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absent. There were no indications of physical damage otherwise. But her mental
condition was deplorable! What had knocked out her memory?
The answer came slowly.
The Hana had knocked out her memory.
With that, it was all back. Telzey lay quiet, reflecting. That incredible
species! Waiting on the three worlds they d filled wherever they could grow,
worlds transformed into deadly psi forts waiting for the return of an enemy
they d fought, how long ago? Fifty thousand human years? A hundred thousand?
They d been convinced the Veen would be back and attempt again to enslave or
destroy them. And they d been ready to receive the Veen. What giant powers of
attack and defense they d developed in that long waiting while their minds lay
deeply hidden! When an occasional psi entity began to search them out, it was
hurled back by the reef of monstrous energies they d drawn about themselves.
None had ever succeeded in passing that barrier.
Until we did
, Telzey thought.
They had; and the Hana mind, nakedly open, immensely powerful, believing they
were Veen who had penetrated its defenses, began killing them. They d lasted a
while, under that double shield. They couldn t have lasted very long even so,
because life was being drained from them into the Hana mind in spite of the
shield; but there was time enough for Telzey s concept transforming process to
get into operation. Then the Hana realized they weren t Veen, weren t enemies,
didn t intend to attack it; and it stopped killing them.
Things had begun to get rather blurred for Telzey around then. But she d
picked up some additional details
mostly about the other who d come through the barrier with her.
She relaxed her screens gradually. As she d suspected, that other one was in
the room. She opened her eyes, sat up unsteadily in bed, turned on the room
lights.
Pilch sat in a chair halfway across the room, watching her.  I thought you d
come awake, she remarked.
Telzey settled back on the bed.  How s Trigger?
 Perfectly all right. Asleep at present. She was behind a rather formidable
shield at the time of contact.
 The Old Galactic s, said Telzey.
 Yes.
 What was doing here in the Hana?
it
 A precaution the Old Galactics decided on after they realized what the Hana
was, Pilch said.  If our psi investigations failed and the Hana began to cut
loose, it would have died on the physical side. They have fast methods.
Telzey was silent a moment.  As I remember it, she said then,  you weren t in
much better shape than I was when I passed out.
 True enough, agreed Pilch.  We were both in miserable shape, more than half
dead. Fortunately, I m good at restoring myself. At that, it took me several
days to get back to par.
 Several days?
 It s been ten days since you made the contact, Pilch told her.
 Ten days! Startled, Telzey struggled back up to a sitting position.
 Relax, said Pilch.  No one s missed you. Your family is under the impression
you re vacationing around, and it won t occur to the caretakers to come near
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the house until we re ready to let them resume their duties. Which will be
quite soon. I know you still feel wrung out, but you ve been gaining ground
very rapidly tonight. A few more hours will see you back to normal health.
That was no ordinary weakness.
Telzey studied her thoughtfully.
 You use anyone about any way you like, don t you? she said.
 You, too, have been known to use people, Telzey Amberdon! Pilch remarked.
 You and Trigger, in your various ways, share the quality of being most
effective when thrown on your own resources. It seemed our best chance, and it
was. None of our xenos could have done precisely what you did at the critical
moment, and I m not at all sure the contact could have been made in any other
manner.
She glanced at the watch on her wrist, stood up and came over to the bed.
 Now you re awake and I m no longer needed here. I ll be running along, she
said.  Trigger can fill you in. If there s some specific question you d like
me to answer, go ahead.
 There s one question, Telzey said.  How old are you, Pilch?
Pilch smiled.  Never you mind how old I am.
 You were there before they founded the Federation, Telzey said reflectively.
 If you saw that, said Pilch,  you ve also seen that I helped found the
Federation. And that I help maintain it.
You might keep it in mind. Any time a snip of a psi genius can be useful in
one of my projects, I ll use her.
Telzey shook her head slightly.  I don t think you ll use me again.
Pilch s knowing gray eyes regarded her a moment. Then Pilch s hand reached
down and touched her cheek.
Something like a surge of power flowed through Telzey and was absorbed. She
blinked, startled.
Pilch smiled.
 We ll see, little sister! We ll see! she said.
Then she was gone.
 Are you angry with her? Trigger asked, an hour later, perched on the edge of
Telzey s bed while they both took cautious sips from cups of very hot broth.
It was early morning now, and they were alone in the house. The Hana and the
Old Galactic had left with Pilch s people days ago, and Trigger had gathered
they were going first to bring the news that the Veen War was over to the
other Hanas currently in Hub laboratories. Afterward, they d all be off
together to the Hana planets to make arrangements which would avoid further
problems.
Telzey shook her head.
 I ll forgive her this time, she said.  She took a chance on her own life
helping me get through the Hana shield, and she knew it. Then she seems to
have spent around a week of her time here, to make sure I d recover.
Trigger nodded.  Yes, she did. You were looking pretty dead for a while,
Telzey! They said you d be all right, but
I wasn t at all certain. Then Pilch appeared and took over, and you started to
pick right up. She sighed.  Pilch has her ways!
Telzey sipped her broth meditatively. The Hanas hadn t been the only ones [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]