Seer

Natalie

I’m excited to be able to spend the night at Timothy’s house on Saturday. When Dad told us that he and Mom are going camping in the desert, and that Gabe and I get to stay with our friends, we were both really happy. Gabe has had some sleepovers before, but this will be my first time.

It’s Thursday after dinner, and Timothy and I are in my room. Dad is back at his house, which feels weird. He’s been spending every weeknight here with us, but he said that he needed to do some more stuff to get ready for camping, so he went straight home after work instead of coming over here. We’ll see him again tomorrow night.

Since Dad isn’t here, Mom invited Timothy and his Mom to come over for dinner, just like we used to do a lot before Mom and Dad got back together. Timothy’s Dad isn’t here either, he’s still out on his ship. Our Moms are downstairs chatting, and Gabe is playing video games, so Timothy and I get to spend time alone.

“So,” I ask him, “anything new to report?”

He knows what I mean. I want to hear if he thinks he’s been able to hear anything from Guardian yet. He’s been trying for a couple of weeks. And I actually already know he hasn’t, since Angel would have told me if anything happened. I suppose he knows that too, but I want to ask to be polite.

“No,” he sighs. “I try all the time, and I know Guardian knows when I’m trying and that he tries too, but I just never can hear anything.”

“Don’t give up,” I tell him.

“Don’t worry, I won’t. I never plan to give up. I really think we can find a way to make it work.”

He’s brought his notebook over with him again, and he starts leafing through the pages, looking at everything he has written about this experiment. It’s a lot of notes.

“It looks like the times that I have felt like I am feeling Guardian being happy have almost always been when you are at your Dad’s house and I am here. It’s probably because that’s when Angel and Guardian have to use extra energy to talk to each other, and that makes Guardian’s feelings strong enough for me to sort of feel.”

I nod, and watch while he keeps looking at his notes. After a while, he says, “I think I have an idea. I want to try something new, ok Guardian?”

I look over at Angel. “Of course, Guardian is always ready to try anything you want.”

Timothy says, “Well, we’ve tried this when Guardian and Angel are yelling at each other. But I’ve thought of something we haven’t tried yet. Guardian, how about trying yelling right at me?”

Oh! Well that seems interesting. “What do you think, Angel?”

Angel is listening to Guardian for a minute. “Guardian is willing to try this, of course. But we are both somewhat concerned. When Guardian first yelled at me, it struck me powerfully, impacting my body, to the point that Natalie noticed. And when I first yelled back, it was so forceful that Natalie felt that it was almost painful to herself. We do not know what effect this might have on Timothy, if any. But we cannot go forward without explaining that there could be unintended consequences, even some element of risk.”

I tell this all to Timothy, in pieces as Angel speaks then waits for me, like always. After he’s done, Timothy says, “Yes, I had wondered about that. I have an idea for that, too.”

Angel smiles. “Of course, it is unsurprising that Timothy has already taken these factors into account. Guardian and I both are impressed by how meticulous Timothy is as a research scientist.”

I tell this to Timothy, and he smiles. “Thanks, guys!” It’s nice to see him looking happy like this. I always think he’s nice to be around, but usually he doesn’t seem just plain happy. Usually he is intensely focused on something. I know that makes him happy too. But I enjoy seeing him smile sometimes.

“Okay,” Timothy says, “we’ll take it in levels. Guardian, I want you to start by just using the lower level of energy you figured out how to do with Angel. So, don’t scream like you did when we first started the experiment. Just, you know, focus your energy on sending me a message. Try a number again.”

Timothy lays down on the floor. I hand him a pillow and he puts that under his head, then changes his mind and puts it over his face. “Ok,” he says, muffled by the pillow, “please start, Guardian.”

I watch Angel, to see if he can tell what is happening. Angel watches Timothy, then whispers to me, “Guardian is using a level of energy somewhat higher than normal, but lower than would be required to communicate with me over a distance. He wishes to be very cautious.”

I think to him in my head, since I don’t want to disturb Timothy, “Is anything happening?”

Angel tilts his head, listening to what they are doing. “I am… not sure. Something does seem different. Timothy does not seem to be hearing the number Guardian is trying to send, but I think that he is sensing something. Let us wait to see what he says.”

Angel looks a little worried, as he watches closely as Timothy lies on the floor holding the pillow on his face. Him being worried makes me worried too. Angel glances over at me, and wants me not to be worried. “My dear, I think you should ask Timothy how he is doing. Let us not allow this first experiment to go on too long.”

That’s weird. Angel doesn’t usually tell me what to do. Now I’m more worried. I reach down and touch Timothy’s hand holding the pillow. “Timothy? Are you ok? How’s it going?”

He breathes in a shaky breath, takes the pillow off of his face, and sits up. His face looks red, but I think that might just be from the pillow being pressed up against it. He squints his eyes, maybe because the light looks bright after being under the pillow.

“I didn’t hear a number, but I think I felt, I don’t know, something. Not exactly like what I felt when Guardian was happy, but sort of like… I don’t know… when you know someone is standing right next to you.”

I clap my hands. Yes! “That must mean it’s working!” I’m so happy.

Timothy says, “Yes, I think maybe.” But he doesn’t seem as happy as I would have thought. He seems tired or something.

“Are you ok?” I ask him.

“I think I’m getting a little headache.”

What? It gave him a headache? I look at Angel. He looks worried too, and listens to Guardian. “Guardian doesn’t know if it was the communication that caused a headache, but he can sense that Timothy started feeling a slight twinge of pain after a few minutes of the communication. He suggests that we stop this experiment and wait until after we have all had the opportunity to consider this event before we attempt to proceed any further. Guardian’s most important concern is for Timothy’s well-being.”

I tell all this to Timothy, and I can tell he really isn’t feeling well when he agrees to wait to do any more experimenting. “Here, Timothy, just lie down.” I take the pillow from his hands and put it under his head. “Here’s some water.” I hand him a water bottle and he takes a sip.

“It isn’t a bad headache,” he says, “don’t worry.” He closes his eyes.

I wait a few minutes, and Timothy starts to seem like he’s feeling better again. He opens his eyes and sits up, then reaches out to grab his notebook, to write down what happened. So if he’s taking notes I know he’s fine.

When he’s finished, I say, “Are you okay now?”

“Yes, I feel fine again. I just felt kind of weird for a while. But it’s gone.” He looks at the notebook again. “I think I want to wait to try that again until Angel and Guardian say it’s okay.”

He must have felt worse than he is letting on, for him to not want to keep going with the experiment. I think we should talk about something else for a while. “Well, what are we going to do on Saturday? We have the whole day and night to hang around. If we aren’t going to do experiments, what do you want to do?”

“Mom said we could go to Blockbuster and rent a couple of videos to watch.”

“Cool,” I say, “that sounds like fun.”

Angel is still looking at Guardian, and I can tell that they’re talking silently to each other. It turns out that Angel can talk only to Guardian when he wants, so that I’m not hearing it. That’s another thing they have learned while we’ve been experimenting lately. I think to him in my head, “Let me know if you and Guardian figure anything else out. I don’t want to do any more experiments that might hurt Timothy.”

“Nor do we, my darling. We will consider what has occurred and tell you and Timothy if we are able to comprehend anything new.”

Timothy’s

I am distressed and horrified at the idea that my participation in Timothy’s experiment may have caused him harm. Angel and I had cautioned the child, and he wished to go forward anyway. But truthfully, we did not imagine that there could actually be any tangible consequence to the experiment. After all, we are unable to interact with the physical world in any way. With the exception of the Seer, our communications are undetectable to humans. Only the emotions we convey are occasionally perceived, dimly, by our Guarded.

This was something very different. After a few minutes of using a mildly increased amount of power to transmit my thoughts to Timothy, as I could sense him reaching out and trying to hear me, I could sense a growing disquiet in his mind. It did not begin as pain, and I hoped that it meant that he was starting to perceive the message I was sending, so I continued the effort.

After a time, though, he became uncomfortable, so I stopped trying to transmit anything to him. He remained still beneath the pillow, and I felt a growing worry that he had been harmed. I suggested to Angel that he request Natalie to terminate the experiment, so that she could check on Timothy.

Both Angel and I agreed not to say anything to alarm either of the children, because it wasn’t clear that Timothy’s discomfort was of concern. However, within another minute or so, he did feel a headache blooming in his skull, accompanied by a sense of malaise.

I was deeply alarmed by this, as was Angel. How was this possible? The dark energy I use cannot impact the environment, the dark matter I am cannot interact with it. The Seer is a mystery, apparently being the exception to that rule. Angel and I have discussed this as well, and believe that somehow she is a being in which both the types of elements can exist together. But not normal humans, not ever. At least not ever before now.

But it seems clear that Timothy’s brief affliction was somehow caused by this experience, by my more forcefully directing my thoughts towards him.

Even Timothy senses this, as shown by his unusual acquiescence to our suggestion that he stop this experiment for the time being. He has always before been undeterred in his eagerness to learn everything he can. Now, although it would not be accurate to say that he is afraid to proceed, he does seem to have a sense that perhaps he has undertaken more than is prudent.

I believe we all need some time to contemplate what has occurred, and what will happen next.

In the meantime, I revert to my normal whispers, trying to bring the boy solace. “My darling, it has been so brave of you to attempt these experiments. But now, yes, it is best to pause. Your well-being is the most important thing in my universe. We must wait, to think, to allow you time to consider what should be done next. Your brilliance will be your guide, as always. I continue to have faith that you will know what to do.”