The Spiral Effect Read online

die?

  —They’re working on a cure.

  —Easy for you to believe. You’re not the one who’s dying. There’s no cure. Never will be a cure. Our only chance was to leave with Eric and Mindy and you fucked that up.

  Mike reaches out to touch her.

  —Janine, please.

  Janine shrugs away from him.

  —Don’t touch me! Don’t ever fucking touch me again!

  Mike shakes for a brief second and then stiffens. His eyes become blank.

  —Yes dear.

  Janine wipes a tear and looks at Mike.

  —Why are you staring at me like that?

  No answer. Just that blank stare.

  —Mike!

  Blank stare.

  —God dammit Mike stop it! Fucking stop it!

  Blank stare.

  Janine jumps up and turns away from him, toward darkened shadows, a memory undefined.

  —Fuck! Sometimes I just wish you’d go shoot yourself in the fucking head!

  Poor Mike. Not a victim of his own doubt. And poor Janine. She really had no idea the force of the thought she had unconsciously planted. A forced command due to the frustration and anger she felt over his decision for them to stay. The moment had continually cycled through her conscious thoughts, like a terrible nightmare before I found her.

  I should check on her soon, before the calming effects I planted dissipate. I’d hate for her to recycle that moment, give way to suicidal thoughts again. I’ll have a day before I need to reconnect with her.

  Find the Cause.

  Find the Source.

  Find the beginning.

  Back to work, but Janine, you’re not forgotten.

  Maurice Taylor—Sacramento—sub file: Male—sub file: Ages 28-32—sub file: Carrier—sub file: Memory Type—sub file: Pictures.

  Another easy memory type. Still photos, paintings, comic book panels, sketches, and oils of the man’s life. Not as in depth and easy to follow as movies, but not difficult to organize and interpret. Already dated as well. Maurice hasn’t been an active psychic for very long, so it’s doubtful he knew all that his brain held. Wouldn’t have mattered though, seems Maurice had a proclivity for the telekinetic side of the coin. Fancied himself becoming a superhero. Even drew up sketches for a costume. Purchased the material as well.

  Superhero.

  Superhero.

  Superhero.

  Now why does that seem so familiar?

  Find the Cause.

  Find the Source.

  Find the beginning.

  Right. I’ll come to it later. Superhero. Remember superhero, brain.

  Maurice actually took the opportunity to help a few people before the disease hit. Slide show of one splendid snapshot after another of him retrieving little Amanda Turlington’s cat from a tree.

  Comic book panels.

  Issue #1: Maurice Saves Tommy McGill from the Bullies.

  Panel 1: Maurice stands tall, hands on hips, blue cape flapping in the wind while his gold painted belt buckle glimmers in the sunlight. A giant, yellow M boldly stands out on his green chest.

  MAURICE

  Stand down villains!

  Panel 2: Bullies double over laughing.

  Panel 3: Tommy trembles, unsure if Maurice is actually helping, or only making the situation worse.

  Panel 4: Maurice stares down the bullies with stern justice.

  MAURICE

  You like to laugh? Here, laugh at this!

  Panels 5-9: Each panel shows one of the bullies experiencing the effects of Maurice’s TK whack. Pants fall off Bully 1, Shirt clings to the face of Bully 2, Bully 3’s shoe strings unlace and tie themselves around his hands, Bully 4 repeatedly slaps himself, and Bully five finds a barrage of dirt flying in his face.

  Panel 10: Bullies flee, trail of dust behind them.

  Panel 11: Tommy points and laughs.

  Panel 12: Maurice puts his arm around Tommy.

  MAURICE (Thought Bubble)

  And the young hero saves another kindred spirit from the hands of villainy.

  The world may not consider him a hero, but those kids sure did. Seems like an overall good guy. A shame Maurice didn’t practice telepathy too. It might have prevented someone else from manipulating him to join the mob surrounding the hospital in Sacramento.

  Moving on.

  Richard Kirts—Sacramento—sub file: Male—sub file: Ages 46-50—sub file: Non-Carrier—sub file: Memory Type—sub file: Symbols.

  Now the work gets difficult. Taxing. Was hoping to sift through more than two memories before coming across someone with symbols. Hopefully Richard Kirts, excuse me, Dr. Richard Kirts, held a better grasp of the English language and molded his thoughts in complete and coherent sentences with few grammar mistakes. So far it’s more decipherable than some of the others I’ve read. But apparently he didn’t take paragraphing seriously in school. Nor correct comma usage. What should I have expected? He’s a doctor, not an English teacher. But at least it’s readable.

  Interestingly enough, Dr. Kirts hasn’t experienced any symptoms yet. Never heard anyone else’s thoughts. Didn’t move a pencil with his mind. Strange, especially since he’s been working alongside so many infected. Is it possible I’ve found someone immune? If so, then—

  No.

  Dr. Kirts had a—what is this?

  Julien: Pointless risk.

  Kirts: Don’t care Julien. Just do it.

  Julien: There’s an 85% chance of waking up a vegetable.

  Kirts: Those were performed by hacks. The good ones know how to do it. Either way I won’t have someone digging through my thoughts or controlling my mind.

  Julien: The inhibitor is only 65% effective.

  Kirts: We tell cancer patients that with optimism.

  Julien: The FCC is pulling it from the market tomorrow.

  Kirts: Then you better get on with it. I’d rather the best brain surgeon in the world do it than some dropout for ten grand in a back alley.

  Why haven’t I heard of this inhibitor before?

  Kirts: Oh, and while you’re in there, have the IT kid keep me from remembering or knowing it’s there.

  Julien: IT kid?

  IT kid?

  Kirts: Don’t play dumb. I know someone from the--------Institute has it hooked to a computer. Can program it to disrupt memories, change personality traits.

  Did Dr. Kirts mean for the hiccup as a slight pause, or does the institute have an actual name?

  Julien: It doesn’t delete them.

  Kirts: Don’t patronize me. I know it doesn’t. But IT can make it where it blocks my memory of this conversation and the procedure. If I don’t remember I won’t give them any clues. Won’t have anxiety one of them is going to give me a full frontal lobotomy by ripping it from my brain. I’ve seen what an amateur psy can do to the ear models. Messy and irreparable.

  Julien: (sigh) Have you eaten anything since midnight?

  Kirts: Of course not. Even have my updated information and chart for you. You’ll be removing a tumor (wink—wink).

  Julien: Okay. I’ll have you prepped by eight.

  Kirts: Make it 7:30.

  Explains the strange lock I found attached to this memory. Completely different from the self-created mental deterrents I’ve seen in others. I wonder—yes, there are other similar locks around his thoughts, but only a few more. Highly unusual and different. A breakthrough?

  Device—Institute (generic or part of an official name?)

  Device—created because of patient zero?

  Device—who made it (maybe he or she knew patient zero)?

  Time to go deeper. Maybe the Institute has answers. Need a name though. Funnel through the memories. Search name of Institute.

  RESULTS:

  —&*^%@#Institute

  —&*^%@#Institute

  —&*^%@#Institute

  —&*^%@#Institute

  Hmm. Never seen that before. A
lock within a lock or just a glitch in his memory? Should be able to get around it. See if I can’t decipher and interpret the meanings of the symbols.

  RESULTS:

  —&*^%@#Institute

  —&*^%@#Institute

  —&*^%@#Institute

  —&*^%@#Institute

  Focus. Try it again.

  —&*^%@#Institute

  —&*^%@#Institute

  —&*^%@#Institute

  —&*^%@#Institute

  WORD DOESN’T EXIST.

  Now that shouldn’t be possible. Did the implant alter his short term memory, replace words with undecipherable symbols?

  Maybe if I find the inventor.

  RESULTS:

  —*(^$%^&*()!@#$%^&

  —*(^$%^&*()!@#$%^&

  —*(^$%^&*()!@#$%^&

  —*(^$%^&*()!@#$%^&

  FILE CORRUPTED FILE CORRUPTED FILE CORRUPTED FILE CORRUPTED FILE CORRUPTED FILE CORRUPTED

  That doesn’t look good. Uh…repair file?

  DENIED DENIED DENIED

  Repair file.

  DENIED DENIED DENIED

  Once more for good measure. Focus. Push.

  REPAIR FILE.

  FILE CORRUPTED DUE TO UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS FILE CORRUPTED DUE TO UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS FILE CORRUPTED DUE TO UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS FILE CORRUPTED DUE TO UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS—

  Damn. A doctor with insight. Enough good sense to implant an inhibitor to keep out unwanted minds. Sixty-Five percent effective. What does he know? How important are his memories? Obviously enough to lock and encrypt.

  Push a little harder. See if we can’t break—

  Find the Cause.

  Find the Source.

  Find the beginning.

  That’s what I’m doing. Let me focus.

  Find the Cause.

  Find the Source.

  Find the beginning.

  But this doctor knows something.

  Find the Cause.

  Find the Source.

  Find the beginning.

  Get off my back.

  Find the Cause.

  Find the Source.

  Find the beginning.

  For the love—just shut up!