The excerpts detail a science fiction narrative centered on Ben Reich, a powerful business executive locked in a deadly rivalry with Craye D'Courtney and under investigation by Lincoln Powell, the Police Prefect of the Psychotic Division and a high-ranking Esper (telepath). The story highlights a society where telepathy is common, monitored by the Esper Guild, and involves a complex murder mystery where Reich kills D'Courtney, using his analyst Carson Breen and the disgraced Esper Augustus Tate for intelligence and cover. Powell employs both technological and telepathic means, including a controversial Mass Cathexis, to unravel the murder, which involves a disappearing witness, Barbara D'Courtney, and a mysterious object called the Man With No Face, ultimately leading to Reich's psychological "Demolition" and the shocking reveal that his entire reality was a manufactured test.

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“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.