side. On the psi side, meanwhile, she’d been carrying on a project of her own which had to do with Osselin’s yoli.
The yoli was having a curious experience. Shortly after Telzey and Keth rejoined Osselin, it had begun to pick up momentary impressions of another yoli somewhere about. Greatly intrigued because it had been a long time since it last encountered or sensed one of its kind, it started searching mentally for the stranger, broadcasting its species’ contact signals.
Presently the signals were being returned, though faintly and intermittently. The yoli’s excitement grew. It probed farther and farther for the signals’ source, forgetting now the telepath it had punished for trying to touch its master. And along those heedlessly extended tendrils of thought, Telzey reached delicately toward the yoli mind, touched it and melted into it, still unperceived.
It had taken time because she couldn’t risk making the creature suspicious again. The rest wasn’t too difficult. The yoli’s intelligence was about that of a monkey. It had natural defenses against being controlled by another’s psi holds, and Telzey didn’t try to tamper with those. Its sensory centers were open to her, which was all she needed. Using its own impressions of how another yoli, a most desirable other yoli, would appear to it, she built up an illusion that it was in satisfying communication with such a one and left the image planted firmly in its mind along with a few other befuddling concepts. By that time, the yoli was no longer aware that she existed, much less of what she was up to.
Then finally she was able to turn her attention
The yoli was having a curious experience. Shortly after Telzey and Keth rejoined Osselin, it had begun to pick up momentary impressions of another yoli somewhere about. Greatly intrigued because it had been a long time since it last encountered or sensed one of its kind, it started searching mentally for the stranger, broadcasting its species’ contact signals.
Presently the signals were being returned, though faintly and intermittently. The yoli’s excitement grew. It probed farther and farther for the signals’ source, forgetting now the telepath it had punished for trying to touch its master. And along those heedlessly extended tendrils of thought, Telzey reached delicately toward the yoli mind, touched it and melted into it, still unperceived.
It had taken time because she couldn’t risk making the creature suspicious again. The rest wasn’t too difficult. The yoli’s intelligence was about that of a monkey. It had natural defenses against being controlled by another’s psi holds, and Telzey didn’t try to tamper with those. Its sensory centers were open to her, which was all she needed. Using its own impressions of how another yoli, a most desirable other yoli, would appear to it, she built up an illusion that it was in satisfying communication with such a one and left the image planted firmly in its mind along with a few other befuddling concepts. By that time, the yoli was no longer aware that she existed, much less of what she was up to.
Then finally she was able to turn her attention