Warp Power Studios and Theaters Presents:
A Jesse M. Shearer Fanfic
Telepath Blues A Babylon Five Story by Jesse Shearer
Chapter One: Psychic Suspicions
September, 2258 was supposed to be the month that Larry Solen's life turned around. He had entered Reshin Community College the previous fall and was finally getting down to his core studies. Larry was hoping this round of higher education would finally lead him to a life of his own, and all the evidence suggested that becoming a medical tecnitian was just the way to do that.
Although Larry's course schedule that semester consisted of only two classes, it was as much as he could handle, between the homework and his job. The job wasn't much, but it paid for food and shelter with enough credits left over to pay tuition. In fact, it was through his job that Larry first began to suspect he was different from those around him.
At work, Larry sometimes felt as though he knew what people would say next. This was hardly an indicator of psychic ability, as it could easily be dismissed as experience from working a cash register for several years. What made Larry think twice about it was that his ability to guess about certain things seemed to be increasing.
Then there was the first night of Larry's keyboarding class. Larry was hardly a perfect typist. The truth was, he was one of the slowest in class. But this evening, his speed was down and he was having trouble concentrating. Partway through the class, Larry abruptly took his hands off his terminal keypad and put his head in them.
"Is something wrong, Larry?" asked the instructor, Miss Alice Joanas.
"I don't know, Miss Joanas," Larry replied. "I'm having trouble concentrating and I keep hearing this rushing noise, like there's a fan blowing on an open vent. It's really giving me a headache."
"Well, like I said at the beginning of class," Joanas said, "feel free to go get something to drink or use the restroom if you need to. This is a fairly self-guided class."
"Thanks, Miss Joanas," Larry said. "I think I'll take advantage of that."
While he was taking his break in the school's student lounge, Larry saw an interesting sign and read it.
"Are you having trouble concentrating?" the sign read. "Do you hear sounds or see things that others don't? Know things about people that you've just met? If you have these or other symptoms listed below, you may be a telepath. Contact your local Psicorp representative today for more information."
Larry made note of the comlink number on the sign on a handy piece of paper before finishing his drink and going back to class.
When Larry got home after class, he called his parents to make sure they were alright and then worked on some homework before going to bed for the night. Larry had been having trouble sleeping for a few days, but he wrote it off as fall allergies because the same thing had been happening every spring and fall for years. Tonight, however, it would be much worse.
A few minutes after he closed his eyes in bed, Larry opened his eyes again to find himself fully dressed and standing in a dimly lit tunnel that looked a lot like a mainline sewer. He began walking, following some path that he wasn't consciously aware of. After a few minutes, Larry came to a brightly lit room with four men in it. Three were human, that much Larry knew. The fourth he didn't recognize.
"We're glad you could make it," one of the humans, apparently the leader, said. "We have some very important business with you."
"Like what?" Larry asked. "I have no idea who you even are."
"Who we are is not the issue. Our business, however," the head human said, "requires you and you alone, Mr. Solen."
"And what would that business be?" Larry asked, sounding equally nervous and annoyed.
"My machine," the alien said.
"What?" Larry asked.
"His device requires a telepath," the lead human sad. "Or rather, a telekinetic, like you will become before you leave here."
"What are you guys talking about?" Larry asked. "You're nuts. You can't just make a person a telepath. It's impossible."
"Yes, yes it is," the lead human said, "but your suspicions about being a telepath are correct. The changes to make you a telekinetic are minor."
"This is crazy. I'm getting out of here," Larry said, and then he turned to leave.
"You're not leaving," the human said. Larry began to run, only to be chased by the two humans who hadn't spoken. He felt himself trip, only to awaken with a start back in his bed, which was now soaked with what Larry thought was sweat, and the whole room smelled of sewage.
"What the hell?" Larry said to himself as he sat up. "Did that just happen?"
Larry groggily got out of bed and went over to his dresser to look at the alarm clock he kept there. It read three thirty in the morning.
"Damn, don't even have to be up for another two hours," Larry thought. "May as well get the sheets off the bed, at least."
As Larry removed his wet sheets, he thought about the experience that had brought him where he was. Surely, he thought, it had been a nightmare, because most of what he had heard was gibberish. As he put the sheets in the wash load, he decided to tell his friends at work, even though the story sounded absurd. Then Larry went into his bathroom area to splash some water on his face and get some disinfecting spray for the mattress before he laid down on the floor and went to sleep for another two hours.
During a slow period at work, Larry told his friends Jeff and Bill about his experience the night before while they waited for another batch of parts to come down the assembly line they worked on.
"Aw, c'mon, Larry," Jeff said. "Just admit that you had a nightmare and wound up hosing the sheets."
"Yeah," Bill agreed. "Most of that's just crazy talk. Sounds like you went out and had a few too many last night."
"Eh, you're probably right," Larry finally agreed. "Got any plans for the weekend?"
"Just taking the girlfriend to the movies," Bill said. "How bout you, Jeff?"
"Pretty much the same," Jeff said. "Larry?"
"Well, I got some time coming, so I thought I'd take a couple days and go to the Psycorp center on Mars," Larry said.
"Why you wanna do that?" Bill asked.
"Well, I saw this sign at school yesterday. Listed a lot of things that have been going on in my head," Larry explained. "Besides, it beats hanging around the apartment all weekend."
"Yeah, I suppose you're right," Jeff said as the conveyor in front of them began moving. All three looked down to where their work came from.
"Aw, damn," Bill cursed. "Another H-67."
"I really hate those things," Larry agreed before they went to work.
Telepath Blues A Babylon Five Story by Jesse Shearer
Chapter One: Psychic Suspicions
September, 2258 was supposed to be the month that Larry Solen's life turned around. He had entered Reshin Community College the previous fall and was finally getting down to his core studies. Larry was hoping this round of higher education would finally lead him to a life of his own, and all the evidence suggested that becoming a medical tecnitian was just the way to do that.
Although Larry's course schedule that semester consisted of only two classes, it was as much as he could handle, between the homework and his job. The job wasn't much, but it paid for food and shelter with enough credits left over to pay tuition. In fact, it was through his job that Larry first began to suspect he was different from those around him.
At work, Larry sometimes felt as though he knew what people would say next. This was hardly an indicator of psychic ability, as it could easily be dismissed as experience from working a cash register for several years. What made Larry think twice about it was that his ability to guess about certain things seemed to be increasing.
Then there was the first night of Larry's keyboarding class. Larry was hardly a perfect typist. The truth was, he was one of the slowest in class. But this evening, his speed was down and he was having trouble concentrating. Partway through the class, Larry abruptly took his hands off his terminal keypad and put his head in them.
"Is something wrong, Larry?" asked the instructor, Miss Alice Joanas.
"I don't know, Miss Joanas," Larry replied. "I'm having trouble concentrating and I keep hearing this rushing noise, like there's a fan blowing on an open vent. It's really giving me a headache."
"Well, like I said at the beginning of class," Joanas said, "feel free to go get something to drink or use the restroom if you need to. This is a fairly self-guided class."
"Thanks, Miss Joanas," Larry said. "I think I'll take advantage of that."
While he was taking his break in the school's student lounge, Larry saw an interesting sign and read it.
"Are you having trouble concentrating?" the sign read. "Do you hear sounds or see things that others don't? Know things about people that you've just met? If you have these or other symptoms listed below, you may be a telepath. Contact your local Psicorp representative today for more information."
Larry made note of the comlink number on the sign on a handy piece of paper before finishing his drink and going back to class.
When Larry got home after class, he called his parents to make sure they were alright and then worked on some homework before going to bed for the night. Larry had been having trouble sleeping for a few days, but he wrote it off as fall allergies because the same thing had been happening every spring and fall for years. Tonight, however, it would be much worse.
A few minutes after he closed his eyes in bed, Larry opened his eyes again to find himself fully dressed and standing in a dimly lit tunnel that looked a lot like a mainline sewer. He began walking, following some path that he wasn't consciously aware of. After a few minutes, Larry came to a brightly lit room with four men in it. Three were human, that much Larry knew. The fourth he didn't recognize.
"We're glad you could make it," one of the humans, apparently the leader, said. "We have some very important business with you."
"Like what?" Larry asked. "I have no idea who you even are."
"Who we are is not the issue. Our business, however," the head human said, "requires you and you alone, Mr. Solen."
"And what would that business be?" Larry asked, sounding equally nervous and annoyed.
"My machine," the alien said.
"What?" Larry asked.
"His device requires a telepath," the lead human sad. "Or rather, a telekinetic, like you will become before you leave here."
"What are you guys talking about?" Larry asked. "You're nuts. You can't just make a person a telepath. It's impossible."
"Yes, yes it is," the lead human said, "but your suspicions about being a telepath are correct. The changes to make you a telekinetic are minor."
"This is crazy. I'm getting out of here," Larry said, and then he turned to leave.
"You're not leaving," the human said. Larry began to run, only to be chased by the two humans who hadn't spoken. He felt himself trip, only to awaken with a start back in his bed, which was now soaked with what Larry thought was sweat, and the whole room smelled of sewage.
"What the hell?" Larry said to himself as he sat up. "Did that just happen?"
Larry groggily got out of bed and went over to his dresser to look at the alarm clock he kept there. It read three thirty in the morning.
"Damn, don't even have to be up for another two hours," Larry thought. "May as well get the sheets off the bed, at least."
As Larry removed his wet sheets, he thought about the experience that had brought him where he was. Surely, he thought, it had been a nightmare, because most of what he had heard was gibberish. As he put the sheets in the wash load, he decided to tell his friends at work, even though the story sounded absurd. Then Larry went into his bathroom area to splash some water on his face and get some disinfecting spray for the mattress before he laid down on the floor and went to sleep for another two hours.
During a slow period at work, Larry told his friends Jeff and Bill about his experience the night before while they waited for another batch of parts to come down the assembly line they worked on.
"Aw, c'mon, Larry," Jeff said. "Just admit that you had a nightmare and wound up hosing the sheets."
"Yeah," Bill agreed. "Most of that's just crazy talk. Sounds like you went out and had a few too many last night."
"Eh, you're probably right," Larry finally agreed. "Got any plans for the weekend?"
"Just taking the girlfriend to the movies," Bill said. "How bout you, Jeff?"
"Pretty much the same," Jeff said. "Larry?"
"Well, I got some time coming, so I thought I'd take a couple days and go to the Psycorp center on Mars," Larry said.
"Why you wanna do that?" Bill asked.
"Well, I saw this sign at school yesterday. Listed a lot of things that have been going on in my head," Larry explained. "Besides, it beats hanging around the apartment all weekend."
"Yeah, I suppose you're right," Jeff said as the conveyor in front of them began moving. All three looked down to where their work came from.
"Aw, damn," Bill cursed. "Another H-67."
"I really hate those things," Larry agreed before they went to work.