As a multilingual psychic interpreter for the US government, my job is to quietly sit in on meetings involving a foreign diplomat, read his or her mind, and assess their true reactions to what is being discussed.
On a cold day in December, while attending a meeting between the US ambassador and his Russian counterpart, I noticed another person sitting in the room. Her long blond hair and green eyes combined with her stealth figure instantly caught my interest. I couldn’t help but think about having dinner with her and then some.
“Keep your dirty thoughts to yourself,” a voice in my head said in Russian.
Startled, I looked around and resumed looking at her. She was now frowning.
“Did you think that?” I thought.
She tighten her jaw and avoided eye contact.
Her reaction aroused me, so I couldn't help but think about her further.
She crossed her arms and legs and glanced in my direction. “Now you’ve gone too far. Knock it off.”
“That was you.” I thought, sitting up in my chair. “I guess we Americans are not the only ones eavesdropping on people’s thoughts.”
“Of course not, who do you think started the whole psychic abilities research? We were doing this back in the seventies when you were going in your diapers.”
“Hey, let’s not be offensive.”
“You are the one being offensive, with your dirty thoughts. What kind of a woman do you think I am?”
“I don’t know. But I can find out during dinner.”
“Ha! As if I would go to dinner with a stupid, childish, sex-crazed capitalist.”
“Admit it, you would love to get together with me.”
I could sense the anger growing in her mind.
The two diplomats stood up and shook hands.
In the debriefing room, the US ambassador asked me, “So what was his reaction to our arms proposal?”
I froze, realizing that I had missed out on most of the meeting.
“Ah,” I tried to think fast.“Actually, it was hard to assess his thoughts.”
“What do you mean?”
“His mind kept going to that woman in the room,” I said, feeling smart for coming up with that one, “I think he is sexually involved with her.”
The ambassador frowned, “Well, I’m not surprised. That’s his wife."
On a cold day in December, while attending a meeting between the US ambassador and his Russian counterpart, I noticed another person sitting in the room. Her long blond hair and green eyes combined with her stealth figure instantly caught my interest. I couldn’t help but think about having dinner with her and then some.
“Keep your dirty thoughts to yourself,” a voice in my head said in Russian.
Startled, I looked around and resumed looking at her. She was now frowning.
“Did you think that?” I thought.
She tighten her jaw and avoided eye contact.
Her reaction aroused me, so I couldn't help but think about her further.
She crossed her arms and legs and glanced in my direction. “Now you’ve gone too far. Knock it off.”
“That was you.” I thought, sitting up in my chair. “I guess we Americans are not the only ones eavesdropping on people’s thoughts.”
“Of course not, who do you think started the whole psychic abilities research? We were doing this back in the seventies when you were going in your diapers.”
“Hey, let’s not be offensive.”
“You are the one being offensive, with your dirty thoughts. What kind of a woman do you think I am?”
“I don’t know. But I can find out during dinner.”
“Ha! As if I would go to dinner with a stupid, childish, sex-crazed capitalist.”
“Admit it, you would love to get together with me.”
I could sense the anger growing in her mind.
The two diplomats stood up and shook hands.
In the debriefing room, the US ambassador asked me, “So what was his reaction to our arms proposal?”
I froze, realizing that I had missed out on most of the meeting.
“Ah,” I tried to think fast.“Actually, it was hard to assess his thoughts.”
“What do you mean?”
“His mind kept going to that woman in the room,” I said, feeling smart for coming up with that one, “I think he is sexually involved with her.”
The ambassador frowned, “Well, I’m not surprised. That’s his wife."
