Leoh leaned forward on the couch and clasped his hands in front of his chin. “The Terran races have never developed telepathy, or any of the extrasensory talents. They never had to, not with tri-di communications and superlight starships. But perhaps the Kerak people are different—”
Hector shook his head. “If they had uh, telepathic abilities, they would be using them everywhere. Don’t you think?”
“Probably so. But only Odal has shown such an ability, and only ... of course!”
“What?”
“Odal has shown telepathic ability only in the dueling machine.”
“As far as we know.”
“Certainly. But look, suppose he’s a natural telepath ... the same as a Terran. He has an erratic, difficult-to-control talent. Then he gets into a dueling machine. The machine amplifies his thoughts. And it also amplifies his talent!”
“Ohhh.”
“You see ... outside the machine, he’s no better than any wandering fortuneteller. But the dueling machine gives his natural abilities the amplification and reproducibility that they could never have unaided.”
Hector nodded.