Star Ship on Saddle Mountain by Richard Ackley Read Free Book Online Page B

medical science could tell. Good old Miss
Tisdale, Charlie thought. I wish I could tell her this now! About
this other world's science.
"Charles?"
"Oh—I'm still here," he replied. "You know, I was
just thinking, Dondee. I wouldn't be able to talk to you now at
all, if I'd had my tonsils out last year. That was when they
swelled up a lot. But Uncle John said there was no use rushing to
get an operation, and I didn't have to have them out right away.
Only if they got worse. But then they got better."
"You mean, Charles," came the startled impulse,
"some primitives actually have their glands cut out? Have them
removed?"
"They sure do. Because we always figured they were
useless, anyhow."
Charlie got another amazed impulse from Dondee on
the upper tier, and his wonder that anybody would ever consider
having his finest speech organ removed from his body!
"I am glad," came the reply from Dondee finally,
"that you still have yours, Charles. It would be terrible to be
condemned to use only one third of your mind. Surely your world
must have known of the use for the glands, Charles?" "No, Dondee.
We don't. I didn't, till just now, when you l told me."
"But your world did once use the glands, Charles.
We have it in our recordings of your past history, your past fifty
thousand periods, or years rather, Charles."
"I don't much believe our folks on this world ever
could use telepathy," Charlie said. "And specially not back in the
early days when there were cave men, Dondee."
"Oh yes, Charles. And that is exactly the time they
used it most, until they found it more effective to roar and shout,
and make noises in competition with lower animals. If you think
hard, Charles, I can prove it to you, maybe. Have you noticed on
your world today, that the people usually most given to the mental
language—the psychic use of it—are usually, or very often, without
education, and even primitive?"
"Maybe you are right, Dondee. I sure don't
know."
    "Your tonsils—as you call them,
Charles, they were commonly used and understood in ancient times,
as the source of the mind reserve cell fluid, the hyper power of
communication. According to our recordings of the past, some people
of your world gave the Interplanetary language the term visions . When the use of
the mental language was dying out, people would say back in those
days, a vision came to me"
"We only have our history records," Charlie said,
"as far back as about seven thousand years."
"That is regrettable, Charles. For it is a known
fact, your world once used the Interplanetary language widely—or
telepathy, as you term this science."
"Boy, if I could be back at school now—and tell
everybody about tonsils."
"What did you say, Charles?"
"Oh, nothing, Dondee. I was just thinking out loud.
To myself." “I thought you sent that thought to me."
"No. I guess I've still got to get used to talking
in this Interplanetary language, Dondee. Talking with my mind, I
mean."
    "You are doing quite well,
Charles. For a Primitive." "I'm not a primitive! Doggone, I wish you'd quit calling
me that." For moment there was some confusion among Dondee's mental
waves. Charlie received varying impulses, and then once more the
impulse came clear to him.
"I am sorry, Charles. It was discourteous of me to
send such an impulse, after having learned your proper name.
Charles?"
"I heard you the first time."
    "It was only because of the stage
at which your civilization now stands, Charles. That is why I
called you a primitive. It is the way my world island talks back
home, Charles." "Forget it, Dondee. I didn't mean to get sore about
it. I guess you didn't mean it the way it sounded. Hey—I get the
feeling, the impulse, just as if you didn't call me Charlie. It's more
like you say everything perfectly, the regular way, and use my
proper name when you send the impulse?" "Yes, Charles. That is
correct. In our world we do not use
    sub-names, since in the
Interplanetary tongue all thoughts are easily expressed. That is
why