Minders Read Free Page B

someone’s distinguished ancestors. A large brass chandelier lit a round table with an elaborate bouquet of flowers in the middle, surrounded by tiers of muffins, scones, croissants, and individual coffee cakes. There was a silver coffee urn to one side, and servers in dark pants and shirts circulated, refilling cups and clearing plates.
    The other Fellows clustered around the pastries, making halting conversation and eyeing the doors cagily, watching to see if anyone important was coming in. Sadie could tell that every one of them was used to being number one and that none of them was excited to share that position. She took a deep breath and felt like she could smell the animosity in the air.
    In Decca’s honor she paused just inside the doorway, but she only had time to repeat “This is going to be fun” once before she heard a soft click and the doors closed behind her. A moment later someone clinked a spoon against a water glass, and all eyes swiveled toward the other end of the room, where Curtis Pinter, the man who had interviewed her, was standing.
    He wore a well-cut navy blue suit and a light blue oxford-cloth shirt with no tie. He looked younger than he had at the interview, only a few years older than the Fellows, in his early twenties.
    With his wavy dark hair falling forward and his eyes and skin the color of expensive honey, he also looked much more handsome. Definitely the cutest guy in the room.
    As though he knew what she’d been thinking, his eyes met hers, and he gave a small, wry smile. Sadie felt her pulse speed up, and her cheeks got warm. She was relieved when his eyes moved past her, taking in the room at large.
    Like a master showman he let the silence stretch until the anticipation and excitement in the air was almost unbearable. Without preamble he said, “Imagine seeing inside Picasso’s brain while he was painting. Sitting in while Shakespeare thought of ‘To be or not to be.’ Hearing what Mozart heard as he penned Don Giovanni . If we’d known then what we know now, we could have. You could have.”
    He gestured around the room at them. “You are about to embark on a voyage of exploration to the only place science has yet to reach. In just a few days you will join the elite group of people to experience Syncopy, the ability to live in someone else’s mind. I can’t promise that you will enjoy it—in fact, there will absolutely be parts you don’t enjoy. But I can promise unequivocally that after the next six weeks, nothing about your life will ever be the same.”

CHAPTER 2
    W hat is Syncopy?” Curtis asked. “As one of our researchers put it when I asked her to boil it down to one sentence”—he read from a paper he’d pulled out of his pocket—“‘Syncopy is a form of heightened interperception that allows Minders’—that’s you”—he glanced up at his audience—“‘to shadow the thoughts, feelings, sensations, and memories of their assigned Subjects.’” He carefully folded the paper and tucked it away, and Sadie was struck by how precise and neat his movements were. “In other words, it’s like getting to play God without any of the responsibility, blame, or endless posing for portraits.”
    He paused for their laughter, then went on. “Syncopy is the merging of old interperception technology with new stasis technology, to create something that is far more than the sum of its parts. During Syncopy you will literally be an observer in someone else’s mind. You will learn their deepest secrets and their worst fears. That’s why you are prohibited from meeting your Subjects. You know things about them that would be far too easy to exploit, even unintentionally.”
    It was silent, everyone’s attention completely riveted on Curtis. “You’ll be exposed to things that make you uncomfortable, and some things that make you very uncomfortable. You’ll be in the bathroom with your Subjects. You’ll shower with them, go on dates with them, get busy in the