Universe Twister - Keith Laumer [193]
"Now, Tazlo," the girl said with a gentle persistence that Lafayette found touching even in his frustration, "relax, and we'll try again. Remember, it's not difficult. It's not anything that requires a tremendous effort, or any special skill. It's all . . . all just a matter of thinking about it in the right way."
"Sure," Lafayette said dully. "Like describing the difference between mauve and puce to a blind man."
"I can remember—just barely—the first time I did it," she said, musingly. Lafayette could sense the bone-deep fatigue in her, see it in the deep shadows under his eyes, the slump of her slim shoulders. But in the soft light from the glow-jar on the table, she still smiled lovingly at him.
"I was almost two. Father and Mother had planned a treetop picnic. They'd told me so many times how it would be to see the outdoors for the first time—"
"The first time? At age two?"
"Of course, my Tazlo. An infant can't leave the nest in which it's born until it learns to merge."
"Ye gods. What if the kid can't learn—like me?"
"Then—then it remains a prisoner for life. But that won't happen. Tazlo—it can't happen to you—to us!" Her voice broke into a sob.
"Now, now, take it easy, kid," Lafayette soothed, holding her frail, feather-like figure close to him and patting her back. "I'll catch on after a while—"
"Of . . . of course you will. I'm being silly." She brushed a tear away and smiled up at him. "Now, let's start again . . ."
3
The gray light of dawn was filtering through the light-aperture high in the wooden wall against which Lafayette slumped, fingering the newest bruise on his jaw.
"I guess maybe I wasn't meant for merging," he said wearily. "I'm sorry, Sisli. I tried. And you tried. You tried as hard as anyone could try—but—"
"Tazlo—if you don't appear for your appointment with Wizner Hiz, he'll know something is wrong. He'll come here—he'll question you—and when he learns you remember nothing of your life—that you have these strange delusions of other worlds—then he'll—he'll—" Her voice broke.
"Maybe not. Maybe I can convince him I'm just a nut case. That my brains are scrambled. Maybe he'll give me more time—"
"Never! You know how he is about anything that even hints of a Possession!"
"No—how is he?"
"Tazlo—you can't have forgotten everything!" Sisli sat beside him, caught his hands, clasped them tightly. "In his Visioning, if he sees anything—just the faintest hint that a Mind-gobbler has gotten a foothold in someone—Out he goes!"
"Out where?"
"Out—outside. Into the Emptiness. You know."
"Sisli, could we accept it as a working hypothesis that I don't know? You tell me."
"Well . . . it seems so silly to be telling you what everyone knows—but—once, many years ago, Thallathlone was invaded by creatures too horrible to describe. They took people's minds—grabbed them when they had lowered the Barriers so they could merge—and possessed them. At first, the victim would simply seem a little strange—as if he'd . . . lost his memory. But little by little, they began to . . . change. First, they'd start to lose their feathers; their bones would begin to grow; their plumage fell out, and wiry, thin hairs grew in its place. Finally, their wings would—would wither away, and . . . and drop off!"
"It sounds awful," Lafayette said. "But surely that's just a myth. People don't just turn into other people—" he broke off abruptly at the import of what he was saying. "I mean—not usually . . ."
"Exactly," Sisli said. "I know you're still really you, Tazlo dear—but . . . but it does look rather . . . rather strange—and to Wizner Hiz, it will look more than strange! He'll be sure you're a Mind-gobbler—and he'll . . . he'll Sing you Through! And then you'll be lost . . . gone forever . . ." She burst into tears.
"There, there, Sisli, don't cry," Lafayette soothed, holding her in his arms. "Things aren't