The Psionic Thief

by Dave Renol

  “Hey there,” I called to her, poking my head through her office doorway. “Mark’s gonna set me on fire in an hour or so and you probably don’t wanna miss it.”

  “Oh, really? And I get to watch? Cool, I’ll be there.”

  “We’ll let ya know when we’re ready. How’s the translating going?”

  “It’s going fairly well. Some of these symbols are really obscure, and even once translated, they still have to be interpreted. Despite all that, I got two more panels fully complete.”

  “Sweet… if I don’t get turned into a reject from a charcoal factory, you’ll have to give me an update later.”

  “Sure. Don’t forget to call me before he sets you on fire,” she said, turning back to her work.

  “I won’t.”

  That was fun. I went back outside to rejoin Mark, snatching an apple off the kitchen table as I went by. He was still building up power, so I sat on the steps of the deck to munch my snack and think. I was pretty sure this test would work, so I would be in the batter’s cage next.

  It went against the grain to change more than one parameter at a time during research, but one of the things Elder Gukumatz tried to explain to me kept niggling inside my back-brain. It was something about a person like me interacting directly with a node, but Ikan couldn’t translate the obscure concepts properly.

  A few drops of rain interrupted my train of thought. “Crap… just what we needed,” I grumbled. Then I did a double-take… maybe rain would be a good thing. If everything was soaking wet, then we could try a test away from the safety of the stone circle we were using. Like maybe on the front lawn where one of the node fragments was currently residing.

  I got up and went over to where Mark was working. I figured he must be getting close to firing it up and I wanted a front row seat. I also wanted to get under our umbrella shield before the rain started picking up.

  Once he ignited the pyro shield, we both narrowed our gaze down to the papers stretching across the length of the circle. Nothing happened; it was fairly anticlimactic. He let the shield burn on for about twenty minutes before letting it drop and allowing us to check the papers close up.

  “Not even warm,” he said, rubbing one of the end sheets between his fingers.

  “I was pretty sure this would work.”

  “If you’re ready for the next phase, grab an end and let’s move this tree out of the way.”

  “I have a better idea. If I’m gonna put my family jewels at risk, I want to do it in style.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Let’s go out front. I want to do this standing in the middle of the node on your front lawn.”

  “Are you sure about that?” he said, taken aback. “We don’t know how the shielding will react to it.”

  “I’m positive,” I said confidently, even though I wasn’t. “I don’t know how I know, but I’m sure it’ll be both safe and significant to advancing our goals.”

  “All right,” he agreed. “It’s your ass on the line, just don’t come crying to me if we turn you into a pile of ash.”

  “Go give Linda a ten minute warning and meet me out front. I’ll grab some paint from the garage and start marking out the perimeter of the nodal area.”

  He nodded and we both headed inside. While he went to talk to Linda, I grabbed a six-pack from the fridge on my way to the garage. I may have spoken confidently, but if things did go wrong, I wanted at least one final beer.

  I found two cans of white spray paint on the shelf and grabbed them both. I opened the overhead door and as an afterthought, grabbed the fire extinguisher off the wall. With a bit of juggling, I managed to get everything over to the node.

  The rain was starting to pick up, so I took the time to build a little shield above me before I went to mark off our work area. We had sampled the energy of the three nodes so many times over the last month that it was an easy task to attune to it and find the edge.

  The nodes were reasonably uniform, but became a bit tenuous at the very fringe. I decided to start marking about a foot outside the attenuated portion in order to make sure it was completely contained. Mark came out and after attuning himself, saw what I was doing. He picked up the second can and began marking out the inside perimeter of where he would be building the shield.

  I didn’t think the paint would stick very well to the wet grass, but it would be good enough for now. Once both circles were finished, I tossed my paint can aside and grabbed the extinguisher and my beer.

  I noticed my hands were shaking slightly as I opened a can; I would never admit it, but I was really starting to get nervous. The fact that I had to stand there and wait while he slowly built up the shields didn’t help my nerves either. I finished my first can and cracked a second to avoid thinking about all the things that could go wrong.

  “I think I’m about ready, hoser. This is your last chance to back out, so speak now or hold on,” he sent.

  “Go for it,” I replied, and took one last drink. “Make sure Linda keeps a mental eye on the road as well.”

  A second later and the world went up in flames. After a brief moment of panic, I saw that the flames were well contained in the proper shield layer, but holy shit, did things ever look freaky from the inside.

  “Are you ok in there?” Linda asked, sounding nervous.

  “I might need to change my shorts, but other than that I’m fine… no thermal variations yet that I can detect.”

  “I think my heart skipped a beat when the shield went up. From out here, it seriously looks like you’re on fire.”

  “From my point of view, everything else is on fire. It’s majorly freaky. Mark, please tell me that this thing is stable.”

  “It’s more than stable,” he replied. “The shield is rock solid and taking absolutely no effort to maintain. I think the node has synced up with it and is powering it on its own.”

  “Are you serious? That could have amazing implications in the real world. A self-sustaining power source could solve the world’s energy needs or provide the kind of propulsion needed to get a vessel to another star system in a reasonable timeframe.”

  “Don’t start building the USS Enterprise yet; we don’t know the limits of what it can handle.”

  “I know, I know… but if you’re gonna dream something, you might as well dream BIG.”

  “This thing is so perfectly stable, I bet I could keep it up forever.”

  “I hope not. Between my nerves and the beer, I’m gonna need to make an emergency run to the little boys room soon.”

  Excitement started to replace fear, and I decided to test things closer to the shield and see if it was safe. I finished my beer and floated the can over to see if it would melt. I opened a fresh one while waiting to see if it heated up, gave it a couple of minutes and then floated it back to my hand; it was cool to the touch.

  “I don’t think we have any thermal leakage inside the shield. I’m gonna go check it out first hand.”

  “Go slow and be careful,” Mark cautioned.

  “Count on it.”

  I paused after each step and held my hand out in front of me to make sure things were fine. Before I realized how close I was, a step put my hand directly in contact with the shield, causing me to flinch.

  “Is it hot?” I got from Linda at the same time as Mark sent “Are you ok?”

  “I’m fine,” I replied. “I just didn’t think I was that close and it startled me.” I put my hand back in contact with the shield to double check what I thought I just felt. “In fact, the inner shield feels slightly cooler than I expected.”

  “Doh!” Mark replied in disgust. “If the pyro shield warms up the outer containment layer, then it makes sense that the cryo heat-sink section would cool off the inner wall.”

  I had to laugh at that. “Sometimes we get too caught up by an idea and just can’t see the forest with all the trees in the way.”

  That got me a dirty look from Mark over his earlier brain fart.

  “Ok,
so it seems you’re safe in there from temperature, but are there any other potential problems? Will it get too cold? Are you having any problems breathing? Is there any reduction in psionic power levels?”

  “Let’s see,” I sent, starting to run through the checklist. “The temperature in here seems fine, so body heat alone is probably enough to keep it stable for the short term. No guarantees if you keep it up for an extended period of time, though.”

  “Fair enough,” he replied.

  “Likewise, the air seems fine but again, no guarantees for the long term.”

  “Air should be fine since the heavy containment is all concentrated on the sides, but I had to ask.”

  “Psionic power level seems to be fine for telepathy, but let me try a few things to make sure.”

  I decided to check the stability of the shield first. Closing my eyes, I focused my mind on the power vortex I was inside of and started to bring it into view. Expecting a hard time bringing it into focus, I wasn’t at all prepared for the massively bright and powerful barrage of power that assaulted my senses.

  “Gah!” I yelped intelligently.

  “What happened?” Mark quickly asked.

  “I brought the energy pattern of the shield into view and it’s like staring at the sun. I think it’s safe to say there’s no power reduction in here, and if I had to make a preliminary guess, I would say there’s at least several orders of magnitude worth of amplification.”

  “Wow, so not only is it containment, it’s also a concentrator.”

  I adjusted my sight until I wasn’t being overwhelmed, and then turned my focus to the node itself. Never before had I seen the power flows and eddies this clearly; it was almost tangible and seemed like a purple version of dry-ice fog.

  Waving my hand in front of me caused a disruption no different than smoke or fog, and I was almost mesmerized by the beauty of it. Then I realized what I just did.

  “Mark,” I sent, lost in awe. “I can actually touch the node power directly.”

  Chapter 21

  Claire: Dirty Work

  This sucked more shit than a high powered septic pump.

  If I could name one mortal enemy in the whole world, then Tom Murphy would be it. Instead of tearing him limb from limb with my bare hands, I was forced to actually help the bastard. I felt like ripping my hair out in frustration.

  Instead, I was sitting in the wet bushes outside the house of Henry Hennessey, my enemies’ enemy, waiting to do him a dirty. I wanted to scream in frustration, but all I could do was hunker down lower as his car pulled out of the garage.

  I was supposed to loosen the valve stem and give him a flat tire, but doing it on a moving car was completely different than on a parked one. I gave up after only a few seconds since my head started spinning and I felt like I was gonna throw up.

  I’ll know not to try that again, but it wasn’t the main purpose for my visit anyway. Once the dizziness cleared, I made my way closer to the house so I could look in a window. I didn’t find what I was looking for, so I moved on around the house.

  Here’s the room I needed; his office. I pulled the thin little ‘thumb drive’ out of my pocket and stared at it. All I needed to do was get it inside, plug it into his computer for a few minutes, and then bring it back out again.

  It was simple enough, even for someone who never used a computer. He showed me how and where to plug it in, so all I needed to do was figure out a way to get it inside without setting off the alarm system.

  After making a full circuit of the house, I started to wonder if I would be able to get even that stupid little thing inside. All his windows and doors were shut, locked, and sealed tight along the edges. I looked for over an hour and almost gave up, but then I heard the car come back and the garage door begin to open. Luckily, habit had kept me out of sight.

  I had an idea that might work, but only if I acted fast. Keeping it low to the ground, I sent the drive flying through the air and into the garage. I was glad I was in a spot that gave me a view inside or I doubt this would work with the tiny amount of time I had.

  I sent it all the way in until I got to the inside door. Crossing my fingers for luck, I brought it up to the top of the door jam and waited. I would be screwed if he noticed it on his way inside, but he never even raised his eyes. The second he opened the door I acted.

  Being careful not to bump it against the door or frame, I sent it inside and placed it on the top of the frame again. It was now in the house and as long as he didn’t look back and see it, I would be able to finish the job even if I had to wait a day.

  I didn’t realize I was holding my breath until I saw lights start to go on inside and I knew he was past being able to spot it. I probed around inside with my mind to get a feel for the place and found his garage entry passed through the laundry room. I hid the drive behind the washing machine where I knew it’d be safe for the night and finally began to relax.

  I spent another hour getting a feel for the house layout so I could get things done fast the next time he went out, and then called it a night. I was cold, wet, tired, and hungry by now so I didn’t waste any time getting back to my flop. I only took the time to change out of my wet clothes before curling up under my blanket and falling instantly asleep.

  ***

  I was as stiff as a board when I woke up the next morning; I must have slept all night without moving. We still had some canned food stashed from our last raid and I ate one as I paced around the room. It didn’t take long before my body loosened up and a full belly made the morning seem a little better.

  Once outside, I got a look at the sun and figured it must be about mid-morning. I must have been really bagged last night if I slept in so late. I knew Murphy was expecting a report first thing this morning and would probably be pissed off at getting it late, but it is what it is. He’ll just have to deal with it.

  Since I was already late, I took my time going to meet him. I knew from when I was watching his house that he would already be gone to the office he had across the street from what used to be the soup kitchen. Thinking about the shelter made me angry all over again, but I forced it down. No need to make my meeting any worse than I knew it already would be.

  As I got closer, I saw him sitting on a bench watching the people who were demolishing the building. I sat down on the other side of the bench so I could get this over with.

  “You’re late,” he said.

  “It happens,” I replied, still feeling a bit put out.

  “Did you do it?”

  “Not yet, but I think there might be a way.”

  “Excellent. I didn’t actually think you’d be able to get in on the first night, but I won’t complain as long as you’re making progress.”

  This was good news. I thought he would be mad, but it seemed he knew it might be a while. Maybe I could delay things a bit and also get my friends back in town safely.

  “He almost caught me snooping around last night when he came home earlier than I figured. I need to get some friends to help me as lookouts and such.”

  “You have someone in mind?”

  “Yeah, but I need your word that they’ll be safe and not get beaten half to death like Sammy.”

  “Don’t exaggerate,” he chided. “He only got a little shaken up and scared.”

  My head snapped to the side to stare at him and I wondered if he was a complete idiot or just used to casual violence.

  “Broken bones and internal bleeding is more than what I would call shaken. He’s been in the hospital ever since the ‘little scare’ from your thugs.”

  He actually looked surprised to hear how much of a beating Sam took.

  “It appears I was misinformed about the extent of the seriousness of the situation. I’ll look into it and for what it’s worth, you have my guarantee it won’t happen to any of your other friends.”

  “Ok, I’ll hold you to that. It’ll take me a few days to get them together, though. Everyone scattered after Sammy’s beating.”


  “Fine. We’ll meet again in three days then.”

  With that, he got up and went inside, leaving me to my thoughts. I hoped I wasn’t pulling my friends into something over our heads. I got up with a sigh and headed on my way to get them.

  It started to rain again so I was cold, wet, and miserable by the time I got to the cave. I had decided to be completely honest with everyone so they could decide on their own if they wanted to help or not. I promised them it was safe to go back to town either way.

  I was happy to find they all were willing to help me, even though Charlie looked longingly at the lake for a while before answering. I didn’t think we were gonna get a break in the rain today, so we planned on making the move tomorrow morning.

  We spent the rest of the day chatting and playing cards… except for Charlie who made himself a raincoat out of a garbage bag and went to the lake for one last kick at the can. All in all, it was good to just sit back and relax for a while.

  I didn’t realize how stressed out I was until it started to go away. I went to bed next to a warm fire, had a full stomach, and was surrounded by true friends. Life was good tonight.

  ***

  I hated wet feet on a long trek, but at least it wasn’t raining this morning… yet. Wet brush and swollen creeks made the return trip a lot harder, but the time spent in the cave seemed to toughen the boys up some and we made decent time. We made it to the flop without much trouble and soon got warm and dry.

  It still hadn’t started raining yet, so I decided to go check on Henry’s house. I was gonna string out Murphy for as long as I could, but I figured it wouldn’t hurt to have the drive ready to hand over in case things changed. Billy had come up with an easy way to get it out of his house, so all I needed was to have the place empty for a few minutes.

  Luck was with me for once and I saw him turning out of his driveway as I got there. He was probably going out for dinner which would give me over an hour of free time. More than I would need if Billy’s plan worked.

  I went to the side of his house where the laundry room was and reached out to find the hidden drive. It was still where I left it and I soon had it floating through the house toward his office. I brought it over to the computer easy enough, but getting that stupid thing to fit was another story.