Unthinkable & Incomprehensible: Mind-Expanding Novellas from the Golden Age of the Pulps [The Rog Phillis Collection] by Rog Phillips

Author:Rog Phillips [Phillips, Rog]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Science Fiction
ISBN: 1588738930
Publisher: Renaissance E Books
Published: 2009-04-15T04:00:00+00:00

* * * *

Arthur Smith stood at the entrance to the telepath chambers. A thick curtain made of human hair was draped across the opening. He had been here many times before, and knew exactly what was on the other side of that curtain. Yet, the other times had been as a student and at prescribed periods set aside for instruction to the novice. Also he had been just one of many.

Now he was alone. On the other side the master telepaths were waiting, for him to come.

Before he and Gerald and Jimmy had gone out into the world for a half day excursion and adventure these chambers had not been mysterious. Here ordinary humans with a special talent for mind reading had gathered to read the minds of the Despoilers.

But in the past fourteen years since that time these chambers had become the home of terrific mysteries. The telepaths had become almost, but not quite, Despoilers in their mental vantage point. Speaking in terms of temporal distance they had become extremely short sighted Despoilers, gradually increasing the temporal distances over which they could see.

Now he was to be one of this mysterious council.

Abruptly the curtain was swung back and Harold, one of the senior telepaths whom he knew slightly, looked out at him.

"Well, Arthur," Harry said. "You'll never get far just standing there. Come on in." Then he smiled.

Art smiled back and swallowed his fear. He stepped over the threshold into the council chamber. The curtain, as it swung closed again, cut off most of the sounds from out in the corridor.

There were fifteen men in the room, all sitting with their backs to the wall in the universal squatting position. Their long flowing beards made Art, with his inch long fuzz, feel very small. Yet he knew that they held great respect for him. They had told him that he had long eyes; longer than anyone else's in the colony.

In this room no words were ever spoken. Long before the initiate reached the state of development that made him eligible for membership in the telepath council he learned how to converse fluently with other telepaths without spoken words.

Arthur sat down near the entrance he had come through. He reached out with his mind and felt it contact the minds of all those about him. They were exploring in some direction. He followed their thoughts, losing his consciousness of self until he merged with them and was carried along with them.

An hour passed. Something was going on which Arthur could just vaguely sense. Then, without warning, something seemed to snap.

He opened his eyes quickly. The council chamber was gone. Around him were the strange vegetable growths that he and Gerald and Jimmy had seen when they climbed from the stream fourteen years ago.

Standing around him were the members of the council.

"I see you made it," one of them said.

"What happened?" Arthur asked.

"Well," the telepath replied, "technically you transferred your consciousness to what might be called a higher time plane. We helped you considerably in the process.

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