System Seven (10 page)

He gripped his leg as
the world began to spin without motion. The hacker’s desperate words echoed.
They are on the ground and in people’s
minds.
Pain spiked in his shoulder, a gathering roar that made it hard to
think.

“I’ll take something
for the pain, now. Make it a double.”

As if waiting in the
wings, the woman appeared with a prescription bottle and glass of water.

Vicodin. He wasted no
time in popping two and emptying the glass. Asian Man watched. The driver
sipped his drink at the bar. Edward seemed content to wait, studying him.

Took a walk
. It meant Edward either dug through his mind or somehow observed his
‘walk’. Save for the old man who had died, assuming he was even real, no one
knew what he’d done. Something big
gave
,
the unmistakable shift of change. Everything he’d ‘seen’ during that ‘walk’
could have been a combination of imagination and coincidence – but no more.
Edward had broken the rigid walls of reality.

“Time for my questions
and the non-deception clause better apply. Who are you? What country?”

“Not yet. First, your
walk. Why does the topic make you uncomfortable, Austin?”

“Why the mind screw,
Ed? You know damned well you shouldn’t know anything about that ‘walk’. You’re
mind-fucking me and I don’t like it.”

“Relax.” Edward
motioned and the woman went to refill his glass. “I only want to talk. How and
when did you learn to leave your body?”

“And I only want to
know how the hell you know I did.”

Edward didn’t respond;
instead, he appeared to weigh the situation.

Austin shifted on the
couch, skirting the edge of comfort, trying to get back in. Telepathy. Why was
he so scared? He’d suspected it, deduced it, even wished for it to be true, yet
having it shown so bare was terrifying.

He breathed and stared
at his hands. A dangerous notion presented itself: the inclination to trust
Edward. It was more than his knightly demeanor, his manners, or his
grandfatherly English accent. Instinct was pushing him to trust, to open up. He
struggled with compromise, to explore the situation without giving in
completely.

He remembered exactly
how he’d come to astral walk though he’d never mastered it. To make any sense of the situation, to learn
anything about what was going on, the story had to be told. Since Edward sensed
deception there was no use in leaving anything out.
Let him figure it out for me.

The woman refilled his
glass.

“Alright, you wanna
know? Fine. I was seventeen. Big into psychic shit. Auras and vibrations and
astral projection. I’d been into it for about a year, since just after my mom’s
death, except this one evening I got tired of it all, specifically with the
astral projection book I was reading. I wanted to
know
if it was real or not. I was determined, almost pissed. I
didn’t want to be a sucker believing in something made up for book sales. So I
marched upstairs to my room to do the exercise.”

“To try to astral
project.”

“Yeah. OBE, out of
body experience. I laid on the bed and did the relaxation routine, spreading
warmth from my toes to my head, yada yada. I did exactly what it said to do.
Next thing I know, bam! I’m standing next to my bed. Full color, smooth, just
standing there, except I can’t feel a thing. I’m just
there
. I look over and see my body lying on the bed but can’t see
my face. It’s blanked out white. I realize I’m actually doing it – astral
projecting. Then I remember the walls mean nothing, that I should be able to
move right through them. I pass through the bed and the wall and come out on
the other side. There I am, hip-deep in the bathroom sink. I see my dad down
the hall in his room folding clothes. It blew me away. I was
outside
my body.”

Edward closed his
eyes, as if visualizing it himself.

“I knew I had to check
myself, to see if I was asleep or imagining it. So bam! I’m back behind my closed
eyes, looking at gray. I reflected and reviewed and knew I hadn’t been
imagining it or forcing a vision. I hadn’t been asleep because I wasn’t the
slightest bit sleepy. It stood then as being real.

“The thought of
resuming brought me right back to the other side of the wall. Definitely
surprised me, sort of confirmed something special was happening. I walked
through the bathroom into the spare bedroom and up to a window. I knew I could
move forward, outside over the front yard, and sure as shit, I did. Walked a
dozen steps out past the second story window, standing on nothing. I looked
around and thought, ‘I could go
anywhere
.’
Then the weirdest thing: I
rotated
ninety degrees so I was facing straight up into the sky. I didn’t try to, it
just happened. I walked away from the ground, maybe a couple dozen paces until
I was above the rooftops. I looked sideways across the neighborhood then
straight ahead into the sky. I knew there was one place I really wanted to go,
but it would take a real long time to get there.”

Edward opened his
eyes. “Space.”

“Yeah but just then,
at that thought, everything faded to white. When the white receded, it was to a
translucent orange and white cloud. A nebula, deep in space. Someone or
something brought me there. Something that had been following my thoughts. I
remember feeling gratitude. The next thing I know I’m behind my eyes again. I
wasn’t imagining and I wasn’t just waking up.”

“What did you do?”

“I was blown away. I
had my answer but also a dozen more questions and no one to ask. I walked down
the hall and saw my dad putting away the last of his laundry. It felt amazing.
I had done it.”

“You didn’t tell him?”

“Yeah I did.”

“And he wasn’t much
help.”

“Yeah, no. Not at
all.”

“It wasn’t the last
time you’d do it.”

“Once more about a
year later though it was short. I was surprised. I thought I’d never experience
it again. Like maybe it was just imagination after all.”

Recalling the day
brought to mind the other, bigger weirdness. Another repressed set of memories.

Edward’s x-ray picked
up on it. “What else?”

“Well, it’s a lot
weirder. My wind story.”

The driver looked up
from his phone. Edward’s x-ray intensified. “Wind story?”

Hello.
Leverage...

“Yes, the wind.” He
imagined trading it for some assurance of safety. “A very personal story,
actually.”

When he didn’t
elaborate, Edward nodded. “I see. Well, we wouldn’t want you to share anything
too personal.”

The room fell silent,
an awkward abyss swallowing his power play.

“Okay, look,” he said.
“My
life
is up in smoke. You’re
talking about shit I only imagined was possible. I’m excited but scared to
death. And I don’t know anything about you. You gotta work with me here.”

He emptied his water
in one long draw.

Edward studied him.

“Come on, what?” Austin
asked. “I need firm ground, man. What does all this mean? Who
are
you people and how are you reading
my mind?”

Edward nodded slowly
and returned to the bar to begin work on another drink, quietly exchanging
words with the driver in a clipped and guttural language. Ice clattered into a
glass. Edward spoke louder, addressing him.

“I understand where
you’re at, Austin, I truly do. There is much to cover and time is not in
abundance. Let’s start with the most pressing issue.” He tipped a bottle to
fill his glass. “The laptop. Where exactly is it?”

He hesitated. “I’m
supposed to just trust you? Just give it up?”

“You’re going to have
to come to trust on your own. I do need to recover the laptop, though.
Non-negotiable.”

“Okay, fine.” Despite
Edward’s warning, he lied about its location again, only he didn’t treat it
like a lie. Mentally, before and after, he treated it as truth and didn’t
hesitate in thought or tone delivering it. “I’m guessing they found it by now.”

“You told them?”

“Not the exact
location but close enough.”

“I see.”

“So how about telling
me what this is all about.”

“What exactly do you
want to know?” Edward asked, returning to his chair.

He ignored the impulse
to think he had successfully lied to Edward. Instead he slid right into the
most pressing question he had. “Mind reading. How do you do it?”

Edward shook his head.
“Not something I can easily explain.”

“Could I learn to do
it?”

“Yes, with practice.”

“How did you know I
traveled in the hospital?”

“Our people were
there, observing already, your case having drawn our attention. You were awake,
not too heavily drugged. When you closed your eyes, began meditating, and
crossed over to explore, it came as a shock. The ability is exceedingly rare.”

“Already observing me?
So you’re who the hacker warned about.”

Edward shook his head.
“No. We are trying to retrieve what he stole. We arranged to take you only after
your walk.”

He sat back, letting
it sink in. “Remote viewing, then.”

Edward sipped his
drink.

“What about the FBI?
Agent Morris?”

After consideration,
he said only, “Morris belongs to a very dangerous group. The men the hacker
warned about.”

Amazement slewed back
into anxiety.

“So I’m in the middle
of something?” When Edward didn’t answer, he asked, “How about some
background?”

“No background and no
disclosure. It’s simple, we need the file contained. Now Austin, I’ve told you
what you need to know. Anything more and... well frankly, there is no more. It
is the business of my organization only.”

There it was – subtle,
in his voice, in his eyes – the reason for all of it.

“That’s why you
brought me here. I traveled and you need people that can. You want my help.” He
waited for confirmation but none came – nor did denial. “Tell me about your
organization.”

The older man shook
his head. “For that there is a road to travel. Otherwise we part ways shortly.
To be honest I’m not sure you are ready to go forward. Leaving now could save
your life.”

“Save my
life?
What life? I’m screwed and you
know it. For all I know you set this whole thing up.” At Edward’s look of
dismissal he said, “What I need is safe ground, even if it means walking away.”

“But what you
really
want is...”

“Jesus Christ.”

Vicodin flooded his
system. Regretful for having taken two, he paused. Depth perception tweaked.
Edward looked more three-dimensional than he should have. Every breath brought
his body closer to relaxation, in sharp contrast to his intense mental and
emotional state. Fear and fascination mixed in a sickening combination.

“Alright, I need to
know how you are reading my mind.”

Edward turned away,
once more studying the horizon. Long thoughts turned. A decision was reached.
“It’s simple, Austin. Your brain emits and receives signals. The wifi of the
soul, you might call it. Everyone’s connected. Everyone’s sensitive.”

“Alright, I get that.
I feel people all the time, but how do you read minds? Really read them? Not
just emotions or vibes.”

“The vibes carry the
meaning. Technically it requires intelligent pattern recognition.”

“Pattern recognition?”

Edward nodded. “What
is speech? Sequences of vibrations. The ear is the receiver. It cannot help but
receive the sound waves it is sensitive to. Your brain is sensitive in the same
way.”

“But to different
waves. And somehow your read them?”

“So do you. Everyone
has the sense. Some call it empathy, some call it being sensitive. Most don’t
realize it because it is so subtle, but there is already a basic language
formed. It manifests as gut level thoughts and responses. Habitual thinking.
People just feel and assume without really knowing or even asking why. Without
training, you’re awash in the sea. In touch but in the chaos of not knowing.”

“How do I know you’re
not making shit up?”

“You know I’m not.
You’ve experienced it. It’s what some dread when they join the morning commute
or enter a crowded place or run into a particular person. It’s feedback, human
feedback, via an energy that connects us. Ping, pong. Marco, Polo. With it we
learn the language that shapes our inner lives, our world view, and our
responses to it. Positive or negative. Whether we realize it or not, it is the
shared field of consciousness. As I said, there is not enough time to explain
it.” He surveyed Austin. “Now, normally I would seek to recover the file and
return you to your life if possible. However, you present a rare situation.
While raw and untrained, your ability to project your consciousness sets you apart.
It suggests uncommon ability and instinct. Hearing mention of the wind, I’ll
admit being even more interested. Truth be told, we could use your help. But
what’s more important for you is the obvious fact that you could use our help.
You need us, as well.”