Awakening Book One of the Trust Series(14)

“It seems very real. Our minds have amazing capacity for recollection. Notice how you can feel the wind against your skin, the grass under your feet. You can smell the wildflowers and even catch the individual scents of each flower if you wanted to. If you touch the water, it feels wet. All this stems from my memories growing up here, but they are very real to me and anyone else I choose to let see this.”

Caitlyn seemed accepting of the explanation. “You grew up here?”

“From when I was six to sixteen.”

Relaxation visibly took over her then as she enjoyed where she was for the moment. It was the affect he was hoping to have, taking her here. She took his hand gently. “It’s beautiful. No wonder why you want to visit here. It’s so serene. How do you do this?”

Garrett couldn’t help but smirk. “Eager, aren’t we? It’s a little too advanced of a concept at the moment. But I promise, if you show certain traits, we will try to see if you are able to do this later, down the line. But that is for a much later time.”

He wasn’t surprised when Caitlyn was not pleased with the response. Garrett knew she was the kind of person who did not take to defeat easily. It was one of the things that he found he liked most about her. She did not frown for long, however.

“I can see why this is a desirable talent. Most people would love to have an instant getaway for meditation and to think.”

Garrett shook his head. “True. But this-” he said, giving a grand sweep with his hand of the environment surrounding them, “Is not why the talent is desirable. This-” He performed another grand sweep, “is.”

In an instant, they were in a stark bare room with the exception of a long metal table and two chairs next to it. Blackness surrounded both of them. An unknown light source shone down, illuminating the table. Caitlyn stroked the cool stainless steel with her fingers. “Where are we now?”

Garrett paced around the table. It was time for a lesson. “As I mentioned before, projection telepathy is capable from my memories, my thoughts, desires, and even my imagination. People who have this talent all have one thing in common, when they Awaken, they have perfect recall. Meaning-”

“They can remember something perfectly after only seeing it once or reading it once.”

“Right. Anything I see, anything I read, I can bring up.” In an instant, Garrett brought up what looked like ten large screens hanging in a circular pattern mid-air, playing various memories of his from when he met Caitlyn prior to her change. He noticed her look all around and then take a few moments as she examined each image, her brow sometimes rising as she tried to puzzle something out in her mind.

“These are all from your point of view.”

“You catch on quick. What I am showing you are my memories. I am not doing exactly what I did earlier, creating a scene, instead I am just playing an imprint, a moment in time. If I wanted to, I could create the environment from a memory if need be.”

With that, he changed the room into the bar that Caitlyn and Garrett first met to hammer home the point. He indicated for her to sit down on the stool she had sat in that night. Once she did, Garrett took her lead and did the same. He knew Caitlyn to have good deducting skills, so he asked a question. “Now why do you think all this would be important?”

She came up with the answer in an instant. “Well, if it were me, I would use you for espionage.”

He curtly nodded. She seemed like she would fit perfectly into the Trusts mold. Garrett was not sure how he felt about that. He never felt as if he fit in completely, but he knew he never would. Too many factors would prevent that. “Exactly. Someone who has this capability can show the Council or Tribunal anything they have seen and it is a guarantee that they remember it perfectly. It’s an invaluable resource.”

“So, were you a spy? You know, before you left to mentor me?”

“No, not really.” He left the answer hanging for a minute before continuing. “I had always wanted to mentor, so I asked the Council for time to pursue that prior to any further discussions as to my career. I had chosen a different career path.”

“I see.” The unspoken question stood between them.

“There are other reasons that the Council longs for those that are like me.” He figured he should tell her all of it.

She raised her eyebrows. “Like what?”

Even though he had been the one to broach this particular subject, he still found himself hesitating briefly to talk about it. He personally found aspects of it vile and despicable, albeit important, but she should know the unpleasant parts to being an Actual.