Telepath

  What was she talking about? I remembered the test, but … I thought back to that bored looking tester. He’d seemed to be half asleep.

  “There were over a million eighteen-year-olds in assessment,” Megan continued. “Thousands of candidates had significantly high scores on that special test. You were all moved to different assessment centres to increase the pressure to do well. You remember the reaction speed test that came next?”

  I nodded, still bewildered.

  “You chose your colour too fast for human reflexes, Amber. On seven occasions, you chose the correct colour before it even had time to light up. You were reading your tester’s mind to see what colour he was going to touch.”

  I shook my head. This couldn’t be happening to me. I couldn’t read minds. Everyone knew that telepaths had to wear masks because they weren’t quite human, and I was a perfectly ordinary girl. Lottery had made a dreadful mistake.

  Megan turned her face away from me. “We knew then we’d found a true telepath. I took a specialist team into the assessment centre to take over your whole testing process. Since birth, you’d been protecting yourself from the hundred million minds around you by blocking your telepathic abilities. Most of the tests we gave you were aimed at lowering your mental barriers and bringing your ability to the surface. When your headache started, we knew you were now hearing nearby minds, and it was time to get you out of the Hive.”

  “No!” I snapped the word at her in flat denial. “You’ve made a mistake.”

  She just kept talking as if I hadn’t said a word. “We brought you to Hive Futura so you could learn to control and filter the telepathic input without being overwhelmed by the number of minds. Our pilot has already left in another aircraft, so there are only the two of us in Hive Futura now. We’ll remain alone here until you complete the first stage of your training.”

  “It’s a mistake,” I repeated. “I’m not a telepath.”

  She turned to face me again, and her lips weren’t moving. “I stopped talking two minutes ago, Amber. You’ve been pulling the pre-vocalized words directly out of my mind.”

  There was a moment of blank disbelief before panic hit me. I was a telepath. I was a nosy. I’d spend my days wearing a grey mask, walking through hostile crowds with my bodyguard of watchful hasties surrounding me.

  “I can’t do this,” I said. “I can’t be this. I can’t be a nosy. Everyone will shout at me. Two ones are two. Two twos are four. Two threes are six. Two fours are …”

  “Amber!” Megan spoke aloud this time, interrupting my hysterical chanting. “It won’t be like that. The nosies dressed in grey aren’t telepaths. They’re fakes, decoys, ordinary hasties dressed up to make them look alien and frightening.”

  This didn’t make any sense. “But why?”

  “People working in Law Enforcement know the nosies are fake, but everyone else in the Hive believes they are genuine telepaths. They see the nosies everywhere they go, in the shopping areas, the corridors, riding the belts, going through the park. Anyone considering committing a crime is scared that a nosy will spot their guilty thoughts. In most cases that’s enough to make potential criminals abandon their plans. The deterrent value of the nosy patrols is massive, but it’s all bluff.”

  I stared at her. She didn’t seem to be joking, but she couldn’t be serious.

  Megan studied my face for a moment before she spoke again. “The bluff works because we do have genuine telepaths, but painfully few of them. Lottery discovers almost a thousand people each year with some level of telepathic ability, but virtually all of them are only capable of random, intermittent glimpses into the minds of people around them.”

  She paused. “That’s enough to make borderline telepaths highly valuable to the Hive in areas such as counselling. The real treasure though is the incredibly rare exception capable of true, consciously controlled telepathy. The exception like you, Amber.”

  I tugged at my hair. “I’m not exceptional.”

  “We had four true telepaths to watch over the hundred million people in our Hive and protect them from danger. Now we’ve found you, so we have five. We won’t waste your precious time by dressing you as a nosy and letting crowds of people chant at you.”

  “Five true telepaths? How can five people watch over a hundred million?”

  Megan smiled. “I realize this news is a huge shock. You’ll need time to adjust to what I’ve told you before I explain more details. I expect you’re feeling hungry. Shall we go to your apartment so you can eat?”

  “I’d rather get on with the imprinting. When I understand what I’m supposed to do, this will … may … be easier.”

  “We never imprint telepaths,” said Megan.

  I’d always known that I’d be imprinted during Lottery. As a child, I’d daydreamed about the day I’d be given all the knowledge I needed for my new profession. As I approached Lottery, I’d had last minute fears about the imprinting process, but the idea of not being imprinted was shattering.

  “But you have to imprint me,” I said. “Everyone is imprinted. If you don’t imprint me, then I’ll never grow up. I’ll be stuck as a teen forever.”

  “That’s not true,” said Megan. “Life experiences make you grow and mature as a person. Imprinting only gives you a lot of information very quickly. In your case, it’s not worth the risk.”

  “There aren’t any risks. The stories about minds being damaged by imprints are just myths.” I pleaded for reassurance that some of the things I’d believed were still true. “They are just myths, aren’t they?”

  “Imprinting is perfectly safe for other people, but not for you, Amber. There’s an obvious genetic factor involved in people becoming borderline telepaths, but we don’t understand what makes someone move beyond that and develop into a true telepath. There’s a danger imprinting could adversely affect your ability, so we don’t take the risk.”

  Megan stood up. “I’ll take you to your apartment now. We’ll be staying in Hive Futura until your training is complete. By the time we return to the Hive, your unit will be ready for you.”

  She opened a door. I looked warily past her, and was relieved to see our aircraft was safely inside a huge, featureless room. I followed her down a short and awkward flight of steps to the ground, and we walked across to another doorway. My mind was still struggling to absorb the fact I wouldn’t be imprinted, but I finally caught up with her last words.

  “Unit?” I asked. “What do you mean by my unit?”

  “You will have a Telepath Unit to assist you with your work,” said Megan. “I’m your Senior Administrator, responsible for staffing and the day to day running of your unit. Your Tactical Commander will be in charge of the actual unit operations.”

  “You told me you were a doctor.”

  She opened the door ahead of us, and we went into a corridor. “I am a doctor. As your Senior Administrator, I need both administrational and medical skills. Your training, health, and wellbeing are my primary concerns.”

  As we walked down the corridor, I glanced sideways at the doors we were passing. “This looks like an ordinary housing warren, except that it’s totally empty.”

  “This section is where the maintenance crews stay when they visit to do essential repairs.”

  “Are we really the only two people here?”

  “Yes. When you’ve completed your initial training, your other three team leaders will come to join us. Remember that you’re in charge of your Telepath Unit, Amber. If you’re uncomfortable with any of the staff I’ve selected, or with me, you just have to say so and replacements will be found.”

  I blinked. “You’d find your own replacement?”

  “Two alternate candidates for my post are already on standby.”

  Megan stepped off the belt. I automatically followed her, and saw a door with my name on it. Megan opened it and led the way inside. I looked round at a large hallway, with cream walls that matched the thick carpet underfoot. Several doors led off it.

/>   “Can I explore by myself?” I asked. “I could use a bit of time alone to … adjust.”

  “Of course.” Megan smiled. “You’re in charge.”

  I’d no idea what I was doing, and I wouldn’t be imprinted with any information, but Megan said I was in charge. I just had to say the word and she’d be replaced by someone else. This was ridiculous.

  “My apartment is next door,” Megan continued. “Just use the comms system to call me when you’re ready.”

  She went back out to the corridor and closed the door behind her. I looked round the hall, and opened a random door into what was clearly a bedroom. I wandered inside and touched the wall to open the storage space. I saw a set of clothes. My clothes.

  I’d left those clothes in my temporary room back in our Hive. Some of them had been packed in my bag, others discarded on the floor. The whole lot seemed to have been laundered before being hung up here, and the bag itself was sitting on the floor underneath them. I investigated and found it was empty.

  I panicked, looked frantically round the room, and then saw the small cube sitting on a table by the side of the sleep field. I went across to touch it with my hand, needing the physical reassurance that its precious holos were safe. These images were all I had left of my life on Teen Level now. I’d never see Forge, Shanna, Linnette, Atticus, Casper, or any of my other old friends again in real life.

  Once I’d calmed down again, I carried on exploring. The second room I entered was a dedicated bookette room, an impressive luxury, but I was more interested in food right now. The third room had a table, chairs, and a staggeringly large kitchen unit. I eagerly called up the menu to see what was on offer. Dishes scrolled seemingly endlessly down the front of the unit, and I selected half a dozen to see if they really were all in storage.

  Five minutes later, I was sitting at the table with enough food for several people in front of me. I was hungry, and everything tasted wonderful, but I had a host of worries nagging at me. How could someone as ordinary as me be a telepath? What work would I be doing? Why did I need a unit full of people to help me with it?

  A shattering new thought suddenly overrode everything else. My parents and Gregas loathed the grey-clad nosies almost as much as I did. How would they react when they saw my Lottery result? It had been hard to say goodbye to all my friends from Teen Level. I couldn’t cope with losing my family as well.

  I dropped my fork onto my plate, and used the apartment comms unit to ask Megan to come back. She arrived a minute later, smiling as usual. I saw her glance at the plates of spare food, and hastily gestured at them.

  “Please help yourself.”

  She pulled up a chair and sat down facing me. “I’ve already eaten,” she said, but picked up a pastry anyway.

  “Have I been listed as a nosy yet?” I asked. “It’ll be a huge shock to my parents. They really dislike nosies.”

  “The last batch of this year’s Lottery results should be posted within the next hour,” said Megan. “You’ll be included in the results, but not as a telepath. It’s essential for the security of the Hive that only approved members of Law Enforcement know the true information about telepaths. Given your parents’ attitude to nosies, keeping your telepathy secret from them will be best for your family relationships as well.”

  I waved my hands in despair. “So what do I tell my parents?”

  “The established method of dealing with this situation is to list true telepaths as Level 1 Researchers.”

  “Level 1 Researcher!” My jaw must have dropped low enough to hit the floor. “My parents will ask me lots of questions. What do I say? What am I supposed to be researching?”

  “You just explain apologetically that you aren’t allowed to answer any questions because your research is classified.”

  I considered that. My parents would have a shock all right, but not the horrible shock of finding out I was a telepath. They’d be ecstatic at the news their daughter was a Level 1 Researcher. My photos would be centre front with flashing lights round them. Their friends would get sick of hearing about me.

  “If Telepath Units are part of Law Enforcement, does that mean I’ll be living with the rest of Law Enforcement on Level 20?”

  “No,” said Megan. “You and all your staff will be living at your Telepath Unit. You can tell your parents that you have a dedicated Research Unit to assist you in your vital work. Explain that you and your staff need to live there for security reasons, and because some work has to take place at unusual hours.”

  She paused for a moment. “We can’t allow anyone from outside Law Enforcement into the operational section of the unit, but your parents will be able to visit your apartment in the accommodation section if you wish.”

  I gave a disbelieving laugh. A Level 1 daughter with her own Research Unit. My parents were going to faint from joy. I’d be fainting from joy myself if only it was true.

  “We want you to be able to relax and sleep properly, Amber,” continued Megan, “so your Telepath Unit will be on Industry 1 in an area surrounded by things like water storage tanks that need minimal maintenance. You’ll rarely be troubled by the nearness of unfamiliar minds in the daytime, and never at night.”

  There were a hundred accommodation levels in the Hive, with Level 1 at the top. Above that were fifty more levels that held all the things like manufacturing centres, air purification, recycling, and hydroponics, which were too messy, noisy, or took up too much space to be on an accommodation level. If my Telepath Unit was on Industry 1, the highest of the industrial levels, then it would be right at the top of the Hive!

  I had a sick, fluttery feeling in my stomach. “There’s a solid ceiling on Industry 1? Truesun won’t be able to get us?”

  Megan’s expression flickered as if she was struggling not to laugh. “The ceiling on Industry 1 looks exactly like the ceiling on any other level. Above it are some special maintenance areas, then the Hive outer structural shield, and then a thick layer of soil and rocks.”

  She paused. “Should your parents question the remote location of your Research Unit, you can explain that it’s dictated by the nature of your research.”

  Her words triggered another dreadful realization. As soon as my parents had got over the shock of my Lottery result, they’d try to call me, but they wouldn’t get an answer because I was in Hive Futura. They’d think I was ignoring their calls, and jump to the obvious conclusion that their Level 1 daughter was dumping her Level 27 parents.

  “Megan, you have to get a message to my parents,” I said urgently. “Give them some reason why calls won’t be reaching me for a while.”

  She smiled. “You can call your parents yourself, Amber, or they can call you. We’ve got a secure link to our Hive, and all calls for you will be automatically routed here.”

  I gave a sigh of relief.

  “You obviously can’t tell your parents that you’re in Hive Futura,” added Megan. “I suggest you tell them you’re in temporary accommodation while you’re setting up your unit. They’ll be able to visit you as soon as you’ve moved into your permanent apartment. Would you like me to leave you alone until you’ve talked to your parents?”

  I nodded, watched Megan go out of the door, and then reached for my dataview. If I could make calls to people in our own Hive, then I should be able to access information too. I checked to see if the final batch of Lottery results had been posted yet, saw they’d just gone up, and automatically started looking to see how my friends had done. This time I started with the most important one.

  Shanna was a Level 9 Media Presenter! She’d made the elite top ten levels of the Hive just as she’d expected. I might see her presenting the inter-Hive news or …

  No, I couldn’t imagine Shanna presenting the news. It seemed far more likely that she’d be covering social events. Whatever programmes she’d be presenting, Shanna must be thrilled that her Lottery result was such a huge success.

  After a few moments imagining what Shanna was doing and thinking,
picturing her buying all the high level clothes she’d been dreaming of for years, I moved on to checking my other friends.

  Margot was a Level 30 Protein Enhancement Supervisor, which was funny because she’d always been so fussy about her food.

  Casper was a Level 61 Restaurant Service Specialist. He’d been born with a genetic condition that affected his ability to learn, but had an enthusiasm and infectious happiness that made him a popular member of our group. He loved helping people, so he’d take pleasure in bringing people their food, and they’d enjoy sharing the warmth of his smile.

  Reece was a Level 93 Pipe Technician. I cheered aloud. Reece was a bully who’d grabbed every chance to push people around on Teen Level, especially targeting me, Linnette, and Casper. He could try bullying pipes now, and see how far that got him.

  Atticus startled me. Level 3 Physician Surgical. High up! A year or so ago, when I was trying to break my obsession with Forge, I’d had a few dates with Atticus. He was a quiet, serious boy with …

  “You have an incoming call,” the comms system announced.

  I took a deep breath and accepted the call. Holo images of my parents appeared in front of me, looking so real that I could imagine reaching out and touching them. This apartment comms system must be a top model, nothing like the basic one I’d had in my room on Teen Level.

  “Amber!” My mother gasped my name. “We saw your Lottery result. When there was no news yesterday, I started getting worried, but this is incredible.”

  My father just gave me a dazed look, seeming completely lost for words.

  “I’m in shock too,” I said.

  “This is your new apartment?” My mother looked round the room. “Very nice.”

  “This is my temporary accommodation,” I said. “I’ll have an apartment at the Research Unit, but setting it up will take a few weeks.”

  “You won’t live on Level 1?” She looked disappointed.

  I remembered my cover story. “I need to live at the Research Unit because I’ll be working odd hours.”