Sirius Academy (Jezebel's Ladder) by Scott Rhine Read Free Book Online

space construction, in order to provide higher redundancy for the
engines,” he said, lowering his voice. “What Shambhala means for you, young
lady, is that we can finally take you off the hormone suppressors. Here, in
this garden, we can afford to let you grow up without fear that you’ll burn out.”
    He let the promise hang in the air.
Her eyes sparkled with the possibilities. She could be normal in this place.
    “But,” he said loudly to get her
attention. “This episode was a warning. With your family history, you should
listen. You’re tapping the talent too much too soon. You need to learn more of
the foundations so you have a better springboard to leap off.”
    She reached for her survival knife
out of instinct. “You know who I am?”
    “Don’t worry, this room is secure. I’m
not stupid, young lady. A little hair dye doesn’t fool me. You were the first
documented human born with the alien talents these people came here to learn. As
the lead researcher in xenopsychiatry, we teach from your case history.”
    “There are others?”
    “Before you and since. But most of
our modern therapies are based on the way your body adapted to the talents. The
others went through the mandatory training to prepare them, rather like high-altitude
climbing. You’ll need a period of no-thought and recuperation in addition to
the monitor. Professor Horvath was explicit on this matter.”
    “Trina has a monitor, too. So
that’s like the pot calling the kettle black,” Red grumbled.
    “You’ll need to come back to the
clinic for tonight.”
    “Don’t tell Z who or what I am,”
she begged, exercising the pinky-wiggle talent she’d inherited from her father.
    He sighed. “Ethically, I couldn’t
if I wanted to.”
    “Thank you. I need to keep my cover
here,” Red explained. “I don’t know what happened; I use quantum computing all
the time.”
    “You borrow computing power from
others. Till now, almost everyone in your life, including your bodyguards, has
been an active. Your instructor is the opposite.”
    “He’s a nat.”
    The doctor shook his head. “Mr.
Zeiss is unusual. We call them non-emitters. A small number of people think in
different ways. Professor Sorenson needs this trait in order to be touched by
another person. They can be trained to dim their mental noise further with
practice. I’m told Mr. Zeiss can sneak up on an empath without causing a
ripple. His calm demeanor may have just as much to do with that.”
    “Wait. How does this work? Is he
born with it like those people who were immune to the plague?”
    The doctor smiled. “Ongoing
research. My theory is that he’s more focused and uses more of his processing
power than most. There’s not much left for you to steal. Once outside this
room, there’ll be no discussion of these theories.”
    She nodded.
    “Do you need someone to carry you?”
    “No. I’ve been embarrassed enough
today. I’ll walk,” Red said softly.
    Marsh gazed at her intently. “Young
lady, embarrassment is the least of your worries. If you shift into high-gamma
brain waves outside a training exercise again, I’ll pull you from the program
on a medical discharge.”
    “Yes, sir.” As Red stood to go, she
noticed an aspect of the room she’d missed before: the ceiling above the bed
was covered with a series of photographs like a panoramic x-ray. It was a
snapshot of the orbiting alien artifact, taken by the light of the first test
of the star-drive. Moreover, there were dozens of circles and lines on the
photograph, labeled with mathematical formulae. The computations couldn’t be
seen from the outer office, but Zeiss probably went to sleep thinking about
this problem every night.
    Roast beef, indeed. This man was
hiding something.

Chapter
5 – Schedule
     
    After locating her personal freezer at the clinic
laboratory, Red prepared a five-star meal. The nurses objected until she shared
a few packets of shrimp in cream sauce with them. Once she set her