He could feel it on all sides-only much stronger ahead of them in the direction of the unseen city. Naxa and the doryms reacted in the same way, restlessly uncomfortable, not knowing the cause.

One thing was obvious now. The Pyrran animals were sensitive to psi radiation-probably the plants and lower life forms as well. Perhaps they communicated by it, since they obeyed the men who had a strong control of it. And in this area was a wash of psi radiation such as he had never experienced before. Though his personal talents specialized in psychokinesis-the mental control of inanimate matter-he was still sensitive to most mental phenomena. Watching a sports event, he had many times felt the unanimous accord of many minds expressing the same thought. What he felt now was like that.

Only terribly different. A crowd exulted at some success on the field, or groaned at a failure. The feeling fluxed and changed as the game progressed. Here the wash of thought was unending, strong am frightening. It didn’t translate into words very well. It was part hatred part fear-and all destruction.

“KILL THE ENEMY” was as close as Jason could express it. But it was more than that. An unending river of mental outrage and death

“Let’s go back now,” he said, suddenly battered and sickened by the feelings he had let wash through him. As they started the return trip, Ii began to understand many things.

His sudden unspeakable fear when the Pyrran animal had attacked him that first day on the planet. And his recurrent nightmares that had never completely ceased, even with drugs. Both of these were his reaction to the hatred directed at the city.

Though for some reason he hadn’t felt it directly up until now, enough had reached through to hit to get a strong emotional reaction.

Rhes was asleep when they got back and Jason couldn’t talk to hit until morning. In spite of his fatigue from the trip, he stayed awake late into the night, going over in his mind the discoveries of the day. Could he tell Rhes what he had found out? Not very well. If he did that, he would have to explain the importance of his discovery an what he meant to use it for. Nothing that aided the city dwellers would appeal to Rhes in the slightest. Best to say nothing until the entire affair was over.

18

18

After breakfast, he told Rhes that he wanted to return to the city. “Then you have seen enough of our barbarian world, and wish to go back to your friends. To help them wipe us out perhaps?” Rhes said it lightly, but there was a touch of cold malice behind his words.