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The Thinker Challenge	By : marksandspence Category: S through Z > Sherlock (BBC) > Sherlock (BBC) Views: 2251 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: This story is based solely on the television show Sherlock that airs on BBC1, written by Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss. I borrow their universe to play in and do not claim any ownership or intend to make any money off of this fun hobby of m

Chapter List
- 16
- 17
- 18
Chapter 16: Out of sight, Out of Mind
Author’s note: Feeling it may be too ambiguous, I decided to add a bit of exposition here on The Thinker Challenge. Probably unnecessary, but there you go.
The Thinker Challenge had been publicized over the last couple of months. A £2 million prize for the group to demonstrate a working “mind-reading” algorithm by a specified date. Mycroft had agreed to use government money in exchange for supervision over proposals and development as such technology would be useful in the world of espionage and the ongoing battle against terrorism. They had received a number of such submissions from the few groups working on this topic scattered around the world. The deadline is now passed.
John Watson walks into a basement and scans the scene before him.
“What happened to the international crack-team of neuro-engineers and their fancy-pants ‘no expense spared’ equipment?” John asks.
“Mycroft got rid of all the competition,” Sio explains.
“So these are the winners?” He asks, referring to the two young people fiddling with equipment at the front of the room.
“Mycroft got rid of ALL the competitors – either bribed, threatened or whatever. It was all a ruse. He fronted the money to draw out the research teams. The technology is threat to world security. It was imperative that the teams be dismantled,” she says with her best Mycroft impersonation.
“Bastard,” John replies.
“It’s cute when you make fun of my brother,” Sherlock nods to Sio.
“So who are they?” John asks, referring to the people in the room he does not recognize.
Henry responds, “Some stoner grad students from California. They didn’t submit their bid in time and so texted me at the last minute instead of going through the official Challenge site.”
“Dude, we’re not grad students anymore. We graduated,” the female stoner whines from the front of the room.
“So why are we here?” John asks.
“We have to hide from Mycroft and his lackies,” Henry responds.
“In your parents’ basement?” He remarks to Sherlock.
“It's the one place he’d never come unexpectedly,” Sherlock answers.
“But won’t they notice that your brother is gone from the facility?” John asks.
“We found a replacement,” Sio explains.
[cut to image of grad student pretending to be Daniel in front of the monitoring cam]
“We’re ready to start calibrating the equipment, Dr. Stanton,” says Stoner #2.
Sherlock whispers to John, as they connect the headset to Sio. “This is their second attempt. They started with Henry, as Sio felt her brain would overwhelm the system. It was working well enough – he thought of an apple, we saw an apple on the screen. He thought of a number, we saw it. Simple, but possible. When they hooked it up to Daniel, there was nothing. Then the machine shorted out. It has taken them an hour to get it up and running again.”
“What does she expect to find?” John asks, genuinely curious.
“A mind like hers. The potential for a cluster,” Sherlock suggests.
“Wonder Twin powers!” Henry adds, overhearing.
“Among other things…” Sherlock hints.
“We don’t discuss the other things because it might make her cry and then we’d know she isn’t a robot,” Henry snarks.
Stoner #2 says to Sio, “Remember, start with simple thoughts.”
Sio looks over at Sherlock with a questioning shrug. She quickly pulls her hair back in a tight set of pigtails. They all look at the screen while Stoner #1 starts up the software. Suddenly, there is a lot of movement and flickering lights on the screen in the front of the room, but nothing discernable.
“Try slowing it down,” Stoner #1 suggests.
Something recognizable as a series of numbers flits across the screen, too quickly to interpret; then another flighty string of numbers. Sio shakes her head in frustration.
“Focus on creating an image. Concentrate on a physical form,” Stoner #1 advises.
Sio takes a deep breath and closes her eyes. After a few minutes, an image begins to appear on the screen.
“What’s that?” Henry squints as everyone is focused on the projection.
Stoner #1 suddenly jumps back with a squeal when what looks like a large eye opens in the center of the image. Although still fuzzy, you can make out the rough outline of a dragon’s head. It comes in and out of clarity, as the head lifts up slightly, yellow fire coming out of its nostrils. It turns slightly and then winks its large eye before disappearing.
“Sorry, power cut,” Stoner #2 explains.
Sio opens her eyes and glances over to Sherlock. When she catches his eye, she winks at him.
“What the hell was that?” Henry asks again.
“Her pet dragon,” John sighs.
After a moment, Sherlock’s father comes down the stairs with a flashlight. He says, “Power to the whole house is out. It may even be the whole street.”
“Are you sure Mycroft doesn’t know you’re here?” John asks.
*
- 16
- 17
- 18
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