Black probed Standskill's mind almost involuntarily then, realizing instantly that he should have disregarded Ethics and probed before. Standskill was a psi, a _non-service psi_! And Black knew then that when his consciousness had flitted through association to _Le Cheval Fatigue_ in Montmarte, Paris, and had fixed there for a brief unstable moment it had yielded to Standskill all knowledge of the Lawrence deal, persuading Standskill to order his brokers to buy the corporation's stock for the trust.... Black's consciousness sped to join Joyce's in a law office in Oklahoma. It watched the landowners signing the deeds even as it signed psionically the checks which represented the good and valuable considerations. The deal was closed. VII _Joyce, tell me--did you, to your knowledge, tip off the BEB psis?_ _Yes. Inadvertently, of course. I had a nightmare. I'm afraid I'm sometimes unstable, anonymously so, when asleep. Only then, though, thank Heaven!_ _And, Joyce, why aren't you in service?_ _For the same reason you can't be._ Confusion. _What do you mean?_ _Your mother knew._ _My mother?_ _Yes, Marty, don't you realize that only unstable psis are taken into service? Stability is the mark of the superman. Do the majority of men want the minority--the supermen--running their world even though the supermen are their brothers, sisters and children? And they must surely realize that all mankind will evolve to psis one day. Marty, you were in psi school. So was I. Did you complete Stabilization?... I see you didn't. No psi does! They let you think you're getting away with something when you skip classes, but you're not!_ _Fortunately, if you are strong enough, you stabilize on your own. Perhaps you'll realize now that your mother gave you the incentive: the thirty percent angle, realizing that an uncle you definitely did not like would inherit if you didn't strive to the utmost. It worked._ _They can't touch me, Marty, and they can't touch you! We can elude them mentally and physically. They know they can't touch us; so they just have to tolerate us! I can read in your mind that you've stabilized. You can fit physically now. Why don't you try? Lawrence is waiting...._ Black's consciousness sped back to his body. His body lifted and sped to a hospital room. Lawrence was awake. He viewed Black's materialization with incredulity. "The deal is closed," Black said. "But--you--" Lawrence stammered. "Closed?" "Yes. And, considering the shares I hold, I guess that makes me something of a psilent partner of yours!" A brash young man, Lawrence thought. A very brash young man! Black grinned. _Thirty percent? He couldn't miss!_ They shook hands. It was a deal. Psigned, sealed and delivered! * * * * *