Sue woke up. She'd heard a strange noise. It was a repeating pattern, much like the music she played on the piano. She got off the couch and walked down the hall.
As she passed the dining area, she saw James working on his laptop. The clicking of the keys reminded her of the pattern she heard. But there were errors. She shook her head. He didn't know the song.
A little further down the hall, she heard voices murmuring. The first one had a musicality that she couldn't place. She stopped at the door and looked in. She heard Bobby talking to Hector. But the cadence was wrong.
She looked at Hector and saw him talking. She walked closer to see him better in the light. As she approached, he turned away toward the window. She leaned over to see him and noticed how strained his face looked. It was so tense she could see his blood pumping in the vein on his temple. As she watched, he eased into a light sleep, the vein disappearing but there it was…the pattern. She looked at his hands. His left hand clutched the covers to his chest like a lifeline. And his right hand knew the song.
Sue listened in amazement as the melody repeated itself flawlessly. She heard many lines but one stood out. It was fading and she strained to hear it. It was a number line intermixed with letters that stood for something. A pattern of numbers and letters. One she'd heard before. A pattern of letters and numbers. A pattern she'd seen….
Sue's eyes flashed open. She jumped up from the sofa and went running to find James. He was in the dinning area when she came barreling in.
"IknowwhatHectorknows." She managed to get out. It was so vivid, she didn't want to lose it. "It's a pattern. Numbers and letters."
James whipped his laptop around. 'Show me.'
She typed out a sequence of numbers and mixed in letters. Frowning, she tried again. "I know what I saw. Maybe I'm missing a piece."
James moved her hands.
What did you see?
"He always is tapping his hand. I've seen him do it several times."
That's not unusual.
"It is when it's always the same pattern. I'm sure of what I saw. It's my job to see things that others might miss. Trust me." Sue looked at the silent man, her eyes willing him to believe.
There is a chance that it is subconscious. Anything else?
"The pattern is fading. I don't understand that part. It's like it's slipping away."
Drug induced learning. Sort of like hypnosis. It isn't common and it can't change who you are. The subconscious can remember things that the conscious mind won't recognize. It doesn't last long. That could be why it is fading.
Sue got up from the table and headed to the bedroom. At the doorway, she saw Hector sleeping like she did in her dream. Walking to the far side of the bed, she could see his left hand clutching the blanket and his right hand moving restlessly against the sheet. She watched as best she could but it was too dim to see all the movements. Looking around she spotted a small lamp and turned it on.
Bobby stirred across the room. He stretched his long arms to roll the kinks out.
Sue continued to watch the sleeping man. After a minute, she motioned Bobby over, her eyes not leaving the bed. "I need a pen, paper and flat surface, now…" she whispered.
"Right-o," he murmured to himself and went to find the items.
In short order he returned and she had him slide the legal pad under Hector's hand. She went down eye level to watch. As she observed, she had Bobby write down a bunch of numbers and letters. To him it seemed like gibberish. Once the numbers started repeating, he tapped her shoulder. She nodded and leaned her head on the pad. Slowly the tapping faded but not before she felt the music of the vibrations.