******
After the evening meal, Sparrow sent to Jade,
She was mystified as to what it would want. She sent a quick message to Alex, Tally, and her mother, and followed Sparrow out.
It lead her to its tent - not surprising since it would never have fit into hers, and anyway, she and Ro were sharing a tent - at least for now. She had a feeling she was shortly going to have that tent all to herself.
She was almost certain Alex and Ro would soon be sharing one. The thought made her smile. Heh, Alex…finally tamed - and by a tiny woman he’s just met. Out of nowhere, Kendis flashed into her mind, and she wondered how it would be to share a tent with him. The thought made her tingle again. She sighed. If only… They reached Sparrow’s tent.
She stared around as Sparrow led her in. She didn’t know what she was expecting, but it looked pretty much like any other tent. Well, larger of course. The only thing that was different was a slim, glowing, two foot long cylinder in the corner near Sparrow’s out-sized chair. She had no idea what it’s purpose was. Though she was curious, she didn’t ask.
There were two Human sized camp chairs, one near Sparrow’s seat. It inclined its head toward that one.
“Please, sit, Jadewyn,” it said, as it settled itself in its chair. “I know you are wondering why I asked to speak with you.” It paused, seeming to collect its thoughts. “Maggie and Kendis have told me the full story of your accident, and I know you have become acrophobic as a result.”
Shards, she thought, it sure doesn’t waste time beating around the bush!
“Yes, Sparrow, I’m also having trouble accepting the fact that I levitated.” She wondered where this was going.
Sparrow chuckled. “Yes, I imagine you are, considering Humans are not supposed to be able to do so. Let me assure you: I believe you did.” It smiled down at her, “Would you like to have it verified?”
Jade’s eyes widened. “Um, does that mean you would have to psyscan me?” she asked with apprehension. She trusted Sparrow but she wasn’t in any way anxious to repeat that any time soon - hopefully never again.
“No, that will not be necessary,” It said quickly. It knew she didn’t want to experience scanning again. “I have a device similar to the ones used to test Humans for esa. This one is a little more refined though, and is much better at determining esa and potential esa.” It reached down into the corner and picked up the glowing cylinder.
Jade stared at the thing. In no way at all did it resemble the instruments she had previously seen while being tested.
“Is that device safe?” she asked doubtfully. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”
“Oh yes, quite safe. It may cause you to feel somewhat sleepy but I have used it to test Humans before, including Alex and Kendis. It looks different because it is one that is used to test Elvwists. I made a few modifications so it could be used with Humans.”
It regarded her for a moment. “You do not have to do this, Jadewyn, if you do not wish. Please know I would never do anything to harm you. I only wish to help you and verifying your esas for you is merely a step in that direction.”
Jade quickly agreed. “Okay,” she said. “Sure, go ahead.” She didn’t want to waste a lot of time being in suspense about “did I levitate or not”.
“May I ask you a couple of questions first?”
Sparrow nodded. It had anticipated she would have questions.
“Why were none of the testers at End school able to see my esa or potential? They couldn’t even see my telepathy, for gods’ sake! And even the Elvwist who tested me this week could only see potential, not actual esa, and it was unable to tell just exactly what I have potential for.”
She took a breath and went on. “I thought Humans only manifested esa after the age of eleven. How could I have an ability all my life and no one ever saw it?”
Sparrow had given a lot of thought to these questions, itself. It had known Jade all her life and never once suspected she had an esa - one that only one other Human had ever exhibited and it had killed him.
True, it had known there was a possibility that one or more of Maggie and Daniel’s children could have that particular esa but had never really expected it to appear at all, let alone this way. Precogs couldn’t see everything coming.
“I believe you were born with your esa, Jadewyn. There are a number of reasons why this could have happened but the simplest explanation is that this is because of a mutation. If so, it is a good one because it allowed you to have this esa without the dangers associated with it. It integrated itself into your developing brain and became just another sense for you, such as sight, or smell, or telepathy.”
It smiled again and continued: “Your having this esa from birth is the reason why your potential - and esas - have remained hidden. It acted as a mask in your brain, hiding the usual earmarks for esa or potential - even hiding your telepathy.”
Jade gazed at Sparrow, assimilating this information. “So does this mean there are other Humans out there that have had an esa from birth and no one knows about it? And maybe they also have been told they have no potential?”
Sparrow sighed. “There is that possibility. We would welcome such a development as it would be much safer for Humans born with specific abilities, such as the one you have. Once the brain has made certain types of permanent connections, it is much harder, or maybe even impossible, to assimilate some rare types of esas. That is what happened to your mother’s brother.”
“Okay,” said Jade. She was nervous about being tested with Sparrow’s “modified” esa reader. “Guess I’ll just have to take your word for it. I’m ready for the test now.”
She gave a weak smile. “If I wait too long, I’m afraid I’ll lose my nerve and back out. So do whatever it is you need to do.”
Sparrow nodded, leaned forward and held the cylinder over Jade’s head. It pressed an area near one end, and butter yellow, glowing light began to slowly cascade out of it and seep down over her. It crept its way down her face, over her shoulders, until it covered her entire body. It was slightly warm but otherwise, she felt nothing.
Sparrow touched another spot on the cylinder and released it. It remained suspended in air, hovering over her. Bands of colored lights began running up and down its sides.
“You will only be able to make minimal movements, Jadewyn, but you can speak - if you wish. This will not take long, around ten minutes.”
“That’s a lot faster than I’ve ever been tested before!” She grinned up at Sparrow. “Must be one of those modifications you mentioned.” She was beginning to relax.
Sparrow smiled. It liked Humans, especially young ones, and it particularly liked this little one. It imagined its feelings towards her were similar to what it would feel about its own offspring, assuming it were ever fortunate enough to have any.
It, and its three vow-mates had been trying for quite some time now, but they had yet to produce a single offspring. It sighed mentally. The Elvwists fertility problems were getting worse, especially since there had been no Biiaeeste born in this generation. The last one had died a hundred years ago, and the precogs had Foreseen that there would never be another. If what else they’d Seen did not come to pass… it didn’t finish that terrible thought.
Sparrow and its group-mates had to mourn the loss of their eldest vow-mate four years before, never having been able to procreate, but two years ago, had gotten a new, young mate. They were still hoping, though lately, one vow-mate, Wren, had mentioned that, perhaps, they should consider fostering. There were, of course, no Elvwist children needing fostering but there were a number of Human ones available. Sparrow was open to the idea.
Jade had relaxed so completely she started to doze. She hadn’t realized she was so tired. She stifled a huge yawn, then smiled sheepishly.
“Sorry, Sparrow,” she mumbled, “it’s been a long day. Almost my bedtime.” She sat up straight in the chair, which seemed awfully comforta
ble for a camp chair.
Ten minutes must be almost up, she thought. She did a long blink, leaned back in her chair again and fell fast asleep.
Sparrow was carefully watching the changing colors in the esa reader and making notes. The Elvwist language consisted partially of colors and each one had a specific meaning. The testing was almost done when it heard a soft snore. Surprised, it looked down at Jade and smiled. She really was tired if she could fall asleep in such an uncomfortable chair.
It took a final measurement from the reader and switched it off. It didn’t want to wake the sleeping young woman. It could carry her to her tent but then wouldn’t be able to enter as it was much too large to fit into one of the little Human-sized tents. It thought for a moment, calculating, then smiled and sent:
was the immediate reply.
Sparrow put the esa tester away and waited. In about a minute and a half, Kendis appeared at its tent flap.
Not wanting to disturb Jade, Sparrow continued using mind-speak.
Kendis remembered how sleepy he'd gotten when Sparrow had tested him with its modified tester.
He hesitated, then said,
it said, looking at Jade. It noticed a slight movement from her and reached out and gently placed its hand on her shoulder to keep her from drifting away from the chair.
Kendis stared at her in surprise.
Sparrow kept its hand on her shoulder, and she slowly sank back into the chair. And continued sleeping.
Interesting, it thought.
Very tenderly, Kendis gathered Jade up. She gave another soft snore and snuggled into his chest. He looked down at her cradled in his arms and he never wanted to let her go. Carrying her as if she were the most precious cargo in the universe, he headed out of Sparrow’s tent, wishing it a good night.
Sparrow watched them go, as it leaned back.
Sparrow was a full-blown precog. It knew the future was mutable, made up of probabilities rather than being set in stone. The chances of some future strands becoming fact, though, are higher than for others, determined by the actions carried out in the now.
It smiled beatifically as it scanned this particular probability set in motion almost a thousand years ago by its ancestors. Of course, there were always going to be events that weren’t Foreseen or were misinterpreted, or simply overlooked.
Precognition had never been an exact esa.
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