Encrypted

Thankfully there was a nearby park, one much bigger than the one in Bourbonville. There was a large pond where two Water Pokémon, a Lanturn and a Prinplup, were having a battle, their trainers standing on the bank, barking out orders. On the land there were plenty of people spending time with their beastly partners. An elderly man sat on a bench to feed a flock of Pidove, while a Nuzleaf chased a little, laughing boy on the playground. A Bolthund was retrieving frisbees and a Turtonator was napping under the shade of a tree. It was a lively spot and Katy was glad to be in it. It always did her anxious heart good to be surrounded by bliss and peace.

She realized this may be short-lived, however. It was very possible that whatever they found on that drive could send her reeling into a depressive episode due to the callousness of humanity. As they ate their late lunch, Katy looked around at all the people and wondered how many of them had caused another to suffer due to their selfishness or inconsideration. She couldn't stand the thought of it and she tried to focus on her salad. But it was hard. Knowing that something was waiting for her that caused the murder of another human being was too much to ignore.

The local library was as good of a place as any to use a computer to see what files lie on the hard drive. It was delightfully quiet. Katy followed William past rows of bookcases. She had a look down each row; she couldn't help it. It was like a window to another world. She glimpsed a Drizzile flipping through a picture book down one of the rows. Down another was a Mawile carrying a stack of books in its great jaws.

William sat down at one of the research stations and immediately plugged in the hard drive. Katy couldn't say for certain how the other two were feeling, but her heart was racing.

It wasn't immediately apparent. There was no folder labeled "TOP SECRET ADVANCEMENT INFORMATION" and there were no locked files. William had to dig to find anything of significance. But when he found it, man, he found it.

"Hold up. Check this out." He opened a folder labeled "Lab Trials" and it was full of notes and MP4 files. He clicked on the first video and it showed a Swoobat hanging upside down from inside a very small cage. It appeared to be sleeping. There was talking in the background, a lot of it muffled. Most of it that Katy could make out were run-downs of data that didn't make sense to her. Finally a human stepped into the frame and opened the cage, waking the Swoobat and making it flex its big nose. They clamped wires to the base of its ears and after a moment someone off the screen gave it a command. "Swoobat, use Psychic."

The Pokémon did as it was instructed, opening its wings and spreading its ears apart. The camera showed the bending of the light that typically happens when this move is used and there was some beeping from a machine mixed with the rest of the background noise.

"Fairly harmless," said Christian.

"Though, I don't like how small that cage is," Katy added.

William scrolled down the list of MP4 files and clicked on another one at random. This one displayed a Solrock, lying on its back instead of floating with the same contraption attached to its rays.

"Are all these videos of Psychic type Pokémon?" Katy observed.

No one answered her, watching the video intently. This Solrock was in bad shape. Its eyes were closed and the commands that were barked at it were barely acknowledged, much less executed.

"Solrock! Psychic!" The same move was commanded. But this Pokémon was far too exhausted to use it.

Katy blinked when William switched videos, clicking on one near the bottom. This time there were two subjects in the frame. A girl about Katy's age who didn't look as if she wanted to be here, and a rowdy Exeggutor. It seemed threatened—not by the girl, but by whoever was behind the camera. The Exeggutor and the girl were connected by the same wires they had seen in the previous videos. They clamped on the girl's temples and the Pokémon's heads. While the Exeggutor used all kinds of moves, when it finally used a Psychic type move, the girl reacted by holding her head in her hands and squeezing her eyes shut.

"She's a Deviant with a Special Ability," said William, rubbing his five o'clock shadow.

Christian glanced at him. "What are they doing to these Pokémon? And that girl?"

"Obviously some kind of test involving psychic energy and how it affects Deviants." William clicked off the video and opened one of the lab notes documents. Katy read the first paragraph, but it was all practically gibberish to her. She didn't understand scientific terms and apparently neither did Christian. But William kept scrolling until he had scanned the entire document, then clicked to another one. "They're using Pokémon's psychic powers to enhance Deviants' psychic powers. Or trying to at least."

"That's kind of neat, though," said Christian. "But why?"

"I don't know. But I doubt it's legal."

"Well it already looks like abuse," said Katy. "Those videos showed Pokémon in serious distress, being pushed beyond their limits. And that girl didn't even seem like an employee. She wasn't communicating with anyone behind the camera at all."

Ralts climbed up out of William's lap to stand on the desktop to have a better look at the screen. "Wah."

"I wonder if this Ralts was a rescued subject," Christian looked at William. "Sounds like something Taron would do."

"I didn't know Taron very well, but it does seem likely."

"Did they do that to you, Ralts?" Katy asked it.

The Pokémon didn't seem to have an answer. Instead, she was preoccupied with fitting William's hand over her head.

"How do we find out why they're doing this?" Christian sat back in his seat.

"I keep scouring these files until something comes up, I guess." William clicked out of the folder and into another one that seemed promising.

This process continued for several hours. People had come and gone from the stations beside them and Katy had gotten a look at Christian falling asleep in his chair. He was quite cute, especially when he was asleep, she noted. And suddenly, after nearly three hours had gone by, William unplugged the hard drive and stuffed it in the pocket of his jeans.

Christian lifted his head, eyes opening one at a time. "Did you find anything?"

"A bunch of encrypted government files. I'd say that's our ticket, but I don't know how to make them readable."

"We'll have to find an expert," said Katy. She stood from her seat and nearly gasped at how stiff her legs were.

"I know someone. But she won't do it for free." William picked up the Ralts and put her back on his shoulder. She leaned against the side of his head with a soft hum.

"Do you know everyone for everything?" Christian got up and staggered a little, evidently having the same problem Katy was having.

"I met a lot of people while I was working at Advancement. As maintenance, I had the opportunity to get to know someone from about every department. But like I said, she won't do it for free."

"So, we cash in some Points and pay her. How much are we talking?" Christian walked beside William on the way out of the library.

William sighed. "It's not money she'll ask for."