Powers must be limited. Someone who saw through everything would see nothing and thus would be blind. Someone who was equally aware of everyone's thoughts would have no thoughts of his own and thus would not exist.
Someone who sees into brains cannot see into minds whereas someone who sees into minds need not know about brains. Readers of Poul Anderson's Technic History really need to know more about Aycharaych and Chereion. A character created to be a perfect sf spy fiction villain transcends the bounds of such fiction and deserves to become the central character of a philosophical novel.
3 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
We do see mention of Aycharaych as having limitations on what he could telepathically do. E.g., he "saw" only surface thoughts, and he needed time to probe more deeply into another's mind. Also, he needed to be close to any particular person before he could read any of that person's thoughts. Lastly, as we memorably saw in "Honorable Enemies," even Aycharaych could be fooled!
Ad astra! Sean
Sean,
And, when fencing, he had no advantage. He was unable to anticipate Flandry's spontaneous moves.
Paul.
Kaor, Paul!
Quite true, this is what I read on page 88 of the 1979 Gregg Press edition of AGENT OF THE TERRAN EMPIRE (quoting the revised version of "Honorable Enemies"): His telepathy did him little good. Fencing is a matter of reflexes more than of conscious thought. Perhaps it gave him [Aycharaych] an extra edge, compensating for the handicap of weight."
One more bit: "The Totentanz went on. Flandry began to score in his turn. Red drops flowed down the golden visage. 'I am going to wear you out, Aycharaych,' the man thought. "You'll tire before I do.' He retreated, and his enemy had no choice but to follow in hopes of a fatal opening."
Ad astra! Sean
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