Part 26
Finally you roll over in bed and bury your face under the pillow. None of your original arguments have changed. There's still nothing to prevent one or more of you being forced to do things with catastrophic consequences. There's still nothing to stop the paranoia most Saps would feel if they knew about you turning to xenophobia and from there to a witch hunt that would kill millions and among them future Tomorrow People. You want to change your mind but you know you cant.
Despite this activity you all become restless as days stretch into weeks. As the tedium goes on you try and settle down to reading books or studying some of the cultures who form the Federation. Mike begins to tutor you in more controlled use of your telepathic gifts and the others give you advice and help from time to time. You're not the only one who finds the enforced inactivity difficult though.
*****
[This is ridiculous!] John snaps suddenly, looking up from the electronic circuit board he has been fiddling with. [We have better things to do with our time, even if they don't!]
The others look up from around the large room. Conversation between the seven of you has become increasingly telepathic of late so it seems natural to answer John's outburst in kind.
[Overmind keeps everyone waiting.] Stephen notes soothingly. [Everybody on the Trig does.]
[But they had all the evidence they wanted weeks ago.] You argue. [They should have made up their minds by now.]
[I honestly didn't expect them to take this long.] Kenny adds thoughtfully.
[I've had enough.] John declares. [I want to get back to Liz, Andrew and Tsui Tai and if that means going before we get a verdict then so be it.]
[I'll come too.] Kenny says positively. [I haven't seen much of my Mum or sister since they moved back to Earth.]
[Me, too] The thought comes from Tyso and Mike simultaneously.
[Perhaps we should all go.] Tricia's quiet thought is nervous at the prospect of returning to Earth but you can feel her irritation with Overmind too.
John looks from face to face and mind to mind but you're all agreed. You're going home.
*****
"How much longer?" You ask, impatient to be doing something rather than waiting as you have been for these weeks. You're all waiting again, this time in the long-range jaunting chamber as the technician tries to confirm a firm contact with TIM for transmission
"Sometimes transmission conditions between here and Earth are just bad." Stephen shrugs. "I didn't think it was particularly bad today though other we'd never risk it. We should be able to go soon."
[I have a signal.] The technician's voice comes quietly into all your minds. [You may teleport when ready.]
Kenny takes a deep shuddering breath as he looks around at the place that has been his home for almost a decade. Somehow you all know that if you leave here and now things will never be the same again. The entire group steps onto the jaunting pad, holding the excited children firmly. You gaze at the transparent wall that so disorientated you when you jaunted in and wonder at how much your mind has been opened in this short time. John looks around to see that you are all on the relatively cramped jaunting pad and then nods at the technician.
[Alright ...]
["Wait!"] At first you think it must be TIM's voice you hear but already you are starting to recognise subtle differences in the tone. Timus jaunts into the chamber with little regard for the courtesies and waves a hand desperately to stop the transmission.
[Wait.] John agrees shortly, talking to the technician. "Well, Timus?" He adds aloud.
"Tomorrow People." Timus says with only a hint of fluster showing beneath his usually calm exterior. "Overmind has asked to see you. Now."
John raises an eyebrow and glances from side to side. Carol and Stephen, on either side of him, nod. The rest of you signal your agreement telepathically. John sighs and steps from the jaunting pad.
"Alright, Timus. We'll see them now."
*****
It's strange to be back in the Overmind chamber after so long. Somewhere above you in the shadows a camera is floating, relaying the scene to the Lab on Earth. John had arranged for that even before the mental urging he got from Elizabeth and TIM. Professor Cawston and Ginge had a say in what happened here, they deserved to hear its outcome for themselves. You feel Elizabeth, TIM and the others come into mental contact with the rest of you as the individual Overmind has selected to voice their decision steps forward. Through their eyes you can see the Professor and Ginge as well as Lefty and Chris in the Lab.
[Well,] John says tiredly. [Now I guess we learn the truth.]
*****
Overmind's representative speaks suddenly, his words a pale shadow of the gestalt's thoughts that they vocalise.
["Tomorrow People of Earth, you were called before Overmind to speak for your world. Some have argued that despite your slow emergence Earth remains too primitive and dangerous to be considered a candidate Emergent World for Galactic Federation membership. Others have argues that no world which produces a viable group of telepathic individuals such as yourself can be excluded from Federation membership. The testimony of you, those you invited and others who have reason to know your minds has been taken and considered."]
Overmind pauses and you can feel the frustration you all share.
["Yes, but have you made a decision?"] John presses on behalf of you all.
["We have."] Again Overmind pauses but this time you wait for them to go on. ["We have heard testimony of how delicately the political situation on your planet is balanced. We have heard how the first instinct of your authority figures is to use you and your abilities as weapons. We have heard how your lives have been endangered."] You feel your heart sinking despite your mixed emotions. ["We have observed the instinctive reactions of Homo sapiens to danger. We have studied the ethical and moral reactions of Homo superior."] Overmind lets that sink in. ["We have also interviewed individuals of both species. We have been impressed with the potential for adaptation and moral choice in the minds of those not constrained to make such choices genetically. However we note that such unconstrained decisions are often made poorly and do not influence those of the species Homo sapiens who present most threat to others.
We have been impressed by the strong arguments put forward for continued membership of the Federation by many of the Tomorrow People despite significant private doubts about their own personal safety. However we cannot be satisfied that no member of the emergent species Homo superior presents a significant threat either to Homo sapiens, or to other members of their own species, or to the Galactic Federation. Evidence and counter-evidence for this view has been reviewed.
We are also satisfied that Homo sapiens presents a significant threat to every Homo superior individual. Analysis of the emergence pattern suggests that Earth possesses the capacity for large scale telepathic population but that this may not be manifest within an acceptable time period.
It is our conclusion that in this situation the parties most at risk are the individuals of the species Homo superior. It is also our conclusion that these individuals have repeatedly demonstrated their eligibility for acceptance into the community of telepathic races. However they have not demonstrated an equivalent capacity for self preservation. As a result, although we respect their clear and near-unanimous wishes in this matter, we cannot comply with them. Our decision is that Earth will remain a Closed World but Emergent World status, together with consideration for membership of the Galactic Federation, will be withdrawn.
We require that all telepathic individuals evacuate the planet within ten solar days or be declared outlaw."]
You feel the devastation sweep through the mental link and you share it. Even Overmind shies back from the sheer power of emotions pouring from your combined minds. Carol is devastated. Her children will never see the planet on which she was born.
"Can...can we appeal?" John asks quietly, knowing the answer.
["There can be no appeal."] Overmind tells you.
*****
You return to the jaunting chamber and let yourselves be transmitted to Earth in a half-daze. No one is thinking coherently. Even though you argued for this outcome, you never really wanted it.
"We ought to refuse!" Mike snaps suddenly as you materialise in the Lab. He's hugging Tsui Tai comfortingly. "We ought to hide and refuse to leave."
"They'll send Galactic Policemen after us." Kenny tells him dismissively. "And those guys are good. They'll find us quickly enough."
"We'd never get away with it." John agrees quietly. He's sitting beside Elizabeth at the link table now. "I don't think we have any choice." He looks from face to face, Tomorrow People and Saps. "We pack up and go. But we'll be back, sometime we'll be back."
*****
You walk up the path to your parent's house unsure of what you're going to say. As far as they know you've spent the summer holidays at a camp organised by a youth group you've joined. Quite how Stephen convinced them of that you're not sure but it seemed unwise to tell them the whole truth so soon after you broke out. Now you're not sure whether to tell them the truth at all.
They're pleased to see you back, if a little confused from the 'persuasion' Stephen used on them. You accept the welcome half-heartedly, knowing that your return is no more than temporary. It seems strange to be sitting down to a meal where you can't ask someone to pass the salt telepathically. The conversation seems loud and jarring as your parents ask you about your trip. You tell a little truth and a lot of lies, soaking in every aspect of their expressions.
The world seems a fresher and more beautiful place to you as you walk through it in the next few days. The sun shimmers through the leaves of trees, casting their intricate veins into green silhouette. You meet up with your school friends who are even more confused about where you've been than your parents. You're saying goodbye and yet you know that they don't realise it.
You pack in a desultory way, careful that your parents don't realise what you're doing. Most of the time, though, you spend out of your room taking in the bustle of urban life, the wonder of nature, the wonder of humanity.
You're walking through the local park on your last full day on Earth when you realise that John is walking beside you. The older Tomorrow Person waits for you to make contact before speaking.
[Hello, John.]
[Hello, Jay. We've not seen you in the Lab these last few days?]
You finger your jaunting belt a little shyly.
[I didn't think I'd be very welcome.]
[You're one of us now, Jay. Sometimes we disagree. Often we disagree on small things, this time we disagreed on a big thing. We may be irritated but we're not going to reject you for saying what you believe to be true. We only have each other from now on.]
[Yes. I know.] You hesitate.
[Are you packed, Jay?] John asks gently. [What have you told your parents?]
[I'm packed. Just about. My parents .... John, I've not told them anything and I'm not going to. I don't think I can make them understand and I think if I try they're going to think I'm lying. They'll kick up a fuss, they'll look for you and for Stephen. That could put them in danger if people are still looking for you.]
John frowns.
[It's you're decision, Jay] He says doubtfully. [But you have to tell them something.]
[I'll leave a note. I'll tell them that I'm going to be safe and well looked after but I have to go away a bit. Even if they go to the police nothing will happen. Sixteen year old boys run away all the time. The police can't chase them all.]
This time John nods.
[We'll try and send them a message every so often to let them know you're safe.] He agrees. [Come to the Lab when you're ready, Jay.]
*****
You take a long time over writing the note. You know your parents will worry but you want to spare them as much as you can. Finally it's done though and you seal it into an envelope so you cant change it further. You look around your room one last time with its posters on the wall, the games you haven't played for years stacked in one corner. You look at the envelope on your pillow.
You don't want to leave but you know it's for the best.
You don't want to leave but you know you must.
And, you think as you jaunt, John's promised: Someday you're coming back.
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