At the meeting

They amaze me with their Athena thoughts - full-grown at birth - while I sit silently, my stereoscopic vision flat. As they speak, hypnotic images emerge with a three-dimensional power. I'm overwhelmed. Then suddenly, a bright jewel shines in my eyes. A thought is beating in my blood. I try to grasp it, but each facet of the small crystal is a singular knife that slices my tongue. My delivery fails and I gaze on the backs of Athenian armor.