Book 4: “Alone Into The Underwyrld!” Page 7
NIKKI GIVES NEW MEANING TO “EMPTY-HEADED”
or
TURN YOUR HEAD TO THE RIGHT AND COUGH
Greetings again, most honored reader!
Have you ever been in a situation where you had to keep your mind completely free and clear of any thoughts, words, pictures, or ideas, any—whatsoever—and do so while some strange woman, a mind-reader, supposedly, is staring at you like a snake about to strike and a gaggle of madmen, bullies, and monsters are just waiting for the chance to pummel you into mush? Well, that’s something very much like the predicament Nikki now finds herself!
Many in the Wyrld regarded Doppelgangers with fear and foreboding—and with good cause (please see last week’s transmission). The popular notion was that a Doppelganger needed no more than look at you and she (he?) could read your entire life like a book. Again, thanks to the diligent, risky work undertaken by Berp-Orthup (also mentioned last week), we know that is not the case. Rather, a Doppelganger can only read the most prominent data about a given ESP target, their name, for example, and any surface thoughts active at the time of reading. As mentioned last week, the Doppelganger excels also at interrogation. By using shrewd interrogation and interrogation techniques—combined with their powerful ESP—the Doppelganger can then dig much deeper, usually learning whatever it is she needs to know.
What that means is that if an individual (either through regular meditative practice or mystical blocking means) can keep the mind clear of all thoughts, then it becomes much more difficult for the Doppelganger to do its dirty work. As empty headed as Nikki can sometimes be, even she may not be able to do this!
But wait! Speaking of empty headed, just outside Bryan and his father’s guards are ready to come to the rescue, that is, after Bryan finishes up giving them their annual medical examination. With brothers like that, who needs enemies?
Let’s see if Nikki can make herself really as “empty-headed” as she often seems—next week! Until then,
With bounteous Cognescentii blessings,
~The Traveller