Watling's Marsh

Chapter 5

David waited for someone at the table to point out why Gwynn was either a non-threatening innocent or a cunning alien murderess, but everyone appeared to be as baffled as him. Tasha was no help. She freely admitted to liking both women.

Uneasy parallels to Vietnam surfaced. Colin gave him a friendly nudge with his elbow, jolting him out of his thoughts. David gave a quick nod. "I'm okay," he murmured. Colin didn't disagree but eyed him sympathetically. He knew what David was thinking about.

"Until we have a better handle on what we're dealing with, we should monitor both of them," Sania declared. "I'll have my research team investigate Hisako. As for Gwynn, I received the initial report on her." She pulled out a sheet of paper from her leather folder and slipped on a pair of turquoise reading glasses. "Age 22. Parents deceased. Her mother was Egyptian and worked at the Museum of Cairo. She was killed during the Suez Conflict in 1955. Her father, Evan Tully, was an American of Welsh ancestry. He was a historian and Egyptologist. The parents met while he was conducting field research in Egypt. In 1960, Evan suffered a nervous breakdown. He was diagnosed with schizophrenia and admitted to a mental health facility where he died three years later. Gwynn was raised by an aunt in New York City. Her undergraduate work was at Stanford where she had a full scholarship. She also has a scholarship to Ogden. She's a first-year doctoral student in ecology."

Sania removed her glasses. "As attested by her scholarships, Gwynn's scholastic record is outstanding. She maintained a low profile at Stanford. She participated in several anti-war protests but wasn't a leader in the movement and has never been arrested."

"I wouldn't hold protest activities against her," Colin snorted. "I challenge you to name more than a handful of students who haven't taken part in protests of some sort."

"What happened to her father could explain her reluctance to let me run any tests on her," Jina said thoughtfully.

"We don't know if there's a genetic component to the xenon abnormality we share," Tasha said. "But her father's case could provide valuable data."

Jina absently rubbed the side of her neck. "The schizophrenia diagnosis has become somewhat of a hot topic at the medical facility these days. Several patients who'd come down with the flu show signs of schizophrenia but we only have data for a few weeks. A schizophrenia diagnosis requires months of careful evaluation."

"You believed that Gwynn's collapse might have been caused by the flu," Sania prompted.

"Yes, but until she's willing to be more forthcoming, I won't be able to confirm it. " Jina scanned the group. "Reggie's symptoms could also have been caused by schizophrenia. We shouldn't ignore any possibility."

"Let me also repeat my reminder," Sania said. "Anything that strikes you as unusual should be reported to the group."

"What about the high number of flu cases?" Tasha asked. "As far as we know, they're not related to us, but isn't it unusual to have so many this early in the season?"

"Yes, it is," Jina agreed. "Patients report a loss of connection to reality and occasional hallucinations. Some of them lose track of time or have rapid mood swings. So far, we haven't found any therapeutic to alleviate the symptoms. We wondered if Gwynn had a nefarious purpose in not wanting to be tested, but if she'd contracted the disease, the explanation could be benign."

"Sania, you'd mentioned you were going to ask your father about the Sanskrit sage," Stu said. "Is he familiar with any other works written by her?"

"He pointed me to an obscure mystical text that he believes is by the same author. In it, the sage describes special abilities. In light of our situation, they seem surprisingly relevant. Scholars believe the sage was speaking metaphorically, but what if that's not the case?" Sania retrieved a sheet written in longhand from her folder. "Among the attributes is the gift to identify a person by the lingering fragrance they left behind. Another acquired visions by crushing a plant leaf. There's also a stanza about someone who could charm others to fall in love with them. The sage described a person who could heal the hurts of others by merging with them. Supposedly they could even cure the poisons inflicted by the Forlith." She arched a brow. "Mystical visions or alien powers? You tell me."