Hal, Susan, Tracey, John and Cory spent the night at the Monroes' home as previously planned¾ they did not want to drive home late New Year's Eve. Howard and Emily had plenty of room, and under the circumstances everyone agreed it was best.

Going to sleep that evening was very difficult. Hal, Susan and Tracey shared a room to comfort each other, and they cried and talked most of the night. Hal's feelings of helplessness and impotence became so overwhelming at one point, that Susan and Tracey became quite concerned. Hal became absolutely stationary and quiet, and stared off in space for over 30 minutes after Susan sobbed their worst fears, "This is going to end just like with Jerry... They'll all be killed, but we won't know anything for a year. I can't bear it."

Hal felt that he could not bear it either. His questions to himself were endless. How can the most precious things in my life be so fragile...be so at risk? Why am I so helpless? Why is there nothing I can do? Why can't the US or Israel do something about all the violence? Why is the world so screwed up? Why can't I do something...anything? And then he cried.

Hal's crying was a relief to Susan and Tracey. It was the first time that evening that he let himself feel the pain. His catharsis was deep. Susan and Tracey comforted him and cried with him. It was the last time Hal would cry for a long while.

"I don't know what I'm going to do," he said as he wiped his eyes, "but I know I'm gonna do something to find them and to stop this madness."

The next morning, there was no new news, except that the hostages were known to have been separated into two groups according to their sex. Their locations were unknown to US and Israeli authorities.

When Tracey awoke she quietly rolled out of bed. Susan was sleeping. Tracey went to the kitchen and found Hal with John and Cory. "Dad," said Tracey, "I've been thinking about something you said last night. You said you were going to do something to free Robin. Did you mean it?"

"Yes, but I still don't know what to do," said Hal. "Though, I think I can help locate them."

"Well," said Tracey, "Whatever you do, I must help too. You're not the only one who needs to do more than wait."

"Maybe you can help Tracey...maybe more than anyone else," said Hal. "You and Robin are identical twins. That ought to help me locate them."

"What do you mean by locate them...this is no time to start on that dowsing kick." said Tracey.

"That dowsing kick, as you call it, may be able to find where the ILM have hidden them. If we can find them, maybe a rescue plan can be developed."

John knew that both Hal and Tracey had to do something. He said, "Look, I remember our conversation about Rocky and his ability to find missing people. Let's call him and give this dowsing a try."

Hal said, "Getting Rocky is a good idea. But, I feel very strongly that I want to help find Robin and those bastards that took her. Rocky taught me a few things about dowsing, and I want to try to find Robin myself."

Tracey couldn't believe the conversation, "You guys are telling me that the best we can come up with is to dowse where Robin is. Boy, that's a long shot..."

Hal understood Tracey's views. She never wanted to be bothered with psychic phenomena¾ irrelevant, even if true, was her general attitude. "Trace," Hal said, "you've never really paid much attention to dowsing. It was always something to snicker at. But now, if you really want to do something, it would help if you'd support my efforts to locate Robin. I think you simply being nearby would help. Rocky thought so...and it makes sense that your genetic signals could help me find Robin's same genetic signal."

"Okay, okay," said Tracey, "It's worth a try. But I want to learn how to dowse also. If the genetic link is important, then I ought to be able to dowse her myself...maybe even better than you."

"It's a deal," said Hal.

You might be right Tracey," John said. "I remember when your dad told me about Rocky's theory of similar genes helping to lock-in on missing persons. That concept is not so far fetched. Electromagnetic signals are generated by every cell, and since every cell has the same genetic material, similar electromagnetic signals in some frequencies could reinforce each other."

Hal put his arm around Tracey and said, "Where can we find some maps of Lebanon. We have a team ready to dowse."

"I have one other suggestion," said John. "Do your dowsing in the HT-2 unit. After all, HTing simply amplifies the mind's natural abilities, and therefore, we should be able to make both of you super-dowsers."

Cory was very quiet. He recognized that Hal and Tracey needed to do something to pull through this ordeal. But he also realized that even if they could find Robin, rescuing her and the rest of the hostages from Lebanon would be an almost impossible task. The hostages were sure to be hidden well inside the territory strongly controlled by the ILM. "What can I do to help you with your dowsing?" he said.

Hal immediately responded, "We need maps¾ lots of maps¾ of Lebanon to all scales. We'll need some very fine details down to the block, if possible. And we'll need a lot of luck!"

"George should be able to secure the best available maps from the State Department," said Cory. "But using these maps inside the HT unit presents some problems. There's no place to put the maps, and when you're in the HT suit, you can't shuffle through them to find the right one."

"Let's put the maps into computer memory and show them on the screen," said Tracey. "If we can hook-up a mouse, we can use the cross-hairs to try to pinpoint Robin's location. Giving up the screen feedback is not very serious, I don't think. The Mod-2 unit uses sound at least as much as the colorful patterns on the screen. And we'll still have the electrical and pressure biofeedback systems working."

John hadn't realized that Tracey was such a dynamo, and so knowledgeable about the HT units. "Tracey's absolutely correct, I've been working the audio portion of the feedback, and our preliminary tests show that music¾ which is self generated¾ provides a deeper reinforcement than the visual feedback in most people. And she's also right about the maps, these can be stored in memory. In fact, we have computerized maps of the US already in our system.

John paused a moment and then continued, "Her idea about using a mouse with the maps, however, is too old fashioned. Zach has already developed a map system which senses exactly where the user is looking. It's called the Visual Tracking and Mapping System, or VTMS for short. A sophisticated set of sensors in the helmet informs the computer where the person's eyes are focused, and then a subtle¾ little more than an intention¾ closing of the eyes or a gentle contraction of the jaw directs the computer to provide the next level of map detail."

"It will probably take George a few days, maybe a week, to get the maps from State," said Cory. "I know he can get the old fashion paper maps, and we'll try to get the computerized version for Lebanon...if it exists. How much time do you need to set-up the modifications?"

"With Tracey's help, we'll be ready by the time you get the maps," answered John.

Just then, Emily walked into the kitchen, "Hal, Susan would like to go home."

The State Department was very protective of its high quality mapping capability, which was based on the latest satellite imagery. It took considerable arm-twisting to get State to declassify the maps. The State Department finally cooperated with them because George threatened to have Susan, Hal and Tracey go public with the horror of having lost Jerry in Lebanon in 1983, and now having 3 members of their family again being held hostage. The publicity would have hurt the US and Israeli attempts to quiet down the growing hysteria concerning the power of the ILM.

It took George and Cory a week to obtain the maps, which were computerized by the State Dept. They were also provided with some incredibly detailed photos including one of the hijacked bus which had been abandoned in the outskirts of Beirut.

The computerization of maps, including areal photographic views, was becoming standard. Once the technology of high quality scanning of photographs and maps became routine in the late '90s, the fetching of detailed maps and photos from increasingly large, fast, and inexpensive memory became relatively easy. The hard part was getting up-to-date information on places inaccessible to US intelligence agencies. This was solved using the various high resolution cameras aboard both satellites and high altitude reconnaissance aircraft.

The changes to one of the two HT-2 test units began Monday morning and were completed by noon on Wednesday. The Technology Division integrated the VTMS sensors into the HT-2 helmet. Tracey led the team which made the hardware and software changes so that a user could access the maps from inside the biofeedback unit.

While discussing the possible capabilities of the VTMS inside an HT-2 unit, Tracey referred to the modified HT-2 as Dowser. The name would stick.

None of the other units had nicknames, probably because external information was purposely kept to a minimum. In Dowser, however, maps and photos would appear on the screen with a glance and a wink. There was a strong feeling of working with an external knowledgeable source¾ which was true, since Dowser permitted the user to retrieve detailed maps stored in external computer memory.

Hal found Tracey double-checking the memory boards. "Trace," said Hal. "The experiment's on."

"That's great, Dad," said Tracey. "I'm a little nervous...not about the experiment...just about using Dowser..."

"Not to worry¾ you have experience with HTing. I didn't have any." said Hal.

Tracey looked at her father with understanding and love. You gave it your best shot, she thought.

Hal continued, "John would like you to join him for lunch in the cafeteria. I think he wants to discuss our little experiment and lower your expectations."

"Just give me a minute here. I'm checking Dowser's memory to make sure the L.A. map chips are okay," said Tracey. "Cory says the Lebanon map data base will be on a 100 gigabyte memory chip. That's not a lot of memory. For L.A. we're using over 500 gigabytes."

Tracey stood-up and continued, "The LA map chips are work'n fine. They're perfect for testing the system. So far, Dowser's memory is flawless."

"Remember now," responded Hal, "you're the dowser...not this machine. And I sure hope this VTMS, whatever that is, works as well as an old fashion dowsing stick!"

"The Visual Tracking Mapping System is the most advanced approach to moving around maps, Dad. It's much better than a stick. I'll be able to move all over L.A." Tracey paused, "and then Lebanon."

Hal said, "Don't worry, Trace...we'll find Robin...we'll find them all, and get them back safely. Now go have lunch with John and Zach. Then, good luck with your HT-2 session...including finding your mother and me. I'm going home to get her now."

"Stay with her. She's having a hard time," said Tracey.

Hal's role had dramatically changed from what he originally envisioned. Two key things happened. First, Rocky was working on a case out of the country. Rocky wanted to come back and help. He had become friendly with Hal over the years. Rocky and Hal corresponded regularly and would visit each other a few times a year. But Rocky's case was also a matter of life and death. A top executive of Shell Oil, where Rocky's wife dowsed for a living, had been kidnapped. Rocky's wife asked Rocky "...to use your people-dowsing skill to locate this guy. I can find oil, but not people."

Secondly, Hal found that he could not dowse on this case. He had planned on taking the lead dowsing role after he learned that Rocky could not help. Hal was the one with the interest, and some successes, in dowsing. However, Hal's burning hatred toward the hijackers forced him to abandon any dowsing for Robin. Hatred was a strong emotion¾ strong enough to block any useful biofeedback effects, strong enough to make Hal physically sick.

Tuesday afternoon, Hal had a Dowser practice session. Since this was his first time HTing, he was suppose to do simple relaxation exercises. Hal began the session as instructed by the male technician, Sam, "...just relax and let the thoughts and feelings flow through you. Don't dwell on anything except relaxing."

Hal tried to follow that advice, but when he thought about the hijacking and the hijackers, he felt such hatred that his stomach turned and he almost vomited. The biofeedback reinforced the hatred, and the strengthening of this strong emotion was simply not sustainable. Hal removed his hands from the pressure pads to end the session.

Hal was bothered by his inability to control his hatred. He considered using conventional maps of Lebanon and conventional dowsing rods to find Robin. But he knew that his hatred would inhibit his success. "Tracey's our best hope," he had said to John.

Hal became Tracey's dowser coach.

Tracey was determined to let nothing¾ not even her loathing and anger toward the hijackers¾ interfere with her finding Robin. She had the benefit of several enjoyable HT-2 sessions related to the development of the advanced visual system. She was also acutely aware of Hal's negative experience.

Patti, the female technician who adapted the helmet biofeedback system to the HT-2, helped Tracey suit up for her first Dowser session, "For your first time in Dowser, experiment with the unit, play around a little¾ it's not quite the same as the HT-unit. Take some time to become comfortable with the feel of the helmet and the sounds. Then, relax your body and mind, and let all thoughts and feelings flow through you. Don't dwell on anything but relaxing your mind and body. If the hijacking and hijackers intrude into your consciousness, then focus on Robin and not them. Relaxation and Robin...let everything else flow out of your consciousness," said Patti.

"Sounds easy enough...," said Tracey.

Tracey had her HT-2 suit on, except for the helmet. The HT-2 outfit carried about 10,000 sensors in it. This was ten times more than the original HT-1 unit, but nevertheless, the suit was lighter and more comfortable. "Now," said Patti, "let's put your helmet on."

The helmet was not anything like Tracey expected. She expected an astronaut or fighter pilot helmet. It was more like a skiers mask covering her entire head and face, except for her mouth, nostrils, eyes and ears. It fit snugly, but not uncomfortably. There was a cable connecting the helmet-mask to the rest of the suit. The mask had 1000 electrical sensors and 250 strain sensors which picked up very small changes in eye and facial movements. Thus, the hint of a smile or the slightest turn of the eyes would be registered.

Patti took Tracey to the Dowser control room. John and Zach were already there. After a little banter about how Tracey looked like a woman from some other galaxy, John said, "The main thing we have to do in this session is to calibrate you to the VTMS. We'll use your dad's experiment simply to give you some experience with VTMS and Dowser." And, he thought, let's hope we don't have a recurrence of what happened to your father.

Tracey entered Dowser and snapped the main cable to the chair. The cable came from the right hip area and connected directly to the chair. The "snap" sound indicated the start of the session. The computers were all reading the electromagnetic and pressure sensor data, but there would be no feedback unless each hand was placed on the pressure sensitive pads built into the arms of the chair.

She stretched her arms and legs, she moved her fingers and then rolled her head from side to side to ready herself. The suit's reasonably comfortable and rugged, she thought. Then she placed her hands onto the pads, and the HT biofeedback began. Sounds¾ almost music¾ came from the many speakers hidden in the walls. This was the first time Tracey had heard the music. She knew about John's work in generating a huge library of musical notes, chords, and phrases which could be combined in endless ways as part of the biofeedback process. The HT-screen, which was illuminating the room with a dull glow, remained unchanged.

Lets play a little, thought Tracey, as she consciously increased the pressure in her fingers, one finger at a time, going from the small finger on her left hand to her left thumb and then to the right thumb to the right small finger. The effect on the sound was immediate, but not as simple as moving through the musical scale. She found that when she applied less pressure differential between fingers, the sounds became more interesting and more beautiful. The subtle touch is best.

Tracey continued experimenting¾ she explored conscious arm, leg and facial movements until the broad range of responses were apparent. As a test for herself, she pulled up one hand far enough to turn off the music and biofeedback. She knew that as long as she put both hands back within 3 seconds, the session would continue.

Now let's be more subtle... deeply relax, she thought. She remembered Patti's suggestion about using the body to deeply relax, beginning with the toes and working up the body. And so that's what she began to do. The musical sounds reinforced her relaxing intentions, until she approached her genitals. Then, Tracey became afraid that the hijackers might hurt Robin. The fear was strong, the colors and music stopped as Tracey removed both of her hands from the pads. And then, with a determination which even surprised herself, Tracey placed her hands back on the pads. Think of Robin. How much of this fear is mine, and how much is Robin's? she thought.

Tracey became very still. And she began to sense things about Robin. The music seemed to communicate without words. Tracey "heard" or sensed Robin feeling okay.

Tracey saw in her mind's eye¾ certainly not on the unchanging screen¾ that Robin was in a cave with several other women. Robin was physically tired, but unhurt.

"John," Tracey said loudly, knowing that she would be heard in the control room. "I feel Robin's okay. I can't really explain why, but I had a sense of connection with her...she's inside a cave...Is that possible? There were other women with her. She's tired, but not hurt.

"The music seemed to talk to me¾ without words. The images were vague...and yet...the sounds and shapes somehow communicated 'caves' and 'Robin's okay'...as okay as one can be while still being a hostage, that is."

From the control room John said, "Tracey, this is John. I hope your information about Robin is correct. I'll inquire about any caves in the area. You're doin' great. How're you feeling?"

"Just fine," said Tracey. "Let's start the calibration¾ let's test Dowser."

"I'm activating the VTMS program now," said John.

The HT-screen brightened and a black horizontal line with the numbers -50, -25, 0, +25, and +50 appeared across the middle of the screen.

A deep voice from the speakers said, "This is the VTMS calibration program. Do I have your visual calibration on file?"

"No," answered Tracey.

"What name shall I store your calibration under?"

"Tracey Cantor."

"The calibration begins with the X-Axis as shown on the screen. Please stare at the minus fifty, and then move your head from side to side and then up and down. This will calibrate me so I know where you are looking no matter what the orientation of your head."

Tracey did as instructed, and the program responded with, "Thank you. Now please look at the minus forty and move your head as before."

This continued until Tracey finished with the +50, and then the screen showed the vertical Y-Axis numbers which also ranged from -50 at the bottom to +50 at the top. Tracey was then calibrated for the Y-Axis numbers in the same fashion.

"Very good," said the calibration program. "Now, to use the map software, we need to first identify and calibrate your zoom-in and zoom-out commands. Then, we'll do the same for the move-up, move-down, move-left and move-right commands. So, let's use an example." The screen changed to the map of Los Angeles. "Do you see the square numbered 1-57?"

"Yes."

"Good, I can tell you're looking at it. Continue, but now strongly think about the words 'zoom-in' and have an intention to see more details in that area.

Tracey did this for about 5 seconds, and then the screen suddenly changed to show a blow-up of square 1-57. "This time, you pick another square and try to zoom-in," said the calibration program.

Tracey noticed that "1-57" was typed in the top left hand corner of the expanded map with a corresponding latitude and longitude. This is the local Venice area...let's zoom-in on HTI, she thought. So she looked at square 2-22 which included HTI headquarters, and concentrated on zooming-in further. This time, the screen changed in a couple of seconds.

"I think I'm reading your signals now. Try zooming-in a few more times."

Tracey did, and now it took about a second to zoom-in on any square she desired. At square 4-38 she found the HTI facility which occupied a square block. She tried zooming-in again, and the program said, "Depth 4 is the finest detail available in these maps."

That's pretty damn good, thought Tracey as she noticed the four map numbers at the top of the map: 1-57, 2-22, 3-89, 4-38. At 100 squares per map depth...that's 100 million map squares in memory.

"Now it's time to teach me your command for 'zoom-out'," the program continued. "Simply entertain the strong desire to zoom-out to the next larger field of view."

Tracey did just that, and the screen changed to the 3rd level of detail. She continued to the initial large view of LA, with each change coming faster than the previous one. And with less conscious intensity of her desire to zoom-out. For example, she no longer needed to internally say the words.

"Now," said the calibration program, "go to any map depth level, except the first, and we'll learn how to move to adjacent maps at the same level. Also, this is how you can move beyond map borders." She and the calibration program both learned the move-up, -down, -left, and -right commands quickly.

Then, without being asked, Tracey moved to other parts of Los Angeles using zoom and move commands. Her subtle commands¾ little more than intentions associated with measurable body responses¾ continued to become better calibrated until her intentions were almost instantly carried out by the VTMS.

"Tracey Cantor, you are now calibrated, congratulations. Use the maps in good health."

She smiled when she heard her name, because it was repeated in her own voice as recorded at the beginning of the calibration process. "Thank you," she automatically replied.

"You're welcome. I must go, but I will be in the background following your commands. It is time to re-engage the normal biofeedback routines. Good-bye." His voice was replaced with a symphony of sounds.

"Good-bye." Tracey closed her eyes and relaxed for a minute or so. The sounds slowly changed to tranquil-feeling music. She let her thoughts pass through her...she felt good. Then she remembered Robin...

In the control room, John noticed the increased heart and brain wave activity. He thought she might be worrying. John held down the button for communicating with the HT-2 unit, and said, "Tracey, let's start the experiment."

Hal had suggested a simple experiment for building Tracey's dowsing skills and for evaluating Dowser. "Look," he had said to Tracey, "I'll take your mother for an outing somewhere in L.A. We'll try to hide from you. We won't even decide exactly where we'll go until after lunch. Based on what John told me, you should be finished with your calibration training and ready to dowse by about two o'clock. We'll find a hiding place, and stay there from 1:45 to 2:15. See if you can find us using Dowser."

Hal had discussed the experiment with John. Hal read about this unusual parapsychology experiment many years ago in a book called "The Mind Race". The book discussed similar experiments done at the Stanford Research Institute. John was very skeptical when Hal told him that the results of the experiments were quite positive with probabilities very much above chance.

They all recognized that this was not a controlled scientific test. It was a useful exercise for Tracey, and all of them wanted to evaluate¾ for themselves and not the scientific community¾ if Dowser could really be valuable. They planned on doing this experiment every day until the Lebanon maps became available.

"I was feeling pretty relaxed," said Tracey, "though I just felt a pretty bad glitch when I thought about Robin... I'm okay... I'm going to find my parents." She then looked at the map for a few moments and focused on finding her parents. Where are they now, she quietly thought. Where are they... Tracey saw fleeting images of green grass and trees. Where are my parents.

The music developed a very high pitched component at about 3000 to 4000 Hertz, and a lower frequency mode at about 10 Hertz. There was less of a musical tone than during her relaxation exercises. Tracey decided to find them by starting at their home and tracking them to where they were now. If Rocky can do it, so can I, she thought.

The Cantor's block was quickly on the screen. They lived on a cul-de-sac, so the transfer to the map square to the right was obvious. Tracey then zoomed-up to include the streets to the 101 freeway where she thought her parents were sure to have gone. Tracey was aware of her thinking, and when she reached the freeway, she paused, not knowing whether to go east or west. She had become so mentally involved in the way she and her parents always drove to the freeway, that there was no continuation possible in her current mode. She remembered her father's words "...if you become too mental, and try to figure out where we're hiding, you won't be able to proceed. You have to let go of the mental and permit something inside you to guide you. You have the capability to find me...to dowse my location."

Tracey zoomed-down to her home again, but she paused to clear her mind. She relaxed for a minute or so. Where are you?...where are you? she thought. She looked at the map and continued to relax. Where are you?...where are you? she asked herself, as the music deepened.

And then, the most remarkable thing happened. Tracey stopped searching with her conscious mind; the music seemed to do the searching. The music guided where she looked, when she zoomed, and when she moved between map squares. Tracey listened and watched, but felt like she was not consciously participating.

Once this process started, the sound became very bimodal. One mode varied between 3000 to 4000 Hertz and the other at about 8-12 Hertz. Tracey was captivated by the bimodal sounds which seemed to choose the sequence of maps! She was simply listening and witnessing.

In less than one minute, Tracey found herself focused on map square 1-32, 2-15, 3-78, 4-18.

"That's it," she said. "I think they're at 4-18, wherever that is." She then consciously zoomed-out to see enough detail to identify the location. "It's part of the Malibu Creek State Park in the Santa Monica Mountains. We used to picnic there when I was a kid...John, before I even focused on the maps, I saw flashes of green grass."

By the time Tracey climbed out of her outfit and joined John in the control room, Hal and Susan had already talked to John. They used a hand-held Polaroid-FAX machine to send him a color picture of the beautiful spot where they picnicked at Malibu Creek State Park. The picture showed a grassy area with several oak trees nearby.

Tracey had found them. Dowser had worked. Nobody understood how it worked¾ that bothered John. "If we don't understand how it works, how can we be sure Tracey and Dowser will be successful next time?" asked John. "How do we know it wasn't just a coincidence?"

They discussed this briefly, but mostly they were cheerful for the success.

The next day, Tracey successfully used Dowser to find Hal and John. They went to the Arco Towers, in the downtown area.

Tracey was becoming more confident in her ability¾ and that was exactly what Hal wanted. Hal was clearly managing Tracey's dowsing ability the way a basketball coach would manage his star center. Two successes out of two attempts was very impressive and very good for building self-confidence.

When Cory and George were told of the successful experiments, they used these preliminary results with their contacts to help procure the Lebanon maps. In fact, George's contacts at the State Department supported releasing the maps only after Cory and George agreed to provide a full written report of the entire dowsing affair, including Tracey's preliminary experiments.

Friday's experiment involved John and Emily. This was the first failure. Tracey did not even come close.

This was the first Dowser experiment with a genetically unrelated person hiding from Tracey. John, Emily, Tracey and Hal discussed the possibility that the genetic connection was part of the locking-in process. Though, Tracey said that her feelings during the search for John and Emily were somehow different¾ less certain¾ than in her earlier experiments. She voiced her uncertainty to John before she learned that she was wrong.

After finding out about the failure, Hal and John reviewed, in detail, the videotapes of the three Dowser sessions. They could not find any simple pattern. Hal said, "That's been the history of these kind of psychic phenomena for over a hundred years...no understandable pattern...no predictability."

John said, "I'll assign someone to continue analyzing the tapes, maybe there's something in the electromagnetic or sound biofeedback frequencies which can distinguish the successes."

Fortunately, their Friday failure was not relayed to Cory and George until after they had the Lebanon map-on-chip in their hands. George drove home to Virginia, and Cory took the early evening flight from Dulles Airport to LAX¾ the flight was only 3 hours, but it took another hour to exit the airport and drive to HTI which was only 7 miles from the airport. L.A.'s traffic problems were becoming intolerable.

A couple of hours was all that was needed Friday night to put the Lebanon maps into Dowser's memory, and verify that the maps were completely compatible with the system. Everything was finally ready for a Saturday morning session with Dowser. But there was this nagging doubt that the location predicted by Tracey might be wrong.

"Now remember, Trace, you clearly have the ability to find Robin. Some day we'll understand what's going on. But now, we don't have to be able to explain how you and Dowser found us at the park...or at the Arco Towers. Understanding is not necessary for you to do it again. You have the ability...you've proven that. Go ahead and find Robin," said Hal to Tracey as she entered Dowser.

Tracey believed that. She knew that her successes had proven that she had some sort of ability to find people using Dowser. Maybe she could only find relatives genetically connected to her, but that was okay since now she wanted to find Robin.

After the cable snap, and a brief stretch to loosen up her muscles a little, Tracey put her hands on the pads and the map of Lebanon appeared. She had looked at an atlas map of Lebanon for a bit, but Tracey didn't believe that the details of the map mattered. She believe the most important ingredient was to find the state of consciousness where she was guided by the music. Yes, she thought, the music is the key.

She closed her eyes and relaxed, and she listened to the music. As she began relaxing, she was aware of the usual two primary frequencies¾ one near the high end of her hearing ability, and one at the low end. As she relaxed further, she began tuning in to the subtle musical symphony contained between the primary frequencies. Tracey had barely noticed this music in her first session, but it became more obvious in the second and third sessions. The music was more distinct, though still at a very low amplitude, and more beautiful this time. She remembered feeling that the music would help her dowse. She also remembered worrying about the lack of a genetic connection between herself and John or Emily. This time let's relax and just let Dowser and the music do the work, she thought

When she felt balanced between the bimodal notes and the music, she opened her eyes and looked at the map. Robin...Robin where are you? Where are you? She looked over the map of Lebanon for about two minutes, and then, the feeling of being guided by the music took over. Tracey watched in a very detached fashion as the maps appeared and disappeared. She continued to listen to the music, and she experienced strong impressions of a cave with a makeshift prison cell containing 4 or 5 women including Robin.

When the maps stopped changing, Tracey found herself looking at a photograph of a hilly region about 10 or 15 miles north of Beruit. "This is where they've put Robin," she said knowing that her father, John, Cory and Emily were listening. "I'm also pretty sure that they're being held in a makeshift cell inside a cave. But there are only 4 or 5 women there. I'm going to start again and see if I can find Alan."

Tracey returned to the first level of the map and closed her eyes. Alan, where are you? she felt/thought. The bimodal notes and musical sounds developed much faster this time, and Tracey allowed herself to become immersed in the music. She relaxed while focusing her intentions on Alan. She saw fleeting images, and felt transient emotions which she interpreted as Alan's. After about 5 minutes, Tracey opened her eyes and the map squares effortlessly flowed across the HT-screen. In less than 20 seconds, the screen became still, showing a map square adjacent to the first one.

"Alan's here," Tracey said. "He's in a cave with 6 or 7 other children. They're not in a jail cell; there's a guard outside the cave. Alan's okay, but scared."Tracey was feeling very confident about her map choices and the impressions of the caves. She wondered about Bob. Where is he? she thought. Then, without any particular conscious effort, Tracey's move-down command was activated several times. The map square was a photograph of a portion of a small village and several old dilapidated houses. As Tracey focused on one of the houses, she had fleeting impressions of two rooms refitted as prison cells. "Bob's in one of those houses...the second one from the left," said Tracey.

She removed her hands from the pads, and said, "They're keeping the Jewish men together. I'm frightened."

Monday morning, Cory relayed Tracey's information to the State Department for verification.

The skepticism was very high at State. The only thing which fit was that there were lots of caves in the region. The village was a peaceful Muslim hamlet inhabited by goat and sheep herders. There was no information whatsoever about this village being involved in any violent acts or having any connections with the Islamic Fundamentalist Movement.

Monday afternoon, Cory's contact made it clear that State wanted no part "... in wasting its time with unreliable intelligence sources. Try the CIA or DIA, they seem to have time to waste on dead ends."

"What about Tracey's phenomenal successes in finding people in the L.A. area?" Cory asked. "The consensus here is that she was given clues by the family and friends hiding from her...or she cheated somehow," was the response.

When Cory told John about State's response, John agreed to call General Carl Eastman. Shortly after John left ASTI in 1986, the then Captain Eastman was transferred to an Air Force Intelligence group. He was now a two star General and second in command at the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA).

John felt uncomfortable calling Carl. They had not spoken for over three years. "This is John Wensler with HTI calling for General Eastman."

Carl's secretary had answered the phone, "He's in a meeting now which will last for the rest of the day. Can he return your call tomorrow?"

"Ah...yes, if that's the soonest possible..." John said slowly. Then with more conviction he added, "But please tell him that it's important."

Two hours later, Carl returned John's call.

"John¾ you son of a gun¾ how've you been," said Carl. He had the highest regard for John, and knew that John would not have called and said it was important unless it was.

"I'm doin' fine, Carl. Thanks for calling back so soon." John remembered how much he liked Carl.

"No problem, what's up?"

"It has to do with the hostages taken into Lebanon from Israel. One of them is the daughter of Susan Cantor¾ you probably remember Susan," said John.

"Of course I remember Susan...oh, how terrible. Those bastards... John, there's a major intelligence effort underway to discover who organized the kidnapping and to find where the hostages are being held. We're part of the effort, but there isn't much I can tell you because we don't have anything yet."

John said, "I'm calling you because I may know where the hostages are. The information is from an unconventional source¾ to say the least. I was hoping you'd be able to verify, or disprove, the location."

"What are you doing in this business anyway?" asked Carl who was surprised by the request. "And how reliable is your unconventional source?"

"I'm not sure, is the answer to both your questions. But give me a few minutes to fill you in," said John.

"Please do."

John told Carl about Dowser, Tracey, the three L.A. experiments, Tracey's conjecture about the hostages' locations, and the contacts with the State Department. Carl's background with John at ASTI permitted Carl to understand the idea of a biofeedback dowsing machine.

"But, dowsing...that can't be reliable..." Carl was understandably skeptical. On the other hand, he thought, if the information was correct, he and the DIA would gain a lot of credit.

"Look," said John, "I'm not sure the information is correct. Everything is happening very fast...Dowser is brand new. But based on Tracey's successes with the L.A. map experiments, and based on her confidence in the Lebanon session, I think it's worth the effort to check out the location she identified."

"Right now, State, the CIA and ourselves have reached a dead end," said Carl. "The hostages have essentially disappeared...We have considerably less intelligence resources available than those guys...I'd love to scoop them on this one."

"John," Carl continued, "If your wrong and anyone finds out that I acted on your flimsy information, I'll be the laughing stock of Washington. Please don't talk to anyone else about this, and don't tell anyone you talked to me. You're lucky John, the bus hijacking is the highest priority item around here. If you're right, you and I'll be heroes...if you're wrong, nobody'll know that I used a kooky source based on dowsing,"

"Thanks, Carl."

The DIA controlled two satellites which were within photographic range of the Middle East. General Carl Eastman ordered the high resolution cameras from one of the satellites focused on the village and nearby hills dowsed by Tracey. Carl only said that the site was "...a long shot, but worth a day or two of surveillance based on one of my sources."

Two days later, Carl asked John to come to Washington for a meeting with representatives from DIA, CIA, State and Special Forces.

"Gentlemen, what I'm about to show you is Top Secret," said General Eastman. "We have photographed, using satellite imagery, the movement of some of the Jerusalem bus hostages. They were moved Tuesday from a village 14 miles from Beirut."

The photography involved a split screen showing two different camera views, one view was of the entire village and the nearby hills, and the other was a very high resolution camera focused on a few run-down houses in the village. Everything was quiet enough until an old truck arrived and three men climbed out and entered one of the houses. The high resolution camera clearly showed the faces of the Muslim men as they exited the truck.

A few minutes later, six men, who were blindfolded and had their hands tied, were led from the house. Oh my God, thought John, there's Bob. Tracey was right.

Each man was callously thrown into the back of the open truck, and then they were all covered with a canvas. Two goats were added, presumably to explain the purpose of their trip. One man stayed in the back, and the other two stepped into the cab and the truck drove off.

"I won't show you any more," said the General, "since they simply drove away toward the west, and we lost them from view. In another 5 years or so, we'll be able to dynamically track bastards like that.

"The six blindfolded men were identified as the Jewish male hostages. The ILM has a standard operating procedure of separating the Jewish men from the rest of their hostages, and they regularly move these men as a precaution against any rescue attempts.

"Our analysts viewed over 36 hours of this film, and it's also clear that there are three caves in the hills above the village where some unusual activity is occurring. Our sources tell us that there are some women and children in those caves. We can't independently confirm this, but it's consistent with our observation of armed men going in and out of those caves."

"The satellite cameras were pointed at the village and hills based on information from John Wensler and HTI," continued the General as he pointed toward John. "John's method of acquiring information is quite unconventional, but, as you saw, apparently quite effective. The purpose of this meeting is to determine if HTI should be included in the Task Force, so they can provide their perspective on the information gathered by the rest of us...and maybe provide new intelligence info themselves. John, would you please describe HTI and the basis of your information on the hostages."

John first briefly summarized HTI's impressive background in defense related work involving sophisticated human-machine devices. John wanted to establish that neither HTI nor he were kooks. He described the 15 channel jet pilots helmet and told them about the human controlled robots used for building the Space Station. Then he gradually opened-up the subject of biofeedback as applied to healing and dowsing.

John explained the basic HT-1 concepts of using natural human capabilities to heal oneself. And then he described the HT-2 improvements. Finally, he told them about the modifications made to the HT-2 which permitted Tracey to find Robin and the other hostages. They had listened to his nearly half-hour summary politely. But once he sat down, the discussions became very candid.

The State Department did not want anything to do with "..people who have lost touch with reality. We already told that to an associate of Dr. Wensler." The CIA suggested that "...it was more likely that someone in HTI had connections with the ILM and was setting the US up for a major political embarrassment by trying to commit the Special Forces to an operation which was doomed to fail."

Fortunately, the Special Forces representative, General Evans, was most interested. There had not been so much pressure on the Special Forces since the Presidential assassination and subsequent retaliation against Iran in 1998. Also, this was an election year which simply added to the urgency and political pressure to rescue the hostages.

"Now calm down," said General Evans, "we're not going to commit ourselves to anything prematurely. But we'll check out any info John and HTI give us. We're expecting all of you to help us in our rescue of the hostages." He paused, and then added, "The President is strongly committed to carrying out a rescue operation. He will not permit the US or himself to appear impotent...especially against the ILM."

Once the position of the Special Forces became clear, objections from both State and the CIA stopped.

General Evans continued, "The satellite films we just saw represent our first break. Even the Israelis¾ the arrogant bastards¾ don't know what's going on in that village, and I'm looking forward to showing them the films. The Israelis will be an important part of the rescue operation. They know the land and will be able to go to the village unobserved. They know the language, and they know what those caves are like. Now that we've located the hostages, we'll hopefully be able to rescue most of them... We do, however, have a major problem. We don't know where the truck is taking those six men...and we don't know when they'll move them again.

"Their standard ploy of moving some of the hostages¾ usually the Jewish or military men¾ from place to place is very effective. As you remember, the last Special Forces' rescue was only a partial success because the ILM had separated two Marine guards from the kidnapped diplomats after they overpowered the guards at the US embassy in Cairo. The Special Forces quickly rescued the diplomats from the mosque where they were being held. Unfortunately, the two Marines were tortured and eventually killed. Their bodies were delivered to the Embassy with a widely publicized note about the invincibility and inevitability of a victory by the ILM over the Forces of Satan."

General Evans' pain was obvious as he remembered the incident. "The decision to try to rescue only some of the hostages¾ if we can't find them all¾ will be made by the President. Decisions like that are what make Presidents age 2 or 3 times faster than normal."

John was included in the Task Force group. Any information he could provide concerning the location and conditions of the hostages would be welcome...and would be independently corroborated. John's contact was General Eastman. It's amazing, thought John as he was leaving the meeting, who you know is still a key factor in what gets done. Does it have to be that way? he wondered.

John asked Tracey to come to his office. "My trip to Washington was partially successful. I can't tell you too much, and anything I do tell you, you can't discuss with anyone else...not anyone. Do you understand?"

"Yes," said Tracey, feeling a little afraid at John's intensity.

"Your information was corroborated. That's an important start. Any additional information you can squeeze out of Dowser will be seriously evaluated. We need to know more, Tracey. We do know that they've moved some of the hostages from the village area. We think they'll continue to move them around to make a complete rescue of all the hostages impossible. That's their intent, at least."

John looked at her realizing that she was being overwhelmed with the complexity and danger of the situation. He smiled at her and said, "See what you can find out about Bob."

"About Bob?" Now she was worried. "Was he one of the hostages moved? Is he okay? Is Robin okay? ..." Tracey began to sob.

John went to Tracey and gave her a warm hug, "Bob was moved two days ago, Robin and Alan are in the caves you told us about, and as far as we know, all the hostages are unhurt." He paused as she regained her composure, and then added, "Tracey, use Dowser and find out what you can about Bob."

Tracey entered Dowser with much vaguer instructions than ever before. She snapped in the cable, stretched, put her hands on the pads and relaxed for about 10 minutes, which was longer than usual. The music became peaceful and integrated.

She opened her eyes, but barely noticed the map of Lebanon. Bob, what's going on with you? she asked herself. Are you okay? Where are you? Where have you been for the last two days?

Tracey had impressions of darkness and images of Bob being tied to another person outside a mosque...a makeshift mosque which was more like a tent. Bob was tired, hungry, and scared. Inside the mosque there were several people praying devoutly. In the background of her thoughts and images, Tracey noticed that the maps had flashed by, and now remained stationary. The control of the maps is becoming unconscious, she thought, how amazing.

"Bob is here," she said out loud to record the map square, "He's in a makeshift mosque."

The music intensified toward the higher notes, and the maps started flashing by again. Tracey sensed that she was tracking Bob's moves backwards in time. Actually, she thought, that's what I asked Dowser to do. Where are you? and, Where have you been for the last two days? were my questions! The maps displayed on the screen were indeed a path back to the first village. There was a particularly long pause at one spot which Tracey felt was where Bob spent the night.

When the map-trail returned to the original village, Tracey said, "I think Dowser has tracked Bob backwards from where he is now, back to the village." What's going to happen to you? she wondered. How will you get out of Lebanon? She closed her eyes in a prayer for Bob's safety.

With her eyes closed, the music filled her consciousness. Her thoughts, even about Bob, disappeared. She vibrated with the music, especially with the highest frequencies which seemed to carry her outside herself to where she and the music were everywhere. The lower notes entered her awareness after 6 or 7 minutes, and she suddenly saw, in her mind's eye, Bob tied with 5 other men in a chain-gang fashion with ropes around their wrists and ankles. They were being led to a large field by three men carrying guns.

Tracey saw¾ not with the same clarity as her normal vision, but nevertheless, she recognized¾ snow on the ground and mountains in the distance. She felt that Bob was very cold walking barefoot in the snow. She sensed that his captors were punishing him for what they felt was justly deserved retribution, because the Jews controlled their Palestine, and because the Jews controlled Jerusalem including the Dome of the Rock where Muhammad rose to heaven.

Tracey was somehow appreciating the rational of the captors. She did not feel any particular sympathy for their position, but she was able to feel how they felt and how they thought about what they were doing. In their minds and hearts, what they were doing was completely rational and necessary for the good of Islam and Allah. They believed it was also fair in light of all the pain and killing inflicted on them over the last years, decades, and centuries.

Tracey felt like a bystander watching Bob and the other hostages trek to the field. The field was filled with marching Muslims flagellating themselves, causing blood to pour from their heads. The blood was real, though most of the cuts were made with sharp knives before the march began. The strong admiration for the sacrifices others have made for Islam was real. The courage to do the same, if asked, was present among many of the younger Muslims.

Suddenly, guns were drawn by about 10 or 11 of the marchers, and they began shooting indiscriminately. It looked like several smoke bombs were thrown. People ran in all directions. There was bedlam. Tracey saw three of the gunman take control of Bob and the other hostages. All three Muslims guarding the hostages were shot in the process. The hostages ran from the carnage with two of the rescuers while the others covered their escape.

Out of nowhere¾ or so it seemed to Tracey¾ two helicopters appeared. The first one which landed took up the hostages and flew off. The second helicopter provided additional firepower to aid in the escape of the rescuing soldiers. Several soldiers were shot and killed, but most made it to the helicopter.

Tracey now knew that the helicopters were part of a rescue mission run by the Israelis. The mission was a success. Tracey found herself crying. She opened her eyes and noticed that the map on the screen was of a region at the base of the Lebanon Mountains. How could the maps change with my eyes closed? she briefly wondered. Tracey removed her hands from the pads, and the session ended.

It took her a while to regain her normal sense of reality, and then she said, "They've been rescued by the Israelis. There was an awful lot of killing, but Bob and the other hostages with him are all okay. It was terrible, but at least they're safe.

"Please help me out of here...I don't feel very good...too much violence."

John helped Tracey out of Dowser and took her to the resident doctor to make sure that she didn't need any medical attention. The doctor said that she showed signs of exhaustion, but was otherwise fine. After a relaxing shower and a cup of coffee in the cafeteria, Tracey met with John, Cory and Hal in the conference room.

She told them about her perceptions, feelings and thoughts during the session. They listened intently and asked several questions. Then they discussed the credibility of the rescue.

"Tracey," said John, "I don't know what you witnessed, but there's no way Bob could have been rescued by the Israelis. I'm not even sure they've been told about the village and hills outside Beruit."

"Well, the feeling inside Dowser was good," said Tracey. "I don't believe I made up the rescue."

"Now, let's slow down," said Cory. "As I recall, Tracey first indicated that Bob was at a make-shift mosque in a rough terrain with many trees and bushes. Then she retraced the path taken from the village. Only after that did she go to the base of the mountains where she says the rescue took place. Obviously, the mosque and the Lebanon Mountains can't both be where Bob is...you do have a clear contradiction there, Tracey."

"Nobody says that your dowsing is going to be perfect," said John.

"There's a feeling inside Dowser which I've learned to trust...which I used to trust, at least." said Tracey. "I don't know what's going on...it's all very confusing."

Hal was listening to all this, and thought he knew what was going on, but hesitated to express his thoughts until John asked, "What do you think about all this, Hal."

"Do you really want to know," answered Hal. "Because if I tell you what I think, you'll probably call me crazy."

"That's an intriguing introduction," said Cory. "We're all a little crazy, or we wouldn't be sitting here and talking about dowsing information from Lebanon. How much crazier can you be...how much further from what is considered normal can you go?"

Hal smiled and said, "Try this, I believe that Tracey has tuned-in to the future."

He had their attention, "She witnessed the successful rescue of Bob and the other hostages taken from the village. A rescue which will occur. The stop at the mosque is probably where they are right about now, but the base of the Lebanon Mountains is where they're heading."

"Incredible...that fits," Tracey said excitedly. "After finding Bob at the Mosque and tracking his previous two days, I began wondering what was going to happen to him..." Then the impossibility of foretelling the future entered her mind, and she slowly added, "But maybe I just made it all up in my head...maybe I fabricated an escape because that's what I want so badly. Maybe..."

There was a quiet lull while everyone pondered the notion of obtaining information from the future, and then John said, "Maybe there are many possible futures and Tracey has tuned-in to one of them. The fact is, that even with all the knowledge modern science possesses, time is still a mystery.

Hal said, "Modern science doesn't know how to tackle psychic phenomena, but..." he paused, "Tracey could be tuned-in correctly."

"The closest science comes to explaining this type of phenomenon," said John, "is in the field of quantum mechanics. There are many views of QM, including one called 'the many-worlds interpretation' which states that all possible futures do somehow exist¾ even though we only experience one objective future. Other interpretations imply that there is only one 'realized' future. Not many people with either viewpoint, however, would say that information could be reliably predicted about the objective future."

"I don't want to participate in a philosophical discussion," said Cory, "Is it possible that Tracey's story about the rescue could become true? Or, is it possible that her information can be used to make the rescue actually happen?"

"You do come right to the point, don't you," stalled John. He had never formulated his own views on time. He knew that Einstein's theories of Relativity and the theoretical formulations of Quantum Mechanics changed all the standard conceptions of time. He also knew that most of the science fiction stories about time had clear internal inconsistencies and were nonsense. On the other hand, whether information could actually be perceived from the future...well he really didn't know. He didn't think so, but... "I don't know of any fundamental law of physics that says it's impossible," he answered cautiously.

Hal saved him from explaining further, "I wrote an article, maybe 15 years ago now, which described work done on predicting the future location of people. The locations were often chosen randomly after the predictions were recorded. The predictions weren't always successful, but the claim was that some information was being perceived because the probabilities were 1 out of a million¾ or something like that¾ of the success rate being due to chance alone."

"I never heard of that work," said John.

"It was never well publicized, and certainly never given much respectability by the scientific community controlling research dollars. Actually, some of the limited research that did occur was funded by the US intelligence agencies. Why don't you ask your contact in Washington?" said Hal.

"I will," said John.

John spent the weekend contemplating the meaning of Tracey's Dowser session. Could the future be forecast with any accuracy? What connects the future to the past and present? What should he do now? All in all, it was a long frustrating weekend with no satisfactory answers.

John called General Eastman using the bug-proof line into DIA headquarters. He told Carl about Tracey's information concerning the current location of the hostages who were moved. John wanted the satellite photography focused on the new location as soon as possible to verify some of Tracey's statements. John also hoped the photography would provide some indication of where the hostages were being taken.

John did not broach the subject of Tracey's future predictions. He arranged an appointment with Carl for the next day.

"You were pretty mysterious over the phone about why you wanted to see me," said Carl after a brief discussion of the snow in D.C. "I've ordered the satellite photography for the map coordinates you specified. We should have some feedback on that tomorrow...now John, what's up?"

"How long have we known each other," started John.

"A long time...over 20 years."

"What we're about to discuss will probably cause you to re-evaluate your conception of me being a solid clear-thinking scientist."

"You'd be surprised," said the General. "We have some pretty kooky ideas floating around the agency. Quit beating about the bush, and let me have it."

"Tracey has located what I think is a future location for the hostages...at the base of the Lebanon Mountains." John stopped here for Carl's first reaction.

"Future location, huh. How reliable is this information? Did she tune in to some conversations about their plans? Anyway, they may change their minds."

"No, she didn't hear anything. She dowsed the location after first finding their current location. I'm hoping that you can verify where they are now, and then confirm that they are headed toward the place where Tracey predicted they would go."

"Tracey dowsed the future location," said Carl with a clear and undisguised skepticism in his voice. "Now I understand why you were so hesitant."

John nodded.

"You want me to take this prediction seriously?"

"Yes...we should check it out."

Carl shook his head incredulously. I can't believe that I'm doing this, he thought. "When are they supposed to arrive there?" he asked.

John was surprised by the question, and then surprised that he hadn't thought about that himself, "I never asked about the date...I really don't know..."

"It's going to be tough to use this information¾ even if it's true¾ without a reasonable fix on the time frame. What if their plans include going there in 6 months versus 1 week."

"There was some sort of march going on, probably religious in nature."

"How in the hell do you know that?"

Tracey said that she saw, or at least sensed, large numbers of people walking and performing acts of self flagellation."

"What else did she see? This is becoming harder to swallow every minute."

John knew he'd better slow down. "First, tell me what you know about intelligence agencies of the US doing psychic research."

"Psychic research, parapsychology, ESP...?"

"Yeah."

"Boy, that's not my department...in fact, I'm not sure there is any department still looking at that stuff. I know that several studies were done, but they never amounted to much because the information was not very reliable. And maybe even more devastating was the giggle factor."

"What's that?" asked John.

"The giggle factor is very strong in Washington. If an idea sounds so silly as to be preposterous, then no-one wants to be associated with it. They'd be laughed out of town. Thus the giggle factor can stop some programs before they're started. If no-one will champion an idea, it's dead before it can be born.

"Anyway," Carl continued, "With all the new sensors, both listening and photographic, we're already overloaded with information. We don't know how to analyze everything we acquire now. Unreliable information won't help."

"Now, come on. Not all your information is reliable. Sure, the pictures and voices you record are pretty reliable, though even those can be doctored. But you have the issue of interpretation of the raw data."

"That's certainly true. But I have a lot more confidence in my photographic and communication raw data than predictions from psychics."

"What if the psychics could become reliable?" asked John.

"It would be a new ball game... Let's go one step at a time. Are you going to be in town for a while?"

"Yes."

"Good," said Carl, "by tomorrow we should know if Tracey's prediction for the hostages' location¾ yesterday's location¾ was accurate." He paused, "And I must consider what, if anything, to do with this foretelling the future stuff...I can't believe I'm even seriously thinking about it!"

"Well, if you decide to proceed, here's Tracey's prediction." John opened his briefcase and handed the Colonel a piece of paper with the numbers: 1-24, 2-76, 3-28, 4-59.

The General got right down to business. "Tracey's location was correct. There's a small convoy, 4 trucks so far, gathering at the site. The satellite pictures show the hostages, and we've identified the makeshift mosque you told me about."

"That's terrific," said John.

"Now about those map coordinates you gave me¾ the future ones. That location is the headquarters of Ayatollah Mukamani¾ he's the ILM Shiite leader who ordered the kidnapping." Carl sighed the sigh of someone who knows he's becoming involved with something very complex and potentially ominous. The sigh which simultaneously expresses, I shouldn't be doing this, but I feel I must.

Carl continued, "I haven't told anyone what you told me about that site. I want to know everything you know, or think you know, about that place."

"Did you look into any other studies of psychic phenomena?" John asked, changing the subject. He's beginning to take these predictions more seriously. I don't want to lose his confidence, he thought.

"Yes," answered Carl. He's changing the subject, what's he hiding? he thought. "and there was a more extensive program than I was aware of. I'm still checking, but lots of the classified programs are so hidden that they may be impossible to find. Here's a copy of the unclassified references on psychic experiments including some about sensing the future...quite a few successful studies from reputable institutions have been published, but these guys seem to be talking to themselves."

"Yeah, a friend of mine told me about careful experiments going on at Princeton University and Stanford Research Institute during the 1970s and 80s," added John. "These showed that there was something unusual happening which didn't fit the standard picture of the world. These guys called themselves parapsychologists...no-one paid much attention to their research, except maybe their critics."

"Criticism, of course, is healthy," said Carl. "There are lots of crazy ideas put forth...ideas which are appropriately laughed at...and ignored."

"Yes, that's often true...but maybe even worse than the giggle factor," said Carl, "is the 'certainty factor'¾ that's when a large majority of scientists are certain that their world view of reality is obviously correct. So certain, in fact, that they refuse to accept other scientists' research as valid. This is an ancient part of science. It goes back to at least Copernicus's ideas contradicting the world view which placed the earth at the center of universe."

"John," said the General rather sternly, "stop stalling and tell me everything you know about that site. You're going to have to trust me."

After a pause and a deep breath, John moved forward in his chair toward Carl and said, "Tracey saw a well organized rescue of the hostages at that site. She saw lots of shooting and many Muslim's were killed. All the hostages were rescued, but some Israelis died."

"Jesus."

"She saw¾ sensed is a better word¾ the shooting start from inside the crowd of marching Muslims. Two helicopters then quickly arrived and took the hostages and Israelis away." John eased back in his chair; a heavy load had been removed from his mind.

Carl remained silent for quite a while. He let his mind and feelings roam over and through the facts and the conjectures. Damn it, I believe he's telling me what he believes to be true. John's not lying or plotting against us...maybe Tracey and Dowser can foretell the future.

Carl said, "I can even guess when this is all supposed to happen¾ February 15 which is the tenth day of the month of Muharram on the Islamic calendar. This is the Shiite Muslim commemoration of the death of one of their greatest martyrs. This is the most important ritual of the year to them. A ritual where they march and whip themselves into a frenzy and cut themselves so they bleed."

John was surprised by the specific prediction of a date.

Carl continued. "I did some research based on your comment about self flagellation. Bob and his fellow hostages are being taken to the Ashura ceremony which commemorates the violent death of Hussein, a grandson of the Prophet Muhammad. Hussein was killed and then beheaded by other Muslims during a battle for the Caliphate, which was the Executive Branch of the Muslim community. The Shiite brand of Islam really stems from this event. On the anniversary of Hussein's death, which was over 1300 years ago, martyrdom is revered. During the Ashura ritual, the value of dying for Islam is presented as the highest good¾ what could be better than dying in the service of Allah?"

Carl shook his head in disbelief, and thought, Willing and able martyrs represent a powerful and frightening force...

"General," said John, "that's all I know. You have a place, and apparently, you have a date. What's next?"

"That's a good question. If I tell your story to those Special Forces guys, they'll take both of us off this case...and maybe to the funny farm. They're using the verified data. But predictions of the future, no way. But, if I don't tell them about the destination of the male Jewish hostages, they'll probably work with the Israelis to rescue only the hostages in those caves near the village."

Carl paused to consider his options, "John, I'm going to give it my best shot. Right or wrong, guy, I'm taking you and your crazy predictions at face value. By the way, did Tracey say any more about the hostages in the caves?"

"No," answered John, "she's taking a few days off and spending some time with her family. Her mother is having a really bad time of it."

"I can understand that," said Carl. "If Tracey's up to it, ask her to verify that these hostages will still be in the caves on February 15. It's clear that Special Forces will try to rescue all the hostages at the same time."

"I'll see if Tracey's up to it...she's been very solid," said John.

"Well, in any case," said Carl, "dowsing the location of the village and prison-caves was even more than the CIA and State Department could handle. They've initiated detailed background checks on you, Tracey and HTI...and they've written letters to my boss critical of my actions.

"There's no way I'm going to suggest to them that Tracey can see into the future. And I'm not going to suggest to anyone that the successful rescue is pre-ordained. The Special Force guys and the Israelis have no choice in this matter...is that what you're telling me to tell them.?"

"I know, I know. I've been suffering with that one also," said John.

"I wish you were kidding me about all this future rescue stuff...but I know you're not. I'm not sure what I'm going to do... If I don't want to tell those Special Forces guys anything, damn it, I don't have to."

"You don't have to tell them anything, and the rescue may or may not happen," John relaxed for the first time in several weeks. "I'm glad you forced me to come clean. Somehow I feel better. It's on your shoulders now."

"Thanks a lot."

"Sorry about that."

General Eastman went to the Special Forces headquarters and told General Evans about his verification of Tracey's dowsing of the current position of the hostages. He showed the General the satellite photography of the hostages and their captors. "I'll show this to the President, at least it confirms they're alive," said General Evans with a gratefulness in his voice.

General Eastman also decided to lie. It was very difficult for him to lie. He knew that he was risking his career, but he saw no other way to convince the Special Forces to seriously consider a rescue plan with only three weeks notice. "Tracey says she overheard one of the hostages, who understood Arabic, tell Bob that they're being taken to the Ayatollah's headquarters at the base of the Lebanon Mountains. They're being taken there, she says, to be shown off for the Shiite Ashura observance. I don't know if her sense of what is being said is reliable, but it might be worth checking out."

Their current location could be a route toward the headquarters, General Evans thought, and it was worth watching. What a chance if it's true. "We've practically completed our plans for rescuing the hostages from the village and those caves. If the rest of the hostages will be at the Ayatollah's headquarters...maybe the Israelis can infiltrate...I want extra coverage to track, if possible, the movements of the hostages, and I want satellite photography to be established over the Ayatollah's headquarters. I want proof of their location."

General Eastman said that the DIA didn't have the satellite resources to do the job. General Evans soon received Presidential authority to use a CIA satellite. The CIA was not very happy with this development. The basis of the information¾ from a person dowsing using a machine built for biofeedback healing¾ seemed very weak and unreliable. But the CIA complied with the Presidential order.

John brought Tracey up to date concerning his conversations with General Eastman. He asked her about doing another session to see if the hostages' were in the caves on the day of the rescue. Tracey agreed to have another Dowser session.

It was a logical request and Tracey felt comfortable with focusing on the day of the rescue. She began her Dowser session by reviewing Bob's rescue, and much to her surprise had no difficulty tuning-in. Nothing changed, except Tracey was not as horrified at the violence. I guess you can become hardened to the violence, she thought, especially when it's not a surprise.

She then asked herself about the village and the caves. She saw a simultaneous rescue occurring¾ helicopters everywhere, soldiers in the village, on the hills and rushing toward the caves.

What about Robin, she thought.

"Oh my God, no..." she shouted in pain and anguish. "Robin is dead...Robin is dead." Then she slumped in a faint on the chair.

At the emergency room, the doctor said "...she's in shock from some sort of trauma. What happened to her?" he asked. "And who's Robin." A little smelling salt had brought Tracey back to consciousness, but all she said was "Robin is dead".

John explained that Robin was being held hostage in Lebanon, and that satisfied the doctor. The case was reported as "...extreme mental and emotional distress," which was true. Tracey stayed in the hospital for a few hours, and then went home with her parents to "...get some rest."

Susan was completely drained. Hal tried to convince her that maybe Tracey was wrong.

"Robin is dead...Robin is dead," was all Tracey could say. And that was all she would say until after the rescue.

"This is Mosche Bremson reporting from the U.S.S. Ronald Reagan, off the coast of Lebanon. One of the most dramatic rescues in the history of history has just been completed. All but one of the hostages taken from a bus in Israel on New Year's Day have been rescued."

The camera moved to show a jubilant scene of cheering crewman forming a line for the ex-hostages as they were led into the ship's infirmary. "Two simultaneous rescues were involved. One operation was carried out by the US Special Forces to rescue most of the hostages from a village in the outskirts of Beruit. The other rescue was magnificently executed by the Israeli Army to extract the remaining 6 hostages from an ILM stronghold in the Lebanon Mountains.

"At this time, many of the details of the operations are being kept secret, but the coordination between the US and Israel governments must have been like the fingers are to a hand. The timing of the operations...the intelligence required to successfully perform such a military operation staggers the imagination. What a happy day...though, as I said earlier, there was one casualty whose name has not been released pending notification of the next of kin."

John, Cory, Emily and Howard went to the Cantor's home. They knew if the rescues occurred, the news would be quickly reported. And so it was. This broadcast was being played on free TV all over the world. The US government was footing the bill¾ finally, a small victory over terrorism.

They all knew who the casualty was¾ Robin had been killed. One of her guards managed to turn, before dying from a bullet wound near his heart, and fired a shot at the hostages in the cave. The bullet pierced Robin's brain, killing her instantly.

Susan and Hal were in tears, why Robin...one death and why Robin. General Eastman¾ Carl¾ confirmed their fears just a few minutes before the broadcast began. Susan could not watch all the cheering and joy aboard the ship. Hal and Emily joined her in the living room.

Tracey reacted very differently. She watched everything that was shown in the broadcast. She listened to every word for details about the rescue. It's finally over, she thought, the future is now...Robin is dead. Dowser and I can find those murderers. "Those damn murderers," she said with a powerful vehemence, "I want everyone of them dead."

No-one knew quite how to react. Those were her first words, other than 'Robin is dead', in almost two weeks. They were, of course, happy to hear her finally verbalize her feelings, but the hatred and determination in her voice scared all of them.

Tracey's words and emotion could be clearly heard in the living room. Susan rushed to Tracey and hugged her. Tracey pushed her mother away and said, "I want to watch this...let's find out if everything I saw was true."

Susan and Hal were now more distressed about Tracey than their loss of Robin. Tracey had suddenly become hard¾ so hard that it frightened them. The details of the rescue which were shown on the broadcast seemed to confirm Tracey's predictions. Tracey's attitude became even harder.

After the broadcast, Susan was the first to say anything, "Honey," she said, "revenge is not the answer."

"Not revenge," said Tracey, "justice. That's all I want. Justice for murderers. Justice for kidnappers. I'll find them...and justice will be served...somehow..."

They all became more worried. The intensity of her hatred was incredible. Hal clenched his teeth and began to shake. "I know how you feel," he said, "I felt that hatred when I used Dowser...remember."

"So," said Tracey without emotion.

"I don't know how you managed to keep it buried for so long. It's time to let it out, and you know what, I agree with you. I've tried to bury my hatred all this time too...so I could help you. Those bastards. Those God damned bastards...what nerve do they have to kidnap innocents. I don't give a fuck what their grievances are. They have no right. If I had those guys here right now, I'd show them some justice."

Hal's release was almost as intense as Tracey's. He finally opened the caldron holding his hatred.

Susan just cried. She was in too much pain to hate. And now she was even more frightened.

"How sad...how sad," sighed Emily.

"She never recovered from Robin's death. All the latest medical advances in treating depression did no good at all," John said.

"I don't know how I'd react if I lost Matthew-especially in such a senseless way," Howard said.

"And she lost two of her children..." added Cory.

The four of them were at Hal home after the funeral. Hal and Tracey were sitting Shiva. Condolences and food are key features of the Shiva ritual. Sitting Shiva is the Jewish week-long method of grieving with family and friends, and most importantly, beginning the recovery process toward resuming one's life.

Emily, John, Cory and Howard were seated at a bridge table eating homemade dishes and deserts brought by family and friends.

"But suicide...I can't understand that," said John. "She still had Hal and Tracey and her grandson."

"I guess they weren't enough to remove the constant pain," explained Emily. "Susan told me of her pain. She described it as being worse than any physical pain you could imagine. She could not shake the feelings of horror that both Robin and Jerry must have experienced. These feelings were with her all the time..."

Hal walked toward them and managed a weak smile. "Thanks for coming," he said.

"We're all so sorry," said Emily.

"Yes I know, thank you," said Hal. "She's found the peace she sought. I'll regret forever that I couldn't help her find it here." His obvious sadness and pain touched them all.

"But my life will go on," he continued after regaining his composure. "I plan on keeping busy doing something useful. I'm going into business with Rockford Tall. These are plans we've been talking about for over 6 months."

"That's Rocky, the dowser you told me so much about," said John.

"Yes, he's become a good friend. He's sitting on the couch with his wife, Charlene. They're talking to Tracey," said Hal pointing toward the family room.

"How's Trace taking all this?" asked Emily.

"As well as can be expected, I guess," answered Hal. "This has not helped her bitterness. I worry about how cold and hard she's become. She still talks about 'getting even with those bastards.'"

Emily said, "Susan was always worried about that too. She said that Tracey was covering the pain with revenge."

"Maybe revenge 's better than Susan's way...please excuse me." Hal rushed off to the kitchen with tears in his eyes.

John's phone rang. It was his secretary. "Hal Cantor on the line."

"Put him through." John said, "Hal, good to hear from you. How're you doing?"

"Hi John. I'm doing okay, I guess. I'm calling to ask you a favor."

"If I can do it...sure."

"Rocky and I started a business. It's called Finding, Inc. John, we'd like to buy a Dowser Unit."

"Dowser, huh," John said noncommittally. Hal and John, along with all the other participants in the Lebanon rescue operation agreed to keep the details of the intelligence gathering secret. This specifically included the details concerning Dowser and how it was used to supply some information. As various intelligence agencies learned more about Dowser's role in the Lebanon rescue, almost all information about Dowser was becoming more and more classified.

"Yeah," said Hal, "we'd like to buy a Dowser to use for finding missing persons. I'm calling you because as far as I can tell, it impossible to buy a Dowser. In fact, it's almost impossible to buy an HT-2 because of the waiting list."

"Dowsers are not for sale," said John. "In fact, we've recently been told not to even use the name because the government doesn't want to acknowledge that it's even studying such fool ideas. Our Dowsers are called D-1 Units. I can't tell you any more, Hal, I'm sorry."

"I have the picture," said Hal. "But while they're busy arguing about what happened two years ago, we know that HTs can be used for a lot more than health care."

"But convincing someone else, especially the skeptics, that you've seen the incredible is nearly impossible," added Hal.

"Science will prevail," said John.

"I'm not as sure as you," said Hal. "I think science will have to change dramatically to find theories which include the mind. In any case, I'm working on a case right now where Dowser would be a big help. It's a kidnapping case, and we've been asked by the San Francisco Police to help them."

"Hal, this is going to be very difficult. Let me talk to Cory and I'll get back to you."

"Okay, I'll wait for your call."

"Hal, it's John."

"Hi John."

"I talked to Cory and our people in Washington about providing you and Rocky access to a D-1 Unit. Washington was absolutely against the idea. They don't want any new players. But Cory was magnificent. His legal and security guys say that we can legally sell you a modified HT-2. We often provide specialized versions. And, I'd be glad to help you with the specs. It's not the D-1 design itself that's classified, it's only the history behind it. If we sell you a modified HT-2, HTI will simply be doing business as usual."

"That's superb, John. We'll buy your modified HT-2, but is it possible for Rocky to use a D-1 soon to help with the kidnapping case.

"No, that's not possible. No-one, except cleared HTI employees, can use our D-1 models."

"That's a shame. When do you think I can have delivery of the modified HT?"

"That will take about 6 months."

"We'll have to find the bad guys the old fashioned way this time. But John, thanks...thanks a lot."

"Don't thank me. I just made a good sale for HTI. By the way, how do you intend to pay for this. It'll cost you about 4.5 million dollars."

"Finding, Inc. is well capitalized. Most of the company is owned by Shell Oil."

"It was bad enough, of course, that Robin was killed," John said sadly, "but then a year later, Susan's suicide..."

John and Cory were walking on the beach in front of the Monroes' home. New Year's Eve parties were not as festive as they used to be for those involved with the Cantors' ordeal.

"Why so much pain and suffering?" Cory asked rhetorically. "Life is so precious, but sometimes, I guess, it's too painful to bear. Though, I have trouble understanding suicide. Susan was not in any physical pain."

"Her mental anguish was much worse, I think, than most physical pain," said John.

"Can HTing help with that kind of persistent grief?" asked Cory.

"I don't know," answered John. "It probably could, but Susan was not interested in feeling better. Susan wanted to die."

"How sad," said Cory.

They walked silently for a few moments, and then Cory said, "My father wanted to live. And, he's still going strong 20 years longer than any of us expected. We all thank you and your silly prototype for that." Cory and John laughed as they remembered George in the pin stripped suit with all the attached wires.

With a smile still on his face, John said, "Your father really enjoys watching the doctors squirm as the evidence for HT healing mounts. Remember the party we had when the AMA acknowledged the therapeutic value of HTing."

"That was three years ago," said Cory. "I remember it well... Sales of the HT-3 skyrocketed after that announcement."

"Yes, we've done very well with the HT units. I wonder if Dowser units will ever be sold openly," said John.

"I don't know. With all the secrecy the government has erected around the D-2 project, it's not likely."

"Almost everyone who knew anything about Dowser is working on the D-2 project¾ everyone, that is, except Hal.""

"How's he doin'?" asked Cory.

"He and Rocky seem to be having fun, as well as gaining quite a following...both supporters and detractors. Finding, Inc. seems to make the papers a few times a year with some spectacular case."

"Yeah, I remember about 8 months ago they found a serial rapist who was a cop. The Detroit Police Department was both embarrassed and relieved when the case was solved. They gave Finding a letter acknowledging their help. But I also remember that Finding became very controversial because they had several well publicized failures shortly after that."

"They're controversial all right, but they seem to be doing more and more work for Police Departments all over the country," said John.

"Did Hal ever learn how to dowse?"

"No, he manages the dowsing operation...the way he managed Trace's work. Rocky's the star dowser in that operation," said John.

"Remember how upset Carl became when he found out we sold the modified HT-2 to Finding, Inc."

"Oh boy, do I ever," John then whistled as he remembered the confrontation. "He was pissed. You and I had to go to Washington and explain that supplying modified HTs didn't violate any security rule."

"He needed lots of assurances that Hal would never make any connection with the Lebanon rescue operation," added Cory.

"And," said John, "it was at that meeting that we agreed that all improvements going in to the D-2 would be classified and under his control."

"Well," said Cory, "we could probably make more selling the idea commercially, but the government helped us and it has the right to keep this secret."

"Though, that's not the point," said John. "The example of psychic phenomena which we witnessed showed us something about the universe we live in...connections in time and space usually considered impossible. If these connections really exist¾ and we know they do¾ they can't be ignored or hidden forever. I believe science will eventually develop a theory which includes the expanded reality we witnessed. Though," John smiled, "many scientist will be kicking and screaming even after a new world-view consensus on this subject is established."

"Do you really believe that you can construct a theory that will explain predicting the future?" Cory asked incredulously.

"Yes. In fact, I'm working on one now," answered John.

"As part of the D-2 project?"

"No, they just want more sophisticated hardware from us...the theory is not being funded by anyone, at least not as far as I know."

"If you work out the theory," Cory formulated his question carefully, "will you be able to accurately predict the future?" Cory was thinking of the potential financial advantages of knowing the future price of stocks and commodities. But he didn't want to be too obvious.

"I don't know. I don't think a theory is even necessary to predict the future. Tracey didn't have a theory, and she did fine. Cory, I bet you don't even need a Dowser. An HT-3 could amplify the psychic signals. If my theory is correct, the most important aspect is to drop ones normal beliefs about time, and to be emotionally confident about receiving the desired information."

"Why don't you put your theory to the test," said Cory. "If you can foretell the future, why don't you win the lottery?" Cory paused, then added, "You wouldn't be using anything classified from D-2."

"Maybe I will," said John after a thoughtful pause.

"Time is a mystery to the conscious portion of the mind," was the opening line of John Wensler's statement to the lottery commission. The commission was investigating his consecutive pair of wins in the California State Lottery. Lotto 6/49 was over 20 years old and still very popular, though it was put on the shelf for a while. John had chosen the correct 6 LOTTO numbers for a 35 million dollar jackpot on a Saturday, followed by a 12 million dollar winner the following Wednesday¾ not too shabby for one week.

"To the unconscious mind, time is only a convenient way for storing experiences. And sometimes, my conscious mind can communicate with my unconscious mind in retrieving future experiences." John paused and looked at the commission members. Mostly they looked bored, though somewhat annoyed at having to hold this public hearing. They were especially upset with the extensive news media coverage associated with the whole incident.

"That's what I did in choosing the winning lottery numbers. I would now be happy to answer any of your questions," he concluded.

John knew that this was only a shallow summary of the relationships between time, mind, and consciousness, but he also knew that the Lottery Commission would not understand or believe any explanation involving foretelling the future.

The chairman of the Commission, Judge Larry Parker, responded with, "That is the most ridiculous statement that I have ever heard. How can you remember experiences that have not occurred. Are you crazy?"

"No sir," responded John. "Though, I have been trained to entertain crazy ideas."

"And what training was that?"

"My training in theoretical physics, with a specialty in quantum electrodynamics."

"Yes, I read about your background in the briefs supplied by our staff. Very impressive, but you still sound out of touch with the real world," said the Judge. "How does the future communicate with the present? The future hasn't happened yet?"

"Yes, I know it seems that way. But, remember that the only things which we directly experience are the emotions, thoughts, sights, sounds, tastes, smells, and touch sensations which we become conscious of in the present moment," John began.

"What you are conscious of right now is your direct experience associated with this moment. Direct experiences are accompanied by complex electromagnetic waves generated from within your body. These waves radiate information, like radio and TV waves. The fact that human beings can tune in to the most subtle of waves is somewhat surprising, quite remarkable, and difficult to accept.

"The human body is a very complex physical-chemical-electrical structure. The body's nervous system generates electric currents as part of being conscious. These currents come from chemical reactions and physical osmosis across specialized membranes in the body which produce electrically charged ions.

"The motion of the chemical ions is, in fact, the electric current which produces the electromagnetic radiation waves. The waves begin inside the nerve cells, and become especially strong at synapses between nerve cells. There are roughly a hundred billion nerve cells in your body, and there are roughly a hundred trillion synapses where the electric current jumps from one nerve cell to another. These are well understood processes.

"The electromagnetic waves are of many frequencies and react with the human body in complex ways. Much of the wave energy is absorbed in the body near the nerve cells, but some of it propagates away.

"The waves which are generated by the nervous system are so complex and weak that their significance is usually overlooked. I believe it is these complex waves which the intricate human nervous system can sense."

"Notice that the electromagnetic waves which are emitted from the body have a three dimensional source...a very complex source which requires a complex receiver, like a human nervous system. The complex waves move through space-time at the speed of light. If only these waves were involved, you might at least entertain the idea of real-time telepathy. But this is not sufficient to explain receiving signals from the future.

Future signals¾ barely a whisper of the original waves¾ also appear instantaneously everywhere in space-time. This instantaneous signal can be thought of as traveling with infinite speed. As unlikely as this sounds, quantum mechanics concurs with this point of view."

Judge Parker could no longer constrain himself. "You must see how ridiculous all this sounds."

"Yes," said John, "but there are many ridiculous things which are true, especially in the quantum mechanical description of the world. It's difficult to even describe to a person without some background in quantum physics...but let me try.

"Understanding quantum mechanics has always been difficult...this commission is in very good company in that regard. The eminent Albert Einstein was always bothered by quantum mechanics, he never considered it to be a complete description of reality. He tried to discredit it by pointing out that the quantum theory predicted that if two particles were connected at one time, a measurement on one particle would constrain the outcome of measurements on the other particle even if the second particle was too far away to be affected by the first measurement. The idea of too far away was based on Einstein's famous assumption that information can travel no faster than the speed of light."

"Einstein felt he had proven that the quantum theory was seriously flawed because this example showed that there would be unrealistic and 'mysterious action at a distance' with faster than the speed of light communication.

"Dr. Albert Einstein was proven wrong, and the quantum theory proven correct. Experiments have shown¾ and shown conclusively¾ that the fundamental predictions of quantum mechanics are true. That information signals do travel instantaneously between particles that were once connected.

"Well, everything in the universe was once closely connected...and everything still is...in space and in time."

"When was everything connected?" asked the Judge.

"At the Big Bang. The Big Bang is what astrophysicists describe as the beginning of the universe.

"The ultimate mystery concerns why there is anything at all¾ why not just a big fat zero? Once we accept the conceptual jump from zero to one, then two, three, four...18 trillion, easily follow. Consider the concept of zero and the concept of one for a moment...notice that you already have two concepts!"

"So what."

John continued, "The universe appears so large and filled with an almost infinite number of interesting things. Individual entities are readily defined and considered independent of other entities. But science and experience are showing us that the apparently fragmented universe remains forever interconnected...isn't that marvelous?"

"You sound so sure," said Judge Parker with not the slightest sense of marvel in his voice. "And yet, most scientists disagree with you."

"Yes, that's true. I'm not sure of the details of the theory...but the fact that information from the future is available in the present...I've just proven that...at least to myself."

John continued, "If the human nervous system generated the waves, it seems possible that the same system could receive and interpret similar waves. The fact that these waves can move backwards in time, or can move with infinite speeds, has been theoretically discussed for many years. There is, however, no consensus on the validity of these theories.

"Nevertheless, this conceptual theory suggests that if a human being could be trained to work with equipment which would amplify these weak signals, then the signals could be understood. Our company, HTI, has developed sophisticated biofeedback equipment, the latest version is called the HT-3, which can do just that!" John said in a concluding tone.

"And what did you do in this HT-3 unit?"

"I was simply very quiet and watched myself watch television during the picking of the lottery numbers...a day in advance. I sensed the numbers...they seemed to be contained in the images I subconsciously generated as I HTed."

"If you're so smart, why haven't you won a lottery in the last three weeks?" asked Judge Parker.

"Two in a row felt like enough," said John.

"Could you win more?"

"No...I don't think so..."

"Why not?"

"It wouldn't feel right. It's just not in the cards, so to speak."

"Sounds like a lame excuse to me," said Judge Larry Parker. "I think you were just damn lucky."

For the rest of the day, with an hour break for lunch, the other commission members questioned John. He had voluntarily agreed to be questioned since there had been so much publicity about the billion to one chance of the same person winning two consecutive games. Thus, many people began raising the question of cheating. The commission was forced by the publicity to investigate him. The fact that he was an electronics expert opened the possibility of a high-tech subversion of the lottery rules.

The investigation had turned up no evidence of any tampering with the random selection of the lottery numbers, or any means by which he could obtain a ticket after the numbers had been selected. Most of the panel members concluded that John had just been extremely lucky.

The fact that the odds of two consecutive wins were not zero became the commission's explanation. "Even improbable events happen sometime," they wrote in their final document. "There is no evidence for fraud, or for any paranormal phenomenon. We understand why Dr. John Wensler would look for an unusual explanation, but this commission finds that he is the beneficiary of an extraordinary coincidence."

A poll of California citizens showed the following results:

The publicity in the popular press, however, substantially increased sales of the HT-3 units, and the less expensive HT-1 and HT-2 models increased in resale value by over 25%.

"Who shall I say is calling."

"Mandy Pizano."

"From what company, or does he know you?"

"Tell him we met a long time ago in England...and that I'm a violinist."

"Thank you, please hold."

"Miss Pizano," said John, "what a wonderful surprise."

"Please call me Mandy."

"Mandy, what a surprise...it must be over 10 years."

"It's been closer to 15, John, may I call you John."

"Of course."

"I've thought about you quite a few times these last 15 years. I've seen HTI, and even your name, in the papers¾ most recently, of course, with this lottery business."

How amazing, thought John, she's telling me that she's seen my name in the papers. She's become one of the world's foremost violinist, and she's thought of me. "I'm flattered. I've followed your successful career...I already have tickets for one of your performances at the Music Center next week."

"That's part of the reason I'm calling. Could you possibly come to tomorrow night's performance. I'll reserve a seat for you."

"Tomorrow's opening night, and you want me to be your guest?"

"I'd really appreciate it. I'd like to talk to you afterwards."

John could hear a serious tone in that last statement. "I'd be honored¾ more than you know¾ to be your guest."

"Splendid. Just go to Will Call and give them your name. After the concert, I'll have someone bring you backstage...is that all right?"

"That's fine. I'll see you tomorrow night."

"Good-bye 'til then, John."

John's tickets were in the VIP section. His seat was sixth row center. He was near the Governor of California and the Mayor of Los Angeles. There were several other prominent politicians, and many movie stars. Mandy was a world renowned performer. John developed goose bumps from his memories of her music¾ memories not only from her performance for the Queen, but also from all her recordings, and from two previous performances he had attended. One in Los Angeles, and another in Japan when he happened to be there on business. It never crossed his mind to contact her. And now she had called him.

The concert was magnificent. She performed first with an orchestra, then in a chamber music setting, and finally with only the piano as accompaniment. The audience demanded 3 encores, which she did solo. Her solo pieces were a trademark, many thought she was the best solo violinist ever. The reviewers were falling all over themselves looking for adjectives to express the well deserved praise.

After the standing ovation, and after the flowers, the hall began to clear. A young lady came up to John, "Sir, are you Mr. John Wensler?"

"Yes I am."

"Hi, I'm Cathy, Miss Pizano's personal assistant. If you'll follow me, I'll take you to her."

"Thank you."

John followed her to a suite backstage. "Miss Pizano is changing, she'll be out shortly. Can I bring you coffee...or a drink? "

"A cup of coffee with a little cream and sugar would be fine."

Cathy brought him his coffee and then said, "I'll see if Mandy...I mean Miss Pizano needs anything. Please excuse me." She went into the dressing room.

She returned in a couple of minutes, "Well, it's been a pleasure meeting you, Mandy will be out in a minute. I have a hot date, and I'm out of here now." And she left.

The door to the dressing area opened and John turned and saw Mandy walking toward him. She's beautiful, he thought. He stood up, extended his hand in a friendly manner, and said, "You were magnificent. I feel new depths inside me, whenever I listen to you play."

Mandy shook his hand warmly, noticed his alert eyes and serene face, and said, "Thank you. I'm delighted that my music touches you."

"I have everything you've recorded, but there's still something special about hearing you...and seeing you in person. It was great...I must sound like a school boy fan. I'm sorry."

"Don't be silly, I love honest praise. What could be more of a complement than your enjoyment. Don't stop, tell me more!" They laughed and the ice was broken.

Mandy poured herself a cup of coffee, and they chatted about the last 15 years in a general and impersonal way for a while. Then Mandy said, "I'd like to discuss something a bit more serious and somewhat unsettling for me. But can we do that over dinner. I'm starved. I never eat before a performance."

"Sure, where would you like to go."

"I'm staying at the Bon Aventure Hotel, and they have an fine restaurant right there."

"Yes, their food's good. Let's go. Do you have a car?"

"No, Cathy usually drives me everywhere."

"Fine, my car's parked in the garage."

The Bon Aventure was only a mile from the Music Center. They were quickly seated at a table overlooking the city lights. Mandy ordered a full meal. John had eaten before the concert and only wanted a salad. He did however order a bottle of champagne for them to celebrate her marvelous opening night.

After the champagne was uncorked and glasses poured, John proposed a toast, "To beautiful music." They clicked glasses and sipped the wine.

Mandy then did the strangest thing¾ at least John considered it completely extraordinary. Mandy proposed a toast, "To us."

John did not know what to say, and said nothing. He didn't understand the toast. He didn't raise his glass in acknowledgment. He just looked at her quizzically.

"Now let me explain why I called you," she said seriously as she put her glass down. "I've been having occasional dreams about us¾ you and me¾ for 15 years. Ever since that concert in England, where we met. The dreams are really more like flashes of images and sounds...and...impressions. Sometimes they involved just you, but most of the time, they involved both of us.

"I found these dreams difficult to understand since we barely met. But, I did remember you very clearly because of your expression during the performance. You had an expression of awe...awe at the beauty of the music and awe at the depth to which the music could touch you.

"Anyway, I also had dreams of people I know quite well...and some of these dreams later came true. Besides that, I often had strong feelings of dejavu. All this was very confusing, and I wondered about my sanity...I've talked to a psychiatrist, but he couldn't help me. His explanations were at the level of hidden psychological meanings to my dreams. I'm sure that's true sometimes, but he dismissed as coincidence my dreams which later came true. He also dismissed my dejavu feelings by saying they were rather common.

"It was not until two weeks ago, when I first read about your double lottery win and your explanation of future information being available in the present, that I understood what was happening to me... Well, I don't really understand it, but I think that...that I've been tuning into future events.

"The first time was when I saw the Queen's marvelous red and silver pendant which she wore at the concert in '93. I had a dream about that pendant a couple of weeks before the concert. At the time I ignored the coincidence. But since then¾ and with increasing frequency¾ I'm having too many coincidences. Not only are many of my dreams becoming reality, but when I meditate, I also see and hear flashes of information which often become true.

"John, your being here with me was something I saw just a couple of days ago...the night before I called you. I'm confused and I wanted to talk to you about all this."

John could see that she was perplexed and a little frightened. He reached across the table and took her hand in his, "Mandy, That's incredible...simply incredible, but it's okay...don't be upset."

He liked the feeling of her soft warm hand. He gently squeezed her hand before letting go, and continued. "I don't understand the connection with the future either, but I was connected during my lottery experiment. And apparently, you gather info from the future too. And you don't even need an HT unit! I'm very jealous." He ended with mocked anger which turned to a big reassuring smile.

They laughed. Her laugh was captivating, He raised his glass in a toast, "To the future, with all its connections to the present."

The waiter brought Mandy's first course, which was a delicious cucumber soup. "Seeing into the future will be much harder to accept for most people than self-healing," John continued talking as Mandy devoured her soup. He told her about the improvements to the initial HT unit. He became quite animated when he talked about HTing. He was very proud of the high percentage of successful self-healing cases. But the medical community was still very wary of treatments which did not use sophisticated medication and/or modern operation procedures.

The waiter brought Mandy's Veal Marsala and John's chef salad. Mandy immediately attacked her dish, and John continued. "Everyone knows that we humans use only a small percentage of our inherent capabilities, so I don't understand all the fuss¾ and all the denial¾ associated with HTing. It simply shows us our self-healing capabilities are much stronger than we previously assumed. And it's also clear that humans also have the capacity to gather information from the future."

"John, can you find out anything you want from the future?" asked Mandy as she paused a moment from hungrily eating her veal.

"I don't know...but I don't think so," answered John. "Everything I've read, and my own experience says that future information is fickle..."

"The fickle future," Mandy said with a smile.

"I'm not sure the future's so fickle," said John. "But our information about the future often is. There seems to be an information link between the future and the present. I don't understand it, but I don't believe all information is available at will."

"But you managed to choose 6 correct numbers twice in a row..."

"I think that was raw determination and beginner's luck. A friend of mine put the challenge to me, and I took it on very seriously. I used the HT-3 to prove¾ mostly to myself¾ that the future's ours to see," said John with a musical rhythm in his last few words.

"Was your third attempt a failure?"

"No," answered John more seriously.

"Then why did you stop after two successes?"

"That's difficult to explain, but I'll try," he said. "While I was sensing the 6 numbers for the second lottery, I had a very strong feeling that any further attempts would be failures...failures because they had to be. The consequences of being able to predict a random lottery 100% of the time was not something which could happen at the present time. That was an important insight. Two wins in a row were enough."

"I don't understand that."

He nodded expressing agreement, "Neither do I, really. But I experienced a strong feeling of knowing that two wins were all that were in my future."

"So, since you knew that you would only win two in a row," said Mandy, "you didn't even try for a third."

"That's right."

"Okay, I see that you had complete control over not trying for the third lottery, but the numbers in the two lotteries you won...you predicted them before they were randomly chosen. You had no control over the numbers. John, what's going on?"

John laughed, "It's certainly confusing. The words and concepts we normally use just don't apply. But Mandy...there's a big difference between controlling the future and sensing the future. I'm not sure what I control any more. I didn't control not winning a third lottery...I knew that it was not to be...and that was just right...just the way the future was suppose to be."

"Were you as sure about the numbers you chose? Did you know you were going to win?"

"The numbers were different. I've always had a bad memory for numbers. And many years ago I learned to associate simple objects with each of the numbers from 0 to 99. Then when I need to remember...say telephone numbers, I use the objects connected together in a way I can recall. It's become a game for me, and it works quite well.

"So when I HTed for the 6 lottery numbers, I was looking for images or impressions of six objects associated with those numbers. And, that's what happened. The sense of the six objects was pretty strong...I didn't know that they were the correct digits at the time. But they felt right, and I bought a ticket with those digits.

"Mandy, I sent those images to myself," John paused for a reaction.

"Now I'm really confused," Mandy said.

"I don't blame you," said John. "My plan was to transmit¾ to myself¾ images when I watched the LOTTO drawing the next day. And that's just what I did. I concentrated on sending the appropriate images backwards in time to myself as I watched the drawing." He paused.

"Weird stuff, huh" and he raised his eyebrows.

Mandy smiled, but waited to hear more.

"I had the LOTTO drawing piped into the HT-3 screen and consciously focused on the objects¾ and only the objects¾ associated with each number drawn. While HTing the images, I purposely avoided thinking about whether they were correct. This was probably the most difficult part of the experiment.

"As you can imagine," John continued with a big smile, "I was quite pleased when I checked my ticket."

Mandy laughed, "Yes, I can imagine."

"The second time was more difficult," John continued, "because my mind wouldn't stop thinking about what would happen if I continued to win game after game. And what would happen if everyone else could do the same! That's when the insight about my winning only two games came in loud and clear."

John paused, "There was also the feeling that the future had to be just the way it was going to be...that the future's pre-determined...somehow. And that even my actions...my actions of seeing the future were part of that pre-determination.

"Boy that's very interesting...quite a technique you developed there," said Mandy. "I've been forced to do a lot of thinking about free will too.".

She took a deep breath and continued. "About three years ago, I had a dream about a friend of mine, Peggy Johnson. I dreamt that she was in a plane crash...and that she was killed."

Mandy had tears in her eyes. "I had this dream two days before she died...I never told her about it. I don't know if it would have made any difference...but I never said anything to her..."

John again took her hands warmly into his, "I'm so sorry. But, don't blame yourself."

Mandy liked the feeling of his hands on hers. "I do partially blame myself. I thought about calling her... "

John asked, "Do all your dreams come true?"

"No...but this one had a feeling about it. I've learned to trust that feeling about my dreams. I wish I'd trusted it then...maybe she'd be alive." Mandy took her hands from Johns and shook her head, "It does no good to dwell on pain from the past. But I do wonder if Peggy's death was pre-determined. I wonder if I had called her, if it would have changed anything. I wonder if I could have called her."

"No one held a gun to your head," said John. "I don't mean that facetiously. We usually say we have free will if we were not forced to do something."

"Yes," said Mandy, "I know...but my dream was so real and so accurate...if I had called and if Peggy had canceled her trip...then the dream would have been wrong...it's all very puzzling."

She's a bright lady, thought John. And she's struggling with the same issues I am. "I'm fighting that vicious circle too," John said. "If you act on what you believe to be accurate future information and change it, then the info's not accurate. But I'm being led to the conclusion that whole incidents happen together...I mean the spatial and temporal things which make up the event are not as separate as normally thought of. The sequential way of thinking is flawed. Peggy's death was part of an event which included your dream and your not calling."

"And her dying," added Mandy.

"Yes...but you were not responsible," he said very deliberately.

"Who was?" she asked the obvious question.

"I don't know...I used to say it was an accident. But maybe Peggy was responsible for her own life...and her own death. Maybe she should have dreamt about the danger."

"If she had, would she have been able to change her actions?" Mandy asked rhetorically.

They sat quietly eating their dinners for a while, and then Mandy changed the subject. She told John about her grandfather, about the evening of his death, and about her ritual of playing Lullaby and meditating.

"February 29s are still important to you," said John.

"Yes," she responded, "but only because I treat them as special...like tonight..."

She became quite serious, and said, "I usually do my ritual right before the beginning of a concert. Today, during my meditation, I saw us. We were happy together. The feeling was a very good one. John...I took that feeling with me to the concert. It was deep and warm, and the emotion improved my performance."

"So why are you so sad. I'm flattered. I'm surprised, but I'm still flattered that your thoughts of me...of us..." He couldn't finish the sentence about improving her performance. That sounded too absurd. "Have you had these thoughts before?"

"Yes, but they're not thoughts, they're mostly feelings and images."

"About us?"

"Yes."

John was now quite uncomfortable. "How would you like a change of pace?" he asked to redirect the conversation. "In the elevator, I noticed a sign advertising a Fifty Years Ago, Rock and Roll, Music and Dance Festival at the 'Club on the Top.'"

"That is a change of pace," Mandy said with a big smile. "Loud meaningless music...sounds like fun. I haven't danced in years."

"Neither have I, it'll be fun."

They went upstairs and listened to the rock 'n' roll songs of the 1950s and early '60s. There were lots of Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis and Little Richard numbers. John and Mandy were especially moved by the pure strong soprano voice and touching lyrics of Joan Baez.

They talked and they danced, and they began to fall in love.

When he heard the song Love Me Tender, John said, "I used to dance to that in high school. We had sock hops in the gym. Would you like to dance another?"

Mandy was enjoying herself, "Sure. But I wasn't even born then...so be easy on me."

"Come on now...you're a terrific dancer." John said as he led her to the dance floor and drew her close. He always enjoyed slow dancing and the physical closeness. How old is she? he wondered, probably 40 or so. What is all her talk about us. She feels and smells so good right now, I know what kind of us I'm thinking of...you dirty old man. I'm probably 20 or 25 years older than she is. Why would she be talking about seeing a future for us? What does she mean by us?

They both enjoyed the dancing and their own thoughts for a while, and then Mandy asked, "John, you're pretty healthy, aren't you?"

"Yeah, I guess so."

"I know why, or at least I've dreamt why, you're so healthy."

"Okay, I'll bite, why am I so healthy."

"Because of your regular HTing sessions where you focus on being healthy. You spend several hours a week HTing, and not only for winning lotteries. You HT most of the time for improving your health, but you also HT to generate new ideas and to ask for guidance from within your self."

"Your dreams are rather personal...and remarkably accurate. I don't think I've ever verbalized my HTing objectives. What else have you dreamt about me?"

"Are you sure you want me to continue?"

"No, but please do...this is fascinating."

"You remain healthy until you're 130 years old, and then you die peacefully in your sleep."

"That's good to know...67 more years. I'm glad you didn't see me dying at 64, that's next year. I'm not sure I'd want to know that."

"Why not?" she asked. "If the future's pre-determined, why not know as much as possible. There's no way to know it all. I only get superficial glimpses. But why not glimpse what you can, and enjoy as much of your future as life will permit."

What a positive philosophy, he thought. "Let's not get philosophical again," he said. "What's happening 67 years from now in your future?"

"I'm with you."

"With me... Where? When?"

"In our bed...we die together. We're married, and we're still in love...after 65 years of marriage."

"Mandy, are you serious?"

"Yes."

"Let's sit down."

"I have a better idea. Let's go to my room... John, I love you."