Cascade Point by Timothy Zahn

Author:Timothy Zahn [Zahn, Timothy]
Format: epub, pdf
Tags: sf
Published: 2010-11-02T23:00:00+00:00

"But they don't come true, do they? That's what I heard, anyway."

"Enough do," Javier said. "A few percent, I suppose. But that doesn't really help. All it does is add uncertainty to the whole thing, like watching a laser being aimed at someone and not knowing whether it's charged or not."

"Did leaving Aurora help?"

There it was at last: the question that, in one form or another, everyone eventually got around to. Have the trances stopped coming? Again, the temptation was to lie; again, he knew it would be useless. "Not really. Scattering us around the Colonia eliminated the group trances, but that's about all."

"Those are the ones where someone had a seizure and half the Cassandras in the city joined in?"

"Sort of," Javier said carefully. They were treading on dangerous ground here.

He would have to watch what he said.

"The story goes that every time the dust cleared from one of those you had a bunch of dead people and a mess of wrecked equipment." Schultz's steady gaze had challenge in it.

Javier understood; it was a roundabout way of asking another familiar question. "The deaths came about mainly when people driving or working heavy machinery weren't able to stop before the trance began. But we always get a couple seconds' warning, so for most jobs there really isn't any danger, either to ourselves or anyone else."

"You were pretty stupid to let Cassandras do that sort of work."

Javier shrugged. "We didn't have much choice. The entire third generation had the curse, and the work force desperately needed us. Anyway, the deaths and damage weren't all that devastating in themselves. It was the panic and fear that went with all of it."

Schultz held his gaze for a moment and then dropped his eyes to the application again. Javier waited silently, listening to the muted clatter of dishes around him and trying to ignite at least a spark of hope. The effort was futile.

Schultz was far too smart not to have realized that someone with Javier's education wouldn't be looking for work in a hotel kitchen unless he was desperate. Bracing himself, Javier waited for the inevitable turndown.

"All right," Schultz grunted abruptly. "You can start on dishwasher and cleanup duties. Our stuff's not very fancy—sonic washers and brooms—but it's not likely to get away from you, either. If you're carrying a stack of dishes or something and it happens, put them down, pronto. And don't tell any of the other kitchen staff where you're from. They're not too bright, most of them," he added, anticipating Javier's obvious question, "and probably won't connect the hair and eyes to Aurora."

"I... yes, sir. Thank you, sir," Javier said, thrown off balance by the unexpected response.

"Sure. One other thing." Again the pig-eyes bored into Javier's face. "How often do you get these trances of yours?"

"Two or three times a week, usually, in a big city; maybe once a month in a less populated area."

"What's your accuracy rate?"

"About five percent. All the ones that do come true seem to happen within twenty-four hours of the vision.

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