"

"As did I," admitted the instructor. "Faintly. Smith of Earth--"

"Don't tell me you didn't see me use my arms then, just my arms?"

"Kard appeared awful helpless--"

"I felt the psi," said the woman of Nugat.

"And I," a man agreed.

"As I said," Jorak declared smugly, "when you bring a barbarian to the
school you must expect barbarous behavior. Oh well," he stifled a yawn,
"I'll get my nose fixed, of course, but this sort of thing could
continue. Unpleasant, is it not?"

The instructor nodded slowly, dismissed class.

* * * * *

"Did you or didn't you, Smith?"

"What do you think, Geria?"

"I'd say no, but I did feel the psi when you threw Kard."

"That was Jorak--and he used it on me."

"Not very strong then, because I remember how readily I--"

"Look, Geria. What's the difference? They've made up their minds, and I
can't do a thing about it. I didn't use the psi, I can tell you that and
you'll believe me. But it doesn't matter, really. They're convinced.
What happens next?"

The woman of Bortinot frowned. "I don't know. They could expel you
possibly. You forget I'm new at the school, too. Let's forget all about
it. You will, anyway, in dream empathy."

It was easy for her to say that, but Smith couldn't forget. The more he
had tried to convince them he had not employed the psi-power, could not
employ it, the more they thought that he did. He was of Earth--primitive
by their standards, a barbarian. They had said so. Culture had leaped
past Earth in all directions, had leaped so far that he could not even
recognize it as such, had encompassed the stars and broad new concepts
as big as the parsecs of space between the stars. How could he
understand--ever?

Or was there anything to understand? If he could take everything at its
face value, if he could trust his own judgment, this was not culture at
all. But he had forgotten again: his judgment didn't matter. He was
being judged, not the school.

"--be strictly a neophyte in dream empathy," Geria was saying. "But not
me. I've had my share of it on Bortinot, and they'll be pairing us off,
experienced and novice. I'll take you as a partner if you'd like,
Smith."

"You bet I'd like it!" He felt genuinely cheerful again, quite suddenly.
Geria was the one bright spot at the school, and at least he had that.
And yet there was something he could not remember, something pushing
against the fringes of consciousness, and i