“I don’t know what’s coming over me,” she said weakly. “I thought… but I did see …”
She gazed vaguely in Thariinye s direction with eyes that clearly did not really see him, but only something she would take as “not unusual” in this place. “Excuse me … do I know you?”
“Judit, what’s the matter with you?” A large, red-topped biped with an amazing display of facial hair burst through an inner door. “Acorna, where the devil have you …”
This one slowed, and the same confusion crossed his features. “Wait a minute. I thought…”
He backed up through the doorway by which he’d entered, glanced up at something, and looked back at Thariinye. “I don’t get it,” he said, and rubbed his eyes. “On the vid … but you’re not…”
The hiss of machinery behind him became louder; the red one stepped aside, out of sight, and a very aged biped mounted on a floating box maneuvered through the doorway. Thariinye had an instant impression of fragile, paper-dry, wrinkled skin around a withered frame, bright dark eyes, and a piercing intelligence.
(I deduce some kind of telepathic damper,) the new biped thought.
Thariinye sighed in relief. (Then your people can hear with the heart as well as the ears?)
(It is not a well-understood talent among those of my race, but the possibility has long been discussed. A sage of this man s people once said that when the impossible has been discarded, what remains, however improbable, must be the truth.)
Thariinye tossed his forelock out of his weary eyes. If this was the aged being’s first experience of mind-speech, why was he taking it so calmly? And how had he figured it out so fast?
(You young people are so easily excited.)
Thariinye felt the dry amusement in the old being’s thoughts.
(Confirmation of a long-discussed hypothesis is gratifying, not frightening! As for deductions, I could conceive of no other hypothesis which would account for the fact that your image appears as one like Acorna on the vid-screens, yet all who see you in person take you for a man like us.)
(Except those blasted kids!)
(My species often claims that children’s sight is purer and more truthful than that of adults. Is this then true?)
(They’re too immature for thought-speech. I suppose you could call that pure-I call it damned inconvenient!)
(Ahh. Will be most interesting to learn details of what you call thought-speech. But first things must come first. Let us take tea together, and perhaps you will tell me what you know of our Acorna.)
(OUR ‘Khornya,) Thariinye corrected firmly, (and it is for your people to tell us what you have done with her.)
(There are more of you?)
(Introduce us AT ONCE, Thariinye. How could you be so rude? This is clearly not a barbarian but a truly hnyarii being.) (You are so inconsiderate, Thariinye!)
The aged biped’s dark eyes widened, and he let out a hiss of comprehension.
“This is wonderful,” he whispered aloud. “Judit, you will please make ready tea for … how many?”
(There are four of us.) There didn’t seem to be much point in concealing their number when this being had so rapidly deduced so much about them.
“I don’t see what is so wonderful!” said the female addressed as “Judit”-terrible, tongue-mangling name; how would he ever manage to say it?
“We speak in mind,” the old one said in his husky whisper. “I hnd is much less tiring than manipulating vocal apparatus. You will please learn art of mind-speak as soon as possible, my Judit. Perhaps these new ki-iin will be so kind as to teach you.” To Thariinye he suggested, (It might reduce confusion if you were to allow my companions to see yourself in your true aspect.)
(How rude, Thariinye! One does not project illusions onto the minds of linyarii beings to whom one has been properly introduced.)
(SHUT UP! Oh, sorry,) Thariinye sent to the old one, (not you, my aunt Melireenya. She is the most terrible nagging-well, you’ll see.)
(I look forward to meeting your companions.)
There was a gasp of amazement from the younger bipeds gathered around the old one as Thariinye dropped his cloaking projections and stood before them as himself: a sevenfoot-tall Liinyar male in the pride of health and youth, as good a specimen of the race, in his own humble opinion, as they could hope to find.