Cain's Crusaders (26 page)

“Fine.”

“Once tested, I will have the various assembly teams begin work.”

“Won’t they become suspicious, too?”

“With the current situation involving the Speaker, they will assume I am doing this as a precaution. Besides, to safeguard the knowledge of the Gift, all devices are assembled in pieces by many divergent groups. Only I and my top three aides know the procedures for final assembly. It is as it has been prescribed by the gods.”

“Yeah, whatever.”

Chapter 19

F
our hours later Adam was summoned to Convor’s spacious private chambers. It was obvious that rank had its privileges, and even though he was simply a lowly male and could never become the supreme ruler of the Coalition, Formilian society dictated that the High Celebrant should want for nothing. The quarters he occupied were a sprawling complex of rooms all lined with shiny marble walls and eight-sided columns that supported ceilings towering fifty feet high. The chambers reminded Adam of what the Caesars of Rome would have enjoyed, if they were so lucky.

A small, gray Jakrean led Adam to a smaller, more secluded room within the complex, where he found a dozen more of the tiny creatures scurrying around an array of electronic equipment mounted on wheeled carts. Convor was in the room, along with Trimen, now dressed in a ceremonial orange blouse.

Trimen looked at Adam with undisguised contempt. “I will be analyzing the scanning process and assist in the tuning of the Gift. It is part of my specialty,” he said with incredible effort, “even though I am still adamantly opposed to the procedure.”

Adam looked at Convor and raised his eyebrows. Convor placed a hand on Trimen’s shoulder. “He understands the difficult situation we are faced with, yet you cannot expect us to be pleasant and cordial.”

“I understand,” Adam said, “but what about the Jakreans? I just want to remind the two of you that if word of this gets out before the data packet is released, it won’t be my fault.

“This is
all
your fault!” Trimen corrected. “If you did not insist on the procedure, none of this would be necessary.”

“You got me there, so the sooner we get it done, the sooner we can all go our separate ways.”

Convor motioned for Adam to lean again on a padded table that was swiveled into an upright position. Once he did, the table was brought to a level position and a small, round pillow was placed under his head by one of the Jakreans. Convor noticed Adam’s scrutiny of the tiny gray creatures.

“The testing is complex. The Jakreans are efficient with the setup of the equipment, yet their thought processes do not go further to the reason for the setup. They will remain silent.”

Trimen began to place very ordinary-looking electronic monitoring contacts to Adam’s temple and forehead, along with a thin, silver mesh strip that reached from one ear to the next along the top of his head. Wires from all the contacts ran to the bank of equipment. Adam knew this was some kind of advanced electroencephalogram, a device that would read his brainwave patterns, so he had no fear. He was curious, however, how his alien brainwaves would compare to those of the Formilians, and particularly, of Arieel’s. He had witnessed firsthand the control she had over all surrounding electronic devices. He was sure it was much more involved than simply thinking the phrase:
turn on lights
or
disable flash weapon
. He knew there had been research going on back on Earth involving this very technology called artificial telepathy, although the Formilian’s were a couple of thousand years more advanced. He was hoping his training process would be accelerated because of the advanced nature of the device….

Convor and Trimen turned away from Adam and sat before monitors in the array of equipment. Adam cocked his head slightly and saw sine waves begin to scroll across the screens. “Please do not move: we are beginning the scan,” Trimen said, his voice still edged with contempt.

Almost immediately, Adam saw the two Formilians begin to tweak controls and glance at each other with ever-increasing frequency.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“Nothing,” Convor shot back a little too quickly. “Please remain still.”

“It doesn’t seem like nothing.”

“There is nothing wrong. It is just that you have an alien brain … and you are a male.”

“And that’s significant … how?”

Convor swiveled to face him. “Are you aware of the fact that the brains of most Primes have two hemispheres?”

“Yeah, the left and right brain we call it. One is the practical side, the other the more emotional one.”

Convor’s eyes grew wide. “I am surprised you are aware of this. But that is correct, in a very basic understanding. It is the same in most species. As you know, all Speakers are female, and therefore the right hemisphere is the more dominate, which is characterized by feelings and cultural awareness. However, most of the major functions of the Gift are controlled through the left hemisphere. The waves coming from this side are much more defined and sequential, more visual if you will. Our Speakers must be trained to utilize the left hemisphere of their brains in order to master control of the device, which is unnatural to them at first.”

“That makes sense. So what’s the problem with my brain?”

“Nothing.” Again Convor’s response was more emphatic than Adam expected. “Like I said, you are a male. That is all.”

“Explain.”

Trimen was the next to turn to face Adam. His expression had softened somewhat and he appeared to be almost excited. “A male brain has seldom been tested for compatibility with the Gift before, and that was simply for experimentation, to see if the Gift could be modified to function more with the right side of the brain. But never has an alien brain such as yours been tested. This is all new to us.”

“So is it going to work?”

The question seemed to surprise the two Formilians. They looked at each other, and after a moment, Convor turned back to Adam. “It seems a Human brain is strong and the brainwave patterns very defined. Your thoughts are – how can I describe it – sharp? This could also be a result of the fact that you are a male, and most of your thoughts are dominated by the left side of your brain. The best I can say is your waves have very defined edges, while the Speakers’ are … fuzzier.”

“Is this going to be good or bad? It sounds like it should be a good thing.”

Convor turned back to his equipment and he and Trimen stayed engrossed in the readings for a few more minutes. Then they both turned to him again. “Yes, this is a good thing – in a way,” Convor said.

Adam shook his head, which caused the lines on the monitor to gyrate for a few seconds before settling back out. “In a way?”

“Your thoughts are coming primarily from the side of the brain where the Gift works the most efficiently. This is an advantage you have over our Speakers. You will not have to be trained in this aspect to such a degree, since this is your natural way of thinking and processing information. However,” he paused, just enough for Adam to grow concerned.

“Go on!”

“The Gift – the device – will have no trouble reading your thoughts.”

“And….”

“It may have trouble selecting which are
commands
and which are simply random or everyday thoughts. Even though you will not have to be trained to structure your thoughts in a certain manner, you will definitely have to learn how to
control
them.”

“You mean if I think about it, it’ll happen, even if I don’t want it to?”

“That is a very real possibility. Remember, the Gift was designed to operate with a female mind, with a more nuanced thought process. Looking not only at the added strength of your brainwaves, but your waves appear to have fewer nuances, analyzing events in more basic, stark contrast.”

Adam surprised the aliens by flashing a wide grin. “This is not news to me,” he said to them. “It has always been an accepted difference between our genders. Women – the females – are more emotional and complex. Men, on the other hand, are simpler, less-complicated. Our women have found this to be a problem. Men are more cut and dried, more black and white in our thinking, while our women want to add more color to their thoughts and actions. So like I said, this isn’t news to me. All I want to know is how this affects my implant?”

“In truth, it will make the tuning of the device much easier than with a Speaker. However, training to use the device will be more critical – and the need more immediate. The processor in the device will begin to decipher your thoughts immediately upon activation and it will be overloaded with a myriad of well-defined thoughts. The Morlic-Speaker could be eased into the process, having begun at a very early age with a less-complicated mind. You will not have that luxury. Do you still insist on the procedure, even knowing the risks?”

“I don’t see this as a risk,” Adam said. “You’re saying my learning curve will be shorter than that of a Speaker. All I have to do is learn how to separate my command thoughts from my normal thoughts. That doesn’t sound too hard.”

Convor and Trimen looked at each other, before Convor turned to addressed Adam again. “That is the most difficult part of the training process for a Speaker; it is what takes the years of training. Our minds are constantly producing thoughts, even as we sleep. The device will be monitoring these thoughts constantly. Do not misunderstand me: When I say your thoughts are very strong and well-defined, this does not mean you are any smarter than a Speaker – more than
any
Formilian for that matter. As you have said, it simply means your thoughts come with more contrast. The device will have to work harder to learn the difference between a command and a thought, something that is easier to discern in a female.”

“Can you teach me how to do this?”

Convor pushed back in his chair, his eyes narrowing. “Now you wish us to
train
you as well? First you intend to confiscate our technology and knowledge, and now you also want us to train you on how to use the Gift you are stealing from us?”

“Not a complete training program. Just go over some of the highlights, some of the guidelines I should follow. If you don’t, then it’s going to be harder for me to hide my new powers, if you want to call them that.”

“I will agree to give you the basic guidelines on how we train Speakers, but it will still not be enough, nor will it happen fast enough. There will be consequences the moment the device is activated.”

“When is it activated?”

“Upon implant – normally.” Convor’s eyes grew wide. “Speakers are given the Gift at the age of five. Their thought patterns at that time are very basic and arriving from the right side of the brain at a slower pace. There is usually very little fear of unintended consequences in the Morlic-Speakers. In your case, it would be wise for you to have a means of activating and deactivating the device at will. This will protect you, as well as those around you.”

“Cool – that will work! What do I do, just think
‘device on’
or
‘device off
?’”

“No, it will have to be a mechanical switch. Using your mind to control the activation of the device will not solve the problem.”

Adam thought of the communication device he had implanted behind his left ear. Simply pressing the tiny, subcutaneous button turned it on or off. So another switch like that placed behind his ear….

But then he hesitated. This new power would be used to control electronic devices, including flash weapons. Therefore it would be helpful if he could activate it while even under duress. An idea popped into his head.