The Ethereal Vision

CHAPTER 20 — SHARDS

  In the time that followed the interrogation he had subjected Michael to, Lucas had become increasingly troubled. Jane’s brief display of power in the testing room confirmed what they suspected about her, but still, he had not gotten the exact information he required. He had wanted her to make a connection to the object in the ocean, and this she had not done. The brief display of her abilities had not been enough.

  He had watched the recording of her and her two friends in the cafeteria over fifty times. He consulted with technicians in the laboratory, and they confirmed his suspicions; there had been a small, unusual spike of psionic activity recorded in the cafeteria, right at the moment Michael had performed this unusual feat. It was a signature they had not come across before, and Lucas quickly drew his own conclusions about it: Jane was indeed having some kind of effect on Michael’s ability—enhancing it perhaps—just enough for him to overcome the suppression field. Lucas consulted with other experts in the facility and they confirmed his conclusions.

  If she could do that, what else might she be capable of? What if she somehow managed to amplify their faculties enough to escape? He checked and rechecked the schematics of the facility and obsessively went through various scenarios in his mind that might offer an avenue by which they could leave. The more he thought about it, the more he thought about her, and the more he was troubled by her.

  Now, Lucas made his way to the control room in an attempt to assuage his fears. As he entered, Chris turned around in his chair and stood up in front of the bank of monitors that lined the front wall. Lucas regarded him with a nod, then turned and walked over to the other side of the room. Through a row of servers and other equipment, the device sat on top of a platform, surrounded on either side by computers. Lucas stared at the odd, cuboid contraption and placed a hand to his cheek, rubbing the two-day stubble that had grown there.

  “I know we’ve had this conversation before, but can we jack this thing up, Chris?” He could hear Chris swallow from across the room, and he turned and looked at him. For a second, Lucas could see fear in Chris’ face; then it disappeared.

  “Ugh…well, like I said before, Mr. Johnson, there are two main reasons why that would not be very advisable. The first is that it could cause harm to the ethereals. As I’m sure you know, this has been documented by Dr. Elijah…”

  “I know all about that, Chris!” Lucas yelled.

  “Of course. My apologies. Well, the second reason is that it could damage the device. It’s a very sensitive piece of equipment. There are two transistors in particular that are involved in processing the signal. It’s quite complex and if we try to increase the output, it could cause a heating problem.”

  “Heating problem?”

  “Yes. That could cause the device to shut down entirely.” Chris swallowed again.

  Lucas sighed. “What’s the best you can give me, Chris? Don’t say nothing because that’s not an acceptable answer. I have my reasons for asking you, and you don’t need to know what they are.” He watched as Chris’s eyes darted around the room.

  “I can give you five percent more,” he spat, then gasped.

  “Good,” Lucas said. “What kind of effect might that have?”

  “Well, there’s been some documented incidents of telepathic activity despite the presence of the field, so it might diminish that. Not much else, though.”

  “It will do.” Lucas turned and walked towards the door. He swiped his wrist over the security device. The door slid open and the bright light of the corridor poured into the room around him. “Chris, next time I ask you to do something, don’t hesitate. Do you understand?”

  “Yes,” Chris replied.

  Then Lucas left, feeling as though he had won a major victory. Five percent wasn’t much, but it was enough to ease his mind for the moment.