Read Online Discovery (Science of Psionics Book #1) by Dave Renol - Free Book Online Page B

saved lives.” Looking thoughtful, he added “I wonder how
strong of a shield you can make, and how big. Could you stop a
bullet, or block and explosion? Could you shield a whole company or
platoon? Could you make it a one-way shield so we could fire out
but the enemy couldn’t hit us?”
    “Slow down there champ,” I interrupted. “One
thing at a time until we get it figured out.”
    “In any experiment, it is wise to only change
a single variable at a time,” agreed Carl.
    “In any case, I want a bit of a break before
we continue. It might look like I’m just standing here, but it
takes some hard work.”
    “How are you feeling?” Carl asked curiously.
“Any pains, headache, or other symptoms besides fatigue?”
    “Not right now. The only pain I felt so far
was the very first time I used the new ability to stop my falling
coffee cup.”
    “Odd. Maybe the initial pain was sort of a
shock as your body gained attunement to whatever force is powering
the ability.”
    I could only shrug my shoulders at that, but
it sounded reasonable. I figured that I had worked hard enough this
afternoon and deserved a beer, so I fetched us all a round.
Relaxing for a bit, I sat down and enjoyed my nice cold beer. Carl
and Sid started arguing about what else I might be able to do. I
let them have their fun, but interjected the occasional veto on the
dumber ideas like Sid wanting to shoot a real gun at me. I also
vetoed his live grenade idea with a resounding “ Hell
no! ”
    Standing, I rejoined the conversation in
order to steer them back toward more reasonable expectations when I
was suddenly startled by a loud yell from above, passing by with a
distinct doppler effect. Looking up, I saw Linda and Sara go
blazing by us about fifty feet over our heads. We all stared at
them as they made a wide turn, slowed, and came back to land near
us.
    Sara was effluent in her thanks and tackled
Linda to the ground with a big hug. After she had calmed down a
bit, she let Linda get up and went into the house. Linda joined us
and gave me a hug and kiss of my own. As the guys cornered Linda in
order to question her on the flight, I thought about how much power
it would take to accelerate two adults to that speed.
    Linda seemed to be breathing heavier than
normal, but that could have been due to excitement rather than
energy use. I’ll ask her later. Sid and Carl started talking about
getting a radar gun and other measurement devices, a course in
which I heartily approved. Hearing that we were back to ‘geek talk’
as she liked to call it, Linda escaped back to the house. Sara
rejoined us a few moments later and immediately dominated the
conversation as she described her flight in exquisite detail.
    Once she had slowed down enough for us to
politely interrupt her raving, we had her sit down so we could
continue with some variants of our earlier tests. This time, I
stood out in the middle of the yard, with Carl and Sid on opposite
sides of me. Each had a bunch of golf balls that they would throw
at me at random times to try and get through my guard. Amazingly, I
found this challenge to be easier than the last one. Either I had
gotten better at my control, or by being so personally involved I
reacted quicker. There’s nothing like self-preservation to sharpen
ones senses.
    Next, Sid asked me to build a complete force
field around myself and maintain its integrity while they tried to
breach it. Consenting, I closed my eyes and envisioned a dome
encasing me. “Too small,” I thought. “I should have some extra
space around me in case they break through. Busting my shield is
one thing, but busting my noggin is something else entirely.”
    I enlarged my dome slowly, and once
satisfied, I fed it power to solidify it as best as I was able.
Once I was as ready as I could be, I gave them the go ahead and
braced myself. They both tentatively moved forward until they found
where the shield began and began poking and prodding at it. Sid put
his