Air did that, or more correctly, the psi forces of his guide's mind. He had grossly underestimated the man. "How did you do that?"
"Increased the thickness of the surface by a few molecules," said Gowru cheerfully. "Handy, if you know how."
It was handy, but there were also disadvantages. No light at all entered and they couldn't see where they were going.
Rains thought swiftly. Perhaps he could use the soldiers to guide him. His mind reached out, and was bent backward. Ten inches of steel couldn't stop his thoughts, but a few molecules of air did. The man had limited ability, but was exceedingly powerful within those limitations. He explained the difficulty to Gowru, who stopped and scratched his head.
"If I made a tiny hole—"
"That's all I need," said Rains, and his mind was through it as it formed. He skipped from thought to thought, lightly so as not to leave an awareness of his mental presence. The two groups of soldiers had joined and started after them, cautiously and at a safe distance.
Unwittingly he and Gowru had stumbled into army maneuvers. And it wasn't going to be easy to get out of them. Naturally, the soldiers were curious. And the tank—He looked into the lieutenant's mind.
He shivered. There weren't supposed to be tanks in this area. And Gowru was not an army man; his idea of a tank was different from that of Indian designers. He had created a fearsome image, the more frightening because it didn't correspond to any known make, friendly or foreign. This was something the Army was going to investigate, with everything they had.
He explained it briefly to his guide.
"Hmmm," said Gowru. "Maybe I should change the shape to something they're familiar with?"