Go about this in an organized fashion.

John pulled out a notebook,. After having wrote out what he knew about the slate, it was time to question what he didn't know.

1) Does the slate do things other than mind control?

2) Can changes made with the slate be undone?

3) Why did some of the commands given to Olive not effect her at first?

He tapped the emerald again, and with a command he was able to change the color of his walls from their usual white to blue.

Curious he shouted out the door to Olive, "Hey, Olive! What is the color of the wall in my room?"

"White, like mine."

He tapped the emerald again. "The walls of my room have always been blue." He said quietly.

He called to Olive a second time, "Hey, Olive. Could you say that answer one more time?"

"Blue, unlike mine." She called back. "An odd question, but I am sure you had a good reason for asking it."

John was really liking her more amicable attitude. With Olive's help he gained a new insight, not only could the slate alter reality in ways other that mind control, by phrasing his commands correctly, he could even alter history. Commanding the walls to change had changed them, but he could also say that they were always blue, and suddenly everyone would believe it had always been so.

It occurred to him that Olive's change in attitude would be noticed by others since he had given her commands that applied to the present. He jotted down some notes and then with three taps commanded the walls to change back to white.

He now knew that the changes he made with the slate could be undone.

Now the final problem. Why has Olive not become nice to him earlier when he commanded it?

He thought about his phrasing "You will ignore the slate no matter where it is or what I do with it. Also, you will be more nice to me from now on."

He tried one more test. He laid his sneakers next to the walls of his room and tapped the emerald. "My walls will turn blue. Also, my shoes will turn orange."

The walls changed, his shoes did not. He quickly undid the change to his wall and rephrased the command so that it was summed up in one sentence. "My walls will turn blue and my shoes will turn orange." To John's satisfaction, both the walls and shoes changed color.

He now had his answers. Each time he tapped the emerald and activated the slate, he got to give one command in one sentence. A second spoken sentence would not bring about a change. If he had said "You will ignore this slate no mater where it is or what I do with it <u>and</u> you will be nicer to me from now on." The command would have altered Olive the first time around.

What should John do with this knowledge?