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."Doctor Dann, is Margaret all right in there? I've been so worriedabout her.Could I see her for a moment? I don't want to bother her, Ijust want ""I understand," he tells her.And he does, he cannot mistake purefriendship, or whatever odd human quality "worries" about another sogratuitously."I'll ask her.It's difficult.She's.busy."The mild presence withdraws patiently.When the Earthly incarnation of Margaret comes again into his sight,he asks her."Can Winona, ah, make contact with you for a few minutes?She was your friend, you know.She's worried.""Winona?" The dark priestess of the computer hesitates remotely.Buther mood seems favorable." Yes.You can let her by."Dann has a selfish moment of gladness at her acceptance of his role ofguardian of her gates.Cerberus-Dann.He does not know exactly how to"let" Winona in, but moves his imaginary self aside, calling her name.Itseems to work.He feels life coming inward.Shockingly, what materializes at the imaginary door is not Winona itis the trim lush figure of a dark-haired woman in early middle life, with abrilliant, unlined, eager face.His Earthly memories leap up.Here is theincarnation of young mother, a woman he has seen step laughing from athousand stationwagons full of kids.But as he leaps to bar this stranger's way, she changes.The firm fleshpales and sags, the raven hair goes grey.It is Winona as he knows her,going toward Margaret with both hands held out.For an instant he flinches, expecting the giggle and rush of words.But she only takes one of the tall figure's hands in hers, and holds it to her oldbosom, peering in wonder at the strangeness all around.For a momentsome contact seems to flow, and then Winona releases the hand and turnsaway.As she passes Dann there is another shimmer of change; it is theradiant young matron who vanishes out through the immaterial chink.Dann muses on the dreadful mysteries of time; that which he had seenwas really Winona, not the puffy arthritic scarecrow of Deerfield.And what is he, really? Some earnest figure of a young MD? No; he isineluctably old.His dead are dead.He is.content.Outside, Winona has gone away.She understands, Dann knows,however she conceives it.Margaret is not to be worried about.And something else has happened, he notices.As he resumes hiswatchman's pose he senses that the guarded gate of the stronghold seemsa little wider now.Less fortified.The Margaret who has her being here willperhaps tolerate contact with life a little more.But she is, Dann realizes,changing.Life is no longer to her what it was.His soul is chilled byforeboding.Will she change beyond recognition, will everything he knowsas Margaret disappear into some cloudy matrix of immensity?He remembers the calm voice saying, Perhaps, in time, I will takecounsel with life.But will it be Margaret who does so? He hopes so; he cando no more.His sad thoughts are interrupted by a merry greeting he knowsinstantly his little friend Tivonel.She has been by before, to his delight.But this time she brings Giadoc to speak with him."Greetings, Tanel," comes the strong, sure "voice" of the young Hearer."Waxman has told us of the great powers your friend wields here."" Yes." Dann tries to convey a smile; he finds it impossible not to likethis mind."As you know, my son Tiavan was among those who did that criminaldeed to your people.Yet I left him, and the others, in danger.Is itpossible that your friend's power can discover anything of whathappened to them, back on your world?""I don't know.I'll ask.It may take some time."But as it happens the incarnation he knows as Margaret comes soon,and he is able to ask."I'll put TOTAL on it," she says quite humanly."It stored a lot of telecommunications before we were out of range.Tell me their names."Their names? So far, so very far she has drifted away, he thinks.Herecites the eight: Winona, the two girls, the twins, Ted, Chris, and Kirk.Only bodies now, housing alien minds; while the real people are out herewith him in this uncanny place between the stars."I'll set it to type out anything it finds, in case I'm.not here."So normal, so efficient a sweet ghost.She does something to the smallconsole and vanishes away.The strong compact presence of Giadoc hovers near.Dann asks himagain about his stay on Earth, and learns for the first time that the mindhe had known as Fearing had ended in the body of the dog.So an elderfemale, Janskelen, whom he never knew, is the dread Fearing now! Thecomputer won't search for that name; no matter, it probably wasn't hisreal one.But whatever can have become of them? How did Noah, not to mentionthe Navy, take the eruption of nine alien minds? Thinking of it all again,Dann's memories strengthen around him.He questions Giadoc, fascinatedby his alien ability to guide himself by reading human thought.It seemsunbelievable; how could they manage to make out? What could they do,send and receive messages for the military? Or be persecuted as amenace?And the mix-up of identities: Kirk with the mind of, in effect, a littlegirl; Winona housing his Father.Frodo as really the son of the Father whois in little Chris.How to stay together? Can they perhaps marry? And thecosmic joke of the rebel Avanil in Valerie's body, defiantly claiming theright to rear children.And Ron and Rick, no longer twins but Terenc andPalarin, an alien male and female he never knew.And, poetic justice, thewicked Scomber inheriting the moribund body of Ted Yost.Funny, Dann reflects, he doesn't really see Scomber as "wicked." He canrecall so clearly the heart-lifting moment when Scomber offered his life asthe pathway to escape from burning Tyree and his own empathy with theyoung Fathers bearing their children out of the flames.And has it all turned out so badly for his kidnapped friends? Not so, hethinks.Whatever this ur-life may prove to be, we were rescued from greatmortal misery; we knew our hours of joy in the winds of Tyree.He tries to convey some of this to Giadoc, in their sharedTyrenni-English pidgin.But the proud young alien is hard to persuade; heis too deeply ashamed of what his son has done.Just as Dann thinks he is getting the point across, there is a sense of activity from within.He turnsto find the spectral teleprinter at work.What looks absurdly like anordinary printout is emerging.What has TOTAL intercepted? Dann findsthat his dream-hands can take it, his "eyes" can read.//LAS VEGAS JAN 19 SPECIAL AP.SPIRITUALISTS PULLGAMBLING COUP.A TEAM COMPOSED OF A HOUSEWIFE, ARETIRED ARMY OFFICER AND AN EX-LOCKSMITH BROKE THE BANKAT FIVE MAJOR LAS VEGAS RESORTS OVER THE WEEKEND, PILINGUP A POKER TAKE ESTIMATED IN THE MILLIONS.//THE THREEIDENTIFIED THEMSELVES AS PARTNERS IN CATLEDGE ESPCONSULTANTS FIRM."IT WAS PRIMARILY AN ADVERTISINGSTUNT," MRS.EBERHARD, THE HOUSEWIFE, SAID."WE WANTEDTO SHOW WHAT A QUALIFIED ESP CONSULTANT CAN DO," MAJORCHARLES SPROUL ADDED.THE THIRD MEMBER, CHRISTOFERCOSTAKIS, STATED THAT THEY INTEND TO USE PART OF THEMONEY FOR A NEW HEADQUARTERS AND RESEARCHESTABLISHMENT.//CATLEDGE ESP CONSULTANTS HAS BEENIDENTIFIED AS A TIGHTLY KNIT, CLOSE-MOUTHED GROUP OFSEVEN MEMBERS UNDER THE LEADERSHIP OF DR.NOAHCATLEDGE.DR.CATLEDGE, WHO DISCLAIMS ANY MYSTICABILITIES, BUILT UP THE TEAM AFTER A LIFETIME IN ESPRESEARCH."OUR SERVICES ARE AVAILABLE FOR ANY PRIVATEPARTIES WHO MEET OUR FEES," HE SAID TODAY."HOWEVER, WEEXPECT TO BE PRIMARILY USEFUL AS CONSULTANTS TONEGOTIATORS IN BUSINESS AND GOVERNMENT." THE LAS VEGASHOTEL MANAGERS ASSOCIATION ADMIT THAT NO ILLEGALITYAPPEARS TO HAVE BEEN INVOLVED IN THE WEEKEND ACTION
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