Tremble in the Dark: A Gwen Farris Novel by P. S. Power Page B

the
other has and might be able to find any mistakes that way. You should have some
coffee first, so that you and Manly can talk." That was a strange thing to
say, but she seemed happy enough about it, and Manly, helpfully, poured her a
cup of very thick and slightly cinnamon scented coffee. It was Turkish in
style, which wasn't a thing that she'd thought people could do at home.
    Her
mind took a while to catch up, the gears slowly clicking into place, with a bit
of grinding due to the fog her thoughts were hidden in. Finally she got it, and
nodded.
    "I
was thinking that we could use both positive and negative re-enforcement to
establish the optimal use of kicks, punches and throws, as well as joint locks.
I can work out a system of say, fifty moves that should do the trick. Possibly
less. We'll teach them first, so there's a baseline to work from, like what you
did with me last night, and then use the conditioning. There are some other
factors that will help, like teaching a highly aggressive combat pattern, so
our people will attack first and so on." She waited for the man across
from her to tell her it was a stupid idea, but instead he took her now empty
cup and refilled it. It really was a very small thing, even though she'd barely
noticed downing the first one.
    Then
the man frowned.
    "Positive
reinforcement? You lost me there. Can you explain?"
    She
could, but only after another full cup of coffee. It didn't take long.
    "You
have the negative side down, punishing failure and using the threat of pain to
goad people into greater action than they'd normally be able to manage on their
own. If that's coupled with positive efforts, matching the other side,
rewarding success and victory, then the effects will be increased. I sort of
figured you already used that kind of thing in your advanced protocols?"
    She
was too tired to really care about the funny looks she was getting from the
Westmorlands, but Robert nodded along, as if it made sense.
    "Like
with dog training? A bit of ham if the pooch sits, but a harsh word if they
soil the rug?" He smiled, as if he were telling a bad and slightly off
color joke, but Gwen sipped at her coffee and then nodded.
    "Except
that, if it can be done, we can ramp the pleasure up to a level that people
will do almost anything to get at it. Pair the two things up and it should have
very powerful effects. Strong enough that I'm hoping we can step the punishment
part back and still get the same responses over all, in the same time frames."
It seemed simple enough, but Manly stood up, and started to walk out of the
room. At the door he called back at least, so she knew he wasn't insulted, just
quietly excited by the idea.
    "I
need to run some basic tests, and have some radiatives made. I'll be in
touch." Then he left, digging a lead colored sphere out of his bag she was
willing to bet.
    Beth
looked at her with a soft and rather pleased smile.
    "Even
if it doesn't work, that probably made his week. The idea of not hurting people
is very central to the inner being of all the trainers. Cruel people can't do
the job. It takes a person that really cares for others to not grow hard and
end up breaking them."
    Gwen
started on her fourth cup of coffee and realized she was going to need some
food, or she'd end up feeling sick all day on top of the tired and sore that
was already going to come visit.
    "It
works. In fact, it works better than pain alone. It's a well known and highly
studied fact where I come from. Anyway," She had nothing at all to say,
but didn't have to, since several servants walked in, the men all in black
suits and the women in deep black dresses, with white ruffles at the neck and
sleeve. They still managed to look more like they were going to a funeral than
some kind of French maid porn costume.
    They
had food though, which was wonderful. She didn't need much, but some toast or
eggs would be good. Instead she was given a plate that Charles filled with a
single poached quail egg on it.