“Hopefully you’ll be attending the event, Gray.”
“I’ll probably drop dead the night before while I’m looking to all the last-minute details. Then I’ll just be an exhibit, like ‘Recently Deceased Psycept, Gray Graham’ or something. Maybe a Bone or Blood Sage can demonstrate their powers on my corpse.”
“Wow, that’s grim, Gray.”
“But, truthful. Do you have any further questions or topics you wish to discuss?”
“Nope, I’m good. We’ll talk next week, and Annabeth will keep me posted.”
We finish five minutes early, looks like I’m getting a twenty-minute lunch today. Yippee.
CHAPTER THREE
If I engage the battery of my electric bicycle for a few miles, it’s a forty-minute ride to the PsyTown Library, the location of my next meeting. If I were to pedal the entire way, it’s closer to an hour as I pull Echo in an attached pet trailer on the back of my bike. In the interest of time, I give in and use the battery and arrive at the library with thirty minutes to spare. Since I’m one of the co-founders and hosts of the meeting, I use the time to assist with setting up and attendee sign-in.
The other two co-founders and I stand on a small stage in an outward facing triangle in the center of a large room filled with chairs arranged in semicircles. Two projection screens have been lowered on either side of the room showing our standing images and we each have a small lapel mic to amplify our voices. The five hundred seat meeting room takes up most of the upstairs of the library. We’re only fifty seats short of capacity, a good turnout.
“Welcome to the general meeting of PAPPA, the PsyTown-Albuquerque Police Psycept Association. This is our sixth general meeting and the second since we broke off into groups to accomplish our multitude of goals simultaneously. I am Philip Biobaku, PsyChometrist and co-founder of PAPPA and I oversee the community portion of our endeavor.
“There are two big projects that my group is currently participating in. The first is forming part of the Welcome Committee. We are receiving 5,000 new Psycepts tomorrow, and my group is volunteering with the Psycept Council to welcome the new residents. Then after next weekend, we are focusing on the 350 Psycepts that are earmarked to work police cases, many of us serving as mentors.
“The second project is five weeks away, but it’s a large undertaking. We are having a ‘Psycept Shindig’, as Gray calls it. It is a large community event at the Convention Center and surrounding area. More information will be forthcoming, but our group is planning many of the programs that will be offered. Once the ‘Psycept Shindig’ is complete, my group will begin to focus on advocacy initiatives, but I have no further information on that at this time. I’ll be happy to take questions now, but please step up to one of the microphones on either side of the room, so everyone can hear.”
He answers several questions about the logistics of tomorrow, deferring several to be asked at the PsyCouncil meeting. He also answers questions from those that volunteered to serve as mentors.
“That sounds, wonderful, Professor Biobaku, I look forward to the upcoming event. I am Imital Qureshi and I spearhead emotional, mental, and spiritual support initiatives. Many of us are also volunteering for various aspects at tomorrow’s Welcome and we will offer our support and friendship to all new residents. Next weekend, we will make sure to specifically reach out to the Psycepts that will be working police cases as they may need our help sooner.
“As you all may know, I am not a Psycept. I am the daughter of a flora PsySapient and my spiritual upbringing from both parents compels me to offer aid and do good in this world. I am the administrator for the Psycept database, and I have seen the toll working on Psycept cases, especially police ones, can cause. My group offers professional counseling services as well as peer support. We will be at the ‘Psycept Shindig’ as well, letting the broader community know what we offer. We have a calendar setup for the next several months listing the peer support groups and meeting times. We also have contact information for counseling services. And finally, we have put together classes to teach stress relief, time management, meditation, and other techniques and skills that can aid in burnout prevention and recovery or overall well-being. Those are also listed on the calendar. If you would like to propose classes or support groups, there is a form you can submit online. Questions?”
Imital answers questions pertaining to who can attend classes and basic questions like how to read and access the calendar. It’s my turn after she finishes.
“Hello, I’m Gray Graham, another TouchVoyant like Professor Biobaku, and I have three separate projects under my umbrella. The first is training. We’ve completed filming all the video segments focusing on navigating the Psycept database. You’ll be happy to know that it no longer looks like it was filmed in the nineties, which was always odd as the database inception was in the early aughts. We’re going to keep the segments short and separate in case we need to refilm anything if the database updates. The training segments are in the same folder where the old training videos were housed. We also have written training materials that have screen shots for those that learn better from reading rather than audible learners.
“Another part of the training is report writing. We’ve decided to offer workshops on this rather than just pushing out a video or presentation as that’s only a one-way. We feel that this material requires more interaction. This way, the attendees can have immediate feedback
