We went to work.
I was as blind as she was, at first. There was nothing there, at first,
not even a flicker of brightness. Then, probing deeper, something
responded, only a hint, a suggestion of something powerful, deep and
hidden--but where? What was her strength? Where was she weak? I couldn't
tell.
We started on dice, crude, of course, but as good a tool as any. Dice
are no good for measuring anything, but that was why I was there. I was
the measuring instrument. The dice were only reactors. Sensitive enough,
two balsam cubes, tossed from a box with only gravity to work against. I
showed her first, picked up her mind as the dice popped out, led her
through it. _Take one at a time, the red one first. Work on it, see? Now
we try both. Once more--watch it! All right, now._
She sat frozen in the chair. She was trying; the sweat stood out on her
forehead. Aarons sat tense, smoking, his fingers twitching as he watched
the red and green cubes bounce on the white backdrop. Lambertson watched
too, but his eyes were on the girl, not on the cubes.
It was hard work. Bit by bit she began to grab; whatever I had felt in
her mind seemed to leap up. I probed her, amplifying it, trying to draw
it out. It was like wading through knee-deep mud--sticky, sluggish,
resisting. I could feel her excitement growing, and bit by bit I
released my grip, easing her out, baiting her.
"All right," I said. "That's enough."