Code Name: Camelot (Noah Wolf #1)(23)
“Understood, Sir.”
Parker tossed the file back on his desk. “Noah—you don’t mind if I call you Noah, do you?”
“Not at all, Sir.”
“Good. Noah, you did a good job of answering my question about why our organization should exist, but you didn’t quite come up with the right answer. You see, E & E is the first organization of its kind in the United States. While there have been organizations in the past that have indulged in assassination at times, they have all been under the direct oversight of one of the intelligence agencies, or the president of the United States. What that means is that there was no one to keep hold of their leash, so when our current president conceived the idea for E & E, he was smart enough—and don’t ask me how, when he’s been so stupid on everything else—to make sure that the only person who could give the order to use that most efficient tool of diplomacy would be completely unknown to any of those agencies, and not subject to the orders of any of them, including the commander-in-chief. He created this agency, chose an incredibly insightful intelligence analyst to run it, transferred an enormous amount of money that would allow it to remain autonomous for many years, and then created a secure channel through which any agency that wanted to use this tool would have to submit a request. That request is reviewed by our administrator, and then she sends back her determination, whether to approve or deny the request. If it’s approved, she simply hands the mission over to one of her people. If it’s denied, then the same request cannot be made by the same agency again.”
The old man paused, and Noah nodded. “Yes, sir,” he said. “This has all been explained to me.”
“Who cares? I’m just doing my job, and my job says I have to explain it to you all over again, so sit there and be quiet. Now, where was I? Oh, yeah, well, anyway, not even the president can order our administrator to approve a request. From what I understand, that was the one rule that she asked for, and he agreed to it without argument. What that means is that no one can ever force her to order anyone’s death. And, since nobody outside this organization except the president knows who the administrator is, nobody can put pressure on her to do so.” Parker leaned forward and put his elbows on the desk, his hands folded neatly in front of him. “That’s the big difference between this agency and any other one that’s ever existed, in this country or anywhere else. It’s also the reason why this agency has been so successful at making a difference in this world. Now, can you tell me what makes you think you belong in this organization?”
Noah felt a moment’s surprise at the question. “I can’t say that I think I do belong here,” he said. “I simply defer to the administrator, who apparently does think so.”
“That was an excellent answer,” Parker said. “Then why do you think she chose you?”
“It’s been established that I have no normal emotions, and an apparently limited or nonexistent conscience. From what I understand, that gives me a bit of an edge, because I don’t have to second-guess myself before I take a shot.”
“Another great answer. You keep this up, and I may have to put your picture up on my wall, something to point at to show other idiots who come through here what they could have been. You were chosen, Noah, because you’ve proven that you will take action when action must be taken. You don’t agonize over it, you simply decide whether action needs to be taken, and then you act on that decision. That’s something we spend incredible amounts of time and money trying to teach to our students, and here you come along with it already hardwired into your Cybernet. If I could figure out what makes you tick, I’d be doing all I could to program the rest of our boys and girls to think just like you. Unfortunately, the root cause of your incredible, unique existence is probably found in the tragedy you suffered as a child, and without a time machine, I can’t go back and put any of my other students through similar experiences.”
“Apparently you’re not the only one, Sir,” Noah said. “Over the past few years, I’ve read about a number of experiments that have been conducted, psychological experiments that were designed to turn off emotions in certain people. I’ve never been able to get access to any of their actual results, but some of the psychology behind the experiments sounded at least somewhat valid.”
Parker nodded, but waved off the suggestions. “I know about some of those experiments, and frankly, I disapprove. They’re nothing like what happened to you, in any event. Your emotional shutdown came at a moment when you were probably being assaulted by some of the most painful emotions possible. Your psyche, in order to protect itself, simply flipped a switch and turned those emotions off. This is a defense mechanism, a way in which the subconscious acts to protect the individual. Tell me, have you ever been to see a psychotherapist about this?”
“Yes, a couple of times. My grandparents sent me to one, and during the time I was in the foster care system, I was ordered by a court into psychoanalysis. In both cases, I simply kept up my act and managed to convince both psychiatrists that I was a fairly normal kid who had been through a rough time. If you’re asking whether I ever cooperated, then the answer would be no. I don’t feel emotion, so I have no concerns over whether there’s anything wrong with me. Because of that, I just couldn’t see any reason to cooperate with someone who wanted to take away the very thing that, to me, makes me feel comfortable with myself.”