mind travel to another place, but my body is still here. I see distant places.”
Paul mused upon this explanation for a moment.
“Hmmm, it’s like a particular kind of distance vision… remote viewing.”
Miss Tynedale smiled, as all the demonstrations appeared to have aroused Paul’s curiosity.
“That’s all for today,” she concluded. “There is another resident who’s currently in hospital. She’ll see you as soon as she returns. Mr Richardson would like to speak to you though.”
They transferred downstairs to the office and Paul expected to find Max in there. Instead, Miss Tynedale picked up the telephone and dialled out. After a pause, Paul could just hear Max’s voice on the other end of the line.
“Yes, he’s here,” she said, “I’ve made the introductions.”
She handed the receiver to Paul and before he could say anything, Max outlined his objectives.
“Now that you’ve met my residents, I’ll let you in on the reason I moved you to The Institute. There are technicians at The Institute to assist with and monitor a series of tests, this isn’t your role. Your objective is to use your background in physics and quantum theory to explain the workings, or the source of their abilities.”
This certainly took Paul by surprise.
“Okay. Will this be purely theoretical, or will evidence be required?”
“I’m looking for a hypothesis initially,” Max stated, with focus. “Eventually, I’d like an in depth analysis of their abilities, with a report on each individual.”
Paul indicated he understood and the phone call ended. Miss Tynedale looked at him with expectation.
“Wow,” was all he could say.
***
In the morning, Miss Tynedale surprised him further at breakfast with an invitation. At that moment, he’d actually drifted off into some parallel reality, looking philosophically out of the window. After she cleared her throat, he gave her the full attention she required.
“Some of the residents have the day off and they’re going to visit the Natural History Museum. They’d like you to accompany them.”
Now, that was a pleasant surprise.
“Well, tell them I’d be honoured,” he responded.
He wondered which residents were going. When Emilie, Oscar, and Beth entered the room, they answered his silent query. Sitting down at the adjacent table, they took breakfast together. The three psychics appraised the eminent physicist who’d come to work with them, a little shy of making conversation. Before long, they’d all put their coats and scarves on, and were on their way.
They took the underground and alighted at South Kensington, then proceeded along Exhibition Road to the museum. Two women walked by, pushing perambulators and almost ran them over, but they managed to dodge them at the last minute. A telegram boy in his navy blue uniform with red piping and pillbox cap passed by, bring news of a birth, marriage, or death to some family on a nearby street.
The museum came into view. Paul was impressed at the architectural splendour of the building, although the others didn’t pay as much attention. Emilie watched an old man with a flat cap on his head, who was deep in thought whilst smoking a cigarette.
“Penny for his thoughts?” Paul queried.
“He is just worrying about his family, his son is sick.”
They entered the museum, sorted out the admission and tried to orientate themselves in the reception area. Paul steered them over to the first area and proceeded to view the dinosaurs and animals, which Emilie gazed at thoughtfully. It seemed like a good opportunity to get to know her better, and he sidled over to her.
“So… you can really read minds?”
She smiled in that coquettish manner.
“That is why I live at The Institute.”
Hmmm, that didn’t seem to get the conversation flowing, so he tried to probe further.
“Are you reading my mind now?”
A person could feel strangely exposed in her company. To what extent could she uncover someone’s secrets?
“I can close my mind if I wish,” she replied, “It’s just like shutting a door, because otherwise, there would be no surprises. If life is written in advance, the thrill disappears, and life becomes dull.”
He wondered if Emilie had ever pierced Max’s inner sanctum and pondered it quite intensely. She gave him a wry look.
“There are some things that we should not know,” she declared, “and I do not wish to probe.”
Okay, he’d potentially touched a raw nerve.
The four of them studied the bones of dinosaurs and then moved onto a different exhibition, based on Egypt. Oscar and Beth began looking at some reliefs of Egyptian Gods, lingering over the images depicting odd hybrid creatures: jackal, crocodile, ibis, and hawk headed people.
“The Egyptians believed