creatures of raw power, like the beasts hunting you. In your case, you can see them when you’re partially outside your flesh.”
The concept made Cooper shudder, but he tried to stay focused. “What’s the other problem?”
“Samantha,” Ryan answered bluntly. “She’s not a ghost. Human ghosts don’t exist. I can’t say for certain what she
is
, except that she is obviously associated with the scavengers and closely linked to you. The beasts that cling toyou don’t have the intelligence to make a plan, or keep their host alive for their long-term benefit, but there
are
creatures that do possess such a capacity. Samantha might be one of them.”
Cooper shook his head at the implication. “You don’t know Samantha. She’s lonely and scared, not some kind of evil parasite.”
“If we stop to assume for a moment that Samantha is a human ghost,” Ryan said slowly, “what did you want from me?”
Somehow, the question surprised Cooper, though it was an entirely reasonable one. He couldn’t answer right away. What
had
he hoped for? He suspected he had clung to Brent’s company for reassurance that he wasn’t in fact crazy. Brent had said that Ryan could help, and Cooper had gone with him, wanting help … but with what, if not just further validation?
“I want to help Samantha,” he said out loud, though even that was vague and, of course, Ryan caught on to that ambiguity right away.
“You want to help her,” Ryan said. “How? If she is in fact a ghost, if she is in fact
dead
, then how do you intend to help her? Would you bring her back to life if you had the ability? Even if she died in a pretty fashion, according to your tale she’s been gone for months. Her body is not going to be in good shape. She might need to acquire another one—”
“No, no, nothing like that,” Cooper protested, repulsed by the image of a Samantha who had been left to rot for months, with her long blond hair pooling in fluids of decay.
“If she is a ghost,” Ryan said, continuing inexorably, “then it’s likely that whatever else is left of her is in a box somewhere. If you’re not discussing resurrection or possession, then you’re talking about exorcism. If you want me to banish her—or, more gently, I could say ‘to send her on’—then I could almost certainly do that.”
“But you already said that ghosts like her don’t exist, so how can you propose to do anything like that?” Cooper challenged.
Ryan shrugged enigmatically. “Whether she’s a ghost or something else, she doesn’t have a mortal form, and that makes her vulnerable. In the field of psychic arm wrestling, I almost always win. I usually prefer to understand something before I banish it, especially when dealing with apparently sentient beings, but I’m offering scenarios here.”
“And if she’s one of those
other
things you talked about, what will happen to her?”
“Oh,
now
you’re willing to consider it?” Ryan asked. Cooper was pretty sure he had just fallen into a really obvious verbal trap. “I think, Cooper, that you should take some time to sort out what you want. Do you want the truth and to help Samantha, or do you want to comfort yourself? If it’s the latter, is having her around and dealing with her mystery more comforting to you than letting her go would be?”
Of
course
he wanted to help Samantha, but if she was really a ghost, that would mean allowing her to be dead.
He remembered what Ryan had said about the shadowsmaking painful emotions worse. Maybe, without them, he and Samantha would be in better shape, and could take care of their own problems.
“You said my first problem was my not being attached to my body right or something, which attracts the shadows,” he said, trying to circle back to a simpler part of the conversation. “Can you help me solve that issue? I mean, if you’re right, and Samantha is … something else, something bad … then if I fix my shadow problem, she won’t have any use
The concept made Cooper shudder, but he tried to stay focused. “What’s the other problem?”
“Samantha,” Ryan answered bluntly. “She’s not a ghost. Human ghosts don’t exist. I can’t say for certain what she
is
, except that she is obviously associated with the scavengers and closely linked to you. The beasts that cling toyou don’t have the intelligence to make a plan, or keep their host alive for their long-term benefit, but there
are
creatures that do possess such a capacity. Samantha might be one of them.”
Cooper shook his head at the implication. “You don’t know Samantha. She’s lonely and scared, not some kind of evil parasite.”
“If we stop to assume for a moment that Samantha is a human ghost,” Ryan said slowly, “what did you want from me?”
Somehow, the question surprised Cooper, though it was an entirely reasonable one. He couldn’t answer right away. What
had
he hoped for? He suspected he had clung to Brent’s company for reassurance that he wasn’t in fact crazy. Brent had said that Ryan could help, and Cooper had gone with him, wanting help … but with what, if not just further validation?
“I want to help Samantha,” he said out loud, though even that was vague and, of course, Ryan caught on to that ambiguity right away.
“You want to help her,” Ryan said. “How? If she is in fact a ghost, if she is in fact
dead
, then how do you intend to help her? Would you bring her back to life if you had the ability? Even if she died in a pretty fashion, according to your tale she’s been gone for months. Her body is not going to be in good shape. She might need to acquire another one—”
“No, no, nothing like that,” Cooper protested, repulsed by the image of a Samantha who had been left to rot for months, with her long blond hair pooling in fluids of decay.
“If she is a ghost,” Ryan said, continuing inexorably, “then it’s likely that whatever else is left of her is in a box somewhere. If you’re not discussing resurrection or possession, then you’re talking about exorcism. If you want me to banish her—or, more gently, I could say ‘to send her on’—then I could almost certainly do that.”
“But you already said that ghosts like her don’t exist, so how can you propose to do anything like that?” Cooper challenged.
Ryan shrugged enigmatically. “Whether she’s a ghost or something else, she doesn’t have a mortal form, and that makes her vulnerable. In the field of psychic arm wrestling, I almost always win. I usually prefer to understand something before I banish it, especially when dealing with apparently sentient beings, but I’m offering scenarios here.”
“And if she’s one of those
other
things you talked about, what will happen to her?”
“Oh,
now
you’re willing to consider it?” Ryan asked. Cooper was pretty sure he had just fallen into a really obvious verbal trap. “I think, Cooper, that you should take some time to sort out what you want. Do you want the truth and to help Samantha, or do you want to comfort yourself? If it’s the latter, is having her around and dealing with her mystery more comforting to you than letting her go would be?”
Of
course
he wanted to help Samantha, but if she was really a ghost, that would mean allowing her to be dead.
He remembered what Ryan had said about the shadowsmaking painful emotions worse. Maybe, without them, he and Samantha would be in better shape, and could take care of their own problems.
“You said my first problem was my not being attached to my body right or something, which attracts the shadows,” he said, trying to circle back to a simpler part of the conversation. “Can you help me solve that issue? I mean, if you’re right, and Samantha is … something else, something bad … then if I fix my shadow problem, she won’t have any use
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