Read Online Psion Beta by Jacob Gowans - Free Book Online

was one of the few territories that didn’t secede. And what you probably don’t know is that when the CAG invaded Quebec, it marked the beginning of the Silent War.”
    “ The what?” Natalia asked. She wasn’t the only one confused. Sammy had no idea what Byron was talking about.
    “ The Silent War,” Byron repeated. “A war fought only by operatives. Specially trained soldiers not part of an army. No war in the history of the world has been fought this way. During the twentieth century, the Cold War was a race to build up nuclear arms. Not a single bomb detonated nor one bullet fired between the United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republic, but they did fight via smaller proxy nations. Since the Scourge, standing armies and weapons of mass destruction have been deeply unpopular in both governments. Human life is viewed as sacred. We are assured the CAG does not intend to build an army unless we build first. So when these rare exchanges take place, like in Quebec, we fight anomalies against other anomalies.”
    Sammy and the other recruits stirred uncomfortably in their seats and exchanged glances. Brickert paled and swallowed hard. Byron had not said that the Psions were in the middle of a war. Byron’s repetition of the words “extreme danger” now took on greater meaning.
    “ How come I’ve never heard of the war?” Jeffie asked. Sammy liked watching her lips move as she spoke.
    “ There have been only five battles between NWG and CAG since the Schism. Four of those were in territories invaded by CAG. The last battle took place almost seven years ago in an Australian territory. NWG works hard to keep information away from the public and press.”
    “ Why?” Jeffie asked. Her questions mirrored Sammy’s own thoughts.
    “ To prevent people from losing faith. The concept of a worldwide government is fragile. We base most of our military strategies around intelligence gathering and surveillance, not invasion.”
    “ And the CAG uses other Psions, like us?” asked Natalia.
    “ As far as we know, Psions do not work for the CAG. They use different anomalies. Before we even knew of an operation in Mid-Western America, the CAG had struck us the worst blow of the war in a former American state called Wyoming. It is a desert—a perfect place for an ultra-security holding facility for people discovered to be afflicted with Anomaly Thirteen—the anomaly discovered three years before mine.
    “ Have any of you ever heard of the Friday the Thirteenth Carpenter Killings? A teenage girl named Katie brutally murdered and then decapitated her family one morning. Then she went to school and stabbed twelve students, killing nine. Three were horribly mutilated. I have seen the pictures from the police reports. They are very disturbing. A battery of studies showed she had an anomaly affecting her brain in such a way that she possessed no sense of barriers to restrain her actions. People with this anomaly have no fear of consequences or authority. They are all but mad with their own desires. Even small whims can become obsessions. Anomaly Thirteens have been known to kill brutally, inflict prolonged torture, and rape without the least remorse. I have even heard reports of cannibalism.”
    Sammy looked at Brickert, whose faced mirrored the look of disgust on his own. This is who we fight? A bunch of animals? No wonder Byron didn’t mention this .
    “ Why would anyone want to have those kinds of people on their side?” Natalia asked. “That’s horrible!”
    Sammy fully agreed with her, and Kawai silently nodded.
    “ Like I said, the loss of the Wyoming prison hurt us. The CAG was desperate for its own operative force and wanted to force the remaining American territories to secede. When CAG troops invaded Mid-West, they broke into the prison and bargained the Thirteens’ freedom in exchange for their service. The Thirteens paid a minimal price of being tagged, and became free if they work for