Alvin grasped Hilvar by the shoulders and shook him violently, trying to drag him back to a greater awareness reality. «Tell me what’s happening!» he begged. «What do you want me to do?»
The remote, abstracted look slowly faded from Hilvars eyes.
«I still don’t understand,» he said, «but there’s no need to be frightened-I’m sure of that. Whatever it is, it wok harm us. It seems simply-interested.»
Alvin was about to reply when he was suddenly overwhelmed by a sensation unlike any he had ever known fore. A warm, tingling glow seemed to spread through body; it lasted only a few seconds, but when it was gone was no longer merely Alvin. Something was sharing his brain, overlapping it as one circle may partly cover another. He was conscious, also, of Hilvar’s mind close at hand, equally entangled in whatever creature had descended upon th The sensation was strange rather than unpleasant, and it Alvin his first glimpse of true telepathy-the power which his people had so degenerated that it could now be used to control machines.
Alvin had rebelled at once when Seranis had tried dominate his mind, but he did not struggle against this trusion. It would have been useless, and he knew that creature, whatever it might be, was not unfriendly. He let himself relax, accepting without resistance the fact that infinitely greater intelligence than his own was exploring his mind. But in that belief, he was not wholly right.
One of these minds, Vanamonde saw at once, was more apathetic and accessible than the other. He could tell that both were filled with wonder at his presence, and that surprised him greatly. It was hard to believe tat they could have forgotten; forgetfulness like mortality, was beyond the comprehension of Vanamonde.
Communication was very difficult; many of the thoughtimages in their minds were so strange that he could hardly recognize them. He was puzzled and a little frightened by the recurrent fear pattern of the Invaders; it reminded him of his own emotions when the Black Sun first came into his field of knowledge.
But they knew nothing of the Black Sun, and now their own questions were beginning to form in his mind.
«What are you?»
He gave the only reply he could.
«I am Vanamonde.»
There came a pause (how long the pattern of their thoughts took to form!) and then the question was repeated. They had not understood; that was strange, for surely their kind had given him his name for it to be among the memories of his birth. Those memories were very few, and they began strangely at a single point in time, but they were crystal clear.
Again their tiny thoughts struggled up into his consciousness.
«Where are the people who built the Seven Suns? What happened to them?»
He did not know; they could scarcely believe him, and their disappointment came sharp and clear across the abyss separating their minds from his. But they were patient and be was glad to help them, for their quest was the same as his and they gave him the first companionship be had ever known.
As long as he lived, Alvin did not believe he would ever again undergo so strange an experience as this soundless conversation. It was hard to believe that he could be little more than a spectator, for he did not care to admit, even to himself, that Hilvar’s mind was in some ways so much more capable than his own. He could only wait and wonder, half dazed by the torrent of thought just beyond the limits of his understanding.
Presently Hilvar, rather pale and strained, broke off the contact and turned to his friend.
«Alvin,» he said, his voice very tired. «There’s something strange here. I don’t understand it at all.»
The news did a little to restore Alvin’s self-esteem and his face must have shown his feelings, for Hilvar gave a sudden, sympathetic smile. I can’t discover what this-Vanamonde-is,» he continued. «It’s a creature of tremendous knowledge, but it seems to have very little intelligence. Of course,» he added, «its mind may be of such a different order that we can’t understand it-yet somehow I don’t believe that is the right explanation.»
«Well, what have you learned?» asked Alvin with some impatience. «Does it know anything about the Seven Suns?»
Hilvar’s mind still seemed very far away.
«They were built by many races, including our own,» he said absently. «It can give me facts like that, but it doesn’t seem to understand their meaning. I believe it’s conscious of the past, without being able to interpret it. Everything that’s ever happened seems jumbled together in its mind.»
He paused thoughtfully for a moment; then his face lightened.
«There’s only one thing to do; somehow or other, we must get Vanamonde to Earth so that our philosophers can study him.»
«Would that be safe?» asked Alvin.
«Yes,» answered Hilvar, thinking how uncharacteristic his friend’s remark was. «Vanamonde is friendly. More than that, in fact, he seems almost affectionate.»
And quite suddenly the thought that all the while had been hovering at the edge of Alvin’s consciousness came clearly into view. He remembered Krif and all the small animals that were constantly escaping, to the annoyance or alarm of Hilvar’s friends. And he recalled-how long ago that seemed!-the zoological purpose behind their expedition to Shalmirane. Hilvar had found a new pet.
Twenty-two
How completely unthinkable, Jeserac mused, this conference would have seemed only a few short days ago. The six visitors from Lys sat facing the Council, along a table placed across the open end of the horseshoe. It was ironic to remember that not long ago Alvin had stood at the same spot and heard the Council rule that Diaspar must be closed again from the world. Now the world had broken in upon it with, a vengeance and not only the world, but the Universe.
The Council itself had already changed. No less than five of its members were missing. They had been unable to face the responsibilities and problems now confronting them, and had followed the path that Khedron had already taken. It was, thought Jeserac , proof that Diaspar had failed if so many of its citizens were unable to face their first real challenge in millions of years. Many thousands of them had already fled into the brief oblivion of the Memory Banks, hoping that when they awoke the crisis would be past and Diaspar would be its familiar self again. They would be disappointed.
Jeserac had been co-opted to fill one of the vacant places on the Council. Though he was under something of a cloud, owing to his position as Alvin’s tutor, his presence was so obviously essential that no one had suggested excluding him.
He sat at one end of the horseshoe-shaped table-a position which gave him several advantages. Not only could he study the profiles of his visitors but he could also see the faces of his fellow Councilors-and their expressions were sufficiently instructive.
There was no doubt that Alvin had been right, and the Council was slowly realizing the unpalatable truth. The delegates from Lys could think far more swiftly than the finest minds in Diaspar. Nor was that their only advantage, for they also showed an extraordinary degree of co-ordination which Jeserac guessed must be due to their telepathic powers. He wondered if they were reading the Councilors’ thoughts, but decided that they would not have broken the solemn assurance without which this meeting would have been impossible.