Read Online Through the Ice by Piers Anthony, Launius Anthony, Robert Kornwise - Free Book Online Page B
Tags: Fiction, General, Science-Fiction, Fantasy, Juvenile Fiction, Magic, Epic, Science Fiction; Fantasy; & Magic
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more meaningful. It was as though he were receiving a radio signal directly in his head, fraught with nuances, only a few of which he could interpret. He did his best to emulate it, feeling clumsy. You are beautiful!
The freighting of nuances doubled. This is appreciation or impertinence?
Yes, he agreed, marveling at his audacity. He had intended to formulate a routine communication, but his mental image of her had expanded as he tried to focus on her as receiver, and somehow he had sent that instead. Now he was embarrassed.
In your plane, such opinions are not expressed? she inquired.
Not to strangers, he returned. In my plane we cannot read thoughts, so we think very freely. I would not have spoken such a thing to you, but it is a true thought. He hoped that would mollify her.
I am not antagonized, merely curious, she returned, again reading more than he had intended. I am of course beautiful by human physical standards; this requires no statement. I assumed you had a motive for expressing the obvious; now I understand that you were not aware you were expressing it. You are doing well in your communication, and this is excellent practice.
Thank you, he thought sincerely.
You are very quick to adapt, considering that your plane does not do this. You may be impetuous, but you are also clever.
Thank you, he thought again, deeply pleased by the compliment.
But you must learn to distinguish statements of fact or opinion from efforts to please or displease. Now that we have established contact, you cannot hide your thoughts from me, so it is best to keep them in order.
He could not hide his thoughts from her? That bothered him. Suppose he thought something negative—or, worse, erotic?
Precisely. It is not good to burden other parties with undisciplined thoughts. Treat the matter as you would spoken things in your own plane.
Certainly he would not go around telling every attractive woman he encountered how sexy she was!
I asked you not to do that, she thought reprovingly. I have as I explained no interest in repetition of the obvious.
Brother! He concentrated on the basic times-tables, trying to blot out any thought of the way she looked.
No, this is uncomfortable for me, she protested. I do not care to rehearse your mathematics. Simply direct your thoughts appropriately.
I'm trying to! he thought. But I'm an impetuous youth!
True. I shall make an allowance. Now I must try to alert the others. You may sleep now, so as to provide no further distraction. Remember: do not express this matter verbally.
Why not? I think it's a great thing, communicating telepathically!
Because I have sensed hostile elements within the castle. I presume these are agents of the sorcerer we are to oppose. Our physical expressions may be monitored, but I think this is not so for our mental ones. If we are to succeed in our joint mission, we must not only develop such a linking, we must conceal it from those agents. I have ascertained that the Emperor himself is not aware of the precise nature of my mental ability; it would be best to keep that private.
That made so much sense that Seth had no further question. But I don't know how to tune out, he thought.
Now that telepathy is possible, I'll be thinking of it constantly. How do I sleep?
I will help you. Use your relaxation technique for your body, and I will pacify your mind.
Seth attempted to do that, fearing that it was impossible. He told the light to turn off, and relaxed his individual muscles, but his mind was raging with excitement. Then abruptly he felt her presence, like a bath of warm oil, and before he knew it he sank out of awareness.
He woke refreshed, to the natural light of morning. What a dream he had had! Tirsa, telepathy—what could have sent him off on such a notion?
He had to smile. It required no psychoanalyst to fathom that he had met a beautiful and intelligent woman who was as much a stranger to this weird magic world as he was himself. Naturally he was
The freighting of nuances doubled. This is appreciation or impertinence?
Yes, he agreed, marveling at his audacity. He had intended to formulate a routine communication, but his mental image of her had expanded as he tried to focus on her as receiver, and somehow he had sent that instead. Now he was embarrassed.
In your plane, such opinions are not expressed? she inquired.
Not to strangers, he returned. In my plane we cannot read thoughts, so we think very freely. I would not have spoken such a thing to you, but it is a true thought. He hoped that would mollify her.
I am not antagonized, merely curious, she returned, again reading more than he had intended. I am of course beautiful by human physical standards; this requires no statement. I assumed you had a motive for expressing the obvious; now I understand that you were not aware you were expressing it. You are doing well in your communication, and this is excellent practice.
Thank you, he thought sincerely.
You are very quick to adapt, considering that your plane does not do this. You may be impetuous, but you are also clever.
Thank you, he thought again, deeply pleased by the compliment.
But you must learn to distinguish statements of fact or opinion from efforts to please or displease. Now that we have established contact, you cannot hide your thoughts from me, so it is best to keep them in order.
He could not hide his thoughts from her? That bothered him. Suppose he thought something negative—or, worse, erotic?
Precisely. It is not good to burden other parties with undisciplined thoughts. Treat the matter as you would spoken things in your own plane.
Certainly he would not go around telling every attractive woman he encountered how sexy she was!
I asked you not to do that, she thought reprovingly. I have as I explained no interest in repetition of the obvious.
Brother! He concentrated on the basic times-tables, trying to blot out any thought of the way she looked.
No, this is uncomfortable for me, she protested. I do not care to rehearse your mathematics. Simply direct your thoughts appropriately.
I'm trying to! he thought. But I'm an impetuous youth!
True. I shall make an allowance. Now I must try to alert the others. You may sleep now, so as to provide no further distraction. Remember: do not express this matter verbally.
Why not? I think it's a great thing, communicating telepathically!
Because I have sensed hostile elements within the castle. I presume these are agents of the sorcerer we are to oppose. Our physical expressions may be monitored, but I think this is not so for our mental ones. If we are to succeed in our joint mission, we must not only develop such a linking, we must conceal it from those agents. I have ascertained that the Emperor himself is not aware of the precise nature of my mental ability; it would be best to keep that private.
That made so much sense that Seth had no further question. But I don't know how to tune out, he thought.
Now that telepathy is possible, I'll be thinking of it constantly. How do I sleep?
I will help you. Use your relaxation technique for your body, and I will pacify your mind.
Seth attempted to do that, fearing that it was impossible. He told the light to turn off, and relaxed his individual muscles, but his mind was raging with excitement. Then abruptly he felt her presence, like a bath of warm oil, and before he knew it he sank out of awareness.
He woke refreshed, to the natural light of morning. What a dream he had had! Tirsa, telepathy—what could have sent him off on such a notion?
He had to smile. It required no psychoanalyst to fathom that he had met a beautiful and intelligent woman who was as much a stranger to this weird magic world as he was himself. Naturally he was
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