There was an interruption.

It was nothing to do with him.  It was the woman next to him, asking about the purpose to this test.  Bastion almost missed it, as he was very much focused on the test itself.  Why was she bothering to question [i]him?[/i]  'Smith' was using an obviously fake name.  Why would he convey anything to her that was either a nothing answer or an outright lie?  To truly understand this place, Bastion had begun using himself as a template for its line of thinking.  How would HE approach situations?  That was the answer.  The only reason they didn't see it - apart from probably ignorance and naivety - was that they didn't have the benefit of knowing his modus operandi to predict the direction a situation might take.

[i]How must it be in their minds, devoid of my brand of thinking?  My angles of approach to any given situation?  Probably less frustrating, as ignorance is clearly bliss, but...what you don't know CAN hurt you.  Never give them the chance.[/i]

And that's why this test was being confronted right back, calling it out on where it obviously had no right to speak on things.  To cast jusgement, it must be on a higher point of morality than his own lofty position.  If it could not call itself different by any definition that Bastion could accept, it was hardly going to make headway on attempting to damn [i]him[/i].  And when he completed these tests and had his life back he was going to find that District Attorney, and he was going to laugh so hard in his face that the man had to choke back some halitosis.

Suddenly, it was all over.

It was quick.  He did not know what number he'd been up to, but without warning...he was done.  He did not know even how many pages he had turned over.  this was why, when it was over and he looked at it, he both could not tell from just from a glance how many pages were there - as before, when the test began - nor did he really want to try and review it.  He had the profound sense of having been through quite the ordeal, and somehow he didn't feel that he wanted to even double-check.  As unscientific as [i]that[/i] was, he was certain that if there was anything they wanted to get back to him about, they would.  Now, Dr. Not-Zachery Smith would ask if they were done, and the Asian man would question them as to what it was they just went through...in quite a few [i]different[/i] words that Bastion could appreciate.

"We [i]are[/i] done, and I feel I perhaps understand more and more the kinds of people I seem to have signed on with.  When this is over, please consider my employment for this curious place.  I think you will find that my doctorates are all still valid, though I was erroneously convicted of the crime which now seats me here."

He then turned to yon China man.

"Judging by your reactions, I would say you were both similarly tested with shall-we-say [i]unusually provocative[/i] inquiries.  I would say that some of the things mentioned were not entirely possible to know, and that it doesn't seem likely that the [i]line[/i] of questioning could possibly evolve thus."

Now, he turned his gaze to 'teacher', smiling.

"That is, unless te good doctor would care to place the proverbial cards upon the table.  I doubt it, of course, but it never hurts to [i]ask[/i]."

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

[QuicksaveKid]: Good freakin' god, the man is [i]intrigued[/i].  That's all we need, a match made in heaven with the company from hell.