you have no idea what they
are. But from your description of what happened before she told you this,
I know. I am truly amazed, and, believe me, it takes much to amaze me.
First, three of you come along after a wait so long that your mind couldn't
grasp it. Three at once. Then the gifts of Wassruss. These could easily
have been lost in space or have come to someone else.
"But there you were, Ali Baba-on-the-spot, as you say in New Babylon.
Where, out of a vastness of cosmos, it was the only place I would have
chosen you, if I had known there was a choice. I did not, of course,
and yet, there you were."
"What are you talking about?"
"It's too early to tell you. Though, as I said, I may have to tell you
anyway if events require it. But I was right when I picked you. Perhaps
you are that exceedingly rare individual, one who is a magnet for unlikely
events. One whose matrix overcomes the principles of probabilities.
"Such beings are possible, though I have never met one, until now,
and I'm still not sure about you. Perhaps it is they who . . ."
"They?" Ramstan said.
"Never mind. Not now, anyway."
Ramstan exploded. "What about the Tolt ship, then? That captain is determined
to get you back! And he's also, I'm sure, out to get revenge on me and
perhaps the entire crew for the sacrilege! But he doesn't dare make a
move which will imperil his chances of retrieving you! So he's taking
it easy, shadowing, waiting for the first chance, and then . . . bang,
boom, that's it! And I can't tell my crew why he's dogging us!"
"You'll find some way to handle it. It may be that you'll have to fight him.
In which case, you'll have to convince your crew that the Tolt is a grave
danger. And you'll have to antagonize him into attacking you."
"Do you know what you're saying?" Ramstan said.
"Calm down. Your agony is affecting me. Yes, I know. You don't realize
as yet, unfortunately, that there is much more at stake than the fate
of a few hundred Tenolt. Or a few hundred Terrans. Or even a few billion
Waliukans."
"What is at stake then?" Ramstan cried. His voice rang back from the
bulkheads, which shivered as al-Buraq caught a trace of Ramstan's pain
and perplexity. If Chief Engineer Indra was hooked into ship's neural
circuits at this moment, he would be alarmed.
"Your immortality, for one thing."
"I don't really care for that!" Ramstan bellowed.
"No, of course not. Not at the moment. However, I cannot tell you what
the stakes are. Not as yet. You wouldn't believe me. Or, if you did,
you might lose your reason. I am protecting you. Believe me. But then
you have to believe me, don't you?"
"Damn you!" Ramstan shouted. "Why did you seduce me?"
The unseduceable can't be seduced," the glyfa said. "You seduced yourself.
When I made my offer, I did not force you to accept. There was no magic
involved, no hypnotism. You had perfect free will or at least as near
to perfect as is possible. It was your choice. You said yes. And your
second thoughts are only that -- second, that is, superficial. The first
are the deepest."
Ramstan had no reply to this. There was silence. It was possible that
the glyfa was overwhelmed by the emotional blaze from Ramstan.
The gap was suddenly closed again.
"This Branwen Davis, the woman you are so attracted to. Haven't you
wondered if there was a connection between her and the Tenolt?"
Ramstan was shocked.
"How could there be?"
He paused in his vocalization, but the glyfa was reading the images and
emotions pouring out like the damned from the suddenly opened gates of Hell.
"I do not know. That is up to you to find out. Of course, I am only
suggesting a possibility."
"And I thought I was paranoiac."
"Don't let your personal feelings for her interfere with good judgment.
As for paranoia, anyone who
are. But from your description of what happened before she told you this,
I know. I am truly amazed, and, believe me, it takes much to amaze me.
First, three of you come along after a wait so long that your mind couldn't
grasp it. Three at once. Then the gifts of Wassruss. These could easily
have been lost in space or have come to someone else.
"But there you were, Ali Baba-on-the-spot, as you say in New Babylon.
Where, out of a vastness of cosmos, it was the only place I would have
chosen you, if I had known there was a choice. I did not, of course,
and yet, there you were."
"What are you talking about?"
"It's too early to tell you. Though, as I said, I may have to tell you
anyway if events require it. But I was right when I picked you. Perhaps
you are that exceedingly rare individual, one who is a magnet for unlikely
events. One whose matrix overcomes the principles of probabilities.
"Such beings are possible, though I have never met one, until now,
and I'm still not sure about you. Perhaps it is they who . . ."
"They?" Ramstan said.
"Never mind. Not now, anyway."
Ramstan exploded. "What about the Tolt ship, then? That captain is determined
to get you back! And he's also, I'm sure, out to get revenge on me and
perhaps the entire crew for the sacrilege! But he doesn't dare make a
move which will imperil his chances of retrieving you! So he's taking
it easy, shadowing, waiting for the first chance, and then . . . bang,
boom, that's it! And I can't tell my crew why he's dogging us!"
"You'll find some way to handle it. It may be that you'll have to fight him.
In which case, you'll have to convince your crew that the Tolt is a grave
danger. And you'll have to antagonize him into attacking you."
"Do you know what you're saying?" Ramstan said.
"Calm down. Your agony is affecting me. Yes, I know. You don't realize
as yet, unfortunately, that there is much more at stake than the fate
of a few hundred Tenolt. Or a few hundred Terrans. Or even a few billion
Waliukans."
"What is at stake then?" Ramstan cried. His voice rang back from the
bulkheads, which shivered as al-Buraq caught a trace of Ramstan's pain
and perplexity. If Chief Engineer Indra was hooked into ship's neural
circuits at this moment, he would be alarmed.
"Your immortality, for one thing."
"I don't really care for that!" Ramstan bellowed.
"No, of course not. Not at the moment. However, I cannot tell you what
the stakes are. Not as yet. You wouldn't believe me. Or, if you did,
you might lose your reason. I am protecting you. Believe me. But then
you have to believe me, don't you?"
"Damn you!" Ramstan shouted. "Why did you seduce me?"
The unseduceable can't be seduced," the glyfa said. "You seduced yourself.
When I made my offer, I did not force you to accept. There was no magic
involved, no hypnotism. You had perfect free will or at least as near
to perfect as is possible. It was your choice. You said yes. And your
second thoughts are only that -- second, that is, superficial. The first
are the deepest."
Ramstan had no reply to this. There was silence. It was possible that
the glyfa was overwhelmed by the emotional blaze from Ramstan.
The gap was suddenly closed again.
"This Branwen Davis, the woman you are so attracted to. Haven't you
wondered if there was a connection between her and the Tenolt?"
Ramstan was shocked.
"How could there be?"
He paused in his vocalization, but the glyfa was reading the images and
emotions pouring out like the damned from the suddenly opened gates of Hell.
"I do not know. That is up to you to find out. Of course, I am only
suggesting a possibility."
"And I thought I was paranoiac."
"Don't let your personal feelings for her interfere with good judgment.
As for paranoia, anyone who
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