The Missing Link (16 page)

She pointed to the mind's eye. "Thought energies are concentrated here, and travel back
to here." She drew a line from the forehead to the back of the brain, and shaded the area. "And it is
the same with our heart's eye. Feeling energies travel from here-- "She tapped the chest circle, and
traced a line to the shaded area of the brain. "--to here."

"We must use both the mind's eye and heart's eye to get a complete picture of incoming
energy. Alone, the mind's eye contains information bereft of feeling. Alone, the heart's eye contains
feeling bereft of reason. Foreground with no background, or background with no foreground. By
themselves, incomplete and confusing, but together a total telepathic picture. Total understanding!
You see Miss Trudle, not cripcrap at all.

"Energy received, concentrated, transported and translated. You might have noticed
that the translation happens in exactly the same way for the physical senses." Professor Jazpur
tapped the shaded area of her picture. "Our brains don't give a leaper's lunge where the signal come
from. Their job is to translate the signal, and they'll do a bang up job, if you give them half a
chance.

"Through practice, Mr. Balphalar." Professor Jazpur didn't even bother to look at the boy
fidgeting next to Carole. "Many of you seem to believe that I create homework assignments to be
some form of punishment, but truly I can think of no greater punishment than to wander through
life without the ability to translate telepathically. And so, despite the grievous setback to our
already tight schedule, I believe this little review has been invaluable. And for homework I shall ask
you to review the entire year to date. There will be a short quiz tomorrow, worth... Oh, say twenty
percent of your final grade."

A collective groan escaped from the class.

"You may use the rest of this period to study," the professor concluded.

Carole flipped her notebook to the first page. She had begun to read, when an itchy
sensation played across her forehead. She scratched at the spot, but the sensation only intensified.
She looked up. Professor Jazpur was staring at her. The woman gave a hint of a nod, before walking
over to the window.

Carole dawdled at the end of the period, allowing the rest of the class to exit ahead of
her. Professor Jazpur was reading at her desk. As soon as it was just the two of them, Jazpur closed
her book.

"I had no idea," she offered by way of apology. "Naturally from my chats with Melodious,
I know more than most, but the horror you must have experienced in that Dark Realm. Battling
pure evil..." Her face paled, and Carole saw tears welling up.

"You were wise to keep such details to yourself, Carole." Professor Jazpur blinked her
eyes clear. "Rekindling knowledge of that realm in today's charged climate would not serve our
cause."

Carole remained mute.

"And your two monobrain friends, do they also know?"

Afraid her voice would break, she only nodded.

"Astounding. We are fortunate that those of, shall we say differing opinions, see little
use in the Devilles. Regardless, your secret will remain safe with me." Professor Jazpur regarded
Carole, "You have questions...but not for this time. Very well, when you are ready to ask, I am ready
to answer. However, I would entreat you to be a little gentler with my dear friend Melodious. He
was quite beside himself with worry after learning of your
illness,
though I had warned him
that you weren't one to be kept
bedridden
for long."

"How did--"

"Professor Philamount sought my advice, once he was certain you were
ill.
As for
the rest," the woman held up her arms, "it's what we are, what we do. Do not be ashamed of your
abilities, Carole. Reading another's energy is no more prying than noticing the style of their
clothing. That most choose to deny this reality is not your fault. Bask in your talents and learn from
them, but I must also caution against letting down your guard. Professor Philamount hasn't led you
astray with his concerns."

The woman smiled benignly. "It is ironic that you, who have lived so long away from the
Hub, should turn out to be more multitasker than any of us, but therein also lies the peril. Now off
you go. The bell for next class is about to ring and I don't wish to be responsible for your
tardiness."

The bell sounded before Carole reached her class, but she wasn't too concerned. The
preschoolers only had eyes for Zack these days, and Professor Startling had her hands full keeping
them off him. When she opened the classroom door, she saw the children standing behind a long
bench that sectioned off three-quarters of the room. On her side the carpet had been rolled against
the wall. On the other side, the floor was a checkerboard of blue and red paint. Wet paint, still
glistening.

This was new. Even the boys were ogling the squares instead of Zack. She walked over
to the twins and raised her eyebrows questioningly. Lilly merely shook her head.

Professor Startling began. "Okay class, today we're going to Soft-Walk for real. Begin
with your warm-up exercises. It's a little bit tight so make sure you clear a space around you. That's
right, turn slow circles with your arms wide. Make sure you can't touch anyone else."

A number of the boys began to spin like battling tops, trying to knock each other over.
Jo-Jo and Gerald connected solidly and tumbled happily to the ground.

"Slowly children. Jo-Jo, over here. Gerald, there."

Soon the class was reasonably spaced and the two boys safely separated.

"Now close your eyes and feel the ground beneath your feet. Pretend you're a tree. Turn
your toes into roots and send them deep into the ground. Feel the different textures and
temperatures. Is it hot, cold, dark, light, hard, soft? Breathe Jocalyn. Even trees breathe, and they do
so slowly and deeply."

As the girl, Jocalyn, inhaled, the bright pink faded from her cheeks.

"Now send your roots out in front of you, and follow them very slowly. Step heel-to-toe.
Remember you want to know what's in the ground, what's on the ground, what's above the ground.
If you sense someone in your way, give him or her time to pass. Keep your eyes closed. Jo-Jo, stop
racing with Gerald! Peeking won't help you learn, Gerald, only practice will."

Carole watched the twins. Lilly was poised and relaxed, Zack, focused and determined.
The younger kids were inching across the floor, some serious, others grinning ear-to-ear.

Closing her own eyes, Carole allowed her subtle senses to wash over the entire school.
The result was predictable. Hub Central was a sea of swirling emotions. Curious about the rest of
the Hub community, she extended herself further. She started, and an icy cold pierced her
skull.

She blinked in shock and rubbed her forehead. Around her the children were still
practicing. Professor Startling was speaking quietly to a girl and the Devilles were inching along.
She closed her eyes and tried again, first extending her senses through the school and then to the
community beyond. This time she sensed nothing out of the ordinary.

"All right class," Professor Startling said, "let's take it up a level. No doubt you've noticed
the red and blue paint on the floor. What you're going to do, is Soft-Walk across the checkerboard,
keeping to one color while trying not to touch the paint. Easy peasy. Oh, I almost forgot." She
grabbed a bunch of scarves from her desk. "You'll be doing this blindfolded. Not that it really
matters, since your eyes will be shut anyway, right Jo-Jo?"

The children groaned and giggled.

"Everyone take a seat on the bench, facing me. Not too close." Professor Startling
warned, as students jostled each other. "We'll start at this end of the line. Sarina, you can begin this
exercise for us." A lanky blonde girl jumped like a startled rabbit.

Professor Startling tied a scarf securely around Sarina's eyes. "Okay, swing around,
holding your feet up."

The child did as she was told.

"Good. Take a deep breath and send out those roots. When you're ready, I want you to
step only on the blue squares. That's most important. If you Soft-Walk above them even better, but
today we're focusing on getting the color right. Ready, off you go.

"Quiet, the rest of you. No hints. Let's see how well Sarina does on her own."

The girl's feet hovered over the first painted square.

"Feel for the cool blue. Sense the difference between it and the warmer red."

Sarina lowered her legs, not quite letting her feet touch the floor. Directly beneath them
was a red square. She hesitated a moment, swung right, left, and finally split her legs wide and
stood with each foot on a blue square.

The children cheered.

Professor Startling beamed. "Very good."

Sarina took a step forward and then another. Carole could see that the bottoms of her
feet were paint free. Sarina made her way slowly across the floor, faltering only once.

When she reached the far wall, Professor Startling clapped her approval, with the rest of
the class enthusiastically joining in. Sarina pulled off her blindfold and lifted each foot in turn,
holding them so the rest of the class could see. Her left was totally clean, while the right had only
the slightest blue stain on the heel.

"That was when you hesitated," the teacher explained. "As soon as you doubt yourself,
class, you sink. But didn't Sarina do a wonderful job? And she recovered beautifully. She has set a
high standard for the rest of you to follow, but remember this isn't a contest. It's an exercise to
strengthen your senses. So, no fretting about how well or poorly you do. Remember the Celestial
Nexus. Many brilliant and gifted multitaskers are denied that final goal.

"So who's next? Three can cross at a time." Professor Startling held up two more
blindfolds.

A forest of arms shot into the air. She chose a boy closest to her. "Rufus?"

The lad flinched a little, but faced the professor while she affixed the blindfold and sat
him down on the bench. "You try for the red squares. Justin you go for the blue, and Bailey, you also
take red." A pudgy boy reached for Professor Startling's other blindfold, while a girl went for the
one Sarina still held.

Rufus was the first of the three to start off, reaching out with his toes as if he were
testing hot bath water. He unerringly touched down on a red square.

"Wonderful, got it first off," Professor Startling said. "Now see if you can cross without
touching the paint. Rufus jumped from square to square without hesitation, though he picked up a
little paint on each foot. Justin and Bailey were equally good."

The success at avoiding the paint varied amongst the preschoolers, though all landed on
the proper squares. Soon only Carole and the twins had still to try.

"Carole?" Professor Startling asked.

Carole didn't see much point in this exercise.

As if reading her thoughts, the teacher explained, "It's not just a matter of Soft-Walking,
more importantly it's about gleaning as much information from the surrounding terrain as possible.
That's why we focus on the color, more than on the ability to float above it."

Carole sighed and accepted the blindfold.

"I'd like you to do things a little differently. I'll call the pattern for you to follow. Try to
complete the task as quickly as possible. When you're ready."

There was an excited murmur from the preschoolers as they pushed in close. Carole
crouched on the bench, tied on her blindfold, pivoted towards the checkerboard floor and
nodded.

"Red."

She stepped without hesitation, feeling a slight cushioning effect as she hovered above
the floor.

"Blue."

She moved right.

"Blue."

She moved straight.

"Red."

Carole stepped left.

"Blue, red, red, blue."

She stepped four times in quick succession.

"Please turn around and follow this pattern back. Blue, red, blue, blue red, blue, red,
red."

Carole zigzagged across the floor, hopped onto the bench and pulled off her
blindfold.

Jo-jo swished a palm through the air. "Cool, Carole. You slide."

Jo-jo's buddies imitated him, repeating his words.

"You see, there's more to this exercise than just skimming over the ground. One need
not tear across terrain totally blind and unknowing. So tell me, aside from color, were the squares
all the same?"

"No. The second last tile, the red one, was rougher...not as polished as the others."

"Excellent. See class, much can be gained from our subtle senses, even if, let's say you've
leapt totally unprepared into a realm and are forced to flee without a proper look around."

Carole peered hard at her teacher, but Professor Startling was already focused on Lilly
and Zack.

"Now for our two off-world celebrities."

"He's no celbritty. That's just Zacky," Jo-jo said.

"Be that as it may. We've reached a cross-roads in their education, but I have the fullest
confidence."

"You can't be serious?" Zack said.

"Maybe not about Soft-Walking, but about extending your senses, I have no doubt.
Lilly?"

Exhaling loudly, Lilly accepted a blindfold.

"Try to Soft-Walk, but more importantly, find and keep to your color. For you Lilly, I'd
like you to follow the blue path. Zack will take the red."

Lilly tightened the blindfold around her eyes, felt her way to the bench and sat
down.

"Set your roots into the ground and extend them across the grid. Differentiate the cool
blue from the hot red."

Lilly cocked her head to one side, as if she were listening, then deliberately stretched
out her right foot and placed it into the middle of a blue square. Standing, she took a second step,
landing in the center of another blue square. The thick paint squelched noisily between her
toes.

"Ewww!" The preschoolers grimaced appreciatively.