Piers Anthony: Chaining the Lady

Melody made no move. At least she seemed to have some leverage: They could not remove her from this host without her cooperation, and they did not want to kill her. Probably they could stun her—but then her host would collapse and hurt herself, and it would be a violation of the covenant.

—I realize that I am not especially appealing to you in this body,— Dash continued persuasively. —But it is my own, and you are aware of the qualities of my mind and aura. In this lovely female host here— he pointed his wings momentarily at another Dash entity that appeared beside him —you would find me handsome enough. You yourself would be beautiful, as you were in Solarian guise. There would then be no further barrier to our love.—

He was right. His present form was unappealing to her, quite apart from her resolution not to mate. But she did retain a guilty fascination for him. He had such an attractive aura, and his interest in her seemed sincere. He put a political, practical face on it, but underneath he wanted her for herself. Their auras were nearly equal, they shared an interest in Tarot, and had similar levels of intelligence. Perhaps Flint of Outworld had found a better match, but that was a once-in-a-millennia situation. No male in her lifetime had paid her that compliment (with one exception) and it did move her. She tried to deny that she was still so vulnerable to that kind of flattery, but found she could not.

Then she thought of Skot of Kade, and Gary and March, brave Solarians dying honorably with their fleet And of Captains Llono the Undulant and Mnuhl of Knyfh and the Drone of the Deuce of Scepters sacrificing themselves for their galaxy. And of Yael and Llume and Slammer the magnet and Beanball—yes, even the infant magnet had fought for her!—and she knew she loved them all with a love that was greater than anything available in Sphere Dash. She could not participate in their destruction, no matter what. She was of Galaxy Milky Way, and no personal convenience or lure of aura could alter that. What Andromeda was doing was fundamentally wrong, and she could not support it even tacitly.

—I feared you would require more convincing,— Dash whirred. —Perhaps I can do it yet.—

Another curtain lifted. A strange creature was unveiled. It was composed of strings and tubes and taut diaphragms, as ungainly a thing as Melody could imagine.

Then with a special shock she identified it. “A Mintakan!” she cried internally. “My own kind!”

Cnom was surprised and disgusted. “You look like that in your natural form? No wonder you transferred out!”

“It is worse than the Dash,” Melody agreed ruefully. “A species never recognizes how odd it looks to others until it gets a glance back through transfer. I understand my ancestor Flint was appalled at the sight of naked Solarians when he was in a Polarian host. But every species in the universe has a right to its own existence. That’s what I’m fighting to protect.”

Cnom subsided, indifferent to the fate of distant Spheres or peculiar creatures.

Melody studied the Mintakan figure more closely. It was an old one, she saw now, with discolored drums, warped strings, and sagging tubing. Hardly a bargain; in fact it seemed near expiration from sheer degeneration. It was female, a spinster, apparently never attractive enough or amenable enough to find a companion for reproduction. It had no Kirlian aura.

—This, in case you did not recognize it,— Dash said,—is not merely a Mintakan host. It is your original body.—

Startled, Melody considered the body a third time. Her aura touched it, and sensed the familiarity. This was, indeed, her original shell. She did not know what to feel.

—We have gone to a great deal of energy-expense to arrange things for you,— Dash said. —If you do not wish to occupy a Dash host, you may return to your own. And to ensure your satisfaction, we have also imported a handsome young male of your kind.— And another Mintakan appeared. His strings were taut, his tubing firm.

During all this adventure, Melody had wanted to return to her own body, to retire in peace, contemplating her Tarot cards so as to wrest a few more precious insights from the deck before she expired. She could live for a long time in transfer, over five Solarian years, but eventually she would have to return to her own body to recharge her aura. And if her Mintakan body should die while she was in transfer, her aura would fade out at a hundred times its normal rate. So by capturing her body, the Andromedans had in a very real sense captured her . The chains, though subtle, were horribly strong.

The projectile cannon disappeared. —I believe you understand the situation now,— Dash said. —We do not need to threaten your present host, who is of course innocent, being both £ and hostage.—

Another score! Melody had indeed taken the £ hostage, overwhelming her with the immensity of her aura. Cnom did not seem to object, but the principle was the same. Melody was guilty of the offense she fought against.

—But you must appreciate now that you have no reasonable escape,— Dash continued inexorably. —If you leave and hide from us again, we shall have to dispatch your body, and you will shortly fade out, wherever you are hiding. That would be an unfortunate waste of the finest aura ever known.—

Was there any way to free her Mintakan body from their clutches? Could she charge to the ledge, knock the body down, grab it and carry it away? No, the risk was too great. The Mintakan body was old and frail; such activity could kill it. And where would she take it? Into the jellybog to drown? In addition, she now perceived that the body was not in the open air, but within a protective shield; obviously the atmosphere of this planet was not suitable. Without the life-support system the Dash were providing, it would die regardless.

On the other foot, if she agreed to reanimate her own body, what then? Could she carry through her campaign to save her galaxy while trapped in an atmosphere bubble, unable to move freely even if she had the physical strength to? Hardly!

—There is an alternative,— Dash said, having allowed her thoughts time to coagulate. —We have chained the lady, but we do not wish to cause her unnecessary discomfort. You can transfer instead to this fine Dash and live in perfect comfort each day, returning to your natural body only during sleep. Thus you will hardly feel your age and infirmity, and can endure so long as your Mintakan body survives. That can be a long time, with the kind of medical care we can provide. We are in effect offering you a greatly extended youth.—

At the expense of her galaxy? Melody knew she could not do it. She remained standing, unable to cooperate, yet also unable to resist. It was an impasse, with the negative power of decision lying with the enemy. They could always kill her, if they so choose.

—I regret the need to force the issue,— Dash said, —but we are under extreme pressure ourselves, and we very much want you with us.—

To help them in their conquest? Hardly! They were accomplishing that nicely without her.

—You see, we can’t force you out of your present host,— Dash explained, —and we can’t do anything to that host, because of the covenant. Should we kill a £, the other £ might stampede. We can’t hurt a £ or even detain one unreasonably; our threat with the cannon was a bluff against you , not Cnom. So we must convince you to leave that host voluntarily.

—To accomplish this, I shall explain why we need you. This planet is a leading source of Ancient information; sites abound more thickly here than anywhere else in the known universe. From these sites we have rediscovered Kirlian science that has propelled us to the forefront of our Galaxy, and soon the Galactic Cluster too. But more sites remain that are inaccessible to us. They are of the self-destruct variety, a type unknown in your own galaxy, that cannot be penetrated by any entity whose aura is of the wrong type or strength. We need the information locked within these sites, for there are many other galaxies in the universe, with many other sapient species. If one of those species should achieve complete Ancient science before we do, they will have the capacity to eliminate us. We cannot afford that risk.