“She’s even more remarkable then. But that’s good. She needs to trust you, or this isn’t going to work.”
The other man didn’t say anything as he continued looking at the screen. Kirkland didn’t interrupt any more, quietly waiting. He was used to the man staring at the test subject. It was the same intense stare every time, as if he was memorizing every detail of the sleeping woman. Kirkland wasn’t a psychologist; he wasn’t going to make any professional conclusion about that. As a scientist, he found this whole thing quite bizarre, but all experiments at the Center were bizarre.
The man next to him was probably one of the Center’s most successful experiments and at times, Kevin Kirkland wasn’t even sure he was human. His abilities were legendary. Kirkland glanced at the screen, then back at the man. What a pair. Helen stirred, stretched, and then turned the other way, tucking one hand between the bed and one leg.
“I’m ready.”
The elevator took them to a sealed chamber. It was gray, just like the other room. The man stripped without preliminaries and climbed onto the special bed. Kirkland adjusted the straps and the headrest that was similar to the one Helen Roston had in her room.
“You can skip the subliminal message tape.”
Dr. Kirkland paused, trying to hide his surprise. “There is no—”
“Doc. I know when my mind is being fucked with.”
How? Another mystery about the man. “I had orders.”
“I’m not angry. Just skip the subliminal loop. I’m as honest and loyal to the government as I’m ever going to get. You can choose to tell them that or not.”
“I’ll have to tell them that if I change any order of the test.”
The man reached out, caught hold of Dr. Kirkland’s wrist. “I’m no longer a test. She is.”
“You’re part of it,” Kirkland reminded calmly. He sighed. “I won’t put on the subliminal text.”
The man released him and settled back comfortably. “Is she on theta wave yet?”
The doctor read the panel on the brain entrainment machine. The tonal frequencies were specifically designed to merge the brain waves of both right and left sides of the hemisphere. “No. Beta.”
The man closed his eyes. “Don’t get on theta till she’s in REM state.”
“Why do you want her to be dreaming when we hit theta?”
“Just do it, Doc.”
Kirkland nodded and dimmed the lights. His other orders had been to follow the man’s intuition when it came to the tests. This sounded like one of them.
“Good night.”
“Good night, Doc.”
Kirkland punched the code to lock the chamber and took the elevator to the next level. Derek turned around, the audible tones from the two machines in the background.
“We aren’t using the subliminal tape for Chamber B tonight, Derek. And we’re going to wait till Miss Roston hits REM before theta stage.”
“Why, Dr. Kirkland? Are we now monitoring her dreams?”
“No, we have enough on our plate with this operation. We don’t need that.” Yet. He didn’t know. “Adjust the template.”
The monitors only showed the brain waves and breathing patterns of the subjects. The panel registered the vitals and different changes through the sleep session. There was privacy for Miss Roston, even if she didn’t know it. As for the other…that display was top-secret and even Derek didn’t have the clearance to know his identity.
“Alpha wave,” announced Derek.
That man could fall asleep at will. Even after three months of watching it happen, Kirkland was amazed at the man’s total control. He checked Helen Roston’s monitor. She had started Rapid Eye Movement, usually the period when dreams happened.
“Slow down to theta, Derek.”
The doctor opened his case and pulled out the files to make his notations. There was nothing unusual at the slowed-down readings. Over the intercom Helen Roston let out a soft snore and a tiny purr.
