"Not like there used to be," Tensor admitted. "But still quite a few—though not so many we get on each other's nerves."
"How many in round numbers?"
That was a silly question, Tensor thought. Nevertheless he told her, "Oh, I suppose about thirty or a hundred. We haven't counted for centuries. Nobody's interested."
She appeared to be deeply absorbed in thought, gazing at him in an almost detached fashion. Finally she said. "Your civilization is based on the mind, isn't it? You do things with an act of will instead of with your hands."
"Naturally. That is the essential mark of civilization. At least," he added politely, "from our point of view."
"Are you—telepathic?"
"Only with other telepaths," he said simply.
"Then how did you learn my language?"
"Oh, after you talk it a bit. I can see certain relationships. But the mental pictures are so discontinuous and nonspecific that it takes a little time before the pattern emerges."
"That means you don't actually know what I am thinking?"