Crossed Off: Someone Else’s Goat Tails (Part III)

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Though Starla felt awkward, Magnus Shapiro and Denton stared at each other like they were in the middle of an intense game of Polygon. She had checked in with their minds briefly while reading the menu; only long enough to find that they had all decided to order soup because it was the quickest thing to swallow, allowing a more fluid conversation. Shapiro could somehow feel her inside his head, so she was forced to leave quickly. “You’re a telepath.”

“Not in so few words,” Starla answered, trying her best to reach their intellectual levels.

After the waitress left, Magnus Shapiro placed his elbows on the table and pursued a line of question. “Tell me. Can you control my actions?”

“I can control your movements.”

“The difference?”

“I can possess your body and make people think I’m you. And when I’m there, I can either give you my body, force you to be a passenger, or put your mind to sleep. But, I can’t change your thoughts, so you’ll notice a time shift if I take full control. My ability to read minds is just a required secondary power, and I don’t use it that often. People have messed up thoughts.”

“Fascinating. And you, Mister Wescott?”

“I can learn what others know just by being around them. I can’t read their minds, but I absorb their knowledge after I’ve been around them for long enough. There are downsides to this. I crave the knowledge to a greater level than you crave tomato soup, and everyone has to be conscious for it, which means that I don’t get a lot of sleep. I was hoping you could somehow teach me self-restraint and discipline.”

Magnus Shapiro, who insisted they call him Dathan from then on, nodded his head and processed the information. “Due to my—honestly, there is no subtler way to put this—superior intelligence, I intuited that there were others, but what you’re implying is not what I predicted.”

“What did you expect?” Denton asked.

Dathan went on, “I assumed that others like me would simply be either more or less intelligent than I. My theory was that, if we could harness our brain power more effectively, we could do anything within the laws of physics; but all laws would remain at a constant. If Subject A is telepathic, and Subject B is empathic, it simply means that Subject B has not yet learned telepathy, and also that Subject A must necessarily be empathic as well. But you two have latched on to niches. I have no reason to believe that you, Starla could one day absorb knowledge passively. Likewise, I can’t imagine that Denton would ever be capable transferring his consciousness to others.”

“Because we’re too dumb for it?” Starla asked.

Denton laughed. “No. He’s saying that it’s not about how smart we are. The fact that the three of us present completely different abilities suggests that something else is the cause. We’re not dumb, but we aren’t this way because we’re smarter. We’re this way because our genetic code is different than that of normal people.”

“Yes,” Dathan responded, this time not concerned that the waitress could hear them. “What I want to know is why. The only reason organisms evolve is because certain individuals in a generation possess a random mutation that turns out to be beneficial to their survival. They pass on these genes either because they live long enough to propagate their species—to the disappointment of those without the mutation—or because potential mates find the mutation in question to be desirable, to the frustration of less desirable rivals.”

“And is that not what’s happening here?” Starla was more lost than ever.

“Well, we’re human. We aren’t born with a fur coat, because we kill animals and take their coats. We don’t have large sharp teeth to build shelters with trees because we’re smart enough to develop sophisticated tools that do that for us. Do not misunderstand me, evolution is still going strong for the human race. You can’t stop mutations, despite what eugenicists might love to believe...” Dathan trailed off and stopped himself. He had just discovered a truth. “That’s it.”

Denton leaned forward. “What’s it?”

“Eugenicists. That’s the only explanation.”

“I don’t follow,” Dathan said. “I mean, I do follow. I know exactly what you’re talking about, but I don’t quite know how you came to the conclusion that you could rule out all possibilities besides eugenics.”

Starla adjusted herself in her chair. “I just plain don’t follow.”

Denton explained it to her while Dathan remained in his trance. “Eugenics is built on the idea that we can pick and choose desirable mutations purposely. Instead of a fish being able to survive better than its brothers because it has larger fins and is thusly a little faster, a person protects that fish and forces it to mate with others it has chosen, sometimes killing fish they don’t like. It’s basically breeding. We’ve seen it with the kaidas. Someone liked goats, but they didn’t like how bad goats were with the indoors, so they only kept the baby goats that could be better trained. Only those goats were allowed to make more babies, and eventually you have a completely docile and obedient kaidas who would have a hard time surviving in the wild, and even looks noticeably different than a wild goat. And some of them were bred for their milk, meat, and fur, so you have farm goats which are neither docile nor wild. That doesn’t sound like much of a problem until you apply these same principles to humans, and try to decide who is allowed to live and procreate, and who is of no use and needs to be discarded.”

“That’s awful.”

Denton shrugged, clearly used to being the smartest one in the room. “It’s what the War of 1899 was about. A disgraced lawyer who lives on the other side of the world reads articles about eugenics from our scientists and becomes responsible for the killing of thousands of people because they weren’t good enough for him and his followers. We blame his country, and bomb the hell out of it.”

“I guess I should pay better attention in history class.”

Denton looked down at his soup, first realizing that he had yet to try it. “I cannot relate to that. I often wish I could.”

Dathan finally came back to the discussion. “I as well.”

Starla laughed. “Oh, you’re still here? Have you figured out what’s wrong with us?”

“Absolutely nothing, of course. I haven’t really figured out anything. Mister Wescott was right. There are other possibilities that I cannot yet rule out, but my instinct is that this was done to us intentionally.”

“But the timeline doesn’t work out,” Denton countered. “Not with how slow evolution is, and how recently scientists would have needed to have so much as attempted this.”

Dathan scratched his hair vigorously. “No, you’re right; it doesn’t. For our abilities to be so ingrained in us that we use them without thinking, experiments would have to have been done to our ancestors many generations back. But for the necessary technology to exist, it couldn’t have happened more than a century ago, even assuming the rogue scientists were twenty years ahead of the standard.”

“Sounds like we’re in a pickle.” Starla took a bite out of her pickle.

“If our crazy theory about ancient rogue scientists is true, you know what else this means, right?” Denton asked of Dathan who nodded in agreement.

“That they probably didn’t limit themselves to neurological enhancements, and that if we’re not alone, other people could have drastically different abilities that have barely anything to do with the brain?” Starla slurped up the remaining pickle seeds and prepared to go back to her soup. When they looked at her funny, she simply said, “what? Is that wrong?”

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Microstory 110: Bernard Maly

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Bernard Maly was born with a number of different and statistically unlikely animalistic mutations; almost all of which were tailor-made for climbing. His fingers are long and contain three separate knuckles, allowing them to wrap around objects and hold a grip indefinitely. Little hairs called setae grew on his palms that adhere to surfaces while leaving barely any residue. Instead of feet, he has mountain goat-like hooves that are excellent for finding footholds, but are also human enough to allow natural walking. The outside of his ankles have claws that are tough enough to dig into trees and even rock. The skin on his chest, arms, and legs is covered in scales, and he has been known to hang from the underside of a cliff without using his hands of feet at all. Finally, he can survive drops from great heights. As long he keeps himself in peak physical condition, the surface area of his body will slow the rate of his fall before his muscular arms and legs spread the force of landing. This also allows him to jump higher than most people, though not as high as Tracy Wickham. Bernard spent the majority of his childhood and adulthood living happily on the the same island as Colton Underwood, and suffered very few of the normal traumas of life. As impressive as anomaly abilities were, it was always very important to the founders of Bellevue to utilize the expertise of others, regardless of what their genetics allowed them to do. Some of them, like Blake Williams and Verner Holt, pursued careers ultimately inspired by their abilities, but others studied unrelated fields. This meant that they were able to contribute to the betterment of the world regardless of their DNA. Bernard was reluctant to join, mostly because he didn’t feel like his abilities were all that useful outside of his island, but also because he grew up never having learned any other skills. He never felt like he knew what to say, so he instinctively chose to say nothing. Despite this, he later served an important role in the organization, traveling around the world, recruiting others. Though the team needed someone who was good with words, they also needed someone who was capable of demonstrating quite expressively what kind of people that potential recruits would be working with. He proudly served as their “awe factor”.

Microstory 109: Seoc Lyne

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Máire Lyne and her brother, Seoc Lyne did not share the exact same ability, though they were similar. While Máire could merge other people into her body, Seoc could merge himself into other people’s bodies. This was not spirit possession. He had control over neither their actions nor their minds, though he was able to communicate with his host using a psychic connection. He would also cause his host to become nigh invulnerable. Despite having grown up in Ireland, the siblings left the island at an early age to live with a distant cousin in Greenland following the death of their parents. They were eventually conscripted into the agency that acted as the intelligence and paramilitary arm of the Confederacy. The organization was so secretive that it was never given a name. There they both trained as field agents, using their abilities in an elite strike force that traveled the world, stopping terrorist attacks and other threats before they happened. Though Seoc could fuse with anyone and everyone, he found it to be a rather personal endeavor, and chose only to do so with his partner, Rashad. After many missions of sharing the same body; exchanging private thoughts and emotions, Seoc and Rashad fell in love with each other, and ultimately set a date for marriage. A notorious separatist leader known only as The Destruction gathered enough intelligence on the team, and attacked them during the couple’s engagement dinner. Seoc and Rashad were too far apart from each other and were unable to merge, leading to Rashad’s gruesome death. For years, Seoc remained behind a desk, refusing to merge himself into anyone else. His sister remained on the team, on the hunt for The Destruction and his network. It was only when Bellevue came out to the world that he decided to go back into the field. He and his sister quit their agency and developed a new strike force; consisting only of people with abilities. Seoc soon caught up with the Destruction, and placed him in Bellevue lockup. This would turn out to be the first of many missions successfully completed by the infamous Team 8.

Microstory 108: Verner Holt

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As mentioned earlier, second generation anomalies were few and far between, though they did exist. Verner Holt was one of these. He was kept secret by his father, an early active member of Bellevue, for several years before being discovered, even though his ability didn’t manifest until just before. One morning, little Verner was walking down the street with his mother. A homeless veteran of war happened to be experiencing traumatic flashbacks in the alleyway up ahead. While his mother was waiting for a street vendor to complete the transaction, Verner broke away and approached the veteran. What he saw in there were enemy and friendly soldiers, battling in the trenches. He watched as the vet fought off a combatant and killed him with his bayonet. Even though he too could see the soldiers, he knew that they were hallucinations, and could no longer hurt anyone. Out of instinct, he approached the vet who was scared out of his mind, and comforted him by touch. Without saying a word, Verner was eventually able to somehow convey to the man that these were only memories, and that the war had long past. Luckily, before Verner’s mother found the alley where the two new friends were sitting, the hallucinations had depleted entirely. While he was not entirely cured of his post-traumatic stress disorder, what Verner did for him in that moment gave him the faculties and time he needed to contact Bellevue and report his miraculous encounter with the anomaly boy. Verner went on to enter the field of psychiatry, using his ability out in the open to treat severe neurological conditions. A side of effect of his profession was a cult-like following of former patients, grateful for having known the one and only person who could truly understand what they were going through.

Microstory 107: Jayson Casy

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Most anomalies discovered their abilities very early on in life. Some are noted by their families as being different right out of the gate. Others don’t begin to manifest until around puberty. The most common range is between ages six and eight; the theory being that a child is, at that point, both old enough to understand past, present and consequences, but also young enough to be free from society’s preconceived notions. Jayson Casy was notably old when his problems first began. While he was walking down the hill of university—as was tradition for the graduation ceremony—the flowers that lined the path began to die. Fortunately, he was not alone for the march, so no one was aware that he was the culprit. Soon afterwards, it happened once more at a botanical garden, and Jayson was forced to admit to himself that he was the common denominator. It was clear to him that he was somehow the physical incarnation of death, and it was because of this that he decided to sequester himself from other people. He spent what little money he had on camping and hunting supplies, and left the city for the deep of a forest. He ate only freeze-dried food while he practiced his ability on plant life, learning to keep himself from using it. Without this control, any animal he tried to kill for food would nearly instantly decay and turn to dust. Still, he did not return to civilization, and his family never saw him again. After decades of being alone, a man was hiking nearby when he fell off a short cliff and broke his leg on some rocks. Jayson had formed a strict rule that he would ignore every human that came too close, but the man’s cries of pain overwhelmed him, and Jayson came to his aid. He placed his leg in a splint and treated his cuts. He then dragged the man to his encampment and nursed him back to health. The man spoke of the world beyond, and gave him a crash course in current events, telling tales of Bellevue, and people with superhuman abilities. Feeling confident with his control, Jayson gave into his feelings and he and the man slept together. When he woke up the next morning, he found himself alone with nothing but a pile of dust. He had lost control during sleep, and killed his lover. He approached Bellevue on his own accord and asked to be placed in quarantine, or killed. With careful study, they were able to determine the nature of his ability. As it turned out, it wasn’t just that he was killing life. His true power was much more exciting.

Microstory 106: Colton Underwood

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Though exceptional, anomalies were generally indistinguishable from regular humans. There was this thing where they all had green eyes, but that was certainly not a useful character specification. There were a few, however, who exhibited extremely noticeable physical mutations. These were, as far as we can tell, the result of gene splicing experiments; mixing human DNA with that of some kind of animal. Their motives were lost to history, and hard to estimate seeing as that none of the presumed animals would be deeply helpful when trying to enhance a human’s abilities. One might think that giving a human gills so that they could breathe underwater, or even traits of a flea so that they could jump farther, would be the best use of such technology. Perhaps they did try such experiments, but the subjects perished, or their descendants never evolved later on. One descendant who did manage to survive evolution was named Colton Underwood. He was born extremely small; barely weighing in at two pounds. The doctors believed that he would not survive the night, but he grew stronger and healthier as his mother fed him. In fact, he did not leave his mother’s bosom even for a second for nearly a month. His appearance was very different. He did not develop opposable thumbs, and he sported an epidermal membrane that spread from his shoulders to his hips and outward along his limbs. These were referred to as his gliders, and superficially resembled wings. They allowed him to potentially glide through the air for miles, depending on the height of his origin. The government stepped in almost immediately. They provided his family with a mountainous and heavily forested small island of their own, so that he could feel free, but still technically be trapped. The hospital staff signed nondisclosure agreements, and the family lived in the peace of a simple life for many years. They were unavoidably cut off from the world, and they all accepted this, seeing no other solution. It occurred to no one to have his gliders surgically removed so that he could assimilate into society. Eventually, this island became a home for other people with inexplicable mutations. A high-ranking officer in the military was all but the only thing standing between the mutants and anyone who intended to study the subjects for any sort of gain, be it benevolent or not. It wasn’t until Bellevue made contact with the government that the mutants suddenly had a choice in their lives; a group to truly belong to. They were finally given the opportunity to leave their snowglobe, and show themselves to the world.

The Advancement of Mateo Matic: April 8, 2032

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Mateo spent a few minutes just staring at Leona sleeping next to him. He felt responsible for turning her into a salmon; for forcing her into this life. But he was also grateful to always have someone with him. If they hadn’t fallen in love, it would have still been nice to have a partner.

She woke up quickly, possibly sensing his gaze. They looked at each other for a good long while, not saying a word. “I’ve been waiting to wake up next to you for a very long time.”

Mateo looked away. “Nothing happened between us last night.”

“I know that.” She sat up and leaned against the headboard. “This is gonna get awkward.”

“How so?”

“Well, I’m pretty sure you and I are together now. But our family is always going to be around, at least for a long time. We won’t be left alone very much. Even though our life will be saturated, they will have waited months to see us again. Doesn’t seem fair to take a break from them for sex when they don’t get to see us very often.”

“We’re alone now.”

“We’re not doing it this year. This is just the first conversation on the matter.”

“I just mean...I think they know that. They’ve been alive long enough to understand. They’re probably not here at the moment so that we would have some privacy. What we do with that time is up to us.”

Leona bit her lower lip in thought. “I think we should use that time to eat.”

“I agree.” Fittingly, there was a knock on the door and the sound of Theo on the other side. Mateo pulled on a shirt someone had laid out for him and opened the door. “Hey, kid. You look older.”

“I’m getting there.” He sported an evil smile. “Did we give you two enough time?”

Mateo looked back to Leona with a smirk. “What did I tell you?”

She ignored him. “Theo, have you been missing for two years?”

“Of course not, I’ve been back home. I spend the year there. I told them where you are. They kind of already knew what was going on, what with the fact that your older boyfriend only came ‘round once a year, if that. They’re not happy, but they get that you wanted to make a clean break.” He walked all the way inside and sat down on the table. “They just need a call from you every year.”

“I can do that, now that things have settled down.”

Theo looked up to Mateo. “Leona is going to take me to lunch since I’m too old to drive. Your mother wants to get to know you.”

“Go ahead,” Leona urged. “We have all of time and space.”

Mateo laughed. “Is that a reference?”

He met his mother outside by the pool where she suggested they go for a walk. There was still much to learn of each other, and the healing process was just beginning. “Where is your husband?”

“A couple of our friends dropped in, so they’re catching up, just like we are.”

“How do you know anyone?”

“They’re salmon. I believe you know one of them. He healed you once?”

“Ah, yes. Vearden, right?”

“That’s right. They both lived with us in in the 1740s, but we knew his partner, Saga from the jump before.”

“Speaking of non sequiturs, what am I supposed to call you?”

She smiled kindly. “You can call me whatever you want, but if you prefer a name, then it’s Aura.”

“And why is that? You used to be Lauren.”

“It changes each time we jump. Intellectually, I know that I used to go by that, but it’s very hard for me to answer to it. It would be like me trying to call you John Smith and expecting you to accept it. I don’t know why the powers that be did that to us. I’ve not heard of any other salmon who is forced to change their name.”

Mateo took a few beats. “It’s one thing to force us through time. It’s an entirely different invasion to alter our minds. What else have they done to our brains? When I was young, I skinned my knee while staying with you and you were so scared about being in trouble with Randall and Carol. Do you even remember that? Or did these assholes take that away from you, or make you think that you had a daughter. Did you have a daughter? Do I have a sister I don’t remember? We would never freaking know!” But he didn’t say freaking.

She didn’t ask him to calm down or stop cursing. She let him vent, and not just because she was his mother and understood what he needed at the moment, but also since she appeared to share his sentiments. A child is supposed to end up losing their parents, but to remove a child from a parents’ life; that was sacrilege.

“One day,” Mateo assured her, “they will pay for what they’ve done, not only to me, but to all the others. I don’t care what their motives are. If they’re powerful enough to push us around like this, surely there’s another way to accomplish their goals.”

“One might imagine,” Aura agreed.

They walked in silence for a few blocks.

“I would like to go back to Kansas. Leona says she wants to keep her family out of this, but I want them to be close enough if she ever changes her mind. You used to live in Kansas City. Do you think you would be interested in going back?”

“I would love that. I was wondering how to ask you.”

“It’s going to take us an entire day to get there. I’m sure you two have had time to establish fake identities in this time period, but it’s probably going to be impossible for us to purchase a plane ticket.”

“Oh, we are extremely rich,” Aura told him with quite a bit of pride. “The powers that be didn’t seem to have a problem with us investing in companies we knew would be successful in the future. We discovered that we had already opened an account at a bank, which we later had to actually do once we went back in time. We mostly did it to have some money while we were there; we never expected to end up in the 21st century. But now that we have,” she paused for effect, “we’re millionaire’s, Mateo.”

“If you didn’t know what your name was going to be until your jump, how do you still have control of that account?”

“That took some maneuvering, but we figured it out.” They had arrived back at their starting point. “Our family owns this motel, which is why we had no problem getting back to this room for your arrival. We also own an entire apartment complex in Kansas City, Missouri. We have been living there while we build our dream home in Mission Hills. It’s ready for you now, though. We’ll get back there by the end of the day.”

Mateo was more excited than he felt he should have been. He was raised by all three of his parents to be modest and humble. Nonetheless, he figured it would be pretty nice to have an entire mansion so that they could travel through time in peace.

That evening, they were back in Kansas and walking into their new home that was already fully furnished. Mateo and Leona were tired again, though, so they fell asleep once more. They really needed to find a way to get on some kind of legitimate schedule.

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Crossed Off: Students (Part II)

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When Starla woke up the next morning, the first thing she did was complain about Alec lying to her. “You had the entire rest of yesterday to tell me that you’re planning to drag me to Kansas City.”

“I was trying to choose my words carefully.”

“Yes. You are known for not speaking clearly when you don’t have the whole night to think about it.”

“We’re doing this, Starla.”

“Why?”

“Because that’s what normal people do; they go see their friends, physically. They get in a car, train, or plane, and they move through space in real-time. I think you kind of need to see what that’s like.”

“That sounds incredibly exhausting. I don’t know how you get through the day like that. I’m fine the way I am. I won’t kill myself, I promise.”

“If you think that this trip is only about that then you obviously don’t understand what friendship is.”

“It’ll be rather awkward, won’t it? I just met Kathleen, and now we’re going to visit her brother four states over? What’s your cover again? How does she think you even know Tristan?”

“We told her that we met at archery camp.”

“You haven’t picked up a bow in your life.”

“I’m thinking about picking it up. Tristan makes it sound interesting.”

“That he does. He doesn’t care about anything but Kathleen and archery.”

Kathleen came back into the room with a towel wrapped around her still dripping body. “What’s this?”

“Uh...what?” Alec asked.

“This door isn’t very thick. What did you say about not doing archery?”

Oh no. Alec and Starla tried to come up with excuses for what they had meant during the conversation, but nothing sounded plausible. They ended up breaking down and just telling the truth about Starla’s ability to switch bodies with people. Kathleen was surprisingly open to the idea, and requested proof politely, which Starla obliged. They would have called her healthily skeptical.

“This is going to make things a lot easier, isn’t it?” Kathleen asked. “Not having to tiptoe around me anymore? I did always found your relationship with my brother a tad bit suspicious. I didn’t think too much of it, though. He’s always been into younger guys, but doesn’t think I know, so I figured you were together, or at least had been before.”

“No,” Alec laughed. “We’ve actually never met in real life.”

“Well.” She slapped her knees with finality. “I’m going to get dressed first, and then spend the next few days going to classes. Then we’ll all go up together. It’ll be a fun road trip!” She dramatically pulled her towel away and finished drying off.

She’s taking this a little too easily, Starla said to Alec telepathically.

You’re so hesitant of people, Alec thought back to her. Just because you didn’t read her thoughts—and you definitely shouldn’t do that—doesn’t mean she has something to hide.

I don’t read people’s thoughts anymore, Starla countered. You taught me how to stop that, and I haven’t anymore. Don’t judge me.

Kathleen eyed them curiously while she was putting on her shorts. “Are you two talking to each other?”

“Oh, yeah. Sorry.”

“Were you talking about me?” Kathleen asked.

“No,” Starla replied. “We were discussing the events during yesterday’s sports competition.”

“Oh yeah?” Kathleen put her hands on her hips. “What sport?”

Starla thought about it for a second. “Vector?”

Kathleen laughed and looked to Alec. “How has she not yet been caught? She’s a terrible liar.”

“Could you teach me?”

Kathleen stopped getting dressed for a second, assessing the situation to make sure they were no longer joking before she answered, “I most certainly can.”

Starla spent the next few days attending Alec’s and Kathleen’s classes as a prospective student. Kathleen was particularly interesting in bringing her to a special lecture on neurobiology, targeted at students interested in pursuing the subject after completing the general requirements. They sat next to Kathleen’s gracer, Denton. The first thing the guest speaker did was throw up a slide with an image of a human brain in the middle of surgery. “This is a brain,” Magnus Shapiro said. “More specifically, this is my brain.”

A young man covered his mouth desperately with his hand and struggled to leave the room.

“Lost another one I see. If you can’t handle this, you are in the wrong field of study. Neurobiology, and really biology of any kind, is not for you.” He paused to let people leave as they needed, but no one else did. “The human brain is the most powerful machine in the universe. It is highly efficient, potentially limitless, and shockingly underused. You are all idiots. Evolution gave this gift of an intelligent mind, and you fail to utilize it properly. Don’t be sad, it’s not your fault. Because biology also placed roadblocks on your mind. If you could fire your neurons to the absolute best of their ability, there is no telling what you would do. Possible results of a less hindered mind include accelerated learning, control of normally involuntarily biological processes like breathing and heartbeat, superior body temperature regulation, and even possibly the subversion of death. If you could somehow...” he gathered her words “...tell your body to regrow limbs, repair damage, or fight off a disease in a certain way, you would never reach death.”

A girl in the front row raised her hand and Magnus Shapiro called on her. “Magnus, if we were all immortal, the planet would be overpopulated, and we would run out of resources.”

“Would we?” Shapiro asked rhetorically. “Before we reach that level of intellect, surely we would have solved other problems. Food, land space, and construction materials are only restricted by our current situation. There are hundreds of billions of stars in this galaxy alone. It is estimated that there are 500 million planets capable of supporting life to the level of ours, and many more with other resources. All we have to do is figure out how to get there. One man can do that. Just make one man smart enough to solve these problems, and ask him for his help. He’ll lift everybody else up.”

Starla looked over and saw that Denton was enamored with the lecture, almost like he was in a trance. Kathleen looked between him and Starla, like she had a secret of her own. She smiled and nodded to Denton. Starla shook her head, unclear what she wanted. Kathleen just urged her on, and continued to motion to Denton. Did she want her to possess his body? Assuming that to be her intention, Starla closed her eyes and prepared to jump into Denton’s body. She had to think about it beforehand, otherwise she could choose the wrong method and give herself away. She took a deep breath and jumped, leaving her body looking like she was only sleeping, continuing to listen to the lecture from Denton’s point of view. The experience was fascinating. Denton was eating up the Magna’s words. He was processing the information at a rate that she had never felt before. He seemed to be gathering information from other people as well, even though they weren’t speaking. He wasn’t reading their minds. It was more like he was absorbing their knowledge. Had she met another avatar? Could he teach her to do the same?

“...who knows what kind of powers a hyperintelligent human being might have,” Shapiro went on. “Is telekinesis possible? Could someone be so empathetic to others that their own body can be altered on a glandular level?” As he was scanning the crowd for their reactions, he stopped on Starla and Denton. He watched them for a second, causing the students to wonder what was going to happen next. “Could a person use their mind to see what life is like from another person’s perspective? The literal manifestation of walking a mile in someone else’s shoes?”

Out of fear, Starla quickly jumped back into her body and gasped for air. Everyone looked up at her. “Sorry, I’m fine,” she lied.

Magnus Shapiro kept looking at her for a moment before moving on with his speech. He looked back up to them every once in a while, especially when he hit points that were eerily relevant to Starla’s ability. After it was over, Kathleen said that she had to get clear across campus quickly, and asked Denton to take Starla back to the dorm room.

“I can do that, but I was hoping to speak with the magnus first,” Denton said

“I’d love to do that as well,” Starla said. “So that works out perfectly.”

Other students had flocked to ask Shapiro questions, but he was pretty much ignoring them. He was staring at the two of them as Denton was wheeling Starla towards him. He waved his hand to the rest of the students. “I’ve stolen Magnus Björkman's office for the rest of the week. I’ll answer any questions tomorrow.” The students didn’t know what to do. “That’ll be all. Thank you very much,” he clarified. They finally took the hint and dispersed.

Denton nodded with respect. “Magnus.”

“I’m pretty hungry,” the magnus said to him. “Could you recommend a nice quiet place to eat in this town?”

Denton smiled. “I sure could.”

“Great.”

“Would you have room for company?” Denton asked.

“I hate to eat alone.” He looked down at Starla. “As long as you’re coming too.”

She was a little anxious, but she had to understand not only how Denton’s special mind worked, but also how the professor was somehow able to sense them. “Sure.”

“Wonderful.”

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