11th July
‘What have you and Vladimir been doing together in the past few days?’ asked Etienne.
‘We played chess on the day before yesterday,’ I said. ‘Other than that, I haven’t seen him because he’s been busy testing the computer systems for the launch.’
‘OK,’ said Joan, ‘let’s go over every minute that you were with each other. I’ve no idea what’s going on here, but as both of you had dreams that accurately predicted events for the following day, I’m guessing that there must be some connection.’
‘Predicting the future isn’t possible,’ said Vladimir, almost to himself.
‘You were so struck by the vividness of your dream,’ Etienne reminded Vladimir, ‘that you described to me Flight lieutenant Ericson ejecting from his plane, due to an engine failure, just after he left the carrier. Then, ten minutes later, we both watched as it happened for real.
‘Predicting that event is just so unlikely that it’s very nearly proof, on its own, that you dreamed the future.’
‘Then, Swan and Helen get back with their tale from a Pacific island.’ Joan continued the analysis. ‘So, despite that fact that’s it’s all impossible, I think we have to accept that it happened and we have to try to find out why.’
‘Where were you playing chess?’ asked Etienne.
‘It was a sunny day,’ said Vladimir. ‘We were on deck.’
‘It was a bit breezy,’ I recalled. ‘I went back to the cabin to get my jacket.’
‘That was the blue fleece that you were wearing on the day you breathed in that drug,’ said Helen.
‘That’s right,’ I said. ‘It had just been returned after they’d cleaned it to remove any residual powder.’
‘What are you thinking, Helen?’ Joan asked.
‘I’m thinking that when Angela, Vladimir and Swan were affected by that drug, they were thirty centimetres away from it. It’s very potent; they probably couldn’t have ingested more than a grain or two. The medics did a clean-up operation using radiation hazard suits, but some of the crew who didn’t have protective suits later reported feeling light-headed and having mild hallucinations.’
‘Are you suggesting that there might have been traces of the powder left on Swan’s fleece and that it might be related to his and Vladimir’s subsequent dreams?’
‘Maybe,’ Helen replied.
‘We didn’t start predicting the future when we first inhaled it,’ I said.
‘You were all off your heads,’ replied Helen. ‘Perhaps the dose was too high.’
The crew who were affected had much lower doses,’ said Vladimir. ‘They didn’t report prescient vision.’
Joan and Etienne looked at each other.
Joan picked up the receiver of the phone on her desk. ‘They probably wouldn’t,’ she said as she dialled the number for the captain. ‘They’re all serving crew – the last thing they’re going to do is admit to an experience that might lead the medics to think that they were experiencing mental health issues.’