Piers Anthony - Unicorn Point

He closed the door behind him, then went to his main desk. The image of Nepe was on the screen; she was constantly under surveillance. The portable camera was a dummy. Now he would see whether his little demonstration had been effective.

“How can you go along with this, Tsetse?” the child was asking as she climbed down off the desk.

The woman looked miserable. “I can not oppose him. I did not know he was going to use me this way, but I can’t stop him. I beg you, do as he says, so he won’t hurt you!” That was exactly what he had wanted her to say. Tsetse, fortunately, was not bright enough to see through his ploy.

“Won’t you help me escape?” the child asked, toying with the lethargy box.

“I dare not! Even if I did, everything is guarded! You can not escape this chamber without his authorization. Neither can I!”

“I thought you’d feel that way,” Nepe said. She turned on the box and changed the setting.

Tsetse sagged. Nepe had been smart enough to know that there were a number of settings, and that each person in the vicinity had a setting except the Citizen. She had retuned it to Tsetse.

Purple struck the air with one fist, jubilantly. The child was taking the bait!

Nepe walked around the desk and took Tsetse by the hand. The woman followed where led, unresisting. “Lie down here,” she said, bringing her to the couch. “Sleep. You have no pan in this.”

Tsetse lay down and closed her eyes. Almost immediately, she was breathing in the regular cadence of sleep. Nepe had evidently already explored the chamber, for she showed no hesitation. She pulled a light chair to the wall under an air circulation vent, and stood on it. Now she could just reach high enough to catch the grille with the fingers of one hand.

She remained there, the hand clasping the metal strips. Slowly her body dissolved. Her legs and feet became blobs of flesh that were drawn up into the main mass. Her other hand melted into that mass. Then a bolus of flesh moved up the hanging arm and to the grille. It worked its way through. Another bolus rose, passing similarly beyond the mesh. In due course. Purple knew, all of the child’s body would be inside the air tube, and the single hand, left behind, would let go and disappear into the rest. Then the blob would elon gate like a snail and travel on up through the tube. He smiled. Nepe had not disappointed him! Had she really thought he was foolish enough to forget her nature? Rape was of course meaningless to her; she could simply melt her flesh to avoid it, or re-form it intact after suffering any violation. She had played her part perfectly, and now was doing exactly what he had hoped she would. She had responded to his threats by making an effort to escape.

He wished he could remain to watch, but he had pressing other business. Humming, he left the office. Citizen Blue was at the designated meeting place for the ceremony, with his robot wife and robot son. Blue was in his usual blue clothing, while the other two were naked in the fashion of the serfs they were. Citizen Purple swept in, trail ing Citizen Tan. This was all that was required; the holo recording would acquaint other interested parties with the transaction.

“I am ready to do business,” Purple said.

“We are expecting Citizen Translucent,” Blue said.

“Haven’t you heard? He is indisposed at the moment. Therefore this formality devolves on me. You may proceed.”

“It is my understanding that he is indisposed because a gas bomb was smuggled into his office,” Blue said evenly. “I think we should postpone this ceremony until he is recovered.”

“As I recall, you used the pretext of the missing child to cut off our contact with the Oracle before. The child was missing by your connivance. Now you propose to use the pretext of Citizen Translucent’s absence to renege on the Oracle again?”

Blue hesitated. It was obvious that he did not like this situation, but could not make more than a token protest, because his side had lost the contests.

“I think we are seeing the falling out of thieves,” the robot wench muttered.

“It is not your concern, machine,” Purple said, giving her breasts a straight stare. What a satisfaction it had been to beat her in the Game!

Blue did not show his annoyance. “Then we may as well proceed.” He turned to face the pickup that was the only indication of the Oracle’s presence. “Oracle, are you aware?”

A small hologram appeared: a whirling spiral of light hov ering just above the pickup. “I am. Citizen Blue.”

“My side held a contest with the Contrary Citizens, the stakes being control of the access to the Oracle and the means to contact the frame of Phaze. The Contrary Citizens won. Accordingly, I am now instructing you, Oracle, to acknowledge the instructions of the Contrary Citizens, whose spokes man is—”

“Citizen Purple,” Purple said.

“Currently Citizen Purple,” Blue continued. “And to decline to acknowledge my instructions, or those of any who are allied with me. Do you accede?”

“It is an unfortunate pass,” the Oracle remarked. “The Contrary Citizens will ruin the planet.”

“Do you accede?” Purple demanded.

“I accede,” the Oracle said. “I can do only as directed.”

“Then you will answer, until further notice directly from me, only to me or to Citizen Tan, who will be working with you initially.”

“Citizen Purple and Citizen Tan, logged on,” the Oracle agreed. The whirling spiral faded out.

“Now the matter of contact with Phaze,” Purple said.

“Mach will serve in that capacity, as before,” Blue said. “And Bane, when he is present.”

“I think not.”

Blue looked at him. “You need them for contact.”

“I prefer to use the child Nepe,” Purple said. “Her contact is more versatile, and she should prove to be more responsive to our interests.”

“That wasn’t the understanding!” Mach snapped.

“The understanding was that the means for contact would be provided,” Purple responded. “The actual mechanism was unspecified. It therefore becomes an option. I am now exercising that option. The child will be our instrument of contact. Since she is already in our possession, no more need be done. The agreement is complete.”

“You beast!” the robot wench cried. She had adopted many human mannerisms.

“I doubt Nepe will work for you,” Blue said.

“I believe she will, before long.”

“I’m not sure you can even keep her captive long,” Mach said. “She has remained with Citizen Translucent because she knew she was part of the stakes; she was to be returned if we won. She did not try to escape because she did not want to interfere with our arrangements. But she has never agreed to be your permanent contact with Phaze. Now she will feel at liberty to make her escape.”

“Let me show you her current situation,” Purple said.

“Oracle, tune in on my office suite and show the child.” In a moment a half-life-sized hologram formed. It showed a bottle containing the head of Nepe. The rest of her was puddled protoplasm.

“As you can see, she is truly captive,” Purple said. “I am sure she can not escape that bottle. At the moment the air is good and the temperature comfortable, but there is no assurance that they will remain so. I believe she will elect to cooperate.”

“I doubt it,” Mach said, with his robotic control of reaction. “She knows that if you hurt her you risk rendering her unable to function. That will do you no good.”

“I see that you do not quite understand,” Purple said. “Should the child be rendered unable to contact the other frame, you will remain obliged to provide another instrument of contact. It is therefore to your interest to encourage her to cooperate.”