I seem to recall. Madrin didn't volunteer an opinion.

Serba says she thinks that they are the planet's aborigines.

Interesting, says Glim. Then, Madrin says that the crew will off-load our belongings and revive Tikki from stasis. They should bring our things by later today. The thought of Tikki, my gen-cat, back underfoot brings a smile to my face.

Why don't you get a shower in the meantime, Glim says. He knows me too well.

I'll do that.

Come by when you're done, he says. Perhaps I can give you reason for another one.

A bath, a real bath in real water, the first in too many years, is the first genuine straightforward pleasure for me on MON. I rub in lotion and let the air dry the excess moisture off me. The light floral scent of the lotion is unusual, most likely indigenous, definitely new, to me. Looking in the full-length mirror in the bathing area, I see that regular exercise has helped me keep my shape (thin), but more than four years without sun has not lightened the color of my skin. The even ebony glistens darkly with oil and water in the slightly bluet light of MON's unfamiliar sun.

There is a brightly colored cotton-like robe hanging in the closet of the sleeping area. I put it on when my skin is dry and walk barefoot toward Glim's cottage. The ground is soft and slightly damp against the soles of my feet. The gra.s.s is a dark blue-green, and it's dotted with small turquoise flowers.

Out under the sky, that cool whip of Telen flutters again. It seems to come from the direction of the main colony, but when I turn to look in that direction, the touch shifts. I concentrate, listening carefully, but I can discern no meaning just a slight pull, a caress, a whisper, a kiss. Either someone skilled is playing this game or I am losing my touch. Normally I can immediately sense direction from a touch. I close my eyes and try to focus on that slender cool thread of thought, try to resolve its meaning and direction.

While I am circling slowly, trying to get a fix on the mind touch, Glim comes up behind me.

Do you feel it? I ask.

Yes.

Where is it coming from? I ask, turning to face him.

He shrugs.

What is it saying? Can you understand it?

No, he says.

Do they have a Monitor here? I ask.

No, he replies. According to Madrin, they haven't been able to afford that status.

Then what is it? I ask.

Glim shakes his head. I don't know.

What does it mean?

I don't know, Jude. That's all I can say. He pounds that last thought into my mind with a bit more fervor than necessary.

Okay, I apologize. Sony. I reach down and pick one of the tiny blue flowers. The scent is sweet like a Mohanish apricot. I hold it up for Glim to smell.

Nice, he says, noncommittal. I can tell the unidentified Telen is irritating him. Young Monitors often play this sort of game, a sort of mental ventriloquism, before they mature and are trained. Maybe MaN has birthed its own Monitor.

If mental arts are not wholly welcome here, a child could learn to hide its gift for quite some time. This is t rue especially if the parents are aware and helping with the deceit. While such deceit is a crime, few can blame parents for not wanting to send their children away at so young an age.

Cueing from Glim's tension, I decide to occupy him rather than pursue the source of the Telen. This place reminds me of Mohan, I say. Of course, Mohan has a lot more people. And they're all dark.

Not to mention that they have CyberNav equipment, Glim chips in.

I wasn't actually going to mention it, I say. Glim studiously offers no response. I have to admit, it is beautiful here. And they certainly went out of their way to provide telepaths with privacy. Glim nods. Don't you like it?

It's different, he answers.

Different? I say.

Kelgar is a desert planet, he reminds me.

I forgot. Ive never seen his home planet; as much as I try, I cannot picture an entire planet that is a desert. Only the very rich would choose to live on such a planet. Kelgar is so exclusive, so spa.r.s.ely populated, that it doesn't even have its own Court, but shares one of Zehabus'. It is a constant source of teasing that he never learned how to swim. Maybe now I will have the time to make good on my threat to teach him. The Pool seems a perfect place to try. I, of course, will then have to get over my fear of stepping on living, green, slimy things in natural ponds. Maybe there is an indoor pool somewhere.

How is your cottage, I ask after a while.

The same as yours, he replies.

Is there a damper? I ask. I didn't think to check my place.

Yes. And I see a little fire light up behind his eyes. The switch is by the bed.

Ooo, I say. Let's go try it out.

Why is it that when we touch, we do not go insane except with pleasure, neither of us is subsumed by the personality of the other, and our minds like our bodies fit together with the ease of two puzzle pieces? Why don't the telepists know how to do this?

It's a good thing we had a 'lectro-Monitor or you would have deafened half the colony, I jibe Glim. Of course the scratches on his back and a.s.s didn't appear quietly either.

It was certainly interesting to have room to move around in again. Though I can't say much for the constraints of gravity. I'll be sore for days.

So will I, but I'm not complaining, 1 tease him, grabbing his now flaccid p.e.n.i.s.

But I better get back to my cottage before we get caught. Don't want to risk alienating ourselves in the first few hours.

You don't think they'd buy the fact that you were just giving me a ma.s.sage? I send him a few choice images of what I can ma.s.sage for him and how before he groans and begs exhaustion. Okay, you're right, Jude. I just don't want to lose what we had on the ship. I can't go back to hiding all the time.

Another evening like this and I don't think we'll have a choice. We really do have to remember we have neighbors now! I slip out of our wet embrace and put on the robe. Glim turns off the damper field, and we are thrown into shadowy dusk as the field's soft yellow glow fades. "I think I'll go enjoy another bath before dinner. You may want to as well. I don't mind the aroma, but I wouldn't want to send any nosy females into rut."

"And to whom would you be referring?"

"As if you didn't notice Elleen on the zipper. Or was that Elleen noticing your zipper! You, with your archaic throwback fashions."

"A bit territorial, aren't we? Now why would I give up what we have for just some simple Kin-ship?"

I fall back to the bed, laughing at his abysmal pun. It is difficult to get used to being around people again. The Stardust was a closed but complete society. A community of two. And we still have an infinite amount of s.p.a.ce to explore in each other's minds.

Serba understated the situation when she said there isn't a lot for a telepath to do on MON. It's no wonder Eckart had time to work on his magnificent doors.

Three days. I am unpacked, well fed, and over rested. Tikki, when she is not off ridding the planet of small game, is busy running under my feet. And the wild Telen never seems totally absent from my mind unless I'm in a damping field. I cannot otherwise shield against it.

It may be growing stronger, but it sends no message that I can decipher. Several times I have found myself walking toward the main colony, unthinkingly, and have stopped myself. The compulsion makes me nervous.