Tinker's Dam

A federal investigator accustomed to managing public crises is drawn into a tense episode when a captured telepath in the capital prompts a hostile mob and sensational publicity. He must balance immediate crowd control, colleagues who exploit the spectacle, and the strategic imperative to prevent telepathic leaks of secrets, while confronting the ethical and procedural limits of authority. The story moves between public confrontation and office negotiation, examining fear of mind-reading, the vulnerability of privacy, and bureaucratic responses to a disruptive technology.