He had always been interested in fortune-telling.
As a boy he would find books about mediums, clairvoyants, oracles, diviners, palmists and so on. He would find references to the ancient works of olden day soothsayers and seers. No doubt, all this was reinforced by the fact that his auntie was a known tarot reader and his grandmother would amaze people with her tea-leaf readings. In a way, it was strange that he didn’t recognise that he himself had such powers until he was in his mid-twenties. It started with letting people know about things that were about to happen that would involve them directly. These were mainly family and friends. As time went on and word spread, he would be approached by others, often people he didn’t know. That’s when the media caught a whiff of what was going on and in a very short time made him something of a celebrity.
It was during this period of newspaper articles and television interviews that his personal world became even more exciting. At the height of it he was approached. At the time, the contact was deemed to be just another person needing help with some situation or issue that was troubling them. The man that arrived and spoke to him that day was directed there by his department’s superior. Without giving any details about why he was there, it was made clear to him that he could be an enormous help with matters that were of national interest. He explained that the work of homeland security covered many things, such as maritime and border security, the protection of the nation’s leaders, responding to natural disasters and matters concerning counterterrorism.
The prospect of using his abilities to serve such a vital role was more than a little exciting and it was arranged that he would attend an interview in the city on the following day. It was explained that this meeting would be less about asking him questions and more about answering those of his own. It would provide him with enough information for him to make a decision about his personal commitment.
On his arrival things happened quickly. He was met at reception by the same man who had visited. He accompanied him to a small waiting area where they sat together. He explained that his superior’s secretary would be along shortly to collect him, in the meantime they were served drinks and a plate of biscuits. Although he felt sure that this was meant to relax him, he could feel the tension building as he sat chatting and sipping his coffee…
Soon after, now unconscious, he was placed on a gurney. The attendant wheeled him to the elevator and they descended to the basement where he was trundled into the coma room. He was transferred to a bed, alongside many others that contained what could be seen as sleeping patients. He was left after setting up the drip.
Owing to a number of inexplicable administrative errors and a great deal of red tape he was not registered as a missing person for several months.