This is my first cross-stitch! It is for Morgan and is inspired by the first Hugo Award winner "The Demolished Man" by Alfred Bester. The story is set in the 24th century, in a society where telepaths — "Espers" formally, "peepers" colloquially — help guard peace and order.

The protagonist, Ben Reich, is a businessman who must conceal his murderous intentions from the prying capacities of the telepaths. In order to achieve this, Reich visits a songwriter who teaches him a deceptively simple jingle: 'Tenser', said the Tensor; 'tension, apprehension, and dissension have begun' that proves to be an earworm, so persistent and involving, that it blocks most Espers from properly peeping into Reich's mind. I've had the phrase in my head for weeks, ever since I finished the book for the first time.



For the decorative detail I combined the tilda with the Psi Corps logo from Babylon 5 (one of the telepaths is named 'Bester' as a nod to the inspiration of their origins). The tilda is used in propositional logic to represent negation.

I need to stretch and frame the finished work. But, when its done, then hopefully it will continue to protect us from the government's devious mind-rays. :)

EDIT: Yes, I've read "Tiger, Tiger" or "The Stars, My Destination"! I've got to stem the flow of emails urging me to read it. And yes, it is now my favourite book too. :)