Chapter 27

Chris refers to Josh breaking rules; does Josh break Doug’s Laws?

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No. The “guidelines” Chris refers to here are not the same as Doug’s Laws. Rather, they are guidelines that Josh has established to make running easier and to prevent injury. Some specific guidelines have been mentioned earlier in the book—for example, Josh’s recommendations against drinking soda or using anti-inflammatories while running. In this chapter, Chris is referring to other guidelines that discourage running when exhausted or sleep-deprived (which increase the risk of injury) and that encourage the maintenance of a regular sleep-wake schedule.

 

When Josh gives Chris energy, is he using a link like the one Stan and Camille share?

In one sense, yes. But the link shared by some Paradisians (and, in one case in the second book, by two humans) is a severely watered-down version of the link that connects the Deón. This link is different than any other in several ways.

1. The Deón each possess all possible link-related abilities. Stan and Camille, like linkmates generally, each possess some linked abilities, but not all of them. For instance, Camille carries a constant sense of Stan’s location relative to herself; Stan has no ability to pinpoint her location at all. This is why you might hear Stan calling to find out if Camille is still in the building, whereas Camille will simply know from the strength of the “tug,” as she calls it, how far away Stan is and which direction he’s in.

2. The Deón possess the fullest potential of each linked ability whereas mortals possess link-related abilities in varying degrees. For example, Stan can only fully sense Camille’s emotions if he’s looking her in the eye, but Camille senses Stan’s emotions whenever they’re in close proximity.

3. The Deón are able to transfer energies between themselves and any other willing recipient—hence Josh’s ability to give Chris positive energy and to “take” his negative energy. Other linked individuals can only transfer energies to/from their linkmate.

4. Since they have an unlimited amount of energy from which to draw, the Deón can give away energy without limit. Other linkmates do not have an unlimited reservoir of energy. This is one reason that Stan and Camille transfuse each other only when necessary; it depletes their own energy store to some extent when they transfuse their linkmate.

5. The Deón’s link-related abilities do not diminish with distance. In mortals, with the exception of the ability to sense their linkmate’s danger (an ability Stan refers to in Chapter 13), all other linked abilities diminish or vanish with distance, barriers (like walls), and sometimes even estrangement.

6. The Deón do read each other’s minds. No other linked relationship includes this ability, even though it sometimes seems Stan and Camille are reading minds. The link helps here, since they can sense their linkmate’s underlying emotion. But mostly, the siblings just know each other very well; after all, they lived together for over 3,000 years and have been working together for 6,000.