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mination to make the second one reality, along with his already-expressed willingness to help, could be interpreted as implied consent under one section of Godhome's programming. It took the computer almost a minute to decide to use it, though. That interpretation was perhaps questionable--but it wasn't forbidden, because it left Kranath free to refuse. As long as that was true, Godhome felt justified. It needed the best, and Kranath was the best; there was no reason to delay the first step. It began working, opening unused mental pathways to free parts of the Traiti's mind that evolution would not normally bring into play for several tens of millennia. Kranath was being brought to a greater maturity than any organic intelligence currently inhabiting the Milky Way Galaxy, receiving minor psionic abilities to prepare him for further changes. Godhome would reverse the process later, if Kranath refused the joining. Shortly after the computer finished its work, Kranath awoke feeling odd. Good, but abnormally . . . what? Strong, yes, and eagerly alert . . . plus something he couldn't quite define. It was connected with how he was seeing the room, he was sure of that--every detail was so bright as to be almost luminous--but he felt something more. He stood, not surprised to find himself dressed as he finished the motion, or to see his sleeping mat replaced by a table set for first-meal. Godhome, he thought, was certainly an obliging host. "I try, my friend," came the mental voice, feeling richer and closer than he remembered it. "Sit, eat if you wish." If he wished? Kranath smiled. The food, again, was some of his favorite--chunks of dornya meat scrambled into eggs, with bread and corsi juice--so why would he not wish to eat? Because, he discovered when he seated himself, he had no appetite. The night's visions remained with him, so vivid and compelling that nothing mattered except preventing the first and bringing about the second. He stood again and began pacing, unable to sit still with the need for action burning inside him. But physical action was useless. He had to think. He was here to learn, to decide . . . no. He had already made the decision that was asked of him, though he realized there was still much he did not know. What the gods wanted of him, as Godhome had said earlier, was not minor. Their plans for him did not include the plans he had had for himself before he crashed: life
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