Intervention

by Julian May

  The laureates and the others bowed their heads respectfully to the Queen and took their seats as the music played on, and then there was applause, and the Nobel Foundation chairman approached the lectern to give his salutatory address.

  The man beside Lucille said, "It is an occasion for metapsychic op­erants to celebrate, is it not? There is your supremely talented husband, finally receiving the recognition he has long deserved, and his two great colleagues among the previously honored laureates, and the Prize in physics goes to Professor Xiong Ping-yung, for his formulation of the new Universal Field Theory incorporating life and mind into the math­ematical fabric of the universe. "

  "And he's probably asking, just like we are, " Gerry Tremblay put in, "whether anyone but a handful of academics and this overdressed Swed­ish mob scene cares. "

  The old gentleman chuckled quietly. "Things are that bad in your country?"

  "And in most others, " Lucille said. "It's a grand gesture being made here tonight, but one would appreciate it more if the pickets outside the Concert House went away. "

  "My country is a free one, as is yours, madame. But very many of us welcome you wholeheartedly. " He bent minimally over her hand. "I am Dr. M. A. Paulson of the Karolinska. You are known to all, Madame la Doctoresse, and also the famous Dr. Tremblay."

  "Not so famous as some, " Gerry said, with a light laugh.

  "It is well known that you are an eminent colleague of the Remillards, Doctor. Your own researches into coercivity are a foundation-stone upon which other researchers have erected many a scholarly edifice. Includ­ing tonight's Laureate in Medicine. Professor Remillard has been unstinting in his praise for your work, and his debt to you. "

  "We're members of the same team, " Tremblay said. "Everything I am, I owe to Denis." His eyes were on the platform. "I'm the one who feels honored that he was able to make use of my findings. "

  Lucille said, "Gerry and Professor Glenn Dalembert have worked with my husband almost from the beginning, Dr. Paulson. And there've been many other colleagues at Dartmouth making their own invaluable contributions to the field of metapsychology. " She smiled. "Even I. "

  "But the synthesis, " Paulson whispered. "That is always the critical matter, is it not? So many workers, all adding their share to the growing body of knowledge — and then the one brilliant mind fashions of the bits and pieces a coherent whole. "

  "That's Denis, all right, " said Gerry Tremblay. "And tonight he's finally being honored for it. It's a scandal that it's taken this long. "

  "Some of us on the Committee think so, too, Dr. Tremblay, " the Swedish scientist said. "But the Karolinska, especially, is a most con­servative body. We do not honor persons for a single discovery so much as for a continuing career of excellence. "

  "Oh, come on!" said Gerry archly. "It's all politics, and you know it. Denis's seminal work was Metapsychology, and that was published thirteen years ago. Since then he's just been elaborating on the theme. We all know why you waited so long, even though he's been nominated a dozen times — and we know why the Norwegians took ten years to cough up the Peace Prize for Jamie and Tamara. They're the real scan­dal. Everybody in the whole damn world knows they deserved to get the Nobel years ago, but the petty politicians hesitated to set a precedent by honoring superior mentalities. That's been Denis's problem, too — and even old Xiong's. He's been plugging away at his theory for damn near twenty years out there in Wuhan University. He was even nominated in 1988! But when the operants acknowledged their powers publicly, he did, too. Just a bit of telepathy and creativity, hardly enough to bother about when the rest of his brain — the conventional part — has Einstein beat six ways from Sunday. But that was enough to put your Royal Academy of Science in a snit, wasn't it? Old Professor Xiong wasn't playing fair — he was a superbrain!"

  Heads were turning as Tremblay's passionate whispering became more and more audible. The elderly Swede listened with his head bowed. A burst of applause signaled the end of the Nobel Chairman's address and Gerry sat back, lips tight. Lucille's gloved hand stole over the armrest and squeezed Gerry's hand.

  Simmer down Don Quixote...

  And the Committee only coughed up the Prizes out of guilt now that the metas are being persecuted now that the normals have turned on us...

  Gerry. You're off intimate again and there must be other metas in the audience. Please.

  "What you have said is sadly true, Dr. Tremblay, " Paulson admitted. "But we have tried to make amends, as the Norwegian Nobel Commit­tee did in the case of Professor MacGregor and Academician Sakhvadze. We are dismayed by the disgraceful enmity that operants have had to suffer. Much of it has been due to fear and misunderstanding. Can you believe that normal-minded persons of goodwill have come to appreci­ate your predicament more fully with the coming of public demonstra­tions of intolerance?"

  "We would like to believe it, " Lucille said softly.

  Down on the stage, a member of the Royal Academy of Science was proclaiming the merits of Xiong Ping-yung in Swedish. When he con­cluded his remarks, he addressed a few sentences of recapitulation in Chinese, addressing the old mathematician directly. Then the laureate rose from his seat, crossed the stage to the Queen, and bobbed his white head. Unlike most members of the glittering assembly, Xiong was dressed only in a simple black suit with a high collar. With their farsenses, Lucille and Gerry Tremblay could perceive the exchange of remarks between the laureate and the young Queen.

  "I bow to you, Queen Victoria Ingrid, not as one who kowtows to royalty, but to honor the beautiful living symbol of a great nation that has honored me. "

  The Queen shook his hand, a glint of humor in her eyes. "I congrat­ulate you, dear Professor Xiong. Here is your citation, and your medal­lion. Later, when you sit beside me at dinner in the Stadshuset, you must explain your Theory to me. If you can help me to make head or tail of it, I will gladly bow again to you. "

  The old man laughed delightedly, made a second obeisance, and re­turned to his seat amid applause.

  "In years gone by, " Dr. Paulson whispered, "the poor old chap would have had to go down off the stage via a flight of stairs to greet the mon­arch — then go up those stairs backward in order to show the proper re­spect! Our late King Gustaf abolished the custom. We Swedes do progress, you see, but slowly. It is the same all over the world. Old ways make way for the new, but often only after precarious and tentative transitions. "

  The winners of the Literature Prize and the Chemistry Prize were proclaimed, but Lucille watched and listened with a distracted mind. Paulson was right, of course. Right about the dangerous transition pe­riod. But could he also be right about the normals beginning to under­stand? The metapsychic backlash had only intensified since President Baumgartner took office. His abolition of the Brain Trust and sponsor­ship of the Benson Act prohibiting operants from seeking public office or serving on law-enforcement bodies was a savage piece of prejudice that the Supreme Court was debating even now. Of course the law was unconstitutional! It had to be...

  Chin up Luce darling illegitimis non carborundum.

  I'm sorry Gerry I know it's stupid of me to be brooding here.

  The Nobel Prizes are going to give operants increased status you know help us to face down Baumgartner and the witch-burning yahoos the Court will rule in our favor it's got to we're citizens and the Benson Act is de facto disenfranchisement.

  Of course it is. Why can't the normals get it through their heads that operancy is only relative? Its seeds are in every human mind! We can't go back to the Dark Ages operancy IS and it will continue to be. The trait has evolved and now it's becoming manifest in the population and you might as well try to outlaw brown eyes!

  That's becoming plainer and plainer to them but they still hold the power and are afraid of losing it... And we're going to do something about that too.

  ? Gerry ? Is this another one of her great notions?

  She has a name. You'll have to use it eventually when she becomes my wife I kno
w you disapprove of her ideas but she's right the only way to avoid being oppressed is to have clout. Power.

  ... You are serious about her then.

  Emilie agreed to a no-fault divorce last week. I didn't want to distract you or Denis with it. You were so excited about Stockholm. We're doing it as amicably as possible. Em will keep the house in Hanover and the kids and continue her part-time work at the Department. As for me... I didn't want to bother you with that either but I'll be leaving Dartmouth. Leaving academia. Shannon and I will be moving down to Cambridge. When the Benson Act is struck down, I'll run for Congress.

  My God!

  We operants have a lot to offer to normal society. But we're imbeciles if we sit by like pacifistic fools and let them set up the scaffolds. Mas­sachusetts! Home of that old American custom burning witches! It's going to be our rallying point —

  Another of Shannon O'Connor's ideas?

  She's operant too... even if only a little bit.

  Sometimes I wonder about that!... Gerry please don't present this to Denis as a fait accompli leave your options open for just a little while longer discuss it with him with Glenn and Sally and Mitch and the others we NEED you —

  Not anymore you don't. What I had to give Denis took. And good luck to him.

  !!...

  "I have the honor to present now our Nobel Laureate in Medicine, Professor Denis Remillard of Dartmouth College in the United States of America. "

  The elderly Swedish doctor was nudging her gently, breaking her out of her distraction and pointing to the glittering stage. Denis was advancing toward the Queen, bowing in the graceful Japanese fashion, from the waist, as Ume Kimura had taught him, speaking to Her Majesty with smiling lips and grave, shadowed eyes. He received the leather box with the medal and the portfolio containing the citation, bowed again, and returned to his place. Lucille applauded wildly, realizing that she hadn't farsensed a thing her husband had said to the Queen.

  The ovation continued as the final honoree of the evening retired, and then a few brief words from the chairman closed the ceremony. The trumpets blared for the last time, the Queen withdrew, and the musi­cians played a sprightly Hugo Alfvén piece as a recessional for the lau­reates and the others on stage. Cars would be waiting outside to carry them, their relatives, and other honored guests to the gala dinner at the City Hall.

  Lucille realized with a start that her cheeks were wet. "Gerry, wait for me while I go to the powder room. I'm a mess. "

  She fled, leaving Tremblay standing in the aisle behind the loges with Dr. Paulson.

  "Will you be going to the dinner?" Tremblay inquired politely.

  "No, I have had quite enough excitement for tonight. I will bid you adieu, Doctor. But before I go, please accept a bit of advice from an old man. "

  Gerry tried to look receptive.

  "You feel in your heart that Denis Remillard wronged you by not granting you sufficient credit for your work. Whether he did or not is immaterial. Do not let your envy and disappointment drive you to a reckless course of action that may bring disaster upon you and all of your operant associates. "

  "I don't know what the hell you're talking about, " Gerry laughed. "And I'm afraid you don't either. "

  "It is hard to work with genius. I really cannot blame you for fleeing. You know that in the laboratory you will only be competent and so you turn the beacon of your ambition in another direction. Be careful. You think falsely that Remillard used you. He did not — but certain others will. "

  Gerry Tremblay's face was immobile. He looked into the old man's gray eyes, probing with all his power, and met stone.

  "I didn't think you'd change your mind," Paulson said. "But I thought I would make the try as long as I was here tonight anyway. It has been an evening to remember. Please give my fondest regards to Madame Remillard... and it may be some small consolation to you to know that even the great Xiong Ping-yung owes something of his monumental formulation to the thoughts of others. The germ of the Universal Field Theory was suggested to him by none other than I myself! But that was long ago and far away, and I have long since forgotten most of my higher mathematics. A bientôt, Dr. Tremblay. " He walked off.

  A nut, Gerry told himself. A salty old Swedish nut! He probably creeps out of the woodwork every year and makes a pest of himself at the Prize ceremony.

  Forcing himself to believe this, he went off to find Lucille.

  15

  CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, EARTH

  27 FEBRUARY 2004

  KIERAN O'CONNOR: Come in, Gerry. I'm glad you could get here on such short notice. I wouldn't have torn you two lovebirds apart so soon after the honeymoon if it wasn't important... Shannon getting settled in the new place?

  GERARD TREMBLAY: The house is crawling with interior decorators and carpet-layers. I'm glad to be out of the war zone for a little while.

  O'CONNOR: Got your offices all set up in Cambridge?

  TREMBLAY: Pretty well. Still trying to find the right staff.

  O'CONNOR: Don't be in a rush. Where are you recruiting? My old Alma Mama, Harvard?

  TREMBLAY: [laughs] I'm running as a Democrat, sir.

  O'CONNOR: I understand there are still a few liberals lurking in the ivy ... Sit down, for heaven's sake, man. And don't call me "sir. " If you can't manage "Dad, " try Kier. How about a drink? Cheer the cockles on a cold afternoon.

  TREMBLAY: Thank you... Kier. [Looks around in awed admiration.] My God, what a view from this office! On a clear day —

  O'CONNOR: You can see Milwaukee. Less smog than there used to be. One good by-product of the energy shortage, at any rate... Scotch? Sherry? Campari?

  TREMBLAY: Campari and soda would be fine.

  O'CONNOR: Did you enjoy Nuku Hiva?

  TREMBLAY: It was fantastic, sir — Kier. I don't have the EE faculty, you see, so I've never been able to indulge in mental globe trotting. Or the regular kind, either, on an Associate Professor's salary!

  O'CONNOR: That'll change.

  TREMBLAY: I'm looking forward to it.

  O'CONNOR: No false pride, eh? That's a healthy sign.

  TREMBLAY: Shannon and I understand each other. Her money will be a means to an end. An end that both of us feel is infinitely worth­while.

  O'CONNOR: That end of yours is the reason I asked you to come here to confer with me. We don't know one another very well yet, Gerry. That is... you don't know me. I've been interested in your political aspirations, and I'll confess that I watched you there in New Hamp­shire even before you and my little girl worked together on the Millennial Democratic presidential campaign. Both of you have made friends in the Party who'll do you a lot of good now that you've decided to seek office yourself.

  TREMBLAY: I have Shannon's good advice to thank for any success I might have had as a campaign aide. And of course, she funded our caucus's effort. That took a lot of courage when the whole country knew you were for Baumgartner.

  O'CONNOR: Shannon is a grown woman with a right to her own opin­ions and political loyalties. Having metafaculties herself — even though they're very modest ones — she was very upset when Baumgartner's campaign took on an antioperant stance. She broke with the Republican people here in Illinois over the issue and decided to go all-out for Kennedy. And what better state to do it in than New Hampshire?

  TREMBLAY: It was great for a gesture. But to really do something in the political arena, one needs a state with a bigger population base.

  O'CONNOR: [laughs] More clout! You don't have to tell me. I was born in Massachusetts. You made a wise change of domicile, Gerry, and I wish you good luck in your campaign... But wishes are a penny a peck, right? I want to help you in a concrete fashion as well. Not with money, because Shannon's got more than you need, but with people. I want you to accept the services of two of the finest political advisers in the country — Len Windham of Research/Market/Data, and Neville Garrett, whose agency handles media liaison for top people in both parties.

  TREMBLAY: Kier... I don't know what t
o say!

  O'CONNOR: Just say yes. They'll send people up to Cambridge tomor­row to begin coordinating your campaign.

  TREMBLAY: Well, of course! My God, I never dreamed... a conserva­tive like you... but why? It can't be because I'm your son-in-law. I'm not a fool...

  O'CONNOR: Can't you read my mind, Gerry?

  TREMBLAY: No, sir! For a normal, you're one of the most opaque men­talities I've ever run across. And we operants don't read minds with the facility that normals credit us with. That's just one of the myths — the misunderstandings that have got to be cleared up if this antioperant hysteria isn't to balloon into a national tragedy.

  O'CONNOR: Exactly my own feeling. Partisan politics and fundamen­talist bullshit shouldn't dictate national policy on an issue as sensi­tive as metapsychic operancy. Dammit — my own little girl is a head! I can't stand by while fanatical assholes call her and people like her freaks or servants of Satan! This is the United States of America, not some benighted camel-jockey theocracy run by ayatollahs! I was deeply disturbed by the antioperant position Baumgartner took in his last campaign and by his support of the Benson legislation. We can thank God that the Supreme Court tied a can to that piece of mad­ness.