Calvin shook his head and flipped the ball toward an unseen mutant. "I can do that good," he said. The ball whistled back at him through the cubicle wall—leaving the wall unmarked as the atoms of one passed through the atomic spaces of the other. Happily, Calvin stopped it in mid flight.
"She's down there," Walt said. "I'll have to tell Forential about her."
Calvin tapped his head and smiled. "I think funny thoughts some times, too. You go see Forential. He can't help, but you go see him, Walt."
"I wasn't sure until just before you came in," Walt said.
"You go see him," Calvin said.
Walt stood up. "I was thinking with her just a little while ago. I don't understand it."
"I can think to you ... some times."
"I'll be back," Walt said.
At the steel ladder leading up toward the alien section, Walt stopped and pressed the emergency-audience button. He waited for permission to ascend the ladder. Under no circumstance would he have ascended without it. The permissive light blinked.