by Saxon Andrew
“What do you mean?”
“Let’s say I develop a device that I think will block our pilot’s thoughts. How will I know if it works?” Grady stared at him and Joshua shrugged, “The only way to know is to try it on a telepath to see. I’m reasonably certain those aliens aren’t going to agree to help us make that determination.” Joshua paused and added, “Do you have a telepath for me to use?” Grady stared at Joshua and he quickly added, “Forgive my sarcasm. What you’re asking just isn’t possible.”
Grady sighed, “Josh, just focus on this and try to come up with something.”
Joshua shook his head, “I’ll try. But I really don’t even know where to begin. I have absolutely no knowledge on how telepathy works.”
“Just give it your best effort Josh.” Joshua shrugged and then nodded. Grady left with Cami and he was clearly upset. Cami remained silent until they arrived at Grady’s home and she joined Sweets and Linda Kay who were already eating breakfast.
• • •
Spring break arrived and Sweets told Cami that she was invited to join her family again. Cami quickly agreed and Britt flew the transport toward the Henricks house. Cami looked at Sweets and frowned slightly, “I thought we were going to your home.”
Sweets smiled, “We have a short family meeting and then we can go home.” Cami nodded and frowned slightly. She was quiet all the way to the Henricks. They arrived and Cami saw everyone was present. Sweets led her to a chair in front of the family and Candy stood up, “Cami, we’ve been talking about you for quite some time and there’s something I want to ask you. We’ve gotten permission from the government for me and RJ to adopt you. We want you to join my family.” Cami’s expression was frozen, and Sweets said excitedly, “Cami, we’ll be sisters! It will be wonderful.”
Cami stared at Candy and then looked at RJ. She turned to Sweets and shook her head, “I can’t do that.”
“Why not!” Sweets said loudly.
Cami lowered her eyes and said, “I just can’t do it.”
Candy walked in front of Cami’s chair and went to a knee, “Cami, RJ and I will give you a wonderful home. We really want you to be a part of our family.”
Cami’s head went down, and she shook it, “I just can’t do it.”
Candy stared at Cami and saw immense sorrow in her eyes. Candy stood up, looked at the others, and went back to sit beside RJ. The room was silent, and Taffy broke the silence, “Would you consider Grady and I adopting you?” Cami looked up at Taffy and she continued, “I volunteered to adopt you immediately, but we thought you would prefer to be with Sweets. Will you agree for Grady and me to adopt you?”
Cami looked at Taffy with narrow eyes and a furrowed brow, “Why would you want to adopt me?”
“It’s hard to explain, but I want you to be a part of my family more than you can possibly know!” Cami stared at her and then turned to Grady. Taffy said, “Tell her, Grady!”
Grady smiled, “From the time I’ve spent with you I can see that you are a remarkable person, Cami. I would be proud to have you as a part of my family.”
Cami stared at the Henricks, and the room was deathly silent. Sweets wanted to speak but Candy shook her head silencing her. Cami turned back to Taffy with wide eyes and said softly, “If you really want me, I’ll agree.”
Taffy’s hands went to her throat and she rushed across the living room and snatched Cami out of her chair into a huge hug. She turned circles and Cami started laughing. Sweets was crying softly, and Cami went to her when Taffy put her down. “Why didn’t you want to live with me?” Sweets asked.
Cami sat down beside her and said softly into her ear, “They needed me more.”
Sweets looked into Cami’s eyes and saw her sorrow. “What do you mean?”
“I’ll tell you later, ok?” Sweets stared into Cami’s eyes, sighed, and nodded.
• • •
The next day, Britt went to the Rex Rabbit on the roof to take the others to the beach. Linda Kay arrived with Sweets and went to the small warship. Taffy looked at them as they boarded and said, “Britt, you are the only one allowed to pilot the Rabbit.”
Sweets quickly said, “I can pilot a ship just as good as him!”
Taffy turned to her, “You and Linda Kay have shown how responsible you are when you painted the Rex Rabbit.” Sweets and Linda Kay looked at each other with guilty expressions and Taffy nodded, “Who would ever paint a ship with rainbows and paisley?”
“It does look better,” Sweets replied meekly.
“Sure it does!” Taffy replied with dripping sarcasm. “Britt, you’re the responsible one here, stay safe!”
“Yes Mom.”
• • •
Taffy walked away as Britt closed the port. Cami looked at Britt and smiled, “Are you allowed to take the ship into orbit?”
“Yes, why do you ask?”
“I’ve never been in outer space. I’d like to see New Britannia from orbit.”
Britt contacted Taffy and got her approval to take the ship above the planet. He lifted the ship into orbit and Cami sat in her chair with her eyes closed. Sweets saw her and said, “Hey, I thought you wanted to see the planet from orbit.”
Cami opened her eyes and looked at them, “That was an excuse to get you to do it.”
Sweet’s brow furrowed, “What’s going on Cami?”
Cami sighed, “I needed to talk with you, and this is a private place to do it.”
The three teens looked at each other and Britt said, “What do you need to say Cami.”
“I want to tell you something about me and I hope you won’t get angry.”
“What can you possibly tell us that would make us angry?” Linda Kay asked.
“Promise you won’t get mad!”
They looked at each other and Britt replied, “We promise we won’t get mad.”
Cami looked at them and said, “I got you to go into orbit so we can see if those aliens are spying on New Britannia.”
“What aliens?” Linda Kay asked.
“You know; the ones your parents talked about at Christmas.”
They stared at Cami in silence and Sweets asked after a long moment, “And just how are we going to do that?”
Cami looked at each of them and raised her shoulders, “I’ve not told you that I have a talent I seldom use.”
“What is that?” Britt asked.
Cami turned to him, “I’m a telepath.”
Chapter Three
The three stared at her in silence and Sweets broke the silence with a laugh, “That’s a good one, Cami. You had us going there.”
Cami turned to her, “You’re still angry that I didn’t choose for your parents to adopt me. You’re planning to confront me at the beach to find out why.” Sweets smile disappeared. She turned to Linda Kay, “You’re frightened that Britt will find someone else to replace you after graduation.” Linda Kay’s eyes widened as Cami turned to Britt, “You have the same fear she’ll leave you too.”
Britt stared at Cami with a neutral expression and then turned to Linda Kay, “That will never happen.”
Linda Kay rushed over to Britt and hugged his neck. Britt asked, “Is she right?”
Linda Kay leaned back and nodded. “I will never leave you either Britt.”
“Why haven’t you told us?” Sweets asked firmly.
“You don’t know the pain I’ve endured whenever I used my talent growing up. The worst beatings my father gave me when I was a child were when I said what he was thinking. The kids at the facility beat me up whenever I revealed what they thought. I learned by the time I was five that revealing I could hear other’s thoughts was an invitation to be hurt. I kept my talent buried where it wouldn’t be discovered.”
“But you still heard other people’s thoughts,” Britt commented.
“No, I shut that down.”
Linda Kay shook her head, “That doesn’t sound like you’re being honest Cami.”
Cami looked down briefly and then lifte
d her face, “Telepathy is like having an additional sense. It’s like…” Cami paused and then continued, “Linda Kay, if I’m standing five feet away from you, how would you use your eyes to see me?”
Linda raised her shoulder, “I’d simply open them.”
Cami nodded, “And if I were about a quarter of a mile from you, how would you use your eyes to see me?”
Linda Kay looked at Britt and Sweets before saying, “I’d probably have to squint to see you.”
“And if you chose not to squint, could you do it?”
“Yes, I suppose I can.”
“That’s how I keep my telepathy from operating. I simply choose to not focus on other’s thoughts, and I don’t hear them. I have chosen to avoid invading the privacy of others by listening to their thoughts.”
“But you sometimes do it,” Sweets commented. Cami turned to her. “When we invited you to go home with us during Christmas, you refused initially. You looked intently in my eyes and you had to be listening to my thoughts.”
Cami shrugged, “You’re right. I did.”
“What did you see that changed your mind?”
Cami stared into Sweet’s eyes, “I saw that you really wanted me to come home with you. You weren’t asking me because you felt sorry for me; you really wanted me to go with you.”
Sweets stared at her and said, “You also looked at my parents’ thoughts when you turned them down?” Cami nodded. “Why?”
“They wanted me to be a part of their family because you wanted it so much. They were doing it for you; not me.”
“And you chose Taffy because…”
“Sweets, she not only wanted me, but she really needs me in her life,”
“Why?” Britt asked.
Cami turned to him, “She see’s you’re about to graduate and, like Candy, you will be leaving her; she’s feeling incredible loneliness. She see’s me as another child to love and bring happiness into her life.”
“What about my father?”
Cami smiled at Britt, “He meant what he said. He’s so proud of me and wants me almost as much as Taffy.” Cami turned to Sweets, “I love you; but I chose them for me. They are the parents I’ve always dreamed of having.”
Sweets nodded and hugged Cami. “That makes you my aunt.”
Cami started laughing and the others joined her.
• • •
Britt stopped laughing and looked out of the Rex Rabbit’s viewport. He turned to Cami and asked, “You said we were going to determine if the Stealth Civilization has scouts watching us. Why don’t we just get the Navy to do that? This has to be dangerous.”
Cami shook her head, “What do you think will happen if some of our warships go out and start running a search pattern?” They were silent and Cami sighed, “Those aliens will hear the thoughts of the pilots long before they move into scanning range. They’ll immediately flee and wait until they stop searching before returning.”
“Won’t they do the same thing if we run a search pattern?” Linda Kay asked.
“Not if we disguise we’re doing it.”
“And how are we going to do that?”
Cami turned to Britt, “We’ll make them think you’re teaching Linda Kay how to fly the ship. The ship will make erratic course changes like she isn’t able to control the ship. You and Sweets will be offering suggestions to her and the alien, if they’re out there, will hear you and not look at this ship as a threat.”
“But they’ll hear our inner thoughts and know that’s not true,” Sweets inserted into the conversation.
“No, they won’t.” The three stared at Cami in silence and she sighed, “When RJ talked to Grady about the communication he had with one of them on the other side of the core, he remembered what the alien said to him. I heard the conversation and it leads me to believe the aliens are not true telepaths.”
“Tell me the difference,” Britt said softly.
“Well, it appears from the evidence the aliens can only hear verbal thoughts.” Britt’s eyes narrowed in confusion and Cami added, “Think about it this way. Our brains have different areas dedicated to different functions. Cognitive thinking takes place in the left and right hemispheres; that’s where our inner thoughts take place. Another part of the brain controls various body functions like breathing, heartbeat, temperature control, and many other functions. However, a specific part of the brain controls speech. It is that part of the brain the aliens can hear. You have to verbalize what you’re thinking for them to hear it.”
“Are you sure about that?” Sweets asked.
“If your father’s memory is accurate, yes I am.”
“How are you different from them, Cami?”
Cami turned to Britt, “I’m able to hear inner and verbal thoughts.” Cami paused and added, “And because of that, I really think I can hear them from a longer range than they can.”
Britt looked at Sweets and Linda Kay, “You know our parents will kill us if we do this?”
Sweets asked, “Cami, are we in danger from trying to do this?”
“I don’t believe so.”
“Why not?”
“Because I’ll know if the alien intends to use its weapons before they’re activated, and I’ll warn you to run.”
“And you’re sure a Navy Warship will never get close to them?”
“I am, Sweets. The way you’ve painted this ship makes it look like a toy. It looks nothing like a warship and it’s far smaller than any ship in the Navy. It really looks like a small personal ship.”
Britt raised a shoulder, “It was the most powerful ship in the galaxy when it was built. It has a glorious history and I’m starting to regret we didn’t show it respect by painting it.”
“It’s that lack of respect that may allow this to work. If this works, I’ll help you remove the paint,” Cami replied.
Britt looked at Sweets and Linda Kay, “What say you?”
Sweets looked at Linda Kay and then turned to Britt, “We trust your judgement, Britt. Both of us have done some crazy things and I don’t trust myself to make this decision.” Britt saw Linda Kay nodding. He sighed and shook his head slightly. He looked at them and said, “The most important thing is the survival of our civilization. Even if we die in the effort, if we can confirm the alien’s presence, it will be worth the sacrifice.” He turned to Cami, “What do you need me to do?”
“First of all, I need all of you to think about where the aliens would be spying on New Britannia.”
“What do you mean?”
“Telepathy has its issues. Trying to listen to a single conversation among thousands of people is extremely difficult; and there are nearly half a billion people on New Britannia. A single person’s thoughts would be lost in the roar of background thoughts, especially at a distance. If the alien is here to try and steal our technology, where would they go to make that happen? Remember that they have to hear someone talking about the technology in order to steal it.”
The cabin was silent, and Linda Kay said after a moment, “They would need to be close to a place where our technology is being discussed.”
“Or taught,” Sweets added.
Linda Kay nodded, “That’s a good observation.”
“There’s more than that,” Britt added. “When is verbal conversation at their lowest on New Britannia?”
Cami smiled, “At night when people are sleeping.”
Britt nodded, “So the optimum place and time for the aliens to hear our technology being discussed would be at night, possibly during a night class at one of our major engineering schools.”
Brit looked up and asked, “Computer, where on New Britannia are engineering schools that hold night classes on our advanced technology?”
“There are two colleges that meet that requirement.”
“Where are they located?”
“One is an annex to the Science Center next to the space port and the other is located next to the Fleet Academy.”
Britt turned to them, �
�Both of those are located close to each other in the capital city.”
Cami frowned and Britt said, “What’s wrong?”
“There would still be too many people still awake during class hours. The alien ship would have to move in very close to the planet to listen to the classes and I don’t believe it would take that risk.”
“What about this?” Everyone turned to Linda Kay. “I talked with Jeremy Barnes recently and asked him how going to college was working out for him. He told me the worst part of it was the all-nighters he and some other students pulled getting ready for finals. He said they formed study groups to work together.”
Cami nodded, “That would be the perfect setting. Two or three o’clock in the morning discussing what was going to be on their finals would do it. The vast majority of the people in the city would be sleeping.”
Britt nodded, “So the alien must be keeping his ship far out from New Britannia but directly above those colleges so it could sneak in and listen to them.”
Cami nodded, “That is where we’ll start our search.”
Sweets looked at Cami with a strange expression and Cami asked, “What’s wrong?”
“You probably already know; you can see my thoughts.”
Cami shook her head slightly, “I told you I do not invade other’s privacy…I meant it, Sweets!”
Sweets sighed, “I’m sorry; this is kinda unnerving. I was thinking that you don’t sound like any ten-year-old I’ve ever known.”
Cami lowered her head and sighed, and Britt asked, “What are you thinking?”
Cami looked up and raised her right shoulder, “I was forced to take some tests when I was five-years-old and do the best I could on them. I did listen to that psychologist’s thoughts and she was thinking about a physical exam I took just prior to the tests. She mused on the fact that my brain was very highly developed. She revealed to me that my brain was developed at the level of a twenty-year-old. I don’t know if that was due to my talent or the hard life I endured.” Cami looked at them, “I’m physically ten. But…I’m really not.” Cami turned to Britt, “Please don’t tell your mother about this.”
Britt nodded, “I won’t spoil her feelings for you, Cami. You just need to make sure she doesn’t see how mature you are.”