The Rise of the Cyborgs

Chapter 18/Fire alarm

After the count and the announcement, we stood around as the Warders counted people.

The world outside started to lightly rain. After being counted we were allowed back into the institution. Even though I could see him I knew where the principle was. I walked in his direction abasing the follow of the students. Soon I noticed the Principle still carrying the speaker, microphone and laptop bag. He was standing talking to a number of warders in a group. I walked towards them until I was close enough to see the glow of this laptop. I was sure he had put the laptop to sleep and possibly wasn't locked. I stood against a wall and looked at a poster.

If this weirdness with computers was anything but a delusion then now was the time to find out. Reaching out I could feel the warmth of the laptop. I felt my self moving through his computer like a narrow labyrinth. It took a while to find but eventually, I found a spreadsheet marked 'Staff-Work-Roster'. I smiled. Thank you for naming it so obviously. It didn't take me long to find Craven's name. There was a glitch in a couple of weeks time when more people were booked for a change to the long week. I moved Craven off the night shift and evening shift for the next two weeks. I put a woman on. She might be unpleasant but a lot less for Zoe to put up with than Craven. For good measure, I send Craven an email from the principle's email address about the changes. There were plenty of samples to copy from. I hoped he wouldn't notice.

I scrolled forwards to the date of the scanner visit. The roster was all solidly booked. Everyone was working over the two days of the scanner. I noticed a large number of meetings beforehand booked with 'secuirty services'.

"What are you doing?" a voice said behind me.

I jumped. Turning around there was a warder standing behind me. He was short and chunky with a tattooed snake on his bare arm. He had been part of the group around the principle.

"Err me?" I said. I instinctively scanned his phone. Curious pornography stash but also some cute pictures of his dog and leather sofa. His phone number was a prime number and I wondered if he knew. I pointed at the poster.

"I was reading this poster," I said pointing at the student competition poster someone had put up. It was a month out of date.

"For five minutes?" The warder said suspiciously.

"Yeah," I said turning so he noticed my text-blind arm band. "excuse me what's this word?" I said pointing.

"Apply." He said. "you dumb shit."

"Apply. right thanks. I thought it said apple but that didn't make sense, " I said smiling. I really wanted to punch him.

He looked at me. "You're done. Get to your class."

"I'm gone," I said.

The wader put his hand out between my route out and the wall. I stopped. 

"I'm gone Sir," The warder said stepped out of the way and I went back to the dorm room to collect my books for the maths class.

"I'm gone, Sir"

I hoped between my threat and the change of rota Zoe was safe. I continued to the class.

*****

The students were just settling when I arrived. I was in the same Maths class as Brooklyn. There were some bits of maths I struggled with but generally, I was quite good. No one questioned where I had been. Normally the kids in the class did English together before moving on to the Maths class but I was in the remedial group and often turned up late like a lost puppy.

"So Miss morphasis," the Maths teaching said using his pet name for me. "How do I find what goes in here," he said. He pointed at the equation on the board.

"14.45 obviously, I said.

I was glad I didn't have to pretend not to read as I did in English. I wasn't sure if this change was permeant or temporary. Weird things were happening to me and I liked having people I could be abnormal with.

"Not what the answer is. How do I find it?" He said.

I looked and blanked for a second. I was still slightly upset after being called a dumb shit before.

"What other number could it be? Try any other number and it won't work."

"Really what about this?" The teacher said. He wrote a long random equation on the board.

"72," I said as soon as he finished.

"72?" He said, "you're making that up."

I saw Brooklyn prodding at his calculator.

"It's 72" I insisted.

"What makes you think that?" He said.

"Well, that bit cancels that bit. That's just a multiple of that. You sum all that together and you get a quadratic which comes to 72 or minus 72."

Brooklyn had run the equation.

The maths teacher came up to me. He looked up and I noticed there was a warder in the room.

"Your wrong and you're going to shut up for the rest of the class. Nothing, got me? Nothing or the grey wing."

I had enough of trouble. I went through the class in silence. Today it was being remarkably simple. I guess I had just clicked with this kind of maths.

Brooklyn nudged me he showed a calculator with a thumbs up. Looks like 72 was the right answer.

*******

Queueing for lunch Brooklyn came up silently behind me.

"What was that?" Brooklyn said.

"What was what?" I said, "I think you're over estimating my Jedi mind powers."

"The maths class. I saw you write the answers down as soon as you read the question. You never used a calculator once, even on the complex ones. You've been doing weird stuff. You did the Tazer didn't you?"

I looked at Brooklyn I couldn't lie to him.

"After the night of the girl on the bridge weird stuff has been happening to me."

"Like you getting a USB piercing?" Brooklyn said

I looked around "You saw that?" I said and He nodded. "would it freak you out if I said it grew it self...?  OK that sounds mad but I think I'm going mad."

"Yes," said Brooklyn.

"Yes? Yes what?"

He turned on the spot "yes it would freak me out. How did you do the Tazer? "

"I'm not sure. I thought about it. Then it went off. it was an accident."

He nodded at the warder near the queue for dinner. "think about there's"

I could see the machines and then seeing how simple flipped them with my mind. The Warders walkie talkie went off. The Warder picked it up and pressed it and said "say again. control"

Brooklyn raised his eyebrow.

I smiled.

"That is seriously freaky stuff," Brooklyn added.

"Perhaps" I began "If I could find a USB plug I could do something about Zoe."

"No Problem," said Brooklyn.

Brooklyn lead me to a room marked 'medical' I followed Brooklyn in and found there was a small PC. It was connected via a USB barcode scanner. Brooklyn shut the door. He pulled out the cable and handed it to me.

"Do your thing?" Brooklyn said