain facts and apply them. Not just able to recall facts, but able to use them and apply them to everyday life?”

“When I was young, I mistakenly thought of myself as intelligent. Yet, when compared to that girl, I am slow, dumb, and will easily miss simple things. But there is one thing I can say for certain, that girl does not need any help or outside assistance when it comes to computers and electronics. The reason why we have a garage now is so that we can do something together in my last few years of working, where I can actually be of assistance to her. Though honestly, she does all the work. Don’t worry, she has taken all the certification courses and passed them all herself, but really when it comes to anything mechanical or remotely technical in nature, that girl will run circles around the rest of us before we even know where the finish line is.” As Phil spoke, it was clear that he was speaking from a place of love. Though his words were clearly having some effect, as Ms. Philips looked to have slightly softened her stance, at least for the moment.

“What would you have me do?” Ms. Philips asked.

“Test her again, this time with pen and paper. You have a printout of the answers she provided the first time. Have her answer the same exact questions again, and if there is any deviation from what she posted online to what she writes on the paper, then you can have some shred of credibility of her possibly receiving outside assistance.” Phil stated.

“What if she memorizes the answers that were given?” Mr. Vann asked.

With that Phil turned his attention from Ms. Philips to Mr. Vann and replied succinctly, “then she will have learned something, if only for a moment. Which is more than you can say for most students who will walk through those doors.” Phil ended his statements by pointing in the direction of the school entrance.

“Another thing you can do, to prove that she learned what those fancy certificates prove. Have her do something with the skills you suspect her of not truly knowing. If she can do a project with those skills and use them in a meaningful way, then what more could you ask for as a teacher?”

“I like that. This way, it is not just a matter of her learning answers to a test. But her having and showing the skills that she reported as having.” Mr. Vann said.

With that, Phil nodded his head slightly, as he inwardly counted down figuring that Mr. Vann was now on his side, at least for now. Now all he needed was to convert this last person to his side.

For her part, Ms. Philips looked lost in contemplation.

“What would you have me have her create?” Ms. Philips asked, clearly more for herself, than for others to provide meaningful insights.

“Isn’t there something that you would want automated at the press of a button?” Phil asked, figuring that Misha would somehow be able to do something like this, especially considering Misha had created her own tax assessment program that worked by him just double clicking the file that said “Phil’s_Yearly_Tax_Return.exe”

If she could do that at age twelve, then whatever this teacher could come up with would be easy for his granddaughter to create.

The teacher sat there in thought for a moment, before tapping her pointer finger against her lips. Now that he was not so worked up, Phil could see a few of the better features of the woman. Had he been twenty years younger and his wife, well wife and now granddaughter not been in the picture he might contemplate a shot at the young looking vixen before him.

Still, Phil felt that for a moment, he might need to put on a bit of the old Phil Tulley charm. Then before he could figure out what exactly that charm consisted of now-a-days, Ms. Philips seemed to break.

“You know, there is a project that I have been needing additional help with for my programming group.” Ms. Philips said.

“So, we can drop this suspension, and I can add this girl back to the roster?” Ms. Green asked.

Ms. Philips snarled in response, literally curled up her lips and almost hissed. For a moment, Phil could swear that he saw something feral about her teeth. Her canines looked larger for a moment, but then Phil blinked at the same time that Ms. Philips seemed to regain her composure at having to work with the basketball coach.

“Yes, for the moment I will remove her suspension, pending an independent review by creating a program using the abilities she claims to have learned. Given that she earned a hundred percent on all certificate programs offered, this should no doubt be easy for her to accomplish.” Ms. Philips said smugly as she crossed her arms against her ample chest.

Phil, watch yourself here, she is the enemy, and above all this woman is threatening your granddaughter’s academic future. Phil chided himself, as he felt that there was something wrong with his self-control. Though now that he had seen her, Phil might not be so opposed to come back and talk to the teacher once more, to see how his granddaughter was doing of course, nothing more.

***

(Amoni Jacobs)

“I thought you were kicked off the team due to cheating.” Amoni spat, instantly seeing the crux of all her recent problems staring at her, dressed and ready for practice.

“Nope.” That was it, the one-word response that the girl dared fire back in response. Hearing that, something primal in Amoni told her to stand down, despite the words being more than enough to normally provoke a response out of her.

“Amoni, what are you doing here! I thought I told you, you were gone for the week.” Coach Green shot out.

“I was, I mean, I am, but I am K-Bar and J-Sweep’s ride home. So I need to stick around, coach.” Amoni answered respectfully.

Coach Green stared at Amoni, and in that moment they shared a pack thing. This was Coach Green’s way of showing that she was not only dominant, but that she was evaluating everything Amoni did.

“You can watch, but do not say a word.” Coach finally stated.

“I will coach.”

“I mean it though, one word and you’re gone.”

“Okay coach.”

“Maybe you can learn something about playing as a team from watching.” Coach Green said, her voice trailing off, loud enough for Amoni and her supernaturally enhanced hearing to catch, but stated more as the lessons a shaman would try to impart on a particularly troublesome youth. Amoni knew that voice all too well, as it was the voice her father and grandfather both used while talking to her cousin Jerome.

“K-Bar, do you think you can handle guarding the new girl for today?” Coach Green asked, clearly back in her instructor mode. With the turning of her back, the page had been turned both symbolically and literally that Amoni was no longer part of Coach Green’s mind from here on out.

“You got it coach.” K-Bar said.

Then with that, Amoni watched the scrimmage begin. This time with only three pack members playing the pace of the A-Team was much slower, the passing and execution of rotations looking like a slow grind more than the well-coached team they were.

Of course, there was one clear reason why the A-team was having a hard time. First Amoni wasn’t there to play point, her speed and physicality made it easy to dictate the pace of play. The second thing was, Amoni saw K-Bar also get locked down by the octopus girl, with her long arms that spun out and struck at the ball at random angles, constantly keeping K-Bar on the defensive while moving. The of course meant that the team was slower to rotate, and slowly over time found their excluding K-Bar from any return passes.

Meanwhile, the new girl had gotten faster if anything.

Despite how long and awkward she looked, her footwork had seemingly improved. Her handles had even gotten crisper, as she was able to dribble behind her back, between her legs, and generally do things that made K-Bar look silly when she tried to make a poke at the ball.

Then about halfway through the second quarter it happened, K-Bar looked visibly winded.

At that point, Amoni who had been trying to pretend to focus on getting ahead on her course work looked up to see what was wrong with the normally energetic pest that was K-Bar.

But looking at her, it was clear that something drastic had happened, she was winded. Sweat beading and pouring on her head, and her hands constantly going to her hips to help support her sternum whenever there was a break or pause in the action.

One would expect her opponent to be equally as winded, but this was not the case, as the new girl looked just as relentless as she had when this scrimmage began.

Looking at her it was clear that she wasn’t stronger, or at least hadn’t been at first, as K-Bar had been able to move her out of the way with a simple forearm push at first, but now her arms seemed to quiver and shake when she tried the same thing.

Watching this, Amoni felt a slight chill as it was exactly as she had felt yesterday. Where her energy, her wolf just disappeared on her, and it felt like she was just a regular mortal running up and down the court, not the all-powerful creature of destruction that her family had told her that she was.

Seeing her like this Amoni couldn’t help but wonder what she was doing? Was she also an awakened one? And if so, which group was she a part of? Normally her wolf would have smelled a challenge if she was part of another pack, meaning that she might be one of the other groups, but if so, then which one?

Amoni didn’t know, but she needed to find out.

For years there had been a steady truce between the factions, but it was clear that this girl might not have gotten the memo. That or she now dared to tread into places best left uncharted by external groups.

***

(Patricia “Patty” Philips)

There was something off putting about the new girl. At first Patty felt that it was likely because the girl was a werewolf, yet every inspection showed that she was not part of that faction.

Also, there was the argument that she was quite possibly a gifted prodigy when it came to electronics. A background check by her superiors in the cabal hinted that she might be a good candidate for being indoctrinated.

Given how rare such alerts are from upper management it was enough for Patty to want to take a further glance at her. That and the spirited argument by the parental unit of the girl was enough for her to begin putting her to the initiation process.

First would be a series of assessments to gauge her acumen. From there, it would be a matter of gauging her body’s ability to acclimate to the virus. At her age, she was quite possibly at the perfect age of development to take the virus and be able to survive the transformation process afterwards.

Even the parental unit smelled of vitality, so much so that it was all Patty could do to try to hold back her pheromones from the old man. Even with her restraint, she didn’t think she had been too successful in her endeavors as everyone around her had shown signs of arousal and attraction. Actually, of everyone present, Mr. Tulley showed the least reaction to her flustered sense of emotions.

Even the daughter herself seemed to be posed or particularly strong will, coming to think of it, as she also showed no signs of being swayed by her abilities either.

Thinking about it, Patty realized that if the daughter proved to be a viable candidate, then she might not stop with just the daughter, for surely the family that spawned a genius would also be worth indoctrinating to their cabal as well, right?

“Yes, we will see how well you perform,” Patty spoke to herself, as she began crafting the backbone of a program and codex that everyone in her cabal would ultimately devote their lives to solving, as its solving would ultimately bring them closer to the apex of evolution. Once there, they would no longer need to hide in the shadows. Once there, they would rule the world freely as they saw fit. “To do this, we will just need a simple computational program, at least for the first test. From there, we will see her true potential value to the cabal.”

With that, Patty replied back to her leader, sending a simple response.

Hello V,

As per our earlier discussion, the subject has been re-instated. Will beginning compatibility testing tomorrow.

-P

***

(Frank Grimes)

Frank felt so stupid, all this time he had been looking for a mother and daughter pair, only to find out that that the people he met last night in the middle of the night, after nearly driving for far longer than was safe given his mental state by the time he finally arrived at the auto garage last night.

Now he was looking at a sign he had been searching for relentlessly for the last ten years, and there it was staring at him, right in the face.

Andrea: My daughter stayed up all night and fixed your car.

Seeing the message Frank’s heart raced as he realized the coincidence of it all. A Jackson county, a woman named Andrea with a daughter, but the ages were off. The woman he saw yesterday was far too young to have a teenager, wasn’t she?

Then Frank decided to reply back, wanting to see if his thoughts that his gut was now screaming at him were accurate.

Frank: Your daughter?

Andrea: Yeah, she was the girl who performed your initial diagnostics.

Hearing that, Frank was certain that this couldn’t be the case as that girl he saw was clearly an adult, at least someone who was old enough to be a full-time mechanic if what he was being told was anything.

Andrea: Yeah, does that make me old?

At that Frank realized the trap, and paused as he had absolutely no clue on how to answer this without getting into trouble.

Still, Andrea had been more than pleasant enough to at least speak to.

Realizing this, Frank decided to change the approach.

Frank: I’m now retired, does that make me old?

And then as soon as he sent it, he immediately regretted that, as there was no other way to look at that statement other than yes, his best years in life were past their prime.

Realizing the mistake, especially as he saw the signs of her typing, Frank let out a huff, and then decided to go for broke.

Frank: I think I still owe you at least a lunch for your assistance yesterday.

Andrea: You offering?

Frank: Yes, so long as being asked by an old man doesn’t offend you.

Andrea: Depends, are you asking me out?

With that Frank paused, then wondered if he actually was, the going for broke he replied back.

Frank: Yeah, I guess I am.

With that Frank waited anxiously for a reply, arguably the longest reply in the history of replies.