“The Catalyst” Series
Chapter 11: Once You Get a New Ethnic Group,
Someone Brings Up Bussing
They were just getting out of the cab when Debbie contacted
Alex again.
‘Alex, I’m heading in to see the doctor now. Are you
ready?’ she asked.
‘Yeah, I’m ready,’ he told her as he stepped onto the
curb before turning aside so he could focus on their conversation. Cate
recognized what he was doing, so she stood beside him to act as a buffer while
explaining what he was doing to the other girls. They too stood around him to
block anyone else’s view of him, allowing him to concentrate. ‘Go ahead.
Just tell me what’s happening and I’ll walk you through it.’ She thanked
him and he simply stood there waiting for a few moments.
‘Good morning, young lady,’ Alex heard the voice of
Debbie’s doctor as it was conveyed to him telepathically through Debbie. Alex
didn’t know whether he was a general pediatrician or a psychiatrist
specializing in schizophrenia. ‘I’m Dr. Green. What seems to be your problem
today?’
‘Tell him you don’t have one, that you were just teasing
your mother. Let’s try to stop this as soon as we can,’ Alex told her. She
did as he instructed. She then relayed how the doctor looked quizzically at her
mother, Sarah, and how she started to respond.
‘That’s not what you told us, Debbie. You told us that
man on the highway made you see things, and that you saw auras surrounding
everything. Tell him what you saw, Debbie,’ Alex heard Sarah explain to the
doctor.
When the doctor asked her about it again, Alex walked her
through her denial of it again. Sarah became embarrassed and insisted that
Debbie tell the truth, at which point Dr. Green asked about the events that
triggered the behavior. Sarah blushed again and tried to explain.
‘We had an encounter with a crazy person in the car the
other day,’ she explained. ‘He called us up from the car behind us on
the interstate. I have no idea how he got our number, but he started telling us
all this crazy stuff about Debbie. About how she had this genetic ability that
he somehow activated or something, and that now he needed us to stop so he
could tell us all about it.’
The doctor cocked his head, according to Debbie.
‘He called you from the car behind you?’ Dr. Green
asked. ‘That’s pretty unusual. Did he describe what genetic anomaly she
supposedly suffered from?’
‘No, we didn’t give him the chance,’ Debbie’s mom
told him. ‘We figured he looked up some information about Debbie on the
internet so they could stop us so they could do something to us. We weren’t
about to risk it.’
‘I don’t think I’ve ever heard of someone going to those
lengths for a simple carjacking,’ the doctor told Sarah. ‘Even then, the
chances of catching up with you and holding a phone conversation is pretty
difficult. You’d think they’d have just run into you if they wanted you to stop
instead.’
‘Whatever,’ she responded in exasperation. ‘He was
trying to get us to stop, spouting all kinds of nonsense. We weren’t about to
stop to discuss it with him.’
‘Still, it may explain where she got the idea from.
Apparently Debbie was intrigued by the concept and built a complex fantasy out
of it. Debbie, what’s an aura?’ he asked.
‘Tell him you think it’s a glow, but tell him that’s how
your mother described it,’ Alex instructed her. She did so, and the doctor
simply shook his head.
‘It’s unusual for a child to develop such a complex
fantasy, but certainly not unheard of. Frankly, you should be proud she’s
bright enough to formulate such ideas. But as long as she can distinguish
between the fantasy and reality, I don’t see a problem,’ he told her.
‘But she believed it,’ Sarah insisted, Debbie merely
standing meekly nearby, not bothering to say anything else. ‘Every time we
look at her, she’s staring at things as if she can see things that aren’t there.
When we asked her, she described what she saw in great detail.’
‘All signs of a creative imagination and a strong mind,’
the doctor assured her. ‘I wouldn’t worry about it. Many children have
intricate imaginative fantasies. Sometimes it’s invisible friends, sometimes
it’s something else.’
According to Debbie her mother then stormed out, clearly
upset. Alex told her to keep talking to him and he’d help her with her mother
as well. Alex glanced around him, checking to see if there was any problem with
his staring into space standing on a street corner. While he waited, he walked
over to lean against the neighboring building so he wouldn’t look so
conspicuous.
‘Look, little lady,’ Sarah told her daughter. ‘I
have no idea what you are trying to pull. But I don’t appreciate it. Do you
care to tell me what’s going on?’
‘Tell her nothing has changed, but you aren’t about to
confess something that will have you force fed drugs you don’t need,’ Alex
instructed her.
‘Are you sure, Alex? That doesn’t sound very smart. She’s
going to be angry and it doesn’t sound like me,’ Debbie complained.
‘Just tell her. I’ll be here to make sure it’s OK,’
Alex assured her.
She said what Alex told her to.
‘So you are still seeing things and you lied about it,
making me look like a fool,’ Sarah accused her.
‘Tell her you had to, that otherwise he’d treat you for
something you don’t have,’ Alex instructed. She followed his directions.
‘What the hell am I supposed to do with you? You still
believe this nonsense, but now I can’t face your doctor again. How am I
supposed to get you treated?’ Sarah asked Debbie angrily.
‘You aren’t going to treat me for anything, because I’m
not suffering from anything. I actually see these things, just like I can see
how angry and frustrated you are now. I can also see that your blood pressure
is rising,’ Debbie told her mother defiantly as Alex had coached her. She
described to Alex how Sarah clenched her fists, but she didn’t say anything as
she headed to the car, Debbie hurrying to catch up.
‘We’ll talk about this later,’ Sarah told her
daughter sternly. ‘Right now I’m too angry to speak to you. Maybe your
father can talk some sense into you.’
‘OK, we’d better not say anything further. Call me again
if your father raises a fuss, but I think you’ve bought yourself some time.
We’ll think of something when the time comes,’ he assured her. She thanked
him and he looked up to see the women looking at him questioningly.
“Hey, somebody needed some help with a doctor’s
appointment,” he told them, as if that explained everything.
Alex and the others entered Patricia’s club a short while
later. As a club they had a full kitchen, but they had private booths so they
wouldn’t have to worry about being recognized or disturbed. Patricia had called
them shortly after they’d left the park to ask them to lunch, as they had much
to discuss. That, as always, left many questions in Alex’s mind, but he felt
comfortable enough with how things had played out to leave them unanswered for
the moment. Now, however, he was anxious to discover what the latest news was.
They found Lekesia, Noel and Diane there. They’d apparently
come here directly from the clinic, since Alex hadn’t heard from them since
they’d left that morning. They all positively beamed when Alex walked in the
door. However, despite the club being busy, a lot of the other people they
might have expected weren’t here. The three Watcher watchers weren’t in
attendance, nor were the girls they’d brought with them, namely Tina, Amy, nor
any of the girls who were renting Allison’s apartment from her. Mattie and
Shanna had come along with Alex.
“So, is everyone pregnant?” Alex asked playfully.
“No one can tell yet,” Lekesia pouted. “Though Diane seems
convinced she already is. The rest of us have our doubts, though.”
“I guess that just goes to show that my magical abilities
only go so far. Sometimes you just have to wait for nature to catch up,” he
told them.
Patricia was about to say something, but Alex cut her off.
“Wait a minute, what’s that on your wrist, Lekesia?”
“Oh, do you like it? We each got one,” she told him,
displaying a small tattoo on her wrist of the Angel Vision foundation logo. “We
also got these to go along with them,” she said, displaying one on her other
wrist showing a thought balloon with nothing in it. “It was Stacy’s idea. All
the girls are going to get one. The thought bubble represents telepathic
ability, and each of the Seers are going to get one to denote our abilities.
The Watchers are going to get one of an eye with the pupil larger than the
surrounding eye, making it look like they’re surprised.”
Alex sat back, and it appeared he was anything but happy.
‘Listen up, everyone. No one else is going to get a
tattoo. At least none relating to me,’ he said, broadcasting the message to
every activated Seer he’d ever met. ‘They’re a BAD idea. I’m trying to help
each of you, but if word of my existence gets out, along with what we can do,
there’s likely to be a huge reaction. The government has been known to lock up
those it finds suspicious, usually without any rights to contest it. Your
marking yourselves makes each of you easy to identify. I prefer it if each of
you were able to blend in, so that if I get into trouble each of you could go
on as if nothing had changed.’
Everyone looked shocked at his response, but since everyone
there was a Seer, aside from Alex and Cate, they each got the message. Cate was
aware that something had happened, so she was busy watching to see what
happened.
“We didn’t mean anything by it,” Diane said. “We just wanted
to be able to show it off to the others in the community.”
“Yes, and you and the others could very well be locked up
together on the basis of it,” he reminded them.
“I say let them,” Lekesia stated proudly. “Peter denied knowledge
of Jesus three times and it almost destroyed him. Judas turned his back on
Jesus, and look what it got him. We’re each proud to stand beside you, even if
it means punishment or crucifixion.”
“And that’s the kind of righteous indignation that’s
resulted in two thousand years of wars, aggression and arrogance,” Alex pointed
out. “I’m looking to avoid that. I’m not looking to change the world. I simply
want a safe place for each of us. Standing up for me might not be so safe. I’d
rather each of you was safely protected if anything happened to me, so I won’t
have to worry about you. Right now, we need to continue these abilities of
ours, and to promote the genetic traits that produce them. Having us all
imprisoned or killed is a quick way to end our whole existence. I’m thinking
long term. I don’t like the risks involved, nor the implications that we’re
looking to take on the world in a huge theological conflict.”
Everyone looked down, intimidated by Alex’s angry response.
Cate had a quick whispered conversation with Noel, who explained what Alex had
told them that she hadn’t heard before.
‘I want you each to know that I don’t blame you,’
Alex mentally broadcast while trying to speak the words aloud for his sister’s
sake, not an easy task to pull off, since one was instantaneous while the other
took time to say, ‘but I don’t think physical markings is a good idea.
Whoever started this, get the tattoo parlor to stop it immediately, and
everyone else get word out to the various Watchers that I don’t approve of
this.’ He continued.
‘I’m with Stacy now,’ responded a mental voice that
Alex didn’t recognize, assuming it must have been someone he activated this
morning. ‘I’m having her send people out to each of the clinics she dealt
with. We’ll also send people out to try to contact the various Watchers. I’ll
talk to Darice about it as soon as I can get over there.’
‘Very good. By the way, who is this? I don’t recognize
the mental signature,’ Alex responded.
‘This is Vicky Amhurst. I was in the park this morning,’
she told him.
‘Well I’m glad to finally meet you, Vicky. When you get
finished, come by the club so we can meet. I’m glad you responded so quickly.
It says a lot about you,’ he said. He could feel her beaming in his own
head, since the telepathy also tended to capture emotions sometimes as well.
‘I’d be glad to, sir,’ she replied. Alex quickly bid
her good luck before turning back to the others.
“I’m sorry to get so rough, after all, I’ve never said
anything about it before, but that’s a risk there’s simply no reason to
undertake,” he explained. “Besides, there’s already enough of a risk that if
and when I’m exposed to the public, they’ll take it out on each of you they can
find. Thus I want to distance the Foundation from us enough so that it won’t
get discredited if I’m exposed.”
“Do you want us to have them taken off?” Noel asked
nervously.
Alex looked a bit disturbed as he contemplated that. “No, I
guess not. I’m not sure how complex the procedure is. You may need to at some
time in the future, but if only a few of you have had it done then it shouldn’t
be too much of an issue. However, I’m also disappointed in you three since
tattoos are the leading cause of hepatitis and other problems for developing
babies.”
“We thought of that,” Lekesia tried to explain. “Stacy found
us a medical tattooist near the fertility clinic. You know, the kind that does
medical tattoos like putting fake nipples on mastectomy patients or applying
permanent makeup.” Frankly, Alex had never heard of such a thing before. At
least that would mean they were more careful about possible infections, but
still, the basic risks to everyone remained.
“Look, you may believe my reaction was harsh, but I wanted
it stopped immediately since it puts each of you at risk,” he told them,
watching their stricken faces. “One of my first priorities is protecting all of
you, and I couldn’t allow you to endanger yourselves on my account. After all,
I’m not espousing a religion here, I’m just trying to help each of you to
survive in the future. We need to keep a low profile, and we also need to be
aware of what’s likely to happen once we’re exposed. Now, let’s put it behind
us and move on to other topics.”
They each tried to cover up their contrite expressions as
they tried to remember what they’d been doing before Alex’s scolding.
“Uh, I was going to say the mass activation in the park this
morning worked out well,” Patricia said. “The police didn’t give us a hard
time, since we hadn’t built any platforms or anything, but they did shut us
down pretty quickly. They said they don’t like unorganized groups, since they
could represent any number of different threats.”
“I figured as much. If it’s a hate group or a Muslim
gathering they want to be on hand in case things get out of hand, but I suspect
they want to control who can speak as much as anything else,” Alex replied.
“Yeah, well you managed to get them all,” Patricia told him.
“Well, you got most of them. It turns out we have five misidentified, only one
of which wasn’t either a Watcher or a Seer. I figured you’d probably want to
speak to her, but right now she’s busy commiserating with her ‘sisters’, each
of which are assuring her she still fits in, despite not having the requisite
abilities. I told her that it seems many people with the underlying genes don’t
become full Watchers and Seers because of other restricting genes. That made
her feel better. You can probably speak to her tomorrow, if you’re still here,”
she added. “We also managed to get away before we attracted too much attention.
Although I’ve heard there’s an impromptu gathering in front of the same
Cathedral by a group of Catholics protesting the new ‘Atheist Angel movement’
they read about this morning.”
“Yeah, I figured that was coming,” Alex replied. “I think it
would be a good idea to avoid most of the major churches for a few days, at the
very least. We may be able to weather this storm, but we’ll have to be
careful. You never know when it might be necessary for us to run for cover.”
“That’s actually why I had you stop by,” Patricia told him
as the waiter brought them their meals. “I’ve got a surprise for you, but it’s
outside so we’ll have to wait until we’re finished here. It bears on that very
topic.”
“The topic?” Alex asked. “I was talking about avoiding
churches. Do you have a billboard listing of all the churches in the
neighborhood?” Patricia was about to respond before she finally saw Alex
smirking, so instead she lightly slapped his arm.
“No, silly, I’m talking about if the exposure gets to be too
great. Well, actually it has to do with your travel schedule, but it still
applies if you leave ahead of time as well,” she explained.
“Well, if it’s another girl looking to get pregnant while
we’re driving cross country then it’s officially not much of a surprise,” Alex
told her, which the three hopeful mothers each twittered over.
At Alex’s insistence, Patricia led the newest girls over.
There were only two this time, and both had already been activated, obviously.
One was introduced as Brandy Stevens, a buxom black girl with a no nonsense attitude,
dressed in a simple dress with some African prints, which Alex had learned to
appreciate from his time with Chalise and Caroline. The other was named Caitlin
Johansen, a pretty bleach blonde with freckles. The difference between the two,
the thin light skinned Caitlin compared to the fuller and darker Brandy, really
contrasted them nicely, making each stand out that much more.
The other girls hadn’t heard of Alex’s mass activation in
the park, nor about the article in today’s paper, so the girls discussed it
amongst themselves. They were fascinated in the two topics; upset they missed
the first and more disturbed about the second. Cate dug out her iPad to show
each of them the video, so that kept them occupied while Alex focused on the
new women.
“Welcome, ladies. Apparently we met this morning, though
forgive me if I need to get to know you a little better before we get down to
business. So, Brandy, what do you do?”
“I work in Social Services in the Child Protective
Services,” she told him, then regarded him carefully. “Ah’m more of a naturally
shaped black woman, Honey. I hear you like your black women like Oreos: skinny
and white. I’ve got a few more curves which the black men like. I’ve got a
delicious bootie, which you’re probably not used to,” she told him. Despite the
fact she was clearly testing him, he smiled in response.
“I probably deserve that,” he told her. “Yes, Shani, Chalise
and even Lekesia are all thin, smart, and adept at fitting into white society.
But I hope you don’t hold that against me. I’ve got nothing against beautiful
black women, and you’re certainly beautiful. I can adapt to your more natural
speech patterns, too, just give me a little time.”
“We’ll see,” she replied, looking at him levelly. “My
natural reaction is to treat you like a demigod, as you’re used to. But I’m
afraid you may be just another spoiled little white boy, so I’m going to apply
my experience and watch how you react to people. I’ll either train you or
you’ll have to run me off.”
“Fair enough. I take it you typically have trouble with guys
who don’t understand you?”
“That, plus I deal with a lot of white boyfriends who don’t
appreciate their girlfriend’s black kids. I’m not saying you’re like them, but
I’ve had experience with racial blindness. People who are racist without even
realizing it. Since my natural tendency is to defer to you, I’m resisting that
impulse.”
“You realize that one of my contentions with people is about
how they prejudge others? You’re doing that now, assuming I’ll act like all the
other ‘spoiled little while boys’. By the way, did it ever occur to you that
you may be putting your chances of getting pregnant at risk?” Alex teasingly asked
her.
She gave a short barking laugh. “I considered it. But from
what I’ve heard you’re pretty understanding. You seem to do like I do, you look
for the good in people, and you look at people’s intent rather than at their
initial statements. But I’m afraid you’re going to end up like a lot of naive
young white boys, you get disillusioned by life and you turn against people. If
I can help you avoid that, I’ll chalk it up as experience whatever you decide
to do with me.”
“You manage to lose your accent when you get enthused,” Alex
observed. “Isn’t that the opposite of what normally happens?”
“I’m used to getting excited. I’m also used to talking to
white superiors, white clients, and whites in my private life. You get used to
speaking so you can be understood,” she answered.
“OK. That makes sense. Now, can we get back to the getting
to know you, and you can teach me how to behave when we have more time later?”
She smiled at him. Caitlin’s head had been flicking from one
to the other. Like the white men Brandy was describing, she wasn’t used to such
confrontations with large black women. “I keep myself busy. I already have two
kids, Joshua and Sam, that’s my daughter. I love ‘em both but their daddy
didn’t last long. But they’re getting older, and I thought this was a great
excuse to have another one, which is something I’ve been wanting for a while. I
figur’d that’s just what I need, another ethnic group I can belong to that will
get me discriminated against,” she replied with a smile.
“Well, I assume you know about kids and that you’re serious
about raising them, so I don’t have to worry about that. What about other
things, what makes you tick?” Alex asked her.
She tilted her head, trying to look at him from a different
angle, still trying to figure him out. “I volunteer at the church a lot. I sing
in the choir and I’m also active in Republican Party events.”
Alex smiled again. “You can go easy on testing me,” he told
her. “While it’s true I’m an atheist, I’m not a raving fanatic about it.
Instead I just have trouble believing in the existence of a soul. Science has
demonstrated that thoughts are the results of biochemical processes in the brain,
so without a brain there’s no way for a soul to be functional. Without a
physical brain, there’s no mechanism for the soul to retrieve thoughts or to
think of new ones. However, I have no problem with anyone else believing in it.
I also have no problems with anyone supporting whichever candidates or parties
they think best serves them. I’m not looking for people to blindly follow me,
I’m looking to help people. Especially those that only I can help, and even
more those I’ve taken responsibility for.
“As you may have heard, Clara was an exception, not the
rule. I’m sure a lot of what you’ve been telling me is based on what you’ve
heard about her. Her problem was that she was unstable. She couldn’t
distinguish between fantasy and reality. She was a risk not only to me, but to
everyone around me and to those I feel protective of. However I gave her
something to do. I sent her back to school to study those topics that make her
uncomfortable. I want her to stretch her mind and get more comfortable with
different ideas. College teaches people how to think, so hopefully they can
help her with her thought processes. If not, at least I tried to help her. But
I’ll only welcome her into the community when she proves she’s no longer a risk
to those I love,” Alex concluded.
Brandy regarded him, trying to study him while still having
trouble looking at him.
“Don’t look at me,” Alex instructed her. “Look around me.
That’s where the colors reflect my emotions. You should be able to see my
emotions even if you can’t look directly at me. It’s not the same, but it’s
about all you’ll be able to do in evaluating me.”
She smiled. “I think I’m gonna like you, Alex. You’re cute.
You not only talk like a ‘cyclopedia salesman, you seem to think about what you
do, and you believe in what you say as well. I may be able to work with your
little white ass.”
They both laughed as Alex finally turned back to Caitlin.
“So what about you, Caitlin? What do you do? What are you interested in?”
“Well, everyone told me you’re mostly interested in why we
want kids, so I’ll get that out of the way first. I’m currently living with my
brother and his wife because I just broke up with my boyfriend,” she told him.
At that, Alex glanced at Cate and she cocked her head at him as well. They both
would have to learn more about that. It might be completely innocent, although
there might be something else going on she was reluctant to mention outright.
“We’d been trying to have kids for the last two years, but I
learned from his ex-girlfriend that he’d had a vasectomy years ago and never
bothered to mention it to me while I was struggling to get pregnant, having
every test I could think of to figure out why I wasn’t successful. He always
claimed his tests came back fine, although I never thought to check them myself.
“So I’m fully committed to having kids. But I was so focused
on that, that I never pursued a profession. My boyfriend always supported me.
When I screamed at him, he locked me out of his house and I had to turn to my
brother. He’s been supporting me for the last couple of months.”
“So how do you plan to support yourself and your child?”
Alex asked, not wanting to embarrass her but clearly interested in her
response.
“Oh, I’m working at the nearby grocery store as a cashier.
I’ve always kept my finances separate from my boyfriend’s, largely because I
never really trusted him, although I never even thought about his lying about
something he said he desperately wanted. My brother told me he’d support me.
Hopefully I’ll eventually find someone who wants a child as much as I do, but
I’m not going to wait for him. I’ll do whatever I have to for this, and for my,
our, child.”
“It sounds like you never trusted him much, even if you
didn’t guess the extent of his dishonesty. I suspect that was because of your abilities.
But I’m guessing you didn’t trust your feelings. Now that you can see what your
feelings are based on, hopefully it will be easier knowing who to trust. The
bad boys might seem like a lot of fun, but you’re always going to end up hurt
with them, and they won’t support you like both you and your kids will need.”
“Yeah, that’s what the girls tell me. We talk about those
types of things a lot. We do more when we get together than just talk about
you, you know,” Caitlin said with a smile.
“I’d certainly hope so. It’d be boring to talk about me all
the time,” Alex told her before sitting back and thinking about the topic. “You
know, you bring up a good point, though. Both of you seem to know an awful lot
about my personal life.”
“I’m afraid the girls talk about you incessantly,” Patricia
told him. “They’re trying to learn more about you. How you think, what
motivates you, and most of all, how you expect them to act.”
“Look, you really need to get the message out to people. I’m
not trying to teach people how to live. Sure, I’d love to see everyone get
along better with everyone else, but the previous attempts to establish a
religion to do that have all failed miserably. I don’t think having an
influential figure telling you how to behave makes much sense. The biggest
thing to remember is to take care of those around you, but especially those who
depend on you. Thus you should stick up for anyone being picked on, but focus
on each other first, and on your family and friends second.”
“Establishing your principles of life is fine, but if it’s
all the same to you, you can probably do that without me here. After all, I’ve
got some other things to show you,” Patricia told Alex. “I figured if you
wanted, we could skip dinner so you could make other arrangements, since you
haven’t been able to enjoy our fair city much. But knowing how much you worry
about exposure, you may want to have a quiet meal at home for the next couple
of days.”
“Actually we’ve enjoyed the meals you’ve planned for us,”
Alex told her, “although it would be nice to have an unofficial dinner so we
can catch up with the other people we know.”
“Well, as I was saying, there are a few more things to go
over and time is a wastin’,” she replied. “First, there’s someone that has
something to discuss with you,” she said, signaling someone else in the club.
Alex watched as a young woman got up and walked toward them. She had dark brown
hair and a slightly crazy smile that looked like she was a little intense, but
the interest in her eyes told you she was serious about whatever she was
talking about.
“Alex, meet Jenny Cox. She represents some of the women in
the community that want children, but already have husbands, boyfriends and
families of their own. I’ll let her explain the rest.”
Jenny stood straighter, gathered herself and started, her
face showing her interest in the topic.
“I know that you are concerned about the motivations of
potential mothers,” she said, “and that you believe in getting women pregnant
yourself to ensure you know who they are and whether you can trust them. I’m
assuming when you do whatever you do to their brain it reveals something to
you. But there are a few of us who already have relationships of our own, who
can’t have children for a variety of reasons, and who still want to bear your
children without becoming intimate with you. We’d like to know if we could have
access to your sperm without having to sleep with you?”
Alex considered this as he watched her. “I’ve got no real
objections to that. As you’ve guessed, I’m concerned that the parents are
serious and they’ll stick with it. So what does your husband think about your
having my baby? Does he even know we’re having this discussion?”
“Oh, yes, of course. As I said, my husband Tommy and I have
been unable to have children because of his low sperm count, plus he has a
genetic problem on his father’s side that we’re a little leery of saddling our
children with. I discovered the community here and they welcomed me. As I
learned about you and what you represent, I talked about you to him. When
Patricia started to talk about people willing to bear your children, we decided
we’d both like to volunteer. After all, you’re healthy, you have a lot of
positive attributes, and you represent a whole new aspect of humanity that we’d
like to foster. However Patricia told me she didn’t think you’d go for it since
you have this thing about connecting to people personally.”
“I’ll admit that’s generally been a good idea so far,” Alex
replied, “but part of what I ask about is if they can support a child and
whether they view children realistically. It seems like your husband would be
OK, but I think I’d still like to meet him. It’s one thing to say you may
be OK with someone else fathering your child, but there’s talking and there’s
follow through. If he seems to be OK with it then I’d have no objections.”
“What about the other women?” Jenny immediately asked. “We
have three Watcher couples and one type one. They’re all like me in that they
are in committed relationships and they seem to be OK with you being the
father. They’ve said they’re fine with you being involved with the family and
in their remaining in the community. They’ve each looked into sperm donation,
but there’s a huge problem with the fertility clinics not controlling how many
times an individual donor can contribute, so there are children all over who
are only finding out they’re related to each other after they’re already
involved with each other. Although you’re likely to have a lot of children, I
think it’s safe to say they’ll each know exactly who their father was, and
they’ll likely also know many of their siblings as well. That takes a load off
of each of our minds.”
“Good. That makes sense. I’ll meet with your husband, Tommy,
tomorrow. If he seems OK I’ll put you in charge of it. You can check with
everyone for me. You seem to understand my concerns, so I don’t think we need
to establish any complex rules about it. I think I can trust you to watch out
for my interests. After all, you seem interested in each of the potential
children. The only concern I have is if any of them have fertility concerns. I
shudder whenever I think of someone having six or seven babies because they
don’t believe in limiting the number of fertilized eggs. If someone isn’t
willing to do that then it’s a no go. If they don’t want to terminate a
potential baby, then they’ll have to risk paying for more than one treatment.
There will be no loading the dice while risking a whole passel of children with
no method of supporting them. And I don’t want them appealing to the public to
support them and their kids either. That type of behavior has poisoned a lot of
minds against the Mormons by polygamists who aren’t even affiliated with them.
We’ll have enough problems with people understanding us, we don’t need to make
those perceptions worse by behaving impractically.”
“Thanks. We’ll be here tomorrow at lunch. I didn’t think it
would be this easy. I thought I’d have to fight for this,” Jenny replied.
“Hey, you made a lot of sense. You convinced me that my concerns would be met. I also like giving more responsibilities to those who demonstrate potential. When I’ve done it in the past they’ve always proven themselves, so I believe in following a successful formula.”
“Well, I’m honored you trust me enough to let me do this.
I’ll also look for any others that will volunteer to do it. I think a lot
simply gave up when they heard you weren’t interested. I won’t let you down,”
she promised Alex.
“Now that that’s settled, I have that one final thing to
show you outside,” Patricia told Alex after he finished telling Jenny he’d meet
her the next day. “Let’s head out and you can view it.” Everyone gathered up
their things and started to head out. As they started to leave, Cate sidled up
to her brother.
“You realize that Tina and Amy were likely two of the first
to get tattoos, don’t you?” Cate asked him quietly. “And that’s likely to
influence the other girls in their sororities, once they find out what it
represents,” she added.
Alex groaned, but admitted that was probably the case, but
promised her he wouldn’t make any more scenes over it. He’d made his point so
he didn’t need to embarrass anyone else about it. Cate responded by telling him
she’d call them for him.
As they left the club, everyone stepped aside to make way
for Alex as Patricia led them towards the corner of the club.
“You’ve been planning to travel across country to look for
more followers for a while now,” she explained as they walked. “Natalie, who
you tasked with planning your trip for you, has been in contact with me. As a
separate detail, as you know I’ve signed a deal to record a new album. Part of
the conditions for that deal is that I’m going to go on tour to practice the
songs before live audiences. As you know, my music has blossomed because I’m
now able to both see and feel my audience’s emotions, so that makes a lot of
sense as it allows me to fine tune the performances.”
She took a breath before continuing the discussion. “I’m
ready to begin my tour, and to assist me, the studio helped me swing a certain
tool to aid with my touring.”
By this time they’d reached the back corner of the building
where she stopped them. She held them for a couple moments, as everyone caught
up, and then announced, “This is my surprise for you.” With that she walked
around the corner where Alex saw a large, state of the art tour bus. It
certainly wasn’t the largest he’d ever seen, but it was sizable enough to hold
several people and a lot of equipment. Alex whistled. He was impressed, but he
wasn’t quite following the connections that Patricia was trying to paint for
him.
“Alex,” Patricia told him, “your tour across the country has
been scheduled to overlap my own. This is our tour bus. I’ve had a tow
jack installed behind the bus, so you can either travel in your own car, or in
the bus whenever you like. That will allow you to travel where you need to in
order to track down anyone you meet. But this will allow you a central,
organized event which will draw people to you. Whenever we pull into a city
you’ll draw whoever is near. But then, at night I’ll perform a concert which
will draw even more people. That will be a perfect opportunity for you to do
your magic. While everyone is watching me, you can walk around the back of the
performance halls, looking for anyone watching you instead of the act.”
Alex was stunned. Everything made sense, but the whole idea
simply floored him. Patricia was lavishing some significant resources on his
bare bones trip across country, all in an effort to help him reach even more
people than he would be able to otherwise.
“Come on, let me show you something,” she said, leading him
around to the back of the bus.
“Here’s where we’ll hook up your car, but notice the banner
on the back of the bus?” she asked. Alex saw “Sense Something Important?”
followed by a phone number.
“The album is to be titled ‘Trust Your Senses’,” she explained.
“Most of the songs will be focused on women trusting how they feel about their
man. The side of the bus says the same, so this logo makes sense in that
regard. But anyone who is drawn to you while we’re driving will hopefully see
this and call the number, which will ring a cell phone in the bus, which we can
use to communicate with them. Your mission and my album go hand in hand. You
were the inspiration for the album, so everything related to it can be
multipurposed for your use as well.”
“About all I can say is, Wow!” Alex told her as he took
everything in. “This is a lot more than I ever planned.”
“Wait, wait, before you say anything, let’s look at the
inside of the bus,” Patricia told him, as she led everyone around the side and
she unlocked the door, leading them inside.
As Alex had suspected, the bus was very nice. It had
a large bedroom in the back with a large bed, easily large enough for Alex to
sleep with whoever he wanted to during their journey. There was a medium sized
flat screen TV, but Alex doubted they’d spend much time watching it. The
bathroom contained a large shower, again large enough for several people to
shower together, assuming they weren’t afraid to be intimate. There were spare
beds, including some overhead which could be used for storage, and a couch and
table that could be converted to beds as well.
“I’ve got my bandmates, who you’ve met when we performed for
you at your loft, as well as a couple of support people, mostly wardrobe,
makeup and such,” Patricia explained. “The setup/breakdown people will be
supplied by the concert halls. It’ll be crowded with everyone riding in here,
but not unreasonably so.”
“This is amazing, Patricia,” Alex told her. “You’ve
obviously given this a lot of thought and planning. I’m proud of you and I love
you all the more for what you’ve done for me.” He then enveloped her in a hug
and just rocked back and forth for a couple of moments while she basked in the
glow of his affection. When they finally separated, her satisfied smile spoke
volumes about how she felt about it.
“This also gives us...” she started to say.
‘Alex? Can you talk? It’s Kelly Ott.’ Alex held his
hand up, silencing Patricia, who was well aware that Alex’s attention could be
called away at a moment’s notice.
‘Yeah, I’m here. What’s up? I thought you didn’t want to
associate with me because your husband wouldn’t appreciate it?’
‘Something has come up,’ she explained. ‘I was
bathing Jenny when I noticed something unusual. I saw a darker aspect to the
aura around her legs. I think there’s something wrong with her, but I can
hardly take her in to see a specialist on the basis of something no one else
can see. I talked it over with Henry, who just thinks I’m making up excuses to
come see you again. We had a huge fight, which is exactly what I was hoping to
avoid, but I’m worried. Can I bring her to see you? I figure you can either
identify what I’m seeing, or possibly do something for her.’
‘Just so you know,’ Alex hedged, ‘my record with
medical problems has been spotty at best. Sometimes I can do amazing things,
but other times either nothing happens, or sometimes something unexpected
occurs. I’d really feel better if you could get a doctor to look at it.’
‘That’s just it,’ she told him. ‘There’s no one
else that can help. I’ve noticed Jenny is shorter than normal, and I think her
bones are refusing to grow normally. I think there’s something wrong with them.
If I took her to a doctor they’d never believe me, and if they did they’d
charge a fortune to run a dozen different tests. That would take several weeks
and they might never find anything. Couldn’t you just check her out for me? If
you can’t do anything, I’ll understand, but at least you can give me an idea of
what I could do.’
‘I can hardly refuse. Sure, if you want to come down here
I’m still in New Orleans. But how will your husband react?’
‘Not well, I’m afraid. But I don’t know what to do. Right
now he thinks most of this is voodoo hocus-pocus. He’s not going to believe
anything I say about it. But this is my daughter’s future we’re talking about.
I can’t let his insecurity jeopardize Jenny’s health.’
‘OK, bring her down, then. But you may want to talk to
your husband and try to get him to understand what’s going on. The last thing I
need is a jealous husband showing up on my doorstep in the middle of the night,’
Alex told her. ‘Better yet, insist he come along. If you leave him behind,
he’ll never trust we didn’t have a secret tryst.’
‘We’ll leave right away. Well, after I speak with Henry
again and pack a few things. It might take a while to convince him to come.’
‘I think he’ll be convinced when you suggest you’ll come
with or without him, but tell him I’ll feel better if he’s here. After all, I
don’t want him wondering what we’re up to,’ Alex replied.
‘OK, I figure we’ll get there either late tonight or early
tomorrow. We’ll see how we feel after we get there. I’d hate to interrupt you
in the middle of the night, especially since that’s just what Henry is afraid
of me doing.’
‘I understand, Kelly. Get here as soon as you can and
we’ll try to handle it. Stay safe and don’t take any unnecessary chances
driving down,’ he told her before signing off. Afterwards he turned back to
Patricia. She picked up just where she left off, not even worrying about Alex’s
being distracted.
“I was just saying that this gives us more leverage if we
have to leave town unexpectedly. We’re all stocked up and ready to go. I’ve
told everyone involved that we may have to leave town quickly, so they’re
prepared. If we have to leave faster than that, we were planning on having some
of the support staff bring another vehicle so they can always meet us after we
leave. We could simply wait for them at a truck stop away from the city.”
“Actually, leaving town in a hurry has just gotten much more
complicated,” Alex informed her. “I’ve managed to make three separate
commitments in just a short time that all involve me staying here for at least
another day, if not longer. I can’t exactly leave everyone in the lurch. We’ll
have to stick it out for a while longer.”
“OK. If you say so, then it is so. We can leave whenever you
decide to,” Patricia told him, giving him another hug. “I hope whoever called
is going to be OK,” she whispered to him.
“Yeah, me too,” he replied.
To Be Continued