of science. She didn’t want to burn them. She had a couple of arguments with Nana, that last week, about not wanting the notes lost forever. But Nana was so determined that Viv promised in the end. She definitely told me that she was annoyed she’d never had a chance to read the whole report, though.
[sincere, but hearsay]
Q: When and where did you burn the report?
Reginald: My mother had a heart attack the week after the
Chronicle
article, then passed away quietly a few days later. We put the pages in the coffin and cremated them with her. It seemed fitting.
[regret, sadness, truth]
Q: So all the pages of the report were burnt with her? How did you feel about that?
Here Mum must have held the microphone up to everyone individually, so Hugh could test the truth of their response.
Reginald: It was what Mum wanted.
[truth]
James: I was happy to see the back of it.
[truth]
Vince: Me too.
[truth]
Lucy: It was my nana’s funeral. I couldn’t care less about some old bits of paper.
[truth]
Q: Returning to her fascinating research, I wondered about Lomond, the man Dr Shaw thought was hiding a skill that really existed rather than pretending a skill that didn’t. Have you been tempted to find out more about him?
Lucy: My nana said that he seemed like a dangerous man. Clever, ruthless and selfish. So I don’t think I’d like to meet him. And if he could read people’s body language or emotionsor whatever, then Nana wondered whether those skills were hereditary, handed down in families, because fairground businesses are usually family businesses. So if they’re anything like him, we probably wouldn’t want to meet his family either.
[truth]
Q: Do you mean there might be mindreading FAMILIES out there?
Shaw Family: (General laughter.)
[awkward but genuine]
Vince: It’s unlikely, isn’t it? But it’s a huge shame that my grandmother never got the opportunity to continue her research.
[truth, resentment]
The interview tailed off there, partly because the Shaws were arguing about whether Ivy Shaw was refused research funding because she was Jamaican, because she was a woman, or because the war was over, and partly because my mum had everything she needed.
I read the end of her report:
Conclusion. The notes were burnt and none of the subjects we interviewed have read the names. However it’s not possible to be sure about the motives or knowledge of the older girl, Vivien. She may have deliberately avoided this interview. The answers given by her younger sister indicate that Vivien showed most interest in the report and was least willing to destroy it. Her family believe she didn’t read the report, but she may have lied to them. It would be suspicious to set up another newspaper interview, so we need a different strategy to discover what this girl knows.
And Mum’s recommendation: Grab Vivien Shaw. Q&A her, discover whether she has our founder’s name anywhere in her head, and if she has, terminate her.
CHAPTER 15
Ciaran Bain, 29 th Oct
I felt a wave of relief. If they’d planned to kill Vivien anyway, her death wasn’t my fault after all. Except, probably, she didn’t have the name in her head. Probably my family had been about to let her go, until they realised she had my face in her head. Probably it was still my fault.
If I checked Vivien’s Q&A, perhaps I could find out for sure.
Malcolm was asking the questions this time, while Mum worked on her new way of laying out Q&As. Underneath the verbal answer, readers add the emotions, thoughts, memories and pictures they picked up, so Mum can see all the connections.
Q: Don’t panic, Vivien. We just need to ask you some questions. If you’re completely honest with us, we won’t hurt you.
[Target emotions: terror, confusion.]
Q: We’re working for the government, just like your great-grandmother did.
[Relief at the word government, sharper fear at mention of great-grandmother.]
Q: All we need to know is what you
[sincere, but hearsay]
Q: When and where did you burn the report?
Reginald: My mother had a heart attack the week after the
Chronicle
article, then passed away quietly a few days later. We put the pages in the coffin and cremated them with her. It seemed fitting.
[regret, sadness, truth]
Q: So all the pages of the report were burnt with her? How did you feel about that?
Here Mum must have held the microphone up to everyone individually, so Hugh could test the truth of their response.
Reginald: It was what Mum wanted.
[truth]
James: I was happy to see the back of it.
[truth]
Vince: Me too.
[truth]
Lucy: It was my nana’s funeral. I couldn’t care less about some old bits of paper.
[truth]
Q: Returning to her fascinating research, I wondered about Lomond, the man Dr Shaw thought was hiding a skill that really existed rather than pretending a skill that didn’t. Have you been tempted to find out more about him?
Lucy: My nana said that he seemed like a dangerous man. Clever, ruthless and selfish. So I don’t think I’d like to meet him. And if he could read people’s body language or emotionsor whatever, then Nana wondered whether those skills were hereditary, handed down in families, because fairground businesses are usually family businesses. So if they’re anything like him, we probably wouldn’t want to meet his family either.
[truth]
Q: Do you mean there might be mindreading FAMILIES out there?
Shaw Family: (General laughter.)
[awkward but genuine]
Vince: It’s unlikely, isn’t it? But it’s a huge shame that my grandmother never got the opportunity to continue her research.
[truth, resentment]
The interview tailed off there, partly because the Shaws were arguing about whether Ivy Shaw was refused research funding because she was Jamaican, because she was a woman, or because the war was over, and partly because my mum had everything she needed.
I read the end of her report:
Conclusion. The notes were burnt and none of the subjects we interviewed have read the names. However it’s not possible to be sure about the motives or knowledge of the older girl, Vivien. She may have deliberately avoided this interview. The answers given by her younger sister indicate that Vivien showed most interest in the report and was least willing to destroy it. Her family believe she didn’t read the report, but she may have lied to them. It would be suspicious to set up another newspaper interview, so we need a different strategy to discover what this girl knows.
And Mum’s recommendation: Grab Vivien Shaw. Q&A her, discover whether she has our founder’s name anywhere in her head, and if she has, terminate her.
CHAPTER 15
Ciaran Bain, 29 th Oct
I felt a wave of relief. If they’d planned to kill Vivien anyway, her death wasn’t my fault after all. Except, probably, she didn’t have the name in her head. Probably my family had been about to let her go, until they realised she had my face in her head. Probably it was still my fault.
If I checked Vivien’s Q&A, perhaps I could find out for sure.
Malcolm was asking the questions this time, while Mum worked on her new way of laying out Q&As. Underneath the verbal answer, readers add the emotions, thoughts, memories and pictures they picked up, so Mum can see all the connections.
Q: Don’t panic, Vivien. We just need to ask you some questions. If you’re completely honest with us, we won’t hurt you.
[Target emotions: terror, confusion.]
Q: We’re working for the government, just like your great-grandmother did.
[Relief at the word government, sharper fear at mention of great-grandmother.]
Q: All we need to know is what you
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