Samarra has demonstrated her intelligence and ingenuity, but she still remains a prisoner of the Children of the Oracles. Certainly she's enjoying a nice meal now, but how long will that last? What is the reason Shaw brought her here? And will she be able to use that to her advantage in order to get free herself? We'll have to see. Remember to review!

KedharS: She's certainly much smarter than everyone else in the room, you'll have to give her credit for that.

Jjjdunk1: Samarra being a genius was inspired way back in her introduction. She's so much smarter than any other person that it's pretty much impossible for her to relate to them, which is why she uses her powers in such a callous, thoughtless way.

Bad Writer: It's okay bud, take all the time you need.

Hyphenman: Samarra's goal is to make it seem like releasing her is in his best interests. But as we'll see, in spite of her intelligence, there's still a lot she doesn't understand.

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 1239

"Now that you're aware of how intelligent I really am, you must see how good of an asset I could be for you, correct?" Samarra asked. "That's the reason you brought me here, after all, because you're aware of my powers and how they can be useful."

Do it. Set me free. You know that the only reason you brought me here was to win me over to your side and make use of my abilities! I'm giving you that opportunity right now, you would be a fool not to take it! Samarra urged him with her thoughts. It was the only reason she was here, she knew that much at least. If he didn't want to use her, then the wouldn't have had her brought here all the way from Agate Village.

"Ah, but you see, I have no intention of using you as a tool," Shaw corrected her.

Samarra blinked.

"I don't understand," she said. And those weren't three words she used lightly. "You know what my powers are capable of. You know what my brian is capable of. You can't afford to not make use of my capabilities!"

Shaw shook his head. "It's not that you don't understand, it's that you misunderstand. Tell me, Samarra, with your brilliant intellect of yours, tell me, what is it you think I'm trying to accomplish here?"

Samarra paused. She hesitated to answer his question because it hadn't even occurred to her. The motivations of lesser beings wasn't something she paid any mind towards, other than how she could use it to meet her own needs.

"I don't know," she answered. "You and I don't share a connection. How could I know that?"

"You're the smartest person I've ever seen, and your answer is still 'I don't know'?" Shaw asked, smiling. "Come. You can do better than that. Why not use that intelligence of yours to try and figure out what I'm planning, then, if you think your powers will be such an asset to me?"

He was challenging her, that much was obvious. He may have just been an inferior human but he could see that everything she'd said had been a lite, an attempt to manipulate the situation towards her freedom.

Well, if that was the case, then…

…

She shook her head.

"I don't have enough evidence to conclusively determine anything," she replied, shaking her head.

"That's because you're immature," Shaw replied. His patronizing tone irritated Samarra, but she didn't have a response to it.

"To be clear, you're very, very intelligent. But even your genius carries limits," Shaw clarified. "After all, you've spent your life in Richard Harker's cage, have you not? Having no contact with the outside world. Certainly, your brilliance allows you to memorize information and then use that information to do something as impressive as calculating our location from a mere glance outside the window. But even that intelligence has limits."

Samarra remained expressionless in the face of his insulting words. She didn't need to concern herself with the opinion of someone so far beneath her. She judged that he was probably goading her, trying to make her upset so she would lash out at him and get defensive. She wouldn't be so easily played with. If she did that, the chance of slipping free from these restraints would lower considerably.

Besides, there were many people who failed to understand her greatness. This Alexander Shaw was just the latest in a long line of them.

"You can't connect with others, can you?"

"That's because you've sealed away my powers," Samarra said. The words slipped out without her even meaning to say them. She raised her hands to show off the silk gloves. "These shackles are what keep me from connecting with others."

"And that must be painful for you, isn't it?" Shaw asked, leaning forward. "With just a touch you could have turned myself, Kyrese, and Flora here into your dear friends, isn't that so? You would connect with us on a deeper level and become a part of who we are. That's the nature of your gift, isn't that correct?" He asked.

"In a manner of speaking that would be accurate," Samarra nodded. "If that is the case, then why do it? Because you're afraid of forming a connection with me?"

"Oh, my, afraid? No, quite the opposite in fact. I look forward to forming a connection with you immensely," Shaw said, shaking his head.

"Then it would be beneficial for you to remove these," Samarra said, slightly confused by the man's motivations. If he wanted to form a connection with her then why did he see the need to lock away her powers?

"Ah, but… not like that." Shaw had a tense smile on his face, and washed it away with another sip of wine. "I have no intention of becoming a mindless puppet to suit your needs."

"You're very rude to a person who is considered your guest," Samarra replied. "'Mindless puppet'? I would do no such thing. Becoming my friend makes you a part of me, allowing us to connect in the truest sense of the word. There is nothing to be afraid of."

Do it! Do it! Set me free!

"Have you ever made a friend without the use of your powers?" Shaw asked. "Someone who you could make a connection with, without having to see inside of them?"

Samarra paused. "…There was… one. Sylvia Driscoll. She was the first person to visit me in my cell. I asked her to set me free but she declined."

Shaw seemed taken aback by this answer. Could it be that he actually believed that she had never made friends without her powers before?

As Samarra was thinking about how she could use that knowledge, Shaw took another sip of wine.

"And that girl, you consider her a friend?" He pressed.

"She said that we were friends now," Samarra said. "And that she would help arrange for me to make even more friends. Then more visitors came… and now I'm free."

"I see, so… she said she was your friend, but what are your thoughts on the matter, then?" Shaw asked curiously, repeating his question. "Do you consider her a friend?"

Samarra didn't like being asked questions she'd already given the answer to. Apparently she needed to dumb down her language even more. Perhaps this Shaw was not as evolved as she thought he was. "Yes," she said succinctly.

"…Fascinating."

She wasn't a fan of this line of questioning. The way he studied her reminded her of all those foolish doctors staring at her behind the glass like she was a pet on display. She wasn't here to perform for his amusement.

"But you would still use your powers on her, yes?" He asked, narrowing his eyes. "In order to make a deeper connection?"

Of course. It was only logical.

"Do you believe that a deeper connection is not something to aspire towards when it comes to friendship?" Samarra asked. "Everything I've read on the subject suggests otherwise. When I connect with a friend, I learn everything there is to know about them. How best to please them and make them happy. Then it is a simple matter of giving it to them. That way, everyone is happy. It is why I am such a good friend."

"And what if your friend didn't want a deeper connection with you?" Shaw asked. "What if they were content with the distance you two had right now? Would you force it on them? The way you did in Agate Village?"

Why did he use that word? "Force." It made it sound like what she was doing was wrong, when she was just trying to make friends.

"I don't see what the issue is with seeking a connection with others, not when it would be to their benefit," Samarra said, shaking her head.

"…And that's why I'm not taking those gloves off of you," Shaw finished. "This connection you speak of… it's out of the question, I'm afraid. That's why you couldn't explain why your powers would be useful to me, even though you're so smart. Because you can't see the motivations and desires of others, you have no way of aligning your needs with theirs. When it comes to manipulating others and getting them to do what you want… you're still just a child. You rely too much on that power to force your will onto those around you, when you should try seeing things from their perspective so you can make a genuine connection with them."

Samarra flinched in her chair, resisting the urge to express the emotion she was feeling.

How strange. I feel… what is this? It's not an emotion I'm familiar with. It's not like anything I remember feeling.

From her experience in Agate Village, Samarra had tasted "fear" for the first time. Not just something she'd absorbed from someone else without the proper context. She'd seen a monster prepare to destroy her, and had come to associate the feeling she'd felt then with the word "fear".

Now what she was feeling… well, Ayame Toujou would have called it "rage".

For someone like Samarra who lived with such limited emotions, only experiencing things by connecting with others, a feeling like this was quite rare indeed. She might study it later in the privacy of her own room, but there was one thing she knew for sure.

She didn't like this "rage". It made her feel so noxiously human. She was so much better than them, so much smarter. To have that genius tempered by such irrational things like emotion was simply unacceptable.

"Samarra, you said that your powers could be useful to me," Shaw said. "And you're not wrong. And ability like yours… being able to connect with anyone you touch… such a power would be incredibly valuable, and not just to me, but to anyone."

She knew that of course. What was his point?

"But something like that… I don't want it. Not right now. It's an incomplete power."

…Incomplete? What did he mean by that?

"Because of your genius, you've never truly been challenged, have you?" Shaw asked. "Perched high above all us meek, foolish humans, looking down on us from the heavens as we scuttle about beneath your feet… like a goddess living among the common mortals. That's the sort of world you exist in, would that be fair to say?"

"…For one of the common mortals you see very well," Samarra said mutely.

"And because of that, you've never tried to lower yourself to connect with us humans in a way that we connect, have you?" Shaw asked. "Getting to know a person without the use of your abilities, but by having a conversation with them. Talking with them about the things that they value, and trying to understand who they are."

"It's unnecessary," Samarra replied. "With my power I can understand the fundamental nature of anyone. Why should I have to lower myself to speaking with them?"

She couldn't understand the point of something like that, it didn't seem to make any sense.

Shaw sighed. "This is exactly what I was concerned with. That power of yours… you rely on it because you have no choice. Because you can't connect to those around you without it. And how could you? You're on such a higher level from all of them, it must be maddening trying to know us."

Samarra recalled the feelings of nausea she felt when she realized that Ayame's knowledge and memories had become a part of her. It still made her sick. She'd allowed that human girl to pollute her, making her a part of herself.

Revolting.

"With my abilities-"

"But you don't have them, do you?" Shaw cut her off. "And you won't be getting them back any time soon. Those gloves are more resilient than you'd think. And I have no intention of removing them until I can be sure that you won't use them to force a connection on myself or anyone else here."

So she wasn't getting her gloves off.

"Then I won't," she said. "Take these off me and you can bring me anywhere you like. I don't need to make a connection with any of you."

"…That doesn't quite work for me either," Shaw said. "Now we're getting back to the reason I brought you here in the first place. To help you."

"…The only help I need from you is removing these gloves," Samarra replied. "Then I can go back to making friends with the others."

"Those gloves may be physically shackling you," Shaw agreed. "But removing those physical shackles won't help you."

"You have no way of helping me," Samarra said.

"And you're so sure about that?" Shaw asked, raising his eyebrow.

"I am certain. I cannot think of one thing you could offer me that you haven't already taken away from me first."

"…What about freedom?"

"As I said. You have nothing to offer me that you haven't already-"

"I mean real freedom. Not just me taking your gloves off, or letting you leave this castle. Freedom in the truest sense of the word."

What was he getting at? The earnest look in his eye seemed trustworthy, but then Samarra had never been good at discerning the motives or feelings of others without her powers. But then, even if she couldn't touch him, that didn't mean she was powerless, did it?

She could still sense the nature of harmonia. It was a power that she'd used sparingly due to a lack of need, but even now she could still sense the presence and mental state of a harmonia user just as she had when Kat had come to her cell.

Flora and Kyrese were both harmonia users. She could tell that they were responding differently. Flora's harmonia was soft and gentle like a warm bed of flowers. And Kyrese was much brighter, like the rays of sunlight.

And Shaw…

She squinted. What… what was this feeling? What was happening right now?

"You're trying to get a read on my harmonia, is that right?" Shaw laughed. "That's good. That's very good. You're almost learning how to be empathetic. Trying to understand the mental state of others without relying on making them into your servant first, that's a good first step to really forming a connection."

"You… what are you?"

Samarra didn't know how to categorize what she was feeling. Due to various bits of knowledge she'd acquired over the years she had become aware of the nature of her abilities and the fact that it wasn't some magic power that allowed her to connect with others. And in that time, she'd met many other harmonia users.

But this man…

"I'm Alexander Shaw," he said plainly. "Just a man trying to create peace in our world."

Peace in our world. She'd heard those words before. But what did they mean?

"I'm afraid I don't have your ability to connect to the hearts of other people," Shaw admitted. "I must get to know them, try to understand them based on how much trust they give to me, how much faith they have that I can help them. That's what being a leader is. Trusting in those around you and fostering that trust in them. And that's something that you can't do, can you? You can't trust other people. And you won't have them trust you. That's why it's easier to make friends with your power, friends who will never betray you."

"When I make a connection with someone, then I can trust them without a doubt," Samarra replied. "I don't need to… get to know them."

"Are you afraid that you're incapable of connecting with them without using your powers?" Shaw asked. "Afraid that because you're so far above their existence that any real connection would be pointless and hollow?"

"I have experienced fear," Samarra said. "This feeling is different."

"…I see. Well, we'll have to come back to that at some other time, then," he sighed. "The food is almost here."

Samarra caught wind of the scent. It made her feel… hungry? Was that the right term?

"You said you wanted to create peace," Samarra said suddenly as Flora and Kyrese placed their meals in front of them. "Then wouldn't my power be a boon to you? With my abilities, everyone could connect with everyone. There would be no more violence, no more pain."

"I agree," Shaw nodded, picking up his fork and knife to begin cutting into his steak. "Your harmonia may be the key to world peace, I thought that from the second I heard about it."

And yet he still wouldn't try to make use of her. It wasn't rational.

"Then why?"

"Because the peace I seek to acquire is different from everyone serving you," Shaw said simply. He popped a piece of meat into his mouth and chewed on it thoughtfully. "You bend others to your will, make them care about you. What I'm seeking… is peace in a true sense. Where everyone is equally connected to everyone else, where we can ALL see each other for who they are. And that power of yours, it's close… but… you've never even connected with a pokemon of your own, have you?"

"What would be the point?" Samarra asked. She didn't get it. People fawned over their pokemon, but such beasts were lifeforms even lower than humans were. Why would she bother trying to make a connection with them?

Shaw sighed and set his fork down. He wouldn't be able to enjoy his meal until he settled this matter with her.

"So many of the children who are with me, they've learned what it means to truly make a connection. They're all like I was, back in those days. Connecting with those I loved… understanding my pokemon, and how precious they were to me… my team and I, back in those days… we were all one in the same. United in our purpose, and our goals…"

She studied his face. There were many emotions swirling around, and that made it very difficult. Samarra still lacked the nuance of reading the emotions of others.

"What I'm after… is the opportunity to share those days with everyone," Shaw explained. "Connecting everyone together, so that we can all see into the hearts of one another and embrace each other for who we are… that's the peace I envision. And you could never understand how desperate of a man I am to acquire it."

His tone took on a tense edge to it. Samarra remembered this type of voice, her brother used it when he was upset. There was something deeper going on, and the most educated guess she could make on the matter was that it had something to do with his harmonia.

Or rather, the lack of it. Where she sensed different things from the other people, from the man in front of her she just felt… nothing.

"Your harmonia… what happened to you?" She asked.

He paused, shaken from his bout of nostalgia. "…So you're finally asking questions about those around you, I see. Very good. That's very good indeed."

She frowned. Just answer the question. The inability for humans to be direct in their interactions was one of the infuriating things about the inferior species.

"Tell me something, Samarra. You know so much… but did you know… that harmonia is a gift… that can be taken away?"

His voice echoed with the sound of a pained man. Silence fell over the dining hall, with only the roaring fire to chase it away.

Well that's quite a revelation. Harmonia being taken away. What could Shaw mean by that? And what does it have to do with his plan? I suppose we'll have to find out what he seeks to gain from Samarra. The world he describes sounds very lovely, if he's being honest about his intentions. Unfortunately, Samarra probably won't be very reliable when it comes to fostering something like that.