Mind Sync

by Kirsten Harrell

  “Okay. Enough of the Kusharian brain science. Can you bottom line it for me, Doc?”

  “Yes. Over the past twenty-four hours, your brain waves have shown advanced frequencies that we rarely see in humans. When we do, it’s only been during peak performance or high levels of concentration,” Nina said.

  “How about the rock-bottom line. Am I going to fly into a rage or not?”

  “Probably not. At least not because of the exposure to this device. However, your brain has some activity patterns associated with anger and stress, but that doesn’t seem to be anything new for you.” Nina cocked her head to the right, a gesture she did when using sarcasm. “Personally, I didn’t need a brain scan to know that about you.”

  “Pfft. Is that your way of saying I’m an ass?” Bree blurted.

  Nina smirked. “Your word, not mine.”

  “So, I’m an ass, but not because I was zapped. And, the little box did speed my brain up to some freakish levels. Is that about it?”

  “Not quite, but close enough for now.”

  “I could teach you some ways to change the frequency-” Ipeshe stopped mid-sentence when Bree raised her hand and interrupted.

  “Shut up, will ya? I’m done with the neuroscience lesson. Can we just figure out what these things are and how to stop them from screwing with people?” Bree pointed to the silver zapper boxes.

  “I guess, but you need to promise to let me know if you notice any changes in your mood.” Nina put her hands on her hips and narrowed her eyes in a look that probably intimidated most patients into agreeing with her. “Seriously, Bree, I need a promise or I’ll have to call Rick.”

  “If it’ll get you to move on, then I promise.” Bree plastered on a fake smile. “‘Kay?” Bree didn’t make promises lightly, but the lovely doctor hadn’t given her much of a choice. She couldn’t afford to waste time locked up in a jail cell. She had to find out what these things were and shut them down.

  “Thank you. I realize that was hard for you, but I am only trying to help.” Nina shrugged and cleared her throat. “On that note, I just thought of someone who might be able to help with this. Dr. Fulton’s a retired professor who dabbles in fringe science and parapsychology. He still does some work in his basement lab. Do you want me to call him?”

  After Bree nodded, Nina pulled out her phone and made the call.

  Mr. Mad Scientist agreed to look at the devices.

  “I’ll follow you.” Bree climbed in her Jeep. She kept the tool boxes with her and Nina kept the Kusharian. That decision had been easy; she’d choose the ticking mood bombs over one of the invading aliens any day of the week.

  12

  “Hello. Please, come in.” Dr. Fulton greeted Bree, Nina, and Ipeshe at the door then quickly ushered them to his basement, which looked like a fairly high-tech science lab.

  After brief introductions, Bree handed the two tool boxes to the stout, balding black man. She’d called Rick on her drive and asked him to do a quick background check on Fulton. The scientist had checked out ok. Didn’t mean she’d trust him one hundred percent, but he was a human with a clean record and that counted for something.

  “Yes, thank you. Let’s see what you have here.” He took both boxes with him to a corner of the basement lab.

  “Should we put on the protective helmets Bree made?” Nina held up the nickel and copper lined hard hats.

  “Nah. You’ll be safe over there. This’s a Faraday cage.” He waved his arms to indicate the small room in front of him.

  “What about you?” Bree grabbed a helmet and started toward Fulton. “Do you want to wear this?”

  “Uh, no thanks. I have a suit that’ll protect me.” Fulton pulled something that looked a little like a beekeeper’s suit from a hook by the door to the Faraday room. “Please, make yourselves comfortable while I check these out. There’re drinks in the fridge, or you could make some tea.” He pointed toward the opposite corner of the lab which included a small kitchen area with a round table and a few chairs. He then disappeared into the room.

  Bree headed for the fridge.

  “Perfect. I could use one of these.” She pulled out a bottle of Dos Equis. “Anyone else?” She might need a whole six pack if she had to wait long with the Kusharian.

  “Sure. Why not? I’m not back on duty until the day after tomorrow.” Nina sat down at the table.

  Bree grabbed another beer. She paused in the middle of shutting the fridge and looked back at Ipeshe. “You want one?”

  Ipeshe’s swirly eyes slowed down and her face paled. “Is there any soda pop?”

  “Uh… yeah, there’s coke and cream soda.”

  “Cream soda, please.”

  Bree handed the bottle of cream soda to the alien and a beer to the good doctor. She looked around for a bottle opener. When she didn’t find one, she took her bottle to the cabinet by the refrigerator and tilted the bottle to pop off the cap with the drawer handle. Bree smiled and turned around to gather the other two bottles and said, “where there’s a will there’s a way.”

  The three women sat in silence, drinking from their bottles as they waited for Dr. Fulton to re-emerge. Or maybe it was two women and one female alien. Does one refer to aliens as men and women? Who knew? Bree didn’t consider herself xenophobic or speciesist. She’d often fantasized about friendly aliens coming to Earth and how exciting it would be to meet a being from another planet.

  Her problem with the Kusharians and the Karma Guards didn’t stem from their alien nature. She hated them because they’d descended on Earth, took over the planet, and now had total control over the human race. She feared that their intentions weren’t as friendly as they claimed.

  Bree’s stomach knotted and she fixed her eyes on the alien sitting across from her. She followed the purple and black patterns that spread out from the Kusharian’s left eye, flowed down her neck, and continued all the way down her arm to her four-fingered hand. She remembered hearing that only the females had these special markings. Up close, they looked badass - like a tribal patterned tattoo. Bree shook her head, realizing that she’d been staring and actually admiring the designs. “I’m guessing you don’t have cream soda on your planet.”

  “No. We do not. However, I really enjoy the flavors and the texture of your soda drinks. We do not carbonate our drinks. I enjoy the way the bubbles feel,” Ipeshe said, then took another sip of her soda.

  “Ipeshe… well, the Kusharians in general are really interesting. They are vegans and mostly eat food made from a particular plant that grows in abundance on their planet.” Nina looked back and forth between Bree and Ipeshe as she spoke.

  Bree nodded and for Nina’s sake, bit back a snide remark. She didn’t give a shit about the Kusharian diet. Then again, if they were responsible for the zapper boxes, it might be important to find out more about them. Know thy enemy. “Do you all speak English? How’d you learn our languages?”

  “Our primary human language studies are determined by our territory assignments. Many of us programmed for multiple languages though. I speak English, Spanish, Japanese, Navajo, Yavapai, and Apache.”

  “Because they’re linked telepathically and have computer chips in their brains, they’re able to share learning in ways similar to loading software onto a computer.” Nina smiled and looked excited.

  That fucking telepathy thing sure gives them a distinct advantage. “Can all of you read our minds, or is that a special talent of yours?” Bree asked.

  “During our early development cycles we are each in a mind sync with our Kythil - our early stage care-takers. With continued practice and training we develop our mind sync abilities and we are able to communicate telepathically with each other. We have found that under certain circumstances - like a mind scan - and with certain humans, we can understand your thoughts, but not carry on a telepathic conversation.

  Ha. Of course, she’s not going to admit to constant monitoring of their thoughts.

  Well, can you hear this, bitch? Fuck you a
nd the spaceship you came in on.

  Bree watched closely for any sign that the Kusharian had heard her thoughts. No reaction, but that didn’t necessarily mean she hadn’t heard. Either way, she’d had enough of the Kusharian 101.

  “What’s this guy do down here?” Bree looked around the lab. “I thought you said he was retired.”

  “He retired from the University. Not from his work. He still dabbles in various fringe science projects.” Nina said.

  “Hmm.” Bree gave half a nod and then took a long swig from her beer.

  Ipeshe looked at Nina. “Do you believe that he can help us understand the purpose of the small boxes?”

  Bree avoided looking directly into the alien’s swirly eyes for fear of being hypnotized. She did, however, risk another peek at the markings that flowed down her face and neck.

  “If he can’t, we’re in trouble, because I don’t have any other ideas.” Nina shook her head slowly as she spoke. Her dark hair fell from behind her left ear and covered the side of her face. She swept it behind her ear and the muscles around her mouth tightened.

  “Neither do I,” Bree said, “so he’s just gonna have to deliver.” Sooner than later would be nice too. Bree stood up and walked around the lab. She’d done her part playing nice with invader, but she sure as shit didn’t want to spend much more time with this, or any other, Kusharian.

  Fortunately, she didn’t have to wait much longer for Dr. Mad Scientist to come out of his Faraday room. After hanging his protective suit up, he headed to the kitchen and grabbed a beer. Bree returned to the kitchen area and watched the man open his bottle the same way she had. Her respect for him went up a few notches.

  Fulton joined them at the table. He wiped his sweaty brow and took a slug of beer. “You want the good news or the bad news first?”

  “Your call. Just lay it on us.” Bree sat back down.

  “Okay. I wasn’t able to open the damned thing. It appears to be one solid piece of a metallic material. I wasn’t able to identify the elemental makeup. It is not from Earth.” Dr. Fulton’s face fell and he let out a long slow breath.

  Bree, Nina, and the Kusharian invader continued to look at Fulton, waiting for him to say more. His eyes glazed over as he stared off in the distance. He blinked a few times, took a sip of beer, then continued.

  “The good news, and it’s not much, is that I was able to perturb the device into producing the humming pulses you heard.” He nodded in Bree’s direction. “It appears to be emitting a very unique combination of light and sound waves, most of which are at frequencies that humans aren’t able to perceive.”

  “What do you think they’re designed to do?” Nina asked.

  “My best guess is that they’re targeting people’s brain waves. I don’t have the right equipment to run the necessary tests to figure out the exact purpose. However, I think I know someone who could help. She used to work with a group who were experimenting with ultrasonic neuromodulation at the university, but she left abruptly about a month ago.”

  “Do you think she’d be willing to help?” Nina blurted out.

  “I believe so.”

  Left abruptly. That bit concerned Bree. “You trust her? We can’t let this information get out yet. We don’t need people panicking.” Bree watched Fulton closely.

  “Yeah, I trust her.” Dr. Fulton looked at Ipeshe. “We could use your help. This thing has very clear extraterrestrial components.”

  “Certainly,” the alien said. “I am most willing to help in any way that I can.”

  Bree shifted in her chair and considered whether to object to this arrangement.

  “Thank you, Ipeshe. We all appreciate your help.” Nina shot a pointed look at Bree, who forced a semi-smile. Maybe a quarter smile. Okay, her lip twitched.

  If the Kusharian had to be involved, at least she’d be with the science geeks and hopefully not around Bree. “Okay. So we have a plan. Fulton, you contact this other scientist, then you guys figure out how these damned things work and what the hell they do. Jason and I’ll see if we can track down any more of them.” Bree paused a moment, then looked at Fulton. “Do you think my helmets will be enough protection? I can’t risk my brother getting zapped by one of those things.”

  Nina’s alien friend smiled at Bree. “May I suggest something that would offer more protection?”

  Bree raised her brows and tilted her head, waiting to hear more.

  “Our clothes are made from a techno-fiber designed to protects us from radiation and harmful light waves on our planet. It emits a protective field. Do you think this would help block the pulses, Dr. Fulton?”

  “Oh, yeah. Good thought, Ipeshe. Put a double layer of that material directly on your heads. You wouldn’t need the helmets. It’d be best if you could wear an entire Kusharian suit, but that amount’ll most likely do the trick.” Dr. Fulton nodded.

  “I will get the necessary material to you right away.” Ipeshe spoke fast and her eye swirls slowed down again. Bree made a mental note of that; a tell for when Ipeshe got excited. She had no way of knowing if that held true for Kusharians as a species, or just for this one.

  As much as Bree didn’t want to accept her help, she couldn’t knowingly put Jason at more risk just to spite the alien. “Fine. The sooner the better. But, I want to use the helmets too.”

  Fulton looked up and to the right, deep in thought, then said, “I would suggest you put the Kusharian material on the outside of the helmets so that the metals don’t block the force field effect. And, to be honest, your copper lined helmets are not protecting you from these waves penetrating through your face or up your brain stem. Do you think that’d work, Ipeshe?”

  The alien looked at Bree and said, “If you feel strongly about wearing the helmets, I honor that. However, I would agree with Dr. Fulton that it would be best to use the material on the outside of the helmets.”

  After a deep sigh, Bree mumbled. “Fine.”

  “What do you want me to do, Bree?” Nina asked.

  “Can you check with other hospitals and clinics and find out more about the people who have already been hit with these things?”

  “Sure.”

  “Okay. Let me know as soon as you have something.” Bree looked at Fulton who nodded in response.

  Max came in the back door and tossed his keys in the drawer. “Hey guys, whatcha doing?” He looked worried.

  “We’re making helmets to protect us from the brain zappers.” Jason spoke so fast his words kind of ran together.

  “Jesus! Bree, how many times do I need to tell you to drop this?”

  Bree narrowed her eyes and raised her voice. “How about you shut up and listen.”

  Max sighed and pulled out a chair to join them at the dining room table turned craft table.

  “There’s some seriously weird shit going on, Max. If we don’t stop it, there’re gonna be a lot more people getting k-snagged or going to La La Land. Someone is fucking with us and I’m gonna stop it.” Bree set her jaw and looked at Max, daring him to argue.

  “What are you talking about?” Max looked back and forth between his niece and nephew.

  “I… we found these freaky devices on some of the trails in the neighborhoods where the ragers and blissed-out people live.” Bree went on to explain the details of her day and the meeting with Fulton, Nina, and the Kusharian medical consultant.

  “It might be the Kusharians fucking with us, and you’re going to trust this one? How does that make sense? And, what do you know about this Fulton guy?” Max barely moved a muscle as he spoke.

  “Who the hell said I trusted her?” Bree shot back.

  Max pointed at the material they were fixing inside the helmets. Material the Kusharian in question had given her.

  Bree’s face warmed. “Dr. Fulton, whose background check was clean, said this would provide extra protection. Aren’t you the one who’s all about protection?” she said, throwing it back on him.

  “So the material works, but are you sure
she didn’t sabotage the stuff she gave you?”

  “If you’re going to be a jackass, then leave us alone. We’re doing this with or without you.” Bree slammed her helmet down. Fuckety fuck. Maybe she should rip the Kusharian material off. Why had she trusted Ipeshe enough to use it?

  Max got up and walked back to his bedroom.

  Jason looked at Bree with big eyes.

  Bree shook her head and went back to work on her helmet. Fuck Max. Fuck Fulton for making her doubt herself. Her gut had said that the helmets offered some protection. If the alien cloth helped, great. If not, all the other stuff would have to do.

  Max needed to pull his head out of his ass and give her some credit. She was perfectly capable of taking care of herself and her brother. Mr. Special-Ops wasn’t the only one in the family who could run an op.

  After a few minutes of brooding and silently cursing her uncle, Bree looked up. Jason hadn’t touched his helmet. He sat - more like squirmed - in his chair and stared at Bree.

  “Look, Jase. I’m sorry about that. We don’t need Max’s permission to do this, but if you want to back out…” She trailed off, uncertain how to finish that sentence.

  “Hell, no! I already told you, I’m all in, but why’s Max being so weird?”

  “I wish I knew, Jase.” Bree shook her head and looked down the hallway where Max had disappeared.

  Her brother sat up straighter and his chest puffed out. “If you think we can do this without him, I’m good with that. I trust you.”

  “Okay… then, we move forward. Are you working in the morning?”

  “Six to ten, but I can call off if you want.”

  “No, you need to go. I’ll do some research while you work and then we can head out after your shift. You staying here, or you want me to take you to dad and Kali’s?”

  “I already told them I’d be here tonight. Can you take me to work in the morning, though?”