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."Without the existence of the link you wouldn't be able to flip."Graham shook his head."So what's the problem?""The link accentuates the resonance effect," said Tamisha."Without the link, the resonance wave would have a fraction of its power.""You don't know that!" cried Annalise."You said it would be reduced, you didn't say it would be a fraction.You're making it sound like the resonance wave was all Graham's fault."Gary moved to comfort Annalise, placing a hand on her shoulder.She shrugged it off angrily."And you're just as bad," she told him."Tell Graham your idea for breaking the link.""It wasn't a serious suggestion.We were brainstorming ideas."Graham swallowed.He could think of one very sure way of severing the link."Is that why Adam Sylvestrus has been attacking all the Grahams?" he asked."We don't know," said Tamisha."It could be, but," she paused, "this is difficult to say and I apologize for my bluntness but.it would be easier if he killed you.Killing you breaks the link; putting you in a coma does not.""But it does stop you flipping," said Howard."It's like he sees your flipping as a threat and so he places you in a state where you can't interact or make a choice that impacts on the world.""How could my flipping be a threat?""Because accelerated flipping can burn out the link," said Tamisha.Graham's heart leapt."I can break the link by flipping?"As soon as he saw Annalise turn and look away, he knew the answer."You could have," Tamisha said, "when you were a child."He didn't understand.What had it to do with being a child? Why couldn't he try now? He could flip all day, all year if needs be.He'd go home, make choices, interact with the world.Whatever it took."From what the Etxamendi file has told us," said Tamisha, "the link is broken in childhood.As the linked children start to interact with their worlds, they flip constantly and this flipping increases until the charge becomes so great that the thread is burned away and the link destroyed.""This has happened before?" said Annalise."Yes," said Tamisha."We found four this morning.""How?" asked Shikha, surprised."We've checked the Census files.Graham's the only person who occurs on every world.""The Census files are incomplete.Most only go back to the 1850s and only for those countries that collect the data.We checked the advanced worlds.Their data go back millennia.We looked for children with the same first name, date of birth and location.We found four.A girl and three boys, roughly three to four hundred years between each event.""And they lived normal lives?" asked Annalise."They appeared to.All of them had problems during early childhood.We found entries pointing to medical and psychological problems.Their school grades were low.Many were diagnosed as problem children.""But they recovered?" asked Shikha."So it seems.After the age of six, their grades picked up and their psych visits tailed off.As adults they had a variety of jobs, they married, divorced, had kids and led a normal varied life.""Whereas you," said Howard looking directly at Graham, "developed differently.You found a way of managing your situation.You learned—subconsciously, instinctively, maybe by resonance—who knows?" He shrugged and spread his gnarled fingers out wide."But, somehow, you learned and adapted.You withdrew into yourself, stopped interacting, stopped making choices and resonance did the rest.""Which has left you trapped," said Tamisha."The link is stronger and more difficult to break and the Grahams." She paused again, a slight grimace forming on her lips."Pardon my bluntness again, Graham, but from what I've read and with the exception of yourself, the Grahams have neither the will nor the capacity to break the link."He didn't understand.Why didn't they have the will or capacity? He waited for Tamisha to explain.He looked to Gary, to Howard, to Annalise."She thinks all the Grahams are too withdrawn to be reached," Annalise told him, her eyes flashing angrily."They all do.They're just like your colleagues at work.They think you're all mute retards.""We don't think that," said Shikha."But you can't underestimate the effect that consciousness exchange has had on their lives.I couldn't begin to imagine how I'd cope under similar circumstances.Not knowing from day to day if the house I left in the morning would be there when I came home.Having a stranger call herself my mother.Having history change just before a history test."She walked over to Graham and took hold of his hand."You have my profound respect," she said."I couldn't have lasted one month in your shoes."Annalise's hand flew to her mouth.She looked away."Mine too," said Tamisha."But that doesn't alter the fact that it'll take years of therapy to reach all the Grahams.Some may be too traumatized ever to be reached.And time is something we don't have."* * *"Are the other Grahams traumatized?" Graham asked Annalise a few minutes later when they left to fetch coffees.Annalise didn't reply immediately."They're quiet," she said, "but I wouldn't call them traumatized." She thought for a few more strides."Calm, I'd say.Like they have an inner peace.Somewhere safe they can live and look out on the rest of the world.The other girls say the same." She smiled."Annalise Ten says it's like being around this real cool monk.My Trappist guy, she calls you."Graham reflected on Annalise's answer while they waited for the lift
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