Through Glass Darkly: Episode Two by Peter Knyte Page A

I’ve barely recognised myself, but at the same time I’ve also felt more at one with myself than ever before.’
    ‘Well, you’ve certainly confounded several people’s expectations in the way you carry yourself Ashton,’ Hughes confided earnestly.
    ‘There are those who wonder whether you’ve got some kind of a death wish after the way you’ve chased these creatures down time and again, constantly putting yourself in harm’s way to try and stop them. But there are other seasoned officers who’ve seen you in the field and are convinced nothing could be further from the truth.’
    I trusted what Hughes was saying to me, but had been caught so off guard by this change of subject and I barely knew how to respond.
    ‘Well I appreciate the concern I must’ve caused,’ I finally replied. ‘And while there’s a lot about my situation I don’t feel I can adequately explain, I can say with confidence that’s I’m not driven by suicidal thoughts.’
    There wasn’t much else that could really be said on the subject, and I thought for moment that Hughes was simply going to let the subject drop, but then he surprised me again.
    ‘You know,’ he continued, in a slightly lighter tone. ‘I have at various points in my life found that keeping a journal of my thoughts has helped. Purely for myself of course, not for anyone else to read.
    ‘I don’t know why putting pen to paper is easier for me than talking to someone else, but somehow it helps me to maintain my perspective. Perhaps you should give it a try? You could even use it to keep a record of your travels in a strangely familiar land.’ He finished with a flourish of his hand to indicate the city around us.
    The idea had never occurred to me before, but something about it appealed now.
    ‘I like the sound of that,’ I admitted. ‘Perhaps I will.’
     
    I’d been intending to talk to Platt the Police Captain when I got back to where the ship was moored in the park, to see if we could start running the lensing tests on his men from the search team, as well as any other volunteers from the Police and Fire departments that would like to give it a go. But after discussing Ariel’s condition with the Captain we both agreed that the operation should go ahead in the morning, and that I should attend in order to provide the support that the surgeons had requested.
    To make sure this didn’t cause a delay in the lensing trials the Captain agreed to give me a hand in setting up the lensing lab later on that evening, so that we could arrange for the tests to begin the following afternoon. He also agreed to cover the first appointments if the surgery ran over and I couldn’t get back in time.
    I knew he’d been up since before I had that morning, and as usual had already completed a full day of meetings and overseeing the work of Bradbury’s repair team from his now accustomed place down in engineering, and yet as we cleared away some of the debris that still lay around the lensing lab rom our arrival in this world, and sorted out the test equipment for the following day he still seemed as fresh as a daisy in both his appearance and mood.
    I thought about mentioning it, but wanted to mention the technology discussion I’d had with Hughes earlier on that day.
     
    ‘It’s something I was hoping to find the time to brief you on at some point,’ he conceded, taking a momentary pause from the work. ‘I’ve been approached by Jenkins superiors within the FBI and by a number of senior representatives from the military, who are all interested in finding out more about the different technologies we have aboard the ship. But after considering it I’ve informed them that as the technologies aboard this ship were developed by all the nations of our own world, it seems only right that if we’re going to share them at all then it should be with all the peoples of this world.
    ‘I’m not quite sure how it’s going to happen at the moment,’ he continued, ‘But they