The hand over his heart was an odd gesture, and Barnaby was inclined to ask whether he was all right, but he became distracted by Gabe's sudden barrage of honest questions. Raising his eyebrows in mild surprise, he wondered if maybe they were talking about two different things. At least it would be easy for him to clarify.

"I'm talking about everyone here," he answered, his words deliberate yet patient. "Some of us have abilities, talents, skills -- whatever you want to call them -- that are considered out of the ordinary by others. For example, I'm able to temporarily increase my physical capabilities. Others are able to do things like heal injuries, cast illusions, or move objects with their minds."

Not everyone here was a NEXT, but it stood to reason that the Head Doctor may have taken an interest in certain individuals due to their powers. That would explain the high NEXT population, and the strong protective measures their captors had taken in order to keep them properly contained.

"In other words," he added in an attempt to make this easier for Gabe to understand, "the institute has managed to weaken people's special abilities so we'll all have a more difficult time finding a way to escape."