weren’t the only ones who believed that. Some things have definitely changed in the past two hundred years here on Harmony, but most strong talents still try to keep a low profile.”
“Power is power, and a person who possesses a lot of psychic talent tends to make other people nervous and with good reason. Some talents can do as much damage with their paranormal abilities as other folks can do with a knife or a mag-rez.”
“Are you quoting from the Principles or are you speaking from experience?”
“Both.” Shadows came and went in her eyes. “As far as I’m concerned, a powerful talent with a criminal mind is far more dangerous than a thug with a mag-rez. A strong psychic cando a lot more harm before he’s caught.
If
he’s ever caught.”
“When was the last time you encountered a strong criminal psychic?”
“I met one during my short career at the Chapman Clinic.” She shuddered. “I still get cold chills when I think about Marcus Lancaster. But the worst part was that I couldn’t convince my superiors to listen to me. Lancaster has Dr. Oakford and the rest of the staff completely fooled.”
A flicker of intuition crackled through Harry. “Is that why you were let go? You disagreed with the staff’s professional diagnosis of Lancaster?”
“You knew I was fired?” She made a face. “Yes, of course you did. You’re in the security business. You would have done your research. To be honest, I don’t think I would have lasted long at Chapman, even if Lancaster had not been an issue. I didn’t fit into the clinical setting.”
“They didn’t appreciate your talent,” he said. He had never met Dr. Ian Oakford and probably never would, but he had an explicable urge to rip Oakford’s head off his shoulders.
But Rachel was suddenly laughing, a warm, bright, from-the-heart laugh that sent good energy swirling around the room.
“Nope,” she said. “Oakford did not appreciate or respect my talent. And really, how often does that happen in life?”
He smiled. “You’re right.”
“Let’s get back to your little problem.”
“My little problem?”
“I’m aware of the history of the island before it was claimed by your family’s corporation,” Rachel said coolly. “But the details are very murky after that. The Rain-shadow Foundation has never been what anyone would call transparent about the way it manages the Preserve.”
“Mostly because there’s nothing to manage except the damn fence. You’re going to have to trust me when I tell you that we don’t know anything more about what is going on inside the Preserve than anyone else does. We’ve never had any control over the forces in the interior. All we can do is try to protect folks from themselves by keeping treasure hunters, adventurous kids, drunken boaters, and thrill-seekers out. We didn’t put up the first psi-fence, by the way.”
For the first time, Rachel looked startled. “Really?” “According to the records, there has always been a strong force field around most of the island.”
“It’s no secret that the island has always had a serious woo-woo factor, but I’ve never heard that there was an actual psi-fence around it before the Foundation took over.”
“That’s because the early one was only partially effective when it came to keeping humans out. My theory—and the experts at the Foundation agree with me—is that the Aliens installed the original psi barrier to keep their own kind out.”
“So it was set to the frequencies of Alien psi?” she asked.
“Sure. Whywould they have been concerned about a bunch of stranded colonists from some no-name planet who landed a couple of thousand years after they left? They never saw us coming.”
“Okay, your logic makes sense. The fence wasn’t originally tuned to human frequencies. Your point?”
“My point,” Harry said deliberately, “is that the Aliens must have erected the original energy fence for a reason, probably a very good
“Power is power, and a person who possesses a lot of psychic talent tends to make other people nervous and with good reason. Some talents can do as much damage with their paranormal abilities as other folks can do with a knife or a mag-rez.”
“Are you quoting from the Principles or are you speaking from experience?”
“Both.” Shadows came and went in her eyes. “As far as I’m concerned, a powerful talent with a criminal mind is far more dangerous than a thug with a mag-rez. A strong psychic cando a lot more harm before he’s caught.
If
he’s ever caught.”
“When was the last time you encountered a strong criminal psychic?”
“I met one during my short career at the Chapman Clinic.” She shuddered. “I still get cold chills when I think about Marcus Lancaster. But the worst part was that I couldn’t convince my superiors to listen to me. Lancaster has Dr. Oakford and the rest of the staff completely fooled.”
A flicker of intuition crackled through Harry. “Is that why you were let go? You disagreed with the staff’s professional diagnosis of Lancaster?”
“You knew I was fired?” She made a face. “Yes, of course you did. You’re in the security business. You would have done your research. To be honest, I don’t think I would have lasted long at Chapman, even if Lancaster had not been an issue. I didn’t fit into the clinical setting.”
“They didn’t appreciate your talent,” he said. He had never met Dr. Ian Oakford and probably never would, but he had an explicable urge to rip Oakford’s head off his shoulders.
But Rachel was suddenly laughing, a warm, bright, from-the-heart laugh that sent good energy swirling around the room.
“Nope,” she said. “Oakford did not appreciate or respect my talent. And really, how often does that happen in life?”
He smiled. “You’re right.”
“Let’s get back to your little problem.”
“My little problem?”
“I’m aware of the history of the island before it was claimed by your family’s corporation,” Rachel said coolly. “But the details are very murky after that. The Rain-shadow Foundation has never been what anyone would call transparent about the way it manages the Preserve.”
“Mostly because there’s nothing to manage except the damn fence. You’re going to have to trust me when I tell you that we don’t know anything more about what is going on inside the Preserve than anyone else does. We’ve never had any control over the forces in the interior. All we can do is try to protect folks from themselves by keeping treasure hunters, adventurous kids, drunken boaters, and thrill-seekers out. We didn’t put up the first psi-fence, by the way.”
For the first time, Rachel looked startled. “Really?” “According to the records, there has always been a strong force field around most of the island.”
“It’s no secret that the island has always had a serious woo-woo factor, but I’ve never heard that there was an actual psi-fence around it before the Foundation took over.”
“That’s because the early one was only partially effective when it came to keeping humans out. My theory—and the experts at the Foundation agree with me—is that the Aliens installed the original psi barrier to keep their own kind out.”
“So it was set to the frequencies of Alien psi?” she asked.
“Sure. Whywould they have been concerned about a bunch of stranded colonists from some no-name planet who landed a couple of thousand years after they left? They never saw us coming.”
“Okay, your logic makes sense. The fence wasn’t originally tuned to human frequencies. Your point?”
“My point,” Harry said deliberately, “is that the Aliens must have erected the original energy fence for a reason, probably a very good
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