An Academy for Liars

by Alexis Henderson

mistook greatness for its shadow. As long as they were in the presence of brilliance, they too were brilliant by proxy. Lennon knew this about them because she was once the same—struck dumb with awe and utterly convinced that Wyatt’s presence alone was enough to elevate her above the murk of her own mediocrity.

intervention was exactly what she wanted. A sign, a symbol, the grasping hand of some meddling but benevolent god who would reach down through a break in the clouds and shake her senseless, until she was forced to believe—really and truly—that her life had meaning and that she was destined for something more than mediocrity.

pretty little girl leaves her dreams and aspirations to become a bauble, an accessory to the life of a man she, wrongly, believes is more significant than she is.

John Drayton built his school with one goal in mind: he wanted his students to embody the Socratic ideal of a good man. The kind of man who could win the hearts of other men, and in doing so change the world for the better. Men whose great minds and charisma could negotiate peace in times of war, and usher us into a new golden age of liberty, pacifism, and fairness for all.”

most talented pupils at his school, John learned that this persuasive talent could be honed, allowing particularly gifted individuals to force their will not just upon other human beings, but in rare cases, upon matter itself.”

“William was the first and last student of Drayton with the ability to create entire worlds unto themselves, using his persuasive ability to open doors to new realities and close them to contain spaces, sequester them from the greater world at large.

“Here, safe and in secret, we devote ourselves to the continuation of John Drayton’s legacy. The study of persuasion.”

But now she realized it was a credit to her, and her desire to prove to herself that she was worth loving.

“Persuasion is the ability to project one’s own will onto a being, object, or entity,”

“There will always be someone who will use the power they have to hurt those who don’t deserve it. That’s why it’s important that people like you become competent enough to stand between them and those they’d otherwise harm. To let your scruples get in the way of that vital work is cowardice.

Imagine that: a man at the end stages of one of the most painful cancers known to man dies grinning.

The long-held idea is that when you create an illusion so believable that even reality takes it for truth, what you’ve done, in effect, is create a new reality. That is the skill that both you and William possess in the form of your elevators.” “This is simulation theory,”

However, you and William Irvine are set apart in that your ability to bend reality extends well beyond shaping matter. You appear to possess the ability to bridge space, in the form of traveling across the material plane by elevator. That is what makes you different, special.”

“It’s not. But you most certainly are, and the elevator is you.”

Good lies are rewarded with belief. Great lies are rewarded with conviction. In my experience, persuasion is a great lie, well told.”

a skill called anatomical persuasion. It involved careful interference with bodily functions—orders from the brain that could trigger a variety of symptoms—anything from sneezes to fevers or hives.

“If you raise the gates on your own, without Eileen’s interference, you can use the school itself as leverage and put an end to all of this violence. You can protect them if you can keep the gates up. No one could hurt you after that. You’d have the whole school as your leverage against Eileen and the rest of the faculty. You could tie their hands.”