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1

Phaze

Suchevane stood in the canoe. She was obviously fa-
tigued to the point of collapse, and in a misery of mixed
emotion, but she remained such a stunningly beautiful
figure of a woman that the rest hardly mattered. "I must
needs fly home," she said. "I may not, I think, associate
with ye folk longer."

"I understand, vampire maiden," Mach replied,
looking up from his place at the rear of the canoe. "I
thank you for your great service, and hope that we may
at least remain friends."

"Mayhap," Suchevane agreed. "I did it mostly for
thee, Fleta, and glad I am that thy life be safe and thy
love secure. Would I had such love myself." She gazed
for a moment at the fading brightness around them.
"Would that any man evoke such splash for me!"

The woman in Mach's arms lifted her head, gazing
at her friend through tear-blurred eyes. "Wouldst thou
had such love thyself," Fleta agreed. "Fare thee well,
dearest friend!"

Then Suchevane lifted her arms like wings, and with
effortless elegance even in her fatigue became a lovely

2 | Piers Anthony

bat, and flew into the haze. Exhaustion made her flight
ragged, but she would get where she was going.

The watery bubble floating beside the canoe bobbed
gently. "I be not partial to vamps," the face of the
Translucent Adept said within it. "But that one might
almost tempt an Adept." The bubble spun, so that the
face reoriented on the canoe. "I will, an thou wishest,
provide thy craft a tow to my Demesnes."

"Accepted, Adept," Mach replied. Then he low-
ered his face again to Fleta's face, and lost himself in
her.

The watery bubble moved, and from it stretched a
watery line that touched the prow of the canoe. Bubble
and canoe floated through the air, gaining speed, trav-
eling through the closing night.

Mach and Fleta, victims of forbidden love, were on
their way into the power of the Adverse Adepts.

Mach woke to the sound of lapping water. He looked,
and sure enough, their canoe was on the surface of a
large lake or small sea. "How strange!" he exclaimed.

Fleta woke. "Art well, my love?" she asked, con-
cerned.

"We're on water," he explained.

She laughed. "It be strange to see a boat on water?
Mayhap in thy frame, rovot, but not in mine!"

He smiled ruefully. "I enchanted this canoe to float
in air, that's all. I was surprised."

The watery bubble ahead of them rotated so that the
face in it faced back. "Willst be yet more surprised,
youngster, in a moment."

Fleta stretched, arms bent, her breasts moving
against him. "Must needs I call on nature," she said.
"Let me change." She drew away from him.

"Don't leave me!" he protested, abruptly wary. "The
last time you did that, I almost lost you forever!"

She abruptly sobered. "I thought only to spare thee
evil, then," she said. "Fear not, I shall return to thee
very shortly." Then she leaned into him and kissed him

ROBOT ADEPT

with such passion that his burgeoning doubt was sub-
limated into joy.

While he sat half-stunned by the delight of her, she
stood much as Suchevane had, and abruptly became
the hummingbird. The bird was glossy black, with
golden little legs and beak; it darted forward to muss
his hair with its wings, then shot away.

Mach shook his head, half in rue; he was a bit jealous
of her instant shape-changing ability, and wished he
could simply change and fly like that.

That gave him pause for thought. He was a novice
Adept, wasn't "he? He had managed to perform magic
on occasion. What were his limits? The real Adepts
could do amazing things; could he do likewise, if he
only mastered the magic?

The more he considered, the better he liked the no-
tion. He had conjured this air-floating canoe that had
given him such good service; that was by any reckoning
competent magic. He had nullified the suicide spell on
Fleta by the force of his declaration of love: the triple
Thee. While that was not an ordinary type of magic,
neither had the spell on her been ordinary. She had
asked the Red Adept to give her an amulet that would
cause her to lose her ability to change forms, so that
when she dived off the mountain she would be unable
to save herself by changing to hummingbird form and
flying away. The Red Adept, reluctantly, had granted
her this. Mach had reversed Adept magic! Surely shape-
changing himself would be a comparatively minor
enchantment. All he had to do was work out the ap-
propriate spells.

Fleta returned, humming up to perch on the canoe's
front seat, then shifting to giriform. She had evidently
completed her business. That was another advantage
of shape-changing: the nectar of just a few flowers could
feed her, and she remained fed when she shifted to a
far more massive form. Similarly, one bird dropping
could clean out her system, for the human form as well.
Magic took little note of scale.

4 | Piers Anthony

"Going down," the Translucent Adept's voice came
from ahead. Then his bubble dipped under the sur-
faceùand the canoe followed. In a moment they were
sinking through the greenish water, but breathing nor-
mally; the water seemed like air.

Fleta moved back to take his hand. "Adept magic
spooks me," she confided. "I wishù"

He silenced her with a kiss. He knew what she
wished: that they could be together without the in-
tercession of the Adept. But it seemed that this could
not be, for their union was opposed by her kind and
his, so they were constrained to accept Translucent's
hospitality.

They continued down. Fish swam by, gazing with
moderate curiosity at the canoe; apparently they had
seen things like this before. Then the bottom came into
view, and it seemed again as if they were floating
through air, with the rocks and seaweed and sea moss
like the terrain of some jungle land.

Now that land turned strange. Orange and blue-green
sponges spread across it, and corals reached up like
skeletons, and peculiar flowerlike, tentacled things
waved on yellow stalks. At first these were small, but
as the canoe progressed they grew larger.

Mach looked down below the canoe as they passed
a long log. No, it was a pipe, with a spiral band wrapping
it, getting larger in diameter as they traveled along it.
Then they came to its endùand there was a big round
eye gazing up at him. The thing was a living creature!

"A giant nautiloid," the Translucent Adept ex-
claimed from ahead. "Creature o' the Ordovician pe-
riod o' Earth. I have a certain interest in the
paleontology o' the seas."

Beyond the eye were about eight tentacles, which
reached for the canoe but stopped short of touching it.
Mach was just as glad. "It looks like an octopus in a
long shell," he remarked.

"That might be one description," Translucent
agreed. "It is related, in the sense that the nautiloid is

ROBOT ADEPT | 5

an order o' molluscs, as are modern octopi and squids.
But these are far more more ancient examples; the
Ordovician was approximately four hundred million
years ago."

"You sound like a scientist!" Mach remarked. "Yet
you are an Adept."

"No incongruity there! The separation o' magic and
science on this planet occurred only a few centuries ago;

prior to that, our history is common. The magic is em-
ployed in restoring ancient creatures who exist no
longer on Earth or elsewhere. All Adepts be scientists
in their fashion; it be merely that we specialize in the
science o' magic, and turn it to our purposes exactly as
do our counterparts in the frame o' Proton."

A creature vaguely like a monstrous roach swam
across the canoe, startling Fleta. "A trilobite," Trans-
lucent said, evidently proud of the creatures of his do-
main. "And see, here comes a sea scorpion."

Indeed, the thing resembled a monstrous scorpion,
almost a meter long. Fleta shrank back from its reaching
pincers. "At ease," Translucent rapped, and the scor-
pion flipped its tail and swam quickly away. It was ev-
ident who was master here.

They came to a hill rising from the ocean floor, and
the canoe bumped to a halt. "Here is thy honeymoon
isle," Translucent announced. "Secure from all intru-
sion, guarded by the trilobites and scorpions and nau-
tiloids."

"Does that mean we be prisoners?" Fleta asked ner-
vously.

"By no means, mare," the Adept replied. "I prom-
ised ye both a haven for love, and freedom to do as ye
pleased. Ye be free to depart at any timeùbut naught
can I promise an ye depart mine Demesnes, for my
power be limited beyond."

Mach's powers of doubt came into play. "What is it
you hope to gain from this?"

"There be only one known contact between the
frames, now," Translucent said. "That be through thy

6 Piers Anthony

two selves, in the two frames. An thou use thy power
o' communication on our behalf, we shall establish li-
aison with our opposite numbers, the Contrary Citizens
o' Proton, and gain advantage. An we use this lever to
unify the frames for full exploitation, our wealth and
power will be magnified enormously. It be straight self-
interest."

"But I can contact only Bane, who is the son and
heir of Stile, the Blue Adept of this frame," Mach pro-
tested. "He opposes you, I'm sure, as my father Blue
of Proton opposes the Contrary Citizens. If I work for
you, as I think I must do in return for your hospitality,
that is no guarantee that Bane will cooperate."

"Aye, none at all," Translucent agreed. "Yet it be
halfway there, and mayhap for the sake o' his love there
he will elect to join with us as thou has done. We prate
not o' the nebulous good o' future generations that may
or may not come to pass; we proffer honest self-interest,
ours and thine, and believe that this be the truest route
to success in any endeavor."

"I question this," Mach said. "But for the sake of
what you offer, which is the fulfillment of my love for
Fleta, I will make my best effort to contact Bane and
relay those messages you wish. I regard this as a deal
made between us, not any signification of unity of in-
terest beyond the deal."

"Fairiy spoken, rovot man," Translucent said. "We
require not thy conversion, in language or in mind, only
that thou dost betray us not."

"I will deliver your messages without distortion; my
word on that is given. But I may not have complete
control. If I should exchange again with Baneù"

"Then thine other self will be in my power, here,"
Translucent said. "But I will not hold him; he hath no
deal with me. He will be free to rejoin his own, and
thy filly too. But thy loyalty in this lone respect will be
mine. My messages, when it becomes possible to pass
them through."

"Agreed," Mach said shortly. He was not completely

ROBOT ADEPT | 7

pleased, but then he looked at Fleta and knew he had
no choice. Their union would never be sanctioned by
Stile or Neysa or any of those associated with them;

only here with the Adverse Adepts could their love be
honored.
The love between a robot and a unicorn.

The islandùfor so it seemed, though it was entirely
under waterùwas a marvelous place. It was defined by
a transparent dome similar to that of the cities of Pro-
ton, in which the air was good and the land dry. The
dome held out the sea, and the creatures of the sea
stayed clear because they were unable to swim or
breathe here. Indeed, Mach and Fleta learned to make
frequent circuits just inside the barrier, to spot sea
snails, starfish, small trilobites and sea scorpions that
had fallen through and were dying in the dryness. Mach
fashioned a heavy pair of gloves so that he could handle
such creatures safely; he simply picked them up and
tossed them back through, for the barrier was pervious
to matter other than air and water.

Once a fair-sized nautiloid blundered through, its
two-meter-long shell lying dry, its eye and tentacles
barely remaining in the water. Mach picked up the front
section, and Fleta took the rear point, and they heaved
it back into the sea. The nautiloid sank slowly through
the water, as if not quite believing its luck, then jetted
away, shell-first, its tentacles trailing. It was heavy
enough in air, but a bubble of gas filled much of its
shell, making it buoyant in water.

"Funny that there are no fish," Fleta remarked.

Mach checked through the files of his memory. He
had been educated in paleontology along with all the
rest, but it had been a survey course, scant on details.
"I think true fish did not develop until the late Silurian,
perhaps 330 million years ago," he said. "So this is
about 70 million years too soon for them."

"Latecomers," she agreed wryly. "And how late be
we,then?"

8 | Piers Anthony

"Well, in the Mesozoic 200 million years ago the
reptiles evolved, culminating in the dinosaurs of about
75 million years ago. Only after they passed did the
mammals really come to the fore, though they had been
around for 100 million or more years before. Man dates
from only the last 10 million years or so."

"We be very late!" she concluded.

"Very late," he agreed. "And of course man's ex-
pansion into space occurred within the past half-mil-
lennium, and his discovery of magic in the frame of
Phazeù"

"Yet surely magic existed always," she said. "Only
we knew naught o' its reality until we found the
frames."

"Perhaps so," he agreed. "There have been legends
of magic and magical creatures abounding on Earth for
many thousands of years. We believe that the devel-
opment of the vampires and werewolvesù"

"And unicorns," she said, shifting to her natural
form. She was a pretty black creature, with golden socks
on her hind legs and a long spiraled horn.

"And unicorns," he said, jumping onto her back and
catching hold of her glossy mane.

She played an affirmative double note on her horn.
Each unicorn's horn was musical, resembling a different
instrument, and hers resembled the panpipes. This en-
abled her to play two notes at once, or even a duet with
herself. All unicorns were natural musicians, but her
music was special even for the species. She had had
competitive aspirations, before her association with
Mach caused the Herd to shun her.

"I wish I could change the way you do," Mach said,
reaching forward to tickle one of her ears.

She flicked her tail, stinging his back, and walked
toward a grove standing in the interior of the island.
There she abruptly lay down.

"Hey!" Mach exclaimed, tumbling off, still hanging
on to her black mane.

But she changed back to girlform, so that he had a

ROBOT ADEPT | 9

hold on her hair, and was not crushed by her mass.
"No hay in this state," she said, rolling into him.

He used his hold to bring her face in to his. He kissed
her. "How glad I am that I rescued you!" he exclaimed.

"And glad I be that thou didst rescue me," she re-
sponded. Then she tickled him on a rib.

They rolled and laughed and made explosively tender
love, then sought a fruit tree for food. This island,
however magically crafted and maintained, was a par-
adise, with many bearing trees. It was always moder-
ately bright by day, with the sunlight coming down as
if diffused by beneficial clouds, and moderately cool by
night, for comfortable sleeping. There was a house on
it, but they hardly used this, because Fleta had no need
of it and Mach had no desire for what she did not share.

But as time passed, their satisfaction waned. "No
offense to you," Mach said cautiously, "but I find myself
increasingly restive. Maybe it is because I am not ac-
customed to being alive."

"Dost miss those naked girls o' thy frame?" she in-
quired teasingly. She was naked herself, having no use
for clothing, here. She could appear in girlform clothed
or unclothed, as she chose. Her equine coat translated
into a black cape, her socks to stockings, and her hooves
to shoes. What happened to these items when she ap-
peared naked, Mach had never ascertained; and she,
teasingly, had never explained.

"No, that means nothing in Proton, only that they
are serfs. But with youù"

"Have I not done my best to please thee, thy way?"
she asked. "To have sex with thee when I be not in
heat?" For she, being a unicorn mare, normally sought
such interaction only when the breeding cycle de-
manded, and then with such intensity as to wear out
any man. Her shape might be completely human, for
this, but her underlying nature remained equine. The
unicorns owed more to animal lineage than to human.

"Indeed you have!" he agreed. "But I want more."

10 Piers Anthony

She frowned. "Mayhap another filly? Be thou eager
to start a herd?"

He laughed. "No, of course not! You are all I want,
and all I love! Butù"

"Thou dost want me in other shape? I thoughtù"

"No, Fleta!" he exclaimed. "I want to marry you!"

She considered. "As the humans marry? Mating re-
stricted one to the other, for all o' their lives?"

"Yes."

"But this be not the animal way, Mach. We have no
need o' such a covenant."

"I think I do. I think of you as human."

"I be not human," she said firmly. "That be why thy
folkùBane's folkùoppose our association o' this man-
ner. And my dam, Neysaùne'er will she accept our
union."

He sighed. "I know it. And I think we cannot have
a valid marriage without the approval of your kind or
mine. So we are forced to cooperate with the Adverse
Adepts, whose policies I think I should oppose."

"I tried to free thee from this choice," she reminded
him.

"By suiciding!" he exclaimed. "You almost freed me
from the need to exist!"

"Aye, I know that now," she said contritely.

"So here we are in paradise, with no future."

"Mayhap we could have a future, o' a kind, ifù"

He glanced sharply at her. "You know a way to per-
suade our relatives?"

"Mayhap. If we could but breed."

"Breed? You mean, have offspring? That's impos-
sible."

"Be it so?" she asked wistfully. "Not for aught would
I dismay thee, Mach, but how nice it would be to have
a foal o' our own. Then might the relatives have to
accept our union."

"But human stock and animal stockùyou may as-
sume human form, but as you said, that doesn't make

ROBOT ADEPT | 11

you human. The genes know! They deal with the
reality."

"Yet must it have happened before. Surely the har-
pies derive from bird and human, and the vampires from
bats and human, and the facility with which we unicorns
learn the human semblance and speech suggests we
share ancestry."

"And the werewolves," he agreed, intrigued. "If it
happened before, perhaps it is possible again."

"I really want thy foal," she said.

"There must be magic that can make it feasible," he
said, the idea growing on him. "Perhaps Bane would
be able toù"

"Not Bane!" she protested. "I want thine!"

"Uh, yes, of course. But I am no Adept. I'm a fledg-
ling at magic. I don't know whetherù"

"Thou didst make the floating boat," she pointed out.
"Thou didst null the spell the Red Adept put on me.
That be no minor magic."

"In extremes, I may have done some good magic,"
he admitted. "But I was lucky. For offspring I would
need competence as well as luck."

"Then make thyself a full Adept, as Bane is growing
to be," she urged. "Enchant thyself and me, that we
may be fertile together. Success in that would make up
for all else we lack."

"You're right!" he said with sudden conviction. "I
must become Adept in my own right!" But almost im-
mediately his doubt returned. "If only I knew how!"

"My Rovot Adept," she said fondly. "Canst thou not
practice?"

"Surely I can. But there are problems. No spell works
more than once, so I cannot perfect any particular tech-
nique of magic without eliminating it for future use.
That makes practice chancy; if I found the perfect spell,
it might be too late to use it."

"Yet if thou didst seek adviceù"

"From the Adverse Adepts? I think I would not be
comfortable doing that; it would give them too intimate




12 Piers Anthony

a hold on me. I mean to do their bidding in commu-
nications between the frames, but I prefer to keep my
personal life out of it." Yet he was conscious as he
spoke of the manner his personal life was responsible
for their association with those Adepts; he was probably
deluding himself about his ability to separate that as-
pect.

"Aye," she agreed faintly. "Methinks that be best.
Yet if thou couldst obtain the advice o' a friendly
Adeptù"

"Who opposes our union?" he asked sharply.

"I be not sure that all oppose it."

"Whom are you thinking of?"

"Red."

"The troll? He's not even human!"

"Neither be I," she reminded him.

"Um, you may be right. He did help you try to sui-
cide." Mach had mixed feelings about that, too, though
he knew the Red Adept had no ill will in the matter.

"He urged me not, but acceded to my will. If thou
shouldst beseech him likewiseù"

"It's worth a try, certainly. But would it be safe to
go there? Once we leave the protection of the Trans-
lucent Demesnes, we might have trouble returning. Our
own side might prevent us."

"I think not so, Mach. It be thy covenant they de-
sireùthy agreement to communicate with thine other
self. Thou wouldst no more do it for one side as for the
other, an the agreements be wrong."

He nodded. "Let's think about it for a few days, then
go if we find no reason not to."

"Aye." She kissed him, enjoying this human foible.
Unicorns normally used lips mainly for gathering in
food. The notion that human folk found the seeming
eating of each other pleasurable made her bubble with
mirth. Sometimes she burst out laughing in mid-kiss.
But she kissed remarkably well, and he enjoyed holding
a laughing girlform.

ROBOT ADEPT | 13

Before they decided, they had a visitor. It was a wolf, ò
a female, trotting through the water to the island and
passing through the barrier. Mach viewed her with cau-
tion, but Fleta was delighted.

"Furramenin!" Fleta exclaimed.

Then the wolf became a buxom young woman, and
Mach recognized her also. The werebitch had guided
him from the Pack to the Flock, where the lovely vam-
piress Suchevane had taken over. The truth was that
all Fleta's animal friends were lovely, in human form
and in personality; had he encountered any of them as
early and intimately as he had Fleta, he might have
come to love them as he did her. He accepted this
objectively, but not emotionally; Fleta was his only
love.

"I come with evil tidings," the bitch said. This ap-
pellation was no affront, any more than "woman" was
for a human female. Indeed, the term "woman" might
be used as an insult to a bitch. "The Adept let me pass,
under truce."

They settled under a spreading nut tree. "Some mis-
chief to my Herd?" Fleta inquired worriedly. She was
tolerated by the Herd, but no longer welcome; still, she
cared for the others, and they cared for her.

The bitch smiled briefly. "Nay, not that! It relates to
thy golem man."

Fleta glanced at Mach. "The rovot be not true to
me?" she asked with fleeting mischief.

"He be from Proton-frame. The Adept Stile says it
makes anùan imbalance, that grows worse the more
time passes, till the framesù" She seemed unable to
handle the concept involved.

"Till the frames destroy themselves?" Mach asked,
experiencing an ugly chill.

"Aye," Furramenin whispered. "Be that possible?"

"I very much fear it is," Mach said. "In the days of
our parents, many folk crossed the curtain between
frames, and Protonite was mined and not Phazite, gen-
erating an imbalance. They finally had to transfer




14 | Piers Anthony

enough Phazite to restore the balance, and separate the
frames permanently so that this could not happen again.
That depleted the power of magic here, and reduced
the wealth of Proton there, but had to be done. Too
great an imbalance does have destructive potential. But
I would not have thought that the mere exchange of
two selves would constitute such a threat."

The bitch looked at the mare. "Be he making sense?"
Furramenin asked.

"I take it on faith that he be," Fleta replied.
"If Stile says it, he surely knows," Mach said. "I
realize that the two of you are not technically minded,
but I have had enough background in such matters to
appreciate the rationale. They must be able to detect
a growing imbalance, and I must be the cause."
"But what does that mean for thee?" Fleta asked.
"It means that every hour I remain in Phaze, and
that Bane remains in Proton, is bad for the frames, and
could lead to the destruction of both frames. We must
exchange back."

"No!" Fleta cried. "I love thee; thou hast no right
to rescue me from suicide only to relegate me to misery
without thee! Didst thou speak me the triple Thee for

this?"

"The triple Thee?" the werebitch asked, awed. That
was the convention of Phaze; when spoken by one to
another and echoed by the splash of absolute convic-
tion, it was an utterly binding commitment.

"No right at all!" Mach agreed, feeling a pang. "Yet
if remaining with you means destruction for us both,
and the frames themselves, what can I do? We lose
each other either way."

"Nay, there be proffered compromise," Furramenin
said. "That be the completion o' my message: an thou
agree to exchange back for equal periods, that the
frames may recover somewhat, truce will be extended
for that."

"The families accept our union?" Fleta asked ea-
gerly.

ROBOT ADEPT | 15

"Nay. They merely recognize an impasse, and seek
to prevent further damage while some solution be ne-
gotiated."

"If I return to Proton for a time, they will accede to
equal time here with Fleta?" Mach asked. "A month
there, a month here, with no interference?"

"Aye, that be the offer," the bitch said.

"That seems to be a good offer," Mach said to Fleta.

She gazed stonily into the ground, resisting the notion
of any separation at all. Unicorns were known to be
stubborn, and though Fleta was normally the brightest
and sweetest of creatures, now this aspect was showing.
Her dam, Neysa, was reputed to be more so.

Mach looked helplessly at Furramenin. The were-
bitch responded with a shrug that rippled the deep
cleavage of her bodice. "Mayhap thou couldst offer her
something to make up for thy separation," she mur-
mured.

Mach snapped his fingers. "Offspring!" he exclaimed.

Fleta looked up, interested.

"Grant me this temporary separation from you," he
said, "and on my return I shall make my most serious
effort to find a way to enable us to have a baby, and
shall pursue it until successful."

They waited. Slowly Fleta thawed, though she did
not speak.

Mach addressed the bitch again. "What of the Ad-
verse Adepts? Do they accede to such a truce?"

The watery bubble appeared, floating at head height.
"Aye," the Translucent Adept said. "Our observation
in this respect marches that o' the other side. The frames
are being eroded. We profit not, an the mechanism o'
our contact destroy our realm. But the two o' ye can
communicate regardless o' the frames occupied. Hold
to thy agreement with us, and we care not which frame
thou dost occupy."

"I cannot implement that agreement unless my other
self concurs," Mach reminded him.

"And the other side cannot profit from the connec-




16 | Piers Anthony

tion unless thou dost concur," Translucent agreed.
"The impasse remainsùbut an Bane appear here, may-
hap we can negotiate with him."

"I suppose that is the way it must be," Mach said.
"I must seek my other self and offer to exchange with
him. I hope I can devise a spell to locate him."

"Surely thou canst," Translucent agreed, fading out.

"I must return to my Pack," Furramenin said. She
became the wolf, and exited at a dogtrot.

Mach pondered. To do magic, he had to devise a bit
of rhyme and deliver it in singsong. That would imple-
ment it, but the important part was his conception and
will. If he wished for a "croc" verbally, he could conjure
an item of pottery or a container of human refuse or a
large toothed reptile, depending on his thought. He had
very little experience with magic, and was apt to make
awkward errors, but he was learning.

What he wanted was an unerring way to locate his
other self. He did not want to risk any modification of
his own perceptions, because if that went wrong, he
could discover himself blind or deaf or worse. But if he
had an object like a compass that always pointed to
Bane's location on Proton, he could follow it, and if he
made some error in Grafting it, he could correct it when
the error became apparent. Was there any type of com-
pass that rhymed with "self"?

He quested through the archives of his Proton edu-
cation, but came up with nothing. How much easier it
would be if that word "croc" fit! Rock, mock, smock,
lock, flockù

Then it came to him: delf. Delf was colored, glazed
earthenware made for table use in the middle ages of
Earth. A kind of crockery, not special, except that it
proffered the rhyme he needed. If he could adapt pot-
tery to his purpose ...

He worked it out in his mind, then tried a spell: "Give
me delf to find myself," he singsonged, concentrating
on a glazed cup.

The cup appeared in his hand. The glaze was bright:

ROBOT ADEPT 17

brighter on one side than the other. Mach turned the
cup, but the highlight remained on the east side.

"I think I have it," he said, relieved. He had been
afraid he would have to try several times before he got
it right. Apparently the effort he had made to work out
both rhyme and visualization ahead of time had paid
off. He could do magic adequately if he just took proper
pains with it.

"All I have to do is follow the bright side, and I should
intersect Bane." For Bane's location in the frame of
Proton would match the spot indicated in the frame of
Phaze; the geography of the two worlds was identical,
except for changes wrought by man. The separation of
the two was of another nature than physical; the two
overlapped, and were the same in alternate aspects, just
as many of the folk were the same on each. Otherwise
it would not have been possible for Mach and Bane to
exchange identities, with Mach's machine mind taking
over Bane's living body in Phaze, and Bane's mind
taking over Mach's robot body in Proton.

Fleta did not respond. She was evidently still pensive
because of the prospect of even a temporary separation.
But he believed she could accept it in due course. Even
unicorn stubbornness yielded on occasion to necessity.

Or did it? The following day did not ameliorate her
reservation. Fleta did not want to go. She agreed that
the compromise was valid and the- measured separation
necessary, but she made no effort to mask her dislike
of it. "How can I be sure thou willst return, once thou
art gone?" she grumbled.

"Of course I will return!" he protested. "I love you!"

"I mean that the Citizens or Adepts will not let thee
back. They interfered before; hast thou forgotten?"

"It was the Adverse Adepts and the Contrary Citi-
zens who interfered," he reminded her. "Now they sup-
port us."

"Until they find some other way to achieve their pur-
pose," she muttered. "Mach, I like this not! I fear for

18 | Piers Anthony

thee, and for me. I fear deception and ill will. I want
only to be with thee fore'er. E'en if we must constantly

kiss."

"So do I," he said. "But I am willing to make some
sacrifice now, in the hope that things will improve. Per-
haps our families will agree to our union, in the course
of this truce, so that you will be able to return to your
Herd without being shunned."

A glimmer of hope showed. "Aye, perhaps," she

agreed.

"Now I must follow the highlight on the delf. I hope
you will come with me, so that our separation can be
held to the very minimum."

She tried to resist, but could not. She converted to
her black unicorn form, proffering a ride for him.

Mach mounted her, and for a moment reached down
around her neck to hug her. "Thank you, Fleta."

She twitched an ear at him in an expression of an-
noyance, but it lacked force.

They left the island, passing through the water as the
bitch had. The Ordovician flora and fauna ignored
them, having gotten to know them. Mach knew that it
would have been otherwise, had the Translucent Adept
not invited them; these creatures might be several
hundred million years old, geologically, but this was
their realm, and they were competent within it. So Fle-
ta's hooves avoided trampling the sponges and fernlike
graptolites, and the squidlike nautiloids watched with-
out reaction. Translucent had promised a place where
Mach and Fleta could dwell safely together; this was
certainly that!

They emerged to the normal land, and the past was
gone; it existed only in Translucent's Demesnes, and
these were in water. Now Fleta could gallop freely,
knowing the general if not the specific terrain. They
traveled for a day, avoiding contact with other crea-
tures, and camped for the night by a small stream. Fleta
changed to girlform so that they could mate love, hav-

ROBOT ADEPT | 19

ing thawed to that extent, then returned to mareform
to graze while Mach slept alone.

She was avoiding him, he realized. Not overtly, but
significantly, by spending most of her time with him in
her natural form. She denied the implication by assum-
ing girlform for his passion, but he knew that this was
tokenism; she felt no sexual need when not in heat, and
did it only to please him. So he was left with no com-
plaint to make, yet the awareness of their subtle es-
trangement.

She didn't want him to return to Proton. She had
agreed to it, knowing the necessity, but not with her
heart. Perhaps she felt he had compromised in this re-
spect too readily. She lacked the type of training he
had had in Proton, that made it easy for him to accept
the rationale of frames imbalance. She was a creature
of the field and forest, while he was a creature of city
and machine. Perhaps the root of his love for her lay
in that. Her world represented life, for him, and that
was immeasurably precious.

She thought he sought some pretext to leave her,
after having won her love. How wrong she was in that
suspicion! He sought a way to make their liaison per-
manent, recognizing the barriers that existed.

He gazed out into the night, where she grazed in
pained aloofness. How could he satisfy her that her hurt
was groundless? He realized that the differences be-
tween them were more than machine and animal, or
technology and magic; they were male and female. He
had assumed that rationality governed; she assumed
that emotion governed.

And didn't it? Had he acted rationally, he would
never have fallen into love with her!

"Thee, thee, thee," he whispered.

A ripple of light spread out from him, causing the
very night to wave and the stars overhead to glimmer
in unison. It was the splash, again, faint because this
was not its first invocation, but definite.

Suddenly Fleta was there, in girlform, in his embrace.




20 | Piers Anthony

She had received it, and must have flown, literally, to
rejoin him. She said no word, but her tears were cours-
ing. There was no separation of any type between them
now.

On the third day they caught up to Bane. He was
evidently in Hardom, the Proton city-dome that was at
the edge of the great southern Purple Mountain range.
In Phaze it was the region that harpies clustered. Thus
the Proton name, reflecting the parallelism: HARpy
DOMe, Hardom. But there were no harpies in Proton,
of course, other than figuratively.

They paused to pay a call on the harpy they had
befriended during their flight from the Adverse Adepts
and their minions the goblins. That had been before
the Translucent Adept's intercession and their change
of sides. This was Phoebe, who had by virtue of Mach's
fouled-up magic gained a horrendous hairdo that she
liked screechingly well. It had enabled her to assume
leadership among her kind, having before been outcast
because of an illness. Fleta had cured that illness, which
was the real basis of the unusual friendship; harpies
generally had no interest in human or in unicorn ac-
quaintance.

Phoebe was perched in her bower. Her head re-
mained the absolute fright-wig that Mach had crafted,
with radiating spikes of hair that made her reminiscent
of a gross sea urchin. "Aye!" she screeched. "The rovot
and the 'corn. I blush to 'fess it, but glad I be to see
ye again!"

"We were passing, and thought we would pay our
respects," Mach explained. "I must return to my own
frame for a time."

"So? Methought thou didst have a thing for the
'corn."

"I do. I will return to her. But there is business I
must attend to meanwhile."

"Be there any aid I can render?" Phoebe asked. "Ye
be mine only friends among thy kinds."

ROBOT ADEPT 21

"You have done more than enough for us. We merely
wished to greet you again, and be on our way."

"As thou dost wish," the harpy said, shrugging. "But
let me give thee another feather to summon me, in case
thou shouldst have need o' me." She plucked it from
her tail with a claw and extended it to him.

"Thank you," Mach said, touched. Harpies were in
a general way abominable creatures, but this one they
had befriended seemed quite human. Probably the oth-
ers would be too, if the animosity between species could
be overcome. He tucked the feather into a pocket.

"Yet it be late," Phoebe continued. "The night be
cool, and my nest be warm. If ye two would stay the
eveù"

Mach exchanged a glance with Fleta. This nest had
fond memories for them. They decided to stay.

In the morning they continued to the spot where Bane
was, on the edge of the plain just north of the Purple
Mountains. The glow on the delf cup became so bright
it was as if the sunlight were reflecting from it, but the
sky was overcast. When the glow spread to circle the
cup, Mach knew that this was where he could overlap
his opposite self.

He turned to Fleta, who now changed to girlform,
wearing her cape and shoes. Her mane became her
lustrous black hair, a trifle wild and wholly beautiful.
He embraced her and kissed her. "You must explain
to Bane, if he doesn't already know," he said.

Mutely, she nodded. They disengaged.

It was time. But though he had to leave her, he sought
some way to make the parting less absolute. He wanted
to say something, or to give her something. But he could
think of nothing to say, and had nothing to give.

His hand went to his pocket, reflexively. His fingers
found the feather.

"Fletaùthis may be foolishùbut I want to give you
something in token of what I will try to give you in the
future. I have nothing, but ..."

"There be no need, Mach," she said bravely.




22 | Piers Anthony

"This." He brought out the feather.

She looked at it. Suddenly her laughter bubbled up
past her bosom in the way it had, and burst out of her
mouth. "A dirty harpy pinion!" she exclaimed.

"Well, technically it's a tail feather. A pinion is from

the wing."

"Only a rovot would be thus at a time like this!" she
exclaimed. She flung her arms around him and kissed
him fiercely. Then she withdrew, and gravely accepted
the feather. "But it be a good thought, Phoebe's and
thine. Mayhap I will have need o' her. Certainly Bane
will not." She tucked it into a pocket in her cape.

It was foolishness of a sort that he would not have
indulged in, as a robot. Therefore he valued it now.
"Farewellùfor now. My love."

He stood where the cup indicated, and concentrated.
Yesùhe felt the presence of his other self. Now all he
needed was to will the magic for the exchange, assuming
that Bane joined him in the effort. "Let me gain the
body of Bane," he singsonged, knowing that the dog-
gerel was only a token, hardly necessary for this act.

He felt the magic of the exchange taking hold. Bane
was cooperating. In a moment they wouldù

Fleta flung herself back at him, clasping him tightly.
"Thee, thee, thee!" she cried, her bravery abolished.

There was a ripple around them. Then the exchange
happened. There was something strange about it; this
was no ordinary event. But it was too late to reverse
it; whatever was to happen, was happening.

2

Proton

They took their places on either side of the console.
Bane's screen showed a grid with sixteen boxes. Across
the top was written 1. PHYSICAL 2. MENTAL 3.
CHANCE 4. ARTS, and down the left side was written
A. NAKED B. TOOL C. MACHINE D. ANIMAL.
The numbered words were highlighted, which meant
that he was supposed to choose from among them.

But his mind drifted, conjuring different interpreta-
tions for the terms.

Physical: He looked across at Agape, who was naked
in the serf mode of Proton, as was he. She was beautiful,
with curling yellow tresses, wide-spaced eyes with yel-
low irises, and erect breasts. It was hard to believe that
she wasn't human.

She met his gaze. Her hair lengthened and turned
golden, then orange. Her eyes nudged closer together,
as did her breasts, and her nipples brightened to match
the new hair and eye color. She smiled.

Mental: "Thou hast no need to change for me," he
murmured, smiling back. "I be smitten with thee re-
gardless." But now it was easier to believe that she was




24 | Piers Anthony

alien. Agape, accented on the first of the three syllables,
meaning "love."

Her hair continued to grow, becoming red, and it
curled down across and around her breasts, which were
gaining mass. "Make your move, Bane," she said.

He looked again at his grid, pondering. His mood
was lightening, as perhaps she intended, but it was not
easy to set aside the gravity of their situation.

Chance: Bane was with the creature he loved, but he
had little joy of it, because she would soon be leaving
the planet and his life. Citizen Blue had made it plain:

as long as Mach and Bane represented the only contact
between the frames of Proton and Phaze, and the Con-
trary Citizens and Adverse Adepts desired such contact,
the boys were probably safe. But their girlfriends were
at risk, because they could be kidnaped and used to put
pressure on the boys. Therefore the relationships had
to be sundered, lest much worse occur. It was risky for
them to maintain their association.

Agape had agreed to return to her home planet,
Moeba. But the Contrary Citizens were watching, and
would surely try to intercept her at the port and take
her captive. So for the nonce she remained with the
experimental group, and Bane had the benefit of her
company. Every day might be the last together, so they
did their best to make it count.

Arts: Today they were playing the Game. They had
had a bad experience with it on the estate of Citizen
Purple, but now they had the chance to play it as it
should be played, unrigged, for fun instead of for life.
It was fairly new to each of them, because Bane was
from another frame and Agape was from another world.
Neither was what either appeared to be; each was fash-
ioned artistically to be on the appealing side of ordinary.

Her breasts caught his eye again, just above the level
of the console. Now they were huge and purple.

He laughed. "Thou be trying to distract me!" he
accused her. "So I may make a bad choice!"

"Curses, foiled again," she muttered. She had stud-

ROBOT ADEPT | 25

ied hard to learn human idiom as well as custom, and
seemed to enjoy showing off her increasing mastery of
both.

"I want to make love to thee," he said, experiencing
a reaction.

"You did that this morning," she reminded him.
"Have you forgotten already?"

"Nay, I remember! That be why I want it again."

"Well, defeat me in the game, and you can do with
me what you will."

"But what if I lose?" he asked.

"Then I will do with you what / will."

He reflected on that, and his erection doubled its
growth. A passing couple noticed. "I'd like to know
what game they're getting!" the man said.

Too late, Bane remembered that he was now able to
control such reactions. He thought the correct thought,
and his member subsided. But his desire remained, for
he could not control his mind as readily as his body.

He touched the number 1. PHYSICAL. He wanted
to get physical with her, in or out of the game.

She had already made her selection. It was B. TOOL.
Was she teasing him with another idiom, because of the
reaction he had just quelled?

He grimaced. The way his thoughts were going, he
would have preferred A. NAKED. Of course that
wasn't literal; it simply meant that the players were
relegated to their bare hands. All serfs of Proton were
unclothed; that had no significance here. It had taken
him some time to get used to this, but now he ac-
cepted it.

A new set of boxes appeared on his screen. This was
the Secondary Grid, and its numbers across the top were
labeled 5. SEPARATE 6. INTERACTIVE 7. COM-
BAT 8. COOPERATIVE. Down the side were E.
EARTH F. FIRE G. GAS H. H^O. The letters were
highlighted for him this time.

He looked at her again. She had reverted to a more
normal figure and color, except for her nipples and eyes,




26 [ Piers Anthony

which were now electric green. What would she choose?
8. COOPERATIVE? Maybe he could still get close to
her. "Earth" meant a flat surface, as opposed to the
variable or discontinuous surfaces of the following op-
tions, or the liquid surface of H;0. Cooperation on a
flat surface-ùthat might be good.

He touched the E panel. Again, her choice was ready.

She had chosen 5. SEPARATE. So much for that.
Was she teasing him again? No, she was merely playing
the game, unaware of his thoughts. They would do what
they would with each other after the game; they had
no need to do it in the game. He was being foolish.

They were in 1B5E: the category of tool-assisted
physical games, individually performed on a flat sur-
face. That did not sound very appetizing to Bane.

This time the grid was only nine squares, with the
numbers 9, 10 and 11 across the top and the letters J,
K, and L down the left side. There were no words there,
but there were a number of choices listed to the right.
These consisted of ball games, wheeled games, and as-
sorted odds and ends games that had perhaps been
lumped into this category because it was the least ir-
relevant place for them.

Bane hesitated, not sure where to go from here.
"Now we place games," Agape explained. "May I have
the first turn?"

Bane shrugged. "Thou mayst."

She put her finger to her screen and evidently touched
KNITTING, for that word brightened on his screen.
Then she must have touched the center square of the
grid, for abruptly the word was there.

"Knitting?" he asked. "What kind o' game be that?"

"A woman's game," she said smugly. "I am not good
at it, because we do not have it in my society, but I had
to learn its basics in order to come here; I suspect that
you, being arrogantly male, have never had experience
with it."

Bane opened his mouth, and shut it again. She had
him dead to rights.

ROBOT ADEPT | 27

"Now you place one," she said.
"Ah." If knitting was a tool-assisted physical game
of the female persuasion, there were many others of
the male persuasion. He put his finger on BALL:

Throwing. She would have trouble throwing a ball as
far as he could! He touched the upper left square, and
the expression appeared there.
She put SEWING beside it in the top row.
He scowled. If she got three lined vertically, then got
to choose the numbers, she would be guaranteed one
of her choices! But no, he remembered now that the
turns alternated; the last person to place a game, which
on this odd-numbered grid would be her, had to yield
the choice of sides to the other. So he could choose the
vertical and avoid that.

All the same, he played it safe. He put ICE SKAT-
ING in the middle of the bottom row.
She put BAKING in the left center, or 9K square.
He quickly filled in the other end of the K row with
BICYCLE RACING so that she would not have a hor-
izontal line. He was beginning to enjoy this; he had
thought they would not play the game until the grids
decided what it would be, but realized that they were
already in it. This was the aspect of strategy, where the
game could be virtually won or lost, depending on the
player's cleverness in choosing and placing.
Agape put COOKING in the lower right corner.
Bane put SHOT PUT in the lower left.
She put SOAP BUBBLES in the upper right square,
the final one. The grid was complete.

He chose the numbers, though there did not seem to
be much difference. Then he wrestled with the decision
over which column to choose. If he took the first, he
had two chances to win one of his sports: Ball-throwing
or Shot-putting. But she would anticipate that, so take
the middle row, winning her choice of Baking. So he
should take one of the other columns . . . where the
odds were two to one against him. Except that if she
figured him to take the first column, so she chose the

28 | Piers Anthony

middle row, he obviously should take the third column,
putting them in Bicycle Racing. So the odds weren't
really against him. Unless she realized this, so took one
of the other rows, so as to win. So he shouldù

He shook his head. He was getting confused! There
was no way to be sure of victory; it was an endless maze
of suppositions.

He decided to go with the odds. He touched Col-
umn 9.

This time she had not chosen before him, for the
chosen box did not illuminate. His row highlighted; that
was all.

At last she chose. The 9K square lighted, then ex-
panded to fill the full screen. She had won it after all:

they would play the game of Baking.

"Do you concede?" she asked.

It was only part of the ritual, but he was tempted.
What did he know of baking? His mother, the Lady
Blue, had always handled that. But he didn't like quit-
ting, even when it was only a game. Even when it really
didn't matter who won or lost. "Nay."

"Will you accept a draw?"

That was a generous offer! He knew he should take
it, but he decided to take his loss like a man. "Nay."

She sighed. "I thought to bluff you," she admitted.
"I know nothing of baking."

"Then methinks we both should learn," he said. "The
loser must eat the winner's effort."

"But you don't even need to eat," she reminded him.

"Aye, but I can. Mayhap I will not have to."

She looked at her screen. "Oh, there is a list of baking
choices. What do we want?"

"Something simple," he pleaded. "Something we
ne'er can mess up too much."

"I agree." She addressed the console. "What is sim-
ple, and tastes all right if poorly made?"

BROWNIES, the screen replied.

Agape looked at Bane. "Do you know what brownies
are?"

ROBOT ADEPT | 29

"Nay, if they be not a species o' the elves."

"Neither do I. So we're even. Let's do it."

"Aye."

There was a message on the screen: ADJOURN TO
KITCHEN ANNEX, BOOTH 15.

They had committed themselves. They made their
way to the kitchen annex.

The booth was ready for them. Two chairs were at
consoles, their screens lighted.

Agape took one seat. Bane the other. Both consoles
faced the wall. Bane's screen said: TOUCH WHEN
READY TO PROCEED.

He reached out and touched Agape on the shoul-
der.

"It means the screen!" she exclaimed. But she leaned
over and kissed him.

He had known that. Satisfied, he touched the screen.
Nothing happened. "Thou hast to touch thine too," he
reminded her.

"There's someone watching us," she murmured.
"You can see him in the reflection of the wall."

He looked. It was a middle-aged serf, apparently one
of the caretakers or troubleshooters of this section. He
ran it through his brain's storage bank, and culled a
positive reference. The serf was legitimate. "He be an
employee, likely assigned to watch lest some minion o'
a Citizen molest us," he murmured back. "Blue be not
one to let us be taken hostage again."

"Oh, of course," she said, relaxing. She touched her
screen.

Now the game was on. A menu appeared on his
screen:

1B5E 9K BAKING BROWNIES MACH (R) VS
AGAPE (A)

1. GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS

2. OPTIONS

3. RECIPE

4. LIST OF INGREDIENTS

5. TERMINATE




30 | Piers Anthony

"What be 'R' and 'A'?" Bane inquired.

"Robot and android," she replied.

"Butù"

"This is a standard unit. It cannot distinguish between
a robot and a human being inhabiting the body of a
robot. See, you are also listed as 'Mach.' Similarly, it
cannot distinguish between an android and an alien; it
knows only the distinction between Human, Robot,
Android and Cyborg. So I count as an android."

He smiled. "Yet we be two other people."

"Two aliens," she agreed. "From Phaze and Moeba.
That is what brought us together."

"I would not change it."

"Nor would I." She returned his smile. They were
doing a lot of that, now. "But let's get cooking."

"Aye." He returned his gaze to the screen.

He did not understand much of it, so he decided to
start at the beginning: GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS.
He touched the number 1.

The original menu contracted and retreated to the
upper right corner of the screen, evidently remaining
functional. New words took over the left and center:

MOST COOKING AND BAKING IS DONE BY
REMOTE INSTRUCTION. ALL DIRECTIVES IN-
DICATED ON THE SCREEN WILL BE IMPLE-
MENTED IN THE ACTIVITY CHAMBER
IMMEDIATELY BEYOND THE CONSOLE. IF YOU
ARE FAMILIAR WITH YOUR OPTIONS AND
RECIPE, PROCEED DIRECTLY TO THE LIST OF
INGREDIENTS AND MAKE YOUR SELECTIONS.
IF NOT, PROCEED TO 2. OPTIONS.

Well, that was clear enough. Bane touched 2. OP-
TIONS in the corner. He wondered how Agape was
doing. She had come to Proton only a day before he
had, but had been better prepared for it.

ROBOT ADEPT [ 31

OPTIONS: YOU MAY GO DIRECTLY TO THE
LIST OF INGREDIENTS IF THE RECIPE IS AL-
READY FAMILIAR.

YOU MAY SPECIFY THE SYSTEM OF MEA-
SUREMENTS EMPLOYED IN THE RECIPE AND
LIST OF INGREDIENTS.

YOU MAY SPECIFY A MULTIPLE OF THE
STANDARD RECIPE. WARNING: THIS MAY AF-
FECT THE BAKING TIME AND THE QUALITY OF
THE PRODUCT.

YOU MAY SPECIFY VARIANTS OF THE STAN-
DARD INGREDIENTS. WARNING: THIS IS NOT
ADVISED FOR NOVICE PRACTITIONERS, AS IT
MAY AFFECT THE QUALITY OF THE PRODUCT.

YOU MAY SPECIFY VARIANTS OF OVEN TEM-
PERATURE AND DURATION. WARNING: THIS
MAY AFFECT THE QUALITY OF THE PRODUCT.

The list of options continued, but Bane had seen
enough. He decided to stick with the standard recipe
and ingredients. He touched 3. RECIPE.

There it was: the listing of the materials that were to
go into the production, with brief instructions on in-
tegration and processing.

60 GRAMS UNSWEETENED CHOCOLATE
60 CUBIC CENTIMETERS BUTTER

Oops! He was in trouble already! He was not con-
versant with the metric system used in Proton; he
thought in terms of ounces and pounds and cups and
quarts.

But he had the solution. He touched OPTIONS
again, and when its listing reappeared, he touched
SPECIFY SYSTEM OF MEASUREMENTS. A sub-
listing of measurements options appeared: the various
systems used by the other planets and peoples and crea-
tures of the galaxy. That wasn't much help either!

However, there was at the bottom a place for
OTHER. He touched that, and when it asked him to

32 [ Piers Anthony

PLEASE SPECIFY, he said, "The system used in the
Frame o' Phaze."

The screen blinked. For a moment he was afraid that
this was not a viable choice, but then it replied OLD
ENGLISH SYSTEM OF WEIGHTS AND MEA-
SURES INVOKED.

Well! This was just about like doing magic in Phaze.
He returned to the RECIPE. Now it listed:

2 OUNCES UNSWEETENED CHOCOLATE
1/4 CUP BUTTER

1 CUP SUGAR

2 MEDIUM EGGS

1/8 TEASPOON SALT

1/2 CUP WHEAT FLOUR

1/2 CUP WALNUT FRAGMENTS

1 TEASPOON VANILLA FLAVORING

This he was able to make some sense of. He glanced
across at Agape, and saw that her activity chamber was
in operation: things were happening in a lighted box in
her section of the wall.

He read the assembly instructions. He was supposed
to melt the chocolate and butter together, then stir in
the other ingredients. He should be able to manage.

He touched 4. LIST OF INGREDIENTS. This
turned out to be the master list of everything available.
There were dozens of types of chocolates, and similar
variety for the others.

He returned to INSTRUCTIONS and read beyond
the point he had before. Sure enough, it mentioned that
there were several types of options, including automatic
selection of standard variants. He went to OPTIONS,
found the place, and touched STANDARD VARI-
ANTS. Then he returned to INGREDIENTS.

Now the listing was much contracted. There was only
one type of chocolate. He touched that, and the screen
inquired QUANTITY? followed by a graduated scale
of measurements. He touched the scale at the two-
ounce point.

ROBOT ADEPT 33

Now his activity chamber came to life. Two ounces
of chocolate landed in its floor.

Um. Perhaps he had overlooked another instruction.
He reviewed, and found it: he needed a container. He
specified one of suitable capacity, then specified in a
SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS option that the available
chocolate be placed in the container. The chamber
turned dark, then lighted again: the chocolate was in
the pan. The mess on the chamber floor had been re-
moved.

He added the butter, then instructed the chamber to
heat it to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

Almost immediately the mixture started boiling vi-
olently. Goo splatted on the window of the chamber.
Oops!

He turned off the heat and reviewed his general in-
structions and his recipe. He discovered that at this
stage he was only supposed to heat enough to melt the
chocolate and butter, not to bake it. He decided to start
over.

ERROR the screen blazoned. It seemed that he had
to make do with what he had; no second starts. He
should have known; no one would ever let any mistakes
stand if restarts were permitted. He could have gotten
in trouble with his first loss of chocolate; evidently the
system tolerated that amount of spillage.

Meanwhile, Agape's project was well along. She
might be an alien creature, but she had a much better
notion of cooking than he did!

His start was a mess, but a good deal of the chocolate/
butter solution had been saved. He marked 100░ F heat,
and got the degree of melt he needed. Then, following
instructions, he stirred in the remaining ingredients.
The sugar was no problem, but the eggs were in trans-
lucent packages, and he had to do spot research to
discover how to open these by remote control. He man-
aged to bungle it, getting half an egg splattered across
the outside of the pan.

When he had everything stirred in, he had a rather




34 | Piers Anthony

thick brown mass in the pan. Now he set the heat for
400░ F and let it bake for a nominal half-hour. Actually
it didn't take that long; the game computer used mi-
crowave energy to do the equivalent in just a few min-
utes, because otherwise the booth would be tied up too
long for each game and would not be able to accom-
modate all the game players.

The two finished products were brought out, and for
the first time Bane and Agape could smell and touch
their brownies.

His was burned, so dry and hard that it would be a
real effort to consume it. Hers was underdone, resem-
bling a pudding; she had evidently set the heat too low,
and perhaps included some fluid by mistake.

"Who wins?" he asked.

"We can get the machine to judge," she said unhap-
pily.

"Nay, no need," he decided. "Thy concoction re-
sembles thee: amoebic. I like it best."

"But yours resembles you," she countered. "All
leather and metal. I like it best."

"We'll eat each other's," he said. "We both have
won."

"We both have won," she echoed, smiling.

They leaned into each other and kissed again. Then
they had the machine pack their wares in plastic bags,
so that they could leave the booth for the next players.
As they departed, both their activity chambers were in
chaos; the game computer was trying to get them clean,
and on this occasion that was a considerable challenge.

They retired to the private chamber they now shared,
and opened the bags. Bane took a bite of pudding, but
found it tasteless. This was not because it lacked taste,
but because his body, having no need for food, had no
taste sensors. What he chewed and swallowed went to
a stomach receptacle that he could evacuate subse-
quently, either by vomiting or by opening a panel and
removing the soiled unit. Eating was a superfluous func-
tion for a robot, but the ability had been incorporated

ROBOT ADEPT 35

in order to enable him to seem completely human. He
was glad of it; he wanted to reassure her by eating what
she had baked. Digestibility was irrelevant.

Her mode of eating differed. She set the brownie
lump on the table, leaned over it, and let her top part
melt. Her features blurred and became puddingy, in-
deed resembling the consistency of what she had baked.
She drooped onto the food, her flesh spreading over
and around it. Her digestive acids infiltrated it, breaking
it down, and gradually the mound subsided. When all
of it had been reduced to liquid and absorbed into her
substance, she lifted her flesh from the table. Her head
formed, and her shoulders and arms and breasts. Her
eyes developed, and her ears and nose and mouth, as-
suming their appropriate configurations and colors. She
had a human aspect again.

"I hope it doesn't poison thee," Bane said, not en-
tirely humorously.

"It was solid and burned, but not inedible," she re-
assured him. "You made it; that is all I need to know."

He took her in his arms. "I have never before known
a creature like thee."

"I should hope not," she said. "I am the only Moebite
on this planet."

"I wish I could love thee in thy natural form."

"I have no natural form," she reminded him. "I am
merely protoplasm. I assume whatever shape pleases
you."

"And I am pleased by them all. I never loved an alien
amoeba before."

"And I never loved a terrestrial vertebrate before.
Butù"

"Say it not!" he protested. "I know we must part,
but fain would I delude myself that this moment be
forever."

"If we continue speaking of this, I will melt," she
warned him.

"And thou leave me, / may melt," he said.

36 | Piers Anthony

"Perhaps, when I am safe among my own kind, you
could visit?" she asked hesitantly.

"Let me go with thee now!"

"No, you must remain, and communicate with your
apposite self, and return to your own frame. Our as-
sociation is only an interlude."

"Only an interlude," he repeated sadly.

"But we can make it count. Tell me what to do, and
I shall do it for you."

She was not being facetious. She had come to Proton
to learn human ways, including especially the human
mode of sexual interplay, because the Moebites wanted
to work toward bisexual reproduction. They understood
the theory of it, but not the practice. They believed
that their species development was lagging because they
lacked the stimulus of two-sex replication, and they
wanted to master it.

But in the pursuit of this quest, Agape had run afoul
of another aspect of such reproduction: she had fallen
in love. Now she had much of the information, but
lacked the desire to return to her home world and dem-
onstrate it to others of her kind. She wanted only to
remain with Bane.

Now that it was feasible to do, Bane found that he
had lost the desire for sexual activity. Part of it might
have been her sheer accommodation; no challenge re-
mained, when she was completely willing and mallea-
ble. But most of it was his foolish gut feeling that once
Agape had learned all that he might teach her in this
regard, there would be no need for her to remain with
him. Thus he wanted to conserve the experience rather
than expending it, to keep her with him longer. He
knew this was nonsensical, but it unmanned him for the
moment.

"Let's play another game," he said.

She gazed at him in surprise. "Another game? But I
thoughtù"

"Thou didst think rightly! But IùI find I be not
ready. I want to experience more things with thee, a

ROBOT ADEPT | 37

greater variety, while I may. I want to build up a store
o' precious memories. Or something. I know not exactly
what I want, only that I want it to be with thee."

"I see I have much to learn yet about the human
condition," she said, perplexed.

"Nay, it be not thee, but me," he reassured her.
"Only accept that I love thee, and let the rest be con-
fused."

She spread her hands in a careful human gesture.
"As you wish, Bane."

They went out to play another game, and another,
and another, the victories and the losses immaterial,
only the experience being important. So it continued
for several days, with physical, mental and chance
games of every type. They raced each other in sailcraft,
they played Chinese checkers, they bluffed each other
with poker, they battled with punnish riddles. Some-
times they cheated, indulging in one game while nom-
inally playing another, as when they made love while
theoretically wrestling in gelatin. Whatever else they
did, they lived their joint life to the fullest extent they
could manage, trying to cram decades into days.

They found themselves in machine-assisted art: play-
ing parts in a randomly selected play whose other parts
were played by programmed robots. Each of them was
cued continuously on lines and action, so that there was
no problem of memorization or practice. It was their
challenge to interpret their parts well, with the Game
Computer ready to rate their performance at the end.
They had specified a play involving male-female rela-
tions, of a romantic nature, with difficulties, and the
computer had made a selection from among the many
thousands in its repertoire.

Thus they were acting in one by George Bernard
Shaw titled You Never Can Tell, dating from the nine-
teenth century of Earth. Bane was VALENTINE and
Agape was GLORIA CLANDON. They were well into
the scene.

38 Piers Anthony

"Oh, Miss Clandon, Miss Clandon: how could you?"
he demanded.

"What have I done?" she asked, startled.

"Thrown this enchantment on me ..." And as he
spoke the scripted lines, he realized that it was true:

she had enchanted him, though she had not intended
to.

"I hope you are not going to be so foolishùso vul-
garùas to say love," she responded with uncertain feel-
ing. According to the play, she had no special feeling
for him, but in reality she did; this was getting difficult
for her.

"No, no, no, no, no. Not love; we know better than
that," he said earnestly. "Let's call it chemistry ..."
And wasn't this also true? What was love, really? But
as he spoke, he became aware of something that should
have been irrelevant. They had an audience.

"Nonsense!" she exclaimed with more certainty.

They had not had an audience when they started.
Several serfs had entered the chamber and taken seats.
Why? This was a private game, of little interest to any-
one else. ". . . you're a prig: a feminine prig: that's
what you are," he said, enjoying the line. "Now I sup-
pose you've done with me forever."

"... I have many faults," she said primly. "Very
serious faultsùof character and temper; but if there is
one thing that I am not, it is what you call a prig." She
gazed challengingly at him.

"Oh, yes, you are. My reason tells me so: my ex-
perience tells me so." And his reason and experience
told him that something was wrong: there should be no
audience.

"... your knowledge and your experience are not
infallible," she was saying, handling her lines with in-
creasing verve. "At least I hope not."

"I must believe them," he said, wishing he could warn
her about the audience without interfering with the set
lines. "Unless you wish me to believe my eyes, my

ROBOT ADEPT | 39

heart, my instincts, my imagination, which are all telling
me the most monstrous lies about you."

"Lies!"

Yet more serfs were entering the audience chamber.
Were they players waiting for their turn? "Yes, lies."
He sat down beside her, as the script dictated, but
wasn't sure he did it convincingly. "Do you expect me
to believe that you are the most beautiful woman in the
world?"

Now she was evidently feeling the relevance! "That
is ridiculous, and rather personal."

"Of course it's ridiculous ..." His developing par-
anoia about the audience was, too! He wished they
could just quit the play here, and get away; he didn't
trust this at all. But as they exchanged their lines, his
apprehension increased. Suppose the Contrary Citizens
had managed to divert Blue's minions, so that there
was no protection for the moment?

"And I'm a feminine prig," she was saying.

"No, no: I can't face that: I must have one illusion
left: the illusion about you. I love you."

She rose, as the cue dictated, and turned. Then she
spied the audience. She almost lost her place. "I am
sorry. Iù" Now she did lose it, and barely recovered.
"What can I say?"

What, indeed? Now it seemed sure: the Citizens were
about to make their move. But how could he get away
from here with Agape, without setting off the trap?
They needed a natural exit, to get offstage, out of sight.

"... I can't tell youù" he was saying.

"Oh, stop telling me how you feel: I can't bear it."

And he saw that the scene was coming to a close.
Here was their chance! "Ah, it's come at last: my mo-
ment of courage." He seized her hands, according to
the script, and she looked at him in simulated terror,
also scripted. But their emotions were becoming real,
for a different reason. "Our moment of courage!" He
drew her in to him and kissed her. "Now you've done
it, Agape. It's all over: we're in love with one another."




40 | Piers Anthony

Oopsùhe had used her real name, not her play
name! But he couldn't change it now. It was time for
his exit.

"Goodbye. Forgive me," he said, and kissed her
hands, and retreated.

But now the men of the audience were advancing on
the stage. Bane ran back, grabbed her arm, and hauled
her along with him offstage.

"It is happening!" she exclaimed as they ran for a
rear exit.

"I think so. We must get back to the main complex,
where Citizen Blue is watching." For this particular
chamber was outside the region of the Experimental
Project of humans, robots, androids, cyborgs and aliens
living in harmony. Most facilities were set within it, but
when particular ones were crowded, the Game Com-
puter assigned players to the nearest outside ones. Thus
it seemed that Bane and Agape had inadvertently
strayed beyond the scope of Citizen Blue's protection,
and the Contrary Citizens had seized the moment.

There were serfs in the hall outside. They spotted
Bane and Agape and moved purposefully toward them.

They retreated back into the play complex. But they
could hear the serfs in pursuit here too, coming through
the stage region.

"The service apertures," Agape said. "Go there!"

Bane obeyed. Maybe there would be an escape route
there.

There was not. The service door led only into a cham-
ber in which an assortment of maintenance machines
were parked.

"We be lost!" Bane exclaimed.

"Maybe not!" She hurried to a communications
panel, activated it, and tapped against it with a meas-
ured cadence.

"Approach the cyborg brusher," the speaker said.
The lid lifted on the top of a huge cleaning machine.

"Come, Bane!" she said, running toward the device,

"Whatù?"

ROBOT ADEPT | 41

"The self-willed machines are helping us! Trust
them!"

Bemused, he followed her. "Remove the brain unit,"
the speaker said.

There was a pounding on the door. Evidently it had
locked behind them, barring access by the serfs. That
could not last long, for all doors had manual overrides.

Bane saw that there was a complicated apparatus
just below the lid, with wiring and tubing and plastic-
encased substance that looked alive. He took hold of
the handles at either side and lifted. He had to exert
his robotic strength, for the unit was heavy, but it came
up and out.

"Set it here," the speaker said. A panel slid aside,
revealing a chamber set in the wall.

He carried the brain unit across and shoved it into
the chamber. The panel slid shut. Evidently this was a
servicing facility for the living cyborg brain.

"Stand for dismantling," the speaker said. Another
machine rolled toward him.

Bane hesitated. Then he heard an ominous silence
at the door. They were setting up for the override! He
stood for dismantling.

Quickly, efficiently, and painlessly the machine re-
moved his arms, legs and head. It carried these to the
big cyborg husk and installed them in the bowels of it.
Then it stashed his torso in a refuse chamber in its base.
Finally it separated his head into several parts, and his
perceptions became scattered. The chamber seemed to
wave crazily as one of his eyes was carried across and
set into a perceptor extension. He had no idea how it
was possible for him to see while his eyes were discon-
nected from his head, or to remain conscious while his
head was apart from his body, but evidently it was. The
machines of Proton had strong magic!

Meanwhile, Agape was doing something; he heard
fragments of the instructions to her. It seemed she was
required to melt into a new brain-container that was
being set into the machine.




42 Piers Anthony

All this occurred extremely rapidly. In less than a
minute the two of them had been installed into the
cyborg. His accurate robot time sense told him it was
so, despite the subjective human impression.

The entrance to the chamber opened. Bane saw this
with his two widely separated eyes, and heard it with
his buried ears. Six serfs charged in.

"Search this room!" one directed the others. "They
have to be in here!"

They spread out and searched, but could not find the
fugitives. They did find a panel that concealed a service
tunnel leading to another drama complex. "Check that
complex!" the leader snapped. "They must have
crawled through."

Four men hurried out. But the leader was too canny
to dismiss this chamber yet. "Check these machines,
too," he snapped. "Some of them are big enough to
hold a body."

They checked, opening each machine and poking in-
side. They checked the cyborg, and found only its brain
unit and operative attachments. At length, frustrated,
they departed.

DO NOT REACT. Bane saw these words appear
briefly on a wall panel, and realized they were for him.
The hunt remained on; this could be a trap.

After a few minutes the speaker said: "Cleaners ten,
twelve and nineteen to the adjacent drama chamber for
cleanup."

"We are nineteen," Agape's voice came faintly to
him. "I will direct you; you must operate the extrem-
ities."

So they were now a true cyborg: a living brain and
a mechanical body! Bane discovered that when he tried
to walk, his legs were wheels. He started a little jerkily,
but soon got the hang of it, and propelled them after
the other contraptions toward the door.

Outside the serfs were waiting. Obviously they ex-
pected Bane and Agape to walk out, thinking that they
were safe.

ROBOT ADEPT | 43

He took them around and into the drama suite the
two of them had vacated. "Brush the floor," Agape
said.

Bane tried to reach with an armùand extruded an
appendage whose terminus was a roller brush. He low-
ered this to the floor and twitched his fingers. The brush
spun. He started brushing the floor.

DO NOT REACT, a panel flashed.

Then a serf wearing the emblem of Citizen Blue en-
tered. "Good thing I got here in time!" he exclaimed.
"They had us blocked off. Come on; we're going
home."

Bane continued brushing.

"Hey, you're safe now!" the man said. "At least, you
will be when we get you to the Citizen's territory. Come

ä_!"

I"

on;

Bane ignored him, playing the dumb machine.

Disgruntled, the serf departed.

They continued brushing the floor. In due course the
job was done. The two other machines had cleaned off
the chairs and dusted the walls. "Return to storage,"
the speaker said. They returned to the storage chamber.
There they parked and waited for another hour. What
was going on? Obviously the self-willed machines were
protecting them, but could the chase still be on? Where
was Citizen Blue?

The panel flashed. REACT.

Then Citizen Blue walked in, followed by Sheen, his
wife. "Is this chamber secure?" Blue asked.

"Yes, Citizen," the speaker replied.

"I owe you."

"No. Your activities benefit our kind."

Blue faced the cyborg brusher. "Are you in good
condition?"

Now at last Bane felt free to answer; Blue was
evidently legitimate. "Yes," he said through his mouth-
speaker, which was now set near the top of the appa-
ratus.




44 | Piers Anthony

"This is a respite, not the end. You will assume our
likenesses. Keep alert."

Then the dismantling unit approached, and reversed
the prior procedure. It extracted Bane's arms, legs,
torso and head and assembled them, so that soon he
was back to his original condition. Agape was removed
from the brain chamber, as a mound of jellylike flesh,
and she stretched out and up and became herself in
human form.

"You will assume our forms," Blue said. "We shall
not be challenged in the halls, but you would be."

Agape began to change again, orienting on Sheen.

"No," Blue said. "Emulate me. The sensors can dis-
tinguish between flesh and machine."

"But I am alien," she protested. "They will know I
am not human. I can emulate only an android, if they
test."

"They distinguish human from android by finger-
prints," Blue said. "The self-willed machines will give
you my prints."

She nodded. She shifted until she looked so much
like him that Bane was startled. Then she went to a
unit in the wall where a unit overlaid her blank fingertips
with pseudoflesh molded in the likeness of Blue's prints.
Blue got out of his Citizen's robe and set it on her. The
emulation was complete.

Meanwhile Sheen was attending to Bane. She simply
had the dismantling unit remove her brain unit and
exchange it with his. Abruptly Mach was in her body,
and she was in his. This one would certainly pass in-
spection!

"Go to my private residence and remain there until
we return," Blue said. He was applying pseudoflesh the
self-willed machines provided, remolding his face and
body to resemble Agape's. He had done this before,
when he had rescued Bane from the captivity of Citizen
Purple; he was good at emulations himself.

"But thouùwhen they find thee and take thee for
Agapeù" Bane protested.

ROBOT ADEPT 45

"They will discover they are in error," Blue said.
"Sheen and I will serve as diversion until the two of
you are safe. This is a necessary precaution; they want
you very much."

"Do not be concerned for us," Sheen said from his
body. "We are immune to molestation."

Bane hoped that was the case. He faced the door.

"And let her do the talking," Blue said from Agape's
apparent body.

Bane had to smile. It would not do to have the seem-
ing Sheen speaking the dialect of Phaze!

They left. There were serfs, but those stood respect-
fully aside, eyes downcast. The two of them walked
down the hall to the nearest transport station. Agape,
as Blue, lifted her right hand to the panel. The prints
registered. In a moment the panel slid to the side to
reveal a blue chamber: Citizen Blue's personal convey-
ance. They stepped in.

The chamber moved, first rising, then traveling hor-
izontally. There was no challenge, no delay; they were
being transported to the Citizen's residence.

Bane wanted to take Agape in his arms and kiss herù
but even had this been in character in their present
guises, he would have found it awkward when she
looked like Citizen Blue, who almost exactly resembled
his own father Stile.

She looked at him and made a wicked smile. Then
she took him in her arms and kissed him. Any watcher
would have sworn that it was male kissing female, rather
than vice versa.

The transport delivered them directly to Citizen
Blue's suite. There were no servants there, so no awk-
wardness about identities.

Should they maintain their emulations? They realized
that they had to, because Bane had Sheen's body. It
was strange, seeing himself in the mirror, looking so
like his other self's mother! So they settled down and
watched news features on the screen, and waited.

46 | Piers Anthony

An hour passed. Then the entrance chime sounded.
The entry vid showed Bane and Agape.

"They're back!" Agape exclaimed, hurrying to the
entrance. She touched the admit button as Bane came
up behind her.

Suddenly Bane froze. His body had gone nonre-
sponsive; it was as if it had been disconnected. He
couldn't even speak.

Agape stepped forwardùand the two figures jumped
up to take her by the arms. Astonished, she tried to
draw back, but they put a bag over her head.

Bane realized that these were not Citizen Blue and
his robot wife, Sheen. They were impostors, similar to
the serf with Blue's emblemùbut he could not act.

"When you are ready to cooperate, send word," the
Citizen figure said to Bane. "Then you may see her
again."

Appalled, he watched them haul Agape back to a
waiting vehicle. They had used a ruse to capture her
after all!

Then a new figure showed upùand this one also
looked like Citizen Blue. "Now there are two ways we
can do this," he said.

The Sheen-figure whirled and leaped at him.

A net shot from the wall and wrapped about her,
lifting her up and suspending her in the air.

"That was the second way," the Blue figure said.

The first Blue figure tried to run, but another net
trapped him similarly.

Bane recovered use of his body. "Agape!" he cried,
running to her.

Serfs appeared. They hauled away the two netted
figures. "I wanted to catch them in the act," Citizen Blue
explained. "Now I have proof."

Agape had dissolved into jelly, but when she felt
Bane's touch she recovered and reformed, this time
assuming her normal female shape.

Sheen appeared. They returned to the suite, and a
machine servitor approached to transfer computer-

ROBOT ADEPT | 47

brains. Bane had his ownùor rather Mach'sùbody
back.

"We have been watching, but until they made their
move, it was pointless to act," Blue explained. "They
were watching all the planetary ports, and indeed, all
the exits from Hardom; there was no chance to get
Agape out. But they gained nothing by keeping her
bottled up here; they had to gain direct possession of
her. So we tempted them by arranging a game beyond
the protected region, and they finally took the bait."

"The bait!" Bane exclaimed, horrified.

"The seemingly vulnerable pair," Blue said. "Un-
fortunately, they were more determined than we ex-
pected; they arranged to send false signals of normalcy,
so that we believed they had not struck. It was a good
thing you thought to seek the help of the self-willed
machines."

"They helped us," Bane agreed, feeling somewhat
dazed as he remembered. "I knew not that this body
came so readily apart!"

"Now that they have made their move, they will be
trying more openly," Bane continued. "They have
shown a certain cleverness in their efforts. We shall
have to hide Agape until we can get her offplanet."

"Then hide me with her!" Bane exclaimed.

"Yes. But you may not enjoy the manner of con-
cealment."

"I enjoy not the need for separation," Bane said.
"Needs must I be with her while I can."

"I believe we have worked out a situation in which
you can be together without suspicion," Blue said. "But
you will have to be careful and alert, because it is risky."

"It be risky just acting in a play!" Bane exclaimed,
and they laughed.

"We shall set the two of you up as a menial robot
and an android girl," Blue explained. "You will be
substituted for the ones assigned to go to a common
location. The self-willed machines control placements;




48 | Piers Anthony

they will arrange it. Such assignments occur constantly;

there should be no suspicion."

"But won't they be watching us?" Agape asked.

"They will. They will continue to see you here."

"Oh." It had been demonstrated how facile such em-
ulations could be.

So it was that the two of them were smuggled out,
while another robot and android took their places as
guests of Citizen Blue. They found themselves assigned
to a young Citizen who was opening a new office in the
city and required a humanoid robot and humanoid an-
droid to maintain it during his absences. It promised to
be a routine and rather dull matter. But at least they
would be constantly together, and in the off hours no
one would care what kind of relationship they had. It
was possible that they would never even see the Citizen
himself.

The employer turned out to be Citizen Tan. Bane
felt a shock when he learned of their assignment. Per-
haps the self-willed machines considered this citizen to
be a harmless nonentity, as Citizens went. But Bane
suspected that he would be parallel to the Tan Adept
in Phaze, and that meant he was in the Adverse or
Contrary orbit.

If Citizen Tan caught on to their true identities, they
would be already in the power of the enemy.

And Citizen Tan very well might, for if he was the
other self of the Tan Adept of Phaze, he had the po-
tential for a most devastating ability: the Evil Eye.

But they had no choice, now; they had to go. And
it seemed they were lucky, for Citizen Tan made no
appearance. They ran his office, with Agape receiving
messages and smiling at vid callersùnaturally her fea-
tures had changed, so that she did not resemble the girl
he had knownùwhile he handled mechanical chores.
He, too, no longer resembled the original Mach; his
brain unit had been set into another body.

At night, when no business was to be done, they lay
together and made love. They knew that permanent

ROBOT ADEPT | 49

separation could occur at any time; that made love con-
stantly fresh.

Then, in the early morning, Mach contacted Bane.
Mach had amazing news.

Stile, Bane's father, had ascertained that their ex-
change was generating an imbalance that was damaging
the frames. They had to exchange backùbut the Ad-
verse Adepts had welcomed Mach and Fleta to their
Demesnes. So now Mach represented them, as far as
communications between the frames were concerned.
When they exchanged, Bane would not be pursued by
the Adepts; he could go where he wished. But they
wanted to talk to him, to try to persuade him to their
side. He could trust the Translucent Adept.

All this was transferred on one gob of thought and
impression; it would take -him hours to digest the ram-
ifications. Meanwhile, he was sending his own infor-
mation back: how he and Agape had agreed to separate,
though they loved each other, and the Contrary Citizens
were trying to abduct her to use as a lever on him. How
they were now hiding in a place the Citizens should not
suspect, until Agape could be smuggled offplanet.

"Don't leave me!" Agape cried, realizing what was
happening. She clapped her arms around him and clung
close, almost melting into him. "I love you. Bane!"

Then the exchange occurred.




3

Agape

Agape realized that she had lost consciousness for a
moment, for she found herself sagging in Bane's em-
brace. She lifted her head, and saw an open grassy plain.
It was chill early morning outdoors, with no pollution
in the air.

She blinked, and tried to shape her eyeballs more
carefully, as they were evidently malfunctioning. It
didn't work; her flesh remained fixed as it was.

Bane put his hands on her shoulders and set her
gently on her feet. "We have exchanged, Fleta," he
said. "I be not Mach."

There was a little pop in the air behind him, and a
bit of vapor seemed to center on him for a moment.
Then it dissipated.

Agape stared at him. Then she took one of his hands
and squeezed it. The hand was flesh, not plastic!

"You are alive," she breathed.

"Aye, filly!" he agreed. "Now canst thou tell me
more o' the truce Mach made with Translucent? Fain
would I have stayed with my love in the other frame,
but not at the price of destruction for all."

"Destruction for all?" she echoed blankly.

ROBOT ADEPT 51

"In our contact, he told me that our exchange made
an imbalance that needs must be abated. So he sought
me, though he loved thee and wished ne'er to be apart
from thee."

She looked again at the plain. Could it be?

"Where are we?" she asked.

He laughed. "Where thou hast always been, mare!
In Phaze, of course."

"In Phaze?" she repeated.

"Aye. Surely thou dost not mistake this for Proton-
frame!"

Suddenly she realized that this could be yet another
trick of the Contrary Citizens. Citizen White had at-
tempted to fool Bane into thinking he was back in
Phaze, by putting himùand Agapeùinto a setting re-
sembling Phaze, and emulating the magical effects. But
he had caught on, because his magic did not operate
quite as usual, and the vampire-actors had not correctly
identified one of the vampires he named. Then Citizen
Purple had hunted them in a setting resembling the
Purple Mountains of Phaze, but stocked with robots in
the forms of dragons and such. The Citizens were very
good at emulations, as their narrow escape from the
pseudo-Citizen Blue and Sheen had shown.

"Are you sure this is Phaze?" she asked. "Not an-
other trick?"

He smiled. "I know my living body from Mach's robot
body, without doubt," he said. "There be no question
in my mind." Then he glanced sharply at her. "But
thee, my lovely animal friendùwhy dost thou ask this?"

He was living flesh, certainly. But was he Bane?

"Pleaseùdo some magic," she said. "Just to be
sure."

"Gladly, Fleta!" He made an expansive gesture, then
sang: "Bring me fare, for the unicorn mare!"

A basket of oats appeared: feed for a horseùor a
unicorn. Certainly it was magicùor a clever illusion.

"I am not the unicorn," she said abruptly.

He smiled. "Thou canst hardly fool me, Fleta! I have

52 | Piers Anthony

known thee long, and sometimes intimately. Who art
thou, if not my friend?"

"I am Agape."

He stared at her. "Be thou joking, mare?"

"I am your lover in Phaze. We are hiding from the
Contrary Citizens until I can get offplanet and return
safely to my home world, Moeba. I don't want to go,
but the Citizens want to use me as a hostage against
you, so I must flee."

He considered for a moment. Then he asked: "Ex-
actly where were we hiding?"

She started to answer, then stopped. If this was an-
other pretend-Phaze, then he was not Bane, and he was
asking not to verify her identity, but to find out where
the two of them were. If she told, the Citizens would
immediately pounce and take them both captive, and
this time they might be unable to win free. "Ask some
other question," she said.

"Thou dost doubt me?" he asked, surprised.

"You are doubting me."

He smiled. "Aye. Then tell me aught that Mach could
not have told Fleta."

She launched into a detailed description of their re-
cent history before the final hiding: the brownie-baking
game, the sex in the gelatin, the rendition of You Never
Can Tell and their pursuit by the minions of the Con-
trary Citizens.

"Enough!" he exclaimed. "I be satisfied! Thou art
my love! But how came thee here?"

"I am Agape," she agreed. "But how do I know I
am in Phaze, or whether you are Bane?"

"But I am flesh, here, in my natural body!"

"Many human folk are flesh, in Proton as well as in
Phaze."

"But I conjured feed for thee!" Then he looked em-
barrassed. "Which thou canst not eat. Unless thou canst
change as Fleta can?"

That might be a valid test! Agape concentrated,
trying to change form. She could not; her flesh remained

ROBOT ADEPT | 53

firmly human. "I cannot. But that's not the point. Con-
jurations can be arranged, and other special effects.
How do I know that any of this is genuine, or that you
are not some Proton actor?"

He nodded gravely. "I could tell thee what we have
done in our most intimate moments, and where we were
hiding a moment ago, but I think these things could be
known to the Contrary Citizens and used to deceive
thee. I know I be in Phaze, but thy presence here be
strange, and I think I have no way to convince thee of
its validity. I understand not its mechanism myself. But
I can show thee my world, here, and then mayhap thou
willst believe."

"I want no guided tour calculated to persuade me!"
she flared. "I love Bane, but I am not at all certain you
are he. If you are not he, then you are trying to get
information from me that will hurt him or enable his
enemies to deceive him in some way." And she turned,
ready to walk away.

"Nay, wait, my love!" he cried. "Phaze be dangerous
to the uninitiate! Fleta can take care o' herself, but thou
couldst get hurt or killed in short order. I cannot let
thee go alone!"

"I cannot stay with you, until I'm sure," she said.
"And I am not sure."

"I see thy problem," he said. "But I love thee, and
cannot send thee into danger. I can protect thee, but I
must be with thee."

Uncertainty buffeted her. He did seem exactly like
Bane! But so would a clever actor, and if she fell into
a trap fashioned by the Contrary Citizens, she could do
the real Bane terrible damage. Her only proper course
was to resist any blandishments he might make, until
and if she was sure of him. The real Bane would un-
derstand; a fake one didn't matter. "I must go my own
way."

He sighed. "I see the justice in thy position. Agape.
But an thou shouldst dieù" He shook his head. "I
know thou canst not afford to accept new information




54 | Piers Anthony

from me, but I beg thee to listen while I remind thee
of what thou dost already know. In that way I may help
thee to survive the rigors o' this frame, and if thou be

not here, it matters not."

"There is justice in that," she agreed, wishing she

could simply hug him and believe him.

"Thou dost now occupy the body of Fleta the Uni-
corn, whom mine other self Mach loves. She has three
forms: human, hummingbird and her natural equine
one. She has many friends among the 'corns, weres and
vamps. Such as Suchevane." He said the name with
special emphasis. "An thou dost go to that person,
mayhap thou canst satisfy thyself."

Agape nodded. Suchevane, he had told her before,
was the most beautiful of female vampires. The setting
of Citizen White had foundered when Suchevane had
been identified as a male. Bane was giving her a chance
to meet the vampire girl now; he had carefully refrained

from identifying her sex.

But the minions of Citizen White could have listened
to Bane's prior comment, and learned their mistake.
They could be using it now to convince her of the lie.

"No."
"Aye," he said sadly. "Then must I leave thee to

thine own devices, that thou mayst satisfy thyself of the
validity o' this frame, and therefore of mine own validity
too. But one thing I needs must aok, that thou accept
a spell o' protection, so that thou goest not naked into

danger."
"But anything like that would mask the reality of it,"

she protested. "Exactly as would be required to conceal

an artificial setting."

"I know it. But on this must I insist, else must I
remain with thee myself. I love thee, and shall not allow
thee injury or risk that might be avoided. The spell be
this: an invocation thou mayst utter that will make thee
fade from the perception of those near thee. When
danger threatens, say thy name three times, and it be
done. But use it not capriciously, for a given spell be

ROBOT ADEPT | 55

effective only once, and it will protect thee not a second
time. An thou try it again, I will perceive the effort and
come to thee, and woe betide who chastises thee." Then
he sang an invocation of his own, and there was a faint
glimmer in the air; that was all.

"Thank you," Agape said, feeling guilty for her in-
transigence. Yet if this were all an exceedingly artful
device, she would be foolish to let it move her.

Bane walked away. Then, at a brief distance, he van-
ished. He had evidently invoked some other spell, and
conjured himself to other parts. Or so it was meant for
her to believe.

She was alone with the basket of oats. She was sorry
to waste them, but they were in their hulls; it would be
a difficult chore to consume them.

Difficult? Perhaps impossible! She seemed to be un-
able to melt or change her form. She tried it again, with
no success.

Wasn't that an indication that she was in a different
realm, and a different body? No, not necessarily so; the
Citizens could have given her medication to fix her in
her present format, as part of the illusion.

Exactly what was her present form? Bane had called
her Fleta the Unicorn, but she seemed to be thoroughly
human. A mirror would have helped, but even without
it she could tell that this was not her normal human
semblance. Indeed, it seemed to have fixed flesh, with
bones and digestion differing from her own. She wore
a black cloak and orange slippers, and had a bony knob
set in her forehead. That last detail suggested the un-
icorn form; it certainly seemed genuine. But surgery
could have implanted it.

And, in one pocket, she found a somewhat grimy
feather. Why would the unicorn have saved this?

The unicorn? Already she was accepting the appear-
ance as valid! But if this was a Citizen setup, why would
they have given her a dirty feather?

Well, she could throw it away. But if she did so, and
this really was Phaze, she would be discarding some-




56 | Piers Anthony

thing of evident value to Fleta. That did not appeal. So
she repocketed the feather and reconsidered her situ-
ation.

She stood not far from the great Purple Mountain
range. It really was purple, rising in the southwest. In
Proton they were barren peaks; here they were clothed
in verdure. She had had some experience in the Purple
Adept's mock-up of a section of these mountains, so
they seemed familiar. If this were a larger mock-up,
perhaps she could discover it by exploring that region
of the range.

She started walking. She soon felt hot; the air was
warm, and the sun was shining, and the grass was so
thick she had to forge through it, so that she was ex-
pending energy and heating herself internally. She was
tempted to take off the voluminous black cloak so as
to let the brief breezes cool her body. Actually, she
would feel better without it, because all of her time on
Planet Proton had been spent without clothing; she was,
here, a serf.

But on Phaze serfs wore clothing. Bane had been
clothed. She had been so distracted she had hardly no-
ticed! So nakedness might be an error here. If this really
were Phaze.

She didn't know, so after brief consideration, she
removed her cloak. She had nothing on beneath it,
other than the orange socks; her body was lithe and
well formed, and seemed designed to be free of con-
straint. She walked on, feeling better.

But after a time she felt the heat on her shoulders,
and realized that the sunlight was damaging them. Na-
kedness was a privilege available only to those in pro-
tected environments, such as the domes! With regret,
she unfolded the cloak and donned it again; it was better
to sweat than to burn.

Sweat? She didn't sweat! Moebites dissipated heat
by extending thin sheets of flesh to radiate excess ca-
lories, and by reducing activity. Only true human beings

ROBOT ADEPT [ 57

exuded moisture from their skins for the purpose of
cooling. And horses. And androids.

Was she a true human being now? If so, she had to
be in Phaze. Noùshe could be an android in Proton,
so that was not definitive.

Yet how could her mind have been transferred to
another living body? She was not a robot or cyborg;

her mind was a part of her entire physical being, in-
separable from the flesh. If she had accompanied Bane
to Phaze, it would be an aspect of the exchange; Fleta
the Unicorn would now be in Proton with Mach the
Robot. But that might be just what the Citizens wanted
her to think. Perhaps they did have a technique for
transferring consciousness of an android body, perhaps
maintaining an electronic link to her natural one. How
could she tell the difference? Or they could simply have
drugged her and given her hypnotic suggestion, to cause
her to dream a programmed dream and believe that her
body as she now found it was real. In that case, there
would be no real danger to herùbut the Citizens might
go to extremes to make her think there was danger.

As if on cue, a great hulking shape appeared in the
air: some monstrous flying creature. It looked very like
a dragon.

Should she try to hide from it, or should she ignore
it? If this were a setup, it wouldn't matter. But if this
were real, she could be in serious trouble.

She decided to play it safe. She ducked, trying to hide
in the high grass.

But the dragon, evidently questing for prey, had al-
ready spotted her. It flew directly toward her. It came
close, circled her once, then made a strafing run. Fire
shot from its mouth, coming straight at her.

She threw herself aside. The fire ignited the grass.
behind her, and scorched her backside. Indeed, her
cloak was burning, and she felt the flame as if it were
roasting her own flesh. She threw herself down flat, to
roll, to crush the blaze out, but it continued stubbornly.

Meanwhile the dragon was looping about, readying

58 Piers Anthony

itself for a second run. This time she knew it would not
miss.

Then she remembered the spell that Bane had given
her. Maybe it was all part of the fakery, but she would
have to use it! "Agape, Agape, Agape!" she cried.

The dragon, orienting on her, hesitated. It peered
down, perplexed. It flew over her without firing, then
looped back and searched again. It sniffed the air. Then,
frustrated, it flew away, trailing a small, angry plume
of smoke.

The spell had workedùor had seemed to. The
dragon had not been able to see, hear or smell her. But
she was perfectly perceivable to herself, and she still
cast a shadow. So if the spell was genuine, it operated
only on the perceptions of the predator. If it was fake,
then the dragon, or dragon mock-up, had simply been
feigning.

That fire was real, though! There was a smoldering
patch of grass, and her cloak had a hole in it near the
pocket. Indeed, the feather had been scorched.

"Who calls? Who calls?" someone screeched.

Agape looked up, startled. It was another flying crea-
ture. This one was much smaller, being a gross woman-
headed bird. She smelled awful, and had a fright-wig
head of hair or feathers. She was a harpy, one of the
creatures in the human pantheon.

Was Agape still unperceivable? How long did the
'spell last?

"I smelled thy signal, but I see thee not!" the harpy
screeched. "Where dost thou be?"

Smelled her signal?

The harpy circled. "Damn!" she muttered. "Mayhap
the dragon got him, ere the smell of my burned feather
reached me!"

Burned feather? That was the signal? If Fleta had
kept that feather, knowing it would summon the harpy
when burned, that harpy must be a friend.

"Here I am," Agape called, almost before she re-
alized she was doing it.

ROBOT ADEPT | 59

The harpy whirled in air and peered down at her.
"Ah, now I see thee, mare! Glad am I thou wast not
hurt! Yet why didst thou summon me, an thou escaped
the dragon?"

"The dragon's fire burned the feather," Agape ex-
plained.

The harpy screeched so violently with laughter that
she practically fell out of the air. "Aye, don't that beat
all! An accident! But how earnest thou to run afoul o'
a dragon? Why not change form to thy natural state
and pipe it off?"

This harpy, however gross of humor and person,
seemed friendly, so Agape decided to speak frankly. "I
am not Fleta. I can't change the way she could."

"Not Fleta?" the harpy screeched, amazed. "How
can that be? Thou hast her body, and the feather!"

If this was Phaze, the truth should not hurt. If Proton,
it was known already, such as it was. "I am Agape. I
exchanged with Fleta. I have her body, but do not know
how to use it."

The harpy peered cannily down at her. "It be true
thou dost speak not like her. But Mach! Where be
Mach?"

"He exchanged too. Now Bane is here."

"Then how came a dragon near? Mach be a bur-
geoning Adept! He prettified my hair! Next to that,
banishing a dragon be mere chick's play, and Bane be
more than Mach."

"I sent him away."

The harpy flapped heavily in place, considering that.
"Nay, I can make sense not o' that! Why send him off,
an thou helpless 'gainst a dragon?"

"So I could learn where I am, by myself."

"Surely thou knowest where thou art! Canst not see
the mountains? This be the fringe o' the Harpy De-
mesnes, ^and I be queen o' the dirty birds, for now, so
long's my hairdo sustain itself. I be Phoebe, befriended
by the mare not long agone. There be no mystery here!"

"If you did not know whether you were in a strange

60 | Piers Anthony

land, or had had a spell cast on you to make you think
you were there, what would you do?" Agape asked.

"Why, I'd go out and look!" the harpy screeched.
"I'd know soon enoughù" Then she paused. "Belike
thou hast a point. But thou must chance not Fleta's
body to dragons! She will need it when she returns."

"If I had any portion of her abilities, I would use
them," Agape said. "But I am not a unicorn; I cannot
change forms in her manner."

The harpy came down for a bumpy landing in the
grass. "Thou hast her body; thou must needs be able
to change."

"I don't know how. On Proton I can change form,
but the mechanism differs."

"Mayhap thou dost just need encouragement. Here,
take my claw, and when I fly, do thou likewise." She
extended a filthy foot.

"But I don't know how to begin!" Agape protested.

"Nonsense, alien lass. Knowing be no part of it. Just
do it!" She shook her foot invitingly.

Bemused, Agape took hold of the foot. Then Phoebe
spread her greasy wings and launched into the air, her
dugs bouncing. Agape willed herself to do likewise.

Suddenly she was flapping her own wings. But she
was out of control; she went into a tailspin and plunged
back to the ground.

"Thou didst it!" Phoebe exclaimed, hovering. "Thou
hast her hummingbird form! But why beest thou not
flying?"

Agape tried to answer, but all that emerged was a
peep.

"Well, change back to girlform and tell me," the
harpy said, coming down for another crash landing.

Agape tried, but nothing happened.

"Mayhap I shouldn't've messed. I fear thou art stuck
in birdform, and know not how to fly!"

Agape nodded her tiny head affirmatively. Magic was
definitely not for novices!

The harpy considered. "It be my fault; I told thee to

ROBOT ADEPT | 61

try. Needs must I take thee to a shapechanger. The
werewolves be not too far, and methinks Fleta has
friends among them. Come, birdùlet me carry thee
there, and we shall see." She reached for Agape.

Agape shied away, suddenly terrified. The claw was
huge, larger than her whole present body!

Phoebe paused. "Aye, I see thou be afraid o' me
now, and 'tis true my kind preys on thine, or at least
on true birds. But I mean thee no harm; remember, I
be friend to Fleta."

Agape realized that she had to trust the harpy. She
hopped toward her.

Phoebe reached out again, slowly, and closed her
claws about Agape's body. That foot could have
crushed the life from her, but it did not; it merely tight-
ened to firmness. Then the harpy lurched back into the
air.

She flew east, carrying Agape. The air rushed past,
though the harpy did not seem like a particularly ef-
fective flyer. Probably the flight was boosted by magic.
Well, it was one way to travel!

As they moved across the plain, Agape wondered
how it was that she had been able to change form from
a woman to a hummingbird, instantly. There was a
question of mass: the woman had hundreds of times the
mass of the bird. Where had it gone? When Agape
changed form, in her own body, she never changed
mass. Had she sacrificed any significant portion of her
mass, she would have lost her identity.

She realized that magic was the only explanation.
Magic took no note of the laws of science; it had its
own laws. Apparently mass was not a factor. But it was
still a strange business!

"Uh-oh," Phoebe screeched under her breath.

Agape twisted her neck, which was marvelously sup-
ple, and saw lumbering shapes closing in. More harpies!

"List well, alien," Phoebe said urgently. "My filthy
sisters think I've got prey I mean to hide away, so they
mean to raid it from me. I can escape them not; must




62 (Piers Anthony

needs I hide thee till they leave off." She swooped low.
"Come to none ere I call to thee, for they will snatch
thee and chew thy bones in an instant! Now hide, hide!"
And she let go.

Agape fell into the grass. It was less than a meter,
and she was so small and light that no damage was done.
She half napped, half scrambled on down through the
tangle, getting out of sight.

But another harpy had seen her. "Haa!" she
screeched, and dived, claws outstretched.

Agape scooted to the side, and the harpy missed. But
the ugly bird had not given up; she looped just above
the grass and came back, more agile than she looked.
"Come here, thou luscious morsel!" she screeched.

Agape tried to scoot away, out of reach, but the harpy
loomed over her, about to pounce.

"Mine!" Phoebe screeched, zooming in and colliding
with the other, knocking her out of the way. Just in
time!

Agape found a mousehole and scrambled down it.
She did not like going into darkness under the ground,
but it definitely was not safe above!

Then she heard the sound of scratching, or of exca-
vation. A harpy was trying to dig her out!

Fortunately the mouse tunnel had been constructed
with exactly such tactics in mind. It branched and curved
and extended forever onward. She scooted along it,
hoping she didn't encounter the proprietor, leaving the
harpy behind. Then she settled down to wait.

When silence returned, she crept back the way she
had come. She was not constructed for crawling, but
was so small that she could pretty well run two-legged
along the tunnel. That was one advantage to tiny size!

"Agape! Agape!" a harpy screeched. "They be gone
now. Come to me!"

It was Phoebe! No other harpy would know her true
name. Agape made her way out of the tunnel, and gave
a peep.

Phoebe spied her. "Ah, 'tis a relief!" she screeched.

ROBOT ADEPT [ 63

"I thought sure I'd lost thee! Come, we must to the
weres 'fore else amiss occurs!" She took Agape in her
claw again, and lunged into the air.

They reached the Were Demesnes without further
event. Three husky wolves veered toward Phoebe the
moment they spied her, evidently meaning business.
The harpy was tired from her long flight, and could not
achieve sufficient elevation to avoid them. Their teeth
gleamed.

But her voice was enough. "Halt, weres!" she
screeched. "Slay me not, for I bring a friend of thine
for help!" She lifted her foot, showing Agape.

One of the wolves became a buxom young woman
in a furry halter. "That be Fleta in birdform!" she cried.
"What dost filth like thee do with her?"

Phoebe flopped tiredly to the ground. "Bitch, I be
friend to Fleta; she cured my tail-itch, and her friend
Mach gave me this spectacular hairdo. But this be not
the 'corn; she be her other self from Proton-frame, who
knows not how to change form. So I brought her to
thee, 'cause thou knowest the art o' shape-changing and
mayhap can help her."

The young woman reached down to pick Agape up.
"Be this true? Thou be not Fleta?"

Agape nodded her beak affirmatively.

"Then mayhap we owe thee, harpy," the woman said.
"Choose a tree and roost, and we shall let thee be in
peace."

"I thank thee, bitch," Phoebe said. "Do thou help
her if thou canst; Fleta will need her body, an she re-
turn. This be Agape, an alien creature, but not inimi-
cal." Agape realized that the harpy was not being
insulting to the werewolf girl; the female of the species
was called a bitch.

The girl held Agape up at face level. "I be Furra-
menin. I talked with thee at the Translucent Demesnes
not long ago."

Agape shook her little head no.

Furramenin laughed. "Ah, yes, that be right! It was




64 | Piers Anthony

Fleta I talked to, not thee! Thou art Agape! Come, let
me instruct thee in form-changing. Let me shift to bitch-
form, and then do thou take my paw and shift to girl-
form with me. Understand?"

Agape nodded yes. The girl set her down.

The wolf reappeared. Agape hopped across to touch
a front paw. Then the girl manifestedùbut Agape re-
mained a bird.

They tried it again, and again, but with no success.
"Must needs it be with a flying creature," the woman
concluded regretfully.

"Aye, bitch," Phoebe called from the branch she had
chosen. "I got her to birdform, but could get her not
back."

"Then will I take thee to Fleta's friend Suchevane,"
Furramenin decided. "In the morning."

Suchevane! Agape knew that name! That was the one
the Citizens had not known, whom Bane had recom-
mended.

Then she felt faint, and fell the tiny distance to the
ground.

"What be the matter?" Furramenin exclaimed. "Be
thou sick?"

"I know, I think," Phoebe screeched from her
branch. "She be locked in hummingbird form, and the
bird has high metabolism. She has eaten not in hours.
She be starving!"

"Of course!" the werebitch agreed. "We must feed
her! But what do such birds eat?"

"Nectar, methinks," the harpy replied.

They ranged out and gathered fresh flowers and
brought them back. Furramenin held the flowers up for
Agape, but she did not know how to eat. Her long bill
poked through the delicate petals, getting little nectar.

"This be trouble," Furramenin muttered. "An we
could get her to girlform, we could feed her, but she
may starve before we succeed!"

They consulted with the Pack leader, who it seemed
was a wolf named Kurrelgyre, who told them to take

ROBOT ADEPT | 65

her to the vampires and the Red Adept. "Start now,
tonight," he said.

So it was that Agape found herself tied to the back
of a running wolf, moving rapidly through the night.
She was too weak to react, but was conscious, except
when she slept. The motion continued interminably,
across what she took to be plains, and through what
seemed to be forest, and past some dark river. Furra-
menin seemed indefatigable in her bitchform, but
Agape could tell by the lather that leaked from the
corner of her mouth that she was straining.

She faded out, and in, and it was morning. Then out,
and in again, and it was deep into day, and they were
arriving at the caves of the vampires.

There must have been dialogue and explanations, but
Agape was too far gone to assimilate them. She was in
the process of dying; she knew it. Her foolish attempt
to go out on her own had led her inevitably to harm.
It was hard to disbelieve that she was in Phaze, now,
but it was too late; her belief no longer mattered.

She woke briefly to find herself in the air again, car-
ried by a larger creature. Phoebe? No, the smell was
not the same. Then she faded out again.

4

Fleta

The world shimmered, and she felt an ineffable change.
Then things steadied, and she found herself still in
Mach's embrace.

But it was different. She looked up at himùand his
face had changed. It was similar to its normal config-
uration, but somehow less flexible. His arms, also, were
somehow less yielding.

She glanced to the side, and discovered that they were
in a chamber. What had happened to the field?

"The exchange has been accomplished," he said.
"We had better disengage."

He still sounded like Mach! But this was definitely
not the same body. Now she noticed that their clothes
were gone, too, "Where be we?" she asked.

"In an office maintained by a Citizen, he informed
me. Citizen Tan, I think." Then he drew away from
her, surprised. "But you already know that. Agape."

She was startled. "I be Fleta!"

His startlement mirrored her own. Then he laughed.
"Don't tease me like that, Agape! I love her."

"Tease thee? I tease thee not! What magic hast thou
wrought, Bane, to conjure us so swiftly here?"

ROBOT ADEPT 67

He gazed at her, evidently sorting things out. Then
he spoke slowly and carefully. "This is the frame of
Proton. I am Mach, a self-willed humanoid robot. Are
you telling me you are not Agape, but Fleta of Phaze?"

"Aye, I be Fleta of Phaze," she repeated. "If this
truly be Proton-frame, and thou truly be Mach, then
must I ha' traveled here with thee. Be that possible?"

Again he considered. Then he touched his bare chest,
and a door opened in it, showing odd wires and objects.
"I am the robot, as you can see; this is my own body,
not Bane's." He closed the door, and his chest looked
normal again. "Let me question you briefly. Who was
the last person we met, on the way to the exchange?"

"Phoebe," she said promptly. "The harpy whose hair
thou didst ruin, and she takes it as elegance. But she
be decent, especially for her kind. I have her feather
in my pocketù" But her hand found no pocket, for
she had lost her cloak.

"And then we made love," he said.

"Nay, we followed the delf till the glow was brightest,
and only kissed, and thenù"

"Then, as I sang the spell of exchangeù"

"I spake thee the triple Thee, as thou didst do
whenù"

He stepped into her and crushed her in his embrace.
"You are my love!" he said. "I tested you, but no other
person could have knownù"

"This really be thy rovot form?" she asked uncertainly.

"It really is. But let me prove myself to you, so that
you know you can trust me. I came for you in a canoe
I fashioned to float in air, with Suchevane, the most
dazzling of vampires, and saved you from your suicide.
Then the Translucent Adept appeared, and offered us
sanctuary, and the splash of truth supported him, so I
agreedù"

She put a finger against his lips. "It be enough, Mach;

I know thee now. Methinks in my desire to stay with
thee, I worked a bit of magic of mine own, and came
with thee to thy frame."

68 | Piers Anthony

"A double exchange!" he said, awed. "You are in
Agape's body."

She looked down at herself. "Aye, this nor looks nor
feels like mine! Let me see whe'er I can revert to natural
state." She tried to shift to her unicorn form, but noth-
ing happened. "It happens not."

"You cannot change that way, here," Mach said.
"Magic doesn't work in Proton. The laws of science are
enforced; mass must remain constant. When Agape
changes, she does so slowly, melting from one shape to
another."

"Melting?" Fleta asked, repelled.

He smiled. "I suspect Agape finds your method of
changing form awkward, too!" Then he made a sound-
less whistle. "And she must be there, with Bane! Ex-
periencing magic for the first time!"

"In my body?" Fleta asked, disturbed.

"I'm sure she'll try to treat it as well as you treat
hers," he said with a smile.

She relaxed. "Mayhap 'tis fair. But this bodyùI want
to be locked not in human form fore'er! How does it
work?"

"I can't tell you directly, because I have had no ex-
perience in it, or in any living body other than Bane's.
She just melted and reformed. Here, maybe we can do
it small-scale first, so you can discover the technique."
He took her left hand. "Concentrate on this, and try
to turn it into a hoof."

She tried. Her instant change did not exist, but grad-
ually the outlines of her fingers softened. Then they
sagged into each other, and melted together. Then they
assumed the form of a hoof, and the nails expanded
and fused to make it hard.

She looked at the rest of her. "I be girlformùw' one
hoof!" she said, amazed.

"So you can do it," he said warmly. "But for now,
I think it is best to maintain your human form. I gather
from what Bane thought to me that we are two serfs
serving in this office, and the Citizen does not know

ROBOT ADEPT | 69

our identities. We had best keep it that way, for if
Citizen Tan is the same as the Tan Adept, we could be
in serious trouble!"

"The Tan Adept," she repeated, chagrined. "He o'
the Evil Eye."

"The evil eye? That's his magic?"

"Aye."

"Exactly how does that work?"

"We know not, save that it makes others do his will."

"I think we are lucky that magic is inoperative here;

the Tan Adept cannot affect us that way. Still, we
should take no avoidable risks. I had better drill you
in office proceduresùwhich I fear will make little sense
to you, at first."

"They make no sense to me already," she admitted.

"The first thing to do is conceal your Phaze mode of
speech. That would give you away in the first few sec-
onds. Can you speak as I do, if you try?"

She giggled. "I can try. But thou dostùyou do speak
so funny, mayhapùI may burst out laughing."

"It isn't funny for Proton. Look, Fleta, this may be
a matter of life and death." He paused, reconsidering. .
"I had better call you Agape, too, so / don't give you
away."

"At times you are idiotic," she said carefully.

"What?"

"Are we not in hiding? Call me Agape, and Tan will
know instantly I be his prey."

He knocked his head with the heel of his hand.
"There must be a gear loose in my circuitry! You're
right! We surely have artificial names!"

"Yes," she said, in her measured way, resisting the
urge to say "Aye." "Can we find out those names?"

"Have to." He went out to the desk in an adjacent
chamber. "There have to be records." He activated the
desk screen and spoke to it: "List authorized office
personnel."

Words came on:




70 | Piers Anthony

PROPRIETOR: CITIZEN TAN

EMPLOYEES: TANIAùSUPERVISORùHUMAN
AGEEùDESK GIRLùANDROID
MACùMENIALùHUMANOID
ROBOT

"There it is," he said. "You are Agee, and I am Mac.
Evidently they set us up with names as close to our own
as feasible, so we would identify more readily." He
smiled. "Your name means 'One who flees'; that seems
appropriate in the circumstance."

But she was staring at the screen. "I am glad Bane
taught me to read your language," she said, with the
same measured care. "This magic slate is fascinating.
Butù"

"It's called a screen," he said. "You simply tell it
what you want, and read its answers. It is simple enough
for an idiot to operate, because most androids are idiots.
When you encounter something you don't understand,
you should just smile and look blank, and it will be
dismissed as android incompetence."

"That, too," she agreed. "ButùMacùwhat of
Tania?"

"If she comes to the office, you just do whatever she
tells you to do. Androids must always obey humans,
outside of the experimental community. Evidently she
doesn't bother to come in much; this office must still
be on standby status. We're just caretakers."

"Tania," she said carefully, "is the Tan Adept's
daughter. Stile was minded to marry Bane to her, but
feared she would dominate him with her evil eye."

Mach stared at her. "And this is parallel!" he ex-
claimed. "Of course she has access to this office! If she
comes in, we're in trouble!"

"That were my thought," she said.

He addressed the screen again. "Status of Tania."

The screen answered: TANIAùSISTER OF CUR-
RENT CITIZEN TAN, DAUGHTER OF FORMER
CITIZEN TAN, RETIRED. EMPLOYED BY HER

ROBOT ADEPT | 71

BROTHER AS RANKING SERF. DESIGNATED
AS HEIR TO TAN CITIZENSHIP.

"That's her, all right," he said. "Her brother inher-
ited the Citizenship, so she is the next in line, should
he retire or die. That was evidently fixed by their father.
She will be very like a Citizen, in all but legality." He
glanced up. "Bane was going to marry her?"

"They want an heir to the Blue Demesnes," she said.
"Tan wanted a suitable match, too. She is about four
years older, but is pretty if you like that type."

Mach glanced at the picture of Tania the screen
showed. The average man would like that type.

"And if they married, the Blue Demesnes would have
its heir, and the Adverse Adepts would have a per-
manent hold on Stile," Mach said. "I can see why Bane
balked!"

She smiled. "He never saw her. He refused to get
close to her, because of the evil eye."

"Smart person, my other self. Let's just hope she
doesn't show up here."

Mach drilled her on office etiquette. He evidently
hoped that there would be no calls to this office soon,
but at least she was minimally prepared.

She saw him looking at her. His body and features
were different, as were her own, but she knew that look.
"Dost thou wish to make love, thy way?" she asked
quietly.

He sighed. "I do. But it occurs to me that though it
may be known that Bane and I have exchanged back,
it may not be known that you and Agape exchanged
also. Therefore it would seem that I am with the wrong
female, and if I wish to be consistent, I will not make
love to her."

"But who will know?" she asked.

"That's the irony: perhaps no one. But just as you
must adopt the speech of this frame to conceal your
identity, I think I must adopt a loyalty to an inapplicable
principle, to further conceal your identity. We shall




72 | Piers Anthony

have enough trouble hiding from the Contrary Citizens,
without adding to it this way."

"But be they not the analogues o' the Adverse Ad-
epts, whom we have joined?" she asked.

"Yes. But we are now standing in for Bane and
Agape, who have not joined them. The truce is a com-
promise that leaves us in the Adepts' hands, and Bane
and Agape in Citizen Blue's hands. I'm trusting Bane
not to interfere with that situation in Phaze, and I shall
not interfere with it in Proton. I think that is the eq-
uitable course."

"It all be too complicated for me," she said. Then,
reverting to the local dialect: "I need some rest."

"Rest," he agreed. "I don't need it, in this body."

"For my mind, not my body," she clarified. "I deal
notùI don't deal in alien frames every morning."

"I will see what else I can learn of our situation."

"What will you do?"

"I will activate a circuit within myself to ensure that
no electronic device can spy on me without alerting me,
and another to give me access to a secret connection
via the phone."

"This must Iù" She broke off and tried again. "I
must see this."

Soon he had it. "This is Mach," he said to the screen,
and gave a code sequence that identified him. "What
is my status?"

"Citizens are canvassing the city," a self-willed ma-
chine replied. "They seek the alien woman, not you.
They have narrowed it down to this sector, and will
close in on you within three days."

"What is the contingency plan?"

"We have a chute with meshed valves, for liquid
wastes; the alien must melt and flow down that, and we
shall convey her to the Tourney, which commences in
six days."

"The Tourney? She is not qualified for that!"

"She must enter and lose. She will then be required
to depart the planet, without interference."

ROBOT ADEPT | 73

"Now I understand," he said. "The Contrary Citizens
cannot hire a Tourney loser, and cannot prevent that
loser from departing the planet unless there is a question
of a crime to settle. Any such charge against Agape
would put her under the authority of the courts, which
also would protect her from them. This is a practically
foolproof way to get her safely offplanet and back to
Planet Moeba, where the Citizens have no power. All
that is necessary is to keep you hidden until the Tourney
begins, and qualify you for it; thereafter you will be
safe. Obviously Citizen Blue, my father, has taken a
hand and acted effectively to save Agape and his own
position."

"What is the Tourney?" Fleta asked, confused.

"An annual tournament whose first prize is Citizen-
ship. It is run by the Game Computer, by the rules of
the Game. It is very popular with serfs, though all losers
are deported."

"Like the Unilympics?" she asked.

"The what?"

"A big contest for status. Each species has its
own: the Werelympics, the Vamplympics, the Elflym-
picsù"

"Maybe so." He frowned. "But the Citizens are liable
to locate you in two days. That leaves a gap of three.
Also, you are unqualified for the Tourney. Theoreti-
cally you would have those three days to qualify; if you
fail, or if the Citizens capture you in that period, all
will be lost."

She realized that Agape, with her lively intellect and
special powers of adaptation, might have found a way
to qualify. Fleta, in Agape's body, would hardly have
a chance. This unexpected exchange of the two females
could prove to be extremely costly!

Still, now they knew the challenge: get her through
to the Tourney, and get her qualified. If they accom-
plished that, she would be shipped to the completely
alien Planet Moeba.

And what would she do there? She had only vague

r

74 Piers Anthony

knowledge of Proton, and none of Moeba. Even success

was disaster!

Mach pondered, and told her that he would have to
modify the plan in one detail. He would have to get
Fleta exchanged back to Phaze before she was exiled
to Moeba. That meant he had to locate Bane, and in-
tercept him, and catch him in the company of Agape,
and bring Fleta in for another exchange. He was sure,
the girls could not exchange unless the effort was made
in the company of the boys. It seemed an almost im-
possible act of juggling, considering the pursuit by the
Contrary Citizens and the demands of the Tourney, but
somehow he had to manage it. Because however he
might be constrained to act personally, Fleta was the
creature he loved, and he could not allow her to suffer
exile to a completely alien world, with no prospect of

return to her homeland.

"Aye," she whispered, loving his determination
though she hated the threat that hung over her.

"I have accepted sanctuary with the Adverse Adepts,
in Phaze, for the sake of our love. If I had no other
way, I would seek similar sanctuary with the Contrary
Citizens. But integrity requires that I make every other
effort first, before giving the Citizens the complete vic-
tory they seek."

"Aye," she agreed again. Now at last she could relax.

Except for another problem: food. Thi& was morning,
and her body was hungry. Fleta had no idea how to
operate the food dispenser, and no idea how to make
Agape's body eat. Mach could operate the food ma-
chine, but when she took food into her mouth, she
discovered that she had no mechanism for swallowing;

indeed, she had no throat. The body possessed a bellows
mechanism for the inhalation and exhalation of air, for
which the amoebic body had a need similar to that of
the human body. Thus her chest rose and fell naturally,
and she could speak normally. But that was all; she had

no internal digestive system.
"She dissolves herself and covers the food," Mach

ROBOT ADEPT | 75

explained somewhat lamely. "When she's done, she
reforms her head and face."

"Yuck," Fleta said.

"Maybe you could dissolve the inside of your mouth,
so you could digest a bite of food there, and then reform
tongue and teeth afterward."

"If I can't see it, I doubt I can get it right," she said.
"I had better stick to what I have."

"Maybe your feet, then. Dissolve them over the food,
where no one else can see, and take your time."

She tried that. He. brought a bowl of mush, and she
sat at the desk and put her feet on the mush. Soon they
melted into shapelessness, and spread over the mush.
Her flesh seemed to know what to do; she felt the effort
of digestion and assimilation, and then the vigor of new
energy traveling through her body. It was working!

When the mush was gone, she concentrated on re-
forming her feet, shaping them back into humanoid
extremities. She had a fair idea how to do this, because
of her practice in learning the human form as a unicorn.
In due course her feet had been restored, and it was
even possible to walk on them again. It seemed that
Agape's body had a design for bones and flesh, or the
equivalent, and this was what she was drawing on.

That problem had been solved. Now she should be
able to function. She sat at the desk and began her day's
work.

They were fortunate: no one came to the office that
day, and there were no calls. Mach was able to brief
her on many further details, so that she was beginning
to feel halfway competent. It was true: an idiotùor a
unicornùcould fill this position. She also developed
better facility in eating, and learned how to eliminate
by forming a ball of wastes inside, then softening her
flesh to let it pass outside at the appropriate time and
location.

But the effort had wearied her. By day's end, she
was eager to sleep.




76 | Piers Anthony

She lay down to sleep. But as soon as she relaxed,
she started to melt. Alarmed, she reformed herself and
approached Mach. "I'm melting! I can't sleepù1 might

dissolve away!"

He smiled reassuringly. "That's why there is no cam-
era coverage in that chamber; the machines saw to it
that Bane and Agape were sent to an office that did
not yet have full equipment. Agape is an amoeba; her
natural form is a blob of protoplasm. Only when she is
awake can she maintain humanoid form. Do not be
concerned; you can reform when you wake."

"But I be not sure I can find this exact shape again!"

she wailed.

"I think the body has memory devices that enable it
to return to prior forms, just as you have them for your
unicorn forms. I will inform you of any deviance."

"But what if I melt into the bed?"

"I don't believe that will happen. Your surface retains
its skin, which contains the fluids. Also, I suspect that
the amoeboid form does not relinquish consciousness
completely; it probably shores up its surface at need,
to prevent seepage. Human beings perform similarly in
sleep, not falling off beds and not releasing urine during
sleep. Maintenance circuitry."

Moderately reassured, she returned to the bed and
let herself dissolve. Sure enough, she neither flowed off
the bed nor released fluids into it as she slept. She woke
after a few hours, refreshed.

Next day the worst happened: Tania stopped by the
office. She was a buxom woman of about twenty-one,
her somewhat plain face enhanced by an artful framing
of luxurious hair. She was technically a serf, so was
naked, but she carried herself as if clothed.

Mach stood absolutely still, a machine out of action,
in an alcove in the wall. Fleta was at the desk, where
she belonged; it was her duty to handle whatever tasks
were required, such as providing information about the
location of her employer, Citizen Tan. Fleta was of

ROBOT ADEPT | 77

course aware of Tania's identity; the woman had given
it for admission to the office, and she matched her pic-
ture.

Tania eyed Fleta. Her eyes possessed a peculiar in-
tensity; obviously in Phaze that would manifest as the
evil eye. "Any news?" she asked curtly.

"No, Tania," Fleta said, as Mach had told her.

The woman eyed her. Her eyes were the color of her
hair and nails: tan. "Android, you will address me as
Tan."

"Yes, Tan," Fleta said obediently. Mach had warned
her that this woman might be imperious, and that
though she could not, be addressed as "sir" she probably
wished she could be. She knew from her own knowledge
of Adepts in Phaze that the utmost caution was in order.

"Stand, android," Tania snapped. "Come in front of
the desk where I can see you."

Fleta stood and went around to the front. Serfs were
not supposed to answer Citizens unless an answer was
called for, and Tania was to be treated like a Citizen.

"Turn around."

Fleta turned, while the woman's eyes probed her
body. "You aren't very intelligent," Tania remarked.

Fleta was tempted to reply that most animals weren't,
but stifled it. Mach had explained that she was passing
for an android, and that few androids approached the
human level of mental performance.

"What is the nature of ultimate reality?" Tania asked.

Fleta stared at her, needing no effort to feign con-
fusion. She smiled and looked blank in the approved
manner. "Should I ask the screen, Tan?" she asked at
last.

"Don't bother, android." Tania glanced around the
office. "Robot, come forth," she commanded.

Mach stepped out from his alcove, silently. She eyed
him as she had Fleta.

"Have you kept this office clean?"

"Yes," he said.

"Did you hear me tell the android to call me Tan?"

78 | Piers Anthony

"Yes."

"Well?"

Mach didn't answer. Fleta had to suppress a giggle;

he was playing dumb. Tania had not asked a compre-
hensible question, so he hadn't answered.

"Address me as Tan," she said coldly. "Is that a

functional penis?"

'In what manner, Tan?"

'Sexual."

'Yes, Tan."

'What's it doing on a menial?"

'Whatever my employer directs, Tan."

'Android," Tania snapped without turning. "Put in
for a replacement menial robot. This one's too smart."

Oops, trouble! If they replaced Mach, how would she
get by? But she had no choice. She returned to the
desk, sat, and addressed the screen. "Requisition re-
placement menial rovot for Citizen Tan, this office,"
she said, perversely pleased that she had managed the
strange formula without hesitation.

"Requisition entered," the screen replied. "Allow
forty-eight hours for delivery."

Tania was already on the way out. In a moment they

were alone again.

Mach said nothing. He simply marched back to his
alcove and resumed his inert stance. By that signal Fleta
knew that it was not safe to talk. He knew when they
could be overheard; she depended on his judgment.

She had passed Tania's inspection, but Mach had not!
What an irony! Then she had to stifle another giggle:

irony for a metal man! But she was not happy.

But as she pondered the matter further, she realized
that the Contrary Citizens were closing in, and so there
would be trouble within two days anyway. This might
make no difference. They would have to get away from
here before Mach's replacement came.

She finished out the day, answering the occasional
incoming calls in the routine manner: Yes, this was
Citizen Tan's office. No, the Citizen was not available

ROBOT ADEPT | 79

at the moment. Yes, she would enter a message for the
Citizen, and he would return the call if he wished to.
When she was hungry, she ordered Mach to fetch her
food from the food machine. As an android she ranked
the robot, and naturally used every bit of what little
authority she possessed. This nicely concealed the fact
that she still had no idea how to use the food machine.
Mach had set that up, too. She wished she could hug
him. Instead she set some food on the desk, and took
a careful bite, so as to seem to be eating normally; the
rest she put on the floor, so she could melt her feet over
it.

Proton was a dreary frame! No wonder Mach liked
Phaze better!

In the evening, when the office officially shut down
for the shift, Mach came out. He checked to be sure
they were not being spied on, then opened his arms.
She hurled herself gratefully into them. "Methinks the
boredom be the worstest torture o' all!" she whispered.

"You did well," he murmured. "I only hope Tania
didn't notice your one slip."

She felt a chill. "Slip?"

"You referred to me as a 'rovot.' The screen has an
interpretation circuit, so passed it through because of
the context; you were merely echoing her command,
which it had heard. But if she noticedù"

"Ro-bot," she said. "Ro-bot, ro-bot. I can say it if I
try. But is that an error Agee would make?"

"No. Since there should be no suspicion that you are
here, instead of Agee, and that is not typical of her
speech, it should pass unnoticed. Actually, you passed
the real test: Tania knew that if you had any emotional
attachment to me, you would have had trouble putting
through that requisition. You showed no hesitation."

"I dared not hesitate," she said. "But oh, Machù"

"This may have been a routine verification," he said.
"But the Citizens are looking for us, and we were as-
signed within the key period. It could have been a pre-
liminary to the pounce."

80 Piers Anthony

"The pounce?"

"If you were looking desperately for a person, and
suspected that that person was already in your power,
would you alert that person?"

"Nay."

"The threat to replace me could even be a diversion.
They want me with them, not away from them. But
you are the real target; if they have you, they have me.
You must be the one to escape. I must show you how
to incapacitate a human being, and how to melt and
reform."

They worked on it. He pointed out the vulnerable
places on the human body, male and female: the spots
that could be pressured to bring pain or unconsciousness
or death. "If I give the word, you do that to whoever
bars your way," he Said. "Then get to this waste chute
and melt into it as fast as you can."

They drilled on melting, until she could do it with
fair swiftness. She practiced moving in the melted state:

flowing like goo across the floor, then reforming into
something that could climb. "The self-willed machines
will help you at the other end, but you have to get
through that screen yourself," he said. "Remember:

wait for my signal, then act without question when I
give it. Have no concern about me; I am not threatened.
Trust the machines. Their forms vary widely, but they
are with me. I am a self-willed machine."

"Aye," she agreed, frightened.

Next day Citizen Tan himself stopped by, in the vo-
luminous tan cloak or robe that identified him as a
Citizen: a member of the only class privileged to wear
clothing in Proton. He was the same age as his sisterù
they were twinsùand similar of feature, especially in
the eyes. Their tan irises and intensity were eerie. Fleta
was afraid of him. Did he suspect her nature, either as
Agape or as Fleta? If so, they were lost!

The Citizen asked a number of routine questions. He
seemed gentler than his sister, but there was a sureness

ROBOT ADEPT 81

about his manner that continued to strike alarm in her.
What was he up to?

Then, abruptly, she found out. He reached out to
catch and squeeze one of her breasts. "Android, I like
your look," he said. "Enter the sleeping chamber with
me."

She followed him into the chamber where the bed
was.

"Lie supine, spread your legs," he said, as he opened
his robe. Then, to Mach in the other room: "Robot!
Come here and take my robe."

Mach entered the room and took the robe. He
stepped back, watching the proceedings, showing no
expression.

Serfs had no rights with respect to Citizens; she had
known that as a bit of otherframe folklore all her life.
Just as animals had none with respect to Adepts. Power
made the only law. But how could she tolerate this?
He was going to use her sexually!

If she protested, she would give herself away. If she
did not, what would Machùor Baneùdo?

But Mach had told her to wait for his signal before
acting. She had to rely on his judgment. She lay down
on her back and spread her legs.

It was another irony, she thought, that the sexual act
as human beings performed it had no inherent meaning
for either her or Agape. She normally would indulge
in it only when in heat, for the sole purpose of breeding;

only her association with Mach had educated her to the
joys of sex as an act of entertainment or of love. Agape,
with her completely alien body, would neither breed
nor entertain herself in this manner; she surely did it
only to please Bane. But now it was a matter of prin-
ciple: this act should be done only with the one she
loved. That, too, was the human way.

Naked, Tan sat beside her, running his hands along
her body and up between her legs. "If you like it, I will
make you a household serf," he said. "Your body has
a certain distinction from that of other androids. I am




82 | Piers Anthony

not sure exactly what it is. That is what intrigues me
about you. Would you like to be a household serf?"
This was a direct question, and required an answer.

"No, sir," she said.

A tan eyebrow elevated in supposed surprise. "Why
not? It is an exceptionally easy life, for an android."

"I am not that kind of android."

Now his gaze became so intense that she was sure; he
had penetrated her disguise. "Exactly what kind of an-
droid are you, Agee?"

She had no answer she could give to that without
giving herself away, so she did not answer.

"Well, let's give you more experience on which to
base your attitude," Citizen Tan said. He climbed onto
the bed, on hands and knees, his body above hers.
"Now you will, regardless of whatever personal reac-
tions you may or may not have, smile and emulate
delight as I proceed." He lowered himself.

Mach stepped forward, starting to speak. He froze.

"Ah yes, the robot," Citizen Tan said. "Tried to act
on its own, and got zapped by the shorting field I just
turned on. So it's self-willed, and quite possibly the one
we seek." He glanced down at Fleta. "But are you the
female we seek? If so, this will be a special pleasure
for me. I have never before indulged with an alien
creature." He resumed his positioning, about to pro-
ceed with the act.

Fleta decided that Mach must have been about to
give the signal, before the field enchanted his body.
That meant it was time for her to act.

She melted the flesh of her central region. In fact,
she had started to do this before consciously making
her decision, for the process was well along now. The
Citizen's probing member encountered only mush.
Then that mush rose up and gripped adjacent and very

vulnerable flesh.

Tan opened his mouth to scream, as that grip closed.
But Fleta slapped a hand across his mouth, and melted
it to cover the lower part of his face. "An thou dost say

ROBOT ADEPT 83

anything, Adept, then will I squeeze, hard," she whis-
pered, and gave him a small sample. This was a pretty
good body, for special effects!

Tan's eyes glazed with pain. Fleta continued to melt.
"Lie down, roll over," she said.

He dropped on her and rolled over, carrying her
around so that she was now on top of him. As she
melted, her flesh spread across and around him. Only
her head remained humanoid. "Turn off thy magic
field."

When he hesitated, she began to squeeze again.

"I'm free," Mach said. "We're off-camera here, but
those in the front chamber remain operational, and you
must pass through that. Form into his robe and make
him take you there."

She obeyed without question, knowing that only he
understood the nature of the magic that surrounded
them. She spoke once more to the Citizen: "I will be-
come thy robe. Carry me to the waste chute and dump
me there. Else will I squeeze. An thou do it right, thou
willst be free o' me. An thou balk, then will I kill thee,
caring naught for my fate thereafter, for it be anyway
sealed. Dost understand?"

The Citizen nodded. Then she melted her head, and
spread herself over Tan's body, and changed her color,
becoming tan. She was getting good at this!

"Longer, with folds," Mach murmured.

She thinned herself and lengthened herself, until she
matched the length of his original robe. Then, as the
man sat up, she flowed around to fill in the back. But
she never released her constriction around his gener-
ative parts. Her freedom and life were at stake, and
this was the other self of an Adept; she knew she could
afford no error at all.

Tan walked to the other room. Fleta could no longer
see or hear, because she had melted her eyeballs and
ears, but she could feel the orientation and motion of
his body, and she knew that Mach was following, a
nominally servile robot, actually making sure nothing




84 | Piers Anthony

went wrong. She had to trust that the Citizen dumped

her correctly.

Tan reached down and lifted the hem of her sub-
stance. She let herself be lifted, like flexible material.
She finally had to relinquish control of his nether anat-
omy, but she tightened her closure around his neck so
that he could feel it. She could still hurt him, and he

knew it.
She was being stuffed into the hopper; she could feel

its cool metal. She melted, letting her substance flow
down inside it. She had a head start, because of the
form she had assumed; the melting was swift. When all
of her was in the chute except the neck circlet and one
"sleeve," she released the neck but tightened about the
arm, sliding down to encircle and grip the fingers, brac-
ing them apart. She could break them if she chose. This
body was completely malleable, but when it formed
bonelike sections, they were strong enough to exert

considerable force.

Finally there was nothing left of the connection ex-
cept the hand. All the rest of her was a liquid string.
She had already negotiated the mesh; it was no trouble
in her present state. She let go the hand and slid down

and away.
If the Citizen then sprang into action, she didn't

know. Mach remained in his power, but she knew that
without her as hostage, they could not make him co-
operate, they could only kill him, or whatever it was
they did to golems. To rovots. Ro-foots! She hoped he
was correct that they would not do that.

Now she was in free fall down the chute. It became
a pipe, with a blast of air to carry its contents along. If
it led to a furnace to burn the garbageù

Then she slurped into a tub. The moment she was
all in, something moved it, carrying it elsewhere. She
was being loaded into a motorized vehicle; she felt the
vibrations. Then she accelerated; it was taking her very
swiftly to somewhere else.

ROBOT ADEPT

Mach had told her to trust the machines. She was
trusting them, but she hoped there was no error!

The acceleration eased, but vibration continued; she
was still traveling. It was hard for her to judge time
while in this state, and she didn't dare shape into an-
other form until told to; she knew that the machines
were hiding her from what was bound to be a deter-
mined search by the Contrary Citizens. She did form a
masked eye, so she could perceive light and vague out-
lines, and a masked ear, so she could hear somewhat,
in case the machines addressed her.

The tub slowed, then stopped. It lurched, evidently
being loaded somewhere. Then it was still.

Was it time to emerge? How could she know? She
formed a pseudopodùthis body was really quite ver-
satile, as she learned its capabilities!ùso that she could
peer out.

She made an eyeball on the end of the pseudopod,
and peered through a vent in the top of her container.
All she saw was other containers, similar to her own.
She started to extend her eye farther, so as to see more.

"Unsafe," a voice said immediately. "Wait. Hide."

She dissolved the pseudopod and settled down. If the
Citizens were tracing the possible routes of her ship-
ment from the waste chute, it would be dangerous to
manifest now. They must have her stored in a ware-
house, until the search passed. She would be lost among
all the sludge containers. That was good.

She had nothing to do, so explored her own param-
eters further. She discovered that there were patterns
in her memory for a number of set forms, and that she
could fairly readily modify these for specific effects.
Thus she could emulate a human being, the pattern
being for the form she had found herself in when she
exchanged to Proton, but could also change that form
so that she remained human but did not resemble the
original form. She could become almost anyone, if she
had a representation to copy from.

Agape was very like a unicorn, slower in her changes,

86 | Piers Anthony

and limited to a fixed mass, but more versatile within
that mass. Of course Fleta preferred her own bodyù
but here in Proton, the amoeba body might be better.

Time passed, and nothing happened. She grew bored,
and then sleepy. This was actually the sleep format of
this body, and this time she didn't have to worry about

melting off the bed.

She was awakened by the resumption of motion. She
started to stir. "Remain quiescent," a machine voice

ordered.
She did so, but was alert. Her container was loaded

onto another vehicle, which then moved a short distance
and stopped. She was unloaded and wheeled to yet

another chamber.
Then at last the directive came: "Form into humanoid

semblance."
She invoked the process of human body formation,

which included the hardening of columns of flesh into
the equivalent of bones and joints and the development
of the key apparati of perception and communication,
as well as the humanoid skin tones. Agape must have
worked hard to develop this pattern, and had done an
excellent job! Fleta never would have been able to do
it, had she had to develop the pattern herself. Soon she
stood as Agee, the office android.

She was in another warehouse chamber, much like

the prior one, alone.
"Modify to male," the speaker said. It was a grill set

in the ceiling.
Fleta spluttered as the import registered. "Male?"

"Affirmative."

She had never thought of such a thing! But she re-
alized that probably the pursuing Citizens had not
thought of it either. She discovered that there was a
pattern for humanoid male, so she invoked it.

Her breasts shrank, until they were mere nipples set
in her chest. Her hips melted and reformed, contracted.
Her genital region became jelly, then drooped. It
formed a penis and scrotum, neither functional, but

ROBOT ADEPT | 87

similar externally to those of male serfs. Her shoulder-
length mane shrank into briefer tonsure.

"Modify to this image," the grill said. An image
formed in the air before her, of an unfamiliar man.

She studied the details of the man, changing her con-
figuration to match. The hair was yellow, the body slen-
der and tall, the chest hairy, the eyes blue.

"Less buttock," the grill said.

Oh. She worked on that region, shrinking the dual
masses further.

"Follow the line to the Game Annex," the grill said.

"But where is Mach?" she asked. "I need his advice!"

"Mach is being watched. You must qualify alone.
You will be secure as long as your identity is not sus-
pected. If you qualify for the Tourney, you will be
secure until you are eliminated."

And thereafter, if she returned directly to Moeba.
Theoretically. She hoped Mach intercepted her before
that happened!

She walked along the line. It led her from the ware-
house and through a passage and into a concourse where
other serfs walked. They were following lines too; it
seemed that this was a standard way to show them
where to go, as they went to the Game Annex.

She remembered the Lympics of Phaze, in which the
various major species competed for honors. She had
hoped to enter the Unilympics, for she was fleet of foot,
and also could play her horn well. She had been working
on a duet with herself, accompanied by an intricate
hoof-tap pattern, that she thought could be a contender
in the marching music division. But now, in Proton, in
an alien culture and an alien body, none of that applied.

If she won entry to the Tourney, she would in time
find herself confined to the alien planet. If she lost, she
could be caught and tortured by the Contrary Citizens,
to make Mach do their will. Or Bane, because they
thought she was Bane's love; they already had Mach's
cooperation, if they but knew it. What a complicated
confusion!




88 | Piers Anthony

She arrived at the Annex. Her line led to a console.
A young man stood at the other side: her assigned

opponent.
He reached over, extending his hand. "Hi! I'm

Shock. My hair, you know." He gave his dark mass of
head hair a shake, so that it fell across his face, then

nipped it back out of the way.

She took the hand, remembering how human beings
clasped digits in greeting. She concentrated on the cor-
rect dialect, so as not to give her origin away. "Hi. I'm

Fleta."
Then, stunned, she realized what she had said.

But the other seemed not to have noticed. "Welcome
to the Leftover Ladder. I'm second from the bottom.
I love the Game, but I'm no good at it, so I'm easy to

beat."

"Ladder?" she asked, still appalled by her slip.

"Oh, you new here? From another world?"

"New," she agreed. "From another world." Both
quite true, but not the way he would take it.

Shock grinned. "Say, that's great! I'm a Koloform
myself. Well, I mean my folks came from Kolo, so it's
my blood. I was born here, but I can only stay till I'm
twenty-one, next year, you know. Then I'm either a
serf, or I have to go to Kolo. What're you?"

"A unicorn," she said.

She had done it again!

"I never heard of that planet!" he said cheerfully.
"But what do I know? There's thousands of planets.
Well, c'mon, let's play before the next pair need the

console."

"Yes," she agreed.
Her screen had words printed:

SHOCK OF KOLO
FLETA OF UNI

PLAYER ONE:

PLAYER TWO:

Below was a sample grid. He had the numbers, she
the letters. Mach had explained this, but still it was

ROBOT ADEPT | 89

confusing. She had to pick something she thought would
get her into a game she could win.

Her choices were A. NAKED B. TOOL C. MA-
CHINE D. ANIMAL.

That was easy enough! The only thing she really
understood was ANIMAL: being one herself. She
touched D.

Shock was still making up his mind, for though her
column highlighted, none of his numbered rows did.
That gave her a chance to look around.

She hadn't paid attention to her surroundings; she
had just followed the line in. She saw that she was in
one of a number of open chambers, each of which con-
tained a console, and most of the consoles had players
standing by them. Many folk were playing this peculiar
game! But that might be because they were doing what
she was supposed to do, qualifying for the Tourney.
Mach had said that only the top ten in each age group,
among the males and the females, would qualify. So
now they were trying to get into the top tens.

She realized that that must be what the ladder was
for. Shock had mentioned a ladder, that he was near
the bottom of. A ladder was a thing that human folk
used to climb up onto higher places. So she was trying
to get on the ladder, starting near the bottom, which
was the way with ladders.

But how was she to get to the top, if she had to win
games against experienced players to climb each rung?
The Tourney was only a few days away, and even if she
could win every game, there would hardly be time for
them all!

A row illuminated. Shock had finally made his choice.
It was 1. PHYSICAL. The two highlights overlapped
at ID.

Then the ID square expanded to fill the screen. AN-
IMAL-ASSISTED PHYSICAL appeared across the
top, and new sets of choices appeared. This time she
had the numbers, and he had the letters.

She looked at her choices: 5. SEPARATE 6. IN-




90 | Piers Anthony

TERACTIVE 7. COMBAT 8. COOPERATIVE. She
wasn't certain how these applied, but the safest seemed
to be the first, because it seemed to mean that she could
do her own thing. She touched it.

Again she had played ahead of Shock. That encour-
aged her, though it might be that he was making more
intelligent choices. His options were E. EARTH F.
FIRE G. GAS H. HzO, whatever those meant.

When he chose, it was E: EARTHùFLAT SUR-
FACE. So that was it: Earth, as in a plain someone
could run on. That was fine with her; unicorns under-
stood running room.

The 1D5E square expanded to fill the screen, and a
new, slightly smaller lattice appeared, with nine
squares. Down the right side was a list of activities.

Shock whistled. "I don't know how to do any of these
things!" he exclaimed. "Well, let's see where it goes."
The words BRONCO-BUSTING appeared in the top
left box.

Fleta realized that he must have touched one of the
words at the side, because it had disappeared from the
side when it appeared in the square. So she touched
her favorite: HORSEBACK RIDING. It wasn't that
she liked riding horses, but that she, being a related
animal, understood them better than any of the others
listed, and in her human form certainly could ride one
of them.

He put BULLDOGGING in the third square, so she
put GOAT MILKING in the fourth one. There were
not many goats in Phaze, but they were easy enough
to get along with.

They continued with DOG TRAINING, COW
MILKING, CAMEL RIDING, BULL FIGHTING
and CHICKEN SEXING. "That's not what it sounds
like," Shock explained. "It's telling the chicks apart,
you know, male or female, so they know who'll grow
up to lay eggs. A good chicken sexer can make a pile,
on a farm planet. Well, let's choose up; this is it. I got

ROBOT ADEPT | 91

the last placement, so you get choice of numbers or
letters."

She chose the letters, and touched B, the center col-
umn, because that had the horse riding in it. She was
lucky; he chose 1, and the highlights overlapped at
HORSEBACK RIDING. She had her first choice,
which meant a good chance.

ADJOURN TO RIDING AREA, the screen said.
FOLLOW THE LINE.

She looked at the floor. A new line showed, leading
away from the console.

They followed it. It brought them to a corral where
a number of people were riding horses. It terminated
at a check-in office.

The bored attendant glanced up. "Whatcha intoù
easy, rough or show?" he asked.

"I don't mind losing, but I don't want to get
dumped," Shock said candidly. "I bruise easily."

"Easy," the attendant said. "Saddle or bareback?"

"Your turn," Shock said.

So they were still taking turns on choices. "Bare-
back," Fleta said.

In due course they found themselves on two sedate
horses, bareback, with reins. The one who guided his
horse most accurately along a set course would be the
winner.

Fleta didn't like reins, so she dismounted, went to
the horse's head and removed the bit and the reins.
The man who had brought the horses looked surprised,
but did not comment.

She remounted, and they proceeded along the
course. Shock was evidently barely familiar with horse-
manship; had the course not been long familiar to the
animal, he would soon have been lost. Fleta leaned low,
embraced her horse with legs and arms, and spoke to
it in its own language: a low whinny. Her body might
be alien, but her nature was equine, and now it came
strongly through. She felt a sudden surge of homesick-

92 | Piers Anthony

ness for her homeland, and knew that this captive horse
felt the same.

The horse's ears perked. She stroked its neck, re-
assuring it, explaining by pressures of her legs how it
should react. Soon she had it responsive, and the horse
obeyed her commands when they were neither verbal
nor visual. She really did understand horses.

Thereafter, the horse stood tall and proud, and
moved so precisely along the course that others stopped
to look. One of the keepers, alarmed, challenged this:

"You do something to that animal? No tethet, no hal-
ter, no bit, no reinsùyou drug it?"

"No drug," Fleta said.

"Bring it over here; I want the vet to see."

So they had to interrupt the contest, while the horse
walked to the side where the robot vet rolled up. The
machine ran sensors across the horse's skin and flashed
little lights in the animal's eyes and mouth. "This horse
likes this rider," the robot said, and rolled away.

"You sure have the touch!" Shock said. "Or did you
just get a happy horse?"

"We can exchange horses if you wish," Fleta said.

"Yes, let's do that!"

So they dismounted and exchanged. Fleta addressed
the new horse as she had the first, and removed the bit
and reins, and soon it was as cooperative, while the
first, feeling the ignorance of the new rider, became
surly.

By the time they finished the ride, there was no ques-
tion of Fleta's victory. "Serf, you're new on the regis-
ter," the corral manager said, hurrying up. "You
looking for employment? You've got a touch with those
animals I never saw before!"

Fleta dismounted, put her arm up around her mount's
head, and kissed it on the nose. "I do relate well to
animals," she agreed. "But I am trying to qualify for
the Tourney."

"But once you enter that, you're gone, unless you
win!" the manager protested. "Look, this spread is

ROBOT ADEPT | 93

owned by a pretty savvy Citizen. If he sees how you
are with his animals, he'll give you good employment
and treat you right. It's a lot better risk than the Tour-
ney!"

It surely wasùfor an ordinary serf. But Fleta knew
that she could not remain in this guise indefinitely with-
out being discovered, and then she would be in instant
trouble. "I wish I could do it," she said with genuine
regret. "But I am committed. I must enter the Tour-
ney."

They left the corral. "I think you should have taken
it," Shock said. He shrugged. "Well, you bumped me
down a rung on the ladder; you're number one-four-
two on the Leftover Ladder."

"Why is it called the leftover? I thought there was a
ladder for each age group."

"There is, and the top ten of each ladder qualify. But
some don't fit well, being underage or overage or alien
or handicapped or whatever, so there's a special ladder
for us. I guess they sent you here because you're too
new to know the ropes."

That was not the reason, Fleta realized. It was be-
cause she was an alien creature masquerading as an
android of the opposite sex. She could not qualify for
a regular ladder without giving herself away, so the self-
willed machines had set her up with this all-inclusive
one. They did know what they were doing.

But she was on the 142nd rung! How could she ever
make it to the top ten rungs?

Shock showed her where to verify her ranking: the
Game Computer had a special screen that would show
the placement of whomever approached it. Sure
enough, FLETA was now listed 142 on LEFTOVER.
SHOCK was 143. He shrugged and departed, satisfied.

"Report to alcove for special instructions," a low
voice murmured from the speaker.

Surprised, she went to an alcove, where there was
slightly greater privacy.

94 [ Piers Anthony

"Challenge the player on the eighth rung," the

speaker said.

"But don't I have to climb step by step?" she asked.

"Not in this case. You are permitted two free chal-
lenges: one in the lowest ten, to register on the ladder,
and one elsewhere, to establish your regular position.
Thereafter you can ascend or descend only rung by
rung, and need accept only a single challenge each day.
If you win Rung Eight, and limit subsequent challenges
to one a day, you can lose on the following two days
and still qualify for the Tourney. You must achieve the
rung now; pursuit is closing, and you will be protected
while you remain at the qualifying level."

She felt like melting. She had almost forgotten the
danger she was in. "How do I challenge?"

"We shall enter it for you. Follow the line."

She looked. The new line was there on the floor.
"Thank you," she said, but the speaker did not respond.
She hadn't known that the Game Computer itself was
cooperating with the self-willed machines; probably it
could get in serious trouble itself, if the Contrary Cit-
izens learned of its part in this. That had to be why her
double slip in naming herself and her nature had not
given her away: the computer already knew her iden-
tity, and was covering for her.

She followed the line, still intrigued by the magic of
this realm. It led to another console, where an older
woman stood. She had only one arm. This, it seemed,
was Number Eight on the Ladder.

"Fleta ofUni," the woman said disapprovingly. "You
breeze here from offplanet at the last minute and want
to enter the Tourney and maybe win Citizenship, just

like that?"

Fleta looked at the name on the screen. This was
Stumpy of Proton. A cruel name for a long-time serf.
"Citizenship?" she asked, alarmed. If the Citizens were
already closing in ...

Stumpy looked at her with open incredulity. "You

don't know?"

ROBOT ADEPT | 95

"Know what?" Fleta asked, confused.

"Ohùyou're an android," Stumpy said.

Fleta did not argue, as she was impersonating an
android. A reputation for stupidity was an asset, for
her. She smiled and looked appropriately blank.

"Well, let's get this charade over with," Stumpy said.
She slapped her hand down on her screen.

Fleta had the letters again, so she took D. ANIMAL
again. Immediately the screen showed Stumpy's choice,
3. CHANCE. The square expanded.

Instead of a new grid, there was a message: BET-
TING ON ANIMAL CONTESTS. SELECT AN IN-
CIPIENT CONTEST. ONGOING LIST FOLLOWS.
Below was a grid in which many animal contests were
listed: races, fights and performances, between horses,
dogs, fowl or other creatures.

Bemused by this approach, Fleta touched the column
that contained horses, but immediately the chosen
square brightened, and it was 1D7E: DOG FIGHT.

Well, she had watched werewolves fighting each
other for status. Because she was the foal of Neysa, the
friend of the entire local Pack, she had been privileged
to witness rites that were ordinarily barred to outsiders.
That was how she had become friends with Furramenin;

she had been a foal and the werewolf a pup together.
Dogs were similar creatures, though inferior; they bore
about the same relation to werewolves as horses did to
unicorns or monkeys to human folk. She should be able
to judge a dog fight.

Now the screen became a picture, startling her. It
showed a pit, with two snarling dogs being held by
trainers. Fleta saw at a glance that one dog, though
slightly smaller and leaner, had a more savage temper-
ament; it would be more serious about the fight than
the other.

SELECT VICTORIOUS DOG, the screen directed.

Fleta touched the screen where that dog was por-
trayed. But in a moment a message appeared: BET-

96 | Piers Anthony

TORS SELECTED SAME ANIMAL. SELECT TIME
OF DECISION: CLOSEST MARK.

A scale of times appeared, delineated in seconds and
minutes and hours.

Fleta judged that the larger dog would quickly be
cowed, and try to break off. Would the fight be halted
at that point? Since the horses were owned by a Citizen
who wanted them treated well, perhaps the dogs were
similarly owned, and the fight would not be allowed to
proceed beyond the point of evident advantage. That
would keep it short. She touched the scale at one min-
ute, ten seconds.

Stumpy's mark showed: four minutes even. Now they
had a viable bet.

The picture of the dogs reappeared, With the scale
retreating to the bottom of the screen. Both bets were
marked, and a pointer pointed at 0: the elapsed time
of the fight.

Then the dogs were released. They sprang at each
other, the larger one confident of the advantage. In-
deed, for a few seconds he had it. But then blood flowed
from grazing gashes, and the smaller dog went berserk.
He attacked with such ferocity that the other was first
surprised, then dismayed. Suddenly the other tried to
break freeùand nets came down, incapacitating both
animals, and the fight was over.

The time was fifty-four seconds.

Stumpy looked at Fleta with new appraisal. "You
weren't guessing," she said flatly.

"I understand animals," Fleta said.

Stumpy turned and walked away.

Fleta walked back to the Ladder screen. There was
her name, on the eighth rung, with Stumpy Just below
it. She had qualified for the Tourney.

Spy

Bane felt the girl in his arms sag. He steadied her,
realizing that Fleta had been in Mach's embrace, just
as Agape had been in his own embrace, at the time of
his exchange with Mach. Fortunately this had not dis-
rupted the process.

Bane looked out over the grassy plain. It was good
to be back in Phaze, after the horrors of the pursuit by
the Proton Contrary Citizens! Mach had told him briefly
of the discovery by Stile, his father, that their exchange
was causing a dangerous imbalance, so they had to
spend more time in their own frames. Thus he was back
for that reasonùbut the love of his home frame smote
him, and he knew he was glad that this need had de-
veloped. It was early morning, just as it had been in
Proton, but here it was beautiful.

Except for his separation from Agape. He loved her
too, and wanted to be with herùand could not, here.

The girl blinked, recovering equilibrium. "We have
exchanged, Fleta," he told her. "I be not Mach."

There was a little pop behind him, and a trace of
vapor passed, evidently lingering from the mist of the
dawn.

98 | Piers Anthony

She stared at him. "You are alive!" she breathed.
"Aye, filly." Then he asked her about the nature of
the truce Mach had told him about, but she seemed

confused.

"Where are we?" she asked.

He laughed. "Where thou hast always been, mare!
In Phaze, o' course."

Still she seemed perplexed. "Pleaseùdo some

magic," she said.

He realized that she had suffered some kind of shock,
perhaps because of her proximity to the exchange 'he
had made with Mach. He conjured a basket of oats for

her.
"I am not the unicorn," she said. "I am Agape."

"Be thou joking, mare?"

She claimed she was not. There followed some con-
fusion, as each doubted the other's identity, but soon
she convinced him that she was indeed Agape. He could
not, however, convince her that he was Bane. Finally
they compromised: he gave her a spell she could invoke
for protection and left her. He would know if she used
the spell, so he could check on her, for it was his magic.

Then he conjured himself to the Blue Demesnes.

His mother, the Lady Blue, welcomed him, of course.
It was his father Stile he was concerned about.

He need not have been. They met privately in Stile's
office, protected from observation by a careful spell. "I
made a mistake in judging you," Stile said, speaking in
his original dialect, as he was apt to do when serious.
"Or perhaps in judging your other self, Mach the
Robot. I should have remembered how Sheen wasù
and how Neysa was. Their offspringù" He shrugged.
"I shall not err like that again."

There was a faint ripple in the air. Bane was startled.
The statement had seemed incidental, but that was the
splash of truth. Stile was deadly serious.

"As you may know, Fleta sought to kill herself," Stile
continued gravely. "And Mach rescued her in a manner

ROBOT ADEPT

reminiscent of my own Oath of Friendship to Neysa,
proving his love and his nascent power. Were you aware
that he overrode an Adept's spell in the process?"

"I had not much time for news," Bane said. "Trool's
spell?"

"Trool's spell. He always was too decent for his own
good, and when he couldn't talk her out of suicide, he
gave her what she asked, reluctantly. It was incidental
magic, for himùbut no ordinary person overrides any
Adept magic! The doing of it shook the frame, and
suddenly all of us knew that a new Adept was in the
process of coming into being. Translucent pounced on
the opening, and won Mach's trust, leaving us in a very
bad situation."

"Aye," Bane agreed. "Dost know that I have found
love in Proton-frame?"

"The parallelism of the frames made that likely. We
were so blinded by our concern for the continuation of
our line that we lost sight of other realities. Our op-
position to your union as such is at an end. Do what
you must do; I'm sure you have found a worthy com-
panion."

"As such?"

Stile laughed. "We still must oppose itùfor different
reason. You cannot remain in Proton without aggra-
vating the deadly imbalance."

"Ah, aye," Bane agreed. "So it be the same." He
grimaced. "I sought not love there," he continued. "I
knew not I was going there, when first it happened. But
e'en as thou didst find love across the frames, so did
I."

"I was concerned about the future," Stile said. "Now
I am concerned about the present. The Adverse Adepts
are marshaling their forces, seeking to use their advan-
tage to achieve complete victory. If they can establish
communication between the frames, merging Proton
analytic techniques with Phaze magic, they can domi-
nate this frame. You and Mach are the key; if you
cooperate in that, the power is theirs."

100 I Piers Anthony

"I seek not to give them that!" Bane protested.
"But if they take possession of your woman?"
"Aye, they tried," Bane said. "We seek to return
her to her planet of Moeba, then she will be safe. But
it be difficult; the Contrary Citizens be alert."
"You will accept separation from her?" Stile asked,

surprised.

"Aye, because though I love her, so also do I love
the frame. I would not take her at the cost of all else
I value. So I am with thee, my father; I know our
romance can be not permanent."

"I had thought you would oppose me in this," Stile
said. "But if you give her up, will you thenù?"

"Aye, I will find a woman of Phaze and make an
heir," Bane said. "An she be amenable to the knowl-
edge that I love her not."

Stile, not normally the most demonstrative of men,
simply extended his hand. Bane shook it. Again a faint
splash was evoked. There was no quarrel between them.

"I thought to give up my own love similarly," Stile
said, "for the good of the frame. But I got her backù
and if there is any way I can find to do the same for
you, I will do it, regardless of the heir."

Bane smiled. "But there be a development they know
not: Agape be now here in Phaze."

"She crossed the curtain with you?" Stile asked,

amazed.

"Aye. She was embracing me, and Fleta embraced
Mach as we exchanged, and methinks we carried them

with us."

"But where is she now?"

"In Fleta's body, girlform. She feared a trick by the
Citizens, and they have been most devious before. She
be seeking her answer alone."

"But there is danger for the uninitiate in Phaze!"

"Aye. I gave her a spell. More can I not do, an I
wish to keep mine agreement to let her be. When she
accepts Phaze, then can we be together again."

"This is apt to aggravate the imbalance," Stile said.

ROBOT ADEPT | 101

"I sent word to Mach and Fleta. Trool identified it;

your exchange is wreaking mischief of a cumulative
nature. The Adverse Adepts verified it, once we iden-
tified it; they know that both frames can be pushed to
destruction, if we ignore this imbalance. We can halt it
only by returning you to your own frames."

Bane sighed. "And our loves be in the opposite
frames! Mischief indeed!"

"Mischief indeed," Stile agreed. "But it does not
solve the problem of dominance in the frames. The two
of you can continue to communicate from your own
frames, and if you do it for the benefit of the Adverse
Adepts, they will prevail."

"And if the Contrary Citizens gain power o'er Agape,
I can promise not that I will not do their bidding," Bane
said.

"And the same for the Adverse Adepts," Stile said.
"You don't want them to catch on to her presence here.
As long as they believe she is Fleta, they will leave her
alone, so as not to give Mach cause to change his mind."

"Aye. That were in my mind as I left her: that she
be in no danger from them, only from natural crea-
tures."

Stile walked around the chamber, his blue robe
swinging out as he turned. "I do not trust the Adverse
Adepts to wait passively for you to fall into their hands.
They seem to be honoring the truce, perhaps because
they fear that any violation here will bring a counter-
move in Proton, or will alienate Mach. But as Mach
discovers that the Lady Blue and I have withdrawn our
opposition to their union, and realizes that he no longer
needs sanctuary with Translucent, the Adepts will seek
to consolidate their advantage by more forceful means.
It would facilitate my preparation if I had a better no-
tion what they might be planning."

"And thou canst not simply go and ask!" Bane said
with a wry smile.

"They keep aware of me as I do of them," Stile
agreed. "They know where I am at any given moment,

102 | Piers Anthony

just as I know where they are. I fear they use their
minions for their dirty work, but I don't want to seem
to be spying on the goblins or ogres or demons either,
lest I alert them to my suspicions."

"But if I were to use similar magic to do some

spyingù"

"I could cover for you," Stile concluded. "They
surely have a tracer on you, too, but I could enchant a
humanoid golem to resemble you and divert their
awareness to it. Then you would be unsuspected."

"Aye," Bane agreed, liking the challenge. "But e'en
so, I could go not in mine own form."

"You have been studying blue magic for several
years. I think you're ready for full Adept-level tech-
niques, such as form-changing. I have long since used
up most of the best forms for me, and cannot assume
them with the same spells. But those spells will still be
good for you, and perhaps it is time for you to use

them."

"Aye," Bane said, gratified. This was a tacit pro-
motion to adult status. He realized that his decision to
favor the welfare of the frame over his personal love
had won his father's respect, and this was an immediate
result.

"The main problem with form-changing is the rever-
sion," Stile said. "Blue magic is spoken, or sung, and
other forms cannot duplicate the human sounds. What
is required is a translation of the spells to the language
of the other form. Once you have that, you can always
revert to human form. But then that form is done for
you; the magic will not work a second time."

"Aye."

"Therefore you will need a form that the Adverse
Adepts will not suspect, that you can remain in until
you are done, and will not need again. It is true that
there are many available forms, and a variant of the
original spell will work as new for changing into similar
species. Still, caution is best."

ROBOT ADEPT | 103

"Aye." Bane was really pleased; his father had never
before trusted him with magic of this nature.

"Select a form that you find suitable, and when you
assume it, I can conjure you to one of the Adverse
Demesnes," Stile said. "Thereafter you will be on your
own. If you get in trouble, you will have to revert to
your natural form, then conjure yourself back here.
You should be able to handle that."

"Aye," Bane agreed. He had devised many conjur-
ation spells, so that he could jump from one spot to
another at any time, as he had done to come here from
the region of the harpies. "Butùmethinks a trial run
first?"

Stile laughed. "A sensible precaution! We'll try
something innocuous, and complete the full process;

then you will know what to expect. What form would
you like to try?"

"I think for observation, something small and un-
noticed. An insect, perhaps a bee."

Stile had the spell. He spoke it, and it had no effect
on him because he had already used it for himself. Then
he described the reversion spell in bee-buzz, making
sure Bane understood it. "If you confuse it, you could
change back into the wrong form," he warned. "I could
devise a spell to correct the error for you, but I think
it best that you handle it yourself."

"Aye." For when Bane became the Blue Adept,
there would be no one to rescue him from his own
errors.

Agape, Agape, Agape!

Bane jumped. "She invoked the spell I gave her!"
he exclaimed. "She be in danger!"

"Your spell should protect her," Stile said. "But you
don't want to interfere before she is ready. Still, you
want to be sure she is safe."

"How canst thou know my thought so perfectly?"

"I knew it when I first loved your mother. Change
now, and I will conjure you to her vicinity; this is an
ideal test situation."

104 | Piers Anthony

Bane realized it was true. He wanted, in effect, to
spy on Agape, to be sure she was safe without intruding
on her presence. He sang the bee spell, and in a moment
was crashing to the floor, unable to fly.

"Think bee," Stile said, looking down at him. "Rev
up your wings gently, until you have the technique and
the balance."

Bane followed directions, and in a moment was hov-
ering somewhat unsteadily, a few inches above the

floor.

"Now I will conjure you to her vicinity," Stile said.
He sang a spellùand Bane was back at the open plain,
still struggling to maintain equilibrium in air.

He flew in a wobbly circle, and ascended. His bee
senses informed him that this was indeed the proper
region. A bee wasn't smart, but did have excellent po-
sitional awareness.

Not far distant a dragon was snorting. That was rea-
son enough for concern! He put forth more energy and
buzzed toward it, gaining proficiency in flight.

There was no sign of Agape. That was .as it should
be, for his spell made her undetectable by ordinary
means. It was really a rhyming invocation, her name
rhyming with itself as the inflections differed, and it was
not her magic, but his; her speech triggered his per-
formance. It was one of the useful devices he had mas-
tered in his years of study: the Blue parallel to the Red
amulets or the Brown golems, operating away from the
creator. Most Adepts could do similar magic; only the
forms of it differed.

The dragon was casting about, trying to find its van-
ished prey. Soon it flew away, frustrated. Bane relaxed;

Agape was safe, and after a while the spell would wear

off.

Then another shape winged in. It was a harpy! That
was another kind of danger. But how did the harpy
know where Agape was? For the ugly bird was definitely
orienting on something. "Who calls? Who calls?" she
screeched. "I smelled thy signal, but I see thee not!"

ROBOT ADEPT | 105

Smelled her signal?

"Damn!" the harpy fussed, mildly enough for her
kind. "Mayhap the dragon got him, ere the smell o' my
burned feather reached me!"

Now Bane remembered. Mach had made friends with
a harpy! There had been a passing thought about it.
The harpy must have come to help.

"Here I am." That was Agape's voice. The spell al-
lowed her to make herself known when she chose, and
of course it was fading anyway.

Bane hovered nearby long enough to verify that the
harpy was called Phoebe, and that she was helping.
While it was true that the harpies were among the most
dirty and vicious of flying creatures, it was also true
that hardly any other creature sought to interfere with
one. Agape should be safe enough for a time in the com-
pany of Phoebe.

He flew to a reasonable distance, then buzzed out
the spell for the return transformation. He got it right;

in a moment he was a man again. He stood in his normal
clothing: part of the magic was the transformation of
apparel into fur or skin, in the fashion of the unicorns
or werewolves. Quickly he conjured himself back to the
Blue Demesnes.

"She be safe for now," he reported, vastly relieved.
"She has a harpy friend."

"Fleta made that friend," Stile agreed. "I think I
learned from my experience with Trool the Troll that
any species, no matter how vile seeming, can have good
representatives, if correctly approached."

"I think I be ready now to spy on the Adepts," Bane
said. "The test was a success."

"First rest a day," Stile said. "Then we'll send you
out in the morning."

Bane realized that much had happened recently, and
he was tired. "The morning," he agreed.

Thus it was that the next day he found himself in
butterfly formùthe flying mode of this creature was

106 | Piers Anthony

easier to relate to than that of the beeùnear the Orange
Demesnes. He had taken the precaution of becoming
well adapted to his form before being conjured to this
vicinity, so that he would not nutter about inadequately
and perhaps call attention to himself. But in getting that
practice he had used energy, and now in the presence of
the many exotic blooms of the Orange Demesnes he was
hungry. So he flitted from flower to flower, sampling
as many as he could and thoroughly enjoying himself.

However, he did not forget his mission. He wanted
to spy on the Orange Adept, and learn if he could what
mischief the Adverse Adepts were plotting. Stile was
not paranoid; if he suspected trouble, then trouble was
surely in the making.

The Adept lived in a tiny shack in the center of an
overgrown vale in a jungle forest. Bane fluttered closer
to the shack, but it showed no sign of life. The Adept
was either asleep or absent. In either event, Bane w,as
not accomplishing much. It had not occurred to him
that spying would be this dull!

Then a bird swooped down. Oops! Bane plunged for
the tangled ground, avoiding the predator. But the bird
swerved to follow, with marvelous accuracy. It had far
more speed and power than Bane did, and was evidently
determined to snap up this morsel.

Bane could not do other magic in this form. As the
bird took his body, he invoked the conversion spell in
butterfly language, and became a man.

The bird, startled, winged immediately for distant
parts. Bane was safeùexcept that he now stood in his
normal form in the heart of the Orange Demesnes. That
was dangerous!

He took a stepùand encountered ferocious brambles
the butterfly hadn't noticed. Indeed, they were coiling
about his legs, nudging their thorns into position for
best effect. No easy way out of this!

There was no help for it: he would have to conjure
himself out, and hope that the Adept was absent, be-
cause magic of this magnitude would surely alert him

ROBOT ADEPT | 107

otherwise. That could make him, and therefore all the
Adverse Adepts, aware that they were being spied on
by someone, and it would not take them long to guess
whom.

He conjured himself to the center of the Purple
Mountain range. He hoped that if Orange were aware
of the conjuration, and traced it, he would assume that
another Adept had stopped by. This might not be the
best of ploys, but it was all he could think of in the
pressure of the moment.

He was tempted to check on Agape and the harpy,
if they remained together, but resisted the impulse. If
an Adept were tracing his course, he hardly wanted to
lead that hostile man to Agape!

He conjured himself to the White Mountain range,
and finally home. He had expended a number of val-
uable spells, but it seemed a necessary precaution, dou-
bly hiding his true destination.

"I think he was asleep," Stile said. "My magic in-
dicates he is at home; he seldom leaves it. I don't think
you alerted him. What happened?"
"A bird," Bane said, disgruntled.
"Next time make it a poisonous species."
"Aye." Bane grimaced. "I be not much good at
spying, methinks."

"Who among us is? Evidently there was not much to
be learned there."

Bane resolved to do better next time. That afternoon
he transformed into a brightly colored, highly toxic spe-
cies of butterfly, whose blue and yellow wings adver-
tised its nature; no sensible bird would touch it. Stile
conjured him to the Tan Demesnes.

He fluttered near a monstrous banyan tree, whose
branches spread so far horizontally that they could not
support their weight and dropped new trunks to the
ground as buttresses. Thus this single tree seemed
rather like a forest, with lesser plants growing in the
shadows and arches of it. Bane studied it with his but-

108 | Piers Anthony

terfly senses, but could not fathom its extent; it was a

labyrinth!

Odd that the Adept whose magic related to plants
lived in a wilderness hovel, while the one whose magic
related to people lived in the most elaborate vegetative
structure. The Adepts as a whole seemed to honor no

sensible pattern.

He fluttered into the shadows of the tree, seeking
flowers, but there were few here; the light was too dim.
He flew up to see whether there was more above the
lower branches, for he needed flowers as a cover for

his presence.

There was a pavilion above, built into the upper sec-
tions of the tree. A woman was reclining there, sunning
herself in the nude, or perhaps merely enjoying the
breeze. Her eye fell on him.

"A blue-striped zinger!" she exclaimed. "I need a
pair of those!" She jumped up and fetched a net from
a hook on a trunk-post.

It was Tania, the Adept's daughterùand it seemed
she was a butterfly hunter! This was a bad break.

He fluttered down and away, but the woman pursued,
the net poised competently. He barely managed to get
out of its range beyond the pavilion; Tania could not
follow, because she was ten feet above the ground.

"Damn! I'll have to use magic," she muttered.

She gazed intently at him, and the evil eye struck.
Bane was abruptly paralyzed. He fell to the ground,
unable to fly. Because he was an insect, not a man, he
landed lightly, unhurt. Because he was a nascent Adept,
the effect did not last; Adepts could seldom hurt each
other seriously by their magic, being naturally immune.
Had he been in manform, she would have had to work
much harder to achieve the same effect. He could fly
away before she descended a ladder to the ground.

But if he did, she would know he was more than an
ordinary butterfly. He did not want to arouse suspicion.
It was better to play the role, and let her capture him,
and escape when he could do so in the natural butterfly

ROBOT ADEPT | 109

manner. If no opportunity came, then he would have
to do it in an unnatural manner.

Tania arrived. She slid a bit of paper under him and
picked him up, carefully. "Come on, you pretty little
prize," she said. "I have just the place for you."

That did not sound good. Should he have bolted?

She carried him to a garden set within the far fringe
of branches that was entirely surrounded by fine netting.
Within it were scores of butterflies. She opened a small
section and set him inside. "You will recover in a mo-
ment, zinger," she said. "Just find yourself a perch; I'll
find a mate for you as soon as I can." She withdrew.

He waited a suitable period, then righted himself and
flapped his wings. He flew to a spot on a thick bush and
perched there, as directed.

Tania returned to the pavilion and resumed her sun-
ning. But she faced the caged garden, and she was
watching him; it was probably because she was pleased
to have come this providently on a rare acquisition, but
it meant he could not do anything contrary to butterfly
nature. He was still captive.

He just did not seem to be very good at spying!

Since he had nothing else to do, he watched her. He
had known her occasionally as a child; she had been
about ten when he was six, and the Tan Adept had
brought her when he came to the Blue Demesnes to
confer on this or that. Stile had not gotten along well
with the Adverse Adepts, but they were Adepts and
had to be accorded the respect due that status. Tania
had seemed insufferably snotty from the vantage of his
youth, but he learned that it was in Tan's mind that he,
Bane, might make a suitable match for her, when he
became adult. He had rejected that notion out of hand;

he would have no truck with any of the Adverse Adepts
or their ilk.

But in Proton, and now in Phaze, he saw from the
vantage of his sexual maturity that Tania was an at-
tractive young woman. Her body was tanned all over,
and her matching hair and eyes had their own peculiar




110 I Piers Anthony

appeal. Physically, she was now a creature he could

have been attracted to.

Then a wren appeared, a tiny bird flitting along a
lateral branch, checking it for edible insects. Tania's
eyes moved to follow it, as it reached the edge of the
pavilion. She concentratedùand the bird gave an an-
guished peep and flopped onto its back, its legs kicking

frantically.                                            '

"Suffer, creep, before I kill thee," Tania said, watch-
ing it with satisfied malice. "Didst think to prey on my

butterflies?"
But the bird had not been after the butterflies. Bane

thought. It had been looking for crawling bugs in the
bark of the huge tree and could not have gotten into
the garden cage anyway. She was torturing it without
proper reason, evidently enjoying the process. Indeed,
she licked her lips as she watched the wren, and her

face seemed to glow.

After a time the wren showed signs of recovering
from the effect of the evil eye. Its kicking and fluttering
slowed and stopped, and it started to right itself.

Then Tania got up, fetched her butterfly net, reversed
it, and smashed the handle down on the hapless bird.
When she was sure it was dead, she nudged the body
off the edge, so that it fell to the ground beyond.

And that completed the picture on Tania: he could
never have been attracted to her mind. She was a true
example of the nature of the Adverse Adepts.

In due course her brother arrived. "How goes it,

Tannu?" Tania asked.

"Indifferently," he replied, plumping into another
deck chair. "The rovot and the unicorn traveled to the
Harpy Demesnes, where he switched with Bane. Then
Bane went to the Blue Demesnes, leaving the 'corn."

"He sported with animals, but does no more," she
remarked. "Bring him to me, and I will bind him to

our cause."

"Can't, under truce," Tannu said.

ROBOT ADEPT | 111

"Truces exist only for convenience," she said dis-
dainfully.

He grimaced. "Needs must someone inform Trans-
lucent o' that," he said. "After Purple botched the job,
Translucent won o'er the rovot, and his word governs.
Methought Translucent was crazy and would hang him-
self, but he did not."

"Yet," she said. "He has hanged himself not yet. He
were lucky, but his luck will turn. It be crazy to let Bane
run loose."

"We be preparing for the time Translucent comes to
his senses," Tannu said. "The ogres, goblins and de-
mons be alerted; they be marshaling their forces."

"For what? Bane can be held not by goblins!"

"But the 'corn can," he replied. "An the rovot return
and change his mind, we want that unicorn captive."

"Where be she now?"

"We know not. She set out afoot in girlform for the
mountains, but vanished."

"Belike she took birdform and flew away," Tania
said. "An she come to me in that form, I know how to
deal with her!" Her gaze flicked to the butterfly net.

"Save thy strength for Bane," he advised. "It will
require it all to make him do thy will."

She shrugged, her breasts moving. "He be a man. I
have practiced the Eye to stun the higher functions. An
I hit him with that, he will not know he be changed;

he will see only a body he lusts to possess. By the time
he spend himself on that, he be mine."

"Just make sure he is, an that time come," Tannu
said seriously. "Meanwhile, we marshal the animals."

"Speaking of whichùthere be a bird below. Do thou
get it away from here before it stinks."

He shook his head. "Thou must cease wasting thy
power on nonentities, Tania."

"Well, bring me something worthy of mine effort!"
she snapped. "Like Bane. Methinks I could have
amusement of him; he be a fair young man now."




112 I Piers Anthony

"All in good time," he replied, and got up, evidently
to take care of the dead bird.

Bane realized that he had scored as a spy after all.
By being made captive, he had remained close enough
to overhear the enemy dialogue. Now he had confir-
mation of the treachery of the Adverse Adeptsùand
some notion of their interest in him, too. Could Tania
really use her evil eye to enchant him? He would have
thought no, before, but now he was not sure. She
seemed too confident, and her approach was insidious.
Stun his higher sensitivities, and tempt him with sex. If
he succumbed to that, it would play havoc with his
relationship with Agape, as perhaps Tania intended.
More likely, she merely wanted the challenge of taming
an apprentice Adept, and of fashioning a sexual play-
thing.

He did not think she could do it. But he wasn't sure,

and did not care to take the chance. He would stay well

away from her!

The day slowly passed. Bane flew to a number of
flowers in the cage, satisfying his hunger, but did not
dare try to escape. He was sure he could get away by
reverting suddenly to manform and immediately con-
juring himself away, but that would give away his iden-
tity and ruin the validity of the information he had
gleaned. It was important that he escape without being

suspected.
At night, when Tannu and Tania had settled for sleep

elsewhere in the tree, he made his move. He flew to a
firm spot in the garden, and reverted to his natural form.
Then he walked carefully to the fastened flap of netting
that Tania used for her own entry, opened it, and
stepped out. Then he climbed a branch overhanging the
garden and broke off a dead projection. He brought
this down to the net and used it to tear a small hole in
the fabric, directly below the spot from which the
branch had been taken. He set it down just beside the
net. In the morning, when Tania found her prize but-
terfly gone, she would discover the hole evidently made

ROBOT ADEPT 113

by the falling branch, and realize how the insect had
escaped. She would be annoyed, but not suspicious. He
hoped.

Then he climbed down a trunklet to the ground, and
made his way out of the tree. He walked some distance
into the night, putting distance between the sleepers
and his conjuration, making it less likely that they would
be aware of it. Then, finally, he conjured himself home.

In the following days he spied on the goblins, ogres
and demons that Tannu had mentioned. Sure enough,
they were organizing as for battle. But where did they
plan to strike, and when, and with what forces? The
break he had had at the Tan Demesnes turned out to
have been his best; butterflies could not get close
enough to the decision makers at the right times to spy
out anything critical.

Then he learned that the Adverse Adepts were sus-
picious of the unicorn. They had managed to trace her
to the Red Demesnes, and saw little reason for the
unicorn to go there. But if it were another person in
her body, who needed help learning the magic, that
could account for it. So they were alert for her, in
whatever form. They knew their strongest possible hold
on him, Bane, would be through the creature he loved,
just as it was with Mach.

"I must go to her, to protect her," he told his father.
"No," Stile said. "They aren't sure. If you do that,
they will be sure, and her danger will be increased. Let
Trool handle it; he can protect her readily enough."

Bane knew that his father was right. So, reluctantly,
he continued his spying missions, hoping for the break
that would give them the rest of the information they
needed. In time he would be reunited with Agape. That
was what he lived for.




6

Amoeba

Mach found himself naked in a chamber, embracing the
alien female, Agape. "The exchange has been accom-
plished," he said. "We had better disengage." For Bane
had conveyed to him that this was the office of one of
the Contrary Citizens. What a place for them to hide!

"Where be we?" the woman asked.

He started to explain, then realized it was pointless,
because she had been here all along. "But you already
know that. Agape."

"I be Fleta!" she said.

"Don't tease me like that, Agape," he said. "I love

.her."

"Tease thee? I tease thee not," she protested.
They discussed the matter, and soon she satisfied him
that she really was Fleta, who somehow had managed
to exchange with him, and was now in the body of the
alien female. What a development!
"This really be thy rovot form?" she asked.
He was glad to have his love with him, however un-
expectedly, but this was decidedly awkward. Fleta had
no notion of the ways of Proton, or even of the man-
agement of her strange body. She would quickly give

ROBOT ADEPT 115

herself away, if he didn't indoctrinate her immediately.
Her language alone . . .

They worked on it. Fleta adapted to the language
fairly readily, and with some difficulty learned how to
reshape her amoebic body. Learning how to cope in
the frame of Proton would be a longer task; he had to
settle for the minimum.

In the course of their discussion, he learned from her
that Tan was the Adept of the Evil Eye, and that he
had wanted to marry his daughter to Bane. How for-
tunate that Bane had resisted!

Teaching Fleta to eat the amoebic way was a chal-
lenge. Getting her through the night was another, be-
cause Agape's body melted when it lost consciousness
and puddled on the bed. But they squeaked through it,
and in daytime Fleta was at the front desk as Agee, the
android receptionist.

Meanwhile he researched their situation, and learned
that the self-willed machines were helping, and had a
plan to enter Agape in this year's Tourney, which was
about to begin. That would protect her from the Con-
trary Citizens until she washed out, when she would be
shipped back to Planet Moeba, no interference
brooked. Good enough; all she had to do was hide for
three days, and she would be safe.

Except that it wasn't Agape with him now, it was
Fleta, and Fleta knew nothing about the Tourney, and
less about Planet Moeba. It would be complete disaster
to ship her there.

He would have to get her exchanged back to Phaze
before she went to Moeba. That could be difficult. He
would have to think about ways and means.

Tania stopped by the office: the very thing he hoped
would not happen. She was striking in her fashion: a
face that was removed from the ordinary by its tan eyes
and framing of tan hair, and a well-developed body.
Obviously she could be a beauty when she chose to be.
At the moment she was too cold and Citizenlike despite

116 | Piers Anthony

her nakedness to be attractive, however. Serfs learned
early to treat the bodies of Citizens as objects of ven-
eration, not of interest, unless directed otherwise.

She reviewed Fleta in a cursory manner, then Mach.
She wasn't satisfied. She curtly ordered Fleta to re-
quisition a replacement menial robot. Then she was
gone. Perhaps it was a test; if so, Fleta passed it nicely,
except for the single error of referring to him as a

"rovot."

Then Tania's brother appeared. In Phaze it seemed
that this young man had not yet assumed the office of
the Adept, but in Proton he was evidently Citizen Tan.
Parallelism was approximate, not perfect; otherwise
Mach and Bane could not have been alternate selves.

Did the Citizen suspect? Mach watched with increas-
ing apprehension as Tan questioned Fleta, then handled
her, then took her to the sleeping chamber for a sexual
exercise. Obviously a true android serf would be thrilled
to have such attention from her employer, while an alien
female in love with a robot would not. Could Fleta
tolerate this intimacy for the sake of concealment of
her nature? He feared she could not, and tried to in-
terfere on a pretext.

And his body was abruptly shorted out. Now he
knew, too late, that Tan suspected; he was helpless.

But Fleta, primed to act when he gave the word,
decided it was time. She wrapped her amoebic flesh
about Tan's more sensitive parts and forced him to obey
her. She made him free Mach, then deposit her in the
waste disposal chute. The self-willed machines would
guide her from there. She had escaped.

Leaving Mach with a hurting and humiliated Citizen.

It would not be smart for Tan to do anything to Mach,
because Mach was the key to communication between
the frames that the Contrary Citizens so very much
desired. But Mach wasn't sure that Tan was in a. mood
to be smart at the moment. He made a hasty retreat
from the office, and with a speed that only a machine
in a frame whose details were run largely by machines

ROBOT ADEPT | 117

could manage, became lost in the service network. He
knew Tan would not give the alarm; this would be a
private grudge. Citizens did not take lightly to depra-
dations on their dignity.

He consulted his brethren, the machines. He learned
that there was indeed a search on for Agape (Fleta),
and that it would be dangerous for her if Mach were to
try to approach her before she was safely qualified for
the Tourney.

Yet she would want and need his support. How could
he provide it, without putting her in peril? How could
he resist the natural urge to go to her prematurely?

He knew how. He requisitioned a unit and pro-
grammed a dialogue. He dictated an opening statement
that would satisfy her as to his authenticity, and left the
rest to interactivity. It would seem just like him, and
give her comfort. He left it with the self-willed ma-
chines, who would use it when appropriate.

But when he set foot in the halls, and sought to lose
himself among the walking serfs as he made his way to
the estate of Citizen Blue, an android turned abruptly
and threw an object at him. Mach dodged it, and it
struck the wall beyond him, detonating in a flash and
report like that of a small bomb but doing no harm.
Apparently it was a toy, a mock explosive.

Mach took off after the android, who was trying to
duck around a corner. He wanted to know who had
sent him, and what the mock-bomb was supposed to
do.

The android, like most of his species, was clumsy.
Mach reached him easily, catching him by the shoulder.

The man whirled, flipping another bomb toward
Mach's face. Mach intercepted it with his left hand, his
reactions much swifter and better coordinated than the
android's.

The bomb exploded in his hand, and the pieces of it
fell away. It might have harmed a flesh hand, but not
his. "What are you trying to do?" he demanded.

"Mark you," the android said.




118 | Piers Anthony

Suddenly Mach understood. That had not been a
damage-bomb, but a marker-bomb! It had impregnated
his hand with radiation that would enable him to be
traced.

"Who sent you?" he asked.

"Citizen Tan." The android was not even trying to
evade; evidently his attempt to flee had been part of a
ruse to get Mach close.

Mach let him go and ran on toward his destination.
But he saw suggestive motion ahead, and realized that
others were already closing in. They knew his desti-
nation, and his location, and would intercept him before
he reached safety.

He had been right about Citizen Tan: the man was
angry. Tan intended to capture Mach, regardless of the
Contrary Citizens' desire to get him to work for them.
Injured pride was more immediate than long-term
power. Fleta was safe because Tan could not find herù
but Tan could get at her through Mach, reversing the

ploy.

This situation had developed so quickly that Citizen
Blue was not aware of it. Mach needed to get back to
the self-willed machines, who would alert his father.
But the minions of Tan were cutting him off from that-
contact too. Also, his contact with them now would
serve as proof of their complicity. He had to find some
other avenue of escape.

Mach charged back the way he had come. This hap-
pened to be the hall leading to the spaceport; he had
entered it from a service aperture, which he did not
dare use now, as the tracer radiation would betray his
private contacts.

The spaceport? That was a dead end! They would
close in on him there, and spirit him away before he
could alert his side. Unlessù

Why not? Their tracer would do them no good, if he
were offplanet!

He hurried to the waiting shuttle. Ships did not ac-
tually land in the dome city; the shuttle conveyed pas-

ROBOT ADEPT | 119

sengers to the orbiting station, where they boarded the
interplanetary vessels. He stepped in just as the port
was starting to close; the shuttles departed on a rigid
schedule every few minutes. He was safe from pursuitù
for those few minutes.

He checked the screen for the imminent listings.
Ships arrived and departed from and to a dozen planets
every hour. There should be somewhere convenient,
from which he could alert his father. It was ironic that
they had been having so much trouble getting Agape
offplanet, while he was doing it on the spur of the
moment!

The name leaped out at him from the list: MOEBA.
The very planet!

Mach laughed, internally. He would visit Planet
Moeba.

Mach had been on interplanetary flights before; it
had been a deliberate part of his education. He under-
stood about the temporary blackout of Feetle (FTLù
Faster Than Light) travel and the necessary adjustment
of time to synchronize with that of the planet being
approached. But he was surprised by the passengers.

It seemed that they were all from other planets; Pro-
ton had merely been a mail-stop, and he was the only
new traveler. One individual resembled a molding
green cactus. Another seemed like a living plate of
spaghetti with olives for eyes. A third was rounded and
furry, with half a dozen whistle-pipes poking out. The
others were somewhat stranger.

Mach ran through his geography program, identifying
the various species and cultures. They were all legiti-
mate; the surprise was in finding such a varied assort-
ment on a single ship. Their languages were all
different, too, and he had no programs for these, so
could not communicate.

He did have a program for Moebite, because of his
association with Agape. He had never used it, but he
automatically set up for likely eventualities. He had




120 I Piers Anthony

thought that Bane might find it useful; in the rush of
events, he had neglected to inform his other self. How
fortunate he had it now!

That jogged a little alarm circuit. His acquisition of
that program was on record, which meant that Tan must
know about it. Tan would not have known that it was
for Bane; he would have thought it was for Mach him-
self. Tan might have concluded that Mach planned to
go to Moeba at some time in the future.

Why, then, had Tan not acted to prevent it? Tan's
minions had tried to intercept Mach on the way to Cit-
izen Blue's estate; they had left an avenue to the space-
port open. That was the kind of error Citizens seldom

made.

The timing had been remarkably convenient. Tan's
minions had struck just when the next ship out was the
one to Moeba.

Mach had no further doubt: Tan had wanted him on
this ship. That meant that there would be a welcoming
party on Moeba. Away from Proton, Mach could not
turn to his father for help. Perhaps a trap had been set
for Agape, so that if she succeeded in departing Proton
safely, she would still be taken captive. Now Tan had
elected to use it on Mach. It could have been seren-
dipitous for the Citizen: a trap set for one used to catch
the other.

Now he was on the way to that trap, and he could
not detour. The ship terminated at Moeba; it would
undergo inspection and preparation for its next voyage,
and only service crews would be permitted to remain
on it. Mach would have to go to the planetary surfaceù
where he would be vulnerable to whatever the Citizen
had in mind. How could he escape it?

He smiled. There were ways. Bane, in this body,
might have been helpless, but Mach was not.

First he had to eliminate the marker. He knew that
his left hand was hopeless; once impregnated with ra-
diation, it would remain so until the radiation faded,
which could be years. Soù

ROBOT ADEPT | 121

He opened his chest cavity and brought out a small
tool. He used this to pry under the pseudoflesh of his
left wrist and access the circuitry there. He nulled it,
and separated the physical locks. Soon he removed the
hand and sealed over the wrist.

Another passenger noted this procedure. "Most in-
teresting," the creature murmured. It was a serpentine
form, with a dozen handlike projections along its sides.
Perhaps its interest was professional.

Mach realized that the creature had spoken in Moe-
bite. It must have learned the language for its visit. He
held out the hand. "Would you like to borrow it?" he
asked in that language. "I must warn you that it has
been impregnated with marker radiation: harmless to
living flesh, but a beacon for the party seeking it." He
held out the hand.

The creature took it. "I would like to study this. I
regret I cannot detach one of my own. May I proffer
some other item or service?"

"Perhaps a service. I believe that some party on
Moeba intends to take me captive, identifying me by
this hand. Would you care to lead that party astray?"

"I would be delighted!" the creature said.

Thus expeditiously was the deal made. Mach was
gambling that the party would use the radiation to do
the identification, not considering the physical appear-
ance of the subject at all. It was evident that many
strange creatures visited the planet, so appearance
meant little.

He would have to do without his hand, but that
seemed a necessary price for his freedom.

Now all he had to do was decide on a legitimate
mission, since he would have to remain on the planet
at least until another ship traveled back to Protonù
and until he could safely return. That might be a while.

Actually, he had a mission: to learn how a robot
might breed with a Moebite. This was the occasion to
investigate the prospects.

In due course the ship arrived at the planet of the

122 Piers Anthony

Amoeba and established orbit. The passengers were
shuttled down on a winged craft that swooped onto a
dark marsh. A submersible bubble took them to a
chamber some distance below the surface.

It turned out that the other passengers were Moe-
bites, returning from their various interplanetary mis-
sions. They had maintained their discrete disguises as
a matter of principle while away from home, but now
dissolved with relief into their natural jelly forms. They
had assumed that Mach was another Moebite, and were
evidently surprised when he did not melt.

The individual with the marked hand went immedi-
ately to another chamber, as if trying to escape detec-
tion. There was no immediate sign of pursuit, but Mach
was sure some would soon manifest. There was no
chance of losing track of that hand!

A Moebite formed into a vaguely human outline and
approached him. "You have business here?" it inquired
in its own language; Mach understood it only because
of his language program.

"I have come to inquire about your nature and cul-
ture," Mach said. His actual words were only approx-
imately analogous to the ones he would have used on

Proton.

"We are always glad to exchange information," the
Moebite said. "Do you wish a cultural tour?"

"Yes." His preliminary research had indicated that
this was the proper mode of introduction.

"I shall summon a guide."

"Thank you."

In a moment the guide appeared, in the guise of a
naked human being, except for one distinction: it was
neuter. "A greeting, man-being," it said in Moebite.
"I am Coan. Have you a preference?"

Mach considered. The creature was sexless, and
could assume the appearance of either sex, just as
Agape could. Agape had chosen to be female, and had
then conformed psychologically to that image. He de-

ROBOTADEPT) 123

cided not to get involved with any other alien female.
"Male, if you please. I am Mach."

Coan's midsection melted, then shaped into penis and
scrotum. His hips thinned down slightly. He had made
the requisite cosmetic adaptation.

"Our habitat is dry, but we handle wet well," Coan
said. "These are melt channels through which travelers
normally pass." He indicated several holes in the floor.
As Mach looked, he saw one in use: semi-fluid sub-
stance was squeezing up from it and pooling around it.
Soon the Moebite was through, and sliding toward a
waiting region, evidently early for its ship.

"I hope there is an alternative exit," Mach said. "My
body is not flexible in this manner."

"Our facilities for aliens are limited, but sufficient,"
Coan said. "We shall utilize a capsule." He showed the
way to a port that could accommodate a man. He
touched it and it opened, revealing the small transpar-
ent bubble beyond. They climbed in and sealed the
bubble's lock. Then the little craft moved through the
water, .dropping slowly to the sea floor and extending
fibers that traveled along its nether side, moving it
gently forward.

"What was the business of the other travelers?" Mach
inquired.

"They are representatives to other planets. They as-
sume the forms of the creatures whom they visit and
learn their modes of communication. We are studying
the galaxy, and wish to know as much as we can learn
about the ways of other sapient species."

"Because you have no technology of your own,"
Mach said.

"True. We had no need of it until we made contact
with other species. Now we realize that we are retarded
in this sense, and we wish to make progress. We prefer
not to be entirely dependent on other planets for our
interplanetary contacts."

Mach could appreciate why. Any aggressive planet
could exploit Moeba unmercifully, and surely in time




124 Piers Anthony

that would occur. "So you are studying technology, and
trying to learn sexual reproduction, so that your species
will evolve as effectively as others do."

"You have an unusual comprehension of our effort,"

Coan remarked.
"I am not a normal individual of my species," Mach

said. "I am a machineù"

"I had noted that. But you are self-willed."
"Who is in love with a living creature of another

species."

"I begin to perceive the nature of your empathy,"
"I also represent, in a manner, the interest of another

individual who is in love with a Moebite, and who I

believe would like to breed with her."
Coan considered a moment. "I believe we have some

common interest. We must explore it in greater detail."

"Agreed."

The bubble reached the shore and crawled onto land,
then stalled; its fiber-propulsion was unable to sustain
the weight on land. The port opened, and they climbed

out.

Coan escorted him to a building that appeared to
have been constructed by natives of another planet.
That made sense; the Moebites had had no technolog-
ical culture of their own. This was the limitation they
were trying to surmount.

"In the beginning, our culture was without form and
void," Coan said, showing a setting of deep water. "We
were amoeba, but small, floating in the current. We
were victim to other species, and to each other. Pred-
ator species were dominant." And in the setting, little
amoeba were engulfed by larger ones.

"We retreated to the least hospitable realms, the shal-
lows and the rivers," Coan continued as they moved to
the next exhibit. "Conditions were more extreme here,
and we had to develop tougher membranes and tougher
protoplasm. But the predators did the same, and fol-
lowed us. We retreated to the fresh water, developing
membranes to contain our vital solutions, and finally to

ROBOT ADEPT | 125

the land itself." The settings showed this progression.

"But here the climate was truly savage. No amount
of fleshly adaptation could sustain us against the alter-
nate desiccation of the summer sunlight and freezing of
the winter. But we discovered how actually to shape
our environment somewhat for our comfort, by Grafting
deep pools in hollows on the land that the predators
could not reach, or by walling off sea inlets so that
predators had difficulty passing. Food was a serious
problem on land, but we learned to cultivate simple
cells and feed on them.

"The most important breakthrough was the devel-
opment of linguistic communication. It enabled us to
form, in effect, a larger entity, that was better able to
cope with inclement conditions. We now dominate our
planet, and no other species preys on us. But when the
first shuttle from an alien planet landed, we realized
that a great deal more remained to be mastered."

"But how do you reproduce?" Mach asked.

"By fission. We grow to sufficient size, then divide
into clone entities, each the same as the original."

"But this should result in the continual fragmentation
of the species," Mach protested.

"No. When two of us have need, we flow together,
and the dominant genes establish a new entity with traits
of each of the contributors. Then we fission, and the
clones are similar. This process maintains a unified spe-
cies."

"But each individual loses its identity when mergence
occurs," Mach protested. "A new individual is formed,
a compromise creature."

"Yes. This is why our leading scholars avoid merg-
ence as long as possible. Unfortunately, mergence is
our nature; aging and weakening occur if it is postponed
too long. Thus we are unable to maintain a truly discrete
intellectual stratum in the fashion of the creatures of
other planets. This, we now perceive, is a liability."

"Sexual reproduction allows individuals to reproduce

126 | Piers Anthony

in a species-unifying way without sacrificing their in-
dividuality," Mach said. "That is an asset."

"Yes. That is why we seek to master this style of
reproduction. We are devising a mechanism of uneven
fission, so that the clones are not of the same size."

"But the merging entities must still form new indi-
viduals," Mach protested. "The size should not affect
that."                 '                         ;

"True. But it enables one of the clones to retain

identity."
"I am a machine. My thinking may be limited. I don't

follow this."

Coan showed him to another exhibit. This was an
expanded view of two amoeba. "Each adult fissions
unevenly," he explained. As he spoke, the models di-
vided, each forming one large and one small daughter
cell. The amoeba, of course, were single-celled, despite
their size. "But this is contrary to our nature; the
smaller individuals cannot survive alone, being too
small to sustain the sophisticated processes of our ad-
vanced state. They must merge immediately, while the
larger ones are able to survive independently." The two
small ones merged, forming a new individual of about
the size of the parent amoeba.

Now Mach understood. "The two parents survive
unchanged; together they have generated a new indi-
vidual, without sacrificing their identities!"

"Yes. This is our analogue of sexual reproduction.
By this device we can retain our memories and culture,
without sacrificing succeeding generations. But prob-
lems remain. The fission into uneven clones is not nat-
ural to us, and there is little individual incentive to do
it. We need to make it sufficiently rewarding so that
every one of us has an incentive to do it this way instead

of the old way."

"And so you are studying the other species of the
galaxy, seeking the secret of sexual attraction and ful-
fillment," Mach said. "That was what Agape was doing,

ROBOT ADEPT | 127

when she encounteredù" He hesitated, then contin-
ued. "Me."

"Yes. It appears that she was successful."
"I believe so. Not only did she learn the physical
pleasure of sexual union, she learned the emotional
pleasure of love."

"We have had difficulty with the latter concept."
"I am sure you have! But Agape will try to explain
it to you when she returns to this planet. Meanwhile,
if I might offer a suggestionù"
"We are seeking suggestions from all sources."
"I am a robot. I have no natural emotions or pleas-
ures. All that I am is unnatural: the result of program-
ming for specific effects. Yet I do have pleasure, and I
do love. Perhaps you need to program artificial in-
ducements for your artificial process of reproduction."

"How can you, as you say a machine, know that your
feelings would have meaning for living creatures?"
Coan asked. "You have had no living experience."

Mach decided to be open. "I have had living expe-
rience. My identity has crossed over into the body of a
living male. I found the sensations and emotions more
intense, but of the same general nature. I had not under-
stood them before that experience, but when I returned
to my machine body, so did the emotions, and I know
they are the same, only reduced somewhat in strength.
Enhancement of my programming could correct that.
If you could arrange for genetic programming of similar
emotionsù"

Just then two others barged into the chamber. "My
pursuers!" Mach said. "I must flee or fight!"
"But there can be no violence here!" Coan protested.
Mach ran for the far exitùand encountered a third
intruder, a Moebite in the form of a giant legged ball,
with two tentacles at the top holding the poles of what
he recognized as an electronic shorting device. One
touch of that, and he would be turned off. They had
come prepared!
But they were amoeba, not robots. They lacked his

128 | Piers Anthony

strength and ferocity of reflex. He dived below the dan-
gerous tentacles and slammed into the ball-body. It
squished. He reached up to grasp the insulated handle-
end of a pole and ripped it out of the flaccid grasp. He
jammed the point against the opposite point.

There was a flash. That shorted out the shorter; it
was now useless. He dropped it and scrambled on out
of the chamber.

Soon he found himself outside, on land. But the oth-
ers were following, and he knew they would not be
careless again with their shorters. He had to get farther
away.

The water! He could handle it, and the shorter could
not. He would be safe there. He ran for it, and plunged
in.

In a moment he was in the wilderness of uncivilized
Moeba. Life was thick, here in the sunlit shallows, and
he discovered to his surprise, also beautiful.

Some shapes were like yellow ferns, waving gently
in the warm current. Some were like patches of blue
gelatin, spread across the warm rocks. Some were like
pink puffballs clinging to vertical surfaces, and others
like the thick brown bristles of scrub brushes. Some
were like flowing syrup, and some like puffy white
moldùwhich they just might be. Many were like large
ant eggs standing on end, and many others were like
dewed spider webs.

This was the realm from which Agape had sprung.
He made a file of photographs of it, so that Bane would
be able to recall this information and see it all, exactly
as Mach was seeing it now, when Bane returned to this
body. Mach knew that his living other self would be
pleased.

He was safe, now, walk-swimming through the water.
But how was he to return safely to Proton? By this time
Citizen Blue would have secured things there; all Mach
needed to do was get there, and see how Fleta was
doing.

He decided to wait a reasonable interval, then return

ROBOT ADEPT | 129

to the museum, where the Moebite authorities should
have dealt with the intruders. As Coan had said vio-
lence was not tolerated there; they would do whatever
they did to criminals. Then he would be able to return
to the space station in the normal manner and take the
next ship for Proton. It should be straightforward now
that he had triggered the trap and escaped it. Agape
too, should be safe, when she came here; the Contrary
Citizens' fangs had been pulled, at least on this planet

Meanwhile, he would explore this realm further re-
cording as much of its beauty as he could for Bane

7

When she recovered full consciousness, she was in a
cage. She scrambled up in alarm.

Immediately a bat leaped into the air beside her cage.
The bat became a woman of extraordinary beauty,
wearing a light cloak resembling the folded wings of the
bat. "Adept!" she exclaimed. "She wakes!"

An extraordinarily ugly man appeared. "Aye," he
agreed. "The amulet restored her somewhat. Now must
thou teach her to change her form."

The woman reached up and opened the cage. "Come
to me, hummingbird," she said. "I be Suchevane, and
I did promise my bitch friend to help thee. She says
thou art not Fleta, but her other self, unable to use her

body well."

So this was Suchevane! Bane had been right; there
could be no lovelier creature than this! Agape hopped

onto her hand.

"The Red Adept caged thee with an amulet to restore
thy strength, but thou must also eat," Suchevane said.
"Now shall I revert to my natural form. Do thou take
my paw and change back to girlform with me. Dost
thou understand?"

ROBOT ADEPT 131

The routine was becoming familiar. Agape nodded
agreement.

The woman set her down on the floor. Then the bat
reappeared, beside her. Agape touched the bat's paw.
Then she willed herself to change when the bat did.

The room reeled. She found herself being supported
by the bat-girl. She was human again!

"I thank thee, Suchevane," the Red Adept said. "Now
can I help her, and thou be free to return to thy flock."

"Will she be well, Adept?" Suchevane asked anx-
iously. "She beùher body be my friend too."

"She will be well," the Adept assured her. "It will
take time for her to recover completely, for much vi-
tality was lost in the birdform, but I will see to her
recovery."

The bat-girl smiled at him. "Much do I appreciate
this. Adept. An thou dost need me for aught else, thou
needst but ask."

"For naught but dreams," the man muttered. Then,
with ordinary volume: "Thou has done more than
enough. I must not hold thee longer."

"Then do I take my leave," Suchevane said. She
became the bat, and flew away.

The ugly man turned to Agape. "I be Trool the Troll,
otherwise known as the Red Adept. I see thou art re-
pelled by mine appearance, as all normal damsels be.
But fear not; I gave up trollish ways when the Blue
Adept befriended me. I mean thee no harm, but only
to restore thee to proper health and the use o' thy body,
so that thou mayst go thy way without danger. It was
needful to convert thee to thine human form so that
thou couldst eat normally." He walked to a chest and
brought out an armful of fruits and breads. "Do thou
eat thy fill, and then I will show thee where thou mayst
rest. The cage were but to protect thee from injury, an
thou shouldst wake and be affrighted."

Agape gazed at him, becoming reassured. "You like
her, don't you."

132 | Piers Anthony

The Adept paused, taken aback. "Does it show so
much? I wish to make not a fool o' myself."

"No, not at all," Agape said quickly. "She is stun-
ningly beautiful, and IùI am an alien creature who
loves a human man. I think I tune in to this sort of

thing, now."

"An old troll has no business dreaming," he said.
"Now do thou eat, for thy present well-being is hut
temporary, the result o' mine amulet. I will leave thee
now; do thou snap thy fingers when thou wishest aught."

He turned away.

Agape realized that she was ravenous, but she had a
doubt. "Adept, if you willùif it is not an impositionù

would you stay?"
"Stay? I thought to relieve thee o' my presence whilst

thou dost eat."

"Your presence is no affront to me. I recognize that
for a man you are ugly, but I realize that you are not
a man, and in any event, my standards are alien. I am
not certain I can eat, here, so may need your further

help."
"The food be good," he said quickly. "The vamps

provide itù"

"I am sure it is good. It is that my normal mode of
eating may not work, here, and I am not sure I can eat

the human way."

"Thou dost become more interesting by the mo-
ment," the Adept said. "Do thou make the attempt,
an this suit thee not, I will fetch other."

Agape made the attempt. She put her face over a
chunk of bread and tried to melt into the digestive
format. Nothing happened.

Trool fetched a chair and sat opposite her. "Exactly
how dost thou eat, in thine own fashion?"

Agape described the process.

"But thou dost know how human beings eat?"

"I have seen it happen;" she admitted.

"Thou art now in human form, and not merely in
external emulation," he said. "Do thou imitate me, step

ROBOT ADEPT | 133

by step." He took a chunk of bread, and brought it to
his face.

She imitated him. He opened his mouth, baring his
teeth, and bit into the bread. She bit likewise. He tore
free a piece of bread and closed his mouth over it. She
did the same. He closed his mouth and masticated, and
she did too. Finally he swallowed, and she copied him
as well as she could.

The sodden mass of chewed bread went down inside
her neck and into her main torso.

"That be it," he said. "Thy body will take care o' it
from here. Do thou continue eating." He took another
bite.

"You meanùthat's all?" she asked, amazed by the
revelation. "I don't need to melt into it?"

"That be all," he agreed. "Thy digestive processes
be now entirely within thy body."

"IùI thought it was likeùwould be the way it is with
Baneùwith Mach's robot body. He can eat, but not
digest, so must open a panel and remove the food before
it spoils."

"That be one fancy golem body!" Trool remarked.
"Nay, it be not that way for thy present body." Then
he angled his head, struck by another thought. "Hast
thou had experience with elimination?"

"Only of my own type, which is not the same."

"It be not meet for me to try to teach thee that.
Suchevane can instruct thee, when she comes to practice
thee on form-changing."

Agape practiced her eating, finishing the chunk of
bread, then tackling a large pear. Juice slopped down
her chin; this was a new challenge! But gradually she
learned to do it more neatly and efficiently. She even
managed to drink a cup of grape juice without spilling
very much down her front.

Finally, her stomach full, she stopped. She lay on the
bed the troll had provided, and slept.

134 | Piers Anthony

In the afternoon Suchevane arrived. Trool explained
briefly the need, and the bat-girl escorted Agape to a
shed that smelled of manure. "Do thou sit on this hole
and let it go," she said.

"Let what go?"

Suchevane cocked her head. "Thou has truly done

this not before?"

"Nor seen it done," Agape agreed. "Human beings

are secretive about the details, and Baneùthe robot
had no need. He showed me sex, but not elimination."
"He showed thee sex," the girl repeated. "Aye, and
he showed that me, too; men be eager enough for that."

"Bane showed you sex?"

"We were young, and curious. He had no human
female friend, so he played with us animals, and we be
friends since. Fleta, Furramenin, meùwe told not the

adults, o' course."

"He played with me too," Agape said. "In the frame
of Proton. But why didn't he marry one of you?"

The girl laughed. "The son o' an Adept marry an
animal? That were never in the cards! Nay, it be play
only, and long o'er now."

"Did he tell you that he loved you?" Agape asked,
concealing the tightness she suddenly felt.

"Nay, o' course not! Bane ne'er deceived others; he
spoke only truth." Then she looked sharply at Agape.
"He told thee that?"

"Yes."
"And Mach told Fleta!" Suchevane shook her head.

"Oh, did he e'er tell her! He spake her the triple Thee.
I was there, and ne'er saw the like! The air, the cliffside,
indeed all the world it seemed turned sparkling clean,
and sheù" She shook her head. "I envy both!"

Agape remembered the way the Red Adept had re-
acted to this young woman. "Adepts don't marry non-
humans?"

"Ne'er! Why should they, an they have anything they

want o' us anyway? They marry seldom at all, and then
only human women, as did Blue."

ROBOT ADEPT | 133

"Forgive me if I am speaking inappropriatelyùbut
would you marry an Adept if he asked you?"

Suchevane shrugged. "That be entirely theoretical.
Any animal would marry any Adept, an he asked her.
Or any decent human man. I would have married Bane,
an he e'er wished. But an Adept ne'er would."

"But what about a nonhuman Adept?"

"There be only one, and he be Trool the Troll. He
be separated from his own kind since he adopted human
ways, and he be kind to my folk. An he wish to take
one o' us for play, she would do it readily enough."

"Even you, the most beautiful of creatures?"

"Aye, especially me! I tired early o' handsome males;

fain would I settle with one like him, with decency and
power. But he has no interest." She looked at Agape.
"But this be a diversion. I must show thee how to elim-
inate."

True enough. Agape was suffering some discomfort
but was unable to relieve it in her natural fashion. "Is
it like eating?"

"Nay, not precisely. Here, mayhap I can show thee.
Let me take the hole."

Agape moved off, and Suchevane moved on. She
lifted her cloak out of the way to reveal her bare pos-
terior. "Here do the solids come out, and here the
liquids."

"Ohùeither side of theù"

"Aye. The major functions be set close together, for
convenience."

"I recognize it now; I have seen anatomical illustra-
tions. I made surface emulations, with only the aperture
required for the sexual congress. On Proton, I mean.
I suppose the others are functional now. I should have
realized."

"It be hard at first to learn the nuances o' a new
form," Suchevane agreed. "I had trouble learning the
human way, when I had practiced only the bat way as
a cub. Now there be muscles here, and thou dost nor-
mally keep them tight, but now thou must let them

136 ] Piers Anthony

relax. See, when I do, it comes out." A stream of yellow
liquid jetted from her, down into the darkness below

the hole.

"Let me see, that muscle should be about here,"
Agape said, lifting her own cloak and touching her body.
"If I relax itùoops!"

Suchevane leaped from the hole, put her hands on
Agape's shoulders, and swung her around and down
on it. Liquid splashed on the board. "Thou hast it

now!"

"But there is substance in the otherù"
"Let that out too! This be the place for all o' it."
Agape let it all out, and her body felt much relieved.
Then the vampire showed her how to use paper to clean
herself up, and how to wash where necessary. The pro-
cess took some time, but now she had learned what she
needed to. She would be able to handle it herself in the
future.

Suchevane also showed her how to change forms from
human to flying, and back. There were a number of
misstarts, but when Agape finally got it straight, she
realized that she could have done this at any time, had
she only known how. It was a matter of concentrating
on the right form in the right way: a talent which, once
learned, she knew she would never forget, as with the
elimination. Now she could change freely from girl to
hummingbird, and from birdform to girlform, as Such-
evane put it.

But flying was more complicated. Agape could flap
her wings, but this only resulted in disaster. They de-
cided to leave this aspect for another day.

Suchevane went home, and Agape settled down to
another big meal. Trool joined her, at her request; she
realized that he was not a busy man, but a creature
with time on his hands, and lonely.

"If I may say something personal ..." she said be-
tween mouthfuls.

"Speak, Agape," he said. "It has been long since I

ROBOT ADEPT | 137

have had company o' any kind, other than momentary
business."

"I think that if you were to ask Suchevane to stay
here, she would."

He grimaced, and on him this was a phenomenally
grotesque expression. "Aye, and so would any animal!
I crave that kind o' company not!"

"Because you are an Adept?"

"Adepts be the leaders o' Phaze," he explained. "Each
has his mode o' magic, but each has power o'er any
other creature. This power be easy to abuse, and I mean
not to do that. I would not take a woman, human or
animal, because she feared my powerùand that be the
only way a woman would come to me."

"I think she might come voluntarily."

"Aye, she would say that. But fear be the motivator,
not preference. Look at me." He spread his arms, his
left hand holding a plumb. "I be ugliest o' all Adepts,
and unversed in manners. I deceive not myself on this."

Indeed, he spoke truly! He was catastrophically ugly,
considered as a man. But not completely. "You are
ugly in appearance," she agreed carefully. "But not in
manner, and I think not in intent. Some women ap-
preciate those other qualities."

He shrugged. "So it would be nice to believe."

She realized that further pursuit of this subject would
be pointless. Any overture would have to come from
the other side. So she dropped it, and worked on her
eating, and her elimination, and her form-changing, and
grew steadily stronger and more talented in her use of
this body.

Suchevane came daily to help her, and soon she mas-
tered the intricate balancing and motions of flying, and
was able to use this form too as it was made to be used.
But she could not assume the unicorn form; neither the
vampire-girl nor the Red Adept could tell her the way
of that.

She realized that somewhere along the way her doubt
had faded. She now knew that this was Phazeùand

138 Piers Anthony

that she was in love with Phaze, as she was with Bane.
So many of its folk had been kind to her, in such un-
derstanding ways.

"Thou'rt recovered," Trool informed her in due course.
"Thou canst now go thy way. What dost thou seek?"

"I have found what I sought," Agape told him. "I
was in doubt whether this was really Phaze; now I know
it is. Now I can return to Bane."

"Dost know his location?"

She shook her head. "No."

"Mayhap thou shouldst go to the Blue Demesnes; he
will surely be there soon or late."

"Yes. I would like to meet his folks."

"They be a piece distant from here. Best that thou
not go alone."

Agape now appreciated the wisdom of such advice!
"I might fly, if Suchevane were willing to fly with me."

"Aye, that seems best. There be a matter thou shouldst
know: the Adverse Adepts be looking for thee."

"They are? Why?"

"We know not. But it be known that Mach and Fleta
took sanctuary with Translucent, which gives the Ad-
verse Adepts half o' what they need to establish contact
between the frames, to their advantage. An they dis-
cover that now Bane and Agape be here, they might
wish to offer further sanctuary."

"But we support the existing order!" Agape pro-
tested.

"Aye. Therefore it be a stalemate, till Mach return
to us or Bane join the Adverse Adepts. If they pos-
sessed control o' thee, that might be a lever 'gainst
Bane."

"That's why I was leaving Proton!" she cried. "The
Contrary Citizens were after me! We were hiding when
Bane and Mach exchanged backùonly Fleta and I ex-
changed too!"

"Aye. Stile noted that the imbalance is abating not,
and knew that either the boys had exchanged not, or
that other had exchanged. Bane went to him and proved

ROBOT ADEPT | 139

his identity, so then it was known. Now the Adverse
Adepts be searching, and we think this be their likely
reason."

"I must exchange back, and get away from Proton!"
Agape exclaimed. "But I can't do it by myself! I think
that only with Bane, and with Mach and Fleta to-
getherù"

"Aye. But methinks the Adepts be watching. They
cannot molest thee here, and I think know not thy
location, for Fleta's friends would not tell. But they
may intercept any unusual traveling. Therefore, let me
give thee an amulet thou canst invoke at need, to pro-
tect thee from revelation o' thine identity, and mayhap
from molestation an it be suspected." He went to a
cabinet and brought out a fine silver chain with a small
foggy stone.

Agape accepted it. "Thisùhow do Iù"
"Merely hold it and say 'I invoke thee' and it will
mask thine identity. No one will know thy nature. But
use it not except at need; it be an unpretty spell, and
it wears off not swiftly."

She remembered Bane's warning about his spell of
undetectability. This seemed similar. Indeed, she would
not use it unless she had to! "Thank you, Adept. I
appreciate all you have done for me."

"Thou hast been good company," he said deprecat-
ingly.

He was also a good person, she knew. She resolved
to do him a singular favor, when the occasion presented
itself.

Suchevane readily agreed to travel with her. The two
changed to their flying forms and set out, heading south-
west toward the Blue Demesnes. Agape's practice and
restored health stood her in good stead; she now flew
well and swiftly.

But a hummingbird was no hawk, and a bat was no
dragon. They were unable to make the full distance in
one day, and had to descend, to revert to human form

140 Piers Anthony

and eat and rest for the night. They could have re-
mained in their winged forms, but these were relatively
small and weak, and it seemed safer to assume the more
massive human forms for sleeping. They landed iB an
oasis, a clump of trees near a spring, and plucked fruit

for their supper.

"I thought vampires ate human blood," Agape re-
marked.

"Nay, not ordinarily," the girl demurred. "Only for
special occasions, such as the onset o' flying. Then we
seek not human beings, but animals o' the unintelligent

variety."

"Something I've been meaning to tell you," Agape
said. "Trool thinks that no attractive woman would
associate with him voluntarily, and he doesn't care for
anything involuntary. If you were to ask himù"

"Ask an Adept?" Suchevane exclaimed. "I would
not presume!"

"You do like him?"

"Aye. But that has no bearing."

"You showed me how to do the things I need to do
to survive," Agape said firmly. "Now let me show you
how to do this. You must find a pretext to approach
him, and then say, 'Adept, I would stay with thee and
be thy companion, an thou not be offended.' I tell you,
he will not be offended."

"But I could ne'erù"

"I couldn't fly, either."

Suchevane paused. "Thou really dost thinkù?"

"I don't think, I know. If he expresses doubt, tell
him that you came to him because you have come to
know him and respect him, and would like to share his
life until he finds some better woman. I assure you, he
will not find that, or even look for it. But if he declines
your company, what have you lost? How can it be wrong
to speak honestly of your desire? I am an alien, but I
do not think the way of the folk of this planet differs
that much from that of mine."

ROBOT ADEPT | 141

"Thou dost make it sound so easy!" Suchevane said.
"But he be an Adept, and I an animal!"

"He is also a lonely old troll, and a decent person.
He helped me substantially, and now I would like to
help himùby sending him something I know he would
really like. You."

Suchevane stared into the closing night. "I cannot

believeù"

"I couldn't believe this was Phaze, either. But now
I do, for I have come to know it. Reality is similarly
waiting for you, if you care to grasp itùand it. would
be a shame not to. You risk only a little pride, and
stand to gain so much."

The woman's face turned toward her. "I think now

I see how Bane came to love an alien creature."
"Alien creatures can love, too."
"Aye, aye! They can! And animals too!"
"And animals too," Agape agreed. "And trolls."
Then they leaned into each other, and hugged each

other, and wept together.

Agape woke to discover herself enmeshed. Lines were
closing around her, and suddenly there was yelling and
scrambling, and weight on her as something small and
awful pounced. Earth-smelling hands clamped on her
head, and more of them clamped on her breasts. "Got
her! Got her!" someone screamed, almost in her ear.
"Get the other!"

Agape tried to change to hummingbird form, but
couldn't. The transformation spell just didn't work.

Suchevane's form beside her vanished, and the bat
was scrambling out through the netting. "Hey, I told
you to hold her!"

"I did, but she changed!"

"A 'corn can't change with a hand on her horn!"

"She's not a 'corn, she's a bat!"

Then Suchevane was up and away, flying into the
moonlight. She had escaped, but Agape was captive.
Because, it seemed, the button in her forehead was the

142 | Piers Anthony

vestige of her unicorn horn, and that had to be unfet-
tered for its magic to operate.

"Well, this one's a 'corn," a voice said. "Come on,
let's have at her before the chief comes."

Hands pulled up her cloak, exposing her body. Agape
struggled, but there were too many hands on her, grasp-
ing her head, her arms, her breasts, her legs and her

bottom.
They were little men, no, goblins, with huge ugly

heads and big hands and feet and small, twisted, knobby

bodies.
They worked the net off, and the rest of her cloak,

their hands taking new and more intimate holds. They
held her spread-eagled, while one came at her with

bared member.
"Hey, who said thou dost go first?" another goblin

cried. "/ be first!" He shoved the other aside.
"No way, Snotnose!" the other returned, shoving him

back.

Snotnose punched him in the belly. The two exploded
into a fight, landing on Agape's exposed torso. Three
other goblins hauled them off, while a fourth made
ready to rape her. But this left nobody holding her legs.
She brought them up kicking, scoring on the face of

the would-be rapist.

Ouch! His head was like rock. He seemed not to
notice the kick, while her toes were smarting in her
slipper. He threw himself down on her, trying to get

into place.

She hooked her feet behind him and applied a scissors
squeeze. His body was relatively puny; now she was
managing to hurt him! But other goblins were piling on
again, and in a moment her feet were unhooked and
her legs wrenched apart.

"What's this?" a new voice cried.

All goblins froze. This was evidently their leader, the
chief whom they wished to avoid until they got their

business done.
"We are supposed to capture the 'corn unharmed,"

ROBOT ADEPT | 145

the chief said. "Remember, her body's the same as the
friendly one. Damage it, and we'll alienate the friendly
one, when she returns."

"We weren't going to damage her," the goblin be-
tween her legs protested. "Just have a little fun with
her."

"Well, 'corns have funny notions about damage," the
chief said sardonically. "Tie herùand don't let go o'
her horn."

Grudgingly, the goblins tied her, finally wrapping a
strip of cloth about her head to cover her forehead.
Then they let her go, with a few final pinches at suc-
culent portions of her torso. If she hadn't known before
why Bane hated goblins, her understanding was im-
proving now.

Trool had warned her that the Adverse Adepts were
searching for her. This was confirmation.

Then she remembered the amulet. Her hands were
tied, but the chain remained around her neck; the gob-
lins hadn't noticed it, having been paying too much
attention to the flesh of her body.

"I invoke thee," she said to it, hoping it didn't have
to be actually in her hand.

Nothing happened.

She felt a surge of dread. If the amulet couldn't help
her, then she was lost, for they had already made her
captive. At least Suchevane had escaped. If only they
had perched in their flying forms, out of reach of gob-
lins! But had some hungry night-hunting hawk spotted
themù

"Very well, 'corn," the chief said. "Who be ye?"

Agape didn't answer.

"Speak, or hurt," the goblin warned.

"Go soak thy snoot in a sewer," Agape replied. Then
she was amazed; she had not intended to say that, and
it was not the way she talked!

"Speak, or we shall bite thee on the tender feet!"
the chief said.

"Hear me well, fecal-face," she said evenly. "An

144 | Piers Anthony

thou put one foul toothmark on my tender foot, the
Adept'11 put sixteen handsome teethmarks in thy foul
bottom. Thou canst not touch me!" What was she say-
ing?!                                         ù
"She talks like a harpy!" one of the other goblins

said, impressed.

"An thou beest the creature we seek, that be true,"
the chief admitted. "An thou turn out other, we shall
chain thee spread o'er an anthill while we take turns
raping thee to death. Now answer: what be thy name?"

"An I tell thee aye, I be the one thou dost seek, an
thou dost take me to thy employer, an he know I be
not, then willst thou rue the day and night that thou
didst set thy smelly posterior on this globe," she said
grimly. "An I tell thee nay, and thou dost set thy min-
ions at my body, an the Adept learn I after all be the
one, then willst thou rue the very thought that sent thy
sickly sire slumming to conceive thee on the stinking

slut that bore thee."

Even the chief took stock at this point. This was
evidently not the precise language he had anticipated
from the captive. Certainly it was nothing she had in-
tended ever to say to anyone! What had happened to

her mouth?

Then it came to her: the amulet! She had invoked it,
and it was working! Already she had talked the goblin
into a situation in which he dared neither to take her

in nor to maltreat her.

The goblin pondered. He grimaced. "There be no
help for it except I take thee in," he decided. "That be

the lesser gamble."

"Not so, thou son o' an infected slug," she retorted.
"Thou canst save thy putrid skin only by releasing me
unharmed and reporting that thou didst discover naught

in these parts."

He stared at her. "Truly, do I wish we had found
thee not!" he exclaimed. "Yet an I free thee, and thou
dost turn out to be the one, then there be no spot under
the earth safe to escape the vengeance o' the Adept!

ROBOT ADEPT 145

So needs must I bring thee to him intact, and tell him
thou art but a suspect, and my punishment then may
be slight."

"Until I tell him how thou didst have thy minions
hold me whilst thou didst shove thy puny thing in me,"
she said. "Then I think I had better be not the one thou
seekest, for an I be the one, thou willst find thyself
suspended by that thing from the nether moon." She
had not even realized that there was a nether moon!
This was obviously hyperbole, but nonetheless effec-
tive.

He looked glumly at her, not commenting.

"An if I be not the one, as it be needful for thy health
that I be not, then why bring me in at all?" she con-
cluded persuasively. "I be nothing but mischief for thee,
either way."

"I shall take thee to my superior," he decided. "The
decision be his. Let him free thee or ravish thee; it will
be out o' my domain."

He had figured out a way to pass the buck, she re-
alized. She was stuck with captivity. Still, the tainted
tongue foisted on her by the amulet had bought her
some time, and perhaps it would befuddle the superior
goblin as readily as it had this one. She had never before
realized what a weapon a tongue could be! Trool had
warned her that this was not a pretty spell; he had
known whereof he spoke.

They left her tied, and spent the remainder of the
night in the oasis. Then, in the morning, prompted by
her harpy-tongue, they gave her some bread and water
and leave to relieve herself. Then they started on their
way to the goblin headquarters. They gave her back
her cloak, and some food, and did not molest her. But
it was a wearying walk, hours in the rising sun, bearing
north.

Then something appeared on the horizon to the
southwest. The goblins looked back over their shoul-
ders, alarmed.

And well they might be, for it was a huge wooden

146) Piers Anthony

figure, striding rapidly toward them, its face fixed in an
ominously neutral expression. Obviously it intended them

no good.
"A golem!" the chief muttered. "We'll have to fight

it."

The goblins lined up, drawing weapons: sticks, dag-
gers, and the net. The golem strode up without pause.

What did this mean?
Then Agape saw the form of a bat perched on the

figure's head, and understood. Suchevane had brought

help!
The golem arrived. The goblins attacked it. Their

weapons had no effect; its wooden limbs were imper-
vious. Then it swept its hands around in a double circle,
at the goblins' head level, and knocked over every gob-
lin within range. Its wooden arms were like clubs!

Very quickly the goblins had had enough. They fled.
The golem stopped, the bat hopped downùand Such-
evane stood there. "Agape!" she exclaimed, as she hur-
ried to remove the bindings. "How glad I be that thou
be not hurt!" She paused. "Or didù?"

Agape opened her mouth to reassure her friend.
"Whom dost thou think thou art talking to, guano brain?"

Oops! The spell was still in operation!

Suchevane looked startled. Quickly, Agape lifted off

the amulet and threw it away.

The vampire smiled with understanding. "The amu-
let! Thou didst invoke it to befuddle them!"

Agape smiled agreement. "And thee, thou quarter-
wit! Now let me be!" Then she closed her mouth, ap-
palled.

But Suchevane understood. "Thou canst not abate a
spell by throwing away its origin," she said. "Needs
must it pass of its own accord. Come, change form, and
the golem will take us to the Blue Demesnes."

Agape was glad to keep her mouth shut and comply.
She became the hummingbird, and Suchevane the bat,
and they both perched on the golem, who strode pur-
posefully for its home.

ROBOT ADEPT | 147

Before long the blue turrets of the castle appeared.
The Blue Demesnes! A lovely older woman, also garbed
in blue, came out to meet them as they arrived.

They changed back to girlform. "This be Agape,
Lady," Suchevane said. "She whom I told thee of."

The Lady Blue extended her hand. "I am glad to
meet thee at last," she said graciously.

"Well, I be not pleased to meet thee, thou harridan,"
Agape snapped. Then, appalled anew, she slapped both
hands over her mouth.

"She be under geis!" Suchevane said instantly. "The
Red Adept gave her an amulet, to conceal her iden-
tityù"

The Lady Blue smiled with comprehension. "Mayhap
my son can abate it somewhat," she said. "I have heard
much about thee, Agape."

Agape's mouth opened. She stuffed her right fist into
it, stifling whatever it had been about to say.

Suchevane turned to Agape. "Mine alien friend, I
must haste to my Flock before I be missed. I have
business . . . and the Lady Blue knows thy situation
and will keep thee safe till Bane return."

Indeed she had business! She wanted to go to Trool
the Troll and speak her piece. Agape could not trust
herself to talk, so merely nodded, then embraced the
vampire tearfully.

Suchevane became the bat and flew to the northeast.
Agape gazed after her, abruptly lonely.

"Fear not for her," the Lady said, mistaking her mood.
"I gave her a packet o' wolfbane, which she can sniff
when she tires; it will buoy her to complete the journey
in a single flight, so that naught can befall her aground."

And that was the concern that Agape should have
been having: for her friend's safety after a tiring night.
She felt ashamed.

The Lady put her hand to Agape's elbow. "Come
into the premises, my dear. Thou surely dost be tired
after thine experience, and will require food and rest.




148 | Piers Anthony

My son be absent yet, but will return in due course,

and then thou canst be with him."

Agape suffered herself to be guided into the castle,
but she glanced askance at the Lady. Didn't Bane's

parents oppose this union?

The Lady laughed. "I see that thou dost have concern
o'er thy status here. Agape. Do thou make thyself com-
fortable, and we shall have a female talk ere my hus-
band return."

Agape did that. She was glad that she had learned

how to take care of this body, so that she was able' to
clean up and empty her wastes without complication;

In the afternoon, after a meal and a nap, she joined
the Lady for their talk. The geis remained on Agape;

the Troll had been right about its lasting effect! Thus
it was pretty much a one-way conversation, with Agape
merely nodding agreement at appropriate intervals.

"The opposition o' factions o' Adepts be longstand-
ing," the Lady said. "Adept ne'er liked Adept, till Stile
came on the scene. Then he did what was necessary to
separate the frames, for by their interaction they were
being despoiled, and so he evoked the enmity o' the
despoilers. That be the origin o' the Adverse Adepts;

they liked each other not overly much before, and very
little now, but they league in common interest. One did
he befriend, Brown, and one did he replace, Red; all
others be 'gainst him, to lesser or greater extent. But
Stile, who be also the Blue Adept, be strongest o' Ad-
epts, save for the one he promoted, Trool the Troll,
who has the Book o' Magic. So did he prevail, and the

frames were parted."

She looked at Agape, and Agape nodded. She had
learned some of this from Bane, before, but knew that
the Lady was merely establishing the background for

her point.
"After the parting, the force o' magic in Phaze was

reduced by half," the Lady continued. "Because o' the
transfer of Phazite to Proton, to make up for the Pro-
tonite mined there, that had caused the dangerous im-

ROBOT ADEPT | 149

balance. But since the reduction was impartial, affecting
all alike, it made no difference in the relative powers
o' Adepts, and things seemed much as before. But the
Adverse Adepts resented this wrong they felt Stile had
done them, and conspired 'gainst him. They stifled his
programs for better relations between man and animals,
and wrought mischief in constant devious ways. Grad-
ually their power increased, for they were many and
we few. We knew that we needed new magic to hold
them off, and our great hope was in our son, Bane,
who showed early promise. An he grow, and marry,
and have an heir like himself, belike we could hold off
the Adverse Adepts indefinitely, and maintain a fair
balance in our land, that evil not o'ertake it."

The Lady sighed. Agape wanted to speak, for she
had known of this too, and understood, and intended
to act to free Bane for that future his parents wished
for him. But the geis constrained her, and she only
nodded again.

"But there were no suitable young women," the Lady
said sadly. "The village girls were poisoned 'gainst our
kind; e'en I, a generation ago, would ne'er have married
Blue an circumstances not been unusual. The only truly
eligible woman is the daughter o' the Tan Adeptùone
o' the hostile ones. Bane played with animal friends,
but o' course these were not suitable for marriage. It
be not that we be prejudiced 'gainst the animals, for
many be fine creatures, and we work closely with them
and like them well. It be that they cannot breed with
man. Therefore the future o' our good works came into
peril. It seemed we would have to deal with Tan, and
be compromised accordingly; but the alternative was to
lose all. It were not a happy position."

This was new to Agape. She kept her mouth shut
and listened.

"Then the boys made their exchange, and Mach came
to our frame, and Bane went to thine. We had not
believed such possible, and were caught unprepared.
We saw that the exchange was but mental only, not o'




150 Piers Anthony

the bodies. Mach became attached to Fleta, the uni-
corn, and Bane to thee, the alien. We understand; there
be not a finer person than Fleta, and we know our son
would bestow not his love on an unworthy creature.
But we opposed such union, because it meant the loss
o' all we planned on, and incalculable damage to the
frame, owing to the lack o' the continuation o' our line.

"That were our error. We appreciated not how true
Mach's love was. Fleta understood our position, and
resolved to disengageùbut she knew what we did not,
that only her death would accomplish it. So she ar-,
ranged to dieùand Mach came to her, and spake her
the triple Thee, and such was the force o' it he overrode
Adept magic and saved her."

The Lady found a handkerchief and dabbed at her
eyes, for she was crying now. "We ne'er meant Fleta
to die! Ne'er did we wish her ill! We thought their love
but an infatuation that would pass. How wrong we were!
So were we cast as the villains, and they took refuge
with the Adverse Adepts, and our ruin did we bring
upon ourselves. Fain would we undo the mischief we
did, but it be too late; the two be alienated from us."

As she spoke, there was a faint ripple of light in the
air. Agape glanced about trying to fathom its curious
nature, but it was gone almost before she was aware

of it.

Then she realized that this was the splash of truth
that she had heard about. The Lady Blue had not no-
ticed it, but it authenticated her statement.

Agape did not dare speak, but she had to act. She
stood, and went to the Lady, and embraced her, and

cried with her, silently.

After a moment, the Lady continued. "We resolved
to make not the same error again. We knew that the
parallel o' the frames meant that Bane would find sim-
ilar love in Proton. Our cause be lost, but not neces-
sarily our son. We accept his choice, and we accept
thee. We can do not other. That be the root o' thy
welcome here. When Bane came home not long ago

ROBOT ADEPT | 151

and told us more o' thee, we knew it was right. Thou
dost be the one we would have chosen for him, an the
choice been ours. An our circumstance not blinded
usù"

The Lady could not continue, but hardly needed to.
She had made her point.

But how awful it was, that the acceptance of the
romances of the two boys had to come in the face of
such a loss. Even for Agape, who faced not death but
separation from Bane, it seemed hopelessly difficult.
What was the use in going home to Moeba, if Mach
and Fleta remained together and the family of Blue was
denied an heir? Was her sacrifice after all pointless?

"There be one other thing," the Lady said after a
fair pause. "Stile discovered that the exchange leads to
new imbalance, so that the frames be headed for de-
struction, an the imbalance be not corrected. That be
why we sent the messenger. E'en now, the Adverse
Adepts be verifying it. So it may be that all else becomes
moot. But I wanted thee to know that this be no device
we made to deceive thee; we discovered it after ac-
cepting thee. We think the communication between the
two can continue, but that actual exchange must be
limited. What this means for thy future we know not."

Agape was satisfied at this point not to speak, because
she had no answer either.

That evening, as the two of them were gazing out
across the dark plain, and admiring the nascent stars
and moons, there came another ripple in the air, a
gentle passing glow from the east that slowly faded.

The Lady Blue glanced at Agape. "Methinks Such-
evane reached the Red Demesnes," she murmured.

Agape could only smile. How glad she was that she
had spoken as she had!

Agape remained with the Lady for several days, and
gradually the geis wore off and she was able to engage
in halting dialogue. Now she loved Bane, and Phaze,
and the Lady tooùand knew she had to give them all
up. Unless some accommodation were discovered that




152 | Piers Anthony

would enable her to remain with Bane, and even to

visit Phaze again . . .

She had to cling to the faint hope that this was pos-
sible. But her dread was that it was not.

Then at last Bane arrived. He appeared just beyond
the moat and called out: "Anybody home?"

The two of them went out to meet him. Agape did
not have to say a word; she stepped into his embrace.

He entered the castle with them, and had news of his
own. "The Adverse Adepts be preparing for war. I
spied on them and verified it; they be organizing their
minions, the goblins and demons, ready to take by force
what they may not accomplish by negotiation. They
mean to have me join them, and to use thee as a lever
against me, as the Contrary Citizens did."

"I know," Agape said. "I am not safe here either."
"I would have come for thee sooner, but it be tricky
spying on Adepts, and they were far more watchful than
I expected. But news came to me that thou wast with
Trool, and I knew thou wouldst be safe there."
"I was." It was so good to be with him again!
"But we must exchange thee back, and get thee to
thy home planet! I love thee, and would not have thee
taken hostage. I will visit thee on Moeba, later, when

I exchange."

"But we are going together!" she exclaimed.
"Nay. First must thou exchange, and I not, for there
be much for me to do yet here. But ne'er doubt I will
join thee when I can, nor Adepts nor frames will hinder

me."
He continued talking, reassuringly, but Agape hardly

paid attention. She just hugged him forever.

8

Tourney

A serf hurried toward her. "I am empowered by my
employer to take you toù"

The Ladder screen blinked. Then its speaker spoke:

"This serf has qualified for the Tourney. Until dis-
qualified, Serf Fleta is ineligible for reassignment."

The serf's brow furrowed. "But Citizen Tan saysù"

So Tan had caught up to herùjust too late!

"The Citizen has no authority over the Tourney,"
the speaker said.

The serf stepped forward, reaching for Fleta's arm.
"He won't take no for anù"

There was a flash. The serf staggered, evidently jolted
by something. "Interference in the Tourney is not tol-
erated," the speaker said. "Serf Fleta to report to Game
accommodations until further notice. Follow the line."

"Yes, sir," Fleta murmured, awed. The Adepts of
Proton-frame did not mince words or actions!

The line led to a small residential chamber, complete
with a screen and food machine. The door panel clicked
behind her, and she realized that she was confined.




154 | Piers Anthony

She was suddenly alarmed. Could the Contrary Cit-
izens have tricked her again, and led her toù?
Then the screen came on. "Don't worry, Fleta," Mach's

voice said.

She whirled to face it. There he was, back in his
normal guise. Still, it was only a picture, and she was
coming to distrust those. "How do I knowù"

He smiled. "When we first met, in Phaze, I was res-
cued from the swamp by a unicorn. She took me to a
dead volcano crater, where I encountered a lovely young
woman. It took me some time to realize that the two
were the same, and that I was in love with an animal.
But of course I was only a machine myself." He eyed
her body. "It is almost as difficult to realize now that
this stranger is that same bubbly nymph whose foal I
mean to sire, when we return to Phaze."

It was Mach, all right! "I qualified for the Tourney!"

she exclaimed gladly.

"I know. So you are being confined until it starts, so
that no one can get at you. Now you can revert to your
own girlform, and I will join you soon."

"They are not watching you?"

"They are watching me, but I am not in danger. They
lost their chance when they lost you."

"Then we need fear them no longer?"

He grimaced. "Not so. They have our cooperation,
in Phaze; we resist them here only because we are
standing in lieu of Bane and Agape. Similarly Bane
and Agape in Phaze may have a different status; the
Adverse Adepts may be trying to capture them and
convert them now. We must preserve their indepen-
dence, by protecting yours. It's a funny situation, but
this is the way I interpret the truce. In Proton we
are against the Citizens, until the situation changes, if

it does."
"I wish we were against the Adverse Adepts, too,"

she said.
"Had Bane's folks only been able to accept our

loveù"

ROBOT ADEPT | 155

"They want an heir," she said.

"And they shall have it!" he said. "I have been think-
ing about that, and researching genetics here in Proton.
I believe the Book of Spells now in the Red Adept's
possession will have information on the magical mesh-
ing of species, and I am going to research there the
moment I return."

"Then willst thou need not to support the Adverse
Adepts!" she exclaimed, lapsing into her natural dia-
lect.

"That does not follow. We made a deal, and I must
deliver what I promised, unless the truce is modified.
But perhaps the objectives of Stile and the Adepts are
not mutually exclusive. If we could somehow forge a
compromiseù"

"A compromise!" she repeated. "A mating of their
differing desires!"

"Yes. Therein lies our true hope. Now you get some
rest; I have further research to do before I join you."

"Do thy research!" she exclaimed, gladly. "An it
mean our foalù"

"This is one advantage of exchanging between the
frames," he said. "I have the advantage of pursuing
both lines of research. If I can't see it through, I doubt
anyone else can."

Then he faded out, and she, relieved, melted onto
the bed and slept, feeling exhilarated.

There were no challenges in the two days. Mach joined
her, and now they were free of the need to hide or to
conceal their identities; they had found temporary sanc-
tuary here at the Game Annex. Now, for the first time,
they were able to make love in these other bodies.

Then she learned that Mach had not really been talk-
ing to her, before their physical reunion. He had set up
what he called a responsive emulation. "Damn thee!"
she cried, furious at this deception. It had fooled her
completely.

"But I could not approach you," he protested. "It




156 | Piers Anthony

would have been dangerous for you. Then I had some
trouble, so I went to Moeba."

Curiosity caused her to rein her fury for the moment.
"Agape's planet? What did you there?" And by the
time he explained, she had decided to forgive him.

"So when Bane returns, my research may help. him,"
he concluded.

"I like Phaze better," Fleta said.

"So do I," he agreed. Then he looked at her, be-
coming grave. "We have been assuming that we will
return together. But if you wash out of the Tourney,
and go to Moeba, will exchange be possible for you?"

She was stricken. "If I be not with thee, and they
two together, how can we exchange?"

"I think we cannot. Therefore we must be sure that
all four are together. If not, we must not exchange."

"We cannot search for them, as we did in Phaze,"
she said. "Needs must I remain in the Annex."

"Yes, they must come to us. But when Bane contacts
me, I will make this clear."

"Aye." She pondered a moment more. "Meanwhile,
methinks I had best stay here until then. I must win my
games."

"Fleta, you are not trained in the games! You were
lucky, and your opponents were selected, for the qual-
ifying ladder. The Tourney is different; you will be up
against experienced players, each of whom is desperate
to win."

"And I lose thee, and Phaze, if I lose. I too be des-
perate to win," she said quietly.

"I'd better drill you in strategy."

"Aye."

So for most of their waking time, he indoctrinated
her in the ways of the Tourney, trying to prepare her
for a competent performance. The object was not to
win the Tourney and become a Citizen, but to remain
uneliminated long enough for Bane and Agape to come
and make the exchange.

The details of the Tourney varied from year to year.
Sometimes only the top five or six on each ladder qual-

ROBOT ADEPT 157

ified; this year it was ten, making it a large one. That
meant that the authorities had concluded that there
were too many serfs, and so were using the Tourney as
a device to prune them back voluntarily. There were
other ways, but this was considered to be the gentlest.

On the other hand, this was single-elimination. Nor-
mally it was double-elimination, which meant that each
contestant had two chances. This year, one loss was all,
and that made players nervous, though their chances
for final victory were unchanged.

One thousand and twenty-four contestants would start
the Tourney: ten males and ten females from every age
ladder from Age Twenty-one through Age Sixty: eight
hundred in all, plus two hundred from the Junior and
Senior ladders (those below and above the normal range)
and the Leftover Ladder, and a dozen or so slumming
Citizens, aliens and such. Each round would cut the
number in half, until the tenth round produced the sin-
gle winner. Because the number of consoles and the
extent of the game facilities were limited, Round One
would require four days for completion, and Round
Two two days; thereafter single days would suffice. Thus
the complete Tourney was scheduled for fourteen days,
and that schedule would be kept. Any player who failed
to show up promptly for his match would lose by de-
fault. Audiences were permitted, but no interference
would be tolerated.

Fleta had already seen enough of the game system
to appreciate how intolerant the Game Computer was
of interference. That reassured her.

"Of course that doesn't apply to Citizens," Mach
said. "They set their own schedules. But most who have
the interest to play, also have the pride to do it prop-
erly."

"But if the prize be Citizenship, and the cost of loss
be exile, why do Citizens play?" Fleta asked.

"Mere entertainment. Victory gains them nothing,
and loss costs them nothing. They are immune. But
those they play against are bound. If you come up against

158 Piers Anthony

a Citizen, call him sir and play to win. He cannot hurt
you, here, except by beating you."

"Not e'en Citizen Tan?"

"Not even he," he reassured her.

Then, seemingly suddenly, the Tourney started, and
she was summoned to her first game. "I am not allowed
to help you, here," Mach said. "But I will try to tune
in on Bane. If I can find him, I can tell him what we
need."

"Do thou do that," she said, kissing him.

She followed the line to the console. She was the first
there, which made her feel better, though she knew it
made no difference.

She looked at the screen.

TOURNEY ROUND ONE: FLETA VS JIMBO

She hoped Jimbo was a duffer.

He turned out to be a man in his fifties. There were
no ladders in the Tourney; they were for qualification
only. He nodded at her, then took his stance at the
console.

Her numbers lighted. That meant she could not select
ANIMAL. But she had discussed this with Mach, and
knew her best route. Without hesitation she touched 4.
ARTS.

It settled on 4A: Naked Arts. The choices were Po-
etry, Stories, Singing, Dancing, Pantomime and Drama,
with distinctions between recitative and creative. They
assembled the nine-square subgrid and chose, and came
up with Original Story telling.

JUDGING: the screen printed.     COMPUTER
PANEL     AUDIENCE.

This was new to Fleta. Should she touch one of the
words? But there was no grid.

"We can do it by agreement if we want," Jimbo said.
"Me, I don't like a machine deciding how I rate, or a
panel of experts either."

"A living audience," Fleta agreed, relieved. She

ROBOT ADEPT | 159

touched that choice, and evidently he did too, for that
one highlighted.

SUBJECT: the screen continued.    SELECTED
BY COMPUTER RANDOM AUDIENCE.

Fleta hadn't realized that a subject had to be chosen;

she had assumed that any story would do. She wasn't
certain how she would do if she got a bad subject. Since
she could not choose it herself, and shared her oppo-
nent's distrust of impersonal decisions, she asked "Au-
dience?"

"Agreed," Jimbo said immediately.

ADJOURN TO STAGE. And a line appeared,
showing the way.

They followed it to the stage. There was a small dais
and an audience section with seats for about twenty-
five.

Now they had to wait for the audience to arrive. It
seemed that a number of Tourney spectators had reg-
istered for audience purposes, and were on tap awaiting
assignment. The Computer was making a random se-
lection and notifying the selectees of this assignment.
They were now following their lines to this chamber.

In a few minutes exactly twenty-five people arrived.
They were all serfs, male and female, ranging from
young to old. They took their seats in silence.

A note sounded at the large screen set in the wall
behind the stage. All eyes fixed on it.

AUDIENCE WILL SELECT SUBJECT FOR STO-
RYTELLING. THE FOLLOWING SUBJECTS ARE
AVAILABLE; TOUCH <SELECT> BUTTON ON
CHAIR WHEN CHOICE IS HIGHLIGHTED.

Then the screen was filled with an alphabetical listing
of subjects, beginning with ABANDONMENT and
ending with ZOOLOGICAL. The Computer gave the
audience a moment to consider the list, then the first
word was highlighted. In a second the next was, and
then the third, the lighting continuing at one-second

160 | Piers Anthony

intervals until the list had been covered, several minutes

later.

THE LEADING CHOICES ARE, the screen an-
nounced, ILLICIT WEALTH     UNTIMELY
DEATH    FORBIDDEN LOVE. TOUCH <SE-
LECT> WHEN CHOICE IS HIGHLIGHTED.

The highlight made its tour. Then: SUBJECT IS
FORBIDDEN LOVE. AUDIENCE WILL <SE-
LECT> FIRST STORYTELLER.

Then a light illuminated Fleta, and moved across to
Jimbo. JIMBO SPEAKS FIRST.

Fleta did not know on what basis the audience de-
cided, but she was relieved; this was proceeding so ef-
ficiently that she had not been able to organize her
thoughts. She was, after all, an animal; she knew she
lacked the versatility of a human being. What story of
forbidden love was right for this audience?

"Uh, well," Jimbo said, evidently also somewhat at
a loss. He did not seem to be any better prepared for
this than Fleta was, which made her wonder. Maybe
he had just gotten into a bad area, for him.

Then he shrugged, as if deciding something private,
and began his story.

"There was once this serf, and he wasn't much, he
was forty when he came to Proton, but all they let
anybody have is twenty years anyway so maybe that
didn't make much difference. He was a message car-
rierùany time the Citizen wanted a note delivered per-
sonal, so it wouldn't be in the records, this serf would
hand-carry it to wherever it was going. It wasn't a bad
job; he got to travel all over Proton, just taking mes-
sages, and got to sleep over at some pretty fancy Citizen
estates while waiting for the reply-message to be ready.
It went along like this for about nine years, and then
the Citizen died and his daughter inherited it."

Jimbo paused. Fleta saw some knowing smiles in the
audience, and realized that they were guessing what
was coming next. This seemed to be Jimbo's own story!
"This woman, the new Citizen, was maybe twenty-

ROBOT ADEPT | 161

nine years old, and she was the damned loveliest crea-
ture in the dome. Her hair sort of rippled when she
walked, throwing off highlights, and her eyes were like
twin headlamps, they were so clear and bright. But
because she was new, she was uncertain, and she didn't
want to make any fool of herself, putting on the wrong
airs in the wrong place, you know, specially when it
came to handling serfs. So she sort of asked this serf
for advice, because he'd been with the estate for nine
years and kept his mouth shut, because sometimes the
messages he carried were verbal and he would've been
fired if he ever breathed a syllable of them to any but
the designated party, so he just didn't say much of
anything to anyone, just to be safe. She liked that, so
she said, 'I want a message, only to me,' and then she
asked how she should handle this other serf who sort
of did things wrong but didn't mean to. And the mes-
sage serf, he delivered his message, only it was really
just his advice, that she should maybe reorganize her
household a little, and move that clumsy serf to another
position without saying why, so no feelings would be
hurt and nobody had to be fired. And she did that, and
it worked out just fine, and after that she asked for
other messages like that.

"And then one time she sort of forgot where she was,
only it didn't really matter because Citizens make their
own rules and serfs just do what they're told. She was
getting ready for a party, and she'd sent her personal
maid for something, and the messenger man was there,
so she just told him to take off her robe and put on the
new one she had selected. So he put his hands on her
shoulders from behind, and pinched the fabric, and
lifted it up, and it came right off her and she was naked.
Then he folded it and set it down and fetched the new
robe from its hanger, only it was really more like an
evening gown, and she turned and lifted her arms so
he could put the gown up over her, and she had the
body like only an android or robot made for that sort
of thing ever has, only on her it was real, I mean natural,

162 | Piers Anthony

and he like to have goggled, because mostly Citizens
don't take much care of themselves and even when they
look good in a gown it's mostly corset stays and foun-
dation creme and whatever, or maybe a fresh rejuve
treatment, but she didn't even use underwear, her body
was genuine throughout. And then she was mostly
dressed, and looking just as good, only better, because
he knew it didn't just come with the clothing.

"Then the maid came back, and took over, and he
went back to his chamber. But it was like that image
of that body was burned into his retinas, because he
kept seeing it every time he blinked. And suddenly he
lost interest in the android gal who would be with him
any time he wanted, because she was like a cratered
moon, and the Citizen was like the sun. And every time
he saw the Citizen, she was clothed but he saw her
naked like a serf, and her skin shining, and her eyes
sort of looking at him, and it was like a fire inside him,
but she never noticed. Sometimes she'd bring in these
men, Citizens, and have sex with them, and they were
jaded but they got hot for her in a hurry when they
discovered that her body didn't come off with the cloth-
ing, and sometimes she'd just hire a robot to do it
exactly the way she liked it. Only she didn't like to have
to tell a robot how, that was maybe too much like
masturbation, so she'd have the messenger tell the robot,
and make sure the robot had it right. And the messen-
gerù"

Jimbo paused, again, and it was clear that every mem-
ber of the audience understood his hesitation perfectly.
He had conceived a passion for a Citizen: forbidden
love indeed! What was he going to do about it?

"Then one day she had a new robot, and maybe there
was a circuit not properly integrated, because it wasn't
getting it quite right, even though it had the instructions
down pat and could repeat them verbatim. 'Damn it!'
she swore, irritated. So she called in the messenger and
told him to show the robot how to do it right. He was

ROBOT ADEPT | 163

moving too fast and heavy, when she liked slow and
light. So the messenger, he got down on herù"

He paused again, but the audience did not object.
Evidently he was uncertain about how much detail he
should provide, and what was relevant to the assigned
subject, and how to phrase it for this mixed audience.

Fleta, too, was thrust into thought, perhaps for dif-
ferent reason. Jimbo was telling how a male humanoid
robot was routinely used for sexual purpose; apparently
this was accepted in Proton. She had had relations with
just such a robot. If she told her own storyùand indeed,
it was all she could think of to doùwould this audience
take it to be routine and therefore dull, and deem her
the loser? What was the most wonderful experience of
her life might seem, here, to be unworthy of mention.

If she lost, here in this first round, she would be
shipped to Moeba, and would never be able to exchange
back to her own body in Phaze. But if she won, she
would have several more days before the second round,
and maybe by thenù

"He got down on her," Jimbo repeated, resuming
his narration. "His heart was beating like a teenager's,
because the Citizen's body was his ultimate dream, and
all he wanted to do was be like this with her for real,
and have her want him as a man. He knew this wasn't
so, that she saw him only as a convenient source of
minor information, and now as a device to demonstrate
a minor technique to a machine, but his dream wanted
to pretend it was something more.

"His flesh touched hers, lightly, and penetrated gently,
moving with just that constrained urgency that she re-
quired. 'Yes, like that,' she said to the robot. 'Proceed
exactly like that.' The robot nodded, understanding at
last.

"Her face turned back to the messenger, and he knew
she was about to tell him to get off, now that his job
was done. But the folly of the forbidden dream over-
came him, and suddenly he plunged on in, exactly the
way the robot was not supposed to. Her mouth opened




164 Piers Anthony

- with surprise, the annoyance just beginning, and he put
his mouth on hers and kissed her savagely as his loin
thrust against her and his body exploded in rapture.

"Then, his folly of passion abating, he realized what
he had done. He had raped a Citizen! He scrambled up
and ran from the chamber, knowing that his life was
forfeit. He did not try to flee, for there was nowhere
to go; he simply waited for what was to come.

"After an hour the call came: to report to the Citi-
zen's front office. He knew there would be a robot there
to take him into custody. For one moment of bliss he
had forfeited all that he had worked for for nine years.
He went, but the Citizen was there alone, standing in
total loveliness in a gown. 'I require a message, for one
only,' she said. 'If a serf oversteps his bounds, what
should a Citizen do?' He knew she was referring to him.
'Have him put to death,' he replied, determined at least
not to be a coward in his termination.

"Her expression did not change. 'If he has otherwise
given good service, and perhaps was overtaken by an
aberration of the moment?' she asked. He had not even
hoped for such generosity of response! 'Fire him,' he
said.

"She turned away from him. 'If publication of the
offense might cause embarrassment to the Citizen?' she
asked. Then he dared indeed hope! 'Enter him in the
Tourney without explanation,' he said.

"She nodded. 'Thank you,' she said. And so it was
that he found himself in the Tourney, though he had
always been a duffer in the Game and knew he would
quickly wash out and be deported. But his years of
service still counted (for he had not been fired) and
would represent a very nice payment on his departure;

he would leave with an untarnished record. He was duly
grateful for this, knowing how much worse it could have
been, and his respect for his employer was undimin-
ished. But still in' his dream he had the temerity to
wonder: was it possible that in some tiny way the Citizen
had returned his interest, and perhaps been nattered

ROBOT ADEPT | 165

by his inability to hold back when given the opportunity
to indulge his passion with her? Could she have been
unable to admit any trace of an interest so far beneath
her, yet not displeased to have had the indulgence of
it forced upon her? Would that account for her uncom-
mon generosity in dealing with the one who had rav-
ished her?"

Jimbo gazed out across the audience. "I do not know
the answer, but I would like to think I might guess it."

Fleta knew before she spoke that Jimbo had won this
game. She had thought that her own crisis was unique,
and that the others in the Tourney were merely com-
peting for the prize of Citizenship. Now she saw that
that was not necessarily the case; each contestant might
have as good reason to be here as she. She did not
begrudge Jimbo the evident sympathy he had evoked
in this audience.

FLETA SPEAKS SECOND, the big screen an-
nounced.

Now it was upon her! Encouraged by her opponent's
example of discretion and candor, she told her own
story in similar fashion.

"There was once in the Frame o' Phaze a unicorn
filly," she began. "She was happy in her Herd, grazing
the plains and running with her companions and learn-
ing the ways o' her kind. She labored to master her
transformations, choosing one original form and one
common form to complement her natural one. Her dam
could become a firefly, so the filly liked the notion o'
a flying form, and chose the smallest o' the avians, the
hummingbird. Most other unicorns chose fierce hawks
or fast falcons or lovely feathered birds, or even flying
dragons, and some were amused that she should aspire
to such an insignificant creature, but she had no fear o'
smallness, for her dam was the smallest o' mares yet
well respected by all the members o' the Herd and o'
the neighboring Pack o' werewolves too. Indeed, it turned
out that she could feed more readily than others, need-




166 | Piers Anthony

ing only the nectar o' some flower, and hide well, and
it was a good choice.

"The common form was the most challenging, how-
ever, because that was human. The form itself was not
difficult, but just as she had spent more time learning
to fly than she had learning the birdform, she had to
spend far more time learning to speak like a human
than she had achieving girlform. To speak, she had to
learn to think like a human, and the ways o' human
thought were marvelous and weird. So she sought help,
first from acquaintances among the werewolves and
vampires who came more naturally by girlform, then
from the most feared o' human folk, one o' the Adepts.
This was because her dam was oath-friend to one Adept,
and he was friend to some other Adepts, and so one o'
them was willing to help the filly o' the oath-friend.
Thus it was that the filly spent some time as the guest
o' the Brown Adept, serving her as a serf might serve
a Citizen, but also learning from her the complete human
language and much o' the social ways of the human
species too.

"Then did the filly come to maturity, and learned the
identity o' the herb that suppressed her cycle o' heat
so that she would not be bred too soon, for the Herd
Stallion was her uncle and banned from breeding her.
She played with the human son o' her dam's oath-friend,
and he showed her how his kind mated, though it were
meaningless in the absence o' heat. E'en so, she came
to like that young human man, and wished she could
be truly human, that she might be always with him. But
he, o' course, knew her for an animal, and while he
treated her always as a companion and e'en friend, there
was no way he saw her as one to breed with or, as the
humans put it, marry. So she kept her desire for him
hidden, knowing that any union between them was for-
bidden. He was after all the son o' an Adept, one year
to be Adept himself; he was far beyond the aspiration
o' a normal human woman, let alone a mere animal."

How neatly she had summarized the whole of her

ROBOT ADEPT 167

first decade and a half of life! But now she was ready
for the real story. "Then she came o' age to mate and
bear a foal for the Herd, so she was sent to another
Herd, that its Stallion might breed her without incest.
But she dawdled, remaining near the place favored by
the Adept's son, in case he should come there and need
a ride or companionship. She knew the hope to be vain,
but still she stayed, foolishly. Perhaps it was in her mind
that if she arrived at the other Herd not in time for her
heat, she would escape breeding, and be free a little
longer. It might not make much sense, but she was after
all only an animal.

"Then happened something strange. A man passed
the region, and he smelled like the Adept's son, but he
acted like him not. He was going naked, as men did
not, and stumbling as if he had been ne'er there before.
She kept her distance, wanting to approach, but un-
certain. Finally he cried for help, and that was all she
needed; she sounded a chord on her horn in answer,
and galloped to his aid. He seemed surprised to see
her, as if his memory was gone, but rode her away from
that place. She had to back off a water dragon, but
carried him to safety in the crater. It was especially
strange that he used not magic o' his own to protect
himself, and seemed almost wary o' her, despite their
long acquaintance. He settled down to sleep in the cra-
ter, and she pondered, then yielded to her desire and
changed to girlform and joined him there.

"Next morning it seemed he was playing a game, for
his speech was strange and he seemed still not to know
her. He insisted his name was other than what she knew
it was. He claimed to know magic not, and he was loath
to wear clothes. She persuaded him to try a spell, and
he did, but it worked strangely. She also encouraged
him to make some clothing. He said he was a rovot, a
thing like a wooden golem, only made o' metal, and
that he needed not to have natural processes. But o'
course he did; he did just prefer to do it alone. And
gradually she understood that he was not the same man

168 | Piers Anthony

she had known, but his other self, from Proton-frame,
a stranger to Phaze and all that was in it. Yet was he
very like the one she knew in appearance, and perhaps
in other things too, and she liked him very well. Perhaps
she liked him better, for that he needed her help con-
stantly, lest he blunder into trouble. But he knew not
she was an animal; he thought the girlform and' the
birdform and the unicorn different creatures. He liked
the girlform, and therefore she spoke not o' her other
forms, but stayed close to him and teased him and smiled
at him, reveling in the companionship she had ne'er
had recently w' the Adept's son.

"Then he, thinking her human, took her in his arms
and kissed her, and her heart fled from her and became
his captive that moment. She tried to tell o' her nature,
and why love between them was forbidden, but 0 she
could not; she did want the illusion to linger longer.
Then demons attacked, and to save them both she had
to change to her natural form and carry him to safety.
The secret was out. But he was not appalled; he said
he was a machine, a thing not alive, a creature without
feeling, that could not love. Then did new horror loom
for her, that she had lost her heart to one who could
care not. But he was wrong; he did care for her. And
so their forbidden love was born."

She paused, and looked at the audience, and saw
them rapt as they had been for Jimbo's story. But such
was the joy of her memory, for all its heartache, she
hardly cared now whether they cared; she just wanted
to finish it.

"Then did the Adverse Adepts make chase, seeking
to capture them and use him for their purpose, and they
had to flee and hide. Goblins were questing e'erywhere.
But they traveled a route the enemy did not suspect,
and managed to escape. Later she learned that their
love was forbidden not because the Adept his father
objected to unicorns, but because only a human woman
could bear him an heir. The filly saw that this was valid,
for though she could have sex with her lover she could

ROBOT ADEPT | 169

breed with him not. So she decided to free him for his
destiny, and to fix herself in human form and jump from
a ledge to her death. But he found her, and cried out
to her the triple Thee, the ultimate statement o' his
love, and such was the power o' it that it saved her
from the extinction she had sought and made them one
again.

"But now that love be still forbidden, if not by hu-
mans, then by the situation, for he be a creature o'
Proton, and she a creature o' Phaze, and they can ne'er
cross o'er to each other's frames without making an
imbalance that will harm all. So now they quest for

some way to make it right, but know not w'er it e'er
can be."

Then she felt her eyes melting, and knew that her
story was done.

AUDIENCE WILL TOUCH <SELECT> WIN-
NER, the big screen printed. Jimbo's name highlighted,
then Fleta's.

JIMBO SIX VOTES, FLETA FIVE VOTES. AB-
STENTIONS FOURTEEN.
"Hey, wait!" a serf cried. "I didn't abstain! I hadn't

made up my mind yet!" There was a chorus of agree-
ment.

MAJORITY VOTE OF ESTABLISHED AUDI-
ENCE REQUIRED FOR DECISION, the screen con-
tinued imperturbably. AUDIENCE WILL BE
REQUIRED TO CONTINUE VOTING UNTIL
THAT MAJORITY IS REGISTERED. TWO-MIN-
UTE RECESS FOR CONSIDERATION BEFORE
NEXT VOTE.

Fleta looked at Jimbo, and found him looking at her.
She walked across to him. "I liked thy story," she said, -
feeling an affinity for him. "Truly, thou dost know for-
bidden love as I do."

"Too bad we didn't fall in love with each other," he
said. "Are you really a . . . ?"

"A unicorn. Aye. But an the Citizens catch me, that
be meaningless."

170 | Piers Anthony

"How so?"

"They mean to use me as lever against him whom I
love. But the Tourney protects meùan I nof depart
too soon."

"Won't you be safe offplanet?"

"I be not in mine own body, here. An I depart this
world before I exchange to mine own frame, methinks
can I not exchange at all, and that be worse yet."

"So you would prefer to remain here a little longer,"
he said.

"Aye," she said sadly. "But that decision be not in
my power."

He smiled. "But it may be in mine." He stepped to
the front of the stage, waving his hands. "May I have
your attention!" he cried.

Instantly a sour note sounded from the screen.
ERROR! CONTESTANT MAY NOT ATTEMPT TO
INFLUENCE AUDIENCE ON HIS BEHALF.

"I haven't finished my story," he cried. "There's
something else I have to say."

ERROR! STATEMENT IS OUT OF ORDER AT
THIS TIME.

A man in the audience stood. "Listen, who's deciding
this game, us or the machine?" he demanded. "Aren't
we like a jury, and we can hear more if we want?"

"Yes, and can't we judge for ourselves whether he's
trying to change our votes unfairly?" a woman re-
sponded.

The screen hesitated. PROCEDURAL MATTER.
AUDIENCE WILL INDICATE WHETHER TO
HEAR MORE FROM CONTESTANTS. SELECT
RESPONSE YES NO. The YES was highlighted,
then the NO.

CONTESTANTS MAY SPEAK, the screen printed,
yielding gracefully.

"Okay," Jimbo said. "We've got two people here,
both probably on the way out regardless of this partic-
ular game. One can go any time; the Tourney is just a
pretext to get him offplanet without being charged with

ROBOT ADEPT 171

anything. The other is here to protect her from trouble
still brewing, and if she can stay a while longer, maybe
things will work out a little better for her. So if I were
voting, and I had trouble making up my mind, I think
I'd boot the one with nothing to lose, and keep the one
with maybe something to win. Now I'm not trying to
tell anybody how he should vote, just saying the way I
see it, and the damned machine can't object to that,
can it?" He walked to the side, leaving the stage to
Fleta.

She realized that she was supposed to say something,
but she could think of nothing. She just stood there and
started to melt again, which seemed to be this body's way
of crying. She didn't want to melt in front of all these
people, so she hid her face in her hands, overcome.

After a moment, the voting proceeded. Fleta forced
her eyes back into shape and looked at the screen.

FLETA TWENTY-THREE VOTES, JIMBO TWO;

FLETA PROCEEDS TO ROUND TWO.

Jimbo looked at her and smiled. She ran to him,
hugged him, and kissed him. The members of the au-
dience applauded.

Suddenly she felt much more at home in the frame
of Proton.

She had two days before her next match, because of
the time required for the remaining Round One games
to clear. Mach came to her, after passing through a
thorough screening by the Game Computer to ensure
that he was whom he claimed to be, and they had a
little additional honeymoon. She cherished this brief
experience with his own body; she had come to love
him in Bane's body, but this was his reality. If she
managed to return to Phaze, this would be all she ever
knew of the true Mach.

Then it was time for her Round Two match. This
time her opponent was a young woman, of grim visage,
and she knew there would be no courtly generosity. She
had to win outright.

172 | Piers Anthony

She got the numbers again, and chose ARTS again.
The girl chose B, so they were in TOOL-ASSISTED
ARTS: Painting, Sculpture, Costumed Drama, Deco-
rative Sewing, Patterns with blocks, colored sand, grains
of rice or whatever, Card Houses, Kaleidoscope, and

Musical Instruments.
Fleta was encouraged; she understood most of these

Arts. She played with confidence, and got Music. The
other girl was plainly uncertain now. In the end they
had to play music, each on her own instrument. The
girl chose the piano, and Fleta chose the syrinx: oth-
erwise known as the panpipes, her natural instrument
as a unicorn. She had, as a matter of private challenge,
learned to play the panpipes in girlform. This was dif-
ficult, because her girlfingers lacked the musical coor-
dination of her horn, and her girlmouth could play only
one note at a time, or adjacent notes. But fingers weren't
really necessary for this; hooves would have done to
hold this instrument firm. She was unable to play two
themes simultaneously, but the underlying harmonics
came naturally, so she could do a creditable job. Whether
she could do it in this alien body she wasn't sure, but
she thought she could. They followed the line to the

appropriate chamber.
Again, they were to be judged by an audience. None

of the listeners was the same as those of her prior game;

the Computer was careful about that sort of thing.

Fleta had to play first. She took the instrument, which
consisted of eight tubes of graduated lengths, bound
together. She sounded each note by blowing across the
top of the proper tube. She played a simple yet evoc-
ative melody that had given her pleasure as a filly at
the end of a perfect day of grazing, as the sun settled
slowly into the trees on the horizon, setting them afire,
and the evening wind fanned the high fringe of the grass
to be grazed on the morrow. As she played, Phaze I
seemed to form around her, so lovely, and then it seemed
that Mach was there too, delighted by her music as he
always was, and for this moment everything was perfect.

ROBOT ADEPT | 173

Then the tune was done, and it was Proton again.
The audience was staring at her. Had she started to
melt again? No, they merely liked the music, perhaps
not having heard the panpipes as played by a unicorn
before.

Her opponent looked at the piano. "I concede," she
said shortly, and walked out.

FLETA PROCEEDS TO ROUND THREE, the
screen announced.

Just like that, she had won!

The audience filtered out, though several serfs glanced
admiringly at the instrument as they passed.

"Clear the chamber," the speaker said. "Citizen ap-
proaching."

Fleta looked wildly around. "But I'm supposed to be
protected!" she cried. "I'm still in the Tourney!"

"At ease, filly," the Citizen said, entering the cham-
ber. He stood somewhat shorter than she, but his bright-
blue robe identified him as far above her. "Not every
Citizen be thine enemy."

"The Blue Adept!" she exclaimed, astonished.

He smiled. "Now Citizen Blue. Thy secret has been
kept; the Game Computer allowed news o' thine iden-
tity to leak not beyond its annex. But I was o' Phaze,
and I know the music o' the unicorn when I hear it.
Ah, the memories it brought!"

"Mach's sire," she breathed.

"Aye. And thou'rt Neysa's foal. Glad I am to meet
thee at last, however briefly, though thou dost favor
her not in this guise." He squinted at her. "Best abolish
the horn,though."

Fleta touched her forehead. She had grown the but-
ton-horn! It must have happened while she was playing
the panpipes. No wonder the audience had stared!
Quickly she melted it; she was not trying to make a
freak of herself, here.

"Mach be looking for Bane, now," Citizen Blue said.
"Must needs I tell thee what we be about. He has made
truce with the Adverse Adepts, in Phaze, but Bane




174 ) Piers Anthony

remains with us, in Proton. We oppose not thy union
with him, or Bane's with Agape. But the news he brought
o' the imbalanceùthat have we verified, and so it be
true that thou canst not remain here. We shall get the
four o' ye together and make the exchange backùbut
with a change." He looked penetratingly at her. "Only
thou willst exchange, not the boys. That will give Mach
power here, and Bane power there, to seek some better
compromise than this truce. Mayhap Bane, being bound
to us rather than to the other side, can find a way
through. We seek not to void the deal Mach made with
Translucent, only to provide us opportunity to explore
the situation when the Adepts be off guard. I think thou
canst go along with that."

"Aye," she said. "But that meansù"

"That thou willst find thyself with Bane in Phazeù
and must make it seem that he be Mach."

"Butùbut I love Mach!" she protested, appalled.

"Aye. That be thy challenge, and why I speak to thee
now. Agape must do likewise, here."

"IùI will try," she agreed faintly. What a position

Blue was putting her in!

"Now let us play together," he said. He brought out
a harmonica, and put it to his mouth.

Relieved to have the subject change, she lifted the
panpipes. Then the two of them played an impromptu
melody, and Blue was a master musician, almost as
good as a unicorn in the finesse with which he handled

his instrument.
When it was done, she was melting again. "Thou didst

depart Proton before I was foaled," Fleta told him.
"Yet do I feel I know thee well, now."

"It were thy dam Neysa mine other self Stile knew,"
he said. "So in any event, our acquaintance is based on
that of two other folk. Yet be it good to renew."

"0 Adept, may I hug thee?"

"Hug me, 'corn, and remember me to my home-
land."

She hugged him, finding him much like Bane, only

ROBOT ADEPT | 175

older and smaller. His visit to her buoyed her immeas-
urably; now she knew that she and Mach were not
fighting for their happiness alone. Stile had turned down
her union with Mach, and for good reason; Blue was
supporting it, and she hoped his reason was as good.

Then he departed, and she returned to her chamber.
For the second time, the aftermath of a Tourney game
had lifted her outlook. She no longer felt like a complete
stranger here; indeed, her homesickness for Phaze was
diminishing.

Two days later she had her Round Three match. This
was against a humanoid robot who reminded her eerily
of Mach, but he was not. She had the numbers again,
but hesitated to choose ARTS, because the records of
all prior games were available, and she knew that the
robot could have looked up her games and discovered
her preference, and calculated accordingly. So she
touched 2. MENTAL. He chose A. NAKED, as she
had thought he might; it could be tricky for a robot to
use a tool, as robots really were tools in a manner of
thinking, and even trickier for him to use a machine.
He would naturally avoid her own strength, ANIMAL.
So he depended on his own resources, as Mach tended
to do. She felt a little guilty for using her knowledge of
Mach to gain an advantage over this robot, but she knew
she had to do it.

The secondary grid for MENTAL came up. She
had the numbers again: 5. SOCIAL  6. POWER
7. MATH 8. HUMOR. What should she choose?

She looked at the robot's choices: E. INFORMA-
TION F. MEMORY G. RIDDLE H. MANIPULA-
TION. What would he take? It depended on his type;

if he were a sophisticated model, like Mach, he would
have an enormous store of information, and a sizable
temporary memory, but would be weak on mental tricks
such as riddles. If he were a simpler model, his infor-
mation and memory capacity might be much smaller,
but he would still be good at manipulating what he had:




176 | Piers Anthony
numbers, for example. So she had better stay well clear

of MATH!

She decided that her safest course was HUMOR.
Mach had a sense of humor, though not on a par with
hers, but other robots might not understand it at all.

She touched the word.
Sure enough, he had chosen MANIPULATION, going

for his strength. They were in 2A8H: SPURIOUS
LOGIC. It came down to a contest in telling jokes, and

topping them.

Again they had an audience. It seemed that most

contestants resembled Fleta in this respect. They pre-
ferred to be judged by ordinary folk, not by the ma-
chine.
The robot was required to tell his joke first. He did

so mechanically. "A smart humanoid robot was con-
cerned that his employer was not satisfied with his per-
formance and sought a pretext to fire him. The employer
always assigned him the least rewarding tasks, such as
supervising the maintenance menials. When the em-
ployer gave him an assignment to report to the robot
repair annex, he feared he would be junked. So he
tinkered with the wiring of a cleanup menial robot, an
inferior machine, and caused it to respond to the hu-
manoid's identity command. Thus the menial went off
to the repair annex for junking, instead of the smart

humanoid!"
There was a robot in the audience who found this

very funny, and two androids who smiled. But the joke
fell somewhat flat for the human beings.

Now it was Fleta's task to top it. If she could do so,
she would nullify it, and leave her opponent scoreless.
She had to think quickly: what would reverse the sit-
uation in a funny manner? She thought again of Mach.
What would he say to a joke like this? That gave her

the key.
"But it turned out that the robot was being sent to

the repair annex not for junking, but for upgrading to
superior status," she said. "When the menial robot re-

ROBOTADEPT| 177

turned, it was much smarter than the humanoid robot,
and was made the new supervisor, bossing the huma-
noid himself."

Several humans laughed, and the two androids smiled.
They liked that reversal. Only the humanoid robot in
the audience failed to see the humor of it. Fleta had
succeeded in topping the joke.

Now it was her turn to start. She remembered a little
story she had imagined as a young filly, back when she
was learning to assume giriform. "A mean man of Phaze
caught an innocent young unicorn in human form, when
she was trying to learn the human ways so she could
handle the form perfectly. He grabbed her and clapped
his hand over her forehead, covering her horn button,
so she could not change. 'Now I won't let you go unless
you teach me how to change form as you do,' he told
her. 'Teach me, or I will do something terrible for you
but nice for me.' She knew he would rape her if she
did not agree, so she gave her word to help him change
to equine form.

"He could not do it exactly the way she did, because
he was not of her species, so she had to translate the
magic to a verbal command that would work for him.
Actually it was two commands: the second to change
him back to manform. He tied her to a post and tried
the first spell, and lo! He became his analogy of the
equine form, which was a silly ass. Immediately he tried
to change back, but he only brayed, because his assfonn
was unable to speak in the human mode. He was stuck
for the rest of his life as an ass."

There were a few smiles in the audience, but it seemed
that most of the serfs had been expecting something
like this, so were not suprised. It was after all a pretty
weak joke.

It was the robot's turn to top it. Unfortunately, he
had found the joke hilarious: man becoming ass! That
was almost as funny as having a menial robot sent off
to be junked in one's place. He tried to come up with




178 | Piers Anthony

an improvement on it, but his thought circuits were
inadequate, and he could not.

But he was not completely dull. "Maybe there is no
topper," he said. "If there is no topper, then it doesn't
count!"

AGREED, the screen printed. TELLER MUST TOP
OWN JOKE FOR VICTORY.

Oops! Fleta had not anticipated that! She had never
devised a reversal of this one, having had no motive.
If she was a human being, and wanted to turn the joke
to human account, how would she do it?

The challenge brought the response, and she had it.
It was in the form of her worst fear as a young creature.
"Then the unicorn changed to her natural form, for she
was just coming into heat and needed to be far from
here before the mating urge took her. But she forgot
that she was still tied, and the rope was too strong for
her to break. She was trappedùand there was this ass,
smelling her condition, eager toù"

She was drowned out by a surge of laughter. The
serfs found that fate very funny!

She had won the matchùbut at the cost of allowing
her secret self to be raped by an ass. She was not com-
pletely pleased.

Mach visited her again. "I have located Bane," he
said. "I have explained what my father wants. He has
agreed. But he says that Agape is far from here. He
will have to go to her, and explain, and bring her here.
It will take at least two days."

"Then needs must I win again on the morrow," she
said.

"You have been doing very well," he said. "You have
qualified for Round Four; you are one of the final 128
contestants. Almost 900 have been eliminated."

"That many!" she exclaimed in wonder. "But I be
just lucky!"

He shook his head. "I'm not sure of that. I think you
may be cut out to be a Game player. Your instincts

ROBOT ADEPT 179

have been good, and your play good. Considering your
unfamiliarity with this culture and your inexperience
with the Game, that suggests a very good potential."

"Nay, it be but luck," she protested. "I fear for each
new contest, that I may muff what I might have played
well."

"Which is exactly the attitude of a superior games-
man." He smiled. "In any event, you have to get through
only one more, and then you can exchange."

"One moreùand then be separated from thee," she
said, with mixed emotions.

Her Round Four match was against a Citizen. Fleta
saw him approaching the console with horror; how could
she defeat such an opponent? Furthermore, she rec-
ognized him: he was the Purple Adept, here known as
Citizen Purple.

Now she knew that the Contrary Citizens had caught
on to her identity, and somehow arranged to get close
to her within the Tourney. If she lost this one. Purple
would have her, and Mach would be helpless. The al-
liance of Citizens and Adepts would have both sides of
it, and Bane and Mach would have to work wholly for
them. Their noose was closing.

Purple looked at her, and grinned. "I mean to have
your hide, animal," he said. "You have led a charmed
existence, but I have a score to settle."

Terror coursed through her. This man was seriousù
and deadly. Mach had said something about the way
Agape had escaped captivity by this man, and Mach
himself had escaped, in a violent confrontation. Cer-
tainly Purple had a score to settleùand she knew he
was an evil man.

"Thou canst not touch me in the Tourney," she said
with as much bravado as she could muster. She had to
cling to the console, for her knees were melting.

"But the moment you wash out, as you are about to,
I shall preempt the deportation process and take you
with me," he said. "Citizenship hath its privileges."

180 | Piers Anthony

Could he do that? She feared he could. The Game
Computer had protected her from external threats, but
could not bar a legitimate contestant, and Citizens did
have special powers. She had to win! But could she?
She greatly feared that this man had her number, as

the serfs put it.

Her screen showed that she had the letters. That
meant she could choose ANIMAL. But Purple would
be ready for that, and have some devastating trap ready.
What, then, was left? What she understood least was
MACHINES, having had no experience with them prior
to her meeting with Mach. Purple knew that too, and
he was of course thoroughly conversant with the most
sophisticated machines. It would be folly for her to

choose that category.

So it was between NAKED and TOOL. In her own
unicorn body she would have been confident with
NAKED, but in this Amoeba body she was doubtful.
It was a wonderful body, but she hardly understood it
well enough to trust it to direct physical competitionù
and she was afraid that that was exactly what Purple
would choose. TOOL? That could be anything, includ-
ing weapons; he was surely skilled with those, while she
understood only the weapon of her hornùwhich she
lacked, here. She seemed to have no good choices!

But maybe she could surprise him! With sudden re-
solve, she touched the very worst of her choices: MA-
CHINE.

He had chosen PHYSICAL, as she had surmised.

Maybe Mach was right: she did have a touch for the
Game, being able to judge her opponent's likely choice.
But she was still stuck in a box she didn't like.

She hoped she would get the numbers, this time, so
she could avoid INTERACTIVE or COMBAT and
perhaps COOPERATIVE; she wanted no contact with

this brutal man!
Luck did not help her. She got the letters again,

and had to choose between E. EARTH   F. FIRE
G. GAS and H. H^O. She had learned that EARTH

ROBOT ADEPT | 181

meant a flat surface, such as a ball could roll on, and
that FIRE meant a variable surface that a stick might
help to cross, and GAS meant a broken surface, such
as might have been carved up by a knife, and that H^O
meant water, where anything went. She didn't trust any
of them, but as a unicorn she preferred the flat surface,
such as might be grazed or run on. Therefore she avoided
that, still Hying to surprise the Citizen, to get into some
combination that, however bad it might be for her,
would be worse for him. So she touched FIRE, with a
sense of futility.

He had chosen 6. INTERACTIVE. Thus they were
in 1C6F: Machine-assisted physical activity on a vari-
able surface, interactive. That, when they played through
the choices, turned out to be SNOWMOBILE BUMP-
ING.

"Well," Purple said, making a motion as of lathering
his hands. "It will be a pleasure to return to this sport."

She realized that she had nothing to lose except the
game, and her freedom. There was no point trying to
placate the Citizen, but perhaps she could learn some-
thing from him. "Thou wast good at this?"

"I was good at everything, in my youth," he said.
"But especially mountainside sports, because of my as-
sociation with the mountain range."

The Purple Mountain range, of course. That made
sense. She had after all walked into the worst of choices!

They adjourned to the Snow Sports range. The snow-
mobiles turned out to be machines that could cruise
rapidly up and down slopes. A steeply banked track
circled the central housing. The route was not long, but
had plenty of variety, and because it circled, there was
no end to it. The two would circle until one bumped
the other out of the track.

Suddenly Fleta realized that this was very much like
a game she had played with others of her Herd. They
had gone up into the snowy regions and beaten out a
track, then ran in it, trying to shoulder each other out
of it. She had not been the best, because she lacked




182 | Piers Anthony

the mass and power of some of the others, but she had
been good, because she was fast and sure. Had her
physical assets matched the others', pound for pound,
she would have been the best.

The snowmobiles were machines, all the same size
and shape and power. The only difference in the con-
testants would be that of their own body massesù"and
their skills in the game. Fleta had never before used
such a machine, but she suspected that once she became
accustomed to it, she would be able to compete with
anyone.

The Citizen thought he had an easy victory. He might
discover he had no victory at all!

They donned heavy clothing, for the range was cold.
This was one of the few occasions when serfs were
permitted apparel. The attendant explained the use of
the machines, which turned out to be simple: a wheel
mounted sidewise for steering, and a pedal to set the
speed.

They got into their mobiles and exited simultaneously
on opposite sides. They would circle left. It was possible
for the two to avoid contact by traveling at constant
speed on opposite sides, but if too long a period elapsed
without a bump, both would be disqualified, and both
would be out of the Tourney, with a bye granted to
whatever contestant would have encountered the win-
ner in the next round. Purple might be satisfied with
that, but Fleta couldn't afford it. She hoped that Pur-
ple's pride would require him to mix it up, and not go
for the ignominious disqualification, just to get control
of her.

As she moved out into the snow, she concentrated
on attuning to the machine. She had only a little time
to ascertain the range of its capabilities. How fast could
it gallop? How quickly could it slow? How welt could
it maneuver? She had to get the feel of it, so that she
could use it without thinking, exactly as she would her
own body.

She pushed down on the pedal, and the mobile leaped

ROBOT ADEPT | 185

ahead, spewing out snow behind. She lifted her foot,
and the thing stopped so suddenly that only her re-
straining harness prevented her body from being thrown
forward and out of it, while snow flew up in a small
cloud.

The machine was responsive!

That made her think of Mach, the most responsive
of machines.

But Purple was overhauling her rapidly. She leaped
forward again, lest he ram her and bump her out before
she got started. As she did, she steered to the side, and
the machine quickly swerved. This was an excellent
unicorn!

Now she was ready, and barely in time, for Citizen
Purple's mobile was upon her. It had maintained speed
while she experimented, and she could not gain on it
from a standing start. The Citizen was aiming to ram
her, he being on the inside of the track and she moving
more slowly on the outside. She would be out of control
in a moment if he scored.

But she had a body that was close enough in principle
to her own, and experience in exactly this kind of tactic.
She gauged the likely point of impact, and as he speeded
up to add more impetus to the bump, she cut suddenly
left, crossing in front of him, and abruptly slowed.

Caught by surprise, he struck her right flank and
caromed off to the right. She was already steering left
again, countering the shove of her rear. Then, as he
tried to compensate for his unexpected impetus, she cut
right, accelerated, and bumped him hard from the in-
side.

He careened out of the track so violently that his
vehicle collided with the outer retaining wall. A buzzer
sounded: the contest was over.

Fleta had not only won, she had won decisively. She
had made an experienced gamesman look like a duffer.
"How dost thou like that manure, Citizen?" she called
gleefully.

Then, realizing that caution was in order, she guided

184 | Piers Anthony

her snowmobile quickly inside, and departed before

Purple could get there.

As she returned to her chamber, she knew she had
secured her chance to return to Phaze. But now, oddly,
she wished she did not have to go just yet. After all,
she had just qualified for Round Five, one of only sixty-
four survivors! That was halfway through the rounds!
Who knew how far she could go if she remained in the

Tourney!

But Mach was waiting at the chamber. "Don't get
notions, filly," he said severely. "You're safe, nowù
but if you play again and lose, we might not be able to
coordinate the exchange before you got shipped off-
planet."

That sobered her. "Agape will have to play in my
stead," she said regretfully. "Mayhap she will win the
Tourney and become the next Citizen!"

"Maybe," he agreed. Then they made love, for it
would be their last night together for a time.

"Remember," he said in the morning. "Keep the
secret. Bane tells me that the Adverse Adepts are rais-
ing an army. He has to learn more about their plans,
and only he can spy on them without their knowledge;

I am too much a duffer at magic, and if they mean to
betray us and break the truceù"

"Aye," she said. "That other tourney be not over

yet."

Then, before the call for the next game came, Bane
arrived. There was no sign of him, but Mach could tell.
"She's with him," he said. "Come, embrace me, and
concentrate on Phaze: your desire to return."

"Aye," she repeated, embracing him with mixed

emotions.

Now she felt the presence of the others. She willed
herself to Phaze, to the lovely open plain that occupied
this spot there, and the exchange took hold.

9

Masquerade

After a horrendous three-day stint with Stile, operating
from a hidden retreat and spying on demons who tended
to stomp butterflies on sight, Bane made contact with
Mach and learned that it was time to return Agape to
Proton. He explained his own plan, and they agreed.

He returned to the Blue Demesnes to discover a
change. There was an evanescent glow about the castle
that could only signify a rare happiness. If the Lady
Blue was happy, she surely had good reason. He could
think of only one likely event that would have this ef-
fect.

Was that why his father had decided to pursue his
investigation elsewhere, instead of returning to the Blue
Demesnes at this time? Stile had withdrawn his oppo-
sition to Bane's union with Agape, but the situation
still prohibited it; perhaps Stile simply preferred to stay
clear of the inevitable awkwardness.

"Anybody home?" he called.

His mother came out to meet him, smiling. With her
was a young woman who looked like Fleta, but was
not.

The woman stepped into his embrace. This was Agape,

186 | Piers Anthony

all right! He did not need to ask; he knew she accepted
Phaze, now. He had not realized how important that
acceptance was to him until this moment. This was his
world; he wanted her to understand it and approve of
it, however surprising her introduction to it.

He summarized the news of his spying as they entered
the castle. His mother knew it, of course, but would
not have said anything; she was not one to speak care-
lessly. He wanted Agape to know why he had neglected
her all this time. "They mean to use thee as a lever
against me," he concluded.

"I know," Agape said.

Then he went into more detail about his recent ac-
tivities as a spy and butterfly, but she just hugged him
and seemed satisfied with that.

But there was one thing he had to be sure she under-
stood. He took her for a walk outside the castle, and
explained. "Mach contacted me, while I was in the
field," he said. "Beta be about to be shipped to Moeba."

That got her attention. "She can't go there! It's an
entirely different world!"

"Aye. So thou must return tomorrow. It be not a
strange world to thee." He took a breath. "And must
needs I remain here. The Adverse Adepts watch me
too closely; an they think Mach be back, their suspicion
may diminish, so I can learn what we need."

She nodded sadly, understanding. "And I will not
see you, after that."

"Nay, I joked not when I said I would visit thee there.
Mach has been there, and promises to leave a program
for me."

"A program?"

"In his brain. He has compartments, and in them are
programs for many things, such as the speaking of alien
tongues or the application of special skills. With his
program, I will know all he has learned, and can survive
on thy home world. Thou hast experienced mine; now
will I experience thine. Our acquaintance be not at an
end."

ROBOT ADEPT | 187

She hugged him again. Then: "We have been apart,
and now have so little time together. I know this is not
my own body, butù"

"I met thee in Mach's body," he reminded her.
"Do you think Fleta would mind, ifù"
"Nay, she would mind not." Then he conjured them
both to the private glade where he had first exchanged
with Mach, and made a small screened tent there, and
they made love, first savagely, then again gently, and
then they slept.

Next day he brought her to the proper spot. He held
her closely as they overlapped their opposites in Proton,
and sang the spell to transfer her back.

Her body did not change, but its nature did. In a
moment he knew that it was Fleta he was holding.

He put his lips to her ear. "Filly, dost know me?"
he whispered.

"Aye, Bane," she whispered back. "I will help thee
in thy quest."

"Thou knowest they watch us."

"Aye." She drew back her head and gazed into his
face as if in love with him. "Can you speak Protonese?"
she murmured.

He stared at her. It was not that her words were
unreasonable; it was that he had never imagined her
using that mode. "I can," he said. "Butù"

"Methinks I can suffer this masquerade for a time,
an thou canst," she said. "I like it not, but my love
asked me, an if it helps put things right ..." Then she
lifted her lips and kissed him.

He was startled again. Of course she would kiss Mach!
If he was to play the part, he had to play it, and she
did too. That was why her cooperation was essential.
He just had not anticipated this aspect. His days of
experimentation with Fleta were long over.

But, this being the case, he would have to make love
to her too! It would be an early giveaway if he avoided
this aspect of Mach's relationship with her. But how

188 | Piers Anthony

did she feel about this? She had exchanged the triple

Thee with Mach!

She brought her mouth close to his ear again. ",I love
another, but I hate thee not, and can play such games
with thee as thy kind does. As I have done before."

"Then it be but sex," he whispered back. "Our,hearts

be in it not."

"Aye." Then she drew away from him. "But we dally,

Mach!" she exclaimed brightly. "Didst thou not have
enough o' manstyle play w' me in Proton?"
"I can never have enough," he replied carefully. But

he let her go.
"We have been long away from our sanctuary," she

said. "Let me carry thee there." And she became her

natural self, the unicorn.

"Yes, of course," he agreed. He mounted her a trifle
clumsily, as he judged Mach might. She set off west-
ward. One thing about this: he did not have to say much
or do much, so ran less risk of giving away his identity.
The Adverse Adepts might be watching, but would soon
become bored with this, and would not pay much at-
tention.

While he rode, he pondered the plan that he and

Stile had devised. Stile, in those last three days, had
taught him an exotic technique that even most Adepts
did not know: that of spiritual separation. This magic
could send a person's awareness out apart from his
body, so that he could perceive things that his body
could not. It required a different spell each time, of
course, but Stile had worked out several that had worked
for him, and should now work for Bane. The effect
was limited in time and distance, so it was necessary to
get physically within range before invoking the sepa-
ration. This restricted its applicationùbut if Bane could
find a way to get close without suspicion, it could be

invaluable.
That was why he had sought Mach's cooperation.

Mach could not spy in this manner, lacking the magic,
and would not if he could. But Mach could get close to

ROBOT ADEPT | 189

the Adverse Adepts. This switch of seeming identities
should enable Bane to get close enough so that he could
learn what they needed to know. The dominance of the
frame might depend on his success in this mission.

And Fleta, bless her, was cooperating! Mach had a
good match in her; she might be an animal, but some
animals were more substantial folk than some human
beings, and she was an example. Her friend the were-
bitch Furramenin was another, and of course Such-
evaneùah, the vampire was special indeed!

As evening approached, and the sun reddened behind
a cloudbank before them, Fleta stopped, and Bane dis-
mounted. She set about grazing, which was her most
comfortable way to eat, while he foraged for nuts and
fruits. He could have conjured food, but did not for
two reasons: first, because Mach would not be good at
such magic, and second, because magic was too valuable
to waste on routine chores. If he was in danger of starv-
ing, then a conjuration would be in order; meanwhile,
foraging would do.

As complete darkness settled in, Fleta assumed girl-
form and came to him. The air was turning chillùbut
again, what point magic, when they could share body
warmth? They removed their clothing, and spread her
black cloak and his blue shirt and trousers over the two
of them as blankets, and embraced. It made sense be-
cause of the warmth, and because they were supposed
to be lovers. For all an observer could have told, they
were being lovers now, and that was the impression
they wanted to give. Bane intended merely to sleep.

But Fleta was as full of mischief as ever. "Canst guess
how often I longed to get tliee like this, an my heat
approached?" she whispered.

Heat! Bane went rigid. When a mare came to that
part of her cycle, she had to breed, or suffer terribly,
and no mere man could satisfy her. "Thou'rt notù?"

"Nay, not this week," she said. "But when I learned
the human way of it, for pleasure rather than naugh-
tiness, I came to like it any time." She moved against

190 | Piers Anthony

him, breast against his chest, thigh over his thigh. She
might be an animal, and a childhood friend, but she

felt exactly like a woman at the moment.

"I made love to her, in thy body," he said, hoping
to divert her. "We thought thou wouldst not mind."

"Nor do I," she agreed. "Oft did I do the same with
him in thy body." She considered a moment. "How was

my body?"

"Ne'er better," he confessed. "Now stop thy teasing,

and let me sleep."

She decided she had gone far enough, and acceded.
Her sexual urge was not at all the same as his; she just
liked to demonstrate that she could make him react
against his will. She had done that now, and was sat-
isfied.

He relaxed. But he knew the time would come soon

enough when, to preserve his secret, they would have
to make it real. That might be Just part of the game,
to her, because animals had no proprietary concerns
about sex, but it was no game to him. He felt guilty
already for what would surely occurùand more guilty
because he discovered that a part of him desired it. The
act he could account for, when circumstance made it
necessary; the desire he could not.

Bane had never been within the Translucent De-
mesnes before, and he found it fascinating. The un-
derwater isle, the ancient creatures, the seeming ability
to flyùwhat a realm the Adept had, here! He tried not
to gawk as the unicorn carried him through the strange

landscape to their refuge.

At last they passed through the dome-shaped curtain
and walked on the "normal" land of the isle. All around
this region the creatures of the archaic ocean could be

seen.

"Must needs we tour the isle, to be sure naught be

changed," Fleta said brightly, shifting to girlform.

"Yes," he said, keeping his language in character.
This was her way of acquainting him with the details of

ROBOT ADEPT | 191

this setting, so that he would not make any giveaway
errors.

In this fashion she introduced him to the creatures
she and Mach had come to know. "And here be Naughty,
the same as ever!" she exclaimed as they encountered
a creature like a squid in a shell longer than the length
of a man. "Nay, chide me not, Mach; I know thou dost
call him 'Nautiloid' from the Ordovician period o' Earth!
But to me he be Naughty, for all the times he blunders
through to land and we needs must heave him back."
She reached through the dome-wall and petted the mon-
ster on the shell. A tentacle reached up and coiled
briefly about her wrist, squeezing and letting go. Ob-
viously the monster did remember her, and liked her.

In due course they completed the circuit of the isle.
"All be in order," Fleta announced. "Now let me graze
and sleep."

"Butù" Bane started, concerned that he did not yet
know enough about this region to avoid a blunder.

"Hast thou not had enough o' sex on the way here?"
she chided him. "Canst not let me sleep in peace, after
carrying thee all this distance?"

Oh. She was giving him a pretext to leave her alone,
so that the Translucent Adept, who surely watched, had
no reason to be suspicious.

He foraged for his supper while she assumed her
natural form and grazed on the rich grass growing here.
She was catching up on sleep, too; she could graze while
sleeping, which was a useful ability at times.

After he ate, he caught up on natural functions, then
piled fragrant ferns and lay down, nominally to sleep.
Actually he whispered the spell of separation. Stile had
worked this out so that its evocation was virtually un-
detectable; it was largely internal magic, not the exter-
nal magic that used enormous power. When he conjured
himself from place to place, the magic made a splash
that could readily be detected by those alert for it; when
Stile conjured one of Bane's butterfly forms to another
spot, the splash occurred at the site of the conjuration,




192 | Piers Anthony

not of arrival, so there was no alarm. But he had done
about all he could with butterflies; now he hoped to do

more with his spirit.

He drifted out from his body. He could see, hear,
smell and even feel, despite having a center of aware-
ness that was insubstantial. He saw his body, seemingly
sleeping; he saw Fleta grazing; he saw Naughty Nau-
tiloid foraging in the nearby ocean.

He moved on through the water, looking for the
Translucent Adept. The man was in a palace that ap-
peared to be made out of water: bricks of water kept
firm by magic, forming walls and arches, with beams of
water supporting the upper levels. There were large
windows with panes of water, and furniture shaped from

yet more water.

Translucent was relaxing, watching a water-mirror in
which an image of the isle was reflected. There was
Bane sleeping, and Fleta grazing. So their suspicion was
correct: they were under constant observation. Prob-
ably Translucent could hear their dialogue, too. The
Adept had offered sanctuary for Mach and Fleta, and
freedom, but had never guaranteed privacy. He did not
interfere with their activities, but he knew of them, in

every detail he cared to.

But watching the Adept watch the isle would not
accomplish anything. Bane wanted to know the exact
plans of the Adverse Adepts, so that his father could
counter them specifically. He could not depend on ov-
erhearing significant conversations; he had to find rec-
ords or other indications.

There seemed to be no records. Whatever Translu-
cent knew or planned was in his head. That was a place

Bane could not go.

His spying effort here was a failure. He could not
even be sure that Translucent was planning any treach-
ery; the limited evidence was that the other Adepts were
planning it, for the time when Translucent's more lib-
eral policy of accommodation failed.

He passed the Adept againùand discovered that the

ROBOT ADEPT 193

water-screen had changed its picture. Now the Tan Adept
was on it, talking to Translucent.

". . . she'll be there tomorrow afternoon," the senior
Tan was saying.

"I like this not," Translucent answered. "I gave mine
oath, and I mean to break it not."

"An they be truly the rovot and the 'corn, with their
triple Thee, she will have no power o'er them," Tan
said. "An they be the other pair, thine oath applies not.
My daughter can capture Bane, then, and the whole of
it be ours."

"I yield to thee on this point only to establish their
legitimacy," Translucent said, obviously irritated.
"Thereafter, I want interference not from thee. There
be a smell about this I like not."

"Agreed." The Tan Adept faded out.

So he had gained some information anyway! Tania
was coming here tomorrow, to verify whether it was
the right couple on the isle. The Adepts' suspicion had
been aroused, so now they were checking. Translucent
was hewing to the letter of his word, and Bane respected
him for that, but the man had to allow this test.

Bane did not want Tania to try her evil eye on him.
He could counter it only by the full exercise of his own
magicùand that would give away his identity on the
spot, because Mach had only clumsy powers of magic.
But if he did not counter her, he would fall prey to her,
and that would be worse. They were in trouble!

He returned to his body. He had less than a day to
figure out a way to pass this challenge.

He pondered for a while, and drifted off to sleep. He
could not talk to Fleta, knowing he was being watched;

he had to act completely naturally.

In the morning Fleta changed back to girlform and
approached him for a kiss, as she would have done with
Mach. "What news?" she whispered.

He nuzzled her ear. "We be watched, as we
thought. Today Tania comes to test us."




194 | Piers Anthony

"The e'il eye!" she breathed, tickling his ear. "I like
that not!"

"Mach's triple Thee would be proof against it. But
we be the wrong partners; that oath exists not between
us."

She drew back her head. "Not before breakfast, thou
sex fiend!" she exclaimed. "Give me leave to think
on't."

He let her go. How cleverly she answered him, with-
out arousing suspicion!

They foraged for breakfast, and this time she re-
mained in girlform and ate with him. As they finished,
she leaned toward him. He caught the hint and grabbed
her for another kiss. It would not do to have Translucent
realize that only Fleta initiated such activity.

"Canst leave before?" she whispered.

He had thought of that, and rejected it. They were
theoretically here so that they could love each other
without restraint, in perfect security and comfort. They
would not depart except for good reasonùand they
weren't supposed to have any notion of the impending
visit. "Would give us away," he replied.

She wriggled away from his grasp. "Not before wash-
up!" she protested.

Bane managed to convert a smile to a grimace. Any
watcher would be convinced that he was constantly trying
to get her into sex, while she was endlessly coquettish.
Despite his knowledge of her rationale, he found him-
self responding, wanting her in the manner she pre-
tended he did. Pretense of this nature could be
treacherous!

They washed up at a freshwater spring on the isle. It
was amazing how Translucent had set this up! They
stripped, setting their apparel out of harm's way. Fleta
insisted on washing him, using her hands to splash the
water on him and to rub him down. Naturally she brought
him to arousal. This was not entirely mischief on her
part; Mach would have reacted exactly this way.

"I think there be only one way to deceive Tania,"

ROBOT ADEPT | 195

she whispered as she gaily splashed water at his eyes
and ears. "We must be amidst it as she comes."

"But that be only sex!" he protested. "Her power
could still move me."

"Why use it, an she sees how true we be to each
other?"

And that just might be the answer. Magic was not
cheap for any practitioner. Tania could only use a par-
ticular variant of her evil eye on a particular person
once. She would not care to waste it on a subject likely
to be immuneùas Mach would be, because of his ab-
solute love for Fleta. The triple Thee, vindicated as it
was said his had been, could not be overridden; indeed,
it had overridden Adept magic itself. So if Tania were

satisfied that she saw Mach, she would let him pass
unchallenged.

He had known that he would have to make love to
Fleta, and had felt his mixed guilt about that. Now he
realized that he would have to do it for an audience,
and make it thoroughly convincing. His mission, and
perhaps his freedom, depended on it.

"Aye," he whispered.

She wrestled herself away, managing in the process
to slide her slippery breasts almost the full length of his
body. "Nay, Mach! Not till we be at the proper place!"

What a tease she was! Surely Translucent, if he were
watching at this moment, was chuckling.

So it continued through the morning, Fleta always
putting him off on one pretext or another, he always
yielding with decent grace. Then it was time for lunch,
and then for a nap, she claimed. But she kissed him,
and whispered in his ear: "Canst see her coming, now?
Needs must we know exactly when."

He nodded. He fashioned a partial shelter from boughs
and ferns so that the sun would hot burn him, though
its light was filtered through the water above the dome
and really was not fierce. Then he lay down for his
"nap" and used a variant spell to separate his spirit
again. He floated out to Translucent's water-brick

196 | Piers Anthony

houseùand there she was already! In only a few min-
utes she would be at the isle.
He hurried back to his body. How lucky that Fleta

had had him check!

He stretched as if waking. Then he reached out and
caught Fleta by the arm. "Damn it, fillyùyou have been
teasing me all day!" he exclaimed. "Now you are going

to get it!"
"Now?" she asked, her eyes nicking about as if

searching.
"Any minute now," he agreed. "Just let me get that

cloak off you!"
"Nay!" she protested, laughing. "That were too brief

a nap!"

"The hell with the nap!" he exclaimed, rather en-
joying the Proton mode of swearing; it had a certain
magic of its own. He wrestled with her, pulling inef-
fectively at her clothing.

"0, here, thou'lt ruin it," she complained. She drew
off her cloak herself. Then she undressed him.

But when he sought to embrace her, she resisted.
"Thou didst teach me thy way, remember," she said.
"Not like my way, for when I be in heat and care not
what member be in me, so long as I be bred. Slow, and

with love."

She was still stalling, for Tania had not yet shown
up. But she was also correct: he had to play this scene
convincingly, and that meant that sex was only part of

it.

He looked into her eyes. "I love you," he said. There
was no ripple around them, of course; this was a line
from a play. In fact, this was very like a game in the
Tourney of Proton, in which the participants had to
emulate a scene of perfect love-making. It was an open
question whether two players ever got into such a match

randomly.

"And I love thee," she said, with similar lack of
ripple. That was not necessarily cause for suspicion; the

ROBOT ADEPT ( 197

splash showed only at truly seminal declarations, and
like other magic tended to fade with repetition.

Now he sought to embrace her more intimately, but
still she demurred. "Hast forgotten thine own mode of
play?" she inquired teasingly.

Was she still stalling, or trying for perfect realism?
He wasn't sure, but realized she was right either way.
Tania still had not arrived, and regardless. Translucent
was probably watching on his water-screen.

Translucent? Tania could be watching it too! Why
should she come here physically, when she could learn
what she needed at a distance?

He stroked her breasts. Oh, she was well formed! He
had seldom really looked at her recently, and now ap-
preciated in a rush how nicely she had shaped her girl-
form. He kissed them, then moved up to kiss her ear.
"I think we be on stage now," he whispered.

"Ah, Mach, how I have longed to hear thee say that!"
she replied aloud with a straight face. Then she became
an animal indeed, hugging him, kissing him, stroking
him, rubbing her torso against his, wrapping her legs
around him, mimicking the height of passion, human
style.

This was the same body he had embraced when Agape
occupied it. Now it became confused in his mind, and
he feared he would cry out Agape's name and betray
himself.

"Mach! Mach!" she cried, but it sounded like "Bane,
Bane!"

"Fleta!" he responded, keeping it straight. Then,
overwhelmed by the passion of the moment, he took
her, not quite caring in that instant who it might be.

And the guilt surged up as his passion ebbed. He had
felt too much.

But it seemed that his demonstration had been ef-
fective. Time passed, and Tania did not show up. She
must have been satisfied that he was Mach, after she
saw his demonstration.

Fleta still lay in his embrace, and he could not tell

198 | Piers Anthony

her to go. He had to be consistent to his role. But what
was that consistency costing him? What was it costing

her?
Tormented by his uncertainty of feeling, he lay for a

time, then drifted into sleep.

Later they woke. Fleta did not look happy, but in a
moment she assumed a cheerful expression. "Mach,
thou didst promise me a foal," she said.

He was silent, not certain what she was leading up

to.
"Now thou art back," she insisted. "Now be it time

to do it."
"Fleta, this is no simple matter," he demurred. Was

she serious?

"I know thy magic be not yet great," she continued.

"But the Red Adept doth have the Book o' Magic, and
methinks a spell might be there. My time o' heat be
coming in due course, and if thou couldst breed me

thenù"

A pretext to visit Trool the Troll! Now he had the
gist. "If I promised, I promised," he said. "We shall
ask the Red Adept for a spell."

"Aye, I thank thee!" she exclaimed, and kissed him
with such conviction that he realized this was no ploy.
She really did want Mach's baby, and thought she could

get it.
On the following morning they set out, Fleta in her

natural form. Bane riding. Translucent did not inter-
fere; the Adept was satisfied that Mach was in his camp
regardless where he might travel. That much was true,
and when Mach returned, he would continue to rep-
resent the Adverse Adepts. Bane really had no quarrel
with thatùand none with Translucent, who was be-
having decently. Had Tania caught Bane in his mas-
querade, it would have been fair play: he had tried a

deception, and paid the price.

In Proton, Citizen Blue knew of the masquerade, but
would not try to hold Mach captive; that was under-

ROBOT ADEPT | 199

stood. This was a ramification of the truce: to let things
be until they could be better resolved. Bane hoped that
Mach was not having too much trouble maintaining the
pretense with Agape.

And what if he was? It was no bad thing, making
love to Agape! Bane could not hold that against his
other self any more than Mach could hold Bane's act
with Fleta against him. It was understood that this was
necessary.

Still, it bothered him. Not the act itself, but his at-
titude about it. He had tried to make himself believe
that it was Agape he embraced, but he had known it
was not. He had made love to Fleta, and it had been
wonderful. That was the problem. Exactly why had it
been so good?

She had been his companion in childhood, and in
young adulthood. He had always liked her, and she had
liked him. But he had never loved her. She was, after
all, an animal.

Now Mach had fallen in love with her, and she with
Mach. That caused Bane to see her differently. In what
way was Fleta inferior to a human woman? He needed
no thought to answer that: the answer was no way. Just
as Agape was not inferior to a human woman. Perhaps
he loved Agape as an unconscious analog to Fleta: the
nonhuman creature who seemed human.

Now he was back with the original, his emotional
barriers down. Had he merely done with her what he
had always wanted to do? Had he used this masquerade
as a pretext to do it?

What had he accomplished in his spying mission?
Only the discovery of Tania's threatùwhich would have
been no threat at all, had Mach been with Fleta. In
short, he had accomplished nothingùexcept sex with
his alternate's beloved.

So Bane's thoughts ran, as he rode the unicorn from
the Translucent Demesnes. He had no doubt of Fleta's
constancy; she had done only what she agreed to do,

200 | Piers Anthony

her heart not in it. But his own was suspect. He might
as well have raped her.

No, even that was not the whole of it. The sex had
been a concomitant of the mission, supposedly of little
importance in itself. Certainly Fleta had no use for it,
when not in heat, except as a way to please her lover
or to maintain a masquerade. It should have been little
more for him: a pleasure of the moment, done for other
than emotion. Instead he had been eager for it, and
had found it not only physically satisfying, but emo-
tionally fulfilling. As though he had truly meant the
words of love he had spoken to her.

Was he falling in love with Fleta?

Bane closed his eyes, trying to drive away the specter
of that forbidden emotion, but could not. He knew he
should never have undertaken this foolish spying mis-
sion; he should have stayed well away from his other
self's chosen. Now it was too late.

Fleta turned her head, glancing back at him with one
eye. She was aware of the reactions of his body, and
knew that something was bothering him.

And what could he tell her? Nothing! She was in-
nocent; he could only bring her grief by expressing his
illicit passion. So he simply petted her shoulder. "You
are a truly good creature, mare," he said. "I would not
cause you harm for all the frame." That much was true.

They camped for the night near a stream. Instead of
grazing, this time, Fleta became the hummingbird and
filled up on the nectar of flowers, while he made a fire
and roasted wild potatoes he dug out. Then she assumed
girlform and came to join him for sleeping.

"But I thought thou wouldst graze," he protested

weakly.

"Nay, I prefer to be with thee, Mach," she said,
removing her cloak and spreading it as a blanket for

them.

Another night with her body warm against his? He
owed it to her and to his other self to avoid that! But

ROBOT ADEPT | 201

what could he say? The Adepts were surely still check-
ing on them.

Unable to find sufficient reason to demur, and un-
certain whether he even wanted to, he acceded. He lay
down with her, and she embraced him, nuzzling his ear.

"There be spoor," she whispered. "There be scent.
We be followed."

This was completely unexpected. She had had reason
of her own to get close to him! Her attention, at least,
was where it should be.

"Canst make love to an unconscious man?" he whis-
pered back.

"Aye." She chuckled.

He smiled. Any Adept watching them would have
no concern; they would be obviously engaged in ro-
mance. Meanwhile, he would find out what was going on.

He murmured a spell of separation, and his spirit
traveled up out of his body. He looked down: yes, it
certainly looked like active sex from here! At least he
need have no guilt for this; it was none of his doing.

He oriented, making a swift circuit of the region, and
in a moment he spied it: a party of goblins camped not
far away. But why hadn't he been aware of them? He
had not been paying proper attention.

He moved close upùand discovered why. There was
Adept magic protecting the partyùa spell of conceal-
ment. Fleta, being a unicorn, was resistive to magic
practiced on her, so had been able to pick up hints,
while Bane had not. However, his spirit was not subject
to the same limits as his body. He could perceive the
shimmer of the magic force; indeed, he passed through
it with extreme caution, for his presence could disturb
it, alerting the Adept who had set it.

This party could only be here to spy on Mach and
Fleta. The Adepts were not merely watching, they were
keeping a force close by. Why?

He infiltrated the main tent. There was a goblin chief.
He was settling down for the night. Goblins were more
at home in the dark than the day, but since these were

202 | Piers Anthony

evidently following Bane and Fleta, they had to match
their schedule to that of the day-dwellers; otherwise
they would get no rest at all.

That meant there would be no real activity while he
spied. He could not learn why these goblins were fol-
lowing him. Surely they had better reason than just
keeping track of his whereabouts, that the Adepts could
do more efficiently from a distance!

He considered a moment, then decided to go for
double or nothing. The Adepts were taking an extraor-
dinary step, having a physical presence near him, pro-
tected by their magic, so it had to be worth his trouble
to find out why. Maybe they just wanted to protect
Mach and Fleta from possible harmùbut maybe they
had some treachery on their minds.

He returned to Fleta. She was still working over his
inert body. Well, almost inert; it seemed that certain
reactions could occur even in the absence of conscious-
ness, and she was evoking one of those.

"Fleta!" he said.

She did not hear: he had no voice in this state. But
if he returned to his body to talk to her, he would lose
the rest of his spell, which would be a waste of one-
time magic.

He drew close and overlapped her head. "Fleta!" he
said.

She jumped, looking wildly around.

"It's me, Bane," he said. "In spirit. I need thy help."

She stilled. "Bane," she whispered. "I hear thee."

"A party of goblins is tracking us. I need to know
why. Canst get up and cause them to react while I listen?
Mayhap they will utter what I would hear."

"Aye," she whispered. "This body be not much fun,
anyway."

"Good thing, tease! Thou dost not want me in love
with thee too."

She looked thoughtful, and he feared he had said too
much. Then she drew herself up, picking up her cloak.
"Do thou wait here, beloved," she said aloud. "Must

ROBOT ADEPT | 203

needs I go do what none can do for me." She became
the unicorn.

"That way," Bane said, overlapping her head again.
"I think they mean us not harm, but push not thy luck.
If thou canst make them stir, to avoid discoveryù"

She made a nicker of acquiescence and set out for
the goblin camp.

Bane hurried back to the camp ahead of her. In spirit
form he could fly, for his spirit weighed nothing; whether
he could travel more swiftly yet, but imagining himself
there, he wasn't sure, and wasn't inclined to experiment
at the moment. This was magic his father had devised:

he did not grasp all its aspects.

He entered the chief goblin's tent and hovered. Sud-
denly he wondered: could he overlap the goblin's head,
as he had Fleta's, and read its thoughts? Probably not;

he had not read Fleta's. All he might do was give away
his presence.

A goblin sentry burst into the tent. "Kinkear!" the
sentry exclaimed. "The 'corn be coming toward us!"
Kinkear roused himself with a start. "Why?"
"She has a load to drop."

"And she's going to drop it here?" Kinkear cried.
"What a mess, an she blunder across us by sheer chance!
Our whole plan could be discovered! The spell be not
effective an a 'corn step straight into it!"

"Aye. What must we do?"

"Alert the others. Break camp instantly. Stay clear
o'her!"

The sentry disappeared. Kinkear hastily rolled up his
bed and hauled down his tent. "Just my luck," he mut-
tered to himself. "She drops dung, and my mission be

in deep manure! Tan'll tan my hide, an I bungle his
trap!"

So the Tan Adept was behind this! Already this de-
vice was paying off. But why should Tan be after Mach?
His daughter had already verified Mach's authenticity
to her satisfaction; it was Bane she was after.

Now he beard Fleta. She was coming through the

204 Piers Anthony

grass, evidently looking for just the right place to do
her job. She sniffed the air. This camp was downwind
from Bane's body, by no coincidence, and the unicorn's
coming in this direction was no coincidence either; who
wanted to spend the night in the breeze from her own
manure?

"Get it o'er with, mare!" Kinkear muttered. "Return
to thy stud, let him screw thee to the turfùand when
he change back to his opposite, then Shall we screw him
to the turf."

So it was Bane they were after! They wanted to be
on hand after the exchange, and catch him. That was
exactly the treachery he was looking for.

The goblins had dispersed through the field, leaving
no sign of their camp. But in so doing some of them
had strayed beyond the limit of the concealment spell..
Fleta, with her sharp senses in the unicorn form, had
to have spotted these, but she gave no sign.

She wandered over to a spot where one goblin cow-
ered under a tangle of grass. For an instant it seemed
she would stumble over him. Then she turned around,
set herselfùand let go her dung directly'on top of him.
He couldn't even curse, lest he give away his presence.

Satisfied, perhaps in more than one sense, she walked
back toward her camp.

The goblins busied themselves reforming their camp.
They all had a good chuckle over the fate of the unlucky
one. Their crisis was over.

Bane heard no more key remarks. But he had already
heard enough. This effort of spying had been worth it!

He returned to his body. Fleta had changed back to
girlform, and was lying with his body under her cloak.

"They be setting a trap for Bane, when he returns,"
he whispered. "Tan be behind it."

"Then mayhap will they conjure Tania to eye thee,
in the moment thou dost return unguarded," Fleta whis-
pered back. "That must they do just then, for thou
wouldst be else caught not. With Mach loving me, and
thou loving Tania, then have they both."

ROBOT ADEPT | 205

"Then have they both," he agreed. "But how can I
foil their plot?"

"An thou dost, will not they then know how thou
didst know?"

Excellent point! "But an I foil it not, I be trapped,
for I fear Tania's power. She could not hold me long,

but she might coerce me into what would compromise
me."

"Such as making love to one thou dost love not?"
Fleta asked.

"Such can happen, on occasion," he said wryly.
"An I be not in a position to know better, I could

have thought thy words to me, a day agone, were true,"

she said.

Did she suspect? "Just so the Adverse Adepts think

so."

"Aye." Did she sound disappointed?
"But whate'er I said about thy body, that were true,"
he said. "It be sheer delight."

"Aye." This time she sounded satisfied.
They did not resume their effort of love-making; the
purpose of that had been accomplished. Bane relaxed,
relieved on two accounts, concerned on the third. One:

he had finally justified his spying effort by uncovering
an enemy trap. Two: Fleta did not suspect his true
feeling. Three: how could he withstand Tania, if his
love for Agape was not secure?

Fleta made good time, and on the third day they
reached the Red Demesnes. The goblin party continued
to track them, falling behind by day, catching up in
early evening, evidently assisted by magic, for no goblin
could keep pace with any unicorn otherwise. Appar-
ently the goblins had to keep close enough to be able
to pounce the moment Mach exchanged with Bane.
They had, it seemed, tried to capture Agape before;

failing that, they were taking no chances with Bane.

A bat flew out to meet them as they approached the
castle. In a moment lovely Suchevane stood before them.

206 Piers Anthony

Fleta changed to girlform, giving Bane barely time

to dismount. The two young woman forms embraced.

"Be thou Fleta?" the vampire asked.
"Dost know me not?" Fleta asked, laughing.
"Last I met Agape, in thy body. I owe her."

"I know naught of this."

Suchevane cast down her gaze, coloring slightly. "I
be resident at the Red Demesnes, now. To assist the

Adept."
Fleta surveyed her, comprehending. "Thou dost have

a thing for ... ?"
"Aye. It were Agape put me on it, speaking the

common sense I saw not for myself. And nowù"
Fleta hugged her again. "0, Suchy, how glad I be

for thee!"

"And not for him?" Bane inquired. He knew the
Red Adept to have been the strongest and most lonely
of creatures, surely eager to have a creature like Such-
evane near, if she but showed the slightest inclination.

They laughed. Then Suchevane escorted them into

the castle.

Bane had not been here for some time, but he rec-
ognized improvement. Suchevane had evidently wasted
no time in setting the castle in order. Even the old troll
looked better; his red robe was clean, and he stood with
a certain pride he had not evinced before, despite his
enormous magic. A woman could do that for a man;

Bane was in a position to know. He had never antici-
pated such a combination, but it seemed that Agape

had engineered it.

"We come on business," Bane said. "I be Bane, not

Mach; we have maintained a masquerade to ascertain
the threat posed against thy side by the Adverse Adepts.
But Mach promised, and so did I, to seek a way that
Fleta might breed with a man and bear a foal. Fleta has
helped me in my mission; now I would help her in her
desire, and for this I ask thy help."

"Thou shallst have it," Trool said. "What be the

threat against us?"

ROBOT ADEPT 207

"They mean to smite me with the evil eye, and en-
amor me of the Tan Adept's daughter, that I may change
sides and work with Mach for them. They know not
that I be not Mach, at the moment."

"Thou hast practiced deception," Trool said. "That
were a violation of thy truce."

"I think not," Bane said. "I be on thy side; I made
no deal with Translucent. Mach still honors that."

"Thou art on my side, agreed," Trool said. "There-
fore to me falls responsibility for this abridgement o'
the truce."

"But they be abridging it also, by setting a trap for
me!" Bane protested.

"Aye." Trool walked in a circle, pondering. "I had
thought not Translucent would do that."

"Translucent agreed only to let Tania test me," Bane
said. "I think he be not part o' this scheme."

"If I may comment?" Suchevane said cautiously.

"Always," Trool told her, not bothering to conceal
the delight he had in her presence.

"Methinks it best to know exactly where the guilt
lies," she said. "An Bane go into the trap, and spring
it, then mayhap those behind it will be revealed. Then
will we know who keeps the truce, and who does not."

"Aye," the troll said. "Then can I deal with those
who kept it, to make it right."

To Bane it seemed that this was quibbling over a
technicality. But Trool was vital to the cause, so he said
nothing. He would have to face Tania. The others as-
sumed that he could withstand her, because his love for
Agape was true; how could he tell them otherwise?

"Now will I research on breeding," Trool said. He
shuffled from the chamber.

"He will be a while," Suchevane said. "Come, eat,
rest; I will see to the amenities meantime."

She did so, and their comfort was complete. They no
longer had to maintain the pretense of being lovers.

But Bane's gloom continued. Not only was he un-
certain about his emotion, he was now in doubt about

208 | Piers Anthony

his integrity. He and his father had worked out the
masquerade, to spy on the plotting of the Adverse Ad-
epts. This had seemed justifiedùbut it was evident that
the Red Adept did not consider it so. The more Bane
mulled it over, the more it seemed to him that he had
allowed his standard of integrity to be governed by that
of his enemy, and the less he liked it. Yet had he not
spied, they would not have known about the enemy's
marshaling of forces for physical action, or about the
plot against him personally. Could it be right to hold
to a standard that ensured defeat?

Tormented by the ethical riddle, he went to see Trool.
The troll was deep in the Book of Magic, doing the
research he had promised. "If I may . . ."

The troll looked up. "It be possible for dissimilar
species to breed, but not easy," he said. "I be on the

details now."
"That be gratifying, but that were not my concern."

Trool merely looked at him.

"I came to apologize for putting thee in an awkward
position," Bane said. "I thought what I did to be right,
but now I fear it be not. I would make amend, an I

knew how."
Trool nodded. "I be of a species with a little concept

o' right," he said. "It fell to me to make up for wrongs

done by my kind. I did it only by dedicating my life to

the right I perceived. Do thou that likewise, and thou

hast no further apology to make."

"I know not whether I can," Bane said.

Trool closed the book. "The mare?"

"I know not whom I love," Bane said. "It were Mach

who swore the triple Thee to Fleta; I ne'er did to Agape.

Not in Phaze, where the splashù"
"The mare loves thee not," Trool said.
"Aye. She be true to her own. But Iùwhat o' me?"
"Love be not a thing I understand," Trool said. "It

be yet too new to me. Still, I suspect that love unre-
turned cannot be true, and must needs be based on
other than it seems."

ROBOT ADEPT | 209

"But I must face Tania, who will strike at my emo-
tion," Bane said despairingly. "An my love for Agape
not be true, I be vulnerable! Mine inconstancy can doom
meùand our side."

Trool nodded. "I tell thee again, I be no expert in
this realm. I thought no woman would care to associate
with me, and least of all the loveliest. But it be in my
mind that thy doubt of heart be not normal. I met
Agape, and if there be one who be the match o' Fleta,
it surely be she."

"Aye, Agape be more alien than Fleta, and a fine
person, and I do love her. I feel great guilt at this doubt,
that I know should not exist."

"Exactly. Do thou allow me then to test thee for a
geis."

"A geis? I have no geis!"

The troll rose and fetched an amulet from a crowded
collection on a shelf. "Do thou hold this a moment."

Bane took it. The small carved charm resembled a
wooden flower, intricately carved. But as he held it, it
glowed.

"There it be," Trool said. "There be a geis on thee."

"But I be near-Adept! How can there be magic on
me, and I not know it?"

Trool took back the charm. "I think thou dost know
it."

"A love-geis!" Bane exclaimed. "Only partially ef-
fective, because of my own power, but insidious! Enough
toù"

"The Adverse Adepts have set a trap for thee when
thou dost return to Phaze. Could they not have pre-
pared it before?"

"And when it worked not well enough, they set a
worse one!" Bane said. "When I exchanged before,
with Agapeù"

"Whom they thought would be Fleta," Trool fin-
ished.

"/ thought her Fleta!" Bane said. "At first. Then did
I learn she was not."

210 I Piers Anthony

"So the impact of the spell was blunted, leaving thee
with a partial passion of Fleta that thou didst not rec-
ognize. But the geis remained there, drawing thee to-
ward her."

"And mayhap I devised this masquerade, that I
mightù"

"A geis can be insidious."

Bane nodded, immensely relieved. "Canst banish it?"

"Aye." Trool brought another finely Grafted amulet;

the troll had a real talent for carving. This one resem-
bled a wooden heart. "Invoke it as thou willst."

Bane took it. "I invoke thee!"

The amulet flashed brightly. The light encompassed
him, and drew in to him, centering on his heart.

"Wouldst take Fleta to bed?" Trool asked.

"Aye, an it be required."

"Dost love her?"

Bane smiled. "As a person, aye. As a lover, nay. I
respect her and cherish her, but I would not seek her
to wife."

"And Agape?"

"I seek her to wife."

"Then the geis be abated," Trool said. "Thou canst
now face Tania."

"Aye!" Bane said with his first real confidence. "Ah,
Adept, I thank thee! What a burden thou has lifted
from mine heart!"

"I do it because it be right to do," the troll said. "But
it pleases me that it also assures the welfare of the one
who helped me gain mine own love."

"But that she must hide aboard her own planet, to
escape the Contrary Citizens," Bane said, sobering.

"Until an accommodation be achieved. Mayhap that
will come soon."

"Soon," Bane agreed fervently. "Ah, long I to be
with her again!" Then his thought turned to another
aspect. "Which Adept put that geis on me?"

"It seems to have been an elixir-spell. There be deep

ROBOT ADEPT 211

enchanted springs in the mountains, and if the Purple
Adept had cause to oppose theeù"

"He did! And he could have had a demon or goblin
deliver the elixir the moment we exchanged, and depart
unseen."

"And when they learned that Agape exchanged with
thee, they thought the geis lost," Trool said.

"So they set up for a more effective ploy. Now at
last does it all make sense!"

Trool smiled. "I shall have thine other answer to-
morrow."

Bane took the hint. "I thank thee for both, Adept!"
He retreated from the chamber as Trool reopened the
Book of Magic.

Next day Trool presented that answer: "The mating
must be done thrice, once in each of the 'corn's forms,
when she be in heat. A spell o' fertility must be invoked
at each occasion. The forms o' the breeders must match.
Their love must be true, and their desire for offspring
true. In this manner can crossbreeding be accom-
plished."

"Mine heat comes upon me in mere days!" Fleta
exclaimed. "Must needs I have Mach back in time!"

"Aye, it be time to exchange back," Bane agreed.
"But I fear thou canst not achieve it on this occasion."

"Why not?" she demanded.

"I have just learned the manner of form-changing.
It be Adept-quality magic. I fear it be beyond Mach."

"0, aye," Fleta agreed, crushed.

"But mayhap in time can he master it," Suchevane
put in.

"In time," Fleta agreed, brightening somewhat. "Yet
would I be with him for mine heat. It be the only time
I truly crave what delights him always."

"Aye," Suchevane murmured, understanding ex-
actly.

"But that must come only after the mock-exchange,
to seem to bring me to Phaze," Bane reminded her.

212 (Piers Anthony

She smiled somewhat perfunctorily. "Aye; we have
labored at a masquerade to deceive the Adverse Ad-
epts! How glad I be to see the end o' that!"

"Aye," Bane breathed, knowing that his own relief
was other than hers.

"But must needs I confess," she continued after a
moment, "that an I could, I would return to Proton-
frame for the Tourney."

"The Tourney!" Bane exclaimed, amazed. "What
would a unicorn do in such a thing?"

"Ah, what indeed!" she agreed, sighing. "Yet have
I a foolish longing for the thrill I found in that contest,
so like the Unilympic yet so different too. At first I
liked Proton not, but as I came to know it . . ." She
spread her hands. "Grazing the plains be just not the
same, anymore."

So she, too, had been struck by a certain illicit long-
ing! That made Bane feel better.

Bane located Mach, coming toward the Red De-
mesnes, and knew that his other self was ready for the
exchange. He approached a rendezvous with mixed
emotions. He knew that this would spring the trap, and
that the goblins would not seek to harm him or Fleta,
but that when Tania appeared his love would be truly
tested. The abolition of the geis had returned his emo-
tional strength to him, and abated his gnawing guilt and
doubtùbut how strong was his love for Agape? He
would soon know, and if it faltered even a littleù

Mach had cried out the triple Thee to Fleta, and
removed all doubt from all the frame of his commit-
ment. But even in the absence of the geis, Bane feared
his own love to be of lesser merit. What tragedy could
befall them all, ifù?

But he had to put it to this test. It was the only way
to play out the masquerade, and to stop the Adverse
Adepts without revealing how he had spied on them.
If he prevailed, their chances against the Adverse Ad-
epts and the Contrary Citizens would still be no better

ROBOT ADEPT 213

than even. If he did not, then all that his father had
worked for in Phaze, and all that Citizen Blue had
worked for in Proton, was in peril.

But he had to put aside such speculation. He had a
lot to explain to Mach, in a very brief interval!

Bane elected to make the contact almost in sight of
the red castle, so that Trool's appearance would not be
questioned, when the trap manifested. He walked to
an open spot with Fleta, who was in girlform. He could
feel the near approach of Mach. It was time.

He embraced Fleta. "I will return to you when I can,
beloved," he said, playing the role of Mach. Her body
was as lovely as ever, and he liked her as well as ever,
but the guilty tinge of sexual and possessive desire was
gone; she was only his animal friend, as she had always
been.

"Take care of thyself, Mach," she replied. Then, with

an impish smile: "And be not distracted by alien crea-
tures."

He had to laugh. That was the least of his worries!
"You remain here, while I exchange," he told her,
disengaging. "We don't want another four-way cross-
over!"

"Or to find ourselves in the wrong lover's arms."
She was being very pointed. He nodded, and turned,
and walked about fifty feet, coming to the spot where
Mach waited. Then he slowed, as if not quite sure of
the exact spot, and passed through it without stopping.

Mach! he thought as they intersected. Exchange not
yet. There be a trap for me here I needs must spring.
Then he was out of phase.

He turned, as if reorienting, and walked back into
Mach. Understood, Mach replied. / will wait.

Bane stopped just beyond intersection, spread his
arms as if in discovery, and put a dazed expression on
his face. He blinked, and began to lose his balance.
Then he looked up, as if reorienting on the landscape
of Phaze after being in a chamber of Proton. He opened
his mouth.

214 | Piers Anthony

Tania appeared immediately before him. "Bane,"
she said. Then she hit him with her power.

The effect was emotional rather than physical, but it
was potent. Suddenly she seemed to glow, to become
the ultimate and eternal woman, perfect of form and
feature, phenomenally desirable. Her tan tresses shone
with a golden luster, and her tan eyes bore on his mag-
netically. It was as if the entire frame were dissolving,
becoming unreal; the only reality was here.

And she was beautiful. He could not deny that, ob-
jectively. She was not creating the illusion of appeal
where none existed, she was enhancing a formidable
base. Her face had seemed relatively plain, but her body
was excellent, and now that her expression was ani-
mated, even her face was good. But that was merely
physical. He had seen her destroy the little bird; he had
seen her cruelty. He knew she was no prize.

More important, he was not vulnerable. His love was
not uncertain or compromised. "Agape," he mur-
mured. And saw the faint splash.

The ripple spread outward, almost invisible. But when
it passed Tania, she screamed. She knew in that moment
that she had lost, and that the trap had been for nothing.
She had tried to exert her power on a man whose love

was true.

The Translucent Adept appeared, floating in his wa-
tery bubble. "What be this?" he demanded, staring at

Tania.

"That wench tried to fascinate me," Bane said. "Be
this the way thou does honor the truce?"

"I had no part in this!" Translucent cried angrily. "I
knew of it not, nor was it mine intent." There was
another faint splash as he spoke, vindicating him. "The
wench was to test only Mach's identity, lest there be
deceit; thereafter she was to have no part of this."

The Red Adept appeared. "There was deceit on both
sides," he said. "The Adverse Adepts set goblins to
track the couple, to capture Agape, and to bring Tania
to catch Bane. This be the proof o' that."

ROBOT ADEPT | 215

"Then be mine oath compromised," Translucent said
grimly.

"But it were Bane who went last to thy Demesnes,
and spied on thee," Trool continued. "Thus be mine
own oath compromised, by the dealing of mine asso-
ciates. I learned o' this late."

Translucent gazed at him. "Dost proffer offsetting
injuries?"

"Aye."

"Accepted. Let us have no more o' this."

"No more o' this," Trool agreed. "Needs must we
fashion an end to this standoff, that the issue be decided
fairly and openly."

"Aye. But how?"

"The Tourney!" Fleta called.

Both Adepts glanced at her in surprise. "What dost
thou know o' that, mare?" Translucent asked.

"It be the fairest way in Proton to settle an issue,"
she said stoutly. "First be the Grid played, wherein be
strategy, but none may know ahead what game can
come o' it, then be the game played, and the victor be
determined by skill or luck or agreement as may be,
but none may know ahead for sure who will prevail.
Settle the issue with a tourney!"

"But this be Phaze," Translucent protested. "There
be no tourney here."

"There be contests," Fleta said. "The Unilympics,
the Werelympicsù"

"Animal shows," the Adept said disparagingly. "But
in any event, this be a matter between frames, not to
be settled by a contest in one. And we can not have a
contest between frames."

"We could," Tania said, speaking for the first time
since her failure.

Translucent turned on her a look of irritation. "Be
thankful I banish thee not to the depth of the sea,
wench!" he snapped. "I'll have no input from thee!"

"I cheated too," Fleta said. "I knew I was with Bane,
not Mach, in thy Demesnes. I be guilty as she."

216 Piers Anthony

"Then let her speak," Trool said, intrigued.
"There be only two who can communicate between
frames," Tania said. "Or maybe four, but only two on
their own. One sides with us, the other with Stile's
forces. They be alternate selves, inherently even. Let
them vie with each other, one in each frame. Let the
loser join the side o' the victor."

Translucent looked at Trool, who looked equally
amazed.

"And let their loves assist them," Fleta said.
Trool spoke to Bane. "Dost thou concur?"
"I be not apt at the game," Bane said.
"But thy potential be Mach's, in his body," Fleta said.
"And his be thine, in thy body. An we exclude not magic
from the games, with Mach a duffer thereù"

"Training," Translucent said. "Go to experts of Pro-
ton for training. They will do their honest best."
"Better yet," Trool said. "Go to the Oracle."
Now Bane was stunned. The legendary Oracle! The
magical entity that had guided his father's career in
Phaze. The Oracle knew everythingùand it was now
in Proton, in the guise of a computer, guiding
Blue's dominance of that frame. If he could not pre-
vail with the Oracle's help, he could not do so at all.
"Aye."

"But the equivalent in Phaze be the Book of Magic,"
Translucent said. "And that be not in our power."

"An Bane be trained by the Oracle," Trool said, "I
will lend thee the Book of Magic, for the training o'
Mach only."

This time it was the Translucent Adept who was
stunned. "That be the mainstay o' thy power!"
"Aye. Canst make oath to abuse it not?"
Translucent considered, and there was a faint shim-
mer about him. "Nay. Canst give me access to it in thy
Demesnes?"

Now Trool the Troll considered, and the shimmer
was about him. "Aye," he said at last.
"Then can I agree," Translucent said. "Troll, we be

ROBOT ADEPT | 217

on different sides, but I would be friends with thee "

"Aye," Trool said.

Translucent stepped out of his bubble, and it dis-
solved into vapor. He walked across to Trool, extending
his hand. The troll accepted it.

Then Trool turned back to Bane. "Does Mach agree?"

"Ask him," Bane said. He stepped back into overlap.
New challenge, he thought. They will explain. Then they
made the exchange.

10

Mach felt the change, and knew it was now Agape he
held. She had returned to her proper frame, and could
return also to her own world of Moeba.

He disengaged. "I had better acquaint you with re-
cent events here," he said.

"Aye," she agreed.

He looked at her, startled.

She laughed. "No, I am Agape. I have a story of my
own to tell." She looked around the chamber. "But is
it safe to talk?"

"It's supposed to be." But now he remembered how
Citizen Purple had caught on to Fleta's identity. Had
it been a good guess, or had information leaked from
this chamber? The Game Computer could overhear
everything, of course; Mach had trusted its discretion,
but Citizens did have extraordinary powers.

She read his doubt. Then she hugged him. "Let us
whisper, in that case. I have learned things about en-
mity."

"You are in the Tourney," he whispered in her ear.

She drew back her head and looked at him again,
startled.

ROBOT ADEPT [ 219

"It was the only way to protect Fleta from the Con-
trary Citizensùand even then, it was close. But you
need not worry; you can lose and be shipped home to
Moeba. You know the planet better than she does."

She smiled, agreeing.

There was a knock on the entry panel. Both of them
glanced at it, startled. Who would knock, instead of
using the screen to communicate?

Mach went to the panel and opened it. There stood
a cleaning machine. Since when did such service devices
knock?

The machine's speaker murmured a code. Then Mach
understood: this was a self-willed machine masquer-
ading as a mindless one. It extended a tiny package.

Mach took the package and folded it into his palm.
Then the machine rolled on down the hall, and Mach
closed the panel and turned to face Agape, making a
small gesture toward his lips with a finger: silence.

She understood. She shrugged, and went to the food
dispenser. He quickly opened the package, removed
the electronic chip inside, and slid it into an aperture
that opened under his left arm.

The message was stark: CONTRARY CITIZENS
WILL CHALLENGE AGAPE AS FALSE ENTRY,
DISQUALIFY HER, TAKE HER INTO THEIR
CUSTODY. SHE MUST DEMONSTRATE SHE IS
FLETA. TAPES OF THE CHAMBER TO BE
REQUISITIONED AS EVIDENCE FOR HEAR-
ING. ACT ACCORDINGLY.

Assimilation took only an instant. Now he under-
stood why the contact had been physical and masked:

a communication through the screen would have be-
come part of the requisitioned evidence. The Contrary
Citizens were still after Agape, and would not let her
get to her home planet, now that he had nullified their
trap there.

She had to prove she was Fleta? Evidently the Citi-
zens had caught on, but did not know that the girls had

220 Piers Anthony

exchanged back. He trusted the judgment of his kind;

he would do as they recommended.

Meanwhile, Agape was about to operate the food
controls. He hurried over. "Fleta, you should know
better than to try to work that thing yourself; you'll
foul it up. Let me do it. What would you like?"

She masked her surprise. He put his hands on her
shoulders and gently urged her to the side. As he let
go, he tapped the spot under his arm where he had
inserted the message chip. She nodded almost imper-
ceptibly. Fleta might have been confused, but Agape
understood his machine nature.

"The usual," she said. "I thank thee."

She was cooperating quickly and well! His experience
on Moeba had increased his understanding and appre-
ciation of her kind, and now he saw things about her
that made him see how his other self could have come
to love her. The tiny amoeba in the. laboratories of
Proton were far from intelligent, but those of Moeba
were advanced, and every bit as clever as multicellular
life. To think of a microscopic amoeba as the model for
Agape was about as accurate as thinking of a single on-
off switch as the model for Mach.

He fixed her the usual: a bowl of nutritious mush,
that she could digest with her feet. He reminded her of
this matter-of-factly, as if bored by it, but the infor-
mation was important. Agape would not otherwise have
known how Fleta had adapted to the amoeboid body.

After she had eaten, he guided her to the bed and
lay down with her. Her look of uncertainty was only
fleeting; she knew he had reason. He hugged her, and
spoke quietly into her ear.

"Message chip. They mean to challenge your legiti-
macy as a Tourney participant. You must prove you
are Fleta."

"But I don't know how she played, or anything!" she
protested.

"Evidently my kind believes you can authenticate it.

ROBOT ADEPT | 221

But the tapes of this chamber will be requisitioned as
evidence. That meansù"

"Aye, I know what it means," she replied.

"I'm not sure you do. You seeù"

"A moment, Mach, while I change into something
more comfortable," she said.

He waited, not sure what she had in mind. What he
had been trying to tell her was that Mach would have
made love to Fleta, and if she was to prove she was
Fleta, now, when supposedly unobserved, this was a
necessary step. As a robot, he could do what was nec-
essary, without compromising his love for the real Fleta.
But could sheù?

Her body was melting and changing. Her hair turned
black, and a button appeared in her forehead. Her fea-
turesù

"Fleta!" he exclaimed, amazed. For she was assum-
ing the exact likeness of the unicorn girl, in her human
form.

How could she have known that form? Then he chided
himself for his doubt: Agape had just spent a good
session in Fleta's body. Of course she had come to know
it!

It was evident she also understood the rest of it.
Agape loved Baneùbut she had just been with Bane,
and knew his plan to spy on the Adverse Adepts. She
knew that Bane would have to treat Fleta as Mach
would have treated her. Now she was ready to emulate
that action here: Mach and Fleta, with the female being
the pretense-identity, instead of the male. Perhaps there
was a certain justice to it.

She smiled at him. "Come, my love. Do what thou
must, and I will help thee. I would sleep soon, for I
have a game on the morrow."

She looked like Fleta. She sounded almost like her.
She knew his body, because of Bane's occupancy. She
understood the rationale. She was a worthy person. But
she was not Fleta, and he could not blank out that
knowledge.

222 | Piers Anthony

Could not? What was he thinking of! He could do
just that, with a little spot reprogramming. He did it
now, setting up a bypass so that for the next hour he
would believe that what he saw was genuine. As a ma-
chine he could do that deliberately; he knew that living
creatures could sometimes do it unconsciously, blanking
out portions of their memory or instilling delusions that

seemed real.
"Fleta," he said, accepting the presence of his love

in this frame. He remembered the delight he had had
of her in Phaze, after she had learned to accommodate
his kind of love-making. He remembered his oath of

love to her.
After that, it was easy.

Next day the challenge came: Citizen Purple levied
it against Agape. "I submit that this is not the creature
from Planet Moeba, but another creature in her body,"
he declared. "As such, she is not qualified to participate
in the Tourney. Her apparent victory over me must be
nulled, and she disqualified and turned over to me for

compensation."

Such a charge would have been dismissed as non-
sensical, had a serf made it. A Citizen was another
matter. Agape was required to report to a hearing
chamber for a settlement with the Citizen.

"But the evil man will grab me!" she protested. "I
know not the ways of thy frame, but I know the ways

o' the Adverse Adepts!"

Mach's temporary circuit had been eliminated; he
knew her identity. But how like Fleta she was acting!
That time in Phaze had really prepared her.

"The Citizen cannot take you as long as the Game
Computer retains authority," he said. "All you have to
do is demonstrate that you are properly entered in the
Tourney." But he was nervous, because he had not been
with Fleta when she qualified; he had stayed clear, de-
liberately, and gone to Moeba. He trusted the word of
the self-willed machines, but he had no idea how pre-

ROBOT ADEPT | 223

tending that Agape was Fleta would get her through
this challenge. He had rejoined her after she had qual-
ified; he had told her, in the guise of routine reminding,
of the four matches Fleta had won. But he hadn't thought
to look up the records on her qualifying matchesùand
in any event, it might have cast doubt on her authen-
ticity if he had asked for those records.

They went to the prescribed chamber, following the
line of the floor. Citizen Purple was there, glowering
at Agape. "Seeùshe doesn't even try to conceal it any
more!" Purple exclaimed. "She's got the unicorn but-
ton!"

"Aye," Agape said.

"Hearing as to the validity of the qualification of Fleta
for the Tourney is now in progress," the voice of the
Game Computer said. "Challenger will present specif-
ics."

"It was supposed to be Agape of Moeba," Purple
said. "I want to verify the record of her qualification.
What name is it under?"

"Record of subject's first qualification game dis-
played," the Game Computer said. A screen on the
wall lighted. On it was printed:

SHOCK OF KOLO
FLETA OF UNI

PLAYER ONE:

PLAYER TWO:

The Citizen gaped. "She registered as a unicorn?"
"Transcript of dialogue at console," the Game Com-
puter said. On the screen appeared:

"HI! I'M SHOCK. MY HAIR, YOU KNOW."

"HI. I'M FLETA"

"WELCOME TO THE LEFTOVER LADDER. I'M

SECOND FROM THE BOTTOM. I LOVE THE

GAME, BUT I'M NO GOOD AT IT, SO I'M EASY

TO BEAT."
"LADDER?"
"OH, YOU NEW HERE? FROM ANOTHER

WORLD?"




224 | Piers Anthony

"NEW. FROM ANOTHER WORLD."

"SAY, THAT'S GREAT! I'M A KOLOFORM MY-
SELF. WELL, I MEAN MY FOLKS CAME FROM
KOLO, SO IT'S MY BLOOD. I WAS BORN HERE,
BUT I CAN ONLY STAY TILL I'M TWENTY-ONE,
NEXT YEAR, YOU KNOW. THEN I'M EITHER A
SERF, OR I HAVE TO GO TO KOLO. WHAT'RE
YOU?"

"A UNICORN."

So that was it! Fleta had indeed registered as Fleta
the Unicorn. Mach knew what had happened: she had
automatically given her correct identity when talking
with the other player, and the Game Computer had
picked that up and made it official. She had proceeded
to qualify for the Tourney under that identity. She was
legitimately entered.

Citizen Purple hesitated, and Mach was sure he was
going to demand to see the tapes of their chamber. But
evidently the man changed his mind,'knowing that they
were on to his ploy and that nothing in those tapes
would prove she was not Fleta. Certainly the tapes from
before the exchange would not; then she had indeed
been Fleta. The Citizen had challenged her as being an
impostor for Agape, assuming that she would have been
registered as Agape or under a phony name. Had he
been able to requisition the records before making the
formal challenge, he would have discovered his error,
but all qualification records were sealed during a Tour-
ney, to prevent cheating.

Citizen Purple strode out without further comment.
He had lostùagain. But Mach knew that they would
have to maintain the pretense that she was Fleta until
she was safely out of the Tourney and offplanet, lest
she be disqualified for not being Fleta the Unicorn. The
message of the self-willed machines had been timely!

That afternoon her next match came up. This was for
Round Five, relatively rarefied territory for the Tour-
ney. Fleta had done amazingly well, turning out to be

ROBOT ADEPT 225

a natural games-creature; Agape would not be able to
match that level.

But he had, in the guise of a few private caresses,
advised her: she could afford to lose, now, but she had
to play in the manner of Fleta. A win in the manner of
Agape would lead to the pouncing of the Citizens, and
disqualification would put her into their hands. A loss
in the manner of Fleta would enable her to be deported
to Moeba safely. For the Tourney she was Fleta, but
legally she remained Agape.

Mach could not join her at the console, of course.
He watched her from their chamber, on the screen, as
he had when Fleta played.

Her opponent was someone he knew: a man in his
twenties who was a veteran player. His name was Sharp,
and he was especially skilled at physical combat with
sharp things: swords, knives, needles. He was not as
good at intellectual things, and that was fortunate, be-
cause if Agape had the numbers she would put it into
the mental category. If she had the letters, she would
go for Machine-Assisted, avoiding the chance of direct
physical competition. That was the strategy they thought
Fleta would go for, avoiding animals because others
would be expecting her to go for animals.

Evidently she did get the numbers, because the first
selection on the grid was 2B, Tool-Assisted Mental.

The second grid was 5G, Separate and General: ob-
viously she had had the numbers again, and chose to
keep the two of them apart, as an uncertain unicorn
would. This category contained such things as origami
(paper-folding), crosswords, cryptograms and other
noninteractive paper games. The assisting tools were
pencil or paper or both, nominally; actually it was all
done on the console screen.

The final determination was Cryptogram: the inter-
pretation of a set of symbols that represented a quo-
tation in English. Mach didn't like this; Agape could
handle it, but Fleta would have real trouble. Unicorns
had no literary education to draw upon, and indeed, it

226 | Piers Anthony

was sheer luck that Fleta was even literate; xnost did
not go to that extreme when adapting to the human
form. The danger was that Agape would play too well,
and reveal her nonunicorn nature.

RULES: the screen said, for the contestants and for
the private viewers, such as Mach. EACH NUMBER
STANDS FOR ONE LETTER OF THE ALPHABET.
SPACING AND PUNCTUATION ARE NORMAL.
TO PLACE LETTERS, TOUCH NUMBER AND
LETTER SIMULTANEOUSLY; TO MAKE COR-
RECTION, TOUCH AGAIN. A FULL LIST OF
QUOTATION AUTHORS IS AVAILABLE, OR AN
AUTHOR MAY BE REQUESTED BY DESCRIP-
TION. CONTESTANTS WILL WORK INDEPEN-
DENTLY ON IDENTICAL QUOTATIONS. WINNER
IS FIRST TO COMPLETE QUOTATION AND AU-
THOR CORRECTLY. PLAY COMMENCES WHEN
BOTH PLAYERS SIGNIFY READINESS BY
TOUCHING "READY" SQUARE.

In a moment, the screens appeared on Mach's screen:

Agape's on the left. Sharp's on the right. The players
would not know who was doing better, but the watchers
could see it plainly.. There was a row of letters across
the top, and other directives at the bottom. Each screen
looked like this:

ABCDEFGH1JKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

123456!   4758  975830'94
{llHl2>  32{13}26(14(  ()5}4  4729  758(16}:

{)2t6{14}3{15}60   7{15}47   6fl2}{12}0   5{17)   47{12}{12}!
(18}2332{15}1   (18}5{16K)9{18}5{16}47

LETTERS NUMBERED FROM 1 TO {18} AUTHORS: LIST DE-
SCRIPTION

Mach was experienced as a gamesman, and would
have been happy to tackle this challenge. He would
have started by touching AUTHORS and DESCRIP-
TION and requesting a selection of authors with first

ROBOT ADEPT | 227

names of seven letters and last names of ten; that could
have given him an immediate break, though the com-
puter tried to foil that approach by having a number
of authors for every such combination, sometimes too
many to make it feasible. But neither contestant tried
that.

Sharp knew some of the basics. He counted, and
discovered that there were eight 7's, more than any
other letter. He knew that E was the most common
letter used in English, so he filled in E's above the 7's.
That gave him a quick start, but Mach wasn't sure; in
short quotations like this, distribution could be atypical,
and Mach noticed that five of those 7's were preceded
by 4's. Why were so many locked together like that? It
was certainly possible, but not usual.

Agape, trying to think like a unicorn, was having
more trouble. She did not count letters, she just pon-
dered the whole, biting her lip. (He assumed that last
detail; she was not shown on the screen.)

Sharp, buoyed by his success with E, pondered the
doubled 12's near the end. He tried MESS for the last
word, but that gave him -SS- for the third one from
the end, and he didn't like that. So he changed the last
to TELL, and that gave him -LL- for the other. He
struggled with that, and was in the process of coming
to the conclusion that he could not make it with that
E; but he obviously did not want to give it up.

Agape, meanwhile, in a fit of inspiration calculated
to convince everyone that she was Fleta, however badly
she might lose the game, suddenly touched letters rap-
idly and filled in that last word as THEE. Mach had to
applaud the genius of that; of course that was the way
a creature from Phaze would see it!

Now she filled in her E's, T's, and H's, and suddenly
she had a lot of notions to pursue. She found the second
word beginning with TH and immediately filled in
THOU, as Fleta would, and followed through with the
0's and U's elsewhere in the sample. The word follow-
ing THOU was -HOUù'-T; she had no hesitation

228 | Piers Anthony

about completing it as SHOULD'ST and filling in its
other letters elsewhere. Her display now looked like
this:

LTD    !     THOU     SHOULD'ST

123456!      4758     975830'94

EL         -T            TH  S   HOU
{11H12}   32{13}26{14} {15} 4    4729   7 5 8 {16} :

E       L     DHTH      EEDO      THEE!
{12} 6(14} 3 {15)60    7 {15} 4 7   6(12}{12}0   5 {17} 47{12}{12)'

LL       0 DS 0 TH

(18}2332{15}1 {18}5{16}0 9{18}5{16}4 7

Mach stared at it. Could she actually be on the right
track? This certainly seemed to have possibilities! Sharp,
meanwhile, was still agonizing over the loss of his easy
E. That was a mistake; he was wasting time, being
emotionally committed to an approach that wasn't
working.

Fletaùno, Agape, he corrected himselfùfilled in the
a for HATH, which also gave her AT. This was defi-
nitely falling into place!

She filled in Ffor FEED. Unicorns were always in-
terested in that. But that made the first word ùLTOF,
which was awkward.

Then she stalled.

Mach agonized as she pondered, while Sharp tried
one thing after another. Sharp would find the key, if
she didn't do something!

Then Mach reminded himself that her objective was
not to win, but to play like a unicorn. That she was
accomplishing!

Then she evidently reread the options at the bottom
of the screen. She touched AUTHORS: DESCRIP-
TION.

TYPE DESCRIPTION, the screen printed, and dis-
played a keyboard.

She went at it hunt and peck: A U T H 0 R S
ENDING IN {TH}.

ROBOT ADEPT | 229

Stroke of genius! In a moment she had WILLIAM
WORDSWORTH. The letters checked, and she had a
number of new onesùand she hadn't had to draw from
her memory a name Fleta would not have known. Now
her cryptogram looked like this:

MILTOF!
123456!

THOU

4758

SHOULDòST
975830'94

E   L I     IF       AT
{11} (12} 3 2 {13} 2 6 {14} {15)4

E F    L A FD
{12} 6 {14} 3 (15} 6 0

W 1 L L I AM

(18} 2 3 3 2(15}]

H A TH

7 {15} 4 7

TH I S

4729

FEED

6(12Hl2}0

HOU R :

758 {16}:

0        TH E   E  !

5(17} 47{12H12}!

WORDSWOR TH

{18} 5 (16} 0 9 (18} 5 {16} 4 7

She pondered, then filled in B above {11} for BE.
Then she put N over {17}, making ON.

FEED ON THEE? Mach doubted it, and so, evi-
dently, did Fleta. (He knew it wasn't her, but she was
playing the role so well, he kept slipping.) She pon-
dered, then in another fit of brilliance reversed F and
N, making it NEED OF THEE! She corrected her bad
F's elsewhere, and now the quotation was almost com-
plete:

MILTON! THOU SHOULD'ST BE LI-IN- AT THIS
HOUR:

EN-LAND HATH NEED OF THEE! WILLIAM
WORDSWORTH

Sharp, meanwhile was starting to get on track; he
had asked for the AUTHORS list, and after a tedious
search from A to W had spotted Wordsworth. Had he
chanced to start from the other end of the list, he would
have been there much faster. He had no trouble with
MILTON, but couldn't make sense of THOU and THEE.

Beta filled in LIVING, and suddenly, to her surprise,
she had won. She had no notion what kind of creature

230 | Piers Anthony

ENGLAND was, but that wasn't necessary. What a
perfect portrayal of the unicorn!

Then it occurred to Mach that Agape probably didn't
know England either; it was not part of her heritage.
Neither was Wordsworth, or Milton. She might have
proven herself to be Fletaùby being herself.

Next day she was up against a young serf woman of
about her own apparent age. Agape got the letters, so
chose C. MACHINE. The other woman chose 3.
CHANCE. They wound up with the game of number
bracketing. This required three players, but the Game
Computer simply generated random numbers for the
third person.

The object was to choose a number from 1 to 100
that was between the two numbers chosen by the others,
or, if two numbers matched, to be the odd one out, the
one that didn't match. It was a very simple game, but
a nervous one nevertheless. Obviously the best strategy
was to go for the center, because the fringes were losersù
but every player had the same notion. Thus it might be
better to choose one near the edge, and let the other
two jam up in the center, perhaps duplicating their
numbers and yielding the victory. But every player would
reason that way, too. What was the better strategy?     |

But it wasn't Mach's decision to make. He did not
like games of chance, as was the case with most com-
petent players; chance was the refuge of incompetence.
At least there was no problem about unicorn strategy
here; the game was too simple.

Agape chose 1, and the other player chose 50. The
random number was 22, making it the winner. There-
fore they played again.

This time Agape chose the other player's prior num-
ber, 50, while the other took 75. The random number
was 63. Again they had no decision.

The third time Agape went for 75, taking her op-
ponent's last number again. The other, gambling that
she would do just this, took 74, bracketing her toward




ROBOT ADEPT | 231

the edge. But the random number was 90, and Agape
won. It was of course sheer luckùbut the other woman
had elected to win or lose by chance, and had paid the
price, when she might have won by skill.

Agape had now won the sixth round, and would com-
pete next in the seventhùone of only sixteen survivors
in the Tourney. Mach was amazed: how far would this
go? Supposeùjust supposeùthat her luck continued?
Four more victories would make her the winner of the
Tourney, and she would become the first unicorn Cit-
izen. What then?

Her Round Seven match was against another Citizen;

not one of the Contraries, just a game buff who enjoyed
the challenge and the privilege of dashing the hopes of
serfs. He was a healthy man in his forties who was the
most dangerous of players: the kind who truly under-
stood the Game. He would make no mistakes and would
have no mercy. Mach, watching from his chamber, felt
the dread of likely loss; Agape was about to be put out
of the Tourney.

She got the letters and chose TOOL, following her
set strategy. He chose PHYSICAL, craving the greatest
immediacy. In the subgrid she chose COOPERATIVE,
while he went again for immediacy and challenge; FIRE,
or variable surface.

They settled on a "team" sportùthat was how CO-
OPERATIVE translated here. In this case it was a
variant of mountain climbing, with five-person teams
roped together, descending into the rumbling crater of
a volcano.

Well, he thought, Fleta was fleet of foot. She could
navigate any slope with confidence. Except that this
wasn't really Fleta, and she wasn't alone. She had four
android teammates who were "neutral": neither apt nor
clumsy. What would count was teamwork: how well she
organized and directed them for the descent into ever-
more-challenging territory. The victory would go to the
player who brought his party safely to the bottom first.
If any teammates were lost, that was a liability but not




232 I Piers Anthony

necessarily defeat, depending on the state of the other
team.

The screen showed the crater: a truly impressive set-
ting. The walls of the upper inner rim were almost
vertical, the slope modifying below and finally becom-
ing level. But there were ridges and irregularities, and
vents issuing smoke and steam, and sometimes lava.
The whole thing shuddered at irregular intervals, and
there were occasional mini-eruptions of rocks and dust
and gas. Verisimilitude was excellent; on the screen, it
really did seem like a living volcano crater.

There were four established paths of descent: north,
south, east and west. These varied in detail, but had
similar hazards, and had been established as equivalent
in difficulty. Lot determined the assignments. The Cit-
izen's team was given the north slope, and Agape had
the south. Mach's screen could be set up to watch the
whole crater, with the tiny figures at either side, or to
watch one at close range, or split to watch- both parties
at intermediate range. He checked the AUDIENCE
indicator, and discovered without surprise that it was
huge. There were relatively few games being played
now, and the unicorn had captured the public fancy;

also, the volcano was always popular.

Mach knew that the Citizen would have played this
course before, many times, and would have every path
memorized. The Game Computer changed details with
each game, to prevent this kind of advantage, but there
was only so much it could do. The advantage of knowl-
edge of the course was definitely with the Citizen.

Agape looked down her path, then took a daring and
most unicornlike step: she detached herself from the
safety rope. A unicorn, of course, would prefer to climb
alone, regarding the other members of the team as a
liability rather than an asset.

She started down, using chinks in the rim-wall for
handholds, until she could stand on the less formidable
slope below. She found a safe-seeming vantage by a
projection of solidified lava, and called directions back

ROBOT ADEPT | 233

to her remaining team. She had to get them down safely
too; she could not leave them behind. They followed
her route, descending in order, until they rejoined her.
It was a decent start.

Meanwhile the Citizen was proceeding convention-
ally and efficiently. He too led his party, not trusting
the androids to be good judges of the route. He barked
orders to each, moving them along. His team made the
first "landing" before Agape's did.

Then the first shudder came. The rocks shook, and
several fragments of rock became dislodged and slid
down. No damage was done to either party; it was
merely a warning.

Agape went ahead again, spying out the best descent.
She had a choice at this stage: one reasonably safe but
long path, and one short but treacherous one. She gam-
bled as a unicorn would, taking the shorter one. The
Citizen took the safe one. That made Mach nervous;

the Citizen surely had reason.

That reason soon manifested: there was another
tremor, worse than the first. Gas hissed up from ventsù
and there were more such vents along Agape's fast path
than along the Citizen's slow one. But Agape had had
her team wait again while she explored, and she was
watching; she lay flat as the vents expressed themselves,
and had no trouble. Then she jumped across a minor
crevasse, found another staging point, and brought her
team down. She was now ahead of the Citizen.

Was there an upset in the making? The Citizen, seeing
himself behind, hurried his teamùand one of his an-
droids misstepped and fell. The safety rope prevented
him from being lost, but he took an injury, and now
was limping. That was another point for Agape: all her
teammates were safe.

But as she explored for the third leg of her descent,
a lava vent just behind her spewed out molten rock,
splattering her body. It was not real lava, of course,
but jellylike emulation. Nevertheless, she had received
a direct strike on the torso, and was deemed to have

234 | Piers Anthony

been burned beyond the ability to continue. The Game
Computer issued a STAY IN PLACE directive; Agape
was not permitted to go on.

If the Citizen suffered a similar mishap, then points
would be assessed and the winner determined. But he
did not. Relieved of any need to hurry, he took his
time, and brought his slightly incapacitated party safely
to the bottom. Thus, anticlimactically, Agape lost the
match, and was out of the Tourney.

Mach felt a pang of regret. He reminded himself that
she had done it correctly, playing the way a unicorn
would; moving alone, gambling with her own safety
rather than that of her teammates. Had she sent an
android ahead, and had the android taken the inca-
pacitating lava-splat, she would have been allowed to
continue. The Citizen might have taken a greater loss
of personnel, giving the victory to her. But she had
done it Fleta's way, and lost, and that was the right way
to lose.

Still, Mach wished she had won. He knew that the
great majority of the audience felt the same.

Agape was returned to her planet, banned from Pro-
ton because of her loss in the Tourney. She had made
it safely, and Mach knew the Contrary Citizens had no
trap remaining there. The administration of the Tour-
ney seemed to have no concern for the fact that if she
really had been Fleta, as she had "proved" herself to
be for her qualification as a player, this exile would
have been inappropriate at best. But what of her re-
lation to Bane?

He had no acceptable answer for that. In order to
communicate or exchange with Bane, Mach had to
overlap him geographically, and as far as he knew, that
could only be done on this planet. If Agape was forever
exiled from Proton, how could Bane get together with
her?

There were two answers, as he saw it. Either Bane
would have to make frequent trips to Planet Moeba, or

ROBOT ADEPT | 235

Agape would have to be allowed to return. Suppose
they worked out a compromise: cooperation with the
Contrary Citizens, in exchange for this exception to the
law of Proton. Would Bane go for that? He wasn't sure.

Now, belatedly, he realized that the Contrary Citi-
zens had never challenged Fleta's identity, after chal-
lenging her registry in the Tourney. That meant that
the tapes of the chamber had never been requisitioned.
Now she was safely back on her own planet, and it no
longer mattered. He had not had to make love to her,
to preserve the pretense.

Still, Agape had done such a good job of imitating
Fleta that he was satisified to leave the recent past as
it was. For an hour he had just about been with the
filly. What others might think of the situation he wasn't
sure, and didn't care.

The Tourney proceeded, and a serf woman won it,
becoming a Citizen. How nice for her, Mach thought.
But what of Agape? Neither she nor Bane deserved
this enforced separation.

He spent his time doing research in the computerized
Proton Library. Could a machine breed with an amoeba?
Suppose a genetic pattern were crafted in the labora-
tory, living tissue modified to fit the attributes of a living
man who occupied the body of a robot . . .

But why do that, when Bane had his own genetic
pattern? What was needed was to send Agape back to
Phaze toù

No, for then she would be in Fleta's body. There
seemed to be no way to get the physical Agape together
with the physical Bane. Or the physical Mach together
with the physical Fleta. No way except magic.

No way except magic. And that existed only in Phaze,
while one partner in each couple was physically locked
here in Proton. There was the intractable problem.

Then, abruptly. Bane contacted him. The touch was
fleeting, but he got the gist: do not exchange yet. Bane
was trying to spring a trap, and needed just a little more
time.

236 Piers Anthony

Mach waited, wondering what was happening.
Then Bane contacted him again, with news of a new
truce. The picture had changed significantly in Phaze.
If the rival factions of Proton agreed, they would have
a way to settle this matter, and the two couples could
be together regardless of the way it went.

That appealed to him. He agreed without hesitation.
He knew Agape would feel the same.

11

Magic

Mach found himself standing near the Red Demesnes,
with Fleta nearby, and three others. One was Trool the
Troll, the Red Adept, whom he had met when he sought
Fleta, to prevent her from committing suicide. The sec-
ond was the Translucent Adept. The third was a sharply
pretty young woman who looked familiar. In fact, it
was Tania, the sister of their employer in the office in
Proton! There she had been naked, and cold; here she
was attractively clothed in a tan gown, and that made
a significant difference. What was she doing here?

None of them spoke. Evidently they were waiting for
him, being uncertain whether he had yet exchanged
with Bane. "I am Mach," he said. "I gather something
has happened here, and that there is a new agreement,
but I don't know what it is."

Fleta approached him. "Be it truly thee, Mach?" she
asked. She looked concerned.

"Thee," he murmured, letting his love for her come
through. He had wanted her so much, in Proton, and
Agape playing her role had been only a suggestion of
the real person. How good it was to be with her again!

A trifling wave passed through her hair: the sugges-




238 | Piers Anthony

tion of the splash. Then she was in his arms, hugging
him almost painfully hard. "Thee!" she echoed.

Translucent glanced at Trool. "Tomorrow?" he asked.

"Aye, Adept," the Troll replied.

Translucent glanced at Tania. Abruptly a watery ball
enclosed her. It lifted from the ground, carrying her
with it, and floated rapidly westward. Then Translucent
himself vanished.

"Welcome to be guests of the Red Demesnes, an the
two of ye prefer," Trool said. "Or not, as desired."

Mach hesitated, not knowing what was involved. "We
thank thee, Adept, and accept," Fleta said.

The three of them walked toward the red castle. "I
know only that there was a trap Bane sprung," Mach
said. "And a new arrangement, that will make things
easier. I would like to know more."

"The Tan Adept's daughter attempted to fascinate
Bane, thinking him newly arrived," Trool said. "This
were a breach that countered Bane's breach in deceiving
and spying on the Adverse Adepts. Translucent knew
not of it, nor I of Bane's device, prior. Now will Trans-
lucent and I work to train thee in magic, that thou mayst
rival thine other self in a private tourney, and the victor
will determine for whom the two of ye work."

Mach had trouble assimilating this. "I amùto play
against my other self? Against Bane?"

"Aye. Thou for the Adverse Adepts, and he for Stile
and Blue."

"But you are with Stile!"

"Aye. Yet do I honor the pact. This matter must be
settled, and the imbalance between frames corrected,
lest great harm come to all."

Mach nodded. "I am conversant with the Game, in
Proton. But Bane isn't. And since the two of us can
never meet in the same frameù"

"Thou willst rival him across the curtain, thou with
magic, he with science."

"But I hardly know magic, and heù"

"Translucent will train thee, with the Book of Magic,

ROBOT ADEPT | 239

and Blue will train Bane, with the Oracle. We deem it
fair."

Mach was silent. He wasn't sure it was possible, let
alone fair. But if the two sides were satisfied, then he
could not disagree.

They reached the castle and entered it. A woman
came to meet them, stunningly beautiful. "Suchevane!"
Mach exclaimed, remembering her from his canoe trip.
"What are you doing here?"

"What, indeed," the troll murmured with fond awe.

"I be keeping company with the Adept," she said
demurely. "Thy creature friend from Proton did help
me broach him, and her do I now call friend."

Agape had had a hand in this? There had indeed
been much she hadn't told him! He remembered how
Suchevane had brought him to this castle, when he was
in pursuit of Fleta, and how the Adept had reacted to
the vampiress. Evidently Suchevane had been similarly
struck by the Adept.

They had a meal together, the four of them, and
Mach felt completely at home. Suchevane and Trool
had helped him rescue Fleta; it seemed fitting that they
be together now. There had been much mischief in the
conflict between Adepts, but also some benefit, and this
was that.

Pleta brought him to a private chamber for the night.
"And how was the amoeba filly?" she inquired with a
slight edge.

Mach's jaw dropped. Then she laughed, and he re-
alized she was teasing him. "And how was Bane?" he
returned.

"I love thee," she said, abruptly sober. "But I like
him, and would help him how I could. He had need to
seem to be theeù"

"And Agape had need to seem to be you," Mach
said.

"Aye. So what we said, and what we didùit were
merely words and deeds, n'er the truth. Canst accept
that?"

240 | Piers Anthony

"Agape made herself look and sound exactly like
you," he said. "She knew you, because she had used
your body. Iùthere are devices of circuitry I can use,
in my own bodyù"

"And so I came to thee again, in her body. And thou
didst come to me, in his, e'en as now. Mayhap we best
think no more on that."

He nodded. They knew the situation, and knew it
had changed. "But I wish I could always be with you."
He hugged her, and kissed her.

"Thou mayst be with me more than thou dost like,"
she said with a certain impish malice. "Mine heat be
nigh upon me. I can stave it off somewhat with herbs,
but wish that not. I would breed with theeù"

"Uh-oh." He had tried to satisfy her insatiable breed-
ing lust, the last time, and had had to use magic to do
it. Sex was ordinarily a game with her, a game she
played with increasing aptitude and delight, but when
she came in heat it was savagely serious.

"In all my forms," she concluded.

"What?"

"The Red Adept looked in the Book of Magic, and
learned how we could be fertile. There be spells, me-
thinks, but also needs must we breed in mine human,
equine and avian aspects."

"But I cannotù!"

"Thou must change form," she said. "The Book will
tell thee how."

"It better!" he muttered. "And I'll need a new per-
petual potency spell."

"Why, Mach," she said with disarming innocence.
"Be I not attractive to thee?"

"You're an infernal nuisance to me!" he exclaimed,
wrestling her into position for an explosive love-making
while she giggled.

Then they talked, lying embraced, and caught each
other up on the recent events of their frames. Fleta was
pleased to learn that "she" had won two more games
in the Tourney, but disappointed with the concluding

ROBOT ADEPT | 241

loss. "But I will coach thee so thou dost not lose thine
own tourney," she swore.

In the morning, Translucent appeared. Trool con-
ducted him and Mach to his study, where the great Book
of Magic lay.

"Butù" Mach protested, out of sorts.

"First we shall teach you the magic of form-chang-
ing," Trool said. "Be not concerned; thou willst be
ready for the filly."

"That, too," Mach said. "ButùI am the son of Cit-
izen Blue, and my sympathy is with his side. I only went
with the Translucent Adept because he gave us sanc-
tuary for our love. I agreed to serve their side for in-
formation from Proton. I never expected actually to
fight for the Adverse Adepts."

"This do we understand," Trool said. "But this mat-
ter be beyond such preferences. An the matter not be
settled, the frames be in peril. Any settlement be better
than none. The need be for fairness in coming to a
compromise. Thou dost represent not thine own view,
but an instrument in a settlement that can no longer be
denied."

"But how can I do my best for a side with which I
disagree? I mean, psychologically I will want to lose."

"Bane had need to hide his identity," Trool said.
"He did what was needful to keep that secret. Didst
thou face a similar challenge in Proton?"

"Yes, butù"

"Didst find thyself unable?"

"No, butù"

"Canst not do what be needful to effect settlement?"

Mach hesitated. Did he have a double standard?

"Where lies thine honor?" Translucent asked.

Honor. To do his very best for the job he agreed to
do, regardless of his personal sacrifice. He found that
his internal conflict, when viewed that way, disappeared.

"I can do it," he said. "But I should think that you
would questionù"

242 | Piers Anthony

"Mayhap some do," Translucent said. "I have put
my trust in thee. An thou dost betray it, I be lost in
more than my cause."

"I suppose I must be like a paid mercenary," Mach
said. "I must do the job I am committed to do. My
private feelings have no bearing."

Both the others nodded affirmatively.

"Stillù"

"Methinks thou shouldst consult with the Blue De-
mesnes, and be satisfied on this," Translucent said. "I
will conjure thee there."

"Butù"

Then Mach was standing outside the neat blue castle
that was evidently the residence of Bane's father. This
was the first time he had seen it.

The Translucent Adept had conjured him here. The
man had extraordinary confidence!

Yet perhaps it made sense. Translucent had asked
him about honor. If he was going-to betray the agree-
ment he had made, this was the person with whom he
would do it: his father's other self. It was better to settle
this private matter now.

"Halooo!" he called.

In a moment a woman came to the bridge at the moat.
She was a lovely creature in blue that he knew imme-
diately was Bane's mother. "Why Bane," she said, sur-
prised. "Back again, without thine alien friend?"

"I am Maehù'

She gazed at him, taking stock. "Then where be Fleta?"

"She is at the Red Demesnes. Iùthe Translucent
Adept conjured me here, to talk with Stile."

"He be not here at the moment," she said. "But come
in, Mach; I will talk with thee."

Agape had visited here, and not seen Stile. Where
was the man? But perhaps the Lady would do.

"Thank you." He walked across the drawbridge.

The Lady's hair was fair, and her eyes blue. She was
of course of a different generation, and her age showed
as he saw her close, but she remained as lovely in her
way as his own mother, who was literally ageless.

ROBOT ADEPT | 243

The Lady turned and escorted him into the central
courtyard. There were flowers and a number of animals,
evidently ill or injured, recuperating. The Blue De-
mesnes, he knew, had always been close to animals.

"I love an animal," he said abruptly.

She took a seat at a table in the shade, beside a
pleasant pool, and gestured him to the other seat. "We
say naught here against Fleta."

"But you want an heir."

"Aye, Mach. We lose ground slowly to the Adverse
Adepts, who would o'erturn what we have done, and
make o' this frame a kingdom o' their own. We hoped
Bane would hold them at bay, and his child after him.
Without that, we will surely be defeated, and it matter
little whether it be now or in the future."

"But I mean to find a way to breed with Fleta, and
for Bane toù"

"An thou dost breed with the unicorn, thou has not
a human being for a child, but an animal crossbreed.
That be not sufficient, for the animaJs have not the
talent for magic that the human beings-do."

"But Bane also might breed with Agapeù"

"And have an alien child, confined to Proton-frame,"
she said. "Mach, think not we oppose thy happiness,
or Bane's! Nor would we hurt Fletaùor Agapeùfor
anything. We be merely aware of the loss entailed.
Where be thy happiness an the frame be ruined?"

"You know that I have agreed to represent the Ad-
verse Adepts, because they support my union with Fleta,"
Mach said. "Where are you if power is achieved by
those Adepts now?"

"Stile be working on that," she said. "That be why
we see him not here."

"What would you have us do?" he asked, anguished.

She gazed at him levelly. "We would have thee return
to thy frame and stay there, and find a woman there.
Perhaps Agape; she be a fine creature. And Bane stay
here, and marry a woman o' Phaze."

"How can you speak so lightly of the disruption of
love?"

244 | Piers Anthony

"Nay, I speak not lightly," she said. "I married Blue
for love, but lost that love, and came to love Stile, his
other self. Then did I have to give up Stile and return
to Blue, for the good o' the frame, and to that did I
accede."

"Butù"

"The Brown Adept, then a child, drew a spell at the
end from the Book of Magic, reversing Stile and Blue,"
she said. "Thus did Stile come here to me, when he
had thought to be confined to Proton, and Blue went
to Proton instead. Thus was our happiness snatched
from our resignation. But I had done what I had to do,
for the frame, and so had Stile. We both put the frame
ahead o' our private happiness. We expect no less o'
thee and Bane."

Mach shook his head. "Bane may be resigned to that,
but I am not. Fleta tried to facilitate your position by
throwing away her life. Even if I did not love her, I
would not purchase the good of the frame at such a
price. The end does not justify the means."

She looked at him, her eyes glistening, then over-
flowing. She put her face in her hands. "Ah, I am torn!"
she cried. "There be unbearable evil on either side!"

Mach felt his own eyes going. "I must do what I must
do," he said. "I must represent the side I have chosen.
Bane remains on your side; if he wins, you will have
your heir." Then he rose and left the castle, knowing
there was nothing more to be said.

Beyond the moat, he called out: "Translucent! Bring
me back!"

There was a wrenching, and he was back in the cham-
ber with Translucent and Trool. "You're right," he said
abruptly. "There is no way to settle it but this."

Trool opened the Book of Magic. "There be this,
too," he said. "In this volume be magic such as to
govern all the frame, an it be invoked. When thy mother-
machine used it, she became Adept in mere hours, while
others built to it all their lives. I be but a troll, unable
to practice magic o' the level o' the human kind, with

ROBOT ADEPT 245

little natural talent for it. I can use only a tiny part o'
this powerùyet that part makes me equivalent to other
Adepts."

He focused on Mach with a disquieting intensity. "But
thou dost be humanùor at least, in human form. Thy
potential for magic dwarfs mine own. E'en without
training or experience, thou didst conjure a boat like
none crafted before, to travel in. Thou didst save thy
filly from death by o'erriding the spell I put on her.
That be Adept-level magic. Thou dost be untrained,
but with time and training thou couldst be a full Adept;

the signs be plain. That be why the Adverse Adept
feared thee, and tried to capture thee, and when that
failed, why Translucent took over and made a deal with
thee to join them. Mayhap thy potential be but the
reverse face o' Bane's, and he be no slouch either. But
with the aid of this Book, and proper guidance, thy
power can become most formidable. That be why we
want thee to comprehend thine honor."

Mach saw that the troll was quite serious, and so was
Translucent. "You mean that I could become a stronger
Adept than either of you?"

"Aye. Than any. No human being before has had the
power o' this Book. We must make thee strong enough
to represent the side thou be on as well as can be done.
But after that, thou willst remain more formidable than
any other, an thou remain in Phaze. We want not to
see that power abused."

"But I must leave Phaze, when this is done," Mach
said. "Because of the imbalance. Or at least agree to
equal time in Proton, so the imbalance can be limited."

"Aye. But an thou choose not to depart, no other
could make thee."

Mach's understanding was growing. "You don't want
to solve one problem and create another," he said.
"Maybe a worse one."

"Aye. Therefore we ask thee to use this power only
for the purposes we seek. Thy service is to make the

246 | Piers Anthony

settlement. Thy reward is to have successful breeding
with Fleta. Seek no more than these, and there be no
problem."

Mach's awareness seemed to be spinning. "But what
of the issue between Adepts? If Bane and I cooperate
to link the frames for one side or the other, won't that
generate a similar power?"

"Mayhap. But that be limited by the narrow conduit
through which it must pass. We deem that the lesser
evil."

Mach sighed. "I hope you are right!"

Then they went to work, explaining to him the nature
of the relevant spells in the Book, and how to invoke
them. They were of all types, not limited to the mode
of any single Adept; he had no need to speak or sing
them, or to draw them, or use any other particular
mode. He could implement them any way he chose; all
modes were one, in this amazing Book. Many were
complex; without the help of the two Adepts, he would
have taken much longer to assimilate their significance
and application, let alone master them.

In minutes he understood that the power of magic in
these pages was greater than any he had guessed at. In
hours he saw that in those minutes he had vastly under-
estimated the case. By the end of the first day, his
awareness of the nature of the universe had changed
fundamentally. Reality had assumed a new dimension.

By the end of the second day, he was able to perform
magic consistently of the level of the Adepts, and to
counter spells made by either Trool or Translucent.

On the third day he went beyond. He learned a spell
to invoke his robot information storage capacity in his
human frame, so that he could instantly memorize spells
without understanding them. That meant that he could
ponder them at leisure, without using the Book. He
learned other spells to enhance his comprehension and
applications, so that he could make far better use of
magic than any ordinary person could.

On the fourth day he studied organization and dis-
cipline, so that he grasped precisely what magic was

ROBOT ADEPT | 247

appropriate when, and understood without having to
reason it out when minor or no magic would do the job
as well as a major invocation could. Now, with the most
minor spell, he could accomplish what might require
the full magic of an Adept. This magnified his power
in another way.

On the fifth day he studied the philosophy and re-
sponsibility of magic. This was a necessary concurrent
to the power he had developed.

He was truly becoming the Robot Adept.

Fleta came into heat. The first time he had encoun-
tered this, she had demanded copulation several times
an hour for several days and nights, until her animal
nature had completed that aspect of the cycle. Had any
of the efforts taken, her heat would have abated sooner,
but his human body had been unable to fertilize her
equine nature. She had remained in human form, but
that was superficial; man was genetically incompatible
with unicorn.

This time he invoked magic that in effect translated
the language of his seed to the language of her egg,
enabling them to communicate and merge. Even so,
they differed, much as a man differed from a unicorn
despite their ability to converse with each other. Only
a part of the union could occur while she was an imi-
tation human woman. But another part could occur in
her natural form, while he was an imitation unicorn,
and the completion could be accomplished when both
were in avian form. Trool had seen that, without pos-
sessing the magic to enable it. Mach now possessed the
magic.

He mated with her in human form, and it was a deeply
gratifying act, because it was for iove and procreation
and pleasure. Then he applied a spell to himself that
gave him continual potency, but allowed no actual seed
to be expelled, because that was needed for the next
stage. Because she was not yet bred, her ardor contin-
ued; he sated her lust continually through the day and
night, his pleasure more of accomplishment than of

248 | Piers Anthony

sexual fulfillment. They snatched bites of food and gulps
of water in the few minutes' respite between sieges, so
as not to suffer deterioration of health.

After the full day/night cycle, they left their bedroom
chamber and went to a private garden. He made a spell
to transform himself to the form of a unicorn stallion.
She reverted to her natural form. Now the odor of her
need smote him, and he found he required no instruc-
tion to do what was necessary. In a moment he had
expended the seed of the past day, and invoked another

seed-conservation spell.

They snatched mouthfuls of hay that Suchevane had
thoughtfully provided, between bouts of mating. They
drank from the water of a clear fountain. Mach would
have enjoyed the experience of being a unicorn, had
he not been kept so busy with the breeding. As it was,
the matter became somewhat tedious. He had to use
subsidiary magic to abate the soreness that was devel-
oping. How did a Herd stallion'manage?

He discovered that he could speak to her in horn
talk. His horn sounded like a bassoon, and was actually
quite versatile. But more than that, his spell of form-
changing had included the whole of the unicorn anat-
omy and potential, including knowledge of the language
of their music. Suddenly he appreciated an enormously
significant aspect of unicorn-nature and culture. It was
true that horn talk was relatively limited, compared to
human language, because unicorns had more limited
interests; indeed, when they had complex matters to
discuss, they tended to shift to human form and use the
human language, which was competent to handle it.
But for most purposes, horn talk was adequate, and it
could also be understood by the werewolves and vam-
pires. He resolved to spend more time in this form,
after the business of the moment was done, when he

could appreciate it for itself.

As their day and night of equine breeding came to
its end, they played a duet, bassoon and panpipes. Ac-
tually it had three or four parts, because of Fleta's abil-
ity to play her own counterpoint. Then she changed to

ROBOT ADEPT 249

her hummingbird form, and he matched her, becoming
a male hummingbird.

They mated, and expended his past day's production
of seed. Then they flew to the garden and sipped the
nectar of the flowers. This, too was a pleasureùbut in
just a few minutes, because of the swift metabolism of
the form, they had to mate again.

But after a few matings, the intensity of her desire
eased, and the spacing stretched out. Then her interest
faded out. Her period of heat was over.

They changed back to human form. "I worry," she
said. "Mine heat be normally longer than this."

"Maybe it was cut short because the breeding was
successful," he said.

"0, how I do hope so!" she exclaimed, hugging him.

They were naked, and in loveùbut at the moment
had no temptation at all to make love. Instead they
retreated to their chamber and fell into weary sleep.

They would not know whether the effort had been
successful until the time of her next heat. If it mani-
fested normally, it would mean that this one had not
taken. He might have ascertained her status sooner by
magic, but he did not want to interfere in any way, lest
that same magic destroy what it had achieved. He wanted
nature to take its course, now.

It was time to go into training for the contest with his
other self. Mach received a "visit" from Bane, confirm-
ing that the separate Citizens of Proton had agreed to the
mode of settlement, and that they had decreed that it
should be done by Tourney rules. They wanted to make
it two out of three rounds, with three games per round,
so that chance would not play too significant a part.

Mach discussed it with the Translucent Adept, who
checked with his compatriots. They agreed, but wanted
the selection of games done in advance, so that there
would be time to prepare properly for particular types.
Mach relayed that, and in due course got agreement,
with further qualification: the advance choices would
be for only one round at a time, with a thirty-day train-

250 | Piers Anthony

ing period for each after the game was determined.
They were concerned that Bane, having been raised
apart from Proton society, would otherwise be at a
serious disadvantage because of his lack of experience
with the breadth of games available. With intensified
specific training they could ameliorate this liability,
making it a fair contest.

To this stipulation the Adepts agreed. The contest
was now established. All they had to do was decide on
the first set of games.

They set up a special console. Trool carved it from
stone, and animated it by magic: it now had an operative
screen just like one in a Game Annex of Proton. A
similar, but science-animated, console was set up at the
same spot in Proton. But Bane and Mach did not stand
on opposite sides; they stood on the same side, over-
lapping each other, so that what one did was known to
the other.

The Game Computer operated the console in Proton,
and the two selves relayed the signals so that the same
information appeared on the one in Phaze.

The grid appeared:

ROBOT ADEPT | 251

It felt just like home!

Mach wasn't sure that a physical game could be played
between the frames, so he touched 2. MENTAL. After
a brief pause. Bane evidently made his choice, for
B.TOOL developed a highlight. The box for TOOL-
ASSISTED MENTAL GAMES brightened and ex-
panded to fill the screen.

E. BOARD

F.CARDS

G. PAPER

H. GENERAL



5.SEPAR    6.INTERAC    7. PUZZLE    8. COOPER




1.PHYSICAL    2.MENTAL    3.CHANCE    4.ARTS



A. NAKED

B. TOOL

C. MACHINE

D. ANIMAL

PLAYERS: MACHùNUMBERS
BANEùLETTERS

Mach had the letters this time, so he touched E.
BOARD. Bane chose 6. INTERACTIVE. The 6E
square expanded.

Now it was time to assemble their own grid. There
was the usual list of choices down the side. Mach had
the first choice, so he touched CHESS, OCCIDENTAL
and put it in the center of the nine-square array. He
had played many variants of chess, and liked them all;

he had many standard strategies filed in his memory.
Bane probably had not put the same type of time into
it, though he certainly could be familiar with the game.
But Bane's chances of mastering a sophisticated chess
variant in only one month were minimal.

Bane put GO BANG in a corner. That was a rela-
tively simple game in which each player tried to be the
first to set five stones in a row.

Mach put SHOGI next to Bane's choice. That gave




252 I Piers Anthony

him two choices in a row. Shogi was Japanese chess,
like Occidental but with extra pieces such as "silver"
and "spear" and extra motions and strategies. For ex-
ample, castles and bishops could be "crowned," or pro-
moted, taking on additional abilities, and captured pieces
could be made to fight for their captor.

Bane put CHINESE CHECKERS in that row, pre-
venting Mach from having three of his own choices
there. Had he gotten that, and then had his choice of
rows rather than columns, he could have been set!

Mach put POLE CHESS in the center of the bottom
row. This was a minor but intriguing variant developed
in the last centuries, first as a joke, then seriously.

Bane put FOX AND GEESE, one of the hunt games,
in the center of the top row.

They continued, Mach with variants of chess, Bane
with simpler games. At the end they chose their line
and column, and Mach got one of his choices: POLE
CHESS. He had a definite advantage; he had played
the grid to win, and now was in a fair position to do

so.
But Fleta had a question. "Thou willst play here, in

Bane's body?"
"Yes. But my basic knowledge of the game carries

over."
"And Bane will play in Proton-frame, in thy body?"

"Yes, of course."

"And has he not access to all thy memories and skills?"
Mach froze. She had just identified a critical flaw in
his thinking! Of course Bane had all the robot memories
and skills; they were inherent in the nature of the ma-
chine and its programming. He, Mach, had even made
a recording of his experiences on Planet Moeba for
Bane to enjoy. Bane could do anything as well as Mach

could!

All his savage strategy had been wasted. Citizen Blue
and the Oracle would see that Bane started at Mach's
level, and proceeded from there to a higher level. In
fact, the infallible machine brain could probably play

ROBOT ADEPT | 253

chess better than the fallible human brain, for it would
not make the kind of error Mach was not prone to.
Such as this one, of forgetting the elementary liability
of his strategy!

"I'm in trouble!" he muttered. "I outsmarted my-
self."

"Magic will enhance thy capacity," Translucent said.
"That is why we have made thee an Adept. Thou willst
play better than ever thou didst as a machine."

"So will Bane," Mach responded glumly.

"I meant not to cause thee distress," Fleta said con-
tritely.

At that he had to smile. "Good thing you brought
me to my senses, filly!"




12

Oracle

Bane was in a chamber in Vamdom, and Agape was
not with him. That drained much of the delight he had
had in this frame. But with this new compromise, he
should be able to bring her back.

He went to a communication screen. "Citizen Blue,"
he said.

Almost immediately, the man who so resembled his
father came on the screen. "Ah, Bane," Blue said.

Bane hadn't even spoken directly to him yet, and the
man recognized him! How was it possible, when he was
in a robot body? "Aye, Citizen. I bear news o' a new
deal. Mach and I needs must play a tourney of our own,
three rounds, and both serve the side that does prevail.
The Adverse Adepts be training him, with the Book o'
Magic, and I may train with the Oracle. Dost agree?"

Blue did not even hesitate. "I agree. Let me contact
the other side. Meanwhile, go to the Oracle."

"Aye. But if Agape may now returnù"

"If the Contrary Citizens allow it."

"Methinks they will."

"We shall know in a moment."

Blue's face faded from the screen. Immediately a new

ROBOT ADEPT | 255

one formed. This was a young android woman, evi-
dently a secretary. "You have business with the Ora-
cle?" she inquired.

Already! "I be Bane, of Phaze. Needs must I oppose
mine other self in a tourney, and if the Oracle will train
me for that encounterù"

"If you will report to the nearest Game Annex, the
Oracle will be in touch."

"Game Annex? Butù"

"The Game Computer permits this use of its facili-
ties," she explained. "The location of the Oracle is
private."

So that the Contrary Citizens would not interfere with
it, he realized. The Oracle was the mainstay of Blue's
power in this frame.

He made his way to the Vamdom Game Annex. Soon
he was sealed in a chamber with a holo unit.

Color developed in the air, swirling diaphanously.
"The Contrary Citizens have agreed," a melodious voice
said. "Agape will be recalled from Planet Moeba, on
the technicality that she was never in the Tourney, but
served only as the host for the unicorn who was, so
cannot be deported for the unicorn's loss. She will join
you here in due course. In the interim, I need to learn
from you what has occurred in Phaze during the past
fifteen years."

"I will try to tell theeù"

"Your present body is a machine. Plug in your brain,
and I will take a full readout."

"Readout?" Bane was baffled.

"There is an access panel behind your left ear. Con-
nect this." A multipronged plug appeared, extending
from the wall.

Bane found the panel and slid it open. He plugged
in the plug. His awareness changed.

First he felt a kind of draining, as if his mind were
pouring out through the connection. Then he felt a
return flow, as if other material were entering. He knew
he was not losing his own identity; the information was
merely being called up and copied. But the process was

256 | Piers Anthony

interactive, and the act of reading his mind generated
a lesser return flow, so that he perceived, as in a dream,
the memories of the Oracle. At first he resisted; then
he realized that this was a remarkable opportunity, and
sank into the dream.

There were levels and levels of it, a memory within
the dream. Bane, confused, sought the beginningùand
found himself in a vision of ancient Earth, when magic
was there. In the ambience of magic, things occurred
that were not possible with science, such as instant shape-
and mass-changing, and the crossbreeding of divergent
species. Indeed, crossbreeds nourished, and many such
species had stabilized. Their magic was internal; they
limited their effects to set form changes and particular
talents, such as carving rock. They retained their po-
tency thoughout their lives.

But every act of external magicùthat which was not
natural to the speciesùdepleted the store of magic on
tlie planet, and so its power inevitably diminished. The
vacuum was slowly taken up by a new system, later
codified as science. At first science was weak and un-
reliable, but it gained strength in direct proportion to
the diminution of magic. In sum: magic waned, science
waxed. Those who practiced the new discipline came
to doubt that the old one had ever had validity, because
they assumed that the fundamental forces of the uni-
verse were unchanging. That was their follyùbut on
Earth it could not be disabused. The old texts of magic
were systematically destroyed, for their spells no longer
operated.

But in the larger universe, magic remained, and though
it was losing its effect throughout, certain nuclei re-
tained their potency. These came to shine like beacons
in the thinning ambience, and drew the devotees of the
old disciplines who were by their specialized arts able
to detect them from afar. One of the strongest was the
planet Phaze, where enormous magical energy had im-
bued its specialized nether rock.

Earth was becoming inhospitable. An oracle, or

, ROBOT ADEPT | 257

prophecy, told of a distant locale where magic would
be safe. So certain creatures fashioned a great wicker
boat they called the Craft of the Oracle, or Coracle.
Those who were ready to risk their lives for the sake
of such a dream boarded it and set sail, leaving the
more conservative majority of creatures behind. The
Coracle passed through the fluxes of the universe and
came at last to its destination, bringing to this planet
the first unicorns, werewolves, harpies, vampires, drag-
ons, elves, goblins, ogres, demons, trolls and others,
leaving behind the centaurs, rocs, merfolk, sphinxes
and others. The creatures spread out to fill the ecolog-
ical niches of Phaze, and flourished; in due course there
were many herds of unicorns, packs of werewolves,
flocks of vampires, hordes of goblins and conclaves of
elves. They achieved a certain equilibrium, each dom-
inating its chosen habitat, generally hostile to each other
when there was competition for particular territory.

Then, hundreds or perhaps thousands of years later,
man came to Phaze. Magic had been all but extermi-
nated on Earth, and the crossbreeds remaining there
were extinct. Some had been vicious creatures whose
disappearance was little loss, but some had cultivated
the best traits of their ancestor species, and their demise
was a tragedy. The centaurs had been too arrogant to
settle for any region less than Earth itself; now not only
Earth but the universe existed without their civilization.
Instead it suffered the ravages of man.

Man came technologically, and brought the infectious
seed of science with him. He set about colonizing the
planet, calling it Proton, burning its forests and slaugh-
tering its creatures. The animals had never been ex-
posed to the horrors of science, and though they tried
to fight back, they were being decimated. The goblins
mounted a savage counterattack, wiping out several
colony settlements, but the humans reciprocated by
bombing the goblins' camps and warrens and nearly
wiping out several tribes. It was evident that all too

258 | Piers Anthony

soon the creatures here would go the way of their cou-
sins on Earth.

But not all the invaders were vicious or uncaring.
Some few appreciated the nature of Phaze and sought
to preserve its unique environment. These managed to
deal with the elves to create a barrier between the frames
of science and magic, separating them. This had an
immediate effect, because the weapons based on sci-
ence no longer worked in the magic frame, and magic
no longer worked in the science frame. It effectively
isolated the two factions, though they actually shared
the territory. They were out of phase with each other.
This was the origin of the name of the magic realm:

Phaze.

Then a peculiar effect manifested. The two frames
assumed an equivalence in more than geography. Human
beings who were born and raised on the planet began
appearing on either side of the curtain, mirror images
of each other. In some interaction between science and
magic they had cloned, the parties on either side living
similar lives, but utilizing different modes. It was pos-
sible for newcomers to the planet to cross the curtain,
though not always easy. Clones could not; the presence
of their other selves barred them. Thus the frames were
increasingly separated. But this meant that only those
who knew least about the opposite frames could cross
to them, and this meant trouble.

Some long-time residents developed formidable pow-
ers of magic, and became known as Adepts. The po-
tential for magic was in every creature, but the Adepts
acted ruthlessly to restrict its application. Those whose
powers were less soon learned to avoid the use of magic
almost entirely, so as not to seem in any way compet-
itive with the Adepts. They settled into innocuous vil-
lage life, while the Adepts became like distant lords.
The Adepts took it upon themselves to protect Phaze
from unwarranted intrusions across the curtain, using
magic to detect and eliminate most of those who crossed.

ROBOT ADEPT | 2 59

But the Citizens of the developing hierarchy of Pro-
ton were in no mood to brook such interference with
their rights of exploitation. They used their computers
to prepare an exhaustive analysis of the mechanisms of
magic, and developed a computer that could invoke this
magic without error or waste. Because a computer could
not operate in Phaze, they digested these principles into
a comprehensive Book of Magic that any person could
use with devastating effect. The conquest of Phaze by
Proton was about to resume. This of course was incip-
ient disaster, and the more sensible elements of both
cultures opposed it implacably.

A compromise was achieved: the Book of Magic was
confined to Proton and hidden, so it could not be used,
and the computer was put across the curtain into Phaze,
where it was given limited animation as the Oracle: an
entity that would answer any question once. References
to Phaze in the literature of Proton were extirpated,
and in a generation it was as if the other frame did not
exist. But the Citizens knew of it, and some of their
secretaries learned. Surreptitious crossings still oc-
curred, but there was a conspiracy of silence about the
matter. The Citizens who had other selves in Phaze
could not cross, and did not want others to do so.

So it was for three hundred yearsùuntil the extensive
mining of Protonite in the science frame generated an
imbalance that threatened to tear the fabric that sep-
arated them and destroy both. The Oracle understood
this, but could not act directly to allieviate it. Its only
power was answering questions directed to it, and not
many of those. Therefore it used that power to cause
the Blue Adept to be murderedù

Bane snapped out of the vision. "What?"

"You have assimilated the history of the frames," the
Oracle said.

"Thou didst cause Blue to die?" Bane demanded.

"Only one person seemed likely to be able to do the
necessary job," the Oracle replied. "That was Stile, in

260 | Piers Anthony

the frame of Proton, the Blue Adept's other self. He
knew nothing of Phaze, and could not cross. Therefore
I devised a plan to free him for crossing, and to acquaint
him in due course with this mission. This is a story whose
general gist you may already know."

Bane did indeed! The Red Adept had murdered the
Blue Adept, whose soul had taken refuge in his har-
monica: then Stile, Blue's other self, had crossed the
curtain and taken Red out, replacing her with Trool the
Troll. Stile had married Blue's widow, the Lady Blue,
and begotten Bane. Blue, meanwhile, had crossed to
Proton, animating Stile's body. Stile was actually using
a golem body crafted by Trool, animated by magic; he
was a golem with the soul of a man. Or, in Proton terms,
very like a cyborg. Bane had actually been conceived
before that shift of bodies; there could be none con-
ceived thereafter. All this Bane understoodùbut it
seemed that there were aspects he had not been told.

"The permanent separation of frames was intended
to prevent any further imbalances from developing,"
the Oracle continued, its light still swirling. "But it
seems that there is after all imbalance."

"Because Mach and I exchanged frames," Bane said.

"That should not have been possible."

"For an entity that is supposed to know everything,
thou dost seem to be short some information."

"True. I lacked news of the developments in Phaze.
I must ascertain what changed," the Oracle said. "I
have the transcript of your life experiences, but this is
not enough. I must know how you exchanged."

Suddenly Bane was back in the dream, but this time
he was himself. He was in the retreat he had fashioned,
really only a rock in a glade, communicating with his
other self. He had not at first realized that this was what
he was doing; he had been drawn into this glade for no
reason he could ascertain, and now felt the odd pres-
ence. "Who be ye?" he asked, and felt it echo in alien
language, Who are you?

ROBOT ADEPT | 261

/ am Mach! the answer came, definitely not his own
thought. Then: Let's exchange places'

The notion intrigued him "Ayeùfor a moment." He
improvised a quick spell, and sang it, to facilitate the
process, whatever it might lead to.

Then, with an abrupt wrenching, he had found him-
self in the frame of Proton, and his remarkable adven-
ture had begun.

"Amazing!" the Oracle exclaimed.

"Thou dost be just a computer, a thinking machine,"
Bane said. "Dost feel surprise?"

"Yes. We machines can experience emotion when
our design permits, as is the case with Mach. I have
discovered the source of your ability to exchange. It is
because the connection between the frames was never
completely severed. You and Mach tuned in to that
open channel, and used it, and later your friends did
too. Now that channel is broadening with use, compli-
cating the imbalanceùbut the imbalance has been
building slowly throughout the life of that channel. I
never thought to check for such a thing!"

"A channel between the frames? But how came that
to be? Methought all connection was severed before
my birth."

"I recognize the psychic pattern. It is that of your
fatherùStile."

"My father? But he ne'erù"

"Not consciously, no. But it seems that this is some-
thing more fundamental than consciousness. He origi-
nated in this frame. He now inhabits a golem body.
The life-force derives from Proton, and retains a con-
nection to its origin. Ever since the frames separated,
that lone connection has existedùfeeding a slight but
detectable imbalance. You are his son; you resonate to
his life-force, for you derive from it. You used his chan-
nel."

"Then needs must I agree: amazing!"

"I shall have to consider this discovery. It may be

262 | Piers Anthony

that a complete separation of the frame is not feasible
without cutting off the life-force of Stile."

"Nay!"

"Have no concern. Bane; I would not cut that con-
nection, had I the means to do so. Stile and Blue have
been my instruments, and you and Mach are becoming
my instruments."

"Yet hast thou been known to kill thine instruments!"

"Not permanently, as it turned out."

Bane removed the plug from his ear. "Thou dost
strike me as a creature of expedience, without scru-
ples."

"Granted. I am not even a creature, but a thing,
possessing no more life than does your present body."

Which felt alive to him. Bane knew how Mach had
felt, and how Mach's robot mother Sheen felt. The
Oracle was reminding him of the capabilities of its state
of existence. "Point taken, machine. But I trust not
thine expedience."

"But you can trust my logic. If that psychic connec-
tion between Stile and his living body is broken, he may
die or lose his sanity or suffer no measurable malaise;

we cannot know. But if that line ceases to exist, the
channel by which you and Mach communicate and ex-
change places will be gone, and all that you contemplate
will end, and my chance to rectify the accumulated
imbalance will abort. Therefore I value Stile's life and
your own, and will not act to imperil them."

Bane wasn't sure about that, but accepted it for the
time being. Except for one bad thought: "An that line
be cut, there be no problem of linking of the frames.
Canst thou not solve it most readily by cutting the line?"

"No. The imbalance exists. It must be redressed be-
fore the connection is severed, or mischief to both frames
can result."

"So thou dost seek to correct it, then cut the line?"

"That would be the sensible thing to do."

"And thou dost expect Mach and me to help thee
cut us off from our loves?"

ROBOT ADEPT 263

This time the Oracle paused before answering. "I
perceive that that could be awkward."

"Awkward, hell, thou stinking golem thing! It be
unacceptable."

The Oracle was unmoved by his invective. "What
would you find acceptable?"

"Do thou find a way to fix the imbalance and preserve
contact between the frames, that I may remain with
Agape and Mach with Fleta."

"This may be a difficult thing to accomplish."

"An thou dost wish to work with me longer, needs
must thou bide by it."

"As I understand it, the frames must either be com-
pletely separated, with no interaction between them,
or completely overlapped, so that any imbalance cor-
rects instantly. You evidently prefer the latter course."

"Aye," Bane agreed grimly.

"Since I need your active cooperation, I am con-
strained to accede to your terms."

"An thou find a way to work without my cooperation,
thou dost mean to renege?"

"I am reluctant to be bound to a fixed course in a
changing situation."

"Then work without me, machine!" Bane said, and
faced the exit.

"But without the knowledge and training I offer, you
will most certainly lose your contest with Mach."

"And with what result?" Bane retorted rhetorically.
"We keep our loves!"

"Perhaps it is unrealistic to expect mature behavior
from juveniles."

"Aye, thou calculating device!"

"Perhaps a compromise?"

Bane had learned the advantage of dealing. "Make
thine offer."

"I am supposed to train you for your encounter with
Mach. Because he is long conversant with the Game
procedures to be employed, and has trained in many
of the games, you are at a severe disadvantage. I can

264 | Piers Anthony

at one stroke restore parity. I will do this for you now,
if you will accede to a partial commitment on the han-
dling of the frames."

Bane considered. He would do his side little good if
he went into the contest unprepared and lost badly.
Despite his angry words, he did intend to do his best
for his father. He did need the Oracle. "In what manner
partial?"

"I will make my primary effort the unification of the
frames. Only if that proves to be impossible will I seek   '
to separate them completely."

"Unificationù"

"Means that you would be able to join Agape phys-
icallyùin your own body, and Mach would join Fleta
in his own body."

That seemed so good as to be suspicious. In a moment
Bane saw the flaw. "But with unification, all alternate    :

selves would unite. Stile and Blue would be but one
person, and Mach and me. That be'no solution!"

"I think not. You have had time to develop separate
identities despite your initial cloning. Identical twins
are the parts of a single person, but their lives make    |
them separate. In addition, there are formidable dis-    "
tinctions between the bodies: Mach's is machine, while
yours is flesh; Stile's is golem, while Blue's is flesh. I
doubt there would be mergence of that nature, this
time, though there could certainly be formidable dis-    _
ruptions as individuals are replaced by pairs of selves   J
in a common framework. This is why I regard this as    i
the less desirable alternative. Neverthelessù"           i

"Agreed," Bane said quickly. He was ready to handle
the awkwardness of individual duplication, for the sake
of interacting with Agape in his own, living body.

"Then restore the connection, and I will activate Mach's
experience."                                            '

"Wait. I want to know exactly how thou dost mean
to make me equal to Mach, in an instant."

"You occupy his body. Your personality has taken
over his general functions, but does not invoke his total

ROBOT ADEPT | 265

experience. I shall activate the remaining circuits, that
contain his complete knowledge of Proton and the Game,
and his expertise as a player. You will then be able to
utilize any or all of it at will."

Something nagged at him. In a moment he realized
what it was. "But an thou restore the whole of Mach,
then will not I be Mach, not Bane?"

"I can alleviate any such effect by excluding the re-
gion that establishes your personal identity. Your con-
sciousness is largely random-access memory, evoked
from a file that does not exist in this host: your living
body in Phaze. Similarly, your personality and aware-
ness and memories are damped out by Mach's aware-
ness. It is fortunate that your two systems are
compatibleùbut perhaps this is not coincidence, be-
cause of the parallelism of the frames."

Bane considered. "Very wellùbut do thou do it care-
fully. Methinks there be treachery in the likes of this."
He plugged the cable back into his ear.

There was a soundless click. Nothing obvious changed,
but his awareness of his situation seemed to clarify. He
knew exactly where he was, and how to get anywhere
else.

"That be it?" he asked.

"Try remembering Mach's Game experience," the
Oracle suggested.

He triedùand abruptly experienced a flood of mem-
ories going back to Mach's childhood. Every game Mach
had ever played was filed in his memory banksùand
he understood the strategies for each, too. He knew
that he could play any game as well as Mach could,
because in this respect he had become Mach.

He could compete; there was no question about it.
He did not even need to train; his robot body did not
lose skills by disuse the way human flesh did. Citizen
Blue would be pleased, and so would Agape. Fleta was
not the only one from Phaze who could play theù

Fleta? He reeled, internally.

He was in love with the unicorn.




266 Piers Anthony

"Oops," the Oracle said, in a surprisingly unme-
chanical way.

"That love spell!" Bane exclaimed, chagrined. "It
followed me here!"

"Not so. I did not exclude the emotion-circuit that
activates that interest. That is Mach's love, not yours.
I shall exclude it from your compass."

Abruptly it was gone. Bane loved Agape, not Fleta.
But he was shaken. The depth and power of that loveù

He removed the cable. "He came to love her in my
body. Could that loveù"

"Develop a resonance in you? Certainly, if strong
enough. Flesh is less denned in such matters than ma-
chine circuitry; it would be surprising if there were not
some sympathetic carryover."

"Then mayhap it was not merely the love spell that
addled me," Bane said thoughtfully.

"Nor merely the spell and resonance combined," the
Oracle said. "I perceive by your memories and my ob-
servations in Proton that she is a very fine creature. But
so is Agape. Perhaps you should invoke Mach's expe-
rience with her."

"Nay, that were snooping!"

"When she emulated Fleta," the Oracle prompted.

The thing understood him too well! Bane called up
that memoryùand was impressed. Agape had assumed
the aspect of Fleta, in form and voice and attitude, so
perfectly that even he, Bane, almost doubted that it
. was not she. And Mach, knowing, had loved herùeven
as Bane had loved the real Fleta, for a moment.

He banished the memory, and the mixed emotions
it aroused. "Truly, they both be great females," he said.
"And we both be somewhat guilty." But he felt less
guilty, now.

"You could each have settled for the one in your own
frame," the Oracle said. "Had you not each been blinded
to the familiar by the lure of the unfamiliar."

"Aye. But then would we not have exchanged. Seek
not to reverse us now, machine; we have a deal."

ROBOT ADEPT | 267

"We have a deal," the Oracle agreed. "I will train
you in the specific games you select to play against
Mach, so that your skill improves beyond his. But this
is no guarantee of victory."

"Why not?"

"Because there is always an element of chance in the
playing of the grid and of any game, even those of
greatest skill. Because he will be trained in magic by
the Book of Magic he will have the advantage in any
game involving magic."

"Then I will choose not that kind."

"But he will try to choose it. The grid gives you
equivalence, and your skill in playing it will be similar.
You must prevail in science, for you will likely lose in
magic."

"I be no slouch in magic myself," Bane reminded it.

"You cannot prevail against the Book. I know, for
the Book is but another aspect of me. The verdict of
this contest is in doubt."

Bane pointed a finger at the shimmering light. "Do
thou find a way to merge the frames, and the contest
be meaningless."

"It will be easier for you to prevail in the contest
than for me to merge the frames," the Oracle said.

"And if I winùwhat then o' our loves? My father,
Stile, does oppose our unions, because they lead not to
a suitable heir. I be resignedùbut Mach be not re-
signed. I favor my father o'er my love, but Mach does
not. There be that in me that be uncertain whether
victory be best."

"Let me acquaint you with the nature of the Adverse
Adepts and the Contrary Citizens," the Oracle said.
"You will appreciate that they must be denied control
of the frames."

"Aye, I know already! But also I know love, and this
be no easy choice."

"Win, and you will know you have done right. Then
perhaps I will succeed in unifying the frames, and you
will have love too, as your father did."

268 | Piers Anthony

"And if I win, and thou dost not succeed?"
"You are young. You will find in time that you can
love again, a woman of your own frame."
"I believe that notùnor do I want to!"
"You are young," the Oracle repeated.

Agape returned, and they had a somewhat diffident
reunion. "I had to do whatù" she began.

"I know. As I did with Fleta. We need no more o'
that."

"Yetù"

"I have Mach's memories nowùand in mine own
living body, some of his feelings. They be not mine,
but they be ones I understand. I apologize to thee for
putting thee in such an unkind situation; it were my
fault."

"Butù"

"Must needs I contest with'mine other self, to settle
who shall benefit from our communication between the
frames. An I win, we shall serve my father, and Stile,
and I think I must resume mine own body and be in
Phaze and find a damsel there with whom I may gen-
erate an heir to the Blue Demesnes. An I lose, mayhap
I can be with theeùbut the frames will be ill-served."

"I understand that," she said. "And I agree. I love
you, but I would not destroy what your father has
done for the sake of that love. But what I was referring
toù"

"Thou didst make Fleta for Mach."

"Aye," she said, with a quirk of a smile.

"And so thou didst.protect him from possible dis-
covery when he emulated me, and perhaps protected
me also when I emulated him. Even as Fleta did in
Phaze. Now I can see how he does love her, and he
can see how I do love thee. Can we not consider that
it were as it seemed, and no harm done?"

"If you wish."

"Aye, I wish." He looked at her. "Agape, an thou

ROBOT ADEPT | 269

couldst have whate'er thou didst wish, what would that
be?"

"To be with you in Phaze," she said without hesi-
tation.

"I have made a deal with the Oracle to merge the
frames, an it prove possible. Then mayhap we can be
together, each in our own bodies, in either frame. And
Mach and Fleta too. Then could she play the Game at
will, and thou couldst learn magic. Andù"

"We could reproduce," she concluded.

"Aye. But as that be no certain outcome, must needs
we do it now. I did learn how Mach and Fleta could
do it in Phaze, and Mach did study how we two could
do it here. Dost understand how Mach was Grafted?"

"Yes. He started as an infant-robot, and moved to
larger body and capacity in the way a living person
would grow, until he reached adult status."

"I have it from Mach's memory: we can craft a cyborg
with a body like mine and a mind like thine. It be not
a perfect solution, but I be not a living man, in this
frame. So if thou wouldst be interestedù"

"I would," she said.

"Mach learned that Moebites have learned to fission
unevenly, so that one retains identity while the other
must immediately merge with another to gain enough
mass to survive. If thine merges with the machine, for
life supportù"

"Yes. I have met the cyborg girls, and they can be
quite interesting, if you like that type."

"Girls," he repeated. "It had not occurred to me,
but robots be female too, and cyborgs. Mach's mother,
Sheenù"

"Yes. We shall have a female child."

"But an I win, and we must separateù"

"The child of our union will remain," she said firmly.
"She must remain here, where the facilities exist for
growing and learning."

"Aye. But an I return to Phazeù"

"I will remain here, and care for her until she is of

270 | Piers Anthony

age. This can be justified as continued experience in
the bisexual mode, that my folk need to know."

"Must needs we name her."

"After youù"

"And after theeù"

"BA for Bane, AG for Agape?"

"Baag? Forget it, alien!"

She laughed. "Maybe the last letters, NEù"

"And PE."

"Nepe," she said.

"Nepe," he agreed.

They kissed.

In due course Bane played the grid with Mach, across
the curtain, and they settled on a board game called
Pole Chess. "I know it as well as Mach does," he said.
"By definition. This be a fun game."

"I do not know of it," Agape replied.

"It be Occidental chess, with a piece added, invoked
after the first piece be lost on either side. Serious prac-
titioners play it not, but it does have its points."

He had a month to prepare. The Oracle trained him
in the nuances of this specialized variant, but expressed
concern. "You now inhabit the mind of a machine.
Machines are excellent at storage and manipulation, but
are not as creative as living creatures. If error-free play-
ing suffices, the advantage is yours, but if not, it is his."

"He has been limited all his existence," Bane pointed
out. "Can he now become creative?"

"That remains to be seen. He has strong motivation."

Bane nodded. Mach's motivation might well be
stronger than his own. Yet he had to make his honest
best effort.

"Teach me some aspects of this game that Mach knows
not," he said. "And teach me flawless defense. I like
not winning a game as it were by default, but this be
the way methinks I should play it."

ROBOT ADEPT | 271

"True."

And while he explored the special wrinkles of the
game, Agape ate voraciously to increase her mass so
that she could fission, and the lab designed a cyborg
unit that would support, not a human brain, but a Moe-
bite entity.




13

Pole

"There be only so much magic can do, in a game like
chess," Trool said. "Thy powers of perception and
thought be now enhanced; thou willst play thy best, and
make no direct error. But ultimately the victory must
go to the one with the greatest experience and vision.
Thou must have practice against excellent players."

"Who are the best in Phaze?"

"Stile. The Silver Elves. The Eldest Vampire."

"Damn!" Translucent exclaimed. "He cannot play
them!"

Because they were all on the other side. "I thought
I was so smart, angling for a variant of chess," Mach
said ruefully. "I only got myself in trouble."

"There be other players," Translucent said. "And ye
be committed to a variant. Mayhap there be other ex-
perts in that variant. Some among our forces."

Mach brightened. "I can make a spell to locate the
finest available player of Pole Chess."

He did so. In a moment he ascertained that the Silver
Elves dominated this variant also, but that there was
one outstanding player among the snow demons. His
name was Icebeard, and he was a chief of a White

ROBOT ADEPT 273

Mountain clan. He seldom played in tournaments, be-
cause he could not tolerate any warm location, so his
skill relative to that of the Silver Elves was not known,
but it was suspected that it was equivalent.

"I will go see Icebeard," Mach said.

"But the demons eat normal folk," Fleta protested.

"I can protect myself, now," Mach reminded her.
"And you, if you want to come."

"Methinks I had better," she said. "They may be
thine allies now, but an thou sleep, it be best to have
a guard."

Translucent nodded. "I will acquaint him with thy
situation. But trust him not behind thy back. Our al-
liance be jury-built. Conjure thyself to the base of the
mountain range, then climb them afoot, that they may
recognize thee."

Mach conjured himself and Fleta to the base of the
White Mountain range. The White Mountains were as
massive as the Purple Mountains of the south, but more
formidable because they were cold.

"One thing amazes me," Mach said. "The frames of
Proton and Phaze overlap, geographically; every fea-
ture of one is mirrored in the other. Yet Proton is a
planet, a sphere, while Phaze is a flat surface. How can
this be?"

"Methinks the folk o' the other frame suffer from
illusion," Fleta replied. "They think their world must
be a ball, while we know it for what it truly be, a circle."

He glanced at her, uncertain whether she was serious.
"Proton has a north and south pole, while Phaze has
an east and west pole. How can those be reconciled?"

"By playing Pole Chess," she replied.

He considered that. Pun or wisdom? Then he saw
her laugh bubbling up from her belly to her bosom. He
grabbed her and kissed her before it could reach her
mouth. "Silly filly!" he exclaimed.

And found himself kissing the unicorn. She had
changed form, leaving only her lips touching his.

274 | Piers Anthony

He changed to his stallion form, snorting. If she wanted
to play it that wayù

She became the hummingbird, her slender bill touch-
ing his nose. He became another.

She returned to girlform. "Ah, I forget thou be Adept
now!" she exclaimed. "My Rovot Adept! Methinks I
like thee better as a helpless man!"

"Tough manure, bird brain," he said with mock gruff-
ness as he joined her in manform. "I accepted you as
a unicorn; now you have to accept me as an Adept."

"0, sigh," she said, not sighing. "What shall we name
him?"

"What?"

"Has thou not paid attention, sludge brain? Our foal,
an we conceive."

She changed subjects as readily as she changed her
form! "Aren't you counting chickens beforeù" He saw
her laugh bubbling up again, and corrected himself.
"Foals, before they hatch?"

"I ne'er yet saw a foal hatch," she remarked. "An
we make a name for him, he will have to step into it.
So what be the name?"

She had already decided on the sex, and now was
working on the name. He reached for her, seeking an-
other kiss, but this time she eluded him. "Mayhap com-
bine our two names?"

"Mach, Reta," he said, considering, "MA, FL. Mafl?"

"That be more like a sneeze!" she protested. "May-
hap the hind ends?"

"TA, CH," he said. "Tach?"

"That be more like cloth ripping! Mayhap one of
each?"

"FL, CHùFletch or Flatch?"

"Flach," she decided, pronouncing it with a soft C.

"Rash?"

"Watch thy language, rovot! Flach."

"Flach," he agreed, not changing the pronunciation.
Then she stepped up for her kiss.

Now they started up the trail that Mach's magic told

ROBOT ADEPT 275

him led to Icebeard's den. They had to approach slowly,
so that the demons had a chance to recognize them; it
seemed that the demons were suspicious, hostile folk.

Reta assumed her natural form, and Mach rode her,
deciding that he needed to remain recognizable. He
kept alert, though; demons were known to like starting
snowslides.

Sure enough, they had not progressed far before there
was the rumble of an icy avalanche starting.

Mach snapped his fingers. The sliding snow became
white fog, that flowed past them without impact. They
proceeded as if nothing had happened.

Farther along, five snow tigers appeared, pouncing
in unison. Mach made a tiny gesture, and they became
five snow birds, who spread their wings and flapped
wildly, not understanding what had happened.

They crested the first foothill, and moved on toward
the larger range. A horrendous snowstorm swept in,
stirring white tornadoes from the drifts, and hailstones
the size of human heads began pelting down.

Mach lifted his gaze and squinted, and the tornadoes
lay meekly down on their sides and expired. The hail-
stones slowed, becoming translucent, and bobbled in
the air like balloons, finally popping into nonexistence.
The storm thinned to the semblance of a canopy, and
slid away to the side, leaving the sky clear.

Reta snorted musically through her horn. Mach now
understood horn language. Her sentiment translated,
approximately, into: "Methinks that will teach them not
to mess w' rovot Adepts."

They moved on without pause. They were approach-
ing the region of the ice caves, where the snow demons
lived. Reta played a merry ditty on her horn, theme
and countertheme on the panpipes, as if the two of them
had not a care in the frame. Indeed, it seemed they had
not; Mach's Adept magic was proof against all the demon
malignance.

A snow demon appeared at the mouth of a cave. His
whole body seemed to be made of ice; parts of him




276 | Piers Anthony

were even transparent. "Go 'way, freaks!" he called in
the demon fashion of welcome.

Mach lifted his left little finger. Fire blossomed be-
hind the demon, cutting off his retreat and causing him
to leap forward before he melted. He plunged into a
snowbank for protection.

"How's that?" Mach inquired innocently.

"Go melt thy buns in a furnace, flatlander!" the demon
snapped.

The snow puffed into steam, leaving the demon ex-
posed. He scrambled up the slope to reach fresh snow.

"We have come to see your leader," Mach said. "Will
you lead us to him?"

"Ne'er!" the demon exclaimed.

A panel of quartz appeared beneath the demon's feet.
Beneath it could be seen the leaping flames of some
subterranean conflagration. The snow above it began
to melt.

The demon started to retreat, but more panels ap-
peared, surrounding it. "Well, maybe . . ." he said
doubtfully.

The panel beneath him developed a hinge. Slowly
the quartz eased down, about to slide whatever was on
it into the inferno below.

". . . it would be best if I did that," the demon con-
cluded.

"How nice of you," Mach said graciously. The quartz
ceased its motion, turned opaque, and frosted over.

They followed the demon to the mouth of the largest
cave. But he stopped there. "No 'corns allowed," he
said.

Fleta assumed girlform, huddled in her black cloak.
"Do I look like a 'corn?" she inquired.

"Listen, mare. I just saw thee change!"

A small ball of fire appeared in the air, like a star
that had fallen too low.

The demon eyed it nervously. "Look, it's Icebeard's
law! No animals inside!"

ROBOT ADEPT 277

The fireball brightened, resembling the sun on a foggy
morning;

, The demon reconsidered. "Come to think of it, she
looks not much like a 'corn." He led the way into the
cave.

It had been cold outside, but it was colder in the
cave. Mach made a spell to warm them both without
affecting anything else, and Fleta gave him a glance of
appreciation.

A glow, developed in the icy walls, providing wan
light that became adequate as their eyes adjusted.

Then the demon leaped ahead. The ceiling cracked,
and ice dust sifted down. The tunnel was collapsing!

Mach grimaced. The falling particles became floating
motes of fire, that moved forward through the tunnel
as if propelled by a stiff draft. As larger chunks came
down, they too ignited and shot forward. Whatever was
ahead would become quite warm, quite soon.

The ceiHng stabilized.

Mach turned to Fleta. "Do you know, the demons
seem to live in rather shaky passages. I worry that the
entire mountain might fall in on them unexpectedly."
A rumbling developed, and indeed the mountain did
seem to be shaking. "If I ever got the suspicion that
any of this were deliberate, I might be inclined to hasten
that collapse." The shaking increased, making that col-
lapse seem imminent. "It isn't smart to annoy an Adept,
as I'm sure these demons know." The shaking became
horrendous, so that even Fleta flinched.

The demon reappeared. "Icebeard will see thee now!"
he cried.

The mountain was instantly quiet. "I thought he
might," Mach said.

The tunnel opened into a chamber whose walls were
curtained with icicles. On a frozen throne sat the leader,
whose beard was indeed formed of ice. "So nice to see
you, Adept," the demon leader growled.

"I came to play Pole Chess with you. Do you by
chance have time for such a game?"

278 | Piers Anthony

Icebeard considered, scowling. A distant rumble
started. The demon's aspect changed. "Yes, of course.
The Translucent Adept informed me that thou didst
wish to practice, and the cause be worthy."

"Whether the cause is worthy is a matter of opinion,
but the issue must be settled, and I mean to do my best.
Since you are said to be the best player available to me,
I want to practice with you."

"The best player," Icebeard said, evidently nattered.
"Aye, we shall play." He glared at a demon messenger.
"Frostbite, fetch the board and pieces!"

Fleta looked around, and chose a block of ice to sit
on. All she knew of chess was what Mach had told her,
but she wanted to watch.

Icebeard glanced at her. "Be thou not cold, filly?"

"Nay, thank thee; I be quite comfortable."

"Um," he said, disappointed.

The board and pieces arrived, and they set them up
on a stand. The board was a cross-hatched sheet of ice,
and the pieces were finely carved ice. Mach made sure
his touch was cold, so that he would not damage the
chessmen. The figures were elaborate: each pawn was
a grotesque little goblin, the castles were coiled drag-
ons, the knights griffins rampant, the bishops thin trolls,
the queen a glowering ogress, and the king a crowned
demon.

But this was Pole Chess, so there was one additional
set of pieces: the poles. These were the tallest and most
regular of them all, resembling the spiraled poles that
ancient barbers once used as a signal of their operations.
When all the other pieces were set up, the white and
black poles stood to either side, just off the board,
centered.

The pole could neither take nor be taken, except in
one very special circumstance. It could only block. It
could move to any unoccupied square on the board in
one move, but did not have to be played. It was nor-
mally used to occupy a square that a player did not want
his opponent's man to take, or to block the path of the

ROBOT ADEPT | 279

opponent's man, or to shield a piece from attack. In
the end game it could be critical in the defense of the
king. Clever use of the pole could change the com-
plexion of a gameùbut it was possible also to play
through without ever invoking the pole. Thus it added
an element to the game without any obvious corre-
sponding sacrifice. Some players swore that Pole Chess
was the best variant ever; others condemned it as a
decadent offshoot. Mach himself was neutral; he could
take it or leave it, and tended to be guided by his op-
ponent's strength in it. A player who was good with the
pole could trap himself when playing normal chess, for-
getting that he could not abruptly block check. But a
player who was not used to it could find his careful
strategy negated at the end, when the pole interfered
with the operation of his major attacking piece.

They playedùand Icebeard humiliated Mach. The
demon was a good player, all right!

They played again. This time Mach stuck to the most
conventional opening and play, so that no surprises
were likely, and played for a draw. He never got the
chance; Icebeard overwhelmed him.

They played a third time. Mach went for innovative,
risky play, trying to surprise the demon. For a while he
seemed to be succeeding; then he made a foolish error,
and Icebeard clamped down and never let go.

"I'm not in your league," Mach admitted ruefully.

"Obviously not," the demon said graciously. "I will
make a deal with thee: get me a match with the Adept
Stile, and I will train thee to win against any lesser
player."

"But I thought you would train me for the benefit of
your cause!" Mach protested.

"That, too, rovot," Icebeard agreed.

"I'm not sure that's fair," Mach said, and the moun-
tain began to rumble warningly.

The demon pointed an icefinger at Mach's nose. "Lis-
ten, rovot, thou hast proven thou dost be Adept, and
can bring this mountain down about our heads. I have




280 | Piers Anthony

proven I can play Pole Chess of a level thou canst only
dream of. Causes be fine, but it be best to make fair
exchange for service. Thou knowest that training thee
will be a colossal bore to me. Dost think it fair that he
who be mooted the best player o' the frame plays me
not?"

Mach was taken aback by the force of this logic. "No,
it is not fair. But it is Stile's son I must play against.
How can I get Stile to play against you, knowing that
this is your price for training me to beat Bane?"

Icebeard grimaced. "Thou dost have a point, rovot!"

FIeta spoke up. "Would Stile want his son to win
'gainst an untrained opponent?"

Both Mach and Icebeard looked at her, then at each
other. "I'll try," Mach said. He looked at Fleta. "Do
you want to come along?"

"The filly stays here!" Icebeard snapped.

"What is this? You think you need a hostage, demon?"

Icebeard reconsidered. "Nay, not for this. Old re-
flexes die hard! Let her go with thee."

"Nay, I will stay, an Icebeard show me how to play
this game."

The demon stared at her. "Has thou any aptitude at
all, filly?"

"I know not. But when I visited Proton-frame, I played
in their Tourney, and won four rounds. Mayhap I will
ne'er get to play again, but an I could learn more game
skills, that would please me."

The demon softened. "Mayhap thou dost have po-
tential. We shall shortly find out."

Fleta went to the table, and they were setting up the
pieces as Mach conjured himself to the Blue Demesnes,
slightly bemused.

He stood before the Blue Castle and hailed it, as
before. Again the Lady Blue emerged. "I fear thou
canst not change his mind, Mach," she said.

"Lady, this time I come to ask a favor of him."

"He will see thee not at this time, but I will talk to

ROBOT ADEPT | 281

thee." She showed him into the courtyard, and they
took seats at the table, as before.

He gazed at her for a moment. "You know, my mother
is a robot."

"Aye, the Lady Sheen. I know her."
"You know her?" he asked, surprised.
"In the old days it were possible to cross the cur-
tain physically, an one's other self be dead. Mine other
selfù" She broke off, looking troubled; but before he
could think of anything appropriate to say, she resumed.
"I crossed and met her, and knew she was worthy, and
asked Stile to marry her. But in the end he remained
with me, and it were Blue who married her."

He continued to look at her. "You are a beautiful
woman, Lady."

"What be thy business, Mach?"

"I am in training for the first match with Bane. I
know it is not to your interest to help me in my effort
to defeat him, butù"

" 'Interest' be defined in sundry ways," she said. "Bane
represents the existing order, and there be good and
evil in that. Thou dost represent a contrasting order,
and there be evil and good in that. There be that in thy
order that Bane craves, and that in our order that thou
dost crave."

"Yes!"

"So thou dost represent a part of himùthe part that
would marry Agape and live in Proton-frame. He rep-
resents a part of theeùthe part that would have our
way govern, rather than the special interest o' the Ad-
epts. Thou dost contest for part of his good, and he for
part of thine. The victory o' either be neither comedy
nor tragedy. There be nor right nor wrong in this. It
be merely the settling o' an issue which else would
destroy all."

Mach had been braced for hostility, open or covert,
and ready to argue his case purely on the issues of pride
and fairness. But the Lady Blue showed no condem-
nation, only understanding. This realization caught him

282 | Piers Anthony

off guard, and momentarily overwhelmed him. As a
robot, he still got caught on occasion by the surges of
feeling and emotion generated by the living state. "Oh,
Lady, I love you," he whispered, feeling the tears come.

Then she was standing beside him, embracing him as
he sat, her maternal bosom against his cheek. "We love
thee too, Mach," she murmured, stroking his hair. "We

know thou dost what thou must."

In a moment she returned to her place, but the sen-
sation of her embrace lingered. What a woman she was!
It was easy to understand how Stile had left Proton to

marry her.
"What be thy business?" she repeated gently.

"IùIùthe demonù" He took a breath and started
over.' 'The snow demon Icebeard will train me in chess,
if Stile will play him a match. Heùhe is an excellent
player, and feels that Stile should at least play him

once."
"Aye."

"Soù"
"Stile will play him by correspondence, one move a

day. Here be Stile's first move." She handed him a tiny

scroll.
So they had known all along that this would happen!

Mach was largely at a loss for words.' 'Thank you, Lady.

For everything."

"Welcome, Mach. Do thou give my regards to thy

mother, when convenient."

"I will." He found himself outside the castle, and

conjured himself back to the cave of the snow demons.
Icebeard looked up from the board. "The filly be a
natural player," he said. "Her could I more readily train

than thee."
Fleta flushed in the human manner, pleased.

"Here is Stile's first move," Mach said. "Correspon-
dence."
"Ha!" the demon exclaimed, immensely gratified.

"Set up a permanent board," he called to another demon.

ROBOT ADEPT | 283

He unrolled the scroll and glanced at the notation. "The
Lady gave thee this!" he exclaimed.

"Yes. How did you know?"

"It be the Queen's Gambit, in her hand. She moved

for him."

Mach was dismayed. "I understood thatù"
"Nay, an she committed him, Stile will play. Thou
has made good thy bargain." He glanced at the demon
setting up the other board. "Pawn to queen four," he

called.

"Which color?" the demon called back.
"Idiot! White, of course!" He returned his attention

to Mach. "That will be one interesting game! We see

not many such gambits these days."
"Pawn to queen four, pawn to queen four, pawn to

queen's bishop four, pawn takes pawn," Mach said. "I'd

play either side of that."

"Thou wouldst lose either side o' that, too," Icebeard
said. He glanced at Fleta. "Make thy move, filly, while

I set up another for the rovot."

Soon a third board was ready, and while the demon
leader instructed Mach, he also instructed Fleta, evi-
dently deriving more satisfaction from her game than
from Mach's. The training had begun.

They played on the console: the screen showed the
chessboard and the positions of the pieces. To move,
Mach had only to touch his piece, then touch the spot
to'which he wished to take it.

Mach had White, and he used the Queen's Gambit.
He knew that his trainer opposed this; he could hear
Icebeard's growly voice in his mind. "Stick to the tried
and true, rovot! This gambit be dangerous for thee!"
But after his session with the Lady Blue, he had to do

it.

Bane responded immediately with the standard re-
turn, and they both followed through with the next set
of moves. Then the real play began. Mach knew that
others were reporting the progress of the game to all




284 Piers Anthony

who were interested; the moves were being magically
relayed to the White Mountains, the Purple Mountains,
and the various Demesnes, including the Blue. Some
were present in person: Translucent and Brown, the
latter to see that Mach received no advice now from
his trainer. The game between Stile and Icebeard was
not yet done, but it was evident that it was a superlative
one, and no one could yet judge the advantage. Cer-
tainly Icebeard's advice would be an unfair advantage
for him. Bane was similarly limited, in Proton; a Con-
trary Citizen was standing over him. But Bane would
have had the training of Blue, and that made Mach
nervous. His father had always beaten him.

The game proceeded quickly to the end-stage. The
two seemed evenly matched, which was perhaps no
surprise. Bane checked Mach's king, and Mach used
his pole to block it. He consolidated his position, and
attacked Bane's king, but could not penetrate the de-
fense. Finally they ground down to a draw. One of the
liabilities of Pole Chess was that it facilitated draws,
because the pole made it difficult to keep a king in
check. That was one reason the duffers liked it, but in
matches where clear-cut decisions were needed, it could
be a problem.

The score was even: half a game apiece. The next
game would be on the next day. Mach conjured himself
and Fleta to the White Mountains to consult Icebeard.

"You were lucky, rovot!" the demon growled. "Had
the boy been alert, he could have mated thee by the
twentieth move."

"What? I saw no such opportunity!"

"He be right," Reta murmured.

Icebeard set up the board. "You saw it, filly? Damn,
I wish thou wast playing that match! Show him the

move."

The board was at the fifteenth move. Fleta moved a
black pawn up one space.

"There!" the demon said. "Dost see it now, rovot?"

ROBOT ADEPT | 285

Mach studied the position. "I see nothing so great
about that."

"Nor did Bane, the dolt! How wouldst thou counter?"

"I wouldn't. I would attack. He has wasted a move,
and given me the initiative."

"Make thine attack."

Mach made his move.

"Fillyù"

Fleta moved a Black knight.

Mach considered the new position. "Oh, no!" he
groaned.

"Next time, be on guard against all potential attacks,
rovot," the demon said gruffly. "Luck strikes naught
twice the same. Bane's mentor be even now chewing
his rump to shreds for missing that, e'en as I chew thine
for setting it up. He could have been one up on thee!"

He could have, indeed. Mach was mortified. He
thought they had played an excellent game. They had
not.

"Well, there be two games, yet," the demon said.
"Filly, take him elsewhere and teach 'him aught. I have
a move of mine own to study." He turned to the game
he was playing with Stile, which was of a wholly dif-
ferent level.

Mach and Fleta went to the ice cave they were using
for this period, and she made savage love to him. "On
the morrow, play thou chess like that," she admonished
him.

"I'll try," he agreed contritely.

Next day Mach had Black. He was set to play con-
servatively, but Bane opened with the Queen's Gambit,
forcing it into more adventurous territory at the outset.

However, Mach kept his eyes open for opportunities,
and managed to forge an advantage in the midgameù
only to be foiled in the endgame by the pole. It was
another draw. Now each player had one point, and the
final game would decide it.

He expected Icebeard to bawl him out again, for




286 Piers Anthony

missing an opportunity, but the demon was grudgingly
satisfied. "Thou didst play at thy level, consistency. In
a conventional game, the victory would have been thine."

Mach breathed a silent sigh of relief. He had been
almost more concerned about the demon's critique than

about the game itself.

"But on the morrow, it be huffdraw," Icebeard re-
minded him sternly. "That be a new game, rovot."

Mach's nervousness clamped down again. That was
indeed a new game! There would be no draw this time.

The demon turned to Fleta. "Filly, whate'er thou
didst do yester, do it twice tonight, to put him in read-
iness for the morrow."

Now Fleta quailed. She had done her ultimate yes-
terday! She could not hope to match it, let alone exceed

it.
But she tried.

Mach had White again. This time he started con-
servatively, with pawn to king four, and played con-
servatively, trying first to avoid any error that his nonrobot
flesh might be heir to, and second to pick up any slight
advantage he could. He understood, in retrospect, why
Bane had overlooked the winning play in the first game;

he was in the robot body, and imagination was hard for
that to come by. But he would not overlook it again;

he would have been reprogrammed to be alert for any-
thing similar.

Unfortunately, it was Bane who picked up the small
advantage. As they ground into the endgame, Bane was
ahead by one point, but his position was stronger than
that indicated and, for the huffdraw variant, stronger

yet.

Huffdraw was a device that had come into play in
the last few centuries, because too many tournaments
were being stymied by frequent draws. Planetary cham-
pionship matches had dragged on interminably, draw
after draw, as each player settled for even rather than
risking worse for the sake of better. This was hard on

ROBOT ADEPT | 287

the players, and worse for the audience. Chess was in
danger of fading as a competitive sport because of it.
Huffdraw changed that radically. The term was bor-
rowed from checkers, and the effect was roughly sim-
ilar, but the execution differed significantly. There were
several applications, depending on the type of draw that
threatened. But the basic element was the removal of
"dead" pieces: those that hadn't moved in some time.
If that failed, then pieces started to be added back in,
until there were enough in action to force a decision.

They came to a draw by perpetual check: Mach pre-
vented Bane from winning by checking his king contin-
ually, forcing him to protect the king rather than closing
in on Mach's. Bane used his pole to block each check,
but Mach simply moved to a new position for check.
This repetitive motion caused the board to assume the
same configuration for a third time, by definition a draw.

At that point all chessmen of either color that had
not moved during the game were to be huffed, or re-
moved from the board as if taken. There were none,
so the huff proceeded to those who had been longest
without moving, as traced by the Game Computer in
Proton, without regard to color. This proceeded until
either the position was freed, or it proved to be im-
possible to free it in this manner. In this case, it was
freedùbut it left Mach in a weaker position than be-
fore.

Play resumed, but he was in trouble. Bane's small
advantage in pieces was looming more formidably. Mach
saw a chance to play for another drawùbut saw also
that the resultant huffing would make him yet more
vulnerable. Only if he could achieve a draw whose
breakup would benefit him could he afford to take it.
He used his pole increasingly, which meant he was mov-
ing his other pieces less often, and that made them
vulnerable to huffing. If he could only get Bane to ne-
glect his piecesù

But he could not. Bane had evidently drilled in this,




288 | Piers Anthony

and was playing with machinelike conservatism. He made
no errors, simply letting his advantage operate.

Mach tried a desperate strategy that he knew was
flawed, hoping that Bane's machine mind would not
perceive the flaw. But the effort failed, and Mach's

position became hopeless.
He had to resign. He had lost the game, and the first

match.

14

Chase

They played the grid again. This time it did not seem
remarkable to Bane that he could match against his
other self through the console; the three grueling chess
games had made it seem natural. But this time he in-
tended to stay well clear of board games; Mach's ex-
perience in that regard was far greater than his, and it
had been mere luck that he had learned chess from his
father, Stile, and been able to add that experience to
Mach's stored knowledge and the advice of the Oracle.
If he encountered a game in which he was inexperi-
enced, he would not be able to upgrade sufficiently to
be competitive. It had been close, as it was.

He had the numbers, so he chose 1. PHYSICAL.
That eliminated the major region of danger! He had
had a lot of experience with physical games of all types.
Mach had too, of course, but Bane now had Mach's
physical body and could match any of his experience
by opening the appropriate memory file. He wasn't sure
how they would be able to play a physical game, but
the Oracle said it would be arranged. Soon he would
discover what the Oracle had in mind.

Mach chose A. NAKED. So it was to be man against




290 | Piers Anthony

man, unadorned. The man in the machine body against
the robot in the living body. Bane was ready, if the
framework could arrange it.
The second grid appeared on the screen:



5. SEPAR    6. INTERAC    7. COMBAT    8. COOPER


E.EARTH

F. FIRE

G. GAS

H. H,0

He had the numbers again. He chose 6. INTER-
ACTIVE, becoming more interested in the challenge
to the system than in the game itself, for the moment.
A separate game would be easy enough: they could
race against a common clock, or lift similar weights, or
do individual dives for rating on a common scale. But
Interactive meant that they had to touch or at least be
affected by each other, as with Hide and Seek. How
could they do that, physically, across the frames?

Mach chose H. H^O. So it was to be a water sport!
Bane had no fear of that; he had swum joyfully since
infancy. Were they going to stretch a pool across the
frames?

But as it turned out, the H category was more than
water; it was a catchall for all the surfaces: Flat, Var-
iable, Discontinuous and Liquid. The list of qualifying
games included one as simple as splashing, and one
active as water tag, andù

Bane gaped. The magic games were there too! Lev-
itation Tag, Conjuration Dodgeùhow could these be

ROBOT ADEPT | 291

played in the frame of Proton? If he tried to make
himself float magically, he would get nowhere; if he
tried to conjure a snowball to hurl at his opponent,
none would appear.

But there had to be a way, or the grid would not be
showing these choices. This gave him the chance to
select a game with which Mach had no experience!

They assembled and played the third grid, and the
result was Transformation Chase. Bane had never ac-
tually played that one, because of the number of form-
changing spells required; a single game would have ex-
hausted his spells for months. But he had always liked
the idea of it, and envied the unicorns who could play
it with their natural magic, changing forms effortlessly.
Human magic was versatile, but limited to one invo-
cation for any given spell; the animals could do their
particular magic without limit. In that way they were
superior to man. But they could not do any other magic.

The game was set. There would be a month for train-
ing. But Bane could hardly wait to talk to the Oracle,
and ask: how? How could he transform his body into
the several animal forms that would be required for the
proper playing of this game? Mach would have no trou-
ble; they could teach him the necessary spells. But this
was Proton!

"Mach is in 1A," the Oracle explained. "You are

technically in 2CùMachine-Assisted Mental. He will

transform directly; you will transform in emulation."
"I be in Machine-Assisted Mental? But the gridù"
"This is a special situation. What he can do directly

and physically, you cannot. But the emulation will make

it equivalent."

"How can we know that? Mine emulated figure could
have powers my physical one has not."

"The emulation will exactly match the powers of your
physical body. There will be no advantage physically.
You will have to convey game information to Mach so

that the Red Adept can set it up there, but this will be
no problem."

292 | Piers Anthony

"But magicùtransformationsù"

"Your consciousness will be attuned to the game set-
ting, and to Bane's mind. It will be as real to you as
your current existence is, and as accurate."

Bane realized that the Oracle knew more about al-
tered states of reality than he did, but still he argued.
"Look, if we are to play this chase game properly, one
o' us must be the Predator and the other the Prey. When
the two come together, the Predator be the victor; an
we complete the circuit without that happening, the
Prey wins. So we can overlap not during the game it-
self. Therefore there can be ne'er any connection then.
Soù"

"The connection will be maintained," the Oracle ex-
plained patiently. "The awareness will be displaced.
Your body will pace his throughout, but your awareness
will be with your representation in the game. Have no
concern."

Bane gave it up. His lifetime in Phaze simply had not
prepared him for the peculiar convolutions of science.
"If everyone else be satisfied . . ."He shrugged.

He joined Agape. "I think I have a few hours off
before training for the next round starts. What be good
for relaxation?"

"Normally it does not require so much effort for you
to think of your favorite relaxation," she said with a
smile.

He had to smile back. "Thou'rt so certain we males
have but one interest!"

"Not so. Bane. You have but one interest at a time,
in the manner of an animal. That's not quite the same."

"Let's go walk in the park."

They took a conveyor to the park. This was designed
to resemble a wooded region of Old Earth, with fair-
sized trees spreading their branches overhead, and ferns
growing below. It was arranged to seem considerably
larger than it was, because of the premium on space
within the dome, but the illusion was effective. Stray

ROBOT ADEPT | 293

breezes wafted through, making the leaves quiver, and
butterflies flitted randomly about.

That reminded him of his spying missions. He re-
gretted those, now, despite the importance of the in-
formation gleaned. Would it have been better not to
have done it? That would have meant falling into Tan-
ia's trap, and also he would have avoided the need to
be with Fleta, whenù

"There be much in this I like not," he muttered.

Agape did not misunderstand. "But also much to
like. I will always be glad for the visit I was able to
make to Phaze, and the folks I was able to know there,
though I had to borrow Fleta's body."

"Aye. But what future have we? An I win, we be
soon parted. An I lose, the frames be in peril. What
choice be that?"

"It would be easier if your kind was like mine in this
respect," she said. "With no set sexes."

"And no love between them," he agreed. "Is that
the way you prefer it?"

"No."

They went on through the park. It had not changed,
but his mood had improved.

Next day he overlapped Mach and relayed the in-
formation about the arrangements for the game. The
Game Computer had worked out the basics and com-
pressed them into a few code words for Mach to tell
Trool. They would overlap again in a few days for ver-
ification.

Then: I wish we were locked not in this struggle be-
tween ourselves. Bane thought.

The issue must be settled, one way or the other, Mach
responded. /( would have arisen elsewhere, if not with
us.

And that was probably true. Dost know that the source
of our exchange be the lingering connection between Stile
and Blue?

Mach was surprised. It's not because we are alternate
selves?




294 | Piers Anthony

Nay. Other alternates can do it not, only usùbecause

we relate to our sires.

And our loves relate to us, Mach concluded.

Aye.
That was all. They separated.

Bane reported for the first game of Round Two. "Plug
in," the Oracle directed.

Bane plugged the cable into his ear.

Suddenly he was standing in Phaze. Mach was stand-
ing beside him, and there was a little collection of chairs
in which Fleta, Agape, Trool, the Translucent Adept
and the Brown Adept sat. Before them was a shim-
mering curtain concealing the setting of the game, rem-
iniscent of the historical curtain between the frames.

Trool rose and walked to them. "Thou knowest the
nature o' this contest?" he asked Bane.

"Aye, Adept," Bane said. "But not the nature o' this

dream!"
"It be no dream, Bane," the troll assured him. "Only

thy presence here be a vision and that o' thine alien
friend; all else be real. Do thou play the game to win."
"Aye, Adept." The Oracle had told him it would
seem realistic, and it was! It seemed that his body was
' overlapping Mach's, but his awareness was being pro-
jected to the representation of his body here. Thus he
saw everything that Mach saw, here in Phazeùwithout
actually being here. He was actually in the Game Com-
puter's mock-up of the scene, and the mock-up was
based on the actual scene of Phaze. Technology was

emulating magic.
"Thou knowest the nature o' this contest?" Trool

asked Mach.

"Yes, Adept." Mach was in Bane's body, so looked
like Bane. Bane glanced down at himself: it was the

robot body.

"The machine in Proton-frame has made Bane the
Predator, this time," Trool continued. "Mach be the
Prey. An the Prey lap the course three times, he be

ROBOT ADEPT 295

victor; an the Predator catch him first, the Predator be
the victor. The Prey be given a five-second start. Ready,
players?"

"Aye."

"Yes."

"Then begin."

Mach stepped forward, into the setting. He disap-
peared.

Bane glanced at Agape. It was incongruous to see
her here in Phaze in her own form, but of course with
magic any vision could be Grafted. He waved to her,
and she waved back. He wondered whether Agape and
Beta were talking together, and if so, what they were
saying.

"Go, Bane," Translucent snapped.

Bane stepped through the curtain.

He found himself on four feet, in a solid, striped
body. He was a tiger! His passage through the curtain
had triggered the first of the transformations, rendering
him into the predator animal.

The setting was an irregular landscape with projecting
rocks and descending gullies. There were a number of
trees; in fact, parts were as solid as a jungle. This would
be a good region to hide and pounceùbut he knew he
could not afford that. He had to run down the prey,
lest it lap the course before he catch it.

He sniffed the air. He smelled mongoose. That would
be the Prey form, for the moment. As a tiger, he could
readily kill it; the problem was running it down. On an
open plain, in real life, that would be simple, but this
terrain offered many hiding and dodging places; it would
be hard to catch it here.

In fact, that five-second head start made the task of
location a problem, let alone the task of catching. The
mongoose could be through this region and into the
next medium, while the tiger was still trying to sniff out
the trail.

So he played it smart. He bounded directly across,




296 | Piers Anthony

going for the lake he saw in the distance ahead. If he
could get there first, and cut off the mongooseù

But as he ran, bounding along the highest ground,   j
he peered into the low regions, noting which ones of-   j
fered the best protection and clearest access for a mon-   I
goose. This was a vital part of the game; what he   |
overlooked could cost him the victory.                 |

He had almost reached the water when he heard a   !
splash. The mongoose had raced right through to the
next medium!                                      (

Bane charged for the lake, trying to catch up a little,   i
In this game, the traveling velocities of the creatures
were identical, whatever they might be in life. The Pred-
ator gained only by cutting corners or by taking advan-   ,
tage of opportunities like this, when he knew the location
of the Prey. This slight advantage of the Predator was
unlikely to make up for the five-second delay of the
start, in the course of any one medium, but would inev-
itably close the gap a little each time. All he needed to
do was to make no error, and the Prey would be his.

He did not step into the water, he leaped into it,
trying to gain another fraction of a second by entering
it at speed. He came down with a horrendous splashù
and found himself in the form of a dolphin.

Ahead was a shark. A shark might not be considered
prey to most creatures, but in life a dolphin could kill
a shark by knocking it with the snout. Thus the shark
fled the dolphin, in this situation.

The water was not deep. Aquatic plants were rooted
in its sediment, reaching their stems up to the surface,
forming patterns of thin columns where they clustered.
Sponges were grouped on rounded nether rocks. Some
rifts showed below, partially filled with sediment, and
a few dipped into dark holes that might be blind caves
or might be tunnels. Small fish darted about, giving way
to the far more massive dolphin.

Bane forged after the shark. But the lead was still
too great; he knew he could not catch up within the
limit of this lake. Rather than expend his full energy

ROBOT ADEPT (297

trying to do so, he kept the pace and watched the sur-
roundings, mentally mapping the terrain. The thickest
growths of plants offered concealment, but also slowed
progress of larger swimmers. Velocity of the contestants
was equivalent, but not if they moved foolishly; he would
feel better about plowing through those plants if he were
smaller. As for the bottomùhe paid special attention
to the darkest holes, so that he would be able to spot
them without faltering when he came this way again.

The shark moved toward the bottom, and swerved
around a greenish rock. Bane remained higher, and so
was able to cut across above the rock, gaining another
fraction of a second. He knew the shark would have to
come up again, to enter the next medium, so in this,
too, he was saving time. The fact was that Mach was
not managing his forms perfectly. That was probably
because a month's training for this game was not enough
to compensate for a lifetime as a robot. Mach was sim-
ply not acclimatized to the nuances of the motions of
wild creatures. But he would probably catch on rapidly
enough, with this experience.

However, the shark was doing the right thing, overall:

swimming swiftly ahead, never pausing or looping back,
so that the dolphin could not close the gap significantly.
While the Predator could always gain by proper man-
agement, the longer he took to close the gap, the more
chances there were for something to interfere. It was
best to catch the Prey as quickly as possible, to reduce
the element of chance or error.

Now the lake was turning shallow. They were ap-
proaching the far bank. The shark swam up, as it had
to; there was nowhere else to go, without turning back.
Bane gained another bit of distance.

The shark shot up to the surface, and through, and
disappeared. Bane angled up too, breaking into airù
and he was winged, with feathers and beak. In fact he
was a hawk, flying strongly: a predator bird, a raptor.

Ahead of him, ascending the sky, was a black bird,
a crow. The Prey.




298 | Piers Anthony

The day was clear, with a few fleecy clouds. But on
the horizon was a darkening cloudbank. A wind was
stirring; if a storm were brewing, it was coming this
way. That could complicate things for flying but the
hawk was a better flyer than the crow. In a storm, Bane
could gain on his Prey. But the storm was not close,
and they would be through this medium of air before
it arrived. All he could do was keep flying, and try to
close the distance.

The horizon did not recede as they moved. This was
the game setting, not reality; it was limited. As the crow
flew, the line of the sky descended, heading down to
touch the ground, sealing off further progress. The Prey
had to seek the next medium.

The crow plunged through the limit, just above the
horizon, and disappeared. Bane swooped down to a
similar level, because it would not do to turn landbound
too high in the air, and went through also.

He was back in the first medium, as he had known
he would be. But this time he was not the tiger, he was
the mongoose. The forms did not repeat for a player,
they only progressed. That was why he had studied the
layout the first time through: so that he could handle
it well as the mongoose.

Ahead a big snake was slithering out of sight, prob-
ably a cobra. A mongoose could handle a cobra, being
swift enough in close quarters to avoid the poisoned
strikes. But in this situation, he could not run any faster
than the snake could slither.

But he could take a more direct route. The snake's
fastest travel was along the ground, while the mongoose
could bound over some obstacles. Bane bounded, slowly
closing the gap. By the time they reached the water he
was only two seconds behind.

In the lake, Bane was now the sharkùpursuing a
squid. The squid was almost as large as the shark, and
its trailing tentacles made it longer. But its body was
soft, and the shark's teeth were hard; a few chomps
would sever the tentacles and render it helpless, and

ROBOT ADEPT | 299

soon the squid would be consumed. So it fled, jetting
water behind so that it shot forward as swiftly as a fish.
Its motion was jerky, because it had to pause to take
in more water, but the overall velocity was the same as
that of the shark.

Would the squid dive, and seek refuge in one of the
dark recesses at the bottom? That would be risky for
it, for if it entered a blind cave, it would be trapped.
There would be no caves that the shark could not even-
tually penetrate; the game allowed no indefinite hiding.
If it had located a tunnel, it might swim through and
out the far end, while the shark hovered at the near
end; that would gain the Prey the time it needed to
complete the course unscathed.

Mach did not take the risk. He jetted straight across,
and out the far side. Bane followed, perhaps a second
'and a half behind.

He was now the crow, and Mach was an owl. The
theory for the game was that the owl was a nocturnal
creature, at a disadvantage by day, so the crow harassed
it, napping about just out of reach and interfering with
its hunting so that eventually it starved. The hawk would
not do that; if it came at the owl, it would dive straight
in, and the owl, being larger would simply grab it and
destroy it with talon and beak. Bane doubted that in-
teraction like that ever occurred in nature, but that
hardly mattered here; the crow chased the owl, and if
they looped through the course again, the owl would
chase the hawk in the vicious circle that was the hall-
mark of this game. It was a good game, even in mock-
change form, and Bane had always liked it.

Mach took a moment getting oriented in owlform,
and Bane gained a full second before their flights be-
came straight. The end was closeùif nothing happened.

They plunged through the sky-curtain. Bane readied
himself before he crossed, curling his crowform into as
tight a ball as he could, passing through like a stone
and plunking into the ground.

This time he was the cobra, and though he wasn't




300 Piers Anthony

coiled, he was bunched. He launched a strike at the
nearest object even as he landed, having judged the
Prey's position by the passage through the curtain. If
there were that moment of reorientation, before the
run began . . .

He caught the tail of the tiger. His fangs sank in,
delivering the poisonùand. the game was over. The
Predator had caught the Prey.

That night he did make love to Agape, but it was not
enough to take his mind from the situation. "I have
beaten mine other self in the first round, and I am ahead
in the second. An I win again tomorrow, it be overù
and I lose thee and he loses Fleta. Mayhap there be
justice in it, but I like it not."

"But the benefit of the framesù" she started.
"Aye, I know, I know! My mind does claim I be
doing rightùbut mine heart be doubtful. What be his
crime? That he loves the 'corn? Fleta be worthy o' love!
That did I see whenù" He broke off, embarrassed.

"Bane, I understand," Agape said. "I occupied her
body, I learned her life, her ways, and her land, and
came to love them all, as I love you. Of course she is
worthy of love! Of Mach's love, or yours."

"A love I would sunder!" he said bitterly. "Damn,
would I could honestly lose this match!"

"No, you have to try your best, and win it if you can.
That is where your honor lies."
"Aye, aye! And try I will, though I fear success!"
"That is all anyone can ask of you," she said.
He hugged her tightly. "Ah, alien creature, I do love
thee! Would I could get closer yet to thee, to be a part
of thee, and thee of me, forever!"

"It can be done," she murmured. "Not forever, but
for a time."

His eyes popped open. "What meanest thou?"
"I hold human form because that pleases you, but it
is not my natural one, as you know. It is possible to

ROBOT ADEPT | 301

embrace you amoeba-style, though I fear that might
repulse you."

"Thou dost in no wise repulse me, Agape! Embrace
me thy way!"

"As you will. Speak if you change your mind; I will
hear you."

She lay on top of him, on the bed, her breasts and
thighs pressing on him. She kissed him, once, then put
her head to the side. She started to melt.

Bane lay still, feeling the change in her flesh. Her
breasts lost cohesiveness, and so did the rest of her.
She became like a huge pillow, warm and yielding. Then
more like a water bag, and then like loose jelly. Her
body spread out, making contact with all of his upper
surface. The strange effect caused him to develop an
erection; her melting protoplasm surrounded it warmly.
She sagged, then flowed around him, between his arms
and his body, between his legs. She became a padded
wetsuit, a layer of warm wax all around him, and as far
under him as his contact with the bed permitted. He
raised his arms and legs slightly, and she completed the
enclosure there; then he pushed back his head and hoisted
his torso up, and she flowed around it and merged with
herself.

From his neck to his feet, he was encased by her,
and it was the most comfortable feeling he could re-
member. His body, in Proton, was of metal and plastic;

it did not matter, for now it felt Alive. Every part of
him except his face was in her, and now she crept around
his head and across that too, stopping only at the eyes,
mouth and nose.

"In this body, I need not to breathe," he reminded
her. "Complete it."

She closed the remaining gaps. Now he was cocooned
by her substance, and it was like floating in warm water,
only better, because she pulsed gently against every part
of him, as if he had a heartbeat. He drifted in that
wonderful alien embrace, and it seemed like an eternity.




302 Piers Anthony

Truly, he was in her, and if it could only be for an hour,
it was a phenomenal hour.

In the second game of the round. Bane was the Prey.
He did not know what animal he would become; that
was a surprise to both players. How Trool and the Or-
acle had managed to come to an understanding of such
details without either Bane or Mach knowing was hard
to guess, since they were the conduits for the infor-
mation. Perhaps they had code phrases that had mean-
ing only for computers and trolls.

He stepped through the curtain. He was on a broad
plain, with a rocky escarpment to the north, that de-
scended from a mesa. He was a monkey. He started
running immediately, knowing that whatever form Mach
took would be able to destroy the monkey.

Sure enough, in five seconds a panther appeared be-
hind him. He ran straight ahead, giving the big cat no
chance to gain on him by cutting comers. But he watched
the escarpment. Some of it was clifflike, and some was
a jagged slope. From this distance he could not be cer-
tain, but he suspected there would be caves. If he could
reach a cave, next time around . . .

What form would he be in? What would lose to a
monkey, but overcome a panther? He could not come
up with an answer at the moment, but he decided to
make for the caves next time, and if his form could take
advantage of them, he would do so. He did not slow
or swerve to get a closer look; he wanted to give his
opponent no hint of whatever strategy he might have
in mind. But he considered options. Go directly to the
escarpment, circle it, and pop into a deep cave? Climb
to the mesa? If he climbed, he might just lose time, but
if there were a good cave entrance that could not be
seen from below . . .

He reached the shore of a wide river and plunged in.
The river flowed toward the north, curving in a broad
meander toward the escarpment and disappearing be-
hind it, but it should be possible simply to swim across

ROBOT ADEPT | 303

it and enter the medium of air quickly. He still had his
five-second lead.

He was a sting ray. He swerved to swim downriver,
wanting to explore the section that brushed- the escarp-
ment. He hoped the Predator would assume the Prey
was swimming straight across, and lose a second or two.

No such luck. A walrus appeared upriver, and im-
mediately reoriented and stroked down. But at least he
had not lost any time.

He veered to the left, angling up. The walrus matched
him, cutting the corner. Then he veered right and down,
deep. As a ploy it was no good; the walrus merely
matched the maneuver, cutting the corner again, pick-
ing up a bit of time.

Then Bane saw what he was looking for: a weed-
shrouded cave, underwater in the right bank. It could
be blind, but it could also lead to the mesa, or some-
where amidst the escarpment.

He swerved back to the left, as if trying once more
to shake the pursuit. Once more, it didn't work. This
time he carried across to the left bank, and angled up
and out, sailing into the air.

He was a four-winged insectùa dragonfly. He zoomed
over a great field of flowers, but they did not tempt
him; dragonflies were predators in their milieu, not pol-
len eaters.

Behind him, by about four seconds, a bat sailed up
out of the river. He could not fight that! He flew straight,
maintaining his lead, until he plunged through the ho-
rizon, completing the first lap.

He landed on the plain as a skunk. So that was what
would balk the panther! But why not the monkey?

He angled for the mesa. The ground soon became
rocky. Behind him the monkey appeared and pursued.

When the monkey encountered the stony section, it
paused just long enough to scoop up a stone. Bane
discovered this when that stone came flying past his
head. That was how the monkey stopped the skunkù
by catching it from a distance! Those stones were heavy

304 Piers Anthony

and sharp; his skunk body was vulnerable. He needed
more than four seconds' distance, to get out of range.
Meanwhile, he would have to dodge, which would cost
him time. The chase was heating up!

He reached the foot of the escarpment and scooted
up. Monkeys were better climbers than skunks were,
but he had scouted this terrain from a distance the first
time through, and was on the gentlest part of the slope.
He found a series of ledges that ascended along the
south face of it, working up toward the mesa-top.

He encountered one gravel-strewn section, and scraped
with his four feet, sending gravel and pebbles sliding
down into the face of his pursuer. That gained him a
second or so, and he made it to the top with above five
seconds' leeway.

He ran directly toward the river, watching for open-
ings. There were none; the mesa was grassy and even.
Soon he came to the brink, and scrambled over it, slid-
ing and tumbling down the steep slope.

Then, down near the river, he spied it: a rock-blocked
cave entrance. His skunk body was small enough to
wedge in between the rocks, and he squeezed inside
before the monkey caught up.

He didn't pause; he followed the cave down into
darkness. Then he found water. He slid into it quietly,
and became an eel. Good enough: the walrus could
crush the sting-ray, the sting-ray could sting the eel with
its tail, and the eel could shock the walrus. There was
the endless circle.

If his strategy worked, the Predator would not realize
that the cave went through to the water, and would
waste time either pulling away the rocks that blocked
it, or waiting for the skunk to emerge, or throwing
stones down into it. There was always a way for the
Predator to get through, so there could be no impasse,
but that way was not always obvious. Bane had gambled
that the cave connected to the one he had spied below
the water level of the river, and had won.

He swam across the river. There was no pursuit. It

ROBOT ADEPT | 305

had worked! He had gained enough time to ensure
completion of the course without being caught.

Unless the monkey waited, and devised a trap for
him. That was within the rules; it was possible for Prey
to nab Predator if the Prey had time to set a clever
snare that injured or delayed the Predator so that it
could not complete the course.

He emerged from the river and became a mosquito.
Now how could a mosquito put away a bat? By stinging
it, and giving it some lethal disease. Far-fetched, per-
haps, but viable for the purpose of the game. All these
animal sets were only analogies for the root game: scis-
sors/paper/stone. Scissors cut paper, paper wrapped
stone, stone crushed scissors, making the circle. No
doubt many current games derived from similarly ob-
scure originals. A mosquito stinging a bat was as re-
alistic as paper demolishing a stone by wrapping it.

He flew swiftlyùmore swiftly than any genuine mos-
quito could haveùacross the field of flowers, and came
back to the land medium. Now he was the panther. He
had lapped his opponent, and that made him the Pred-
ator. It did not give him the victory automatically, but
it certainly gave him the advantage.

But, wary of a trap, he walked to the foot of the
escarpment, and climbed it as carefully and quietly as
he could. There was no sign of any trap. Perhaps it had
been set in the lower plain, where he might be expected
to run; by choosing this route, he might have foiled it.

He came to the cave entrance. The obscuring stones
had been pulled aside, so that a creature the size of a
monkey could enter it. Apparently Mach had decided
it was a blind cave, and gone down to catch the Prey.
Indeed, that would have been the correct decision, had
the cave not gone through to the river! It would have
been smarter for Mach to go directly to the water, and
watch there to see whether any new fish appeared; in-
deed, he could have lain in ambush, for the Prey could
win only by completing the full course, and that meant
crossing the river at some point.

306 | Piers Anthony

He sniffed the region. The smell of monkey was defi-
nitely thereùbut was the monkey still inside, or had itù

He heard a noise just above him, on the slope. He
looked upùand the blast of the skunk caught him in
the face, blinding him.

Too late, he realized what had happened. He had
not lapped Mach; Mach had followed, one medium
behind, keeping out of sight, and come up on him while
he was distracted by the cave. The slope of the mountain
had concealed the Predator, so that he needed only a
few seconds' distraction time to get close enough. Bane
had given him that time, and lost the game.

All he had had to do was keep moving, completing
the course. Mach could never have caught him. But,
wary of the nonexistent trap, he had fallen into a worse
one: the trap of incaution.

"I saw it," Agape said. "The Game Computer puts
the games on holo. We saw him following you, and
creeping up on you at the end."
"What a fool I must have seemed!" he lamented.
"It is always easier to judge the play when you aren't
in it," she reminded him. "We knew he had not re-
mained, so could not be caught by your lapping him
and putting him away so you could finish the course.
But you did not know, and we knew that too."

But his chagrin went deeper than that. "Could it be
that I dawdled' because I wanted not to win? That I
betrayed my cause?"
"You wouldn't do thaf'she protested.
"How can others be sure? How can / be sure?"
She paused, considering. "There is another game to-
morrow."

"Aye. Needs must I prove therein I be no malin-
gerer."
"You will," she said. But she could not ease his doubt.

ROBOT ADEPT | 307

Bane was Predator again for the third game. This was
the critical one; if he won, the match was over.

Mach stepped through the curtain. Five seconds later,
Bane followed.

He was a dragon. Not a fire-breather, not a flying
creature, but nevertheless a dragon, with horrendous
teeth and claws.

Ahead of him was a salamander. That was a far smaller
creature, but formidable enough in its own right, be-
cause it could set fire to any vegetation it touched, and
burn most other creatures. Dragons, however, were
immune to heat, because so many of them were fire-
breathers; even those who were not, like himself, pos-
sessed enough of the fire-resistant scales and mouth
armor to resist the efforts of the salamander. Thus the
dragon could chomp the salamander, and the salaman-
der was the Prey.

The landscape was fantasy too: exotic enchanted plants
grew high, bearing blossoms that natural flowers could
never manage. Bane recognized poison sprayers and
sleep weeds and illusion spikes. As a dragon, he had
little to fear from these, but a man would have had,
literally, to watch his step.

However, there could be aspects of this setting that
could damage a dragon, such as clefts in the ground
covered by illusion. He would have to watch the path
taken by the salamander, and if he saw anything strange,
be warned. Meanwhile, because of the prospects for
illusion, he could not afford to let the Prey get out of
his sight; he could lose critical time trying to locate it
through the fog of illusion.

They wound through a forest whose trees supported
monstrous webs. The hidden giant spiders could not
hurt either contestant because only a contestant could
harm a contestant, but they could impede progress sig-
nificantly. If the salamander got entangled, the dragon
could catch it; if the dragon got caught, the salamander
could gain vital time.

The trees thinned out, and they came to the water.




308 | Piers Anthony

This was an inverted lake: broadest at ground level,
with the water extending up instead of down in an ir-
regular dome. Effects like this did not exist in Phaze;

this magic setting was Grafted of imagination rather than

reality.

The salamander plunged in. Bane followed. He was
now a sea serpent, chasing a kraken. The kraken was
a monstrous magic weed whose stems and branches
were tentacles. They had little stickers that stung and
poisoned the flesh of ordinary creatures, but the hide
of the sea serpent was too tough to be affected. If he
caught up with the kraken, he would simply bite off its
tentacles, making it helpless.

The kraken was aware of this, and propelled itself
through the water by stroking with flattened tentacles,
making the same speed that the serpent could by thresh-
ing its coils. The two of them churned the water, gen-
erating myriads of bubbles that sank quickly to the bottom

surface.
Bane was gaining. The kraken could move as rapidly

as the serpent, but it took Mach a while to catch on to
the most efficient use of his paddle-tentacles. By the
time he plunged out of the far side of the lake, Bane
was ony two seconds behind.

In air, Bane was a roc: a monstrous predatory bird,
said to be able to carry an elephant aloft in its talons.
Bane believed that was an exaggeration; nevertheless,
very few creatures on land or in the air debated territory
with a roc. Mach was a wyvern: a small fire-breathing
flying dragon. He was of course no match for the roc,
but dangerous to most other creatures.

They flew through colored clouds: red, green, blue,
yellow, black. These might be harmless, but could also
be nuisances; the wyvern brushed by a green one, and
its substance adhered, stretching like taffy, fouling a
wing. The wyvern whipped back its snout and blew fire
at it; the green taffy shriveled and smoked and let go,
but Mach had lost time. Bane was now only one second
behind.

ROBOT ADEPT 309

Thereafter they both skirted the clouds. Most were
probably just vapor, but neither player could afford to
take the chance that it wasn't. Time was at stake, and
a shift of a single second could make the difference.

They plunged through the horizon, and now Bane
was the salamander, chasing a basilisk. There was the
completion of the circle: the basilisk was a small lizard,
but its glance could stun or kill other creatures. It could
not hurt the salamander, because the salamander could
engulf it in a wave of fire, obscuring its glance in smoke
and flame and cooking its body. But it could stun the
dragon, who lacked the fire.

But with only one second separating them, the bas-
ilisk had no time to turn and glare back, and the sal-
amander no time to start a fire. They simply ran, both
maintaining the pace, keeping to the same path as be-
fore, avoiding the devious plants.

They reached the inverted lake and plunged in. Now
it was Bane who was the kraken, and Mach was a siren:

a creature with the body of a mermaid and a voice that
could lure ships and large creatures to their deaths against
great rocks in the water. That would be bad for the sea
serpent, who would naturally have a taste for so soft
and lovely a creature, and who would be charmed by
her eerie voice. But the kraken was tone-deaf, and its
appetite was too ravenous to be charmed away by prey,
and rocks did not affect its streaming tentacles. It would
simply squeeze the siren to death, then suck the body
dry.

Bane knew how to use the tentacles to move the
creature forward, but Mach was having no trouble with
the siren, so the distance between them did not narrow.
They forged through the water and out to the air.

Bane became the wyvern, and Mach was a harpy.
There, again, was the circle: the wyvern could blast the
harpy with fire, if it ever got close enough to remain in
range while it took a deep breath, but the harpy's poi-
soned talons could poison the roc.

They followed their curving route between the clouds,




510 I Piers Anthony

which had not moved, neither risking any deviation.
Mach, again unfamiliar with the dynamics of the new
creature, lost another half-second before attaining full
velocity. Then they proceeded to the horizon, and
through.

Bane was the basilisk, and Mach the dragon. Now
the basilisk could glare forwardùbut the dragon could
not be stunned from the rear, only from the front. Im-
passe, again.

But the dragon snagged a claw on a root, and stum-
bled. The basilisk almost caught up, but still could not
get a line on the head, because of the mass of the
serpentine body. They plunged on.

This was the last circuit; if Mach could survive the
next two media, he would make it through, and win.
But Bane was now within chomping distance. The next
medium was the lake, and he would be the siren; she
could charm from behind, because it was her voice that
did it. Deep in the water, that voice would be distorted,
but actual contact would undistort it. Touch the tail of
the serpent, singùand the serpent would be charmed
into destruction.

The dragon dodged to the side, sideswiping a stout
tree by the inverted bank, and lunged ahead. Bane,
much smaller, gained time by making a leap to the
water. He sailed surprisingly high.

And, in midair, he saw the dragon whip its tail around
the tree. Its body reacted like rope; it snapped about,
smacking against the other side of the tree.

Then Bane landed in the water, and became the siren.
He was ready; he had actually gotten in ahead of the
other!

And Mach did not follow.

Then Bane realized that he had been tricked. Mach
had let him come deceptively closeùand balked. Bane
had been tricked into the one-way transformation, and
could not return. He could not make the circuit, lapping
his opponent, as he had tried to do before; he would
be out of the game, because he would have gone through

ROBOT ADEPT 311

K form in every medium- All he could do was wait

neve^do so^ntT6 throu?h-and ^ other would
never do so, now. It was an impasseùand that meant

nST, Sy because he had not ^nSS

Bane had lost the game, and the round The verv
dosenessofhis pursuit had done him in, denym/hin^

ú 'hT',0" ^ he needed t0 ^ dear of the lakÖ
Mach had won by using his mind

Bane experienced relief. He knew that he had done

suroTeT;!!0^ to be.caught by a trick that ^"Id h^
surprised all the watchers too. He had lost with honor

deddea y'eT was one more round to g0- ^"g had be^




Table

Mach stood at the console. He had the numbers, so he
chose 1. PHYSICAL; he trusted that more than the
others. Bane chose B. TOOL, evidently not trusting
NAKED after his loss in the Chase. The truth was, that
had been a very near thing; had Mach's desperate ruse
not worked, Bane could easily have won, and finished
the match.

He had the letters on the subgrid. He chose H. HaO,
having found that general-surface category compatible
the last time. Bane chose 6. INTERACTIVE.

The square opened out, and the list of games ap-
peared; a number of ball games wherein more than a
ball was used, such as tennis, Jai alai and bowling, so
that they wound up in this catchall grouping; water
games like pedal-boat bumping and underwater volley-
ball (wherein the ball had to be propelled under the
net); and string-ball games such as tetherball.

They assembled the nine-box grid, and played it, and
came up with what each was evidently well satisfied to
play: table tennis. There were several variants; Trool
consulted with the Oracle, with Mach and Bane relaying
the messages, and decided on three variants, one for

ROBOT ADEPT | 313

each game. The first game would be standard, with
identical equipment on both sides. The second would
be freestyle, which meant the individual paddles could
be of any type. The third was to be doublet, generally
considered to be the most formidable challenge of a
player's capacities.

Mach was familiar with them all, and good at them
all. But Bane now had his expertise, as well as the
sureness of the machine body. Could Mach, in this fal-
lible living body, match that? He doubted it. Therefore
his month's training would be critical. He had to come
up with strategy and skill that could defeat the person
he had been in Proton.

Meanwhile, there was the separate challenge of en-
abling the games to be played. Trool and the Oracle
had made the chess games work, and the chase games;

but table tennis was a physically interactive game of
another nature. How could they hit a ball across the
barrier between the frames? He was sure it would some-
how be arranged, though.

He turned to look at the Translucent Adept. "Who
are the best players of this game?" he inquired.

Translucent scowled. "Stile, and certain vampires in
manform. We be hoist again."

"I have to find players better than I am, who can
teach me things, and drill me in new techniques."
"We have resources, but thou mayst like them not."
"It doesn't matter whether I like them! I can't win
unless I improve significantly, and even then the out-
come will be in doubt, because Bane will improve too,
and he won't make errors."

"Aye, thou must practice," Fleta agreed. "There be
naught distasteful in that."

"One who can show thee much be Tania."
Fleta's ears flattened back, though she was in girl-
form. "That creature has shown thee already too much!"
Mach had to smile, though he too was startled. "No,

that was Bane she showed," he said.

"When he were emulating thee!" she returned, as if




314 I Piers Anthony

that made Mach culpable. "And in Proton-frameù"

"But it was Tan who was making youù"

"So Tannu be bad for me, and Tania for thee!"

Translucent nodded grimly. "I realize that neither of
you be partial to those of the Tan Demesnes. But Tania
alone has what thou dost require."

"What has that harpy that I do not?" Fleta de-
manded, one hand bunching and moving as if to paw
the ground.

"A magic paddle."

Mach's interest quickened. "A magic paddle? To play
table tennis?"

"Aye. It be a rare device, that she charmed from an
elven craftsman of the carbon clan. Methinks thou must
in turn charm it from her."

"O'er my dead carcass!" Fleta snorted.

But Mach was already dazzled by the notion. "A
magic paddle, of elven craftsmanship! That would be
something very special!"

"Aye. So do thou come to terms with thy filly, and
I will make arrangements for thee to visit the Tan De-
mesnes."

Fleta did not seem to be in any mood to come to
terms. "This may take a while," Mach muttered.

It did. Unicorns were known to be stubborn crea-
tures, and Fleta showed her mettle in this respect. She
did not want Mach going near Tania! But finally he
persuaded her that if he did not take advantage of every
opportunity to improve his game, he would lose, and
then the two of them would be separated. "But the only
reason I yield," she said grudgingly, "be because she
be also in Proton, and I would be not there to safeguard
thee from her clutches."

"Good reasoning," he said, relieved.

But it was not easy, when they went to the Tan De-
mesnes. Fleta insisted on carrying him there herself, in
her natural form, theoretically to save his magic for

ROBOT ADEPT | 315

more important things, but he suspected she was mo-
tivated more by the extra time it took this way.

Tania was resplendent in a fluffy tan cotton dress that
fitted closely about her torso. Her hair was tied back
with a tan ribbon and bow, and her feet looked tiny in
tan slippers.

The grass here was excellent, but Fleta was not about
to change back to unicorn form and graze.

Tania smiled brilliantly, flouncing her hem so that a
petticoat flashed. "How nice to see thee, Mach! Hast
come to play a game with a real woman?" Mach heard
something like a squeal in the back of Fleta's throat.

"A game of table tennis," he said carefully. "The
Translucent Adept said you have a magic paddle."

"Aye, and that be not all, rovot." She delivered a
brief but intense glance, and he felt the power of her
evil eye. Fleta's head moved slightly, as if orienting a
horn for action.

"I brought a good paddle carved by the Red Adept,"
he said. "It has perfect heft and balance, and I can play
well with it."

"We shall see," she said. "Let me change into some-
thing more comfortable." She spun around, her skirt
flaring, showing her legs up to the thickening region of
the thighs, and walked to the tanion tree. Mach, ac-
customed all his prior life to naked serfs, was amazed
at how much a little clothing could do for a woman.

Tania had not looked nearly as enticing naked in Pro-
ton.

Fleta's foot came down, just missing his toe. "What
be thou looking at, machine?"

"Uhù"

"She knew we were coming," she hissed. "Why did
she change not before?"

"Remember, I'm supposed to get her to lend me the
paddle," Mach said. "I have to seem interested, though
of course I am not."

"Thou couldst have fooled me," she muttered.
Soon Tania reappeared, garbed in tight tan shorts




316 Piers Anthony

that made her nether portion seem almost bare, and a
translucently loose blouse. "This be better, methinks,"
she murmured.

"Shethinks!" Fleta sniffed.

After a moment Mach noticed that Tania carried a
paddle. She was evidently ready to play.

There was a chamber in an alcove of the tree, and
the table was there. Tania took a stance at one end.
"Do it to me," she invited.

"Nay, an I could ..." Fleta breathed wrathfully.

There was a ball on the table, wedged by the net.
Mach fetched it, and served it. He had not played this
game in this body, but his motions were good; either
his experience or Bane's reflexes made the play easy.

Tania jammed her paddle at the ball somewhat jerk-
ily; it was obvious that she was not an apt player. But
the ball came back; she had made the return.

He struck the ball again, getting the feel of it and the
paddle and his body. Again she was somewhat awk-
ward, but returned it. Obviously she would soon miss,
though.

. He struck it the third time, angling it across the table.
She stretched, almost losing her balance, and he thought
she was going to hit the ball well wideùbut it returned
neatly enough.

Curious, he slammed it off the right comer. She blocked
it in a pure reflex of self-defenseùand the ball looped
back to the center of his side of the table, another fair
return. How had she done it?

In the course of the next several volleys, he discov-
ered that no matter how awkwardly she moved her
paddle, the ball always made a good return. He finally
missed his own shot, trying too hard to make her miss.
The skill was not in her, but in the paddle: that was its
magic. It would not miss a point.

He lost the game, winning no points at all. He could
not prevail against the magic paddle.

Tania smiled as she won. "What wouldst thou give

ROBOT ADEPT | 317

for this paddle, rovot?" she inquired, her bosom heav-
ing. "To use 'gainst Bane in thy tourney?"

She had a double score to settle with Bane, he re-
alized: he was on the other side, and he had resisted
her attempt to fascinate him. She would lend Mach the
paddle; she was just trying to see what else she might
profit from the transaction. Meanwhile, he had Fleta
to contend with.

"Nothing, Tania," he said gruffly. "There will be
three games; it could only win one of them for me. If
I depend on magic, I will lose. I need to hone my playing
skill, and you are unlikely to do that for me."

Tania's face transformed in the course of his speech
from self-satisfied to furious. "Take it then, golem-brain;

I care not!" And she hurled it at him.

He caught it. "If you insist, Tania."

She glared, evidently ready to use her magic on him.
He snapped his fingers, and a full-length mirror ap-
peared before her, reflecting her outraged visage back
to her. Then he turned his back and walked with Fleta
away from the table and the tree.

"Methinks that were not wise, Mach," she said, sat-
isfied.

"Better an angry woman than an angry unicorn," he
said. "She was supposed to demonstrate the paddle,
not try to vamp me. I tried to be polite, but she pushed
her luck."

Fleta was silent, but her anger was gone.

Mach found practice with the animal heads. Most of
these supported Stile, but one aberrant faction did not,
and one of the best table tennis players of the frame
was a member of that faction. This was an elephant
head, who held the paddle in his trunk, and manipulated
it marvelously well.

Against Eli the elephant head Mach used his regular
paddle, the one Trool had carved. It had no magic, but
was an excellent instrument. Mach played well, very
well, for the reflexes of Bane's body were good. But




318 I Piers Anthony

Eli tromped him; his control was superlative. This was
the one who could teach him improved play without
magic.

But Mach used magic, not to make returns, but to
improve his own perception and stamina. To enable
himself to learn, to become a better player.

They played again. At first Mach, distracted by the
nature of his adversary, had made easy misses. But
pride soon caught up with him, and now he played with
better precisionùand still lost points. That trunk was
so limber and controlled that the paddle seemed like a
living part of it. The spins it imparted seemed magical,
though they were not. When Mach tried to analyze
them, he missed worse than ever. Eli's serves were
especially bad; Mach could handle them only by playing
extremely conservatively and defensively, which only
set him up for further trouble.

Little by little, he discovered the key: Eli's paddle
motions were complex, shifting direction and angle with
blurring facility. Sometimes the paddle literally spun in
his grasp, so that it was difficult to tell which side struck
the ball. Since the two sides had different surfaces that
imparted different qualities to the flight of the ball, this
could be devastating.

"I must learn to do that," Mach said.

"Aye," Eli agreed. Rather, he snorted musically
through his trunk, making the affirmative; human speech
was difficult for him.

They played constantly during the following days and
weeks. Eli had the patience of a pachyderm, and the
endurance, and was pleased to have such a willing stu-
dent. He demonstrated all his best shots, and showed
Mach how to counter them. Mach, realizing that he
would be up against a high-tech Proton paddle in at
least one game, was happy to work on his defense. A
good defense could not win the game for him, at this
level, for it left the initiative to the opponent; but that
defense had to be tight before he could score with his
offense. The best defensive players took the offensive

ROBOT ADEPT 319

the moment a suitable opportunity offered; their op-
ponents knew that it was folly to ease up, and so were
under pressure that could cause errors.

By the time the month was done, he was giving Eli
some excellent games. He was vastly improved, and
ready to tackle his other self in any of the three games.
He had not used the magic paddle, as that was pointless;

it was already incapable of making a bad shot. In fact,
he felt slightly guilty, knowing that this was one instru-
ment Bane could not match. Only by winning both the
other games could Bane prevail.

Meanwhile, Fleta had special news for him. "Dost
remember my heat?" she inquired diffidently.

"Oh, noùis it coming again?"

"Nay, hast not noticed it came not again?"

Mach paused. "You meanù?"

"Aye. I be with foal."

Mach had no idea how to react, so he simply reached
for her and embraced her, so cautiously that she laughed.
She was a mare; her condition did not make her deli-
cate. She was as happy as he had ever seen her.

But she was not willing to let it rest at that. "This be
my compensation, an I be separated from thee. But
how much better will it be if we separate not."

"If something can be worked out," he agreed. "To
save the frames, and still be together."

"Aye. And raise our foal ourselves."

"To be perhaps the best of unicornsù"

"Or the best of men."

"Perhaps like both: able to change form freely, yet
able also to practice magic."

"Flach, the Unicorn Adept!" she exclaimed.
Why not? "Why not unite our species with a truly
superior composite?"

"And needs must we set up a house, for I fear the
Herd will welcome him not."

"Why not a castle? I am Adept now; I can make what
I choose. Our son should have the best."
"The Rovot Demesnes," she said, smiling.




320 | Piers Anthony

She wasn't serious enough, so he kissed her again.
Whatever the outcome of this round, they would have
that success together.

It was the day of the first game. Now at last Mach
discovered how they were going to make it possible to
play across the frames. As before, the two selves would
overlap, standing together at one end of the table. Each
would play his side. But the ball, instead of passing
through the no-longer-existent curtain, would fly across
the net to a simulacrum of the other player at the far
end.

To Mach, it looked as if Bane were standing there,
paddle in hand, in Mach's robot body, but it was prob-
ably a golem provided by the Brown Adept. The golem
would not literally play; it would merely emulate Bane's
motions.

But the ball could not physically cross between the
frames. What would the golem be striking?

This might be an irrelevant detail, but Mach wanted
to know, as it could affect his attitude and therefore his
play. He didn't want to ask openly, which he realized
was foolish; he was adapting increasingly to living ways,
as he spent more time in this living body. Living crea-
tures had awareness of pain, both physical and mental,
and tended to be much more careful about things they
did not quite understand than machines were. Mach
was now far more sensitive than he had ever been in
Proton, and he liked to believe that was an asset. So
he wanted to know whether a hornet's nest was inhab-
ited without getting stung during the investigation, and
to know the exact nature of the appearance of his op-
ponent without suffering any embarrassment about his
naivete in asking. So he practiced another aspect of
personality that came more readily to the living than to
the machine: innocuous deception.

He went to Fleta for one more embrace. "Is that a
golem?" he whispered to her ear.

Her ear twitched. She did retain some unicorn man-

ROBOTADEPT|321

nerisms in her human form! "Nay, it has no smell," she
replied. "It be a wraith."

"Thank you." So the whole thing, ball and player,
was merely an image, a projection from the information
coming through him. Trool's spells from the Book of
Magic could readily accomplish that; indeed, Mach him-
self could do something similar, at need.

"That be all thou dost want of me?" Fleta inquired.

Oops. "All I can ask in public," he said, giving her
backside a squeeze.

She sniffed, but she was mollified.

He returned to the table and took up his paddle. It
was the standard one that Trool had made for him,
without magic. In this first game, the equipment was
equivalent, with each paddle meeting set specifications.
The idea was to see how well each played with no ad-
vantage of equipment. "Let's rally a little first," he
suggested.

"Aye," Bane agreed. "This be a strange arrange-
ment."

Suddenly Mach wished that the two of them could
be together like this when not opposing each other.
That they could do without illusion what now required
illusion. Maybe, after this contest was settled, they could
see about that.

He picked up the ball and served it, throwing it up
from his left palm in the prescribed manner, so that it
was evident that his hand imparted no spin to it. It
bounced on his side of the table and crossed the net.
He knew that it became illusory at that point, trans-
formed by magic to an image, while in the frame of
Proton the Game Computer introduced a physical ball
with the exact velocity, azimuth and spin of the one in
Phaze. In Proton Mach was the image, generated holo-
graphically, seeming as real as Bane did on this side.
It was an amazingly sophisticated interface, to make
the appearance of an ordinary game.

Bane returned the ball, seeming at ease. It crossed
back over the net. Was there a flicker as it did so? Mach




322 | Piers Anthony

could not be sure. In any event, he should not allow
himself to be distracted by the intricacies of the system;

he had to play as well as he could. If he even started
wondering how he could move freely about, to play the
ball to either side or far back from the table, without
losing his overlap-contact with Mach, he would start
fouling up! How much of his own motion was also il-
lusion?

They played for a few minutes, becoming acclima-
tized. All was in working order. "Time for business,"
Mach said, with both excitement and regret.

"Aye." Bane caught the ball in his hand, put his
hands behind him, brought them out closed and held
them just below the level of the table. Mach pointed
with his paddle to Bane's right hand. Bane lifted it:

empty. That meant that Bane had the first serve.

Bane served. The ball came across the net, low and
fast, striking Mach's right corner. Mach fielded it with
a chop, using a short, sharp downstroke to return the
ball with a backspin. This tended to slow its progress,
causing it to drop to the center of Bane's table rather
toward the back edge. But the backspin did more than
that. It changed the nature of the bounce, so that the
ball tended to lift and fall short; an incautious player
could have misjudged it and missed it for that reason.
And more yet: when the other paddle touched it, the
spin would tend to carry the ball down, perhaps into
the net, for a miss.

But Bane now knew all that Mach did about the
dynamics of play. He met the ball with a chop of his
own, that countered and reversed the spin, sending the
same kind of shot back.

Mach, ready for this, touched the ball lightly with his
backhand, so that it bobbed up over the net and down
just the other side: a shot that could be far more trou-
blesome than it appeared, because normally a player
stood back from the table.

But Bane was there, and with a quick flick of his wrist
plunked the ball down and to Mach's right, so that it

ROBOT ADEPT | 323

bounced near the edge of the table and dropped to the
side. Mach leaped to intercept it, but the table was in
the way, and he could not get there in time to do more
than flip it way up in a high arch over the net.

That, of course, was a setup. Bane slammed it off
the far side, and Mach had no way to return it.

One-love, for Bane. Now the game was truly under
way!

Mach recovered the ball and tossed it back. Bane
caught it in his hand and took his stance for the next
serve.

This one was backhand, cutting across to Mach's left
side. He returned it the same way as he had the first,
with backspin. Mach's return was similar again; the
machine body and mind tended to stay in familiar chan-
nels. That was apt to be a weakness.

Mach followed through with the same sort of shot he
had made at this point in the first rally, nipping the ball
gently over the net to the center of the table. And Bane
replied as he had before, with the dropshot to the side,
only this time to Mach's left. Again Mach was caught
in a squeeze, and made a poor return, and got it smashed
past him. Two-love for Bane.

But Mach was verifying what might be weaknesses
in his opponent; that was more important than the points,
at the moment. Mach had qualities of imagination he
had lacked as a machine, and now he was using them
for what he hoped would be his advantage. If he charted
Bane's weaknesses, he could exploit them before the
game was done.

Bane's third serve was forehand, to Mach's back-
hand. One forehand crosscourt, one backhand cross-
court, one forehand downcourtùthe next should be
backhand downcourt, and the fifth a new variation. If
so, Mach would know what to expect later in the game,
and that would help immensely.

He returned it with a high looping sidespin shot, the
kind that could utterly befuddle a neophyte but would
be a lost point against an experienced player. Sure




324 | Piers Anthony

enough. Bane compensated for the spin and slammed
it off the corner. Three-love. A lost point, but confir-
mation of the reaction. It was not possible to put ulti-
mate spin on a ball with the standard paddle surface,
but in a later game it would be another matter.

However, he could not afford to get too far behind.
He played to win on the fourth point. As anticipated,
Bane served the ball backhand, to Mach's forehand,
and because he was ready for it, he slammed it right
back where it had come from. It was a beautiful shot,
and it caught Bane by surprise; the paddle was late,
and the ball went flying to the side, out of play. Three-
one.

Bane's fifth serve was a drop shot, as Mach had thought
reasonably likely. He dropped it back, and gained the
initiative, which in due course won him the point. Three-
two.

Now it was Mach's serve. He tested Bane's reactions
on different types, and verified that Bane's skill was
basically Mach's ownùbefore he had come to Proton.
He was thoroughly familiar with that style of play, by
no coincidence, and knew its strengths and weaknesses.
A defensive game would never prevail, because the
robot made no unforced errors, and would outlast any
other opponent. But the right kind ofoffense, initiated
at the right occasion, could force errors. Mach was about
to find out whether what he had learned fom Eli the
elephant head was the right kind.

It was, but not by much. Mach found that by making
wild alterations in his play he could cause Bane to lose
track momentarily and become vulnerableùbut that
same wildness made Mach's own shots unreliable. He
missed more than he should have, by taking risks, play-
ing low-percentage shots. As a result, the score see-
sawed. He caught up at 9-9, fell behind to 13-10 (the
server's score was always given first), went ahead at 16-
17, and tied again at 19-19.

It was make-or-break time. Mach, as the robot, would
not have gambled; Mach, as the living creature, did. It

ROBOT ADEPT | 325

was his serve, and he had no better occasion to seize
the initiative. He used the Eli special, thinking of his
right arm as a flexible trunk, using it to put on the
backspin that looked like a topspin. He spun the paddle;

both sides were the same, for this game, but the spin
helped mask the particular angle and motion as it con-
tacted the ball. If it fooled Bane the way it had himselfù

It did. Bane's return smacked into the net. He had
countered for topspin, and sent the ball wrong.

Now for the real gamble. Mach had not repeated
shots since his experimentation early in the game; Bane
should be expecting a different serve. Mach used the
same one, spinning the paddle again. This time Bane,
more cautious, did manage to return itùbut his volley
was unaggressive. Mach played it aggressively, gained
the initiative, and forced the rally to its conclusion. He
made the point, and won the game, 21-19.

But he knew he would never catch Bane that way
again. This ploy had been viable only at the end of the
game, only for two points. If he ever tried that serve
again, Bane would know what to do with it, and that,
combined with error-free play, would suffice. Robots
did learn from experience, and learned well.

"Good game," Mach said.

Bane nodded. "Until tomorrow."

But tomorrow was freestyle. Mach would have the
magic paddle. This had been the key game, setting up
for the sure win tomorrow.

Bane faded out, along with the far side of the table.
Mach turned to Fleta, who seemed to materialize almost
in his arms. "I took him on skill," he said, well satisfied.

"Don't get cocky," Translucent said. "He's as good
as you are, and you won't take him again this way."

"I won't need to," Mach said.

But the Adept did not look confident.




Decision

Bane shook his head. "He learned tricks he never knew
before! I'm in a position to know. I could have finished
the match by being smarter in the Chase, and now one
more loss can finish it the other way. I know not we'er
I have really been trying."

"You tried," Agape said. "You were ahead, but then
he used those peculiar serves."

"I know not who could have taught him those," he
said. "I played the game all my life, but ne'er could
match my father, and knew of none other could. Stile
would not have trained him, andù" Then a thought
caught up. "The renegade animal heads! They played
not with others, but there were stories of an elephant
head who were marvelously dexterous with his trunk!
That could be it!"

"That, and the natural skill of your human body,"

she agreed.

"Aye, it be a good body," he said with a certain
resigned pride. "This machine body makes errors not,
but also can handle complex surprises not. He caught
me often enough with shots I could calculate not in

ROBOT ADEPT | 327

time. He knew my limits, as he should. It were his body
longer than mine."

"But you can adjust."

"Aye. He can catch me once or twice with a new
shot, but thereafter I be attuned to the device, and it
be useless. I will be stronger for the next game. and
stronger still for the third. In only a month, he cannot
have mastered enough new things to compensate for
that."

She changed the subject. "Let's go look at Nepe."
She meant their child, who did not yet exist. But there
was daily progress in the construction of the robot body,
to be like that of a human baby, and the development
of the particular programming required to enable that
body to interface harmoniously with a partial Moebite,
while being closely patterned after that of his body.
Agape herself was gaining mass, eating voraciously,
preparing for the time of fission. If Bane won the con-
test, and the two of them had to separate, they would
delay long enough to get Nepe started. That, at least,
they intended to salvage from victory.

Next day Bane was ready. This was freestyle, and he
had prepared diligently. The key was in the paddle.
Technology was able to produce a wide variety of sizes,
substances, weights and surfaces, and he had tested
them as thoroughly as he could. He now had a paddle
that was virtually magical in it propensities. The touch
of finger or thumb on the controls near the joining of
blade and handle could change the hardness of the rub-
ber (it wasn't rubber, but tradition called it that) all the
way from diamond to marshmallow, and the adhesion
from glass to glue. The paddle could hold the ball so
that it would not drop off, or be so slippery that the
ball bounced away with its spin unaffected. It could
completely damp out both the force and spin of an
incoming ball, or put on devastating force and spin of
its own. Because the nature of the surface was exactly
what he specified it to be, without changing the ap-

328 | Piers Anthony

pearance, the other player would have little notion what
was coming. He could make an obvious gesture, ap-
plying phenomenal spin, but set the paddle on null so
that none of that spin was imparted, and the other
player would miss by compensating for nonexisting spin.
Such paddles had been illegal for centuries for tour-
nament play, but popular for trick play.

Mach had never used one, preferringto hone his skill
within tournament regulations. Adaptation to such a
paddle could spoil a serious player for tournaments,
because his reflexes were wrong. Only the mediocre
players tried to shift back and forth between types; the
top ones settled on legal variants and perfected their
technique with these. Indeed, a top player could defeat
any of the special-paddle players, because surface was
only part of the nature of the game. Skill and training
and consistency counted for more.

That was one reason that Bane had not played his
best in the first game: he had adapted to the specialized
paddle for the freestyle, and so not been in perfect tune
for the standard paddle. He had invoked a different
program for the other, so that he did play well, but he
could have played better had he put all of his energy
into perfecting his technique with it. Instead he had
settled for the level of skill Mach had developed, and
put his energy into the special mode. He expected to
win this second game, because he knew that neither
Mach's prior experience nor that of his own body pre-
pared them for the type of play and deception this pad-
dle offered. A good player with a conventional paddle
could handle a mediocre one with a special paddleù
but he was now a good player with a special paddle.
That made it a new ball game.

Indeed, he had practiced against some of the ranking
players of Proton, in special matches. They had used
their legal paddles, and regarded it as an intriguing
challenge to meet the special one. A number of them
were clearly superior to Mach, as he had played before,
but the paddle added considerably to Bane's effective-

ROBOT ADEPT | 329

ness. He had taken them, in the early games, then lost
again as they learned how to compensate, but all ad-
mitted that he was a more formidable player this way.
They doubted that any player on the planet could take
him in the first game, this way; the difference was too
striking. It was hardly possible to learn in the course of
a single game what he had spent a month mastering,
and it was not easy to do in several games.

So Bane was confident. Mach, attuned to the con-
ventional mode of the first game, would find himself up
against a totally different creature in the second. He
would compensateùbut hardly before he had lost the
game.

Yet as they stepped up to their ends of the composite-
image table, Mach seemed oddly confident. Had he
devised a similar paddle, and practiced against it? That
seemed unlikely, because the tricks he had learned with
the conventional paddle should have taken most of his
training time.

They rallied, as before, and things seemed normal.
Mach had a different paddle, but of course so did Bane.
He did not try any special shots, preferring to save them
for the game. Soon they were ready, and Mach caught
the ball and hid his fists under the table.

Bane guessed right, and was right; he had the serve.
Now was time for the surprises.

He started with a fierce crosscourt topspin, the rubber
softened and rendered tacky so that it imparted far more
spin to the ball than would ordinarily have been the
case. Mach, judging by the prior surface, would fail to
compensate sufficiently, and the ball would fly well be-
yond the end of the table.

Mach returned it, and the ball did loop up, but the
force was gone, and it plunked down in the center of
the table. Obviously he had been caught by surprise,
but had a lucky shot. Table tennis was a game of skill,
but luck played its part, as it did in every game to some
extent. That was part of the excitement: the invocation
of chance.

330 | Piers Anthony

No problem. Bane smashed it down the center, an
easy put-away shot. The first point was his.

Except that the ball looped up giddily, and somehow
managed to catch Bane's side of the table again. Was
the frame translation mechanism malfunctioning? No,
the arc was true; Mach had just somehow managed to
aim it right, obviously with no certainty on his part.
Sometimes it happened.

Bane made sure it would not happen again. He
thumbed his paddle to maximum force, producing a
surface that had all the thrusting power of a trampoline,
and smashed the ball down with such velocity that Mach
would have to retreat far back from the table to have
any hope of returning it.

But Mach remained up closeùand the ball, crazily,
came back, in another shaky but fair return. It seemed
impossible, but there it was. How could it have hap-
pened?

Bane, shaken by this freak series, tried a trick shot.
He wound up as if for the hardest slam yet, then dinked
the ball down just over the net with a heavy backspin
that damped it almost to a standstill.

Mach, though, was ready. The tip of his paddle caught
the ball and nipped it to the side, forcing Bane to dive
for the returnùand then, of course, Mach slammed the
setup to the other side, winning the point. Love-one.

But Bane knew that freak shots could not be de-
pended on. Mach had been extraordinarily lucky in his
returns, then pounced on the opportunity that offered
when Bane changed the pace. Had Mach been playing
well back from the table, in anticipation of a slam, he
would never have caught up to the dink shot.

He served again, this time putting on backspin so
heavy that though the ball started fast, it slowed dra-
matically and failed to clear the table for the second
bounce on the far side. Bane returned it without even
trying to counter the spin; as a result, the ball sailed up
in an invitation for another smash.

Bane of course accepted the invitation, and slammed

ROBOT ADEPT | 331

it off Mach's backhand corner. But Mach took it on his
backhand without effort, and again it looped back.

Bane slammed it off Mach's forehand corner. Yet
again Mach intercepted it in what should have been a
return that careered wildly, but again the ball simply
looped back to strike at the center of Bane's table.

This was crazy! Mach wasn't even trying to play of-
fensively; he was simply making fluke returns! What
was he up to? No one could play that way for long
without losing the point; human reflexes were not swift

enough or good enough to handle slammed balls up
close.

This time Bane softened his rubber and sliced, so that
the ball curved visibly in the air before striking the table.
The sidespin did not have much effect on the bounce,
but would be very strong against the opposing paddle.
The shot was hard enough so that Mach would not have
much time to analyze or compensate.

But Mach didn't try. He simply poked his paddle at
the ballùand the ball looped back in another of those
high, amateurish returns.

This time Bane had been watching that paddle closely.
The angle had not even been correct. By rights the ball
should have flown off the table, a lost point. Yet it had
flown fair, to the center of the table. It was like magic.

Magic! Suddenly Bane caught on. Mach had gotten
hold of a magic paddle! That possibility had never oc-
curred to him. There had been no magic paddles in
Phaze, because there was no point to them; why use
magic to foul up a game of skill? But evidently someone
had crafted one, perhaps simply for the challenge of it,
and now Mach had it.

Bane tried to slam the ball again, but his realization
about the paddle distracted him, and he missed the
table. Love-two.

Obviously the paddle was enchanted so that any shot
it made was fair. If no effort was made to guide it, the
ball returned in neutral fashion: a high arc to the center
of the table. If Mach made a more aggressive shot, then




332 I Piers Anthony

it went where he sent itùbut wouldn't miss if he sent
it wrong. Thus he could try for the most difficult shots
with the certainty of making them. Or not try at all,
and still get the ball back. He could not miss.

How was he, Bane, to win the gameùwhen his op-
ponent could not miss a shot? All his preparation with
the special paddle had been nullified in a single stroke!
Only in Phaze would magic workùbut Mach was play-
ing in Phaze. Since the validity of a shot was determined
at the point of the ball's contact with the paddle, it
didn't matter that there was no magic on Bane's end of
the table; the ball was correctly guided there.

If they had set it up to exchange courts at the halfway
point of each gameùbut in this special situation that
wasn't feasible. So Mach would have the magic through-
out the game.

Bane had thought he would win this game readily.
Now, suddenly, he faced defeat and loss of the entire
contest, because he had overlooked this possibility.

He glanced at the audience. They were watching, in
Proton and in Phaze, but would not speak to him in
the midst of the game. What advice could anyone give
him, anyway? It could not remove the enchantment on
Mach's paddle!

He was behind by two points, a trifling amount, yet
he felt like resigning, to spare himself the humiliation
that was coming. Could he win even a single point?

But battered pride kept him going. He would play
his best regardless, so that everyone would know it. He
would not give up just because the game had become

hopeless.
He tossed up the ball for the third serve, and tried

for a horrendous slice.

And missed the ball entirely. That was the danger in
trying too hard; the angle was so sharp and the speed
of the paddle so great that the tiniest mis judgment could
become devastating.

Love-three. When the server made his pass at the

ROBOT ADEPT | 333

ball, that was the serve. He had missed his serve and
forfeited the point. Some brave try that had been!

Missed the ball entirely . . .

That was not supposed to happen to a robot; it was
an unforced error. But the body was governed by Bane's
mind, and he had overridden it to try his own extreme
technique. By going beyond the body's parameters, he
had enabled it to err. Yesterday Mach had used trick
shots that caused the computer brain to miscalculate;

this time he had done it to himself. But that was of
lesser significance.

Suddenly he realized how he could give himself a
fighting chance. This game was not yet over!

He served again, making the paddle surface hard and
fast, applying minimal spin, just enough to help control
the ball. Spin made limited difference now, because the
magic paddle nullified it; the balls Mach returned were
spinless. But speed and placement counted, because
Mach had to get the paddle to the ball. He now needed
spin only to help control his shots.

Mach returned it with that familiar loping shot that
was the paddle's default. Ready for this, Bane smashed
it back. Mach's second return was higher, a perfect
setup.

Bane decided to test the limit of the magic. He set
his paddle for maximum hardness, and smashed the ball
down as hard as his metal arm could do it. The ball
flattened significantly against his paddle, then re-
bounded with such force that when it caught the edge
of the table it broke, with half of it dropping down the
side of the table while the other half dragged after.

But Mach's paddle was there, jabbing at it. And the
tip of the paddle caught the crushed remnant and hooked
it over the net so that it plopped in the center on Bane's
side.

The point did not count; the broken ball had to be
replaced. But another type of point had been made:

the magic paddle could return anything at all, even a
demolished ball. As long as it touched it.




334 | Piers Anthony

Bane served again, the same way. Mach returned the
same way. A very similar shot offered, and Bane wound
up for the same smash. But this time he bent his wrist
sharply back and slammed the ball off the opposite side
of the table.

Mach, caught by surprise, did not even try for the
ball. The point was Bane's. One-three.

The magic paddle could not return what it did not
touch. As far as it was concerned, the ball was out of
play. It was up to Mach to get it there in time.

And up to Bane to see that Mach could not get it
there in time.

The remainder of the game was grueling. The robot
body that made no unforced errors, and the magic pad-
dle that never missed its shot. Bane played every shot
for maximum motion on the opponent's part, getting
Mach off balance, putting the ball where he did not
expect it, so that his living-body reaction was strained,
and errors occurred. Mach had been a machine all his
life and still tended to depend on the automatic relia-
bility of it; but now he was living flesh, and the flesh
was fallible. He could not always get to the ball, and
each time he failed, Bane won the point.

But Bane's body was healthy, and the magic paddle
made returns easy. He did not readily miss the ball. So
the rallies were long and hard, and only when Mach
tired did Bane score. That was the final key, however:

Bane's body did not tire. He was able to keep the pace
indefinitely.

So inevitably, the final point was his. Bane had beaten
the magic paddle, and won the game. The score was
tied, one game apiece.

"I think some thought you were not trying hard to
win," Agape said when they were private, after the
grueling game. "That doubt is gone."

"It be strange," Bane said. "When it looked hope-
less, and I thought there was no point in continuing,
that was when I had to try hardest to win."

ROBOT ADEPT 335

"Tomorrow will decide it," she said.
"Tomorrow Tvill decide it," he agreed. "He won the
game I thought he would lose, because the flesh can
play not as reliably as a machineùbut the flesh man-
aged to strain the limits o' the machine through inno-
vative play. He lost the game methought he would win,
because o' the magic paddleùbut the machine man-
aged to strain the limits o' the flesh. TomorrowùI think
no one can know the outcome o' that game."
"No one can know," she agreed.
"But an I win, and we must separateù"
"There will still be Nepe," she said. "We can surely
delay that long."

"Aye. But an Mach return to this bodyù"
"Where else?" she asked with a wry smile.
"It would please me if thou didst play Fleta for him,

again. I oppose him, but I hate him not, and his love

for the filly be true."
She did not answer right away. "I thought never to

play that role again," she said at last.
"Aye. But an I deprive him o' her, what do I owe

him in return?"

"And what of Fleta? What do you owe her?"
That returned him to reality. "Must needs I find an-
other way." He got up. "I will talk with Blue."
"And I," she said.

They went to Citizen Blue, who met them graciously,
with Sheen. "On the morrow, mayhap I will win the
match," Bane said. "And deprive myself and Mach o'
our loves, and the alien and the filly o' theirs. That be
no easy thing."

"The imbalance must be corrected," Blue replied.
"But you will be able to visit the frames, while we work
to find the key for correction."

Bane took a deep breath. "Methinks we have the key
already. It be between thee and my father."

Blue arched an eyebrow.

"The Oracle learned it," Bane continued. "There be
a line between ye two, and that be the line Mach and




336 | Piers Anthony

I followed. Methinks thou couldst exchange, an thou
didst try."

Blue whistled. "And lose our loves, even as we have
asked of you."

"I thought o' it not that way!" Bane protested.

"But it may be that way," Blue said grimly.

"Unless there be another way. The Oracle be study-
ing that."

"What way is that?"

"To end the separation o' the frames, and merge
them again."

"But that separation is for a reason!"

"A reason that accomplished not its purpose. The
imbalance remains."

Citizen Blue nodded. "That would be a whole new
game!"

"A game that leaves all of us our loves."

"We must explore this! If you and Machù"

"First must I win the game tomorrow. Then will Mach
work with me, and with thee. Then can the root of this
be explored."

"Yes. Win tomorrow, and the essential tool is ours.
The Oracle and the Book of Magic, reunitedù"

"Aye," Bane said, feeling better. Now he could do
his utmost, and believe that the best would come of it.

The final game was Doublet: played with two balls
and four paddles. It was not popular with serious play-
ers, because it tended to get wild, but dabblers liked
it, as did some specialists.

Each player had one standard paddle, and one free-
style paddle. Play was not required to alternate between
them; rather, each ball had to be played with its own
paddle. Thus this represented two separate games, played
simultaneously. It could be a formidable challenge.

Bane had the first serve, which meant one pair of
balls. He was required to serve the standard one first:

the yellow ball, with the standard paddle. The second
had to follow not before the first cleared the net, and

ROBOT ADEPT 337

not after the first returned; the window was while the
opposite player was playing the first. Thereafter there
was no set order; the balls were simply played as they
came.

Bane had the standard paddle in his left hand. He
tossed up the yellow ball with his right, his fingers also
holding the other paddle, and struck it with the correct
paddle. Then he tossed the red ball with his left hand,
and struck it with his high-tech paddle. Both balls were
served crosscourt, requiring Mach to orient on the ex-
tremes rapidly.

The first was coming back as he completed his serving
pass for the second. He played it back to the same court
he had served the red one, and with a shorter stroke,
so that it gained somewhat on the other. But Mach
played them back to opposite courts. Whether it was
better strategy to play them to the same court or to
opposite courts was an open question; it depended on
the player and the situation. Already Bane felt his robot
intellect being extended; this was no easy task for it,
tracking two at once.

Now the two balls were crossing oppositely. Theo-
retically there was the danger of them colliding, and
that was a complication in regular play. But for this
game there was no problem; the yellow and red balls
were on different planes of reality, and would pass
through each other without interacting. In fact, that
applied to the paddles, too: the wrong one could not
touch the ball, literally. Thus there would be no ques-
tion whether the ball was returned with the wrong pad-
dle; if it returned at all, it was by the right paddle. Bane
wasn't quite sure how this worked; perhaps the seem-
ingly solid balls were mere images, extensions of the
images on the far side of the table. They seemed solid,
but he had learned not to believe everything that had
seeming, in either frame.

Bane played conservatively, concentrating on one ball
at a time, so that he could devote his whole competence
to it. He put intricate spins on the red ballùonly to




338 | Piers Anthony

see them nulled by the magic paddle Mach used. He
went for speed and placement with the yellow ball,
because the standard paddle was not as sharp on spins.
But Mach could handle such straightforward play.

Mach played slow on the red ball, retreating from
the table to return it late, and fast on the yellow one.
As a result, the two soon came into alignment. Bane
tried to separate them in space, if not in time, angling
the red one right and the yellow one left.

That was his tactical error. Mach slammed them si-
multaneously, crosscourt, and Bane was unable to field
them both. He had to let one go, and chose to sacrifice
the red one. He returned the yellow one.

Love-one. Now it was down to a one-ball game, with
standard equipment. Mach had won their prior such
gameùbut Bane had zeroed in on the new tricks and
was ready for them. Deceptive spin would not catch
him. Also, Mach could no longer use the magic paddle,
so could fail to return the ball. This was better for Bane.
He played hard, moving the ball from side to side and
front to back, until Mach's fallible living body made the
error of sending too gentle a return, and Bane put it
away for the point. One-one.

Now it was Mach's serve, both balls. Because of the
special nature of this game, the serve changed each
time, so as to prevent a facile combination of serves
from generating too great a run of points. He served
the yellow ball fast, crosscourt, and the red one slow,
downcourt. He was trying to get the two aligned again,
so as to catch Bane in the same split as before. But this
time Bane had a trick of his own to play.

He returned the yellow fast and the red slow but not
easy. He set his paddle to max-tack and sent what was
known as the double loop: a high shot with extremely
potent topspin. It came down on Mach's side almost
vertically, and bounced away almost horizontally, re-
taining formidable spin. That would be an extraordi-
narily difficult shot to return, if it were not for the magic
paddle.

ROBOT ADEPT 339

Meanwhile, the yellow ball had lapped the red one,
and he played it before the red one landed, slamming
it to the far corner. Mach knew that if he went for it,
he would never get to the red one. So he let the yellow
go, losing the point, and caught the red.

It was one-ball table tennis againùbut this was the
variant Bane had proven he could win. He smashed the
ball again and again, until he maneuvered Mach out of
position and placed a shot he could not reach. One-
three, Bane's favor.

That set the complexion of the game. Bane had greater
reliability when the game was down to one ball; Mach
had the advantage with two, because his living body
was more flexible and his magic paddle gave him one
sure return. After the initial points, neither tried to align
the two balls; it gave too much of an advantage to the
one who had the first chance to make simultaneous
slams. Mach won the first ball more often than not, and
Bane the second. The lead varied, and changed often,
but it was basically even ball.

Thus it was that they came to the conclusion neither
had wanted: a 20-20 tie. Now it would be sudden death;

the first to gain an advantage of two points would win
the game and the match.

Bane was torn: should he play conservatively, or draw
on a special shot he had saved for emergency use? If
he played conservatively, they would probably continue
splitting points, and the game would drag out inter-
minably. If he gambled on tricky but risky play, he could
win quicklyùor lose as quickly. It was his set of serves;

the initiative was his.

As a robot, he knew that his best chance was con-
servative. Mach, in the volatile living body, could make
mistakes, magic paddle notwithstanding. But as a living
being who was merely housed in a machine, he felt that
his best chance was to take the gamble. At least it would
be over quickly.

He gambled. He served the yellow ball low and fast,
so that Mach would not be able to do more than return




340 | Piers Anthony

it. He did the same with the red one. The magic paddle
would return it regardless, but if he served it easy, Mach
could take the initiative and make an aggressive shot,
and Bane did not want that.

The yellow came back. This time he sent it in a phe-
nomenally high shot, a towering trajectory that sent it
as far aloft as the crown of a tree. That effectively put
it out of play for a few seconds. Meanwhile he returned
the red one with a backspin so strong that the ball
actually bounced backward, back across the net, rather
than on forward for Mach's return.

Would Mach be so surprised that he let the ball go?
If so, he would lose the point. Then Bane would have
the lead, and the advantage on the remaining ball.

Mach stepped around the table and went for the red
ball. This was legal; a player could strike the ball on
the opponent's side of the table, if its natural impetus
carried it there. Many players did not know that, but
of course Mach did. But how would he play itùwhen
he was unable to cross the curtain? That was the ques-
tion, and because Bane did not know the answer, it was
the essence of his gamble.

Mach stepped forward, across the midlineùand dis-
appeared. He was now entering the magical represen-
tation on the other side of his table. No provision had
been made to project his image, here. He was in limbo.

Abruptly the red ball changed course, taking off at
right angles, crossing the table, bouncing, and sailing
off the far side near the net. Bane had no chance to get
it. He had lost the gamble; Mach had struck the ball
he saw in his frame, and the question of its nature in
Proton now was answered: it was illusion, and was af-
fected by Mach's stroke.

Twenty-twenty-one. Bane was behind, and now the
yellow ball was coming down. Mach reappeared, circled
the table, and set up for a left-handed slam. The ele-
ment of surprise had failed, and now Mach had a setup
to put away. Bane might return it, but he had lost the
initiative, and the point would almost certainly be Mach's.

ROBOT ADEPT | 341

Mach slammed itùand it touched the comer of Bane's
side and veered crazily away, an unplayable ball. Mach
had taken his own gamble, striving for a placement
ordinarily beyond human ability, and won.

Won everything.

And Bane, knowing that he had tried his best, hon-
estly, and lost despite it, was relieved. He had given
Citizen Blue the key to a possible reversal of the situ-
ation, while he was on Blue's side; now he was on the
other side, by the terms of the deal, and was no longer
free to provide such information. The Contrary Citizens
and Adverse Adepts had no more wish than Adept Stile
or Citizen Blue to see the frames destroyed; perhaps
some mutually satisfactory accommodation would yet
be worked out. So it was not necessarily the end of
decency.

Or so he hoped.