Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 83040 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 415(@200wpm)___ 332(@250wpm)___ 277(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 83040 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 415(@200wpm)___ 332(@250wpm)___ 277(@300wpm)
An empty blue screen becomes a logo of sorts. “What’s that?” I ask, pointing to it.
“Penny,” Amon says plainly. But that’s all the explanation I get because he’s pressing buttons and the logo disappears to reveal a contact menu with a single option: Call.
Amon looks up from the phone and directs his gaze to Collin. “Ready?”
Collin nods.
Amon taps the screen.
There are a few seconds of silence and then a low, distinct ringing that reminds me of what it sounds like when calling overseas, but not exactly. There’s a click, then another click, then another.
After that, there’s Penny. “All right, who am I talking to?”
“Collin,” Collin says. “Amon and Shep are here too.”
“All right. And just so we’re clear, you’re OK with me revealing some of your history to Collin and Amon, Mr. Shephard?”
I don’t like that Collin and Amon are on a first-name basis and I’m still Mr. Shephard. So I start with that before answering her question. “It’s Shep. You don’t have to call me Mr. Shephard. And yeah. You can say what you need to say. I don’t mind.”
“Very well, Shep. Collin?” she says, redirecting. “How familiar are you with the Covert Operations for Research and Espionage?”
“Well,” Collin says, “I’m pretty sure that’s where the acronym CORE comes from, but other than that, nothin’.”
“Hmm,” Penny hums. Then takes a moment to think. There is a lot of clicking on this line to indicate that software is running in the background for the encryption, so while it’s a pause, it’s not a silence. “Sorry for my delay in response. I’m just trying my best to come up with a plausible reason why no one ever mentioned CORE to you. Especially when you were an ancillary part of it. But that’s a mystery for another day. Today I’m going to focus on Shep and Olive.”
When I glance at Collin, there’s some tension in his forehead and he looks a little worried. “OK,” he says. “Should I be sittin’ down or somethin’?”
“No. I am not in possession of the kind of details that would require you to sit, so feel free to stand. I’m going to say some things and you need to take it all at face value. I will not be providing proof of any kind, I will not be naming any names, and I will not be divulging anything that is not directly related to Shep or Olive.”
Collin looks like he’s got questions about these stipulations, but Amon says, “Sounds fair,” before he can ask them.
“All, right,” Penny replies. “Let’s get into it.” What comes next is a history lesson in liars. “JFK once warned about the dangers of secrecy in a free society. But what we’re dealing with here goes far beyond secrecy, Collin. It’s about control.” Her voice is steady and strong. Not loud, not soft. She’s very practical. Almost emotionless. When I met with her at the hospital she came across as knowledgeable, competent, and discreet. And this is how she comes off now too.
“And when I say control,” Penny continues, “I’m not just referring to controlling the justice system, the military, the economy, or even the highest office in the land. Those things are very easy to control. It doesn’t take much for certain forces to mold these systems into anything they desire. There are many ways to control the power of others and make it your own. Bribes and blackmail, just to name two. But there’s always been a gap between the people in power and the people they hold power over. Are you following me?”
Amon and I both look at Collin as he nods. “Yeah,” he says. “I get it.”
“I’m sure you do,” Penny says, and I can almost hear her smile. “Well, there’s always been a sort of bottleneck in regards to this control over people. Well, I take that back. Always is much too strong a word. Let me just be plain here. They’ve solved the issue of how to control people. With the masses, they do it with propaganda. Pop culture, music, art, film, books, advertising. You get the point. But that applies mainly to groupthink. Controlling groups is fun to them, but not as useful as controlling individuals.”
I let out a long, involuntary sigh. Because I see where this is going. Collin and I were just talking about it this morning, but I only have access to so much information. Personal experience, mostly. Everything I said about Olive was a guess. And I didn’t tell Collin anything about me. Not because I couldn’t put it together if I really tried, but because I don’t wanna know what happened to me. I really don’t.
Penny doesn’t care about what I want, so she just keeps talking. “They’ve been working on ways to control and influence the minds of individuals since the late 1700s when mesmerism became popular. From there, the focus switched to hypnotism, then psychoanalysis, then behaviorism and conditioning. These days, it’s much, much more than suggestions. It’s neuroscience. It’s technology. In fact, modern mind control is about neural implants and quantum entanglement.”