Mind Control: A Science Fiction Telepathy Thriller (Perceivers Book 2) by Jane Killick Page B
Authors: Jane Killick
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find it funny. “What have you been saying?”
“I asked him to cover for me,” said Michael. “You know, make it look like I’m asleep in my room so Norm the Norm doesn’t know. When we do that, it’s usually because the other person wants to be with a girl.”
She rolled her eyes. “Boys!”
Michael drank from the mug. It was more lukewarm than hot, having been carried all the way from Galen House, but it was still more than he expected. “Thanks for the coffee.”
“I tried to find you last night to talk to you, but Alex said you left when the news about the trial came on.”
“Yes,” said Michael.
“Don’t you want to see that bastard pay for what he’s done?”
“Not really.”
“If it wasn’t for him, my mother wouldn’t have taken that stupid pill,” she said.
“I’m not saying he didn’t do anything wrong,” said Michael. “I’m just not sure I want to watch it laid out in front of me on television.”
“Don’t you want to see him face his crime?” said Pauline, getting angry. “That pill changed my DNA before I was even born. If it wasn’t for him, they wouldn’t have taken me away from my family, I wouldn’t be …” Her voice cracked. She stopped talking before it became too obvious. But her emotions gave her away; the pain of separation was easy to perceive.
“You didn’t have to leave home,” said Michael. “Not after the Perceivers’ Law. We have a right not to be discriminated against.” He remembered how hard perceivers had fought to make that law a reality. He remembered the elation as he sat in the Houses of Parliament and heard the Prime Minister, John Pankhurst, promise that perceivers would be allowed to live freely in Britain without fear of persecution.
“How long have you been in here?” asked Pauline.
He thought back to when he had first come to Galen House. It was a long time. “Two years,” he said. “Give or take.”
“You don’t know what it’s like out there.” She pointed into the distance, indicating the world outside the camp. “They find out you’re a perceiver and you’re a second class citizen. The law says you can live with it like a normal person, but people don’t let you. Like that boy last year who jumped off Beachy Head because he was bullied for being a perceiver. No, in the real world, they find out what you are in school screening and they strongly ‘suggest’ you take the cure. Pankhurst said some nice things, but no one listens to him anymore. My mum says he’s a fool who’ll be humiliated at the next election. My mum says …”
Talking about her mother, Michael perceived, brought back the memory of the home that she missed and she stopped herself from saying more.
“There was always the cure,” said Michael.
She shook her head, the pain of the decision was still raw. “Perception was already part of me,” she said. “I didn’t know how I would cope if it was taken away. Besides, it was too late for me, my family would never trust me again, they saw me as an alien in their house. They were happy when we got the knock on the door and I was invited to join this place. I’d screwed up school anyway, so when they offered me a job as a perceiver, I took it. Maybe the cure is right for those whose perception is weak, but I couldn’t do it.”
“I’m sorry,” said Michael. He felt her anger and frustration, and understood it. It reminded him of making that horrible choice himself, except he didn’t have a family to leave behind. Not really.
“Ransom did that to me, he did that to all of us,” said Pauline. “I want to see it all laid out in front of him in court, then I want to see him take the stand and squirm as he explains why he did it. They say the creation of perceivers has changed the world, that’s not something one man should be allowed to get away with.”
She had every right to be angry. Michael had been angry once. But there was nothing he could do about it, so he decided not to
“I asked him to cover for me,” said Michael. “You know, make it look like I’m asleep in my room so Norm the Norm doesn’t know. When we do that, it’s usually because the other person wants to be with a girl.”
She rolled her eyes. “Boys!”
Michael drank from the mug. It was more lukewarm than hot, having been carried all the way from Galen House, but it was still more than he expected. “Thanks for the coffee.”
“I tried to find you last night to talk to you, but Alex said you left when the news about the trial came on.”
“Yes,” said Michael.
“Don’t you want to see that bastard pay for what he’s done?”
“Not really.”
“If it wasn’t for him, my mother wouldn’t have taken that stupid pill,” she said.
“I’m not saying he didn’t do anything wrong,” said Michael. “I’m just not sure I want to watch it laid out in front of me on television.”
“Don’t you want to see him face his crime?” said Pauline, getting angry. “That pill changed my DNA before I was even born. If it wasn’t for him, they wouldn’t have taken me away from my family, I wouldn’t be …” Her voice cracked. She stopped talking before it became too obvious. But her emotions gave her away; the pain of separation was easy to perceive.
“You didn’t have to leave home,” said Michael. “Not after the Perceivers’ Law. We have a right not to be discriminated against.” He remembered how hard perceivers had fought to make that law a reality. He remembered the elation as he sat in the Houses of Parliament and heard the Prime Minister, John Pankhurst, promise that perceivers would be allowed to live freely in Britain without fear of persecution.
“How long have you been in here?” asked Pauline.
He thought back to when he had first come to Galen House. It was a long time. “Two years,” he said. “Give or take.”
“You don’t know what it’s like out there.” She pointed into the distance, indicating the world outside the camp. “They find out you’re a perceiver and you’re a second class citizen. The law says you can live with it like a normal person, but people don’t let you. Like that boy last year who jumped off Beachy Head because he was bullied for being a perceiver. No, in the real world, they find out what you are in school screening and they strongly ‘suggest’ you take the cure. Pankhurst said some nice things, but no one listens to him anymore. My mum says he’s a fool who’ll be humiliated at the next election. My mum says …”
Talking about her mother, Michael perceived, brought back the memory of the home that she missed and she stopped herself from saying more.
“There was always the cure,” said Michael.
She shook her head, the pain of the decision was still raw. “Perception was already part of me,” she said. “I didn’t know how I would cope if it was taken away. Besides, it was too late for me, my family would never trust me again, they saw me as an alien in their house. They were happy when we got the knock on the door and I was invited to join this place. I’d screwed up school anyway, so when they offered me a job as a perceiver, I took it. Maybe the cure is right for those whose perception is weak, but I couldn’t do it.”
“I’m sorry,” said Michael. He felt her anger and frustration, and understood it. It reminded him of making that horrible choice himself, except he didn’t have a family to leave behind. Not really.
“Ransom did that to me, he did that to all of us,” said Pauline. “I want to see it all laid out in front of him in court, then I want to see him take the stand and squirm as he explains why he did it. They say the creation of perceivers has changed the world, that’s not something one man should be allowed to get away with.”
She had every right to be angry. Michael had been angry once. But there was nothing he could do about it, so he decided not to
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