Monday 23 December 2019

How To Escape From A Telepath

In "Honorable Enemies," Dominic Flandry learns how to lie to a telepath. In The Day Of Their Return, 20, Ivar Frederiksen escapes from a gun-wielding telepath who will know what he intends to do before he does it. Ivar drops his knife and the manacled Erannath grabs it. Aycharaych cannot monitor both their minds simultaneously. Erannath severs his chained hand, attacks Aycharaych and dies from a blaster bolt but, by knocking Aycharaych aside and making him drop the gun, he has given Ivar a chance.

Erannath's last words in Planha:

"'Eyan haa wharr, Hlirr talya -'" (p. 231)

Knowing that Hlirr was his wife, we can only guess at the meanings of the other words.

Aycharaych, descended from flightless birds, spies and aubverts for Merseia whereas Erannath, a feathered flyer but not a bird, spies for Ythri and Terra. This is the single encounter between a Chereionite and an Ythrian in the Technic History.

1 comment:

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Paul!

IO would say rather that Erannath gave Ivar a chance to make a truly free choice, either to work for Merseia or to make his peace with the Empire.

Ad astra and Happy New Year! Sean