I remained lying on the slipper while, as you can imagine, frenzy ensued. The director was summoned, as was a military surgeon who looked too young to me to be out of medical school. He examined my knee and pronounced it swollen, which I knew already, and ruled that the swelling would go away with cold compresses in a few hours. The pain might still be felt for a day or two, but no permanent damage had been done. The director and Doctor Alexander conversed at a safe distance until the surgeon left. Then they grabbed chairs and came to sit next to the one in which I had been examined.
“Tell us exactly what happened,” ordered the director.
I went through the explanation again, but that didn’t satisfy them.
“But that’s not possible!” said Doctor Alexander.
“Then let’s say that it never happened and forget about it,” I said. I was starting to get badly pissed off by then.
“The story checks out,” said the director, speaking severely and eyeing Doctor Alexander with what I thought was admonition. “The bruises on Tessa’s knee are a fact, so we need to understand what happened. What did you do to make that happen, Tessa?”
“Do? I didn’t do anything. I tried to send a warning sign to Liv, because I saw that she was about to stumble on a stone, and she was dangerously close to the cliff. Suddenly, I found myself in her body, so I threw myself to the ground. When I cried out because I was hurt, the doctor here stopped the stupid machine, and I was back. That’s all there is to tell.”
Doctor Alexander’s face turned white. He started to breathe heavily, and then he mumbled something.
“Speak up, Doctor!” the director barked.
“I never thought that this could happen. My calculations show that it would take a monstrous amount of mental power to take possession of a body by telepathy. No normal individual should be able to do it.”
“Tessa is not normal. Never been,” the director said.
“Yes, thank you,” I said, not a little annoyed, “and some of it is thanks to you.”
“Don’t get fresh, Tessa. You still owe me an explanation why you didn’t report in full, yesterday. You know that—”
“Yes, reporting is the first duty of a viewer, I know that by heart. When is Liv coming back?”
“Why?”
“I think that we should compare notes, don’t you? I’d like to know what happened to her while I was in control.”
“She should be here soon. We’ll debrief her, and then we’ll decide what to do next,” said the director.
“What we do know,” said Doctor Alexander, “is that Miss Tessa can connect with a subject at a significant distance. In that sense, the experiment today was a success.”
“Beyond expectation,” said the director.
He looked satisfied with things, and I didn’t like it. In my experience, when the director is happy, that means trouble for the rest of us.
I didn’t get to see Liv until late afternoon, when she came limping into my room. I hadn’t been able to sleep, although I was exhausted, because I kept thinking about the day’s events and what they meant. Seeing her safe and well made my heart race, and I jumped up and ran to hug her.
“Woof!” she said. “Slowly, girl. You took the wind out of me.”
“I was so worried … what happened out there? What do you remember?”
“I was walking on that hill, looking at my communicator, and all of a sudden my body started doing things on its own. I tried to control it, but it was like my mind had been disconnected from the controls. I saw everything and felt everything that was happening to me, but there was nothing I could do about it. It was scary, I can tell you that.”
“I’m so sorry. I was trying to save you from falling …”
“I know. I realized that afterwards. But I don’t know how you did it. I didn’t know that you could possess me,” she said, smiling for the first time.
“I’ve no idea. I didn’t know either.” Her words had made me think. “Was that really possessing? Like a demon or something?”
“Well, properly speaking, it wasn’t possessing like in horror movies, because I was still fully aware of what was happening, but I don’t know how else to describe it. You owned me. I couldn’t speak, I couldn’t control my movements—nothing. As long as it’s you, I don’t mind, but what if somebody else can do it too?”
“Apparently, I am the only known freak who can do it. Don’t worry.”
“You’re not a freak,” Liv said, speaking softly and stroking my arm. “You’re a sweet, gentle girl.”
“I like it when you talk dirty to me,” I said, smiling at my own joke.
“No, really. You know I like you … in more than one way.”
“Yeah? Then lock the door and show me how much.”
“I thought you’d never ask,” said Liv, smiling broadly.
A thought occurred to me, and I had to ask. “You said that each of the military personnel is here because of his or her own particular ability. What is yours?”
“Oh, nothing special, really. I have a degree in brain sciences—neuroscience and things like that.”
“That’s nothing to you, brainy girl? But why you are here, and what are you supposed to do?”
“I’m training with you.”
“Give me a break! The director wouldn’t waste a scientist like you to be my puppet. There has to be more to it than that.”
Liv’s face turned all serious, and she kept silent for a full minute before speaking again.
“Can we not talk about it? You’re right that I have other duties, but I can’t discuss them with you or with anybody else. My role is to follow people who engage in experiments that involve brain functions and record their brain activity. It’s nothing exciting, so let’s leave it at that. It’s also nothing for you to be concerned about, okay? I can promise you that, but I can’t say more; you know the rules as well as I do. Please don’t force me to lie to you.”
“No, never lie to me! Just tell me what you can.”
“All I can tell you is that I have special knowledge in brain science, which in the broad spectrum of this research facility is believed to be valuable.”
“Bright girl,” I commented, and she smiled modestly. “I’ll ask no more. I trust you.”
“Thank you,” she said simply, and then she got up, locked the door and turned the dimmer to a lower, softer lighting. And then … then the rest is between us two, you nosy Parker!