Virtual Mode

by Piers Anthony

  That made her pause. How would they react to her disappearance? For she knew she wasn't coming back.

  She walked back to the shed. There she dug out a pad of paper and a pencil. DEAR FOLKS: DON'T WORRY; I AM FINE. I JUST HAVE SOMEWHERE TO GO. COLENE.

  She tore off the sheet and set it on top of the board covering the pot. Eventually someone would look in here, and then the note would be seen. That should be enough. They might put out an alert for her, but she was going where their alert could not reach. As she understood it, the ramp intersected her reality only at this spot; everything else was in other realities, no matter how similar to hers it seemed.

  She walked her bike back out to the street, got on it, and started pedaling. Immediately, her sense of "whereto" went wrong. This wasn't the way.

  She looped the bike and went the other way. Now it was better. It felt like going uphill, only it wasn't physical and it wasn't hard. It was like orienting on a distant light.

  Actually the light was a little to the side; the street wasn't going in quite the right direction. But neither were the intersecting streets. She had to turn and go down one, then turn again.

  Then she reached a region where there weren't cross streets, and had to keep going straight. Gradually her awareness of the proper direction faded. This was no good; it seemed that she had to stay pretty close to the center of the ramp, or she lost it.

  Finally there was an intersection, and she turned and rode at right angles. Before long she felt it: the attuning. Good; that meant that she didn't have to stay on it all the time; she could detour and pick it up later. She might have to do S-shaped figures, crossing and recrossing the ramp, but it did give her more freedom.

  But was she getting anywhere? Everything looked ordinary, not magical. She had now biked more than a mile. That wasn't far, but how far would it be before something changed?

  She just didn't know.

  Well, she would give it a real try regardless. After all, she was skipping school, and that would get her in trouble if they caught her. She had to get far enough to be sure they couldn't.

  She came to a red light, and stopped. She knew that the rules of the road applied to cyclists the same as cars, and she obeyed them scrupulously. To do otherwise was dangerous. It was ironic that people who wanted to live were suicidally careless about such rules, while she who was suicidal was careful. But she knew how close death was. She didn't want her blood splattered across the busy highway; she wanted it handled neatly.

  She saw a car going through the intersection. It was a limousine. At the wheel was a seedy-looking man; in back was a well-manicured dog, sitting up high as if the car belonged to it. That made her smile.

  Then the light changed to blue, and she pedaled across. She was entering a parklike section, with trees growing fairly near the pavement. She liked that. She didn't remember any park here; in fact, she didn't remember this neighborhood at all, now that she actually looked at something other than the road in front of her, but that was all right, since she wouldn't be back.

  Blue?

  She skewed to a stop. Then she turned and stared back, expecting to correct the glitch in her memory.

  No, the green light was blue.

  She resumed travel. She had never seen a blue Go light before, but that didn't mean they didn't exist. Maybe it was a faulty lens, or maybe somebody had sprayed blue paint on it.

  But all the lights thereafter were blue too. Soon the red lenses turned to orange. The color scheme was definitely different!

  Move over, human!

  Startled, Colene veered off the road. A car zoomed by, with another dog sitting up in the rear. It was as if the dog had yelled at her!

  But the yell had been in her mind.

  Colene stopped under a tree near another intersection and pondered. Blue traffic lights. Dogs being chauffeured. Telepathy. Was she imagining things, or was reality changing?

  A car slowed and stopped near her. The black and white head of a Dalmatian dog poked out of the rear window. Are you lost, human girl?

  "No, thank you," she said before she could think. "Just resting."

  Best get on to your obedience school, the thought came. Then the dog's head withdrew, the window closed, and the car nudged back onto the road and accelerated.

  There was no doubt now! Telepathic dogs! "I don't think we're in Oklahoma any more, Tonto," she murmured, taking brief pleasure in mixing her references.

  Heartened but also nervous, she resumed travel. If this was a region where dogs governed people, it wasn't what she was looking for. Evidently Darius lived somewhere beyond this. She had somehow thought the ramp would proceed straight from her place to his, but of course that wasn't necessarily so. There could be any number of different realities between, and one with telepathic dogs was among them.

  The dog had stopped to check on her, as a person might when seeing a lost puppy. The dogs were evidently in charge here, using human beings as drivers. And people were sent to obedience schools? She had better move on through!

  But it was good to have this assurance that the Virtual Mode was in place. She had wanted to die, then had loved Darius, then had lost him and wanted to die again, and now was on her way to find him again. Girl meets man, girl loses man, girl regains man: standard story, happy ending. And if she ran afoul of that one per cent factor, fifteen years down the line, well, at least she'd have the pleasure of wearing out the romance the hard way: by loving him to pieces.

  The surface of the road changed. Now it was rougher, and the cars had wheels that were more like caterpillar treads. And the animals riding in them were no longer dogs, but cats—big ones.

  She paused at another intersection, waiting for the traffic to clear. Almost all of the vehicles were traveling at right angles to her route, which was maybe just as well. She had heard a couple coming up behind her, but they seemed to have turned off before reaching her.

  A car came toward her, slowing. A tiger bounded out. You will make a fine meal, tender girl!

  Terrified, Colene pedaled desperately, bumping her bike over the road-ground. The tiger leaped—and disappeared before reaching her.

  What had happened? Had someone vaporized it? No, there had seemed to be no violence, other than that being practiced by the tiger. It had just phased out.

  She had ridden into another reality, where the tiger wasn't after her! It looked much the same, but was different. Her ramp evidently made the terrain of the realities merge smoothly, so she could travel along it, but the inhabitants were not continuous in the same way. That was probably just as well; otherwise there might have been an endless chain of Colenes setting out on their bicycles, all heading for the same set of Dariuses. One of each was enough!

  Now she knew two more things: there was direct danger to herself in these realities, and she could get out of it by moving quickly forward. But the farther she moved, the stranger things were becoming. She could get into trouble before she knew it, and be stuck. If that tiger had caught her—

  She delved into her pack and brought out the kitchen knife. Now it was not to cut her arms, but to protect her! But she doubted she would be very effective against a telepathic tiger.

  Surely worse lay ahead.

  She realized now why so few cars had been traveling her way. She was going in the "steep" climb through realities, and the cars were remaining in their own realities, so never reached her. But the streets going at right angles were all in whatever reality she was passing at the moment, like long rungs on a ladder.

  Should she turn back? She would be safer in more familiar territory. But that would not get her to Darius. So she would have to go on, and hope she found him before she got into an inextricable predicament, as Principal Brown would put it. Or an inedible picklement, as the kids would translate it.

  She rode forward. But this just wasn't cycling terrain. It was more work to ride than to walk. So with regret she walked her bike, hoping to find a better road in another reality.

  Sudde
nly a huge bear was in front of her. It wore a woodsman's hat and held an axe. A wild human! it thought. Exterminate it!

  Colene wanted to run forward into the next reality, but the bear blocked the way. She would have to retreat, and hope it would go away soon. She stepped back, and the bear vanished.

  But suppose it didn't go away? Suppose it brought in its henchbears and waited for her return? She could be caught before she could move! Suddenly her life, so worthless a few hours ago, was excruciatingly precious.

  She couldn't wait here long anyway; something similar to a bear or a cat would come along the road, and nab her. Maybe she could hide in the forest to the side, but there were two problems with that. One was that she didn't know what monsters were in there, or what bugs. The other was that she didn't want to drift any farther than she had to from the direct ramp, because she might not be able to find it again. Then she would really be in trouble, lost in shifting realities!

  Even if she managed to handle those problems, what about night? When that came, and she got tired, and had to sleep, she would be vulnerable. She had to get somewhere safe before night—and how could she find such a place, in these strange worlds? How could she trust even the safest-looking place?

  I'm in trouble! she thought, fearing that she was vastly understating the case. She really should have waited for Darius to come for her!

  But was he any better equipped to handle these realities? His realm was magic, not telepathy, not animal dominance.

  He had almost died in her reality, because he couldn't cope without magic. She feared he wouldn't do any better than she, and might do worse—which would mean that he would not survive the journey. So maybe she had better meet him half-way, or three quarters of the way, to be sure they both were alive to love when they met.

  Are you from afar?

  There was another thought, faint but clear. Was it a tiger or a bear? It felt friendly, but that could be deceptive. Should she answer?

  Why not? She was in trouble anyway. Maybe this represented some kind of help.

  Yes! she thought as hard as she could.

  Are you in distress?

  Yes.

  Are you human?

  Yes. I am Colene, a human girl.

  Come to me. I need a companion.

  So did she! But if this was a tiger trying to lure her in, she would be a fool to go.

  Also a fool to pass up a potential friend. Who are you?

  I am Seqiro. Please come quickly; this mental contact across realities represents a strain.

  Across realities? That didn't sound like a tiger! She would risk it. How can I find you?

  I am on your path. I have felt your approach. Come to my reality, and follow my mind to my stall.

  But there was the bear lurking for her. She considered briefly, then walked several feet to the side, faced forward again, and started running.

  Her strategy worked. She saw a bear to the side, but by the time it turned to spot her, she was behind its plane and the way was clear.

  She forged on, trusting to blind luck to keep her out of serious trouble. The road deteriorated further, becoming a beaten path. But maybe this was ridable. She got on her bike, set her gears to the lowest ratio, and pedaled hard. Yes, she was moving well.

  Here! You are passing my reality!

  Oops! She turned and rode back, until the thought agreed that she was on the right plane. Then she turned to the side and followed it, walking the bike over the forest floor.

  Follow my thought, Seqiro sent. His signal was much stronger now. There is some danger for you, but my thought will avoid it.

  She hoped so. She followed his thought out of the forest and to a rustic village. There were many oddly dressed people, and horses, dogs, and cats, each going about his business. She did her best to look as if she were one of them, going about her business, but wasn't sure she wasn't ludicrously obvious as a foreigner. At least this didn't look like a bear or tiger camp.

  In the course of this travel, she wandered across the reality lines several times, but his mental contact remained. Sometimes she stepped across the boundary deliberately, to avoid being spotted, then back in farther along. She was getting better at using the Virtual Mode.

  Seqiro led her through a back alley that passed several stalls where horses were stabled. He had used the term "stall"; evidently he had meant it literally. But what kind of man would live in a stall? A stable hand?

  The presence of horses reminded her of her imaginary friend Maresy. Colene had always liked horses, not in the sense of riding them but in the sense of just liking them. She knew they were not considered very intelligent as animals went; cows did twice as well on maze tests. But there was a basic niceness about horses that other animals lacked. Oh, there were those who swore by cats because they were cuddly and purring and quiet, but cats were actually pretty selfish creatures who made friends only with those who fed them well. Some folk swore by dogs, supposedly man's best friend, but there were thousands of dog bites every year, suggesting how thin that veneer of friendship was. There were pet birds, locked in cages or in houses; hardly any of them would remain if given a chance to fly into the wild. But horses—there was just something about horses. Oh, some could be mean and some could be lazy, of course. But, taken as a whole, they were better than people. That was why she wrote to Maresy Doats in her Journal. Maresy was a whole lot more serious than her name suggested.

  But of course a family living in a suburb, scraping along in the middle-class two-incomes-one-child mode, could not even think of having a horse. This had never been an issue;

  Colene had seen from the outset that it was impossible. Even had it been possible, she would have hesitated to bring a horse into such a situation, because at any moment her mother could lose her job—when her alcoholism began manifesting at work—or her father could lose his, when he had a fight with a mistress and she made a scene that embarrassed his company. Even without one of those events, there was no love in the family, not even that one per cent romance. The family was a bomb waiting to be detonated. A horse wouldn't like associating with that. So Maresy would always be a mere dream.

  Still, it was nice passing through this region, for a reason irrelevant to what she was actually doing. By the look of it, this was an ordinary primitive hamlet where horses were the main animals, instead of a reality in which telepathy was practiced. She wouldn't mind living here, near the stalls, and maybe sneaking treats to the horses when their masters weren't looking. That was the nature of girls and horses.

  But she certainly hoped that her telepathic friend really was a friend, because she was getting physically tired and needed a safe place to rest. If it turned out to be another bear or tiger—

  Finally she stopped at a particular stall. There was a large brown stallion in it, gazing out.

  Where next, Seqiro? she thought.

  Duck down and enter my stall, the thought came back. We must explore motives.

  Enter the stall? Colene stared at the horse with dawning wonder. Could it be?

  There had been telepathic dogs, cats, and bears. Why not a horse? You?

  Slowly the horse nodded.

  Something very like instant love blossomed in her heart. A tiger or bear she would not have trusted, but a horse! Of course!

  She ducked down under the heavy gate that closed the stall, and came up inside. She stood next to Seqiro. He was about eighteen hands taU at the shoulder, about six feet. Almost a foot higher than the top of her head. He smelled wonderfully horsy.

  It was all so suddenly ecstatic. A mind-reading horse! What more could any girl ask?

  May I pat you? she thought.

  Yes.

  She reached up and patted his massive neck on the left side. His mane fell to the right side, so didn't get in the way. His hide was sleek and warm. What a beautiful creature!

  May I hug you?

  Yes.

  She reached up with both arms and clasped his neck as well as she could. She put her fac
e against his hide and just sort of breathed his ambience. He was just such a totally magnificent animal!

  May I adore you?

  Yes.

  She felt her emotion surging into overload.

  May I cry on you?

  Yes.

  She stood there and wept, her tears squeezing down between her face and his hide. It was a great relief.

  Finally, she lifted her face. I like horses, she thought belatedly.

  I like girls.

  That seemed to cover the situation.

  CHAPTER 6

  PRIMA

  THE world seemed unchanged. He stood on the dais, within the marked circle beside the castle. But the Cyng of Pwer was gone.

  He stepped out of the circle, in the direction that seemed proper. A plume-bird took wing, startled. Darius was startled too; that bird had appeared from nowhere.

  No, not nowhere. Darius was the one who had stepped into its reality. The geography might be so similar as to be identical, and the animal life too—but men and creatures did not follow the same schedules here as in his own reality. So a bird had been roosting here. He had better move on before the local Cyng of Pwer spied him and asked him what he was doing here. He didn't know how many others there might be like him, in these very similar Modes.

  He walked on toward the rim of the disk. He hesitated, then brought out his personal icon. He squatted and drew the crude likeness of the dais of the Castle of Hlahtar. He activated the icon and jumped it to that likeness.

  He made it, but it was a gut-wrenching experience. Evidently his sympathetic magic was not well attuned to this Mode.

  He gazed at the castle. It looked the same, but now he doubted that it had the same personnel. If it did, could he meet himself? That promised only complication! So he decided not to approach it; he would get well away from anything similar to what he knew. In fact, he should get away from the dais region too, because if his magic stopped working, he would be stranded on a dais.

  He knew where there was a lowland region that was almost level. It was almost uninhabited; an assortment of wild animals roamed there, and that was about all. His sword should protect him from any predators, if he remained alert.