Virtual Mode

by Piers Anthony

  Was the choice truly between Colene and the welfare of the Modes? He would have to search for some compromise. But meanwhile he would assume that he was going to agree to give Ddwng the Chip. He did love Colene, and this was the only likely way to save her.

  He looked up. There were the three Felines, not watching him, but alert for any required service. Cat had been of service today; the other two had not. He had to do something about that.

  "Tom, try to enable me to see Colene again," he said.

  Tom jumped to manipulate the screen. This time he quickly got through to the Swine. However far the ship was from Earth, it seemed to entail no delay in communication.

  But the bureaucracy would not be rushed. Tom had to go through the litany of requests and clarifications. Finally a man with the seeming head of a horse appeared on the screen. "The Lady Colene is not accessible at the moment," Stallion said.

  "Why not?" Tom demanded.

  "Because she is riding her horse."

  Darius was surprised. A horse had been mentioned, and it had slipped his mind. She was allowed to ride it? But of course they wouldn't let her ride it into the Virtual Mode. She must have ridden it all the way to this Mode, to prevent it from being lost in the intervening Modes.

  "Stick with it," Darius said. "She won't ride forever, and when she's done she will be available." He did want to see Colene again, but that was not all of it; he wanted to be sure that Tom had enough of a challenge even if he failed to get Colene so that it counted as a full service.

  Meanwhile, what should Darius do? His research and his thinking had fatigued him more than he realized, but it was too early to go for his night's sleep. He wanted to maintain a regular sleeping schedule if he could. He wasn't hungry yet. And he hadn't figured out a service for Pussy.

  "What can you do for me?" he asked her with mock exasperation. "That requires no thought on my part?"

  She inhaled.

  "What else?" he asked quickly.

  "I can give you a relaxing massage."

  He considered that. He liked it. "Agreed."

  "On your bed," she purred, guiding him to his bedchamber. He let her do it. She was probably very good at this, and his body did feel tight.

  Before he knew it, she had pulled off his robe. But of course it wouldn't be good to crumple the Captain's uniform. He lay face down on the bed.

  She was good at it. She kneaded his shoulders, and the tension melted away from the muscles there. She stroked his back, and it relaxed. She massaged his calves, and they felt like new. She worked on his thighs, and they were invigorated.

  Then she started in on his buttocks. He had been sitting for much of the time he had been on the ship, and there was tenseness to be released here too. But as her hands reached around and inside, a new kind of tension developed. Embarrassed, he lay still and did not say anything.

  Until she turned him over. "Uh, no," he said, resisting.

  "But I have to do the other side, or my service is not complete," she explained, sounding hurt.

  He was stuck. He turned over, revealing his erection. She had surely seen similar before. He closed his eyes.

  "Oh, what a beautiful member!" she exclaimed, delighted.

  She did his chest muscles with similar finesse, and his stomach. Then she got on the bed, straddling him, her thighs outside his. He opened his eyes and saw that she was naked; she was evidently able to doff her tight dress in a single fluid motion. She leaned forward, her breasts descending invitingly toward him. She was trying to seduce him.

  All he had to do was tell her no. But if he did, what would that indicate about his impending decision to cooperate with Ddwng? And if he refused her offerings, then told Ddwng yes, and Ddwng considered his maladaptation to the customs of this culture, and concluded that he could not be trusted, what then of Colene? Pussy was nice, but she was meaningless; she would be exactly as nice in exactly this way to any man she was required to serve. It was Colene who counted. He could not risk anything to imperil Colene's welfare.

  The safest thing to do was nothing.

  Pussy took that as assent. She lay on him full length, sliding up enough to kiss him with her feline mouth. It was a human mouth; it only looked feline. All of her cat features were more suggestive than actual, as if she had had just enough cosmetic surgery to lend the effect.

  His resolve to be passive dissolved. His arms closed around her body. His hands stroked the sleekness of the small of her back, and below. Her posterior was as marvelous to touch as to see. Then they were turning over, his eagerness taking charge. She was intended for this use, and—

  The wall became a window screen. Colene stood there, as if right beside the bed, staring down. Everything was visible. She blinked.

  Darius froze in place. The call! How could he have forgotten the call! Tom had kept at it, finally completed it, and put it right through to Darius, where he happened to be at the moment. In the middle of a sexual act with another woman.

  "I guess you're busy right now," Colene said, turning away. The screen faded and became the wall.

  Pussy looked at him, concerned. "Have I done wrong?"

  "No." She had been true to her nature.

  "She was not supposed to see?"

  "I was not supposed to be doing it." An understatement!

  "I will tell her what I did!" Pussy said, tears starting down her face as she sat up. "You did not tell me yes! I have done you a disservice, my master!"

  What could he say? What was the penalty for a disservice? He feared it was formidable. He was already in critical trouble with Colene, and no apology by a null would make that right. What would be the point in punishing Pussy?

  "You were not at fault," he said. "I let you do what I wanted you to do. I did not know Colene would see, but if I had done it without her seeing, I would have been deceiving her. The fault was mine, either way."

  "You must not take the blame for me!" she protested. "I have done you a disservice, and I must pay. I am so sorry to have done this to you. I wanted only—"

  "Enough!" He spoke more forcefully than he had intended, startling her. "You have done me no disservice. I have done myself the disservice. But if you feel you had any share in it, I will require two services of you tomorrow, and thereafter the matter shall be forgotten."

  She had to think about that a moment. "You want my service tomorrow?"

  "Yes, of course. Not necessarily of this type, but a service. Or two. Be ready."

  "Oh, yes, my master! I will be ready! But now—"

  "Dress me. Now I shall eat."

  She hastened to oblige. They emerged to the main chamber, and she hurried to fetch food.

  Provos was there. She had evidently been walking around the ship, knowing her way by memory, and the members of the crew tolerated her as a guest of the Captain. "Something happened?" she inquired.

  "So to speak." He knew what she thought he had done, and she was not far off. He came close to her, needing the illusion of privacy. "Provos, do you remember what the penalty is for a null who does a disservice?"

  "Why, of course. The null is destroyed immediately. It is unfortunate, because no null ever does such a thing intentionally, but it seems that some mistakes are not allowed. Why do you ask?"

  "I had a concern that one might have made such a mistake."

  "No, not that I remember. The nulls of this ship are very competent."

  "I am glad to know that." He was indeed! Pussy had been offering her death, to try to spare him embarrassment. He had managed to avoid that as much by luck as intent. His luck had been opposite with Colene. He knew it would be useless to try to call her back.

  And all because he had allowed his passion to get out of control. He had indeed done himself a disservice.

  THE following day he had to worry about the two services from Pussy, as well as the single ones from Tom and Cat. So he did the obvious: he asked Cat.

  "You do not wish to make sexual use of Pussy?" Cat inquired.

  "I d
o and I don't. She is an attractive and innocent creature. But Colene would not understand."

  "Colene already does not understand."

  "All too true! Still, my feeling for Colene is such that I prefer not to be guilty of what disturbs her, even if it is too late for such restraint. I punish myself by denying myself that which I foolishly desired." It was, he knew, a pointless gesture, but the hurt he had done Colene was gnawing at him, and this was the only way he could think of to ameliorate it even slightly.

  "As you prefer. There is another alternative. On rare occasions, at the master's discretion, services may be postponed, pending greater service at a later time. You are about to undertake a mission with some risk. You can require Pussy to join you on that mission, as a bodyguard."

  "A bodyguard! Is she good at that?"

  "No, violence is against her nature. Tom will be with you, of course; he is adapted for violence. It would be a stressful thing for her, worthy of several services."

  "I don't want to put her under stress!"

  "She is already under stress."

  As with Colene, he was damned either way. "I'll do it."

  Darius did some more thinking about the possible nature of the monster. It seemed unlikely to him that even the most intelligent snail could do the type of mischief described. That suggested that the monster was human. That in turn suggested that something more than incidental vandalism was involved. Perhaps Ddwng knew it.

  He discussed it with Jjle, without speaking of his suspicion. "What is the standard way to deal with a problem like this?" He had learned the answer from Cat, but he had a reason to clear this with the exec.

  "Locate the troublemaker with a fair degree of certainty and bomb the region," Jjle replied.

  "But doesn't that kill many innocent folk along with the guilty one?"

  "It does. But since the normal trouble is terrorism or incipient rebellion against the Empire, and the penalty is known, this is an effective mechanism. Few loyal creatures would seek to shield a guilty one."

  "I will do it in another manner. I will not bomb the region; I will enter it myself and try to nullify the monster. I intend to kill no innocent folk, either human or native."

  "I do not recommend this," the exec said, alarmed.

  "Neither do my Felines," Darius said with a smile. "They are unanimous against it. But I believe it is my authority to handle this mission as I choose."

  Jjle gazed at him with a certain wary appreciation. "That is correct. Captain. But I must insist that you be appropriately protected."

  "I will take Tom and Pussy as bodyguards, carrying weapons."

  "A female null? This is irregular."

  "But my prerogative."

  "True, sir." There was a slight emphasis on the "sir," a nuance of disapproval. "But two nulls is not sufficient protection. You will require shielding."

  "Armor?"

  "It could be called that. It will shield you from both physical and environmental threats."

  "Agreed. The three of us will be so protected."

  He returned to his chambers, knowing that a message would be sent to Ddwng, and that the Emperor would confirm Darius' authority, because Ddwng wanted to learn more about him. None of the members of this ship owed allegiance to Darius, only to the Emperor. All thought him foolish and perhaps crazy, but they had to go along with him as long as Ddwng did. They feared he might only get himself killed.

  But Provos had remembered him killing the monster, so the success of his mission was not in doubt, merely the manner of its accomplishment. Of course Provos had been in error about his having sex with Pussy, but only because she had made the reasonable assumption about his session in the bedroom. Provos did not know the literal future, only that part of it she was to learn. Darius had been caught in compromise. Anyone would have drawn a similar conclusion. Especially Colene. And he was in effect guilty. But however Colene now felt about him, he still loved her, and the thought of her being sterilized and lobotomized was intolerable. He had to save her.

  So if Ddwng wanted to discover Darius' nature, this would provide a clear indication. He would accomplish this mission in his own style. But he still had not decided whether to accede to Ddwng's demand for the Chip. If he could find a way to save Colene without giving up the Chip, he would do so. Just as he hoped to find a way to nullify the monster without hurting anyone.

  "Tell me about shielding," he said to Cat.

  "It is an electronic armament which prevents any fast-moving missiles from touching the wearer," Cat replied. "It also intercepts any radiation or sonics which would be harmful. Only officers of the Empire are allowed to utilize it."

  "Or those designated by such officers." Darius was catching on to the rules of the Empire.

  "True."

  "Do you think it will intercept the mind-stunning attack of the monster?"

  "It should, as there surely is some physical aspect of this. True mental transmission between minds is unknown; all claims of such have been investigated and debunked. But it seems indiscreet to expose yourself to it."

  "It seems indiscreet to me not to," Darius said. "Tom and Pussy and I will go after the monster protected in this manner."

  Cat was silent. That was his indication of disagreement so strong as to be a possible disservice if voiced. No null could afford to call its master a fool.

  THE Flay arrived at Planet Yils on schedule. There was no fanfare; it simply took up what Jjle described as an orbit, and Darius stepped into the transfer chamber with his two Feline bodyguards. Tom was confident; Pussy was nervous. Tom carried what was called a laser rifle, and Pussy the pain dial. She had to bear a weapon for this type of service to count, though she seemed afraid of it.

  The shields they wore were invisible. They were generated by small boxes carried in pockets. Darius knew the power of magic, but distrusted the power of super-science, so tested the shields by having his Felines make mock attacks against each other and himself. They could make contact with each other, but the moment any motion became swift enough to harm a person, the shields cushioned it and slowed it down to safe range. The faster the motion, the greater the cushioning effect, until it became quite uncushionlike. When Darius, emboldened by slower maneuvers, attempted to strike Tom with a stick, the stick seemed to smack into a wall, and it broke in half. Thrown stones bounced off harmlessly. A direct charge at Pussy resulted in both of them bouncing back, cushioned by their shields so that neither was hurt.

  This did seem to be about as good as magic. But would it really be effective against the monster? Darius had a nagging doubt.

  They met the commandant of the colony, an old human man in an Empire robe. "It struck again six hours ago," he announced. His language was unfamiliar, but Darius now carried a translation ball which worked both ways. "We have set up a cordon, and believe we have it isolated. Unfortunately a number of colonists reside in that sector."

  "We are not going to bomb the sector," Darius said.

  "You have a way to point-spot the monster?" the commandant asked, relieved.

  "We are going to search for it ourselves."

  "But it can stun human minds!"

  "We are shielded."

  The commandant looked doubtful. "I would not wish to seem critical of Navy equipment, but unless your shields are more potent than ours, they will not be effective. This seems almost to be a case of—something unknown."

  So maybe it was direct mind contact! The commandant didn't want to name it as such, fearing ridicule for believing what was supposedly supernatural, but he was hinting. "I have had some experience of this type," Darius said, understating the case. Receiving and amplifying and broadcasting mental power was his specialty of magic. If by any chance the monster's power related, Darius might be uniquely equipped to handle it. He had tested sympathetic magic here and found it to be inoperative, but perhaps mental magic would work. Certainly the two were different, because even in his own Mode, few folk possessed the power of multiplying feeling, while an
yone could do ordinary magic.

  Could this be coincidence? Colene had arrived at this Mode before him, perhaps because of his delay when he returned Prima to his own Mode. Ddwng had surely questioned her. She could have told him what she knew of Darius' power of magic, which the Emperor well might have interpreted as supernatural mental power. By the definitions of this culture, that was what it was. Darius had not been aware of any mental interactions with the folk of this Mode, but it was possible that though most were deaf to the transfer of joy, some few might be receptive.

  Ddwng was evidently no ignorant functionary. He had given Darius a mission that might exploit his particular talent, if it were operative here. Ddwng might be extremely interested in knowing the status of that talent.

  Darius decided to assume that this was a good connection and that he could be effective in dealing with the monster. He let his peculiar awareness extend, seeking a mind that was in some fashion similar to his own. A mind that could transfer joy—or other emotion. Or simply the deadly absence of emotion that was unconsciousness.

  In a moment he found it. To his perception it was a nucleus of malignancy. Something was hating.

  Darius had not had occasion to magnify or broadcast hate. There just was no market for it. But the principle was the same as for joy. He could transfer it without affecting himself. If there were no suitable recipients, the emotion would be lost—but that was a suitable way to deal with hate.

  All this happened in a moment. Meanwhile, he was answering: "It shall be known soon enough." Then he set forth with his Felines into the cordoned region.

  Most of it was native. The Yils came out to meet them. They were indeed like snails with the body mass of men or greater, and slow moving. One had positioned itself to be in the main aisle they were following. Did it want a dialogue?

  Darius stopped before it. "What is your concern?" he inquired.

  The snail wiggled feelers. "You are the Empire Captain come to abolish the menace?" the translator ball inquired.