Talk

Hunter laughed and nodded to Ryan. "Can't let them think they can just take over the races without me." He pulled close to the other waiting cars and parked, cutting the engine. It would be just a short while until they would gather at the starting line, and even then, it wasn't exactly an event that was always on time. 

Exiting the car, he waited for Ryan before taking her hand and giving it a squeeze. "Come on... hold your head up. You deserve to be proud of yourself."


Scott sighed a little, but managed a small smile at Hope. "That's... probably a good idea." It felt like it was a bit much, but maybe she was right. Maybe a stricter plan would force him to stick to it. "Anything to get Justin off my back." He set aside his sandwich and chose an apple slice to munch on next. Not that he wanted to, but at least then he will have had some fruit. 

Maybe it was the fresh air. Maybe it was the normal stress. But whatever the reason, Scott found himself growing weary. As he finished eating as much as he could, he set aside a couple items and laid down on the blanket, putting his head in Hope's lap. "What if I don't get any better than this?" he questioned quietly. "Won't you grow tired of me?"


Jamison shook his head, swiveling a little in his chair. "Oh... I helped her and... that's that. I really don't have time for school now anyway." He shrugged. "Who knows? I might end up seeing her in the park again someday." 

He swiveled a little in his chair and turned his attention back to the computer screen. "Okay, so show me again how you got into the system. I got lost a couple times."


"Mmm... definitely." Travis smiled and slid his hand across the table to take Ashlee's Angel's words were fresh in his mind, and he glanced around, finding they were rather alone here in this corner. "I, um... always like your company, you know that." He chuckled sheepishly.

"Listen, um... maybe after chores, we can go for a walk too? Just you and me?" His thumb ran over her fingers gently. "I sorta wanna talk to you about something."


Garret closed the browser window and sat back in the office chair, feeling stupid and miserable. Stupid for continuing to come back here and miserable because of the subject matter. He couldn't keep visiting John's Facebook page. It was driving him insane.

He stood from the chair, forcing distance between himself and the computer. The family picture was burned in his mind. He couldn't get it out. His parents. The people who had caused so much pain all his life... he'd seen them now... he knew they were alive... he knew where they were. And yet it was as if the family ties didn't even exist.

Sighing, he headed out of the room, but stopped as his eyes roamed the bookcase. There were at least five different Bibles there, which he found odd. Why would someone want that many versions of the same book? While in the Agency, he'd been forbidden to read the Bible. Anyone born into it, or in upper ranks were not allowed, under any circumstances, to read one. Garret had been told that it was full of lies and religious brainwashing that could destroy a man's logic and make him question what was really true. So he'd had no problem avoiding the subject. Now though... Nate and Laura hardly seemed stupid or brainwashed. Yet they prayed at every meal and went to church on Sundays, and both freely talked about God. Was what they'd learned all from the Bible? And if so, did that mean the Agency was wrong?

The doorbell startled him from his thoughts. Nate and Laura had been gone almost a week now, and no one had come by the house. Odd. He went carefully to the front door, half expecting trouble. Upon opening it though, he half relaxed and half bristled. "Justin."

Justin eyed him through the screen door. "Hi, Garret. Nate or Laura here?"

Garret shook his head. "Nope. What do you want?"

"Well... to be honest, I wanted to talk to you about Scott. I wasn't going to interfere without Nate's permission though."

Garret pushed open the door. He didn't like Justin, but he was no coward. And if it was about Scott, he was much more apt to converse. "I don't need his permission, so you might as well say what you want."

Not letting him change his mind, Justin entered the house and wandered to the living room where he set his backpack down. "I don't want to take up too much of your time, but I was wondering about the data Scott's experiencing. He's having trouble controlling it and I thought you might know something about it."

Garret motioned for him to sit on the couch, while he took up "his" normal chair. "I don't understand."

Justin eased down to sit on the edge of the couch. "After his first assimilation, he would get bombarded with data when faced with Agency intel or see pictures of Agency operatives. It drained him physically and mentally until he could figure out how to control it and avoid such harsh attacks."

Garret nodded knowingly. "That seemed to be a common side effect of all those assimilated."

"I was advised by Carson to engage him in physical activities then practice deflecting the intel. Eventually he learned to suppress it and retrieve it when he wanted. Never did quite perfect it, but at least he was surviving."

Garret cocked his head. "Okay..."

Justin sighed. "Since the upgrade, he's been struggling again. The same methods aren't working. He said he's seeing the data differently. It's a lot more interactive and his mind's eye can visualize the data in a completely different way. he said it's actually pretty amazing. Unfortunately, it's striking at random times and he can't control it. He can't bring it up when he wants, and he can't shut it off. He just has to wait until the episodes pass." He shrugged. "I was wondering if you might have any suggestions."

"Well... we never had anyone else who made it that far, so Scott's a guinea pig at this point... But the physical activity is good. What do you do when you can't think and you need to clear your head?"

"Take a walk?"

"Mmhmm. It's what scientists and doctors have known for years. Getting out into the fresh air and doing something physical helps the mental state. It would probably help Scott to be more physically active, even if it's just taking walks - whatever he can handle." Garret thought for several more moments. "He needs to embrace the data and not fight it. Let it come. Study it. Get to know it. Once he stops fighting it... it should be more manageable. He's gonna have to learn how to do it on his own since there's no formula."

Justin nodded slowly. "Okay."