The Psilent Partner Read online

quite a while."

  "Will you come to my office?"

  "Why?"

  "I'd like to discuss a business proposition."

  "What's wrong with doing it over the visiphone?"

  "This is confidential," Lawrence said.

  "Something not exactly legal?" Black asked. "Big deal, eh? The ControlBoard again--oh, oh! You'd better see Standskill!"

  Lawrence felt uneasy. "Are you--are you reading my mind?" hestammered.

  "Sorry," the young man said, smiling faintly. "It's easier that way. Idislike physical movement on such warm days as this. And it's easierfor me to pick up your proposal this way than to go through thatbeastly traffic."

  "Then you know?"

  "Certainly. I'm a psi so I can read your mind."

  "Do you accept the job?"

  "Well, people in that area and the country in general would certainlybenefit from the development. I don't know about that lawyer from LosAngeles though. They teach us in Service Psi School that non-servicepsis are not to be trusted. In fact, service psis are forbidden toassociate with non-service psis. They're considered unethical."

  "You're not in service yet, Black, and you must realize that thepsi-ethics as taught in your school are much more strict than businessethics. If Standskill were here he'd certainly help me, and you knowhe has a fine code of ethics. It's desperate, Black. I need yourservices urgently. Won't you please accept the job?"

  * * * * *

  "I suppose so," the young man said wearily, resignedly. "Standskillwould agree, I'm sure. But, as a trainee, I'm not supposed to meddlein business transactions. However, I'd hate to see you lose out onthis because I know Standskill would unhesitatingly help you if hewere here. Also, I'm curious to meet that psi from Los Angeles." Hissharp chin grew resolute. "I'll try, Mr. Lawrence. And my consciencewill be clear; I haven't yet taken the Oath."

  "Will you need anything--any physical help, any tangible thing?"

  "I'll need your power-of-attorney."

  "You'll have it before I go to the hospital."

  "And, Mr. Lawrence," Black said softly. "About the surgery--don'tworry, you'll be okay. It's chiefly psychosomatic, you know. In acouple of weeks you'll be fine. You couldn't have picked a betterdoctor than Summers."

  Lawrence felt better already, a result of his talk with this brashyoung man.

  "Thank you, Black," he said. "Thank you very much. But, look--as apsi, can you assure me that my idea is not slightly lunatic? I'vebegun to doubt that it will work."

  _Lunatic.... Mentally unsound.... Luna.... Moon.... The crescent ofthe moon in the noonday sky. Yes, he could go now.... The transit wasbrief.... No! He must go back, must bear the consciousness that wasMartin Black back from this airless, cratered sphere! Panic seizedhim. He fled._

  Lawrence was astounded to see the young man at the other end of thevisiphone seemingly fall into a deep sleep, his head down suddenly onthe desk.

  "Black," he cried, "are you all right? Shall I send a doctor to--"

  "_No!_"

  The young man raised his head. "I'm quite all right, Mr. Lawrence,though slightly exhausted. Didn't sleep well last night. Sorry! I'llring you after I contact Dick Joyce."

  "No names, please," Lawrence said. "I go into the hospital thisafternoon, Black. You'd better not contact me there. The doctor saidno business while I'm there. From now on you're on your own."

  _Your own! He was drifting! He fought it...._

  "Right, Mr. Lawrence. Goodbye!"

  II

  Martin Black _was_ tired. His consciousness had almost drifted off tohome again, back to that old mansion on the Hudson River whichStandskill had sold as directed under Black's mother's will. The oldhouse in which he was born, where he had first found that he could sitin his room and send his consciousness questing down the hall to meethis father when he came home, pry into what his father had brought forhim and surprise his parents later by invariably guessing correctly.

  Sometimes now he wished that he hadn't "guessed" correctly so often inthose days. Then his uncle Ralph wouldn't have mentioned his unusualability to the Business Ethics Bureau and the psis wouldn't haveinvestigated him. Once they found that he had such mentalqualifications he had been sent to the Service Psi School, a virtualprison despite his family's social status.

  Anger suddenly choked him at the thought of what his uncle Ralph hadbrought upon him. The psi training had been so rigid, so harsh attimes.

  Well, of course they have to be sure that psis develop into usefulmembers of society. But couldn't they treat you more normally, morehumanly?

  Now, perhaps he'd show them, repay them for the cruel years of alonely, bitter youth. He hadn't taken the Oath yet, and if he wereclever enough he'd never have to! The real estate lawyer in LosAngeles with whom Lawrence was making a deal had evaded servicesomehow, apparently. So it was possible.

  He had learned long ago that money wouldn't buy him out of service.He'd tried also to purchase certain liberties at school. Some of theless scrupulous teachers had taken his allowance, but only one of themhad ever given him anything in return. And of course he couldn'tprotest when he had violated Ethics to give the bribes. In any event,no one would take the word of an untrained psi over the word of astable, normal human being.

  During the stabilization course one professor had permitted him toskip some classes. Now he wished that he hadn't missed them; heprobably wouldn't have this semantic instability to contend with now.Oh, well....

  He _was_ tired. He'd spent the previous night, or most of it, worryingabout the miserable state of his finances. He needed money, a lot ofmoney. But he wouldn't, of course, admit that to Lawrence.

  Lawrence would have understood why he needed money--even more than thehundred thousand he had offered. But then Lawrence might mistrust hismotives in accepting the proposal so readily if he knew.

  A year before Black had invested too much of his own money in a "surething" upon the advice of a fellow psi trainee who, he subsequentlyand sadly found out, had _economic_ instability. Semantic instabilitywas bad enough!

  Not that Martin Black didn't have a hundred thousand dollars. He was,indeed, a rather wealthy young man, thanks to his mother who had been,to her son's knowledge--and to his alone--a psi with definite powersof pre-vision and persuasion.

  He recalled the tale Mom had told him of her first meeting with Dad,of how she'd lingered over Dad's well groomed nails three times longerthan desire for a good tip made necessary, while she'd gentlyinsinuated into his mind an idea that was next day translated intoaction on the stock market, with a modest investment from a modestpurse that brought the young man a small fortune. After the weddingMartha Black dedicated herself to further improvements in the samedirection.

  As for Martin's father, his chief business assets had been anunswerving adoration of his wife and complete willingness to do withhis money as she saw fit. The combination had been unbeatable.

  When Martin's father was laid to rest, Martha Black, concerned overthe future of her somewhat unusual son and fearing that economicinstability might beset him, continued to improve the fortune he wouldsome day inherit.

  Long before the death of his mother five years before, BlackControlled Atomics, Inc., had grown sufficiently important to commandthe services of a lawyer of Standskill's caliber. Gradually Standskillhad become general counsel to the Black enterprises and at the sametime a close friend of Martha Black and her son.

  It was chiefly in the latter capacity that the widow consultedStandskill as she approached the end of her life. Her Last Will andTestament, duly signed, sealed, published and declared, left one-halfof the immediately-to-be-liquidated estate to her son outright. Theother half was put in trust.

  Under the trust Martin was to receive the income until he was thirty.If then an audit showed that his net worth, exclusive of the trust,had increased by thirty percent the trust was to end and Martin was toreceive the principal. If not, the trust would end and the full amountthereof would go to his u
ncle Ralph, a prospect which caused Martincompletely to lose his stability whenever he allowed himself to thinkof it. He just _had_ to make the thirty percent!

  R. W. Standskill was trustee, and the will gave him full power toinvest the trust estate as he saw fit and without liability if hisinvestments went bad and without any bond or security required of himwhatsoever. More in token of appreciation of his services thananything else, Standskill was to receive one percent of the trust aslong as he was trustee.

  Martin Black's mind dwelled on the thought of the thirty percentincrease. After five years of conservative