Cindy Psi: Spy In Training
Chapter 14: Aftermath

“Rebecca is stable, but still not talking. She doesn’t seem to be in any physical danger but we haven’t worked out what’s going on in her mind. We’re sure we will.”

Dave was sat with all of the children except the twins; they had been impossible to console and Louise had taken them away somewhere to try to comfort them. Christof was still there, looking serious but positive as he nodded in agreement with Dave’s words.

“I’m sure you’re all feeling worried, probably even scared, and you have every right to be. The main thing I can say to reassure you is that what Rebecca was doing to show you the image you saw is called a mindshare. We know that this activity can expose you to attack, but the odds of it happening are very slight. In this circumstance it happened because Rebecca was already being spied on by somebody – somebody who knew her name. Cindy discovered the mindline that was being used to spy – otherwise we wouldn’t have known that person was there. We are now aware of the threat and will take precautions; mindshares can be secured and until you’ve all been trained in their use we won’t use them with you. They are not the same as one on one mindspeak – think of it as the difference between seeing a stream on your PCD or having a call with someone. Mindspeak, as far as we know, is still safe.

“I’m going to talk to you all separately very soon, but first I need to make something clear. When we recruited each of you we explained what the dangers are. We know this is a risky thing we do, and although we take great pains to keep you safe we can’t do everything. It is a huge burden for all of us here, but the galaxy has no choice. But, this recent … event … has made clear that we are now facing a danger beyond that which we’ve faced to date. In light of this we will be offering each of you the option of opting out and returning to your previous lives. I want you all to think about that before we speak.

“Next, I want your questions, and I want us to talk freely – out loud – about what just happened.”

Jane was the first to speak again: “What would happen if we went home?”

“You would be returned to your regular lives. A cover story for why the PEEP didn’t work out would be created for you, and if you had a different outcome in your A&P exam than the one published, as some of you did, you would be returned to your original vocational path.”

“But what about the fact that we now know about the GCCSC? And this place?” It was the taller girl speaking.

Dave and Christof exchanged a look. Dave spoke, “It’s a good question Natalie; it would be dealt with. We’ve had people not complete training in the past – it’s rare but it happens – and more commonly we’ve had people who get through the initial covert screening that we approach but who turn us down and opt for their original path. We’ve not been exposed yet.”

Shoe boy surprised Cindy by speaking up at this point. “Because you wipe their minds. They can’t expose you because they don’t remember you exist.”

There was a hubbub among the children as Dave and Christof looked at each other again. This time it was Christof who spoke, addressing them all:

“George is right, children. I know it sounds horrible, but that is what we are forced to do. We can’t risk being exposed – for the sake of the galaxy.”

“So you can just muck about in peoples head and control what they remember?” Milton asked incredulously.

“We can, within a set of very tight constraints.”

“So why do you do all the cloak and dagger stuff?” Cindy asked. “Why don’t you just get people in and make other people around them forget they were ever there? Or better yet, just not remember they were away for the time they were away?”

“Because it’s not as easy as you think,” Dave answered. “I understand the conclusion you’ve all leapt to – we just dip our mental hands into peoples’ brains and fiddle them around a bit to contain what we want. It’s not like that. Doing a mindwipe takes both a massive amount of power and a huge amount of precision. It takes many of us working together for several hours to psychically debrief someone in this way.”

“Is it risky?” Asked Natalie.

“Yes.” Replied Dave.

“Have you ever got it wrong?”

Another glance between Dave and Christof.

“Once, yes. We can’t give you details – the person was ok, but their life was not the same. But that only ever happened once.”

“Great, so if we want to leave we can, but you’ll mess around with our brains and there’s a chance you’ll turn us into fruitcakes when you do it? Is that it?” Milton sounded extremely angry.

“No, no it’s not,” Said Christof hurriedly, “We’re just trying to be completely honest with you. The person who responded badly to the wipe was only the third person who ever had it done – there have been no incidents since. It’s safe.”

It was George who spoke next. “They don’t mess it up anymore because there’s more of them to do it – more power. It takes a lot of power and in the early days there were fewer of them.”

Dave looked intently at the boy Cindy had been thinking of as shoe boy with a measure of respect in his eyes. “That’s exactly right.”

“Of course, you probably wouldn’t need more than one person if it was her,” George continued, motioning to Cindy with a nod of his head.

Cindy gave a start at that, and the others spoke up – “What, Cindy? What do you mean?” Said Jane. “Why her?” asked Natalie. Milton just looked quizzically at him.

“That force? The power that surged through the circle and pushed the alien and his friend away? Did you guys feel that?” George asked. There were nods and murmurs of assent. “Well that was her … Cindy. Dave and Louise started it, sure, but most of it came from Cindy joining in.”

Cindy looked confused and embarrassed as the other children all turned to her. Jane spoke first:

“Was it? Was that you Cindy?”

“I … I don’t know! I don’t know how much came from me …”

“’How much’?!?” interrupted Milton, “So some did then?”

“Yes, well, I did push out. I had to do something. We were all in danger! I don’t think it was all me though, or even mostly me.”

Dave cut in. “A lot of it was you Cindy. You have an immense natural power. This is why we need to get you trained – to control it.”

“So you hurt Rebecca,” Natalie accused. Cindy felt like she’d been slapped.

“No, Natalie,” Dave was quick to reply, “That’s completely unfair. The enemies were launching an attack – that’s what alerted us and brought us running to you. Cindy was helping to defend you. If it wasn’t for her it’s entirely likely you would have all been hurt.”

“Or killed,” Interjected George, staring at his shoes once more.

“That’s not helpful George.” Said Christof.

“But it’s true,” insisted George.

“We have no way of knowing.” Said Dave with a tone of finality, “So conjecture is pointless. Suffice to say that but for Cindy’s quick response, willingness to help, and – let’s face it – raw power we would all be a lot worse off. We should be thanking her, not pointing fingers at her,” This last was said with a sharp look at Natalie.

There was a pause as the children considered, and then Jane jumped up and gave Cindy a hug. “Thanks, Cind. You’re awesome. You’ve got to show me what else you can do someday! Wow, sending off an alien, not to mention some kind of horrible human. You’re like a superhero or something!”

“No I’m not,” protested Cindy, “I didn’t ask for any of this, I just tried to do what seemed right.”

“Nevertheless, it sounds like you saved us Cindy,” said Milton, “So thanks. Honestly, thanks. And like Jane says, I want to see what else you can do!”

Natalie also offered her thanks, although Cindy thought it seemed a little grudging and that she remained a little guarded. George said nothing; he just kept looking down.

“Well, it’s not just what Cindy can do,” said Christof in a pretty transparent attempt to lighten the mood. “I think you’ll all be surprised what you’re capable of. Cindy has a lot of raw power, it’s true, but with training you’ll all be able to be kind of superheroes in your own right. If you decide to stay that is.”

There followed a bit more in depth chat about who they thought their attacker was, and more generally about the powers they’d seen displayed and what they thought they might develop. After a while everyone was feeling a lot better. Dave finally stood up and said “Right, well it’s time to have a one on one chat with each of you. I won’t ask you to return to your quarters, but have a little think to yourselves and I’ll call for each of you in turn. If you decide to stay then in a day or two we’ll arrange a comm. for you back home. A bit earlier than scheduled but I think you’ll replace it comforting. Also it doesn’t hurt to remind you who we’re trying to protect here at GCCSC. Finally, if you do stay, I appreciate it seems a little trite given the circumstances, but you might replace this useful.”

With that Dave tapped a button on his PCD and left the room. Each of the children felt a buzz as their devices received a file from him. Cindy tapped her screen and saw this:

*

GCCSC Training Corp

Common Terms Crib Sheet

So you’ve got psychic powers and you’re going to be a spy? Good for you! You may replace some of the following words and phrases useful.

Psionics: General term for all psychic activity

Mindspace: The mental zone you go into when performing any psychic activity

Mindspeak: Telepathic chat one on one

Mindline: A psychic link used to connect to people, places or events remotely

Mindshare: A way of sharing thoughts with a group of people like a broadcast

Psi-location: Locating people telepathically

Precog: Psychic knowledge of future events (unproven)

Mindblast: Sending a psychic force (either standalone or down a mindline) as a form of attack

Spyline: A covert mindline

Shielding: Blocking psionic intervention

Telekinesis: Moving objects with your mind