CHAPTER 3 Back through empty space his mind raced toward a rendezvous with his body. The speed of light was a laughable limitation, easily surpassed and outdistanced. The fabric of space warped and twisted around him, trying hard to conserve its own rules while he heedlessly broke every one. He traveled at the speed of thought, if indeed any speed could be assigned to it. Pinpoints of stars blurred into streaks and smudges against a gray background. Back, back to Zarti. Yellow star, fourth planet, second continent, Thirteenth City, three-story building at the southeast edge, second floor, western corridor, third room. UNION. The return of physical sensation was slow, as it always was. First the extremities, a tingling in hooves and hands. Then the feeling crept inward along the arteries