Following the treadmill test and another blood draw, Luke Ellis had a brief respite from testing, receiving only a couple of injections, one of which caused intense itching in his arm. During this lull, the Wilcox twins, Greta and Gerda, began to settle in, helped by the attention of Harry Cross, a telekinetic who claimed strong abilities.

Avery Dixon, unimpressed, told Luke that Harry’s TK was weak, even weaker than Luke’s, and joked in a HAL 9000 voice about the computer tokens, prompting laughter. Harry’s affection for the twins became obvious; he greeted them with open arms and watched over them on the playground, especially at the trampoline.

Nicky Wilholm, observing Harry’s closeness to the girls, asked Luke and others if Harry’s attention might be suspect. Helen Simms dismissed the idea as gross, and Avery clarified telepathically that Harry’s feelings were not sexual, crudely indicating Harry’s lack of interest in that way. Avery added that Harry had cocker spaniels back home and that the twins felt like substitutes for his lost pets.

Later at lunch, Nicky told Luke that, whatever Harry’s past with his dogs, the twins effectively ran him, treating him like a new doll. Greta and Gerda sat on either side of Harry, feeding him bites of meatloaf, which Luke, Kalisha Benson, and the others observed.

Kalisha found the scene cute, and Nicky responded with an affectionate smile despite sporting a fresh black eye from staff, signaling the ongoing threat from guards. Kalisha smiled back, and Luke felt an irrational stab of jealousy, recognizing the emotion as foolish under their circumstances but unable to deny it.