Seer

Gabe

Jonathan has been shouting with glee for a solid five minutes, ever since I showed him what Dad gave me for our overnight. He knows someone through work who got him an early release version of the new Super Smash Bros Melee game, that doesn’t even come out here until next month. Dad said it was my early birthday present. So I’ve brought it with me, along with my Gamecube, so that we can play it together.

Jonathan’s Dad is setting up the Gamecube, hooking it up to the t.v. in their family room, and is laughing hard at all the whooping and hollering that Jonathan is doing over the game. I’m super glad that Dad gave it to me, since Jonathan is about as excited as I have ever seen him.

Finally the Gamecube is all set up, and we fire up the game. What’s cool about this game is that we can both play at the same time, and can battle each other. Of course that’s what we want to do first.

We look through the characters we can play. “I dibs Captain Falcon!” Jonathan shouts excitedly.

“Ok,” I say, “I’ll be Link.”

This is going to be so fun.

Jonathan’s Dad stands there, arms crossed, laughing at us as we get going. After a while he brings us a bowl of chips and sets it down next to us. “Thanks!” I tell him, then get back to clobbering Jonathan.

Natalie

Timothy and I are tracking my parents’ progress on a map. Timothy asked his Mom if she could give him a map of San Diego County, and we have it laid out on his bedroom floor. He has his notebook with the experiment notes in it, and is writing down everything that Angel tells us.

So far the experiment is going great. Angel tells us that they have just gotten to their campground, which is 40 miles away from where we are, and that he can hear Lady and Knight still just fine.

“At this point, children, I believe that your experiment has proven that distance is no barrier to the communication between Guardians. Although 40 miles is not as far away as it is possible to be on Earth, of course, the fact that there is no weakening of the communication appears to indicate that there is no limit to our range. Congratulations. This is a great discovery.”

When I repeat all this to Timothy he is very pleased with our success. He knows that we have conducted a really good experiment. It’s too bad that we can’t tell anyone else about it. But at least we know.

Angel waits for a few minutes, while Timothy and I talk about the experiment and whether there is anything else to learn. Angel says, “Darling, may I suggest that you and your friend find another activity? Now that your parents have arrived at their destination, I believe the experiment regarding communication over distance can be considered concluded.”

I look at Angel, trying to figure out what he really means. I feel like there is something behind his words, something else he is thinking. Suddenly, I get it. “You think I’m spying on them, don’t you?” I say.

Timothy looks up. “What?”

“Angel thinks we should do something else now that we’ve figured out how far they can hear each other. I think he doesn’t want to keep telling us what my Mom and Dad are doing.” I look over at Angel, who is shaking his head and laughing.

“It is true, my dear, that I think perhaps your parents are entitled to some privacy. May I simply ask their Guardians to keep us notified if anything significant happens? I assume you don’t wish to know every single detail of their outing?”

I tell all that to Timothy, who shrugs. Since that part of the experiment is done, he isn’t interested in anything else my parents are doing.

I tell Angel, “Yeah, I suppose you’re right. And besides, I don’t really want to hear about any boring stuff or mushy stuff. Just ask Knight and Lady to tell us if anything important happens, okay?”

Angel smiles. “Of course, darling.”

Timothy is looking through the notebook, at notes he took days ago. After a while he looks up at me. “Now that we are done with that part, I want to get back to the other experiment. The one about me hearing Guardian.”

Before we can even start talking about it, though, Timothy’s Mom comes into his room. “OK, kids, remember what I said we can do? Let’s go to Blockbuster and rent a couple of movies to watch, ok?”

Timothy and I look at each other. I think he might be disappointed, but he looks to the side for a second, thinking, then says, “Yeah, this is a good place to stop. We are between experiments.”

His Mom laughs. “Well okay then, Mr. Wizard, if your laboratory work is done for now, let’s get ready to go!”

In a few minutes, we have driven over to the Blockbuster. I always like going here. It is fun to look at all the movies in their boxes, and decide what we want to watch. I’ve done this a lot with my family, but not with Timothy before, so I’m enjoying it.

We are looking around at everything. He wants to see Shrek, in the section where kids movies are. That’s where his Mom brought us first. But I want to see another one, A Knight’s Tale. His Mom says that maybe that one is a little too mature for us, but I tell her that I’ve been reading about medieval times and knights and I really really really want to see it. After she looks at the box to read what’s on there, she decides to let us get it.

“Yay! Thank you so much!” I’m glad we’re going to see our movies too. We can’t only ever do experiments. Although I suppose that Timothy would, if he could.

Stefanie

I’ve managed to work up the motivation to make some lunch for the kids. I’ve started to feel a little better the last week or so, not so much morning sickness, but I’ve been very tired all the time. Amazing how much energy a microscopic embryo can suck out of you.

I’m putting some sandwiches on the table, while the boys are enthusiastically playing their Gamecube game. I realize that Jonathan’s voice is getting louder, like he’s angry, not just having fun. “Gabe, why’d you kill me again?” he shouts. But I can tell that he isn’t just teasing like before, he is actually mad.

Gabe looks over at him. “Dude, it’s just a game.”

Yeah it is.

“Come on kids, time for a break. Come and get lunch. Then maybe you can play outside for a while, you’ve been in here all morning. You need some fresh air.”

Jonathan is still mad when he stomps over to the table. Gabe shrugs and follows along.

Huh. They usually get along so well together. I hope that Jonathan calms down - we have the whole night ahead of us.

Timothy

On the way home Mom goes through drive-through to get us chicken nuggets and french fries for lunch, our favorite. This is a fun day, and I’m glad to spend time with Natalie. But I can’t stop thinking about Guardian. Natalie told me that he and Angel figured out that maybe I was trying too hard the other day to hear him, and that’s why I got the headache. So maybe I can try again, but do it in a different way. I’m going to have to ask Angel and Guardian how they think I should do it. The way I was trying before was like I was trying to reach out hard with my mind and grab Guardian’s thoughts. I think maybe I have to let Guardian reach out to me first? I don’t know, but I can’t wait to talk to Natalie about it.

We’re sitting together in the back seat, the car smelling like french fries, almost back home. Natalie leans over and whispers in my ear “Angel says you’re right. You need to let Guardian be the one to do the reaching when you’re trying to hear him. He and Guardian think they can tell you how to do it.”

I lean back and stare at her. Of course I know that Angel and Guardian always know what I’m thinking, but it’s still surprising sometimes to get answers to questions I haven’t even asked yet.

Natalie laughs a little. “Angel just wanted you to know right away, since he knows you’re thinking about it really hard right now.”

That’s nice, I guess. Nice to have them all want to help me so much.

I am hungry though. The food smells delicious. We can wait until later to talk about it. Won’t stop me from thinking about it.

When we get back inside, Mom asks if we want to watch one of our movies during lunch. I look at Natalie. “I guess that’s ok, if that’s what you want?”

“Sure,” she says, “if it’s ok to wait to do our other experiment.”

My Mom puts our food on the coffee table in the living room, and goes to turn on the t.v. “Which one do you want first?” she asks. “Assuming your scientific discoveries can wait?”

“Can we do Knight’s Tale first?” Natalie asks me.

I shrug. That’s fine. Maybe after the experiment later we can watch Shrek, and by then I’ll be able to concentrate on it. For now, I know I will just be thinking a lot about Guardian, and how to let him reach me first. “Guardian,” I think to him, “if you want to start trying to reach me, do it, and I’ll try to just let it happen rather than trying to grab you like I was doing before.”

Natalie looks over at me kind of funny. She whispers, “Angel says Guardian will try.” Then she shrugs and pops a french fry in her mouth, and starts watching the movie. I can tell she’s very excited to learn more about knights.

Mom sits down to eat her lunch and watch the movie too.

I eat, and open my mind, and pay very little attention to the movie.

Laura

Mmmm, Heath Ledger. He reminds me a little of Michael when we first met. Same blond hair, same jawline. This is a great movie, but it’s making me miss my husband even more. I’ve been so worried about him, especially since September 11, when his ship got new orders. I’m still hoping that he’ll be back next month, but I can’t help but worry now that the military is involved in what they’re calling Operation Enduring Freedom.

I need to stop this. I can’t do anything to help Michael right now, but I do need to make sure Timothy and his friend are having a nice time. Natalie is avidly watching the movie about a squire becoming a knight, but Timothy seems somehow distracted. His eyes are sort of staring past the screen, which isn’t that unusual for him. He often seems disengaged with the world around him, lost in his own thoughts.

I refocus on the movie. And oh dear lord, naked butt. Ack! There’s this dude walking along, stark naked, much to Heath Ledger’s amazement. I have a couple of seven-year-olds watching this! And of course they’ve noticed. Natalie covers her mouth with her hands and starts giggling, and even Timothy’s eyes get bigger when he focuses on the screen to see what Natalie is laughing about.

I laugh and try to cover their eyes with both my hands. But they duck away, giggling, and the naked scene is over quickly anyway. Well, they’re both pretty mature for their age, no harm done, I figure.

We finish watching the movie. When it’s over, Natalie wants to talk about it. “Do you think that’s really what happened?” she asks me.

“Well, I think it’s probably just a story. It’s fiction, which means a made-up story. They definitely didn’t have some of that music back then. But I do know that the character of Geoffrey Chaucer is based on a real person who lived back then and wrote stories about medieval times. I studied him some in high school. He actually did write a story called The Knight’s Tale.”

“Really?” Natalie says, excited. “Can I read it?”

“Well,” I tell her, “maybe when you’re a little older. The language is very different from modern English, so it might be kind of hard for a second-grader.”

“Oh. Ok.” She looks over at Timothy, who is still seeming distracted. I’m not sure how much he actually watched the movie. He has seemed lost in thought this whole time. “Want to go up to your room?” she asks him.

“Yes,” he says, and I can tell he was just waiting for her to be done with the movie so they can resume their experiment game. That kid and his imagination!

Timothy’s

This has been an extraordinary afternoon. When Timothy asked me the other day to direct my energy into an attempt to communicate with him, he experienced pain as a result. He was reaching out with his mind in a way that few humans have ever attempted, trying forcefully to connect with me. I am not aware of any time in the past in which a Guardian and a non-Seer human deliberately attempted to achieve communication with each other. It is unclear whether it was the energy I was using, or the aggressive way he was reaching out, or a combination, but the result was that he developed pain and fatigue.

His idea earlier today to adjust his method was brilliant. Rather than stretch his mind out, trying to seize my thoughts, he thought perhaps he should simply open his mind to receive them passively. Angel and I agreed that this would be a better method, less inclined to cause any harm to him.

Throughout the time that the children and his mother were eating their lunch and watching the video, he focused on calming his thoughts, trying to clear his mind of his constant stream of ideas, and opening himself up to my presence.

It appears to have been successful to some extent. Timothy was unable to hear any specific words or numbers that I was transmitting. However, his awareness of me exceeded what he felt during the times that he could simply sense my joy. He was able to detect my actual presence, my essence. As he had described to Natalie, it would be akin to the sensation of suddenly becoming aware that another person is standing nearby.

I am elated. Timothy sensed me. This is a significant breakthrough in his attempt to achieve mutual communication. How much farther this can progress I do not know. However, this surpasses any connection I could ever have imagined achieving with my Guarded. My entire being radiates the delight caused by this development.

Natalie’s

This turn of events is truly remarkable. Timothy, by using his own powers of deduction and instincts, has managed to pinpoint a technique that allows him to perceive the presence of his Guardian. We had intended to discuss it with him in advance, attempt to explain to him our idea for how he should proceed. But instead, he simply used the time during which Natalie was enjoying her movie to proceed single-mindedly with his experiment.

I did not inform Natalie of these events during the movie, as she was greatly enjoying the film and Timothy’s concentration was utter. He did not need her help, and it was interesting to observe, to see how he would fare without any input from her. Or from me.

He correctly surmised that his prior effort, which ended in pain, was too aggressive. The way he had been casting forward his consciousness in an effort to connect with Guardian was almost violent.

There have been humans in the past who have learned to control their minds in this manner, reaching out deliberately and intruding into the thoughts of others. Such charismatic humans have usually used this ability to exert powerful persuasion or control, to bend others to their will. The method Timothy initially attempted has, in the past, usually served sinister purposes. Once discovered, the natural tendency of a human is to use such power in a selfish way, for personal gain. History is littered with tales of such humans rising to power in a paroxysm of cruelty and greed, unaccountably supported by their followers.

Timothy’s purpose was innocent, not diabolical. I do not believe that is what caused his headache, though. I believe it was a combination of his reaching aggressively at the same time that Guardian was directing energy towards him. The power coming from both ends of the equation clashed in Timothy’s neural matter, leading to his discomfort. I fear to know what would happen if the experience was prolonged.

This new method, though, is much preferable. The child learned to simply open his mind, and act as a receptacle to the thoughts of his Guardian. It began to work. He was aware of Guardian’s presence throughout the movie. I know that Timothy will have many questions, and Guardian and I must find a way to answer in a way that will provide guidance and understanding.

This conversation might change the way that both Timothy and Natalie see their world. If it leads to the topics I anticipate, they will be learning more about deeply profound subjects than most adults ever discover. I must trust that they are ready to venture into the metaphysical arena, and possibly be disillusioned by what they hear.

If I could sigh, I would.