Xone Of Contention (23 page)

“I wonder,” she said, getting into the problem. She was exercising her intellect, and Edsel wasn't disparaging it. She liked that. She had never been known or valued for her mind, limited as it was. “You know those old cartoons, where only the person who is speaking or doing something is animated, and the others are just still pictures? Could they be like that? So we can tell who's the clone?”

“Pia. I'd kiss you, except that you wouldn't like it by daylight.”

He meant when she wasn't honoring their deal, giving him everything at night in return for his complete support by day. Part of what turned her off was his clear superiority of brain. But now they were thinking together “I’d like it now." she said.

He was wary “What's different now?”

“You're treating me like an equal.”

He laughed—then quickly sobered, realizing that it wasn't a joke. “Have I been a fool all this time?”

“Tit for tat. You wanted the one without giving the other.”

“For sure.” he agreed, without any trace of a smile.

She waited, and after a moment he embraced her and kissed her. He didn't try to grab a feel. She gave back, making him melt.

He released her. “Oh, Pia—”

She liked him a lot better this way. Her emotion was stirring, after being in remission for some time. She had always known that her body was her main appeal, but she didn't like being considered only a body. However, this was not the time to get into this. “We have a challenge to surmount.”

“More than one,” he said. He reoriented. “One original, one clone, for each door. Which one were you talking to?”

She focused on the memory of her recent dialogue. Now she realized something she hadn't noticed at the time. “The man, Christopher. He reacted, he talked. The centaur just stood there. I thought he was reacting, but now I realize he was just there.”

“You adjusted your shoe?” He was of course well familiar with the move, and loved it. Sometimes she thought he would rather sneak a peek under her skirt than see her all the way naked.

“Yes. I think my panty showed at one point, but they didn't freak out.”

“They must be immune, for the purpose of this challenge. The Good Magician must have had lovely girls try that dodge before, to get past male defenders.”

“But I did hold their attention. The man's attention, anyway; Cy Clone just kept looking as before. I thought because he didn't look away, that I was fascinating him, but he was really a cartoon still figure ”

“I talked to Cy Centaur. He's smart, and interested in mundane technology. The man was there, but I don't think he ever spoke. So I think he was the clone image We each talked to one real person ”

“And we could have walked through the clone.” she agreed “Except that the real one would have stopped us ” But something bothered her. “We figure chances are that the first one we see in a doorway is a clone, and that as we talk, the original comes to take his place'”

“That's my theory. The clones can go instantly, spotting us. Then the real ones come to stop us. Probably, pretty soon, so we couldn't just walk through the clones.”

“But they are responsive from the start Doesn't that mean that the clones can be animated?”

Edsel paused “May I kiss you again?”

“Kisses for sex appeal I can handle. Kisses for respect I like.”

“Then you'll like this one.” He kissed her again, and there was indeed a special kind of passion in it.

Then he worked it out “It must be that they can locus on the clones, seeing what the clones see, and making them move and talk. But I'll bet they can do a meaningful dialogue only through one clone at a time. They must do it while they are closing in on that one, to lake its place ”

“And we don't dare gamble that we're talking with clones.” Pia said. “Lest we get smashed.”

“I suspect they wouldn't smash us, but we'd fail the challenge, and never get in to see the Good Magician. So we don't want to gamble. Now if we could just attract the originals, then hold them in place while we went through a different door ”

“The moment we moved over, so would they.” she said. “But I wonder—could they be anchored through their clones?”

“Anchored?”

“Pretend you're one of them.” she said. “When I say 'go.' You turn around, walk in a circle, or something.”

“That's no problem. But I don't see—”

“Go.” She drew up her blouse, showing her bra.

Edsel stared, as he always did. After a moment, he started to turn.

She leaned forward. He froze. After another moment he tried to turn again.

She lifted a leg. He froze again. When he started to recover, she lifted her leg farther His eyeballs began to glaze.

She resumed her normal posture. His expression cleared “Point made.” he said “Here in Xanth. You have power.”

“Maybe I can't freak them out, but I might anchor them in place for a while.” she said. “So they couldn't walk across to join the clones.”

“Good notion. But maybe you would catch only one, and the other would avert his gaze when he saw the other ireczc and move in.”

“Then you can take out the other. Let me do the man. and you do the centaur.”

“But nobody would freeze if I did a striptease.”

“With your mind.” she clarified. “Say things so fascinating that the centaur is entirely distracted.”

“Body and mind,” he agreed, smiling. “Let's try it. First we'd better get them both to one door. Then when we figure they're there in the flesh, we can go to a random one and go into our act. I think you have figured out the key.”

“Agreed.” She kissed him. If he had always been like this, working with her instead of treating her like an object, their marriage might never have been in trouble.

They walked to the nearest archway. Cy Centaur appeared. They walked on to the next. Christopher appeared. They went on to the next. Both man and centaur appeared.

“Now,” Pia breathed. “Anchor site.”

“How are you doing?” Edsel inquired of the centaur.

“You shall not pass.” It was Cy Clone, speaking without moving.

“Now is that nice of you?” Pia asked the man.

“It's our assignment.” Christopher said, taking in her trim figure. But otherwise he did not show animation. These were clones, being operated by remote control.

“We believe we have figured out the key to this challenge.” Edsel said.

“I doubt it,” Clone said gruffly, flicking his tail in a disdainful manner. Now he was real.

“Oh. but we do.” Pia said, smiling at the man. "It has been such a pleasure to meet you, however.”

“That's nice.” Christopher said, leaning forward to take in more of the smile. He was real too. So now it was clear where the originals were.

They stepped to the lell, beyond the archway The two figures therein faded.

Then they ran back around the archway and on to the right trying to take out the guardians about the direction they were taking. They ran by several arches, then paused close to one. The man appeared, a still image.

They ran on. About four more arches later they found a set: Christopher and Cy Centaur. “Go.” Pia said. She was a trifle breathless, but that would be no liability for this.

They stepped close to the still figures. “Hello. Chris.” Pia said, opening her blouse. She saw that she had his immediate attention.

“Cy. I want to tell you about quantum theory,” Edsel said, earnestly meeting the centaur's fixed gaze. “It has some fascinating properties. I had thought the theory of relativity was challenging, with its insistence that nothing could exceed the speed of light in a vacuum, and its permutations of time in gravity, but quantum physics is truly weird. Almost like magic.”

The gazes of both man and centaur remained fixed. They were still clones.

Pia stepped forward, slowly removing her blouse. She saw that Edsel didn't look, because the moment he did, he would lose his thread of dialogue. She liked that too Peripheral vision was more than enough. Meanwhile, he continued talking, doing his part.

“You see. Cy, according to quantum theory, you can't know both the position and the velocity of a given particle. The mere act of looking changes things. So if you take a snapshot, as it were, and fix its position, it is impossible to know its velocity. Sort of like a clone not moving if you know where it is. Isn't that weird?”

“Absolutely fascinating.” Cy said, unmoving.

Meanwhile Pia was nudging forward, in a kind of dance step that made the upper contour of her bosom Jiggle. There was a certain art to the effect. Christopher remained fixed.

“Another quantum effect.” Edsel continued, “is that two particles separating from a common source are linked. If something happens to one. it also happens to the other, though there is no seeming connection between them. Docs this make sense to you?”

“Amazing.” Cy said, without animation.

Pia, having used up about as much of her top as she cared to, hiked up her skirt, showing increasing amounts of leg. The man's eyes remained riveted, though nothing else moved. He was still the clone, seeing what the clone saw. but not there physically.

“It makes sense if you have that when you measure a propeitt of one particle, you are actually choosing between realities. Selecting the universe wherein both particles are the same. New universes are thus constantly fissioning off. It's a mind-bending concept. They are now making quantum machines that can do calculations much faster than anything else,” Edsel continued. “They are very good at probabilities. But the boundary between the realm of quantum effects and that of the ordinary world we know remains elusive. Still, study continues. Relativity relates to gravity, while quantum theory relates to the other three fundamental forces of the universe. Some day it may be possible to combine them into one great Theory of Everything. Perhaps the Superstring theory will accomplish that.”

“Did you say four forces, total?” Cy asked.

Pia was now passing Chris. She was up to her panty line, but as they had conjectured, he was not freaked out. She did however have his whole attention She wiggled her bottom.

“Yes, of course,” Edsel agreed. “Gravity, the weak atomic force, the strong nuclear force, and the electromagnetic force.”

“But what about the fifth force?”

“What fifth force?”

“Magic.”

She was past Chris. Edsel was now largely past the centaur. “Oh. I meant the forces of Mundania. They don't know about magic there.”

“That would seem to explain it. Xanth could not endure without magic.”

“I agree. It's what distinguishes it from the dreary realm beyond.”

It was time to wrap this up. “Psst.” Pia whispered. “We're through.”

“Through?” Edsel asked, dismayed. “I thought we were getting along so well together.”

“Will you stop it! Through the challenge.”

The two clones faded. Pia and Edsel were indeed inside the castle. “I thought—”

So he had been genuinely confused, rather than making one of his sharp remarks. She liked that as well. She stepped into him and kissed him. “You did well.”

“So did you. I didn't dare look. I would have freaked out.”

Exactly. “Let's go ask the Question.”

Chlorine rode behind Nimby on the Lemon cycle. enjoying it. He was quite competent now, and obeyed all the obscure signs and signals of the road. Dug and Kim drove their car behind, there to come to the rescue if there were any problem. Exactly as Justin and Breanna would be traveling with the real Edsel and Pia through Xanth, keeping wary eyes out for mischief. Indeed there was mischief to avoid, because the drivers of other cars all seemed to believe that the whole road belonged only to them, and that all others were illicit intruders. They honked their horns and nudged in too close at high speed and made hand signals that Chlorine discovered related to stork signaling in a negative manner. But Nimby, forewarned, ignored them and stayed out of their way. That seemed to satisfy them; they roared on by. Kim had said there was something called a speed limit, but Chlorine must have misunderstood, because no vehicle on the road was honoring any possible limit.

They were traveling north to the Apple-aching Mountains, where they could see the sights and camp for the night. Dug and Kim had camping equipment in their car. But the first night they would stay at a motel, so as to be able to find the best place in the mountains the next morning.

After several hours. Chlorine's thighs were getting tired of the unfamiliar bouncing. She knew how to ride a dragon, but this cycle had a different feel, and there was less leeway to fidget. She was glad when the mountains loomed, knowing the trip was nearing its end.

They pulled into the Mundane Motel, and saw about getting a set of rooms, which turned out to be nice enough. They would go out to a fleet fare place for a meal. But first Kim set up her notebook computer so Chlorine could check in. She had done so in the morning, but that had been early, and there might be a response now.

She navigated the Grid and Mesh, but then had a problem she couldn't get into the O-Xone. She got an Error Message.

NOT AVAILABLE AT THIS TIME.

“Let me see that.” Kim said. She tried it. and got the same message. “Must be a problem in the Mesh. These things happen. We can try again after eating.”

They went to the eatery. It was shaped like a vehicle called a bus, but was larger. Signs all around proclaimed the wares. They got really weird long sandwiches called submersibles, stuffed with every kind of oddity. But they tasted good enough.

Back at the motel, they tried the Mesh again. They still could not get past the error message. Kim tried to query the Mesh Server, but couldn't get a coherent response. “They don't believe in magic.” she said, grimacing.

Nimby looked unsettled. Chlorine knew what was on his mind. He didn't like having his contact with Xanth cut off. He wasn't sure it was coincidence.

“These things happen all the time.” Dug said. “Sometimes a server gets overloaded and is down for hours or days. There's no malice in it, just inadequacy for the demand. Or there can be a hardware or software hitch. Nobody likes it, but soon enough sen ice is restored, and the Mesh proceeds as usual.”

Nimby made a trace shake of his head. That was enough for Chlorine. “Nimby has very little magic here in Mundania, but he's very smart, and he can tune in on much that is going on around him. That's why he can avoid bad drivers He believes that this is not coincidental mischief.”

Dug frowned. “We need to get this straight. Kim and I can handle routine Mundane problems, but if there's something else, we'll have to be more careful. Just how sure is Nimby about this?”

“And just how much of what kind of magic does he have in Mundania?” Kim added

Chlorine had ascertained this soon after they arrived in Mundania, but hadn't thought it relevant. “He has no direct power of magic here, but can do just a little thought projection, enough to let me know what he wants when he touches me, and can extend his awareness some distance out. He can judge whether a thing is natural or contrived. The interruption of the O-Xone interface is beyond his range of certainty, but is suspicious.”

“What makes it suspicious?” Dug asked.

“Each Demon is fiercely jealous of his territory, when it is part of a bet, and guards it rigorously, even if he doesn't care about the well fare of the creatures within it. If the Demon E(A/R)th realizes that Nimby is here now, he will surely try to embarrass him in some way. The O-Xone interruption could be the first step in such an embarrassment.”

“Embarrassment?” Kim asked. “Like saying 'Ha-ha, I caught you!'?”

“No. Like trying to trap Nimby here, so he can't return to Xanth right away, and will lose the bet. That would mean that Edsel could not return to his body in Mundania, and probably that Pia and I could not exchange places either. Not until the contest is done.”

“Just what form would a confinement-to-Mundania contest take?” Dug asked. “I mean, it can hardly go on forever. There must be some limit.”

“Three days after the challenge is made. The demon E(A/R)th would seek to hold Nimby that time, and Nimby would have to return to Xanth within that time, or lose.”

“What would that do to Nimby?”

“A Demon can't be physically hurt, but it would prevent him from defending his status among Demons, and that would be a penalty sacrificing what has taken him a thousand years to achieve The Demon E(A/R)th would assume his status and become the—the closest analogy would be the leader—of the Demons.”

“I thought I had this figured out, but maybe not.” Dug said “How far would the Demon E(A/R)th go to accomplish this?”

“We're not sure. It depends on his judgment of the likelihood of success. If he tries to trap Nimby, and fails, he would lose significant status himself. More than if he just lets Nimby escape without challenge. So he is likely to mask his effort, making it seem like chance mishaps, so that if he fails, there will be no consequence to him He will play it that way until he discovers a better opportunity to succeed. Then, if assured of success, he will do what he judges necessary to accomplish it. That could be severe.”

“Just how much power does he have?” Kim asked. “Can he do magic too?”

“No magic. He uses science. He can't make people do things, but can affect earth processes, such as the weather.”

“He can make thunder storms?”

“At least.”

“But a storm shouldn't stop Nimby from returning to Xanth.” Dug said.

“That depends on the storm.”

Kim pursed her lips. “You don't mean just rain. You mean like hurricanes.”

“If those are very big storms, yes. And shaking of the ground.”

“Earthquakes.”

“Yes. And similar effects. It could get awkward for local residents.”

“Such things kill local residents,” Dug said.

“I doubt the Demon E(A/R)IH would care. So it will be better if it doesn't come to that. And the best way to see that it doesn't, is to ensure that Nimby can return to Xanth at will, so that there is no point in trying to trap him here.”

“Got it,” Dug said “So maybe this Xone interface problem isn't the Demon E(A/R)th’s work, but just in case it is, we need to explore our options. Are there other ways to return to Xanth?”

“Other than through the Grid and Mesh? I think so.”

Nimby touched her hand. Information flowed from him. “And there are other ways within the Grid,” Chlorine amended. “Those would be easier.”

“Other ways?” Kim asked.

“Through the Xanth Xone.” Chlorine said, assimilating Nimby's plan.

“But those aren't real Xanth people,” Kim said. “They're Mundanes with pretenses.”

“Not entirely. They can't use Xanth identities without the assent of the real folk there. There has to be an affinity, or it doesn't take.”

“Hoo, boy.” Dug said. “You mean there really is a connection between, say, the Xone Irene and Queen Irene?”

“A tenuous one. It's — ” Chlorine concentrated, trying to handle a concept that was well within Nimby's scope but somewhat beyond hers. “Like quantity physicals, the Halloween connection between the two aspics of a dividend photo.”

Dug angled his head, working on that. "May I?” he asked after a moment, extending his hand toward Nimby.

Nimby touched his hand.

“Got it.” Dug said. “Like quantum physics, the ”spooky“ connection between the two aspects of a divided photon. What happens to one is reflected in the other, instantaneously, though there is no apparent association between them. Even Einstein had a problem with that, because—”

“Dug,” Kim murmured.

He smiled “Okay. The point is, there can be devious connections between two things having a common origin, such as bits of light or Queen Irene. The Xanth Xone folk associate with their Land of Xanth counterparts, but it's not direct.”

“So they can't just say 'Better half, send help,' and have it understood,” Kim said.

“Right.” Dug agreed, for he now had the full import of Nimby's thought. “But in quantum physics, sometimes you can do on a mass scale what you can't do in a single instance. If many Xanth Xone equivalents send a message, some may get through.”

“Like scattershot.” Kim said. “Got it. So what's the message?”

“It has to be masked,” Chlorine said. “So as not to be obvious, and thus alert Dearth.”

“Who?” Kim asked.

"Sorry. Demon E(A/R)th, or D. Earth. We don't know whether he is watching the GigaGrid, but better not chance it. So it has to be something that isn't obvious, but will be understood in Xanth.”

“Coded,” Dug agreed. “Seeming innocent, to those who don't know the background. But an immediate alert, in Xanth.”

“Okay,” Kim said. “So what's the message?”

“To GM: Nimby eats dust.” Chlorine said.

“To Giant Motors? What do they?” Kim paused. “The Good Magician. I get it. But is that enough?”

“It contains the problem and the solution,” Chlorine said. “In your vernacular, as we understand it, eating dust is to be in trouble.”

“Close enough,” Kim agreed “But what's the solution?”

“To fetch magic dust, which carries the magic of Xanth. If some of that can he sent to Nimby, he will recover some of his power, and be able to do what he needs to.”

“Oh, I sec. In Xanth, Nimby is the source of magic, but he's in Edsel's Mundane body, so lacks most of his magic. But with the dust, it would be like a little bit of Xanth, An island in Mundania.”

“Yes. With that, he would be proof against Dearth. For a while. And could continue his exploration without concern.”

“Got it.” Kim said, echoing Dug's comment. “Let's get the message out.” She typed in the address, and made her way to the Xanth Xone, doing it for Chlorine because she was much faster. This is Salmon Ella with a public message, non spam, for all Xanth Xone regs. Please send these four words to your namesakes only: “GM—Nimby eats dust.” She looked up. “Anything else?”

“Better clarify that it isn't done via the keyboard,” Dug said

“Oh. Yes.” She typed again. This is afk effort.

“Will they understand?” Chlorine asked anxiously.

“We'll have to hope they do,” Kim said “We can't clarify it online, because that could alert Dearth, but they'll be discussing it privately, and a number should catch on and spread the word. Then they'll go to it with a will. What each wants most is to have a genuine contact with Xanth. They should enjoy making the effort, even if they don't get through.”

“How will we know they're doing it?” Chlorine asked.

Kim laughed. “No problem there. They're already doing it. Look.” She turned the screen so that Chlorine and Nimby could see it.

Mela Merwoman: I sent it. I think I got through.

Electra: I tried; don't think so.

Draco Dragon: We winged monsters are taking off.

Chlorine: Couldn't make contact. Will try again. :-)

“That's me!” Chlorine said, with a mixed thrill.

“That's why she couldn't gel through.” Kim said. “You're not in Xanth at the moment.”

“Yes. So she's honest What's that punctuation?”

“You read it sideways. It's a face. The colon is the two eyes, the dash is the nose, and the end-parenthesis is the mouth ”

“Oh, it's smiling!”

“Yes.” Kim said. “They can smile, or frown, or make variant expressions Some get pretty sophisticated. It's a way of conveying emotions in lieu of the facial expressions we can't see. What this means is that they are getting on it. and word is spreading ”

“But if they're writing about it, on the screen, won't that alert Dearth?”

Kim nodded. “Probably so. But he won't be able to do anything about it. because there will be too many to catch. He can't shut down the whole GigaGrid.”

Nimby touched Chlorine. “Actually he could shut it down.” she said. “Because electrical effects are part of his power. But Nimby thinks he won't, because he can't be sure this isn't just a game similar to others the Xoners play, and there would be quite a reaction if the whole Grid collapsed. Dearth doesn't like to be obvious, any more than Nimby does; it's bad Demon form. He prefers to let the ants play out their antics on their own.”

“The Demons see people as ants?" Kim asked.

“When they notice them at all,” Chlorine said. “Except for Nimby. When he had to participate as a mortal creature, and win one tear of love or grief, he got to know some of us, and now he accepts us as people in our own right.” She smiled at Nimby, loving him. ”But the other Demons would step on us without knowing or caring. We're just an infestation in their territories."

“Well, at least we know where we stand.” Dug said, shrugging. “Now we've set the ball rolling, we can get on with our camping trip.”

Chlorine looked at Nimby, who nodded. “Yes. We can have the fun we planned on, knowing that Dearth won't be able to interfere.”

They rode and drove to the nearby mountains, surveying the situation. The mountains were impressive. They would be able to disappear into their green forest and get the feel of Mundane nature. That was part of what Nimby really wanted. They would come out here in the morning with their camping gear, and have days and nights in the wilderness.

They returned to the motel and relaxed. They watched the Mundane gourd: Nimby paid special attention to the news, learning everything he could about this realm. They finished on a public service channel, which had a nature program about the pollution of the sea.