Wicked Telepaths

by Enid Titan

  “I felt something, even in that split second,” Pallas uttered, now peering over at Poppy like she was a creature in a cage, lost in thought.

  Poppy blushed and Pallas leaned away again.

  “My apologies, I did not mean to make you feel uncomfortable.”

  Poppy realized with increasing discomfort that he must have read her mind. All Devorans were telepaths.

  “I… Uncle Monty… I… I need to get out of here.”

  “Don’t worry dear, we’ll be on Devor soon."

  "No. That’s not what I mean.”

  “Oh dear, she’s upset, Monty. Take her to your quarters. We’ll be on Devor in a day or two.”

  “Yes, of course, Pallas. Thank you for your generosity.”

  Monty's cheeks hadn't lost their redness. Poppy observed her uncle as he said goodbye to Pallas with a low bow.

  The Devorans teleported their possessions to their quarters. Poppy still hadn’t stopped shivering from the ship's chill and the daunting environment of the Devoran ship terrified her. Poppy was a tiny figurine in the giant white snowglobe. She hugged her Uncle Monty's side as they followed the Devoran cadet down the halls to their quarters.

  Once they were alone, Monty paced their quarters muttering to himself, visibly frustrated. He unmade and remade the bed on his side of the room. Poppy flopped down on hers, settling the queasiness in her stomach.

  Their room was organized like a chain hotel room with made beds and various amenities familiar to Poppy from earth. The main difference was the temperature. The room was still freezing.

  “Darling, I know you’re a fish out of water here but you need to pull it together. Soon, you’ll be at the academy and I won’t be able to help you adjust.”

  “What am I supposed to do when I get there? I have no idea what I’m supposed to do, what I’m studying…I hardly had time to go over these stupid handbooks. Then that man… when he shook my hand…What the hell was that?”

  “The connection. You experienced the connection.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “Your telepathic fields touched. It can take some getting used to.”

  “The same thing’s happened to you?”

  “Every time. They don’t mean any harm by it. It’s sort of pleasant depending on who you come across.”

  “I don’t know if I can do this."

  “I know this isn’t where you thought you’d be, but Earth is no place for a young woman anymore. On Devor, at least I can be certain you’ll be safe.”

  Monty’s mouth dropped and the edges of his eyes turned downward. A chill danced down Poppy's spine, as if she could almost sense what her uncle was thinking, but his thoughts were just out of reach.

  “It’s still cold in here," she complained.

  “Touch that panel on the wall and picture warm clothes.”

  “Imagine warm clothes? How the hell will that help me?"

  3

  Prophecies

  Furs from the panel on the wall warmed Poppy quickly, but she had much to adjust to on the ship. Devorans didn't speak out loud in the presence of others, Poppy learned. Surprise colored Poppy's cheeks the first time she heard a Devoran voice in her head. Soon, she found the dull throb of constant telepathic communication around her soothing. Most times, the Devorans on the ship strived to keep their conversations private from the alien visitors, but some didn’t bother to hide their thoughts.

  Uncle Monty had never mentioned this aspect of Devoran culture. He’d never talked about his trips to Devor. Poppy had never asked about his academic forays into space. He'd spend his time on Earth bent over books in his study or yelling at librarians on the phone. Poppy assumed space held little of interest aside from intergalactic politics that she would never play a part in.

  She’d been too busy doing teen things and finishing high school. That had been a project and a half. Poppy had been a straight C student. Her friends hadn’t even believed her when she said she was accepting a place at an academy on Devor.

  “You’re stupid,” CJ replied bluntly when she'd told him the news.

  Thanks, Ceej.

  Straight C students didn’t go to college anymore. Hell, most of them couldn’t do anything except go to the Coast Guard — another reason Uncle Monty hadn’t wanted her to go to the East Coast. Joining the Coast Guard in this day and age was more or less a death sentence.

  “Poppy, are you listening?”

  Again, Poppy found herself distracted. She nodded and Uncle Monty smiled knowingly. He was used to the way her mind wandered.

  “The ice planet is magnificent. The capital, Vortha, is far away from the tundra, a quiet little enclave bustling with culture and priestesses. The energy there is so strong — and then there’s the temple. Do you know the history of the temple?”

  “Um, I remember learning about this when we learned about first contact.”

  “Tell me,” Monty instructed.

  “A human woman made contact with the telepathic temple on Devor and our people became linked. They began to take human names — Ancient Greek names — and they ended the birth crisis on their planet.”

  “Exactly.”

  “That was one hundred years ago.”

  “Yes, the Empress of Devor is an old woman now.”

  “And she’s human."

  How strange, that a human woman would have left all that she knew to become a part of a bizarre world of ice and blue aliens. How could she choose that over Earth? Didn’t this empress lady feel guilty about the way the planet suffered?

  “You head back to our quarters and change. We’ll be landing on the planet soon and you’ll need more clothes than what you have.”

  “Okay.”

  Poppy missed her friends on earth already, and she missed New Manhattan — the rats, the smell of piss, the vagrant camps, the red light district — all of the shitty parts of the city added to the rich culture.

  Poppy missed heading to the Upper West Side camp with CJ to watch the women play instruments for money or to listen to the poets slam outside the tent district.

  Compared to the perpetual buzz of New-Man, the ship's low hum skirted Poppy's awareness. After a few hours on the ship, Poppy learned to open the doors of the ship through “imagining” them open, which took less effort than she thought it would. Uncle Monty instructed her on the Devoran calendar: a year broken into thirds. She'd start school at the beginning of First Winter, take what amounted to a six-month break for summer, and then return for Second Winter.

  Poppy didn't care about their calendar and when Monty noticed he'd lost her attention, he left to speak to one of the Devoran soldiers on the transport.

  On her uncle’s bed, Poppy noticed a brown envelope that hadn’t been there when they’d left. She eyed the mysterious thing, sensing that she should leave her uncle's business well enough alone.

  Poppy opened her school pamphlet on her bed. At least their weeks were similar to Earth weeks so she wouldn't have to be at school for all eternity. This long school year was already unappealing enough.

  The envelope on Monty's bed seemed to call her name. That niggling sensation that she should leave well enough alone didn’t stop Poppy from scrambling over to Monty's bed and emptying the envelope's contents on the tiny desk which he'd already covered in a selection of large tomes.

  Poppy’s hand reached for a letter that fell from the envelope before she knew how the decision had been made. The heavy card paper stood out against the stack of business papers that spilled out with the letter. Poppy pressed the paper to her nose. The paper smelled like eucalyptus and whiskey. She couldn't place why the smell was so familiar.

  She opened the card paper up.

  Hi Monts-ter,

  Sorry for the old-fashioned communication. I actually whipped out the old typewriter to get this going. It's the only fucking thing they'll let me have in here. No internet. No interacting with the outside world.

  This fat-faced guard will even read my letter before sendi
ng it. Can you believe that? Fucker. I'll probably get smacked for that.

  I need you to tell me how Penelope reacts to the planet once you get there, okay? I keep re-reading your last letter.

  I spoke to my contacts in Congress and they don’t think we’ll make any progress on the next climate bill. No one can find out they're writing to me so they're going to stop. Bastards. Cowards. All of them.

  They’re still talking about the potential of alien invasion while our country sinks. My insider told me that they’re still talking about nuking Turkey. Bull.

  The awakening is the only chance we have. Sixteen years ago, I went to prison for what I believed. Sixteen years ago, I left my daughter behind because I had to send a message. The awakening must happen or the climate crisis will kill all of us. I can’t stand by and watch 8 billion people die knowing what I know.

  I knew Ariana’s family on earth. The Empress of Devor left behind grand-nephews who visited her on the planet and who touched the temple. They took me there with Julian and I saw it too.

  Penelope could be the one because of Julian. We tried to ignore it but we can't. She's her father's daughter. I can’t believe it any more than you can, but she has to go to Devor.

  She has to be the one who can save Earth. We only have six years left before the climate crisis sinks us for good. We need Penelope to do this.

  You’re a rational man, Monty, and I know you might dismiss these as the ramblings of a crazed terrorist.

  I did what I had to. Please, do this for Julian. Do this for her. Do this for all of Earth’s children.

  Don't let her go back to Earth until we know for sure what's going to happen.

  Love always,

  K.

  Poppy’s hands shook. She’d recognize her mother’s handwriting anywhere. For the past sixteen years, this was how she’d communicated with her mother — by secret letters spirited out of the maximum-security facility where the U.S. government kept her mother prisoner.

  Poppy had always known her mother had “gone mad”. Before he died, her father, Julian Darden had explained the incident.

  When Poppy got to high school, she’d learned about it in class and realized that everyone knew. Her mother was a terrorist. She'd been the FBI's most wanted for a full year before they'd captured her.

  She tried to kill the president. She tried to bomb the new Federal government in Columbus. She wasn't safe.

  Poppy dropped the letter, a lump rising in her throat. Her mother spoke to Uncle Monty in secret and this was the first she'd heard of it. Her mother pushed Monty to send her to Devor. This whole thing was one of her mother's missions. Monty hadn't decided this alone. That mattered. Still, what did any of this mean? Poppy hated that she couldn't ask him without admitting that she'd gone through his private communications.

  She stuffed the letters back in the envelope and set it back on the bed.

  Her mother wanted this. Was she really the crazy woman portrayed in their history books or did she know something? Poppy wished her father were here. Monty never spoke about her mother and her father only had on occasion when it was necessary. Her father never called her mom crazy.

  "One day you'll understand," he'd said, "Your mother was a passionate woman and very misunderstood."

  Then he'd go quiet and retreat to the basketball courts outside, shooting hoops alone for hours and thinking of her. Her dad was devoted to her mother. He trusted her.

  I have to do this for her, she thought to herself. If I do this, maybe I'll prove she isn't crazy. Maybe I can have my mom back.

  4

  Long Lost

  The ship would enter Devor's orbit in the night as they slept. Devorans had a slightly longer day than humans. Poppy enjoyed the extra four hours of sleep. By their morning, the ship would land directly on the surface. Monty explained excitedly how the telepathic ship would sail through the atmosphere, withstanding the burning temperatures before landing on a glacier outside the capital, Vortha.

  Poppy listened to her uncle's excited explanation, avoiding mentioning the fact that she'd read any of his mail.

  "Are you sure this is what you want, Penelope?" he asked before they turned in for the night.

  Monty sat up in bed, papers and books spread around him.

  "Yes. I'm sure."

  "Good. You'll be the only human most of these Devorans have ever seen. It won't be easy."

  Poppy scoffed. A university on an ice planet of peace-loving telepaths couldn't be more difficult than enduring the bullying at rougher Lower East Side New-Man schools.

  Poppy had a reason for wanting this now. Her mother. She still couldn't understand what her mother meant in her message or why she'd been chosen. Monty said "biometric data" but he might as well have said, "peanut sauce".

  Poppy never had any hints of telepathy. Heck, she couldn’t even predict the weather. Her mother could make a mistake and so could Uncle Monty, but the alien government too? If her mother and Uncle Monty thought she could help save the planet, the least she could do was try.

  Poppy woke in the middle of the night with a tightened chest and sweat sticking wisps of raven hair to her brow. The ship enforced "dark hours" that mirrored the Devoran 28 hour day.

  The glowing panel that delivered food, clothing, and necessities displayed 2:30 a.m. Poppy expected to hear Uncle Monty’s quaking snores, but when she peered over, he wasn't in his bed.

  Poppy planted her feet on the floor, the cold searing through her shins despite her thick wool socks. She wrapped a fluffy sweater around her quivering shoulders to search the bathroom and kitchenette. Uncle Monty wasn’t there either.

  Poppy approached the door but before she could open it, her uncle's voice and Pallas' slithered under the door.

  “I worry about my niece.”

  “I understand, Montgomery. To leave her lightyears from home will be difficult for you.”

  “I hoped that I wouldn’t have to leave.”

  “Perhaps you could stay in my condominium in the capital while I'm gone.”

  “You won’t be there?”

  “I’m afraid not. The Emperor has a mission for me on Sekhmet-delta.”

  “A shame.”

  “I know. I was looking forward to spending time with you, Monty.”

  Pallas pressed his hand to Monty’s cheek. Montgomery didn’t only experience Pallas’s fingers warm against his cold pink cheek, but the electric sensation of a telepathic connection between the two of them. Pallas reminded him of the first time they’d met and the first time they kissed.

  “It’s been too long," Monty uttered hoarsely.

  “Our situation is complicated,” Pallas whispered, “After my next assignment, perhaps I’ll join you in Vortha.”

  “What about your family? They’ll never accept us.”

  “They’ll have to get used to you being an alien,” Pallas said.

  He moved his hand away and Monty adjusted his glasses, knowing that he’d exposed the extent of his nervousness to Pallas.

  Monty asked, “Are you certain that your people are right about the girl? She’s only eighteen. She’s never expressed any interest in even humans' latent telepathy.”

  “They’re right about her, Monty. I looked into the results myself when I saw she was your niece. She scored off the charts for humans. She can develop her skills in the right environment.”

  “Her mother believes she can save Earth.”

  Pallas pursed his lips and despite his best efforts, Monty sensed Pallas withheld his uncertainty.

  “I don’t know if anyone can save Earth.”

  “I was afraid you would say that.”

  “That’s why you need to come to Devor. You can’t be there when the crisis comes.”

  “Abandon the planet.”

  “No. Fulfill a different duty. Be there for Penelope when she needs you.”

  “I worry about the girl. She’s shown no ambitions. She’d rather run away and join the coast guard.”

  “She�
�s here now. She’s safe. Come now.”

  Pallas took Monty’s cheeks and kissed his forehead. Monty shivered as Pallas kissed him. A telepath’s kiss affected him deeper than a kiss between humans. Pallas could transfer layers of emotional significance with only a kiss. Monty sensed his yearning and an odyssey Pallas wished to come to an end.

  “She’s only a girl. I hope your people are right about her.”

  “They are. Come back to my chambers, Monty. We only have a few hours before we’re on the homeworld. I’ll need to make arrangements for your stay.”

  Poppy listened from the other side of the door as their footsteps grew distant. Uncle Monty shared her uncertainty about the mission. Great. Her queasiness worsened. Poppy regretted listening in. She shouldn’t have found out that Uncle Monty had his doubts about her abilities.

  He’d tried to be encouraging but in private, he mused about her ambitions the same way she did.

  Poppy fought back tears. It was too late for her to cry. All she could do now was prove him wrong when they landed on the planet.

  All she could do was arrive at the prestigious Vortha Academy in the center of Devor’s capital and show her uncle that she could be worthy of all the effort the aliens expended to bring her so far from home. Poppy hardly thought about what she’d heard exchanged between Pallas and her uncle.

  Monty had boyfriends in the past, most of them were other academics and certainly, none of them were alien. Or warriors.

  Poppy scrambled into her twin bed and lay awake until Uncle Monty returned. He didn’t come back for another hour or two. By then, Poppy pretended to sleep rather than confronting him. She shouldn’t have been listening in anyway.

  Monty snored away in bed shortly after his return. Poppy’s watch alarm woke them both up at around seven in the morning. Monty shuffled out of bed to the panel on the wall and got them both mugs of coffee.

  “You’re up early,” he grumbled.

  Poppy nodded and took the coffee from her uncle, restraining herself from pointing out that he was the one who had been up later than usual.