"The ability to read minds," stated Harold Helsing, "has evolved within humans. It has been within their capabilities, in fact, for well over seven centuries." As he had expected, Helsing was immediately laughed at. "Are you saying that psychics have existed for seven hundred years?" scoffed Joshua Satinbourgh. Helsing looked around the conference table. It had been one year since the colonizations of all the new Earths, and the Core representatives had asked Helsing to come up with a weapon. He had realized that older was better, and had looked into history. "More than that," he replied coolly, "probably." "That's a fairy tale," responed Gareth, the lord of Londinium. Helsing merely wandered around the table, staring each one down. "Have we not created new Earths? Do we not cary about lasers and consider a trip between planets perfectly normal? We have expanded outward, techonologically and territorially. It seems naturall we should also expand mentally." Gareth snorted. "And what are the characteristics of these mindreaders? Family ties to the gypsys?" "Genius," Helsing replied, "Pure genius. Prodigies." He ticked off the people who had within them the latent psychic gift. "Stephen Hawking, Wolfgang Mozart. Today, we've narrowed down the people with this gene that exist today, just within the Core planets. Gerald Tam, Hanna Sherman, Yaro Lee, Chon Garrison, and Sheila Reynolds. However, Reynolds and Lee recently left, Reynolds for Shadow, and Lee for Beaumont." "So none of these are actually capable of this. . .'power,'" stated Gareth, as though to a backward child. "So what do we do?" "We create them," answered Helsing. "We breed the geniuses left still on the core, to make them eassier to monitor. It will likely skip a generation or two, but it will reveal itself. The first two I mentioned, Sherman and Tam, and then Lee and Garrison. We will find more, and breed those as well. When we find their childred or grandchildren to be ready, we introduce them to a school. As early as possible." Each of the men present stared, and then each started nodding. "What kind of abilities would these children have?" asked Satinbourgh. "Detection of specific people, excellent memories, and the ability to draw out of a person their own memories. Reading of thoughts, ideas and motivations, possibly pre-emptively. And, in extremem cases, even possible assissination." "What kind?" Another member asked, leaning forward. "It would read as a simple stroke, a bursting of a bloodvessel in the brain" The men nodded, each nosidering the new possibilities Helsing could imagine the appeal of such a kill. "You have our agreement, Helsing. All those in favor of approving Operation Blue Sun, say aye."