Chapter 15

Will knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that he was not going to try to rule the world, but he also knew that unless the world leaders changed their outlook, things would only get worse. No matter how hard he chewed at the problem, though, no solution presented itself. Falling back on an old trick from his engineering days, he decided to take his mind completely off the problem in hopes that his subconscious would come up with a solution while he worked on other things.

He knew his power had grown, as had Nine's, but there was one thing he had yet to try. All of his explorations so far had been within the confines of Earth's atmosphere.

I wonder, he thought, as Tina slept on his shoulder, just how far I can stretch my consciousness.

With that thought, his mind went soaring into the vastness of space. To his delight, he found vast rivers and streams of energy, the closest and most energetic, of course, flowing outward from the Sun. There were also streams of energy flowing into the Sun, and the Earth, and other large bodies in nearby space. These, he surmised, must be some manifestation of gravity. To his astonishment, the mutual attraction of the massive bodies of the Solar system formed a web of reciprocal interactions that allowed him to determine the direction of all other bodies from any given one. Soon, he had built, with the help of his 'auxiliary brain' a navigational map of the sun, all it's planets, and their moons, and could recognize them by their energy signatures. Delighted with the discovery, he sent his mind beyond the boundaries of the system, and found that the same sort of network existed between star systems! The 'signature' of Earth's system was a combination of the signatures of the Sun, combined with those of every body in the system, though the further outward his mind went, the less noticeable the contribution of the smaller bodies, until, finally, he could detect only that of Sol.

Will was not aware of how long his mind floated between the stars. Time seemed meaningless, and the wonders to behold endless in the vastness of the void. The bright, strong signature of a black hole drew his attention briefly as it drew other energies into itself in a steady stream, but unlike the other bodies in space, emitted nothing except the energy of its gravitational pull. There seemed no boundaries to his ability to explore in this way. The energy his mind needed for the exploration, he drew from the very fabric of space.

As he had done with the Solar system, Will automatically catalogued and mapped 'nearby' systems with the aid of his 'auxiliary brain' and stretched his mind beyond, following almost randomly the tenuous threads of gravitic interaction between the stars, exploring the spiral arm of the galaxy that represented Sol's neighborhood... Suddenly, his mind came upon an anomaly - a place that emitted the gravitational energy of a star system, and connected to others in the same way, but which seemed incapable of emitting any other sort of energy, though it was clearly not a black hole. When his mind attempted to probe within this region it was repulsed as though it had run into an energetic 'brick wall.'

What the hell? Will thought to himself. This can't be a natural phenomenon. What could create something like that? It seems perfectly spherical...

Gathering as much energy as he could from the the surrounding space, Will formed a probe and pushed against the barrier. He felt it begin to give, and the next instant, he and Nine were somewhere else. From the energy, he guessed they were somewhere inside the protected area, but had no idea how they got there!

Nine! Shields now! He 'shouted' at his companion as the first probes struck his own defenses.

Tina had complained often about the drills he had put them both through, especially with the shields, but Will was not one to leave much to chance. The fact that they had never encountered other minds as strong as theirs was not proof that there were none. Now he was grateful for his paranoia. He felt her shields snap into place even before she was fully awake.

"What the... ?" Tina mumbled. "Jesus H. Christ, Ten! You picked a helluva night to hold shield drills!"

"This isn't a drill, Nine." He told her. "Keep those shields tight. I seem to have poked a stick into an ant hill, and the ants have dragged us home to their queen or something. Whoever I disturbed has teleported us to another star system."

Fully awake now, Tina peered around at the yellowish mist that surrounded what seemed to be a bubble of air that had been brought here with them. Worried about their air supply, Will was busy setting up a field of his own to hold the air near them in case those who brought them here decided to try to get rid of it.

"Who are these, these, beings?" She asked, suddenly realizing that they were still naked.

"I don't know." Will replied. He was catching snatches of thought from a number of different minds, and with his enhanced vision, could see through the mist that they appeared to be on the floor of an enormous indoor amphitheater. "Whoever they are, they didn't like me trying to spy on them, I guess. Let's see if we can turn the tables on them a little and see what they're thinking."

Sending out a probe of his own, Will began to catch snatches of alien imagery. At first he could make no sense of the thought patterns he picked up, then, gradually, he began to notice patterns that could be perceived as visual, audio, and thought. Once again reverting to his early days of trying to understand his gift, he began sorting through the various patterns, and with the help of his extended brain, routing them to visual, aural, and other centers of his brain, until he was pretty sure he at least had the proper inputs. Gradually, the association of the visual and aural patterns with the thought patterns began to give him a rudimentary understanding of the thought patterns. Suddenly, as if a tuner in his head had found the proper carrier frequency, the alien thought patterns clicked into place in his brain.

... too strong. They are dangerous! We must destroy them! It was difficult picking out any individual stream of thought, and he suddenly realized that there were hundreds, no, thousands of minds contributing to the maelstrom of thought that surrounded them.

Study them first. Came from another mind.

And from yet another: Strength does not mean agression. They could be allies.

Then why did they try to force their way through the shield wall?

How did they even find the shield wall?

Another reason to study them! If they can find us, so can others!

Finally, Will had had enough. Why don't you try asking us politely? He projected into the midst of the alien discussion.

A shockwave went through the amphitheater as the others realized who had interjected a thought into their discussion.

As one, they thought at him. HOW CAN ONE MIND BE SO POWERFUL? TO PENETRATE THE DEFENSES OF THE ALLMIND WITH ONLY ONE MIND SEEMS BEYOND POSSIBILITY!

Will waited for the mental din to subside somewhat, then replied. I am new to these powers, so I do not know what is possible and what is not, but from the beginning, I have taken my power from the fabric of the Universe. It is there for the taking if you know how to look.

BUT HOW DID YOU FIND OUR SANCTUARY? WE ALLOW NO THOUGHT TO ESCAPE THE SHIELD WALL, AND NONE CAN PENETRATE - AT LEAST NONE OTHER CAN PENETRATE - THE SHIELD WALL.

I was exploring the pathways between the stars, following the energy that connects all heavenly bodies to each other, when I came upon a pathway that seemed to end too soon. Will shrugged. When I explored, I found that all pathways that connect to this system seem to end at the boundary of your shield wall. I did not think this could be a natural occurrence, so I decided to investigate.

Another wave of consternation swept through the hall.

YOU CAN SEE THE PATHWAYS BETWEEN THE STARS? WE HAVE THEORIZED THEIR EXISTENCE BUT EVEN THE POWER OF THE ALLMIND CANNOT SEE THEM!

Will shrugged again. They are no harder to see than other energies. They grow faint over long distances, but can still be seen. Can you not see the energy flowing around you? This mist makes it difficult to see with my visual sensors, but your energy tells me there are thousands of you around us, and that the strongest minds among you are those nearest the center of this place - nearest to us.

An audible gasp rippled through the place then, accompanying the mental shockwave, as they realized that not only could these dangerous beings 'see' their captors, they could also single out the strongest minds if they chose to attack.

Do not fear. Will hastened to add. We mean you no harm. I apologize for intruding on your sanctuary, but it was only curiosity that caused me to do so. Perhaps we can help each other. Clearly, you have been using these powers of the mind for some time. Perhaps you can help my companion and I refine our skill. In return, I will endeavor to teach you those skills that I have that you do not yet possess.

There was general hubbub of thought, as the members of the Allmind discussed his proposal. It didn't take long. Apparently, consensus is more quickly gained in mental meetings than in those to which Will had been accustomed when he was working.

YOUR OFFER IS GENEROUS, BUT THERE SEEMS LITTLE WE CAN TEACH YOU THAT YOU DO NOT ALREADY KNOW. THERE IS SOMETHING THAT TROUBLES YOU, HOWEVER. PERHAPS THE POWER OF MANY MINDS MAY HELP RESOLVE YOUR PROBLEM WHERE THE ONE MIND FAILS. IF WE CAN HELP YOU IN THIS MATTER, WILL YOU TEACH US THE WAY OF 'SEEING' ENERGY?

Will raised an eyebrow in silent query at Nine who still clung naked to his side as they stood before the alien congress. Tina shrugged. "Couldn't hurt." She added verbally.

I must caution you that I was modified from my original form, and it was those modifications that gave me the ability to 'see' energy. I do not know if, even with teaching, you will be able to do as I do. Let me, therefore, attempt the teaching first. I would not take your gift if I cannot give one in return

THIS IS A FAIR PROPOSITION. WE ACCEPT.

"Watch over me, Nine." Will told Tina. "I'm going to have to let some of them in, so you go with them and kick the shit out of 'em if they get out of line and start digging for shit I don't want them to have."

"Will do, Ten." She replied, the familiar grin lighting her features.

Come... Will told the Allmind ... learn.

The combined minds watched eagerly as Will showed them how he connected to the various flows of energy around them, then tried to coach them as they, too attempted to do what he did. For hours, trying this, trying that, he was unsuccessful in teaching them what they wanted to know. Finally, in frustration, he addressed the Allmind.

I watch how my mind perceives the energies. I see the places where they impinge upon my flesh and produce reactions that my mind can see. Of the five races present, it may be possible to modify one to act as my system does. Do you want me to attempt to make that modification?