“She’s becoming a problem.”

“Becoming? She’s been a problem since the moment we discovered her.”

“We’re lucky to have discovered her. Imagine what she could have done in someone else’s hands.”

“What she did do in other’s hands. I, for one, do not believe Tartarus was an organization at all this time last year. She’s manufacturing new enemies for us out of nothing. Likely thanks to careless words delivered by our artificers.”

“Perhaps it is time we reexamine our actions toward her. I raise the motion to eliminate her before the problem worsens.”

“That’s far too risky—”

“Not to mention inhumane. She’s just a young woman. I would like to remind the board that we are not monsters.”

“Irrelevant. The risk, however, is not. If reality itself, including all of us, is merely a figment of her imagination—”

“Impossible! We’ve discussed this before. The human mind is leagues insufficient to dream up all of reality, let alone a handful of books in a library.”

“It isn’t human. It’s a tulpa. An amalgamation of thoughts. Who is to say where its capabilities end.”

“That is barely a hypothesis. More mere conjecture brought to us by someone whose own grasp of reality is tenuous at best. Sapphire’s words have already been all but dismissed by anyone with any expertise in the field. There is no evidence—”

“There wouldn’t be any evidence; she thinks she is a normal human, thus every test result indicates that she is a normal human.”

“I thought you were of the opinion that she is a regular psychic and the cause of all the oddities are the result of an external artifact-like object, Omicron?”

“I’m merely pointing out the possibility.”

“It doesn’t matter what she is. Let’s build an isolation chamber in the depths of Psychodynamics. Keep her inside and happy. We can study her all we wish and we don’t have to worry about any odd effects leaking.”

“Now that is what is impossible. No one is happy in isolation forever. The moment she starts looking for an escape, she will find one. It is how she thinks—how she works. Trust me. I know the human psyche and whatever else, she thinks like a human.”

“Which is why we should just kill her.”

“And Alpha has gone back to her favorite words again,” Sigma mumbled.

Irritated with the conversation, Theta leaned back in his chair as he flicked a little spinning device between his fingers and listened to its hum. Just in time for a booming voice to sound over the speakers.

“Enough.” Her voice carried. When she spoke, everyone stopped their bickering at once.

Omega.

There were no leaders among the Administrative Council. Thirteen individuals, gathered together to head various departments of the government organization known as the Carroll Institute, were supposed to be equals. Most of the time, that was true. Until Omega spoke.

Everyone listened to Omega. Theta honestly wasn’t sure why.

It was probably the name.

None of them actually had the Greek alphabet on their birth certificates. That would be a coincidence of the highest order. No, their aliases were assigned. Meant to protect identities and obscure who was actually part of the administrative board. Omega just carried connotations ingrained in the English language that set it apart from the rest. Alpha did as well, but not quite to the same extent.

Of course, Omega’s personality had something to do with that. If she had been the soft-spoken analytical type like Sigma or Phi, people would have gotten used to her. But no, Omega had the bearing of a third-world dictator, the charisma of a cult leader, and the mind of a megalomaniac. Normally negative traits, but here…

“We will not be discussing the murder of someone who has come to us in trust and good faith, Alpha. The majority of us are in agreement of that, are we not?”

The little windows on Theta’s terminal didn’t show the faces of his peers. He had never seen most of them before a few weeks ago and likely would not have met any of them had they all not popped into a smoke-filled room in the depths of Psychodynamics. A room that likely hadn’t existed before Dyna thought it up.

That had been an alarming experience for so many reasons. It was probably the closest Dyna had been to getting every resource the council could throw at her actually thrown at her.

But now that the immediate alarm had died down, Theta was pleased to see the little windows flash green in agreement with Omega’s words. Theta lowered a hand to the switch on his terminal, signaling his own agreement. Only three boxes remained blank. Alpha, by far the strongest proponent of outright assassinating Dyna, Lambda, who often voted for killing, isolation, or experimental psychosurgery to eliminate Dyna as a threat, and Xi, who didn’t want to kill her as far as Theta was aware, he just wanted to strap her to an examination table for the rest of her natural life.

“We are focusing on the wrong topic,” Omega said. “Theta, status of your follow-ups to the last major incident?”

Clearing his throat, Theta leaned forward and depressed a button next to his microphone. “Reconstruction efforts within damaged areas of the city are underway. Contractors have already started construction in all public locations.”

“We are psionic scientists, not civil engineers, Theta.”

Ignoring Phi’s soft mumbling complaint, Theta continued with his report. “There have been no sightings of any individuals who may have ransacked the apartment owned by Onyx. The Beatrice system was allowed twenty-two minutes, thirteen seconds of high-cognizance operation time and was unable to discern their current whereabouts or destination through any method, including but not limited to satellite-based psionic energy signal tracking, security footage analysis, and psychological profiling based on data from our captives.

“As for our captives,” Theta said, switching his second screen to an information readout on four subjects. The ‘mountain man’ as Dyna called him, the two men fished from the river, and one man who had survived his injuries in the department store. “That is where things begin to grow complex.”

“Just answer the question we all have on our minds. Were they or were they not tulpa before your little unauthorized conversation with the Subject?”

“Excuse me. Following incident CI-INC-50112-gz, I was granted autonomy in approaching the Subject in any way I desired for the purpose of diffusing the situation. It was a near unanimous vote,” Theta said, shooting an annoyed glance to the two windows on his monitor who hadn’t agreed to his proposition. Alpha and Lambda.

“You overstepped your bounds and you know it, Theta. Just answer Zeta’s question and be on with it. Who are our enemies?”

“Unfortunately, Gamma, I don’t know the identity of our attackers. But as for the answer to Zeta’s question, I think it should be self-evident whether or not they were tulpa beforehand.”

“Of course it is self-evident. At least to any of us who have been paying attention. Clearly just myself and Theta.”

Theta nodded at Phi’s words. “In all tests, experiments, and circumstantial data we have been able to acquire, the Subject has demonstrated no ability to alter the mind. For whatever power she possesses, thoughts are outside her dominion.”

“Exactly.”

Theta continued, “November, Ruby, and the unaffiliated individual known as Matthew—capable of observing tulpa through psychic ability—confirmed their status.”

“After your discussion with her. I remain unconvinced.”

“It does seem an odd line to draw in her abilities. What make the meat and electrochemical signals that make up thoughts any different than a brick wall or… people’s physical bodies. I’m sure we’re all aware she has the ability to change that.”

“It should be clear to anyone paying attention to the existence of tulpa that thoughts might not be wholly contained within our reality. That alone makes them different,” Theta said. “Makes our thoughts different.”

“Reality is just a consequence of perception. Her perception just matters slightly more than ours. And we have to believe that. Otherwise, we are not mere tokens navigating her ever-changing game board, but puppets dancing on her string.”

“Real comforting thoughts there Phi. Ever have anything uplifting to contribute?”

“Of course I do. That is why Theta comes to me for advice on talking with her and not the rest of you.”

“We’re getting off-topic again… Let’s uh… talk about something else, shall we?”

“Kappa’s right, even if he just wants a distraction from his existential crisis. We need a plan of action. If someone is out there capable of arming and utilizing tulpa, all they need to find is something like the Hatman to spell the doom of the Carroll Institute.”

“It is the same issue as artificers. If Emerald or someone of her power ever went against us, we wouldn’t stand a chance.”

“Emerald is human and can be reasoned with. Psych profiles built around her work. Tulpa, and the Subject, are not.”

“The tulpa in our morgue seem to have died to bullets just the same as any human would. No signs of unexpected animation. Psionic energy readings and biochemical activity remain null.”

“They probably only died because the Subject thought they should die. That might not be the case in the future.”

“Tulpa like Hatman or ‘Mountain Man’ have demonstrated anomalous abilities beyond mere human levels such as those exhibited by November. We have countermeasures for psychics. We have countermeasures for artifacts. It is time to open an entirely separate division of Psychodynamics tasked with investigating ways of annulling or otherwise disrupting tulpa.”

“That’s why we’re reverse engineering the disruptor weapon recovered from Tartarus. We already have scientists and engineers working on such things.”

“No,” Omega said, not using her overly authoritative voice now, but still commanding attention. “Gamma is correct. This was an attack not just on the Subject and our artificers, but the Carroll Institute as a whole. A proper division with funding, facilities, and dedicated personnel has become a need, not just a far-off want.”

“All in agreement?”

Window after window flashed green. One flashed red, that of Omicron, but it was clear that he was being overruled. Theta signaled his agreement as well before speaking. “November has been amicable to our desires and Matthew possesses a psychic ability made for the subject. Perhaps they should be approached?”

“What of Ruby? She’s the same, isn’t she?”

“Yes,” Theta said, “but she’s an artificer.”

“Walter.”

“We can ignore Walter for now,” Omega said. “November and Matthew will suffice for the moment. In the future, it would be best if we could create devices or personnel with the ability to interact with Tulpa.”

“Doctor Cross is currently in possession of a gadget capable of doing just that.”

“Let us avoid relying on the Subject for the moment,” Omega said, addressing Beta’s comment with a light tone. “My agents have discovered an anomaly matching the description of the spatial rip the Subject encountered. From it, we can procure tulpa for experimentation and potentially send expeditions through to the other side. Eventually, crafting technology to generate or collapse spatial rips on our own would be ideal.”

“Your, excuse me, your agents?”

“Let’s not play games, Phi,” Omega said. “We all have those we trust to look into matters we deem important.”

“Fair enough,” Phi conceded, not sounding the least bit ashamed with herself. “And just where is this spatial anomaly?”

“Classified.”

“From us?”

“For the time being,” Omega said. Before anyone else could get in a complaint, she pressed on. “Gamma, set up your division. As with other defensive projects, you’ll head it. I want budgetary reports, personnel dossiers, and contractor costs ready to present during next week’s meeting. Everyone else… Good day to you.”

Omega’s window winked out. One by one, everyone else followed suit. Meeting adjourned, Theta stood and stepped away from his terminal. It locked instantly the moment he moved away, preventing anyone who might wander into his office from accessing anything without going through Beatrice’s security systems.

He touched a small button on the side of his desk, cutting an electric current that ran through the glass walls of his office. In moments, the dark, opaque tint faded to clear, transparent glass, letting in both light and the outside world.

As far as he knew, he was the only one of the administrators who actually used their office. Most of the others were hidden away at home. Which was part of the reason he had been appointed to handle Dyna and not any of the others; they simply weren’t around. A few of them weren’t even located around the Idaho Falls area. Kappa worked out of New York, Mu had a laboratory in Washington D.C. that she ran on the side, and Phi was stationed in Texas somewhere. The rest, he didn’t quite know where they were located. It was equally likely that they were down in Psychodynamics or off overseas.

Gathering up a case of documents, Theta exited the office. He offered a cordial nod of his head to his secretary before turning and heading for the elevator. After a quick hop down a floor, he found himself in a dimly lit room currently filled with several carboys full of colored liquids. Laser pointers, blue, green, and red, were set up around the corners of the room, aimed at the carboys. The light scattered when it hit the glass and liquid, making each jar light up.

“What’s this one supposed to do?” Theta asked.

“It isn’t… what it does now that matters.” Doctor West carefully stepped over the beam of a red laser to move from his desk to the doorway. “It is what it does… after Onyx leaves.”

“Getting things ready for your session tomorrow?”

“Assuming our… illustrious board of administrators hasn’t decided to murder my project.”

“I told you they wouldn’t,” Theta said with mild annoyance. “Ever since Zeta began her moral crusade, things have shifted toward isolating her at worst. Only Alpha and Lambda are really pushing for that drastic option.”

“We can only… hope that won’t change,” West said.

“Things are progressing well, then?”

“As well as can be expected…” West said. “I admit, I am getting somewhat used to it. It was nerve-wracking at first. She is constantly… altering even minor things around her. Book text might change in subtle ways or the… cushions of a seat might be more comfortable than I remembered. Trying… to catalog it all is an exercise in futility.”

“She is changing everything around her?” Theta shook his head. “We would have noticed. Beatrice would have noticed. Even subtle things, eventually.”

“Ah, but that is the fascinating thing. Removed from her presence—or rather, her conscious and unconscious thought—most things have a tendency… to revert to what was observed beforehand. Ontologists rejoice. The nature… of being seems to exist independently of her.”

Theta shook his head again. “No. That doesn’t fit with observed outcomes of her interactions. The most notable of which is Tartarus, but we have several other examples of ongoing effects stemming from Onyx.”

“Tartarus is a… poor example. She thinks of them constantly. Rather… I am surprised they can operate at all. Her thoughts of them are not… influenced by her perceptions of sight, sound, and intuition… as they are with the Carroll Institute. I imagine they suffer… constant alterations to their building, personnel, equipment, and… so forth.”

“They seem to operate just fine. Reports coming in indicate that they hunted down another tulpa in Washington state a week ago. They have more personnel, top of the line equipment, and advanced technology.”

“Curious, isn’t it? Perhaps… they have a method of securing themselves. They know more than we do… somehow. After all, by all the reports, they used Onyx… to create their organization.”

If they did have a way to keep Dyna’s influence out of their business, at least where they didn’t want it influencing them, it would be in Theta’s best interests to acquire it. All the more reason to proceed with the operation to get more in-depth information on their activities. But that wasn’t West’s job.

“If things revert, how are we to make use of her?”

“The changes must become reality… to her and to observers. It… stabilizes the psionic energy fields she creates. The fog machine gadget is a prime example. It worked once, but failed to work thereafter until she realized ‘how’ it should… work and explained that to others, thus further cementing her perception into everyone’s reality.”

“So because Doctor Cross received the explanation, that was enough to flip her changes into proper being?”

“Your administrative cohorts… fight against her changes. As do most who are aware of her nature, if subconsciously. It is… best to expose those unaware to her changes, making them believe.”

That made a certain amount of sense. Everyone who knew of Dyna’s abilities expected things to change. Thus, they did. But it was instinct to not want someone of her caliber able to bend reality at a whim. So there was push back. Someone without that instinct would act as an anchor…

So they just had to get those ignorant of her to observe the changes they wanted to keep and those suspicious of her to observe the changes they didn’t want to keep. Everything would be subjective, making that prospect an irritating one to execute upon, but likely not impossible.

“You’ve given me something to think about, Doctor,” Theta said. “I want a full report; all the conjecture and confirmations you’ve ascertained in the highest detail. But this sounds workable.”

“I’ll send what I have immediately… and elaborate more after my next session with her.”

“Good.” Turning, Theta started out of the room, plans already churning through his head on how best to turn the situation to the Carroll Institute’s advantage. And his own.

“Careful, Theta,” West called after him. After a heavy breath, he continued. “History isn’t kind to those who play god.”

“Who is playing god?” Theta answered with a casual shrug. “We’re just trying to convince a woman to help us out.”