milliways_bar | (no subject)

"Oh, man." Ray winced. "That's an innovative way to make contact, I'll grant you that, but wow does that ever suck to find out. The poor guy. What a way to go..."

Johnny nodded, "Yeah, I was also getting strange nightmares from it, and Rev. Purdy, who knew both of my parents, sent me to the shrink who ended up recommending my father for committment. Purdy hoped I might found out some things about what happened through him."

"Got a look on the case file on my father, too." Though he wouldn't elaborate how he got a hold of it since he was lucky he wasn't jailed for it. "The doctor thought he was schizophrenic, and possibly manic-depressive. But his visions were real."

Ray nodded. "Nobody ever said psychics weren't subject to the same biochemical imbalances as the rest of the population," he said. "He could've easily been mildly bipolar and it wouldn't have necessarily related to his visions in the slightest. At least, that's what most of the available data seems to indicate, to my knowledge. I can't imagine any treatments they might've imposed for the other diagnosis could've had anything like positive effects, though."

Johnny looked thoughtful as he remembered what he saw at the site of the former mental hospital, "No, just the opposite in fact."

He added, "I was able to stop the events in his vision from happening at least. But that look in his eyes. I know it." Because it was the same look in his eyes these days.

"The only thing wrong with him I think was that nobody was willing to listen. Except me." And the light in his eyes, mirroring his father's, gave the semblance that maybe he was slightly unbalanced too.

Yes, well. Other people might notice that. But Ray works with Egon.

In the Ghostbusters Firehouse, sanity is outnumbered three to one.

"At least you got the task at hand dealt with, right?" Ray said. "I'm sure he was grateful for that, at least. What did that involve?"

Johnny nodded, "The vision involved an explosion and a building collasping. There was a woman involved that was the key to it. She was a little girl at the time of my father's vision, and he frightened her by showing up at her house to confirm it."

He continued, "It turned out the building the woman's company built had a gas leak in it. On the day of dedication of it, she was checking the lighting system. The building collasped, and we just barely got away. No one was killed though." In fact, there's some faded scars on his face and hands from the experience.

"Gotcha. Huh, that must've been one heck of a shock for the girl originally... Did she know you were your father's son when you turned up? I mean, I don't know how you handle these things- do you tell people why you're there, or just try to work from secret, or what? Either way, it's gotta be nerve-wracking for you."

"I told her, and tried to explain. She didn't want to, said she had put it all behind her."

Johnny then said, "It's a bit both. I don't like having to explain why, because people don't want to believe me. If I wasn't getting these visions, I wouldn't believe it either."

He added ironically, "Though nowadays, I often don't have to explain because of the media reporting about me regularly."

"Somehow I'm not surprised..."

He shakes his head. "That must make it hard. Both having people not wanting to understand, and having the press on your tail. We get reporters a lot in my work, but since we're a corporation, that's generally a good thing. It'd be different if we had some kind of standing enemy, the way you do with that senator guy."

Johnny nodded, "It is, especially with the amount of connections that Stillson's getting. And he's not going to stop with just being a senator either. He's going to end up elected as President."

"Even better," Ray muttered. "Man, I knew there was a reason I hated politics. The ghosts trying to sink Manhattan are bad enough. I don't need the living following suit."

Johnny nodded, "It means I've got less of a timetable than I thought."

He then added, "I don't remember, have you checked me during one of my visions? You have detection equipment as I understand it, and I think you've mentioned that people of my abilities manifest as what did you call it? PKE?"

"I don't think I have, no," Ray said, pulling his meter from his belt. "And yeah, PKE- psychokinetic energy, although that's kind of a misnomer now that we've seem how much more than merely ghosts use the same part of the energy spectrum. But I could check and see, the next time you have one, if you want."

Johnny nodded, "Well, they tend to come on on their own. Maybe if you have something for me to touch?" Being scientific himself, he was curious about any reasonable explanation for his abilities.

"And how wide of a range for that spectrum? Unfortunately, nobody's done that much serious study into the topic on my world."

Ray thinks for a bit, and then smiles. "As a matter of fact I do, and we may be able to get some answers for someone who badly needs them. The item I have is a piece taken from the side of a US military aircraft whose pilot is currently Bound here. He last saw his wingmen over North Korea- he arrived here from a crash situation. He's alive, though there was a fairly terrible fire that almost killed him. If you're willing, I'd like to see if you get any kind of vision about his wingmen off that- if you're not, because of the fire, I understand completely." He holds up a quarter-sized bronze object in a plastic bag.

"As for the other thing- a lot of range. Anywhere from ghosts to psychokinesis to telepathy to pyrokinesis to 'magic' to the physical manifestations of the Force. I've measured all of 'em here in the Bar or back home at one point or another."

Johnny nodded, "I'd like to see your observations on it some time, if you don't mind. It sounds interesting."

He then reached out to take the plastic bag, and opened it. He dropped the object into his hand, and he suddenly stiffened as his surroundings changed around.

He coughed some as smoke surrounded him, and shielded his face from the flames. There was an instrument panel in front of him, and he touched the comlink, and the vision changed again. He was now in the point of view of another pilot, barking orders, and watching as a plane crashes into a helicopter. He brought the plane in for a landing on the carrier, and stepped out to be greeted by the otherwingman, or woman. ..Kara.. and Ben.

The vision then faded away.

Johnny then said, "Kara and Ben. They're alive, they made it back safely."

"Sure, not a problem," Ray said, flicking the meter on and waiting.

He didn't have long to wait; the red sensor arms rose immediately, lights on the ends flickering off and on as soon as Johnny's hand closed around the piece of the plane. The numbers started scrolling up the screen immediately. "Ooo," Ray said, very very quietly. No more than that, since he didn't want to disturb the vision taking place. Although he did look up sharply as Johnny started coughing without warning. He'd heard that cough before. That was what smoke inhalation sounded like- and then, oh, man, the snapped-out orders that he knew were none of Johnny's own memories...

The meter's arms sagged. Ray looked up in time to see Johnny's face relax. "You saw? That's fantastic- were you aware that you were speaking, or any of that? I mean, you gave every impression of a full sensory immersion."

He held out a hand for the piece of plane.

"And they're alive? That's even better. Eddie's going to be thrilled."

Johnny studied him with a rueful look at the enthusiasm. He placed the plane section back in the bag, and handed it back to Ray

"I saw." He then said thoughtfully, "I've been told that I sometimes will talk in my visions. Sometimes in languages I don't even know, depending on who the subject was. I've even done automatic writing for a case I was brought in on, and drawings based on the style of another subject."

Ray being Ray, he completely failed to note the rueful look.

"Sir, if I weren't already hip deep in the dead, I'd almost be tempted to change my major and study parapsychology from the psychic angle instead just so I could get a better understanding of your case. Psychometry's rare enough. That level of detail, that kind of ability- that's just incredible by comparison to everything else out there."

Johnny nodded, "I've heard that what I have is rare. I guess calling them visions isn't completely accurate because I do feel like I'm there. Sometimes as an observer, sometimes from the point of view of the person. I can interact with them at times as well. Generally I've noticed there seems to be an emotional factor to them as well."

"Well, yeah, there would be," Ray says, setting the meter aside. "The primary component most psychometric readings have in common is extremely strong emotions associated with them. One case study I saw involved a man who was given five knives- he screamed when he got to the one that'd been used to commit a murder, dropped the knife, knocked his forehead against the table, and suddenly sat up and announced that someone had had sex on the table within the last twenty-four hours. Turned out he was right."

Johnny nodded, and commented, "I hoped for his sake, he was just observing in both visions. It's sometimes pretty disturbing from the individuals' point of view." He had enough visions involving murders from the murderer's point of view to know too well why people kill.

He added, "Well, as Rev. Purdy put it, I don't get boring visions about people. I get them for a reason."

"Unfortunately, I don't remember," Ray admitted. "It's been a while since I saw the documents for the case."

He nodded. "I would have to say so, yeah. Boring events don't exactly radiate, you know?"

"I guess not."