OPPOSIT-ION: MAKING SK-ISLAND

POWER INTERACTION

Several weeks had passed since that 'Day of the Scientists' visitation event. While pertinent information had been exchanged, the immediate focus for Jude was on the sonics field being incorporated into the studies. Shinrah quickly became accustomed to the island layout, as Jude did when she arrived. It was somewhat new to both of them, but Jude was more familiar with the lab layout, especially concerning the lab equipment. Shinrah was a fast study, following Jude's direction with little instruction. Jude discovered that Shinrah was only a couple of years older than she was. While it was an unimportant detail concerning their work, it opened up a new door for her regarding her close relationships. Shinrah was more than a peer. She was, in her way, an equal to Jude. She was simply a few steps ahead of Jude by her date of birth. They were both true savants in their respective areas. Together they would change all known scientific knowledge forever.

Jude was now going through her first experiment process again. This time, Shinrah could watch and help oversee the operations. It was the test run that had the meltdown. She had waited on pursuing it until she felt better about her setting. She didn't like her every breath being watched and recorded by her employer. It put her on edge, making her feel like she was in prison with the illusion of freedom. She was more right than she knew. There were still monitoring devices in orbit that could oversee what was happening on the island. Still, at least it was no longer at the detail level that local monitoring had once provided.

Jude knew this was as close to any privacy as she would get for now. The labs were the primary observation targets, but any conversation held outdoors or in one of the top buildings could be heard and recorded by satellite. Again, the spy technology was beyond what Jude knew precisely, but Shinrah knew even more since she was part of its development. Soon she had Jude up to speed on many pertinent details about their employer, including about people she knew that just disappeared. No trace. Gone. Poof. They both wanted to avoid that scenario.

Sitting at the breakfast table with Jude and the professor, Shinrah filled them in on some of the monitoring technology she had helped significantly improve. She was, after all, their master of sonic science. "So the satellites cannot perceive conversation deep in the earth. There is too much muffling, dispersion, and overlying sound from other sources, including the earth. It's like trying to see a moon on the other side of Jupiter. The best way that I know of to keep them out of your hair is with white noise. It's so simple and yet completely effective. I've built many white noise systems based on communications needs, some of which are my 'personal' devices. Observe." Shinrah silently pulled out a necklace from under her blouse and let it hang loosely in front of her. She switched it on.

She started talking, but neither Jude nor the professor could hear a whisper from her. That shocked them both. It was obvious she was talking. She held a napkin in front of her. It moved with her breathing. They should have heard her. She turned it off and returned it to its hiding place. "We need to keep our above-ground talks neutral. Just so you both know, I'm currently blocking this conversation from them, but we can't always do that. They'll know we're blocking them, and they'll make aggressive adjustments to their monitoring. Is there anything you want to cover before I un-hide us from their ears?" Shinrah took a small box from her pocket, about the size of a pack of wooden matches, and placed it on the table. There were lights and a button on its face. The primary green light on its cover was lit. She explained that meant the white noise broadcast was on.

Jude looked to the professor and signed that she wanted Shinrah in on all the discrete conversations. The professor expressed concern but relented. This was, after all, Jude's party. "The professor and I have been using sign language that he taught me almost from the start. It gave me a sense of control, not unlike how the white noise does for you. I'd like for you to learn it so that we can genuinely communicate irrelevant of our safe talking conditions. We don't use it for mundane detail. We converse verbally at the same time too. We've gotten used to holding two conversations at once. It's been a giant tool to allow me to move forward without disclosing all I'm doing or the lines I'm discovering or following.