Part 23 (1/2)
Stile decided. ”Have your friends look into the matter. It's a far shot, but if there were any way to restore my other self to some semblance of life, I owe him that. If he died to save Phaze, it is right that he be restored to it.”
”If you have any female souls floating around looking for a host, send one to me.”
Stile took her hand. Her fingers were as soft and warm as those of any living person. ”I regard the soul as the essence of self. If you hosted someone else's soul, you would become that person. I prefer you as you are.”
”But you can't love me as I am.”
”I can't love anyone other than the Lady Blue. When this business is done, I will accord to you whatever emotion I am capable of feeling for any woman, flesh or metal. You deserve better than this, I know.”
”Half love is better than none,” she said. ”And if you restore your other self in Phaze, will he love the Lady Blue?”
”He's her husband!” Stile exclaimed. ”Of course he loves her!”
”Then why did he give her up to you?”
”To save Phaze. It was an act of supreme sacrifice.”
”I am a machine. I don't appreciate the delicate nuances of human conscience and pa.s.sion as a human being can. To me it seems more likely that he found himself in an untenable situation, as do you with me, and simply opted out.”
”That's an appalling notion!” But it also carried an insidious conviction. Suppose the Blue Adept, aware of the approaching crisis, knowing he had to make way for an other, and perhaps no longer in love with his wife- ”I wish I could meet your other self,” Sheen said.
”You are a creature of science, he of magic,” Stile said. ”Such meetings are difficult, even when both parties are alive. You are stuck with me.”
She smiled, letting it go. ”And we do have more serious business than such idle conjecturing.” She put the holo on receive, and a call was waiting.
It was from Citizen Merle. ”Ah, so you're back, Stile! Let me show you me in serf-guise. Private line, please.”
”Merle, I'm with Sheen-”
”She knows that,” Sheen said, setting up the nonintercept coding.
Merle stripped away her clothing with elegant motions.
She had an excellent body. ”Stile, beware,” she murmured. ”There are plots afoot to slay you.”
Stile was startled by the contrast between her actions and her words. ”I thought you had seduction in mind, Merle.”
”I do, I do! I can't seduce you if you're dead, however.”
There was that. ”Merle, I don't want to deceive you. I'm not interested in-”
”I understand you have business with the Game Computer.”
How much did she know? ”Do you intend to blackmail me?”
”By no means. You happen to be unblackmailable. But I might help you, if you caused me to be amenable.”
”If I were amenable to your design. Merle, my fiancee here might get difficult.”
”I suspect she would rather have you alive, well, and victorious. You see, some Citizens have the notion that you represent a threat to their welfare, so they have inst.i.tuted a push to have your Citizens.h.i.+p revoked.”
”Revoked! Is that possible?” Stile felt his underpinnings loosening. He had a.s.sumed his Citizens.h.i.+p was irrevocable.
”Anything is possible, by a majority vote of the kilos attending the evening business meeting. You will be on tonight's agenda. You will need whatever help you can get.”
Stile glanced at Sheen. ”This is news to you?”
”I knew something was developing, sir, but not that it had progressed to this extent.”
”Citizens have avenues of communication not available to machines,” Merle said. ”I a.s.sure you the threat is genuine, and the vote may well go against you. Citizens, unfortunately, have very narrow definitions of self-interest.” She smiled, turning her now-naked body suggestively. She had an excellent talent for display. ”I will encourage my a.s.sociates to support you, if you come to me. This could s.h.i.+ft the balance. It is little enough I ask. Are you quite sure you can't be tempted?”
Sheen, meanwhile, had been busy on another private line. Now she glanced up. ”It is true, sir,” she said. ”My friends verify that in the past hour a general disquiet has formed into a pattern of opposition. The moment news flashed that you had reappeared in Proton, momentum gathered. The projected vote is marginally against you. Merle's support could save you.”
”Listen to her. Stile,” Merle said. ”The scales are finely balanced at the moment, but the full thrust of your opposition has not yet manifested. Sheen has more riding on this than her own possible Citizens.h.i.+p. If your Citizens.h.i.+p is revoked, your tenure will end and you will have to leave Proton. The prospect for her friends would decline drastically, perhaps fatally, incongruous as the term may be in that application.”
”How much do you know. Merle?” Stile asked tightly.
”Stile, I research what intrigues me. I have learned much about you in the past few hours. This enhances my respect for you. It is a thing of mine to take a piece of those I respect. This is a harmless foible, and I always give fair return. Come to me and I will help you.” She had him in a difficult spot. If she knew about the self-willed machines and possibly about Stile's mission to restore parallelism in the separating frames, she could certainly cause him much mischief.
”Sir, I think you should go to her,” Sheen said. Stile found himself athwart a dilemma. He had told Mellon to arrange a private bet, to the limit of his available finances, that he would not be seduced by Merle. He did not care to lose that bet, for such a loss would wipe him out. But if her support was all that guaranteed his continuing Citizens.h.i.+p, he could lose everything despite winning the bet. He was between Scylla and Charybdis, the devil and the deep sea, the rock and the hard place. ”I am frankly surprised you do not heed your metal fiancee,” Merle said. ”She does seem to know what's best for you.”
Stile's flash of rage was stifled by Sheen's imploring look. He decided to meet with Merle and try to explain. Maybe he could win through. ”Give me your address.” She gave the code, and Sheen changed course. The book of magic would have to wait a little.
There was another call. This one was for Sheen, from Mellon. ”We have a delivery for you,” he said. ”Cosmetics for our employer.”
”I don't need-” Stile started to protest. But he was cut off by a glance from the serf.
”Thank you,” Sheen said. ”I'll pick them up at the nearest delivery tube when we leave the capsule.” She gave him Merle's code, and the connection broke. ”Do I look that haggard?” Stile asked plaintively. ”I had a good night's rest.”
”Mellon is not concerned about your appearance. Obviously something is afoot. Maybe the Lady Citizen has placed an order for an intoxicating or s.e.xually compelling drug, and this is the counteragent.”
”Maybe,” Stile agreed morosely. ”Sheen, Merle is pretty enough in her rejuvenated state, and I'm sure she has a good mind and lots of experience. But I'm simply not interested in the sort of liaison she desires. How do I get out of this one without imperiling my Citizens.h.i.+p?”
”What you are interested in is not very important,” she said. ”Merle does not want any romance; she merely wants an act of s.e.x to add to her collection. The practical thing is for you to give it to her.”
”And lose my bet,” Stile said.
Sheen looked startled. ”Oh, my-I'm starting to think like a person! I forgot all about that! Of course you can't oblige her.” She seemed relieved.
”If I oblige anyone in that way, it will be you.”
”Anytime.”
”After we're decently married.”
”It's not a decent marriage.”
The capsule arrived, sparing him further comment. They got out at a small private terminal. From here there was access to three small domes, one of which was Merle's. Sheen went to the delivery chute and punched the coding for Mellon's package. A small vial fell into her hand. Her brow furrowed as she brought the item back. ”This is no cosmetic, sir. It's-” She broke off. ”Let's move quickly, sir.”
Suddenly gas hissed into the room from barred vents.