The Prodigies [First Draft]

Thirty One

Kenny swiped her ID card on the scanner next to her room, and the doorknob twisted under her hand. She slipped into her room and checked for her roommates, making sure she was alone before hurrying to her closet. With another swipe of her ID card, she opened her closet door and made herself comfortable on the floor.

Once she was settled, Kenny wasted no time removing the binder from her backpack. She turned to the third page of the files and retrieved her penlight from the corner of the closet. After clicking the light on and finding her place, the young girl continued reading the decoded papers:

09-20-50

In the Nursery, Group B produced results similar to Group A's. We found that children with related Gifts went through the same symptoms or Gift overexertion.

Example One: Blaze, Group A, and Warmth, Group B, both experienced second degree burns on their palms after holding fire for more than seven hours.

Example Two: Metal, Group A, and Magnet, Group B, both displayed an inability to touch the presented iron or nickel alloys without the metal changing shape after hour six.

Dr. Anderson has not returned from her trip to Snowcoast yet, so Dr. Zhang is temporarily the head of the Nursery project. He has decided that next week's research should focus on the sudden bouts of strong Gift usage that occur after five hours of constant Gift usage in all Gifted children. He is to message the head of iWAB's Gifted Department to see if she could conduct the same research we have been doing with the children on a group of Gifted adults. We will hear back from her within the next several days and compare research.

09-21-50

Group C displays many of the symptoms that members of Group B and A share. However, we have noticed that the severity at which they experience the symptoms lessens as we work with members of lower groups. Less students are fainting before the tests have finished, which suggests that the shorter one's Z-area is, the longer they can exert their Gift. We're looking for evidence as to why this happens and guess it has to do with the amount of energy being used comparing the ability of Group A's members to Group C's.

09-22-50

Groups D's results support yesterday's hypothesis. The tests seem to be going well, and the LM works fine. There is a slight concern about a boy from Group A who allegedly remembers his time at the Nursery. Dr. Anderson is still absent from the campus, and we're having difficulty finding someone to ask him about what he knows. We'll have to administer a stronger dose of the lacumemine drug next time he's present in the Nursery.

09-22-50

Both Group E and F were tested today; this year, the Nursery closes on Fridays. Only one child fainted from Gift overexertion, and this was only because he was unable to take in oxygen after breathing water for eight hours. Overall, the bouts of uncontrollable Gift usage were weaker and less violent than they were in Group A. The head of the Gifted Department returned Dr. Zhang's message, and the research she produced is listed in the chart below (Figure 1).

Kenny felt sick to her stomach as she reread the previous paragraph. Only one child fainted from Gift overexertion.... The only student at AGC with the ability to breathe both water and air was Fins. Kenny shook her head, pushing away any thoughts of what happened to Fins in the Nursery, and propped open her closet door with a book for more air. After taking several deep breaths, she continued reading:

09-24-50

The members of Group G never reached the point of Gift overexertion. They display incredible endurance, and their blood pressure readings were normal the entire eight hours. The only symptom they experienced was exhaustion. However, that might have been caused by the Nursery's hours rather than Gift usage. Mr. Roberto is working on a formula to explain how the G groupers were able to use their Gifts for longer periods for time than the A groupers.