As it turned out, Bernard’s presence at the first energy direction session was purely as a prop.  He was the physically strongest of our group and had to fight against my attempts to move him.  It certainly provided a challenge for the both of us, for, until then, the only force that I had been pushing against was gravity.  To have a stronger opposing force really allowed me to begin to get to know my abilities.
Ishni chatted away throughout, claiming that he was interested in how easily I could be distracted, yet it became unmistakably clear that he did not really get to talk openly with anyone in his regular life, about which he absolutely refused to tell us anything about.  His demeanour reminded me of that of an Australian surfer, loose and easy going, yet there was probably a lot more intelligence hidden behind his pinkish-red eyes.
After almost a lal, we moved onto more precise kinetic movement.  As adept as I was at moving objects in general, it transpired that I was going to need to work a lot on the equivalent of my fine motor skills.
Working on them proved to be entertaining at the very least as I had to try and draw specific things with a piece of chalk.  It sounded simple however my accuracy and precision were about as good as if I were using my non-dominant hand; wobbly and all over the place.
My homework for the duration of our stay was to draw each of the races in one of my notebooks with a pencil.  They took a lot of practice and concentration to begin with, I have drawn them all, once every unit since then.  When they started to look like what I was actually trying to draw, the challenge changed to drawing them on paper that I had to suspend in the air.  This forced me to focus on three different movements; directing the pencil, keeping the paper aloft and steady whilst maintaining pressure on the other side of the page to stop the pencil’s tip from puncturing the sheet.

Our units were scheduled very well considering the length of them.  The auxes were divided up between lessons, self-study, rest, nourishment and recreation.  There was a lot to cover in such a short amount of time, so every lal was spent doing something that would benefit our experiences on Kenglowe.
We all took the time every evening and morning to discuss what we had learnt, sharing our thoughts and opinions on each of the fields of study.
The most memorable of these conversations was what we learnt from those who attended the lessons concerning the law.
There was no easy way to broach the subject so they told us simply that there were no laws regarding rape anywhere in the galaxy.
They went on to clarify that the last time such a law had been made was several thousand cycles ago.  Technically those laws were still in effect, however, thanks to one of the conditions of a civilization becoming filly sentient, they had not been needed since the Community had been founded.
The condition was that, to become fully sentient, a race must have evolved past the point of giving into base animal instinct.  This also applied to most laws relating to random acts of violence; it did not stop violence, theft or murder, however it did reduce them.  Crimes of passion were non-existent, each and every race in the Community and the thulai had evolved past the point of being capable of them.
To our shame, of the pre-sentient races, humanity was the only one that still gave into such deviance.
According to all reports, we were on the cusp of beginning to evolve beyond it, at least a large portion of us were.  We knew it was wrong, many of us were of the mind that there was never any excuse for it, yet there was the ever constant battle of those who felt justified.  Only once all of humanity had cast off their primitive urges would they have been considered ready to be made aware of other life in the galaxy.
I could only hope with all of my heart that, of the souls that I had known, there were only decent people that would prove to the galaxy that we were better than animals that we had evolved from.  However twinges of fear ran rampant through me.  Humanity was very much a race that prides themselves on their instinct and free will.  The idea that we would need to suppress certain aspects of ourselves, would not be received well by all.
This put me in mind about the way people would think of cures for deviant sexual desires.  Those urges all come from the same parts of our brain and introducing the basis for a cure for pedophilia would also be introducing the same for homosexuality.  In any rational person’s mind, there was a world of difference between the two, yet to individuals represented by the people that populated Trump’s America, as a broad, non-specific example, they were the same sickness.
Only time will tell now. 
Humanity will be governed by new laws. 
Laws that will be set out in detail when we scholars arrive at Virrion with the knowledge of the galactic order to assist in their creation; the laws set down by the Community, that cover interspecies relations and interactions, and the laws that each individual race enforce within their own regions of space.
There is going to be so much to impart to the rest of humanity that I fear, once we land, it will be a very long time before we are able to relax or take some time to acclimatize ourselves.
No rest for the wicked, or so the old saying goes.

The attack and lockdown happened only three local units into our time on Kenglowe.
It was close to midnight when all of the buildings sealed themselves as part of the security protocol.  Fortunately, none of our group were outside at the time.  Had they been, they would have been directed to a local, publicly used lecture building so that everybody could be registered and accounted for.
Only a few members of our building were awake when the broadcast went out across the planet.  In every room the lights went purple and our tablets emitted a single repeating clang.  They instructed us to go to the round room to await news and instruction.
We all gathered, curiosity eating away at us as we tried to access any kind of information with our tablets, only to come across the same “lockdown” message at every attempt.
After almost twenty lals, the main screen in the seating area lit up with a live feed of an alive who began speaking.
“There has been an explosion in the Galas complex (almost on the opposite side of the planet to us).  The number of casualties is currently unknown.  I regret to inform you that, until the suspects have been apprehended, the Community has issued a planet-wide lockdown.  All travel and communication has been suspended, both locally and off world.  We will keep you updated as events unfold.  For the time being, no one will be able to leave the buildings that you are currently in.  Designated officials will be arriving to ensure everyone is accounted for and safe.  Thank you for your patience.”
Despite the initial alarm, the address had seemed almost human.
Nobody panicked.
Everyone complained.
“So we’re stuck here?” my aunt Poppy asked the rhetorical question upon everyone’s minds.
“I guess,” responded Phoebe, “I wonder if this is a regular thing.”
“She said they were after suspects, do you think it’s a terror attack?” Donald’s question was well meaning, although he was lucky that it did not add paranoia to the concern we were already feeling.
“Could be political,” suggested Erin, my dad’s partner, an attorney, “or somebody could have been targeted specifically.”
Bernard scratched his beard, “at least it’s nowhere near here.  I hope it doesn’t last too long, how long do recon we’ll be locked in for?”
“Can’t be for more than a day or two,” I added my own voice to the speculation before heading to the door to the balcony, “I wonder just how locked in we are, it’d be good if we could at least use the pool during our incarceration.”
I selected the door controls and, to everyone’s surprise, the glass slid back.
The sky was dark, the stars all felt so far away all of a sudden.
The closer I got to the edge of the balcony, the more that they seemed to distort.
Thinking that my eyesight was playing tricks on my barely awake eyes, I took off my glasses, gave them a clean and returned them to my face, pushing them as far up nose as I could without embedding them there.  Still the distortion remained.
I rubbed my eyes.
No change.
Felix appeared at my side, “what’s going on with the sky?”
I let out a laughing breath, “oh good, I though my eyes were just being weird.”
He let out a half laugh, “I bet it’s some kind of force-field, that would explain why the door’s unlocked.”
I raised my eyebrows, the notion of an invisible barrier seemed unlikely, until I recalled being on board the Screnac, watching chunks of the Earth being redirected away from the ship.
“Makes sense I guess,” I could not help but notice that my voice had been lacking any kind of wonder for a while, I began to worry that nothing surprised me any more.  “I wonder what it’s made of,” I mused out loud.
“Well,” Felix put on his thinking face, his elite chess player in him kicking his brain into optimal problem solving mode, “it’s not laser, it wouldn’t move making the stars twinkle like that.  Could be electrical, although the output would be insanely high to stop anything from passing through.  It’s probably plasma, although I don’t really know much about it outside of science fiction, if you want the specifics try talking to Jim or Daniel (he had been a technician from back when I was at college and university), they’re doing the engineering modules, right?”
At that particular moment, I did not really care enough about it to justify putting effort into finding out how it all worked.  I was bout to say as much however I was cut off by Julie coming out to find us.
“Laura, Orthus is here with a sheenar who’s got to make sure we’re all here.”
Back inside, Orthus stood alongside a sheenar that was dressed in the uniform of a highly positioned law enforcement officer.
It introduced itself as Culpin Ocolai, the local official in charge of registration.  It informed us that, as the other local officials were going to all of the other buildings, it would be registering us and installing our biochips.  The building would be under lockdown for the following three units, unless the case was solved prematurely, at which point there would be limited access to the nearby stores and businesses, as they wanted to resume regular operations as quickly as possible.  As we were nowhere near the site in question, the lockdown would be minimal, unless there was some change in the investigation’s circumstances.  If the area we were in came under suspicion, the full lockdown would be reinstated.
To that end, we would need the biochips that would have been presented to us upon the completion of our studying.  They would essentially act as our tablets without the need for carrying them around, as well as translation software, ridding us of the need for the devices at the base of our skulls.  Each came with a unique I.D., which would grant us access to the areas we needed during the lockdown or in absence of an official or teacher.  They would also give us the ability to interact with a system without our tablets.  As before, I had seen Orthus using his arm as a keyboard, the chip contained a small contingent of nanobots that would allow us to do the same.  Those same nanobots would allow us to communicate with each other, like built-in telephones.
If there was any hesitation over having chips implanted in our necks, it did not show.  Everyone seemed eager to embrace the idea of being able to interact directly with technology.
The installation procedure was simple; a numbing gel of local anaesthetic was applied to the area behind the left ear, a tiny incision made, the chip inserted and the wound covered over with a patch that sealed the hole and medicated it to speed up the healing.
I volunteered to go first.  As excited as everyone was to receive the technology, the thought of having ones neck cut open, regardless of how small the hole would be, was not one that was jumped at.
The least I thought that I could do in that situation was go first, as with the seats on the Piti, to show everyone how the process would play out, to be the proverbial guinea pig.  Besides, I had several tattoos, including one on my foot.  If I could endure that (which admittedly, I only just about did) then I could take a small nick to the neck, even if the anaesthetic did not take.
It did, however, there was no pain at all, I could barely feel that anything had happened at all and had to told that it was done.
The third person was in the midst of getting theirs put in when I experienced the pinch.  We had been warned that, as with the translator devices, there would be a similar pinch as it activated.
Grant Bailey, who was the son of a friend of my dad’s, was having his patch applied, when mine came.
At first my whole body seized up, causing me to become momentarily rigid, at which point I am told that I yelped.  For about three agonizing seconds, I struggled with my own body functions, forcing myself to start moving again.  As the pressure released me, I could feel that some energy would also be released and I somehow managed to direct it towards the comfy seating area, sending cushions flying in every direction and a few of the chairs sliding across the floor.
“Sorry,” my voice came out winded, “but that was more than a pinch.”
I could feel the immediate nerves that rippled throughout everyone, so hastened to say, “I’m fine now, was just a bit more than I was expecting.”  I waggled my head about, shook my body and even jumped a couple of times for good measure to prove my point.
I then went to pick up the cushions.
One by one, all twenty-six of us were chipped and experienced the ‘pinch’.  It became quickly clear that some felt it more than others, however all complained.  Well, most of us had been British, world champions in moaning about inane things that did not matter, quite often just so that there was something to talk about.
Once everyone had simmered down, we had a quick introduction to what our chips were capable of and compatible with, as well as how to use them.
Culpin told us that it would visit every five and a half lals to rescan out chips and make sure nothing was wrong.  It also informed us that Orthus would be staying in our building until further notice as it was he who was responsible for us. 
After the local lockdown were to be lifted, our lessons would resume.  If the planet-wide lockdown continued beyond the time we were supposed to be on Kenglowe, then we would be expected to take up jobs; helping in the local area in positions that could expand our knowledge and skills.  It would also be a way of earning our extended accommodation and tutelage.
Until then, we were permitted free range within the building, allowing us to access all of the learning environments and study materials.  Being able to go out on to the balcony and rooftop gave us enough freedom that no one openly showed any signs of cabin fever.
We all just got on with it; living, learning and relaxing, without any over whelming worries to speak of. 
Until dawn of the second unit of the lockdown.