The Ethereal Vision

  ***

  Later, in his office, Lucas thought more about the suppression field that enabled the facility to function the way it did. There had been limited research done on the long-term effects of exposure to the field generated by the signal, but there was some evidence suggesting the possibility of the formation of tumours. Lucas downplayed this evidence whenever anybody brought up the subject, particularly Delahunt in the Paris facility. She was apt to quote from the paper written by the inventor of the device. During these conversations, which bothered Lucas terribly, he would dismiss her concerns with a wave of his hand, telling her that the evidence was not supported.

  It was, though. The man who had discovered the frequency that suppressed the brainwave pattern—Dr. Elijah Campbell—had done extensive research six years ago at the Hong Kong facility. He had worked specifically with a young child named Chen. One year into the experiment, Chen developed a brain tumour, and although it had been removed successfully, the child experienced slightly damaged nerve function afterward. Campbell had written an extensive report about it and Lucas saw that it had been accessed eight hundred times from the International network. Apparently, everyone had read it.

  The report stated that the size and rate of growth of the tumour was directly proportional to the strength of the field as well as the length of its use and operation. The child had suffered the tumour, undeniably, he said, as a result of exposure to it. Of particular interest to Lucas was the fact that the child’s psychokinetic faculty had become mostly dormant after the removal of the tumour: the field, eventually and with enough strength, had damaged the ability permanently.

  Lucas would think of this from time to time. He even read and reread the section in the man’s document that stated clearly how, after the operation, the child had lost his psychokinetic function to a degree of ninety percent.

  From: Report on the effect of the Psionic Suppression Field, one year later.

  It is with great regret that I report that Chen’s psychokinetic faculties have been diminished by his exposure to the suppression field. I wish now that I had not discovered this at all. I know the only thing I can do at this point is trust that whoever is reading this will do the right thing and that the information I have gathered will not be used to damage these young people in any way.

  Not only has Chen lost this amazing ability, his motor function has been impaired as a result of the tumour and the subsequent operations. I am desperately sorry to say that it is my fault. I am resigning my position here, and I implore you to use this discovery only for the benefit of these people and never to cause them any harm.

  If used on very low levels, you should be able to diminish their abilities without putting them in any peril, but even this is not substantiated, and we would require years of further testing to prove or disprove this hypothesis. In truth, the field could be dangerous to these people at any level, and if I had my way, you would be finding another method to detain the dangerous ones entirely—few that they are. That is all I have to say on the subject.

  Be careful with this.

  Dr. Elijah Campbell, Hong Kong, October 2022.

  Lucas wasn’t concerned about having manipulated Chris into increasing the output of the field. His only concern was Jane and the other ethereals. He turned on the monitors that lined the front of his office to various displays of Jane and her friends.

  There was something about the way they moved when he watched them now that was not the same. Their body language was different; they were more confident since Jane’s arrival and, strangely, he wasn’t sure if they themselves knew this. Her arrival seemed to have changed them beyond even their ability to recognize.

  At that moment, a call came through. It was Chris. It was no surprise to Lucas that Chris generally elected to not use the video conference software on their internal network.

  “What is it?” Lucas asked gruffly.

  “It appears there’s been a security breach, sir. I suspect that you’ll be receiving a communique at any moment from the committee.”

  “What was the nature of the breach?”

  “It was Ethereal End. They’ve infiltrated our network and copied everything: detailed files about the ethereals, locations, security, staff, weaponry. They have copied terabytes of data.” Chris’ voice wavered, and he seemed only barely able to contain his panic as he explained the situation.

  Lucas sighed. “How did they breach our security?”

  “The means of their network hack are not currently known. I’m working to find that out.”

  Lucas disconnected the call just as Chris was about to say something else. His thoughts returned to the faction, and he gritted his teeth. Despite intense investigations, they had uncovered very little information about Ethereal End. The committee was making arrangements to protect the facility should the threat prove to be real. The Hong Kong facility was also taking similar precautions. Although a deeper voice that he never really listened to told him to pay closer attention to this emerging problem, he ignored it; there was something else he wanted, and the majority of the committee now appeared to want this information too.