Prologue

A sallow pokemon sits on a steel table. Tiny needles, each connected to a wire, cover the top of its head. The wires snake back to a machine of indeterminate function, several feet high. Its eyes are closed. It looks dead, although it is breathing in shallow, slow breaths.

It is not noisy. There are the sounds of people moving around, but they are intent on their task. No one speaks.

An apple is placed on a second table.

Eyes watch intently.

There is the soft sound of quick typing. Electricity surges through the needles in the psyduck’s head in a precise pattern. The apple trembles, then begins to rise. Several feet above the table, it halts and begins descending, and then, perhaps a quarter of an inch above the surface, the power lifting it abruptly vanishes and it thumps down onto the table.

“Impressive.”

The lead scientist is skilled at self-depreciation, or perhaps intuition. “It doesn’t have quite the range of applications you want yet, I know. But that’s just a matter of equipment.”

“And you’re sure that can be overcome?”

“This is just the test version. We’re intending to use far thinner wires in the helmet. This huge thing–” he gestures at the machine “–won’t be necessary. The new wires will conduct the electricity more efficiently, so that less electricity will be wasted as heat. And we'll reduce the electricity needed in the brain itself, as the wiring will be closer to the correct nerves. The lowered voltage will allow for a smaller power supply. It should also reduce the number of cells killed by surplus electricity, extending the viable lifespan of the device."

“Is everything else finished?”

“The attack program is done. The target program isn’t complete yet, but as you’ve just seen, it’s quite accurate. And the subject shows no sign of waking up.”

“Good.”