There was some movement in the living room. It seemed the front door had opened.
Pamela was a little surprised. "Someone came?"
"Isn't that normal? He never gave up on making contact." Tim said, "Before you arrived, he used buying firewood in town as an excuse to go out and meet someone. Just now, he used gathering firewood as an excuse to send a signal somewhere. His contact should be coming to the door now."
Pamela could not help lowering her head to glance at Tim. If there was still any difference between him and Batman, it was probably that he actually talked, and that he possessed the smugness over his own intelligence and the deep-rooted narcissism so common among psychopaths.
Pamela felt that both Dick and Jason had been deeply influenced by Professor Schiller. Professor Schiller's presence had prevented Bruce from becoming Dick's elder in the true sense of the word; he was more like Dick's friend. That made him more relaxed, less burdened by responsibility. It was a natural calmness, not something put on for show.
There was even less need to mention his influence on Jason. He had taught Jason to forge the surging power within him into a true weapon. It could be said that he had directly shaped his personality.
But Schiller had not had much influence on Tim. More accurately, they had seemed like the same kind of people from the start—parallel lines that would never intersect, yet could overlap. It was not that Schiller could not influence Tim; Tim simply had no need for his influence.
In Professor Schiller's words, people like them were skilled at shaping themselves. Not for even half a moment had they been forced into anything. No disaster was an excuse for becoming what they were, and every one