Viken showed him to a pleasantly furnished chamber which would be his own. Well fetch your luggage soon, and unload your psionic stuff. Right now, everybodys either talking to the ships crew or reading his mail.
Cornelius nodded absently and sat down. The chair, like all lowgee furniture, was a mere spidery skeleton, but it held his bulk comfortably enough. He felt in his tunic, hoping to bribe the other man into keeping him company for a while. Cigar? I brought some from Amsterdam.
Thanks. Viken accepted with disappointing casualness, crossed long, thin legs and blew grayish clouds.
Ah… are you in charge here?
Not exactly. No one is. We do have one administrator, the cook, to handle what little work of that type may come up. Dont forget, this is a research station, first, last, and always.
What is your field, then?
Viken frowned. Dont question anyone else so bluntly, Dr. Cornelius, he warned. Theyd rather spin the gossip out as long as possible with each newcomer. Its a rare treat to have someone whose every last conceivable reaction hasnt beenno, no apologies to me. S all right. Im a physicist, specializing in the solid state at ultra-high pressures. He nodded at the wall. Plenty of it to be observed there!
I see. Cornelius smoked quietly for a while. Then: Im supposed to be the psionics expert, but, frankly, at present Ive no idea why your machine should misbehave as reported.
You mean those, uh, K tubes have a stable output on Earth?
And on Luna, Mars, Venuseverywhere, apparently, but here. Cornelius shrugged. Of course, psibeams are always persnickety, and sometimes you get an unwanted feedback whenno. Ill get the facts before I theorize. Who are your psimen?
Just Anglesey, whos not a formally trained esman at all. But he took it up after he was crippled, and showed such a natural aptitude that he was shipped out here when he volunteered. Its so hard to get anyone for Jupiter V that we arent fussy about degrees. At that, Ed seems to be operating Joe as well as a Ps.D. could.
Ah, yes. Your pseudojovian. Ill have to examine that angle pretty carefully, too, said Cornelius. In spite of himself, he was getting interested. Maybe the trouble comes from something in Joes biochemistry. Who knows? Ill let you into a carefully guarded little secret, Dr. Viken: psionics is not an exact science.
Neither is physics, grinned the other man. After a moment, he added more soberly: Not my brand of physics, anyway. I hope to make it exact. Thats why Im here, you know. Its the reason were all here.
Edward Anglesey was a bit of a shock the first time. He was a head, a pair of arms, and a disconcertingly intense blue stare. The rest of him was mere detail, enclosed in a wheeled machine.
Biophysicist originally, Viken had told Cornelius. Studying atmospheric spores at Earth Station when he was still a young man accident, crushed him up, nothing below his chest will ever work again. Snappish type, you have to go slow with him.
Seated on a wisp of stool in the esprojector control room, Cornelius realized that Viken had been soft-pedaling the truth.
Anglesey ate as he talked, gracelessly, letting the chairs tentacles wipe up after him. Got to, he explained. This stupid place is officially on Earth time, GMT. Jupiter isnt. Ive got to be here whenever Joe wakes, ready to take him over.
Couldnt you have someone spell you? asked Cornelius.
Bali! Anglesey stabbed a piece of prot and waggled it at the other man. Since it was native to him, he could spit out English, the common language of the station, with unmeasured ferocity. Look here. You ever done therapeutic esping? Not just listening in, or even communication, but actual pedagogic control?
No, not I. It requires a certain natural talent, like yours. Cornelius smiled. His ingratiating little phrase was swallowed without being noticed by the scored face opposite him. I take it you mean cases like, oh, re-educating the nervous system of a palsied child?
Yes, yes. Good enough example. Has anyone ever tried to suppress the childs personality, take him over in the most literal sense?