Telepath Blues
A Babylon 5 Story By Jesse Shearer
Chapter 2: Calling Psicorps
The first of Larry Solen's days off was a Saturday. Saturdays usually meant that Larry could sleep in until about nine in the morning before getting up to catch his favorite weekend programming. This Saturday, however, he was up an hour early, intending to use the commlink number he'd gotten at school two days before.
Before Larry made his call, he made himself some pancakes for breakfast, which was his usual for the day. About a half hour later, Larry placed his call to the Psicorps office. The person he got ahold of was a woman not much older than he was.
"Psycorps Regional Office, this is Sally Josephs," the woman introduced herself. "How may I help you?"
"Yeah, I saw your ad at Reshin Community College the other day," Larry said. "I think I'm experiencing some of the symptoms listed."
"OK," Josephs said. "Give me your name and tell me what you've been experiencing."
"My name is Larry Solen," he said. "What I've been experiencing is that I hear the wind in windowless, unventilated rooms; severe headaches that I can't explain; and I've had a lot of experiences with guessing what a person is going to ask even before they show up where I can see them."
"Are there any other symptoms, Mr. Solen?" Josephs asked.
"Well, there's this nightmare I have every so often where I'm in a dark tunnel of some sort, and I hear lots of voices, most of which I can't make out."
"When was the last time you had this dream?" Josephs asked.
"Couple nights ago," Larry answered. "And it was more vivid than usual. I remember walking through the tunnel, which looked a lot like an old sewer, until I came to a brightly lit room with three humans and an alien in it. One of the humans said something about me being a telepath and that I was vital to some device the alien was building. I ran, and the last thing I remember before waking up was tripping on something."
"We've heard of that one a few times before, Mr. Solen," Josephs said. "Could you come in sometime next week so we can talk in person?"
"Yeah," Larry agreed. "I took Monday and Tuesday off from work specifically for this. When would be a good time?"
"How about Monday morning at ten thirty?" Josephs asked.
"Sounds good. Who do I ask for?" Larry asked.
"Tell the person at the front desk that you have an appointment with Sally Josephs," she answered. "We're at 363 East Russell Avenue in Fallsburg. Do you know the way?"
"It's about six blocks from my apartment," Larry answered. "I'll see you Monday morning."
"See you then," Josephs said and closed the channel.
Larry got up at his usual time Monday morning and got ready for his day, but instead of putting on his work uniform after his shower, he put on his best interview clothes about an hour and a half before he had to leave if he expected to get there on time, since he intended to walk.
As Larry walked, he thought about all the things that he'd experienced or thought he experienced over the years. There were several times in his high school jobs that he'd known exactly what someone wanted just by looking at them from a few yards away. These things always seemed like they were coming from more than just experience. It had gotten him into trouble more than once, and there were days when it seemed like it would again. Larry realized that this feeling may have been why he was working in an aerospace factory instead of some other job with better pay and benefits.
When Larry arrived, he was a few minutes early for his appointment, so he checked in with the receptionist and then took a seat in the lobby and started reading one of the pamphlets that had been placed on the table in front of the row of chairs. The one Larry chose caught his eye because the subject was people like him, who suspected they were telepaths but were unsure.
"Interesting," Larry thought as he read. "Even if I only stand a one percent chance of being right about this, it'll be worth the time, like this says. Can't hurt to try."
A moment later, the receptionist told Larry that Josephs was ready to see him.
"Thanks," Larry said. "How long do these meetings usually take?"
"It all depends," the receptionist answered. "Like that pamphlet you were reading said, only about one percent of people like you have any talents at all, so most are out in about an hour; but if you do indeed have telepathic ability, the length of the meeting depends on what level of talent you display."
"Well then, here's to good luck, whatever that is," Larry said, as he went to find Josephs' office.
Chapter 2: Calling Psicorps
The first of Larry Solen's days off was a Saturday. Saturdays usually meant that Larry could sleep in until about nine in the morning before getting up to catch his favorite weekend programming. This Saturday, however, he was up an hour early, intending to use the commlink number he'd gotten at school two days before.
Before Larry made his call, he made himself some pancakes for breakfast, which was his usual for the day. About a half hour later, Larry placed his call to the Psicorps office. The person he got ahold of was a woman not much older than he was.
"Psycorps Regional Office, this is Sally Josephs," the woman introduced herself. "How may I help you?"
"Yeah, I saw your ad at Reshin Community College the other day," Larry said. "I think I'm experiencing some of the symptoms listed."
"OK," Josephs said. "Give me your name and tell me what you've been experiencing."
"My name is Larry Solen," he said. "What I've been experiencing is that I hear the wind in windowless, unventilated rooms; severe headaches that I can't explain; and I've had a lot of experiences with guessing what a person is going to ask even before they show up where I can see them."
"Are there any other symptoms, Mr. Solen?" Josephs asked.
"Well, there's this nightmare I have every so often where I'm in a dark tunnel of some sort, and I hear lots of voices, most of which I can't make out."
"When was the last time you had this dream?" Josephs asked.
"Couple nights ago," Larry answered. "And it was more vivid than usual. I remember walking through the tunnel, which looked a lot like an old sewer, until I came to a brightly lit room with three humans and an alien in it. One of the humans said something about me being a telepath and that I was vital to some device the alien was building. I ran, and the last thing I remember before waking up was tripping on something."
"We've heard of that one a few times before, Mr. Solen," Josephs said. "Could you come in sometime next week so we can talk in person?"
"Yeah," Larry agreed. "I took Monday and Tuesday off from work specifically for this. When would be a good time?"
"How about Monday morning at ten thirty?" Josephs asked.
"Sounds good. Who do I ask for?" Larry asked.
"Tell the person at the front desk that you have an appointment with Sally Josephs," she answered. "We're at 363 East Russell Avenue in Fallsburg. Do you know the way?"
"It's about six blocks from my apartment," Larry answered. "I'll see you Monday morning."
"See you then," Josephs said and closed the channel.
Larry got up at his usual time Monday morning and got ready for his day, but instead of putting on his work uniform after his shower, he put on his best interview clothes about an hour and a half before he had to leave if he expected to get there on time, since he intended to walk.
As Larry walked, he thought about all the things that he'd experienced or thought he experienced over the years. There were several times in his high school jobs that he'd known exactly what someone wanted just by looking at them from a few yards away. These things always seemed like they were coming from more than just experience. It had gotten him into trouble more than once, and there were days when it seemed like it would again. Larry realized that this feeling may have been why he was working in an aerospace factory instead of some other job with better pay and benefits.
When Larry arrived, he was a few minutes early for his appointment, so he checked in with the receptionist and then took a seat in the lobby and started reading one of the pamphlets that had been placed on the table in front of the row of chairs. The one Larry chose caught his eye because the subject was people like him, who suspected they were telepaths but were unsure.
"Interesting," Larry thought as he read. "Even if I only stand a one percent chance of being right about this, it'll be worth the time, like this says. Can't hurt to try."
A moment later, the receptionist told Larry that Josephs was ready to see him.
"Thanks," Larry said. "How long do these meetings usually take?"
"It all depends," the receptionist answered. "Like that pamphlet you were reading said, only about one percent of people like you have any talents at all, so most are out in about an hour; but if you do indeed have telepathic ability, the length of the meeting depends on what level of talent you display."
"Well then, here's to good luck, whatever that is," Larry said, as he went to find Josephs' office.