And she is shown into an office with a subby little thirtysomething psion, who adjusts her glasses at Sadde and says, "Nightmares?"

"Yeah. Recurring, since I was ten."

Nod. "On what subject or subjects?"

"Um. There are a few. Being lost in a forest that's on fire, but I'm causing the fire. Being hungry and not eating because something terrible will happen except I don't know what. S—someone dying in front of me, in various ways. Combinations of those."

"Do you have anxieties about these things while you are not having nightmares?"

"Anxieties like what?"

"Do thoughts of these scenarios trouble you in your waking life?"

"...only the 'someone dying' one, but I'd rather that one kept troubling me."

"I do not mean abstractly, I mean intrusively."

"Oh. No, not really. Not while I'm doing anything much."

Nod. "How would you describe the intensity of the nightmares?"

"They unfailingly make me wake up screaming."

Nod. "It is good you came in. Would you prefer to be awake or asleep as I work?"

"Awake. Can you tell me what you'll do in, uh, as much detail as you can?"

"I am afraid it is quite indescribable. It will not take long and will not hurt you."

"What exactly will the effect be, then? Will I just—stop having nightmares? These nightmares? Any dreams at all?"

"You will have non-nightmare dreams."

"But any kinds of nightmares whatsoever will be gone?"

"Yes."

"Is it possible to undo this?"

"It is possible for another psion to cause you nightmares. The original form will not recur with the same underlying traits, though."

"...I thought you were just going to block them or something?"

"I'm not sure what distinction you're making."

"Blocking versus removing them entirely? I mean, I haven't the faintest clue what you're doing but why wouldn't removing the blockage later just make everything resume as normal? ...sorry if I'm being rude, I'm a bit nervous." Nervous is safe, right?

"It is normal to be nervous," says the psion. "The mind is not made of pipes and valves. At least in the way I have learned, there is no difference between blocking and removing. Both mean that they will not happen again."