Avery Junior, Mentalist Extraordinaire - 2. A Time of Discovery

Another turning point, a fork stuck in the road
Time grabs you by the wrist, directs you where to go
So make the best of this test, and don't ask why
It's not a question, but a lesson learned in time

It's something unpredictable
But in the end, it's right
I hope you had the time of your life

Green Day - 1997

4

Since the US Naval Academy requires midshipmen to pass the Physical Readiness Test (PRT) every semester to remain at the academy, AJ's medical exam before the second semester of year two became of vital interest to him. The blood work showed a higher level of thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), which could indicate thyroid cancer is possible. Additional tests were run which confirmed the initial diagnosis. AJ made a phone call home.

"Hello Avery dear."

"Hi mom. Is dad home too?"

"No, he's out on the campaign trail."

"Okay, you can tell him when he gets home. I just had my pre-semester physical and I found out what my illness is."

"Oh, no. What is it dear?"

"Early-stage thyroid cancer. Having multiple checkups throughout the year caught it early."

"Well, it's good it was caught early and that isn't one of the worst cancers. What will you have to do?"

"The doctor suggested a total thyroidectomy. They'll remove my thyroid, and I'll have to take pills for the rest of my life. But ideally the surgery will completely cure it."

"What about school?"

"There's still a week before classes start, and I'll be limited in physical activity for a couple weeks. Aside from maybe a little catching up, there won't be an impact."

"Do you know when the surgery will be?"

"The doctor said there's no reason to delay, so I'm going in tomorrow night for surgery, Wednesday morning."

"Where are they performing the surgery?"

"At the Baltimore VA Medical Center."

"We'll come down Wednesday morning."

"You don't have to come; I probably won't even spend the night Wednesday."

"You know why we'll be there. Your father will want to see you."

"I get it. Yeah, see you Wednesday, then."

"Bye Avery, we love you."

"Love you too, mom."

As promised, Avery and Lindy were in the hospital's O-R waiting room that Wednesday morning. When the nurse came out to look for them, they were told Avery Junior's surgery went well and they should be able to see him in the recovery room shortly. Shortly became twenty-five minutes before they were escorted to the recovery room.

When Lindy and Avery walked into the recovery room, she looked at her husband, hoping he would tell her AJ's aura was no longer blue. Avery smiled widely. He couldn't hide it if he wanted to. Their oldest son was yellow, with a long life ahead of him.

"I'm guessing by your smile, I'm okay, dad?"

"Yes, Avery. You're fine. I'd have to think about it for a while, but your time won't be up for decades."

AJ was so happy; he began to cry. He felt as if a three-thousand-pound weight was lifted off him.

5

AJ was indeed released the same afternoon as his surgery. As usual, it came along with the release came several pages of instructions. Lindy and Avery Senior waited until it was time for AJ to be released and drove him back to the school.

While recuperating in his dorm room, something odd happened. AJ had laid down in his bed, his phone being just slightly out of reach after he rolled over. When it rang, he began to stretch for it to answer. As he reached for the phone, it moved closer to his hand. He initially thought he was mistaken due to still having some effects from the anesthesia. The next morning, he could no longer think that.

AJ was preparing to get dressed for the day. When he opened his dresser drawer to retrieve fresh underwear and socks, as he reached for each item, they appeared to have been pushed toward his hand. He put the clothing back down and shook his head only slightly, a neck incision prevented him from a significant shake. He stepped back a bit and once again reached for the pair of socks. The response was unimaginable. They floated the eight or so inches from the drawer to his hand. He would have to talk to his father about this development. It apparently had something to do with the surgery, but why, he couldn't fathom.

Fortunately, his restriction on driving was only three days. He arranged to go visit his parents on Sunday and discuss his newfound ability.

Sunday came and he arrived at the house just before lunchtime. He felt a demonstration would go a long way toward explaining what had happened to him recently. His mother put cold cuts, bread and rolls, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, and condiments out for the family to make themselves sandwiches. AJ didn't need to ensure his parents were watching him, it seemed that his mother couldn't take her eyes off of him. The mustard container was just out of his reach, a perfect specimen for his unveiling.

She was startled when the mustard bottle moved the four inches toward AJ's outstretched hand. She shook her head, more violently than AJ was able to on Thursday.

"Did I just see what I think I saw?"

"What was that, Lindy?"

"AJ?"

Smiling, AJ answered, "Yes. You saw correctly."

Avery Senior was perplexed, having missed the mustard movement, "Can someone let me in on the joke?"

AJ now had the full attention of all four of them. He wasn't planning on using the mayonnaise, but since it was at the other end of the table, he reached for it. As he expected, it flew gently into his hand.

PC was the first to react, "Holy fuck! Did you just do that?"

AJ beat his parents to the admonition by a fraction of a second, "Watch the language."

Or so he thought. Neither his mother nor father actually said the words, but he heard them in his mother's voice clearly. Well, heard was not exactly accurate. The entire thought he received was, 'Watch the language in front of your sister.' He sat there, holding the mayonnaise jar for nearly a minute before his mother broke the silence. PC was sitting next to his mother, a fact that would be found to be quite important later.

"Is something wrong, dear?"

"Um, I don't know."

"Did the movement of the mayonnaise jar startle or upset you?"

"No, I expected that. Mom, what were you about to say to PC when I told him to watch his language?"

"The same thing."

"But not exactly, right?"

"No... I was going to say, 'Watch the language in front of your sister.' Why?"

"I heard you say it."

"But I didn't say... Oh, dear."

Sixteen-year-old Madeline, who had been quiet until that point, voiced what she was thinking, "Oh, my God. You're a freak!"

Avery tried to take control of the situation, "Name calling isn't necessary either, Mads."

"Sorry, but that was just too... weird."

AJ chuckled, knowing what word Mads was thinking of putting into that delay. He had turned to look directly at her just before the missing word was thought.

She queried, "What's so funny?"

"What you were going to say before weird."

Avery tried to take control again, "Okay. Let's take a step back here. AJ, when did all this begin?"

"Well, after I got back to my room Wednesday, a friend called. I reached for my phone, which was just beyond my fingertips. It moved. I shook it off, thinking I was still feeling the effects of the anesthesia. Thursday morning, when I was getting dressed, clothing slid toward my hand. I tried the same thing as with the Mayo. I took a step back and reached for my socks again. They came to my hand."

"And the mind reading?"

"That was the first time, just now."

"All this after your surgery?"

"Yes. But it makes no sense."

"It might. You were never under anesthesia until the operation. Perhaps that triggered something dormant in your brain."

"Somebody put me under, I want to know what new things I'll be able to do."

Anesthesia wouldn't be necessary in PC's case. He already had his special skill; he just didn't know it for sure yet. It was the same for Madeline.

Avery responded, "I don't think that will work. And we're not going to try it."

"You're no fun, dad."

"AJ, did you hear me think anything about PC's language when you um, heard, your mother?"

"No. Just her."

"And nothing more than Madeline's silenced word?"

"No, just a form of the word PC used."

Mads gasped.

"Look at your mother. Lindy, think of a color over and over."

They both did as Avery asked.

"Anything?"

"Just yellow, yellow, over and over again."

"You didn't hear me think periwinkle?"

AJ snickered, "Periwinkle? No."

"Okay, now look at me. Lindy once again, but a different color."

After a few moments, Avery continued, "What did you get that time?"

"Chevy, Ford, Ram."

"Apparently, you need to be looking at the person to hear their thoughts."

AJ frowned, "That ought to be fun in crowds."

"I think you'll need to train yourself to not be an open door."

"Yeah, I'd probably go crazy if I heard everything everybody was thinking."

AJ spent the rest of the afternoon looking at the different members of his family, trying not to hear their thoughts. By the time he left to return to school after dinner, he was having some mild success. It would take more work, but he would accomplish that goal. He was also eventually able to control the reach, as he called it.

6

It took the rest of his time at USNA to be able to filter out the incoming flow of thoughts at will. But because he had trained his brain to not listen, when he did attempt to listen, he couldn't do so for long without getting a headache. He was happy it wasn't the other way around. Having headaches by blocking other people's thoughts was a larger headache than he thought he could bear.

During his classes, he tried not to use his mind reading ability, but occasionally, he tested himself, mentally answering the professor's question, then opening up to hear his or her thoughts. He was happy that he was right nearly every time he tried this. Fortunately, he had been able to completely control the reach soon after he returned to classes. That would have led to a lot of undesirable explanations in the mess hall.

After graduating, in May of 2053, he became an Ensign assigned to Naval Aviation, and moved to Pensacola, Florida, for Aviation Preflight Indoctrination. Once again, AJ chose not to cheat by "listening" for the answers, aside from the occasional check to verify he knew the answer. He did, however, cheat at critical points during flights. When he could, he looked at the person talking and opened his mind to ensure he took exactly the correct action. His supervisors were very pleased with his performance under fire, as it were.

AJ completed his Naval Flight Officer Training and as is fairly routine, was promoted to Lieutenant (Junior Grade) in just under two years. Upon promotion, he was assigned to the USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier, stationed at Naval Base Kitsap, Bremerton, Washington. He remained there through his next two promotions, to Lieutenant, again, in just under two years. While based in Washington, he met the woman who would become his wife, Jean Wettelle. AJ was definitely on a slightly faster track than the average Naval officer.

Another year and a half later, on October 14, 2058, he got his next promotion and assignment. Fortunately, they were already engaged, and the wedding was planned for that September. Jean's family would not need to scramble to make travel plans. Of course, his family would need to travel, but that would have been the case regardless. He was promoted to Lieutenant Commander, and transferred to the USS George Washington, stationed at Naval Air Station North Island, San Diego, California. The George Washington was an older ship, having been commissioned in 1992. But a new ship was in the final stages of construction, the USS Michael Gilday (1). The ship was named for Admiral Mike Gilday, who served from 1985 to 2023. AJ would be stationed in San Diego for six years, including the fateful nine days his father was President (2).