"I don't know what it was," he told himself, "but I hope I never run into anything like that again." He located the hill which concealed the flier, and dropped rapidly toward it. As he entered, the pilot noticed him. "Well, that was a quick mission," he commented. "How'd you----" He looked at Konar's pain-lined face. "Hey, what's the matter, youngster? You look like the last end of a bad week." Konar tried to smile, but it didn't work very well. "I ran into something, Barskor," he said. "Didn't complete my mission. I don't know what happened, but I hope it never happens again." Barskor looked at him curiously, then turned. "Chief," he called, "something's gone wrong. Konar's been hurt." * * * * * Meinora listened to Konar's story, then shook his head unhappily. "You ran into a transvisor, I'm afraid. We didn't think there were any on this planet." He paused. "There were definitely none discovered to the west, and we looked for them. But now, we're close to the east coast, and you said that girl looked eastern. The eastern continent may be loaded with 'em." Konar looked curious. "A transvisor? I never heard of them." "They're rather rare. You only find them under special conditions, and those conditions, we thought, are absent here. But when you find one, you can be sure there are more. It runs in families. You see, they're beings with a completely wild talent. They can be any age, any species, or of any intelligence, but they're nearly always female. Visibility refraction just doesn't work right for their senses, and they can cause trouble." He looked closely at Konar. "You were lucky to get away. A really terrified transvisor could kill you, just as surely as a heavy caliber blaster." Konar shivered. "I believe it. But why are they called 'transvisors'?" "The name's somewhat descriptive, even if it is incomplete. As I said, visibility refraction doesn't work right in their case. Somehow, they pick up visual sensation right through a screen, regardless of its adjustment. But things seen through a screen are distorted, and look abnormal to them. Unless they're used to it, they get frightened when they see a person with a refracted body shield. That's when the trouble starts." Konar nodded in understanding. "You mean, they transmit their fear?" "They do. And they'll shock excite a mentacom, completely distorting its wave pattern. If they remain conscious and scared, their fear is deadly to its object." Meinora drew a deep breath. "As I said, you were lucky. The girl fainted and let you get away." He shrugged and turned to Barskor.