Piers Anthony - Adept 07 - Phaze Doubt

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Phaze Doubt -- Piers Anthony
(Version 1.0 -- 12/12/2001)
Lysander
Lysander found his assigned seat in the shuttle as it commenced slow
acceleration. The spaceship had been a liner, with individual cabins for each
passenger, but the planetary shuttle was cramped in the manner of an
atmospheric transport. Well, he was used to tight quarters, after his time in
the laboratory.
He hesitated, glancing at the young human woman in the adjacent seat.
She was in the process of getting out of her dress by working it up past her
legs and buttocks. "Please, excuse me, if it is not an imposition -- "
She looked up at him, pausing in her labor. She had short curly black
hair and dark brown pupils, in those respects almost matching him. But what
was coming into view below didn't match. "Am 1 embarrassing you?" she inquired
brightly.
"No, I am most interested. Your form strikes me as pulchri-tudinous."
She blinked. "What?11
Evidently he had used the wrong term. "Of aesthetic outline. Comely.
Subject to admiration. Incitive of sexual ambition."
She smiled. "Attractive?"
"Yes, thank you. That must be the operative term."
2 | Piers Anthony
"You're not from this neighborhood," she remarked.
"This is a perceptive observation. Indeed I am not. But you -- you are a
native of the upcoming planet?''
"Yes. In a manner. I'm a serf. We don't wear clothing."
"Now I understand. I read the handbook. I will be a serf too, to earn
what I need to be recognized as an independent individual. But would you be
willing to exchange seats? I have little experience of planetfall and would
like to gaze out the window."
"Oh, of course. I've seen it before." She got up and stepped to the
center aisle, her dress remaining halfway up. Lysander took the seat she had
occupied. Then she lifted her dress the rest of the way off, over her head,
leaving only pink bra and panties. She was a well-endowed female, quite
appealing in thai limited outfit. She folded the dress carefully and took the
outer seat.
"Thank you," Lysander said. "May I introduce myself? I am Lysander, from
Planet Grenadier. I am a specialist in robot feed back circuitry."
"Alyc," she responded. "That's A-L-Y-C, not ALICE. We serfs have little
of our own except our names. I'm assistant what ever for Citizen Blue. Not in
your class, I guess."
"Class?"
"I'm not educated like you. I just help with housework and cooking and
whatever, as I said. I never got beyond regular schooling."
He smiled. "There may be a misunderstanding. I did not have schooling. I
am an android."
She stared at him momentarily, startled. "You're joking!"
"My humor is limited, as it is in all my kind. My body wa^ generated in
the laboratory."
"But androids are, well, not smart. You don't talk at all like that!"
"Perhaps that is because my brain is fully organic. It wa-taken from a
living creature and implanted in the android body in the manner of a cyborg. I
was pre-educated in the laboratory so my only challenge was learning to use
the body."
"That's fascinating!" she said. "I never heard of an androk cyborg!"
PHAZE DOUBT | 3
"So as you understand, I am not in your class, not being a proper man. I
have existed in this form only two years."
She was gazing at him with increasing interest. "You haven't had social
experience on your own world?"
"I am not entirely certain what you mean. I am conversant with the
appropriate modes for eating, eliminating, sleeping -- "
"Man/woman," she said. "Interaction."
"I have been instructed on the mechanism for copulation."
Alyc laughed. "Dating. Dancing. Kissing."
"The mechanisms for relating the local calendar to current events, or --
" He saw by her expression that he was not reflecting her intent. "I suspect
not." "Would you like to start with me? I mean, until you get into things in
Phaze?"
"Phase? To be in phase, or out of phase?"
She laughed again. "Phaze. With a z. The magic part of Proton."
"Magic? I think I must misunderstand."
"So you don't know about that. Well, I guess they haven't bruited it
about, offplanet. You'll see. But what I meant was whether you would like to
be my boyfriend, until you find a girl of your intellect?"
"But you are full human!" he protested. "My indoctrination is specific
about the perils of miscegenation. I am obliged to inform any human person of
my status as quasi-human."
She turned earnestly to him. "I am a serf. And you will be too. We're
all equal, on Proton: humans, robots, cyborgs, androids, and aliens. All
naked, too; will you be able to handle that?"
He frowned. "The social -- the types interact? I assumed that the social
interaction was confined android to android, and man to woman, in practice."
"You are a man, Lysander, as I'm sure I can show you. The only forbidden
interaction is disobedience to a Citizen. Of course serfs don't normally
marry, but they do have relationships. So -- " She looked at him
questioningly.
"In that case, yes, I would like to be your social friend. As I
remarked, your physique is attractive."
4 j Piers Anthony
"Oh, I'm so pleased!" she exclaimed. "I'm'sure it will be very nice, the
little time it lasts."
"These affiliations are of limited duration?"
"With me they are. You see, I like smart men, and I can attract them at
first, but they always leave me for smarter women."
"1 apologize in advance for doing that."
She started to laugh, but changed her mind, remembering that he wasn't
much for humor. "Well, let's make it count." She leaned over to kiss him.
"Secure belts for landing." It was the shuttle announcer system, giving
warning of higher acceleration. The vessel had been accelerating at just under
one gee throughout, backward, its jets toward the planet. In this manner it
had reduced the momentum it had started with at the ship. But now it had to
make planetfall, and that would require more than one gee.
"Never fails," Alyc said. "Just when things get interesting." She kissed
him quickly and settled back into her seat, fishing
for her harness.
Lysander heeded the directive, and snapped his own seat harness about
his humanoid body, glancing around as he did so. The other passengers were all
humanoid, most of them seeming to be fully human beings, some seeming to be
robots. This was hardly surprising, since Proton was a human colony; few
creatures of planets other than Earth found it compatible. Gravity,
atmosphere, diurnal cycle, light intensity, and temperature range closely
matched those of the colonizing planet.
"Is it all right if I watch the approach?" he asked. "I am of course
interested in what you propose, but you will remain, while the vision of the
landing will be fleeting."
"Of course it's all right," she said, after a slight hesitation. "I'll
just hold your hand, meanwhile."
Lysander peered out of the old-fashioned porthole. They were approaching
the planet obliquely, and he had an excellent view of it. He was indeed
fascinated by it.
The odd thing about Planet Proton was that its South Pole pointed
directly toward its sun, always. Most planets in most systems rotated in the
planes of their ecliptics, so that their equators were warmest and their poles
coldest. Some were skew, so
PHAZE DOUBT | 5
that their poles were alternately heated as they proceeded through their
years. But Proton acted as if it were on a fixed axle extending from the star,
in seeming defiance of the laws of physics.
The acceleration increased. Gee rose to about 1.5. His right hand felt
odd. He tore his eyes away from the porthole and looked at it.
Alyc was holding his arm to her bosom and kissing his hand. It was
warmth of her breath on his fingers that had distracted him. Relieved that it
was nothing serious -- sometimes this body reacted in odd ways to stress, and
1.5 gee was a type of stress -- he returned his gaze to the porthole.
What Lysander found hard to figure was how the planet maintained a
regular day-night cycle. With the sunlight coming always toward the South
Pole, there should be no changes; the southern hemisphere should always be
day, the northern hemisphere night. Yet that was not the case. The planet
acted as if the light were turned at right angles, and it cast its night
shadow to the side. The manual indicated that scientists had never been able
to agree exactly how this was possible, but it was so. The prevailing theory
of the moment was that the planet acted with respect to light like a black
hole, bending the light ninety degrees without affecting anything else. This
left formidable questions unanswered, but was the best that was offered.
Apparently no competent local study had been undertaken to resolve the
mystery.
Then the shuttle changed orientation. The planet seemed to swing back
and out of sight. They were coming down to the surface. There was nothing of
interest to be seen now.
Alyc still had his hand. She was licking it. Lysander tried to remember
whether this was normal procedure, but found no applicable facet. He had to
assume that it was within tolerance for the species.
Alyc saw him looking. "I'm sorry," she said. "High-gee makes me
nervous." She removed her mouth, but did not let go of his hand.
A stress reaction. He filed the information in a facet. Others might
have different mechanisms of coping. Still, it was possible that it was not
the mere availability of more intelligent companions that caused males to
leave this woman.
6 | Piers Anthony
The gee increased. Then there was a bump, and the gee reverted to one.
They were down.
Alyc relaxed. She released Lysander's hand. "I feel so much safer on
solid land," she said. "Low-gee or high-gee just -- " She shrugged. Then she
touched the center of the bra, and it separated and fell away. "We might as
well wait for the others to clear," she said, nodding her head at the people
now stepping into the aisle.
Lysander noted that a number of the others had done as Alyc had, and
were now naked. They carried their clothing bundled under their arms. They
seemed to have no luggage.
Alyc drew up her legs, bending the knees. In a moment she had worked the
panties off. "You might as well strip here," she said. "That way, they'll
think you're a returning serf, like me, and you won't have to go through the
indoctrination routine."
Lysander nodded. He preferred to avoid attention. He started to get out
of his clothes, awkwardly, in the seat.
Alyc jumped to help him. Her hands touched his body caressingly, not
shying away from the genital region.
"I am not certain this is wise," he said.
"Oh, no, it's better to strip now," she assured him.
"The presence of your hands is causing a reaction," he explained.
"Oh, that's right -- you're new here. You think naked is sexy!"
"I was under that impression. Am I mistaken?"
"Yes, here. Serfs aren't sexy, they're dull. We really have to work at
it to get sexy. Clothing helps a lot; I got so heated up the first time I went
offplanet -- " She shrugged again. "But I know it's the other way around, with
you. I can take care of it, though. Just get naked so I can -- "
He realized that she intended to proceed to a sexual engagement. Human
interest in the act declined after it had been indulged. But he foresaw points
of awkwardness, because he understood that such an act was normally done in a
private place, and would attract some attention if done publicly. Also, his
inexperience was likely to contribute to miscues. It would be better to avoid
it at this time.
However, he did not wish to walk out of the ship in an obvious state of
sexual excitement; that too might attract attention.
PHAZE DOUBT | 7
He would have to draw on his true nature to turn it off. "I think I am
adapting to the culture," he said. "Allow me a moment."
"If you wish." She seemed disappointed.
He reverted to his core facet. Now he saw things as he would if in his
natural body, rather than as the humanoid body did. He opened the two eye
segments available and looked at the woman.
She was completely repulsive. A mat of long fur sprouted from the top
and rear of her head to dangle around the auditory flaps and the jaw bone,
tufts of it coiling of their own accord. Her breathing orifice projected, and
her eyes were rounded and set in sockets. Assorted white teeth showed within
the peeling gash of her sustenance intake orifice. Substantial bags of flesh
hung around her front. She had two massive upper limbs and a bifurcate base.
He shut off the eyes; the awful vision was too strong. If he allowed it
to go further, he would be unable to function in this alien society, and
therefore unable to pursue his mission.
He stood and quickly completed the disrobing. He had no sexual interest
in the female now. He hoped he would be able to damp down the vision of her
fleshy nature when the time came, as it inevitably would, to indulge in the
way she preferred.
"I guess you did adapt," Alyc said. "Well, maybe some other time. Il
isn't too good in a shuttle, anyway, I think." She evidently would have been
glad to make a trial of it, however.
"Yes. Now I must enter the city and seek employment."
"You don't have a job yet?" she asked.
"I understand that employment is inevitable. Was I required to achieve
it before coming?"
"Oh, no! I just thought maybe you had been brought in for your
expertise. A special assignment."
"No, I merely wish to achieve a suitable situation, in a culture that
accepts androids more readily than does my own."
"Then maybe you can apply for work with Citizen Blue!" she exclaimed,
delighted. "He's a good employer, really he is! He's very generous. Most
Citizens don't allow their serfs offplanet until their terms are up and they
have to go, forever, but he let me travel."
8 | Piers Anthony
Lysander frowned, though this was exactly what he wished. "Wouldn't that
be a conflict of interest?"
She was preceding him down the aisle, her fleshy posterior shifting its
masses in ways that threatened to alienate him again. He focused his two eyes
on her face as it turned halfway back toward him. "Conflict?" she asked,
perplexed.
"If you and I are to have an association, wouldn't that disallow
employment by the same Citizen?"
She laughed, as she so readily did. "No way! Citizens don't care about
serf interactions. Just so long as they do what they're told. The only trouble
is when a Citizen wants a serf-girl for sex and doesn't want anyone else using
her. But Blue isn't like that; he's true to his wife, as he has been for
twenty years."
"She must be a remarkable woman."
"She's a robot. They have a son." She paused, waiting for his reaction.
He made it, as they left the shuttle and passed into the interior
chamber of the spaceport. "A robot had a son?"
"The son's a robot too," she explained. "Her name is Sheen, and his is
Mach. Mach-Sheen, Machine, you see; it's sort of a pun, only nobody laughs.
And he's married to an alien female, and they have a daughter, Nepe. Only it's
more complicated than that."
"I think that's as complicated as I can assimilate," Lysander said
ruefully. He glanced around the large chamber. Sure enough, only the clothed
parties were being challenged; the naked ones were ignored. "So you believe
that Citizen Blue might employ me, if he has use for my abilities?"
"He sure might!" she said enthusiastically. "I can ask him for you!"
"Is this normal procedure? I understand that I should register for
employment, and that if I did not obtain it within three days I would be
summarily dismissed from the planet. I admit this is a concern."
"You register, but Blue will ask for you, if I ask him, maybe," she
said. "In that case, by all means ask him," Lysander agreed.
"Oh, this is working out so well!" she said, taking his hand and holding
it as they walked side by side.
PHA2E DOUBT | 9
Lysander was coming to understand better why Alyc's liaisons tended to
be brief. She was quite open, and perhaps possessive, offering her wares too
rapidly, so that her store was quickly exhausted. But this was extremely
convenient now. He had received instruction in the laboratory, but had no
direct experience, so her forward attitude enabled him to learn quickly
without a great risk of error.
She brought him to a registration desk at the spaceport. "Check in here,
and they'll give you a three-day permit," she explained. "Then I'll take you
to Blue."
He approached the desk. "May I register for employment?"
The naked woman behind the desk glanced at him, bored. "Name and planet
of origin?"
"Lysander of Grenadier."
She glanced at a terminal screen. "Right. Android. Your specialties are
games and computer circuitry. Put your eyes to the window."
She had a detail wrong, but it seemed expedient to let it pass. He was
trained in robotic feedback circuitry, which related to programming rather
than hardware.
There was a panel with a scanning window. He put his face to it, knowing
that the scanner would record his retinal patterns and match them to those of
his listed identity. Such identification could be counterfeited only by the
replacement of the eyeballs, which was more trouble than the average intruder
would care to undertake. Androids were standardized in many respects,
including the immune system, so they could take eyeball transplants more
readily than full humans could. But all android retinal patterns were
registered, so unless the paperwork was in order, a transplant was useless for
any purpose other than correcting a defect in vision.
"Are you familiar with local protocol?" the woman asked as he stepped
away from the window. The scan had checked, of course.
"I believe so. I go naked, address every Citizen as sir, and do what I'm
told.""There are details. Are you aware, for example, that magic is operative
here?"10 Piers Anthony
PHAZE DOUBT 11
"Prestidigitation is a game skill I have developed. It will b^
interesting to compare local techniques."
The woman's mouth turned wry. "This is more than thai Perhaps you should
take the indoctrination course."
"I'm helping him," Alyc put in. "I'm Alyc, employee of Citizen Blue. May
I call the Citizen now?"
"If you wish." The woman turned a videophone screen toward her.
"Alyc calling Citizen Blue," she said to the screen.
The clerk's eyebrow elevated. "You expect him to answer you direct?"
A woman's face appeared on the screen. Her eyes were grec: and her hair
brown, fading to bleached strands at her shoulders The lines about her face
and neck indicated that she was no young, but she remained beautiful. "You're
back, Alyc!" sh: said with evident pleasure. "Was it a good trip?"
"Yes, Sheen. But funny wearing clothes. I'm glad to be back Could --
could I talk to the Citizen, please?"
The clerk made a tiny shake of her head at this audacity. I was obvious
that smart serfs did not push their luck like this.
A man's face came on the screen. There was no question o his age; he was
at least in his fifties, but his eyes were alert The collar of a shirt was
visible at the base of the picture; hi was clothed, therefore a Citizen. "Yes,
Alyc."The clerk's jaw dropped slightly. She turned away.
"Sir, I met a man on the ship back, and maybe you couU hire him."
The Citizen's countenance quirked in what was becoming t< Lysander a
familiar expression in those who spoke to Alyc: that one assumed when dealing
with a child or harmless animal that had intruded on the carpet. "Perhaps. Who
is he?"
"Lysander. He knows about computers and games. thought -- "
"He is present?"
"Right here, sir," she said eagerly, moving aside so that the Citizen
could look at Lysander.
Blue nodded. "No promise, Alyc. But bring him here."
"Oh, thank you, sir!" she exclaimed, actually jumping in he excitement.
But the Citizen's glance at Lysander, as the image
faded on the screen, was disconcertingly sharp. This was going to be far
more chancy than the registration had been!
Alyc led him out of the spaceport to a public transport car. It was half
filled with naked humanoids, with a few machines of various configurations.
All the human beings were in good health, none fat; it was obvious that the
governing Citizens did not encourage over-indulgence. In fact, this seemed to
be a well-run planet.
"About magic," Lysander said. "What did the clerk mean about that? You
mentioned it on the shuttle but did not clarify your reference."
"About a year ago the frames merged," Alyc said brightly. "Citizen Blue
did it, to stop the Contrary Citizens from taking over and ruining everything.
That was just before I came here, so I don't know how it was before, but it
certainly is nice now. Anyway, science works, and magic works. It's a lot of
fun." "My education, as I said, was programmed. My brain was in effect
force-fed with the language of this planet and the general nature of the
galaxy, and the necessary skills of survival were inculcated. Perhaps I missed
something. Magic is generally known as a fraud, something that can not
possibly operate as claimed. It is nonsensical by definition. Therefore I wish
to know what is meant by the term here, as it can not be what I mean by it."
She smiled knowingly. "Brother, have you got a learning experience
coming!"
"You propose to show me actual magic?"
"Well, not me personally. It's mostly only those who have been here a
long time who can do it, especially the mergees. But I'm sure -- "
"Mergees?"
"Oh, this gets complicated! You see, there were these two frames, Proton
and Phaze -- with the z, remember? -- and they were sort of separated, and in
one science worked and in the other magic worked. The people, a lot of them
were the same, I mean people in Proton had other selves in Phaze, who did
magic. But then they merged, and all the people merged too, and now they --
well, wait till you meet Mach/Bane and Fleta/ Agape!"
12 | Piers Anthony
"MacBane and Fleta who?"
"They -- you won't believe me until you see it. Meanwhile just take my
word: there's magic here now, because the land; merged too. But they say a lot
of it only works once, so the\ don't do it much, except for the natural shape
changing."
"I will take your word," Lysander said, hoping she did no catch the
cynicism. She had not seemed crazy before! In dut course they arrived at the
section of the city that housed Citize; Blue's estate. Lysander was surprised
to find it ordinary; thei; was no ostentation. His respect for the Citizen
grew, and hi dismay; he was not at all sure he could fool this man.
"You look nervous," Alyc remarked. "I know how it is:! was so scared
when I first came here I thought I'd do somethir, in my pants -- and I didn't
have any. But Blue is just great; you!, like him."
Lysander doubted it.
"And we can be together," she continued cheerily. "I a show you around
everywhere. Blue does that; he lets newcomc break in easy."
That was more appealing. The longer he had before he hi to get serious
about his mission, the better it would be.
He assumed that they would be admitted to some outer char ber, where the
citizen would interview him by video. This v.. not the case. They were ushered
instead into the main apar ment, where Citizen Blue and Sheen stood waiting.
Sheen stepped forward and hugged Alyc as if she were a de friend. Sheen
was a robot, but this was hardly apparent; s seemed as womanly as it was
possible to be.
"Did you have a nice visit home, dear?" Sheen inquired.
"Yes!" Alyc agreed with her customary vigor. "Mom to; me I needed to eat
more, I was thin as a reed!" This was laug able; she was about as well fleshed
as she could be witho sacrificing sex appeal.
"Don't listen to her," Sheen said, smiling. "Men prefer thi Speaking of
which -- this is your new young man?" Her e\ turned to Lysander.
"Yes -- as of an hour past," Lysander said. "She has bci helping me get
adapted."
"She does that," Sheen agreed. She turned back to Al>
PHAZE DOUBT 13
"Let's go get reacquainted with Agnes. The men may want to talk."
The two naked women walked to another room, leaving Lysander with the
Citizen. Citizen Blue was a tiny man, a head shorter than average, though not
so small as to be a dwarf. He wore an open shirt and casual trousers, with
slipper-type shoes. On any other humanoid planet he would have been dismissed
as a man of no consequence. Here the clothing made him a figure of stature.
Yet even if Blue had been naked, his bearing would have set him apart.
The man had power, and it seemed to imbue him with a presence that was not to
be ignored. Lysander presumed that this was typical of Citizens in general,
but perhaps especially of this one, because he knew that Blue was not just any
Citizen. He was the Citizen -- the leading figure of the planet. That was why
his ready accessibility was surprising. Surely there were bodyguards watching,
or killer laser beams oriented on the visitor; the Citizen would not leave
himself open to the mischief of a stranger.
"Sit down, Lysander," Blue said, and took a seat himself.
Lysander sat opposite, in one of the simple plastic chairs. This was no
social visit; it was an employment interview. It was also, more critically, a
test. If Blue had any notion of Lysander's true mission --
"Your meeting with Alyc was no coincidence," the Citizen said.
And there it was, already. "No, sir," Lysander agreed.
"Please explain."
"I have special training. My planet -- the authorities there-wish to
upgrade their computer technology, especially with regard to self-willed
robots. They feel that solid experience with advanced systems should help.
When they discovered that a servant of a family including two self-willed
robots was returning to Proton, they felt the opportunity was too good to be
allowed to pass. So they arranged for me to be seated beside that servant, who
was known to be friendly to handsome men."
"And you were created handsome," Blue said.
"Yes, sir. My body is android, crafted on ideal humanoid
14 | Piers Anthony
lines. My brain is animal, so that I do not suffer the typical
dysfunction of androids."
"You are using Alyc as an avenue to employment here?"
"No, sir. That is, the intent was to befriend her, and so have better
access to those who are in a position to guarantee my employment in my
specialty. It was known that you support your employees, so if you felt her
situation would be improved by m> retention as a serf on this planet, you
would arrange it. But actual employment by you -- "
"She surprised you by being too helpful," Blue said.
"Yes, sir."
"Your background checks out. We can use you. But I take exception to the
mechanism of your acquaintance with Alyc. She is vulnerable to exploitation,
especially by a male such as yourself. She wears her heart on her sleeve, as
one of our ancient sayings puts it, but she is not an unworthy person. What
are your intentions toward her?"
"I have no present emotional commitment, sir. If you direct me to
disassociate with her, I will do so."
"I do not make directives of that nature."
"Then I would prefer to explore the association she proffers, sir. I am
inexperienced in social and sexual interactions, as I was crafted two years
ago and have spent the majority of my awareness in training. I believe she
could show me much I lack."
"And when you have had the experience?"
'' She has informed me that her associations are generally brief,
because men come to prefer more intelligent women. My interest is in my
specialty rather than in any social situation. I see no reason to break with
her unless that is her preference."
"These things are not necessarily predictable," the Citizen said. "I
loved a human woman, but later lost that love, and associated with Sheen
instead. If your interest changes, you should do as you wish. I only ask that
you give Alyc a fair chance, and if you have occasion to change women, that
you set her down gently."
"I shall do that, sir."
"Then go and tour the planet," Blue said. "Alyc will show you the
landmarks. Familiarize yourself with our conventions before settling down to
your specialty."
PHAZE DOUBT 15
"But sir, with all due respect, I have only three days to find
employment. If I squander it -- "
Blue silenced him with a slightly elevated hand. "I apologize, Lysander.
I thought you understood. You have been registered as my employee. My
suggestion was in the nature of a directive."
Lysander stared at him, for the moment too surprised to speak.
The Citizen smiled. "You are new here. That is why you need to
familiarize yourself with our culture. Let me anticipate Alyc with this one
caution: when a Citizen speaks to you, take him literally. Never protest the
case, unless you are sure you know something he doesn't which might affect the
case. In all other circumstances, simply ignore a Citizen, except to stay out
of his way.
"I apologize for transgressing, sir," Lysander said, embarrassed.
"And don't apologize to a Citizen; that presumes sufficient status to
make it meaningful."
"Yes, sir," Lysander said, embarrassed again.
"And do not speak at all unless he requires it of you."
Lysander was silent.
Blue laughed. "There is no offense, Lysander. Merely a demonstration.
Come, we shall join the ladies." He got up, and Lysander immediately stood
also. Blue glanced at him. "Did I tell you to stand?"
"No, sir," Lysander said hastily, sitting down again.
"But it was implied. I invited you to join the ladies, which you would
find awkward to do if you remained seated. But if you stood merely because I
did, you were in error."
Lysander stood again, silently. He suspected he was flushing the full
length of his body.
Blue clapped him on the shoulder. "A few days with Alyc will enable you
to get everything straight. But your specialty may attract the interest of
other Citizens, or I may contact you myself in that period, and I would not
want to be embarrassed by having an employee who seemed uncertain of relevant
protocol. I can not say I approve of all the details of our system, but others
do, and that makes appearances important. Do you understand?''
16 | Piers Anthony
"Yes, sir."
"Exactly." Blue showed the way to the other room.
An older maid was serving a beverage at a table. "This is Agnes, maid
and friend," Blue said. "In the absence of myself and my wife, she is the
ranking figure of this household, and you will honor any request she makes of
you." Lysander nodded to Agnes, but did not speak. They took places at the
table.Alyc glanced at the Citizen as if wanting to say something. Blue nodded.
"Sir, Lysander doesn't believe in magic."
The Citizen frowned. "And you had the audacity to associate with him?"
Sheen smiled. Lysander, taking his cue from her, smiled also.
"Yes, sir," Aiyc said, abashed. "I thought maybe -- "
"This sounds like a job for my granddaughter," Blue said.
"Yes, sir."
"You can spare him for an hour?"
"Yes, sir!" Alyc said, happy.
"But you know he will never be the same, once Nepe finishes with him."
"Don't tease her, dear," Sheen reproved Blue. He smiled. It was obvious
that Alyc was quite satisfied to be teased by this man.
The Citizen nodded to Agnes, who left the room. Then they settled down
to their beverage, which turned out to be pseudo-wine. This had the flavor and
texture of something vintage, but no alcoholic content. Lysander was
interested to see that Sheen drank it too. She was the perfect woman, machine
though she was.
Lysander saw a problem on the horizon. These were likeable people, and
he liked them. That was apt to be awkward, when he had to act.
Magic
The Citizen's granddaughter Nepe showed up before they finished their
wine. She was a little girl, nine years old, naked in the serf manner, with
flouncing brown hair covering her ears. She dashed up to Citizen Blue for a
hug, her hair flying out with the vigor of her motion, then spied the visitor
and abruptly turned formal. "You summoned me, sir?"
"I have hired Lysander," Blue said, indicating him. "He does not believe
in magic."
Slowly the girl's head turned toward Lysander. She smiled impishly. "We
shall have to do something about that," she said, with an odd certainty.
"Go with Nepe," the Citizen said to Lysander.
Without a word, Lysander got up and approached the child. She extended
her hand, and he reached out to take it -- and paused, startled.
Her arm terminated in a mass of squirming tentacles.
Oh -- she was a shape changer. There were several galactic species that
could change their forms, and some of them were surely represented here. If
this was the nature of the "magic," he need have little concern.
18 | Piers Anthony
He took the "hand" without flinching, knowing that it was someone's
notion of a joke or an initiation.
Suddenly they were standing in a field. Pleasant gray clouds drifted
overhead, and sunlight brightened the waving grass. There was no evidence that
the rays of the sun were bent at right angles; they seemed to descend from
almost overhead, this being midday. But this amounted to an optical illusion.
Just as a person saw the reflection in a mirror as an extension of the local
scene beyond the mirror, he saw the sun where it seemed to belong. It was
actually at right angles, to the south.
"You hungry, Lysander?" the child inquired in a different voice.
He glanced sharply down. He was now holding the hand of a boy! A
tousle-headed lad clothed in black jacket and trousers, with blue socks and
sneakers.
Oh: the girl had shape-changed again, forming her body surface into the
appearance of clothing and quite possibly the semblance of masculinity beneath
it. Still no magic. However, the abrupt change of scene still mystified him.
How had that effect been arranged?
But he had to play the game. He affected unconcern. "Yes, actually. Is
there suitable food here?"
"There's a melon tree not far off, but it's guarded by a dragon."
"I'd like to see this dragon," Lysander said. Indeed, he was curious
about what the child would come up with next. He had to concede that this was
an excellent demonstration.
"I'll give you a ride. But you'd better put on some clothing. Outside
the domes it's Phaze now."
Suddenly Lysander was clothed. Shirt, trousers, shoes -- everything. It
had happened like magic.
Uh-oh. The child was still trying to trick him.
There was a musical honk. He looked -- and saw a horse standing beside
him. No, not a horse -- a unicorn, with a long spiraled horn set in its
forehead. Where was Nepe?
The animal honked again, gesturing with its horn toward its own back.
Actually it was male, and the honk came from the horn itself, sounding like a
woodwind instrument. If this was 3 simulation, as seemed to be the case, it
was a clever one!
PHAZE DOUBT | 19
Well, he would continue to play along. He stepped toward the animal.
"I'm not much at riding," he said. He had ridden horses, as it was an aspect
of his gameplaying practice, but those had been tame and trained. He feared
this creature was neither. He was also used to a saddle; bareback was more of
a challenge. But if that was the way it was, so be it.
He grabbed a handful of mane and jumped, swinging a leg up and over. He
half expected to get dumped as the animal bolted, but it remained still. Only
when he was securely mounted did it move, and then carefully, so that he had
no trouble keeping his seat.
The unicorn picked up speed, going into a trot. Then it played music
摘要：

PhazeDoubt--PiersAnthony(Version1.0--12/12/2001)LysanderLysanderfoundhisassignedseatintheshuttleasitcommencedslowacceleration.Thespaceshiphadbeenaliner,withindividualcabinsforeachpassenger,buttheplanetaryshuttlewascrampedinthemannerofanatmospherictransport.Well,hewasusedtotightquarters,afterhistimei...

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