by P. S. Power
"It's fine. It will be a bit awkward when you get a real boyfriend, but hey, we'll work it out."
She smiled and shook her head at him.
"Girlfriend, most likely. Why did you think I'm not that interested in you?"
He blinked and smiled back.
"My looks."
She waved that away and kissed him on the cheek.
"What? That's ridiculous. I mean your poor contractile skills are a turn off, but that? Not a huge problem." Then she turned and left, her face holding a smile the whole time she was in sight.
As she moved away he could start to feel her, but it was a faint thing, and stayed about the same even as he turned off the light to try and go to sleep. The whole world was strange suddenly, but, and he meant it he realized... He didn't care.
A cute, if clingy, lesbian that was willing to do stuff with him was a thousand times better than the nothing he'd gotten before. Plus, in a few months, or possibly less, being able to have the world go quiet like it was might just be a lot more meaningful to him, personally. Getting her to like him seemed like a great plan, given that.
Of course, with his luck there were ten or twenty problems that would be unfolding with her in the next little bit. What those were he couldn't even start to guess at, but there would be something. That just seemed to be right, more or less.
Regardless he was sleepy, and while he dreamed, he couldn't recall what they were about. That meant, when he opened his eyes the next morning, he was, more or less, ready for the day.
Whatever it would bring.
Chapter eight
There was a skeptical look from the scar faced woman as she barked at him to begin. It was just a repetition of the same thing that he'd done for her the day before. For that matter, he realized now, they practiced the skill of recruiting muscle fibers all at once each day. Everyone, all the Cymeds, did it too. Come rain or shine. It probably meant it was fundamental to other things they did that he simply hadn't learned yet.
The woman didn't glare, but her face was a bit annoyed with him. It was after noon, so it wasn't her being cranky due to having just woken up or anything. Really she seemed well focused and alert, which held a slightly unnatural air to it. There were drugs involved, but that portion of things didn't show on the outside very well. It came off of her clearly however, and felt both mellow and on. Sharp without the edges that most things like that would have produced. Which was data he picked up straight from the woman in front of him, not having that kind of thing himself.
He wasn't doing perfectly at the skill he was learning, but the extra practice that morning seemed to have paid off, since on the first move, pulsing the muscles in his right forearm to make a solid fist, the holographic display in front of him grew to nearly five feet tall and turned a fairly solid red. It wasn't what he needed, so he focused and tried harder, which, as he moved through the exercise, did allow him to do a bit better. Oddly enough it was really hard for him to do when he was working with his lower back, the bar only going to about Sixty-eight percent, but most of the rest of his body was working well enough in regards to the idea. When he ended, flexing his right calf so hard it cramped, the bar went to nearly eighty-eight.
His new Cymed pal still didn't smile, but she was fighting it as she looked at him. It played across her face.
"Better! You seem to have a weak spot in regards to your lower back. We can fix that. You came in and practiced yesterday?"
Ben was a bit out of breath from the exertion. Not gasping, but there was a fine covering of sweat all over him anyway. It wasn't a pleasant feeling, but it was probably going to be his new norm. In the darkness he'd certainly been like that, a lot. This was more work, and actually hurt to do, so it felt right to him.
"Twice. Micha came the second time and told me how pitiful I was being. Then this morning, so... I guess practice pays off?" It was the kind of thing that everyone knew, but almost no one really did. He certainly hadn't, in his own life.
Not unless practicing his VR game play counted. Thinking of that really made him miss that kind of thing, if only for a bit. The act of running, shooting and hiding was ingrained in him after all, and the lack of stimulation was harder to take suddenly, than it had been.
Ali, her blue eyes bright now that he didn't seem to be half the problem child he'd been the day before, stood up and stretched her hands over her head. Her body had a tight, athletic look to it, but he didn't stare at her. That got her attention. He was being polite by not doing it, but her first thought was that he either didn't find her attractive, due to her scar, or was gay.
Narrowing his eyes he reacted to that, since making her think she was ugly, or letting her think he thought that, suddenly felt horrible to him. The day before had been bad enough for him, and Ben had never been that invested in looking good, personally.
"I like women, and yes, you're cute. I was also told nearly first thing that you were with Carlos, and I'd be a moron if I accidently hit on you." It was a lie, since what he'd been told was that he might well be stabbed if he hit on Carlos, or at least did anything with him, but the idea had to play in reverse.
"You... Picked that up? Isn't that a bit early? I mean, Micha didn't start showing that level of things for about half a year after her first treatment..."
He nodded, having gotten that idea from a few others already. It could end up being really bad, if just being psychic drove people insane as a rule. She actually felt worried for him, rather than annoyed by his mind reading. Not that he got a choice in the matter, which was the problem. If he could turn it off, then it would matter a whole lot less, on the crazy making scale.
Which, of course, could be managed with a bit of help.
"So I hear. On the good side, if I touch Micha, we both shut down that way. After that we can go about a hundred feet from each other and things stay pretty quiet. I can't read her as easily, or the other way around, but the silence part is nice. I think that effect will hold. It feels right, at any rate. We should test it too, but, yeah... That might be enough to keep us both from losing it."
There was a strange, almost forced look of shock, even if she felt it as well, inside. There was silence as well for a while.
"I... See. I think. I'm going to need to talk to some people about that. Can we... Would you be willing to try that with some others?" Her brain started pushing out ideas, fast and furious. Micha wasn't the only psychic they had there after all. There were a few others. They were just insane.
If this new trick passed however, then it could be that it might help someone. Even if it just gave them greater peace of mind, it might help.
Ben nodded. Cuddling with some strange man or old woman would make him as uneasy as hell, but if holding their hand actually shut things off enough for them to get some rest, or whatever they might be able to get from it, then he kind of had too.
"Let's set that up? I don't really have anything planned for this afternoon. Practicing here again, but..." Even that wasn't set.
The lady wrinkled her nose at him, and smiled. It didn't feel real, but she was making an effort to be nice to him. That wasn't about whatever this effect was with Micha either. That could be an aberration, or might fade or something, over time. No, it was due to her really learning that Ben wasn't there to make her look bad, or screw up her new program. It might not work, but getting a fair first run would mean that if it didn't the failure was hers, not due to the new jerk fucking off.
The last bit got him to smile, since it was clear to him she'd projected it with mental force. It didn't change the quality of the signal really, but there was a sense that she meant for him to understand that part.
"Go run? Two laps around the outer path. You don't have to go fast, not today, but I want to work sprints with you soon. Call it every third day or so. We'll start the evasion and light combat training as soon as you get up to a hundred percent contraction here. We need muscle isolation too, which..." She looked at her screen off to the side, the projection fl
oating in the air but nearly invisible from where he was standing. "We don't have time for today if we're doing anything else. Can I collect you in... Two hours? Run for an hour and a half, or two laps, then get cleaned up. At your cabin? You're in three?"
"Four. I don't have a watch." He didn't, and the woman just waved at him instead of suggesting he find one.
"Do the two laps fast then. You have the time. Really you could walk it and be fine, so get to that now? Go. I'll handle the rest of this."
Getting out of there didn't take long, since she really seemed to mean it all. Thankfully he was dressed the same way everyone else was for running, so it was just a jog over to the dirt trail to get started. Ben held his footfalls steady, and pushed himself until he started to breathe hard enough for it to hurt. Not a lot however. Just enough that he could keep going, even if he felt sore from the work of the last few days. That was mainly in his joints, but that wasn't enough to really stop him.
More sweat beaded on his head, even in the cool autumn afternoon, and there were more clouds in the sky, but also some blue overhead. The scent of the breeze was fresh, and hit him solidly enough that he started to get a little bit cool. That just pushed him to run faster, since he'd heard that kind of thing was warming. Probably in a VR, since it hadn't been anyplace else in his life. It did work, and while he wanted to get sick by the time he finished the second go round and ended at his little house, he wasn't cold.
Just damp. Enough that he felt embarrassed when he realized that Glenda and Micha were both sitting on his front porch, waiting for him.
"Hi!" He waved, since he was breathing hard enough to make conversation difficult. The smaller girl, who had even skin and happier looking eyes that day, reached out and took his hand, even though it was damp and gross. She held it too, shutting a lot of input from the world off. Then she sighed, and glanced at Glenda.
"It still works. We should go inside, so Ben can get clean. Did you have a good run?"
Glenda was watching him closely, but whatever she was thinking was hidden from him now. He smiled at her, and let his head tilt.
"A slow, slow jog. A painful one, too. I tried to push a bit, but..." It really hadn't been great. Not compared to everyone else he'd seen on the path. No one while he ran that day, but every other time practically, someone would come dashing past him like he was standing still nearly. That meant he was a bit embarrassed by the whole thing now.
"Get that shower. We'll stay here." Glenda sounded odd to him, but hidden. Like she had something in mind that he wasn't supposed to know about yet.
That almost had to just be him however, and thanks to his ability to read people being nearly turned off suddenly. That didn't mean he didn't hurry along, washing quickly and getting into some clean dry clothing. The clothes went into the hamper, but he was going to need to do laundry in a few days. He only had two fresh outfits left, in his little box like closet thing.
That was the first thing he asked walking out.
"How do I get my clothing clean here? I..." If they wanted him to do that by hand, he was going to need help. His entire life had taught him that you separated colors, which wouldn't be needed for these things, and tossed things in the machine for that.
Micha just snorted at him, like he was being strange.
"Brown two has those facilities. You have to do your own, but no one will bother your things, so you can set them going and go off to do other stuff while you wait. I'll show you later tonight?" It was clear that she wanted him close. Enough so that Glenda stared at her a bit as she reached out and took his hand again. Holding it.
"Do you have to be in contact all the time for it to be shut off? I thought..."
Ben shook his head.
"It's really fine, after the first contact. I didn't notice anything while I slept anyway. Some very vague things when I woke up, and almost instantly when I got a bit away from her this morning things turned back on. I was pretty much normal after that, even with her fifty feet from me. I don't know what this part is about." He had some guesses as he looked at the small tan hand in his own, but Micha just made a frustrated sound at his words.
"It's... Fear, mainly. I don't want you to get too far away. Even though I did way better all day. I mean, hugely so. Just knowing I could turn things off at some point did it. Well, and not sharing six people's dreams. I haven't been this well rested in years. So it's that, not me needing to do it." She let his hand drop and tucked her hands behind her back as she stood on the porch, looking like a little kid that was cleverly hiding a cookie behind their back.
His mentor brushed at her hair, which was trying to fly into her eyes, and shook her head.
"Right. Unexpected to say the least. Ali mentioned that you were willing to try this with some of the others? That... Most of the psychic's find the other psychics disturbing to be around. You don't have to do it." The look she gave him was hard then. Like he was expected to run away from the idea.
"I kind of do though. If this can help anyone, or even just make things nicer for them for a while..."
That got him a slap on the shoulder from the powerful woman. Soft enough that it didn't hurt. She started walking then, and pointed away from herself, toward the far side of the compound. The direction she pointed in was wooded, as far as he could tell.
"We need to go then. Lissa first. She's... Pretty much gone. We care for her, but... You'll see."
That didn't sound good. The lady was in one of the green buildings, and about as far away as anyone could be from someone else and still be on their compound. Glenda knocked on the door, and waited to be let in, which took a bit. When it happened it was a man standing there.
He was dressed like the rest of them, and was familiar from the morning meditation. His hair was a distinctive red, and he was about the same size as Glenda. About five-seven and just as muscular. The big difference was that on a man, he just looked like he was in great shape. It was intimidating, but if he went into town, no one would think genetic engineering first thing.
Glenda smiled at him.
"Gene. This is Ben. We need to check something with Lissa. I don't want to say what, just yet. In case it doesn't work. There may be screaming and us running away, so be ready for that." It sounded doubtful and dour coming from her lips.
The squat seeming man nodded, as if that kind of thing was just normal.
"She hasn't moved for days. Screaming would be an improvement at this point. I... Think we're losing her."
That got a somber nod from Micha, and all of them moved inside. The place was clean, but smelled a bit. There was an undertone of urine to the air, and a scent that reminded Ben of a hospital. When he was led through the place, which seemed more homelike than that, to the side room, he could see why. It pretty much had a full medical set up right there.
There was a white bed, with a silver metal frame, and inset controls at the head and foot. In the thing, lying there without moving, was a woman. Lissa, he didn't doubt. She had gray hair, but flawlessly smooth skin, and a face that looked youthful, except around the mouth, which was pinched. Really, it felt like she was in pain, from where he stood. Agony, inside her mind. That he could pick it up, even with his abilities pretty much shut down meant that it was bad. Horrible in fact. Interestingly, Micha didn't seem to be getting that part of things. She smiled a bit even.
Not knowing what he was supposed to do, and it being clear the Glenda expected him to run away, from the way she kept looking between himself and Micha, it was clear no one else had a clue either. So he walked over and took the woman's hand. The right one, since it was closest to the door.
At first nothing much happened.
Her mouth relaxed a bit after ten seconds or so, and then suddenly, she opened her eyes. They were a fascinating silver color, he saw, nearly matching her hair.
"Oh... That's better!" She glanced down at Ben's hand, but didn't freak out about some strange man coming to molest her in her sleep.
He would have, so it was
a little strange. Gene dashed over, looking at her, amazed.
"You speak! Do you know where you are?" That seemed strange, as a question to ask, but the woman manage a slightly wide eyed expression for them, and nodded.
"Green two? I'm Melissa Penbroke. You're Gene Hauser. Glenda... You know, I don't think I ever got your last name? You either, Micha. This man here is..." She looked at her hand, and stayed very silent for a while. Then she blinked a little. "I don't know you, do I? You seem to be blocking my powers though, which... Is incredible. I can actually think again."
"I'm Ben. Ben Epson. I'm the new guy?" Her grip was weak on his, but she was trying to make sure he didn't let go. "I'm going to let go of your hand now. This effect should keep working after we touch, until we get too far apart. That's about a hundred feet right now. At least that's how it works with Micha. So... Ready?"
The grip tightened, and the woman shook her head.
"What if it doesn't work?"
Ben got that part, given how she'd been pretty much crippled by her abilities moments before.
"Then I grab your hand again. It will work though. Which, you have to admit, will make going to the bathroom a lot less embarrassing later. On three... One, two... Three!" He released her and moved back, but she stayed very nearly the same. There was a wince, but after a second she nodded, smiling.
It was a bit weak, but seemed real.
"This is... Amazing! Does it work on all of us? The others?" That was addressed to Gene, who looked at Glenda. For her part there was a large shouldered shrug.
"We don't know. Micha and Ben figured this out yesterday. You're the first test. It could be dependent on other factors. Sex, for instance. It could be that Ben has to be attracted to the person, or something like that, for it to work. Or there could be a numbers cap. Where it might only work on two other people at one time. We don't know yet. We should go and see..."
It was kind of clear, even without psychic powers that it was going to be a bit of a problem doing that. Lissa looked panicked at the idea of her powers coming back, but had been bed ridden for so long that her arms and legs were skinny and lacked muscle. As a look it wasn't horrible, since she seemed a bit like a model, but when she tried to get up, her movements were slow, and it was clear that she'd need help getting around for a bit.
