Page 85 of The Session

“Exactly. The reason Max and my father’s work endured when others didn’t was because they were, at heart, believers in objective reality. They understood that stories had power, dreams mattered, but it was important to understand the difference between objective reality and what they called narrative reality. If a story was persistent, then there was something powerful there,” Tru said.

“That’s kind of brilliant,” Mark said.

“And give Max enough Scotch and he will admit that it’s not at all original. He was just a much better packager than others,” she explained.

“So focus on the stories,” Mark said.

“I’m sure you’ll be fine. It’s more of a pass-fail thing. The real challenge is going to be the Session,” Tru said. “Officially, there are ten levels. Level 1 is basically an hour of being interrogated. Think of it like when you see security camera footage of a suspect being grilled. It’s an hour. They take you apart, ask you questions about yourself, put you on the spot, make you defensive. The guys who do it are really good—they train police officers and intelligence agents how to do it. You can get up and walk away anytime, obviously. Worth pointing out: We warn people this is going to be the most intense experience of their life, which it is—until they get to Level 2, Level 3, et cetera.”

“What’s the point?” Mark asked.

“People have described it as a haunted house for adults, or the most intense therapy session someone could imagine. But we don’t pretend it’s therapy. That’s critical. I prefer to think of it as a marathon for your mind and emotions,” she said.

“It’s that intense?”

“Think about it this way: If you had never heard of the Boston Marathon and you were from some other planet, and they told you about this event where people ran until they threw up or collapsed or passed out, you would say that was torture—until you found out people volunteered to do it. It’s the same thing. It’s mental endurance.”

“Okay, so Level 1: I go into a room and somebody yells at me for an hour. Is Level 2 two hours of that?”

“It is a bit longer and a bit more intense. In most cases, we don’t let people jump ahead, because if they haven’t done the first one, they’re sure as hell not going to be prepared for what comes next, let alone a Level 10.”

“Which is what I have to do.”

“No, Mark, you do not. I think you could do it, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy.”

“Okay, explain to me Level 10.”

“That’s the trick. The levels are different for each person. My Level 2 wouldn’t have the same effect on you. They get more physical, more emotional. And they get more unpredictable.”

“Wonderful. What was your Level 10 like?” Mark asked.

“That’s the other thing, Mark: Nobody’s supposed to talk about their Sessions. The first couple, it’s fine—they’re pretty much the same. My Level 2 was basically getting yelled at and being told that I was a stupid, ugly slut over and over again. Fun times. When you get past five, which is normally almost exclusively for people who work inside Summit Strategies and are considered high-trust, they get a lot more elaborate. I can’t tell you what yours would be. I won’t know. There’s an entire team that thinks these things up, but catching you off guard is critical. They won’t break the law, which I guess is helpful to know, but anything else is fair game—and you can opt out. You can say, ‘I quit.’” She shrugged.

“Nobody’s going to put a gun in my hand and tell me to shoot a puppy or something?”

“We’re not trying to create sadists, Mark,” Tru said. “Now, can I promise you won’t be locked inside a dog cage and forced to go to the bathroom on newspapers for twenty-four hours? No comment.”

“What am I doing here again?” Mark asked with a moan.

“I thought the Lamborghinis on delivery and the private jet travel were pretty self-explanatory.”

“I’m sitting in a run-down military barracks in Haiti, escorting cargo through gang territory,” Mark shot back. “I’m beginning to think the jets and sports cars were just bait for some elaborate long con.”

“We don’t have to speedrun you, Mark, but this is the gauntlet.”

“I’m beginning to wonder what’s across the finish line. When this all started, I thought, ‘Oh, this is some multilevel marketing thing.’ Now I’m realizing there are secret armies and teams that overthrow governments. It’s like signing up to sell Tupperware and finding out your real job is hawking munitions to third-world countries.”

“We’ve helped stabilize some countries. I don’t think we’ve ever overthrown anybody—not that I’m aware of. But yes, Mark, it’s more complex and deeper than I could explain.”

“I’m just trying to figure out the end goal.”

“I think Max and my dad created something really special. I also think they don’t understand the scope of it. Max likes to think he is in charge. And there may have been a point when he really was, but he’s not. This thing is running itself. And that’s the problem. Not everybody running it has the best of intentions. Not everybody involved is evil, but you put twenty Blaise Cutlers in charge and they might as well be. I want more people who see what this can be,” Tru said.

“I hear rumors about the Vault being used for blackmail and extortion. There might be more darkness involved than you want to admit.”

“Most of that is overblown,” Tru assured him.

“You said I was in there.”