Digital Heretic by Terry Schott

his head out, I assume to get Stephanie’s attention. Sure enough, she strolls in. 
      “ You can read each other’s minds, right?” I ask. They do this way too often for it to be coincidence, but I always forget to ask them.
      “ We are extremely empathic,” Raphael says. “Many times, it seems like we read minds, but it’s just good instincts and intuition. Thousands of years practicing makes it appear that we’re mind readers, but we’re not. Don’t change the subject, Danni.”
      I smile, “Not fun when that happens, is it?”
      “ No, it isn’t.”
      I wait for them to apologize for doing the same thing to me so often, but they seem content to stand there as if they are deaf to my question.
      I shrug my shoulders; that’s fine, let them. I’m in a fantastic mood!
      “ Danni knows that we communicate with others outside of the Game when we meditate,” Raphael says.
      “ Oh, that. I thought for sure you knew that already,” Stephanie says.
      “ Nope. But it sure was a wonderful surprise.” I start to cry again.
      “ Who did you talk with, hun?” Stephanie comes over and hugs me. “Someone who upset you?”
      “ No, not at all!” They both look concerned; maybe they think I’ve finally cracked. Well, let’s put the icing on the cake for them.
      “ I talked with Trew. He’s alive!”
      They look at me in disbelief. “Danni, that’s not possible,” Raphael says. “Someone is messing with you.”
      “ He said you would think that,” I say. “He knows it’s impossible to come back from being killed by a Sever Spike, but somehow it happened. It took a few days for him to recover. He was actually dead and gone; they unplugged him on the fifth day and then he suddenly started breathing on his own and came back.”
      “ I suppose anything is possible…” Raphael says. “But I’ve been around a long time, Danni, and no one has ever come back to life after being Spiked. It would take a miracle on a magnitude simply not possible outside of the Game.”
      I nod. “You’re both right to be suspicious. Someone will contact you soon to confirm that it’s true.” I laugh out loud. “To confirm that it’s Trew! Ha! That’s cute!”
      Stephanie looks concerned. “Soon, as in, right now?”
      I nod, “Yeah, that could work. Raphael, please meditate for a few minutes. I guess only one person can communicate at once, but whoever wants to talk with you will be available now that Trew’s done speaking with me.”
      Raphael nods and sits down, closing his eyes and entering a state of meditation immediately. I’m very good after decades of practice, but these two make me look like a beginner. Stephanie and I wait patiently; he’s out for about ten minutes, then his eyes open and he stands up.
      “Really?” Stephanie asks. Damn it, I know they can read each others’ minds!
      Raphael nods. “He’s alive.” 
      The two of them come over and we all hug. There isn’t a dry eye in the room; all the years of sadness flee instantly. It’s overwhelming for all of us.
      Stephanie steps back from me and grabs my head gently in her hands. She looks me directly in the eye and says, “I’m so glad we didn’t lose you, Lobato! We are so happy!”
      I laugh at her. I know she’s talking to Trew as he watches events in the Game through my eyes. I wonder if he is watching through my eyes at this very moment?
      “What else did he tell you?” Stephanie asks.
      I shake my head. “He didn’t really say anything else. Apparently, he’s super busy at the moment trying to get up to speed, and since time passes more quickly there, he contacted me very briefly to say that he is alive and well, and that he’ll get back to me soon and we can talk more.”
      “This is going to be a big problem,” Stephanie says.
      “What do you mean?” I ask.
      “Everyone who watches you play now knows that it’s possible to communicate with players. This is