Page 134 of Gates of Tartarus

“Quite. Quantum units – electrons, protons, neutrons – behave both as waves and as particles. And photons,” she crows.

“Err...”

“Light, Maela, light! The quantum of the electromagnetic field! When a beam of light passes through two slits, it acts both as a wave and a particle. Wave-particle duality! Reality itself is more complex than we could ever have imagined. And what else is electromagnetic?”

“Brain waves?” I volunteer faintly.

“Yes! Did you know that quantum objects can be in two places at the same time?”

“No, really?”

“Now, given the dual nature of reality, might a brain wave also act as a particle? Does this explain your telesthesia? Could your brain literally be in two places at once?”

“Uhhh.” I wind the end of my braid around my finger, slightly alarmed at the idea of my brain darting around like some sort of cosmic hummingbird.

“Mmm-hmm,” she muses. “And since brain wavesarewaves and emit frequencies, does this explain why Kailani can hear them? Has the gene that encodes that ability been switched on? And by what? If we can alter brain patterns using medicine and meditation, improving our concentration and balancing our moods, could we also manipulate them to give access to these higher functions?”

“Umm.”

“Epigenetics, Maela. Epigenetics and quantum mechanics. Who would have thought it?”

I certainly wouldn’t.

“Oh, Maela,” she sighs, “if we could scan your mind, your beautiful, beautiful mind, what would your brain waves show?”

“Huh.” I resort to chewing on my lip for lack of something more intelligent to say.

A pause, and then a sheepish voice comes over the line. “I’ve gotten on my soapbox again, haven’t I?”

“Err.”

“Oh, dear. I have, haven’t I?” she asks ruefully. “And you’ve been too polite to interrupt me or change the subject.”

“No! Really, it’s fascinating. Maybe a bit over my head, but…”

“I doubt that,” she says, amused now. “You do have a PhD.”

“I assure you: the hamster in my brain was running furiously.”

Laughter trills out of her. “You are too modest. But I’m glad to know I didn’t bore you to tears.”

“The opposite. It really is interesting.”

“It is, isn’t it? And so exciting! And when you consider that quantum particles… Alright, I’d better get off the phone before I start up again. Sorry! Let’s speak soon.”

I hang up to see a slightly bemused Seef considering me, chin in hand.

“Interesting conversation?”

“Uhh, huhh.” I feel a little pole-axed.

“All you’ve said for the last five minutes is umm, err, uh, and oh.” He runs a hand over his head and stands up. “I think you need another coffee.”

“I think I do.” Elizabeth’s conjectures are interesting, but I barely passed physics.

I sit quietly while Seef makes the coffee, mulling over waves and particles. And if my own ability really was pre-programed into my genes, only waiting for the right environment.

“Thanks,” I say absently when he sets a mug in front of me. My mind is still on epigenetics and quantum mechanics. Kailani can sense emotions; a psychopath has no emotions. I can be in two places at once. This person can push emotions, as if we all really are connected, all those little particles; that one can block emotion. “Seef, if the ability to block emotions exists, does it also exist to block visions?”