The Brothers Tuerl & The Staffs of Zeus

by Bryson Strupp

  Chapter 29-Telepathy

  A dazzling array of light met their eyes as they reached the shoreline. The sun peaked over the snow-capped mountains to the east of them releasing its fiery rays. A reddish hue appeared on top of the cerulean waves before them creating the famed indigo blue. Jennifer turned to speak and as she did so, her black hair gained its own reddish tint.

  “My sons, today you are going to learn the art of telepathy.”

  “Telepathy? You mean we’re going to be able to control other people’s minds?” Idus asked eagerly. Jennifer’s face tightened a little and Idus knew he had said something wrong.

  “No! We do not, and cannot control others’ minds. It is given every man, woman, and child the right to act and choose for themselves. That one right is given to all. Its foundation lies deeper than the deepest of magic.”

  “No, Idus, telepathy is not about mind control… but it does deal with changing a person’s thinking.” Helen let out a short laugh which interrupted Jennifer. In the red light, the twins’ perplexed looks were too much for her to handle. Jennifer looked at her to be silent and with a deep breath Helen walked over to Gregory who was once again playing with the water around him. At the laugh, Jennifer’s face had softened a little, but as she spoke again, it stiffened even more than before.

  “You see all telepathy really is: is putting your own voice inside of someone’s head. Do you see what I mean?” The twins cast their eyes on the ground, neither really willing to answer. Finally Irgen looked up and said:

  “Well you mean it’s as though you are talking to someone. Except you don’t speak and only they hear it, right?”

  “In a sense, yes, but also no. You see there are two different forms of telepathy. The first works just like you said. It is just you talking to only those for whom your comment is designed for. But there is also a second way to use telepathy. This second one is a very difficult art to master. It deals with helping others make a decision without putting off the air that it was your idea.

  In a sense, you have to disguise the voice inside your head, which often times isn’t the difficult part. The hard part arises when the infiltrator actually tries to pry into the said person’s decision making. You see, at all times there are many different voices inside a person’s head. Most of the voices are just different forms of that person’s voice, often times they are stored information, which when called upon sounds just like it did when that person first heard it, but it is not what they first heard. Instead it is only their own voice which went through a type of metamorphosis to recreate their memory.

  Now, there are times when a strange phenomenon occurs… A voice will enter a person’s head which is not theirs at all. They find they have no control over what it says or does, and the voice has no real control over them. It only comes to help in a decision, or to prompt that person to do something. Now there has been a lot of debate as to what that voice is, some like Alecto and Poseidon believed it to be “instinct”, but whatever it is, it is enough to just know that it is there, and It-is what we try to mimic in the second stage of telepathy.”

  “It is not an easy thing to make your own voice become incognito in another’s mind. It takes a couple of difficult steps, none of which are that simple. Speaking to another is much simpler, so we will start with that today.” She raised her eyebrows to see if either of them had any objection to what she had told them, but the twins just stood mutely side by side. They had grown very used to the idea that mages, their mother and father in particular, did not want them to know everything at once, so they had stopped trying to ask probing questions which they knew wouldn’t be answered.

  “Alright, now the beginning is very easy. All you have to do is focus on a binding link which binds you with the person you are trying to talk with. For example, since you two are brothers, nearly every childhood memory will do, but if you were trying to do it with a complete stranger it is extremely difficult, because the link needed may not exist. In order to create a link, all that is needed is a shared memory in which you speak. The stronger the memory, the stronger the link will be. Now once you have accessed the link, say what you want to say through your own memory as though saying it to a live person today and the message should go through, and on the other end your voice should ring loud and clear in their head as though you had just said those words.” She stopped and the two brothers exchanged doubtful looks.

  “Go ahead and try it.” Irgen smirked as a thought came to him. If this really worked, he and Idus would be able to murmur their discontent without ever speaking. He decided to give it a try. He thought of only moments before when his brother had given him encouraging words. It seemed like a pretty strong thought, so he focused on it, and then made himself speak to his brother in his scene.

  He turned to Idus and asked if he had heard what he said, but Idus shook his head.

  “Are you sure you spoke in the memory?” Their mother asked patiently, and Irgen realized that he hadn’t. He searched for another thought and found the memory of when they had first seen the White Citadel. He did the same thing again, but this time his own ears seemed to ring from the noise of his voice. He turned and found Idus nodding his head joyfully.

  “Did you hear it that time?” Idus smiled back at him.

  “That was the weirdest sensation I have ever felt. It was like you were inches away from me shouting, and yet you weren’t.” Their dubious looks were replaced by excited smiles.

  “Good! That’s exactly what it is supposed to feel like, practice it a couple times, and try to talk to all of us. And then try to control the volume of your voice.” They set to work and after a few minutes Irgen started getting a pretty good handle on it, but Idus was having trouble talking to Helen. He couldn’t remember a strong memory of his speaking to, or around her.

  A bright smile grew on her face as she watched him struggle, until finally she prodded his memory with a suggestion, as to what memory to use. He smiled gratefully at her for the advice, then he tried again and finally heard the queer ringing in his mind.

  Their elementary training complete, Jennifer decided it was time to move into the advanced stage of telepathy. She decided it was time for them to learn how to disguise their voice in another’s mind.

  “Great! You did very well. I think you two may just have the stuff it takes to become proficient at telepathy, although none can really be sure about that. You have done the first task remarkably quickly, some struggle for ages trying to talk to others, and in the end they find they just don’t have the mental capacity, or perhaps just the focus of mind to do it. Unfortunately; however, many of those who manage to talk to people fail miserably at trying to enter another’s thoughts.”

  “I don’t understand mom, why would talking to someone be so much easier than entering their mind. I mean it’s happening inside that person’s mind, isn’t it? Shouldn’t it be the same?” Jennifer’s tongue clacked in the roof of her mouth at the question from Idus.

  “Always asking questions…Hmmmph…Well to put it shortly, the link we use to talk to people only puts you in touch with a shared memory. Memories are not people’s thoughts. Links do not exist when you try to enter someone’s mind, because what people are thinking of at that moment, is not a memory. Do you see what I mean?” They both shook their heads.

  “The link you two use is not a memory. It is current, it is present, and I think it may even look into the future, but it is not a memory. When you talk to people you do it through a memorable link, a past thing. Something that has happened and something you shared together.” She paused, and the brothers looked up to see that the sun was now a little above the mountains. Its beaming rays gently warmed their confused faces.

  “When you try to enter someone’s mind, it is like the link you two use, it is present, you have to know what the other person is thinking, and be able to concentrate unobtrusively, and unreservedly on what you think they are th
inking about. Do you see why it is so difficult now?” Irgen smiled as thoughts and words formed in his mind.

  “Ahhh, correct me if I’m wrong mom, but you’re saying that for this next stage we actually have to know what other people are thinking in order to enter their mind. Isn’t there just a way to read their mind with magic and then try it?”

  “Hah! Wouldn’t that be nice? No Irgen, I’m afraid that there is no real way to know exactly what a person is thinking unless…you manage to enter their mind. It is always a long shot, because all that is needed is just one thought, just one, focused on by the invader and the victim, but that one thought is extremely hard to find. It has to be instantaneous, your thoughts have to be one with another at the same time, or else it is impossible to enter another’s mind.” A short silence followed her remarks. Pensively Idus broke the silence:

  “What do you mean by being one with another’s mind, mother?” She looked cautiously at him for a moment before answering:

  “Well it’s simple; you have to be thinking the exact same as the other person. It is as though you are that person, because their will is your own will. You have to be one in purpose, and one in mind, in order to enter that persons mind. Otherwise you will be separated; separated by something which nothing can transcend. There are only two ways to overcome this separation, the first is to become exactly like the other person, as though you were two beings but in a sense the very same being, neither of you differing in the slightest. If you manage to become like this with someone you would be extremely fortunate, because you will always be able to enter their mind, because you are almost always thinking about the same things as they are, your thoughts are the same, therefore you are the same. You will have two minds, but in all reality, only one thought process, so you will be, in very essence, the same. Unfortunately that is a very long shot.”

  “The second way is really the only real way we humans have to enter another’s mind. In it we have to be able to pretend that we are that person. You have to be able to forget about yourself, your wants, your wishes, your aspirations, your desires, and instead focus on what that person’s thoughts may be. You have to be able to go beyond the very thing which separates each of us: our own sense of self worth. In a sense you have to give up yourself in order to enter someone else. Perhaps it is the sense of sacrifice which allows us to enter another’s mind, but then again perhaps not. It is a fact though, that you may only enter another’s thoughts by finding one single thought, and once you are there, you may only remain as long as your own mind continues with the other’s mind, as soon as you think of yourself, you return to your own mind. Oh and once you enter another’s mind, they will know, although they will not know who it is, they will know someone is there. Be prepared, for some people don’t take kindly to having their mind invaded.”

  Silence once again fell on the group as the twins meditated over what they had just been told. Only the soft steady crash of waves on the beach disturbed the newfound tranquility on the shore. Gregory and Helen stood side by side looking out into the deep waters before them. Jennifer waved her wrist and a chair formed out of the sand for her to sit in. She sat and watched, waiting for her sons’ response to this new information. Neither of them could think of what to say. They hadn’t thought it would be this hard to use their link.

  “Wait!” Shouted Irgen gleefully, “We have to be one in thought, to be one in mind. Right? What if we being brothers only have to be one in purpose? Everything that activates the link seems to be for our own welfare.” He looked at Idus. “I could only help you gain energy back because I didn’t want to lose you. You knew I was at the school that night because you were trying to look after my wellbeing. We activate it not with our thoughts, but with our purpose, with the intent of our heart.” After these words, Jennifer jumped up and went to hug the two of them, but at the same time Gregory turned around.

  “Splendid! I see you two have figured it out eh? I guess that means we can stop wasting time on telepathy and start with your training for the day, eh?” Jennifer stiffened mid embrace with Idus. She straightened up and turned to argue with Gregory but the intensely dissatisfied look on his face made even her haughty eyes quail. She sat back down in the chair and nodded her consent. Gregory nodded back and his face went back to its tranquil self.

  “Good, shall we begin?” The twins nodded half-heartedly.

  “Well, with your new found skill, we’ll only need to do one task at a time; you will learn to appreciate all the elements this way.” He did not smile this time, but instead looked at the brothers. They both avoided his eyes, each hoping the other would have to go first.

  “Irgen you’re up first. I hope you brought a swimming suit today.” Helen was the only one who laughed at his joke, although Irgen’s heart leapt at the sound of her laugh. He took off his jogging suit and yellow shoes. He nodded at Idus, and then he turned and ran towards the shoreline and with a flourish dove into the still frigid, cold water.