Page 133 of Gates of Tartarus

Wednesday, 5 December – Maela

Iwake up feeling supremely content, so relaxed I wonder how I can roll out of bed. It’s chilly, so I dress quickly in a jewel-green, cable-knit sweater, jeans, and high-heeled boots before tying my hair back in a pony-tail and skipping down to the kitchen. After my big O, Emlyn drew me to his chest, cradling me, and I lay almost boneless, luxuriating in the warmth of a hard male torso at my back. He practically had to carry me downstairs when I started to fall asleep.

“Morning!” I chirrup at Seef, who raises both eyebrows.

“Didn’t take you for a morning person, princess. Coffee?” He stands and goes to the counter, switching on the kettle and reaching into the cupboard for a mug.

“Yes, and yes. I mean, not always, and yes. But this morning, yup.”

He grins at me, shaking his head while adding a splash of milk to the mug. “I’m not even going to pretend I understood that.”

“Mmm,” I say, taking the mug and inhaling a big sip. “Aaaah,” I sigh in satisfaction. “Ta.” I’m too busy gulping to get out a full “thanks”. The British are so wise in their slang.

“I see it’s doing wonders for your verbal skills. Another sip, and you might just be comprehensible.”

“Shuddurp.” I savor the bitter aroma. “Lemme guess, you wake up every morning at 5:00 am, have a cleansing hot water with lemon, then go for a five-mile run.”

“Correct.”

I choke on my coffee. “Seriously?”

“Minus the girly lemon bit.”

“But… why?” I’m bewildered. Who would voluntarily subject themselves to that on a daily basis?

He just grins and waggles his eyebrows at me again, leaning back against the counter.

I’m about to probe further when my phone rings. It’s Elizabeth.

“Elizabeth, hi!”

“Maela,” her voice is low and urgent. “Is everything OK with you? I take it you’ve heard?” I can hear the sound of tapping on a keyboard.

“Yes,” I answer, my own voice dropping. “Are you OK?”

“Yes.” There’s a pause. “No, not really. When Kailani told me…” She trails off, as if lost in thought. “I think I’m in shock, to be honest. Shocked and angry. That those, those… criminals would dare to use my organization in such a way. Gaia was founded to help victims of trafficking and drug abuse! And to find out that someone’s been using it to enslave vulnerable young women and girls… I still can’t believe it.”

“You can’t control everything,” I say, wanting to offer what comfort I can.

“But our security measures are so stringent! All management-level hires are thoroughly vetted and shadowed for a year. Even entry-level hires have to pass detailed checks. With the confidential information we handle, it’s a necessary precaution.”

“We still don’t know that anyone has actually managed to infiltrate Gaia. It could just be that someone’s–”

“Taking our name in vain?” she finishes darkly. “It had better be. But I’ve still instructed our head of security to liaise with Agents Smith and Donovan. And I’m going through our senior executives’ personnel files myself. If there is a mole, I want him or her found. If word got out… it would destroy Gaia. My life’s work, gone.” Her voice is grim.

“I’m sure it won’t come to that.”

“It had better not.” At that moment, she sounds every inch the ruthless CEO. “If I find out…” There’s silence, and then she seems to shake herself and sighs. “And we’d just made a breakthrough!”

“Oh, yes?” I cock my head curiously.

“Well, not so much a breakthrough, perhaps, as a new direction.” And she goes on to tell me about waves: mechanical and electromagnetic, which I vaguely remember from high-school physics, and gravitational, which are very Star-Trek-y “ripples” in space-time. “And brain waves,” she adds triumphantly. Brain waves, like light waves or radio waves, are electromagnetic and vary in frequency. There are delta, theta, alpha, beta, and gamma brain waves. “And possibly infra-low, although not much is known about them.” Each type of wave has a different function; beta brain waves, for example, are associated with active thinking, and alpha with relaxation. And imbalances in brain-wave patterns are associated with different neurological, emotional, and behavioral conditions, like anxiety, depression, panic attacks, and ADHD. But brain waves can be trained, she tells me. People who meditate regularly, like Buddhist monks, have more pronounced gamma brain-wave activity. Brain waves can also be altered by medication or neurofeedback therapy.

“Now, here is where it gets really interesting.” Bemused, I nod dumbly, though she can’t see me, and take another swig of coffee.

“All waves have a particle nature; and all particles have a wave nature.”

“Oh! Elizabeth…” I don’t have the heart to tell her that I think someone’s already beaten her to that discovery, if I’m remembering Ms. Allen’s class correctly.