Pulse

Chance walked on, but he had ultimate authority to do whatever he wanted,” Faith said. “He put the smartest people in the world into a facility and removed every rule that had ever been made about tampering with DNA, cells, reproduction, weaponry, human testing—all of it, anything he could think of, absolutely no rules. No documentation, no one to answer to, and unlimited access to resources. Whatever he wanted, he got. No questions asked.”
    Meredith was pleased with the response. She was getting somewhere.
    “And out of that came the States,” Faith concluded. She mulled over the rest of her answer before saying it. “Did Hotspur Chance make me like this?”
    “How we got to you is a little more complicated than that, but yes. He and his associates saved the world—a worthy goal—but they unlocked some other things in the process.”
    “What did they unlock?”
    “They found the pulse first and, realizing its devastating power, quarantined those who had it. There were twelve. You can probably guess who one of them was.”
    “Hotspur Chance.”
    Meredith nodded slowly. “They weren’t just able to move things with their minds; they were also violent. There’s no record of why this was so; but a week later, only one of them was alive.”
    “Hotspur Chance,” Faith said. It was starting to feel like a mantra, this man’s name on her lips.
    “He was the first to find the second pulse, the one that could move things and also be unmoved. Dylan explained this, am I right?”
    Faith nodded. “He has it, too. Nothing touches him. He was disappointed that I didn’t get it.”
    Meredith’s expression indicated that she, too, was disappointed.
    “Shortly after that, we know only two more things that occurred: the plans for the States were developed in great detail over a stunningly short amount of time, and the first Intel was created.”
    “I’ve never heard that term. Intel?” Faith said. She did remember Dylan saying something about an intelligence movement. The two things sounded connected, but she didn’t mention it.
    “Remember, no rules, no regulations,” Meredith said. “It was an anything-goes environment.”
    Meredith paused, her gaze locked on Faith. “Hotspur Chance found a way to bond his own DNA to existing people. They were his hosts. He needed more brain power, and he needed it fast. These people were called Intels.”
    “That’s terrible,” Faith said. “He was like a parasite. How many people did he infect?”
    “Interesting choice of words,” Meredith said. “I prefer to think of them as still who they were, only much smarter. And remember, without the Intels there would be no States. Sometimes a terrible thing is required in order to fix a great many problems.”
    Meredith looked at the envelope sitting on the chair, then back at Faith. She had known this would be a difficult transaction, because the contents of the envelope had the power to change Faith’s life forever.
    “In a moment, two people are going to sit in these empty chairs. After that it’s going to get tougher. Are you ready?”
    Faith knew her parents were about to enter the room and lord over her their weird ideas. She tried to tell herself that it was fine. She hadn’t seen them in four months, and deep down she did miss them. She only wished the circumstances could be different. Somehow, it felt like her parents had set everything in motion without telling her. Now they’d ambushed Faith in a basement with the help of crazy Meredith.
    “Take the envelope. Keep it for a later time,” Meredith said.
    “Before you bring them in, I have a question,” Faith said, leaning over and taking the envelope and holding it in her hand.
    Meredith didn’t signal her willingness to answer or not, so Faith went ahead.
    “How many people are there like us?”
    Meredith lowered her chin slightly, smiling softly.
    “I don’t know how many they have.”
    “They? What do you mean, ‘they’?”
    Meredith ignored the question.
    “It’s complicated.”
    “Did you know it’s impossible to get a straight answer out of you?”
    “So I’ve been told.”
    Faith heard the door open at the far end of the room. It was a heavy door with a squeak that echoed annoyingly across the emptiness. She couldn’t bring herself to turn around and watch her parents approach. Instead, she closed her eyes and reminded herself to make the most of this. She was determined not to pick a fight even if she felt manipulated or