Piers Anthony: Unicorn Point

“I am not alive. What is your decision?”

“I hate you!”

Mach smiled. “I take that to be your acquiescence.”

“Yes,” she whispered, defeated. In that moment of her genuine humiliation, he found her more appealing than she had been when arrogant. Stripped of her imperialistic manner and her cruelty, she could be a truly attractive woman.

Mach spoke to the desk. “One interrogation unit to this site,” he said. He realized that the receptionist was late returning; probably she was under orders to stay clear until her mistress had completed the seduction of the robot. That particular plot had gone awry! But if Nepe was in trouble—

“But a condition,” Tania said.

“No conditions! I mean to have the truth!”

“You pride yourself on honor,” she said, speaking so low that her voice hardly carried. “Deal with me with honor.”

“You never dealt with me with honor!”

“That is irrelevant. You are not me.”

She had a point. “What are you asking?”

“If I demean myself in this manner, and prove out, you owe me.”

“Owe you what?”

She merely looked at him.

Mach was shaken. Could she be telling the truth? If so, his humiliation of her would prove to have been unjustified. He would, indeed, owe her, by his code. But she was a clever, nervy woman; she could be bluffing, trying to make him change his mind without proof.

“Granted,” he said shortly. And felt a twinge of guilt. Had he any right to make such a bargain, regardless of the situation?

Tania went to the desk. “Admit the machine, then seal off all communications until further notice,” she said. She sat in the chair.

Thus this questioning would be only between the two of them. The interrogation unit would not tell; it would be erased after use. No one else would know what happened here, unless one of them told.

The unit arrived. It was a standard cylindrical robot, with several extensible arms and assorted recesses. “Subject?” its speaker grille inquired.

“Me,” Tania said.

The machine rolled to her. Efficiently it fastened metallic bracelets on her wrists, ankles and head. She submitted to this with unconcealed aversion, but made no move to interfere.

“Testing,” the machine said. “Speak truth: what is your name and station?”

“Tania, human, serf, heir to Citizen Tan.”

“Speak false: what is your name and station?”

“Mach, robot, serf, heir to Citizen Blue.” Mach had to smile; she had given his identification, true for him but a falsehood for her.

“Speak half-truth: a statement of your choosing.”

“I am in love with Mach.”

Mach was startled. Could any part of that be true? He had assumed that her play for him was entirely cynical. “Alignment is complete,” the interrogator said. “Proceed.”

Her half-truth had aligned? This promised mischief of another nature!

Though shaken by her statement, Mach knew he had to make this count, because he would never get another opportunity. He could not afford to let any aspect of the truth slip by him.

He started obliquely, because now he wanted a broader truth than he had initially. “Why did you attempt to seduce me? Provide such detail as you believe is warranted to clarify this matter.”

“That is not relevant!” she flared.

“I believe it is, because Nepe disappeared while you were doing this.”

Indeed, the interrogator challenged it. “Subject’s statement is false,” it said.

She grimaced. She was in no sense drugged or under any duress other than the need to tell the truth or be immediately exposed in her lie. “It was my brother’s plan. Fleta humiliated him and got away. Now she is back in Phaze; he can not reach her, either physically or by the terms of the covenant. But he can not rest until he has his satisfaction of her. Therefore he asked me to win you away from her. That would be a fitting vengeance for him, that can reach her wherever she is. In addition, this would bind you more firmly to our cause, so it is practical; that is why the other Citizens agreed. Nepe is involved only in the sense that she would be affected by the breakup of the marriage of her parents.”

She paused. After a moment the interrogator spoke. “That is not the whole truth.”

Tania’s lips tightened. “I had no need to agree to this, because I am his sister and his heir. He could have used Tsetse for this purpose; indeed, that was the original plan. But I volunteered, because it is better to keep it in the family; it would be dangerous to have my employee gain your loyalty. She might get notions of independence. With me, there would be no risk, because never would I betray the interests of the Citizenship I am slated to inherit.”

Another pause. Then: “That is not the whole truth.”

“It is enough of it!” she snapped.

“True,” the interrogator agreed.

Mach was surprised again. She had backed off the machine! But his own curiosity had been aroused. “Give the rest anyway,” he said.

“You owe me,” she reminded him.

“If you prove out.”

“I was influenced by more than loyalty to my brother and my side,” she said. “For a decade I have known of this sophisticated robot, Mach. I am older than he, but this has little relevance in our society. At first I was outraged that he should be designated heir to a Citizen. But when he established communication with his other self, and went to Phaze, I realized that he was much more than a robot. I saw the mischief he made for our side, and I learned how he became an Adept in the other frame. I know how hard it is to do that. I studied him, and was fascinated with him, as a machine who had become human. That was all there was to it, until the time of our dominance neared, and we knew that the enemy had to make his countermove soon or be forever lost. Then it seemed wise to bind Mach more tightly to us, and the Citizens were ready to give my brother his vengeance. Then, as I considered the advantage of doing the job myself, I realized that my interest was more than this. I have found no man worthy of more than occasional dalliance; but Mach, though he is a robot, may be worthy. I became intrigued to the point of fascination. My mission may be one thing, but my heart is another, and I want him. It was my intent to seduce him first, then wean him away from Fleta by repeated demonstrations of my effectiveness as a lover, and, perhaps, to love him myself. In the end, perhaps, to win Bane also. Because these two represent our only known contact with the frame of Phaze, and Phaze remains a dream for all of us, even those of us who have never seen it, a magic world like none other. I would give my power and pride to live in Phaze, the frame where enchantment is literal. If Mach could take me there, or exchange me with my other self there for a time, as he did with Agape—the very notion, however farfetched, fills me with an unutterable longing, and I would love him for it no matter what else occurred between us. And that is the whole of it.”

“That is the whole of it,” the interrogator agreed. It did make sense. Tania might be arrogant and cynical, but she had desires too, and she wanted the best for herself. He understood her longing for Phaze; that longing had never left him. So there was genuine desire, under her artificiality. But what of Nepe?

“Tell what you know or suspect of Nepe’s disappearance.”

“I used her only as a lever to force your acquiescence. I know nothing of any plot against her, and do not believe that there is any. Her disappearance is a mystery to me. Indeed, I am chagrined by it, because it completely destroyed my initiative with you.”

There was the pause. “That is the whole truth,” the interrogator said.

Mach, amazed, tried once more. “Do you know of any other plot against me or Nepe or Agape, or have you any suspicion of such?”