Indirection | Page 7

to learn to think in it. I wanted to avoid
any possibility of lapsing away from it, so I translated my instructions
and notes, hoping to keep myself constantly reminded to refrain from
using Galactica at any time." He spread his hands. "I suppose--"
Kweiros waved. "Logical, I presume," he admitted. "Anyway, that's
done, and we can't do much about it now. Now for another thing." He
glanced at the tape reels. "I noticed that the villagers in your area
regarded you as a sorcerer. What cause did they have to form such an
opinion?"
"None, sir, that I know of." Jaeger shook his head.
Kweiros looked at the boy. "Elwar?"
"Why, all the village knew it, Master." The boy shook his head. "One
had but to be near Master Jaeger for a time, and he could feel the power,
just as I can feel it now." He shook his head again. "But it is very
strong, Master. You must be one of the ones of truly great power."
Kweiros looked speculatively at Jaeger.
"I understood they were nontelepaths. All the reports agree on that."
"Definitely, sir, they are. They're absolutely mute. Not a trace of
radiation, even when they're close. And they don't receive. You can try
it now, sir. It's just like punching into space itself. No resistance, no
reflection, just nothing."
"Shield?"
"No, sir. Just no indication. Makes me feel as though I were in free
space with a dead drive."
* * *
Kweiros looked for a moment at Jaeger, then sent out a probing thought,
searching for some indication of mental activity from the boy. But there
was nothing. It wasn't anything like a shield, he thought. It seemed

more like an infinite baffle.
But there was some reaction. The boy shrank back in terror.
"Please, Master," he begged. "Do not place me under enchantment." He
held up his hands in a peculiar gesture.
"What made you do that?" Kweiros raised a hand slowly, palm out. "I
have no intention of harming you."
"But I could feel you, trying to cast me under a spell."
"You ... felt me?"
"To be sure, Master, just as I have felt the same power from my master,
Jaeger. But this was far stronger. It hurt. And it seemed as though you
wanted me to do something."
Kweiros nodded. "I think I'm getting an idea," he remarked. "And it
scares me a little. They're not really nontelepathic, any more than the
Kierawelans, for example, are nonvocal. I think we've got something
here that's almost unique in the galaxy." He rubbed his neck. "Excuse
me a few minutes. I want to check something in one of these tapes."
Jaeger nodded and leaned back in his chair, looking curiously at the
boy beside him, then back at his superior, who had selected a tape reel.
He threaded it into the playing heads, put on a headband, and snapped a
switch. Jaeger and the boy watched as Kweiros leaned back.
The officer's face became vacant, then twisted, seeming to reflect
painful mental effort. Slowly, he leaned forward again, touching
another switch. Then, he sank back, to concentrate on his thoughts.
Jaeger looked again at the boy, who was sitting tensely, his hands
gripping the arms of his chair, his eyes fastened fearfully on the officer
before him. As Jaeger watched, Elwar half rose from his chair, then
sank back, his face appearing to mirror Kweiros' efforts.
[Illustration]

At last, Kweiros sat up. Shakily, he removed his headband and snapped
the playback off.
"Long time since I checked that tape," he said. "Pretty rugged stuff, and
highly speculative. Always gives me a headache." He shook his head as
he looked at Elwar.
"And this makes it even worse. It was bad enough as pure speculation,
but we've got something real here. Something rough. For one thing, we
have got a planet where no one but native operatives stand a chance of
working. For another we--" He cupped his chin in his hands and
examined Elwar closely.
"Do you really want to learn the secrets you looked for in the books,
youngster? Do you still want the secrets you first thought you might
learn?"
The boy seemed to withdraw a little. "I have a great fear," he admitted
tremulously.
"You haven't been injured or mistreated, have you?"
"No, Master, but--" Elwar looked toward the door.
"And you won't be," he was told reassuringly. "Now you just go ahead
on back to your quarters."
* * *
As the door closed, Kweiros turned to Jaeger.
"Think we'll put you on special assignment. For the next few cycles,
you'll act as a private tutor. Then you can go back to Main Base with
Elwar while they give him his training."
Jaeger raised his eyebrows. "Yes, sir," he said