Lodestar proprietary information.'
Amaryllis stilled. She blinked once or twice and then seemed to collect herself. 'Let me get this straight. You think that a hypno-talent forced Miss Locking to commit an act of corporate theft?'
'It's a possibility,' Lucas muttered.
'A highly unlikely one. Look, Mr. Trent, surely you know that there are very few strong hypno-talents. It's a rare psychic power. People who do possess such skills generally go into medicine.'
'Not all of them.'
'Well, it's true that a few do stage acts,' she admitted. 'But I have never heard of a hypno-talent using his or her abilities to force someone to commit a crime. I'm not sure it's even theoretically possible.'
'I don't see why it would be impossible,' Lucas said.
'A hypno-talent would have to be extremely strong to force someone else to perform an act that violated the victim's own ethical code. I'd say it would require a class-nine or even a class-ten talent. You know how rare nines and tens are in any talent field.'
'There are a few around.'
'Less than one half of one percent of the population, according to the latest research.'
'But they do exist,' Lucas insisted.
'Yes, but a hypno-talent with that kind of power would be able to do very well in a legitimate profession. He or she would be working at the university or at one of the hospitals. Why would such an individual take the risk of becoming a criminal?'
'Who knows? The challenge of it all, perhaps.' Lucas spread his hands. 'Hell, maybe brokering the theft of corporate secrets is more exciting than a career in anesthesiology or research.'
'I doubt it.'
Lucas smiled slightly. 'No offense. Miss Lark, but you sound a little naive. Spend a few months in the Western Islands and you'll learn that there are a lot of people in the world who would jump at the chance to violate all your cute little notions about the ethical use of psychic talent.'
Red flags appeared in her cheeks. She glared at him. 'You're forgetting something, Mr. Trent. Even if a powerful, extremely unethical hypno-talent exists and happens to live right here in New Seattle, that individual could not operate alone. He or she would require an equally powerful and equally unethical prism to focus the talent.'
'I know.'
Amaryllis sighed. 'Be reasonable, Mr. Trent. The odds are very much against such a combination getting together to form a criminal team.'
'But it's possible.'
She threw up her hands. 'Well, yes, hypothetically speaking, I suppose it's possible. But not probable.'
'I want to check it out.'
Amaryllis eyed him thoughtfully. 'You're clutching at straws, aren't you?'
'I'm approaching this in a rational, logical manner.'
'Know what I think? I think you're looking for excuses to explain why Miranda Locking sold your secrets to your competition,' Amaryllis said gently. 'I understand. It's easier to believe that Miss Locking fell into the clutches of an evil class-ten hypno-talent than it is to accept the fact that she betrayed her position of trust in your firm. Isn't that right, Mr. Trent?'
She was right, but Lucas had no intention of admitting it. He reminded himself for the hundredth time in the past twenty minutes that he had known this would be un-pleasant.
Hiring a professional prism to help him focus his psychic talent was something he had done his best to avoid. Utilizing the services of a trained professional in order to harness the paranormal energy of his own brain went against the grain. It was his mind, after all. He should be able to control it and use it without outside assistance.
Most talents at the lower end of the power range readily accepted the fact that their paranormal gifts were useless without the assistance of a prism. It was that way with most things here on St. Helens. Complex synergistic principles governed the natural order. It was the toughest lesson the colonists had had to learn during the past two hundred years. On St. Helens the laws of nature could be summed up with the old Earth adage. It Takes Two to Tango.
The first indications that true paranormal abilities were beginning to show up in the population had been documented less than fifty years after the colony had been stranded. It had taken another twenty years before the researchers had figured out that natural and necessary complements to the talents were also appearing.
Ten more years had passed before the experts arrived at the obvious conclusion that prisms and talents were made for each other, at least in one very crucial sense. No talent, no matter how gifted or well trained, could focus his or her paranormal powers for more than a few seconds without the aid of a prism. Most could not focus their abilities at all without assistance.
It was the general consensus that prisms were nature's way of ensuring that talents did not become dangerous or predatory. The link between prism and talent required absolute, willing cooperation from both parties if it was to endure long enough to accomplish anything useful.
The authorities who studied the phenomenon scoffed at the notion that an innocent, unsuspecting prism was at risk of being 'enslaved' by a powerful, villainous talent. The scientific evidence had not stopped novelists and filmmakers from producing a host of popular tales involving mythical off-the-scale psychic vampires.
There was also a wildly successful genre of romance novels featuring implausible talent heroes who were capable of seducing beautiful, feisty female prisms and turning said prisms into love slaves.
Lucas had noticed the newest release of popular author Orchid Adams in the window of the bookshop across the street from the offices of Psynergy, Inc. The title of the novel was
In spite of all the overheated excitement generated by fictional psychic vampire talents, real-life prisms were quite safe. They had natural, built-in defense mechanisms. Prisms could simply withdraw from an unwanted focus link. If they were accidentally matched with a talent who overwhelmed their focusing capabilities, they went psychically numb.
Burnout, as the condition was called, was a short-term, temporary problem that was, nevertheless, extremely un-pleasant for the prism. Those who had been through it described it as being as disturbing as losing one of their other senses such as touch, smell, or sight. It could take weeks for a prism to recover.
For that reason, responsible, reputable focus agencies such as Psynergy, Inc. requested evidence of talent classification and certification from their clients.
Lucas brought his attention back to the matter at hand. 'I'm not looking for excuses. I'm looking for answers.'
'Believe me, Mr. Trent, no one could be more sympathetic. I, myself, have occasionally been accused of being a trifle too obsessive about getting answers. When questions have been raised, what else can one do? However, in this instance, I feel that there are no real questions.'
'If I'm deluding myself in order to avoid having to admit I screwed up by giving Miranda Locking the job with Lodestar, that's my problem. Do you want to take the contract or not?'
'If you're absolutely determined to pursue this investigation,' Amaryllis began very softly.
'I am.'
'And if your only goal is to identify the person to whom Miss Locking sold the information--'
'It is.'
'Then that's a perfectly legal security investigation,' Amaryllis concluded. 'I'll work with you under the terms of the standard contract.'
Lucas smiled thinly. 'I thought you'd accept the arrangement. I'm a class-nine talent. That means Psynergy, Inc. can charge me a fortune for your services.'
'You're free to take your business to another agency.'
'We both know it won't be any cheaper elsewhere.' Lucas walked back to his chair and sat down. 'Let's get on with this. I haven't got all day.'
'Very well.' Amaryllis picked up her pen. 'Now, then. You say you're a class nine?'
