Yet he was hardly finished in this frame. He had slain the golem, with Neysa’s help, but had little idea how to proceed here; he might do best to remove him-self from this frame for a while, hoping for insights. Hoping to know himself better. What did he really want? That depended, in part, on how things fell out on Proton.
“I, too, have business elsewhere,” Stile said. “I must reach the curtain quickly, and get someone to spell me through.”
Neysa brightened. She stepped up to him. She would handle it.
He mounted, and they galloped off. Neysa was still hot from her prior exertions, but knew Stile’s deadline. In moments she had carried him into the pasture where they had first met.
“Neysa, I think it would be best if thou shouldst stay at the Blue Demesnes while I visit the other frame. I’d appreciate it if thou wouldst inform the Lady Blue about Proton, as thou hast heard it from the werewolf and from me; I don’t think she knows.” He felt a momentary deja vu, and placed it: this was similar to the manner he was having Sheen tell Hulk about Phaze.
Neysa stiffened. “Is something wrong?” Stile asked.
She blew a note of negation, and relaxed. Stile, intent on the precise location of the curtain-site, did not pursue the matter. Such a short time to reach the Game-annex!
They reached the place in the forest where Stile had Erst entered this frame. The curtain was there, shimmering more strongly than before. Perhaps he had simply become better attuned to it. Stile divested himself of his clothes. “I will return to the Blue Demesnes within a day, I hope. If thou wilt spell me through now—“
She made a musical snort—and he was through the curtain, emerging in the service area behind the food machines. Only then did he wonder about the unicorn’s reticence. Something was bothering Neysa—and now it was too late to ask her about it.
Well, he was sorry, but he was in a hurry. He had twenty minutes to reach the Game-annex, or forfeit.
CHAPTER 17 - Tourney
He made it. The holder of Rung Five was Hair, who of course was almost bald. He was a well-balanced player, without many great strengths, but also without many weaknesses. That made him hard to handle on the grid. Hair would be playing to Stile’s liabilities, not to his own strengths, and have a pretty good chance to land an advantageous game.
Hair studied Stile. “You look tired,” he remarked.
“Apt observation,” Stile agreed. Naturally his opponent knew all about yesterday’s marathon run. Hair would capitalize on this, choosing the PHYSICAL column. Stile would negate this by going into MACHINE- or ANiMAL-assisted, so as not to have to depend on his own diminished strength. Of course Hair would anticipate that, and shift his column, perhaps into ART. He was good on the theremin. Stile was quite ready to challenge in the classification of music, but would prefer a normal, hand-powered instrument. So he would be better off in TOOL, where he could wind up with some-thing like a trombone or a harmonica. In fact, the harmonica would be very nice right now, because he had been practicing it in the other frame.
But Hair had after all stuck with PHYSICAL, out-maneuvering him. 1B, tool-assisted physical games. The second grid appeared as the murmur of the audience rose.
Stile had the letter facet again. If he chose INDIVIDUAL, he could get caught in another endurance or strength exercise, and he was hardly up to it. If Hair selected BALL, it might work out to bowling, where Stile could win—or shot-put, where he could not. Hair was no Hulk, but he could heave an object a fair distance.
1. BALL 2. VEHICLE 3. WEAPON 4. ATHLETIC 5. GENERAL
A. INDIVIDUAL B. INTERACTIVE
Or he could go for VEHICLE, and they would be in a canoe race or bike race or skating race. Stile was fast on skates, but his legs were tired; this was not his day. WEAPONS was no better. He wasn’t ready to bend a powerful bow to shoot at a target 300 meters distant. His aim would surely suffer. His separated cartilage in the rib cage gave a twinge; no, he could not draw a bowl But throwing the javelin or hammer was no better. Nor was pole-vaulting—God, no!—in the next box, or skiing, or even sledding. He pictured himself whomping belly first on a small sled and shooting the ice rap-ids, and his rib cage gave a worse twinge. Only in GENERAL did he have a fair chance, with things like hopscotch, horseshoes, or jacks. Or tiddlywinks— major Games had been won and lost in that game, with the audience as avidly breathless as it would have been for a saber match. Stile was expert in tiddlywinks—but knew he would not get to play them this time.
So it had to be INTERACTIVE. That had its pitfalls too, but in general skill was more important than power.
It came up IB. Interactive ball games. Good—Stile was skilled in most of these, and should be able to take Hair—so long as Hair did not catch on to his special liabilities, like the ribs or the bruised left hand. Oh, that wooden head of the golem, that he had so blithely punched!
They set up the nine-box subgrid, filling in with marbles, jeu de boules, croquet, billiards, tennis, table-soccer, Ping-Pong, soccer and Earthball. The last would be a disaster; Stile played to avoid it, and the result was Ping-Pong.
Well, not good, but not bad. Stile was excellent at this sport, and his right hand remained good, but he would be off his game today. Hair was good enough to take advantage of Stile’s present weaknesses—if he caught on to them in time.
They adjourned to the table-games gym. A number of games were in progress—pool, table-soccer, and of course Ping-Pong—but these were quickly wrapped up when the players saw who was coming. Stile’s move up the ladder was already big news. They took a table, picked up the paddles, and volleyed. Several minutes were permitted for limbering prior to the game.
“Time,” the machine scorekeeper announced. “Select service.”
They did it in the archaic, time-honored fashion, similar to that for the game of Go. Hair took the ball, put it under the table in one hand, and spread his arms apart. Stile chose the right—and got it. He had the first serve.
It was a good break for him, for Stile was an offensive player whose serve was integral to his strategy. He needed to take and keep the initiative, to make up for his lack of reach. He would not be able to win points directly from his serve, against a player of Hair’s caliber, but he could certainly put the man safely on the defensive. That was the way Stile liked it. It gave him necessary options. Of course the serve would change every five points—but once he had the lead, he could ride through to victory without pushing himself. Considering his present liabilities, that was important.
Stile served, a cross-court top-spin ball, fast and low over the net, striking neatly two centimeters from the back edge of the table. Hair returned it cautiously with an undercut to the center of Stile’s court. The game was on.
Stile backhanded the ball with a flick of the wrist, to Hair’s forehand court. Move it about, keep the other player reaching! Never let the opponent get set for his own strategy. Hair returned it to Stile’s forehand, some-what high and shaky, with almost no spin. Good—he was nervous! That diminished Stile’s own tension. This was going his way. Stile made a forehand slam and took the point.
Stile served again the moment he had the ball, back-hand crosscourt with an undercut. Hair flubbed it again. The score was 2-0. Hair was more visibly nervous now. Excellent. The psychology of nervousness was important in any competition.
But Hair’s next return, played too low, nevertheless dribbled over the net, unreturnable. 2-1. These lucky shots occurred; it was usually of no significance. Only when the luck played obvious favorites, as sometimes happened despite the assurances of the experts on probability, was it a critical factor. Stile fired in a side-spin, and Hair sent it wide of the table. 3-1.