[Plot] Secret Science

[Toshiro Narumi]

With most of the prefects distracted by the protest, Tosh set about going through the data from the sensor package Leo had been wearing. But before that, he used a custom program to prevent the lab computer from keeping logs of what he was doing.

"And now let's see what we're dealing with," he said to himself as he loaded the extracted data into some analysis software.

[Narrator]

The primary function of the wave seemed to target the amygdala. It seemed the specific wavelength of light that was being used, coupled with some ultrasonic pitches Tosh's scanner had picked up, helped reduce or restrict neutrotransmitters, catecholamines, adrenaline, noradrenaline, etcetera. It also emitted some kind of energy which altered brainwave activity, dampening down the psychological affects of anger. This might be a significant breakthrough, to be quite honest, though anything mucking with brain chemistry and brainwaves requires a certain degree of rigor, and it's not like this device was found in peer-reviewed journals.

Underneath the blunderbuss of calming rays, however, there was something else -- a second signal, piggybacking on the first. This seemed to potentially generate a state of hypnosis, temporarily blocking and damaging the short-term memory region of the brain.

[Toshiro Narumi]

He began to run simulations to determine what, if any, sort of counter-signals would be effective. If that wasn't viable, he'd have to figure out some kind of shield or method of blocking sudden changes in neural activity.

[Narrator]

With a little bit of time, he could manufacture some kind of protection, though fabrication would be tricky with limited Point access. Some kind of headwear, perhaps made out of tin foil? Eh, he could come up with something better than that.

[Toshiro Narumi]

He decided to focus first on the ultrasonic frequencies, isolating that data and simulating countering them with their inverse.

He thought as it ran. What about anti-telepathy tech? Did they have schematics on that? Could he adapt it? More importantly, could he cannibalize enough parts from his various projects? But then again, a countersignal could theoretically damage the transmitter.

[Narrator]

An inverse frequency beam would likely be feasible, though the practicality was at least somewhat in question. Could someone stay focused enough when under the influence of the calming ray to grab and activate their countermeasure? Maybe someone else could -- work in pairs?


There wasn't a lot available in the way of specific anti-telepathy tech. As far as Tosh was aware, no one had done deep studies on telepathic strengths and weaknesses. You'd need a lot of test subjects and a lot of access to data, and collecting that data posed ethical issues. There was always some of the psi-dampining materials, but those were generally used for building material, and coming up with something portable and usable was certainly a few years off, at least.

[Toshiro Narumi]

Heck, he might be overthinking this. A directed EMP would almost be more effective, wouldn't it? Certainly more achievable than countering all the signals involved. Paired with a detector, it could be triggered automatically.

Wait... could Acala fabricate something? But could she keep a secret? Or could he craft a cover story for why he needs neural stabilization tech, or whatever he asked for?

[Narrator]

It was worth asking her!

[Toshiro Narumi]

And so he sent Acala a message through the campus network asking Acala to meet him in the lab.

[Acala]

After a while the doors hiss open and Acala hovers into the room.

"Hello, Mr. Narumi!" she chirps.

"What is it you want?"

[Toshiro Narumi]

"I have a favor to ask. The thing is, the headmaster and his prefects, including Will, can't know about it. Are you okay with that?"

[Acala]

"Sure! What is it?"

[Toshiro Narumi]

"I'm trying to get to the bottom of something happening on campus and to do that I need to be able to defend against a special device that affects our brains. If I gave you data on what it emits, could you fabricate something to counteract it? Or perhaps even reproduce it in case we need to fight fire with fire, as it were?"

[Acala]

"Possibly!" she says, hovering over to the lab computer and unfolding slightly to produce a nanite tendril to snake into the machine and sort through Tosh's data.

"Electromagnetic pulses, ultrasonic frequencies and narrow-band high-energy emissions in a repetitive pattern."

"Hard to reverse-engineer from these readings alone, but countermeasures might be feasible."

"The simplest solution would be lead shielding. How much weight can your head support?"

[Toshiro Narumi]

I'm going to go with not enough. And sometimes less conspicuous would be best. Maybe some kind of jamming device?"

[Acala]

"Signal jamming functions on the basis of drowning out the information with noise. I don't believe your brain would react well to that."

"Cancelling out electromagnetic waves is significantly harder."

"But not impossible. A low-impulse, high-frequency EMP generator should degrade these emissions. As well as any credit card, phone or non solid-state storage media with prolonged exposure."

[Toshiro Narumi]

"Great! I just won't carry those things if I plan on using it for an extended period. It's not ideal but weakening the effect should be good enough."

[Acala]

"You will need a decently strong electromagnet. I can assist you with everything else though."

[Toshiro Narumi]

"That I can make in my sleep," he smirked before getting to work, starting with cannibalizing various components from his projects. When he was finished he had a relatively compact electromagnet.

"But how to make it inconspicuous... is a hat too, 'Dude, what's with the hat?'"

[Acala]

"Ostentatious belt buckle."

[Toshiro Narumi]

He laughed.

"Not my style. But hey, I can say I'm designing a utility belt. I'm a huge nerd, so no one will question it."

"Just make it an X-Men logo."

[Acala]

"As I said. Ostentatious."

Is she joking? Possibly!

[Toshiro Narumi]

"Hey now, I could be asking for a shark."