“enhanced” interrogation techniques

        “I don’t know anything!” Dareen protested.  “You can’t harm these people!  Leave them alone!”

        “We haven’t done anything yet, Ms. Alkaras.  We do not want any harm to come to your brother or to anyone else.  We just want you to tell us what you know.  We are patient and will wait until you decide to tell us.”

        “I don’t know anything!” she repeated.  She stamped her foot and pleaded.  “You have to believe me!  You saw me in that cold room with those weights stretching my . . . ”  Her arm pressed against her breasts more firmly as she remembered.  She could feel the chill of that room right up her bare backside.

        In fact it was not just a feeling.  The air in the glass cage was a lot colder now.  There was really cold air coming up from somewhere behind her.

        “You were not harmed by it, Ms. Alkaras,” Mr. Nedrow said with gentle mocking.  “Novotny knew that of course.  A very convincing show, if you ask me.”

        “It was not a show!”

        “Consider our position, Ms. Alkaras.  An ion storm comes by, a quite rare event, and you are right near Novotny and his laboratory.  What are the odds of that being a coincidence?  With your body a perfect conduit for laja rays.”

        “But I’ve saved people . . .”

        “Another convincing show.  A fine way to garner positive publicity.  Fortunately we have been successful in maintaining skepticism in the media.”

        Dareen’s bare shoulders slumped.  She had to admit the whole thing seemed very unlikely.  Getting zapped by lightning and getting super powers.  The stuff of comic books, not real life, unless it was carefully researched and planned out.

        She had an idea.  “I don’t care about laja rays.  I want to put on clothes.  Give me clothes, please.”  Which of course was her most intense desire.  “I want to lose these powers.”

        “And lose the ability to avert a pulse bomb if another goes off?  I would say that would NOT be in the interest of national security, wouldn’t you?  Not exactly evidence that you are a loyal American.”  He took off his glasses and wiped them, having regained his calm composure, and continued.  “Further, you saw the language of that directive.  Your ‘nude’, quote unquote, body is a National Security Concern.  If you put clothes on, you would not be a National Security Concern any longer.

        “You would still possess the knowledge we are trying to get from you, but with you not having super powers, the manner in which we would handle you would be, shall we say, less restricted.”

        Dareen could figure out what that meant, at least.  She looked down in dejection and anguish, and squatted down on her heels.  Her breath came out in little clouds.  She reached down to rub the tips of her toes.  “Why is it so cold in here?”

        “Don’t worry, your powers will be preserved.  We are aware of how temperature affects laja rays.  We want to be sure that if you get ‘the call’, for a pulse bomb, you will be able to respond to protect our nation.”

        “I . . . I don’t know anything,” she said yet again.  She was on the verge of tears.

        “We are not finished, Ms. Alkaras.  I strongly advise you to get back on the machine.”

        Dareen felt she had no choice.  Who knows what this creep might do to her loved ones if she refused?  In desolation she stood up and grabbed the upper bars with her hands, planted her bare feet on the lower ones.  The bars were starting to get cold now too.  She looked down at Mr. Nedrow dully.