I'm pulling into the Helzig Institute for Mentally Challenged Children. It's a beautiful brick, steel, and glass building that looks oddly like a church. I've heard a little about them, the Institute helps children with many disabilities, teaching life skills, job skills, so no child is left alone in a room until they die. Helping them to become functional adults and having a good life.

I'm thinking. “What do they need a Network Systems and Data Analyst for?”

I park my baby-blue Volkswagen Bug in the visitors parking lot. Stepping out of the Bug, I take my hair bow and pull my hair back into a pony-tail, tuck it through my St. Louis Cardinals baseball cap, snatch up my knapsack out of the back seat and head towards the guard station near the front entrance. I watch the guard get a big smile on his face when he sees me walking his way. He steps out of the little shack, straightens out his khaki uniform and adjusts his 9MM on his right hip. His eyes start at my pink Nike cross-trainers then up my jeans with holes in both knees, he stops for a moment at my Grateful Dead tie dye tee shirt. I expect to see a wet spot in the crotch of his pants at any second. Stopping in front of him, the smiling guard asks, “Is there anything I can do for you?”

“My name is Catherine Smithson, I'm here to see Dr. Uri Ugota.” My laser beam stare backs him off a little.

Suddenly his brown eyes get big. “Oh, you're here about the problem. I'll buzz you in and radio ahead to Dr. Ugota.”

“Thank you.” While I'm walking away, I can feel his stare on my butt. He's having a good time!

The buzzer beeps, I push open the huge Oak door with a smiling child on the front. Walking into the foyer, it looks like the fire alarm is going crazy. Flashing red lights, sirens screeching, people running in every direction. I can hear children screaming and crying in the background. A small man with a bald head and a white lab coat walks up to me and asks, “Are you, Miss Smithson?”

I see his name-tag. “Yes, Dr. Ugota. How can I help you?”

“We have a problem with one of our quiet rooms. Let's go in here where we can talk.” He opens a door that leads into a conference room.

“That's much better, please explain what a quiet room is, doctor?”

“When one of our children are having a tantrum or a depressed time, we put them in a quiet room. It's designed to be a calming influence so we can gain control of them again.”

“How does it function?”

“The room is basically a four-wall flat-screen television. Are you familiar with the work Phillip Kennedy and Yang Dan?”

“Yes, they were the first to develop a brain-computer interface by attaching electrodes to a monkey's brain, I believe?”

“You're exactly right. A year ago, the researchers at Brown University and a Utah company, Blayrock Micro-systems took that idea to a new level. They created a wireless brain-computer interface that is basically a head-worn transmitter. It's called the Cereplex-W. The interface receives certain signals from the brain then sends them to the computer to display on the screen. We designed a software system that basically finds their favorite things like, puppies, kittens, trees, flowers, birds, butterflies, grandmother, grandfather, whatever it takes to produce a calming effect on all four of the screens.”

“I've read the Brown research paper and I'm very familiar with Blayrock, they're doing wonderful work for the paralyzed to help them recover motor skills. This all sounds great, what's the problem?”

“A week ago, we received a child that had been through many different programs, none worked. We are the parent's last resort, so to speak. I had high hopes, though. She has never spoken a word but had good motor skills, we thought it was a developmental disability and not an intellectual one. The doctors began to help Ja-kisa with her motor skills. Two days ago, she was in class and started throwing a huge tantrum. Naturally, we attached the Cereplex-W and put her in a quiet room to calm her. It worked almost instantly. That was her first time. Yesterday, Ja-kisa threw another tantrum and we repeated the process. That's when we found out her true mental abilities. The computer seemed to enhance them greatly. She now has powerful telepathic skills and is able to read your mind instantly. I think she has also developed the skill of remote viewing. Ja-kisa seems to be able to project her mind to any part of the building. She probably knows you're here. With her power of reasoning increased, she quickly took over the entire computer system. She's created a horrifying world in quiet room four, that she now controls. Ja-Kisa has also found a way to find your greatest fear or nightmare then use it against you.”

“That's what I call a problem. Haven't your technicians tried to shut it down?”

“You have to go into the room to shut it off. Three of our techs have tried. One had a heart attack, but he's going to be all right. The other two ran out of there screaming.” He smiles at me then continues. “We need you to find a way in to shut it down without going in there.”

“Let me guess, you have a room full of our Tripplite Blade Servers linked to a Panduit-Opticom Processor and that's linked to the Cereplex-W interface?”

A shocked Dr. Ugota answers, “Yes, ma'am.”

“I helped to design the processors and servers, there are no back doors into that hardware.” I shake my head. “Unless there's one in the software you developed. Do you have a computer I can use?”

“Yes, Miss Smithson, right behind you.”

~

Two hours later, I pull out a flash drive, slide back from the computer and turn to Dr. Ugota. “Well, the best thing I can come up with is to install a replicating virus and destroy her created world. It will quickly overtake the software then completely shut it down. You'll have to start over though.”

“That's not a problem.”

“How will it affect Ja-kisa, Dr. Ugota?”

“I wish I could answer that question, Miss Smithson. But we really have no choice. Do you need to use the terminal in the room?”

“No, I can load it right here.”

Dr. Ugota looks down for a moment. “Three years of data will be lost. At least we have a back-up. Please proceed.”

I turn to install the virus and all power shuts off in the building. The emergency exit lights pop on. A computer-generated voice of a little girl comes over the intercom and says, “I will talk to you, Miss Smithson.”

“I thought she couldn't talk, Dr. Ugota?”

“The computer has greatly enhanced her mind. The more I think about it, we may have stumbled onto a great discovery.”

“That's true, but how much will this great discovery cost humanity. How many lives will it cost to find out?”

He has no answer for me, just a blank stare.

The door suddenly opens and in walks a young female nurse in blue scrubs. “Dr. Ugota, we have control of the building again.”

“You won't have it for long, Ja-kisa just pulled back. She's still in total control.”

Dr. Ugota speaks up. “Miss Smithson, this is Jan Morris, our head nurse.”

“It's a pleasure to meet you.” I hold out my hand to shake and she has a strong grip.

“The pleasure is all mine. I've read about your work with super-computers using processors developed to emulate brain-engrams. A computer that thinks like a brain. Brilliant work!”

“Well, thank you. Was it you that sent for me?”

“Sort of,” Jan smiles. “I told Uri that you were the only one who could help us. He called you.”

“I hope I can. What can you tell me about Ja-kisa?”

“Not much more than Uri has. But I've been monitoring her vitals on my phone, she's burning herself up. Her heart rate is way up, blood pressure is through the roof, and she's breathing very rapidly. Ja-kisa might have two hours left, maybe a little longer.”

“How can you monitor her vitals on your phone?” I ask.

“They have a new app for that.” Jan smiles.

“Good one.” I chuckle. “I've created a replicating virus to install on a working computer. Is there any terminals up?”

“No, just the one in quiet room number four.”

“I guess it's time to visit Ja-kisa.” I smile at Jan.

Dr. Ugota hollers, “You can't go in there!”

“What other choice do we have, doctor?”

He gets a stern look on his face. “What is your greatest nightmare, Miss Smithson?”

It instantly pops into my mind in vivid detail. I hadn't thought about in years, but I'm strong enough to deal with it now. “It was watching my father kill my mother with a gun, then use it on himself. I was standing in the hall with a full view of what happened in the living room.”

“Ja-kisa will use that against you and anything else she can think of to destroy your mind. I won't let you go in there!” He slams his fist on the conference table.

Jan speaks up. “Uri, don't you see, all of the techs were male. Ja-kisa wants a female influence. That's why she's asked for Catherine.”

“Please call me Cathy, only my mother can call me, Catherine. I think you're right, Jan.”

He shakes his head. “It's still too great of a risk.”

“I'm willing to take that risk. Anything to save that little girl or are you thinking about this great discovery that fell in your lap?”

He hollers, “We need to study this! It could help so many people.”

“I agree, but let me ask you this, what if she continues to grow stronger and goes searching for power? Branching out into the cities, states, and eventually, the whole country, what then?”

Jan walks over to Dr. Ugota. “She's right, Uri. We've got to stop her now.”

“Please, let me try first. Maybe I can reason with her?”

Jan shakes her head. “Okay, let's go.”

We exit the room, turn left then down the hall, I can see children being led outside to waiting vans. Jan looks at Dr. Ugota and says, “We're evacuating all of the children and staff, the only people that will be left in the building is us.”

“Excellent work, Jan.” His timid and distant smile worries me.

We stop in front of the door, Dr. Ugota's eyes peer into us. He says, “She will listen to me.” His hand grasps the doorknob and he disappears into the darkened room. “Ja-kisa this must stop, let me take off the interface?”

“I told you, I wanted Miss Smithson.” Thunder rolls from inside the quiet room. Every window in the building begins to rattle from the deafening sound. “I TOLD YOU, I WANTED MISS SMITHSON!”

Suddenly, we hear Dr. Ugota screaming in agony.

I snatch open the door and there on the screen is Dr. Ugota being forced to eat his own beating heart out of a clawed hand. A huge hole exists in the center of his chest. In the corner of the room is the silhouette of a small child lying on a contour chair. It's time to stop this tantrum. I holler, “Ja-kisa, stop this tantrum, right now! I'm standing right here.” Her eyes glare at through the darkness. “Why did you want to talk to me?” The image disappears from the screens.

In the dim light, I see Dr. Ugota is standing in the center of the room with his whole body shaking. His right hand is grasping something in front of his mouth and he's chewing. Tears are pouring from his eyes.

Jan rushes to his side. “I've got to get him out of here.” She takes him into her arms and begins to lead out of the room. “Uri, it was all a nightmare. You're going to wake up and won't remember a thing.”

I turn back to Ja-kisa. “Girl, I'm here. We need to take the Cereplex-W off of you. It's hurting you, sweetie.”

The image of a rainforest appears in the room. An emerald-green and purple hummingbird stops to feed on an exotic red flower, it dances in the air gently caressing the flower, gathering the powerful nectar.

“Ja-kisa, are you the hummingbird?”

A voice from the dark answers, “Yes, I am.”

“Is the nectar sweet?”

There's a smile in the darkened corner. “Sweeter than life, pure joy!”

Jan enters the room. “I heard what she said. Uri was right, she can project her mind. We have to stop this Cathy, Her vitals are through the roof."

“Ja-kisa, we have to sever the link. You're killing yourself and you know it.”

“I won't go back into that broken body! Do you know what it's like to trapped in a room with ten-thousand doors? Trying to open the right door just to say a word! In here, I can talk, I have power, I have freedom! I know your worst nightmare, I can torture your mind.” The hallway to the front door of our old house appears on the screens. My father stands there in a drunken rage, holding his gun, waiting for mother to open the door. “Shall I go on, Miss Smithson?”

“It doesn't matter to me anymore, Ja-kisa. I'm dead to that memory, it no longer controls me.”

The image proceeds in fast speed, The bullets pierce my mother's chest and head and she falls. My father then turns the gun on himself, blood splatters all over the wall. The memory plays out faster and faster on the screens until it's a blur.

Slowly, I walk towards Ja-kisa with no fear. The screens change again, it's her this time, crying huge tears.

“What's a matter, sweetie?”

“I don't want to go back inside my broken body. I'll be trapped in that room.”

“Listen to me, you have opened all of those doors in your mind. You don't need the Cereplex-W anymore. You will never be the same again, Ja-kisa. To prove it to yourself, after I take off the transmitter, say my name.”

I slowly pull the velcro apart, the transmitter falls to the floor.

Ja-kisa looks at me with her big brown eyes and says, “Miss Smithson.”

“See, I told you. All you have to do now is believe in yourself.”

She smiles then reaches her arms for me. I pick this delicate child up and give her a big hug.

~

Jan and I are sitting in the conference room. We're both completely drained. “How is Dr. Ugota?” I ask.

“Well, he's resting comfortably. I hope the mental suggestion I gave him will help him think this was all a dream. If not, he has a lot of counseling to go through.”

“I heard you say that, very smart. What will happen to Ja-kisa?”

“Somebody smarter than me will have to figure that one out. She was asleep when I last saw her.”

I look Jan in the eye. “I could use a shot of Jack Daniels, after that.”

Jan pushes a button on the wall and a huge bar opens up in the paneling. “We don't have any Jack. Will Crown Royal do?”

“Absolutely!”

Jan pours us both a drink, hands me one, and sits down.

I hold my drink in the toast position. “Here's to a long friendship.”

Jan smiles, taps my glass, and says, “Here, here!”