"Just go into his mind and stop him from thinking?" asked Iimmi.
"No," said the god. "Conscious thought is too powerful. Otherwise, you would stop thinking every time Snake spoke to you. It works another way. How many reasons does a man have for any single action?"
They looked at him uncomprehendingly.
"Why, for example, does a man pull his hand from a fire?"
"Because it hurts," said Urson. "Why else?"
"Yes, why else?" asked Hama.
"I think I see what you mean," said Iimmi. "He also pulls it out because he knows that outside the fire his hand isn't going to hurt. Like the bird, I mean the lizard. One reason we reacted like we did was because it sounded like a bird. The other reason was because we wanted to hear a bird just then. The man pulls his hand out because the fire hurts, and because he wants it not to hurt."
"In other words," Geo summarized, "there are at least two reasons for everything."
"Exactly," explained Hama. "And notice that one of these reasons is unconscious. But with the jewel, you can jam the unconscious reason; so that if a man has his hand in a fire, you can jam his unconscious reason of wanting it to stop hurting. Completely bewildered, and in no less pain, he will stand there until his wrist is a smoking nub."
Geo reached over and felt his severed arm.