Hawks is like 9, and he is in a room like a gymnasium or auditorium - it's got huge high ceilings and is cavernous. The floor is polished concrete and clean, and the room is lit only by artificial lights that somehow manage to make it seem darker.
He's blindfolded, and scattered across the room are targets (they appear to be roughly human-sized). Watching over him are two adults in clean dark suits wearing dark glasses. One has gills and webbed fingers and is holding a stopwatch. The other has no qualities that stand out, and is holding a clipboard and a recording device.
The one with the clipboard says, into the recording device, 'Training exercise K-14. Average completion time is 33.14 seconds with an error margin of 2%.' Then she pauses, and reads off the clipboard, 'Estimated completion time for Hawks is 15.6 seconds.'
The one with the stopwatch nods.
'Begin.'
The training exercise seems pretty complex. There are some targets he hits, some he doesn't, some he moves from one place to another, based on something that isn't immediately obvious. His lil baby face is scrunched up with concentration. He looks like he might be developing a headache.
'12.77 seconds', says the one with the stopwatch. '99% accuracy rate.'
'That's perfectly acceptable, then. Hawks, you can stop for the day if you like.'
He pulls the blindfold up a little and looks from adult to adult, then pulls it back down and shakes his head.
'I can do it faster,' he says.
And they run the exercise again. 10.23 seconds. 99% accuracy rate. They tell him he did perfectly acceptably, offer him the chance to stop, and he hesitates, then declares again that he can do it faster.
10.10 seconds. 9.28 seconds. 8.49 seconds.
It's several exercises later and 6.34 seconds at a 99.5% accuracy rate, Hawks trembling with exhaustion, that the adult holding the clipboard... leans in and ruffles his hair.
'You did a really good job, Hawks. Let's stop for today.'
BABY (TRAINING) 1
He's blindfolded, and scattered across the room are targets (they appear to be roughly human-sized). Watching over him are two adults in clean dark suits wearing dark glasses. One has gills and webbed fingers and is holding a stopwatch. The other has no qualities that stand out, and is holding a clipboard and a recording device.
The one with the clipboard says, into the recording device, 'Training exercise K-14. Average completion time is 33.14 seconds with an error margin of 2%.' Then she pauses, and reads off the clipboard, 'Estimated completion time for Hawks is 15.6 seconds.'
The one with the stopwatch nods.
'Begin.'
The training exercise seems pretty complex. There are some targets he hits, some he doesn't, some he moves from one place to another, based on something that isn't immediately obvious. His lil baby face is scrunched up with concentration. He looks like he might be developing a headache.
'12.77 seconds', says the one with the stopwatch. '99% accuracy rate.'
'That's perfectly acceptable, then. Hawks, you can stop for the day if you like.'
He pulls the blindfold up a little and looks from adult to adult, then pulls it back down and shakes his head.
'I can do it faster,' he says.
And they run the exercise again. 10.23 seconds. 99% accuracy rate. They tell him he did perfectly acceptably, offer him the chance to stop, and he hesitates, then declares again that he can do it faster.
10.10 seconds. 9.28 seconds. 8.49 seconds.
It's several exercises later and 6.34 seconds at a 99.5% accuracy rate, Hawks trembling with exhaustion, that the adult holding the clipboard... leans in and ruffles his hair.
'You did a really good job, Hawks. Let's stop for today.'
THIS time, he seems satisfied. He nods.