Sweet Fortune

Robin, crouched in front of the screens. They were so entranced with what they were doing that they did not even glance toward the door.
    Fax machines, printers, telephones, and computer modems were sprinkled around the room. The gray concrete walls were almost entirely covered in huge world maps. Charts and bound printouts lay everywhere. In addition to the three people at the computer consoles, there were two other people in the room. They were women who appeared to be about the same age as Susan Attwood. But neither of them looked like Jessie's client's daughter.
    “You're welcome to go in and take a closer look,” Sherry said encouragingly.
    Hatch nodded brusquely and moved on into the room, followed closely by Jessie. He came to a halt in front of one of the computer screens and studied the display. It showed several rows of numbers.
    “What are we looking at?” Hatch asked the man hovering over the keyboard.
    “Climate data on northern Europe that goes back two hundred years. I'm using it to run projections for the next fifty years.” The young man did not look up. He pushed a button and the numbers on the screen flickered and altered as if by magic. “You can see the warming trend is accelerating rapidly.”
    Hatch nodded and moved on to the next screen, where the operator explained he was charting seismic activity.
    “Dr. Bright believes there will be some major shifts in the tectonic plates due to the recent increased activity of some volcanoes,” the man said. “Volcanoes affect the climate in some unusual ways.”
    Jessie stared at the screen and recalled something Elizabeth had mentioned recently. “What about the destruction of the rain forests?”
    “A major problem. But Bright has done a lot of thinking in that area and has come up with some interesting solutions. His main work is in climatology. You know, the ozone layer, global warming tendencies, that kind of thing. In fact he phoned an hour ago and said to double-check some recent projections. He's got some new data that say there might be even less time than we think.”
    “I see.” Jessie began to feel genuinely uneasy. It occurred to her that everything about the DEL operation looked extremely credible. “Where is Edwin Bright?”
    “In Texas, I think,” the young man said. “He's talking to a scientist there who's come up with a way to seed clouds with a chemical that can neutralize acid rain. Bright wants to help him rush through a patent.”
    “There is so little time left,” Sherry whispered softly.
    “Yeah.” Hatch tossed his empty coffee cup into the nearest waste can, which was overflowing with discarded computer printouts. “Would someone mind pointing me toward the men's room?”
    “Sure. There's one just down the hall.” Sherry smiled at him. “I'll show you.”
    “Appreciate it.” Hatch ignored Jessie's annoyed glance as he followed the young woman out the door.
    Jessie watched him leave and then turned to Landis with what she hoped was an innocent, curious expression. “I'll have to admit I'm very impressed by all the computers and technology here, but I was under the impression Dr. Bright was more than just a brilliant scientist. The person who gave me the invitation implied he had certain…” She hesitated. “…certain abilities .”
    Landis nodded, his eyes meditative. “You're referring to the rumor that Bright has psychic powers, aren't you?”
    “Is that all it is? A rumor?”
    Landis drew her out of the computer room and shut the door on the high-pitched hum. “I suppose it depends on how you look at it. Dr. Bright is a very brilliant man with an incredible ability to assimilate vast amounts of raw data and come up with forecasts and projections. His brain is virtually a computer. To some people that might make him look like he actually has psychic powers. But he does not encourage anyone to believe that.”
    “I guess I was misinformed.” Jessie remembered that Mrs. Attwood had only assumed Bright was using claims of psychic abilities to influence people such as her daughter.
    “And where do you draw the line between natural human ability and real psychic ability, anyway?” Landis asked in a reasonable tone. “Everyone accepts the idea of intuition, and a lot of people pride themselves on the accuracy of their hunches. But if someone has an extraordinary amount of intuitive ability, as Dr. Bright does, people tend to label it a psychic gift.”
    “Good point. I see what you mean.”