The Overseer by Jonathan Rabb Read Free Book Online

and return . They had done it once in seven. The old man had been pleased.
    Half a minute later, they heard the sound of cascading water directly above them—the promenade between the east and west wings. Cafeteria, museum shop—always popular among tourists. Both stopped and emptied their backpacks. To the guards at the entrance, the items had appeared to be books, pens, chewing gum, lipstick—the usual teenage fare. To the trained eye, they were far more. In less than a minute, they had fashioned the pieces into two large plastic bricks and a small black box, a copper coil connecting it to the wires along the wall. A yellow light on the box flashed once, then turned green. They retrieved their packs and moved on, scanning the duct above. Twenty feet from the box, they found the third grate, hoisted themselves up, and again began to crawl.
    Several twists and turns later, they sat crouched behind another vent, another gallery room, another painting for the class to admire. They had done well. Six and a half minutes. He would be pleased.
     
    “It’s typical right-wing maneuvering,” said Xander. “They don’t want the government to tell people how to run their lives, but they’re more than happy to be the country’s moral conscience. The Coalition likes to do it through school curriculums. Abortion, sexual orientation—those are the big issues.”
    “Which doesn’t make the Coalition any different from about a hundred other groups,” Sarah pointed out.
    “True, except they’ve got plans to develop private institutions of their own. Schools, funded by the Coalition, to compete with the public sector, giving them a blank check on what, and how, they teach.”
    She looked up. “Seems to me the Catholics have been doing that for years. Where’s the problem?”
    “Yes, but they don’t have TV monitors in the halls and classrooms, all linked to some high-tech computers that function interactively with the kids. Specialized computers—if the stories are true—that sound quite extraordinary. I mean, imagine a kid being able to program an alternate plan of attack for, say, the Battle of Midway, and then watching it come to life on the screen; that would make learning exciting. Rumor has it, though, that the computers are going to be used to replace hands-on teaching. To make sure a clear, consistent message reaches all of the Coalition’s devoted little followers. That’s not education; that’s indoctrination, and on a much wider scale than any parochial school ever dreamed of.”
    “Brainwashing?” she asked skeptically. “Computers have been around for a long time, Professor. Just because the Coalition’s using them doesn’t mean—”
    “If they’re the only things that tie Jonas Tieg and Laurence Sedgewick together—two men who haven’t the slightest bit of interest in education—I’m not so sure.” Jaspers stared across at her. “Have I struck a nerve?” Sarah said nothing. “Who else would you be here to talk about?”
    “You might be surprised.”
    He drained the last bits of tea from his cup. “Want some more? I’m going to get another.” Sarah nodded. She watched as he motioned to the waiter, the two fingers and the shake of the head. The waiter pointed to the plates of cake. Jaspers picked up the cup and mimed taking a drink; he then turned to her. “I’ve been known to have … two pieces at one sitting.”
    She smiled. “So, Tieg and Sedgewick.”
    “As I said, neither of them cares one whit about teaching. For Tieg, it’s all politics. A way to rally his troops. More of the Tieg Tonight phenomenon. The school programs are simply a lure, the technology his bait. If the environment were more hip right now, he’d be focusing on that.”
    “And Sedgewick?”
    “That’s the interesting part.” The waiter arrived with the tea, repositioning plates and cups to make room for the extra pots. Xander tried to help. “Didn’t it strike you as odd that a man who had made his