“It’s the ability to read minds. My information indicates that often a developing telepath will hear a buzzing accompanied by lightheadedness or dizziness and even nausea.”
“Have you noticed that it happens when you are near a large group of people?”
“It didn’t start until we got in the elevator.”
“Well, there are close to a thousand people here, so all their thoughts came to you at once like a crowd of people all talking at the same time. It sounds like the buzzing of insects,” Teag explained. “In earlier ages, developing telepaths have been misdiagnosed with mental illnesses such as schizophrenia. We have gene therapy for that now, but some of the same medications used to treat it in the past can help alleviate the early symptoms like what you are having now.”
“I’m a telepath?” Iris mused.
“Yes, I think so,” Teag said. “I can bring you some medication that will help with the symptoms while you’re here. Otherwise, it could become too disturbing for you to be around all these people.”
“Will I have to take it forever?”
“Only when you are around large groups of people… until you learn to control it,” he said.
“This didn’t happen when I was at the cyborg base in Farringay. But it did before that.”
“Is there anyone who can help her with that?” Danya asked.
“Most of the psions left long before the war to settle on Aledus. But we can download some vids fromStarfireto help,” Teag said.
“Jolt gave me a com-tablet to help me learn to read and to entertain myself while he is on duty,” she said. “It’s in the crate with my clothes.”
“All right. I’ll take it and download the programs to educate you about your ability while I pick up the medication you will need for your stay here.” Teag went to the crate and took out the folding tablet from atop the clothing. “I’ll be back in just a few minutes.”
“Oh, my God,” Iris said. “That was the last thing I expected. I thought it was from the beating those gangers gave me. A telepath? I’m a telepath?”
“I’ve heard of them, but I never met one before.”
Iris got a strange look on her face as she pondered the word. “I have, a long time ago. I think it was my parents arguing. The man said, ‘we need you. You’re a telepath, and you can tell us if he is lying.’ That’s all I remember.”
“Then, you think your mother was a telepath?”
“Yes, but it wasn’t long after that they left me with my aunt and never came back. She said the gangers got them.” Iris paused. “I wonder what Jolt is going to think of all this.”
“He will accept it. You’re his female; he loves you. That’s how cyborgs are. They love the idea of you before they ever find you, and that love transfers to you.”
“I could feel a connection between us the moment I woke up, and he was sitting by the treatment bed holding my hand. He was so relieved when I opened my eyes and looked at him. I knew immediately he was a man I could trust.”
“That’s not quite how it happened with Vyken. The physical attraction between us was so hot it scared me a little. Anyone who thinks these guys are just machines… No machine gives off that kind of pheromones. I still want to jump him almost every time I get him alone, and it’s been almost a year,” Danya told her.
“They are all gorgeous, but Jolt is the only one I want,” Iris said. “After what happened, I’m glad they knocked me out before that…”
“They turned some of the gangers here into useful citizens, but those that didn’t surrender were killed in battle against the cyborgs,” Danya told her.
Momentarily, the Medic Teag returned with Iris’s tablet and a blistered packet of medication patches for her. Iris sat up on the bed and put her feet on the floor.
“Here is your tablet,” he said, returning it to her crate, “and this is your medication. These are tiny med patches that last for twenty-four hours each. You push them through like this, peel off the back and stick it anywhere on your body. It’s released slowly through the pores of your skin and disappears when it is completely absorbed.”
He took one out peeled off the back and pressed it to her forearm and put the seal in recycling. Then he put the packet in her crate. “This is a month’s supply. I downloaded the complete series of mental exercises and meditation techniques designed to train people with your ability to control it. Once you have studied them and started practicing the meditation, you should be able to taper off the medication by extending the period between applications.”
“Thank you Teag. You’ve been very nice.”
“I am here to serve,” he said politely. “The dose I gave you was small. It won’t stop your awareness for long, and the meds to stop it will hinder your mental processes, make you feel sluggish and lethargic so you might just sit and stare into space barely able to put two thoughts together.”
“I guess that means I better learn this stuff you put on my tablet,” she said, meeting his gaze. Then she looked at her arm. “It’s working already. The buzzing stopped. When is your next beginner reading class?” She directed the last to Danya.
“This evening after dinner in the mess hall on the first floor. Just take the elevator to Level 1. You just have to say it when you get into the elevator. Most anyone can direct you from there,” Danya told her. “I have a class in five minutes, so I have to go. Will you be okay now?”
