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mountain. He flickered. (We back on your earth?) I smoothed. (No, Charlie made it.) BB blanked. (Charlie made it!) (He likes to be reminded of his favorite physical place, so he made a copy.) (He can do that?) (It’s like a rote, almost.) The door of the cabin opened, and Charlie came out. He was his usual short, round-bodied, round-faced self and wearing his usual plaid shirt. His hair was dark and straight this time instead of his usual tight blond curls. He approached and we shook hands. (Well, Robert, I see you got out again.) (Hi, Charlie. What happened to your hair?) Charlie flickered. (I, uh, got a new friend. She likes it straight and brown, so I changed it. She’s in the cabin. Want to meet her?) (We just stopped by for a minute. Next time maybe.) He looked in BB’s direction. (You got somebody with you?) I smoothed. (Yeah, a friend.) He stared intently. (I can just barely see the edges of something.) (Say hello to BB.) Charlie looked dubious. (I can’t see you, but hello, BB. Welcome to Fantasy Land.) BB flickered. (Uh, hello, Charlie.) Surprise crossed Charlie’s face. (I heard him! I heard him but I can’t see him!) BB rolled a little. (I get you fine, Charlie!) Charlie turned to me. (You taught him the OOB routine. Now you have a traveling companion. That’s great!) I smoothed. (Not exactly, Charlie. You see …) (You will have to teach him to fine-tune a little better, Robert. I can’t get even a clear outline, just something like heat distortion on the desert. You still hear me, uh, BB?) BB must have pulled a percept from Charlie, who was wide open. (Loud and clear, Charlie. Zero level, plus or minus three DB.)