Chromatophobia

by W D County

  Doc leaned forward, brows furrowed. “Interesting theory, Sonja, but nothing you said negates my conclusion that the taint is alive. Even if K-rays exist—which you have not proven—there are parallels in zoology that support my theory. Species of fungi, bacteria, even vertebrates and invertebrates, exhibit bioluminescence. Electrophorus electricus, commonly known as the electric eel, can generate nearly nine hundred volts. Many animals can change colors and color patterns of their skin.”

  Brainiac’s voice rose. “At issue here is whether the taint is a biological entity that exhibits extraordinary physical properties or a physical phenomenon that has extraordinary effects on living tissue.”

  I slid into the seat previously held by Slick as Doc and Brainiac squared off like pit bulls fighting over a steak. Seemed to me that their arguments boiled down to a half-full versus half-empty view.

  Before either of the mad dogs gave another growl, Slick returned to the mess hall. Kingpin seemed relieved. “The return of the quick-change artist. What do you have to report?”

  He clearly didn’t like his seat being preempted by my butt. He chose not to make an issue of it and sat across from me. “Not only is the taint a sign of paranormal abilities, but those abilities keep expanding every day. First clairvoyance. He scored perfectly on every test of the Zener cards, given under controlled conditions. Now he’s demonstrating telepathy.”

  “What nonsense are you spouting now?” asked Brainiac.

  “No trick. No smoke and mirrors. Barry can read my thoughts and can send his thoughts to me.”

  Brainiac sputtered. “Preposterous!”

  “Not only that, but exposure to Barry is boosting our own ESP abilities. You’re all showing Zener card results much better than random chance. Except for Zita, who hasn’t taken the test.”

  Steampunk frowned. “I’m not the one being studied.”

  He hadn’t tested me either, and not just because I couldn’t tell what colors were on Slick’s card. Nobody considered me a member of the team.

  “As a professional magician, I have unique insight into illusions and trickery. Let me state categorically that the taint is not an illusion and not a hoax. The paranormal abilities demonstrated by Barry cannot be faked. There is no need to invent a new branch of physics or declare the existence of a new life form. Documentation from centuries of paranormal study provide a clear and convincing explanation for everything we have observed.

  “The taint is an aura, a manifestation of Barry’s paranormal abilities. Although auras are normally visible only to sensitive mediums, the unprecedented strength of Barry’s ability makes his aura visible to everyone. As his aura continues to grow, anecdotal evidence suggests that prophesy, astral projection, and even the ability to walk through walls may be emerge. It’s exciting to imagine the future we’ll be entering.”

  Every face in the room reflected skepticism.

  Slick plowed ahead. “It’s likely that these abilities exist in all of us in a repressed vestigial state. Exposure to the artifact in Antarctica activated these latent powers in Barry.” He paused. “As an aside, calling the tesseract an artifact may be a mistake, because it may have been a natural, spontaneous manifestation of the Earth’s magnetic field intersecting with two major but virtually unexplored ley lines.

  “But back to the point. We need to allow these powers and abilities to develop. That means allowing the taint to grow. We need to feed it.”

  “Are you mad?” Mopes blurted.

  “The taint is not inherently dangerous, if Barry is taught how to control his new abilities. Fortunately, I have the skill and knowledge to mentor Barry in this period of unfolding.”

  “Absolutely not,” I said, way too loud, but too fucking bad. “We need to restrict the taint’s growth, not encourage it.”

  After a moment of surprised silence, Kingpin turned to Mopes. “Laura, do you have something to report?”

  She shifted uneasily in her chair. “Well, yes. I hate to stick a pin in Nathan’s enthusiasm, but what he proposes is incredibly dangerous.” She swallowed, bit her lip, and took a breath before continuing. “My husband, John, died six months ago. Today, while I was in the vault, John appeared. He looked real. Sounded real. Smelled real. We hugged. Kissed. He felt as solid and warm as any of you.” She displayed her watch. “Then my Pavlok alarmed, delivering a shock to my arm. John vanished.”

  Her haunted expression crept around the table. “Don’t you see? John was never there. He was an illusion, a hallucination produced by the taint. What we observe here isn’t real. None of us can trust anything we see or hear, except immediately after an electric jolt to our nervous system.”

  Kingpin’s brow furrowed. “Wait... you’re saying everything revealed by our experiments is an illusion?”

  Mopes nodded. “At least some things. There is no way to tell what’s real.”

  The goose bumps Doc gave me earlier were nothing compared to the arctic chill I felt now.

  Slick said, “Are you sure John was an illusion?”

  Mopes’s hand trembled and she slipped it under the table. “The sooner we accept that our perceptions are being externally manipulated, the sooner we can address the more serious questions of why and by whom. Each of us clings to a pet theory about the taint, and none of us are willing to walk away from it. We’re hooked. But think about it. Tesseracts. Disappearing Antarctic explorers. A sparkling rash that eats color and leaves gray behind. Doesn’t it all seem wildly farfetched?”

  She locked eyes with Kingpin. “There’s another, more plausible explanation. A sinister one. What if our own government is doing this to us, testing out a new hallucinogen? It wouldn’t be the first time they used unsuspecting subjects. The CIA tested hypnosis, LSD, and other chemicals for use in interrogation and brainwashing.”

  Great. With the shrink paranoid, sanity would become a guessing game.

  Steampunk said, “Not only the CIA. The army and the atomic energy commission funded a host of unethical and deadly experiments on unwitting US citizens. They fed radioactive food to conscientious objectors. They inserted radium rods into the noses of children.”

  Kingpin sighed noisily. “We’re no longer in the dark ages. And while I’m not condoning those tragic experiments, I need to point out that such testing was never performed on the country’s leading experts, which each of you are.”

  The circle of frowns and narrowed eyes must not have been the reaction he expected. Kingpin gave a nervous laugh. “Come on, Laura! Don’t let depression color your perceptions and conclusions. You’ve already acknowledged there are a multitude of possible explanations for the taint; that’s why we have such a diverse team. Biological, physical, psychological, even mystical, every theory is fair game until we gather enough evidence to eliminate the false ones. What’s left, to paraphrase Sherlock Holmes, is the truth.”

  “Every hear of Occam’s razor?” she said. “Mass hallucination is the simplest explanation that fits all our individual experiences.”

  “Whatever.” Kingpin seemed ready to end the official discussions.

  Mopes whispered as if to herself. “John disappeared when my watch went off. It proves he was never there.” She shuddered. “I wish it were not so.”

  I couldn’t keep quiet. “We need to call Colonel Hauser and get fresh guards down here. Soldiers never exposed to the taint.”

  “Overkill,” muttered Slick.

  “No one enters the vault without wearing that shock watch thing,” I added. “And we need round-the-clock monitoring of the patient. It’s no good just skimming through the videos every few hours.”

  The team exchanged looks with one another, some annoyed, some incredulous. I couldn’t believe their unanimous disregard for basic security measures. “This isn’t a joke, people!”

  Kingpin glared. “Aren’t Marines supposed to be calm under pressure? What has you crying ‘wolf’ every time Barry twitches or one of us makes a new discovery?”

  “Mr. Maxwell, you don’t hav
e any idea how dangerous this situation may become.”

  “You had your say, Sergeant. I’ll decide what response is warranted.”

  I wasn’t ready to capitulate, but Zita tugged at my sleeve. “Calm down, Miles.” She turned to Mopes. “The MMPIs and the EEGs we took before coming here established a baseline for our mental state, so if you could readminister the tests, we could see if our thinking patterns have changed since being exposed to the taint.”

  Mopes’s fears seemed to infect the group. Some of us, anyway. “Our only defense for now is the Pavlok. It only provides temporary protection. I don’t know how long. Minutes. Hours. The biggest problem is that I only have one.” She turned to Kingpin. “Gordon, could you order six of them?”

  His eyes shifted to me, then back to her. “You really think they’re necessary?” Her expression gave a clear answer. He stood, signaling the end of the after-dinner meeting. “Fine. Miles, don’t forget to clean up.”

  Chapter 18

  Laura finished reading one online article and began the next. The chair in the office lacked the cushioned comfort of the one in her room, but she needed the internet connection offered only by the offices. The network filters prevented outgoing messages, but responded to search queries with lightning speed.

  She gave a start as a voice said, “A bit of light reading?”

  She looked up from a tablet screen displaying the article “Antisocial and Criminal Acts Induced by Hypnosis – A Review of Experimental and Clinical Findings” in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Gordon smiled down at her.

  She didn’t return it. “Nothing like Barry has ever been recorded. In fact, there’s little research—and few if any credible events—involving mass hypnosis. We’re breaking new ground, and that ground isn’t steady.”

  “What’s your fear? That we’ll become Manchurian candidates?”

  She chewed her lower lip. “Maybe.”

  Gordon rested a hand on her shoulder. It failed to reassure her. Neither did his words. “Barry likes you, Laura. Use it. He may know more about the taint than he lets on.”

  She shuddered. “It’s not safe to have contact with him.”

  “You have the Pavlok. You’re the only one capable of completely reliable interaction with Barry. We need to understand this phenomenon. We need to know what the taint is, how it works, and who or what is behind it.”

  “And if it’s all an illusion?”

  He patted her shoulder. “The weight of evidence says otherwise. If you’re anxious, have Doc give you something, as long as it doesn’t dull your thinking. I need everyone to be at their peak. Especially you.”

  “When will the Pavloks arrive?” she asked.

  “They’re ordered. Soon. Don’t stop digging just because you think we’re imagining this. Prove it.” He turned and left.

  Gordon wanted the impossible. How could anyone prove they were inside a hallucination if the illusion was perfect? Whatever outside entity manipulated their minds would simply implant whatever evidence was needed.

  Or could it? The puppet master couldn’t possibly have complete access to the specialized knowledge of every team member. Like interpreting MMPI tests and EEG results.

  She returned to reading the article, but a nascent idea began to grow.

  ***

  Zita commandeered the conference room and transformed it into an art studio. Drawings and photographs of the taint adorned the walls. She studied them while sitting cross-legged atop the table, idly twisting strands of blue hair that dangled from beneath the rim of her top hat.

  A single knock sounded on the door, which opened without waiting for acknowledgment. Gordon entered and walked the perimeter of the room while scrutinizing the drawings. “Realistic. Accurate. Are they helpful?”

  She unfolded her leather-encased legs, hopped down from the desk, and began pulling the illustrations off the wall. “To be determined.” She placed the papers face down on the desk.

  Gordon laughed. “Those drawings aren’t secret, not from me.”

  “Not secret. Dangerous. I’m sure it’s a message, but it’s more than that, because it can get into your head if you let it and there’s no telling what it will do after that. There’s a myth that earwigs crawl into your ear, burrow into your brain, and lay their eggs there. With wasps and spiders it’s no myth. The taint might do something similar.”

  “How delightful,” he said dryly. “Not far off from what Dubov thinks.”

  “There’s a mental and a physical component to everything. The boundary between the two isn’t always clear.”

  Gordon gave a noncommittal shrug. “You said Barry’s taint is similar to the tesseract. Isn’t it identical?”

  Her eyes darted briefly to the stack of papers. “Very similar, like strands of DNA between human beings—did you know the DNA codes are more than ninety-nine percent the same between individuals? But finding the differences in the taint patterns is tricky, because the tesseract is gone and Barry’s pattern is always in flux. The tesseract held four different but extremely similar patterns. Four people were present in the ice cave and I don’t think that’s a coincidence. One of those patterns attached itself to Barry, but since then it’s morphed into additional, more complex patterns. The patterns shift according to what is being said or done at the time, but I haven’t yet deciphered the meaning.”

  He chuckled. “You think the taint has an alphabet of color, and you can talk to it?”

  “I don’t want to speculate.”

  “Guessing is your specialty. You’re a savant, providing instant answers to complex problems. This unusual delay tells me there is no language, only the illusion of one.”

  Before she could answer, the door opened and Nathan stuck his head inside. “Oh, hope I’m not interrupting. Am I?”

  Before Gordon could answer, she said, “No. What is it?”

  “You know I ran Zener tests on the other team members.” Nathan held up the deck. “I’d love to do you. It’ll be fun. More importantly, it will provide more data to support or refute my theory. Help me out, okay?”

  “I’d rather not. I’ve had enough guessing for one day.”

  “Just a short version,” Nathan pleaded. “Five minutes, tops.”

  “I have work of my own to do.” She turned to Gordon. “Are we finished?”

  Gordon nodded and turned to Nathan. “Let’s go. Tell me how the others fared on the test. And what you have planned next.”

  Nathan’s gaze lingered on her, producing an uneasy, unclean feeling. Gordon seemed to feel it too. He clapped a hand on Nathan’s shoulder and urged him to the door.

  ***

  Nathan slipped into the deserted observation room and sat at the console. He reflected on his discussion with Gordon, whose score at the Zener cards, though not perfect, were above far chance. That pleased the boss because he, like everyone else, harbored an inner belief of possessing untapped powers. Nathan further stroked that ego by telling Gordon he’d outperformed everyone else on the team other than Nathan himself. Laura actually performed the best, but no one else knew that. He hadn’t provided accurate scores to anyone.

  Barry manifested genuine telepathy and clairvoyance, and those abilities seemed to be awakening in the team members. Cultivating and strengthening those abilities required feeding the taint. It galled him to piggyback on Barry’s successful awakening, but eventually Nathan’s own powers would unlock.

  The cameras showed Barry alone in the vault. Unfortunately, the cameras couldn’t be turned off. With any luck the Marine would be busy washing dishes or polishing his boots, anything but watching the surveillance monitors. Nathan suited up and stuffed a handful of colored stickies into his pocket. He didn’t bother with the name tag, nor did he call for someone to open the hatch. He had a very strong feeling that he wouldn’t need help getting inside.

  He tapped in the access code as numbers came to his mind. The outer door clicked open and he entered. The inner door followed suit.


  Barry looked up. “Hello, Nathan. I’ve been expecting you.”

  Nathan registered only momentary surprise at being recognized—Barry’s powers could not be denied, especially in his inner sanctum. “Can you teach me to do what you do?”

  “If you believe in me, such works as I do you also shall do, and even greater works.”

  Nathan shifted uncomfortably. Paranormal abilities were part of reality that wasn’t yet fully understood, but a lack of understanding didn’t imply divine intervention. “I brought you more color.” He pressed the colored stickies to the bed rails, where they began to fade immediately.

  “Zita?” said a voice in Nathan’s head.

  Nathan said, “She didn’t want to be tested. I tested Gordon instead.”

  Focus on Zita. Her mind is quick, erratic. She could cause trouble.

  “Miles is the one to watch out for.”

  A crease furrowed Barry’s forehead, sending the taint spinning in small vortices. “Oh, the soldier.” He is of no consequence.

  As if summoned, Miles’s voice boomed over the speakers. “What the hell are you doing?”

  Damn the luck. Nathan scrambled to collect the stickies, all of which had drained to gray.

  Miles said, “Back away from the patient, now!”

  “I’m fucked,” Nathan whispered.

  “Hardly,” Barry said. You are under my protection.

  The inner door clicked and opened. Nathan approached the airlock, only to be jerked inside and handcuffed. The inner door closed, the outer one opened, and Miles shoved him outside. “You’re under arrest.” Nathan grimaced at the soldier’s vise-like grip on his shoulder as Miles marched him to the undressing area. Miles yanked off Nathan’s face mask, glasses, and hood in a single vicious swipe. He fastened one of the cuffs to a railing and called Gordon.

  ***

  It’s a minor infraction, Sergeant. Let him go,” Kingpin said.