WARPING EFFECTS / CH. 6: OUTWARD BOUND
CELESTIA II, EARTH ORBIT, 14TH FEB 2296
The steward looked at the collection of passengers coming on board from the shuttle. Students for the most part. It was towards the end of the season, far too late for short-trip tourists, this flight was going to be getting there at closest approach, not in time for a trip home again. The cargo was on the low side for any sensible colonists, certainly ones with families. It was too early a departure for crims, which was good. So, a medium-length, six and a half-week trip for students and late colonists: mostly young professionals, he suspected. Students and young professionals were OK, far better than crims, anyway. He preferred longer cruises though, they had more opportunities. “Welcome aboard, ladies and gentlemen. Please find your allocated rooms and stow your luggage quickly, we have eight weeks of orientation material to get through in six, so I hope you are all bright, alert and filled with anticipation. I'm not saying there's no time for making friendships and the like. Indeed, there's lots of good friendships formed even on short, six week trips like this one, I've noticed, but please do make sure that you check your schedule daily and don't be late for any of the sessions. The first session will begin in fifty five minutes.”
There was something about his tone of voice when he spoke of friendships that made Maggie think shark. The name on his name-tag rang a bell too. She decided to put her suspicions to the test, and asked “I understand that Martian laws apply on-board?”
“That is correct, the ship is Mars-registered. As such, the right of passengers to oxygen only exists to the extent they do not imperil others. Privacy is to be respected absolutely, and purchases from stores are to be made in transport kilos.”
“And we do have the right to choose our clothing, accessories, and so on, exactly according to the rules on the planet?” Maggie pressed.
“Yes, yes, this is all covered in the first orientation session.”
“Thank you. I just wanted to make sure I could start getting used to Martian-wear before we got there, and thought it might be really embarrassing if I changed and then found that wasn't allowed on-board.”
There'd recently been a series about the founding of the planet and while the history had been portrayed fairly accurately, the clothing of Martians had not been. According to interviews on the network, the artistic director had decided to represent the divide between jits and Martians along with the scarcity of fabric on Mars by having the Martians avoiding wear and tear on their precious clothes by not wearing much more than underwear most of the time. Nothing to do with viewing figures at all, he claimed. So, Maggie's suggestion had been deliberately misunderstandable; would he point out the inaccuracies of the series?
“You may wear as little or as much as you like, miss,” the elderly steward said, with a lewd smile. “Martian law doesn't include a dress code.”
“Thank you for confirming my cultural right to wear my shark-knife in an open or hidden manner according to circumstances, Mr Braithwaite,” she smiled sweetly at him.
“Imitation Mer knives have no cultural rights associated with them, miss.”
“I have some Mer ancestry and was given my knife by Karella Farspeaker in case I needed to disembowel any sharks. I assure you it's no blunt imitation, Mr Braithwaite.” Suddenly she remembered why his name sounded familiar. “Oh, by the way, I'm positive that a friend of my mother's, Cecilia Durrell would be happy for me to say she remembers you. Sorry, you'd probably remember her by her maiden name — Thornthwaite — or her flamboyant hairstyles and her refusal to give you any kisses.”
The glint in his eye had faded when she mentioned the knife, and entirely vanished when he heard Cecilia's name. Every cycle he got an invitation from her to some kind of event where someone would try to save his soul. He deleted them immediately.
“It's always so nice to be remembered, miss,” he said, not bothering to hide his antagonism.
“Well, yes, some people do prefer infamy to obscurity, don't they?” She smiled sweetly.
----------------------------------------
CELESTIA II, EARTH ORBIT, 3RD JAN 2295
“What was that about Mr Braithwaite?” Maggie's young room-mate asked, as they were unpacking their cabin baggage. She spoke with an accent, and Maggie thought she looked really young to be a student.
“He's a bit of a shark,” Maggie said. “Likes impressing the young and impressionable. Not changed noticeably in that since mum's friend came out, according to what I've just seen.”
“And you've really got a genuine Mer knife?”
“Yes. Don't try the blade on any fingers you want to keep whole.”
“And you just got it for having Mer ancestry?”
“No. Mum did Karella a few favours, before I was born. It was a birth-gift.”
“Wow! That's quite a gift!”
“To hear Karella talk, she practically credits mum with Atlantis still having a dome, so I guess she thought it was a pretty small token of appreciation. So, that's my claim to fame. What made you decide to head to Mars?”
“Famous relatives, and they heard that the kidnap rate on Mars was zero.”
Renata, Maggie's room-mate, decided she wouldn't say her relatives were royalty.
“You had no choice?”
“I had the chance, and took it like a shot. You?”
“I had the chance, I decided it sounded like a good idea, and now I'm regretting it.”
“Really?”
“Well, I don't know. It's just confusing; I met someone, a few days ago. It's weird: he lives half the planet away, and my mum's been in contact with his parents for years. Then, there I am on holiday with the clan and he walks up asking for an interview with another famous relative. We just seemed to click, and then we had to say goodbye.”
“Sad. Your mum's got contacts all over, it seems.”
“Oh yes. I guess I have too, hence the implanted panic button. You've got one too?”
“Yes. You've got lots of siblings?”
“Me? No, I'm an only child. You?”
“I've got a little brother; he wants to take over the family company. He might change his mind later of course.” Renata looked around the cabin “It's crazy, totally crazy, me being here, you know? Mum and Dad run a youth-hostel, they don't even own the land it's built on, but here I am, spending a fortune of our landlady's money, basically for no reason beyond my aunt being her friend who married her second cousin.”
“And now you're going to Mars university?” Maggie asked.
“High school first.”
“I'd wondered. How old are you?”
“Fifteen,” Renata admitted.
“And you've been firmly warned not to tell anyone who your friends and contacts are?”
“Yes,” Renata agreed.
“A sensible precaution. Feel free to tell your parents and others you're sharing a cabin with Maggie Williams, daughter of John and Sarah Williams.”
“Thank you, I will. Maggie, what did you mean 'clan'? Isn't that another word for family?”
“A clan is bigger than a just a family. I have lots and lots of honorary cousins, and distant cousins, and we meet a few times a year. Somehow, mum got named as matriarch of what was once a small African tribe, the Ngbilas, years before I was born.”
“As in Zara Ngbila? The architect?”
“Yes. And if Zara designed your youth-hostel, then I think you're from Basse-Monaco. And Renata Arianne DuBois, I do believe we met about five years ago.”
“We did?”
“Yes. We held hands, and I helped you learn some English words. Everyone was surprised how quickly you learned.”
Renata's eyes flew wide, remembering how she'd learned the English word for everything in the kitchen. “It wasn't a dream?”
“You asked for kitchen words; I'd forgotten it until now. But let's move, or we'll be late. Plenty of time for talking later.”
“Especially if we don't bother with moving our mouths,” Renata agreed, grinning broadly.
----------------------------------------
CELESTIA II, TRANSFER ORBIT, 3RD JAN 2296
[Maggie, how are you?] It was her father's mind-voice.
[Hi Dad. I've just found out my cabin-mate is Renata DuBois from Basse-Monaco.]
[Oh? Hold on, Renata? She was only ten or something when we met her, wasn't she?]
[Fifteen now, anyway.]
[Isn't she a bit young to go to university?]
[Kidnap risk has been growing in Monaco recently. Two probable attempts on her class-mates last year.]
[Ouch.]
[So, she's going to do a couple of years of high school and then to the university.]
[Living with a family there?]
[Yes. Svetlana's been taking a personal interest, by the sound of it.]
[Good for her.]
[But Renata's a bit worried about Svetlana,] Maggie said [Is there anything I can tell her about what's up there? 'Medical issues' is all she's heard so far.]
[That's just enough to be worrying isn't it? Wait a mo...]
[Happily.]
[Really?]
[I've realised other people have far bigger problems than me.]
[That's a good lesson,] John agreed. [OK, some further information from Olga's husband Xavier; there ought to be nothing to worry about as long as Svetlana rests, but please do pray she'll be able to. There'll be a formal announcement with more details in a few days. He sends best wishes to Renata, and will pass on that she was concerned. How's she doing?]
[Absolutely fine. Hoping that we can fly round the ship in zero G at some point. They started thrusting as soon as our shuttle docked, and once the shuttle had left they actually used strap-on chemical boosters to get us started.]
[That's surprising.]
[Lots and lots of thrust; we all had to be strapped into seats. Apparently it was critical to escape Earth's gravity-well quickly, and blasting the planet with a high energy particle beam isn't appreciated.]
[I can understand that.]
[So, we've got a lot of delta-V already, and now we're accelerating nice and sedately.]
[What does nice and sedately mean?]
[We can jump up and hit the ceiling easily, but can't stay there without hanging on to something.]
[I see. Well, I'm glad you're doing OK. But there's some news from this end.]
[Yes?]
[Kevin is applying for the truthsayers — Kate will check on him — and Albert and Eliza are planning an informal visit to Alaska, to see if his Majesty is really intending to alienate a significant chunk of his transport workers. It seems that Kevin's family are a bit odd in most of them not working in the trucking industry.]
[Yeah, he said something about it almost being a defining point of their ethnicity. But it's a dying trade, isn't it? There's more and more automatic transports creeping in, Kevin was saying.]
[In towns, maybe, but I remember a documentary on how the fully automatic systems have never really coped with Alaskan road conditions. Breakdowns are too common, accidents are more likely. And the Roma are a significant force in the truck repair business too. So that's what Albert and Eliza are planning.]
[They're not going to mention Kevin, are they?]
[No, but phase one is that mum and I go to visit some churches mum has contacts with.]
[You're going to talk to Robbie and Maddie.] Heather accused.
[It would be very odd not to, wouldn't it? I mean, they are supported by the foundation.]
[I thought that Kevin and I were avoiding forming a relationship with each other.]
Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.
[Oh? So, why do your thoughts keep wandering back to him?]
[Blame Heather. She spoke as if we are going to get married one day.]
[Hmm. On that subject, you know that Robbie and Maddie's was an arranged marriage?]
[They'd loved each other for ages.]
[Yes. And based on that, their parents did some arranging. Maddie suggested we talk things over; nothing binding on you at all, just precautionary.]
[But you want to sell me off?] Maggie half accused.
[No! Mum's got plenty of money, you might remember, and we've only one daughter. We won't talk about you two if you don't want us to. If we did talk, it would be about working through any potential difficulties or objections. In Christ there's no Ngbila nor Rom, but that doesn't mean parental assumptions are the same.]
[It seems far too early, Dad. We're not dating, after all.]
[I know. But at the moment you still have strong feelings for each other, and if they're all going to Mars then we don't have that much time, do we?]
[And are they?]
[Nothing is decided yet, Maggie. But you know they're exploring options.]
[OK. You could always persuade someone to bring you out for a visit, couldn't you?]
[We might be able to hitch a lift with Eliza and Albert, but it depends on lots of things, and there'd be arguments against it from the 'avoiding royal favours' point of view. We'd probably do better just offering some Mer a holiday at Blackwood.]
[That's true. No, they'd probably want hunting rights, and that wouldn't go down well with the other guests.]
[Not really, no. Nor your parents. Anyway, you're about to have a visitor, take care.]
----------------------------------------
MER EMBASSY, ANCHORAGE, THURSDAY, 4TH JAN 2296
“Hello, I have rather a strange question.” Maddie told the young man at the desk.
“That's why we're here, at least partly. How can I help?”
“When I was very young, my grandmother told me a story about how she met her husband. After the Gift was revealed to the public, she told me he had had it. I asked her about the story. She was surprised I'd remembered it but she said yes, he'd used it to track her down after she'd rescued him from a shark, 'and she knew for certain he had it because she'd swum too far and too deep for him to find her any other way.' She was just berating him for misusing his gift when a shark bit her. He took her to hospital, and they eventually married. Anyway, she kept a genealogy and before she died — about a year before Atlantis moved — she insisted I not let anyone marry a fourth cousin.”
“And you'd like to meet some relatives?”
“I... I'm not sure. I would like to know the truth I guess, it's been nagging at me for decades. But I've never done anything about it, and I don't want it to seem like I'm just asking because we're in a fix. And we are in a fix. If the king signs that 'recent immigrants' law, then we're affected, for all that we've been here for generations. I wouldn't have come, but someone told my son we could ask the Mer for transport to Mars. He didn't even know the story, as far as I know; I know I've never told him. But she just told him I knew why it would be worth asking.”
“Do you know the woman concerned?”
“No, I know her name — Heather Findhorn-Bunting. He was asking for an interview with her.”
“Oh, her! She gets around, doesn't she? She didn't say how she knew?”
“No.”
“Well, from what you've told me, it sounds like she's right. We would feel honour-bound to help relatives. But, I'm a bit new here, can you explain me why you think you'd be affected by this new law?”
“We are Roma, and most have said so on censuses, so we would need to swear. We are also Christians, we cannot swear that the only king or other ruler we acknowledge is the king of Alaska. The new king has said he never liked his father's policy of giving refuge to people, and he hates the name of Christ. My husband has met him, and we know that for sure. So, now under this law, he makes life uncomfortable for every Rom who calls Christ King.”
“For Mer, also,” the man said.
“Oh! Of course. You are badly affected?”
“Not... precisely. His new law will mean people like me can only live in the trade enclaves. We raise our concerns, of course, but so far he does not violate the letter of the treaty with us.”
“Our people have become used to hatred over the past thousand years,” Maddie said.
“And we have hidden from expected hatred for longer, and had enough contact with you to know our fear was justified. So, did you bring your grandmother's records?”
“Yes, here. She said something about having Romany blood herself.”
The ambassador's assistant looked at the first page. “Oh! Certainly! This famous ancestress of ours here! Rose Abbot, born in London, she had the gift.”
“And had a daughter-in-law called Yvette, my grandmother's name.”
“Yes, we do like to recycle names. I'm a Martin, after Yvette's son.”
“Everyone calls me Maddie,” Maddie admitted.
“It happens. So, I have some Romani blood but not as much as you, you have Mer blood, but not as much as me, if we go back far enough we're relatives, seventh cousins or something, and as usual, Heather was right, no surprise there.”
“No? But how did she find out?”
“Atlantis is full of gossip about her since she made her speech at the Academy, I expect it's not all true, but it agrees that Heather's a good observer. Does your son take after you?”
“Urm, a bit I suppose. Why?”
“You could pass as an Outer Mer, if you wanted to, and I expect your grandmother was Outer Mer if she dared get to go to a land-folk hospital.”
“Outer Mer?”
Martin turned to the display of brochures behind him, “Our hopefully-not-oppressed minority; Outer Mer don't have webbed feet, and there are some other characteristics too. Hmmm.... here we are, one leaflet on the history of the Inner and Outer Mer.”
“Thank you,” Maddie said.
“Can I copy this?” Martin asked, gesturing at the family tree. “I expect I can find some closer relatives for you if you'd like me to. But really... I don't think it matters.”
“It doesn't?”
“No, my personal thought is that we're not likely to leave our brothers and sisters in Christ to be persecuted if they want to go somewhere else. I'll need to ask the ambassador to check, and I guess Mars would need to agree to lots of arrivals. How many people do you think we're talking about?”
“Well... last I heard we were about half a percent of the population. Maybe more.”
“That's Roma? And what percentage are Christians?”
“Hmm, roughly thirty percent, I'd say.”
“And the rest would be atheist or other faiths?”
“No, I'd guess half would be nominal Christians who attend church, and the rest have been unwilling to give up on their sins while life is easy.” Maddie said, then added “There was a revival amongst us in my parent's youth.”
“And the total population at the moment is about three quarters of a million, is that right?”
“I'd heard it was more like a million.”
“Oh, sorry, I'm getting confused with another number I've heard,” Martin admitted, clearly embarrassed.
“The people not affected by this law?”
“Not quite, it was the number of people who speak English as their mother tongue. And now I've embarrassed myself I remember the latest census number: it was about five hundred short of a million.”
“That's probably us.”
“Pardon?”
“The five hundred missing. Getting accurate paperwork has never been a very pressing thing for my people. My birth certificate calls me Anna Maria, for instance.”
“That's confusing,” Martin said.
“Not for people who know me,” Maddie pointed out.
“What did your grandmother think of that?”
“She approved of lots of traditions.”
“That doesn't surprise me. Your immediate family who'd like to go to Mars, excluding oath-breakers, how many are we talking about?”
“I'm not certain if we'd all want to go to Mars, but me, my younger sister, our husbands and children, we've four a-piece. One of my daughters is sort of engaged to a nice Christian boy. Two of hers ditto. I've other relatives, for instance my older sister and her family, but... my idiot of a nephew divorced his wife. They're probably not going to change planets.”
“So, you, your sister, five immediate relatives apiece, three almost-relatives? Fifteen in total?” Maddie nodded, and Martin grinned, “Well, that's not many. Let me know if and when you want to go.”
“Just like that?” Maddie was taken aback.
“I've got two brothers, we've often talked about visiting Mars, but never had the excuse. Relatives in need is definitely an excuse. It shouldn't be hard to borrow an couple of extra Albatrosses or Guillemots.”
“You're serious?”
“Maddie, known to those you don't know and I suspect only those you trust greatly as Anna Maria, I am Martin Sathzakara Joshua. You have my oath that I will take you and your immediate family to Mars if that is your wish, and will inform my brothers of my oath and that I have spoken of their help also. Perhaps there will be a time of waiting, perhaps I misjudge my brothers and I will need to take more than one trip, but if you must seek refuge, you will find a welcome in Atlantis.”
----------------------------------------
INSTITUTE FOR THE HUMAN MIND, RESTORATION, FRIDAY 5TH JAN 2296
“So young man, would you like to tell me why you're applying here, rather than home?” Kate asked.
“Because I can't take an oath that says I acknowledge no king other than the king of Alaska,” Kevin replied.
“Reasonable answer, had you thought of becoming a truthsayer otherwise?”
“No.”
“What lead to the change of heart?”
“Heather Findhorn-Bunting seemed to think it was an obvious step, and a good way to get to Mars.”
“And you want to get to Mars?”
“Eventually. Probably not this cycle, sadly.”
“Impatient to abandon your friends and family?”
“There's this girl I know...”
“That you want to abandon?” Kate asked.
“No! I want to follow her. She's on her way already. We've been told we shouldn't get too involved yet. But that's hard advice to take.”
“But you're sort of taking it. Why?”
“Heather again. She's convincing.”
“Really?” Kate asked.
“Yes. I don't know why, but she's very convincing.”
“Manipulative, you mean?”
“No, no, it just feels like... she isn't someone to argue with.”
“Because of her royal connections, you mean?”
“No, it's not that at all, it's just, I don't know. She's a godly woman, that's all I can say. I'd sooner argue with my pastor than I'd argue with her.”
“Fair enough; pastor Frank's always happy for an argument these days,” Kate said.
“You know him?” Kevin said, taken aback.
“Not personally, but I did do my homework. And I realised that I'd chatted with your great-grandma quite a few evenings, too, towards the end. What else did Heather say?”
“She said I was unusually trustworthy, as long as I was close to God. She laughed when I asked her if she has the gift. How can she say things like that?”
“How's your walk with God these days?”
“I've been praying a lot. God is good.”
“He is. Do you trust him to know what's best, and to be in control? Even of things like your relationship with Maggie?”
“How did you...oh, sorry, of course,” he said, realising she could pluck names out of his brain if she wanted to.
“Don't be silly; the gift isn't a toy or a party trick. I know Maggie's name because I've known her for her entire life, and she's told me about you. Do you trust God with personal things?”
“Yes.”
“Good. Would you go to the moon if He told you to?”
“The moon?”
“Somewhere life as a Christian is really hard, you know no one, temptations are great and Maggie will probably never go.”
“Gulp,” it wasn't a thought he'd ever had. Would he? He struggled for a while and then said, “Yes.”
“And knowing that I've got the gift, would you go if I told you that you should to go?”
“Urm. I'm not sure. I'd like to be sure that it wasn't just your idea.”
“Before we get to that, can I pray for you?”
“Of course.”
Kate prayed, “Father God, I want to pray for Kevin, that you'll give him certainty in his faith, that you'll enable this young man to walk closely with you, to resist the temptations the future will bring him. Help him remain in fellowship with your people wherever he is, and to learn from those who have gone before him, from other Christians and most importantly from your Son our Saviour. Thank you for letting me meet him, and I pray that you'll bless him and Maggie with great wisdom in the future, whether that's together or separately. Help him to know your strength as he resists temptation, your comfort as he is alone, your peace when there is trouble all around him, as he faces pain, and through all the great changes of his life before he returns home to you. Amen.”
“Amen,” Kevin said, and was surprised to see that the woman interviewing him had removed her mask.
“So, assuming I'm not going to tell you if your moon-trip is God's idea or mine, how might you find out?”
“Urm... ask to hold your hands and then ask how you got the idea?”
“OK,” Kate said, and offered her hands. She presented him with a small memory ball, adding [try this way.]
He tried what she'd suggested, and found himself aware of her thoughts, that the moon had been the most outlandish suggestion she could think of, and it had merely been a test. To see if he were ready. He probed deeper, not knowing how he did it, ready for what? He saw two things. Ready for her to go to Mars, and ready for this.
“Why do I need to be ready in order for you to go to Mars?”
She smiled, broke contact, and thought to him [some prayers are just better said face to face, young man.] Then he heard her mental shout [John, Sarah? Pete and I are going to Mars, and Kevin's confused.]
[What have you told him?] came the reply, a woman's mind-voice. Surely not Maggie's mum?
[That he doesn't need to go to the Moon.] Kate called back.
[Who said he did?] A man's mind-voice. Maggie's father too?
[A bit of a test. He passed, but I don't think he's realised what I prayed for him,] Kate added.
[Well, I presume he said amen, at least?]
[He did, and I dropped a little memory ball on him, so he knows the basics.]
[Welcome, Kevin. In times of confusion it's best to seek God's peace.] John thought to him.
[John and Sarah, as in Maggie's parents?]
[Yes, dear. We have the gift too,] Sarah thought, [and now you. Reach out for peace, and let go of doubt.]
----------------------------------------
CELESTIA II, TRANSFER ORBIT, 5TH JAN 2296, (NOON, RESTORATION TIME)
[Maggie?] Kate called, [Are you awake and interruptible?]
[Sort of, they've set us homework {disgust}.]
[OK, well I've just interviewed and prayed for your young man, and when he finishes what he's doing now, and before it gets to pizza time, I'll tell him you can be interrupted.]
[Oh, I'd better turn my wrist unit on.]
[You can if you like.]
[Why do I sense you smiling?]
[Surprise surprise, granny knows something.]
[And you're not sharing?]
[Not right now. Enjoy your thrust vector calculations, or whatever.]
[I wish. It's about the Martian legal system.]
[Right up your street then. Bye].
----------------------------------------
CELESTIA II, EARTH ORBIT, 5TH JAN 2296, (12.30PM, RESTORATION TIME)
[Maggie? Kate prayed I'd know God's peace.]
[{shock} You have the gift?]
[Yes. Your parents said to say they'll be in touch later.]
[Oh wow, oh wow!] Maggie thought.
[Well it helps us keep in touch...]
[It certainly does. Can you do something for me?]
[What?]
[Keep hold of me, but push me towards Heather.]
[Heather?]
[Yes, Heather. That's right, thanks. Heather, you, you secretive woman! Is this what you saw about Kevin? That God had plans for him?]
[Hi, Maggie. Hi Kevin, God bless you both. I knew you'd need patience, Maggie, and I guessed that Kevin being almost as trustworthy as someone with the gift wasn't a coincidence. Kevin, as a reporter with the gift, you have far more temptations than most. Call my mum for a chat about that, OK?]
[Oh, your mum's a reporter too, isn't she?]
[Sorry, I can't chat now, I'm in a meeting. But call my mum. Today, in the next hour, I'd recommend. Certainly before you get curious about anyone.]
[I'm always curious about people.]
[Then call her right now.]
[I don't have her number.]
[Like this, Kevin. Her name is Alice.]
[She's got a point, Kevin. You can talk to me later.] Maggie thought.
----------------------------------------
INSTITUTE FOR THE HUMAN MIND, RESTORATION, 1.30PM, 5TH JAN 2296
“Hey, Kevin, let Maggie do her homework and have some pizza,” Sarah said, sticking her head round the door.
“Homework finished. But almost all of the time I've been talking to Alice about being a reporter with this gift.”
“Oh? That's a good thought.”
“Heather's idea. Maggie's idea was to quiz Heather about if she knew or expected I'd get the gift.”
“And did you?”
“Maggie did. I just helped.”
“Hmm, you enabled her to think to Heather?”
“Yes. You sound dubious.”
“Oh, no harm done, but I've never done it for someone not holding my hands. I didn't know it was even possible.”
“Maggie told me exactly how to do it.”
“Maggie's a born experimenter, and also has got a mind like a sponge. I'm not at all sure she's ever forgotten anything I ever told her. Except when I told her to tidy her room, or what time to be home from a friend's house, of course.”
“She says that was only once.”
“Yes. After seeing how devastating that once was to her, I just insisted on her letting us know her travel plans. Anyway, please check you've not over-heated your brain with long-distance chatting, and come and eat some Pizza. Expect that once you're introduced as Maggie's boyfriend, everyone will assume that you're a thought-hearer. Oh, do remember that you get labelled as an international terrorist or something if you write anything about who you meet here.”
“Am I Maggie's boyfriend? I thought we weren't getting officially involved.”
Sarah gave him the sort of look his teachers had when he'd said something blatantly idiotic as a child, “Kevin, if you're not her boyfriend, then I'm going to have to give you some other title invoking Maggie's name. Let's stick to boyfriend, unless you want to be her 'emotionally involved pen-pal,' or 'the young man Maggie would be going out with if she wasn't on her way to Mars.'”
“I think I'd be honoured to be known as her boyfriend... It feels a bit soon, though.”
[Mags, is Kevin still keeping you on the line?]
[No, he dropped me like a hot coal when you said you'd be introducing him as my boyfriend.]
[OK, well he's just said he'd be honoured to be known as that. Are you happy with that designation?]
Maggie thought about it. [Not very accurate, but it'll do for now. 'Almost boyfriend' is probably better.]
“OK, Maggie prefers the term almost boyfriend, so we'll use that,” Sarah said. “Next question for you to ponder is whether you're planning to hide your gift from your family. Some of us do, others don't.”