"She may not want you to see them all the results, Sammie," her father said. "You know how doctors can be sometimes."
"It's me that's being studied and if she wants my help she'll let me see them," she said firmly.
"Well, if would be nice if any of us figure it out. And speaking of, you look very nice this morning."
"Thank you." She was wearing pale green shorts and a pullover in anticipation of a warm day, and Juan's remark that they wouldn't be going anywhere that she needed to dress up for. Her hair was pulled back and tied with a light green ribbon that matched the color of her shorts.
As they left her father noted that she had taken more time than usual with her appearance this morning. He wondered if he was imagining an attraction between the two.
Surely not
, he thought.
He's in his twenties
.
He's only interested in her talent. Can't blame him for that. So is everyone else!
***
"Here's the deal, Sammie," Juan explained after they were in his car. "Lynn is going to be analyzing you both physically and mentally, right down to your complete genome and those of your parents. She'll also be doing PET and MRI scans while you talk to animals and numerous other more advanced scans. She'll do many different brain wave studies and other analytical tests, some of them still experimental. I'll read every single bit of the results she gets, and then put my mind to work while we just talk and have fun and you show me how you talk to animals and birds."
"What do you mean, 'put your mind to work'."
"Exactly that. I'll think. That's what I do best. There's a reason for your talent. Lynn may find evidence of why you're able to talk to animals. For example, you may turn out to have an area of the brain that's developed in a way different from other people. Maybe she'll find an extra growth in your brain or even somewhere else in your body. Maybe she'll find an odd gene. She'll be doing one series of real delicate tests that will examine how your brain is wired, the number of synapses per cubic centimeter, say, or an abnormal number of synapses in one area or even lacking in an area. There might even be something in your tone of voice that does it. Maybe you're telepathic to animals. It might be related to microtubule vibrations in the neurons where quantum activity takes place. Whatever, if there's something physical or physiological in you that helps explain your talent, she'll find it. Now me, on the other hand... " He stopped for a moment.
"Yes?"
"I'll be watching you all the time, especially when you talk to an animal or a bird. Something you do may ring a bell in conjunction with all the other things we'll be finding out about you. The only way to know is to simply spend the time with you. I can't be with you every minute you're free because I have other projects I'm working on, but I will spend as much time as I can. Suits?"
"I suppose we'll just have to put up with one another no matter how much we may dislike it. If you can stand it, I can."
For a moment he appeared startled then realized she was teasing. "Right. Just pretend you're grown and I'm your sugar daddy."
"Okay," she said and grinned. "Where are we going now?"
"For a walk through the woods. It's got bike paths and walking trails and a jogging route cuts through part of it. What I'd like you to do is make contact with any animals you see and talk to them. Of course you may not see many."
"We'll see more than you think. Shufus will tell me where they're hidden. Most animals stay out of sight when humans are around but they can't hide from him."
"Well, sure. I should have thought of that. And I'll bet you've been walking with him in wooded areas a lot haven't you?"
"Uh huh. He helps me meet a lot of animals that I'd never know were around if not for him."
"Great. We'll be there in a few minutes."
She smiled inwardly, knowing she was going to subject him to more contact with animals than he'd anticipated, even after she told him about Shufus. Once a few creatures discovered they were friendly, more would come out.
"Here we are," Juan said. "We'll park here and make a circuit."
They began walking along one of the lesser used paths. Samantha took his hand to keep him from going faster than she wanted. Presently their fingers became interlocked. She squeezed and whispered, "Don't say anything for a moment," while holding him in place. Shufus had made a sound that told her a coyote den was nearby. She had read about coyotes moving into the suburbs of cities as parts of their normal habitat was usurped by human activity.
She waited then tugged his hand and took several steps into the woods. "Hello, Coyote," she said. "Don't be afraid. We won't hurt you."
"Let's sit," she said quietly to Juan, then again, louder, "We won't hurt your pups, either. Come talk to me. Tell me your name."
Presently the nose and then the head and shoulders of a female coyote poked through thick brush nearby. "See? We just want to talk. Come closer. Shufus won't hurt you either."
Hesitantly the mother coyote crept closer. Samantha held out her hand for her to sniff then lick. She rubbed its shoulders and neck then scratched around its ears. "Does that feel good? Of course it does. Will you let us see your pups?"
It made a noise, then glanced at the big German Shepherd and the man but cocked its head to one side and stared at Samantha. "It's alright, Boft," she told her. "We'd really like to see your pups." To Juan, she said "Her name is Boft."
The coyote made a noise halfway between a whine and a growl. Three clumsy little pups ambled into view. They were hesitant at first but presently they were playing with the two humans and the big dog, doing little harmless nips and tugging at their clothes and Shufus' pelt while making little growls that were more funny than fierce.
Samantha had been carrying a bag at her waist. She knew Juan had been curious but he had said nothing. Now she unzipped it. "You guys have fleas. I'm going to put something on you that will smell funny but it will kill those fleas that bite you and make you scratch."
She applied a tiny bit to the pups and a larger amount to the mother. "Now, in a while they won't bother you so much. I'll come back again and later and help you some more. How about a bite to eat?"
The pups and mother crowded around her, ignoring Shufus and Juan. She took out four milk bones and gave one to each pup and one to the mother. "We have to go now. Take your food back to your den to eat. We'll visit you again." She stood up slowly. The mother coyote made a noise in its throat.
"You're welcome, Boft. Go back home and eat now. Are you ready, Juan?"
"Yes. That was amazing."
"Shufus, do you want a milk bone?"
The dog nodded enthusiastically. She smiled and handed him one which he crunched and ate in a few quick bites. She took Juan's hand again and they walked on.
"I'm wondering how they understand you when you talk to them in English, Sammie. Do you have any idea?"
She looked at him and shrugged. "I've never thought about it too much in the past, since I've been doing it as long as I remember. Dr. Summers wanted to know but I couldn't tell her. So did Whit, the veterinarian at the Sanctuary. I've given it a lot of thought since then, although I've never said much."
"Have you reached any conclusions?"
"Maybe. I need to think about it some more, though."
Shufus stopped and looked upward, into a tree.
"He's spotted a squirrel, or smelled it. Hello, Squirrel. Come around to this side of the tree trunk so we can see you."
A brown furry head poked around the edge of the trunk about ten feet off the ground. "Come on, we won't hurt you." It edged into sight cautiously. "My, what a pretty, bushy tail you have. I wish I had a tail like that!"
She saw Juan suppress a laugh that very nearly broke loose. "Squirrels are kind of simple but they're fairly smart for their size. Anyone who's tried to keep them out of bird feeders knows that. Come on down, Squirrel and tell me your name and have a nut to eat. We won't hurt you." She held a shelled peanut in the palm of her hand and held it up.
The squirrel chittered and came down the tree trunk head first. It took the peanut from her hand and munched greedily. It swallowed and chattered again.
"That's all I have for today, Bushy. We'll see you again. Good-bye."
As they walked slowly on she said, "Most squirrels think of themselves as something like 'bushy tail' as a name, although many of them are more specific. That one wasn't so I called him Bushy, since that's what he said." She took Juan's hand again and smiled at him.
"This is the most fun I've had learning something new in a while," he remarked.
"
Are
you learning something about me?"
"Something in the back of my mind is ringing a little bell. I recognize the process but it isn't very far along yet."
"That's how you think?"
"Sort of. I'll have... oh, call it a hunch for want of a better word, about something and even when I'm not thinking about it my mind will be turning it over and over in the background while my regular thinking continues. It's about as hard to explain as talking to animals appears to be for you."
"Hmmm. I wonder if the processes are related."
He stopped at her words. She walked a couple of steps before her stretched out arm with her hand locked to his halted her. His brow wrinkled. He shrugged then urged her on. "Maybe. You have the damnedest way of thinking, Sammie. It's intriguing, aside from anything else."
The path widened into one used for walking and a woman came along leading a small Chihuahua on a leash. It immediately began a shrill yipping.
Samantha laughed. "Hi Chihuahua. Oh, don't you think you're a big dog!"
"He really does," the woman said, laughing. I'm surprised he stopped barking so soon.
"He's a good dog, aren't you, huh?" Samantha rubbed his head and they walked on.
"Do small dogs really think they're big?"
"Some do. Chihuahuas, in particular for some reason. Now Shufus knows he's big, huh boy?"
Shufus nodded his head and gave a small woof.
Samantha talked to a rabbit, another squirrel, another dog and an opossum before they completed the circuit and were back at Juan's car. "There was a fox along the way but it had just caught a little rabbit and didn't want to come out just then."
"That was extremely interesting and enlightening, Sammie. I really do think I'll be able to get an idea of how you do it, eventually. I need to read over Lynn's notes, though, with your permission."
"I've already told her she can show them to anyone that's studying me. It makes me feel kind of silly being studied though, if you want to know the truth."
"Get used to it. We've got a long way to go. According to that circle that's turning red, much less than two years now."
"That would make me almost eighteen, wouldn't it?"
"Sure would, unless I've forgotten my grade school math. Actually, I already knew it by grade school though."
"So did I. I was already reading when I was three or four. Somewhere around then or so Mom says. It seems like I've been reading all my life."
"Same here. We have a lot in common."
She hardly heard him. The thought of turning eighteen and being legally grown had caused her thought processes to veer off in another direction. She intended to keep it to herself for now, though.
For the next several months Samantha felt as if she were playing a game of musical chairs. First one scientist wanted her for something then another did. Many times they were vying with each other over who got her next. Lynn generally had first priority because without her analytical reports they would have been working in the dark. Jane thought physical factors might be involved in her talent and that supported her contention that she needed to measure Samantha's reaction speeds, sight and other factors of her physical body. Some of it Samantha found was merely repetition of what Lynn had already done. Juan also had priority since Samantha was one of his projects and in fact, his main one, and had been for a couple of years. He was insistent that not much progress would be made where everyone was working by themselves in their own area of specialization. She supported him in this because she agreed with him. Nevertheless, many analytical procedures had to be performed before anyone could really get down to the basics of her talent, if they could at all.
Lynn was zeroing in on her synapses in the left hemisphere of her brain where language was dominant. She had gained access to a new device that required travel to the university. She chose to go with Juan but Gene insisted on traveling in a chase car. He wasn't at all satisfied with her security and had said so on several occasions. The problem, Anton told him, was that bringing in so many specialists, buying or contracting for advanced instruments and providing financial support to everyone had eaten up his funding for the rest of the year. Gene had to be satisfied with special permits which allowed everyone to carry hand guns, including Samantha. She chose the S&W .40 caliber. It was just suited to her hand. Gene insisted that she take time to practice despite her demanding schedule. Remembering the horror of the last day at the Sanctuary, she made time each week for an hour at the gun range. Juan, who had been a novice with weapons until then, always accompanied her with his own Glock automatic.
The procedures at the university took most of the day. It involved number of injections of florescent dyes and radioactive tracers before and after the scans, looking for both the number of synapses per cubic micrometer and the activity of proteins known to be active in transferring electrical pulses between dendrites and axons of the synapses. After those tests were complete a molecular neuroscientist and his wife, a neurologist, were brought in to interpret the workings of her nervous system, specifically the molecular biology, molecular genetics, protein chemistry, and related methodologies of that profession, also using experimental instruments that he and his wife had built together.
"Lord, I'll be glad when all this testing is finished," Samantha said on the way home that day. It was already after dark.