Chapter 9

Twelve days after Mark arrived, he came to our gym. We were prepared and the boy saw an illusion of five old Chinese men dressed in silk robes. They spoke Mandarin. Over the last few days we pushed thoughts directly into his head so that when he heard the sounds, he knew roughly what was said.

Duane and Chuck, another new pack member, were fighting. When one would fall, one of the old men would critique what was done right and wrong by each.

The illusion of the oldest man said to Duane, "Why did you not fly?"

"I am very new to the temple, Master. I have worked diligently to learn this ability but as yet I have very poor results."

"Try again but levitate yourself and defeat your opponent."

"I will try my best, Master."

Duane and Chuck were well aware of Mark and fought so the boy could see the majority of the moves. Chuck rose into the air and tried to kick Duane in the face but Duane rose too and his feet intercepted those of his opponent. The two did not fall down though. The continued to strike at each other until they hit the ceiling. They struck each other so that they flew away from each other. When the came down they did so quickly but their bodies righted themselves before they hit the mats. They immediately ran at each other and struck as quick as they could.

Mark stood there with his mouth open. He thought this was a drug induced delusion but realised that it could not be. The blows were quick and deadly. He had seen Bruce Lee movies but the two boys were much faster. Duane struck Chuck in the chest and the boy was flung backwards. His body struck the cement foundations and crumbled them. This was another illusion that Jessica was providing.

Seconds later Chuck struck Duane and he flew up and hit the ceiling then the wall behind him. In the process he destroyed a rack of wooden handled spears.

The illusionary old man said, "Enough," but the mental command was much greater. The two stood and bowed to their elder.

The old master critiqued the styles again. He talked of good and evil and how evil always had to be challenged or it would win by default. The old man radiated both love and an iron hand.

All of a sudden the old man turned to Mark. The boy did not know what to do and chose to flee. He ran to his room and hid in a corner.

Five minutes later when Mark got control of himself and Duane entered the room. Mark quickly looked for the old man.

Duane said, "Master Luo would not harm you. We are here to help."

"You were like in the movies but faster."

"Perhaps I was but I am a simple trainee. My skills are very inferior when compared to one of the Masters."

"You flew!"

"It is one of the many obligations I must master."

"But nobody can fly!"

"Did your eyes deceive you?"

In a quieter voice, he said, "I don't think so."

"Then I flew with great difficulty and with poor form. This proves that your assumption is false, Cricket."

"But you can't do that."

"You saw the truth but you refuse to believe. Is that not the same as what I have been telling you before? The drugs still hold your brain. You have to fight your cravings and subsume yourself to the Way."

"It's so hard!"

"I realise that. What in life, that is worthwhile, is easily attained?"

Mark hung his head. He felt defeated. Duane said, "Come, I will show you how to kick. Perhaps one day you will gain the wisdom to fly."

Mark slowly found a crutch, as good as religion that helped him fight his cravings.

Angie and then both her and her husband Bert were able to see their youngest child working with some children. They were just as old as Mark. They fought in the ways reminiscent of the television show. Mark was the star attraction though and he was put through his paces. He fought hard and worked up a good sweat. He was struck but always got up and continued.

Bert said to us, "That is not like Mark at all. He never worked that hard at anything. How did you do it?"

He was not just talking about the physical activity because they had talked to his tutors. Each of the tutors were university students that were specialising in the courses that Mark was taking. In all the cases, they gave positive responses. Mark had changed but the changes would take time to be built upon.

I said, "We did nothing but provide him something to believe in. We'll have to do something much later because he is still an addict and always will be. We have not unravelled enough information from our DNA yet to find a way to negate this craving."

Angie said, "I did some research of my own on the net. Gene therapy is in its infancy. What you're saying is far beyond what anybody else has done."

"You're right. There are hundreds of conditions related to faulty genes. We have ways of dealing with some of them already. Sickle cell anemia and cystic fibrosis are being worked on now by us. I think we have made some headway but not any nearer a cure yet."

Bert said, "Where are your research facilities?"

He was thinking that we may be pulling these out of our hat so I said, "We have a research clinic in Toronto. This clinic is starting a subsidiary here in Ottawa. It was in the news just a few months ago."

Both had not read the article but it made no difference. "It was in the March third issue of the local paper."

The clinic would eventually be tied into Apex University. The board of governors at that university had worked hard to bring their standards up but it was not enough. The third warning had gone out and this meant a year to shape up or close down. They could still be a school but nobody would give any serious attention to a person with a diploma from the institution.

We were monitoring the staff at Apex. Many saw the handwriting on the wall and were planning on leaving at the end of this semester. Two thirds of the value of a school was tied up in the people working for the institution. If they left, the value would plummet.

Janet Cullis was warming up to the idea of us taking over the school but our offer was contingent on the staff remaining. We knew that the offer would be accepted just before the teaching staff talked of or actually turned in their resignations.

The number of students was falling even more and so far there were few new students slated to enrol. This would hurt the cash starved university even more.

We had been obliged to loan the Cullis board a further three hundred and seventeen million. The money went to building repairs and upgrades in a last ditch attempt to save the school. It did not seem to work. The government regulators felt it was not enough.

We could hasten the school's demise but we were not dealing with criminals here. They had even used some of our suggestions to good advantage but it was not enough.

Bert did not doubt my word but it was still hard to understand how a group of four students were able to do what I said we were doing. He still had not been given any information about a group that had threatened the politicians. We had cut back in our attack on them and concentrated on the next layer of criminals.

Bert asked, "How is this research clinic so successful?"

I had to grin and said, "We give them ideas and they try them out. They give us the data they found and we work with the researchers to find new ideas."

"So it's you that is doing this?"

"Not just me. We all work at it. Actually there are a lot more than just four of us that contribute."

"You're a take charge type of lady so you must be in charge."

"Does it matter who's in charge? A team needs somebody to guide them so they keep focussed. This could be done by a committee."

Angie said, "Are you really working on curing drug addiction?" She looked at me as I frowned. "I mean how far along are you?"

"I know it's hard to believe but it's true. We're doing better than most other research institutions but I'm afraid the cure would be years off if then. Some mysteries are just too convoluted to be solved even in one lifetime."

The parents went home with a mixed feeling. They were happy with their son's educational and physical health but were wondering about what the pack was doing. They didn't really think that we could do anything. The information I had told them before that suggested that I had some method of knowing the unknowable was suppressed by their own minds. The same thing was going on in Mark's mind because he did not see anybody flying now and was not sure he ever did.

There were a fair number of graduate students and students ready to graduate from the University of Ottawa. We had talked to literally a thousand of them during the last few semesters. These were the ones that we had winnowed from the general population that could benefit the pack.

Since coming here our group had grown quickly. Up until now our group had chosen a hundred and thirty two individuals to be elevated. A week after their induction, their grades had shot up. There was a lot of training before them.

A further four hundred and seven students were being monitored. The qualities of those that we wanted for pack were not that easy to find. To raise an individual and have that person go rogue would possibly destroy us.

Brandon had similar numbers to what we had done. More people had been sent to us from various pack members for evaluation. In most cases we accepted them on a trial basis. The rest would have to remain in support positions. It was like the military. There were only so many pilots and it took many more people to see that the planes stayed in the air.

Janet Cullis capitulated near the mid portion of May. She had really been doing so all along in small ways. The price we had offered her was a lot less than what had originally been tabled. She now knew that major portions of the teaching staff were leaving. Her attempts at locating new professors was not enough. None of the good professors wanted to be associated with an institution that was going down the tubes. She was in a catch-22 position. I sympathised with her but I was not going to help.

We had been searching for good teaching staff too and with the money we offered, we were much more successful. My personal plans revolved around the Pharmacology section of Apex. All of us wanted our masters degree and it was possible for us to get it in two semesters because we knew the university would work with us.

It took until the end of May to get the deal finally hammered out. It was such a short time only because we had layed out so much of the conditions and then appraised the board of what the teaching staff would be doing.

When the papers were signed, I felt sorry about Janet's loss. I said, "You did a good job but there were just too many problems facing you.

She said, "Most I could handle but not the theft and outright fraud."

"I know." When I got her away from the lawyers and the board members I added, "We can get some of the funds back but the restitution is not going to help you. I'm afraid that half of the board members were in on it. Your sons were some of the greediest."

"They couldn't."

I handed her a USB drive full of information and said, "The proof is here. Your lawyers are loyal to you but they would still talk to your sons."

She was very worried. "Are you going to prosecute?" She was worried about the family name.

"That's the most ethical path to follow. We could also come to an agreement where they paid back what they stole. If that happens we feel obliged to give most of it to you. This just means that they get the money back from your will."

She thought for a moment and then said, "What are you going to do?"

"We will go with the second option. We'll leave it to you to decide how your will is to be written."

"Thank you."

We went after the professors, the heads of departments and the board members. We could not expect all the money to come back but two hundred million was possible.

We had to follow the rats that had deserted the sinking ship and went to other institutions. Pack members and lawyers talked to each of them. Prosecution was deferred if they signed a statement of fact and sent the money to the university as if it were a donation. There were some irrational people and prosecution was the only choice.

We all gained our bachelors degrees. The female pack members were now given tuition free courses in Apex which they all excepted. Many others were presented with the same gift. The dorms filled even in the summer months.

With the change in ownership, the government accrediting body gave us some additional leeway. We filled out a five year strategic plan. Some of it was smoke and mirrors but we did pour the money to the school. Some of this money went to construction of larger and better buildings that we would shift over too when they were completed.

Some of the deadwood at the school was let go. We needed numbers to swell the ranks of the teaching bodies, so they would stay. Some of the better teachers, we were able to draw back. Some of the professors that had dipped into the kitty and retired found they were now employed again but had nothing to do. We just needed their name for a year or two until we got on our feet. Some researchers were given jobs to teach and some professors that were better at research went that route.

Female pack members were now made assistant professors but in actuality were taking the jobs of the professors. Usually a university professor was working with good students to do research. The research was now done by the pack and certain individuals would take the credit like our family would.

The male pack members now went to a new campus but ostensibly under the auspices of Apex. The new buildings were being built seventeen kilometres from the girls school and on the other side of the city. It would take a few years to get them built so we used rental space to teach.

The girls were segregated so there should not be any sudden flight of students. The strategic plan would change once Apex was known as a leading educational institution. Coed was the way to go and perhaps we could even encourage some parents of foreign students to risk their daughter's virtue if they gained a much more valuable education.

We had spent all of the money we solicited from the Columbians and used more of our own. Apart from Apex, our assets totalled close to four billion dollars. Half of it was hidden but since the assets were owned by our own multinational corporations then we paid little tax. This was not fair to the average tax payer in Canada. We had plans for doing something about it but only if we could get all of the countries to modify their tax laws.

More money was spent in Orillia. The figures we knew would be very high because the younger members wanted something special. In this case it meant expensive.

There had to be a lot of deals struck with various levels of government. Much of this was financial. The money was necessary to the completion simply because of the high cost. Other organisation would look for assistance and we not only wanted to act normal, we needed all the assistance we could get to complete this project. The governments looked at it as a make-work project that could possibly lower the cost of living if the ideas were followed.

The younger members of the pack always wanted a challenge. Long before we chose to build in Orillia, Bobby was working on a habitat. He wanted an underground city. It would be horrendously expensive but that meant that it was only a further challenge.

When we decided on Orillia, the younger ones looked to find a way of applying their building plan so it meshed with our needs. They gave us seven ways to proceed. Each one had it's costs and benefits. The time to completion was as much as seven years but portions would be ready in as little as a year and a half.

We had in mind a hexagonal ring of homes facing a park. Around it would be roads with other similar hexagons. Cars would be outlawed and the roads were for service vehicles and deliveries. Bicycles, handcarts and walking was what we wanted. Any cars would be parked far away form any home. Small businesses would form hexagons of their own and larger industries would have their own hexagon if necessary.

The youngsters figured that they could excavate a large area and build windowless homes made out of concrete. They would be connected to concrete covered pathways. When this was built and the cement dried, the area would be backfilled. The air to enter the complex in the winter would be partially heated by the warm air that was expelled.

Light would be captured by computer controlled mirrors and the energy would be directed to one of the collectors. The light would be carried by fibre optics to the homes and to the public areas within the habitat. Photovoltaic cells and wind turbines would be used to supplement the electric usage.

Their ambitious project had little chance of success because of the cost and the time involved. Joy likened this project to a spaceship. Missy and Dina then expanded on this to such an extent that the pack wanted to build the complex. It was the same as the super hero uniforms and now the kung fu. In any event, the pack now wanted this type of construction.

Ida, Stella and Rose visited us in Ottawa to get more training. They found that they could heal or heal better and wanted to improve their skills. Greg, Jeff, and six women came too. The males did not know that we were the cause of the changes in the women but they sure knew that they could heal.

The family met us at the farm we had purchased when we moved to Ottawa. By now it was in good shape.

They pulled up to the house and quickly got out of their cars. Stan, Jessica and even Jordan went to them. The youngest doing this with a lot of feigned difficulty.

The children were picked up and the guests walked to us. We hugged each other and I could feel in them that they were glad to be here. Everybody here had been healed by the three healers in one way or another.

Everybody eyed Ellen because she was nearly due. Jacqueline said, "Ellen, you look radiant."

"I feel that way. This second crop of babies are not giving me the problems I had with the others. Though having four at once has its own problems."

"I can guess. I'd have trouble with twins."

The women got into talk of babies and Greg said to Herb, "This is a beautiful home. The pictures you sent don't do it justice."

Herb smiled and said, "I had a hand in how it was altered and then decorated but I knew enough to stay out of the womenfolk's way."

We went for a tour of the farm. Pack members and students were everywhere but there were not that many present.

Jeff said, "Who are all these people?"

Herb replied, "All of them are students. Some go to university and some are not there yet. The older ones teach the younger and we have some great successes."

Jeff said, "What do you mean?"

"Some of the children we found on the street. We gave them a home and found mentors to help them with their problems and get an education. All of them are being home schooled by us. Others were helped and sent to public schools. Some have tested out two years ahead of their peers and now have their high school diplomas."

Greg said, "Street children! What about their families?"

"We skirted the law for a while Greg. Some children were just disturbed and their family was doing all they could. We keep the parents appraised of what is happening but they do not know exactly where their children were."

"That's illegal, Herb. You know better."

"They are not held here. They can run or just leave at any time they want. Some of them saw the error of their ways and talk to their parents about their problems on a regular basis. In most cases the parents now actively support us. There are other cases where the child comes from a dysfunctional family. The same thing happens but in many cases the children are not wanted back. We encourage the children to communicate."

"There are government institutions that help children. You may do a better job but there is no oversight."

Herb said, "The youngest you'll find is sixteen. Most of those we found were segregated by age and gender into groups of eight. They sleep, eat, exercise and study together. They also protect each other. Nobody is going to easily coerce a boy or a girl to do something they do not want to do."

"That's fine with me but not with the government. Some old biddy will report you and you'll be in a world of hurt."

Herb smiled and said, "We've been talking with the Provincial Attorney General, and the Minister of Health and Welfare. We're in the process of getting some recognition like we are for the work we're trying to do in Orillia. They both tie together. The various levels of government will see a good return on their money."

"What have they said so far?"

"They are in favour or what our corporation is doing. Inspectors have been out and more will arrive to do more in depth analysis. We figure there is still a three month wait simply because of bureaucracy."

"Well there is nothing for me to worry about then. A lot of people came to the city council to talk about whatever you're doing. They are talking very big money. Stella told me but I can't see how this is going to work."

"All it does is remove at risk single mother families from the larger urban centres and puts them in smaller cities like Orillia. They work at whatever jobs we can provide. The mothers and older children work and pay taxes. The government and the corporation help with daycare. The city provides mass transit. We open up a neighbourhood mall to provide jobs and the necessities of life."

"That is going to make this corporation you're talking about a good profit?"

"It provides a way of deferring taxes and avoiding a lot of them. You can look at it as a way to put our money to help the public instead of giving it to the government."

"They always get what they want."

"No they don't. We make sure all the loopholes are closed as does the government."

Jessica said, "You talk about money but we have a dojo."

Rose who was holding the child said, "What's a dojo?"

"Like a gym where we practice our karate. Mom says I'm a baby ninja."

"What's a ninja Jessica. I don't know all this stuff."

"A secret agent that knows how to fight. We can beat Daddy once in a while."

Everybody looked at Herb and he blushed. I explained, "It's three to one. I fight but I can't always win. They tickle. If you don't believe me have Greg or Jeff take them on."

Rose said, "You must play too rough."

"Not me. They know the ninja techniques."

I took the menfolk off to see the fields and Ellen took the women into the house to talk about healing.

Ellen said to the women, "We do not have lots of time. Are all of you comfortable with what was done to Rose, Ida and Stella?"

While she listened to the verbal replies, we dug into their minds to see if they had too many qualms about doing this. There would always be some but these women were not hesitant at all about this.

"Ok, then we have to have some time to do this. Tomorrow we are going shopping but we are going someplace where we can be alone."

We went to a musical and then to a nice restaurant. We talked a lot that night and planned on a shopping excursion the next day.

The women and Jeff's son Michael went with us to the house near the University of Ottawa and saw the dojo. They also had a chance to sit with six more pack members. The six women were altered as good as they could to increase their empathy and healing powers. We were always learning more about ourselves so we did better than what had been done the last time.

Kim, Ellen and I worked on Rose, Ida and Stella to fine tune what they could do. When we were all done, our three were shown new techniques that could be used to help people. When we said that our children had the same power, Jacqueline wanted the same for her son Michael. She attributed how well our children did to the healing we must have performed on them.

The students in the dojo usually received small injuries in the course of their sparing. The three women then had a chance to heal their patients without having to hide what they did. The students didn't mind because we usually healed them ourselves. It took a while to see results but bleeding stopped immediately. The students were thankful but it was not anything new to them. The six women including Jacqueline were very impressed.

We talked about the people that would arrive in Orillia and how they had to be treated. After another discussion on security, we went out shopping like we were supposed to be doing.

We had our plans for the men because they would have to learn more about our place in the way the women were able to heal. We knew a chance would come up because both men were still very interested in us.

Herb was showing Greg and Jeff the new barn which contained nothing but gym equipment for children. Herb said, "The kids have a chance to let off a little steam even when its cold or wet outside."

Jeff said, I have friends that have farms. This building has to be worth a hundred thousand dollars and that does not include the equipment."

"Actually it was a little more because of the thicker insulation, the solar heating and the wind turbines."

"That only emphasises what I was going to say. You love all three children. You could do this even if they were not your own but I think they are."

Herb knew this was coming and said, "Let me talk about something first if you don't mind. When we were going to university, Piper taught archery, karate and judo. You already must have heard how she can use a gun."

The two men knew this but said nothing. "You also know how smart Piper, Kim and Melissa are."

It was only when he paused a bit that Jeff said, "We know that."

"Good, we have one starting point established. I was going to have a discussion with you two when the women were gone and now's a good time." Both men didn't know what this was about.

"The Stewart clan is pretty lucky. Some of the people seem to be able to heal others with just their minds." I went on for a few minutes listing people that had this ability and those that got healed. There were a lot of old stories about this that had collected for the last few hundred years.

Both men knew these stories but perhaps not in this detail. Greg had gone over the details more when he found that he had been healed. I went on, "Besides the people that went into medicine there were those that gravitated to law enforcement. They could listen to a person and detect if they were lying or not."

Both men were now uncomfortable because this separated them from the rest of humanity. Greg said, "It is nothing more than watching facial characteristics and posture. Sometimes it's the way the voice changes."

"I do not dispute that in the least but both of you have an ability to know when somebody is lying. We can call it empathy if you want."

Jeff said, "What has this to do with the children?"

"I said I was getting to it. I do not mean to make you uncomfortable. You are my best friends apart from the girls."

"Ok, go on."

"You both have a rare mental condition that lets you find someone that's lying to you. It's one of the things heard about when we talk about ESP."

Greg said, "That stuff is all bullshit. There's no such thing."

"Sorry Greg but there is ESP and I have it now."

Greg's eyes got big and he said, "What do you mean?"

"I was born with the latent ability to heal. I also have what the two of you have. I can tell bullshit from the truth."

Jeff said, "What did you mean by 'you have it now'?"

"Now we go back to Piper and Kim. Both of them are like some of our people. They have the ability to heal and they are empathetic. They can put their hands on a sick person and encourage their body to work harder to repair any damage."

Greg said, "That's bullshit."

"Do you remember when the bus missed the curve?" Both men nodded. "We worked hard to help those. If you remember, you would know that the doctors were amazed that many survived and everyone that the girls or I treated, recovered much more quickly."

Jeff said, "I heard about that too. Some of our folks figured it was you and Ellen."

"It was but it was also Piper and Kim. Jeremy Helstrom was one of those treated. He also had bladder cancer. His treatments were delayed because of his injuries but when they looked, his cancer was gone."

Greg said, "Are you saying Piper cured cancer?"

Instead of answering directly, I said, "Our family searches out people that are very sick but we tend to prefer children. We work on them for a while and their body fights whatever is bothering them. We did so well that the Hospital for Sick Children had an investigation to see what was happening."

The two men thought on this and Herb just sat on a swing. It took five minutes before Greg said, "So you can cure any disease?"