by Karen Haber
“That family’s had some unfortunate luck.”
“By the Book! Won’t you see what we’re facing?”
Doherty shook her head. “Calm down, Rita. We understand your agitation. But frankly, we must proceed cautiously. Are you certain you’re maintaining total objectivity?”
“What does that mean?”
“Only that your adherence to the True Host is known to us. Perhaps you are eager to have the old prophecies proved true.”
Saiken glared at her. “How dare you? My beliefs are not your concern. I’ve been a resident healer for fifteen years. You’ve seen my record.”
“Of course. No offense intended.”
“Then what do you propose to do about Rick Akimura?”
“Do? There’s nothing to do.”
“The Mutant Councils should be notified. We must bring him back here.”
“And cage him like an animal? That’s not our way. Besides, he’s already proven too strong for us.”
“We were unready. With enough practiced telepaths, with neural dampers …” She saw in their eyes that she was failing. “I ask you. Have we ever seen powers bloom this late? Documented a null changing into a multitalent?”
“No.”
“Can we requisition his genetic chart?”
“You know we lack information on the father,” Jenner said. “That fire in the Metro Los Angeles base net destroyed years of records and backups.”
“Rita, get some sleep,” Doherty said. “We’ll discuss this tomorrow.”
She waited patiently while they filed out of the room, then sat alone in the darkened chamber. What if the right genetic factors came together to work their peculiar magic? An evolutionary leap is made. Null turns multi.
What if Rick Akimura is the next-step mutant?
Her heart pounded at the thought. Almost automatically, she began the chant for composure:
***
“Night is long,
Night is dark,
Deep.
Each night enfolds us
In the safety of its embrace
The stars a pillow for weary head
The ocean a blanket for willing body
Through endless dark
to the promise of light
We endure. And endure.
Together.”
***
Her breathing slowed, but to ensure composure she pressed a half-dose hypo of Valedrine against her arm.
Only the True Host of the Book practiced the old chants. She’d begun attending Host meetings three years ago, when the general Mutant Council gathering had begun to depress her; too many nonmutants admitted to the inner circle. Too little respect for tradition.
Saiken smiled as the Valedrine comforted her, buoyed her upward through the darkness. It strengthened her resolve as she reached for the keypad and tapped out the code of the Book Keeper of the True Host.
Paula Byrne answered her screen quickly. Her white hair made a soft halo around her thin face. She smiled as she recognized the caller. “Rita, it’s a rare pleasure. How may I serve?”
“Sister, I bring wonderful news,” Saiken said. “Our long wait is ended.”
.
******************
9
Julian bent over his deskpad, one eye on the screen, the other on his calculator. When the phone chimed, he looked up from his notes with relief and exasperation. He split the screen, saving the statistics on the left. His mother’s face appeared on the right beside rows of glowing orange digits.
“Julian, have you seen Rick?”
“Mom, I’m right in the middle of some heavy number crunching.”
“This is important.”
“So is my dissertation. Which I’ll never get done if I have to check up on my brother every five minutes.”
“I’m not talking about every five minutes. I’m talking about now.” Her voice rose slightly on the last word.
“Sorry. No, I haven’t heard from Rick.”
“Your aunt Kelly saw him a couple of days ago.”
“In Denver?”
“Yes. Remember her Shuttle Corps reunion?”
“Rick went?” Julian stared at her in surprise. “But he hates parties like that.”
His mother nodded. “I know. Even more peculiar, he asked if he could come early. Kelly said he seemed nervous, almost as though he were trying to get away from something.”
“I’ll bet. Probably the Yakuza.” His eyes drifted to the left toward the rows of orange numbers.
“Pay attention, Julian! This is as important as your studies. Rick vanished in the middle of the party. Kelly saw him talking to Ethan Hawkins. Then he was gone.”
“Hmm. Any note?”
“Just a farewell and apology.”
“Strange.”
“It gets stranger. Kelly told me her daughter, Mari, saw Rick levitating in their backyard.”
“What? She must have been joking.”
“I don’t think so.”
Julian shook his head. “How could Rick levitate? He’s a null. Everybody knows that. Did Kelly actually see him do anything unusual?”
“No,” his mother said. “And I’ve tried to call Rick, even just to leave a message, but the circuit is always busy. Those people he lives with must never get off the phone.”
“I had the same problem when I tried to call him,” Julian said. “Did you try Alanna?”
“Yes. Narlydda was frantic. She said Alanna had bolted in the middle of the night. Left a vague note for them. They found it this morning. Narlydda’s certain that Alanna went away with Rick. But where?”
“Sounds likely. And they’ll turn up sooner or later.”
“Julian, I’m terribly worried.”
“Mom, you’re always worried about Rick.”
She said nothing but her eyes glittered with anger.
“Sorry.” He regretted his words. But whenever he talked to his mother, sooner or later she told him how worried she was about Rick. He had interrupted the family ritual. An act of appeasement was called for. “Mom, tell you what. I’ll take a trip down to Santa Cruz this afternoon. I’m not due in the lab before three. I’ll try to find Rick’s housemates and see if they know where he is.”
“If they don’t, I’m calling the police,” Melanie said. “I never worry about you, Julian. I know you’ve got good sense. And mutant powers on top of it. But that brother of yours …”
“He’s probably just on a party trip, Mom. Most likely, he got a bunch of his friends together and they’re riding around having a big time while we sit here worrying. I’ll find him.”
“When you do, remind him that he has a mother.” Her image faded.
Julian rubbed his head. A trip to Santa Cruz was the last thing he had time for. The orange figures onscreen demanded his attention. But he had promised, hadn’t he? He stared at the screen for a minute. Then he shut it off.
Rick. He was worried about him, too. But it wasn’t something he could discuss with his mother. Or anyone else.
Almost every other flare ride he’d taken had shown him some new, strange, and disturbing vision of his brother: raving in some healers’ retreat, smuggling weapons into Algeria, sitting at the right hand of the President of the United States, lying dead on a barroom floor.
The visions had become so crazy that he’d started to conceal them, editing his reports for the program. If Eva found out, she would never forgive him. And with their growing intimacy, the risk was great that something would slip through, some night, along their telepathic linkage. But if he told her what he had really seen, she would kick him off the couch. And Julian was convinced that only through the flare rides would he learn the significance of these peculiar visions. So he had neglected to mention that the mutant male he saw on every other ride was Rick Akimura, age twenty-five. And he hoped that he’d figure out the key to this riddle soon. Before Eva learned what he’d done.
***
Ethan Hawkins got an early start on the day. At
breakfast, as he mixed his usual bowl of hydroponically produced grain and fruit, he scanned the newsscreen first, then turned to his messages.
Lee Oniburi: concerning their joint venture on manufacturing prosthetics for general sale.
Jasper Saladin: falling behind on Pavilion construction.
Progress reports from mining operations on the Moon’s dark side.
Melanie Akimura: please call. Urgent.
“Leporello, get me Melanie Akimura at Cable News.”
“Ringing.”
A moment later a 3-D image of the woman materialized opposite Hawkins. She was wearing a yellow tunic that shimmered in the holo effect.
“Colonel, thank you for calling.”
“You said it was urgent. But I’d hardly call an interview urgent, Melanie.”
She looked flustered. “The interview? Oh, yes, of course. Well, I’d like to discuss that. But what I want to know is if you’ve seen my son Rick.”
“The dark-haired twin? Not since last week, in Denver. Why? Is there some problem?”
“I hope not. I’m trying to locate him.”
“If there’s anything I can do …”
“Oh, no. I’d just heard you’d encountered him at Kelly Ryton’s party.”
“Yes, indeed. I imagine you’re quite proud of his new talents?”
“New talents? What new talents?”
“He put on a very impressive display of telekinetic ability.” Hawkins paused. The woman appeared stunned. “You mean, you didn’t know?”
“Oh, yes, of course I did,” she said too hastily.
“Is this usual for a null to develop mutant skills?”
“I don’t know. It’s theoretically possible.” She gazed at him, unseeing. “New talents—” He watched her struggling with the idea. Then she said abruptly, “Thank you, Colonel. I won’t take up your time any further.”
Before he could say another word, the screen went dark.
Strange. Well, Akimura family problems were none of his concern. But that reminded him of the other twin, Julian. And Eva Seguy’s research.
“Leporello, any reports from Berkeley?”
“The cold fusion lab …”
“No. The other program.”
“Nothing from Eva Seguy.”
“Send her a faxmail note: ‘Thinking of you and hoping the future looks bright.’ And a dozen roses. No, wait. Orchids.”
“Cymbidiums?”
“Too masculine. Send the ones that look like butterflies on a branch—”
“Paphiopedilum.”
“Right. The white and pink ones. With an autofeed and preserve container. Gold reedglass or celadon. Something round.”
“Done.”
The phone chimed.
“Colonel, it’s Rick Akimura. Calling collect.”
How odd, Hawkins thought. First the mother, then the son. “Put him through.”
The screen lit to show the young Akimura, dark hair windblown, a small golden hoop sparkling in his left earlobe. His expression was wary.
“Rick, I just had a call from your mother. She was asking for you. Wants you to call her.”
Akimura gave a strange laugh. “I’ll have to call her one of these days. But right now I want to talk to you, Colonel.”
“What can I do for you?”
“You said to call if I wanted a job. Is the offer still good?”
“Of course. When can I expect you?”
“On the next shuttle out of SFO.”
“Fine. There’ll be a pass waiting for you at the gate.”
“Better make it two passes, Colonel.”
Hawkins frowned. “I’m not in the business of providing free rides for your friends, Rick.”
“This is more than a friend, Colonel. And if she doesn’t come, I don’t, either.”
“I see. Well, bring her along then. But tell me, is she telekinetic?”
Rick smirked. “Is she ever. Colonel, you’re getting two little mutants to help build your castles in space. Congratulations.” The screen went dark.
Hawkins hummed part of the Triumphal March from Aida and watched the golden-white curve of the Moon slip past his window. Then he turned back to his screen.
“Leporello, get me Jasper Saladin.”
“He’s in a meeting.”
“Then leave him this message: ‘Answered prayers on the way.’”
***
The old Victorian house looked run-down and shabby. Three bikes were parked outside, none of them Rick’s. Julian parked his skimmer, walked up the porch stairs, and pressed the doorpad twice. He could hear music playing and the sound of heavy footsteps, getting louder.
“Yeah?” The doorscreen was blank. Only the audio appeared to be working.
“I’m Julian Akimura. Rick’s brother.”
“Rick’s gone. Moved out.”
“When?”
“Last week. Hey, Henley, when’d you tell Akimura to get out?”
A faint voice replied. “Years ago.”
“His brother’s here.”
“He is?”
Julian heard a second set of footsteps approach and then the door creaked open. A man with pale white hair, pale skin, and pale blue eyes peered out, blinking like an owl at the midday sun. His pupils were enormous. He wore a ruffled white shirt similar to the kind Julian had seen on Rick. “Listen,” he said. “If you see your brother, you tell him he owes Henley for damage on my sound system.”
“I don’t know where he is. I’d hoped you did.”
“Huh. That’s funny. I don’t know. Or care.”
The door started to close.
“Wait,” Julian said. “You told him to leave?”
“Yeah.” The biker’s tone was defensive.
“May I ask why?”
“May you ask why?” he mimicked. “Certainly, sir. We requested the absence of his presence because he decided to turn mutant on us.”
“Turn mutant?”
“Yeah.” Henley gave him a scornful look. “You should know. Floating things through the air. Reading minds. The usual creepy stuff.”
“But he’s a null.”
“Go tell him that.” Henley started to turn away, then paused. “Look, your brother was all right. He even saved my life once. But he doesn’t belong here. And don’t come looking for him again.”
The door closed.
“Thanks,” Julian said to nobody.
So they had gotten frightened and thrown Rick out. Julian shook his head. For a moment he was tempted to force his way into the house and give them all a really good scare with a few telepathic tricks. Dripping ceilings. Melting walls. Rick would have enjoyed that. But Rick wasn’t here.
His temper cooled. Julian couldn’t shake the feeling that Rick was in the middle of some calamity. Throughout their childhood Julian had known the instant his brother had gotten into trouble: twinsense had twanged as though it were a tuning fork held to his ear. It was humming now, prickling the hair on the back of his neck. Had Rick really turned into an operant mutant? Impossible. It had to be impossible. But where was he?
More worried than ever, he drove back to Berkeley for the afternoon shift in the lab.
Marcus Schueller greeted him with a smile. “I always sleep better when you’re riding, Julian.”
“You may sleep well. But I see nightmares.”
Schueller frowned.
Whoops. Not supposed to say anything to influence the sleepers.
Influence the sleepers.
Julian froze as the notion crystallized. If another telepath had been in the vicinity, he would have blushed with guilt and shielded his thoughts. No. No, he couldn’t do it. But yes. Yes, he would.
He waited until Schueller was snoring, then made a tentative telepathic probe. Reached down to the man’s dreaming consciousness and inserted the image of Rick.
Help me find him, Marcus. Show me where he is.
The sleeping man grumbled a bit, shifted his position, started to sit up. Quickly, Ju
lian withdrew the link, afraid that his probe had been too strong, too direct. Would Schueller awaken and remember it?
No. The sleeper rolled onto his back, mumbling. After a moment his vocalizations trailed off into steady snores. Good.
Julian sank down into the flare connection.
He was in space, aboard an orbital station. Julian watched as his brother strode down a hall, into a compartment where he donned a green, double-layered pressure suit. Rick connected the safety cable, opened the airlock, and propelled himself telekinetically into the airless void. The lock closed behind him. Slowly he approached the girdered platform. Welders floated above and below, at impossible angles. All were intent on their tasks, some using vacuum-adapted torches while others relied on the strength of their mutant talent.
The skeleton of a pavilion similar to the one Rick had just exited was taking shape, held in place by the platform. Small flares of energy here and there revealed the constant activity of welders. Rick took his place among them, telekinetically mating ceramic steel to ceramic steel in sandwiched, baffled layers. But there was a flaw. Wait, no. … The skeleton sagged, began to break apart, and the multistory platform holding it ruptured. Men and women screamed behind pressure masks, tried to jet away, out of range, only to be swatted like insects in slow motion by drifting girders, severed from their lifelines, left to drift helplessly, far from the Pavilion.
Rick was one of them. He floated on his back, unconscious or dead. Near him floated another whose face was familiar. Alanna. Both of them motionless. Then an eyelid flickered and Rick’s eyes opened. He came alert, rolled to his left, and reached for Alanna. When she was safely in his grasp, he began to use telekinesis to draw the scattered workers toward the Pavilion’s safety. The few other mutants quickly added their talents to his. All were quickly swept up by rescue teams. But Rick remained outside, shaking off all the eager hands wanting to pull him in.
He jetted back toward the wreckage, and floated next to it, staring intently. Then he closed his eyes.
Folded metal unfolded. Shattered panels reformed as though puzzle pieces were being set in place. As Julian watched, his brother repaired the half-finished Pavilion. He made it halfway back to Hawkins’s Pavilion before his energy failed. He had to be towed in.
The vision faded. Julian sat up.
He knew where his brother was. Or would be.