Her husband looked at her with an impish grin. She frowned a little,
then her eyes widened and her mouth opened a little. She ran at him
indignantly.
"It simply isn't decent! You take that thing off, Paul Graham, right
now. I won't have you reading my mind!"
Graham laughingly fended her off with one hand as he carefully removed
the headband with the other. He set the device gently on the desk, then
seized his wife about the waist.
"It works, honey," he said jubilantly. "It really works." He waltzed her
away from the desk, to the middle of the living room.
"Of course, I couldn't get anything from anyone but you. It seems to
work just as I thought it might--only if you can see the person you want
to contact. But I'll bet two people who were acquainted could use two of
these things to communicate with each other at any distance. And it may
be possible to work out the problem of single-device communication at
distance and through obstacles. But that'll have to come later. Right
now, this thing works."
"But Paul. I'm afraid. What will _they_ do with something like this? We
have so little freedom left now. Why, they won't even let us think
privately." She paused, her head turning from side to side as she looked
about the apartment.
"You know, Paul, I hardly ever dare go out of this apartment now, they
upset me so. And if they're able to read my thoughts, I shan't be safe,
even here."
Graham frowned. "True," he admitted. "But somehow, when I had the thing
on, I got some funny ideas. I wonder if anyone could really oppress
someone he fully understood. I wonder if two people who could fully
comprehend each other's point of view could have a really serious
disagreement." He picked up the headband, looking at it searchingly.
* * * * *
"And there's another thing," he added. "Unless both parties are wearing
the things, vision seems to be essential to any reaction, at least in
this model. I tried to get thoughts from the kids and from the Moreno's,
upstairs. But there wasn't a thing. And yet, I could get you clearly.
Apparently this thing won't work out as a spy device."
"But, are you sure?"
Graham shrugged wryly. "Well ... no," he admitted. "I'll have to finish
wiring the other set and try 'em both out before I'll be sure of
anything. And it'll take a lot of tests before I'm sure of very much.
Now, I've just got some ideas." He frowned thoughtfully.
"Anyway, I can't stop now. They know about the thing, and I've got to
finish it--or furnish definite proof it's impractical." He turned back
to the desk. "Should be through with the other band in a few minutes.
Just have to put in a couple of filters."
He picked up the completed device and turned around again. "Here,
Elaine, put this on, will you? See what you get. Try to catch a thought
from outside the room."
* * * * *
Dutifully, Elaine Graham accepted the headband. She eyed it doubtfully
for a moment, then adjusted it over her hair, setting the contacts on
her skin as she had seen her husband do. For a few seconds, she stared
at her husband, wide-eyed. Then, she looked away, her eyes focused on
infinity.
Graham busied himself with the soldering iron and another headband.
At last, Elaine took the headband off. "It's weird, Paul," she said.
"When I was looking at you, I knew everything you were thinking. But
when I looked away, there was nothing. It was almost as though I didn't
have it on. Only, I seemed to be able to think so much more clearly."
Graham looked up from his work, squinting thoughtfully. "Yeah," he
muttered. "Yeah, I noticed that, too, come to think of it. Feedback
effect of some sort, I suppose. Have to experiment with that, too, I
expect." He turned back to his work.
* * * * *
Elaine put the headband back on and watched him. She felt a complete
familiarity with everything he was working on. For the first time, she
felt she fully understood this man with whom she had lived for so many
years. And the understanding was pleasant. She could comprehend the
mysteries of the circuits he was working on. She had always felt
slightly neglected when he worked with his equipment, especially since
the bureaucracy, who took his results without recompense. Now, she could
feel his interest in his work for its own sake. She could sympathize
with it. And, with a little study, she felt she could join with him.
Graham straightened again. "It's done," he said. He picked the second
headband from the desk and put it on. Abruptly, both he and his wife
were aware of a fuzziness in their thoughts and senses. The walls, the
floor, and the furniture seemed to blur and waver, like the fantasy
world of delirium. He put his hand up and adjusted the controls. The
room returned to normal, and their senses were abruptly sharp and clear
again. He dropped his hand.
"_Outside. See if it'll work when we can't see each other._"
"_Almost curfew time._"
"_Only a couple of minutes. Then lights out and sleep._"
Elaine walked to the door. She stepped out into the corridor and walked
down the steps.
"_All right?_"
"_Perfect! Try the parking lot. Close the door._"
She went out of the quarters, crossed the areaway, and stood under the
landing slot. Far overhead, a segment of sky appeared between the open
bomb shutters. Stars shone coldly. She was conscious of a movement and
looked down, toward a shadow which moved among the parked helicopters.
"What's that?"
She looked more closely at the shadow, then shuddered a little.
"_Never mind._" The thought was urgent. "_Come inside. I got him, too._"
* * * * *
Quickly, Elaine walked back into the apartment. She closed the door and
walked to the desk, removing the headband as she approached. Her husband
put his headband beside it.
"We'd better get to bed," he said quietly. "I'll notify them tomorrow."
"No, Paul. It would be harder then. And there would be so many
questions. Call the sector leader tonight. We'll have to get it over."
Elaine shivered.
"But what _will_ they do with it?" She asked the question almost
despairingly.
Graham shook his head. "I'm not sure," he admitted. "I started with the
idea of simply building a really effective communicator. But this is
more than that. To you and I, it meant full understanding. But to that
person out there ... I don't know."
"His thoughts were flat--almost lifeless. And he made my skin crawl.
Paul, do you remember how you used to feel when you came close to a
snake? There's something wrong with that man."
"I know. I felt it, too. And it made the blood rush into my ears."
Graham moved toward the communicator, placing his hand on the switch.
"And you're right. I'll have to report immediately. They don't really
need telepathy. And certainly, they never required real evidence. A
suspicion is sufficient, and they'd be very suspicious if I didn't
notify the sector leader tonight."
He depressed the switch deliberately, like a man firing a weapon. Then,
he dialed a number, and waited.
The sphere lit, to show the face of Harold Bond.
"Oh, Graham." Bond frowned a little. "It's late. Do you have something
to report?"
"Yes, sir." Graham's face was expressionless. "The mental communicator
is finished. Do you wish to test it, sir?"
Bond opened his eyes a little more and nodded. "It's really done,
then?"
"Yes, sir."
"I'll be there in a few minutes." The sphere darkened.
Graham looked at it. De-energized, the communicator seemed to be merely
a large ball of clear material. It stood on its low pedestal, against
its black background, reflecting a distorted picture of the chiaroscuro
of the room. He leaned toward it, and saw a faint, deformed reflection
of his own head and shoulders.
He spread his hands a little, and turned around. Elaine had crossed to
the divan, where she sat, looking apathetically at the door, her hands
folded in her lap. He smiled apprehensively, coughed, and held up a
hand, two fingers crossed.
Elaine glanced at him, nodded, and resumed her watch of the door. Graham
shrugged and walked over to his desk, where he stood, aimlessly looking
down at the two headbands.
* * * * *
They both jumped convulsively when the buzzer sounded. Graham strode
rapidly to the door, opened it, and stood back as the sector leader came
in. Elaine had come to her feet, and stood rigidly, facing the door.
Sector Leader Bond closed the door, then looked from one of them to the
other. He shook his head a little sadly, and waved a hand gently back
and forth.
"Relax, you two," he said. "I'm alone this time." He turned to Graham.
"Let's see what we've got."
Graham walked to his desk and picked up the two headbands.
"They're a little rough-looking, sir," he apologized. "But they work."
Bond tossed his head back with a little laugh. "They do look a little
rugged, don't they?" he chuckled. "Well, we'll worry about appearance
later. Right now, I'm curious. I want to see what these things do."
Graham handed over one of the bands and slowly adjusted the other to his
head. For a moment, he looked searchingly at the sector leader, then his
face relaxed into a relieved expression.
"_Hear me?_"
Bond had been examining the device in his hands. He looked up, puzzled.
"Of course I hear you," he said. "I'm not deaf."
Graham smiled a little, then placed a hand tightly over his mouth.
"_Still get me?_"
Bond cocked his head to one side, looked down at the device in his
hands, then looked up again. "Well," he commented. "So that's the way
they work. I thought you spoke."