When Joseph Pulitzer gets his hands on the shared-dreaming technology (or has it developed), he asks Snyder if he can test it on one
of his boys. By this point, Francis Sullivan has already escaped from the Refuge multiple times, so Snyder tells Pulitzer that he knows just the boy. He asks that the idea be planted in Sullivan's head that he should never escape from the refuge again. The idea doesn't take, however, and "Jack" escapes on the back of Teddy Roosevelt's carriage. As the technology is still new, and he is worried that Jack (Francis) might remember the experience, the race to catch the escapee is more fueled than ever. When "Kelly" surfaces as the apparent newsboys strike leader in 1899, Snyder realizes he has his man. They capture Kelly and interrogate him, but quickly realize he has no memory of the attempt to plant an idea in his mind. In the meantime, more research on the technology has been done, and Pulitzer realizes that in order to firmly plant an idea in someone's mind, the person or persons infiltrating it will have to go several layers deep, planting "seeds" along the way - but that the dangers involved to those performing the inception are almost too great to risk it. At least, all those qualified personnel are not willing to undertake such a seemingly impossible task, not at the very possible cost, no matter how much they are paid. So, seeing the potential in Jack, but also his disposability, Pulitzer makes him an offer he can't refuse - a fortune and a fresh start in exchange for completing this mission. Jack sees his way out of the hard life of a newsie, but does not forget about his friends. He'll do the mission, but only if Pulitzer lowers the prices of his papers first. Pulitzer refuses, but agrees to buy back the newsies' leftover papers at the end of each day. Jack consents, and Pulitzer advises him to "choose a team." Jack, along with Racetrack, Spot, and Davey (and possibly including Mush, Kid Blink, Specs, Boots, and/or some invented character/s) undergo training at the hands of professionals. They then do a "trial run" on a specially chosen target - and succeed, after which Pulitzer and the professionals declare them "ready." Their mission now: to plant the idea in William Randolph Hearst's mind that will cause him to drive his own newspaper business...into the ground.
