“No,” Malone said. “I’ve given that idea up for good. I think this is being done on an individual basis—working on one person at a time.” Then another idea hit him. “You say these people would have to be telepaths?” “That’s right,” O’Connor said. “Then wouldn’t Her Majesty know about them? If they’re telepaths? Or is there some kind of a mind shield or something that a telepath could work out?” “Mind shield?” O’Connor said. “Ah, yes. Miss Thompson might be fooled by such a shield. It would have to be an exceptional one, but such things do seem to be possible. They belong to the realm of mental disciplines, of course, rather than psionics.” “Sure,” Malone said. “But there could be that kind of shield?” “There could,” O’Connor said. “The mind which created the shield for itself would have to be of tremendous power and a really high order of control. A strong, sane mind might conceivably create such a block that even Miss Thompson, let us say, might believe that she was picking up a real mind, when she was only picking up surface thoughts, with the real thought hidden behind the telepathic block.” “Fine,” Malone said. “Thanks. Thanks a lot, Dr. O’Connor.” “I am always happy to put my extensive knowledge of science at your disposal, Mr. Malone,” O’Connor said. Malone watched the image collapse without really seeing it. Instead, he was busily talking to himself, or rather to his other self. “Well, now, Sir Kenneth,” he said. “Let’s pull all the facts together and see what happens.” “Indeed, Mr. Malone,” said Sir Kenneth Malone, “it is time that we did. Proceed, Sirrah. I shall attend.” * * * * * “Let’s start from the beginning,” Malone said. “We know there’s confusion in all parts of the country, in all parts of the world, I guess. And we know that confusion is being caused by carefully timed accidents and errors. We also know that these errors appear to be accompanied by violent bursts of psionic static—violent energy. And we know, further, that on three specific occasions, these bursts of energy were immediately followed by a reversal of policy in the mind of the person on the receiving end.” “You mean,” Sir Kenneth put in, “that they changed their minds.” “Correct,” Malone said. “I refer, of course, to the firm of Brubitsch, Borbitsch and Garbitsch, Spying Done Cheap.” “Indeed,” Sir Kenneth said. “Then the operators of this force, whatever it may be, have some interest in allowing these spies to confess?” “Maybe,” Malone said. “Let’s leave that for later. To get back to the beginning of all this: it seems to me to follow that the accidents and errors which have caused all the confusion through the United States and Russia are caused by somebody’s mind being changed at exactly the right moment. A man does something just a little differently than he decided to—or else he forgets to do it at all.” “Correct,” Sir Kenneth said. “And you feel, Mr. Malone, that a telepathic command is the cause of this confusion?”