After breakfast, Gladys and Hadad escorted Luke to the immersion tank, where Zeke Ionidis and Dave conducted tests. Zeke immediately pressed Luke about telepathy, asserting that those who see the dots develop the other ability. Luke denied TP, claiming only TK, while internally recognizing Zeke was bluffing about how the dots worked.

Zeke and Dave began a coercive test: Luke was ordered to submerge and count with “howdy-do” between numbers, surfacing only to answer what image or word Dave was thinking. Although Luke received clear words in his mind (cat, Vikings, Matt Damon, the number 17), he continued to deny any telepathy.

The submersions escalated from 15 seconds to 90 seconds and beyond, with Zeke physically holding Luke underwater when he tried to surface early. Dave showed moments of concern, advising Luke to stay calm and breathe deeply, but still participated. Luke reached 90 seconds and later 105 seconds, emerging gasping and crying, yet still refusing to confirm TP.

Under threat of a two-minute immersion, Luke finally said, “Okay! Okay, I’m a telep!” but then intentionally gave a wrong answer to a number prompt, causing Zeke to push for even longer times. During the longest immersion, Luke saw the flashing dots swirl like a carousel, thought of the “Stasi Lights,” and began to thrash as Zeke forced him down with both hands.

Zeke eventually hauled Luke up, threatened to drown and resuscitate him repeatedly unless he complied, then, after Luke still denied knowing the answer, exploded in anger and ended the session, leaving Dave to send Luke back. Luke, shaken but curious, questioned why TP mattered if the dots were the true focus.

Dave shut down Luke’s questions, slapped him to end the exchange, and insisted the staff knew exactly what they were doing. He added that a previous child had held out for three and a half minutes in the tank, framing Luke as comparatively lacking “balls” and emphasizing the Institute’s willingness to push children to dangerous limits.