Fascinating that he could read her undirected thoughts while doing something totally unconnected, Corina mused. She could prevent that by shielding, of course, but it was her first experience with it, and she preferred not to. Such contact was not unusual between Talented family members or extremely close friends, but Medart was neither, and she had not found herself reading him that way. "Maybe you know you shouldn't be able to, so you can't, but I don't, so I can?" Corina purred, wishing she could laugh. "That is as reasonable an explanation as we are likely to get, I would say. But I am not sure I can approve of you attempting to read Sunbeam. It is honorable to probe the unTalented only when truly necessary, since they cannot defend themselves--and you do not know your own strength; if you should accidentally use darlas against her, she could be seriously hurt." "I don't want to hurt her, of course," Medart said, "but I think this is necessary. I need to know all I can about Talent, especially yours and mine--and so far you're the only one I've read." "That is true." Corina thought for a moment, then nodded. "I can monitor, and if you should begin using darlas, protect her. It is a risk, but in this case justifiable." The door signal chimed, and Corina called, "Come in, Sunbeam." "Ready for lunch, Sir Corina?" the small ensign asked as she entered. "I sure am!" "In a moment, Sunbeam," Corina replied. *Try now, Ranger, while I speak to her.* *You can talk and still monitor?* *If you can read me while thinking of something else, why not?* Corina continued aloud, to Sunbeam. "Did you get to finish your xenology tape?" "I sure did," was the enthusiastic reply. "It was fascinating, too--I may take a full course on it, and who knows? I may decide to switch to Sciences instead of staying a Line officer. I just wish there were some way I could do both--there's so much to learn, and so much to do!" Corina purred. "Perhaps there is, or could be. I do not see the two desires as exclusive; perhaps Ranger Medart can investigate a combined Line/Science section." "Not a bad idea," Medart said. "I'll have the Navy look into it, and if there aren't any major problems, ask His Majesty to implement it." "Great!" Sunbeam exclaimed. "Would you like to borrow the tape, Sir Corina? I think you'd enjoy it, and if you're going to the Academy it might help you pick one of your specialties." "I would appreciate that. I do expect some difficulty in choosing those; I have found so few things that do not interest me that I will probably need considerable help finding three or four to concentrate on." Then Corina felt the Ranger's thought. *No trouble, she's not even screened. But it seemed somehow harder with her than with you, not easier. Any idea why?* *Not immediately, no,* Corina replied, puzzled. *As I said earlier, it should be the other way around. Let me think about it, please.*