In Washington D.C., Beth, Spence and Number-Six were led into the CIA headquarters. Beth's stun gun and Spence's pistol were found by security as they were entering the building. Once Spence showed his badge to prove that he was a policeman, the security said, "You're not a police officer anywhere around here, so I have to confiscate them. You can get these back as you exit the building."
Beth was able to tell that Spence wasn't happy to give up the weapons as he said, "Fine."
As the weapons were being confiscated, Number-Six asked, "You were carrying that because of me, weren't you?"
"What I carried is only a stun gun… a purely defensive weapon that doesn't kill, but temporary incapacitate and I did get it after you moved into the apartment building," said Beth.
"From what you told me earlier by you getting that stun gun was an understandable precaution, but it would take a lot more to incapacitate me than a average person, so most likely it would have only pissed me off and gotten you killed," said Number-Six.
"That's good to know," said Beth.
Agent DeWitt gestured towards the elevators and said, "Follow me."
Minutes later, Agent DeWitt led Beth, Spence and Number-Six into an interrogation room. Clarence and three other agents, two men and a woman, were there waiting. The woman had a notepad and pencil to take notes along with wearing a pin with an unusual symbol that caught Beth's eye as soon as she walked in. The woman saw Beth staring at the pin, but ignore the stare. The thing that Savannah first noticed when she stepped in was that all of them were wearing side arms.
Once in the room, Clarence said, "Ms. Hill, you are to take a seat. These three agents will be asking you a few questions. Dr. O'Brian and Officer Westcott, you two are to come with me."
Beth never attempted to move and said as Clarence moved towards the door, "I'm not at all comfortable with leaving Savannah alone in here to be interrogated."
"This is not an interrogation per se since she is here on her own accord," said Clarence.
"Savannah knows that everyone here knew from the beginning of her being a Cylon and since Savannah is here on her own accord, I don't want her being tortured or being used as a lab rat," said Beth. Savannah noticed that the three agents had moved their hand near their gun for a quick draw. "Therefore, I'm staying to make sure that doesn't happen."
Clarence grinned and said, "You speak as a true doctor with compassion to all life, but the life you're defending was originally sent here to harm us and by you defending Savannah even though you are a doctor, I can charge you with treason."
"I realize that I can be charge with treason, Agent Wilier, but Savannah realizes that god wouldn't want the attack on Earth to proceed, so she shouldn't be treated like an enemy," said Beth.
"There might not have been an official declaration of war declared, but Savannah is the enemy, Dr. O'Brian," said Clarence. "Granted Savannah has willingly turned herself in and we will take that into account."
"If she is the enemy who has turned herself in then she is by definition a prisoner of war, and since she is prison of war, I demand that the Geneva Convention to be honored," said Beth. She then glanced at Savannah and saw a confused look on her face.
Clarence slightly chuckled and said, "The Geneva Convention is a contract between nations and it must be signed by all nations involve. Savannah is not even from any nations of Earth. Hell, Savannah is not even human, so you can't be serious about bringing up the Geneva Convention."
"What is the Geneva Convention?" asked Number-Six.
"It's an agreement between nations that prevents torture or cruelty towards a prisoner of war," said Beth. "Anyone caught dishonoring the agreement can be charge with a war crime by the government of the opposing nation or nations."
"The nations of Earth fight wars with regulations?" Number-Six questioned.
"We do and since you are not from Earth or even human, those regulations don't apply in this situation," said Clarence.
"And that is a bunch of crock," Beth blurted out.
"Dr. O'Brian, I am taking in account that your attitude towards this, is because you're a doctor who cares for all life, but if you don't back down, I won't have no other choice, but to have you arrested for treason," said Clarence.
Beth crossed her arms and said, "I'm doing what I feel is right so…"
"Beth," Number-Six quickly blurted out. "I appreciate you standing up in my behalf, but you being arrested for treason won't do either one of us any good. I'm here to cooperate fully so I'm sure I'll be fine."
"Beth, Savannah is right and you are getting closer to this situation than what you should be," said Spence.
"I'm just trying to prevent an injustice from occurring, but fine, I'm backing down," said Beth.
"If you're now off your soapbox, Dr. O'Brian, then I would like for you and Officer Westcott to follow me," said Clarence.
Beth just gave Clarence a smirk and gestured for him to lead. Savannah sat down followed by the three agents.
Just after Beth, Spence, Clarence and Agent DeWitt left the room, one of the men began asking his questions.
In the hall, Beth, Spence and Clarence walked in one direction while Agent DeWitt walked in the opposite direction. Agent DeWitt was only a few feet away from the others when Beth asked Clarence, "So where are we going?"
"The president would like to meet you and Officer Westcott," said Clarence.
"This is an honor I never expected," said Spence.
"Yeah, well I can think of a hundred different things I rather be doing right now than going to see the president," said Beth.
"You don't see meeting the president as an honor?" asked Spence.
"I have a low opinion of politicians, so no; I don't see meeting the president as an honor," said Beth.
"What did politicians do to you?" asked Spence.
"Let see, where should I begin?" Beth commented as they were approaching an elevator. "I guess I'll start with the fact that my dad is in prison for a crime that he was framed for from the backstabbing governor that my dad worked as an aide for." Clarence glanced at Beth with a curious glare as he pressed the button to call the elevator. "When I was nine years old I witnessed the governor praising his workers one second and then the very second he was out of earshot of the workers he told my dad to fire the same people who he just got done praising. Oh and that was the second time I witness my dad firing people and my dad fired them with stoned emotions. The first time I witnessed him firing someone, I was six and he was practically in tears for having to do it. So my dad became an insensitive bastard while working for a politician. And there was this incident that also stands out…"
"Beth," Spence blurted out. "Something tells me that your list is long and I get the point."
Beth grinned and said, "It's not really that long, but there are five more reasons as to why I don't like politicians if you want me to list them."
Spence said as the elevator was opening, "I'm good without hearing them."
Beth continued to grin in a slightly amused manner as she said, "Suit yourself."
Spence just grinned and shook his head as the three stepped into the elevator.
A short time later, a secret service agent allowed Beth, Spence and Clarence into the Oval Office. When Clarence introduced Beth and Spence, Beth realized that the president was keeping his distance to keep from shaking hands. When the introductions were done, the president said, "Dr. Kimberly Elizabeth O'Brian. The only daughter and second oldest child to Nicholas and Valerie O'Brian out of three children. Your mother's maiden name is Shultz and is the third oldest out of six kids; all girls. Your grandfather, Karl Shultz was third generation of defense lawyers." Beth just crossed her arms and looked at the president in a bored manner. "Your grandfather and great grandfather had impressive win records I must add. On your dad's side, however, your grandparents, Clifford and Elizabeth and their four oldest kids Cleona, Eleanor, Clifford Jr. and Brant, were born in Dublin Ireland. Two months after your grandparents moved to New York, your Uncle Archer was born. Your grandfather found work as a policeman, and your grandmother, being a multi-linguist, found work at the airport in foreign relations. After living in New York for two years, your father was born…"
Beth got overly bored and interrupted with, "Is there a reason why you're going through my family history, Mr. President?"
"My point, Dr. O'Brian, is that I know everything there is to know about you," said the president. "Like in school you fluctuated between A's and B's in math, and got straight A's in your other subjects. As a high school and college elective you took Spanish." Spence gave Beth a surprise, but pleasant look. "You even graduated medical school at the top of your class."
"Mr. President everything you told me can be found if a person searched hard enough, but I would be really impressed if you can tell me the date that I lost my virginity," said Beth. She then showed a cocky grinned. Spence just grinned and shook his head.
"I'm not telling you this to impress you, Dr. O'Brian, but to tell that I did do my research on you," said the president.
"Unless you interviewed my family and friends as well, Mr. President, here's something your research will never turn up." Beth began. "I don't scare easy… if that's why you're telling me my history. In fact people have told me that I'm a bit on the crazy side because getting my ass kicked doesn't faze me. My determination to win is very strong that if I had to, I will fight someone each day every day until I do win and it had never taken me more than a third try for me to put an end to a bully's terror."
The president slightly laughed before saying, "Like all surgeons, I can see that you're a very competitive person."
"Only to myself," said Beth.
"What do you mean?" asked the president.
"For me, it's not if I win or lose, but if I can honestly say that I've done my best," said Beth. "If I can honestly say that I did do my best then that is all that matters and I don't give halfhearted effort on the things I do."
"I see that you don't," said the president. "And you're right. I was bringing up your history as a scare tactic, which apparently doesn't work with you. Anyway, let me officially welcome you and Officer Westcott to the Whitehouse."
Spence saw that Beth wasn't going to respond to that and said, "It's an honor to be here, Mr. President."
"Please, have a seat, everyone," said the president.
As everyone was sitting down, Spence asked Beth, "How well can you speak Spanish?"
Beth smiled and said, "I can hold a conversation in Spanish with no problems."
"Do you know any other languages?" asked Spence.
"A friend of mine taught me sign language when I was nine," said Beth. "Her mom was deaf and my friend taught it to me so I could talk to her mom while I was over at her house."
The president cleared his throat to get everyone's attention before saying, "Dr. O'Brian, I would like to begin by expressing my gratitude for alerting us to the threat of the Cylons. If it wasn't for you, we would have been blindsided without ever finding out at what hit us."
"I'm just glad that I was able to warn every one of the Cylons, Mr. President," said Beth. "Things are not as simple as an invasion from a conquering race of beings from another planet though."
"What do you mean?" asked the president.
"The Cylons like Savannah Hill believes in a higher power, and they are only going after all humans because they truly believe that killing us is god's will," said Beth. "Savannah realizes that what she and the other Cylons are doing isn't god's will and that is why she has come forward. Since she has come forward, I'm requesting that this government doesn't treat Savannah as a lab animal by subjecting her to all kinds of inhumane tests or dissecting her."
"This government is not like as what is depicted in some movies," said the president.
"True or not, I'm just saying that Savannah doesn't deserve to be use as lab animal," said Beth
"As long as Savannah cooperates with us we will treat her with the respect that she deserves," said the president. Beth just gazed at the president in a skeptical manner for a brief moment before nodding her head. "Anyway, while you're here, Dr. O'Brian, I would like it if you would submit to a test to test the strength of you psychic ability."
"Mr. President, if showing me cards with waving lines, circles and stars is what you have in mind, I'll tell you right now that showing me those cards would be a waste of time," said Beth. "I can't read minds."
"I know your ability is from touch…" The president was able to get out.
"And that was why you wouldn't shake hands," said Beth.
The president grinned and said, "I have national secrets to protect."
Beth grinned and said, "I completely understand."
"Anyway, the tests that you'll be taking will be geared for your ability of touch and as I said; it's to test the strength of your ability," said the president.
"I have nothing to hide, so sure, I'll take any test you want me to take," said Beth.
"Good and to anticipate that you would agree to it, I arrange for you to meet Prof. Greenwood," said the president. "He's waiting for you now at his lab."
"That's my cue to get up and leave," said Beth.
As Beth was standing, the president said, "Agent Wilier will escort you to Prof. Greenwood's office."
"Am I to wait here?" asked Spence as Clarence was standing up.
"It shouldn't hurt for you to come with me," said Beth.
The president just gestured for Spence to go too. Spence got up and followed Beth and Clarence out of the room.
As the three were leaving the Whitehouse, Beth saw Spence looking at her in a curious manner. She gave him a curious look and asked, "What?"
"Your grandma's last name is Shultz, but you definitely don't look German," said Spence.
"That's because my Grandpa Shultz had more Italian in him than German and my Grandma Shultz has French, Irish and Native American in her," said Beth. "Her maiden name is Bernard. My dad; however, is completely Irish even though he was born in New York."
Spence grinned and said, "I figured out the part about your dad being completely Irish on my own from what was said earlier."
Beth grinned and said, "I'm just making sure."
"You don't look like your mom, but is there any relative you do look like?" asked Spence as everyone was approaching Clarence's vehicle. Beth gestured for him to wait a second and then pulled out a photograph from her purse of her Grandma O'Brian of when she was in her early-twenties while holding her oldest daughter. Beth handed Spence the photo, but he wasn't able to look at it until he was seated in the car. Spence was in the front passenger seat and Beth sat directly behind him. Spence gazed at the picture for a few seconds before responding. "This is a black and white picture of you with a little girl."
Beth grinned and said, "The woman's not me."
"Who is she then?" asked Spence.
"That's my grandma, Elizabeth Clair O'Brian with my Aunt Cleona… her oldest daughter," said Beth as Clarence was starting the car. "The picture was taken in Ireland."
"Wow, you and your Grandma look so much alike that you could be her reincarnation," said Spence as Clarence began to drive away from the Whitehouse.
"I inherited her looks and her great memory," said Beth.
"Oh, so that's where your great memory comes from," Spence commented as he held out the photo for Beth to take.
Beth grinned and nodded. As she took the photo she said, "My Grandma Shultz is a natural redhead too, so I get my red hair from both grandmas."
"So who do you get your freckles from?" asked Spence.
"That would be my Grandma O'Brian and like me, she had them everywhere," said Beth.
Spence smiled before asking, "Who did you inherit you psychic ability from?"
"As far as I know, I'm the first one in my family with psychic ability," said Beth.
"I wonder if you will pass it on to any of… to any of your future kids," Spence commented with a tone as if he had chosen his words to test Beth's response.
Beth caught the tone and said as she rubbed Spence's shoulder, "I wonder about that too, but that's not going to stop me from having the three or four kids that I want. So if you don't want that many kids, Honey, you need to break up with me now."
Spence smiled at Beth, but before he was able to respond, Clarence said, "There is a fifty-fifty chance of you passing your psychic ability to any of your kids."
"With that ratio, two of our kids should be psychics," said Spence.
Beth gave Spence a grin and after moving to the edge of her seat she gave Spence a passionate kiss.
On board the Galactica, Catalina and Dr. Cheywhin were taking a seat in Cmdr. Adama's quarters. Dr. Atkins was present. As soon as they were comfortable in their seats, Cmdr. Adama began to say, "There was an incident minutes after releasing the compound into the atmosphere."
"What kind of incident?" asked Catalina.
"There was an electric discharge between clouds that ignited the compound and turned the surface of your planet into a mild burning sun for approximately eight minutes," said Cmdr. Adama.
"My people," Catalina blurted out. "Are they okay?"
"According to our sensors the temperature failed to get hot enough to endanger the people in the underground cities," said Cmdr. Adama.
"You never sent anyone to check on them?" asked Catalina.
"The abrupt temperature change on the planet has cause severe storms in every region of the planet with winds strong enough that would destroy a Raptor as soon as it would enter the atmosphere," said Cmdr. Adama. "However, we are confident that the winds will die down enough in a couple of days to where we can send people down."
Catalina nodded to acknowledge what Cmdr. Adama had said and translated everything for Dr. Cheywhin to hear. Cmdr. Adama knew that Dr. Cheywhin was only slightly distraught by his response. After Catalina and Dr. Cheywhin exchange a short dialogue Catalina said, "Dr. Cheywhin would like to know how this affected the atmosphere."
"Dr. Atkins is here to discuss that with you," said Cmdr. Adama.
As Catalina faced Dr. Atkins, he said, "Because of the storms, we can't get an accurate reading. Before I go over the readings we did get though, you should know that because of the extreme heat, the icecaps have completely melted along with sixty percent of the water on the planet had turned into vapor. As the planet cools, I do expect moderated to severe rainfall that will last for months; which will cause severe flooding. Because of the severe winds mountaintops and hillsides will erode at a rapid pace. To shorten this, the geographic map of your planet is being rapidly reshaped as we speak. Once the rainfall becomes more normal, your oceans and landmass won't be like you knew it."
"Will this rapid change endanger the underground cities?" asked Catalina.
"Your cities do have ventilation stacks leading to the surface and to be honest, I do believe that a good percentage of those stacks will need to be modified for your people to survive the changes of the planet," said Dr. Atkins. "Now to get to what you want to know; the radiation has been neutralized; the oxygen level is down to eleven percent; the nitrogen is at seventy-two percent; the carbon dioxide is high at six percent and I wasn't able to get any information on the other gases that are present on your planet. As I said earlier though, I couldn't get an accurate reading, so what I just told you about the gases might be wrong."
Catalina nodded and repeated everything for Dr. Cheywhin to hear.
As Catalina and Dr. Cheywhin exchanged a dialogue, Catalina was agitated by what Dr. Cheywhin was saying. Cmdr. Adama interrupted and by asking, "Is there anything wrong, Catalina?"
"I just been informed, that what happened to our planet was predicted by our computer scenario program," said Catalina.
"Dr. Cheywhin knew that there was a possibility of this happening?" Cmdr. Adama asked in a slight agitated tone.
"Yes, Commander, and the reason he never mentioned this to anyone before now was because the computer calculated that the odds of an electrical discharge happening at the precise moment for this to happen was one out of ten thousand," said Catalina.
"Leave to us to beat the odds in the wrong possible situation," said Dr. Atkins.
"Commander, Dr. Cheywhin was sensible enough to run calculated scenarios on what we should do next," said Catalina.
"Catalina, let Dr. Cheywhin know that I want to know any and all scenarios for now on regardless of the odds of it happening are," Cmdr. Adama insisted.
"Yes, Commander," said Catalina. She then translated what Cmdr. Adama had said.
In Washington D.C., Clarence was leading Beth and Spence into the laboratory belonging to Prof. Hank Greenwood. The laboratory was sectioned off by cubicles and looked more like an office.
Prof. Greenwood greeted everyone at the entranceway. He shook Spence's hand before shaking Beth's hand. Beth was immediately given a vision. Spence saw the patient look in Prof. Greenwood's eyes and said, "You expected Beth to get a vision. That's why you shook her hand last."
"I knew it wasn't definite that she would get one, but yeah, I thought she might," said Prof. Greenwood. Everyone waited patiently for the several seconds it took Beth to come out of her vision on her own. "So what did you see?"
"You get dreams that come true," Beth began. "Before the age of ten you use to shrug them off as coincidence. You began believing in your dreams when you discovered your dad's body after hanging himself. You dreamt that event forty-eight hours before it happened."
Beth, Spence and Clarence saw the shock in Prof. Greenwood's face. He even turned slightly pale from hearing the news. The initial shock wore off after a second. He then said, "With all the psychics I worked with, you're the only one to see that."
"I see the past three out of five times I get a vision and normally if there's a traumatic experience or an experience that haunts the mind, I'll be drawn right to it," said Beth. "Two of the five times I would see the immediate future. The future I see will at times seem trivial, but when the event does happen, the vision I received turns out to be a piece of information that would help me to cope with what is to come or gives me the time to think of all the ways I can respond to the event without the unnecessary drama."
Prof. Greenwood nodded and asked, "So how far into the future can you see?"
"It can be as short as thirty seconds and the average longest is about three hours," said Beth. "On two occasions I had a vision that I saw farther than three hours in the future, but when I have those, those visions seems to create a loop for me within the vision."
"What do you mean it causes a loop?" asked Prof. Greenwood.
"There were two times that I thought I had awaken from the vision, only to soon find out that the vision was only being replayed with the knowledge of any previous loops intact," said Beth. "In seconds, I would live more than four hours of multiple alternate future realities in my head and seeing each final outcome."
"You saw four hours of a vision with no gaps of time in the vision?" Prof. Greenwood questioned.
Beth nodded and said, "Yes. The first time, I was sixteen. In that incident a friend of mine would have been seriously hurt. That vision looped three times before I figured out what I needed to know to stop it. The second time was six years ago. I was nineteen and during that time, this guy I turned down on a date was stalking me. I saw in the vision that I was going to die by what I thought would have been an accident. I thought I had enough information to stop my death, but I didn't. When the second loop started, I quickly realized I was still in the vision and I stopped participating in it. My dead grandpa quickly appeared in the vision and told me that my stalker was why I was going to be killed. I didn't even know I was being stalk and he would have killed me and three of my friends."
Prof. Greenwood looked at Beth in a slightly skeptical manner and said, "That's uh… that's amazing." Prof. Greenwood shook off the thought he was having and gestured further into the lab. "Anyway, come with me and we can begin your testing."
Beth just gestured for Prof. Greenwood to lead. Prof. Greenwood led everyone to the back of the room where there were two black and white photos of two separate women, an antique clock, an old hairbrush, an old mirror, an old watch and a few rings. Beth gave Prof. Greenwood a look as if he had lost his mind and asked, "What's this?"
"Several years ago I found that each one of these items spark psychic visions ninety-eight percent of the time among psychics," said Prof. Greenwood. "I can measure your ability from how many items from the table spark a vision."
"What if none of them spark a vision?" asked Spence.
"Then I'm still in the same vision when I shook Prof. Greenwood's hand," Beth commented.
Spence was the first one to asked, "What are you talking about?"
"I don't get visions inside a vision," said Beth. "That's actually how I figured out that I was in the second loop when I woke up from after dying in the first loop. In the second loop, I touched several things that should've sparked a vision, but not one did."
"That's interesting," said Prof. Greenwood. "Once you knew you were in a vision, why didn't you let it play out to the end?"
"I get bored very quickly when things start repeating," said Beth.
"I can vouch for that," said Spence. Beth gave Spence an inquisitive look. "Three times you sat on the couch beside me with a novel while I watched an old sitcom, so from that I figured you prefer reading a book over watching reruns."
Beth grinned and said, "I'll admit that I rather read a book over watching a show that I've seen before, but I can sit through a show a second time without becoming too antsy. It's sitting through a show more than twice is when I'm ready to get up to find something else to do. Keith on the other hand can watch the same shows each time they air without getting bored. He even owns all of the Star Trek CD's and he can sit for hours each day watching them."
Prof. Greenwood cleared his throat and said, "Dr. O'Brian, we really shouldn't get sidetracked as to why we're here."
Beth politely grinned and said, "Of course. I'm sorry. Once I get started I can talk forever. Spence can vouch for that also."
Prof. Greenwood said in more of a patient tone, "Your word is good enough for me on that."
"So, how should I begin this?" asked Beth.
"Pick up the items in the order of your choosing and tell me what you see if it sparks a vision," said Prof. Greenwood.
"That's sound simple enough," said Beth. She then gazed over the items for a couple of seconds before picking up the mirror.
The mirror sparked a vision that lasted several seconds. When Prof. Greenwood saw Beth coming out of the vision, he asked, "So what did you see?"
"The mirror, hairbrush and the rings belonged to a German woman," Beth began as she held the mirror. "From what I saw, I believe she was born in Germany in the early nineteen-thirties. I believe this because I saw her as a pre-teenage kid walking by German soldiers. I didn't see when she came to the U.S., but she was murdered in New York. She appeared to be in her late thirties or early forties when she was murdered and I saw her being strangled by some guy, but I couldn't see the guy's face."
"How do you know she was murdered in New York?" asked Prof. Greenwood.
"She was murdered near the window and I saw the twin towers from that window," said Beth as she laid down the mirror. "Robert, another psychic who you tested, thought that he had seen a shadow of a third person in the room during the murder, but what he saw was the shadow of a dressmaker's mannequin. You're not using these items for testing to help solve a crime, are you?"
Prof. Greenwood smiled and said, "No. The murderer was her husband and he made a full confession one month after she was killed. I must say that you picked out details that no other psychic had and you seeing another psychic's response is also the first."
"I'm speculating from what I've seen that the woman was murdered around the nineteen-seventies," said Beth. "Am I right?"
"I prefer not to give you any information until we're completely done," said Prof. Greenwood. "So please continue."
"Okay," said Beth. She then picked up one of the photos. "Okay, I didn't get a vision from this picture, but after a closer glance, I do recognize this woman as being the woman who was strangled." Prof. Greenwood gave Beth an impressive look as Beth picked up the second photo while still holding the first one. She got another vision while holding the two photos.
The vision Beth got was slightly longer by several seconds, and when she came out of it, Prof. Greenwood asked, "So what did you see this time?"
"The woman who was strangled was Carliegh," Beth began. She held up the second photo that she picked up. "The woman in this picture is Gretchen. Gretchen is Carliegh's older sister and your grandmother." Prof. Greenwood gave Beth an astonish look. "Gretchen had hooked up with an American soldier during the war, so by that I'm guessing that Gretchen along with Carliegh came to the U.S. after the war ended. Oh and all these items were either your grandmother's or your Great Aunt Carliegh's."
"Okay, this test is done," said Prof. Greenwood. "You definitely have a strong psychic ability along with a good intuition to be able to accurately fill in the gaps of what you didn't get from a vision." Beth just showed a pleasant smile. "Agent Wilier and Officer Westcott, please give us privacy for a few minutes."
Before Spence and Clarence had a chance to respond, Beth asked, "What's going on?"
"Prof. Greenwood will fill you in," said Clarence. "Officer Westcott and I will wait near the entrance."
"Why can't Spence stay?" asked Beth.
"You signed a non-disclosure form, Dr. O'Brian and what Prof. Greenwood wants to talk to you about is confidential," said Clarence.
"So I won't be allowed to discuss what Prof. Greenwood tells me with Spence?" asked Beth.
"That's right," said Clarence.
"Then I don't care to hear what Prof. Greenwood has to tell me," said Beth. "So you should take me and Spence back to where Savannah is."
"You have an opportunity to be part of something great, so you shouldn't take this so lightly and walk away without finding out what that something is," said Clarence. Beth gave Clarence a skeptical look before glancing at the items on the table. She then gazed around the room once while looking at the décor of the room. From where Beth was standing she could see four different symbols that were framed separately without words and hanging on the walls. One of the symbols was the same as the woman's pin that caught Beth's eye earlier. "So do you find out what Prof. Greenwood want or do I take you and Spence back?"
Beth grinned and said, "I'm not joining any elite group of psychics so bringing me here was a waste of everyone's time."
"You have the blood of a detective coursing through your veins and if you or Officer Westcott speak of this among others you two can be arrested," said Clarence.
"Okay, that repetitive phrase of being arrested for treason is starting to get old very quickly," said Beth.
"Yeah, well, I would hate to see you on the opposing end of this government," said Clarence. "Now if you're sure that we're done here then we should leave."
"It was interesting meeting you, Prof. Greenwood and perhaps we'll meet again under different circumstances," said Beth.
"Before you leave, can I tell you in private the details of our organization and at least give you the opportunity to change your mind?" asked Prof. Greenwood.
"I'm a surgical intern, Prof. Greenwood." said Beth. "I rarely have free time outside the hospital and when I do, I'm going to devote that spare time to Spence. So I'm going to pass on learning more of your elite group of psychics."
"That's a shame," said Prof. Green. "You could have contributed a lot to our group."
Beth politely grinned and said, "Bye, Prof. Greenwood."
"Bye," said Prof. Greenwood.
Beth, Spence and Clarence turned and walked towards the exit. Before exiting the room, Beth saw a few more symbols in frames hanging on around the room.
As they were exiting the room Clarence said, "For fair warning, Dr. O'Brian, for the past few years, people in the senate and congress have been taking note of the growing number of people in the U.S. with psychic abilities; regardless if it's seeing the future, the past, hearing someone's thought, moving objects with the mind or whatever the ability is. Most of those same people have also been voicing their concerns of the potential threat a psychic or a group of psychics might be able to do on the public's well being or the economy while using their ability to commit crimes. So there maybe a time in the very near future that all psychics will have to register his or her psychic ability."
Before Beth was able to respond, Spence said, "Registering as a psychic will cause a huge controversy; especially when the larger portion of the population still doesn't believe in psychics."
"That will be addressed soon too," said Clarence. "When the president does come public and acknowledges psychic ability as a fact, whether it be this term or the next term, there will be a grace period of one year for everyone who knows that he or she is a psychic to come forward to be tested. If the test proves positive then that person will have a registered ability."
Beth abruptly stopped walking and said, "And the elite group of psychics under Prof. Greenwood will be the ones doing the testing."
"Your grandfather, Clifford O'Brian, had an impressive work record as a detective," said Clarence. "I can see that you inherited that skill from him."
"Well, I agree with Spence," said Beth. "There will be a huge controversy over psychics having to register and I just hope that that controversy doesn't turn into the America's second Civil War."
"The number of psychics maybe growing, but the non-psychics still greatly outnumber them" said Clarence. "There won't be a civil war over this, but when the president comes forward in the near future and if the psychics don't register with the authorities then there just might be a nationwide witch hunt among the non-psychics."
Beth grinned and shook her head from frustration before uttering out, "Registered psychics will be part of the solution and unregistered psychics will be part of problem."
"You're as smart as your academic record shows, Dr. O'Brian," said Clarence.
Beth got up into Clarence's face and said in an angry tone, "Well let me register my ability now and you can stick my registered ability up your…"
Spence didn't allow Beth to finish as he push Beth back and quickly said, "Beth, what our government is about to do sucks, but getting hostile with a CIA agent is not the way to go."
"I'll hurt you if you tell me I can be arrested," said Beth.
Spence grinned and said, "Beth, you need to calm down so you can think more clearly."
"I'm thinking clearly," Beth spouted back. Spence just gave her an inquisitive look. "I'm pissed. Okay?"
"I know you're pissed, and you have every right to be, but lashing out at a CIA agent is not the right move to make," said Spence. "If you calm down you'll see that on your own. In fact, why do you take a breath and count to ten?" Beth gave him a look as if he had lost his mind. "Please count to ten for me." Beth rolled her eyes and rattled off one through ten almost too quickly for Spence to comprehend of what she was saying. "Count to ten slowly."
"Fine," said Beth. She then recounted at a slow pace and then gave Spence a cocky grin. "How's that?"
"Are you thinking any clearer?" asked Spence.
"I'm thinking clearly," Beth insisted.
"If you're thinking clearly then you know that like me and Brandon, Agent Wilier is only enforcing the law that was created by the law makers," said Spence as he noticed in Beth's eyes that she was considering his words. "And I think that he was doing you a favor for giving you the heads up on a law that will affect you before it goes into affect."
Beth nodded and said, "You're right." She then gave Spence a heartfelt hug. "I love you."
"I love you," said Spence as he held Beth tight.
Once they ended the hug, Beth stepped closer to Clarence and said, "I lashed out at you when I shouldn't have and I'm sorry."
"Actually, I believe your reaction will be the typical response among most psychics," said Clarence. "I'm just glad you don't have telekinetic ability, otherwise I think you would've ripped my head off earlier with only a thought."
"I get the feeling that a few people are glad that Beth doesn't have telekinetic ability," said Spence. Beth just gave Spence a smirk.
"If you're not reconsidering Prof. Greenwood's offer then we should get going," said Clarence.
"I'll register my abilities when the time comes to do so, but I'm not joining the U.S. coven," said Beth.
"The group is still playing around with names for themselves and that doesn't sound half bad," said Clarence.
"Why don't they just call themselves psy-core or psy-cop like in the Babylon-five series, because that's what's going to happen," said Beth. "That group is going to be hated like them too."
Clarence grinned and said, "Once the group becomes active, they are only to make sure that psychics remain law-abiding citizens and not to control their every day moments."
"Yeah, well, forgive me if I don't believe you," said Beth.
Clarence continued to grin and shook his head. He then motioned for Beth to go and said, "Anyway, we need to get back." Beth turned and began walking again.
At the CIA headquarters, Number-Six had fully cooperated with the three agents by answering truthfully. The agents had photos of all twelve modeled Cylons along with photos of more than a hundred other people. Number-Six pointed out which twelve were the Cylons. Once the interrogation was done, Number-Six was taken to a room that was furnished more like a hotel room with a bed, dresser and a TV along with a full bathroom; however, the room locked from the outside.
Clarence took Beth and Spence back to the oval office. The female agent who has the pin that caught Beth's eye earlier was sitting in a seat and speaking to the president when the three walked in.
Beth gazed at the woman as the president said, "Please come in and have a seat."
Beth hesitated for a moment as she gazed at the woman. When Beth did follow behind Spence and Clarence, she stepped up to the woman, stuck out her hand to shake hands and said, "I'm Beth O'Brian."
"I know who you are, Dr. O'Brian, and I know why you want to shake my hand." The agent continued to say without shaking hands, "I'm Agent Teresa Holmes and I'm not shaking your hand."
"Then I'll directly ask you then," said Beth. "What is your psychic ability?"
Teresa slightly grinned before turning towards the president. The president saw the expression on Teresa's face as if to ask permission to answer. The president gestured towards an empty seat and said, "Dr. O'Brian, please have a seat."
Beth hesitated for a second. As she was taking her seat, she said, "I doubt that Agents Holmes' ability is from touch or she too would want to shake my hand. Also because she was sitting in on Savannah's interrogation, I'm going to take a wild guess and say that Agent Holmes is a telepath. Tell me, Agent Holmes, out of a hundred cards, how many can you get right?"
The president didn't allow Teresa to answer and said, "Dr. O'Brian, Prof. Greenwood had called and told me everything. I'll answer any questions that you have if you just reconsider joining Prof. Greenwood's organization."
"That's not going to happen, Mr. President," said Beth.
"Then your questions can't be answered," said the president.
"Then I'm going to assume that Agent Holmes' skill as a mind-reader is very strong and say that she is more than ninety percent accurate," said Beth.
"I know you're baiting me and Agent Holmes while hoping to get verification," said the president. "However, I'm not verifying it."
"I see you're denying it either," said Beth.
The president grinned and said, "Moving on, Dr. O'Brian. Everything you and Officer Westcott learn tonight is confidential. Although you're not scared of this administration or going to prison, keep in mind that saying anything about this is a criminal offense."
"Mr. President. Dr. O'Brian and Official Westcott know that all psychics will have to register their ability in the near future," said Clarence.
"It seems that you and Officer Westcott pretty much know everything, Dr. O'Brian," said the president.
"I wouldn't mind learning which symbol goes to which psychic ability, Mr. President.," said Beth.
The president again grinned and said, "Prof. Greenwood had broken the strength of a psychic ability in ten levels of strengths; ten being the highest and he believes that you're either a level eight or a level nine psychic. He also expressed a strong desire to have you on his team, so I'm going to give you some time to reconsider joining his group." Beth was about to say something, but the president didn't allow her to. "Don't respond to what I said, Dr. O'Brian, just think about it and someone will get with you in a few days for your response." The president looked at his watch. "You and Officer Westcott are done here and because of your reluctant to join our team, Dr. O'Brian, it didn't take as long as you were originally told, so you'll be home before midnight. Agent Wilier, make sure Dr. O'Brian and Official Westcott get home safely."
"Yes, Mr. President," said Clarence as he stood up.
As Beth and Spence stood up, the president said, "I do have the authority to pardon your father."
Beth gave the president a resentful stare. She quickly calmed down and said, "You can ask Agent Holmes for my thoughts on that after I leave." Without waiting for a response, Beth walked towards the exit. Clarence and then Spence followed close behind.
Once the door closed behind the three, Teresa said, "If her thoughts could kill, Mr. President, you would've been dead."
"Thanks, but I figured that out from her dagger-throwing stare," said the president.
"She could also careless about your ability to pardon her father, because she won't do anything to owe you or this government," Teresa added.
"If you can't tell me anything more useful, Agent Holmes, then you're dismissed," said the president.
Teresa stood up and said, "Yes, Sir." She then left the room.