The Valiant - Michael Jan Friedman [104]
The navigator wasnt oblivious to the fact that telepathy had been one of Agnarssons talents too. In the back of his mind, he knew he might become what the engineer had become.
But somehow, he felt confident that it wouldnt happen. After all, it had been weeks since the crew was exposed to the Big Red phenomenon. If Gardenhire was going to be altered to the same extent as Agnarsson, if he was going to mutate into a gray-haired, silver-eyed superman, it seemed likely that it would have happened already.
Besides, it was different when the individual undergoing the transformation was oneself. For obvious reasons, it made the prospect seem a lot less chilling.
Then, one day when the navigator was skimming Coquillettes thoughts, he felt an awareness therea facility capable of not only recognizing his intrusion, but responding to it.
He was afraid that the medic would balk at his invasion of her privacyfor clearly, that was what it was. And in a tinderbox like the escape pod, that was the last thing they needed.
But as it happened, Coquillette didnt mind his trespass at all. In fact, she seemed to welcome it.
It made her feel less lonely, she told himcommunicating not in spoken words, but in precise and evocative thoughts. It let her know she wasnt the only one who was experiencing some kind of transformation.
It made Gardenhire wonder if he and Coquillette had changed, was it possible that some of the others were changing as well? And like the medic, were they too uneasy with the situation to speak of it?
Both of them wanted to discuss the matter with the group. However, they were concerned if they were the only ones who had been affected, how would their companions look at them? Would they see Gardenhire and Coquillette as threats to the welfare of their miniature societythreats that had to be dealt with in a harsh and immediate manner?
Then, while they were wondering what to do, OShaugnessy responded to their telepathic intrusions as well. And a day later, Williamson did the same. It was Williamson who insisted that they let the others in on what was happening to them.
As Gardenhire had expected, the revelation didnt go very well. Santana didnt say much, but his thoughts were decidedly frightened ones. And though Daniels made a joke about it, it didnt take a telepath to see he was every bit as scared as Santana.
The atmosphere in the pod became taut and uneasy. No one said anything more about the transformations, but they were a subtext in every conversation, a stubborn and netflesome ghost haunting them every hour of the artificially induced day and night.
Until Santana and Daniels found themselves with telepathic powers of their own, their discoveries coming less than a day apart. At that point, the air of suspicion went away. They were all equals again, working together toward a common goal.
But there were other surprises in store for them. One day, when Williamson was delving in a locker for a hard-to-reach nutritional packet, he saw the thing move obediently into his outstretched hand.
Apparently, he had developed a knack for telekinesis. Announcing his discovery to his podmates (as if he could have kept it secret from a bunch of telepaths), the supply officer challenged them to test their own talents in that regard.
At that juncture, only OShaugnessy and Santana exhibited rudimentary telekinetic abilities. But in die days that followed, the rest of them followed suit Only Coquillette seemed to lag behind, never becoming anywhere near as adept as the rest of them.
They never figured out why. But then, they never figured out anything else about their powers either. Their newfound facilities were a mystery to them through and through.
Eventually, there was only one more step they had to take.
Since the destruction of the Valiant , the pods had maintained periodic radio contactin the beginning, communicating as often as several times a day.