Fifth stared at her. "Question?"
"Charm is upside down!"
His mouth fell open. "You're right! I never noticed. The machines switched images. That's why it's hard to choose correctly. I would have blown it." He stared at the four scenes. "But which one is the one?"
Opaline focused, and saw a slight anomaly. One explosion was slightly out of place, like an imperfectly aligned picture. "That one," she said, pointing. "It's an image covering the real scene, and the machines are operating from so far away they couldn't get it quite right."
"Agreement! I hadn't noticed, again."
"But it's still a guess," Opaline said nervously. "If my conjecture is wrong—"
"It's the best we have. That's the one."
"Concurrence," she said uncertainly. They had agreed.
Then the scenes dissolved. There was Planet Charm, right side up, intact. They had gotten it right.
Good girl, Rafal thought, and faded.
Opaline fainted.
She woke shortly in Havoc's arms; he was kissing her awake. "Much as I would like to take this farther," he said, squeezing her bottom, "we have more pressing business at the moment."
"Question?" she inquired dazedly.
"We must go to tell the machines to stop the war. There is no sense letting the battle continue."
"Confusion!"
He smiled. "The battle of space ships was the decoy, the diversion. Oak's real mission was to change the machines' Prime Directive. He has accomplished that, so now it is time to implement it."
"Oak—changed—the Prime Directive?" she repeated, hardly grasping it.
"It was simply a matter of pressing the right buttons on the right machine. Once Shee located the Citadel, Oak was able to orient on it. But the machines had to be distracted so that the sequence could be accomplished without their awareness. They thought they had Oak stifled when they blocked his efforts on the ships. They did not realize the extent of his power."
She remained dazed. "But how—?"
"The Prime Directive says, in essence 'Serve the Makers.' Now it says 'Serve the Makers and/or Glamors.' But we do have to make our wishes known."
"Make them known," she agreed faintly.
"Are you ready to travel?"
She essayed a smile. "With you, anywhere."
"We go to the machines' Command Center. It is maintained with an environment compatible for Makers, which is close enough to our own. The machines don't need such touches, but they keep all key posts in readiness for the return of the Makers."
"But—but suppose it didn't work?" she asked. "Isn't it dangerous going to the heart of their power without being certain?"
"I will require confirmation," Havoc said, humoring her. "Parting, Flame, Fifth. You have done good work."
"Parting," the two answered almost together. They were already embraced and seemed eager for privacy.
Then they were in a pressurized chamber surrounded by screens showing the multiple activities of the machines.
Opaline fought to avoid cringing in fear. She had never before been this close to the enemy.
"I am Havoc, King of Planet Charm," Havoc said. There was no individual machine here, but of course the entire complex was a machine. "I am a Glamor. Have you verified my identity?"
"Verified," the chamber responded. Havoc was of course in their database.
"Stop the war against the Living Cultures Coalition. Cease all hostile activity immediately. Henceforth you will serve us to the best of your abilities. Acknowledge."
"Acknowledged, master."
"Glamors will pass among you in due course to issue directives," Havoc continued. "See that all units understand. Acknowledge."
"Acknowledged, master."
He glanced at Opaline. "Satisfied?"
"Acknowledged," she said faintly.
"Then our mission is done. We can dally a bit before returning." His hand found her breast.
"Not here," she protested, aware of the cynosure of the machines.
"Women," he muttered. Then they were back on Charm where she had rendezvoused with him.
Now she relaxed, giving herself to him completely, still amazed by the sudden ending of the war. So simple a solution, in the end—and all because of Oak. He really was their secret weapon. And she had helped. That gave her unimportant life meaning.
"You were never unimportant," Havoc said. "No nexus is."
She didn't try to argue.
Chapter 30 Irony
Havoc kissed Gale, Monochrome, and Shee. "I can hardly wait to get you three alone," he said. "I love you all."
"Opaline didn't take your edge off?" Gale asked teasingly.
"Can't touch her today. She must be pristine for her wedding."
"You poor man," Monochrome said. "Maybe she'll be free tomorrow."
"Tomorrow's my date with the bath girls."
"You care about machines?" Shee demanded, frowning.
"Gale, Chrome, hold her down so I can spank her."
Instead they grabbed him and held him while Shee pulled down his trousers and spanked his bare buttocks
"That's for arrogance," Gale said.
"Humiliation," he complained. But his member was rising.
They had gone too far. Their interaction had worked them up, and now they too were hot for a tryst. "Do us," Gale said. "You have ninety seconds."
He rose to the occasion, penetrating and ejaculating into each in turn at thirty second intervals. They were laughing, but each managed to climax with him.
"Now I believe we have a ceremony, or several to accomplish," Monochrome said as he pulled out of her. "You will have to preside, and give a short positive speech to conclude the occasion. Do you think you can manage that without burping?"
"Uncertainty."
"Shee will be your prompter for the lines you forget," Gale said. "If you make it through without error, you may have one of us for the night."
"Three," he said, bargaining.
"Two," Monochrome said firmly.
"Three, or I'll belch."
"Three!" they said together, evincing horror. Of course the thirty second connections had whetted their appetites and his for much longer efforts.
Then, dressed, they went out to conduct the ceremonies. They were on Counter Charm, in a scene arranged by Idyll Ifrit.
It resembled a sunny glade whose surrounding trees provided private recesses for all the parties. Idyll maintained the recesses as seeming rooms complete with beds and facilities. Anyone with a question had but to ask, and the walls would answer. In the center was a dais with chairs for those Glamors who wished to use them. All around it stood couples and individuals: those who had been most active in the defense of life.
Ennui approached him. "Privacy," she said.
"Granted, of course." He stepped aside with her. Ennui never wasted his time.
"I regret delaying you at this time, but you have been rather busy, as have I, and I had to catch you when I could," she said. "The Third Crisis has been abated. I agreed to serve through it. Now I am free to retire. As you institute the new order, you must assign my replacement. I wanted to tell you privately so that you could do that. I will see you through this celebration, then depart."
He was caught by surprise. He had been paying attention to everything but her. "Ennui, I can't run the planet without you. You know that."
"Yes you can, Havoc. I will provide you with a list of qualified assistants. But I mean to travel with my dear friend Aspect, catching up on life. We're both sixty three years old and we deserve some fun before we expire. I would never have traded my experience with you; you transformed my life and gave it phenomenal meaning when I had thought to end it. But now it must close."
"Ennui," he said, overcome. "I know I took you too much for granted. You are my oath friend, my surest guide, the one I trust beyond all others. I truly don't want to continue without you."