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Gathering
     
    Now that all of the children that had come to the Hub had settled into organized chaos, the Tellers began directing their groups to various points in the communal hall. As was to be expected, there was no resistance to their commands except for in the case of a couple of the Controls, since those Bigs were not subject to the Tellers’ special influence.
    Royce, while quiet and stern-looking, did not offer objection to his Teller’s orders. He did not look pleased to be there, however, and had not smiled yet, Sam noted. In fact, if the smaller boy had to wager a guess, he fell under the distinction of Royce’s least preferred member of their house-family. He was not sure if it was for any reason in particular, such as their inability to communicate without someone else’s help, or if there were more to it than that. Sam just knew that, every time his eyes met Royce’s, he could see the suggestion of animosity there.
    Francis brought his companions over to a flag post that read “thirty-two”. Nathan eyed it with curiosity.
    “ That’s our house number,” the Teller explained. “We are only one of fifty house-families. There are three hundred of us on this island, and we have been grouped into house-families of six – one of each talent-group per family.”
    “ One of each talent-group plus a Control, you mean,” Sam remarked, remembering Francis’s earlier comments.
    “ Sam,” Sarah hissed softly, giving him a little push. “You shouldn’t be excluding Royce, just because he’s not like us.”
    “ They may not have a gift the way that we do, Sam, but they are still considered a talent-group. I said that they are not part of a talent-group in the same way that we are , ” Francis replied, using only his mind and not his mouth. The blond boy obviously had chosen to leave Royce out of that part of the conversation just as Sarah had, not wanting to spur the antagonism that their Control seemed to feel toward the smaller boy any further . “They can still do things that we can’t do. They can keep their thoughts private from everyone, not just other Controls. They won’t yield to a Teller’s promptings unless they choose to, which means they can mediate in any dispute between Tellers and others, and if the connection ever gets too chaotic, like it did when everyone woke up that first morning, and all of the Connected become disoriented by it, it will be up to the Controls to keep things regulated.”
    Then it was there again, that quiet little voice inside of Francis’s head that he clearly had not anticipated Sam hearing . “That’s the theory, anyway. And the Controls know everything that the Tellers do, in case it ever matters.”
    “ So we all have our purpose – we all have a knack,” Nathan acknowledged . “All six of us are expected to live together, and learn together, for some strange reason. Are you going to tell us why all of this is happening?” Again, he spoke only through the connection, but Sam was pretty sure that it was not purposefully to exclude Royce. Sam did note that Royce appeared irked if he sensed that he was missing part of what was being said, as meaningful glances passed amongst those who were Connected. He felt left out. Sam could understand that feeling.
    “ I can’t,” Francis said, both inside and out. Those who heard him through the connection knew that he was being truthful. “There’s only so much that I can give you, information-wise. I have to follow instructions – you all know that by now.” The Teller glanced over at Royce and Sam thought he detected nervousness from the blond boy.
    “ I thought we were here to learn,” Sarah mumbled.
    “ You are here to learn. You’re here to learn about the connection, and how to build walls, so that you can block people out of your thoughts when you want to. You’re also here to discover how to set up a door amidst those walls so you can get back out to the connection, and let people in when you