Instantly the voice from the screen came again: “He must have activated the tube’s destructive potential, just as you have been instructed to do when you have need of a weapon. He was pointing it toward your sister, and it could not have been used to destroy her. Its automatic warning mechanism made it stop functioning and drop from his hand. He is free to move now and will attempt to escape. He must not be allowed to do so. Become as we are. At your age it is difficult and dangerous, but you must take the risk. You cannot place reliance on the tubes alone. You have acquired very little skill in the use of such weapons. Become as we are and attack him with your minds.”
For a moment Manning had to fight against an almost uncontrollable impulse to grapple with the oldest boy and send him sp
