by John O'Riley
“No, you mustn’t do that! You’re going to murder so many people and cause so many deaths, it’s going to eat at you later when you’re different.”
Rose felt the memory link reestablish but quickly severed communication with her older self. She breathed deeply as she opened her eyes and disgust flowed through her. She couldn’t believe how weak she’d become. Somehow, she had been thwarted and thrown in prison. Her future self had been racked with guilt and anguish. She needed to discover what had gone wrong. The last two times she’d downloaded memories from herself, Emily had died and for different reasons each time. Unfortunately, Jeremy had gone berserk in both instances and joined forces with Psi-Tech to track her down. He needed to die. A name flitted through her mind and she remembered that it was someone from a memory she’d downloaded from her future self. A woman named Alexa O’Malley. She would become a powerful empathic healer if she wasn’t already one. She had visited the prison that Rose had been staying at and used her ability to weaken Rose’s mind and taint her with flawed reasoning which would fundamentally change her. Empathic healers were an uncommon breed of psychic but there were still plenty of them. Rose itched to find out more information but unfortunately the limits of her ability required that she wait until the end of the day before she tried to contact herself again. Next time, she’d go only fifty years into the future before she became imprisoned. That should be safe enough. The main key element that consistently ruined her plans always pointed to Jeremy. He was always instrumental in her capture so he had to be killed.
Chapter 20
Emily had been sitting in her bed staring sightlessly into the distance with disturbing black eyes for several moments now. Jeremy, Skylar, Kate, and Julie had managed to pick themselves up off the floor at this point and were keeping a safe distance from her. Jeremy felt her absence in the psychic network like an ache in the back of his mind. It made it difficult for him to think coherently as guilt and regret consumed him.
“Jeremy, she’s stuck in a precognitive vision,” Julie said. “She’s no longer trapped in a coma. You need to focus.”
“All right,” he said.
Kate patted her son on the shoulder and he smiled reassuringly at her before fixing his gaze on his younger sister.
“Can you do anything for her?” Julie asked.
Jeremy gently probed the edges of Emily’s consciousness which was now free of the imprisoning energy. Relief rushed through him when he detected the faint connection of the psychic network which was barely existent. As long as this link remained, her survival was still possible. He could sense a lot of damage which must have resulted in their combined efforts to release her from the coma. Somehow, it had awakened her multipathic potential which he hadn’t been aware of. Jeremy focused on the connection and carefully worked on strengthening it. When he finished, he gently retreated from her to be sure he didn’t unintentionally wreck his work. He would need to check on the link several times a day to make sure it didn’t fray and break. Emily suddenly took a deep, shuddery breath and her pupils shrank back to normal size as she turned to face him.
“Thank you for saving me,” she said weakly. Her gaze swept over the rest of them. “I appreciate everything that you all did.”
“You’re a multipath now,” Jeremy said.
“Is that why it’s so cold in here? I thought it was you.” Emily smiled teasingly at him.
“In this case, it’s just you,” Jeremy said.
“I never thought I could become a multipath but the potential is said to be genetic and is often triggered by massive trauma,” Emily said thoughtfully.
“You just had a powerful precognitive vision,” Julie interjected. “What did you see?”
“Terrible things that don’t make any sense.”
“Tell us what you can remember,” Julie said gently.
“There are going to be many assassinations on the government by multipaths. No one will be able to figure out how to stop them or figure out who is doing it until years later. There’s a strong possibility that it will be too late by then because of instability and fear. The government will break itself up and sign over power to clusters. Psi-Tech will be put in charge over key territories. We’ll be in one section and Rose will be appointed a leader at some point. Everything is shifting so much that it’s hard to tell what will happen for sure. That’s the most likely outcome but eventually Rose will be found out and imprisoned but not after many years of turmoil. Rose keeps seeing what will happen and changes major events so it’s difficult to see details. Also, there are many precognitives who see what is happening and are doing things in their own lives to protect themselves which is in turn affecting the major outcome.”
“What could other precognitives do to affect the major outcome if they’re only focused on their own lives?” Julie asked with a puzzled frown.
“I can’t see specific events, I just know that if a precognitive has a friend who is in danger due to something Rose does because she views them as a threat or just because they will be collateral damage, that causes a ripple effect when they act to prevent it,” Emily said.
“That makes sense. Is there any way you can hone in on specific events that are important in the near future that can helps us capture Rose?” Julie asked.
“I’m definitely going to try,” Emily said. “But right now, I’m exhausted.”
“Of course. You’ve been through a lot. Whenever you’re ready, you can get started. Until then, just recuperate,” Julie said reassuringly. “Let me know if you need anything.”
She left the room and Kate rushed over to give her daughter a warm, effusive hug.
“I’m so grateful you’re better now,” Kate gushed.
“Thanks, Mom,” Emily said.
Jeremy was so relieved to see his sister all right that he couldn’t bring himself to retire for the evening until late into the night. The next morning, he had the typical operational meeting with Julie and Ryan in the main conference room. Both of them looked grave and tense as though expecting problems. Jeremy braced himself for the bad news as Julie prepared to start their meeting.
“I wanted to start by bringing to your attention that there is a general fear and distrust of telepaths and multipaths because of the strength of their secondary abilities and of course the privacy issues,” Julie said crisply. “There is legislation currently being proposed in the government to monitor and control all telepaths including multipaths. Very soon, new laws will be passed that require them to register their abilities.”
“I hadn’t realized this was going on,” Jeremy said. “To be honest, I hadn’t been watching the news. This could be related to what happens with Psi-Tech.”
“That’s what Ryan and I were thinking. This could be the first step in giving Psi-Tech governmental authority. I could see the possibility of Psi-Tech being assigned as a monitoring agency for telepaths and multipaths. They already have connections to our government and are probably applying pressure behind the scenes for this kind of power,” Julie said gravely.
“Is there anything we can do to stop this?” Jeremy asked.
“You have a couple of friends in the government,” Julie pointed out.
“Yes but nothing close to the clout that Psi-Tech must have.”
“Ryan and I are going to start setting up appointments to meet with government officials. It would help if you could put in a good word for us.”
“Sure, I can do that. I’ll talk to Senator Philips and Senator Ayars who I can probably convince to meet with you,” Jeremy said.
“Is there anyone else you have ties with?” Julie asked.
“I’m sorry but those are the only two.”
“It’ll have to do,” Julie said crisply. “I also wanted to discuss the matter of protection from psychic attack. I noticed that during those times when our minds are grouped together, the attacks against us seem weaker. I think that this is because it gives us a kind of protection and I have an idea on how to use this to our adv
antage. I’m going to assign each member of our core network four individuals to call if they need immediate assistance. By doing this, our entire network can temporary group together which should offer very powerful protection when needed.”
“Are you sure we would be able to group our minds together quickly enough to fend off any attackers?” Jeremy asked.
“Yes, because every member would have four members that they contact. I believe I could get two hundred members of our network to volunteer for this. I calculate that it would take less than thirty seconds to initiate this protection when needed. I suspect I can get more than two hundred individuals to sign up for this.”
“You realize this is just a theory and that it may not really offer any protection against psychic attacks, don’t you?”
“My intuition tells me that this will afford us very powerful shielding,” Julie said authoritatively.
She discussed several minor issues then dismissed the meeting. Jeremy returned to his office and was surprised to find it was rather easy to convince both senators that he knew to meet with Julie. After he informed her of the good news, he checked on Emily who was in her room resting. Her complexion was pallid and her shoulders slouched with fatigue. Jeremy sensed her connection to the psychic network had weakened so he quickly but carefully strengthened it again.
“Are you going to be okay?” he asked.
“I don’t know. I haven’t been able to use my abilities,” Emily said. “I suppose I’m kind of burned out.”
“Be careful and try not to use them at all until your link to the network is stronger,” Jeremy cautioned.
“I’ll do my best but my precognition is second nature to me. Trying not to use it is like trying not to breath,” Emily said.
Jeremy frowned at her with concern but didn’t argue. His sister was strong willed and he realized that pressing the issue would just make her defiant. He’d just have to keep a close eye on her to make sure she stayed connected. He harbored serious doubts about Julie’s idea to group together a large conglomerate of telepaths for protection. It simply didn’t seem possible to do something like that in less than a minute. However, Julie continued to surprise him with her resourcefulness so he’d just wait and see.
“You know how to reach me if you need me.” Jeremy smiled teasingly at his sister as he tapped his head with his finger. “I’m just a thought away.”
Emily snorted with mirth and made a shooing motion. Jeremy chuckled and left the room. When he reached his office, he signed into the phone system to help with answering calls but business had dropped to the point that he only received a call every five minutes or so. Most of the telepaths and multipaths who were in jeopardy of losing their lives must have already joined one psychic network or another by now. Julie predicted their business would steadily decline until it reached a plateau. For now, there was more demand for psychic consulting than their ability to fulfill but that may change over time. The most popular use for contractors were the powerful precognitives in advising people on the safety of investments but a close second was investigative work using psychometrists. There were numerous psychometrists who weren’t employed at Psi-Tech or Phoenix Enterprises that could probably do the work but telepaths who were linked in a psychic network possessed much stronger talents than those whose primary ability was psychometry. It was no wonder that the public’s attention was becoming more focused on telepaths and multipaths.
Jeremy gasped as dizziness and disorientation slammed into him like a physical force. He slipped from his chair and collapsed to the floor as impressions flooded through his mind. When the strange and disturbing feeling passed, he slowly picked himself up off the floor and tentatively reached into the network which had more than quadrupled in size. He carefully eased himself into his office chair as he continued to probe at the psychic network that had transformed to accommodate the rapid growth. Normally, when new members joined the link there was no change felt by individuals but this had been such a drastic change that he knew everyone had felt it.
“Jeremy, what the hell just happened?” Julie said sharply.
“The network has grown by over 4 times its original size,” Jeremy said.
“How is that possible?”
“I’m not sure.”
Jeremy was struck with an awful thought and he quickly stifled his reaction so it wouldn’t telepathically transmit to anyone else. He felt his sister reaching for him but he was too busy tracing the psychic network to respond. He merely sent a reassuring thought to her before focusing his attention on the task at hand. Julie and Skylar both tried to communicate but he blocked it. He wanted to confirm his suspicions before he voiced his concerns. He swallowed anxiously as he found the evidence to verify his theory.
“I know what happened,” Jeremy telepathically broadcasted to Julie, Emily and Skylar. “Our network expanded so quickly because someone who recently paid us to link with our psychic network at Phoenix Enterprises just connected with the Psi-Tech network which has already joined six other networks.”
“Are you sure?” Julie asked.
“Yes, I just confirmed it. There was a strain on our network because the structure was changed to accommodate the new links,” Jeremy said.
“That’s just terrific,” Skylar said dourly. “So now Psi-Tech has direct access to our minds.”
“They can attack us at any moment,” Julie said. “I’m going to have to work on my protection plan more quickly than I thought or we’re going to be vulnerable. The question is whether Psi-Tech sought out a member of our network intentionally or if this was some sort of plan that an individual had to increase their psychic potential.”
“If it’s part of a plan that Psi-Tech concocted then we might find ourselves under attack very quickly,” Emily said.
Chapter 21
Rose and Kevin sat cross-legged in front of the pond in the backyard deep in meditation. A deep stillness permeated their surroundings and an unnatural cold dominated the air. They both abruptly awakened at the same time to reveal black eyes. Powerful psychic energy pulsed wildly between them as they regarded each other dispassionately.
“Did it work this time?” Rose asked coolly.
“Yes, I shared your memories,” Kevin said.
Over seventy years of her future self’s memories flooded his mind and reshaped his personality. Rose already possessed over one hundred years of practice suppressing her emotions and maintaining a link with the mysterious force that flowed everywhere. Several days ago, she’d achieved the ability to stay connected to this power at all times. Her future self had come up with the idea of trying to share the memory download with Kevin with the hope that he might learn to utilize this ability as well.
“Try to connect with the power,” Rose instructed.
Kevin slowly rose to his feet and opened his awareness to the mysterious force. He had practiced this ability before without success but this time, he could feel it pulsing around him.
“It’s working.” A hint of a smile curved his lips.
“Excellent,” Rose said. “We can begin killing off the senators then.”
“You don’t think we should get rid of Jeremy and destroy Phoenix Enterprises first?” Kevin asked.
“No, they’ll be a distraction for Psi-Tech. Once George Hendricks figures out that he’s being manipulated, he’ll realize what I’ve done. After the government is attacked by mysterious psychics, they’ll immediately turn on telepaths and multipaths. All of the companies like Psi-Tech and Phoenix Enterprises will stick out like sore thumbs. No matter what type of legislation the government passes, they won’t be able to track us down and their fear will grow. There will be a war waged against telepaths and multipaths,” Rose said.
“Jeremy always catches us though in ever future you create,” Kevin pointed out.
“That’s why I sent that letter to George Hendricks, warning him that Phoenix Enterprises will cause his company to become bankrupt in ten years and that Jeremy is the key to Pho
enix Enterprises becoming the most powerful company in the world,” Rose said. “If Jeremy survives whatever attack Psi-Tech comes up with, he’ll be too distracted to figure out what’s going on.”
“That was a great idea,” Kevin said.
“Now that you share my ability to connect with the power, you should be strong enough to kill targets without the need to travel. That should make us even more difficult to track,” Rose said. “Let go inside. We have a few senators to put down.”
They made their way to the living room and Rose grabbed a folder from the large entertainment center. She and Kevin sank into the plush cushions of the gray sofa facing the large-screen television. Rose pulled out a newspaper clipping of a middle-aged man impeccably dressed in a blue suit smiling at the camera man. It was Senator Karl O’Malley and the picture had been taken several months ago. Kevin had the ability to remote-view his targets with a photo the majority of the time. Rose hoped that with his new ability he would have the strength to utilize his healing talent to launch a long-distance attack.
Kevin accepted the picture and closed his eyes to concentrate. Rose linked with him telepathically so she could observe the results of this experiment. Kevin’s connection with the force allowed him to easily find Karl who was in the middle of a business meeting with a roomful of influential businessmen. Kevin focused his mind with the deadliest intent, directing a stream of malevolent dissonant energy at Karl’s chest. The senator gasped painfully and immediately clutched his chest. His skin turned pallid and he fell to the floor in an untidy heap as he struggled to breathe. The room was thrust into chaos. Two of the nearby men tried to help Karl but it was too late. Kevin could feel the senator’s life draining from his body. Giddiness thrummed through Kevin over his accomplishment and he jerked back into his own body, reeling from the shock of the sudden disconcerting return trip. His black eyes snapped open and he lost his connection to the force.
“Congratulations,” Rose said coolly.