Special Talents

by J. B. Tilton

  "I sent her out to pick up some different clothes for Conrad. The ones he was wearing will have to be burned. He'll need others to wear."

  "Okay. I'll let you know what I find out. In the mean time, be careful. You have no idea who – or what – you're dealing with. He could be a very dangerous young man."

  "I can handle myself. Besides, I don't think he's a threat. Just some kid who's fallen on hard times and could use a hand up. I'll talk to you later."

  Scarborough left the house to begin the background check. Jeremy sat in the living room of the house gathering his thoughts trying to decide the best way to approach Conrad Miles.

  "Feeling better?" Jeremy asked Conrad when he went back into to talk to him. Kamalene sat in the room at the foot of the bed where Scarborough had previously set.

  "Some," said Conrad, rubbing his head. "I still have a headache but nothing like it usually is."

  "Well, I'm sure the pills helped. I can give you more later if you still have your headache."

  "So, you really a shrink?"

  "Yes, I am. Until recently I had a practice in Georgetown. Are you from around here?"

  "Rockville, actually. But I move around quite a bit. Don't really have a permanent address."

  "I kind of figured that. I'm afraid we had to get rid of our clothes. They were in pretty bad shape. I have a friend who should be here soon. She's getting you some more clothes to wear."

  "Well, like I told you, I can't pay you anything. I don't have any money."

  "I'm not worried about it. And if you had any money I doubt you would have been eating other people's leftovers at the mall."

  "Well, a guy's gotta eat. The mall can have some pretty decent food. At least until security shows up and throws me out."

  "No family? If you're from Rockville I'm sure your parents are around here somewhere."

  "My dad doesn't care. Used to say I was just lazy. Said I made up having headaches so I could get out of work. But I'm not making them up. Sometimes they're so bad I can't even think."

  "You probably have what they call migraines. And they are quite serious. If we can find out what's causing them we might be able to do something about them. I can also prescribe some medication that should be able to help. At least lessen the pain."

  "Wouldn't matter if you did. I couldn't afford to get the prescription filled."

  "I have an idea. Why don't you stop being concerned with money for a while? Like I said, I'm not worried about getting paid. That's not my concern. When and if you get back on your feet if you still feel the need to pay me can talk about it then. But in the mean time don't be worried about it."

  "Well, that might be a problem. I can't seem to hold a job. The headaches always get in the way. Never had a job for more than a couple of days at a time. No one wants to hire you when you have to call in 'sick' every other day."

  "Like I said, maybe we can do something about that. In the mean time I'll see what I can do to make you more comfortable."

  "So what now?" Conrad asked. "When do the men in white coats show up to haul me away?"

  "I don't think that's going to be necessary. It sounds to me like you have a problem and I just might be in a position to help. For a while let's just call this home. Kamalene here will be around to help you if you need it. And as I said, I have a friend bringing you some clothes who can help. And Mr. Scarborough will be around from time to time. So we should be able to help you with just about anything you need."

  "In exchange for something," said Conrad matter-of-factly.

  "I've all ready told you, money is not a consideration."

  "No, not money. Something else. You think I can help you with something. Of course that could just be the 'things' inside my head. Sometimes I don't know what's real and what isn't."

  "What makes you think I want you to help me with something?"

  "I don't know. It's just like I know. Like I said, I hear things. All types of information. It just comes out of nowhere. None of it makes any sense. And like I said, normal people don't 'hear things'. So I guess that means I'm crazy. Or going crazy anyway."

  "These things you hear? Is it constant? All the time?"

  "Pretty much. Oh, sometimes it's not so bad. Like at night. Or if I can get out of the city. I guess getting away from all the noise and lights and pollution and stuff makes it easier. But even then I usually get stuff in my head. And I still have to come back into the city to get stuff I need."

  "What kinds of things do you get in your head?"

  "All kinds. Sometimes it's plans for something. Or some kind of schedule. I even get languages. Oh, they probably aren't real languages. But they sure seem real. And what's more, I understand them. Which is just plain crazy. I dropped out of school when I was 16. Never took any languages while I was in school. But I swear that I can understand them."

  Just then Jeremy heard a door open and close in the outer room. He decided that must be Janet coming back with the clothes. A thought occurred to him. If he was right, it might be a way to prove his theory of what Conrad was able to do.

  "Okay, you get some more rest," he said finally. "I'll be back in in a bit to talk some more."

  "Whatever you say," said Conrad.

  As Conrad settled back into the bed, Jeremy went out into the living room.

  CHAPTER TEN

  "Did you get everything?" Jeremy asked as Janet began to unpack the bags she was carrying.

  "I think so," she replied. "The shoes were a bit hard to find. Thrift stores are pretty much what you see is what they have. But I think they'll fit. The clothes are in pretty good shape. I wasn't able to get a field jacket. They didn't have any. But I think I got something just as suitable."

  "Good," said Jeremy, sorting through the clothes and picking out a pair of pants and a shirt. "You once told me you speak Chinese."

  "Well, Cantonese anyway. It was the native language of my parents. I learned it growing up because they didn't speak English. I taught them what they know."

  "So I would assume you're fluent?"

  "Of course. What's this got to do with anything?"

  "Just an idea I had. I want you to come back into the room with me to see Conrad. When I tell him you got him the clothes I want you to tell him that you hope they fit. That you weren't sure about some of the sizes. But I want you to tell him in Cantonese."

  "Cantonese Chinese isn't the easiest language in the world to learn," said Janet. "Unless he took some classes in high school I doubt he'd understand a word of it."

  "Just humor me. Call it an experiment. But if I'm right it might just prove what I think is going on with him."

  "Okay, if you say so."

  Jeremy went back into the room with Janet close behind. He laid the close on the back of the chair next to the bed.

  "Conrad, this is Janet Liu. She helped me bring you here along with Richard. And she's the one I told you about. The one who got these clothes for you."

  Janet then same something to Conrad in Chinese. Although Jeremy didn't understand Chinese he, of course, all ready knew what she had said. Conrad said something back to her in Chinese and for a moment didn't seem to realize what had just happened. Then he looked at Jeremy and got a perplexed look on his face. Jeremy looked at Janet.

  "Perfect," she said. "The pronunciation was perfect. And so was his accent. If I didn't know better I would swear he's Chinese."

  "What just happened?" Conrad asked.

  "That was Cantonese Chinese Janet spoke to you. And you answered her in perfect Cantonese."

  "But I don't speak Chinese," protested Conrad. "I don't speak any language but English."

  "Well, for someone who doesn't speak Chinese you did a pretty good imitation," said Janet in English. "I learned it from my parents when I was growing up. And you spoke it like a native."

  "That's impossible," said Conrad looking at Jeremy. "I told you. The languages I get in my head aren't real languages. They're just gibberish. They only sound like real languages."
/>   "Not according to Janet," said Jeremy. "And if she says you spoke Cantonese, then trust me. You spoke Cantonese."

  "How?" Conrad insisted. "How can I speak a language I've never learned?"

  "I have a theory, Conrad. I think I know what's going on with you. Now, just hear me out before you make any decisions. This is going to sound a little strange. And your first reaction is probably going to be to dismiss it out of hand. But trust me. I believe it's the reason you were able to speak Cantonese to Janet just now. And I also think it might be the cause of your migraines."

  "Okay," said Conrad.

  "Conrad, I believe the reason you could speak Cantonese to Janet just now is because you actually did know Cantonese. Janet speaks it fluently and you picked it up from her."

  "But I've never seen her before. And she certainly didn't teach it to me."

  "I didn't say she taught it to you. I said you picked it up from her. You told me that you get all kinds of things in your head. And they're all jumbled together. That you can't make any sense of them."

  "That's right. I can even remember some of them. But some of them just kind of disappear as quickly as they appear."

  "Conrad, what I think is going on here is that you're picking the minds of the people around you. Like at the food court earlier. You were picking the information out of the minds of all those people around you. But there were so many minds and so much information coming in all at once you couldn't separate them. So they just sort of jumble up in your mind.

  "It's kind of like listening to a dozen stations on the radio at the same time. You can hear all of them clearly. But the sound is so overwhelming and they just sort of mesh together in this blinding sound that you can't distinguish one station from the other."

  "And that's causing the headaches?"

  "I believe so. Your mind is trying to deal with all this influx of information simultaneously and sort it out. But there's just too much to sort through. As your mind tries it's best to make sense of it all the result are the mind numbing headaches."

  'Wait a minute. How could I be picking someone's brain? I never talk to anyone."

  "Well, I meant you were picking their minds literally. I believe you may have a form of telepathy. You said you don't hear voices. So you are exactly reading their minds. But you are able to reach into their minds and draw information out of them. But you don't know how to control your telepathy. So you're trying to pick everyone's mind at the same time."

  "Telepathy?" questioned Conrad. "You mean like in some of those science fiction movies I've seen? I'm using my mind to sort of read other people's minds?"

  "That's exactly what I mean. You were born with a gift but you were never taught how to use that gift. And now it's literally causing you pain because since you can't control it you use it all the time. That's why it gets better at night or when you're away from the city. The fewer people there are around the fewer minds there are to read. So you mind finds it easier to sort through the information you're getting. But it's still unfocused and you're still getting too much information too fast. So you still have the headaches only not so severe."

  "That sounds crazy. Telepathy isn't real. It's only in the movies. No one can actually read another person's mind."

  "I believe you can. More importantly, I believe I can teach you how to control it. So that you use it only when you want to and only on the people you want to. If I can that should alleviate the headaches."

  "Great. I'm not going crazy. I'm just a freak. That's nearly as bad."

  "No," said Janet forcefully. "I used to think I was a freak. But Jeremy showed me I wasn't. He showed me I had a wonderful gift and that's what he's trying to do for you here. But you're no freak."

  "What? You mean you can read minds, too?"

  "No, I can't read minds, but," began Janet.

  "Then you have no idea what you're talking about lady."

  Janet just looked at Jeremy for a moment. Then she reached down with one hand and effortlessly lifted the foot of the bed nearly two feet off the floor. She held it for a moment staring at Conrad, and then put the bed back on the floor.

  "Okay, so you're stronger than you look," said Conrad. "That's not so unusual. I've seen a lot of people who are stronger than most people."

  "Oh, it's much more than that," replied Janet. "Have you ever seen anyone who can lift a car by themselves? Or bend iron bars without any effort? Or rip open a bolted door as easily as most other people open an unlocked door?"

  "Well, no," said Conrad.

  "I can. I'm more than just stronger than most people. I'm stronger than anyone. And it appears I can have almost as much strength as I need when I want. I can do things that should be humanly impossible. But I can do them without breaking a sweat. That doesn't make me a freak. It makes me special and unique. You just have a different sort of gift. And it makes you special and unique, too."

  "We all have special abilities," said Jeremy. "Kamalene out in the living room? She can control almost any mechanical device simply by touching it. I have the ability to see the aura people produce. And I can use it to tell if someone is lying. Or if they're using a special ability. That's how I identified you. I saw you using your telepathy in the mall."

  "You're serious. You all have these special abilities? What about Mr. Scarborough? What can he do?"

  "Well, he doesn't have a special ability," said Jeremy. "Most people don't. But remember when you first woke up here? You said you were getting information about Homeland Security, terrorists, and 'special talents'?"

  "Yeah."

  "Richard works for Homeland Security. And as I'm sure you're aware, Homeland Security deals with terrorists. And the 'special talents' is the term they use for people like us. People capable of doing some pretty amazing things."

  "So, if all of this is true, what are we? Mutants? Like in that movie I saw a couple of years ago."

  "No, I don't think so," said Jeremy. "Contrary to what was said in that movie, mutations in an organism are rarely, if ever, beneficial. A mutation is a change in the genetic structure of an organism. And even the slightest change in an organisms genetic structure usually has disastrous results. Mutations make a nice background for a movie but it actually has little basis in fact."

  "Okay. So if we aren't mutants, then what are we?"

  "To be honest, I don't know. I don't have all the answers. I do know that certain people are born with special abilities. Special talents as we call them. And any ability, or talent, can be honed. You can be taught how to control it and how to use it. And once you do you might just be surprise exactly what you can actually do with it."

  "So if I learn to control this telepathy I won't have the headaches anymore?"

  "Well, we're sort of in uncharted waters here, so to speak. I can't really say you won't with any degree of certainty. But I believe if you learn to control your ability, it just might put an end to the migraines. I get headaches too if I use my talent too much. But I've learned the extent and limit of my ability. And even though I still suffer from headaches on occasion, they are considerably less frequent and not nearly as bad as they once were. It's very possible and I think even probably that would happen with you once you learn to control your ability."

  "How long would it take? For me to learn to control it?"

  "I don't know. But I do know that if you don't try you'll just keep going the way you have been. It might take a while. But I'm willing to help you all I can. So are Janet and Kamalene."

  "In exchange for something. Remember I said you wanted something from me. If what you're saying is true, then you do want something from me."

  "Okay, yes, there is something I'd like to discuss with you. But first we need to get you to control your ability. Unless you can control it you're no use to anyone, least of all yourself."

  "Well, it would be nice not to have the headaches anymore. This thing you want me to do? That would be my way of repaying you for your help?"

  "No," said Jeremy. "I'm willin
g to help you no strings attached. I'm a psychiatrist. That's what I do. When and if you're ready to discuss my proposal that will be something totally separate. And you'll be perfectly free to say no if you want to. With no hard feelings."

  "I guess I don't have much of a choice. I can't go on the way I've been going. I'm no good to anyone like this. And I can't stand the headaches. If you can help me get rid of them I'm willing to try. So. How do we start?"

  "First, you get some rest. You've had a long day. I'll see that you get some more painkillers so you can rest easier. But eventually we'll have to dispense with the painkillers altogether. The only way we'll know you're getting better is if the severity of the headaches begins to decrease. You get some sleep. We'll talk about teaching you to control your ability in the morning."