The Intensor (continued)

(see: Interspex, by Clark Nida)

How does it work?

Information is carried by infrared and radio links from helmet to helmet, aided by repeater stations. This information, which is quantitave and multidimensional, is felt by the helmet wearer as a combination of facial sensations: pressure, skin stretch, heat, pain (usually mild), pricking plus a host of other modalities. Intensor expertise is gauged by the number of orthogonal dimensions one can recognise and make use of. This can run to thousands.

In case the reader thinks that there are insufficient separate sensations to permit this, consider the so-called cocktail-party problem. As anyone conversing with a group of individuals at a crowded party knows, the brain can separate out an almost unlimited number of separate information sources (people speaking) and monitor them in parallel, even if attention can only be paid to one speaker at any given moment. And the brain achieves this with only two ears.

The hero of course never achieves a level of skill with the intensor to compare with a Martian infant, who wears a helmet from birth.

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