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Chapter 54 - Investiture

The following day, notes from his discussions with Sir George in hand, Wilson walked the few blocks over to the U.S. embassy building. He had a meeting scheduled with the deputy assistant secretary of State for Trade Policy and Negotiations, who was leading the U.S. team, and the commercial attaché from the U.S. Commercial Service of the Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration, the trade promotion arm of the U.S. government. During the meeting, he learned about the current status of the trade talks. Before he had left for London, he had gotten an extensive briefing with State and Commerce Department officials in D.C. Now, thanks to Sir George, he had a very good idea of where the stumbling blocks in the talks were likely to be. These were primarily cultural and nationalistic issues, not substantive economic ones, he sensed.

And personal issues too, he learned, a short time into the meeting. Wilson’s new sense, the one Tamara called his human-lie-detector ability, told him that Commerce’s commercial attaché was out to make a name for himself. Wilson had already dealt with misguided and know-it-all junior officers when he was a Marine NCO, so he knew many ways to respectfully but firmly modify or redirect that kind of attitude.

While Wilson was thus occupied, Emma was keeping busy with videochat sessions with the roll-out team at EEC Energy Solutions, making sure that all was on schedule. Isabella had taken Tamara and Nadine for a quick sight-seeing drive around London and Andrew was spending the day with his grandfather. Peter, on the other hand, was visiting the Electrical Engineering Department at Imperial College London. Peter’s graduate school advisor was a collaborator with a faculty member at the ICL on nanotechnology- and microsystems-based detector and actuator devices, and Peter had planned to visit him. His preliminary doctoral research project idea was control systems for the incorporation of micro-power sources using Tamara’s accumulator design into tiny self-powered actuators for use in robotics and prosthetics technologies.

They were all together again in the late afternoon as they got ready for dinner.

“You look disturbed, Emma,” Isabella remarked. “Is there something wrong?”

Emma looked at her. “Possibly. It’s not absolutely certain, but very likely, that we’ve been a target of some industrial espionage.”

Sir George stood up and angrily said, “Tell me what happened and I’ll have the entire MPS and Cambridgeshire police crew on it.”

Emma giggled at him. “Brilliant. You can do that, I’m sure.”

Sir George snorted. “My best mate, Simon Armstrong, was my roommate in uni at Oxford; he’s the father of Home Secretary Patty Bolling—Patricia, that is. My daughter’s family and Isabella and I are close friends with the Armstrongs and Bollings. Her department oversees policing in the U.K. To be sure, I can do that. What happened, do you know?”

“My engineering division head told me that some components of an energy-storage unit cell are gone missing. One component is the micro-porous polyvinylidene difluoride sheet which contains the embedded SET-based circuits and generates the increased electron flow. Another component is the electrically conductive polymer semiconductor doped with the superconducting formula. Those components are part of the core of the energy-storage unit and a set of them is missing. The third part is the control circuit, which activates the cell and that part is only added when the units are assembled; they’re fabricated as units are assembled and immediately added, so there weren’t any to nick.

“The component sheets are kept in vacuum-sealed sleeves and have to be kept absolutely clean, and the assembly needs to be done in an ultra-clean environment, because any impurity introduced into the storage matrix will cause it to break down and the stored energy will escape all at once. That happened in my lab back at Hopkins when Tamara built the first accumulator; that first version had an impurity in one component, the device got overcharged during a thunderstorm, and it blew up part of my lab.

“One of the tech assistants hasn’t showed up for work for a week and he had access to the polymer sheet storage room. They suspect that he took the sheets. But he didn’t have access to the clean facilities and doesn’t know about the cell-assembly protocol. The local police were notified and they’re looking for him but he apparently had a fabricated identity. That’s all we know now.”

“The charging control circuit is the critical part,” Tamara said. “Without it, there’s no regulation of the energy going in or out. You can’t reverse-engineer the polymer sheets to figure out how to build a proper charging circuit either. You know, if that dude plays around with the sheets, gets them into the right configuration, and tries to pump power into that setup, he’ll get it overcharged and it’s gonna go bang. Those sheets are lots bigger than my original version too, so any damage will be extensive. Like a lightning strike.”

“Yep, they’ve already told that to the bobbies,” Emma said. “The officials know that the danger only comes if the perps try to make a device from the sheets. So they are taking the theft seriously and involving something called a ‘special branch.’”

“That’s good,” Sir George said. “They’re already on it then. So I don’t need to have Patty mobilize the troops. Everything else is ready for the roll-out?”

“It is. I’m excited about it, too.”

~~~~

The investiture ceremony was on the following day. Sir George arranged for two limos which took the whole group, dressed in their formal clothes, to Buckingham Palace. Checking their credentials and identification went quickly since Sir George was known to many of the staff. Soon it was time for the ceremony to begin and officials opened the doors to the Throne Room and people began filing in. The queen was waiting there with a group of officials and she nodded to her head protocol officer that she was ready to begin. As people were showed where to stand, a palace official brought the first honoree to the queen and the ceremony began.

After a few people had received their honors, it was Emma’s turn and an official came to her and led her forward. She smiled her radiant smile at the queen as she curtsied and the queen offered her hand, which Emma briefly held with her thumb and forefinger, then released it, all the while smiling at the queen.

“Ah, greetings, Dr Emma Elizabeth Clarke. You are as engaging as your late charming and elegant grandfather. We recall him and your brilliant grandmother with fondness. We are quite honored that your parents chose our name for your middle one and we are so very sad that both of your parents perished in their service to our nation. But you, my dear, have brought honor and economic prosperity to the British homelands through both your science and your entrepreneurship. Our advisors tell us that you are introducing your new energy device. Very soon, is it not?”

“Yes, Your Majesty, the device will be unveiled and demonstrated in Cambridge late next week. Representatives of the Crown were invited.”

“And you plan to install your energy storage units in sites around the country thereafter?”

“That is true, Ma’am. The result will be a dramatic decrease in the cost of energy to consumers.”

“Most admirable, my dear. So young, yet so accomplished. You are a credit to the United Kingdom and we are delighted that you chose to remain closely tied to our nation, even though you grew up overseas. Dr Emma Elizabeth Clarke, we appoint you Dame Grand Cross of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire. Let all present acknowledge this honor and let us accord Dame Emma our thanks for her service to the Crown.”

After receiving the award, Emma curtsied and said, “Ma’am, I am more honored by this recognition from my sovereign than by the recognition from my peers at the Nobel Foundation because this honor represents my help to my country.”

The queen nodded and said quietly, “Well said, my dear, and our great thanks.”

There were a number of other honors intervening and then it was Tamara’s turn. A chamberlain had previously moved her to a position close to the queen, and when the previous recipient was led away, Tamara found herself approaching England’s monarch. Tamara saw that the woman was quiet but radiated an exceptional amount of personal power. What was unusual was that Tamara could not sense any emotional overtones other than a strong feeling of duty and pride in her office. This person has a will of steel, Tamara sensed.

She curtsied and lightly touched the queen’s hand and the queen smiled at her.

“Welcome, Miss Tamara Nadine Alexandre. It’s so refreshing to have so many young people selected for honors on this occasion. And you are the student of another extraordinary person, Dame Emma Clarke, who we just had the pleasure of honoring. We understand that it is your remarkable inventions, together with Dame Emma’s theoretical work, that led to the creation of the new energy industry in our country.”

“That’s correct, Your Majesty; Dame Emma was the inspiration for my work.”

“How modest and polite, my dear. We also understand that you have developed devices to improve medical diagnostic equipment. Do you plan to continue such work in your future?”

“My early childhood was in Haiti, Ma’am. I vowed that when I grew up, that I’d find a way to help poor and disadvantaged people everywhere.”

“What an admirable goal, my dear. You are well deserving of our honor. Therefore, we appoint you Dame Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire. Let all present acknowledge this honor and let us accord Miss Tamara Alexandre our thanks for her service to the Crown.”

Tamara received her award and as she touched the queen’s hand again, she said, “I so appreciate this honor, Ma’am; it shows me that my work will contribute to the wellbeing of people in many countries.”

“Thank you, my dear. How well spoken you are.”

Tamara rejoined her little party then and received quiet congratulations from the others and a very brief kiss on the cheek from Peter. They continued to watch the others receive their awards and then President Gerston was presented to the queen. After a very friendly exchange with the queen, he retired and a young woman was led forward and Tamara gasped quietly.

Peter whispered, “What?”

“She has such power... talk later.”

When the next person was brought forward, it was Sir George’s turn to gasp quietly and Emma looked at him with a questioning expression.

“He very strongly reminds me of someone I knew fairly well,” he whispered to her.

Soon after a number of others were honored for their achievements—including two who couldn’t be older than high-school age—the ceremony was over and the honorees and their guests were invited to the reception. Both Emma and Tamara were congratulated by the others in their party and Sir George got busy greeting and introducing people whom he knew to those in Emma’s group. Between he and Isabella, they knew a lot of people.

On the way to the ballroom, Sir George saw an official whom he knew and motioned to him. The man came over to him, greeting him.

“Hallo, you old workaholic. Can’t stay away from the action, can you,” he said as they shook hands.

“Indeed not,” Sir George answered. “But I’d like to introduce you to someone special. Dame Emma Clarke, it gives me great pleasure to present to you the Right Honorable Bruce Harning MP, our new secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero. Mr Secretary, I present Dame Emma Clarke; she was just honored by the queen.”

Harning nodded his head to her and took her hand. “Honored, Dame Emma.”

“Likewise, Mr Secretary,” Emma said.

“I wanted you both to meet; I know your department is sending representatives to Cambridge for the unveiling of EEC Energy’s power unit. I’m certain you didn’t connect Dame Emma with that company.”

Harning looked at her in surprise. “Oh, pardon me for my ignorance, Dame Emma... of course I knew of a Dr Clarke but I didn’t make the connection.”

She chuckled, “You certainly aren’t alone. I’m not offended.”

“Yes, my department has been in detailed negotiations with your company about the number and siting of your energy-storage farms. We want to know your manufacturing capacity and plans for providing the U.K. with units.”

“Yes. We will address those issues with your department right after the demo of the first unit,” Emma told him.

“Let’s move to the reception hall, dear,” Isabella interrupted. “Business later.”

“Certainly. Shall we?”

He offered her and Emma his arms and they walked toward the ballroom. They were able to circulate a little but Sir George wanted to introduce Wilson to some trade officials he had seen among the group in the room, but Tamara was keeping an eye out for that young woman she had seen getting her own knighthood honor; she wanted to meet her.

“She simply radiated power, darling,” she told Peter. “Such amazing charisma. She was a lot like Emma and Sam too. And the guy who followed her was also powerful but in a different way. Internal power, very much like Dad has. I hope they’re still here; I’d like to meet them.”

Some of the crowd in the ballroom had thinned out by now and Sir George noticed a small group of people diagonally across the room, partly hidden by a column. He saw that Prime Minister Grayson was with them and so was that young man whom he thought looked so familiar but couldn’t place.

“Wait just a moment, Emma my dear, and friends. There’s someone over there who brings back memories,” he said and started to walk over to the other group.

Emma and the others followed a bit behind, curious about what Sir George was up to. That’s when Tamara saw that the two young people, whom she wanted to meet, were in that group too. Sir George approached the group but stood respectfully at a distance away, waiting for a moment to politely interrupt. He had noticed that President Gerston was also among them; of course he knew the president from his time as the British ambassador to the U.S. As he approached, he heard some of their last few words.

Gerston was speaking to the prime minister. “... Perhaps something simple like world peace?”

Grayson laughed at the comment. “We’ll need to get together to discuss that, Mr President. And find another country for them to which they can export their rebellion.”

Then Grayson noticed Sir George approaching as the people in her group laughed at her words.

“Welcome, Sir George,” she called to him. “Come join us if you will. I’m certain that President Gerston remembers you well.”

Gerston smiled and said, “Absolutely. Greetings, Ambassador Marshall, good to see you,” and reached out his hand as Sir George touched the PM’s hand and then shook Gerston’s.

Meanwhile the young man in the PM’s group, the one who Tamara thought had a presence like her dad, was looking at Sir George with an expression of recognition.

“Pardon me?” the young man interrupted. “Sir George Marshall? I remember you, sir. You knew my parents, Audrey Boniger and Paul Coris. In Hong Kong and then from Mom’s Thailand posting too. I’m Kevin Coris.”

Sir George smiled widely. “Ah, yes. It’s Kevin. Paul Coris indeed. I thought that you looked familiar; you’re the spitting image of your dad. Dreadful, what happened to them. Sorry for your loss.”

Kevin nodded, “Thank you.”

Grayson had recovered somewhat, and said, “Well, obviously it’s a small world for diplomats, Sir George and Mr Coris. But, Sir George, I see you have your own entourage hanging back there, including some of our other honorees. Please ask them to join us and we’ll do the introductions.”

“Madam Prime Minister,” Gerston commented, “I doubt many introductions will be needed. To me, at least, I recognize most of our newcomers; I’ve had the personal pleasure of honoring some of them myself.”

“Is that so?” Grayson said, smiling. “So let’s get this sorted then; Mr President, I know Sir George and Dame Isabella Marshall; would you please introduce your compatriots then?”

Gerston grinned at her. “Certainly, Ma’am. My Stateside friends, I present to you the Right Honorable Eleanor Grayson GCMG, prime minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland; Mrs Prime Minister, it’s my distinct pleasure to introduce to you Dr Emma Clarke and her spouse...” he paused as Sir George whispered in his ear, “Dr Andrew Marshall. I have not had the pleasure of meeting them previously but I certainly know of their distinguished achievements. And with them is a most extraordinary family, the Alexandres, whom I honored just two months ago with Presidential Medals of Freedom. Prime Minister Grayson, I’m honored to present Major Wilson Alexandre, Dr Nadine Alexandre, and their daughter Miss Tamara Alexandre. I’m sorry, but although I’ve met the young man, I...”

“Peter Winsberg, Mr President,” Tamara interrupted. “My close friend, as you’ll recall.”

“Ah, yes. Thank you, Tamara. Mr Peter Winsberg. Madam Prime Minister, I wasn’t aware that the queen would be honoring Dr Clarke—Dame Emma, and Miss Alexandre, but I cannot think of any others so deserving. I would have loved to have had Dame Emma’s energy startup company founded in the United States. Now shall I introduce my other citizens in our own little group here or would you like that honor?”

Grayson chuckled. “You’re doing fine, Mr President. Why don’t you continue?”

“Certainly, my lady. Sir George and Dame Isabella Marshall, Dame Emma Clarke and Dr Marshall, Major and Dr Alexandre, Miss Alexandre, and Mr Winsberg. First, I’m pleased to introduce my dear First Lady Rita Gerston; his Excellency, the U.S. ambassador to the United Kingdom Charles Wixom and Mrs Marjory Wixom; and our deputy chief of mission, Minister-Counselor Warren Porter and Mrs Barbara Porter.”

Hands were shaken among those introduced, then Gerston motioned to Denise and Kevin to join him.

“Next, it gives me great pleasure to present Miss Denise Roberts GBE and Mr Kevin Coris GBE to you. They are here in the U.K. to attend classes at three of the world’s top universities. I know, two people and three universities. We all know the word ‘overachiever.’ Their picture is in the dictionary illustrating that word.”

Everyone laughed and there was another round of quick handshakes.

“Okay, Madam Prime Minister. Your turn,” Gerston said, turning to her and grinning.

“Indeed. I might get the last two to be introduced but they are certainly not the least, by any measure,” Grayson said with a smile and motioned to Amelia and Jeremy.

“Distinguished guests all,” she intoned, “I am honored to be the first to officially and formally introduce our nation’s newest honorees. I present, for the first time, Dame Amelia Hadad CBE and Sir Jeremy Porter CBE. Despite their being secondary-school pupils, their work in advancing educational policy and practice in the U.K. has greatly distinguished them and their service to the Crown was acknowledged today by the queen.”

Grayson was very interested in talking with Emma and Tamara; she was delighted about the new energy industry that Emma had brought to the U.K. and was amazed by Tamara’s youth.

“I suppose I shouldn’t be amazed, however,” she admitted. “Look at our honorees here today. Dame Emma, I believe you’re the senior here and you are just in your mid-twenties! At that age, I was still getting oriented in my first real job. And Miss Alexandre, just how many patents do you hold now? My officials never could find out.”

“Um, let’s see, Ma’am. And it’s just ‘Tamara,’ if you please. Including active applications, between seven and eleven. It depends on whether the claims for some inventions should be split to protect against challenge or infringement. And two that are defense-related and just direct-licensed to the U.S. Defense Department. But I have five more apps in preparation. Those are for my most recent MRI work. I put that work off to help Emma with her energy-storage theories.”

“Extraordinary...” Grayson mused.

Emma laughed. “Tamara is a true throwback to the idea of the ‘Renaissance man’; in her case, it’s woman. She’s not only minting patents like they’re a dime a dozen, she’s also been making significant scientific discoveries in neuroscience, psychology, endocrinology, and neurology, not to mention solid-state physics, quantum electrodynamics, and quantum electrical engineering. Any single one of those areas is a field of research and study all by itself and yet she’s involved with major projects in all of them.”

Tamara was blushing as Gerston was listening in on the conversation.

Then he spoke, “Would it be too much to ask, Tamara, that the next major industry you create be in the old U.S. of A.?”

Tamara twinkled a grin at him. “Tell you what, Mr President. Let’s make a deal. I told the queen earlier that my early childhood was in Haiti and that I had vowed that when I grew up, that I’d find a way to help poor and disadvantaged people everywhere. I have some ideas for several potential inventions that will help energy transmission, generation, and also the transportation industries. Clean energy too. Some of the fabrication work could be done in third-world countries to help support their economies, but the major impediment to doing that is that many of those governments are despotic, corrupt, or both. That’s a political problem. If you can find a way to help change that situation so any benefits go to the poor and disadvantaged people in those countries, I can base my industries in the old U.S. of A. How’s that sound?”

Gerston looked flabbergasted but Grayson recovered quickly.

“Goodness, Tamara, that was a bloody stunning riposte! A true diplomat’s response to an off-hand comment, that was. If you ever decide to change your citizenship, my own nation can use people of your skills and intellect,” Grayson chuckled. “As well, cheekiness.”

Everyone laughed.

“I know when I’m outclassed, Madam Prime Minister, when two quick-witted people gang up on me like that,” Gerston said, laughing. “But I’ll be serious now. Tamara, you certainly know about the Columbia Institute of Economics—your mom here was recently appointed to its faculty.”

Tamara nodded; she could sense where Gerston was going with his comment now.

“One of the goals of the institute is precisely what you so masterfully described; that’s to try to overcome the causes of poverty in many non-industrialized and third-world countries. That is the institute’s prime research and action area. So I will accept your challenge. If you can create such inventions, I will work to include those countries in achieving as much economic benefit as possible for its common citizens, not its rulers. Is that a satisfactory deal?”

Tamara nodded. “Yes, sir. I accept. Mrs Grayson is our witness, Ma’am, okay?”

Grayson nodded, smiling broadly.

“Let’s shake on the deal, sir,” Tamara said and Gerston gripped her hand, smiling.

Holding his hand and looking into his eyes, Tamara sensed Gerston’s total commitment to his words. A truly honest politician, she thought. How did he ever get elected? Then she recalled his charisma. She “sensed” a bit deeper and then realized that he had the ability to control and channel it. Jeez, he can ‘push’ sorta like I do, she realized.

She released his hand but Gerston was looking at her strangely.

“I feel like I’ve been judged and barely passed the test, Tamara,” he said to her quietly.

“Just a little trick I learned in my neuroscience research, sir. It’s said that the eyes are the windows to the soul and that old maxim is actually the literal truth.”

“I’m very sorry to say that duty calls now, my friends,” Grayson told them. “I must get back to the affairs of running my government. Although I must say, it sounds like the affairs in your own government just got a bit more complicated,” she laughed. “It’s been a true pleasure getting to know you, Tamara. My very best wishes for your success in all your fields,” she chuckled. “And to you as well, Dame Emma. Delighted to meet all of you.”

She went off to say farewell to several of the other remaining people, including the rest of Emma’s group and Ambassador Wixom’s too.

Then Wixom came over to Gerston.

“Mr President, I didn’t want to interrupt you while you were having such an entertaining time. The PM was laughing so much that I was getting concerned that the U.S. was in trouble.”

“Ha, ha, no, Charlie. Just the opposite. I think that Tamara here has truly cemented the good will between our countries. She’s gone and befriended another world leader.”

“Good. Our schedule is open and Warren had a suggestion. The younger set would like to talk among themselves a bit. We had planned to return to the Winfield House residence after the ceremony. But Wilson’s been busy, he’s nabbed several Brit trade officials and chatted them up and then got word to me that they’d love to meet briefly with you if they could. We could do a quick pow-wow at the residence if you agree.”

“Sure. You can steer the conversation to safe areas, right?” Wixom nodded. “There’s a lot of good feelings floating around, so let’s work with that. Wilson will be able to contact them?”

“Yes sir.” He signaled a thumb’s up to Wilson who waved back and walked over to a palace official, said a few words, and handed him a note. The official nodded his head and rushed off.

Wixom turned back to Gerston. “Done. We’ll meet them at 4 p.m. Ready to leave, sir?”

“Lead on, Charlie.”

~~~~

Tamara and Peter rode with Nadine, Wilson, and Isabella to Winfield House; Nadine and Isabella had gotten on famously and were chatting together furiously. Wilson was on his cell phone, talking to Sir George, who was in another limo with Emma and Andrew.

Porter, Wixom, and their spouses were in another, the president and his wife and the Secret Service contingent were in the next limo, a massive armored one, and the last car in the procession was occupied by Kevin, Denise, Jeremy, and Amelia.

When they arrived, Jeremy went to the Alexandre’s limo and invited Tamara and Peter to join his group, so the limo groups split up. Wixom took Gerston and Wilson to a small reception room to await the trade officials. Tamara and Peter went with Jeremy to a sitting room where Kevin, Denise, and Amelia were waiting. And the others were being entertained by Marjory Wixom, who was organizing the staff to put some refreshments together.

Finally I get to talk to this Denise Roberts! Tamara thought as she entered the sitting room where the others waited.

But when she walked into the room, she felt a barrage of senses almost overwhelming her. There’s such power here! she thought. Everyone stood up to greet her as she came over to them.

“I’m sure you all remember us from that incredible experience at the palace,” Tamara joked, “but if not, this is Peter Winsberg and I’m Tamara Alexandre.”

“Yeah, we didn’t get to talk to you at all, Tamara,” Kevin said. “We did get to talk to Peter. You really had Gerston and the PM going there, didn’t you?”

Tamara chuckled. “Got him to agree to a deal, actually.”

Then she went on to explain the arrangement she had made.

“Damn,” Kevin shook his head. “Gerston thinks that Denise and I are dangerous. But we’ve only managed to influence two countries. You’re workin’ on the whole effin’ world!” He laughed.

Peter took Tamara’s hand and said, “This gal doesn’t think small. Ever.”

“Still, that was a cheeky thing to do, and with the PM there too...” Jeremy grinned. “That must have been why she was laughing so hard.”

They shook hands all around. When Tamara shook Kevin’s, he looked at her in surprise, but as soon as Tamara touched Denise’s hand, Denise reacted with a gasp.

“Holy shit,” Denise said, looking at Tamara. “I never felt anything like that! I felt something when we were introduced after the ceremony, but this was different.”

Kevin looked at her. “I felt something when I touched Tamara, too. Also Peter before.”

“So did I.” ... “Me too.” Amelia and Jeremy said at the same time.

Denise shook her head. “With Tamara, it was more than just ‘feeling something’ just now. It was like... she has... Tamara, I don’t know how to say this... but are you a multiple personality or something?”

Tamara laughed. “Denise, you’re one of very few people who’ve been able to sense my, ah, ‘presences’ isn’t exactly the correct term... ‘companions,’ maybe. I’m their cheval.”

“But I felt it too, Denise,” Amelia said. “Tamara, I think it’s that there seem to be presences around you or linked to you somehow—very powerful in some ways but all that power—a positive energy—is directed at you. And your whole demeanor, your body language, reflects supreme confidence and assurance, so you’re using that power you’re getting and projecting it.”

“Jeez, Amelia, you’re another person in that exclusive club who has that ‘sight,’ I’ll call it. Up to now, only my mom and Peter’s grandma could do it. Peter and my dad can sense it a little. Yes, I do have these entities who’ve kinda adopted me ‘cause I can sense them. In my religion we call them lwa; ‘spirits’ is the translation of that word. What they really are, I believe, is that they are somehow the actualization of human intentions—that the human mind brings them into being and that’s the only way that the lwa can interact with reality. But it’s the belief in them that allows the human mind to do unusual things. Other belief systems produce people who do unusual things like fire-walkers or people who choose to lie on beds of nails without harm. Some people know how to communicate with animals.”

“Yeah, but I feel a number of distinct personalities kinda flitting in and out around you,” Denise said. “I get a little with Peter too, but it’s very strong with you.”

“You’re obviously sensitive to spirit presences then,” Tamara told her. “That’s really rare and unusual; I thought people had to be brought up in those traditions to be so sensitive but it looks like it must be a natural ability, possibly linked to empathy, since Amelia has it and Kevin and Jeremy too, a little. The guys have a very strong aura of presence, too. But let me tell you a little of my religion.”

Tamara went on to describe Vodou and her experiences in it. When she explained how she had thwarted her school officials in their attempt to start the Naked in School Program, she was stopped.

“Wait!” Denise exclaimed. “Are you saying you did that all by yourself? Really?”

Tamara laughed. “Absolutely not by myself; I had the help of the lwa. I told you about my ability to ‘push’ emotions. That only got me so far. The other help I got came from the spirit world. You may scoff, but I know that it’s real. As a scientist, I don’t have any mathematics that can prove their existence, but as a trained observer, I can see that there can be no doubt. Let me show you something. Kevin, I heard that you went to school in a few countries.”

“Ah, yes. Japan, South Korea, Thailand, Hong Kong, Indonesia.”

“So you know their languages?”

“I speak them all—wait, let me qualify that. Indonesia has more than 300; I only learned Bahasa Indonesia. And Siamese in Thailand, which also has many local languages. I know some of the main languages better than the others, though,” Kevin told her.

“What if I told you that one of our most important lwa knows all human languages and helped me understand one that I urgently needed to know? I only know Haitian Kreyòl, French, and Spanish, besides English, of course.”

“Ah, someone who knows all languages? How can that be possible? I’ve never heard of anyone who can do that,” Kevin admitted.

“Well, let’s try it out,” Tamara told him, grinning. “Papa Legba, I hope you’re paying attention,” she muttered and was overjoyed to feel a whispered chuckle in her mind.

Peter jerked. “Jeez, someone just laughed in my ear!”

Tamara stared at him. “Really?” she exclaimed. “You heard him too?”

He nodded and Tamara looked at the blank faces of the others.

“It appears that the lwa favor Peter too. He heard the same response as me from Legba. Okay, Kevin, pick a language and say something not obvious in it.”

“Sure. Okay, 彼女がどうやって私の言っていることが分かるのか分かりません。 [Kanojo ga dō yatte watashi no itte iru koto ga wakaru no ka wakarimasen.]”

Tamara giggled. “Told you not to say something obvious. Papa Legba says that’s Japanese and means something really close to, ‘I don't see how she can know what I'm saying.’ It could be translated in other ways with minor differences ‘cause of the way the Nihongo grammar works.”

“Amazing,” Kevin mused. “Okay, um, 내일 날씨가 좋을 것으로 예상됩니다. [Naeil nalssiga joh-eul geos-eulo yesangdoebnida.]”

“Better. Papa Legba compliments you on your accent in Korean. He says your Japanese accent sounds like you’re British. You said, ‘The weather is supposed to be beautiful tomorrow.’”

“That’s amazing, Tamara. My accent? Damn, that’s exactly what Japanese native speakers tell me I sound like...” Kevin complained. “I learned Nihongo from a Brit teacher.”

“I know one!” Amelia interrupted. “Nagpunta ako sa palengke kasama ang aking tiyahin noong nakaraang lingho.”

Tamara cocked her head and listened for a few seconds, then nodded.

“Okay, but you slightly mispronounced that last word, ‘week.’ It’s actually linggo. That’s Tagalog and means ‘I went to the market with my aunt last week.’”

Jeremy stared at Amelia in awe. “How do you know Filipino?”

She giggled, “One of our housekeepers was from there and she taught me a little.”

“This is fun; can you do another?” Tamara asked, grinning broadly.

“Okay, this is a hard one ‘cause I don’t know it as well. 万物皆有美，但不是每个人都能看到它。[Wànwù jiē yŏu měi, dàn bùshì měi gèrén dōu néng kàn dào.]” Kevin said haltingly.

Tamara cocked her head, listened, and then chuckled. “Papa Legba says that was barely understandable, but Kong Qiu, or Confucius, as he’s called today, would have said it as... one sec...” She listened again, then continued, 萬物皆有美，非人人皆能見之。[Maan mat gaai yŏu měi, fei yan yan gaai néng gin xì.] “‘There is beauty in everything, but not everyone sees it.’”

“Goddamn, Tamara, your accent was just about perfect!” Kevin exclaimed. “Who were you listening to? And why is Peter grinning like that?”

“‘Cause I could hear it too, Kevin! Honey, that was Papa Legba? His voice in my head gave me chills, but it was so warm and loving too.”

“Yep. Legba is Manman’s patron but he keeps tabs on me ‘cause I amuse him,” Tamara said. “Kevin, I know we can’t be definitive about proving that the lwa exist, but did that demo make you think that it’s at least possible?”

Kevin stammered, “Wow... this... is unreal, Tamara. All I can say is, when you have eliminated the impossible...” he began and Tamara joined him in completing the quotation, “...whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.”

Then they both laughed.

The six of them began discussing their own charisma and empathy traits and their experiences with dealing with others who had those capabilities, but soon dinner was announced and they went to join the others.

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