The curtain did not intersect this dome, but they located it nearby. They went outside, into the polluted rarefaction of the atmosphere, and Stile donned his Phaze clothing, which Sheen had brought. She never overlooked details like that, thanks to her computer mind. He would not have dared to put on any clothing at all in the sight of any Proton serfs, but outside was the most private of places on Proton.
There was a narrowing plain, the ground barren. To the northwest a wrinkle of mountains projected, as grim as the plain. Only the shining dome brightened the bleak landscape. There were not even any clouds in the sky; just ominous drifts of ill-smelling smog.
“If ever you find a way for a robot to cross . . .” Sheen said wistfully. “I think that land must be better than this one.”
“My clothing crosses,” Stile said. “Since you can have no living counterpart in Phaze, it should be possible-“
“No. I tried it, during your absence. I can not cross.”
She had tried it. How sad that was, for her! Yet what could he do?
“Here—within a day,” he gasped, beginning to suffer in the thin air, and Sheen nodded. The air did not bother her; she breathed only for appearances. “You understand—there is beauty in Phaze, but danger too. I may not—“
“You will make it,” she said firmly, kissing him once more. “Or else.”
“Uh, yes.” Stile made what he trusted was the proper effort of will, and stepped through the curtain.
CHAPTER 14 - Yellow
It was afternoon on Phaze, and the air was wonderful. The sky was a deep and compelling blue, punctuated by several puffball clouds. The mountains to the northwest were lovely. Stile paused to look at the pretty little yellow flowers at his feet, and to inhale the spring-like freshness of it all.
How did this frame come to have such a pleasant natural environment, while Proton was so bleak? He was no longer certain that industrial pollution and withdrawal of oxygen could account for it all. What about water vapor? Obviously there was plenty of it here, and little in the Proton atmosphere. This was a mystery he must one day fathom.
But at the moment he had more urgent business.
Stile made a mental note of the location of the curtain; sometime he would have to trace its length, finding better places to cross. But this was also a matter for later attention.
The landscape was indeed the same. A narrowing plain, a nearby mountain range, a bright sun. Remove the cute clouds, and the verdant vegetation carpeting the ground, and the copses of trees, and this was identical to Proton. It was as if these were twin paintings, BEFORE and AFTER the artist had applied the color. Phaze was the world as it should be after God had made the final touches: primitive, natural, delightful, unspoiled. Garden of Eden.
True to his memory, the Oracle’s palace was in sight. Stile set out for it at a run. But before he had covered half the distance, Neysa came trotting out to meet him. She held her head high, as they came together, so there was no possibility of striking him with her bright horn.
Stile flung his arms around her neck and hugged her, burying his face in her glossy mane, feeling her equine warmth and firmness and strength. He did not need to thank her verbally for her sacrifice on his behalf; he knew she understood. He discovered her hair was wet, and realized that his own tears of reunion were the culprit.
Then he leaped to her back, still needing no words, and they galloped bareback in five-beat to the palace where Kurrelgyre waited in man-form.
Stile had spent his life on Proton, and only a week here in Phaze, but already Phaze seemed more like home. He had been gone only a night and day, but it seemed longer. Perhaps it was because he felt more like a person, here. Actually, the only other true human beings he had encountered in Phaze were the man at the curtain who had given him the demon-amulet, and the Black Adept; still—
Kurrelgyre shook hands gravely. “I am relieved to know thy escape was successful,” the werewolf said. “I reassured the mare, but feared privately thou mightst land between domes.”
“I did. But close enough to reach the nearest dome before I suffocated.” Stile took a deep breath, still reveling in it.
“I should have crossed with thee, to make sure; but Neysa was waiting outside, and I never thought of—“
“I understand exactly how it is. I never thought of it either. I could have walked a quarter-mile along the curtain and willed myself back through to you, outside the Black Castle. That never occurred to me until this moment.”
Kurrelgyre smiled. “We live; we leam. No confinement near the curtain shall again restrain us.” He squinted at Stile. “Thou lookest peaked; have a sniff of this.” He brought out a sprig with a few leaves and a dull yellow flower, dried.
Stile sniffed. Immediately he felt invigorated. Strength coursed through his body. “What is that stuff?”
“Wolfsbane.”
“Wolfsbane? Something that curses wolves? How canst thou carry—“
“I am not in my lupine form. I would not sniff it then.”
“Oh.” Stile couldn’t really make much sense of this, but could not argue with his sudden sense of well-being. “Something else,” he said. “Didst thou not tell me that most of the people were parallel, existing in both frames? There are about five thousand Proton Citizens, and ten times as many serfs, and countless robots, androids, cyborgs and animals—but I have not seen many people here on Phaze, and not many animals.”
“There are at least as many people here as on Pro-ton, plus the societies of werewolves, unicorns, vampires, demons and assorted monsters. But two things to note: first, we are not confined to domes. We have the entire planet to roam—many millions of square miles. So-“
“Miles?” Stile asked, trying to make a fast conversion in his head and failing.
“We use what thou wouldst call the archaic measurements. One square mile would be about two and a half square kilometers, so—“
“Oh, yes, I know. I just realized—archaic measurements—would that by any chance affect magic? I tried to do a spell using the metric scale, and it flubbed. Before I swore off magic.”
“That might be. Each spell must be correctly couched, and can only be employed once. That is why even Adepts perform sparingly. They hoard their spells for future need, as Citizens hoard wealth in Proton. May I now continue my original discourse?”
“Oh, of course,” Stile said, embarrassed, and Neysa made a musical snort of mirth. Stile squeezed her sides with his legs, a concealed hug. He tended to forget that she understood every word he spoke.
“So there are very few people for the habitable area, and many large regions are as yet uninhabited by men.
Thou needst not be surprised at seeing none. The second reason is that many of the people here are not precisely the form of their Proton selves. They are vampires, elves, dwarves—“ He broke off.
Stile wished he hadn’t. It had almost seemed his size was irrelevant in his frame. Foolish wish! “I never judged values in terms of size,” Stile said. “A dwarf is still a discrete individual, surely.”
“Of course,” Kurrelygyre agreed. It was his turn to be embarrassed.
They were now in the Oracle’s palace. “I have less than a day before I have to go back to Proton,” Stile said.
Neysa stiffened. “Go back?” Kurrelgyre demanded.
“I understood thou hadst no commitment there. It was only to escape the prison of the Black Demesnes that thou-“
“I have a woman there,” Stile said. “She covered for me during mine absence. I have agreed to enter this year’s Tourney, that she be not shamed. Thus it is likely that my tenure on Proton will be brief.”
“The Tourneyl Thou presumes thou canst win?”