This, then, might be the critical factor. That he act without volition.
Relax. Completely. Allow yourself to act.
He leaned back in the control chair and tried to blank his mind, tried not to give his body any commands.
Without volition, without willing.
He closed his eyes.
For a long while there was nothing. Then he heard the whir of servomotors. He opened his eyes, delicately probed with his mind ... and the headache had lessened.
He glanced up at the console, to see what he had done. A red bulb glowed over the label AIRLOCK. He had thrown the airlock switch, then. And it had been the "proper function" for him, because the headache had lessened. But the out-of-range whispering had not diminished.
The airlock? He shook his head in puzzlement. But the technique seemed to be working. What now?
He closed his eyes again, and this time the delay was shorter. He knew before he looked what had happened. He had lowered the landing ladder.
Well, this began to be obvious. He was to leave the ship.