Psion Delta (22 page)

“I
see no reason to stay separated. You have thousands of resistance members now.
Two will not be missed.”

“We
are leaders, son. We are needed. We want to end the war, too, so we can be
together whenever we want and talk whenever we want. That’s what motivates us.
We counted on you asking us this, so we’ve already discussed it. We’ll help you
in the fight from the other side of the fence.”

Commander
Byron hid his expression of disappointment behind his mug. “You deserve to
spend these years with your family. Not fighting.”

“We
know that,” his mother said with a resolution that surprised the commander.
“But we’ve prepared ourselves to take the same risks you’re taking. Why is it
any different for us?”

“Because
we’re so old!” Thomas howled, sharing a laugh with his wife, but not with the
commander. “Lighten up, Walter. We love you. This will all be over someday, but
not today.”

“Not
today,” his mother agreed.

Commander
Byron asked, “Have you ever heard Samuel’s name mentioned?”

“No,”
his dad answered. “That isn’t even on our list of target words.” He looked at
his wife. “Dang, honey, why didn’t I think of that?”

The
commander set his mug down. “Better late than never, right? How could you have
known the CAG is targeting Samuel?”

“What
do you mean ‘targeting him?’” his mother asked. “He’s a boy. What do they want
him for?”

Commander
Byron stared at the swirling contents within his mug, his thoughts momentarily
lost.

“Sammy
has a gift, doesn’t he, Walter?” Thomas asked. “We noticed things. He shoulders
burdens unlike any boy I’ve ever seen.”

“An
amazing gift, Pop. He is one of a kind, which is why I worry so much about him.
Not only does he have my Anomaly Fourteen, but also Anomaly Eleven, which makes
his mind brilliant. In fact, when I discovered him in Johannesburg, the
Tensais—our name for the Elevens—made a big push to train him instead of me.
Fortunately, I won that battle. But one of the consequences of me training him
is that we still have no idea exactly what his mind is capable of. General Wu
is pushing and pushing to get him through Beta training so he can start tapping
that well of potential in his skull. I resisted the general so much that he
promoted me. Now I am out of his way.”

“Why
did you resist?” his mother asked.

Byron
closed his eyes. “Because with Samuel’s gift, there is also a curse.”

“What
do you mean?”

Byron’s
eyes were still closed. “Sammy’s DNA will decide this war. In reality, Sammy
may decide this war. Can you imagine the CAG, with their advanced genetics
research and technology, getting a hold of it? What might they create?”

“Do
they have his DNA?” Lara asked.

“I
have to assume they do. What I do not know is how intact the sample is and how
long they have had it. Sammy was captured in Rio de Janeiro six months ago, but
he started at Beta headquarters
fourteen
months ago. That is a long time
to tinker if Wrobel gave the CAG his DNA all the way back then.”

“What
could they do with it?”

Byron
shrugged his shoulders as though he did not know. This was misleading. He did
know, but the information was classified. “We have people who study that stuff,
but some of us worry that our own laws are going to be our detriment. Our
genetics research is so limited that we cannot hold a candle to what the CAG is
capable of.”

Thomas
placed his hand on Lara’s as they listened to their son.

“Does
Sammy know about this?” Lara asked. “Is he going to be all right?”

Byron
shook his head. “All I can say is that we are handling him with all the care of
a nuclear bomb. We take him that seriously. That mission in Rio was a terrible
error—my error. We needed Sammy to have experience, we thought the mission
would be as controlled as possible, but we never foresaw what would happen if
one of our own. . . . ”

Thomas
and Lara exchanged a look of concern. “We can’t even imagine the choices you
have to deal with everyday, son. If that was your call, don’t second-guess
yourself.”

“My
decisions are no more difficult than yours, Pop. And yours, Mom. I look around
here and cannot imagine the hard work you two are doing. It is incredible.”

“So
you’re sure about leaving tomorrow?” his mother asked.

“I
wish I could stay longer, but I have so much work to do.”

“No
way we can convince you otherwise?” his dad pressed.

Commander
Byron smiled mournfully.
His parents assured them that they understood,
but Byron could not mistake their sorrow. Early the next morning, they gathered
one last time for breakfast. Byron’s mother stalled as much as she could, and
then tearfully hugged her son and grandchildren. Commander Byron and his father
embraced once again, and Byron heard his father whisper words of love into his
ear along with a line from a familiar poem:

“‘Life
is hard; be steel; be a rock.’”

Commander
Byron patted his father hard on the back. “I will, Pop. I will.”

14.
Alpha

Monday July 15, 2086

Monday
morning, Sammy
breezed through the last portions of the Psion
Panel. When he finished, Commander Zahn pronounced him fit for graduation and
stated multiple times that he had never seen anyone as prepared as Sammy to
become a Psion Alpha. Sammy thanked the commander graciously and went to his
room where he celebrated the event by himself, reading the last pages of
War
of the Worlds
while his friends finished up their sims and instructions.

When
he headed upstairs for lunch, he knew he wouldn’t hear any words of praise or congratulations
from Jeffie. She still treated him as though he’d contracted a rare and deadly
strain of smallpox. He also foresaw Brickert and Natalia being more excited
about seeing each other after a four-hour break than hearing about Sammy’s
success. Strawberry’s reaction would be enthusiastic, but less so than it would
have been two weeks earlier before Sammy’s breakdown when he’d smelled her
cinnamon breath. And as he guessed, the biggest cheers and applause came from
Kawai. She was the only person who really seemed to understand him lately, and
consequently, he spent more time with her than anyone else. That evening, his
friends quietly celebrated with him and he went to bed feeling both happy and
lonely.

At
breakfast the next morning, Sammy plopped into the chair next to Kawai, who was
well into a bowl of bananas and sugar-coated quinoa.

She
touched him on the arm and smiled. “Morning!”

“I
got a text from Tawhiri. He wants to meet with me after I eat.”

“What
about?” she asked.

Sammy
shrugged, his mouth full of oatmeal.

“Probably
just about your mission. Are you nervous?”

“Nope.
Fine.”

“Okay.
You want to do a picnic for lunch? You can tell me about the meeting and
whatever else is on your mind.”

Sammy
glanced around the room. Jeffie and Kobe were both drinking their breakfast
shakes. Two seats away, Brickert and Natalia looked at each other and giggled
randomly. Strawberry sat among Antonio, Hefani, and the new Betas whose names
Sammy still hadn’t learned. He didn’t see the point.

“Sure.
Sounds good.”

As
Kawai smiled at him, her face turned slightly redder, and she changed the
subject for the rest of the meal. At 0815, exactly the time Tawhiri had
requested, Sammy knocked on the major’s door. Tawhiri greeted Sammy like an old
chum and showed him into the kitchen.

“I
forgot to tell you to skip breakfast, but if you want an omelet, I’m happy to
make one for you.”

Sammy
was about to decline when he got a whiff of the food cooking. Instead, he
accepted. His response made the major glow.

“So
congratulations are in order, aren’t they?” he stated as he poured the eggs and
milk onto a frying pan. “Are you excited? I hope so, because I certainly am.”

“Yeah,
I’m excited,” Sammy said dully.

“Good,
good. Cheese? You can never have too much cheese, that’s what I always say.”
Major Tawhiri sprinkled cheese before Sammy answered yes. Then he began
chopping strips of bacon and ham. “I’ve been asked by Command to give you your
mission information. I don’t know too much about the details, but I can tell
you that you should pack a bag on Thursday because you’re heading to Alpha
headquarters with your squadron leader. You’ll be training with your new
squadron for about a week before heading out on the mission. Anna Lukic, your
honcho, will evaluate your performance. Any questions?”

“Yeah,”
Sammy said. “What kind of role am I going to have on the mission? Am I there
only to watch? Is this a fighting mission?”

“No
idea. Anna will give you all that information.”

“Has
a date been set yet for my graduation?”

“Actually,
yes, thank you for bringing that up. I forgot to mention that. Command has
approved two possible dates for your graduation, and they are willing to let
you decide between them. The fourth of August or the first of September. Which
would you prefer?”

Sammy
thought about it and didn’t know. “Can I sleep on it?”

“Sure,
take some time and mull it over. But let me know before you go to Alpha so I
can tell Command your preferences. I can’t guarantee anything, but your opinion
counts.”

They
stood in the kitchen in silence while Tawhiri finished making the omelets.
Sammy’s thoughts wandered as he thought about his mission and graduating. A
nervous sensation hit his stomach as Major Tawhiri slid the omelets onto plates
and went into the dining room. “Smells delicious, doesn’t it?”

Sammy
didn’t hear the question. His thoughts stayed on his impending graduation,
questioning his recent decisions. When the scent of the omelet hit his nose, he
decided to ask the major. “Do—Sir, do you think I’m ready to become an Alpha?”

Major
Tawhiri’s façade of constant giddiness fell away, and Sammy saw on his face an
expression of genuine concern. “I wouldn’t have recommended you if I didn’t.”

“I’m
not even sixteen. I don’t think I’m mature enough to handle it.”

“Why?”

“I—I—”
Sammy stammered because he felt his face growing hot. “Girls.”

“Girls
make you immature?”

“Yes!
I can’t stop thinking about them, I get depressed when one of them doesn’t like
me, and I—I really can’t stop thinking about them. What if I’m on a mission and
I’m thinking about a girl, and I get myself or my team killed?”

Major
Tawhiri’s mouth twitched into a half-smile which gave Sammy the impression that
Tawhiri was suppressing a laugh. “Sammy. . . . ” His mouth twitched even
faster. “Constantly thinking about girls doesn’t make you immature, it makes
you normal.” Finally the major could hold it in no longer and he gave a
deep-bellied laugh at Sammy’s question.

Sammy
smirked and joined in with his superior.

“You
got a lot to learn, buddy. About girls, that is. But I think you’re doing fine
in all the other things. The girl stuff comes with life experience.”

“Thanks.”

“No
problem. I’ve got your back, Sammy. I hope you have mine, too. I’ll be waiting
for your answer about your graduation date. In the meantime, my omelet is
getting cold and that’s no good, is it?”

Thirty
minutes later, Sammy left the major’s apartment full of omelet and still
wondering if he’d made the right decision in choosing to graduate early. The
conversation with his superior had been helpful, but his frustrations remained.
He asked his com to give him the time: 0855. His picnic date (
not a date
,
he reminded himself,
just lunch with Kawai
) wasn’t for more than two
hours.
What do I do till then?

The
simplicity of the answer startled him:
violence
.

Yes,
he wanted to hurt someone. And he knew if anything could cure him of the
confusion and the stress, it was killing Thirteens. He found an empty sim room
and dialed up the toughest sim the computer offered. He imagined that all the
Thirteens had Katie Carpenter’s face and went to work at taking out his
revenge. Two hours and a quick shower later, he and Kawai met in the cafeteria
and grabbed lunches to take outside. As they walked out of the room together,
Sammy felt Jeffie’s eyes on them. It gave him a mixture of sadistic pleasure
and stabbing guilt to ignore her stare.

You
have no claim on me, Jeffie
.

“How
was the meeting?” Kawai asked when they reached the grounds.

Sammy
told her about the breakfast and the choice Tawhiri had offered him on
graduation dates.

“So
are you going to stay the extra month?” was her next question.

“I
don’t know. Part of me wants to make this last, and part of me says to quit
prolonging the inevitable. On the one hand, that’s an extra month I could be
training with my squadron, but on the other I’ll be an Alpha for a long, long
time.”

“Looooooooong,”
Kawai agreed with a dramatic tone.

“Exactly.
What’s my rush?”

Kawai
lay sideways while she ate, one hand supporting her head while eating with the
other. Sammy couldn’t help but notice her lean, toned figure and slender face.

“You
don’t wear your, uh, you know . . . stuff. The stuff you used to wear.”

“My
feathers?” Kawai asked while stabbing at grapes. “And all my jewelry?”

“Yeah.
What happened?”

“Nothing.”
Kawai’s laugh was light and pretty. There was a maturity in it that Sammy had
never heard from the other girls in his group of friends. It reminded him that
Kawai was a year his senior. “I got tired of them.”

“How
come?”

“How
come part of you wants to leave?”

“I
asked you first.”

“In
my home territory, the feathers were in fashion. I liked the look, too, so I
copied it. No one else caught onto the trend here, so rather than be
the-girl-with-the-feathers, I stopped.”

“I
never had a problem with them.”

“Yeah,
but when you want boys to notice you, sometimes it’s better when they have
their eyes on your face, not what’s in your hair.”

Sammy
wanted to tell Kawai that he noticed her, but didn’t say it.

“What
was that look for?” she asked him.

“I
didn’t have a look, did I?”

Kawai
sat up smiling and adjusted the wrinkles out of her green and yellow Beta
jumpsuit. “Yes, you did. I don’t know what it means, though.”

“Me,
neither.” He laughed, but it was a nervous laugh.

“So
back to what you were saying. If you and Jeffie had gotten together, do you
think you’d be leaving?”

The
response took no thought, but Sammy didn’t want to reveal that to Kawai, and he
wasn’t sure why. “I don’t know. Good thing I don’t have to worry about it,
huh?”

Kawai’s
small frown told him that she didn’t believe him. They ate in silence for a
couple minutes. Sammy’s thoughts stayed on her question. He needed a better
answer.
I don’t want Kawai telling other girls that I’m leaving because I’m
mad at Jeffie.

“There
are a lot of reasons I’m leaving. It’s not Jeffie. It’s Brickert, too. And
Natalia. And—and me. Nothing’s the same. Don’t get me wrong, Kawai. I’m glad
I’m back. But I think that after six months apart, I changed. And you guys
moved on.”

“I
like the way you’ve changed.” She didn’t smile as she said this, but her eyes
were fixed on his. “You’ve always been more mature than most of the other guys,
but I think what you went through while you were gone widened that gap. So
maybe it’s more noticeable now. Maybe. Don’t feel bad about being mature. It’s
a good thing. I—yeah—it’s a good thing.”

“I
don’t feel bad.”

“Sad?”

“A
little,” Sammy admitted. “There’s a lot here to miss.”

The
corners of her lips turned upward and her eyes had a teasing gleam in them.
“Such as what . . . or whom?”

“You,
for one.” He glanced at Kawai briefly before looking away, embarrassed that
he’d named her first. “Brickert . . . Natalia . . . all of my friends. The
Game, too.”

The
light Sammy had seen in her eyes dimmed a little. “And Jeffie?”

Sammy
shooed a fly away from his sandwich and watched it zip over to Kawai’s cup of
fruit. “We don’t talk anymore. What’s to miss?”

“What
is it between you two? You both like each other and hate each other. She’s been
a brat to you, Sammy. It shocks me sometimes that you’re still so gaga over
her. And I’m not the only one. Believe me.”

Sammy
took a bite of his sandwich and chewed it so as to stall for more time. “What
does it matter? Whatever was there is gone now, especially now that I’m
leaving.”