"I'll risk that. Will you?"
"No," Hammen said. "You're a fool out here in transmission. You don't know what you're doing. What do you expect of me?"
"Link with me, Companion, as you should. Help me gain her knowledge."
Hammen knew that he was being asked to help gain access to information intended for the Federation authorities on Earth. But he rarely thought of himself as a Federal, and he knew very few worlds would allow extradition of him on a Federal charge. At the moment, he was mainly concerned with saving himself and his cargo from the Mindsnake. As distasteful as it was, Gordus was a part of his cargo, and a man had to have a few ideals. Gordus was not qualified to be a Companion after the generations of growth of the Mindsnake. He was only a pitiful fool now. (How long before the Snake gets so big I will not be qualified? How long before no one is qualified? How long before the Snake comes out of null-space and stalks the planets?)
Hammen shrugged and joined Gordus.
They struck for the mind of the woman.
Her name, they warned, Isodel.
They found that out, and incredibly, more.
In some way Gordus' mind paralleled the girl's. There was much of a kind about them, and Gordus could piece together the fragments of her identity. But then he was reaching down for something, and he prestidigitated it up and out of sight.