[owing largely to http://parahumans.wordpress.com]
"Okay, let's table the issue of our exact relations with the pertinent governments."
"Why is he here?" Amarin said, pointing to a man more draped over than sitting in his chair.
"He's either halfway comatose or has no power."
The man in question sat up, slightly.
"It's a good convention," he said. "Not delving others' minds in meetings like these." He stuck a hand in his pocket, pulled out a brownish lump of metal, and put it on the table.
"But in a dicier situation, you might want to disregard it." He spread his hand, and the lump split into four pieces, each one moving swiftly to a corner of the table. He closed his hand, and the pieces met in the middle of the table, forming a single, small, perfect sphere.
"I'm Kened. People feel iron and steel are things they have control over, perhaps more so than their own minds and bodies. Most don't like anything that challenges that feeling. Ardo and his friends don't seem to mind."
