"Why not?"
"Because without the machine to step up your brain, you'd revert to your original state in a single generation. It is worse than the fabled death of power—for power is also the power to destroy. To lose the power of understanding and to leave the machines of intelligence lying around for all to play with would be disastrous. No, you wait and I'll go in and prepare Yord Tan Verde."
Rayne left the door partly open. There was a greeting in an alien tongue, and then as the other voice continued, Gerd interrupted. "Please—I was trained in Terran. I think best in Terran. May we use it?"
Verde's reply came in Terran. "I'd forgotten."
"Thank you." Gerd Lel Rayne explained the situation to his overseer, and it was quite obvious to Andrew that Gerd accelerated the story continuously, and the emissary ended with an air that gave Andrew to understand that the overseer was quite impatient and that he was ahead of Gerd.
The answer was a single word. It was unintelligible to Andrew at first, and then it soaked in that Verde had uttered the word: "Inconsistent."
Gerd objected at length and began to explain the workings of Andrew's mind.
"Granted!" came the answer half-way through the account. "Have him enter—he may be able to understand."
Gerd came out and nodded at Andrew. "Go in," he said with an encouraging smile. "And—good luck."
"Thanks, Gerd," said Andrew. He straightened up his shoulders and entered the inner library.