Success and failure are the same;
One thing beneath a double name.
That piece of Arkadian doggerel-philosophy had never much impressed Duke Harald; not, that is, until he came to Terra as a student.
The situation was itself a paradox of sorts. There was his very presence on the mother world; he, Lord of the Outer Marches, premier duke of Arkady, a scarred and dark-faced soldier among a crowd of boys. And then, he had allowed himself but two months to achieve what others won with hardship in a full two years.
Two months on Terra—and scant progress yet!
“There must be a faster way,” he said aloud, running heavy fingers through close-cropped hair.
The slim and elegant Terran who was his sole companion in the study cell looked up and threw a brief smile across the low partition of the double lectern. For a moment, Duke Harald ignored the unspoken question; then:
“You know why I’m here on Terra, young Melton?”
“To learn telepathy—why else?”