- Art of Mystics - (closed for Sinful_whispers)

Walter Baynard didn't really like to teach. That probably explained why he had spent the majority of his career doing research rather than passing on his incredible knowledge to others. He had never been able to settle down as a successful, teaching professor, so he simply tried to forget about that aspect of his life. But there were exceptions to any rule, and the same could be said about Walter's aversion for teaching. Like the rare occasion where one of his old friends or colleagues asked for a favor. When that happened, he did not hesitate to help. He just went along and did his best, for old times' sake.

That was actually the very reason why the scientist was now standing outside the grand hall of the Murrowdock University. His old school comrade, Hal Duffon, had asked him to enlighten a mixed crowd of students, scientists and journalists for a couple of hours. His guest appearance was part of a larger event meant to mark the final day of the peculiar seminar that had taken up much space and time at the university. As soon as one of the assistants gave him the signal, he would enter the hall and stand face to face with more people than he cared to count.

Hal passed by him, happy and smiling on the outside to an extend where it looked just as fake as it was. Walter knew him too well to fall for his friend's positive charade. Hal was notoriously nervous and exceptionally unable to make decisions. It was a true wonder how one as inept as him had managed to become leader of the educational institute in the first place. Hal had only asked for help because it was easy and because Walter's opinions gave the whole event a much needed edge. He wasn't exactly hugely popular in his own field, but the press and the students loved his ability to perform.

It didn't take long before he received the anticipated signal. Everything was ready, the spectators were set and prepared to watch him enter the stage. He went inside and was greeted by complete silence. How on earth so many people managed to stay silent was a mystery to him. It didn't last long either. When he was only feet away from the lectern, standing as a solemn symbol in the far end of the hall, the gathering seemed to explode in an overwhelming applause. It was probably Hal's doing, to make the occasion seem much more grand than it actually was.

Once he had positioned himself, he cleared his throat and looked all over the crowd in front of him. It appeared he was in for a few hours of wasted breaths. Okay, a large portion of the eyes staring back at him seemed to expect the world of him. Mysteries, wonders and knowledge all in one package. How naive and unexpected. If that was the delusion they were under, then they were in for an abrupt awakening.

“So,” thanks to the lectern's microphone, the single word echoed throughout the hall is a highly disturbing way. It appeared to amuse a great deal of the younger viewers. “Just to get it out of the way as quickly as possible: Are there any silly questions regarding my profession or my research that you want to ask before we begin? Are there any rumors about my doubtful studies that you want debunked or confirmed? I'm sure our host has an available microphone somewhere, so you don't have to scream your question in my direction. Anyone?”

His question brought about a wave of whispers and silent chatter throughout he seated crowd. Just the result he had expected. It was not everyday that a man in his position went to business straight away and offered the masses a small glimpse of the person under the white coat. People were curious, just as the natural order dictated. The insatiable lust for knowledge was a trait that time and time again had secured the continuous survival and evolution of the human race. Sadly, with their total dominance of planet Earth, the interest in useable knowledge had been forced astray by less valuable types of input. The interest in stuff like gossip and fame had tainted the otherwise noble intentions.

Finally, a bold one raised his hand into the air. At least someone had the nerve to step forth and embrace his curiosity. Whether or not he had anything interesting to ask about, was up in the air. Suddenly, it felt like years before the microphone reached it's destination and allowed the young man to speak his mind:

“Is it true that you have seen a Yeti?”

The question brought a tiny smile to the scientist's face. It seemed to get bigger when parts of the crowd burst into laughter and other verbal signs of approval. Was this really the only thing on their mind? Yetis and fairy tales? But, of course, he had asked for such silly questions to spawn before he started the lecture. He hated to be well into the subject, only to get interrupted by some sort of idiotic question about dating vampires or using Ouija boards. It was always a good idea to divide the fools from the clever from the beginning.

“Interesting question,” he nodded in faked approval of the student's bravery. His contempt for the young man was well hidden underneath a professional mask. He would ridicule him before he was done, that much was for sure. “Have I seen a living snow ape? Now, when you ask me if I have seen a Yeti, you indirectly hint at what you think I do for a living. You assume I actually run around in search for Yetis and Loch Ness monsters – how else would I be able to get a glimpse of one such creature. Am I right?”

The young man looked a bit confused. Then, moments later, he nodded hesitantly. His reaction fueled the whispering voices coming from the other spectators. What was going to happen next? How would the professor handle the question? Had he really seen a Yeti? There was so many hopeful faces directed at him. Boys and girls, most of them doomed to fail in his line of work. He could see it in their eyes. They were interested, but lacked potential and polish.

“But I am afraid I have to disappoint you all. I have not seen a Yeti. For me to even bother about finding evidence of it's existence, I would have to be a cryptozoologist, which I am not. Not that I disregard the experimental nature of their work, but I am not a man of such adventure. I am a scientist, through and through. My research into the paranormal is more than simple hocus pocus. What we do is serious business. We find logical solutions, and we relentlessly run tests on our own theories. So, if there's no other questions that reveal an apparent obsession with X-Files and other similar works of fiction, I'll get down to the matter at hand...”

The student sat down again with a mildly annoyed expression on his face. The scene had set the tone of the lecture and people were now talking loud enough to actually annoy the man on the stage. It took a while - and a great deal of treats - before the professors of the university had managed to get some order back into the crowd. As soon as silence ruled again, Walter picked up from where he left:

“You have all heard about the spirit world. Terms like 'heaven' and 'life beyond'. The other side, a second dimension. What if I told you his untouchable world is more real than we want to believe? Things that common men call apparitions are not just beings of folk lore and ghost stories. They are very real, but only if you look beyond the simple interpretation of the normal state of life. Through the use of delicate equipment, we can determine the existence and locations of spirits everywhere and anytime. Technology gives us the edge; it can gather information that the human mind cannot comprehend. It can gather and unleash energies that we can't handle with our bare hands.”

“The so-called spirit world is just another layer of our world – but it is beyond the normal perception of humans. Some prefer to call this other layer a second dimension, but the truth is far more complex. Years of research has provided us valuable insight into the process of death itself and the state of existence that lies beyond. Upon death, the soul is released from the body. It demands a huge amount of energy to break free of the meaty shell that keeps the soul contained throughout the ordinary life. We believe this burst of energy to be the inspiration for the common near-death stories about a great, big light. A tunnel. Think of it as a tiny version of a reversed big bang and you get an idea of how powerful it might be. But, like the soul itself, this energy is on a scale that transcends our basic understanding of energy. It is beyond anything we and our machines are able to register.”

“What happens when the soul leaves the body? Effectively, it is allowed passage to the other side. A world that exists right next to the world we know. In fact, we are all standing and sitting alongside the souls and energies of deceased people right now. Yes, that gives you all reason to wonder, right?”

Current score-line: Walter Baynard: 10 – Students of Murrowdock University: 0.

Complete and utter victory. They looked mesmerized. His last remark even cause a few to jump in their seats and look around in silent fear of the unknown phenomenon he had mentioned. It certainly gave them something to think about; and it wasn't even a clever lie or twist of the truth. It was all real, supported by countless months of intense research, interviews and experiments.

“Anyhow, since the soul is part of the human body, it only makes sense for it to retain a few characteristics of it's previous life. The ghosts people always talk about retain their self-consciousness, but they remain forever entangled with the rest of their world. We call these two extremes the 'I' and the the 'We'. I'll cover that later. Depending on the amount of personality the soul holds onto, it may or may not chose to cling to it's previous life, creating illusions and images of what used to be. They get trapped in a limbo between the two layers of our world. They show up where they are not meant to be, as twisted versions of their old memories. That is the phenomenon people call a ghost. But when it comes down to it, it's all a question of energies and how they effect one another.”

He paused once more. Tried to sense how well people actually followed his mindset and ideas. Supposedly, he had not lost anyone to their own stubborn imagination just yet. He smirked, confident that it was safe to proceed to the next level. “Indulge me while I tell you all a bit about how we are able to determine the flow of said energies – and how we can use our current knowledge to further our efforts to break down the wall between the layers.”

The way the lecture had developed so far proved absolutely promising and the positive impression boosted his morale. As a reward, the crowd before him was in for a real treat. Walter Baynard's teachings when they were best, lively and possessing, free of the dry material that forced students to fall asleep out of boredom or frustration. Yep, he would reward them for the next few hours. Then he would return to his laboratory at AntroCorp at the other end of town just in time to review the latest test results.




“Well Walter, you did it again!”

Hal Duffon sounded overjoyed. As though he was moments away from receiving a grand price for his short moment of ingenuity. He probably saw Walter's guest appearance as one of the high points of the whole event. But the man in question was more critical. The audience had been in his power throughout the event. That much was clear. It had been a mix of hungry journalists and students, some of them even future members of the science community. They had willingly swallowed each and every word he spoke and yet... he wasn't really into this game. It was a repetition of old chapters of his life. But his pride reveled in the applause and the admiration he received at the end of his lecture. That was worth it all, even the bad memories.

But the praise he received from his old friend was not meant to last for long. The stream of golden words came to an unexpected halt when another familiar face appeared in the narrow hallway behind the grand hall. It was Bruce Vaughn, one of his colleagues at AntroCorp. He worked at central management and answered only to the supreme powers of the board of directors. They had been friendly rivals in the past, but now, Bruce was his direct line to the powers that be. His appearance was a promise of delightful news. So he hoped, at least.

“I have both good and bad news for you, Walter,” the man looked sour and didn't even bother to greet either of them. “Your request for an extra pair of hands has been granted by the board. However, you will not receive another assistant. The paranormal division already has too many underlings and your two private assistants will have to do for now. You will get a full fledged colleague instead. A both talented and clever one...”

Walter couldn't believe what he had just heard. His department needed that extra assistant he had applied for. Just one more set of hands and his research would strive. But another colleague... that meant trouble for sure. He already had one colleague, and they hardly ever spoke to each other. They both hated the kind diplomacy it required to work together as a team. Walter gave directions. Assistants just did what they were told. They could be replaced quickly, if they refused.

“There's no point in exploding,” Bruce said with what appeared to be a wry smile on his lips. That little slime knew what the news meant to Walter and how furious it made him. “The newly founded crypto-science division is getting the cut already. There's no future in researching fantasy creatures. We are all doing our best to make everyone happy, and that means we can't hire any new staff. Instead, the company is rearranging it's resources, placing all useable personnel from crypto-science into other divisions. You'll get all the help you need from the new colleague of yours. She is probably waiting for you at your office right now.”

If eyes could kill, Bruce Vaughn would surely have perished that very day. At least that was how Walter looked like, when the paper-pusher left Hal and him alone in the hallway. The scientist got a hold of himself and refrained from running after the other man to punch him in the face. He parted ways with his old friend and went out of the building to get himself a cab. He needed to get to his laboratory fast. This new colleague would not be a problem for long, he was sure of it. It would require a person of a special matter to survive the relentless demands professor Baynard was known for...

Katherine Greer was a young lady of twenty-three, she had just finished college and was wondering what to do with her life next. She sat there waiting for professor Walter Baynard speak at Murrowdock University knowing she would be standing exactly where he was in a short amount of time.

Katherine admired the man, she understood his mind and perhaps how it worked on some levels but he was superior to her in many areas where she was slightly ignorant. The lights dimmed slightly as the ones on the lecture stage brightened as Professor Baynard walked out. There was an applause as she looked over the crowd of young impressionable minds sitting there anticipating his lecture.

She heard the clearing of his throat, some chuckled, as she almost looked like a deer in the headlights of an oncoming car to her. As he spoke one of the words echoed low through out the hall as it was almost and eerie sound.

“Just to get it out of the way as quickly as possible: Are there any silly questions regarding my profession or my research that you want to ask before we begin? Are there any rumors about my doubtful studies that you want debunked or confirmed? I'm sure our host has an available microphone somewhere, so you don't have to scream your question in my direction. Anyone?” He asked the crowd of students.

As the proposed the question she looked around and saw heads leaning against each other as whispers were able to be heard from every direction. She liked the fact that he was direct, and to her his voice was strong and yet he seemed tired in the eyes. She sat in the second row where she could see him directly. They had offered her to wait behind but, she wanted an upfront seat. There was so much she could tell about a person through their facial expressions, their voice and their body language.

Katherine took in a deep breath and rolled her eyes out of habit as the one young male student asked about the professor actually seeing a Yeti. The students broke out in laughter but Katherine smiled mirroring the one that slowly moved across the professors face. She awaited questions now from others about the Lockhness monster, Chupacabra, The Nandi bear, even about unicorns, werewolves and the Thunderbird. She listened to his answer and that put a stop to her train of thought.

The professor answered his question with one of his own which seemed to really confuse the student. " I am a scientist, through and through. My research into the paranormal is more than simple hocus pocus. What we do is serious business. We find logical solutions, and we relentlessly run tests on our own theories. So, if there's no other questions that reveal an apparent obsession with X-Files and other similar works of fiction, I'll get down to the matter at hand...”

Katherine sat up straight in her seat, she hung on every word this man said while her brain sucked the words in like a dry sponge. Here was what she was waiting for, as soon as he said the words 'spirit world' she was hooked even more if that were possible. This was her area of expertise. Katherine had her own beliefs about the after life, heaven and hell.

What he says is true but there are humans that see these apparitions. many have claimed to see ghosts, or spirits of those close to them or in houses where they have moved and spirits remained. Katherine knew this first hand. She had read everything about the professor and his work, there wasn't anything that wasn't published that she hadn't had her hands on.

“What happens when the soul leaves the body? Effectively, it is allowed passage to the other side. A world that exists right next to the world we know. In fact, we are all standing and sitting alongside the souls and energies of deceased people right now. Yes, that gives you all reason to wonder, right?” When he said that she smiled big and bright, she could feel goose-bumps upon her arms, the small hairs stood on end. he was correct, but had he ever seen them himself she wondered.

She walked him as he exited the stage, listening to the students clap as she slipped out between the rows and walked around to the back, up the steps and waited till she was introduced. In a way she was glad he left, following him was going to be hard but she was up for the challenge. As Katherine was introduced she smiled walking out and took her place at the podium.

"Hello everyone, wow, this is going to be hard following professor Baynard but he did open your minds and paved the way for me." She swallowed and looked at the young minds before her. "Let's discuss the top ten paranormal abilities. In no particular order, Psychokinesis. Anyone tell me what that means?" She asked looking to the students.

A hand raised here and there as she picked one young lady, "You in the red, go ahead."

"Telekinesis and mind over matter." She said

"Yes it is that sure, but there's more to it." Katherine responded as she took the microphone from its holder and stepped outside the podium. "It's that plus the ability to move or manipulate objects with the mind. A good example was the Stephen King move Carrie and her prom. I would say this is the one that most people would love to have. It would make the television remote defunct and we could basically sit on our butts all day long and do nothing! The position normally taken by scientists and skeptics is that any apparent evidence of this ability is the result of fraud. Many books claim to help you learn this ability and they often contain exercises to help. For example, you may be told to throw a dice repeatedly whilst trying to control the number that comes up. Unfortunately, this creates the psychological state of illusion of control, in which a person comes to believe they are influencing the dice, when in fact, on every roll they have a 1 in 6 chance that their number will come up. One famous person who claims to have this ability is Uri Gellar, who is well known for his spoon bending trick in which he would (apparently) gently rub a spoon just beneath the bowl and the spoon would twist or turn. In fact, skeptics have been able to mimic this trick with great success and no claim to having supernatural abilities."

Katherine went on to talk about Extra Sensory Perception (ESP), Telepathy, Clairvoyance. Pyrokinesis which was where another Stephen King movie came up from the student. Which they talked about a little bit more than the other paranormal abilities.

The lecture continued on, as so many students raised hands and asked questions. The next was psychometry, the name came up again, Stephen King and his book The Dead Zone. They talked about this ability for a bit and then moved to Precognition.

Katherine smiled as she walked across the stage, "Anyone know who the most famous American psychic is? The person is best known for predicting the assassination of President John. F. Kennedy. This person also predicted seeing Richard Nixon as the winner in the 1960's election." She waited and not one person answered. "Her name was Jean Dixon. She was also one of the number of psychics who gave advice to Nancy Reagan during the Reagan administration. Nixon held her in such high regard that he ordered preparations for a terrorist attack that she had predicted."

"The next , is Bilocation, then there is Postcognition, the opposite of precognition. It is the ability to see an event after it has occurred. Which was another subject in The Dead Zone as well. The last is Astral Projection, the ability to spiritually separate from your body and travel vast distances with the mind alone."

A hand raised, "yes?"

"Isn't it the same as bilocation?" A male student asked her.

"No, it differs from bilocation in that the second body is a spirit body. The concept of astral projection has been familiar for thousands of years, dating back to ancient China and other ancient cultures. A great deal of skepticism exists around this ability due to the fact that the only evidence is the word of the person claiming to be able to project. A study done by Dr. Charles Tart tentatively concluded that astral projection may have objective validity. For example, in a 1967 study, a subject was not able to discover a five digit number written down and placed face up in an adjoining room, but did provide some details of the activities of the technician monitoring the experiment. Tart summarizes, “Thus, there is some indication that ESP may have been involved with respect to the technician’s activities, but it is not at all conclusive.”

There was a few more questions asked, but time was running out. Katherine thanked the students and walked off stage hearing the applause. It didn't take Katherine long to exit the university and make way to the other side of town. Pulling into the lot, there was only one other car there. She went inside and looked around finding the correct door and opening it without the use of her body. Katherine smiled seeing the back of a man she admired for his work and mind. "Professor Baynard?"

Katherine was 5'5, long dark black hair pulled back tight and pinned up on the back of her head, bustier than most with her petite frame. She had a small perky nose which round John Lennon glasses rested upon and allowed her emerald green eyes to look bigger than they really were. "Hello I'm Katherine Greer, I was hired as your new assistant."

It was a pretty upset professor Baynard, who stepped into the paranormal department of the Antro Corporation's building about an hour after he had finished his lecture at the university. The prospect of getting a new, self-reliant member on the team did not amuse him even the slightest. He was determined to give this new colleague of his a hard welcome. A really, really hard one – a welcome that would mirror the harshness with which he slammed the first pair of doors leading inside the reception area of the department. Assigning a full-fledged scientist to his team instead of an untainted trainee, as he had requested it, was just the latest in a long line of unacceptable insults from the board of directors. Had the circumstances been different, he would've packed his research and every artifact relevant to it and left the damned place.

That idiotic Bruce Vaughn had not only showed up after the lecture to inform him about the change in plans. No, the top of the company had wanted him to present the professor with a subtle warning. Light and unspoken, but easy to see in the dim light of hindsight. Walter wasn't going anywhere for now. He was too reliant on his paycheck and his research to really consider abandoning the ship prematurely. Still... it was a completely different matter, if his new colleague was to leave the company in a rushed fashion. He certainly wouldn't mind one bit. His superiors could issue warnings and shake their fists at him all they wanted. In the end, they were much too reliant on his ingenuity to throw him out.

It wouldn't be the first time he had managed to push a possible rival out of the way. Wouldn't be the last either. He disregarded the little voice in his mind that kept talking about tolerance and partnership. The very same voice of justice had prevented him from getting rid of the other executive member of the paranormal division years earlier; he wasn't going to make the same mistake twice! They worked in a pretty dirty business, and he was determined to get his will with this. It didn't really matter whether or not the new scientist was green in the field, or had yet to make a name for herself. Her status alone allowed her an uncomfortable level of freedom, something that Walter despised. Strangers were not allowed to barge into his territory and come up with new theories that challenged his. Not anymore.

When the angry scientist opened the door his office, he was struck by an immediate feeling of satisfying surprise. It delighted him to realize that Bruce had been wrong in his assumption. His office was empty, no new employee awaited him. That was a tiny victory in itself. He disliked the idea of having someone wait for him inside his private office. There was so many things – old books, files and test results – in the room that was not meant for the prying eyes of some random addition to his team. He had even managed to hide a bottle of his favorite whiskey behind an ancient-looking piece of pottery on the top shelf of the bookcase. Walter's secrets were his alone, and he wanted to keep it that way.

He glanced into the mirror on the wall next to the door. People had often wondered why anyone in his position needed such a thing in his office, and he had often been at odds explaining why. Maybe he was a narcissist in denial; maybe he just needed someone intelligent to talk to once in a while. The last theory was the one he used most frequently, especially when someone asked him about the mirror in a clearly taunting way. The truth remained his own to confront, and it probably contained a bit of both ideas, with a touch of something else to make the mixture even more confusing.

The professor would often look at his own reflection for what most people would deem to be an unhealthy period of time. He would just stand alone inside his office with the door locked, a glass of whiskey in his hand and his eyes fixated on the man on the other side. It was like therapy to him. An endless abyss of inspiration and dark thoughts. Brilliant ideas, but also nightmares of failure and insignificance. All originated inside of him, and all came out though his own reflection.

But the beginning of these small sessions never seemed to change. He went over the features of his face and his body with the critical look one would expect from a practitioner of medicine. He rarely liked what he saw: A round face without charm; gray eyes kept in check by a pair of arched eyebrows; the long nose with it's rounded tip; the sour line that marked his mouth. Tiny - but numerous - signs of age relentlessly attacked each and every feature of his face. He was supposed to be at his prime, physically as well as mentally, but nothing of what he saw indicated anything like it. He styled his hair with wax to keep the spiky look he had sported since his time in university, but it was as though the hairline at the edge of his forehead was determined to fight back.

Nathan Dramer - his number one assistant on the team - kept bothering him about the positive effects of daily, physical exercise. He couldn't know what the professor thought about himself, but he had a disturbing ability to read even the smallest changes in other people's behavior. So, the energetic man seemed to be under the delusion that getting fit would significantly increase his boss' mood and desire to live his life fully. But the professor really wanted nothing else than to see new and better results from his research. Even though Nathan had told him again and again that he did not buy his cheap imitation of a loner content with science as his only partner, the young man had never been able to get any specific answers from him. It had resulted in multiple, heated arguments between the two about privacy and work. Not that their trivial quarrels ever impacted the research in a negative way. It actually forced both of them to work harder.

Walter finally lowered his gaze and turned his attention away from his reflection in the mirror. He didn't really have time for contemplating any of his most recent theories. There were tests to be conducted and examined. Unfortunately, he would also have to deal with the new employee soon. It would only be a matter of time before she would step into his office and greet him with that typical voice of disrespect his fellow scientists excelled in. Just because they wanted his chair, his coat and his power. Dirty, rotten business.

He had barely walked the short distance to his desk, when he heard something unexpected behind him. The voice of a female extended a greeting full of respect and... was it joy? He couldn't quite determine it. Whatever it was, it certainly compelled him to turn around and face whoever it was.

He stared at the woman for a while. She was a bit shorter than him and she looked young. A bit too young to be an experienced scientist in his opinion. Was quite pretty, too. No, that term didn't really cover it, it was too simple. She was attractive, in the word's best and most disturbing sense. The glasses she wore complimented her eyes greatly, and she had curves that would delight Nathan for sure. If this was the new girl on their team, their research was going to crash eventually. The notion sparked the headache that had lurked in his head since he entered the building.

His confusion only seemed to increase when he fully comprehended what she had said after greeting him. Not only did her surname ring a bell in his quirky mind, but her apparent employment as his new assistant truly knocked him out of course. What was that all about? Was this a clever ploy to fool him? Was she a fool's gift wrapped in poisonous paper? A girl for hire, a stripper meant to tease his slumbering desires? Maybe Bruce Vaughn and his buddies waited in the corridor outside for the right moment to burst into his office and laugh at his reasonable demand for an additional assistant? It wouldn't be the first time that some naive idiot in the company had sent a lady of the evening in his direction. Just for fun, and just to make sure he was not homosexual or anything. That event had finally proved to Walter how easy it was for unintelligent people to get a fancy title.

Hopefully, it was only a figment of his imagination. It wasn't entirely unlikely for the young woman to be clueless about her status in the department. There was also the faint chance that she actually felt inferior to him, despite whatever her contract stated about payment and responsibilities. There was only one way of knowing, that was for sure. He reached out to shake her hand. Despite the visible doubt in his face, he did not want to give off a bad impression. A handshake was expected on an occasion like this.

“Hello miss Greer,” his voice was as stiff as his handshake and he didn't even attempt to return her smile. This was serious business, and the quicker she learned it, the better. For both of them. “I was under the impression that Paranormal Division was to receive a scientist from the already abandoned Crypto-Science Project. A very talented and skilled person. Forgive me for being direct, but you don't look like one of such prominence, nor like one, who was specially chosen to participate in any top-secret research. You may be an assistant, but if that is the case, you must have taken the wrong turn somewhere. Don't fret; it is a big building after all.”

He went to his desk, sat down in his chair, leaned back in the comfortable seat and examined her with his eyes again. He folded his hands before himself, wondering how she would respond to his cold attitude and doubting words. Maybe she would just run out of the room and leave him alone. On the other hand, if she really was from crypto-science, she wouldn't take his words lightly. Her professional pride would be hurt, and she would be furious as a result. Whatever she choose, he still had one question he wanted answered:

“Katherine Greer... Is that Greer, as in Arturo Greer?”

Katherine was 5'5, long dark black hair pulled back tight and pinned up on the back of her head, bustier than most with her petite frame. She had a small perky nose which round John Lennon glasses rested upon and allowed her emerald green eyes to look bigger than they really were. "Hello I'm Katherine Greer, I was hired as your new assistant."

The professor had no idea she was walking not to far behind him, she watched how he acted when he opened his office door, if he had the power of strength she was sure he would have ripped it from the hinges.

Standing back she could see and watch what he was doing, what his body language was like and it was when she saw him standing there looking at himself in the mirror she knew he wads a narcissist. Katherine knew this man was not going to be easy to work for. her eyes peered into the office, he stood an abnormal amount of time before a mirror , plus he was a drinker, she could see it was some type of whiskey just from the color.

It was when he turned away from the mirror that she had stepped in and stood there introducing herself to him. She admired this man, and now here he was before her, she was his new assistant. The professor was in one of the worst foul moods she had every seem anyone in.

The professor stared at her, his eyes slowly went from her head to her toes and back up again and again. Katherine was used to be starred at, she has been what some call a lab rat or guinea pig since the age of four years old when her father found she was different than other children her age. It wasn't then nor is it now something Katherine goes around speaking about, but she knew when she had heard the professor was looking for an assistant it had to be her.

Katherine knew going into this, that it wouldn't be easy. He was going to be the biggest pompous ass she had ever seen or met but that was okay she could put up with it for a while. She already knew he was going to be tested by him, and again it didn't matter, she had nothing to prove to him at the moment. Starring at him she could read him, she could peer into his mind and read his ugly thoughts.

She wanted to laugh out, she was not a stripper by any means, and she was not a gift wrapped for him poisonous paper or even to test if he was homosexual but she was indeed enjoying his thoughts.

The professor reached out and offered her his hand, Katherine was hesitant at first, she removed her lace glove and took his hand in hers as she kept holding eye contact. Pulling back her nose slightly wrinkled, that was the hand he last used to masturbate. She quickly slipper her lace glove back upon her small delicate hand.

"Greetings Professor Baynard, it is a pleasure to meet you finally. I've read everything you written as far as books and papers. I have been to majority of your lectures and I am late because I wanted to catch your lecture, but then I was asked to speak after you. I apologize but I didn't wish to let the young minds down."

"Professor Baynard, I could say the same back. You do not act like a scientist nor do you look the part. I didn't know there was a certain 'look' to be a talented and skilled person. I didn't realize that I needed to wear a sign on my forehead stating that my IQ was 168 and I was the 17th smartest person in the world. The 16 before me are males. Since you are not one of those listed above me in the record books that seems to me, means that I am intelligent. I specialize in many areas, high end IQ tests, competitions and statistics. I hold four different degrees and I am a member of Mensa."

She starred him back down and didn't flinch, her voice was soft, there wasn't the least trace of anger within it. She seemed very calm , cool and collected. "Also, my Facebook it open to the public, it reads, my favorite food is knowledge and my favorite drink is intelligence." She smiled, "it will also tell you I love Classical music as much as I love Led Zepplin, that I like Mafia wars, Nicholas Cage, and any thing to do with erotica and the paranormal."

"I do believe you need to stop judging anything about me and look at one's self. You are a big narcissist. Please don't take that wrong but that was just a quick observation. We can either work together or we can work against each other. I will leave that choice to you Professor."

He had moved from standing before her to sitting behind his desk as she answered him. The professor must have forgotten if one wants to keep control of the situation or power over another it was best to stand in confrontations like this one. It was her who was now looking down at him.

“Katherine Greer... Is that Greer as in Arturo Greer?” He asked her.

"Yes Arturo was my father. He passed away last year after speaking at the 57th Annual Convention of the Parasychological. He was a very prominent man in the paranormal world. he studied telepathy, precognition, clairvoyance, psychkinesis, near-death experiences, reincarnation, apparition experiences and other supernatural and paranormal claims."

Katherine knew if he was as smart as she thought the professor was then he would in fact know who her father was and just not dropping a man. She walked back and forth in front of his desk, she stopped and turned to him looking at him dead in the eyes letting her arms drop to her sides, her purse over one shoulder and the handle of her attaché' case in the other.

"There are two universities in the United States currently have academic parapsychology laboratories. The Division of Perceptual Studies, a unit at the University of Virginia's Department of Psychiatric Medicine, studies the possibility of survival of consciousness after bodily death, near-death experiences, and out-of-body experiences. The University of Arizona's Veritas Laboratory conducts laboratory investigations of mediums. Several private institutions, including the Institute of Noetic Sciences, conduct and promote parapsychological research. My father was once involved with both."

Walter listened patiently to what the young woman had to say. As she went on and on with a rather detailed explanation of her relation to the famous Arturo Greer, he moved forward in his chair and placed his hands on the desk in what appeared to be dull anticipation. But the way he looked at her, revealed something that was not born of innocent interest in her story, but of a burning desire to ridicule, taunt and break. A smug grin slowly formed on his lips, one that only grew bigger with every word she spoke. His eyes narrowed in slightly, as though it enabled him to look right through her. It actually felt like he could, if only for a short moment.

In the end, however, it was only a matter of analyzing her. How long had she been watching him before politeness finally compelled her to introduce herself? What had she seen in his behavior that convinced her he was fond of looking at his own reflection? She sure had a lot of opinions, about herself, about him and how he was as a person. It both amused and impressed him that she had the nerve to stand up to his speculative comments about her status in the company. Not only that, she also dared to throw his subtle insults right back at him in a most exotic way. It was quite alright and could – under the circumstances – be justified very easily.

Alas, her pride! If he ignored her first remark about her being his new assistant, she had said nothing definitive about her role in the department. She had not mentioned crypto-science division with a single word, nor alluded to it in any way in her long barrage of self-glorifying words. So, not only had she refrained from specifying her purpose in the research, she had also jumped straight into a proud defense of her own values and virtues at the first chance she got. This either meant she was hell-bend on ruining his day or that she just had her own problems to deal with. It gave him reason to wonder whether he was the only narcissist in the room or not.

If there was something professor Baynard disliked, it was whenever someone bragged about themselves or their accomplishments. In his world of science and hard facts, such experiences were quite frequent. Even old friends of his often deemed it necessary to tell him about discoveries that lacked substance, just because they wanted to be seen and heard. Now, the young woman in front of him did exactly what he hated the most. Maybe she believed her IQ classification would impress him to remain silent or treat her with respect. Perhaps she even thought she was already above him on any level. It wasn't entirely unlikely that she would wait for him to screw up, so that she could take his position as the head of the department. The possibilities were endless.

“Maybe you should take a seat, miss Greer. If you are done with your closing argument, that is...” His comment came out through soft words, but the message was meant to annoy. Not that he really expected a heated counter-reaction from her. He had met people of her kind before. If she was anything as smart as she claimed to be, she would remain cool throughout the conversation ahead. Even his best, most hurtful and tasteless insults wouldn't have the desired effect on her. It would require something sinister and extreme. He had no interest in going down that road just yet. Still, the hidden anger inside of him was begging to be set free, just for the fun of going crazy. But instead, he did the only sensible thing; he kept calm.

He reached for his glass of whiskey and held it up before himself, like it was some sort of ancient artifact worth examining carefully. Moments later, the last drops of the beverage had disappeared into his dry throat. His eyes went back to her about the same time as he put the glass down. He leaned forward, across the desk, as though the next part of the conversation would be of a more private kind. He remained silent for a while, wondering if she was going to follow his lead or not.

“I'll play along for now. Let us assume I believe you are all the things you claim to be. A member of Mensa. High IQ. Four degrees. The 17th smartest person in the world. You excel in statistics and competitions. I admit, it does sound quite romantic. A young person fighting against the injustice of a big, bad world of dusty men in laboratories. It's all very neat, and oh, you even have a profile on Facebook. That's just... remarkable, right?” Walter's voice changed from mildly skeptical to downright scornful as he went over each aspect of her would-be brilliance. “But do you know what I really think about all your petty titles and trophies, hm? All your talk about being smart? Intelligence, Sunshine, is measured by more than numbers. The little thing that separates the intelligent from the clever is the ability to keep silent about being intelligent and simply show it through other means. So I basically don't give a lab-rat's ass about your reassurances and hot stuff-attitude. Anyone can say something smart.”

The scientist returned to the more relaxed position in his chair and eyed the empty glass on the desk. As tempting as it was, he didn't really need another drink. Rather, he should be on his way to check up on the department's latest results. Too much good whiskey in his blood would only blindfold his senses and make him unstable. His inner argument came to a sudden end when he reached out nonchalantly and pushed the glass further away from himself.

“Which brings me to this... I asked if your last name had any connection to my field of work. What I did not ask for, however, was you or your father's life story. Not that I doubt it would be interesting to hear. But did you really think I would not already know about the research of your father? Maybe you did not know I have worked with him briefly in the past? He could be a real pain in the backside, but I'm not entirely heartless. I liked him. He certainly was a smart man. But that is all in the past now.”

“Let me be perfectly honest with you, little miss Sunshine-with-the-high-IQ. I was informed only one hour ago that my request for a new assistant had been rejected by the board of directors. I was expecting a really dull conversation with an incredibly dull scientist. Yet here you are. Barging into my office and claim you are my new assistant. Forgive me for my impudence, but I don't see how those two ad together? Are you, or are you not, from the disbanded crypto-science division? Because if you are, then everything is good. Fine. Dandy. But If you aren't, then you have just wasted my precious time. That would make me really annoyed, especially since you have the nerve to question my personality. So give me a straight answer this time. Tell me who sent you here. Tell me what you think you have to give. Maybe – just maybe – it will make me reconsider my impression of you.”

“Maybe you should take a seat, miss Greer. If you are done with your closing argument, that is...” he said to her as she raised a brow and thought about staying standing but gave in and did just that, she sat down and looked across from him over the top of her small rectangle black glasses.

She knew he was going to come at her with full barrels, and she was okay with that, like him she would pick and choose what she cared to answer, or only say as much as she wished, sometimes holding back what he wanted to hear just to piss him off a bit more. She placed her purse and bag on the floor by her feet and crossed her legs sitting straight up in the chair and not looking away, holding that eye contact and lack of expression on her face.

Katherine watched as he looked at the glass of alcohol he held up before him, then drank the last bit. She had no desire to drink anything along the line of alcohol as she liked to be in one hundred percent control of her mind, body and soul. Anything that clouded her mind or altered her thoughts she didn't touch. the professor leaned forth as he placed the glass back down on the desk and all she did was cross her hands and place them in her lap as they sat there in total silence looking at each other.

The professor a man she had once highly respect and was turning out to be a man she almost didn't wish to know. He went for her jugular and she left him, as she raised her hand and covered her mouth while he spoke to her in a rude manner.

... So I basically don't give a lab-rat's ass about your reassurances and hot stuff-attitude. Anyone can say something smart.” he said as she placed her hand back down into her lap.

"The feeling is very mutual professor. You are perfect example of that as you have bragged as well, on numerous occasions. So before you toss stones in my direction I assure you, you need to look at your own glass house." Katherine said in return and waited for him to go at her again as she remained calm.

Katherine knew this was not going to be a marriage that ended happily. She watched every movement he made, her brain taking everything in like snap shots for a new album titled 'Professor pompous Ass'. She only told him her accomplishments, she never said about her abilities, and she held back on those for now. he was in a foul mood and could see why other heads of departments spoke about him the way they did.

Taking in a deep breath she released it slowly as he started again. “Which brings me to this... I asked if your last name had any connection to my field of work. What I did not ask for, however, was you or your father's life story. Not that I doubt it would be interesting to hear. But did you really think I would not already know about the research of your father? Maybe you did not know I have worked with him briefly in the past? He could be a real pain in the backside, but I'm not entirely heartless. I liked him. He certainly was a smart man. But that is all in the past now.”

"It's a shame it wasn't mutual Professor. My father thought you were a narcissist. He thought you were rude to other's that you thought were below your intelligence level, you had a way of treating people with no respect and if other's didn't agree with you, you tended to have a childish fit. I believe you are heartless, since you brought that up but that's no concern of mine, and yes it is in the past." She replied back still using a calm tone but slightly giving back the same that he was giving to her.

“Let me be perfectly honest with you, little miss Sunshine-with-the-high-IQ...he said for starters and just went on and on.

Once he was done she uncrossed her legs and re-crossed them again, "First, no need to call me names, that is only showing your ignorance. Second I didn't barge into your office, I knocked and apparently you were so self absorbed looking at yourself in the mirror you didn't hear me. But, I was on time more or less. Third I am from the C.S. Division and I was sent by James Goodrich. Fourth, I didn't question your persona, I told you exactly how I perceived you and you professor haven't changed my opinion yet. If you expect me to stand or sit and take your verbal abuse without standing up for myself you are quite wrong. Fifth, whether you like it or not, I am here to stay till Mr. Goodrich tells me otherwise. Oh, and sixth, Your impression of me does not matter, think as you wish because I am sure at this point it is a mutual feeling at the moment."

Katherine moved in her seat as she looked at him, they were at war, and it seemed neither of them were backing down.

It was actually quite hard for Walter to uphold the rather aggressive attitude he had sported since the woman introduced herself. Not that it was a mere charade on his part, because his anger was real and justified. Not only did she stand her ground, she also did it in a way that could compete with him. Her answers were riddled with tiny hints at insults and a subtle display of her own supremacy. She was smart enough not to fire back at him with hasty allegations or heated words. Yes, she was not even afraid to be open about her intention not to sit idly by, while he made a fool of her. All those things mixed together, made it quite hard for him to stay mad. His earlier amusement, and the fascinating nature of her willpower, was too strong to ignore in the long run.

In the end, he opted for an approach that he believed would surprise her and give the conversation a much needed air of peace. He just placed his hands before himself and began to clap them together slowly in an applause that was honest in nature, but mocking in display. For the first time since they shook hands with one another, the smile on his lips was without any touch of malicious intend or anger. Although only briefly, he smiled with a warm aura, as though he suddenly felt proud to be in her company. As soon as his applause came to an end, however, the smile faded away and was replaced by his usual, neutral expression.

“I am impressed.” the remark was dry, but not unfriendly. Still, his voice retained a playful tone when he continued: “Are you always this charming, or is it just my luck day, miss Greer? You don't have to answer that... It pleases me to realize my question was not too hard for you to answer. I only wonder why it had to take so long for you to answer it. I am also very curious to hear what purpose you destined to have in the crypto-science division. It's not very often new talents such as yourself are allowed a position in a new division of the company. It's always tough to be the new person in class, especially when it starts up from scratch.”

“I will be honest with you again, miss Greer.” Walter pressed his hands against the surface of the desk and rose from his seat in the chair. Not that he was so old already that he needed support to get up, but he was tired and felt burdened by the strange events of the day. He had not even had the time to review the latest test results, and that was almost unbearable on it's own. The scientist walked to the other side of his desk and then to the mirror on the wall. He looked into it, but this time his eyes were focused on the woman and not himself. She had her back turned at him, of course, but it mattered little to him. “I like you. You are not afraid to stand up for yourself and what you believe. Many people before you have claimed to possess such qualities, but the majority of them were ignorant liars. To be honest to oneself is a quality I respect more than having a high IQ or a membership of Mensa. Likewise, you will find that being firm will make things easier in the long run.”

“On the other hand, it might was well become your undoing.” Walter paused and turned his attention back to his desk. His eyes were cold, the expression on his face was bitter, and he approached her chair in a sulking manner. “I think it's clear to most people that I am the only one in this building, who does not cover up my opinions. I will not allow myself to drown in bureaucracy. You may decide to be less verbal during your stay here, but you need to realize something. You can be friendly. You can be smart and attractive. You can even be a good colleague. Nothing of it matters in the end, because every single laboratory in this facility is full of people with ill intentions. They do not speak their mind. They kill in silence, pretend they are your friends. Like vultures, they sit and wait for you to fail. It's a system that goes all the way to the top.”

His eyes went to the large bookcase behind his desk. His words were like a hollow echo of his own career. If anyone knew about the dark side of the business, it surely was him, the infamous Walter Baynard. The flawed professor, the man of ridiculed theories. A shunned genius, as some paper had once so flattering described him in an article about the paranormal. He wasn't even that person anymore. Now, he was something else entirely.

“You certainly are intelligent. That much became evident to me while we had our little quarrel. And you are right, we can either keep tearing at each other's throats, or we can work together. If you are as good, as you claim to be, well, then you will surely be an asset to the team. Even so, there are rules that I expect you to follow.” he slowly walked behind his desk again, but resisted the urge to sit down in his otherwise inviting chair. He stared directly at her with serious eyes. “Paranormal Division is mine. The research we conduct here, the results we review and base our assumptions on... even the air you breathe in these halls. Everything is under my jurisdiction down here. I expect loyalty from my staff. If you fail, you are out. Not even James Goodrich can do anything about it. Friend or foe; if you want to wage war with Walter Baynard, you get it. Is that clear?”

“With all that said... I welcome you to Paranormal Division.” He smiled at her again and gestured at his office as though it was the grand center of his private empire. “You are not officially on duty until tomorrow. But if you want to, I'll gladly give you a little taste of what this department has in store for you. We have some pretty interesting theories in the work. Oh yes, and I almost forgot the last rule... new members have to live with nicknames, until they prove themselves worthy. So you will have to endure until a new face appears among us... understood, Sunshine?”

Katherine hated to be 'snippy' but she was also tired of having to prove herself to men in her field. Every time she turned around she was having to prove how smart she was like a test and as much as she liked and respected the professor she was having to do it again. Her anger was just as justified as his, so she reacted similar to him, and it wasn't pretty. She watched as his facial expressions changed like a woman's moods going through menopause or mental-pause as she referred to it.

Watching him he placed his hands on the desk and stood up, then he rattled her chain again when he clapped and Katherine took it as he was mocking her which was bringing her blood to a boil and she was ready to fire back again at him. This was becoming ugly, she thought. if things didn't change fast it was going to really hurt her chance as an assistant to him and him losing possibly the one person that he could really use in his department without even knowing why she was invaluable.

She had no idea what to make of him at this point, she was even considering he was a bit crazy as he then smiled at her, mind you it was brief but there was a smile upon his face, then it faded away just as quick as it came. Katherine watched him even closer, she could see his aura but it was confusing to her, she could see a light yellow aura, then around it was a gray. Telling her by reading the colors that he was a good person and spiritually advanced yet the gray revealed to her that he had some sort of unclear intentions.

The spirit colors she usually sees as a clairvoyant are variations of yellows and blues mostly. She has seen indigo which was a purplish blue, lavender, purple, orange, gold, green and tan but never red. Katherine knew If a color is completely overlaying the person's aura, another person or energy is blocking the person's expression or the person is hiding from being seen by others and she's seeing gray overlaying the professors yellow. he was really throwing her off, because red appeared as his true secondary color which meant anger, she closed her eyes for a second, bringing her hand to her face and rubbed her eyes, and opened them again seeing his aura disappear.

Ugh! She thought as he went on and on attacking her again and again with his snide comments. She just left him ramble just as she had before. then there comes a point where a person can only handle so much. "Professor I am here because I believed in my father's work, enerything he worked so hard for and tried to prove will die with him if I do not push forth and prove some of his theories. You worked with him, even though he thought you were as i said a few minutes ago he believed in your theories as well. "

"I like you have opinions and I will not be quiet, I shall voice them when I feel the need. That is what a scientist does then they try and prove their way of thinking their theories. If you find that so wrong then perhaps you have the problem not me."

"I have no problem with your rules professor they are quite clear. I just ask in return that you respect me as I do you. yes, I know I need to prove my worth to you, not an issue but I still deserve respect as a person and as a scientist."

Katherine smiled when he welcomed her, she knew not moments befpore he was starring at her through the mirror behind her, she wondered if he was able to see auras as well. "Thank you professor and yes I would like a tour, and also hear all about the theories if you;d like to share as we toured. It would give me a little insight to what i will be walking into tomorrow. " Sunshine was the name she was stuck with, but that was fine, it was cute and fitting of her.

"Sunshine is ready when you are..." was all she said and his aura appeared again, a bright yellow so she knew he was sincere and not as angry as he first was when she came into the lab.

She spoke of mutual respect like it was something that could be bought with money. As though it was something she could demand of him in return for her obedient cooperation. She couldn't possibly be so naive to really believe such childish logic. She was in no position to demand anything. Superior results could yield exceptional amounts of respect from colleagues and spectators alike. Yes, just acting with professionalism could earn the shallow respect of strangers. But the only foolproof way to earn another person's respect was through relentless and hard work.

Walter suspected she would become quite a challenge in the long run. The smile that appeared on her lips when he welcomed her contained something that was beyond his comprehension. Even so, she appeared to accept everything he had to say, every demand he had. She still resisted in her own way, and it was obvious she would not keep silent about the smallest of flaws in the department's research and methods.

He went toward the door to his office, reached for the handle and pulled the door open with a swift movement. The sudden action completely startled a poor lab assistant, who passed by his office at the same time. A pair of nervous eyes stared at him from outside the corridor, but he just ignored the person. Ever the gentleman, however, he stepped aside and waited for Katherine to leave the room before he did. Of course, it was also a way to ensure she did not touch anything in his office while he was out of sight. Just a few seconds alone could allow for plenty of peeking on her part.

Once they had both stepped out into the corridor, he reached into a pocket of his trousers and pulled out a rather large bundle of keys. His office would remain locked until he returned later in the evening. As he put the keys back in his pocket, he turned toward his new assistant and moved his left index finger in almost playful gesture that told her to follow him. Other than that, he kept silent and unresponsive while they walked past one laboratory after another. He knew she would visit each and every room on the floor eventually, but the tour was only meant to be a taste of things to come.

It didn't take long for them to reach their destination. With it's standard transparent walls and door, Lab 6 didn't look like anything special from the outside. But any scientist would be wise not to judge a shellfish by it's exterior. Lab 6 was the de facto command center of the search currently conducted by Paranormal Division; it contained all pivotal information regarding test results and all the items used by the team. Invaluable artifacts lived a life among simple paper files and digital media discs.

But the importance of the room somehow seemed diminished, when the scientist discovered what was going on inside the room. They could even hear them before he opened the door. A loud noise of thrilled voices, laughter without innocence and heart. The sight was too much for him to bear, and he rushed into the room without paying any attention to the woman behind him. Whether or not the door slammed back into her pretty face was not really his concern. The safety of his valuable test objects outweighed any concern for the well-being of a petty assistant like her.

The atmosphere inside the laboratory was even more sickening than he had initially suspected. There, in the middle of the room, was a jolly gathering of people. They seemed to wildly amused by the vile entertainment in front of them. It was disheartening, but not at all surprising, to realize that both of his assistants were at the center of the event. Nathan Dramer stood close by with his arm around the shoulder of a girl, who Walter did not know the least about. Seeing as how active young Dramer was at hunting girls, however, it wasn't too shocking or surprising in itself. It was the behavior of his second assistant, Damian Lawrence, that really shocked him.

He was playing. Not in the literal sense of the word, really, but he was indeed fooling around to amuse his audience. Even worse, he was using the company's property in his deranged recreation of a famous movie-scene. In his right hand, he was holding one of the fragile glass containers meant to keep test objects safe and sound while not in use. Surely, it would all have been innocent and fun, if the container had been empty – sadly, this was not the case. This particular glass bottle contained a ring, which Walter knew all too well...

“It is my own! It is mine!” Damian spoke in a grotesque voice that was bound to bring further laughter from the group of people in front of him. He had managed to alter his light voice to the extreme through his own will and ability, and that was something Walter would usually find hilarious. But not under the current circumstances. The young man made a series of nasty coughing sounds before he continued, his left hand running over the smooth surface of the glass in a perverse display of attraction. “My Preciousssssss!”

The laughter Damian's last remark drew, was nothing compared to the roar of anger that escaped Walter Baynard's throat. It immediately drew everyone's attention in the room. Several of the previously jolly spectators turned pale and motionless, when they discovered the source of the odd yell. Nathan's arm remained around the shoulder of the woman, but the expression on his face was that of a young child, who had just been caught doing something punishable. The scientist did not even recognize the majority of people in the room. Were they all trainees from ground level, victims of Damian's carefree attitude?

“I am impressed,” Walter's voice cut through the silence of the room like a hot blade cuts through butter. He was furious, and in only two steps, he was by Damian's side, forcefully pulling the glass container out of the young man's grasp. The scientist glared at him with eyes full of disappointment and contempt. “Your stupidity seems endless; that is what impresses me. Your impersonation of Gollum was spot on, too. So now you know how to make a living, if you ever screw up in my laboratory again! The rest of you can leave right now!”

It took little persuasion for the gathering to dissolve and disappear out of the door. In only a matter of minutes, every guest had left Walter alone with his two assistants. Although it felt tempting to shout at his two apprentices, he forced himself to remain calm. In his attempt to do so, he suddenly started to wonder where his third assistant had gone. Where was the little miss Greer?

“Oh, to be young and foolish again!” His voice was silent, but thick of the anger he struggled to contain within himself. He glared briefly at the two guilty fools in front of him, then turned his attention to the ring in the glass container. A few moments passed by, in which Walter seemed to examine the object carefully with his eyes. Then he left the two alone to put the object back onto it's shelf in a large metallic bookcase at the end of the room. “To only care about being the best and get the pretties girl in class. To be so stupid, it even surprises one such as myself. Isn't that was it's all about? Nathan? Damian? Care to explain? Or do you want our new ace to explain your reckless behavior?”

“Ooooh Sunshine?” Walter's call had a odd trace of softness. The two men looked just as clueless as he was furious. Ah yes, they were both in for a bit of a shock. Another competent colleague was not something they would cherish at the moment. Competence meant rivalry, and the two roosters were already fighting each other the best the could. All in secret, of course. How would they react when they realized their new playmate was a female? “Would you care to join us now? Maybe you'll care to share some of your valuable knowledge with these two idiots, huh? Show the boys what you are capable of, will you...?”

Katherine looked at him, she knew he wasn't about to give her no respect what-so-ever and that was fine whatever respect for him that she had she would keep within her for the time being. She was a firm believer that you treat another like you want to be treated and giving him full respect wasn't going to make him give it back so perhaps a little at a time would be the way to go with the professor.

She knew he was thinking about her, she could sense it and could possibly get into his head if she really wanted to but she didn't. She had a feeling the Professor was harboring something deep within him and she wasn't sure if it was something good or something not so good.

For now she would and did accept his rules, she agreed to all but she wouldn't forever hold her tongue. As a scientist, a person whom studied and tried theories you cannot do such a thing even when its against another like him. Katherine knew once her foot was in the door and things were moving along she would challenge him if she had a reason to and if he couldn't handle it perhaps he needs to step aside and retire.

As she stood he moved to the door and quickly opened it, and just as Katherine turned around she stood looking at another outside the office door. The poor guy was startled by the swift motion of the door opening. Katherine walked towards the door, she watched as the professor stood there waiting for her like she was going to steal something from his office if he didn't keep an eye upon her. She walked out and watched as the other person continued on their way as she stood waiting for the professor.

Waiting there she watched as he dug out a metal ring full of keys, wondering how his pants didn't fall off with the weight of so many stuck in his pocket. Once the office door was locked he turned and crooked his finger at her like she was a dog. This was not a match made in heaven but she was not going to tuck her tail and run. Katherine thought, this was one of those days where she wished could be re-done but it wasn't going to happen. She hoped tomorrow would be just the opposite.

They came up upon wall of glass, she could see it was a lab but what for, she had no clue. The sign on the glass door read Lab 6. She could hear a bunch of laughter and carrying on from inside the lab which she found unusual especially because this was one of the Professor's labs and he didn't seem like the type of man to even tell a joke or in fact laugh at one.

He went inside quickly not even making sure the door didn't slam in her face, which she was going to overlook under the circumstances. Katherine felt all the stress building within her as she looked through the glass as the door shut in her face and out of nowhere a coffee cup went sailing off the table behind their backs where nobody could see it happen and smashed into pieces all over the tile flooring. She closed her eyes and tried to calm herself down and take all the stress and emotional turmoil she was feeling and channel it elsewhere before another incident happened.

There are times where she just couldn't stop it from happening. Most of the time when it happened out of her control it was because she had a huge build up of stress and emotionally she was all over the board like today when meeting the professor. She also popped bulbs, and made certain objects break, shattering into pieces as well as causing loud rappings to emanate from their office/houses walls, among other effects.

Nobody took notice of the mug while she opened the door and walked in quietly. it was then the lab got silent, the laughter ended as well as the funny voices as the Professor raised his voice and made his presence known. Katherine stayed back, she looked around the lab from a distance and seen what the lab was for. She could see that the lab was the de fracto command center. She raised a brow at a few devices yet stayed where she was till it was 'safe' to move about. She had a feeling this was only going to make the Professor even in a more foul mood IF that was possible.

Katherine stepped aside and let two girls pass by as the professor stood there with the other two males. He called them by name and then by job status as she watched from a distance. he placed her on the stop as she walked over, which only pissed her off to the fullest. She tried everything to control what was about to happen, but she wasn't sure that was going to work as she looked at the table aside her and another mug shook. Katherine quickly bumped the table to make it look not so obvious that she was doing that.

"Professor I'm not sure what you wish for me to share with them. I do believe this is where I will take my leave. It seems I have already been on the end of the angry stick once today and it be best we have a tour tomorrow. Be well and thank you professor I shall see you in the morning." With that said she turned and walked out of the lab and headed to the front of the building. Once was enough, he tried to make an ass out of her and she had to leave before her powers got the best of her like they were just about to do.

Out in her car she sat trying to get herself under control. Breathing deeply, as she turned the car over and listened to classical music fill the car before she took off for home.

It wasn't the first time Damian and Nathan had screwed up, but this certainly took the grand prize for idiocy. To think that they had picked this very day to act like headless fools! Right when he was giving the new bird in the cage a tour through his little empire. How could anyone be so senseless? Professor Baynard wanted to humiliate his two assistants, punish them for failing so miserably. The weight of their mistake was undeniable, and he was not the only one they had let down. The whole department was facing the danger of being ridiculed. The spectators to the incident was probably already out spreading the word to each and every laboratory assistant in the building!

But maybe using humor in the given situation wasn't such a good idea after all. Not that he had suspected it would backfire when he called out to get the attention of his new assistant. It was true, his voice had been different when he had urged her to show the rest of the team what she was made of. It was meant to be an insult, but it was not directed at her. Couldn't she tell? His disbelief only increased when he heard what the young woman had to say. She didn't know what to share with them. Instead, she would just turn tail and run. Was she such a big drama queen?

- Who was she to decide they would continue the tour the next day?

He followed her with his eyes, as she walked out of the room and disappeared down the corridor. It was easy to tell that his two assistants were watching her as well. But contrary to the scientist, who was watching her with renewed anger in his eyes, the two were clearly watching her in silent delight. There was no need for speculations there; it was easy for him to imagine how they exchanged knowing smiles behind his back. He knew them too well by now. Nathan would run after any pretty girl that came into his field of view. Damian always pretended to be shy and reserved, but Walter knew he was not any different from his younger colleague. The three of them were a pretty sad gang, to be honest.

Miss Greer's unexpected exit had provided them with a strange break, something that inevitably disturbed Walter's thoughts. This resulted in an unpleasant feeling of humiliation. He felt like a standing joke. When he turned toward his two assistants again, he saw the slight change in the smiles on their faces. It provoked him. They obviously found it amusing that the woman had ignored his order and left the laboratory. He saw the triumph in Nathan's eyes, noticed how satisfied Damian looked with his arms crossed in front of his chest. For a moment, it was as though the scientist had fallen down from his godlike pedestal and was vulnerable to the scorn and taunt of his employees. But only for a few seconds. After that, balance was restored and he resumed his role as mighty rule of the lands.

Walter Baynard's verbal abuse of his staff had made him infamous among scientists. It wasn't the only thing people recognized him for, of course, but it was one of the most discussed aspects of his persona. He was difficult to work with, and only a few of his assistants had managed to withstand the pressure of his demanding nature. But as with any other controversial person, the myth outmatched the man by far. It was a fact that he rarely went into a rampage; He preferred to control people in secret, and hurt them just enough to keep them down. But when he did snap, he was loud, cruel and extremely personal. This was one of those moments.

Nathan and Damian left Lab 6 in silence. They looked like two school boys, who had been thrown out of the local candy store. Their spirit destroyed for the rest of the day, it looked as though they had shrunk considerably in the ten minutes their boss had spent scolding them out of their minds. He had told them how childish their actions had been. Warned them about the new member of the team, told them how bright and intelligent she was and how easily she could take their place. He even threatened to throw them out of the company himself, and they both knew he was not kidding.

As soon as the two young men had left the laboratory, Walter turned his attention back to the metal bookcase at the end of the room. He approached it slowly, his eyes searching through the glass containers on each shelf until he was certain everything was in order. The numbers added up nicely, nothing stained or broken there. Lucky for his two assistants. His eyes went to the ring that mere moments ago had been at the center of everyone's attention. If someone had watched the scientist through the transparent wall, they would've noticed a slight change in his posture and facial expression. The features of his face became soft, almost sad. But just when he was about to reach out a hand toward the glass, he hesitated, turned around and left the room in a haste.


When he entered his office the next day, he didn't feel like himself at all. It had been a long and lonely night, full of contemplative longing and unsettling sparks of lust. The sensation was old as the sorrow that haunted his bones, but also strong as his unbreakable will. It was a feeling that kept him in the odd state between awake and asleep, something that was really tiring in the long run. It didn't help that he was slowly growing more and more frustrated about the situation.

Sure, he could give in and satisfy his own needs like anyone else. Although it provided him with some sweet relief, it did not soothe his soul the least. It was a shallow act of self-pity, and he despised the truths it revealed about himself. But he fell into the trap, time and time again. Unable to stop himself, unable to justify the feelings he tried to lock away inside him.

Guilt? No, he did not feel guilt anymore. Times had changed, and he had been alone for a while. Was it wrong of him to look at women, who were younger than he was? Was it immoral and perverse to long for something as tasty as a young, unspoiled female? Was it even wrong to look at women in the first place? Had there not been times where some of them had returned his secret stares? He had been really attractive once. Why wouldn't there still be some women, who felt drawn to his intellect and personality? It had happened before, to much joy for both parts. Now it felt as though he needed it more than ever before.

He moved slowly through his office and sat down in the chair behind his desk in a fashion that had T-I-R-E-D spelled all over it. Yesterday had been a straight series of embarrassments. The lecture had went alright, of course, but it was a small reward compared to what he wanted to achieve. Miss Greer had been trouble from the moment she arrived, and his two usually precise assistants had flunked the crucial first-hand impression by acting like little kids. To make matters even worse, the test results had been corrupted by a fumbling employee in the Data Supervision Department. It had left him without anything to do when he got back to his apartment.

There was something that puzzled him about miss Greer's exit. A tiny detail that really did not want to let go of him, not even when he was caught up in his own fantasies in bed. He had probably imagined it... and she had been clumsy to walk into the table.... but was it physically possible for a mug to shake like it had done? The scientist had considered the possibility of cross-influencial. That is, maybe a spirit had felt angered at the indiscretion of his assistants and tried to get the message through by throwing about with small, physical objects. Like any poltergeist would do. But the theory did not really seem viable in his eyes. It contained too many unsolved questions. Maybe it really was the result of miss Greer's collision with the table?

For a while, his fingers tapped impatiently against the surface of his desk. He had no idea about the woman's moral-code, and he didn't like that fact one bit. Her father had been quite bright, but also quite stubborn when it came to taking risks. It was Walter's impression that Arturo held back his own research through his great concern about security. What kind of person was his daughter? What if if turned out to be too risky to have a female on board for the next couple of tests? How would she react to his recent theories about soul-retransfusion? Would she object, once she realized what was on the line for all of them when the idea went from concept to full-fledged test? Was it best to freeze her out already, leave her in charge of the department's archive in the cellar? It didn't really seem like a good idea, and with the current state of things in mind, it was pointless to worry about it any further.

For some odd reason, it was as though the thought itself gave him a boost of energy. He would just have to push forward. The research was so close now. The greatest result of all was within his reach. He would not allow anyone - not even Arturo Greer's child - to stand in his way. The idea remained in his mind when he rose from the chair and went to the door. As always, the scientist opened it with a great deal of force and haste. It sounded as though half the door-frame came loose when he shut it behind himself in a equally powerful manner. But his march of triumph was interrupted as soon as he turned around and bumped into a woman.

The impact took him by surprise. They collided with each other, shoulder to shoulder. His right hand, which had been hanging freely in the air when he turned around, came in contact with her just above the hip. A fleeting moment of awkwardness, followed by pure instinct. To keep her from falling, his other hand reached out and took a firm hold around her arm. They stood like that for a moment, the grip of his fingers remaining tight and safe, his eyes struggling to stay unaffected by the ordeal.

“Good morning, Miss Greer,” He contained his voice and eased his hold on her. The initial surge of surprise that had went through his body turned into mild annoyance. How could someone be so careless and walk up behind him without saying anything? What if he had knocked her over and she had been hurt? His imagination ran wild with ideas of lawsuits over broken teeth and accusations of physical abuse. Such was his mind, sometimes “A more witty person would surely say we should stop bumping in to each other like this. But we both know I am not a witty person, right Sunshine? What on earth were you thinking, sneaking up on me like that?”

Katherine sat there she was not only disappointed in the professor she had always admired but in her self for allowing what happened to happen. She had hoped the whole mug incident would be long forgotten by the following morning when she returned.

She left the parking lot and could feel her self still at an emotional level that she didn't like. She couldn't believe he had put her on the spot like that, he did it out of his ignorance and to prove he was chief of all the Indians and found it to be disrespectful. Katherine could see he was far from a people person and he didn't not like when another challenged him nor did he like when another either above or below him had an opinion other than his own. But that's what science was all about.

Stopping on the way home she grabbed her favorite take-out, Chinese. She stood there waiting for her order as the whole day looped within her mind. part of her wanted to back off and find another place to go to but the stronger side told her to stay, she was put there for a reason. paying for her order she grabbed the bag and went back to her house.

The garage door opened with a touch of a button as she entered it grabbing her attaché case, bag of food which smelled her whole car up and a few books and entered the house by the garage door all the while fumbling to hit another button to close the main garage door.

Katherine walked around the big lonely house which was left to her by her father. The food was placed on the table as she dropped the books and attaché case on the couch and went upstairs to change. Katherine dressed very clean for work, she almost gave the impression of a librarian but when she was home she dressed in boy shorts and a cut off tee -shirt, no bra pr panties. it was a side of her that nobody saw.

She sat in front of the TV and ate with chopsticks from cartons while watching the news. Just as she was about to take another bite she said out loud, "eight-two-four" and then took another bite as they ran the daily number and of course it was 824 just as she said before it even happened.

Quickly she sat her carton of food down and grabbed a yellow notebook on the coffee table flipped it opened and wrote the three numbers in it along side the date. She added a smile face, and then looked over the page. Out of the last three months she had guessed 89 out of 93 daily lotteries correctly before it happened. If anyone looked inside the notebook it would just look like she was keeping a record and maybe added a smile face for something stupid like a good mood, or maybe a close pick.

Katherine finished eating and placed the extra away, she took her attaché case and placed it on her chair and then grabbed one of the books and went up to bed. The house was two floors with an attic as well as full basement. Both were full of her father's work. There were four bedrooms and five bathrooms, a kitchen, dining room, living, and a den that was her office as it was her father's before that. She could feel him still in the house with her especially in the later evenings.

Once she found her self alone she picked the biggest bedroom, the master and re-did it to her liking. It was soft earth tones which made her feel warm and relaxed. Apparently her father thought so as well from what he moves about from time to time making his presence known which sometimes becomes a little creepy. Katherine could sense him, she could speak with him as well as others but he was the only one that knew and he was the only one she ever planned on knowing as well as what else she was capable of to different degrees. I mean some knew but she was never placed out there in magazines or books.

Cracking open the book she started reading, and her mind wasn't into it. She kept thinking back to the day, the two male lab assistants they had walked in on that were getting reprimanded. Katherine wondered if they would still be there tomorrow when she walked in. placing the book aside her she turned off the light and closed her eyes. The night was long and her sleep was restless and she couldn't figure out why.

The following morning she woke, had breakfast and got dressed in a tight pencil skirt and silk blouse that was slightly low cut allowing a bit of her breasts to be seen if she bent forth the wrong way. her heels were only four inch which she was comfortable in wearing all day and she wore her hair up with a splash of make-up.

Pulling into the lot she got out, walked into the building and headed down the hallway with clicks of her heels sounding off with each step. She tried to walk softer as she got close to the office and as she opened the door it pushed open almost knocking her over.

The professor came out of it as she was going into it, his hand settled on her slender form just above her hips and his other reached and grabbed her by the arm to save her from falling. There they stood his hands upon her holding her in an awkward way abut it was then she could sense he had been thinking about her last night and this morning and it wasn't in the normal way of an assistant either.

Good morning, Miss Greer,” he said as he still held her, as she smiled.“A more witty person would surely say we should stop bumping in to each other like this. But we both know I am not a witty person, right Sunshine? What on earth were you thinking, sneaking up on me like that?” he said as she gave him an odd look.

"I wasn't sneaking around at all, I was just about to open the door when it came flying open and nearly knocked me over. As far as witty or not I refuse to go there." She said and then stepped away causing him to release his hold on her. "Anyways, Good morning Professor, I do hope you slept well last night."

She took off her blazer and placed it over her arms as she held her attaché case, "is there someplace where i could place these and we can start the day?"

In the moments that followed the little incident with his new assistant, Walter Baynard came to think about how wonderful and strange the human perception really was. It was surprising how easy the human mind could be affected by otherwise simple influences from the outside world. Impulses - like a brief touch or an endearing smile - could trigger emotions that were virtually unknown to the person in question. Sometimes it was only a matter of the imagination of the individual. Speculations about what events would follow a given action were often stronger than people were willing to accept. Expectations, no matter how unjust or silly in nature, could prove to be treacherous allies of common men and women. It could lead to several ends, both good and bad.

Walter was not under the delusion that the physical encounter with miss Greer would spin into something else than it was. It did not even cross his mind that his action could be misunderstood as an act of indiscretion. He had acted on instinct and saved her from tumbling over, which was pretty much what anyone would demand of him in the situation. Still, he noticed the questioning look she gave him and picked up hints of hostility in her voice. When she stepped away from him, she looked visibly uncomfortable about what had just happened. Or well, he couldn't really know what she was feeling at all. Even when she greeted him and pretended to push the conversation toward a new subject, he sensed an underlying tone of something disturbing in her words.

If he had slept well last night? Sure - If being awake half of the night equaled sleeping, well, then he certainly had. What kind of question was that anyway? Even if she did care about how he slept at night, his days and nights were none of her business! As neutral as her remark sounded, it immediately gave him reason to wonder where her interest in his well-being originated from. She was not in any position to judge him. Maybe she was just much better at guessing things than he believed she was. It didn't take much imagination to connect the dark circles around his eyes to a distinct lack of sleep after all. What else was there for him to ponder?

- It was not like she could read his mind or anything!

That notion was seriously too idiotic for him to even consider as a viable option. Idiotic or not, he still found the thought quite amusing. Wouldn't she be shocked to realize how someone similiar to her had played a part in the tiny fantasy that had consumed his will to sleep last night? How would she react if she could look beyond his flesh and get a taste of what he was going through? Could one such as her understand why he contemplated to throw away everything he knew about good behavior for the sake of satisfying his own needs? How would it be for anyone to know the fantasies of the people around them? It was the stuff of pornographic material... and yet, somehow, it contained a scientific edge that Walter could hardly reject.

But it was one thing to read the mind of others; it was a completely different thing to use the information in a plausible way. The majority of telepathic studies he knew about were all rather vague on information regarding the level of detail obtained by test subjects. Some were like surges of emotions, pointing the user toward a blurred message, while others were more specific, granting the user complete control of the desired result. If anyone was to pick up endless streams of thoughts from the world around them, it would surely drive them mad eventually. In a place like this, it would become their undoing. To know what the rest of the department thought about the new girl in class would have to be disturbing, to say the least.

When Walter finally snapped out of his own thoughts, he found himself staring at the woman in front of him. He struggled for a moment to figure out where the conversation had stranded, and it was not until he noticed the blazer hanging over her arms that he finally got back on track. But all he gave her was a dry look. There was unmasked joy in his voice when he finally answered her: “Let's see. A location for you to place your precious belongings... You mean like the janitor's office? That one is located in the basement. Just as you would expect, right Sunshine?”

He did not care to watch her reaction to his mockery. Instead, he turned around and headed down the corridor at a steady pace. It took a while before he stopped to check if his assistant had followed right behind him or left the scene in a hurry. As far as he could see, she was still standing outside his office with an unreadable expression on her face. He waited for her to catch up to him, but she remained where she was. Like she was rooted to the floor, standing her ground against his jokes and silly remarks. The sight dried him up somewhat, and he threw his arms out to his sides in an impatient manner. “Alright, I was joking. Your office – if you want to call it that – is right down this way. Just follow me if you want to keep your job!”

They walked together in silence until the corridor opened up into the central section of the floor. It was a huge room with four elevators located at it's center and four corridor's leading into different parts of the department. Red two-seat couches had been placed in empty spaces along the walls to cater for visitors and important people. A couple of them were already occupied by what appeared to be trainees from other departments. Miss Greer and he had walked through the section yesterday as well, but it was such an ordinary place that he hardly noticed it anymore. Still, it was a fundamental part of the building, and it wouldn't hurt anyone if he were to tell her something about it.

“Okay, listen up!” He raised his hand into the air, as a signal for his assistant to stop. Then he turned toward her and gestured at the large elevator-construction at the center. It looked like a giant, transparent tube with four doors on it. Each door was located according to the four corridors leading out of the room. It was very stylish. “You may know this, since you have already used the elevators twice, but this is actually the pride of the board of directors. Their little child, so to speak. It was extremely expensive at the time of it's installation. It runs all the way from the highly restricted areas below the ground to the offices in the top of the building. Rumor says the third elevator is haunted, which makes it quite valuable to our research. Not that we have had any conclusive results in that regard yet...”

“The corridor to the west leads to the main sector, where we were yesterday. It contains eight major laboratories and four smaller room, which we primarily use for interviews and the like. The corridor leading east, takes you to the department's main research section, in which all our physical research is done. Throughout testing of alleged clairvoyants and specific phenomenons is done there. We will need to head down the southern corridor to P-2, where the employee rooms are located. As you may already have figured out, it's located opposite of the corridor we just exited, where my office and the primary conference room is located along other rooms. Any questions?”

He started to walk again, showing no patience or interest in answering any question from her. It contradicted his own question, but certainly fitted his nature. He moved past a few colleagues, who had just exited one of the elevators, and went toward the corridor he had mentioned. It looked like the one leading to his office. It looked quite uninteresting with it's closed walls, simple doors and bright light. Nothing like the transparent walls and open spaces of the laboratory section. They passed by many shut doors until it seemed as though they finally reached their destination. Like all the other doors around them, this one looked insignificant, but unlike the rest, it lacked a door sign. The professor opened it without any problems.

“And there it is,” he stepped aside and allowed her to enter the small office first, like he was a real gentleman. But no gentleman in his right mind would lead a woman of her temper to a crammed room like the one they were about to enter. It was an office, yes, and it was not occupied by anyone at the moment – but almost anyone, who worked in the department, had managed to shove something into the room. It had been a really nice office once, complete with a desk, a soft couch and a large bookcase. Now it looked like an half-empty storage room; Stools, outdated printer machines and outrageous piles of files and books were taking up the majority of space on the floor. Not even the couch had been spared the humiliation of being degraded to contain broken equipment and books. Everything was covered by a thick layer of dust. It would take something special to bring the office back to it's former state. “Home sweet home!”

Katherine knew what was in his thoughts, just the slightest touch let her have a brief glimpse inside the man’s mind and she wasn’t sure how she felt about it. In a way it was nice to think about another seeing her as some sort of sexual object but on the other hand it’s her mentor, he’s older yet she always was fascinated by older men. Their minds in her field were incredible and she can honestly say the brain was her biggest turn on sexually.

“Let's see. A location for you to place your precious belongings... You mean like the janitor's office? That one is located in the basement. Just as you would expect, right Sunshine?” He said which he was already pushing her buttons this morning before she even had a chance to hang up her blazer. She had a feeling this was going to be a long day yet she wasn’t going to allow him to push her to the point of quitting.

Katherine rolled her eyes and stood her ground and as she watched him walk away she could see him from the corner of her eye as she didn’t move an inch. She knew he waiting for her to follow him like a lost puppy but if anything he was only lowering her respect but yet she didn’t think that would matter to him then again it could be a blow to his very huge ego he was supporting. Katherine was wondering how other people could work around him when his ego took up most of the building space.

“Alright, I was joking. Your office – if you want to call it that – is right down this way. Just follow me if you want to keep your job!”He said to her and she wasn’t sure if he realized what he was doing and saying to her was harassment. She could go to the board and bring up charges against him. She didn’t want to make trouble but his dry sense of humor was really forcing her to lean that way. Proving herself in different ways as far as maybe loyalty or to see if she was thick skinned wasn’t necessary for this position by far.

He waited while she walked towards him and once aside him they continued on walking side by side in total silence. A pin could drop and it would most likely echo and be heard but only when her heels were not sounding off with each step she took. They walked into a huge room and looking around she counted four elevators and four other hallways leading to various areas of the floor.

Katherine noticed the bright red couches; it added a splash of color to the drab-ish looking room. It was more masculine than anything but that’s what she expected. She remembered being through the area the day before but she never really got a good look around till now. She was trying to map the place out in her head so she knew where she was going. Her mind was like a trap, photographic for the most part and she remembers the littlest of details which in this field was a good thing.

The professor stopped and made this loud announcement for her to listen up as everyone else turned their heads to listen to. Katherine knew he loved attention and he sure got it with his loudness and attitude. He told her about the elevators, how they were extremely expensive and how the third one was haunted. She wondered how they got to that conclusion and who was the one haunting it and of course why.

He explained to her which elevator went where and then asked her if she had any questions, she decided to not ask any as of yet and to maybe just linger the subject in the back of her head to ask others or him later on down the road. Plus, the man seemed as if he wasn’t in the mood to answer anything anyways. Katherine wondered why he even said anything like that when he didn’t mean it. He was annoying and frustrating. This job was going to test her patience more than any had before.

They walked by a few others as she offered a smile and hello, getting them in return as the professor stayed his crotchety self towards his fellow colleagues. She still walked along side him, he was always one step ahead of her but Katherine didn’t care, she looked around, everything seemed pretty much the same, as she expected. At the end of the long hallways was a door, he casually pushed it open and stepped a side. ”And there it is” he said to her.

For the first time since they met he was actually showing manners as he allowed her to step in first. The office was small and cramped with all sorts of things from what seemed to be everywhere in the building. Katherine sighed softly and knew this would take her a little bit but she would be able to get it looking fresh and clean in her spare time. It wasn’t as if she had anyone to go home to at nights except for her work, take out and TV. The professor let her know it was her office as he said those three words…’home sweet home.’

Katherine placed her blazer down and took one last look around before she turned back to him, “This office will work great. So, what’s on the schedule for today?”

Walter couldn't help but smile at the young woman's reaction. Actually, it was not the way she reacted to her new office that caused him to smile. It was the defiance, so clearly visible in her face when she turned to him and casually commented on the state of the room, which amused him beyond reason. She was just relentless, wasn't she? So utterly rid of fear, and yet also very careful not to let her anger show at all. Respect was an odd thing, and although he did not feel anything close to that sense of mutual understanding when he looked at her, her continuous attempts to withstand his subtle attacks forced him to view her in a new light.

“Yes, it is quite the location...” he admitted spontaneously, and found himself in disbelief at what he had just said. His eyes turned wide with surprise, but it only took a short moment for him to regain his composure. To put a further distance between the sociable attitude and his usual demeanor, he forced his lips together in a sour grimace. “Today's schedule is... strained. Especially now that we have spent time going here. You have thirty minutes to get settled into your new office; no more, no less. Do whatever you want to prepare yourself for the day ahead. We start a new series of tests in chambers T4 and T9. You should know which way to take. I'll meet you outside T9.”

He turned around and left her alone; Did his best to walk out of sight quickly, so that she did not follow him to the hallway he had alluded to. She would get all the time and space she needed to prove herself eventually. Leaving her on her own was the professor's quirky way of testing her memory and perception. It was to be the first in a very long line of tests and challenges he had in store for her. Besides, it was only a matter of picking the right hallway, and how hard could that be?

It didn't take long for him to reach the corridor of the main research section. It was largely identical to the other main corridors that led from the elevator hall in each their direction. But compared to the other sections, which were more focused on daily management and analyzing test results, this one was witness to the experimentation that defined the department itself. The vastly different rooms and chambers all had a story or two to tell, and some members of the staff openly avoided certain parts of the floor. Although it's reputation was amusing, Walter often shook his head at how it distracted visitor's from the real purpose of his research.

He spotted a person standing next to chamber T4, and the familiar sight brought a smile to his face. Not a warm smile someone would flash at a friend, no, this was more in line with the respectful smile shared by colleagues of equal worth. The professor greeted the man with a somewhat stiff nod, but made no other effort to acknowledge his presence in the corridor. Words were not necessary for either of them to understand why they were there. In fact, since the chamber was in use at the moment, words were actually unwanted. Even though all chambers had walls of advanced technology and special matter, it did not prevent all disturbances from entering the atmosphere inside. It was the team's experience that a loud remark or a moment of laughter could have an extreme effect on the test conducted at the other side of the wall, and no one wanted to mess up something as important as an examination of a medium or a possessed girl. Even the presence of a new person outside the room could suddenly alter the result of a test in mysterious ways.

Every chamber was unique. They all had their own distinct uses, some were designed for physical testing of alleged abilities, while others were better suited for examinations of the spiritual world. Walter always knew what was going on in any chamber, at any time. It was his way of leading his troops through thick and thin. Today, T4 was Damian's private battlefield. It was his turn to lead the extended interview of a newly discovered clairvoyant, an elderly woman named Lucile Bowman. As evident by the tremendous amount of rapports the young man had written about similar cases, it was a job he excelled in and very much liked. Walter, on the other hand, regarded such testing as mere child's play compared to what he had experienced in his time. There was much more to paranormal research than asking old ladies to make contact to the world beyond. Much, much more.

The professor noticed the knowing smile on the other man's face. Hanson was an odd fellow at times, and no one could never be sure what he was up to. His status as a freelance scientist allowed him the freedom to leave whenever he wanted to, and to assist wherever he saw fit. But his freedom was not without a cost, and it had a significant impact on his paycheck. Because of this, Hanson could be rather unreliable at times - even disloyal toward his employers - but Walter still regarded the scientist as an unexpendable part of his team for several reasons.

Originally, Hanson's wilfulness presented Walter with an interesting dilemma: the other man was smart enough to lead his own department, and that fact alone was enough to make the professor extremely cautious of him. Any rival, no matter how friendly or charming, was to be kept at a certain distance. But whereas Walter was the alpha male of the department, Hanson was the wild card of the whole corporation. The more time he spent with Hanson, the more he came to realize how similar they were. They shared the same values and views on the paranormal, they were about the same age and height, and both of them had difficulties in fitting in. But Hanson, who valued his freedom above anything else, would never become a threat to his position.

Walter suspected the other man was around just to keep an eye on things. The experienced scientist had the ability to infuse others with peace just by being around. It was something both Damian and Nathan had benefited from multiple times in the past, and Walter found no reason to object to it, as long as it did not remove focus from the schedule of the day.

The professor ended his speculations and went further down the corridor. From the point where chambers T5 and T6 had their entrance, the surface of the walls were different in design. Plastic-white was exchanged with metallic-gray, and large signs warned visitors not to go any further. This area was not meant for the prying eyes of the public. It was as secret as secret could be inside the walls of AntroCorp. Security got tighter as you went further down the corridor, and from chambers T10 onwards one needed more than a simple ID-card to get past the heavy doors.

Despite it's location, T9 was not as important to Walter's private research as one would expect. Sure, it was one out of three chambers designed for interaction with spirits through alternative means, but the real research took place in a chamber located almost at the end of the corridor. The task of today involved the testing of a few haunted objects. It was nothing big, to be honest, and it had the potential to disappoint. But any good scientist did well not to disregard the small things of the world. Walter, of course, had to check it out.

He stopped outside chamber T9 and looked over his shoulder. The anticipation he felt at the prospect of examining the objects filled him with odd impatience. He started to wonder why he had not asked Nathan to take care of the little miss Sunshine, so he could get the tests done in peace and quiet, without the need to wait. She would obviously be curious about the task ahead. Maybe she would even ask questions, touch the objects and mess things up like only new staff members could. Still, there was a tiny chance none of his fears would come true. Perhaps she was less spirited after being forced to find her own way through the department?

He was allowed to hope... right?

Again and again his callous comments got under her skin yet, she decided that she would not give him the satisfaction of caving in like she did the day before and walking away. She did know she needed to keep it under control due to the fact that if it got the best if her it could make her show her only hand of ‘cards’ she had to play and that was her unique powers, if that’s what anyone wishes to call them.

Katherine had respect but it was slowly diminishing. She wanted to find and see all the good in every human being. There was times that she felt some may not have it but in this case she figured good ol’ Professor to be just a lonely old man who had nothing more in his life than this job and his work which many others found to be a tedious thing and pretty much bullshit. That was the difference between them and her they were not believers in anything they couldn’t explain where she was and she had experience and experienced the paranormal.

“Yes, it is quite the location...” the professor said to her and she realized at that very moment that he did have a ‘human decency’ side to him but better off not to notice it at this time and just kept her normal composure and waited for the next snotty zinger he tossed her way for she knew that it was going to happen. Katherine looked at his face and watched as his expression changed in a nono-second and she could see that he most likely realized he actually was being nice and quickly changed his demeanor back to the angry professor. He reminded her of Jekyll and Hyde.

Maybe he had a split personality and his nastier one was the dominate one. Her thoughts amused her, which she knew wouldn’t amuse him but it would anyone else most likely. “Today's schedule is... strained. Especially now that we have spent time going here. You have thirty minutes to get settled into your new office; no more, no less. Do whatever you want to prepare yourself for the day ahead. We start a new series of tests in chambers T4 and T9. You should know which way to take. I'll meet you outside T9.” He said to her as she looked at him and nodded.

Katherine thought about the thirty minute time limit and again she knew he was so full of himself that he was going to make this difficult which was fine because on her own time she would work on getting the office as she wanted it to be and there were enough men around that would help her. All these people couldn’t be as asinine as him. “That’s fine; see you in thirty minutes outside T9 Professor.” It was then she slipped back into the ‘office’ closed the door before he had a chance to even leave yet and started moving a few things around to clear the desk and make piles of trash and what she was salvaging.

Katherine spent fifteen minutes shuffling things around. Of course the time went quickly but she wanted to give herself enough time to find her way back to the main area and then into pick the correct hallway that would lead her down to T9. She left the small office that was in a big disarray and closed the door behind her with only her small table in hand, it still had a full charge which she shoved the cord in her pocket incase she needed it later on throughout the day.

Walking down the hall she past a few others which were wearing the official white lab coats and offered a smile, and got them back which made her feel good knowing all around there was not like her ‘boss’. She made it into the main corridor and looked about seeing once again some sitting on the couches and she closed her eyes and stood there for a second and thought about the professor and when she opened then she could sense him, his energy was quite negative, which she had felt since the first moment she met him along with the dark aura he had around he at all times. It would literally shock her to see a bright one of any color surround him, but who knew maybe one day.

Picking the way the negative energy was coming from she walked down the long hallway and took her time looking around and seeing others through glass as they worked away wondering what some areas were verses others. Katherine knew some of them from the quick tour but others had caught her interest. She stood outside a glass window and watched as two males worked, as it piqued her curiousness.

A young man walked up behind her as she felt him tap her on her shoulder startling her, “Can I help you?”

“Oh sorry no thank you I was just watching them work.” Katherine replied offering a smile.

“I haven’t seen you around here before. New associate?”

“Yes, I just officially started today. I work for Walter Baynard.”

She watched as he shook his head. “I feel sorry for you. That man never smiles, he’s always miserable. Don’t give his company. By the way, I’m Roger Evermoore.”

“Katherine Greere. Pleasure to meet you Mr. Evermoore.” She said and they shook hands. “I need to go I don’t want to be late. Perhaps we will cross paths again.”

“Call me Roger and I’m sure we will…or at least hope so.” He said as they smiled to one another and he entered the lab.

Katherine felt a skip in her step. Roger was young and handsome. He was nice and she did hope they passed each other again. She wasn’t even watching where she was going as she looked around and just followed the negative energy and when she looked forth there he was standing outside T9. She wasn’t going to allow him to ruin her moment as she stopped with a smile upon her face. Miss Sunshine she was and liked it that way. Pondering her new acquaintance she met, she decided to see if she could enlist him to give her a hand with the extra stuff in the closet like office sometime soon so she could get settled and have a proper space to work.

“Hello Professor…”

He noticed it instantly when she came into view. That smile on her face. So annoying, so superfluous. What was she smiling about exactly? Had it not been enough for her to witness his foolish behavior previously, when he showed her the way to her new office? Was that enough to bring a smile on her lips? The fact that he – despite his infamous reputation – almost had conducted smalltalk with her, like he was some common lab assistant bend on sharing the newest in fashion with a colleague. How absolutely humiliating, if that was the case! It was possible, however, she kept the smile on her face as a safeguard, a way to keep herself on top of things even when facing his grim demands. Almost like... like she had something to hide! Yes, maybe that was it! She undoubtedly had something to hide!

Walter punctuated his own theory within seconds. It was ridiculous to speculate in such an undisciplined way. He, for one, could not read the minds of other people, and without anything substantial to support the notion that she had something serious to hide, it was simply pointless to waste his time on it. Besides, every living person in the universe had something to hide. People around the world were good at lying to their loved ones, even about serious subjects like disgusting adultery or looming bankruptcy. Why would little Miss Sunshine here not have some personal issues to hide as well?

“Your punctuality impresses me,” the professor remarked dryly and tapped on the surface of his wrist watch to make sure it was functioning as it should. It was just another example of his great desire to disarm and scare new members of the staff through simple means. It was possible to bring most newcomers out of their wits just by doubting their honesty and dependability, and Walter always took advantage of this possibility. Fact was, his display of doubt in the woman in front of him was more a result of habit than an actual interest in testing her further. He simply didn't believe it was worth it right now. “Now, if you'll please follow me inside the chamber without making too much noise...”

He stepped in front of the control panel on the wall next to the heavy entrance, and fumbled with his ID-card for a short while, before he managed to grip it properly and swipe it through the reader attached to the panel. The doors went open swiftly and without the slightest hint of sound, and the professor went through the first gate. He waited there for a few seconds to allow the new assistant to follow him inside the short passageway that linked the main corridor of the research section to the chamber ahead. The room was big enough to contain three persons standing should to shoulder, but it was still an unpleasant place to be in for long periods of time. The air inside was monitored by electronic sensors that ensured no airborne contaminants were allowed to enter the chamber ahead. Little did it matter that the risk of contamination was of no concern to the scientists of paranormal division; It was part of the system's design.

The first pair of doors went in behind them, and it immediately felt as though the air had left the room completely. But it was just his own irrational fear of small, confined spaces that was playing tricks on him. Still, his insight could not do anything to ease the discomfort he felt, so he quickly stepped toward the second pair of doors and entered the required six digit code onto the control panel. He sighed silently when the doors slid open and allowed the two of them to step into the chamber.

The chamber was average in size, shaped like a rectangle with straight walls and rounded corners. A large table took up most of the space at the center, and six matching chairs were lined up along the wall to their right. Different types of machines and equipment were scattered in a disorderly fashion across the table, and five transparent boxes were standing next to each other. He had barely stepped into the room before he immediately went toward the table and opened the nearest box with a strange look in his eyes.

“You said you had read all my books, did you not?” Walter turned slightly to the left and gave his assistant a critical look. He had lost track of the exact number of times a student or colleague had said the same, but they often had a hard time supporting their claim when it came down to it. Most of the time it was a matter of limited memory. He had no reason to doubt her honesty, but the situation at hand provided him with the opportunity to test her just a bit more. If nothing else, then just for the sport of it. “If that is the case, then you surely remember what my book Paranormal Practices says about haunted objects and how to deal with them, right? Do you recall chapter twenty-five?”

The book, which Walter referred to, was the sixth of all the books he had published in his career. It was as big, as it was detailed, but sadly that also meant it was a bit boring in the long run. But no one had written as much about the spirit world's impact on dead objects like he had in that very book. Truly, haunted objects were peculiar in nature. The phenomenons surrounding a haunting of that kind were usually focused on minor happenings; like a decorative figure moving slightly about on it's own, or a painting falling down without any external force. It was common knowledge in the science community that remaining energies from an earlier existence could easily settle into so-called dead objects with remarkable results. Most of the times when people referred to an item as haunted, it was merely a matter of harmless energies doing their thing. Real possessions of objects were extremely rare. It either required a very strong link between the deceased and the item in question, or a malicious intend from the deceased. Although, the later possibility was purely theoretical and not up for real investigation, whereas the first was easy to determine.

Cunning as Walter was, however, he was not only testing her memory of the book's content; he was also testing whether or not she could remember there was no chapter twenty-five at all. But the grin on his face turned into a look of wonder and deep concern within seconds. The temperature of the chamber had suddenly dropped to a chilly point, reminiscent of a cold day in December. It forced his attention back toward the table, where his eyes went over the five boxes once more. Personal belongings were the most frequent hosts of strong flows of energy, and often it was the result of extreme events. Accidents, sudden death and strong emotions could leave deep imprints on even the most simple object, if the circumstances were right. Each and every item in the boxes belonged somewhere in the 'extreme' category; A bag from a plain-crash, a ring from a divorce, a hairband from a deceased hostage of a shooting, a figurine previously owned by a convicted murderer and – finally – a pendant from a necklace once worn by a politician's wife. Every item before him had been kindly borrowed from the mourning relatives of newly departed persons. This offered him and his staff a unique chance to test the surrounding energies of each object and match them to similar cases. The department would conduct similar testings on the very same items at several occasions within the next ten months, only to check how the item's energy field was developing. Hopefully, it would be a steady, powerful current; that would prove something interesting.

“Did you know that the Egyptians believed all your earthly possessions contain a bit of your soul?” Walter's remark was nothing more than his own attempt to make sure he was not alone in the room. The odd sensation in his mind made him reach out toward anything that could keep him emotionally afloat. He didn't even hear her, as she approached the table. Was it the lingering feelings of the previous owner of one of the items that were responsible for the sudden change in temperature? It was not entirely unlikely, all it took was a big amount of energy, and there were plenty of sources inside the chamber. Paranormal division rarely got it's hands on infamous items, like the stuff people offered for sale online. Such items usually had a cult-follwing, something that had no real value from a scientific perspective, even though it could boost the company's reputation considerably. This was usually because it was either nothing more than a silly rumor... other times because it was, well, simply out of their league. Sometimes, however, it was more than urban legends that kept even Walter from touching certain cases.

As Katherine stood there looking at the professor she really wasn't seeing him. Her mind had images of Roger Evermoore within it. “Your punctuality impresses me,” The professor said to her as she smiled to him as he tapped his watch and she rolled her eyes. He was NOT going to scare her away as he was trying to do. She knew it and she was letting him know that she was staying whether he liked her or not, whether he wanted her to or not too. Katherine was standing her ground once again.

“Now, if you'll please follow me inside the chamber without making too much noise...” he said as she responded with a nod and followed after him silently and walking softly and she wished she had a big stick to whack him with when he gave her 'that' look or spoke as if she was a piss ant and he was king ant. Like any job, people were replicable, and everyone had a boss/s and he needed to remember that as well because nobody these days was safe in a job not him and not her either. grants and positions were pulled from studies in a mill-a-second and everything scientists work on could be gone in a flash.

Katherine came back to the lab, her mind no longer drifting away. She was thinking about what he said and mumbled something about at least something about her impressed him even if it was something so trivial when her mind was what he should have been impressed with. maybe he feared she was smarter than him, she had no clue or that she was a younger female, one that would maybe replace him one day and hear feared that. Katherine couldn't stop the endless brain babble going through her mind, she wished she could but he was bringing out the worst in her she thought.

The motion of the doors opening caught her attention, as she watched him place the card back into the pocket of his lab coat. Katherine walked through the doors and looked over her shoulder as they closed behind her. She walked behind him just looking about and noting anything she could as her brain was quickly absorbing everything around her and her body was feeling the energy in the air as it seemed strong. they moved through the corridor and into a small room where she could feel the air around them change a small amount and the air got colder, maybe by three degree.

The room was one that would drive anyone crazy that needed to spend a long period of time within it, the size felt like it sucked all the air right out of Katherine and she had hoped that she wasn't spending any significant amount of time within the chamber with the professor. She knew that being in there made it easier for her to get within his mind and she really didn't wish to go there. What she seen and felt earlier when she touched him was enough for her for now. Katherine wasn't sure if what she felt was real or not, or at least told herself it could just be a thoughts that slipped in there out of the blue triggered by her lack of sexual activity or being around a male but then again, the feeling for Roger were different. Now was not the time to second guess herself and once more she shook the thoughts from her mind and concentrated on what was going on around her.

Katherine easily picked up on the professors fear for small places, she knew he wouldn't admit to that fear as it was most likely a failure to him and it was something that made him not so perfect as he may have thought or cared to admit. She had no reason to feel empathy for him but she did, she hated feeling it at times and this was one. yet she knew not to say anything no matter how bad she wanted to about his weakness, it would have deflated his huge ego. the next set of doors opened as he hit a code in and he couldn't get out of the small area fast enough. once again she followed behind him into the chamber as the doors slid closed behind her once again.

Within the chamber it was pretty normal to those she had been in before. Typical size, shape and a table and chairs. It wasn't as organized as others but she could deal with that, organization was a pet peeve of hers but she noticed it wasn't with the professor. Every place he had shown her was a dismay, and she preferred not to work like that. her office will not reflect him, it will reflect her for sure. Katherine had a place for everything and when she needed something it took her a second to find it, she didn't need to search all over. he moved quickly to the table and opened a box that was sitting upon it as she watched his face, her brow rose and she was going to ask him if things were okay but decided to stay quiet till spoken to which didn't take long for him to include her in something.

Katherine stepped closer and stood to the left of him, she couldn't exactly see what was in the box but the look on his face was odd. “You said you had read all my books, did you not?” he asked her as he turned his head and looked to her.

"Yes I have."

“If that is the case, then you surely remember what my book Paranormal Practices says about haunted objects and how to deal with them, right? Do you recall chapter twenty-five?” he asked her as Katherine was beginning to hate these tests he was putting her through. She knew just as he did there was no such chapter. Just as she was about to answer him the room went cold, it dropped down to where it felt like a winter's day and sent a chill through Katherine. She was now able to see there was more than one box, she peered more and counted five and then leaned back. "There was no such chapter in that book professor."

Katherine could feel the sorrow in the air as well her empathy side was kicking in strong. As an empath she is very sensitive to the energies surrounding her, especially the energies of other people alive or dead. dead she felt it through possessions as those she was sensing in the boxes as she stepped around the professor to get closer. She could feel each victim within the boxes, as her stress level rose tremendously and she could feel inner conflict. it felt like an electrical current rushing through her slender body and it was overwhelming as it was overpowering her to the point that she was being flooded by emotions.

Feelings of sadness and melancholy were coming out of nowhere and beginning to consume her as she stood there with him and the items in the box. Katherine thought she had her powers under control but this was causing her to feel confusion as she wasn't sure what was all happening to her. this was like a test to her with everything she was feeling. She was quickly trying try to own those feelings by attempting to understand why she's feeling such odd and unfounded emotions. There was no positive emotions around her between the items in the box and the professor it was all negative which kept her from going on an emotional roller coaster. Katherine stepped back, far enough to where she could possibly regain her composure and not let on that she herself had certain psychic abilities.

“Did you know that the Egyptians believed all your earthly possessions contain a bit of your soul?” he asked her as she nodded.

"Yes professor. there has been a lot of research and studies, papers written about the topic." She replied as she breathed a bit quicker and heavier as she swallowed and calmed her self down. Katherine stepped forth again trying this once again as she needed to get a grasp on this and fast before it let her secret out if that was possible, as she was about to find out it wasn't. "This bag here, she pointed to a box, contains personal items from a man that was killed in a plane crash. He saw his own death before he died and he is restless." She pointed to the next box and didn't need to look within it as she never looked at the professor as she spoke fast, "This item is personal, it caused the wearer of the jewelry emotional turmoil for many years and it was a female who owned it. the next was a female who was in the wrong place at the wrong time and is also a restless spirit who never got a chance to tell her loved ones good bye and fix a problem she had with her twin sister. She was shot execution style."

Katherine cleared her throat and continued on to the next box as she could feel the jolts of electricity rushing through her, "The next is a ceramic statue of sorts and the man who possessed it last was a mass murderer. he was as evil as they come, he raped and killed 17 people but in real he lied he murdered 53 before he was put to death." As she went to the last box she got a grave headache and reached up holding her head within her hands and stepped back and closed her eyes. "It was a pen used by I think...i cannot tell there's so much going on around the item, it has switched hands a few times."

It was then Katherine felt weak and quickly turned and walked as fast as she could over to the chairs and chose the fifth one to sit in as she placed her head down and breathed hard, gasping a breath of air and blowing it out. it was now that the professor would know there was indeed something special about his assistant, something that he didn't have in any other's he had worked aside.