Read Online Dark Genesis: The Birth of the Psi Corps by J. Gregory Keyes - Free Book Online
Authors: J. Gregory Keyes
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nodded nervously. Lee patted him on the back and moved down the line to a slight blonde with a pleasant, but not beautiful, face-the girl next door, the kid sister.
“This is Clara Suarez. She used to be a stock trader until she voluntarily quit when she learned she had metasensory powers. She now uses her abilities for the International Trade Commission to find less honest telepaths still trading.”
He moved to a boy of perhaps thirteen with flaming red hair.
“Stephen Campbell. Stephen didn’t know he was a telepath either, just that he had a lot of luck hitting what the pitcher threw. Steve was beaten within an inch of his life and left to die on the street in Edinburgh. And this-come here, sweetheart.” He held out his arms, and the last of the five ran into his arms, to the awwwing of the crowd.
“This is Constance. Constance is five, and last year she watched her whole family slaughtered execution style. She herself was shot, hacked with a machete, and left for dead. We found her under the corpse of her mother.”
Constance looked around the room. She was a living doll with huge, dark-bright eyes and brown hair done up in a little bob. She whispered something in Lee’s ear, and he laughed.
“She wants to know if she can sit by you, Alex.”
“I-yes, of course. I never turn a lady down.”
Anna gave the little girl a hug as she came by. Then Constance hopped up into the seat and looked at Alex DiPeso with those huge eyes. There were some gasps from the audience, for on her left profile, a fading white scar started in her hairline, passed through her ear, and vanished at the neckline of her dress.
“Hello, Constance,” DiPeso said. “What do you think of Los Angeles?”
She just looked at him and smiled, a bit sadly.
“You’re a nice man,” she said. “I can tell you’re a nice man. How come you say such mean things?”
DiPeso worked his jaw, and a profound silence stretched in the studio. Finally, finally, he reached over and took her hand, and his voice seemed caught in his throat as he said, “I don’t know, honey. I can’t explain it, can IT’ And upward of six billion viewers saw a teardrop glitter at the corner of his eye before the cut to commercial.
“Okay, we’re back, and we’re still talking to Senator Lee Crawford of the Committee on Metasensory Regulation. Frankly, I planned to have moved him off by now and brought someone entertaining on, but during the break he told me he had something important to tell us. So I think I’ll just shut up for a moment and see what it is.”
Lee nodded.
“Thank you, Alex. I first want to thank you and your audience for giving me the chance to show you these special young people. Look, the face of the unknown is the face of a monster , and for most people telepathy is unknown. It’s frightening. In our hearts, I think we all know that that doesn’t excuse some of the things that have happened-certainly not the way people like Constance and Stephen have been treated. So I wanted to show you the face of the unknown, so you can see that there is no monster , no alien, just us.
“Now, my committee has gotten a lot of criticism from both ends of the spectrum. I’ve been criticized for taking away the rights of telepaths-an untrue accusation-and for not being `hard enough’ on them, which I’m happy to say is true. They don’t deserve punishment simply for being born different. But they are different, aren’t they-if not in most ways, then in this one special way.
He clasped his hands.
“I’m being long-winded, so I’ll try to get to the point, because I know you all want to hear more from Anna and the other guests Alex has lined up tonight. The point is this: over the past year or so, I’ve had contact with a lot of telepaths, and one thing I know is that most of them have a strong desire to serve, to use their powers not for the good of themselves, not for the good of a single nation, but for the good of all humanity.
To that
“This is Clara Suarez. She used to be a stock trader until she voluntarily quit when she learned she had metasensory powers. She now uses her abilities for the International Trade Commission to find less honest telepaths still trading.”
He moved to a boy of perhaps thirteen with flaming red hair.
“Stephen Campbell. Stephen didn’t know he was a telepath either, just that he had a lot of luck hitting what the pitcher threw. Steve was beaten within an inch of his life and left to die on the street in Edinburgh. And this-come here, sweetheart.” He held out his arms, and the last of the five ran into his arms, to the awwwing of the crowd.
“This is Constance. Constance is five, and last year she watched her whole family slaughtered execution style. She herself was shot, hacked with a machete, and left for dead. We found her under the corpse of her mother.”
Constance looked around the room. She was a living doll with huge, dark-bright eyes and brown hair done up in a little bob. She whispered something in Lee’s ear, and he laughed.
“She wants to know if she can sit by you, Alex.”
“I-yes, of course. I never turn a lady down.”
Anna gave the little girl a hug as she came by. Then Constance hopped up into the seat and looked at Alex DiPeso with those huge eyes. There were some gasps from the audience, for on her left profile, a fading white scar started in her hairline, passed through her ear, and vanished at the neckline of her dress.
“Hello, Constance,” DiPeso said. “What do you think of Los Angeles?”
She just looked at him and smiled, a bit sadly.
“You’re a nice man,” she said. “I can tell you’re a nice man. How come you say such mean things?”
DiPeso worked his jaw, and a profound silence stretched in the studio. Finally, finally, he reached over and took her hand, and his voice seemed caught in his throat as he said, “I don’t know, honey. I can’t explain it, can IT’ And upward of six billion viewers saw a teardrop glitter at the corner of his eye before the cut to commercial.
“Okay, we’re back, and we’re still talking to Senator Lee Crawford of the Committee on Metasensory Regulation. Frankly, I planned to have moved him off by now and brought someone entertaining on, but during the break he told me he had something important to tell us. So I think I’ll just shut up for a moment and see what it is.”
Lee nodded.
“Thank you, Alex. I first want to thank you and your audience for giving me the chance to show you these special young people. Look, the face of the unknown is the face of a monster , and for most people telepathy is unknown. It’s frightening. In our hearts, I think we all know that that doesn’t excuse some of the things that have happened-certainly not the way people like Constance and Stephen have been treated. So I wanted to show you the face of the unknown, so you can see that there is no monster , no alien, just us.
“Now, my committee has gotten a lot of criticism from both ends of the spectrum. I’ve been criticized for taking away the rights of telepaths-an untrue accusation-and for not being `hard enough’ on them, which I’m happy to say is true. They don’t deserve punishment simply for being born different. But they are different, aren’t they-if not in most ways, then in this one special way.
He clasped his hands.
“I’m being long-winded, so I’ll try to get to the point, because I know you all want to hear more from Anna and the other guests Alex has lined up tonight. The point is this: over the past year or so, I’ve had contact with a lot of telepaths, and one thing I know is that most of them have a strong desire to serve, to use their powers not for the good of themselves, not for the good of a single nation, but for the good of all humanity.
To that
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