punishment. If it's repeated and repeated, it gets so
carved into you, you behave accordingly."
"But why did you call us all Skinner pigeons?"
I asked.
"This scientist. Skinner, is famous for getting
people to believe in these things. He did it with
pigeons in a box. If they pressed a lever, they got fed.
They soon understood that if they did this, they were
rewarded. If they didn't, they weren't. That's what Dr. Foreman means by her stupid reality
checks. We get rewarded for doing what she wants us
to do, and when we do something she doesn't... we
suffer. That's reality. That's the way it is out there,"
Gia said, waving toward the door.
"Dr. Foreman," she concluded, "believes those
theories apply to everything. She can change anyone.
We're not here just to be goad little girls. Just like she
said the first day, we're here to be changed,
completely and utterly remade."
"Posy had to be very frustrating for her." Robin
said. 'Here she was a so-called expert on all this and
her own daughter was a problem,-
"Exactly." Gia said. "She has success with
strangers, like our buddies and like us. Her methods
do work most of the time.
You're not going to get into any fights so
quickly now, are you. Robin? You don't want to go
back to the Ice Room."
Robin looked at me and then looked down. "And you, Teal. You going to run away again?"
Gia taunted.
"Maybe."