Shee knew that the Mistresses governed Earth. The lesser Mistresses bore about the same relation to Monochrome as an ikon on Charm did to a Glamor: they gathered and transmitted magic power to the dominant figure. They could, however, be touched by Glamors in a manner ikons could not be. The conjecture was that there were so many of them that this effect was diluted to a thousandth. All the Mistresses were lovely women, and they were reputed to bestow their sexual favors freely, using them to manage men.
A handsome, fit man entered the room. Monochrome went to him, and they embraced. "Welcome, Mistress," he said. "We need you."
"Introduction," Monochrome said. "Shee Robot. Shee, this is Caveat, Prime Minister of Earth." She did not introduce Ennui or the dog; they already knew each other.
Shee shook Caveat's hand, and was immediately aware that he was not affected by her beauty. He was not a woman's man. Her information confirmed this: he was Voila's close friend, and loved her, but they were not and would never be lovers.
Caveat turned back to Monochrome. "Mistress, the matter is urgent."
"Tell Shee. The paths suggest she can help."
Caveat returned to Shee, this time focusing on her. "Please accompany me."
They went with him into a capsule that traveled rapidly through what Shee now sensed was a mountain of frozen water: ice. Earth's capital was at its southern continent, frozen over, and the buildings were all under the ice.
She sat beside Caveat as he explained. "We are dredging and filling to build a new complex beside a nether lake.
It will be a water park, a refuge for rare cold-water creatures. The work is slow, because it is important not to disturb the main ice cover or to make leaks in the lake. A programming error has caused a dredge to turn rogue, and it is out of control, threatening to breach the ice wall and flood a residential section. We are unable to shut it down because of the error; radio control no longer connects. We are trying to move blocks into its path to stop it, but it is moving erratically and may miss them. The situation is desperate."
"I can handle it."
"Question?"
"I will need to enter that machine. Put me in its path."
"Doubt. I fear you do not understand. The dredge is large. You would be crushed."
"I need only to touch it."
Caveat glanced at Monochrome. "Is this advisable?"
"Negation. But with Iolo's help, she can prevail."
He shook his head. "It is not a risk I care to take. Havoc would be seriously annoyed if his new mistress was taken out. But the need us urgent." Ennui spoke to Shee. "Iolo can see the near future paths, as Glamors do. It is not a mortal talent, but he has an imprint from Idyll. Accept his guidance."
A dog. But the matter seemed harmless. "Acquiescence."
"There are only tunnels in the vicinity," Caveat said. "Some are small. If you suffer from claustrophobia—"
"Negation."
The shuttle halted. They got out into an ice tunnel. The ifrit dog ran down it. Shee ran after him, leaving the others behind. She was glad for the chance to be useful; it would impress Havoc favorably.
The dog dodged into a side crevice. Shee followed. This was much tighter, and not level; she had to scramble up and down jagged slopes.
Then it got too tight for her. She lifted her right hand, about to heat it so she could melt a wider aperture.
The dog paused, looking back. "Negation."
She froze. Had the beast talked?
"Dangerous to melt there," Iolo said. "I will diffuse and find a better route."
"Acquiescence," she said faintly. Now she realized that the ifrits, whose natural form was diffuse clouds, could assume any physical form they chose. Iolo was not a dog but an ifrit.
Iolo diffused into vapor and drifted away. He was looking for a better route, surely exploring all the crevices simultaneously. She waited.
His head reformed. "Retreat ten paces. Take the ceiling crevices. No melting."
She followed his instructions, and found the crevice. She jumped up and hauled herself into it.
Soon it opened into a larger passage. No melting was necessary.
Now the ice shuddered. Something was rocking it. That would be the rogue dredger.
"This thing is dangerously erratic," Iolo said. "Heed me closely."
"As you wish."
They reached the deep lake. The dark water lay directly below the ice, supporting it; there was no air pocket beyond the crevice. If the water were to drain out, the ice above would collapse. Shee appreciated the danger.
"We must swim to the dredger," Iolo said. "That is the most feasible approach. Follow me." He sank into the freezing water.
Shee hesitated. Did the ifrit really know what he was doing?
Iolo returned. "Window missed," he said. "Now it is harder. This way." He ran through a side crevice, just above the water level. She realized that by hesitating she had spoiled the first route. Time was part of the near future fabric, obviously. She would respond with greater alacrity hereafter.
There was no room for Shee to run. She dived through on her belly, sliding after him. The crevice descended to the level of the lake.
The shaking increased. The rogue dredger was coming this way. It felt monstrous.
"Into the water!" Iolo cried, splashing into it himself. Again, she followed. Suddenly the dredger was there. It was huge, a tracked machine with a round snout that sucked in water at a phenomenal rate. "To the side!" the ifrit called. "Now!"
When they were so close? A few more strokes and she would be able to touch it. But she obeyed. She had learned to respect his judgment.
And the water snout turned to orient on them, sucking the water around them into its belly. But they were just clear of it. Iolo had warned her just in time.
Because he was reading the near future paths. The actions of the dredger were random, but the magic could anticipate them in a way science could not. "Go to it," Iolo called.
Shee plunged toward the dredger. In moments she reached its side. She clapped a hand on its surface. She sent the kill signal. The machine died. The job was done.
They left it there and made their way back through ice and water to the others. Now there was time to sent a repair crew to see to the dredger; it would not break through the ice walls in the interim.
"Gratitude!" Caveat exclaimed. "You may have saved lives, and certainly expense."
"She did save lives," Monochrome said. She was looking farther along the future paths.
"Iolo showed me the route," Shee said. "He followed the paths, as I could not."
They reentered the travel capsule and returned to the administration building. "Earth is grateful," Caveat said.
"No publicity," Ennui said. "Shee is private."
"Then perhaps the two of you and the dog will accept a complimentary sight-seeing tour, Shee being a tourist from the colony."
He was smooth. Evidently Monochrome had further business to attend to on Earth, so they were parking the visitors long enough to get some working time.
"Appreciation," Ennui said. "We are tourists." She didn't want her position advertised either.
They joined a tourist group and boarded a rocket, which was a primitive machine used to transport people and cargo between continents. This was, after all, a sub type 1 culture, not using all the energy of its planet. They sat in padded seats and were strapped down in case of shaking during the takeoff. Iolo was allowed to settle on the floor between their two sets of feet. This was, as Shee understood it, irregular, but the pass Caveat had given them cleared it: Iolo was a guard dog, a protection allowed for pretty women who might receive unwanted attention, or for old ones who might be robbed. He was indeed a guard, but not of that nature.
"Regret to waste your time this way," Shee said to Ennui. "I know your business on Planet Charm is suffering during your absence."
"Negation. I have wanted to take a vacation for the past two decades, and to see Earth, but was never able to justify it. Now Havoc has done it for me."