Chapter summary
CHAPTER FOUR
Jared Dirac awakens in a cradle, screaming and confused as chaotic sensations surround him. A figure, later identified as Judy Curie, beams a question directly into his brain, prompting an internal instruction set that helps him perceive and respond. Curie gives him the name “Jared Dirac” and explains that his name was randomly chosen. She teaches him that his actual brain is empty and that a computer called a BrainPal supplies knowledge, suggestions, and communication. Curie contrasts “realborn” humans—who develop over years—with the accelerated “born‑grown” Special Forces soldiers like Jared, noting the latter are physically and mentally superior but socially isolated.
Curie informs Jared that his training mates are already two days ahead and that he must integrate quickly. She guides him out of the cradle, and the two walk through Phoenix Station, where Curie demonstrates the slower speech of realborn soldiers. She then leads Jared to a shuttle pilot’s ready‑room. There, Lieutenant Cloud and two other pilots are playing poker. After a brief, humorous exchange about jokes, Cloud agrees to transport Jared to Camp Carson and asks Jared several questions to confirm his status. Jared learns he is only seventy‑one minutes old, not years.
During the descent Cloud tells a Sherlock‑Holmes joke, which Jared does not find funny; Cloud laughs at Jared’s earnestness. Upon landing at the Camp Carson skyport, Cloud tells Jared to wait for his squad’s arrival. A man approaches: Gabriel Brahe, the instructor assigned to Jared’s training squad. Brahe escorts Jared to the barracks where fifteen other Special Forces soldiers are assembled. Jared attempts a verbal greeting; the squad remains silent. Brahe informs Jared that integration must occur now. He initiates a neural integration protocol that instantly streams the life stories, memories, and emotions of all fifteen squad members into Jared’s mind. The overload knocks Jared to the floor. Squad members—Brian Michaelson, Steve Seaborg, Sarah Pauling and others—react immediately: Pauling helps Jared up, Seaborg offers a snide comment about “pets,” and the group displays various auras (concern, amusement, irritation). Jared uses the squad‑wide communication channel to announce he is fine. The squad’s initial hostility softens as they recognize his disorientation; Pauling jokes that Jared is “funny.” The chapter ends with the squad beginning to interact with Jared, setting the stage for his formal training.