It was nearly eleven pm on a Sunday when Mateo drummed his knuckles on the door of Jaikaar Malhotra, one of the eleven board members of the newly renamed Rydal James Research and Residential Facility. Mateo studied the newly mounted small, polished, brass plaque on Jaikaar’s door with the inscription:
DR. JAIKAAR MALHOTRA, M.D.
HEAD OF MEDICAL SCIENCE
THE RYDAL JAMES RESEARCH AND RESIDENTIAL FACILITY
Mateo scoffed quietly at the meaningless detail. They were most likely the last surviving members of the human species and he felt the need to update his door plaque with the arbitrary name change of the facility? “Where did he even find a brass plaque?” Mateo mumbled under his breath.
He heard shuffling footsteps behind the door and in a swift motion, the door swung open widely. “ Mr. Duran,” Jaikaar grumbled, much like an old man. Although he was indeed an Avis, like everyone in the bunker, the doctor truly managed to embody his sixty-four years of age in motion, demeanour, and spirit. He shuffled about as though he suffered from stiff joints, which he most certainly did not, wore loafers no matter the occasion, barked demands at people, particularly his subordinates, and chose to sport layers of button-down knitted sweaters, which only really made sense now as the damp cold cut through all types of clothing in their new sarcophagus-like habitat. His plump, vital features made him a sort of caricature of the elderly only somewhat offset by the sincerity of experience in his eyes.
“Mr. Malhotra,” Mateo said with a deliberate emphasis on the title. Jaikaar did not seem to catch the intentional antagonism and in an auto-pilot fashion proceeded to correct, “ Doctor Malhotra.” Mateo smirked subtly at the predictable reaction and turned his head slightly out of the good doctor’s line of vision to mouth the next sentence along with him, “I didn’t spend ten years educating myself to simply be ‘Mister Malhotra’. Please sit,” he gestured to a seat against the wall behind Mateo, who obliged as Jaikaar took a seat at his desk against the adjacent wall.
Malhotra held firm eye contact with Mateo as he laced his fingers together on his lap. Mateo wondered if this was a tactic Jaikaar used to intimidate interns or mentees in his practice. He had to admit, to a naive mind, it would be effective. Mateo, however, was considered to be a sort of ancient master of the mind and could not be so easily shaken by a near novice of the Sensory Field. He could sense Jaikaar circling him like a predator, weaving from tree to tree, inching closer and closer to the scent of blood. To his credit, the doctor had been one of Mateo’s keenest students, albeit arrogant. He firmly believed in the Sensory Field, one of the few on the current Board that held such adamant conviction, and his ambition for greatness drove him to excel quickly in the craft. He soon assumed he had surpassed his teacher - too soon in Mateo’s opinion - which led to his stunted progress. Mateo couldn’t help but feel he failed his once-promising pupil as he watched his eyes dart desperately over every detail of Mateo’s face, growing more frustrated with each passing moment that did not produce evidence of intimidation.
“What was it that you wanted to discuss with me tonight, good doctor?” Mateo said, hoping to break the obsessive behaviour.
Malhotra, as though waking from a hypnotic state, blinked once and said “ Yes - right. I’d like to know if there are any new developments in regards to unique abilities depicted by the palilas.” Mateo sighed and leaned back on his chair. “I provide detailed reports each week of my findings. I’m not sure what more you are looking for. If something unique arises, I will note it within the report.”
Jaikaar crossed his legs and looked down at the tops of his hands before massaging one with the other, wincing as though the action produce some pain. Mateo frowned a look of confusion but refrained from commenting.
“Right. Well, the Board feels that maybe you have not been given enough specific parameters to know what exactly to look for so you may be missing things.” Another wince etched across Jaikaar’s face. Mateo picked up on a subtle, quick glance Malhotra shot in his direction, ensuring that his audience was indeed attentive to his malaise. Mateo blinked slowly, patiently, deciding to join the doctor’s improvisation skit “ Is everything alright, old friend?”
“Oh it’s nothing. The dampness tends to stiffen the joints at my age, is all.”
Mateo smirked knowingly, thinking his host couldn’t possibly think such a transparent statement was to be taken seriously. Silence befell the room. “I see” Mateo exaggerated each word. “Why don’t you give me those parameters so that I can start providing you with the information you need.”
Mahotra, straitened up a little in his chair, realizing the ineffectiveness of the ruse, picked up the tablet from the desk and began sliding his finger up and down, left and right.
“Mr. Duran, are you familiar with the legends of Longeavitates that possess healing abilities?” Before Mateo had a chance to open his mouth to respond, Jaikaar proceeded, “ What am I saying. Of course you are. You wrote the book about it! Everything I know on the subject, I learned from you.” Jaikaar noted the micro-reaction in Mateo’s expression as a smirk of satisfaction tugged slightly at the corners of his mouth. He was a simple minded man of simple minded motivations. He was vindictive and petty, yes, but had no capacity for true depth, making him ultimately non-threatening. Mateo recalled sensory field sessions with the doctor where he wanted to reveal to his teacher something that truly scared him about himself. Jaikaar bought Mateo through various memories that fetishized superhero and movie villains. Jaikaar fantasized about becoming one. After the session Mateo asked him why these memories worried him so. Jaikaar replied, because I have a complex and deranged mind. Mateo chuckled and told him he was indeed quite healthy compared to the truly deranged. This angered the doctor and Mateo realized that Jaikaar was insecure in being ordinary. He vilified his instructor from that day forth and began a never ending, one way war with Mateo.
Mateo was however, quite concerned by the mention of this legend. Why was the Board discussing what was essentially a fairy tale and what did this have to do with the palilas abilities. Of course, Mateo, having indeed written the book on the matter, knew exactly what they were thinking, it was simply unbelievable that they would stoop to such an obscene level.
Mahotra continued, “ We believe that although this is a legend and you have not seen evidence yourself, you have met someone that claims he had this power,” Mateo could not focus on the obscenity spouting from the foolish little man before him. Has Adeyami lost her mind? Mateo didn’t want to believe that someone as level headed and analytical as Hadiza Adeyami would allow such a foolish concept to flourish among the Board Members. Especially not with Katerina as her Second. They had pulled the organization out of pure madness….were they somehow losing grip? Were they being overthrown in a coup?
“Mateo! Are you listening?” Jaikaar was now standing before him looking down the bridge of his nose. Mateo sat back in his chair to meet his eye line at a more comfortable level. Jaikaar held his gaze for a moment longer, frowned and turned on his heel, returning to his desk.
The doctor’s tone was noticeably short now, “Your book does not provide a detailed account of your interview with this supposed healer. The Board is requesting one. I’ve suggested a full memory pull.”
Mateo starred blankly at Jaikaar, wondering if he would be so arrogant to have proposed he conduct the pull himself, which would have been bold, even for him as the doctor was well known to be terrible at the skill, failing at even the simplest of pulls. “I’ve suggested Carlotta perform the pull.” Wise choice, Mateo considered. “You are to present yourself at Lab DF-23 tomorrow morning at 6 am for the pull. Any attempt to block details will result in severe penalties, understood?” Mateo nodded, emotionless. Jaikaar raised his arm gesturing to the door. “Once we have the information we require from your memory, we will provide you with the parameters.” Mateo stood up to exit. Jaikaar opened the door and stood behind it as Mateo walked out. As he crossed the door frame, he grabbed the edge of the door and stopped and said, “Doctor, can I ask one question?”
There was only silence from the other side. Mateo continued, “What will happen to the lot of us if it is just a legend?”
This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.
The silence continued in a deafening manner.
“Goodnight Mr. Duran.”
Mateo released his grip and the door slid closed behind him.
Carlotta sat motionless on a pillow in the centre of a one way mirror testing room. Seated on the other side were Dr. Malhotra, Dr. Adeyami, Katerina Vasiliev, Dr. Mohammed Jassim, Chief Technical Strategist, and Pranav Bakshi,Chief Operations Officer. Each of them sat quietly, working on various things on their tablets as they waited for Carlotta to complete her analysis of the memory Mateo had just shared with her only twenty minutes before. Katerina eyes moved steadily from the screen on the tablet before her which tracked Carlotta’s vitals, back to Carlotta through the glass, monitoring the upticks in her brain activity as she decoded Mateo’s memory. No opportunity for analysis was ever wasted in the bunker.
Carlotta opened her eyes and turned to the mirror, “ I’ve completed my review. We can now discuss what I have found.”
“The man described how he discovered his ability and how he understood it to work,” Carlotta addressed the Board members in the small room on the other side of the one-way mirror. “I should preface that Mateo’s skepticism seems valid. I-”
“Thank you but we will not be requiring your opinion on the matter today,” Jaikaar interjected pointedly.
Carlotta nodded firmly and proceeded, “The self-proclaimed ‘healer’ told Mateo that his first use of his talent was when he healed his dying mother. He described being terrified of losing her and willing her body to heal It was like a prayer or mantra of sorts that he repeated in his mind. He later realized that the repetition of the phrase had nothing to do with the ability. It was the undivided focus on resolving the issue that seemed to bring about the healing.”
“Did this man know he himself could heal?”
Carlotta shook her head, “He did not discover his mutation until some time after.”
“Was he able to identify any other unique traits associated with being a healer?”
“Nothing definitive. He mentioned hearing claims that healers could themselves heal faster than others with the mutation, however, we are unsure if this is related to healers being palilas, which if they did exist, they would most likely be, or if they truly heal faster than any Longeavitates, even other palilas. He does mention that he timed his own healing and he clocked in at under ten seconds.”
“This is exceptional, even for a palila.” Katerina said as the other Board members nodded in agreement.
Carlotta continued, “Mateo asked the man if he had ever encountered another healer. The man claimed that he had not although he heard of others. He claimed they were all male as the sub-mutation did not occur in women.”
“There are some that disagree,” Katerina added. The table turned to look at her in awe. No one could believe that a woman of reason, such as the Head of Research would speak of the most outlandish legend in Longeavitate Folklore. There were various versions but they all followed a similar outline: in extremely rare occurrences, once in millennia perhaps, a female Longeavitate would be born; she would be fertile, and she would be able to pass on her healing abilities to not only her offspring but to non-Longeavitates as well. “She” was a sort of messiah-like figure that had apparently driven Francis- Lloyd Pickering into obsessive madness in his final months at the Facility. Hadiza looked sideways for a brief moment at her Right Hand before collecting herself.
“I believe this information will give us a good place to start,” Adeyami announced. “Carlotta, can you draft a detailed briefing of your findings and submit it to the Board by end of day, please?” Hadiza continued as she collected her things and stood up, indicating to the others that the meeting was concluded and that they should follow suit.
“Yes, of course,” Carlotta responded.
“ We shall reconvene with the rest of the Board tomorrow at noon to decide what parameters to provide to Dr. Duran.” The crowd mumbled in agreement as they exited the room.
…..
Amir pushed himself up from the floor and extended a hand down to Mateo.
“You’ve improved significantly in the last few weeks,” said Mateo as his coal eyes met Amir’s. He was finally starting to feel comfortable looking into those unreadable voids. Mateo was captivating in a particular sort of manner.
“Thanks,” Amir replied. He and Emelie had been entering the field together since their first training session. It was so simple and natural now that they knew how. All they had to do was find a quiet place to be alone, which proved to be the most difficult part, and jump in. Amir had shown her the streets of Boston where he grew up, his dorm room at MIT, his first apartment ,the “hole in the wall” clubs he and Fadil played in their twenties, Machu Picchu - where he and his first wife had honeymooned, and the halls of NASA where he had worked for seventeen years. In return, She, in turn, took him on a world tour; starting with her home, nestled in the Rocky Mountains, in Kelowna, British Columbia, followed by Johanisburg, Beijing, Rome, St. Peterberg, Kyoto, Singapore, Casablanca, Abu Dhabi, and more. Her experiences in these places were always luxurious yet she seemed disenchanted with each new one she showed, as though the slideshow of her life was a disappointment . Emelie managed to avoid two categories of memories all together: her husband and her youth. Amir considered that she may have already mastered the very thing he wanted Mateo to help him with today, the skill of hiding certain thoughts and feelings from Emelie.
Amir could not help himself. He held everyone at arm's length since he was a child. Only Fadil and his mother felt kindred to him and both had been dead many years. The more time spent isolating himself from others, the more the loneliness hardened him from the inside out. It was as though he was stilted, watching events unfold around him without any ability to interact or impact them. Even the immense trauma of losing his second - albeit estranged - wife and two step sons left him feeling empty, not sad. He barely grieved at all.
Something changed with Emelie. She didn’t break down the walls to reach him. It was like she awoke from within. There was no build up. No “nice getting to know ya.” She was simultaneously an extension of himself and a fully fleshed out individual. She understood him and yet could catch him off guard with her charm and wit. She felt as familiar as family while still maintaining the intrigue of a stranger. All of this paired with the usual suspects: large, almond shaped, brown eyes, olive-toned skin, chestnut hair waving down to the small of her back, and that rich, smooth, jazz singer voice with just a hint of raspiness you could only hear when she laughed, made her unequivocally irresistible.
The problem was that she was most certainly grieving the loss of her late husband and it was far too soon for Amir to be expressing interest, anyway.
“So, tell me about some of the instances where you’ve shown someone something you would have rather kept concealed. No need to reveal anything too embarrassing. An example will suffice for the sake of the training exercise.” Mateo stood before Amir with a hand on his shoulder, keeping consistent eye contact. Off the top of his head, Amir provided an example of a telepathic conversation between him and Emelie where he mentally noted a grammatical error she made, which she heard before he could do anything to suppress it. Mateo stared at Amir, mouth agape.
“Amir, are you saying that you and Emelie can speak telepathically?” Amir nodded, taken aback by his instructor's uncharacteristic alarmed reaction. Mateo’s hand dropped from his shoulder and he began to pace the room. Amir wasn’t sure what role he should play in this pensive moment and so he took a few steps back to allow Mateo space to process. Only a low murmur could be heard as the leading mind in the field of mutational sensory science grappled with what seemed to be to be a new discovery.
He turned to face Amir once more, squinted and pointed as he took several slow steps towards the palila, “ How long have you been able to speak this way with her?”
“Pretty much since we first met.”
“Fascinating.” Mateo’s eyes darted at a lightning rate across Amir’s body. This must be what it looks like when his mind is operating at full capacity, Amir considered.
“This is an incredibly advanced technique, Mr. Rahal. It is truly beyond my current comprehension as to how you and Mrs. Mercier has been able to adopt it almost instantly.” Amir noted the sudden switch to formality; Mr. Rahal. Mrs. Mercier. This was indeed a massive discovery for him. It made him want to play by the rules; to track it and record it correctly so as to not lose it to the heaps of history littered with flawed data. Amir understood this feeling all too well.
“We will need to explore this with greater precision and with the cooperation of Mrs. Mercier, of course.” Mateo could hardly contain his excitement, which made it impossible for Amir not to grin at his elation.
“Now, what were we discussing again? Oh yes, Though and emotional projection control. Well, it really is a matter of…” Mateo trailed off and sighed. He looked at Amir squarely and tilted his head quizzically.
“Amir, what are you playing at?”
“I’m - sorry?” Amir replied without the slightest idea of what Mateo could be referring to.
Mateo’s analysis must have concluded Amir’s sincerity as his expression softened. He clasped a wrist behind his back and slowed the rate of his pacing. “In our last few sensory field training exercises, I’ve noticed a concealed section of your mind. It was nearly impossible to detect at first. I’d wager it would take a high degree of expertise to catch it as I was only able to notice it myself after many post analysis reviews.” Amir frowned at his instructor. He could not recall blocking anything from Mateo during the sessions.
“It took many nights of analysis and I’m still unsure of what or how exactly it works but you seem to be able to disable the mind’s interest in this part of yourself - to divert attention elsewhere. It is so subtle that I was not certain it even was happening. I do however, suspect it is what grants your ability to repel Jacob’s possessive tendencies. Now, I’ve not drafted a report on it yet as I - “
A familiar dread crept into the foreground of Amir’s thoughts. He did indeed have a secret - something buried long ago. If Mateo was capable of uncovering and releasing it -
“Please. Don’t make a report.” Amir interjected. “I will tell you what you want to know if you assure me that it does not leave this room.”
Mateo studied his pupil intently before silently affirming his commitment with a nod. “Let’s go to my office to discuss.”
