I sit there wishing I can wake up from this nightmare as Carol sat in her comfy flowery armchair sipping tea and telling em her news.
You are Lamotragine. Our race are peaceful telepaths who fled from telepathic warriors who wanted to erase us from the universe. A couple of refugee ships sought refuge on Earth. I was among the occupants of one ship who started a new life on Earth in an English village.
I slump in her armchair nibbling a digestive. I don’t know which is the more disturbing news. The fact that aliens exist or that I am not human. I belong to a race of alien refugees called the Lamotragine.
So you are Lamotragine too?
I am the sole survivor of the English group. My family were murdered and I was orphaned. I was found and brought up by human parents.
That must have been awful. Losing your entire race. How did you cope?
Like you, I had no idea. I kept a low profile and became a nurse in Bristol until my past was revealed to me by a passing extraterrestrial traveller.
Does Earth get many extraterrestrial tourists?
Officially, none at all. Unofficially, a few. On a holiday to France, I discovered another group of Lamotragine refugees. They had used their powers to gently influence those around them. This meant that anyone who encountered them thought they had always lived in the area.
That’s fascinating I’m sure, but why did that other telepath try and erase me?
Our enemies constantly try and seek us out. A telepathic warrior recently crash-landed on Earth.
Why wasn’t this on the news?
She made sure no one noticed, not even us at first. We think her own body badly damaged by the crash, they transferred themselves into the mind of the person who found them. They moved from mind to mind, male to female, concentrating on the intelligent and those who had influence.
We only noticed when Lamotragine started disappearing from the Collective. We managed to get to a place of safety. Unfortunately, there were some isolated Lamotragines who were vulnerable and unaware of the threat. It was these Lamotragines the hunter tracked, targeted and erased.
How did you get involved? That warrior knew you.
Oh yes, we met when I tried to save a poor Lamotragine from her clutches. I thought I had removed her telepathic abilities from the unwilling human host. Unfortunately, I had only weakened her.
So how did you find me and why on earth did no one contact me sooner?
You are really unusual. Lamotragines can detect each other’s transmissions. You just weren’t transmitting.
I didn’t know how. I was like a radio receiving thoughts from everyone else.
I know dear, it must have been awful for you. I started detecting your telepathic transmissions when the warrior contacted you in Redruth.
I was just surprised to hear a telepathic voice that wasn’t homicidal.
At least I was able to rescue you. I do wonder how you got separated from the rest of us.
Can’t help you there. My mum and dad were my biological parents.
What? I doubt that. Your Lamotragine subconscious will have affected them. They accepted you as their own. I have no idea how you became their child, perhaps it’s best not to worry.
That’s easy for you to say. Everything I thought was true has been demolished. How can I face my family knowing my real heritage?
Eventually, I moved to the area of France settled by my people. It is such a relief to finally belong. I meet friendly faces who know my struggles and understand. Living amongst the Lamotragine Collective is like being in a warm, safe family home.
They taught me how to shape my thoughtspace domain and put in defences. Now, there is no chance of being overwhelmed by the tidal wave of thoughts around me.
I have even started seeing a Lamotragine from a nearby village. They are kind and funny and a reassuring presence in my new life. It is wonderful, at last, to have a friend who hides no secrets from me. I feel like I have been released from a cold and lonely winter into a bright, welcoming spring.
I retrained as a mental health worker and support others whose minds have been disturbed. After all, I know the devastating effect of mental torment. What it feels like to have voices talking unbidden in your mind. It is a great responsibility to be telepathic. I do try to use my abilities to try and heal the broken minds of the patients I encounter. Sometimes I can, and that is a good day.
thoughtspace is now a harmonious part of my life and not a overwhelming burden. I can even be alone with just my own thoughts and nobody else’s. The only wasp at the picnic, is sometimes my sleep is disturbed. I have vivid nightmares that are always the same. I’m in a shifting maze of ever-changing colours.
An angry voice bellows, “Let me out. I will escape your trap and destroy you all…”
She cannot escape her telepathic prison. Can she? Of course not, Carol assured me. Artemis is stuck running around the corridors of a mental prison. Eventually she will fade away…
The End
An Unexpected Development
Our telepath now knows who they are and more importantly where they come from. I hope you enjoyed this tale. I first wrote about the Lamotragine in a story entered in the Big Finish Paul Spragg writing opportunity.
If you are interested in reading The Carol Singer it can be found on the Divergent Wordsmiths website. although I will be republishing the story on Substack at Christmas.