He kept swinging until he cleared out enough drywall to shine the light inside.
Bingo.
Suppressing a whoop of excitement, he tore down the rest of the false wall and stepped into a closet about four feet wide and eight feet deep. Resting against the back wall was a dusty metal file cabinet.
All right, you bastards. Let’s see what little goodies we’ve got.
The cabinet was about three feet high, with a trio of drawers. The top drawer was secured by a padlock. A quick glance revealed the bottom two were empty.
Using a combination of bashing and prying with the crowbar, he forced his way into the locked drawer. After wiping away a layer of dust with his shirt, burning with curiosity as to what Waylan Taylor had gone to so much trouble to conceal, Cal pulled out the drawer, set it on the ground, and took out two items. The first was a plastic case full of hard magnetic computer disks, the kind used to store data in the late nineties and early aughts. He counted ten of them. Dane needed to see those ASAP.
He stuck the case in his backpack and picked up the second item: two tabbed manila folders bound with a rubber band. Both tabs read patient 139.
When Cal tried to pull off the rubber band, the brittle thing snapped in two. Wondering how old this file was, he found the answer as he scanned the top piece of paper inside the first and thinner folder: a typed one-paragraph memo to the file from Dr. Taylor.
Dated December 5, 2001, the title of the memo was “Initial Notes.” Cal read the single paragraph beneath the title.
Today I met with a recruit slated for the next Ascension. My task, as always, is to administer a battery of psychological tests and evaluate mental preparedness. However, during our discussion, which suggested awareness of the nature of my other research, the recruit claimed to have developed extraordinary abilities after studying with shamans and cultivators of mental phenomena around the world. Though skeptical, I suggested administering a series of parapsychological assessments. The recruit agreed. I have opened a new dossier under the name Patient 139.
Cal skimmed the next entry, about some kind of advanced IQ exam, which the recruit aced. The next few documents were personality tests that did not seem unusual. He realized this portion of the file related to the mental preparedness evaluation, and he flipped through the stack of papers until he reached the entry for the first session with Patient 139.
Why haven’t I seen a name attached?
He knew he should stick the file in his backpack and skedaddle, but he couldn’t resist reading a few session notes.
Session 1. From the psych eval, I know Patient exhibits strong psi-conducive variables, including a positive belief milieu, (alleged) prior experience with extraordinary mental phenomena, advanced meditative techniques, creative thinking, and artistic ability. Emotional maturity is a question mark. There are barriers in place to which patient will not admit.
I suggested we start with hypnosis. Patient agreed, but claimed to be immune to all known mesmeric techniques. Nevertheless, I carried on, as I have rarely failed to hypnotize anyone willing to sit through the attempt.
Patient spoke the truth. Every method I tried over the course of the session had no effect. I suspect Patient has studied these techniques and understands how to combat them. I decided to switch gears by administering three different Ganzfeld tests. Patient performed in a range suggestive of psi ability but not determinative. Still, a positive sign. We will continue.
Session 2. An extensive session with Zener cards produced similar results: success rates that fell within the accepted range but inconclusive. At the end of the session, Patient claimed, somewhat dramatically, to be able to manipulate bodily energy, as well as dreamwalk.
Session 3. I administered a battery of aura and EMP tests to attempt to verify the energy manipulation claim. Again results were indeterminate. On the first EMP test, the pulse meter jumped farther than I have ever witnessed—farther than I believed possible from mental persuasion alone—yet Patient could not reproduce the effect. I suspect malfunction or interference from an outside source, perhaps even deception. Patient appeared disappointed, even distressed. We discussed the drawbacks of current testing systems and the necessity of developing a more accurate receiver. Patient also opined on the relation of unexplained mental phenomena to the fundamental forces of nature and quantum physics. I have to admit I am impressed by Patient’s breadth of knowledge. As long as the tendency towards grandiosity is monitored, and no deceptive practices are uncovered, I will recommend Patient for Ascension.
So far, Cal was intrigued, and a little unnerved, but nothing he had read caused any alarm bells to ring. Plenty of people—including leading universities, think tanks, and the US government—had conducted extensive studies on ESP and similar areas of pseudoscience. Who knew if there was anything to all of it—he had his doubts—but he would be surprised if the Ascendants hadn’t explored that route. After skimming the next few entries, which detailed more testing that bore the same wishy-washy results, he found a handwritten note stuck in the file after Session 8.
What he read made his skin crawl.
I can hardly believe what I have witnessed. In order to study Patient’s facial expressions and body language more closely, I recorded Session 8 on a hidden monitor. At precisely the thirty-minute mark, a burst of colored light issued from the Patient’s right palm, with the effect of inducing me into an instant hypnagogic state. After watching the video several times, I am still unsure how this was done. Patient has claimed to be able to manipulate bodily energy and induce external perception of chakras. I am unconvinced of this. I suspect it was sleight of hand. Regardless, Patient’s skill in this arena is astounding. I was completely unaware that I was mesmerized. Even more disturbing, for the next thirty minutes Patient intensely questioned my memories
