That, I suppose, was the point I gave up trying to keep from thinking. There’s only so much boredom you can take even when you’re depressed, and I had the distinct impression the men would not be coming back in anything like a little while. If there had only been the major points of disturbance coming at me I could have held them off a good deal longer, but I was being prodded by minor points that were more confusing than upsetting. None of them seemed to fit, and my thoughts went to poking at them even before I sighed and joined in.
The men were being trained to be “dangerous,” and the higher the level they reached, the more dangerous they were considered to be. No one seemed willing to discuss what they were being trained for, but that wasn’t the part bothering me so much. I knew a fully developed Prime was dangerous; even with the reasons for the knowledge locked behind that door in my mind, I was far from uncertain. What didn’t quite match that unsupported knowledge were the things I’d heard Kel-Ten and even Jer-Mar saying, things that made no sense. Jer-Mar had boasted that he’d been able to split a projection in two and hold it for a full thirty seconds. Kel-Ten had said that Ank-Soh, one of the two men right below his own exalted position, would have projected to “every man in a thirty-five foot radius” if he’d lost control of himself.
Those were supposed to be high accomplishments? That was what brought them promotion and rewards and even fear from Sees who didn’t happen to be nulls? Baby tricks like that?
I made a sound of frustration as I leaned back against the wall I was sitting in front of, drawing another amused glance from the Sec standing near me. He hadn’t been shy about inspecting me with his eyes when I’d first been left with him, and he’d obviously considered it very funny when I’d kept my knees together by bending both my legs to the left beside me after sitting down. I had the distinct impression he would have enjoyed making use of me, but Mera had been right when shed said we had nothing to fear from the male Sees in the men’s areas. It wasn’t that they weren’t interested in us, only that they weren’t permitted to touch us, and I wondered if it really was fear of the Primes, as Mera had suggested, that made sure they obeyed the rules.
Fear of Primes who strutted around because they could do baby tricks.
I couldn’t hold back another sound, this time one of annoyance, but my attention was no longer on the Sec or how he was taking my involuntary reactions. I knew beyond doubt that / could do more than the trained wonders the facility was so proud of, but that was all I seemed to know. Trying to reach my own ability was almost enough to make me forget I had an ability, the harder I tried, the more the memory faded. Obviously I had their conditioning to thank for that, and trying to press the point wouldn’t have made much sense. I was “turned off,” a state Kel-Ten said he would change, a state I wished I could stop thinking about. Some part of me seemed to consider the phrase very important, a key to something vital, but the rest of me hadn’t the faintest idea what that could be. It was adding to my frustration so badly I almost wished it was one of the things I’d been conditioned to ignore. They didn’t want me reaching what I could do, but knowing why I couldn’t do it was perfectly legal.
I fell so deeply into the mud pit of confusion and frustration, that the first I knew Kel-Ten was back was when he leaned down to tickle me in a rather sensitive place. I gasped and jumped, embarrassed and ready to be outraged, especially when the Sec joined him in laughing at me. The great Prime was covered in sweat, his blond hair hanging in strings, his pretty gold outfit soaked through and looking as though it should be thrown in the trash, but his blue eyes said he was still enjoying himself.
“I asked how you would like to take a shower with me,” he said, his grin more than mocking. “The number of other men showering with us shouldn’t bother you, not the way you like water, and if I should happen to think of something to do in addition to showering, you’ll be right there and handy. What do you say?”
“I say I’d rather stay dirty for the rest of my life,” I answered, getting to my feet to glare at him. I almost went on to tell him how little a shot he really was, but the anger inside me refused to let me be stupid. I could get as mad as I liked, as long as I kept quiet about things that could turn out to be an advantage at a later time.
“I wonder how I knew you were going to say that?” he mused, the grin still there and strong. “I think I’m learning to read-your mind even if I can’t reach it. And what a handy talent it’s proving, too, since I’ve already made arrangements for you to do something else while I’m showering. Come along, sweet thing.”
He took my hand and then I was being pulled along behind him again, toward the door leading out of the gym into the corridor. I would have hated being treated like that even if his hand hadn’t been as sweaty as the rest of him, but there wasn’t much I could do to stop it. I was his brand new toy, and people played with their toys just as they liked.
Rather than going back toward the central area of couches and windows, Kel-Ten led me more deeply into the men’s areas. A couple of minutes worth of walking brought us to an unmarked, light brown door, and before I could ask any questions my owner had it open and I was being taken through it. Inside were two men, one in Security white and one in Medical brown, and they both looked around when we appeared.
“Right on time, Prime Kel-Ten,” the man in brown said with a smile as he walked toward us. “We appreciate this more than words can say. Your generous cooperation won’t be forgotten, I can assure you of that.”
“I’ll make certain it isn’t, Gerdoh,” Kel-Ten answered with a grin, pulling me closer to the other man by the hand he still held. “If you need to check her to be sure I haven’t damaged her, go right ahead and check away. The only other thing you also have to make sure of is that when I come back to get her, I find the same girl I’m leaving. If you-improve-her the way you and your group like doing to everything female coming past you, you’ll be gifted with something besides generous cooperation that won’t be forgotten. You have my word on it.”
“Now, now, Prime Kel-Ten, we have no intentions of taking her away from you or doing anything that would displease you,” the Medical man said in a soothing way, raising one hand but pot using it to touch the hard-eyed Prime he spoke to. “You’ve earned the right to have the girl any way you wish, as long as she’s well cared for. We’ll simply assure ourselves of her continuing good health, and then you may have her back.”
“As long as we both know where we stand, she’s all yours,” Kel-Ten said lightly, finally letting my hand go. “You can tell your Class Zero Sec over there to relax, I need a shower more than I need a fight. Right now, that is.”
He gave the man Gerdoh a very amused grin, then turned and left the room without bothering to see to the door he’d left open. The Sec followed behind and closed the door quietly, and the Medical man took a deep breath and let it out slowly.
“I don’t care what anyone tells me, I can feel their minds pushing at mine whenever one of them talks to me,” he muttered, possibly to the Sec or maybe to the empty air. “If that’s what they’re like when they’re reasonably calm, I don’t ever want to get one of them angry at me. Most especially not that one.”
He shuddered just a little at the thought, clearly impressed with the man called First Prime, then put his disturbing ideas behind him. He was a fairly tall but rather thin man with very straight black hair and brown eyes, and I knew he was ready to get down to business when he squared his narrow shoulders and smiled patronizingly in my direction.