--14--
It turned out that Kalina was much more adept in her new role than she had been in her last; Cyrus soon learned each and every last one of Damon's petty plans of sabotage, as well as the one piece of information that he'd been hoping to get. Damon - aside from being exactly the kind of insolent brat for whom Cyrus had no tolerance - was an expert linguist. It seemed the otherwise inept little whelp had a great natural talent for languages, which Cyrus, for all his learning, was lacking.
This, however, was not the information; Cyrus had long since learned of Damon's particular talent from his various sources within various universities and professional institutions. The information was that Damon had taken it upon himself to make certain. recordings. They were apparently summoning spells, which may or may not increase Cyrus' chances of capturing the ghosts he needed to power the Ocularis. He needed those spells. And poor old faithful Kalina agreed to get them for him.
Kalina had just left when the telephone rang. Cyrus closed the front door and swept over the phone, picking it up with the satisfied smile still on his face.
"Kriticos".
"I have news for you, Cyrus".
Cyrus frowned. "Who is this?"
"There will be a conference - a demonstration of sorts - held in the Psychology department of the University of Massachusetts in two days' time. I hear you need a psychic. You might do well to look there".
"Who is this?"
"Beck, Cyrus. Elijah Beck".
And the phone went dead.
--the following day--
Erik Heilmann had a fascinating and extensive collection of material concerning extrasensory perception. He'd hidden it away in his private library in his home for years, but slowly it was making a reappearance in his office at the University of Massachusetts. His students were beginning to remark on it, even if his colleagues had too much respect for him to do so. It was interspersed with his volumes on abnormal psychology on his bookshelves, and papers and journals littered his desk and every flat surface in the place. For the first time in years, Heilmann's office truly felt like home.
It was there that Dennis found the paper on Yamamura Shizuko.
It happened in 1955, in Tokyo. Dr. Ikuma Heihachiro had brought a patient of his to the university there and arranged a demonstration of what he was convinced was genuine psychic ability. She sat on the stage and Dr. Ikuma administered the test of her abilities in front of an auditorium full of onlookers. Her every answer was perfect. It seemed that she was indeed the real deal.
But then something happened. A member of the audience - later revealed to be a member of the press - leapt to his feet with a shout of 'fraud!' Others followed suit and soon the whole hall was in uproar. No one wanted to believe what they were seeing, and so they denied all that they had seen. The subject was disgraced, as was Dr. Ikuma. His reputation fell in tatters.
The reporter died right then and there, in that hall. The subject of the test - Yamamura Shizuko - died within a year. So vilified by the press that she was unable to live with her disgrace, Shizuko killed herself.
Dennis read the article three times. It was magnetic, like he couldn't stop reading. There was something about it that struck a chord in him, thinking about what he'd agreed to do.
Dennis took the paper and lay it on Dr. Heilmann's desk, where he'd be sure to find it in the morning. He'd be coming in after the demonstration.
***
It turned out that Kalina was much more adept in her new role than she had been in her last; Cyrus soon learned each and every last one of Damon's petty plans of sabotage, as well as the one piece of information that he'd been hoping to get. Damon - aside from being exactly the kind of insolent brat for whom Cyrus had no tolerance - was an expert linguist. It seemed the otherwise inept little whelp had a great natural talent for languages, which Cyrus, for all his learning, was lacking.
This, however, was not the information; Cyrus had long since learned of Damon's particular talent from his various sources within various universities and professional institutions. The information was that Damon had taken it upon himself to make certain. recordings. They were apparently summoning spells, which may or may not increase Cyrus' chances of capturing the ghosts he needed to power the Ocularis. He needed those spells. And poor old faithful Kalina agreed to get them for him.
Kalina had just left when the telephone rang. Cyrus closed the front door and swept over the phone, picking it up with the satisfied smile still on his face.
"Kriticos".
"I have news for you, Cyrus".
Cyrus frowned. "Who is this?"
"There will be a conference - a demonstration of sorts - held in the Psychology department of the University of Massachusetts in two days' time. I hear you need a psychic. You might do well to look there".
"Who is this?"
"Beck, Cyrus. Elijah Beck".
And the phone went dead.
--the following day--
Erik Heilmann had a fascinating and extensive collection of material concerning extrasensory perception. He'd hidden it away in his private library in his home for years, but slowly it was making a reappearance in his office at the University of Massachusetts. His students were beginning to remark on it, even if his colleagues had too much respect for him to do so. It was interspersed with his volumes on abnormal psychology on his bookshelves, and papers and journals littered his desk and every flat surface in the place. For the first time in years, Heilmann's office truly felt like home.
It was there that Dennis found the paper on Yamamura Shizuko.
It happened in 1955, in Tokyo. Dr. Ikuma Heihachiro had brought a patient of his to the university there and arranged a demonstration of what he was convinced was genuine psychic ability. She sat on the stage and Dr. Ikuma administered the test of her abilities in front of an auditorium full of onlookers. Her every answer was perfect. It seemed that she was indeed the real deal.
But then something happened. A member of the audience - later revealed to be a member of the press - leapt to his feet with a shout of 'fraud!' Others followed suit and soon the whole hall was in uproar. No one wanted to believe what they were seeing, and so they denied all that they had seen. The subject was disgraced, as was Dr. Ikuma. His reputation fell in tatters.
The reporter died right then and there, in that hall. The subject of the test - Yamamura Shizuko - died within a year. So vilified by the press that she was unable to live with her disgrace, Shizuko killed herself.
Dennis read the article three times. It was magnetic, like he couldn't stop reading. There was something about it that struck a chord in him, thinking about what he'd agreed to do.
Dennis took the paper and lay it on Dr. Heilmann's desk, where he'd be sure to find it in the morning. He'd be coming in after the demonstration.
***