The Phoenix

‘Yes!’ Dix seemed delighted by the question. ‘That is exactly right. You have a primary neurological frequency that naturally overrides the secondary ones.’

‘And is that how Gabriel was able to speak to me last night?’

Dix cocked his head to one side, confused. ‘I’m sorry. Did you say that Gabriel transmitted to you? Last night?’

Ella nodded.

‘Here? At the camp?’

‘Yes. I mean, I was here,’ Ella confirmed. ‘I don’t know if he was. I was trying to leave, as it happened, but he sort of talked me round.’

Dix looked utterly furious, his wrinkled face practically quivering with rage.

‘Talked you round, did he?’ he muttered. ‘Hmmm. That sounds about right. He’s good at that.’

‘Does that mean he was here? Physically?’ asked Ella. ‘Or close by, at least, to be able to transmit to me?’

‘Not necessarily,’ said Dix. ‘In general it’s true that the closer a transmission is, geographically, the louder you will “hear” it.’

‘Like being within Wi-Fi range?’

‘Sort of.’ He frowned. ‘I’ll explain more later, but the point is that in Gabriel’s case, that doesn’t necessarily hold true, because he has remote access to our systems here. It sounds to me like he disabled the firewall from wherever he was, so he could transmit to you directly behind my back. The little … so-and-so.’ The old man seemed to be talking to himself as much as to Ella, his whole being alive with indignation. ‘When I get my hands on that boy—’

‘He’s transmitted to me before,’ said Ella, stoking the flames of Dix’s fury. ‘The night before I came to camp. That’s how I knew how to get here. Where to find you.’

‘And where were you when this transmission hap

pened?’ asked the incredulous Dix.

‘In Paradise Valley,’ said Ella. ‘Where I grew up. It’s kind of out in the sticks. I never normally hear voices there, but I heard his. So, would he have been close by that time?’ She was still very confused by the mechanics of all this.

‘Probably,’ said Dix. ‘Although I suppose in theory he might have … if he’d somehow managed to hack into the …’ The professor’s grumblings were no longer audible, but from his expression Ella surmised that Gabriel was sinking ever further into his bad books.

‘I couldn’t talk back to him though,’ she told Dix.

‘No. You wouldn’t have been able to,’ he replied.

‘Because I can’t transmit, right? That’s what Gabriel said. I’m just a receiver.’

The professor snorted. ‘I would strongly advise you to take everything Gabriel says to you with a large pinch of salt.’

‘I’ll bear that in mind,’ said Ella, amused. ‘So, can I transmit?’

‘Theoretically? Yes. You probably could. But there wouldn’t be much point.’

‘Why not?’

‘Because the other person wouldn’t be able to hear you. As far as we know, you are the only person in the world whose brain is capable of receiving data in this way. Your parents’ experiment has never been repeated. You are unique, Ella,’ he added, looking at her in genuine awe. ‘That’s why we need you. It’s why the world needs you.’

Yes, but I don’t want to save the world! Ella thought. I want a normal life. I want to be normal. I never asked for any of this.

‘Together we will learn to make the most of your abilities,’ Dix went on, his kindly manner diffusing Ella’s frustration. ‘Starting with the auditory signals. The experiment we just did here was a start, but it was artificial. Because of the firewall, all frequencies inside the camp were blocked except for the coast guard, who use a simple radio transmission. Your friend Gabriel doubtless used something similar last night. So his voice, directed to your primary neuro-channel, was all you heard. But in the real world, there will of course be multiple, conflicting signals. Part of your training here will involve learning how to differentiate between them. To become your own tuning device, if you will.’

Ella looked doubtful.

‘We’ll get there, my dear.’

Dix was so reassuring, so kind, that Ella started to well up.