by Jacob Gowans
The morning of the 8th of July started like any other. Sammy woke up to the alarm, which was no longer the voice of Byron’s wife saying, “Good morning, Psions,” but a dull beep that grew louder until someone flipped the lights on. He stumbled out of bed and put on his exercise clothes while Brickert groaned about how much he hated exercising first thing in the morning.
Within minutes, Sammy’s ears were filled with the hums of several feet running on treadmills, the chattering of Betas (including four new ones, who’d arrived yesterday), and the news as it poured from the speakers of the holo-screens around the room. The top story of the morning revolved around evidence of a cyber-attack on medical records at NWGMC almost a month ago, quickly followed by a report of another minor earthquake in one of the island territories. Sammy’s thoughts, however, focused on none of these things.
Today was a big day. After breakfast, he would sit for his final written exam. Then, after lunch, he had an appointment with Commander Iakoka to begin his Psion Panel. The news had come to him the day before in a private meeting with Major Tawhiri. Not long after the television station went to commercial break, the treadmill next to Sammy became occupied with a pretty girl with dark brown hair, small but cute features, and perfect make-up.
“Hey, Strawberry,” he grunted as he ran at near-full speed.
“Good morning, handsome.” Her voice was light and airy, and she flashed Sammy her biggest, cutest smile.
He gasped for air as he spoke. “You’re late . . . for exercises . . . again.”
“You think I wake up looking this good?”
Sammy chuckled to himself and concentrated on keeping a good pace on his run. There was no denying Strawberry’s beauty, which, in his opinion, rivaled even Jeffie’s. She was much more feminine than Jeffie, too. Yet none of that mattered. She was Brickert’s little sister, and that was how Sammy saw her. Not to mention that while Sammy was almost sixteen, Strawberry wasn’t even fourteen.
“You nervous?” Strawberry asked.
“Nope, but I bet the test is because it heard I’m coming.”
Strawberry laughed as if Sammy had told a tear-jerker. With the help of the wall mirrors, Sammy saw Jeffie roll her eyes and let out an exasperated snort. Then she got off her treadmill and went to a different machine. Strawberry watched her roommate for several seconds, then turned her attention back to Sammy.
“She’s been a real witch lately.” Strawberry clucked her tongue.
“A witch, huh?”
“Yeah, well, I don’t get it. I tried to tell her she can’t have it both ways. My mom says that a lot. I never liked to hear it. Apparently Jeffie doesn’t, either.”
“Hmm,” Sammy commented. “Imagine that.”
When his workout session ended, Sammy promptly excused himself and went to the showers. He skipped breakfast as per his usual ritual for the day of a test. Ignoring all the well-wishers on his way upstairs, he took his place in the Instructor and began his test.
Final Examination: Basic Mechanics/Weaponry
Question 1: Which of the following choices best describes a semi-automatic pistol that fires encapsulated micro-barbs which detonate on contact with a target?
Sammy laughed to himself and selected the correct answer: syshée. The test didn’t fly by as quickly as his previous ones, and his score wasn’t perfect as all his others had been, but he performed well, which was all that mattered. At lunch, while in line at the Robochef, Kawai inquired about his score. When Sammy told her he’d passed, everyone behind him gave him a raucous cheer.
“One down, one to go!” Kawai said, rubbing his shoulders. “Good job.”
“We’re throwing you a party tonight,” Natalia told him. “It’ll be doubly awesome since you’re taking two tests today.”
“Did Tawhiri tell you which part of the Panel you’re taking this afternoon?” Brickert asked.
“Nope.” He grabbed his veggie sandwich from the Robochef and the four of them took a table near the wall. Across the way, Jeffie was eating with Kobe, Kaden, and Brillianté.
Same old, same old, Sammy told himself. It wasn’t long before they were joined by Strawberry, Antonio, and Hefani.
“You must be pretty stoked,” Antonio commented. “Graduating early and all. That’s pretty cool. I wouldn’t be surprised if—”
“Don’t . . . ” Kawai warned.
Antonio put his arms out like he was shocked.
“Oh please,” Strawberry said, “they’re not graduating you early, too.” She flipped a spoonful of yogurt at Antonio, but he shielded it so well that it splattered and slid down an invisible wall.
“Nice try, cutey pie.” Antonio made kissing lips at her.
The seven of them chatted about Psion Panels until Major Tawhiri arrived with Commander Iakoka and Dr. Rosmir. Every Beta in the room stood when their superiors entered. Dr. Rosmir nodded at Sammy. Major Tawhiri’s smile was as big as always.
“There you are!” the major exclaimed, rubbing his big brown hands together gleefully. “As you all know, today Sammy begins his Psion Panel. He successfully passed his final Instructions exam today and now will meet with Command to begin the next phase of his testing. So, Sammy, will you please come with us?”
Sammy left the room to the sounds of cheers and shouts of encouragement. He glanced at Jeffie as he passed by her table, but she kept her eyes on her food.
“We’re going up to my office first,” Major Tawhiri explained once they reached the stairs. “We want to give you an idea of what’s going on. The commanders and I have been working on a schedule for the last couple of weeks, and we’ve got everything figured out.”
Once inside his apartment, Tawhiri led everyone to his living room and served refreshments. Sammy didn’t have to wait long before the major got the conversation going.
“Commander Iakoka will test your combat skills today. Next week, we’ll take care of the rest of your Panel. Mission functionality with Commander Havelbert, and then Commander Zahn. He’ll be reviewing mental aptitude. Judging by your exam scores, I suspect that test will be very brief.” The major smiled at his own joke, but did so alone. “Doctor Rosmir wants to have a short discussion with you before you meet with Commander Iakoka.”
“What about my mission?” Sammy asked. “How are you going to arrange that?”
Commander Iakoka leaned forward. Sammy hadn’t seen her since he’d performed his heat blasts at NWGMC. She looked somewhat younger now, and Sammy suspected it had everything to do with her makeup. She wore a lot of it. Her graying black hair was pulled back tight into a ponytail.
“We have already taken the liberty of assigning you to a squadron. Your leadership mission will be an actual mission with your team, your evaluation based on your performance.”
“But I won’t be leading it, right?” Sammy asked.
“Correct. Your squadron has a honcho already. Anna Lukic. A very capable Psion.”
Sammy paused for a moment before asking what was on his mind. “So then how will you test my leadership abilities?”
Commander Iakoka smiled, but Sammy thought it looked more like a simper. “Sometimes we show leadership by being a good follower and fulfilling orders.”
And sometimes we talk out of our butts when we have no good answers. “What squadron am I in?”
“Charlie.”
That name sparked something in Sammy. “That’s—that’s—isn’t that Al’s squadron?”
Major Tawhiri shifted in his seat. “Oh . . . yes . . . I suppose it is.” He rubbed his chin as if he were surprised at the coincidence, but Sammy saw right through the act. Suddenly his future looked much brighter. “Well,” the major said, getting to his feet. “I’m hungry for lunch. Commander Iakoka, shall we give Sammy and the doctor a few minutes to chat before you start the testing?”
When the commander and major had left the room, Dr. Rosmir pulled his chair closer to Sammy. “How are you?” His tone was one of genuine concern.
“Fine.”
&nb
sp; “Fine, huh?” Rosmir glanced down at Sammy’s leg. “I’ve seen the videos from your sims—from the Games.”
Sammy rubbed the muscles in his thigh. “I don’t know what causes it. Every time I play the Game, every time I train.”
“When you exercise?” Rosmir asked, his tone suddenly clinical.
Sammy shook his head.
“When you’re angry?”
“Nope.”
Dr. Rosmir leaned forward, his hands outstretched. “May I?” With Sammy’s consent, the doctor probed the muscles tenderly at first, then with more pressure. “Any pain? Wound’s clean and healed, yes?”
“Nothing—everything’s fine.”
“It could. . . . ” Rosmir took a deep breath. “It could be—”
“Psychosomatic?” Sammy finished for him.
“Yes.”
“Yeah, I’ve suspected that for a while now.”
“How—”
“I read.”
“Yeah, I know. I looked at your test score from this morning. Well done.”
Sammy nodded back at him.
“Now, I noticed you achieved perfect or near-perfect scores on your other exams. On today’s, you scored thirteen points lower. Any particular reason, you think?”
Sammy hesitated to respond. He thought the answer was obvious.
“I assume you haven’t recovered your Anomaly Eleven,” Dr. Rosmir concluded with a touch of disappointment.
“I don’t know.” Sammy shrugged as he talked. “It’s—how can I tell? I mean, I don’t do as well on a test, but I haven’t lost a single Game since I’ve been back, even when the major gives me the shortest stick.”
“Your sims have been going well, too, haven’t they?”
“Yeah! Really well.”
“But . . . ?”
“But I haven’t seen things like I used to—like when I could look at a problem and know what to do right away.”
“So combat-related activities are going well, academic activities, not to the same level.”
“Yeah, I don’t know. I’m not sure at what point my own abilities end and my anomaly begins. Sorry.”
Dr. Rosmir seemed satisfied with the response. “Well, this conversation we’re having right now is the psychological fitness evaluation of your Panel, plus it’s the regular check-up I promised you. Birds and stones, right? You have any questions you want to throw at me?”
“How’s Commander Byron doing?”
The doctor smiled knowingly. “He’s fine. Gone on personal leave at the moment. Al and Marie got married a few days ago.”
“Yeah, I heard. Tell them congratulations for me.”
“You might see them before I do, but if not, I’ll be sure to do that.”
“I also. . . . ” Sammy squirmed in his seat, “have a question . . . about girls.”
Dr. Rosmir laughed, but in a way that didn’t at all diminish his composure. “Keep in mind that I’m single, Sammy, but ask whatever you’d like. Please.”
Sammy’s ears grew hot, and he wished he hadn’t brought it up. However, he thought he’d look stupider if he didn’t ask. “Okay, well, can a girl like two people at the same time? I mean, not like, but you know . . . have feelings for two people?”
“You mean can a girl be attracted to two boys at the same time?”
“Yes.”
“I’d think so. Men can, so why can’t women?”
Sammy grinned, his spirit suffused with a sudden surge of desire to know more. “And do you think a girl would be willing to—or that she could not see someone for a long time, but then like him again? Say, for example, two or three years of not seeing someone. Could she still like that person after that long of a time?”
Dr. Rosmir checked his watch and then looked Sammy in the eye. “Can I stop pretending that I don’t know what you’re talking about?”
If Sammy’s ears had felt hot before, they were branding irons now.
“You’re going to be separated from your friends for a while. And when you’re reunited in a few years, you’re going to be mature in ways that they aren’t. More than you are now. If you want to be the Psion that everyone thinks you’ll be, you have to accept that. Okay? Hanging on to crushes and pining away didn’t save your butt in Rio, and it won’t help you as an Alpha. Understand?”
Sammy agreed with Dr. Rosmir silently.
“However, if Jeffie has her head screwed on straight, I think she’ll come around.”
“Okay, thanks.”
“Now about your leg,” Rosmir began. “How bad is it?”
“It gets pretty bad. Not so much the last few days, but when I was in the Game where I had to win to graduate, I thought I was going to pass out.”
“Why didn’t you?”
Sammy thought about the answer. “What choice did I have?”
Dr. Rosmir stared hard at him. “I wish,” he cast his eyes away for a moment, “that I had your strength. You are remarkable. And there’s no anomaly for that. Your leg will get better, I believe. Just keep at it. Be the master of your body.”
His words reminded Sammy of Byron’s advice to practice self-control. Maybe the two ideas were related, maybe not. “Thanks again.”
“No problem. I’d better go so Commander Iakoka can rake you over the coals. Take care and see you soon.”
Sammy stood and shook the doctor’s hand, then he was left to think about their short conversation until Commander Iakoka returned wearing a zero suit so she could observe him in the sims without being injured by the holograms. She took short steps and carried herself in a very stiff manner, so stiff that Sammy wondered if she’d suffered from a traumatic back injury.
“We’re headed to the sim rooms. No need for questions.”
Sammy followed her to sim room one. When the door closed behind them, she addressed him as though she were lecturing an entire class. “You are here today to prove that you have the combat skills necessary to protect yourself and your squadron in battle against a number of different foes. It is the belief of Psion Command that every Alpha should be able to successfully defeat three Thirteens, but no less than two Thirteens and one Aegis in a simulated exercise. Do you believe you are capable of doing so?”
“Yes, I—”
“Are you currently in sound physical condition?”
“I am, but—”
“Do you wish to proceed with a sim trial?”
“I’ve beaten the five Thirteen sim trial, Commander.”
Commander Iakoka blinked four times, then looked at Sammy as if she’d never properly looked at him. “Oh.”
“It’s all in my reports. Didn’t you read them?” When she didn’t answer, Sammy pressed on. “And during Al’s failed Rio mission, I defended myself and Kobe Reynolds from at least six Thirteens. Real Thirteens.”
“Six.” The commander repeated him robotically. Sammy wondered if she believed him. “I don’t think we even have a six Thirteen trial. How recently have you completed the five Thirteen sim?”
“Last night.”
Commander Iakoka regained her composure, but still tugged at the ultra-tight zero suit as though she found it to be constricting. “Excuse me, please.”
Brushing past Sammy, the commander walked stiffly and quickly out of the room. Sammy stood in place for quite a while, assuming she was right outside the door and about to return any moment. He didn’t dare follow her. After waiting over twenty minutes, he decided Commander Iakoka wasn’t coming back and left the room. Halfway down the stairs, he received a text:
Dear Samuel,
Congratulations on passing the Combat portion of the Psion Panel! Your dedication and hard work will reap dividends as you continue through the Panel and graduate to Alpha. Please continue to work hard to pass the remaining sections of your exam so that you will achieve a timely graduation. Good luck.
Sincerely,
Commander Jean Iakoka
That woman is unreal.
“Hey Sammy,” someone said behind him. Sammy turn
ed, startled, to see Kaden. “Hey, sorry. I guess I snuck up on you. How did it go?”
“Fine. Passed.”
“That fast?”
“Uh, well—”
“That’s cool, don’t worry.” Kaden smiled in a way that made Sammy feel immediately at ease. “Congrats, bro. I’m happy to see you do so well.”
“Thanks, Kaden.”
They stood in silence for a moment. Sammy contemplated asking a question that had been on his mind for days. I’ve only got a few weeks left. Might as well go for broke. “Why’d you go after Jeffie so hard in that Game when I was honcho?”
Kaden nodded, twisting his lips in an expression of pondering. “I think you know the answer.”
Sammy’s mental wheels spun. Brickert had promised he wouldn’t breathe a word of their conversations when Sammy had been trying to decide whether to stay or go. He’d sworn not even to tell Natalia. “Did you overhear me and Brickert speaking about how important that Game was? That it would be my yes or no to Command regarding my graduation?”
Kaden didn’t have to say anything. He wore the answer on his face.
“And you told Jeffie?”
“Yes.” Kaden whispered the word.
Sammy stared at Kaden until he explained himself.
“She’s the best thing that ever happened to him since Rio,” Kaden began. “He’s happier than ever. He needed her then, and I think he still needs her now. His wounds—yours, too—they’re deeper than anyone here realizes. You’re stronger than he is, though. You don’t need her.” Sammy saw the love Kaden bore for his brother and felt no enmity toward him. “I’m sorry, Sammy.”
“Forget about it.”
“You probably would have beaten us in the Game, anyway.”
“Yep.”
They shared a laugh. Kaden pointed at Sammy’s jumpsuit.
“How did you break a sweat? You weren’t even in the sim room for a half hour!”
“Nerves, man. It’s my first Panel.”
