Baswin

by Aurora Springer

  Raising her hand, Holly asked, “Dr. Pendleton, what kinds of tests will you run on us?”

  “We test for precognition, clairvoyance and telekinetic abilities. None of our tests are invasive or harmful. Instructions will be provided before you take each of the tests. Your participation in this assessment is entirely voluntary. You are free to stop at any time, and you can choose to omit individual tests.”

  Holly had never been formally tested and she was pleased to learn about the flexibility of choices. In fact, she had become intrigued about the tests and eager to see whether they would detect her talent. She glanced at her sister. Rosie gave a slight roll of her eyes, although her smile suggested an equal interest.

  Speaking for both of them, Holly said, “We’re ready to begin.”

  “One moment,” the parapsychologist said in a cool tone. She spoke into her wrist com, “Mr. Jessop, we are ready to start the assessment.” Looking at the Moon sisters, she said, “You will be placed in soundproof rooms and monitored during the tests. Before starting the tests, you will have to sign a consent form.”

  The assistant, Mr. Jessop, a slim young man hugging a tablet under his arm, entered the conference room. A shy smile warmed his serious demeanor, and he said, “Please follow me to the examination rooms.”

  In their eagerness for answers, the Moon sisters hurried to the exit.

  Mr. Jessop stepped into the corridor, glancing over his shoulder to ensure the sisters were walking behind.

  Halting by the first door, he consulted his tablet. “Miss Holly Moon, please take a seat at the desk and read the form on the screen.”

  Holly obeyed his initial instruction, sitting down and hanging her bag on a nearby hook. The door shut. Alone in the tiny, windowless room, little more than a cubicle with a desk and two chairs, a sliver of trepidation troubled her. She worried about exhibiting psychic skills in the tests, and the consequences of success or failure for her and Rosie.

  Shaking off her doubts, she scrolled through the form on the display. It seemed a standard legal document covering privacy and liabilities. She entered her signature code.

  Nothing else appeared on the display.

  With a mental shrug, she waited for new instructions, dividing her gaze between the closed door and the frozen screen.

  After five minutes, a faint rap sounded on the door. Dr. Pendleton came in and leaned closer to examine the form.

  “Good. You’ve signed the agreement.” The parapsychologist tapped on the touch pad and pointed at the display. “There is a set of standard tests. You can read the instructions. For some tests, you will manipulate physical objects stored in these drawers.” She ran her forefinger along a panel at the base of the screen. “The appropriate drawer will open for each test.”

  Holly guessed the five rectangles etched in the panel were the fronts of the drawers.

  “You said we could skip individual tests,” Holly said. “How can we do that?”

  Her tone hinting at disapproval, Dr. Pendleton said, “After you’ve read the instructions, you may choose to continue with the test or go to the next one. You can take the tests in any order using the menu at the top. The assessment is fully automated to eliminate bias due to the presence of another person.” She pointed at the lighted strip above the screen. “The camera will record you during the tests as a precaution against cheating. Please remain in front of the screen for the entire session.”

  “Okay. I guess that’s standard for exams. Can I begin now?”

  Waving her forefinger in admonishment, Dr. Pendleton said, “We have one more validation step.” She pressed on the middle of a rectangle. The drawer popped open and she lifted out a thick piece of felted fabric woven with metallic threads. “This device folds around your head like a hood and records your brain waves.”

  “How will that help?” Holly asked.

  Dr. Pendleton explained, “We can correlate a paranormal event with changes in the pattern of your brain waves. A strong correlation would be evidence for psychic ability.”

  “Sure. That’s reasonable.” Holly bent her head to allow the parapsychologist to adjust the brain sensor over her hair. It felt lighter and more comfortable than she had expected.

  “I must also ask for your com. You are not allowed to communicate with any other person or to access other resources during the tests.”

  Giving a nod of consent, Holly removed the com from her wrist and handed it to the parapsychologist.

  “You can commence the tests once I’ve left the room. Use the help button if you get stuck.” With that advice, Dr. Pendleton departed, shutting the door firmly.

  After frowning at the blank screen for a moment, Holly hit the start button. A series of two-digit numbers appeared with instructions for her to suggest the next three numbers. As far as she could tell, the numbers were in a random sequence. It seemed to be a mathematical test for precognition, which was outside of her special talent. She typed the first numbers that came to mind.

  Several similar tests followed. Holly guessed at words, shapes or colors, and grew increasingly frustrated. None of the tests would be capable of detecting her ability to locate hidden objects at a distance. She kept checking the time on her com.

  At last, the type of assessment changed. One of the concealed drawers slid open. Two balls with octagonal faces and a small folded tray were inside the compartment. Her instructions were to spin the eight-sided dice on the tray and attempt to force both of them to land with the number eight uppermost. She was warned to keep her hands visible on the desk top for the test. She entered the numbers for each of ten attempts. Her scores were not promising. At the end of her ten attempts, she replaced the dice and the drawer shut soundlessly.

  Another drawer opened. This time, she was supposed to remove two thin rods from the container, drop them on the desk, and make them form a cross without touching them with any part of her body or any physical object. Unsurprisingly, Holly was unable to succeed in this test for telekinesis, however much she tried to concentrate on moving the wooden sticks.

  After another ten minutes, she abandoned the attempts. Holly groaned. She had wasted an hour on useless tests.

  A loud knock on the door promised a reprieve.

  Instead of the parapsychologist, Dr. Reddy came in. “May I join you?”

  At her nod, he sat on the extra chair. His face wreathed in an encouraging smile, he asked, “How are you getting on, Miss Moon?”

  “Badly, I suspect.” She waved at the display. “These tests don’t assess my scrying ability. And, what about my sister? Rosie’s a healer, not a fortuneteller. You can’t expect her to predict the next card in your deck.”

  “Dr. Pendleton was instructed to apply the standard set of tests to each of you. These particular tests are the easiest to automate and quantify the results.”

  “How do you test for the ability to perceive at a distance or to accelerate healing?” she asked skeptically.

  Dr. Reddy’s eyes twinkled. “We don’t rely entirely on the results of standard tests. We retain discretion to perform other types of evaluation.”

  “Good.”

  “As you have deduced, psychic skills that involve interactions with other people pose a special challenge for any objective assessment. These talents would include foreseeing or fortune telling, healing and telepathy.”

  “Why can’t you set up a test with a subject and a tester?”

  “Because people are so impressible. Consider the work of a psychic healer. It is well known that sick or injured patients recover faster if they receive positive encouragement. How can you quantify the difference between superior medical care and the healing influence of a psychic?”

  “Okay. I see the problem.” Holly considered the other talents. “I suppose an empath might simply be very adept at reading non-verbal cues.”

  “Exactly. Paranormal influences are also subjective. Imagine that a fortuneteller predicted you would meet a tall handsome man.”

  “Sure
. The old cliche, tall dark and handsome.”

  “Indeed. You might meet men of that description every day. But after hearing the prediction, you would be much more aware of every man you met. If a tall attractive man smiled at you, you would believe the prediction was accurate. Yet, it might happen by chance at any time.”

  She nodded vigorously. “Right. It’s difficult to eliminate a coincidence from a psychic effect.”

  “Let me return to your acknowledged skill for farseeing. Detective Sergeant Powell has verified your ability to locate missing people. Can you see objects as well as people?”

  “Yes. I’ve helped to recover lost jewelry and parcels.”

  “What about Mr. Jessop? Can you pinpoint his present location?”

  “Sure. Give me a minute to focus.” Propping her scrying mirror on the desk, Holly created a mental image of the shy assistant and peered into the hazy glass. The center slowly cleared to show him. Flipping out of the brief trance, she reported, “He’s working at an instrument with a display of jagged lines.” She pointed to the corner of two walls. “He’s somewhere in that direction.”

  He scrolled on the tablet. “According to the plan of this suite, that direction is approximately correct.” He smiled at her. “Shall we verify the location?”

  She echoed his smile. “Absolutely.”

  He raised his wrist toward his mouth. “Mr. Jessop, please tell me where you are?”

  A moment later, he looked at Holly and nodded. “You were correct. He is in the lab.”

  Holly clapped her hands. “Wonderful. I aced that test.”

  “Indeed, I believe you did.” His expression reflected the same gratification she felt. Consulting his tablet, he said, “If you agree, I will ask you some questions about your skills.”

  “Go ahead then,” Holly said. “Shoot me those questions.”

  “I understand you have a part-time job with World Parcel Services.”

  “Yes. Not an exciting job, but the pay keeps food in our cupboards. My scrying jobs don’t bring much of a financial profit.” She smiled, adding, “Though, sometimes I’m offered a reward. And, it’s very satisfying. I love finding a lost person, pet or special object.”

  “Then, I presume you would be pleased to employ your psychic abilities for an important goal.”

  “Yep. I’d be happy.”

  Glancing at his tablet again, he asked, “Tell me about a specific example where you used your scrying talent to solve a problem at your unexciting job with the World Parcel Services?”

  “Well...I remember one occasion.” She cocked her head.

  “Please go ahead.”

  “An elderly woman came to the front office to complain about a missing parcel. She’d sent a package to her daughter. It hadn’t arrived. She was upset because she’d sent a family treasure, an old bible with names and dates for several generations of her ancestors.”

  “An irreplaceable heirloom,” Dr. Reddy murmured.

  “Right. Since it was a special object that she felt strongly about and had touched recently, I could scry for the bible. The package was stuck in an intermediate handling site. Her description matched, and the package was delivered to her daughter.”

  “A happy conclusion.”

  “Yes. Missing cases don’t always end so well.” Holly shook her head and sighed. “In the police cases, it’s often too late by the time I find the missing person.”

  “How do you deal with the emotional stress?”

  “Well, Rosie and I have different ways to destress. We meditate in the garden. Or we go hiking in the hills.”

  “You and your sister are close?”

  “Yes. We live together. We’re best buddies.” As Holly thought of her sister, she sensed her nearby, feeling tired and confused. She tilted her head to the intervening wall. “Rosie’s over there. Probably in the next room.”

  “You can detect her location?”

  “I believe so. If she’s somewhere nearby. Otherwise, my sense of her is fuzzy.”

  Dr. Reddy’s gaze sharpened and he gave a tiny nod. “That might be good evidence for your psychic ability.” A smile crossed his face. “You’re correct to be skeptical of the tests. We’re confronted with such a variety of potential abilities and we’re still learning how to properly evaluate them.”

  “Can’t the Warrish assess whether somebody can become a hyperspace navigator?”

  “We were asked to perform an initial assessment of your psychic ability. I’m certain the Warrish will run additional evaluations before they decide whether to accept you into the tripilot school.” He gazed at her while drumming his fingers on the back of his tablet. “If you wish, we can improvise a test for your ability to detect your sister’s location.”

  She shot him challenging look. “Sure. Let’s do it.”

  Dr. Reddy tapped on his com. “Mr. Jessop, are you free to run another test?”

  Evidently receiving an affirmative, he continued, “Miss Rosie Moon is in room two. Will you please escort Miss Moon to a different room? Any vacant room in this suite.”

  He paused to listen. “No. Don’t tell me. It’s an experiment. Leave Miss Moon alone in the room and return to the lab. I’ll give you five minutes.”

  Holly nodded. “That should work.”

  Moving his fingers over the tablet, Dr. Reddy said, “I’ve set the timer. It will buzz at five minutes.”

  While they waited, he questioned her about her home and other family members.

  Distracted by her task, she gave brief replies. She sensed Rosie’s surge of interest, probably when the assistant entered. Then, Rosie moved away. Holly twisted her head to follow, although the walls blocked her normal sight.

  Dr. Reddy stopped talking, and instead, watched her intently.

  When Rosie halted, Holly glanced at the manager and arched her eyebrows.

  He held up a finger, urging her to wait.

  About a minute later, the timer buzzed.

  Standing quickly, the manager gestured to the door. “Miss Moon, please lead me to your sister.”

  Holly hurried into the corridor, and pointed to the last door on the left. “She’s in there.”

  Of course, she was correct.

  As they walked toward the door, Rosie burst out, demanding, “Holly, what’s this about an experiment?”

  While Holly chuckled, Dr. Reddy explained, “We were verifying the psychic link between you and your sister.”

  Rosie halted abruptly, her mouth open in dismay. “Dr. Reddy. I’m sorry. Did I mess up the experiment?” Wrinkling her nose, she said, “I’m just a little bored with being stuck in a tiny room.”

  “You have no need to apologize.” Dr. Reddy’s com beeped. “Excuse me, ladies.” He held the com to his ear. After listening to the caller, he said, “Yes. We ran an experiment. Holly Moon had just indicated the room where she sensed her sister when Rosie Moon popped out.” Another silence intervened. “Indeed. I believe that is convincing evidence.” Closing the call, he turned to the sisters. “That was Dr. Pendleton. She noticed an unusual pattern of coordinated neural activity. The spikes occurred simultaneously in both your brains. She suggests this correlated activity is associated with your psychic connection.”

  “Oh. Is that all?” Rosie sounded disappointed.

  Dr. Reddy patted his tablet. “Misses Moon, I believe we have acquired all the data we need. You do not need to stay any longer, although you are welcome to partake of the refreshments in the conference room.”

  “What about those tests?” Holly said. “Can we see the results or are they confidential?”

  “Certainly, you may see them. We can ask Dr. Pendleton if she has completed the analysis.” He gestured toward the opposite end of the corridor. “The lab is this way.”

  The sisters followed him to another corridor.

  He knocked on a door marked ‘Private’.

  Cracking the door ajar, Mr. Jessop said, “Yes, Dr. Reddy?”

  “The Misses Moon would like to kn
ow how they performed in the automated tests.”

  Dr. Pendleton’s precise voice came from inside the room, “Please bring them into the lab.”

  Mr. Jessop swung the door fully open and they entered a room with an array of instruments and screens on a bench along the rear wall.

  The parapsychologist stood by the bench with her hand on a tablet. Pointing at a chart, she said, “I’ve done the preliminary analysis. What would you like to know?”

  Holly cocked her head. “Did your tests find any new paranormal abilities?”

  “Most of the results were within the normal range for people without such talents.” She stared at the tablet, rapping her fingertips on the hard surface of the bench. “However, I did see one or two unusual effects.”

  Impatient to learn more, Holly pleaded, “Please explain.”

  Dr. Pendleton looked up, her eyes narrowed in speculation. “Miss Holly Moon, your scores were in the average range except for one anomaly. In one test, you predicted a series of correct answers while your brain patterns indicated a dream-like state.”

  Holly chuckled. “I must have slipped into the scrying trance.”

  Her expression sober, Dr. Pendleton said, “It suggests you have a latent ability to predict the future.”

  Squeezing her sister’s arm, Rosie asked, “What about my tests?”

  The parapsychologist said in a dry tone, “Your tests were normal, apart from Dr. Reddy’s final experiment where your brain showed spikes in conjunction with your sister’s heightened neural activity.”

  “Wow,” Rosie said. “We’re really weird.”

  “You appear to have a minor psychic ability.” Dr. Pendleton gave a distinct shrug. ‘We know too little about these paranormal phenomena. I cannot offer any explanation at this point.”

  “Thank you for showing us the results,” Holly said.

  The sisters said goodbye to the perplexed parapsychologist and the amiable Dr. Reddy. When they rejoined Sergeant Powell in the conference room, he volunteered to escort them into the city for lunch and a sightseeing trip.