"Kathy Tyers - Firebird 2 - Fusion Fire" - читать интересную книгу автора (Tyers Kathy)

Frustrated once more by the SentinelsтАЩabsolute emotional control, Firebird slipped down off the lounger
and resnugged the wide blue web belt over her red skyff.

Once the apparatus lay nestled in its cubby, Spieth inclined her head toward the passway. As stealthily as
they had come, they returned to SpiethтАЩs office several levels above.
The Master Sentinel poured two fresh cups of kaffa and settled in her deep chair. тАЬI am sorry. Mistress,тАЭ
she began slowly, тАЬto renege on an unspoken promise. I cannot speak of numbers even with you, for
reasons I am bound by my vows in the Word not to explain. We walk the very limit of permissibility
today. However.тАЭ She struck the desk with one fingertip. тАЬThat Word, in its broadest sense,
encompasses all the GodheadтАЩs creative expressions, and their relationship back to their Source. No
matter how small a part of creation you think yourself to be, it is a crime that you were not screened as a
child. Whatever your discriminate potentialities, you would have been eligible for committee testing on the
basis of epsilon strength alone, and that is no inconsequential matter.тАЭ

Frustrated at one breath and elated at the next, Firebird groped for words. тАЬIs there nothing I can do
with what I have?тАЭ

Spieth clasped her hands on one knee. тАЬIt would take time to undo your habitual patterns of action: time
that must be invested in the young, the malleable. Even if a trainer could spare the time, the result would
not be complete. The most basic skills, the foundational abilities, can be mastered only by exquisitely
plastic personalities. I mean nothing derogatory by the term. In our parlance, it connotes a mental habit
that can be changed but will harden permanently into its new conformation.тАЭ

тАЬBut on my own? PerhapsтАжтАЭ She opened both hands.

SpiethтАЩs expression changed abruptly to the startling intensity Firebird had seen occasionally in Brennen,
when challenged on his own ground. тАЬNo. Nothing is ever done тАШon oneтАЩs own.тАЩ Training is not granted
on the basis of epsilon potential alone. Character is tested, too, and stability: more factors from the alpha
matrix than you might expect.

тАЬSo. We deny training to almost half our eligible children because of personality flaws.тАЭ She was
speaking quickly now, and Firebird felt small in her chair. тАЬIf they could unlock their abilities outside our
supervision, what hope for order on Thyrica? They live subject to penalties for misuse of their gifts just
like those whom we train, although with them we try to be more forgiving, for only with the training
comes drilling in the Privacy and Priority Codes. Certain medications, injected directly into a cranial
artery, block the synaptic transmission of epsilon energy, and offenders must report for bidekial
treatmentтАжтАЭ

She unclenched her hands. The controlled abruptness of the change irked Firebird. тАЬI apologize for
digressing. It is enough if you understand how rigorously we must enforce our codes, the reasons for
secrecy, and why no one is allowed to develop these skills except under authority. We intend nothing
sinister. Caution is the best protection for othersтАФand for us. Surely you see that.тАШтАЩ

тАЬYes. IтАФI do see.тАЭ Firebird sat hard on her suspicion, and the temptation to plead passed. In five
hundred years, these people had undoubtedly learned too well the responsibilities of their talents. It
occurred to her, too, that perhaps she was being tested now. She stood.

тАЬI understand, Master. As Brennen has said, my alpha matrix is too well established. But I thank you. IтАЩm
sure you realize what knowing this means to me.тАЭ