NANCY & KIM IN ILLINOIS, PART FOUR

[Ashiya, the alien telepath, still in a mentally 
disturbed state, has had yet another argument with her 
Earthling friends Kim Brenner and Nancy Hartwick. 
Declaring that she must go meditate and study the 
latest data from her instruments, she leaves the two 
Earth women to debate what to do next.]


Nancy:

     Nancy listens as Ashiya makes her declaration.  
Part of her wants to continue the debate, to help the 
alien see that Earth isn't all bad...but further 
discussion would only confuse her more.  She watches 
silently as her guest heads off to the other room.
     "This is a pretty kettle of fish!", Nancy 
mutters. Then, she shakes her head, sighs, and 
continues in a louder voice, "We can't let her go 
alone, you know.  If it were just her against Chad, 
I'd be inclined to say she's right...but I just have a 
bad feeling about the whole thing.  Besides, she 
doesn't have a drivers license."
     The blonde takes another sip of her coffee.  
"Those mood swings of hers are getting worse.  
Whatever that gestalt is, she needs it badly.  
Otherwise, she's going to fall to pieces."
     She looks over to the teenager.  "So...what do 
you think we should do...aside from calling your 
parents before we leave?"

<><><><><>

Kim:

"Ashiya has a driver's license; it must be a forgery, 
since she can't drive" says Kim, with a humourless 
smile. She knows the result if Ashiya tries to drive 
on her own - an accident, the involvement of the 
police, and no end of trouble.

"You're right about trouble, though. If Chad 
discovered she could resist his powers, I think he 
might see her as a threat and try to kill her. She 
means well, but I can't see her being able to `talk 
down' someone who is vicious and scared."

"I'm going to try to enter a gestalt with Ashiya, if 
she still wants to. I think it's the only way for her 
to understand our point of view and for me to 
understand hers."

<><><><><>

Nancy:

     "She probably didn't go down to the Secretary of 
State's office to get it, no," Nancy replies.  "So 
we'll have to go with her."
     "It's even worse than that," she adds.  "I know a 
little about child psychology...and trying to force 
Chad in any direction against his will will be 
dangerous.  He's feeling oppressed by authority 
figures and rebellious...and with those powers, he's 
going to look on Ashiya's attempt to 'instruct' him as 
a threat.  The only hope of resolving this without 
anyone getting hurt is for me to explain to him what 
it is that Ashiya is offering.  Of course, I'll have 
to explain this all to Ashiya...and that's not going 
to be easy either."

     "Good luck," Nancy says.  She taps her coffee cup 
to Kim's.  "Here's hoping that Ashiya won't refuse."

     After the discussion about Ashiya dies down, 
Nancy asks, "Are you ready to call your parents yet?"

<><><><><>

Kim:

"I'll drink to that" replies Kim, smiling ruefully.

"I'd better, hadn't I. May I use your phone?"

[Assuming Nancy says yes, Kim will take a deep breath 
and ring her parents]

If they are in, she will first assure them that she's 
safe. Then she will explain about her powers, 
something like:

"Have you seen the reports on the news about people 
with odd powers turning up? That big fight in New 
York, like something out of a movie?... This is going 
to sound crazy, but I'm one of them. That morning I 
went sleepwalking, I didn't *walk* from the house to 
the Bay. One moment I was in my room, the next moment 
I was by the sea... I've discovered a few other things 
as well. I'll try to explain it all when I get back."

She doesn't expect her parents to believe her over the 
phone, though. When they ask her when she'll be back, 
or order her back, she'll add:

"I have to help someone first. Otherwise, people could 
be hurt."

<><><><><>

[GM]

Your mother, predictably, does not take this with your 
imperturbable calmness.

"This is....this is crazy, Kim!" she exclaims. "That 
woman you were with last night, that gang you were 
talking about.... you're involved with something, I 
know, and you need to come home now! Kim, we can help 
you, but you can't run away and make up wild stories 
like this....whatever kind of trouble you're in, 
please let us help you!"

When she fails to convince you to return, your father 
gets on the phone. "Kim, we've always trusted you," he 
says. "And you've always trusted us. Now even if what 
you're saying is true, that you're one of 
these....superhumans. You have to come home NOW. No 
more of this running around doing God knows what. Come 
home, explain things to us, *then* maybe you can do 
whatever you need to do to 'help people'. But you have 
no right to just run away from home like you did, and 
not tell us what's going on. Do you know how worried 
we've been? Do you know what you've put us through? Is 
this how little respect you have for us, how little 
consideration, that you slipped away in the middle of 
the night and couldn't even give us any kind of decent 
explanation? Kim, please, come home NOW! You're being 
unfair to us, and irresponsible. This isn't the kind 
of behavior we expected from you."

With a serious case of guilts laid upon you, you 
regretfully give the phone to Nancy, hoping she can 
say something that will calm your parents somewhat. 
You know you're going to have to have a loooong talk 
with them when you get home. You feel miserable, 
because your parents really have always been trusting 
of you, and you know this has been unfair to them. 
It's not the greatest state of mind to engage in a 
gestalt with Ashiya, but you knew your parents would 
react like this.

<><><><><>

Nancy:

"Of course," says Nancy when Kim asks to use the 
phone.
     She waits patiently while the teenager discusses 
the situation with her parents.  When it seems 
appropriate, she'll have Kim give her the phone so she 
can talk to them.
     "Mr. (or Mrs.) Brenner?  My name is Nancy 
Hartwick.  I'm an elementary school teacher in 
Illinois.  Kim and her...new friend came out here to 
talk to me.  I thought she should call and tell you 
where she was so you wouldn't worry.  I just wanted 
you to know that I'll make sure to take good care of 
her while she's here."

<><><><><>

[GM]

You hear only Kim's end of the conversation;

Lots of talking on the other end. Kim nodding, 
sighing, saying "I'm sorry", "I know", "I can't", 
"Yes, Mom", then the voice at the other end becomes 
deeper, more angry, and Kim says the same things to 
her father. Finally, she gives the phone to you, 
looking unhappy.

After your explanation, Mr. Brenner speaks in a 
somewhat frantic, but calm voice. "Mrs. Hartwick, do 
you know what the hell is going on? You can't imagine 
how much we ARE worrying, because Kim just ran away 
from home without telling us what was going on. 
Listen, do you have kids? Would this sort of 
explanation make YOU feel better?"

<><><><><>

Nancy:

     "I know some of what's going on, yes.  Right now, 
Kim is helping to find more of the super powered 
people who seem to be popping up all over the place."
     "I have some idea how you're worrying...I have 
three children of my own.  None of them are teenagers, 
though."
     Nancy sighs.  "Mr. Brenner, while I don't 
necessarily agree with all of the decisions Kim's 
made, I know she does intend to explain everything to 
you when she gets home.  This isn't the sort of thing 
you're inclined to believe over the phone.  But if you 
really want to know everything right now I'll try to 
answer whatever questions you've got."

<><><><><>

[GM]

"I want to know everything!" Mr. Brenner exclaims. 
Then, calming slightly, he adds "Maybe I can't believe 
all this over the phone....but try me."

<><><><><>

Nancy:

     "All right," says Nancy in a patient voice.  "But 
remember this is all according to one person.  It 
might not be entirely accurate.  And I don't take 
responsibility for this...most of this is just what 
I've been told."
     She pauses a moment, then begins.  "According to 
Kimberly's friend, this arm of our galaxy has been 
colonized by several different races who are 
distinguished by certain superhuman psychic 
abilities...they call them Functions. These abilities 
are so necessary to their daily lives that someone who 
doesn't have their society's Function is a virtual 
cripple.  So they have established preserve planets, 
worlds where non psychic members of their races can 
live."
     "Until a few days ago, this solar system was 
controlled by a race known as the Sebth.  They can 
teleport...vanish from one place and appear in 
another.  Then they were driven away by the Shabaali, 
a race of telepaths...mind readers. Thinking that the 
Sebth had left our system for good, the Shabaali went 
after them, leaving a small unarmed scout vessel to 
explore our world and seek out Functionals...people 
with these psychic powers.  Unfortunately, the Sebth 
returned...and destroyed the scout ship.  Only one of 
the Shabaali remains...a young woman named Ashiya."
     "The problem is is that their race requires 
occasional telepathic contact with others to maintain 
their mental stability.  And Kimberly is the only 
telepath that we know of...so far.  Until we find a 
substitute for her, Kim has to stay with Ashiya to 
keep her from going over the edge.  It's a near thing 
as it is."
     "I realize that it's very traumatic to have your 
daughter suddenly disappear and then have someone tell 
you a fantastic story like this.  But believe it or 
not, it's all true...or at least as far as we know, it 
is."
     "I can assure you that while Kim is with me, I'll 
take care of her like she was my own.  And we'll work 
on some kind of a solution to Ashiya's needs so we can 
get her back to you as soon as possible."
     She then steels herself for the inevitable 
conflagration ahead. <g>

<><><><><>

[GM to Nancy]

There is a long silence from the other end of the 
line. Finally, Mr. Brenner says "Do *you* actually 
believe all that?"

<><><><><>

Nancy:

     <long pause>
     "I believe it until I hear something from a 
reputable source that contradicts it," Nancy replies.  
"I'm certainly taking all of this with a grain of 
salt, and so far a lot of what Ashiya has told me I 
can't verify personally.  But I think she's telling 
the truth...at least as she knows it."
     "But there are certain facts that aren't in 
question, one of which is Ashiya's need for Kimberly.  
Until we find someone to substitute for her, she's 
needed here."

<><><><><>

[GM to Nancy]

"None of this makes sense!" Mr. Brenner says flatly. 
"There are these...superhumans showing up all over the 
world, why would aliens be particularly interested in 
Kim? Or you? How did you get involved? Are you one of 
these superhumans too?"

<><><><><>

Nancy:

     Despite Mr. Brenner's scepticism, Nancy continues 
to answer his questions as best she can.  "Well, 
apparently the Functions I mentioned before are the 
central focus of all of these races.  And it's the 
custom of these aliens that if they detect someone 
with a Function, they remove him or her from the 
preserve planet so that they might become a member of 
'normal' society...or so I gather from the way Ashiya 
described it.  Kim manifested the Function of 
teleportation, the purview of the Sebth, and so they 
want her to go with them...despite any wishes she 
might have to the contrary."
     She sighs.  "Before I tell you this, I'll ask 
that you keep this in confidence.  Just as I'm sure 
you don't want your daughter's newfound superpowers to 
be advertised, I also am intending on trying to lead a 
somewhat normal life.  The only other person that 
knows about all of this besides Kim and Ashiya is my 
husband, Mike."
     <pause>  "Yes, I am a superhuman.  Ashiya had 
detected someone using psychic energies and had sent 
a...device to investigate.  It was invisible to the 
naked eye, but I managed to perceive it.  I captured 
it, but when it didn't seem hostile I let it go.  The 
next day, Kim and Ashiya showed up.  That's really 
about all there is to tell."

<><><><><>

[GM to Nancy]

"You do realize how utterly insane this story sounds, 
don't you?" Mr. Brenner asks. Then, as you hear his 
wife anxiously questioning him in the background, he 
says "What kind of 'help' is she- are you- planning 
for this woman, Ashiya? We met her in California, she 
was in the water with Kim, I guess. What does this 
alleged alien want? I don't want Kim getting involved 
in anything dangerous, and God knows I don't want her 
tangling with other....superhumans, like that 
psychotic woman in New York!"

<><><><><>

Nancy:

     "If you think it *sounds* insane," Nancy replies 
calmly, "you should try living it."
     "I guess you should say that Ashiya is an 
anthropologist of sorts.  She and her team were sent 
here to observe humankind.  Apparently they thought 
the Sebth were only seeking Functionals of their own 
kind here and not turning over anyone else, so the 
Shabaali sent a scientific team to check for other 
types of psychics.  Since she's alone now, she's not 
quite sure what she wants to do.  Right now, I would 
guess that we're playing a 'waiting game' to see if 
any more of her people come to rescue her.  Until that 
time, she's trying to find other people who have 
powers...continuing her old mission.  It keeps her 
mind off of her 'problems'."
     "I don't intend on exposing Kim to dangerous 
situations," she answers.  "I'm not guaranteeing that 
she might not become involved in some, simply because 
the Sebth are still looking for her, but I'll do my 
best to make sure she's safe.  As for other 
superhumans...well, she already knows Ashiya and I, 
and so far she hasn't come to any harm. We'll try to 
avoid any obviously raving lunatics."

<><><><><>

[GM]

Mr. Brenner says "I don't know what to believe. Kim 
would never become involved in something this crazy, 
she's always been pretty reasonable, and responsible. 
But...this just doesn't make sense." After a long 
pause, he says "I want your phone number and address, 
Mrs. Hartwick. And tell Kim that if she doesn't call 
us again, *tonight*, I'll be taking the first plane to 
Illinois tomorrow morning."

<><><><><>

Nancy:

     Nancy gives Kim's dad her phone number and 
address. "I'll be sure to tell her, Mr. Brenner.  And 
don't worry...I'll make sure she's safe.  Goodbye."
     Nancy then turns to Kim.  "Your father...is not a 
happy man," she says with a sigh.  "He says that he 
wants you to call him back tonight, and if you don't, 
he'll be coming here for you."  She freshens up her 
coffee and says, "Please don't take this the wrong 
way, but neither of us needs problems like that.  Just 
make sure you call him.  I hope that he doesn't decide 
to tell you to come home...you know as well as I that 
Ashiya still needs your help."

<><><><><>

Kim:

Kim is near tears when she comes off the phone; 
somehow, she gets herself under control.

"That didn't go too well" is all she says to Nancy. 
She pours herself a glass of water, and drinks it.

"I don't know what to do", she admits, "If I stay 
away, I'm hurting my parents. But if I go home, I'm 
running out on Ashiya."

<><><><><>

Nancy:

     Nancy puts her hand on Kim's shoulder.  "That's 
part of being an adult," she says softly, "having to 
make difficult decisions like this.  I know what I 
would do in your situation, but that doesn't help you 
or make it easier.  What do YOU think...what does your 
heart tell you needs to be done?"

<><><><><>

Kim:

Kim thinks... and thinks. Finally, she speaks.

"I'll stay with Ashiya, at least until Chad is dealt 
with. At the moment, she needs me too much. And 
perhaps I'm Shabaali enough to resist Chad's powers - 
he may have problems trying to control two people at 
once. After that, I'll go home to face the music."

She gives a wry grin.

"I'll probably be grounded until I'm 30."

<><><><><>

Nancy:

     She nods.  "Then that's what you need to do."
     The schoolteacher sighs.  "I don't know about 
that...Bonnie told me that he made several students 
march around in a circle...but hopefully an adult mind 
is more difficult for him to manipulate."
     "Oh no!", says Nancy in mock terror.  "Not 30!"  
She smiles and shakes her head.  "I don't imagine 
they're happy about any of this, but as long as you 
come back safe I think they'll be lenient on you.  
However, once you get back you're also going to have 
to talk about how things have changed."

<><><><><>

Kim:

Kim nods, a little sadly.

"Everything's changed, and maybe not for the better. 
But the genie can't be put back in the bottle, however 
much Ashiya would like to. I'd better go and see her."

<><><><><>

Nancy:

     "All right.  I'll let you two have some privacy.  
I'll be in the sewing room if you need me."

<><><><><>

[GM to Kim]

After knocking gently on the door, you enter, and find 
Ashya sitting cross-legged on the bed. Her laptop 
computer is sitting on the dresser, across the room, 
but there are still holograms hovering in the air 
directly in front of her. She doesn't seem to notice 
you at first, but then says, "I hope you are not upset 
with me, Kimberly." She seems tired, and withdrawn. 
"If you need to return to California, I understand. I 
never meant to distress you. I think it is unwise for 
you to reject everything I am trying to tell 
you....but I will not attempt to force compliance from 
you. I never would have." Looking at the displays, she 
sighs and says "I will do the best I can for this 
planet. I know it will not be enough, but my duty as a 
Shabaali is all that is left to me right now."

<><><><><>

Kim:

"I know that, Ashiya, but you have to learn not to 
reject what I say. I hope your Galactic Council 
actually tries to find out what is going on, rather 
than just thumbing through a rulebook, so to speak. An 
attempt to force control would probably achieve the 
exact opposite of what they wanted - there would be a 
big increase in violence, rather than a decrease."

She sits beside Ashiya.

"Do you want to try that gestalt now?"

<><><><><>

[GM]

Ashiya's eyes brighten. "Yes," she murmurs. "If you 
are sure you are willing?" She waves her hand and the 
holograms disappear. She puts her hands on yours and 
says "Physical contact is not necessary, but makes it 
easier. Holding hands will be sufficient, though." She 
closes her eyes and inhales deeply, making you think 
of those yoga exercies you've seen on TV- "deep, 
cleansing breaths" and all that. Opening her eyes 
again, she looks at you and says softly "Open your 
mind to me, Kimberly. A gestalt cannot be forced, 
ever. You have no need to fear from me, you can end it 
at any time. But you must be completely willing, and 
you must open your mind to me, as I must open my mind 
to you." Her voice is soft and melodic, soothing and 
calm. Her eyes seem very large and bright as she 
concentrates on you, and you feel her mental "touch" 
in your mind and attempt to reciprocate.

As your minds merge, you become very conscious of her 
hands against yours, warm and almost tingling. You can 
feel her breathing, and her heartbeat. And your own- 
you realize suddenly that you can feel every physical 
sensation in her body, including your own hands being 
held in hers, just as she can feel your body as if she 
was inhabiting it.

Her psyche envelops yours, pervading your every 
thought. You couldn't begin to describe what it feels 
like. Two minds seem to become one, all the thoughts 
and feelings and memories of each accessible to the 
other, yet your cohabiting consciousnesses remain 
separate. You don't need to even frame your thoughts 
in anything like a verbal construction, because 
everything you think is perceptible to Ashiya 
immediately, and you are instantly aware of everything 
she's thinking and feeling. Her analogy of sexual 
intercourse seemed appropos; the physical aspect may 
be missing, but you're sure that sex can't possibly be 
any more intimate than this. No wonder that Ashiya has 
a hard time understanding privacy, because at this 
moment, neither of you has any. Every experience in 
your life, every thought, every memory, every 
embarrassment or disappointment, thoughts you had that 
you were ashamed of, feelings you kept secret even 
from yourself- even with as "wholesome" a life as 
you've led, and even as young as you are, you've built 
up an inventory of experiences that you'd never 
willingly share with anyone else if expressly asked. 
Not that there's anything terribly negative that's 
happened in your life, but raised as you are to 
believe your own mind is the ultimate sanctuary, a 
place where no one else can ever invade, for a panicky 
moment you feel like someone with a phobia about being 
touched suddenly embraced by an oppressively effusive 
aunt. For an instant you want to withdraw, you don't 
know if you can trust anyone this much, but Ashiya's 
presence is gentle and non-threatening. She 
understands your nervousness, your feeling of 
violation, and you know (*know*, as opposed to simply 
trusting her word) that she won't hurt you, won't take 
advantage of you or abuse your trust, as she easily 
could, or as you could to her. You feel more 
vulnerable than you could have thought possible- 
without completely understanding it, you sense 
Ashiya's awareness of mental techniques you haven't 
learned, and you know she has the capability to twist 
your mind inside out, rearrange your memories, reshape 
your personality, inflict terrible wounds on your 
psyche.  You are completely at her mercy, she could do 
anything to your mind, but you're not scared, because 
you are aware of what she actually feels and believes, 
not merely what she tells you she feels and believes, 
and you know she is almost incapable of harming you, 
or anyone. Pacifism is deeply, deeply ingrained in 
her, by her culture, and though you get images of 
training, prior to her leaving for this expedition, to 
make her capable of overcoming this societal 
conditioning in extreme circumstances, aggressive 
action of any kind is incredibly difficult for her.

She loves you. She also loves Nancy, and Nancy's 
family- she loves easily, almost anyone who is kind to 
her. Without her telepathy, she would be an easy 
victim for all sorts of manipulators and abusers here 
on Earth, because it would never occur to her that 
someone might pretend to be warm and friendly towards 
her. As it is, her immediate reaction to anyone who 
seems nice is to respond in kind, with unquestioning 
trust. But she loves you more than anyone here on 
Earth, because you're one of her people (but she also 
fears you a little, because you're aggressive and 
violent- by her standards- and also because you're a 
Sebth.) She would sacrifice herself for you without 
hesitation (though she'd sacrifice herself for Nancy 
with only a slight hesitation.)

Ashiya is the most gentle and loving person you've 
ever met. And she's in agony, because she has had to 
use techniques taught to her before she could come to 
Earth- martial arts techniques to defend herself 
physically, telepathic techniques to use her Function 
as a weapon, weapons techniques for the armaments she 
has to carry, and no Shabaali is around to reassure 
her that she's doing the right thing, that it's a 
necessary evil, that she isn't a horrible and abusive 
and insane person for making that foul, lecherous 
businessman fall asleep, or for diverting that police 
officer, or for physically assaulting the Sebth back 
in the ship (never mind that they were enemy warriors 
and you were trying to escape, violence is a BAD THING 
in her society, no matter what the cause, and she has 
to be vigilant because if she ever fails to feel 
utterly guilty about any aggressive behavior, she is 
becoming non-Shabaali and might become a violent 
person, like you, but it's not your fault you were 
raised in a barbaric, violent culture....) She's also 
used to physical and mental intimacy with her fellow 
Shabaali. She feels no embarrassment at all about your 
perceiving her sexual activities. They usually 
accompany a gestalt like this with physical 
lovemaking, and you feel a surge of heat through your 
own body, from Ashiya's memories of her own 
experiences, with men *and* women. They don't even 
have a concept for "bisexuality", but she definitely 
has a preference for the opposite sex, and shares that 
most Shabaali do, so you suppose they do have 
heterosexuals and homosexuals in their own population, 
they are just so unconcerned about such distinctions 
that it doesn't occur to them to create such 
categories. And you see visual images of her friends, 
family, lovers- Ashiya is very attractive, even by 
Shabaali standards, but there are plenty of women even 
more attractive, and the men- that sends another rush 
of heat through you, because there are *many* men 
quite comparable to Ashiya in physical beauty, and 
Ashiya's been with a lot of them. You almost want to 
spend more time "observing" her sexual activities, 
both because it's an incredible turn-on, and because 
you could learn a lot- they are a very uninhibited 
people.... Ashiya seems amused at your particular 
interest in this facet of her life. She would not mind 
making love with you, but knows that isn't approved of 
by your people.

She's hurting and wants to be reassured she's acting 
properly, being a good Shabaali, being a good person. 
Your world hurts her. The thoughts of the people 
around her are evil, violent, they tear at her gentle 
nature, they offend every sensibility she has, it 
causes her pain that there could be so many people 
with such ill will, and she can't respect your 
civilization because all of the death and misery and 
oppression has never been significantly diminished, 
your people would rather take care of themselves and 
their own limited circle of family and friends and not 
care about the rest of the world, such incredible 
selfishness, she thinks, how can any of you go to bed 
at night knowing that people are suffering elsewhere 
in the world, even in your own city, how can you spend 
your resources on luxuries when people are starving 
elsewhere, how can you spend time on recreation when 
you could be spending time working to improve the 
world, and isn't she evil and selfish also because she 
isn't also trying to end the starvation and poverty 
and brutality that pervades this planet, but she's 
only one person, how much can she do? But are her 
duties as a Shabaali really more important than simple 
human decency? They don't have moral dilemmas like 
this where she's from, she's never had to face choices 
like this, and no matter how much she tries to do 
good, it won't be enough. As Nancy said, she's very 
much an "innocent abroad", and her mental state is 
terrible because she thinks she's a failure, nothing 
she's tried to do has worked, her friends (and lovers) 
died when the Sebth attacked, you think she's 
oppressive and ignorant and Nancy thinks she's a 
threat, she doesn't know what to do, and people are 
suffering everywhere and there's nothing she can do 
about it.

That's only the tip of the mental iceberg.

Her thoughts and emotions wash over you, and you find 
it is pleasant, though disturbing, because Ashiya 
really is an unbelievably sweet, gentle person, she's 
just too naive and innocent for this world. Her mental 
presence is nice and soothing.

But you want to know specific things, and convey 
things to her. Although everything in her mind is open 
to you, you are not instantly aware of everything she 
knows, because she has a lifetime of memories, though 
her life hasn't been that long (18.4 Terran years, she 
informs you) it's still a LOT of data, so you finally 
have to pick and choose.....

<><><><><>

Kim:

Kim will try to find out:
(a) How long has Ashiya been observing the Earth?
(b) What is the nature of the Galactic Council? How is 
it chosen? How does
it take control of a world it wants to bring peace to?
(c) How does Ashiya view the other races that make up 
the council, and
what sort of powers do they have?
(d) What was her childhood like? How did she learn? 
(What it the Shabaali
equivalent to school?) When do Shabaali become adults, 
or isn't the
question meaningful?
(e) Does Ashiya know of other `dead' worlds that have 
suddenly had a large
number of Functionals appear?
(f) Are there such things as criminals in Shabaali 
society?
(g) What does Ashiya know about Kim's own Functional 
abilities?

Kim knows that Ashiya can see throughout her own mind, 
and hopes she can see
things in it that reassure her - if there is a 
conscious element to the
gestalt, Kim will try to comfort her: **We are 
improving, slowly. We have a
United Nations to prevent wars, or contain them if it 
cannot. We have Aid
agencies who try to ease starvation and sickness in 
poorer countries.
We haven't had a continent-spanning war for nearly 50 
years, and don't
expect one; we hope one day to be free of all wars, 
when we can turn our
attentions on righting some of the other wrongs in 
this world. A lone
individual cannot do much, but nothing can happen 
until enough lone
individuals think the same way. I may be capable of 
violence, but you know I
would never kill, nor use my skills to bully people**.

Kim feels very sorry for Ashiya - her upbringing 
forces her to aim too high,
to seek to cure all the hurt in the world, yet she has 
no way to achieve her
goals, or any idea of where to start.

<><><><><>

[GM]

[the following comes in massive chunks with long 
sentences and disjointed organization, representing 
the rapid stream-of-consciousness nature of the 
gestalt...]

Ashiya's ship arrived above Earth about two months 
ago. They observed it from orbit for about a month, 
then sent a couple people down to start gathering 
information and necesssary materials to duplicate such 
things as credit cards, drivers licenses and the like. 
Ashiya was not one of the first down, but she was 
chosen to be one of those who would be stationed on 
the planet, helping look for Functionals and 
interacting with human society. Another member of her 
crew, a man named Mireulis, was supposed to accompany 
her (living with her in her apartment back in Daly 
City.) Ashiya was still setting up the apartment, and 
Mireulis was aboard the ship, when the Sebth arrived.

They already knew quite a bit about Earth from their 
library files, and were able to use telepathic 
imprinting techniques to give everyone fluency in 
several Earth languages. (Ashiya can speak a number of 
other languages besides English.)

Ashiya herself only vaguely understands how the 
Galactic Council works. Representatives of all races 
sit on it, but it is much like the U.N.; it makes 
laws, but everyone (except the Shabaali) takes 
liberties with those laws when no one is looking. 
(Ashiya is a bit upset when some of your skepticism at 
her confidence in her own people's strict adherence to 
the laws leaks through). They rarely directly 
intervene in the affairs of any world or people. Only 
when the Compact is in danger of being broken, or when 
things get truly out of hand. (You see the Compact as 
some ancient treaty/agreement among all humanity, 
something regarded with more mystical reverence and 
awe than Americans regard the Constitution. Something 
that ensures the continuous evolution of the human 
gene pool, in hopes of once again reuniting all races- 
much of this goes by too fast for you to understand it 
completely, unless you stop and concentrate on one 
particular part of her knowledge....)

The enforcers of the Galactic Council are the Siprete, 
and Ashiya, like most Galactics, is intimidated by 
them. This is a feeling the Siprete have encouraged. 
The Siprete are another race of Galactics, and they 
possess the Antipsi Function. They can shut down any 
other Functional's abilities...temporarily or 
permanently! They are the ultimate peacekeepers of 
Galactic civilization, and when they arrive at a 
conflict, everyone stops shooting, or else! Ashiya 
also perceives them as being self-righteous fanatics 
on a holy crusade to enforce the letter of the law and 
not the spirit. Physically, Siprete tend to be small, 
thin and very pale of skin, with straight black hair 
and eyes that are narrow and dark.

Besides the fearsome Siprete, there are the Sebth, for 
whom she naturally feels antipathy because they are a 
violent, warlike race. Their society is some sort of 
caste system with a dominant warrior culture.

There are also the Lemaar- which Ashiya considers 
Nancy to be. They are the psychokinetics, whose power 
is limited to inorganic matter. They have some sort of 
caste system/monarchy, and have used eugenics heavily 
to breed for powerful, but limited, manifestations of 
their Function. Thus, they have Pyrokinetics, 
Cryokinetics, Telekinetics, and other, more obscure 
specializations. Only the "royal" caste has fully 
developed abilities in the entire spectrum of the 
Lemaar Function. The Shabaali feel that the Lemaar 
have come dangerously close to violating the Compact 
with their eugenics programs. The Lemaar are large, 
pale-skinned people who tend towards wide noses and 
thick lips- much like blacks on Earth, but with 
Caucasion skin tone and hair.

The Asgur are also psychokinetics, but they can affect 
energy. Their Function gives them control over light 
and electricity and magnetism and radiation....the 
full spectrum of electro-magnetic radiation. This also 
gives them matchless computer abilities, and Asgur 
computers are clearly the best in the galaxy. They 
live in a sort of federation, an independent-minded 
society which Ashiya thinks is turbulent and chaotic, 
but to Kim seems to be perhaps the closest resemblance 
she's seen to her own culture. The Asgur seem to be 
resemble Europeans, with a strong tendency towards red 
hair.

The Atla are *organic* psychokinetics- healers, but 
their Function also allows them to cause *damage* to 
living things. They also can control their own 
physiology to a high degree, and the most powerful 
Atla can make themselves effectively immortal! They 
are allied with the Sebth, and the tall, willowy man 
you saw on the Sebth ship was an Atla. Ashiya despises 
them, because they are an arrogant and cruel race, 
known to practice torture. They also have been 
reprimanded by the Galactic Council more than once for 
manipulating the genes of lesser races (sometimes 
near-sentients!) in biological experiments.

The race most closely allied to the Shabaali are the 
Tua, a clairvoyant race. The Tua can see into the past 
and future as easily as the present, and they seem to 
be living in many time frames at once. They are 
perceived as strange beings, even by their Shabaali 
allies, for one never knows if they are reacting to 
the immediate environment, or to another one they 
perceive with their extrasensory abilities. They may 
answer a question you haven't asked yet, or ignore a 
question you did ask, thinking they already answered 
it. The Tua tend to be small, but robust, with 
generally white or golden hair. Their skin tone is 
slightly lighter than the Shabaali, but darker than it 
used to be, in large part because there has been some 
intermingling between Shabaali and Tua. (Such children 
are always born with only one Function or the other 
though, and although the Shabaali physical traits seem 
to be dominant, meaning that Shabaali-Tua children 
tend to look more like Shabaali, they are considered 
members of the race whose Function they possess.) 
There was a Tua accompanying Ashiya's ship, a woman 
named Keleruun, whom Ashiya liked a great deal and 
misses almost as much as Mireulis.

The Inquihi are even more dreaded than the Siprete. 
They are psychic vampires, who can drain psionic 
abilities, physical vitality, even life energy, from 
other people. They do not possess their own empire, 
but live as nomads, occasionally settling on fringe 
planets but more often living as wandering traders, or 
bandits. The rest of Galactic society has an almost 
superstitious dislike of them and their powers. Ashiya 
knows, rationally, that they are just another psionic 
Human race, but they are regarded almost as if they 
were supernatural "vampires". Some of them serve with 
the Siprete in enforcing the rules of the Galactic 
council. The Inquihi are generally small, tend to have 
very little hair, and have reddish brown skin. They 
are, in Ashiya's mind, mercenaries, assassins and 
criminals.

The strangest race of all is the Wineye'i, who can 
travel in the astral plane. They have only a few 
worlds, and are generally left alone by the rest of 
Galactic civilization. Their society is entirely 
geared towards exploring the strange realm of astral 
space, which is only barely understood by the rest of 
the galaxy. The Wineye'i claim to find many secrets, 
and great knowledge, in this "mystical" dimension, but 
no one knows what those secrets might be. They have 
nothing anyone else wants, so no one intrudes on them. 
Ashiya, like most Galactics, has never met a Wineye'i 
(for that matter, she only occasionally saw an off-
world non-Shabaali visitor, back home.) She considers 
them to be mystics, bizarre but harmless.

Ashiya's childhood memories are entirely happy and 
cheerful. She grew up knowing who her parents were,  
which is almost always the case (at least for the 
mother- the father will be known, by genetic records, 
but depending on the circumstances, the father may not 
always still be in the child's life- you also see the 
Shabaali have no "marriage" conventions, and child 
support is a moot issue, as society cares for 
*everyone*) but although her mother was her primary 
caregiver, Shabaali society is apparently highly 
communal (in fact, you suspect they are literal 
communists), and children grow up cared for by 
everyone around them. All the adults in her community 
loved her and looked after her, as they did for all 
other children. She lived with her mother, usually, 
but the Shabaali think nothing of children wandering 
around their cities (Ashiya lived in a highly 
populated, multilevel city where she spent most of the 
time indoors, "indoors" being as vast as some national 
parks!) and just walking into the nearest residence to 
sleep when they become tired. After all, both 
computers and telepathy allow them to locate anyone, 
instantly, so no children ever go missing (not that 
there are even people who would harm children.) The 
degree of freedom (and safety) is unthinkable to 
Terrans, but it seemed quite natural to Ashiya. Like 
all Shabaali, she went where she pleased and did what 
she liked, which was, for the first part of her life, 
mostly playing with other children.

All Shabaali learn about the world around them by 
telepathic links with other children and adults. For 
most, there is no formal "schooling". They just 
accumulate more knowledge as they grow older and meet 
more and more people. Almost anyone will willing 
gestalt with someone they know, which allows sharing 
of knowledge far more efficiently than any 
"instruction" method known to non-telepaths, and 
computers are everywhere as well, some of them 
Artificial Intelligences, but all of them "user-
friendly" to a degree that Microsoft can only dream 
of. Almost no Shabaali has any computer skills 
whatsoever; they don't need them.

The fact is, most Shabaali live their entire lives 
never doing anything that Terrans would consider 
"work". All their needs are provided for by their 
social infrastructure. The vast majority of Shabaali 
live a life of continuous hedonism, in fact what most 
Terrans would consider one long orgy! There are also 
various arts, including both performing arts and 
telepathic artforms that you can only barely conceive 
from the quick conceptual images you get from Ashiya, 
and you suspect would be incoherent to non-telepaths. 
Arts and pleasure seeking is the entirety of life for 
most Shabaali.

And here you see the first stirrings of what makes 
Ashiya different, and what brought her to Earth. She 
loves her people, she loves her civilization, and does 
not consciously see anything wrong with it. But for 
her- it wasn't enough. She wanted to *do* something, 
something worthwhile. She wanted to know more about 
the universe, truly understand how things worked. She 
indulged in her share of the continual partying. Once 
again you see plentiful images that would make 
blockbuster "adult" films, if they could be recorded. 
Ashiya is sad that your society is so repressed. But 
she began to feel a void, an emptyness in her 
lifestyle.

Fortunately, the Shabaali *do* still have a need for 
people who actually work. Not many; their civilization 
is 99% supported by complete automation. But they need 
a few technicians and engineers, geneticists and 
psychosociologists, people to handle the very rare 
tasks that the ubiquitous sentient computers cannot. 
And they need explorers, colonists.....and warriors. 
(Ashiya shudders at this, though you get an image of a 
man whom she cares about very much, who is a warrior.)

Ashiya became a geneticist and sociologist. She 
studied for almost a year, learning not only what is 
probably the equivalent of doctorate-level academic 
knowledge, but also being trained in those survival 
skills necessary for living on uncivilized worlds, 
fringe colonies, places not run exclusively by the 
Shabaali Union.

Then the war with the Sebth came, started by 
unprovoked Sebth aggression. Her "boyfriend" had to go 
fight them. News came of a preserve world that had 
been left fallow and almost unmonitored by the Sebth, 
a barbaric world of savage mind-dead primitives, which 
needed to be surveyed by the Shabaali, and any active 
Functionals scanned for. Ashiya didn't want to go, but 
felt it would distract her from what her lover was 
going through, and how could she fail to make 
sacrifices that he was willing to make? So for her 
first assignment, she came to Earth....

Shabaali become adults when they perceive themselves 
as such and are perceived as such by those around 
them- in other words, they do not have an official 
separation between "child" and "adult", nor an 
arbitrary age of majority. They don't vote, don't need 
licenses to do anything, and don't engage in any 
recognizable legal contracts, so really don't need 
such a concept. Children are looked after by adults 
while not able to completely look after themselves, 
true, but so is any adult Shabaali aided by his or her 
friends and neighbors, when any aid is needed. And 
with so many sentient machines around, children are 
almost "self sufficient" (as self sufficient as an 
adult, anyways, considering they almost all rely 
completely on their technology) once they can walk and 
talk or telesend coherently.

The only time when this might be an issue is sexual 
relations. And apparently they just *know* when 
someone is mature enough for that. Ashiya can't 
explain verbally how they can know, but with their 
intimate communicative abilities, they do, and no 
adult would engage in sexual relations with a young 
Shabaali who was not ready for such activities. Ashiya 
had her first sexual experience when she was 12 
(Terran years), which is about average, and like most 
pre-adolescents, she began her sexual explorations 
with Shabaali her own age. Usually, it is only after 
reaching full physical maturity that young Shabaali 
have sex with older ones, though this is not a rule, 
just a general practice. Once they are older, though, 
youngsters often seek out older partners, to quickly 
learn much more sophisticated and pleasurable 
lovemaking techniques. (You also learn that the 
average Shabaali lifespan is about 600 Terran years!)

There are other preserve worlds for mind-dead, but 
none that were permitted to sink into barbarism as 
Earth was, at least not that Ashiya is aware of. 
Usually, mind-dead worlds maintain contact with 
Galactic civilization, and have full access to 
Galactic technology. They are not exactly forced to 
stay on their worlds, but ancient tradition makes it 
virtually unthinkable that they would do anything 
else. And the phenomenon now manifesting on Earth is 
unprecedented.

Here you sense thoughts of ancient history, a Galactic 
war at the beginning of recorded history, alien 
overlords, the division of humanity, and the quest, 
ever since, to regain what legend says they lost. 
Overshadowing this is the image of very powerful, 
almost godlike beings living towards the galactic 
core, images that fill Ashiya, and all Galactics, with 
superstitious awe and fear, and a touch of envy.

And somehow, Ashiya believes, Earth may be far, far 
more important than the Sebth, or the Shabaali, ever 
believed. When she mentioned earlier that a Galactic 
war might be fought over Earth, she was not 
exaggerating. You see in her mind tremendous fear over 
this possibility. Other things swirl in her thoughts, 
requiring more effort if you wish to pursue them and 
get a clearer picture. But in Ashiya's opinion, when 
news of the "superhuman" phenomenon on Earth reaches 
Galactic society, every single race will immediately 
send a fleet to secure Earth, and the genetic 
potential of the Terran gene pool, for themselves. 
Ashiya wants to make sure the Shabaali are the ones to 
ensure this world's safety first, under Shabaali 
administration. For the good of everyone, of course. 
(Though that may reflect in Kim's mind with some 
sarcasm, Ashiya is utterly sincere about believing 
that the Shabaali are the most benevolent Galactic 
race, and Earth's best hope.)

There are no criminals in Shabaali society, per se. 
Although everyone is highly socialized and highly 
cooperative, loving, supportive, etc. (you have a hard 
time believing millions and millions of people- 
billions, in fact, on many worlds- could really get 
along this well, but Ashiya is insistent that they do, 
and you see nothing in her own memories to contradict 
this idea), of course they are still human, and humans 
all have different personalities (perhaps not so much 
with Shabaali, though, you wonder) and some will 
behave differently. In fact, Ashiya, with her decision 
to actually devote herself to something besides 
personal satisfaction and the satisfaction of others, 
is something of a "rebel" in Shabaali society, though 
a socially useful and accepted one. But some Shabaali 
do "misbehave" (the closest approximation Ashiya can 
make.) Very, very rarely, and almost never violently. 
But small acts of inconsideration occur, and while 
they are about as non-monogamous a society as can be 
imagined, jealousy and possessiveness is not totally 
unheard of. It is regarded with disapproval and pity 
by other Shabaali, but every once in a while, a man or 
woman may wish his or her partner to be exclusive, 
when the partner doesn't wish to be. Or someone may 
develop a fondness for a particular item, or place, or 
thermostat setting in a room, and become quarrelsome 
and not want to share or compromise. (These trivial 
bits of rudeness are Ashiya's idea of severe. almost 
criminal, misbehavior- no wonder she regards 
Earthlings as almost congenital psychopaths!)

Generally, societal disapproval, and perhaps some 
counseling by loved ones (of whom there are always 
many) is enough to chastise such miscreants and make 
them behave like good Shabaali.

Every so often, more severe offenses occur. Very, VERY 
rarely. Ashiya had *never* experienced violence, until 
coming to Earth, and knew no one who had. In fact, 
part of her training for "bad" places like Earth 
included a survival "instructor" saying things to her 
(with great seriousness) like "I don't like you!" or 
"I'm going to hurt you!" And these proclamations alone 
caused her emotional distress! You realize it's 
surprising she's not now more dehabilitated than she 
is- she must have begun adapting and adjusting to 
Earth very rapidly indeed, to endure people like the 
lecher on the plane with sanity intact. In such a 
peaceful, unbelievably gentle society, it is hard for 
anyone to deal with hostility directed at ones' 
person.

They have cured almost all congenital birth defects 
(except, of course, the occasional "mind-dead"), 
including all those which cause mental instability. 
Chemical imbalances, brain damage, any kind of 
neurological disfunction, anything with a 
physiological source, is detectable and curable. So 
are neuroses and psychoses with a purely psychological 
source. Occasionally, someone might "slip by" the 
screening processes. With billions and billions of 
Shabaali, it is inevitable that they can't be utterly 
infallible. Also, people might experience physical or 
emotional traumas that unhinge them.

Even in these cases, at the first indication of such a 
mental disturbance, which is usually detected before 
the person even causes any harm, the Shabaali can cure 
the victim. If the person did harm, even to the extent 
of assault or murder, they regard it as something for 
which the individual is not responsible. They simply 
cure him or her, and let them go on with their lives.

Even more rarely, so rarely that Ashiya knows of less 
than a hundred cases occuring ANYWHERE in the Shabaali 
Union in her lifetime (this is among hundreds of 
planets and a total population of over a trillion!), 
someone might be just plain evil. Willfully bad. They 
aren't insane, they aren't damaged, they just choose 
to do wrong. Somehow they grow up in Shabaali society, 
endure all the unbelievably powerful social pressures 
which virtually brainwash people into being Shabaali-
like (Kim sees it as nearly brainwashing, though 
Ashiya does not!), and remain unaffected.

In these most extreme cases, when they become 
dangerous to society, the Shabaali will use powerful 
telepathic psychosurgery and alter the person's 
personality, leaving them as unchanged as possible, 
while removing all their hostility and aggressiveness. 
This notion strikes Kim as more than a little scary, 
but Ashiya sees it as the most logical (though 
genuinely regrettable) solution.

Ashiya also notes that almost always, the rare 
misbehaving Shabaali is one who grew up on a colony 
planet (not completely civilized...), or among non-
Shabaali, such as children of interracial unions who 
grew up with the non-Shabaali parent's people at 
first. Or, there are occasionally soldiers who are 
damaged by their experiences in war, and are not 
completely healed when they return. (Ashiya regards 
soldiers with pity; they must undergo heavy 
conditioning to make them even capable of 
participating in combat, and contemplating causing 
harm to other human beings, and then they must be 
given counselling and often, telesurgery, to undo the 
trauma of performing their evil and horrible jobs.)

More and more, it seems to Kim, that while Ashiya's 
people may be homo sapiens, they are still aliens....

Ashiya is upset at this notion, *very* upset. You 
sense something else in her mind; there ARE non-human 
sentient aliens around, and Ashiya (and it seems, most 
Shabaali) regard them with dread and loathing. Their 
moral code precludes harming sentient beings (or 
indeed, *any* life when it can be prevented), but they 
wish no communication with aliens. They mistrust them, 
and believe all humans are better off avoiding them.

About you, she knows you are part Shabaali, part 
Sebth, part Atla. A genetic impossibility. You could 
claim membership in any race, but then again, any race 
learning of you would realize you change ALL the 
rules. She hasn't had time to study your abilities in 
detail. She can train you in the Shabaali Function 
(i.e. telepathy) but has very little idea how to train 
you in teleportation or healing. She wants to convince 
you to think of yourself as Shabaali, though. She has 
classified you, in her own mind, as a Shabaali who 
happens to possess some anomolous (impossible) 
additional genetic traits. As a Shabaali, it is her 
duty to protect you and care for you and teach you to 
be a Shabaali.

It hurts her when you don't trust her, or when you 
become angry with her, or when you don't understand 
her. It hurts her that you don't act like a Shabaali. 
It hurts her when ANYONE thinks anything ill of her, 
but especially a fellow Shabaali. She knows you can't 
help it, and forgives you completely (but then again, 
she would completely forgive someone who was torturing 
her to death, and while she might be capable of using 
force to prevent someone from harming her, she could 
NEVER use lethal force, even to save her own life.) 
She has an emotional need to be loved unlike any 
Terran.

And the things she has done, since coming to Earth; 
using her Function offensively against a helpless non-
Shabaali's mind (the Sebth, the airport security 
personnel, the lecher, the trooper, and a number of 
other times when it was necessary for her to 
"convince" people to overlook certain discrepancies in 
her knowledge or identification or behavior...) is 
abhorrent to her, though she was trained to do it out 
of necessity, and knows it is preferable to doing 
something that might cause physical harm. She actually 
came close to striking the Sebth- she shudders in 
horror. She might have to fight here. She might have 
to hurt people. She would rather die.

Ashiya is quite capable of defending herself against 
any normal (Terran) human, even without her telepathic 
powers. But you fear if someone was attacking her, she 
would let them beat her or rape her or kill her, while 
she debated with herself whether using force in her 
own defense is justified. How the pacifistic Shabaali 
can actually fight a war with the militaristic Sebth 
is another mystery to you; if Ashiya is any 
indication, the Shabaali should be overwhelmed and 
subdued almost immediately.

Ashiya holds you, and mentally and literally weeps. *I 
am trying Kimberly I know you are a good person a very 
good person and I am judgemental and I do not 
understand you think I am weak it is just so hard our 
society is so different please do not think me a 
failure I love you I will try to be more understanding 
of Earth but oh how your people suffer! How can you 
prefer meaningless autonomy to an ending of that 
suffering! Please say you do not think I am hopeless 
please say you will not abandon me my only friend here 
where I am all alone...."

<><><><><>

Kim:

[re: "user friendly to a degree that Microsoft can 
only dream of" - have you seen the Microsoft TP spoof? 
(Telepathic Windows)]

Kim pauses for a moment, sifting through the barrage 
of information in her mind (and wishing she had 60pts 
of Eidetic memory <g>).

She thinks it ironic that the freedom enjoyed by 
Shabaali children comes in a system that no Terran 
could consider free ("computers and telepathy allow 
them to locate anyone instantly"). Not wrong, just 
different - and one that would be very uncomfortable 
for any Terran.

**I'm sorry about your... boyfriend?... Ashiya. I hope 
he's safe. Don't worry, I won't leave - at least until 
we find another friendly telepath, when I'll have to 
go back and make peace with my parents**

**I don't know if it's any help, but I like to think 
as follows. There is no point in worrying too much 
about anything: if you can't do anything about a 
problem, then whether you worry about it or not is 
irrelevant, so why bother worrying? On the other hand, 
if you *can* do something about a problem, go out and 
do that something rather than sit around worrying**

**Your world sounds interesting. But a Terran, even a 
telepathic one, would find it every bit as disturbing 
and unpleasant as you find the Earth. We are used to 
the idea of privacy, and have evolved elaborate 
rituals to protect it when people are forced to live 
close together. Your world is a paradise for the 
Shabaali, or at least as near a paradise as anyone is 
likely to achieve; a paradise for Terrans would be 
very different. Not completely different, since we 
would also like a world without crime, or war, or 
starvation; but we would need to take a different 
route**

She thinks through the thoughts again.

**Earth was allowed to sink into barbarism? Does that 
mean that we once had Shabaali technology, and lost 
it, or that we were once as peaceful as the Shabaali, 
and lost that instead? We have lots of wild legends 
about "Travellers from the Gods" who visited the Earth 
thousands of years ago. As to a Galactic War for 
control of the Earth... I suppose that's flattering 
for Terrans, in a way** - Ashiya can sense that Kim is 
being darkly humourous - **I think the Shabaali may 
well be the most benevolent race, so long as they 
realise that we are Terrans, not misbehaving Shabaali. 
Unpleasant though our society may be, Shabaali society 
would be a nightmare for us. It reminds me of "Brave 
New World", a book which described a society that was 
a paradise for the inhabitants, but unbearable for 
outsiders. Perhaps gradual work might make us more 
peaceful, but that would be a very long job**

**One of our religions was founded by someone 
preaching views that sound very like a Shabaali. 
Sadly, two thousand years ago, he died for them... and 
the religion he spawned has been a distinctly mixed 
success. It preached peace and understanding, but also 
produced some of our worst wars**

**I wish we could cure criminals as easily as you; but 
if someone had that power, our civil liberties groups 
would be screaming about the loss of `freedom' that 
was entailed. This is a very old philosophical 
question in our society: is someone behaving morally 
if they are prevented from being immoral, or do they 
have to *choose* not to be immoral?**

**Just to toss out another idea, Ashiya - could the 
curing of mental instability have accidentally weeded 
out Functional genes?**

Kim is very surprised at Ashiya's reaction to (real) 
aliens.

**What is wrong with the aliens? Do they attack human 
worlds?** - she has a sudden thought - **Or are their 
minds unreadable by telepathy or something?** (She can 
see that the latter would be frightening to a 
Shabaali).

[BTW, do you want a post summarizing what Ashiya 
initially sensed in Kim's mind from the gestalt?]

<><><><><>

[GM]

Yes, that would be nice, as well as any more 
information you want to get from her.

* * * * * * * * * *

Ashiya understands, somewhat, that Terrans would be 
uncomfortable living in Shabaali society. After all, 
she knows that you, being much more resilient than 
most people, are having trouble adjusting to the 
intimacy of a gestalt, and she knows that other 
Galactic races don't trust the Shabaali because of 
their ability to enter other people's minds 
(**although we do not do this! Except in dire 
situations...**) But she thinks that you are looking 
at it from the viewpoint of a priveleged member of a 
priveleged society. The United States of America is a 
very wealthy nation-state, and you are a member of the 
dominant race, with a comfortable and happy 
upbringing. The vast majority of your planet lives in 
much worse conditions. You value your freedom above 
all else because you have never known anything else, 
and take it for granted. Would not those people dying 
in all your bloody wars, the peasants and slaves in 
your "third world" nations, the children of the inner 
cities even here in this country, living amidst 
violent criminals and abusive social infrastructures, 
perhaps be willing to sacrifice some of that precious 
"freedom" and autonomy, a gift for the chosen few on 
your world, if it would mean an end to their 
suffering? She has not even dared to take in the 
thoughts of some of the abused people she has sensed 
here on Earth, but suspects to them, not being 
insulted and raped and beaten and shot at and worrying 
about whether they can feed their children or stay out 
of the streets, might be something worth turning over 
the administration of your resources to "aliens". She 
thinks perhaps you are being self-centered, unwilling 
to give up some of your priveleges for the good of 
your people, and this is a terrible sin in Shabaali 
society. All your society's problems, she believes, 
stem from the desire to control others that is endemic 
in your world. She has sensed lust for power, lust for 
money, lust for sex (which for many is a masquerade 
for lust to control others) in a frightening number of 
your people. Maybe most of you are essentially good 
people, but too many are corrupt and depraved, and the 
vast majority are, at best, selfish, unwilling to 
deprive themselves of the least comfort if it would 
save lives elsewhere.

The Shabaali would not walk in and impose the 
equivalent of martial law on your world. But they 
would immediately destroy all your weapons of mass 
destruction, and bring all your wars to a halt. They 
would use telepathic influence to calm the rage that 
burns in so many of your people, and they would make 
you incapabable of violence, except in self-defense, 
while they constructed new infrastructures to 
distribit resources to *everyone* on your world, so no 
one will be hungry or unprotected or deprived of 
medicine and other necessities. For most of your 
people, the changes would only be good ones. The only 
ones who would be prevented from doing as they please 
are those who wish to do violence, and those who wish 
to control resources so as to deny them to others.

In other words, those in power.

But remember, she thinks, you are not telepaths, and 
she knows that Shabaali society is as it is largely 
because they are telepaths. They would not try to make 
Earth into a Shabaali society. The other Galactic 
races are not at all like the Shabaali, but even the 
violent, militaristic Sebth are not as brutal as 
Earthlings.

Ashiya (and other Shabaali) fear aliens because their 
minds are so- alien. Incomprehensible to humans. Some 
of them may behave, on the surface, as if they can be 
communicated with and interacted with, and some other 
Galactic races foolishly mingle with them and think 
they can be allies, but how can you trust something 
that can't be understood, whose motives are forever 
hidden, whose thought processes are incomprehensible? 
All humanity, once it is restored to what it was, and 
everyone is telepathic (! something else Kim misses as 
thoughts go by) can be brought into understanding the 
beauty of the Shabaali social system, can be made into 
one universal unity. But aliens can never be part of 
this. They should not be mistreated, they should be 
permitted to live as they wish, on their own worlds, 
in their own space, but they can never truly be a part 
of humanity.

Ashiya doesn't know Earth's origins. She assumes it 
was made a preserve world, then somehow was forgotten 
about by the rest of the galaxy, and you lost your 
technology, but she doesn't know. This is something 
that will surely be thoroughly investigated when her 
people assume jurisdiction (she herself never thinks 
of it as "assuming *control*") of your world.

>>>**Just to toss out another idea, Ashiya - could the 
curing of mental instability have accidentally weeded 
out Functional genes?**<<<

It was not human eugenics that bred out of the race 
the ability to manifest multiple Functions. It was the 
Chiltrion.

<><><><><>

Kim:

One part of Kim's mind, the part that watched Star 
Trek, keeps wanting to call the gestalt a `mind-meld'.

Ashiya senses a general feeling of anxiety, about the 
future, about what will happen when the Sebth catch up 
with them, about the appearance of Functionals, and 
about what her parents will say/do when she gets back. 
The last is linked to memories of the only time her 
mother ever spanked her, when Kim was six years old. 
Not that she expects to be spanked (<g>), but it was 
the last time she really drove them over the limit.

A simple summing-up of Kim's mind would be "level-
headed" - indeed, one of her teachers has described 
her as "insanely level-headed"! She doesn't just 
remain in control of herself; rather, the very idea of 
losing control seems strange. As a result, Kim is a 
lot less shocked by the gestalt than many people would 
be. From a very young age, she seems to have taken 
everything in her stride, no matter how strange or 
embarrassing. There are brief flashes of incidents 
through her school life - being pushed into a swimming 
pool, having paint poured over her, having her shorts 
yanked down - that evoke wry humour but little actual 
embarrassment. The memory switches briefly to the 
incident in the kitchen, where she discovered the 
problem with her teleport.

Kim is aware of the gestalt reaching the private 
corners of her mind. She lost her virginity last 
summer, despite her young age and what the law says, 
and Ashiya senses a moment's resistance before her 
mind gives up the thought, a resistance eased with the 
mental equivalent of "oh well, go ahead, read it". Her 
parents are completely unaware of this, and believe 
she is virgo intacta. There are more brief related 
thoughts: it was a boy called Danny at another school, 
who was *much* older (at least seventeen <g>). She's 
never gone nearly so far with another boy, and wonders 
why she did with Danny. She knows it was partly 
curiosity <g>, which has got her into trouble before. 
She likes to find out things, to discover things.

Her views on Ashiya herself are a little mixed. Ashiya 
is a friend, a close one. Kim feels sorry for her, 
being saddled with an impossible task after losing so 
many close friends - she would put her life on the 
line to help her (in a lesser sense, she already has 
<g>). She is exasperated at Ashiya's habit ofjudging 
Earth behaviour by that of the Shabaali. She is 
worried that Ashiya will inadvertently cause a lot of 
trouble through not understanding some of the 
subtleties (vagaries?) of Terran culture - such as her 
taking weapons on board the aircraft. And finally, she 
is afraid, afraid that the Galactic Council will 
invade the Earth in a well-intentioned but disasterous 
attempt to take control of the situation. Images of UN 
Peacekeeping efforts in Bosnia and Somalia flash into 
being, where the UN have gone in to stop the sides 
fighting one-another, and have ended up being shot at 
by both sides.

Not having a lifetime of telepathy to shape her 
feelings, Kim's natural approach to people could be 
described as "friendly neutral". She will help them if 
she can, but she reserves her real friendship for a 
few close friends. There is a fiercer streak in her - 
Ashiya picks up a bit about fights at school, of being 
picked on by school bullies and refusing to buckle. 
Her parents made sure she learned to defend herself, 
and the bullying attempts dropped off quickly once the 
bullies realized she could hurt them back. Ashiya no 
doubt finds it distasteful than Kim actually *enjoyed* 
paying the bullies back with their own coin.

Another private memory. When doing some sprint 
training a couple of years ago, she'd been attacked by 
a rather dim bully. She'd kicked him in the groin - 
and only after she'd connected did she remember that 
she was wearing running spikes. The boy was OK after a 
trip to hospital, and Kim's only punishment had been a 
stern lecture, but she still felt guilty about the 
injury she'd caused. And that summarises her "violent" 
side: she enjoys fighting back, but hates the thought 
of using too much force.

[Does Ashiya want to do some specific probing?]

Kim points out to Ashiya that many of those dying in 
wars in "third world" nations are fighting for their 
freedom. A desire for freedom, and a hatred of 
control, is a very common human trait. But she accepts 
that she's privileged, and probably values freedom 
more than someone starving to death in Africa - she 
recalls a saying that goes something like "Human 
beings are only 5 meals away from savages", meaning 
that a severe food shortage quickly turns supposedly 
"civilized" people into brutes.

Would the Galactic Council consider *asking* Terrans 
whether they wanted their control, or would they just 
impose that control?

She also points out that the sort of control Ashiya is 
talking about *is* the equivalent of martial law, even 
if the Shabaali don't post soldiers on all the street 
corners. To look at Ashiya's visions from an Earth 
point of view: the Shabaali would bring all wars to a 
halt, without any consideration of the issues 
involved, thus ensuring that they would be hated by at 
least half of the nations involved. "Telepathic 
influence to calm the rage..." can also be viewed as 
"Mind control to subjugate Terrans" - Kim is genuinely 
puzzled that Ashiya can simultaneously get distraught 
at the thought of using her powers on another human 
being, while proposing a plan that requires those same 
powers to be used on millions! Add new infrastructures 
to distribute food and medicine, and you also need 
ways of ensuring the food and medicine gets 
manufactured. For non-telepathic humans, the concept 
of everyone working for the good of the whole 
functions only for small groups, perhaps up to the 
size of a village.

Suppose, she suggests to Ashiya, that one race of 
aliens turned out to be hostile to the Shabaali, and 
successfully attacked them. How would you react to 
someone telling you "We can save you. Your race has 
gone soft, it is far too peaceful; you will need to be 
made more violent, so you can fight the aliens better. 
This will be worse for a few, but the majority will be 
better off since they won't be killed by the aliens. 
And you won't mind the change, because we will alter 
your minds so that you are happy about the idea".

<><><><><>

[GM]

>>>[Does Ashiya want to do some specific probing?]<<<

Kim finds that you are not necessarily aware of which 
memories and feelings the other is scanning, unless 
there is a reflection, i.e. reaction, in the scanner's 
mind. You didn't so much "yield" to Ashiya's reading 
your first sexual experience, as realize she was 
already doing it when you sensed surprise, in her 
mind, that you had only done it once, and at such a 
late age (by Shabaali standards.)

[Off-hand, I can't think of anything Ashiya is looking 
for that I as GM don't already know, or that you 
haven't already revealed by your roleplaying of Kim.]

Ashiya is dismayed at Kim's "violent" streak, and 
physically winces at your memories of kicking the 
bully in the groin. But she does understand that 
because your world is so violent, you need to use 
barbaric methods to defend yourself. Emotionally, she 
has a hard time with *any* violence, even in self-
defense, but intellectually, she acknowledges, with 
great sadness, that you are only as violent as your 
world forces you to be, and is pleased that you at 
least are more loathe to do harm than most Earthlings 
seem to be. You should not *enjoy* getting back at 
bullies, though- she is a little upset that you seem 
to relish the look on their faces when they realize 
they've bitten off more than they can chew. She would 
use force only with great reluctance, and if she had 
to physically disable a "bully" (which she would do as 
gently as possible, naturally), she would apologize 
for any pain she caused, and try to explain calmly why 
his behavior forced her to use force against him. Of 
course, she sees Kim's immediate reaction to the 
effect that this approach isn't likely to work with 
most bullies, but she's adamant that the effort should 
be made. **If you want to enact long-term change in 
your society, you must use a nonviolent solution, and 
use it over and over again. It may not work at first, 
but eventually those values will begin to permeate 
your society. Simply beating up your bullies will only 
anger them, and lead them to seek a weaker victim.**

Regarding the Galactic Council; it would not be the 
Council itself that invades Earth, but one of the 
nations, almost certainly either the Shabaali Unity or 
the Sebth Combine. The Council might intervene, and 
impose restrictions on how Earth was to be managed, 
but if the Sebth discover Earth and take it under 
their control, the Council will have much less ability 
to control the Sebth. The other races, such as the 
Asgur Federation and the Lemaar Kingdom, would 
certainly have an interest in Earth's gene pool, but 
they are smaller and farther away than the Sebth or 
the Shabaali. So almost certainly, it is a choice 
between the Shabaali or the Sebth, unless Earth was 
somehow able to send a representative to the Council 
itself, and that is unlikely.

Ashiya is *not* happy at the prospect of the Shabaali 
having to use telepathic influence on your entire 
planet, and neither would any other Shabaali. It would 
be a necessary evil, something done for your own good. 
And they would work to change your infrastructure as 
quickly as possible, and teach your society new 
values, so they could remove all vestiges of "control" 
as quickly as possible.

There is something else Kim sees, though, that Ashiya 
does not express consciously because she so takes it 
for granted she doesn't even think about it. But it 
tells you that convincing the Galactics, *any* 
Galactics, to take the feelings of Earthlings into 
account will be very, very difficult.

In her mind, you are all savage, ignorant barbarians, 
period. In the end, any criticisms you have of her 
society and defenses of your own pretty much roll off 
her. She has a severe case of "white man's burden"; 
the Galactics are smarter, wiser, healthier, more 
advanced and just plain superior than a bunch of mind-
dead barbarians. It is their *duty* to take care of 
you poor primitives and stop you from destroying each 
other and your world. Of course you barbarians won't 
like it when the Galactics come, misbehaving children 
never like being told they have to stop. But the 
Galactics know better, and what they do is for your 
own good. Naturally, the Shabaali would be the kindest 
and most gentle authority, but even the Sebth are at 
least civilized, even if their civilization is far too 
violent. Her mindset is something akin to that of an 
Englishman back in colonial days. You Earthlings are 
Indians (or Africans or Polynesians, or take your 
pick...) You should be protected, because decent 
people don't prey on poor ignorant savages, but it 
really doesn't matter what you *want*, because how can 
you know what you want? You're too ignorant. The Sebth 
are Germans. Nasty people, we fight wars with them, 
have to watch them all the time and keep them from 
getting too powerful, but at least they're civilized, 
and you can talk to them. Not like savages....

Of course Kim probably isn't too happy about what she 
perceives as severe prejudice on Ashiya's part, and 
Ashiya in turn isn't happy that her beliefs have upset 
you again. She really does CARE about the people she 
thinks of as mind-dead primitives; she really would 
risk her life to save anyone. She already feels 
something akin to love for Nancy's husband and 
children, even though they are mind-dead barbarians. 
She just does not respect their ability to act in a 
civilized manner, or make informed decisions about 
their society. Nancy, being a Functional, is a step 
higher in Ashiya's regard; she (like you) grew up in 
this barbaric society, but she is capable of joining 
Galactic civilization. You, being Shabaali, Ashiya 
regards as *almost* an equal. You just need to come 
with her to see Shabaali society, and you'll surely 
realize how ignorant you've been...

The mind-dead of other worlds, the ones where they 
preserved their Galactic connections, Ashiya regards 
in a slightly different way. They *are* civilized, 
just limited. Without Functions, they can't 
participate in the full potential of Galactic society, 
any Galactic society. Their perceptions and 
capabilities are naturally limited, so while it isn't 
their fault, it does make them inferior to Functional 
humans, in a different way.

On the other hand, Ashiya is not totally inflexible; 
it's difficult for a telepath to avoid being receptive 
to the thoughts of others! So you can see that the 
objections you have to this mindset do have an impact 
on her. Mostly sadness, because she loves you and is 
almost ready to stop the gestalt, because she doesn't 
want to expose you to any more thoughts that will make 
you angry at her. But she's genuinely surprised at how 
vehemently you believe she's wrong. You realize that 
living exclusively among other Galactics, almost 
exclusively Shabaali, she's never had her assumptions 
questioned before! What she believes is what 
*everyone* believed. You have a totally different 
opinion, and while she has a hard time accepting it 
(you're still, for the most part, an ignorant 
barbarian after all...) she can see it's heartfelt and 
you have strong emotional and intellectual reasons for 
the way you feel. It forces her to see things from a 
different point of view- something that, for all her 
"open-mindedness", she's never had to do before!

Convincing Ashiya will take time, and exposure to more 
of Earth. You won't change her mind by debating with 
her. On the other hand, as she has pointed out 
herself, it's not *her* mind you need to change...

<><><><><>

Kim:

Kim is not at all happy at Ashiya's prejudices, but 
recognizes that she isn't likely to change in the 
immediate future. She is like one of the missionaries 
who worked in Africa to "educate the savages", who 
ended up mainly causing strife by ignoring the 
cultures they were dealing with. All Kim hopes is that 
Ashiya will realise that a subtler approach will work 
much better - persuade people that this is the right 
thing to do, so that they think it is *their* choice, 
and any changes will be a lot smoother. Kim also 
thinks that trying to remove all aggression and 
violence from Terrans will be counter-productive: they 
will end up as passive as the Shabaali, but without 
any mental powers to protect themselves.

<><><><><>

[GM]

Ashiya does one more thing, before breaking the 
gestalt.

**You were concerned about Chad attacking you 
mentally**, she says. **There are means to defend 
against this. With repeated gestalts, I can teach you 
more about constructing telepathic defenses to avoid 
such hostile actions, but in this little time, I can 
at least instill in you the rudimentary ability to 
block overt assaults. It will make it somewhat more 
difficult for Chad to invade your mind. Unfortunately, 
until you have had some time to practice, hopefully 
with my guidance, it will make it more difficult for 
me to communicate with you as well, but I should be 
able to get past your defenses. And just by 
telecommunicating to each other regularly, you should 
be able to acquire a grasp of how to selectively 
screen attempts to make contact with your mind, so you 
can allow me past your defenses without dropping them 
completely. In the meantime, you do not need to 
maintain the defense at all times. It should not take 
you long to learn to erect a barrier or drop it at 
will.** You sense a lingering sadness from Ashiya, as 
she has learned this and many other forms of 
telepathic combat, all skills that are unknown and 
totally unnecessary to most Shabaali.

Her mind gently probes more deeply into yours, into 
some place beyond your subconscious. The feeling is 
indescribable, but it causes no small amount of 
unease, because you realize she's touching parts of 
your mind that control your thoughts, your memories, 
even your personality, and you know from this gestalt 
that she is capable of *changing* those things- she 
could selectively erase or alter your memories, 
reshape your personality, or just turn you into a 
vegetable. Her mindtouch is very gentle and soothing, 
and urges, even pleads with you, to trust her, and on 
a surface level you do. The gestalt has left no doubt 
in your mind that Ashiya would never willingly harm 
you in any way. But it's still not a comfortable 
feeling, for someone in a culture used to privacy, to 
have someone else drifting into the deepest recesses 
of your mind and working her will there.

**I know* Ashiya thinks gently, *But remember I have 
trusted you as much, and though you do not know 
techniques as sophisticated as mine, there are still 
ways you could hurt me, with your limited skills, 
because my mind is as open to yours as yours is to 
mine. You see why we are all such a trusting people by 
nature, why I am so 'naive', as you and Nancy believe 
I am. I would rather have this trust, and risk being 
hurt, than live without the risk and never know who I 
can truly trust and love. It is my nature, as it is 
the nature of my people, and I see that this would 
open me to all manner of abuse on your world. I only 
hope I am not here long enough to be forced to 
change.**

When she finally breaks contact, you sense the 
knowledge in your mind, in the same place as your 
newly-acquired knowledge of how to send and receive 
thoughts. With a moment's concentration, you can call 
to mind a barrier that will inhibit any attempts to 
enter your mind. You're pretty sure you can bypass it 
yourself, without any trouble, and you think you can 
let Ashiya or someone else past it, while still 
holding it up, but you haven't had the opportunity to 
test it yet.

Ashiya embraces you, stroking your hair, then gives 
you another of her strangely loving-but-not-sexual 
kisses on the lips. "Thank you, Kimberly," she 
whispers. "I really did need that. I know I am very 
trying on you, and I know you do not like much of what 
I believe, as I do not like much of what you believe. 
I *will* try to have an...open mind." With a slight 
smile, she adds "And I will go with you back to your 
parents' home, when we are finished here, if I can 
explain anything to them that will lessen their anger 
at you."