fashion to Malice, sought information by visiting Planet Minion in §401. There he tarried with a recently widowed native girl—”
“Stone Heart!” Misery cried, smiling brilliantly.
“Perhaps that is what he termed himself,” Benjamin agreed. “And so he impregnated you, Misery, and departed the planet. In due course you birthed Morning Haze, who matured to become your husband. And so he is my grandnephew, and his quarter-human blood is the blood of the great Family of Five. This is the secret reason I sought him out, and facilitated his entry into the galactic culture, though I violated our law in the doing of it. I have not been disappointed!”
“How fortunate your nephew Aton was able to impregnate her so readily,” the Xest signaled, though obviously it was using a term it was still vague about, and hardly agreed with the “fortune” of such ready replication.
“No fortune,” Misery said. “We conceive when love is strongest. Stone Heart’s love was more powerful than any I have known.”
“Even than mine?” Morning Haze inquired wryly. “Remember, I am kin to you, as my father was not.”
“He had supreme emotion,” she insisted. “He very nearly killed me with the violence of his passion. If only he had stayed—”
Morning Haze struck her in the face with his fist. “I would have killed him, to possess you, bitch that you are!”
“Ah, now you almost approach his love,” she murmured, pleased.
Benjamin turned to the Xest. “So your kind has a problem of surplus goods?”
“No. Our problem is a chronic brevity of resources.”
“But then why the Taphid, this efficient consumer?”
“You must understand our debt system. Each entity must maintain a favorable balance, returning as much or more to the species as one consumes. If one fissions recklessly, one multiplies one’s debt.”
“Even when fission is involuntary? The leg-regeneratingthe-individual sort of thing?”
“Correct. Such accidents are disastrous. We can not permit promiscuous multiplication of entities, whatever the pretext. Therefore, the Taphid.”
Benjamin shook his head. “I am inebriated and my reasoning powers are minimal. Somehow it seems that the efficient consumption activity of the Taphid would only aggravate your problem,”
“Not so. It is essential that fission-control be practiced.”
Benjamin shook his head. “No doubt all will come clear in due course.”
“Your own situation,” the Xest asked politely. “How did you come by it? You seem to be well on the way to complete cancellation of debt.”
Benjamin stared into his drink. Most of the indicators on his pacers had reverted to near-normal, but he was obviously not in ideal condition. “The situation is galactic. My own part in it originated with my brother Aurelius, who bore a son by a minionette, as we have already noted.” He glanced up. “We did note it? My ancient brain fogs—”
“It is understood,” the Xest said diplomatically.
“When that son Aton took up with his mother—this is referred to as the Oedipus complex in our annals, as contrasted with the Electra complex in which a girl takes up with her father—he was in due course discovered and sent to the terminal prison Chthon. He escaped, but in the process discovered the cavern entity Chthon, a mineral intelligence, who maintained an abiding antipathy to all living things. It became apparent that this chthonic entity intended to eliminate all life in the galaxy. To prevent this, we mounted a preemptive attack against Chthon, using our base on the surface of Chthon-Planet, called Idyllia. Fitting symbolism, that: Heaven above, Hell below, both warmed by the same fiery winds. As though there is no concrete distinction between the two... but I drift. I—where was I?”
“Preemptive attack,” Morning Haze called.
“Thank you, nephew. I found myself there in the front ranks, as it were. At least, I was on the surface of that planet because I was considered to
“Stone Heart!” Misery cried, smiling brilliantly.
“Perhaps that is what he termed himself,” Benjamin agreed. “And so he impregnated you, Misery, and departed the planet. In due course you birthed Morning Haze, who matured to become your husband. And so he is my grandnephew, and his quarter-human blood is the blood of the great Family of Five. This is the secret reason I sought him out, and facilitated his entry into the galactic culture, though I violated our law in the doing of it. I have not been disappointed!”
“How fortunate your nephew Aton was able to impregnate her so readily,” the Xest signaled, though obviously it was using a term it was still vague about, and hardly agreed with the “fortune” of such ready replication.
“No fortune,” Misery said. “We conceive when love is strongest. Stone Heart’s love was more powerful than any I have known.”
“Even than mine?” Morning Haze inquired wryly. “Remember, I am kin to you, as my father was not.”
“He had supreme emotion,” she insisted. “He very nearly killed me with the violence of his passion. If only he had stayed—”
Morning Haze struck her in the face with his fist. “I would have killed him, to possess you, bitch that you are!”
“Ah, now you almost approach his love,” she murmured, pleased.
Benjamin turned to the Xest. “So your kind has a problem of surplus goods?”
“No. Our problem is a chronic brevity of resources.”
“But then why the Taphid, this efficient consumer?”
“You must understand our debt system. Each entity must maintain a favorable balance, returning as much or more to the species as one consumes. If one fissions recklessly, one multiplies one’s debt.”
“Even when fission is involuntary? The leg-regeneratingthe-individual sort of thing?”
“Correct. Such accidents are disastrous. We can not permit promiscuous multiplication of entities, whatever the pretext. Therefore, the Taphid.”
Benjamin shook his head. “I am inebriated and my reasoning powers are minimal. Somehow it seems that the efficient consumption activity of the Taphid would only aggravate your problem,”
“Not so. It is essential that fission-control be practiced.”
Benjamin shook his head. “No doubt all will come clear in due course.”
“Your own situation,” the Xest asked politely. “How did you come by it? You seem to be well on the way to complete cancellation of debt.”
Benjamin stared into his drink. Most of the indicators on his pacers had reverted to near-normal, but he was obviously not in ideal condition. “The situation is galactic. My own part in it originated with my brother Aurelius, who bore a son by a minionette, as we have already noted.” He glanced up. “We did note it? My ancient brain fogs—”
“It is understood,” the Xest said diplomatically.
“When that son Aton took up with his mother—this is referred to as the Oedipus complex in our annals, as contrasted with the Electra complex in which a girl takes up with her father—he was in due course discovered and sent to the terminal prison Chthon. He escaped, but in the process discovered the cavern entity Chthon, a mineral intelligence, who maintained an abiding antipathy to all living things. It became apparent that this chthonic entity intended to eliminate all life in the galaxy. To prevent this, we mounted a preemptive attack against Chthon, using our base on the surface of Chthon-Planet, called Idyllia. Fitting symbolism, that: Heaven above, Hell below, both warmed by the same fiery winds. As though there is no concrete distinction between the two... but I drift. I—where was I?”
“Preemptive attack,” Morning Haze called.
“Thank you, nephew. I found myself there in the front ranks, as it were. At least, I was on the surface of that planet because I was considered to
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