"We must show your mind to the burrow mates. We had no idea it was so powerful."
"You seem smart enough to me."
"That is because you interpret our thoughts with your big mind, and think we are equivalent. We are not. That is why we must pool our minds in burrow meetings. Five can think better than one. But you can think better than all of us together."
"But you can do the same things I do."
"No. You can stand and balance; I can lift my head only when braced. You can ride the bicycle; I could never do that, even if I had appendages. You can talk verbally, and read words with your eyes. I can't. You can understand complicated relationships. You can remember and use the past, and you can conceive the future. I have no such abilities."
"But you're talking about them right now!"
"I fathomed them when I was sharing your mind. Now I can evoke them just a little, because there is a trace of mind sharing when we communicate. But when I am away from you I will lose even the memory of their existence. They are only a few of the mental feats you can perform; I have no awareness of the others, except that I knew of them when I shared your mind."
"Oh, you mean like math? Politics? Art? Music? Verbs and nouns?"
"These are beyond my comprehension, whatever they are."
"I guess I understand, then. You can deal with me one on one, but you're no artist or philosopher."
"That must be the case."
"So I guess you creatures aren't smart like humans, but you don't need to know square roots or the Mona Lisa painting to get along. You just need to know how to catch a mouse and find home. And how to get along with your burrow mates."
"Yes. The burrow gives us protection. When I sleep there, I know that no eagle will swoop down to clutch me. If I am hungry and hunting is bad, a burrow mate will tell me where there is prey. If I am injured, burrow mates will help me as much as they can. It is a good place to be."
"It's the telepathy. It gives you empathy. You can feel each other's feelings."
"Yes. A little when we communicate, a lot when we share minds. When we are together in the burrow, we know each other well, and that makes our sharing stronger. We can communicate at greater distance when we know each other well."
"That's what really gets me. If I saw a regular snake your size, I'd be wary, maybe scared. But with telepathy, I know you. And like you. You're friends."
"Now I understand your concept. Yes, we are friends. We will not do each other harm, though we are of different species. We are a group."
"I was so very much alone. Then Gopher came, and I had a friend. Maybe not really; maybe the telepathy just made it seem that way. But I liked him from the start. And Owl. And you. I want to be with you as much as I can. I'm never lonely with you."
"We will try to keep the portal open,” Indigo promised. “I think the others will want to visit with you, if you will share your mind with them. It is an experience like no other."
"Sure. I've got the mind, you've got the telepathy. We've each got something the other wants, so we can share."
"We can share,” Indigo agreed. “I no longer have trouble associating with a human on an equal basis. You are not at all like the others of our realm."
"Realm,” she thought. “Now I understand that, from when we shared. You're not from another world, but from another reality or something—like ours, only different. A world would be like a another planet, but you're on this planet, just another version. Where the animals are smart and the humans dull. Because of the telepathy. We had to get really really smart to make up for our lack of telepathy, like an electric car needing a lot of power to tote the heavy batteries along."
"I do not understand your analogy, but know you are correct."
"You could share my mind again, for the electric car."
"Would it help me function in life?"
She laughed, and now he understood that this was an expression of good-natured humor. Humor was a human concept, a pleasant one; it meant that something was nice in an odd way. “No, I don't think so. I guess my mind is too big; it runs off in directions that don't much matter."
"When I shared it, I understood the usefulness of such concepts. This makes me more tolerant of what I don't understand."
"Just so long as you aren't turned off."
"I am dismayed by your realm, but not by you."
Her surge of pleasure came right through her thought, making him feel good. “Thanks!"
They left the path and bumped across the field. The bicycle did not work as well where the ground was not hard and level. “This becomes uncomfortable,” Indigo thought.
"I guess we'd better walk now. You can slither; we're close to the sinkhole.” She stopped the bicycle, leaned down, and let him get to the ground.
It was good to travel on his own again. He slithered rapidly between tufts of dry grass while she walked behind him.
Rowan looked around. “There's someone out here."
"Another human?” The two of them were no longer in physical contact, but now they knew each other well enough so that there was no problem keeping mental contact.
"Two or three. One's got a pole. They must be surveyors."
Indigo did not understand that concept. “Can we avoid them?"
"Oh, sure. They're not paying any attention to us. I'm the only one they can see anyway."
She was correct: the humans did not come toward them. Soon they reached the brink of the sinkhole and descended to its bottom.
They entered the cave and went to the ramp and burrow hole. No one else was there. “I will inform the burrow mates,” Indigo thought. “We will come here at noon tomorrow."
"I don't think we should wait,” Rowan thought. “Those surveyors—they must be setting it up for the construction. Whatever we do, it needs to be fast."
"I will bring the burrow mates soon."
"I'll go back to the house for a bite to eat, and be back here within an hour.” She reached down to touch Indigo, strengthening the concept.
"An hour,” he agreed, now understanding the unit of time. Then he slithered up the ramp and into the hole.
"Bye,” her thought came after him. It was a mood of parting.
"Bye,” he echoed. He was picking up her foibles, ever since discovering her amazing mind.
Chapter 5
Quest
Cottontail heard the summons: something was happening at the burrow. He took a last munch of leaf and ran swiftly home. He saw Gopher doing the same. Gopher was closer to the burrow, but of course Cottontail got there ahead of him.
It turned out that Indigo was back from the other realm, and he was unusually excited. “The human girl has a mind bigger than all of ours together,” the snake thought. “I think there is none like it in this realm. The rest of you must share with her to appreciate it."
Trust Indigo to slither into something no one else had thought of! But his mind showed it was true: he had shared with the girl, and discovered something amazing. They had been surprised when she turned out to be sapient, but it seemed that her limited telepathy had masked the true power of her huge brain. Indigo, who had been cool to the idea of maintaining the portal between realms, now was firmly in favor of it. That was persuasive.
"But she has a problem,” Indigo continued. “Her burrow threatens to expel her because she went foraging at night."
"But many creatures forage at night!” Cottontail protested. He preferred day, but Owl and Peba liked night.
Indigo clarified that he lacked the proper concept. Rowan Girl had gone with Owl to rescue Gopher, and her burrow mates objected. She was not supposed to be out at night.
"I had not understood that,” Owl thought.
"Neither had I,” Gopher agreed. “I never thought to have her suffer for my sake."
"She did for you what a burrow mate would do,” Cottontail thought. “But she is not a burrow mate."
That made them all pause. It complicated the discovery of the power of her mind. Why would a
creature outside the burrow do such a thing?
They considered. “We must each share her mind, to understand,” Gopher thought. “Then we can decide."
"We must go immediately,” Indigo thought. “I told her we would."
It was obvious that the snake had experienced something that had truly impressed him. That made Cottontail curious. Gopher and Owl had been with the girl before, and were in favor; they both liked her. Now Indigo liked her too. So it was time to find out just what it was about her mind that made a lowly human worth so much trouble.
They moved down the tunnel in rapid single file, Indigo leading, Cottontail next. Gopher was their slowest member, so he trailed, but remained in thought contact.
Indigo and Cottontail came to the cave first and almost tumbled down the ramp. There was the human girl, just arriving. “You came!” she thought gladly. The others were right: there was something pleasant about her despite her humanity.
"We are all coming,” Indigo thought. “Will you share you mind with all of us?"
"Sure.” She looked at Cottontail. “You're just the cutest bunny! May I pick you up and cuddle you?"
Flattered by her interest, Cottontail agreed. She reached down, put her two hands about his body, and lifted him to her chest. That close, it was easy for him to share her willing mind.
It was like entering a lush garden of delicious plants. His awareness expanded beyond all bounds. Suddenly he understood the cave, the realm, and everything in a way never fathomed before. A burrow gathering enhanced the smartness of all of them, for they shared their resources, but this was like a burrow of hundreds! Every thought led to a labyrinth of understanding, like a path through that garden, and every path seemed more wonderful than any other. He was not the smartest creature of his realm, but this made him so.
Then Peba Armadillo joined him. “This is deeper than I have ever delved,” he thought. “I never realized that such intellect was possible. There are grubs here I never dreamed of."
The girl laughed, and they understood her humor. “Grubs! Suddenly they make my mouth water.” It seemed that she did not normally eat grubs, but the sharing gave her Peba's appreciation for them. It also gave cottontail and Peba appreciation for thought so complicated that it became an end in itself. Rowan had memories extending back before the burrow mates had existed, and understood how to play games that would have been not only incomprehensible but pointless to any of the burrow mates when apart from her. Yet she was a child, not yet in full possession of her abilities. This was truly amazing.
Indigo joined them in sharing. “Now you appreciate why we must keep the portal open. We must retain contact with Rowan Girl, alone of all in her dangerous realm."
Indeed they did. This girl was a lot more interesting than any of them had supposed when they first learned of her.
"But we do not want any others of her realm to learn mind contact—telepathy,” Peba thought. “With minds that powerful, they would be dangerous to us."
"They sure would!” Rowan agreed. “Telepathy gives you community; we need big brains to make up for our close-mindedness. But if we had telepathy too, there'd be no stopping us. We're—we're not all nice people."
Now they were all there, sharing her mind, holding a burrow meeting outside the burrow.
"But what is this problem with your burrow?” Cottontail inquired.
"Oh, that! It's not my burrow, it's just my relatives. My uncle and aunt, who are boarding me while my folks back home sort things out. They don't much understand children, and I don't much understand them. We mostly ignore each other. That's one reason I was so intolerably lonely."
Yet they had set a limit on her, and she would suffer mischief if she failed to honor it.
"It would be safer to let the portal close,” Peba thought.
"You're right,” Rowan agreed. “It's selfish of me to want to keep it open. We should let it be sealed off.” They could feel the sadness in her; she was trying to do the right thing. That was another new concept: that things could be right or wrong, rather than just there.
"Not after we have shared your mind,” Indigo thought. “We have to share more of it."
There was agreement from the others. They reveled—(new concept)—in the powers of her mind; it was addictive—(new concept)—and they couldn't let it go.
"Addiction is dangerous,” Rowan thought. She expanded the concept.
But in a moment they realized that what was addictive wasn't always addiction. The experience of her mind was new and wonderful to them, but they were not locked into it. It was merely a great pleasure of association.
"That's a relief,” Rowan thought.
"We will keep the portal open,” Gopher thought, deciding for all of them. “How can we do that?"
"We must explore,” Cottontail thought. “We must find out how to stop the other humans from closing it."
"Do it,” Peba thought, and there was agreement.
Before he knew it, Cottontail found himself outside the cave with Rowan. She set him down in the sinkhole, and he bounded up its slope to the top, eager to explore this realm. He crested the rim.
Something pounced on him. He was bowled over. He tried to scramble to his feet, but the thing was on him, grabbing his foot with its teeth.
"Cottontail!” Rowan shrieked. “It's a cat! A feral cat!"
A cat—and its mind was closed. Cottontail couldn't divert it with a mental image. The thing was going to consume him!
"Get away from him, cat!” Rowan cried. Cottontail realized that though the cat was mind-closed, it could hear the vocal sounds she was making. It hesitated.
But then it bit his foot again. The pain flared.
"Stop it!” Rowan screamed. She picked up a stone and hurled it. The stone struck the cat's flank, making it snarl and whirl.
Cottontail tried to scramble away, but the cat whirled again and caught him. Rowan threw another stone. Then she crested the rim, and swept up a stick. She beat the cat on the back. It snarled again, but retreated. Rowan picked Cottontail up. The cat, seeing the issue had become hopeless, turned and ran away.
"I'm so sorry,” Rowan said, cuddling Cottontail. “I didn't know that cat was there. I never would have set you down if I had known! Are you all right?"
He was not all right. His foot had been bitten twice and was mangled. It hurt horribly. He would have to run three-legged.
"Oh, I wish this hadn't happened,” Rowan wailed. “That darned cat!” Then she focused on him. “I've got to get you to the house. We have pain-killing ointment, bandages—"
"I don't want any of that,” Cottontail protested. “I don't understand it. I need to get home to the burrow, and another burrow mate can come to help you search."
"But they won't be at the cave now, and you can't run up that tunnel slope with that bad paw."
She was right. But he still didn't want to get into treatments he didn't understand. “I will use the foot as it is, if I can suppress the pain."
"You can do that? Stop the pain?"
"In the burrow we can do it. The burrow mates focus together, sharing minds, and make it go away."
"Maybe I can help, then. I'll share my mind. But you'll have to tell me how to dampen the pain."
Maybe it would work; she had a powerful mind.
They shared minds. Again he felt the expanding wonder of her intelligence making him smarter than any rabbit had ever been. “Now focus on making the pain fade,” he thought.
She focused. Her awareness centered on his hurting foot, surrounding it. The pain faded almost immediately. It just couldn't stand up to that concentration.
"It's gone,” she thought. “I feel it! Your foot feels better.” Then she reconsidered. “But it isn't really better. We damped out the pain, that's all; you can't use it. But I can carry you, and we'll got the job done."
"I should never have been so careless,” Cottontail thought ruefully. “I was fooled by the lack of a mind trace, and thought no predator was near."
r /> "This is the realm of closed minds,” she agreed. “That makes it dangerous.” She looked around. “The surveyors are closer now. They must be zeroing in on this sinkhole to know exactly what it will take to fill it in. We may not have much time."
"They will fill it in?"
"No, the big company that wants to build the mall will do that. But maybe the surveyors know who is the big boss."
The girl carried him toward the human men. “You must hide me,” Cottontail thought.
She considered. “I don't see how I can, unless I put you in my shirt the way I did Indigo. But you can't hang on the way he did; it would look funny. I think I'd better just carry you; I'll tell them you're my pet bunny. They'll never suspect your real nature."
Cottontail wasn't easy about this, but there seemed to be no good alternative. He did not want to risk the ground again; that mindless cat might still be near.
They came to the man holding the pole. He was young, Rowan's mind thought, maybe twenty years old, and halfway handsome. Physical appearance was important to the humans of this realm. “Hi!” Rowan called.
The man nodded acknowledgment. That was a human trait; in both realms they had many physical signals, because of their lack of telepathy. “Hi. Got your pet bunny along?"
"Yes. His foot got chomped.” She indicated the injured foot.
"Too bad. But I guess you'll take good care of him."
"I sure will. Whatcha doing?"
"I'm surveying,” the man answered, halfway flattered to be asked. His mind was mostly closed, but a bit of that thought came through. Cottontail realized that the man was transmitting the message vocally, and the girl was understanding it in her head as thoughts. Cottontail was reading those thoughts in her mind. It was an unusual way to communicate, but this was an unusual realm.
The girl flashed the man an innocent smile. Cottontail found that instructive: she was consciously pretending to be the child she was. That seemed to make sense at the moment. “How does that work?"
"It's for the traverse,” he said, with her mind translating his vocals. “That is, well, the man with the theodolite—” He paused because of her blank look. “He sights on this pole, getting the azimuth—the direction—and then we measure from there to here, and—well, we're just getting an exact notion where things are. That's what surveying is."