Deborah Hockney (14 page)

It was late that night, when Jocasta checking her mini-com noticeboard for messages was pleased and surprised to notice one from Will. Her surprise stemmed from the source of the transmission. It was not an Earth-sent one as it didn’t have the familiar ‘terra’ insignia; its origin seemed to be from a location on Mars- but that, she reasoned with herself, should be an impossibility. Will, by her calculations, should be back at lessons in Woodbridge. How or why would he be routing signals via a Mars transmitter? She ignored the standard Elite notices and the one from her father and quickly zapped open Will’s line; the short text offered no explanation but posed a rather curious question seeing he was millions of miles away.

Hope you are good and well; when is your next free Sol? Need to see you soon!

Her mind quickly leapt to David and then to the gifts Will had entrusted to them: was he up to another prank, trying to get them into trouble? Jocasta couldn’t make any discernable sense of it and although it was late and she knew it wasn’t really allowed after 10pm, (Sol linetime, that is) she fumbled in her uniform pocket to locate her Elite communicator. She was just going to send a line to David to check if he had received a similar message from Will.

But just as she pressed the send button a voice from the darkened room momentarily froze her.

‘Not content with one boyfriend then. It seems you need three to boost your ego
.’

After her initial shock and fear, she checked around the room to see if one of the other girls had spoken. There wasn’t a sound from any of the other sections in the room except the low reverberating hum of Marcella and Tara’s Musicmakers. Although she didn’t see how Tara could be drifting off to sleep considering the noise made by the Super Heavy Metal Plus A Lot of Screaming, or whatever that was pounding so loudly in her ears: Jocasta could hear the bass line easily from across the room. Perhaps it had been the resonation from the music that had echoed in her mind. But even as she tried to reassure herself, she knew it was just not the case.

She flicked off her com, not wanting to chance any further accusations.

Chapter Thirteen

Waking early, in that small moment between dreams and consciousness, the question that had remained buried at the back of her mind forced itself through the chink of sleeping armour that had been her protection. Jocasta finally acknowledged that the voice from the previous evening hadn’t been from someone speaking aloud but had been inside her head. And if it wasn’t
her own thoughts or voice, she realised with sudden clarity and a sickening feeling of dread, then it must be someone else. Someone close by, who could read her mind: and that, to her, was more frightening than turning into an animal or seeing into someone’s body.

She slipped out of bed to the welcome noise of her roommates’ inconsequential chattering; apparently about the new horror fiction book,
Crows in the Engine Room
by A. B. Trayer.

‘ “In this new novel – from the author of the thrilling
Fear and Panic
series,” ’ read Krysta, ‘ “a renegade group of mutant crows sabotage the last rocket from Earth. This spacecraft, bound for an unknown planet, is humanity’s last, desperate bid to save itself from annihilation. With unknown dangers, and a terrifying future before them, mirrored by the shocking undiscovered fate of the rest of their species- the humans with only a playing card and half a jar of peanut butter to hint at what abomination caused the breakdown of Earth’s most successful race must try to overcome their latest enemies. Could this be the last, best hope for humankind?” ’

There was a short silence as Krysta finished reading the blurb of her book, the one time any of them had ever heard her sound enthusiastic about something. However, she seemed slightly disappointed by their reaction, which was less than enthralled.

‘Obviously the author didn’t write the blurb,’ she stated, ‘because it’s a much better book than the blurb makes it sound.’

‘I think it sounds fantastic!’ Tara exclaimed excitedly.

‘Really?’ Krysta sounded as though she wasn’t sure whether she was being mocked or not.

‘Sure! I
love
crows! I used to dress up as a crow when I was little and pretend to fly around the playground, singing.’

Jocasta fought back a giggle, not because it sounded absurd, but because she could just imagine Tara doing something like that. ‘
When
you were little, Tara?’ she asked innocently.

‘Oh yeah!’ Tara replied, wide-eyed, as if a great idea had just dawned on her, and she then proceeded to wave her arms about and sing, stopping only when her communicator alerted her to a new message.

This reminded Jocasta of her message to David and the sense of fear that someone was accessing her thoughts without her permission. Apart form her curiosity about Will’s line she now needed to have the comfort of a familiar friend to confide in. Although Tara was brilliant in her own way, Jocasta had a feeling that she might take the knowledge of someone hacking into her friend’s mind as a need for the good ol’ low flying decapitation-capable saucers, and Jocasta was hoping to leave those as a last resort. But seriously, how was she going to be able to survive here if her thoughts were being tapped into like an open file? Who could she ask for advice?

Flipping open her com and activating the signal she saw with amusement that David had replied just a couple of minutes earlier, not with words but with a cartoon expressionist drawing. Will’s body stretched between Earth and Mars with gadgets attached to his clothes while David and Jocasta attempted to unravel a series of clues on how to release Will’s feet from Earth and haul him aboard Mars.

So it looked like David had received the same or similar line from Will.

*

Moving along the breakfast queue Jocasta scanned the now familiar faces of her companions nodding and smiling as she acknowledged those she regarded as friends. But it wasn’t Nikki or Ed or even Felipe that she wanted to see, but her best mate David.

‘Felipe,’ she whispered as loudly as she dared, although she wasn’t sure why she felt it necessary to keep her voice down, especially as she suspected that at least one person could read her thoughts. ‘Where’s David?’

‘Oh, he’ll be along soon,’ Felipe replied nonchalantly. ‘Said something about needing to send an important line.’ Turning to help himself to one of the strange square shaped apples, he added, ‘Still can’t get used to the shape of these things. He said to tell you he’s made contact with your friend Will and if he can’t catch up with you before lessons you’re to try and meet him at the sixth… Or was it-’ he paused, and scratched his chin. ‘Was it the seventh? Centre vision point at 1300 hours.’

‘Well which one was it?’ Jocasta hissed trying to make her voice sound calm but realising that she sounded very much like her mother on a bad day. Felipe didn’t seem to mind or even notice.

‘Well, it must be the seventh because he remembered that level six visually attracts all the upper echelons of telepaths and for some reason he didn’t think you’d want them near you.’

Jocasta was beginning to wonder if Felipe realised just how much like an informant or secret agent he was sounding. ‘Did he indeed?’ Jocasta allowed herself a smile. Perhaps David knew more than he had been letting on. But there was no sign of him before the buzzer went for the end of first quarter, so Jocasta paired up with Ed to head along for their first lesson of the day.

‘Let’s hope Officer Moran is on top form today and we get to practise in the assimilator.’

‘Ooh, did I hear the word assimilator?’ Tara bounced up behind them. ‘Running wild and free with the assimilator, don’t you mean?’ She grinned mischievously and nudged in between Ed and Jocasta as they continued down the hall. ‘Ooh-er,’ she said, taking a step back from Ed as if suddenly realising that he had bubonic plague. ‘’Scuse me, Major Weisz! May I shine your shoes for you, sir?’

‘Course you can, mother pixie, cause you’re close enough to the floor anyway.’

‘Ooh, Eddie, no need to be so
cruel
!’

‘Come on you two, don’t start another bickering session,’ said Jocasta, linking arms with each of them and frogmarching them to the next lesson.

They were all enjoying themselves so much in ‘The Assimilatorium’, as they nicknamed it, that Jocasta forgot for a while her fears of being mind mapped and the vexing question of Will’s line.

It wasn’t until the next lesson with Officer Purcell that she remembered her rendezvous with David and then the last Sol hour dragged by interminably as she tried to concentrate on the scientific formulae that they were told they needed to memorise for the following day’s test. Every Martian minute seemed to drag until at last Jocasta was pacing along the corridors until she reached the seventh level. (She had taken a dislike to lifts.)

Luckily David was already there and quickly drew her to a quiet corner where they couldn’t be overheard. ‘He’s here on Mars,’ he blurted out, his eyes darting from side to side making sure no-one was trying to intrude on their privacy.

‘You mean, Will? How? When?’ Jocasta stumbled over her words in her excitement and inability to fathom out how he could be on Mars.

‘Well I’m not sure how, but apparently he’s been here almost as long as we have, and he’s up to something. I haven’t got any details but he said we’ve to try and meet him this Solday as that’s the first opportunity we’ll have to get to wherever he wants to take us.’

‘David – you’re not making much sense. Where have we got to meet him and where is he going to take us?’

‘Well, it doesn’t make much sense, that’s the problem, we’ve got to wait for his instructions.’

‘Sounds like he’s issuing orders like an Elite officer.’

‘Yes, but you know Will. Full of surprises? He always has some harebrained scheme up his sleeve. To get to Mars like this – he must have been planning it for ages.’

‘Ever since he knew–’

‘We’d been picked!’ David finished Jocasta’s thought, their smiles reflecting the way they felt at that moment. Remembering Will and all his escapades and how they’d had such fun.

‘But, Casta,’ David’s face became serious once more. ‘You do realise this is probably some trip the Elite won’t approve of, do you want to risk it?’

‘Right now, after boring equations and speculation I’m more than happy for a little light relief.’ Her eyes met David’s. ‘But knowing Will it could be more than that. Hey yes, Will’s always been one of our best mates and it‘ll be great to see him again, whatever he’s planned, but let’s just hear it first before we jump to any conclusions.’

‘Okay, if you’re in, then so am I. I’ll find a way to try and contact you without anyone knowing what we’re up to.’

She was just going to explain about the voices in her head and that contacting her without being caught might be a bit more tricky than before when the alarm siren sounded directly above their heads. Luckily it was just a routine test but they anxiously went their separate ways back to their own Elite classes, each contemplating what Will might have dreamt up for them.

Jocasta had to admit to herself that this was getting more and more like espionage as the day went on. Perhaps it was time for David and Felipe to start the first ever Martian secret agency group.

*

It was only three days ’til their Solday but the time dragged on endlessly for Jocasta. She was both anxious and excited about seeing Will again. She couldn’t help speculating on what he was up to and how he expected them to be involved. She could sense the excitement rising from the bottom of her stomach like a quivering jelly wobbling up and down when she remembered the fun they’d all had together at Woodbridge.

After each lesson, she hoped that David would try to make contact and Tara was beginning to get suspicious of the number of times she checked her communicator.

‘Who’s sending you messages, then?’ she quizzed, but luckily Jocasta was able to reply honestly ‘No-one,’ because David had not been in contact at all.

They’d passed each other a few times on the way to their different assignments but had carefully avoided speaking to each other at length; just a quick ‘Hello!’ was all the communication they’d had.

Rather to her disappointment, Ed had become a little preoccupied with Antigone, who appeared at his side, as if my magic, every time that Jocasta tried to have a conversation with him. Though Jocasta and Tara sat together for the Astrometric lesson and had great fun trying to send asteroids into black holes; the time in the Sensorium filled her with a deep sense of dread. This was partly due to the fact that she was increasingly intimidated by Ed and Antigone’s apparent ‘thought swapping’, and also her encounter that night with the menacing voice in her head. She had no desire to let anyone else occupy her mind. She had failed to make a connection with the Perceptor; and suspected that her abilities – assuming she had any – were being blocked by her fear.

Lt. W Commander Wren had chastised her on several occasions for not trying hard enough, and so Jocasta purposely dragged behind after one class to ask her if they were going to be taught how to defend their minds.

‘Blocking procedures are an elemental skill that we all need to practice.’ The answer came back with a sensitivity that Jocasta had not been expecting. ‘But undeniably the first and most important lesson is to learn to trust each other within the safe confines of the classroom, and then develop the finer threads of expanding minds. You must first learn to open your mind, as it is only then that you can achieve your full potential. But you cannot free your ability if you are subconsciously blocking all external thoughts.’