ppetizing
fragrance savored"--Cavender groaned mentally--"and more: if one of
you were to eat this sandwich, he would find it exactly as nourishing
as any produced by the more ordinary methods of objective reality.

"There are people in the world today," Dr. Ormond concluded, speaking
very earnestly now, "who can do this! There always have been people
who could do this. And you are following in their footsteps, being
trained in even more advanced skills. I am aware to a greater extent
than any of you of the latent power that is developing--has
developed--in this group. Tonight, for the first time, that power will
be focused, drawn down to a pinpoint, to accomplish one task.

"Again, I do not say that at the end of our exercise a ham sandwich
will lie on this plate. Frankly, I don't expect it. But I suggest very
strongly that you don't let it surprise or startle you too much if we
find it here!"

There was dead stillness when he finished speaking. Cavender had a
sense that the lecture room had come alive with eerie little chills.
Dr. Ormond lifted the plate solemnly up before him, holding it between
the fingertips of both hands.

"Now, if you will direct your attention here ... no, Eleanor, with
your eyes open!

"Let us begin...."

* * * * *

Cavender sighed, straightened up in his chair, eyes fixed obediently
on the wooden plate, and banned ham sandwiches and every other kind of
food firmly from his thoughts. There was no point in working his
appetite up any further when he couldn't satisfy it, and he would have
to be on guard a little against simply falling asleep during the next
three minutes. The cloudiness of complete fatigue wasn't too far away.
At the edge of his vision, he was aware of his fellow students across
the room, arranged in suddenly motionless rows like staring zombies.
His eyelids began to feel leaden.

The three minutes dragged on, came to an end. Ormond slowly lowered
his hands. Cavender drew a long breath of relief. The wooden plate, he
noted, with no surprise, was still empty.

"You may stop visualizing," Ormond announced.

There was a concerted sighing, a creaking of chairs. The students came
out of their semitrances, blinked, smiled, settled into more
comfortable positions, waiting for Dr. Al's comments.

"No miracles this time!" Ormond began briskly. He smiled.

Mrs. Folsom said, "Dr. Al--"

He looked over at her. "Yes, Eleanor?"

Eleanor Folsom