TIME : 2:20 P.M. (14:20)
PLACE : The Study
Rinquin was busy doing research and didn't notice Fern, Logan, and the others entering the room. Logan called out to him and startled him. He looked about and saw his two children with the M.W.G.D. officers and had a pretty good idea why they had come.
"What can I do for you?" he asked.
"We want you to tell us as much as you can about hypo-psycotic powers," Hank commanded. "The more we know, the more likely we are to find the murderer."
Rinquin understood an immediately started to tell them the history of the Marrot ships. About 650 years ago, the people of the Quadnestine was sending people on multi-generation missions to explore other galaxies. One hundred of the brightest people from all over the Quadnestine were chosen to go to the Milky Way. The expedition had a great deal of merit, so the ship was called the Marrot I.
On board was a man named Nestor. He discovered hypo-psycotic waves, a hidden wave- length on the electromagnetic spectrum. He also found that everyone had the ability to use hypo-psycotic waves. Some people could use them better than others depending on several thousand factors.
Nestor was able to pick out the main factors and created a machine that would increase the ability of an individual to use hypo-psycotic waves. The new uses for hypo-psycotic waves were called hypo-psycotic powers. Many people have died from trying to hard to gain those powers, but the more conservative ones prospered passing their powers on to their children who inherited them.
He looked at his own children before continuing. They had heard the story many times before, yet they were listening to him as if he were telling it for the very first time. Rinquin thought it was because they were trying to impress their new friends from M.W.G.D..
During the span of the Marrot II and Marrot III, the machine was improved. The process took days instead of weeks and more people survived for longer periods of time. However, most of the survivors were still children. The machine worked better on animals than people, so some of them suggested that the machine worked best on undeveloped minds. If it were true, people with mental defects would be able to survive longer than normal people. After several experiments on the subject, it was determined that there was no significant difference between the two groups and the theory was scrapped.
The only fact they learned was that reguardless of any other background, the young did better than the old. From that point on, they did everything possible to keep elderly people from using the machine.
No one tried to abuse their powers until a few years after the Marrot IV was built. At that time, the ship had just entered the Milky Way and our people were looking forward to making contact with lifeforms from another galaxy. All except one, his name was never known, but he had developed hypo-psycotic powers to the point that he could destroy the entire ship if he wanted to. He took over the ship and ruled with an iron fist. Many fled and many more were killed before he was finally destroyed.
A once great race had been reduced to less than one hundred. The ship was left crippled in space. Even after the ship had been repaired, the population continued to diminish. The survivors knew that their race was dying and they had to preserve the knowledge of hypo-psycotic powers without being as careless as they were before.
They decided to write a book on the machine which would be kept in the captain's quarters. All other records on the machine would be erased making it much harder to abuse such powers. The book remained a secret for a long time. It was only recently that rumors about the book have spread.
"What exactly are the abilities hypo-psycotic powers offer?" wondered Linda.
"I'm glad you asked that," Rinquin remarked. "The power of telekinesis, the ability to move objects mentally, is one of the first things learned by someone who has obtained hypo-psycotic powers. Later on, powers of mild hypnosis, invisibility, and other trivial powers that very depending on the person are developed. Then, comes the power of sonic attacks and mental shields. The murderer has reached that stage. He can put intense heat and pressure on a person's brain causing it to explode or implode depending on the circumstances. The only known defense is a mental shield which is developed at about the same time. Unfortunately, only the people with hypo-psycotic powers have a mental shield, so the rest of you are fair game to the murder."
None of them liked the idea of having their brain fried, but they knew that things far worse could happen if they didn't stop the murderer soon. Rinquin, Fern, and Logan had hinted of even greater powers, but would not tell them what they were.
"Could you tell us some more about the book?" Peter requested.
"Certainly," answered Rinquin. "As you already know, the book explains how to use, or even build the machine that increases hypo-psycotic powers. In addition, it tells about the powers that come from hypo-psycotic powers and gives the best way to learn how to use them. Each chapter teaches a certain category of powers and only the most powerful isn't listed."
Rinquin handed Peter a list with twenty-three names on it.
"These are the only known people with hypo-psycotic powers and since I can vouch for myself and my children and none of the others are anywhere near here, I think there is somebody else with these powers."
Peter looked at the list. "Impressive!" he exclaimed. Most of the people on the list he had heard of before. In general, they were very successful and highly influential.
He passed the list to Hank and he too was impressed with the list of names. He in turn passed the list on to Linda and she passed it to Lisa. All four of them agreed that a twenty-fourth name should be added and that was the murderer.
Lisa had just handed the list back to Ringuin when Tanbrook and Trever walked in with the book. Tanbrook handed the book to Ringuin.
"Drake says that you should have custody of the book until we find out who the murderer is," he stated.
Rinquin was pleased to see the book again, but he knew it could be a fake. He skimmed through the book for about a minute reading sections at random. At last he closed the book convinced that it was the real thing.
"Where did you find it?" he asked enthusiasticly.
"Tanbrook found it in the Engine Room," Trever replied.
"Excellent!" Rinquin shouted. "I know the perfect place to hide it after everyone leaves."
"I'm glad to hear it," responded Tanbrook as he left the room. "Come on, Trever."
"I'd like to stay here and chat for a few minutes," Trever called out after him.
Trever told the others what had happened while they were gone. They all listened to eagerly, especially Peter. Peter was particularly interested in how the book was found.
"What made Tanbrook decide to look in the Engine Room?" questioned Peter.
"I had been wondering about that myself," Trever admitted. "but Tanbrook has a natural ability to find whatever's missing. He has only been on the Marrot V for about a month, but he lead the search parties for the missing bodies and predicted where they would be with remarkable accuracy."
Although he wouldn't say it directly, the others knew that Trever suspected Tanbrook.
"Where was Tranbrook when Mevlin was killed?" Linda wondered.
"In the captain's quarters," Trever stammered.
"Are you sure?" Hank cut in.
The silence that followed indicated he wasn't. After a while, Peter spoke up.
"Is there anyone besides Vohanna and Tanbrook in the captain's quarters?"
"Drake," added Trever. "Those three are required to meet at the captain's quarters during security emergencies."
"We better talk to Drake right away and tell him to schedule another conference sometime tomorrow," Peter declared.
"Tomorrow may be too late," Linda protested.
"I think the murder wants to lie low and there won't be any more murders for awhile," Peter told her confidently.
The others stared at Peter, but he was keeping his hunch a secret. He didn't want the murderer to know he found out who did it.
Copyright MCMLXXXIX, MCMXCIX
