"I do not understand, Jack."
"You keep treating me like a feelingless object."
"Yes. Does this disturb you?"
"Yes, it does! And it will disturb Tappy, too. In fact, that could be why she wants me here: because at least I understand her feelings, somewhat."
"But we are feelingless objects ourselves."
"Then how the hell did you manage to serve the Imago in its other hosts? Weren't they all living creatures?"
"We were more conversant with their nuances, and had competent input. They were in the Galactic Registry."
"And my species is not?"
"It will be added, Jack, now that the Image-"
"Yes, I see. The Imago must have chosen it because it was a primitive backwater species no one would suspect of harboring such a significant entity."
"That is a likely conjecture."
"So you were caught short this time."
"Yes. If you will tell me what I am doing wrong, I will correct it immediately."
"Just like that," he said with irony.
"Yes, Jack."
"Okay, I'll make you a deal. You show me around this place and tell me what I need to know, and I'll tell you how not to antagonize me while you're doing it."
"This is what we asked of you at the outset of our association.
"First lesson: never say 'I told you so."
They walked through the door-portal, and she showed him around. They talked, and he pointed out the nuances of human interaction as she ran afoul of them, beginning with the ill-fit of her dress. She became both more human and more attractive at a rate that was alarming 'n its implication.
He looked at the brightness of the outer hall. "What's beyond this?" At her gesture, the white wall-floor became transparent, and they could see outside.
Jack stared. It was a blaze of light from a seemingly infinite number of sources. "Those-those are stars!" he exclaimed. "But so many, so close!"
"We are in a globular cluster of stars, orbiting the galactic center. Because this cluster is outside the plane of the galactic ecliptic, it will be among the last to be drawn into the black hole."
"So you won't have to move and rebuild soon?" he asked, still stunned by the change.
"No, that is of no immediate concern, as is anything beyond a few billion years. But it represents another backward region, of little interest to the Gaol, so they are unlikely to search here soon."
"Backwater species, backwater cluster," he agreed. "It does make sense. But how did we come here? This building was in a cloud on the honkers' world!"
"This is not a building, Jack. It is a mobile city. To fetch the Imago, we rendezvoused intermittently at the designated spot and broadcast our signal. When the Imago came, we ceased the shuttling and settled at the primary location.""
"Let me see if I have this straight," he said, staring at the amazing sky. "When Tappy came through the portal to the world of the honkers, you picked her up on your instruments, and sent your city: seven seconds there, seven away. Tappy could tune in on your signal, but so could the Gaol, so it was a race. The Gaol tried to get to the city and destroy it, but couldn't, so they tried to intercept Tappy instead. But the honkers helped her avoid the minions of the Gaol, and to get away from them when they did capture her. It was a close call, even so."
Candy smiled, a thing she had not done before he advised her about things like that. "You have a marvelous understanding of the situation, Jack!"
"Just how far is this from the honker planet? And how far was that from Earth?"
"This is about fifty thousand light-years from the honkers, and that planet is about one thousand light-years from Earth. The planetary portals cannot retain their tuning long, so are normally established for short ranges."
Jack shook his head. "So this is a spaceship, really!"
"think it does not match your concept, Jack. A ship of space can travel where it chooses. A city must be carefully programmed and routed. This one is able to travel only from here to the nt. Now that it has vacated that realm of the Imago's concealme world, it will not be feasible to return there; the Gaol will prevent it."
He could appreciate the determination of the Gaol! "So they are searching for us now. Will they follow us here?"
"They can not trace an intermittent phase-state. That is why we used it, and have used it in prior millennia. They will have to spread their net again, narrowing down the possible regions of the galaxy where we might be. Their efficiency has been increasing in recent centuries, and we may have no more than a year to complete the tra*ning of the Imago. This is why we require your help."
"A year? How long does training usually take?"
"Seven years-the full term of the ripening of the Chrysalis.
Because the Gaol were unusually alert this time, the Chrysalis had to be hidden instead. This makes it difficult."
That was surely an understatement. They had to squeeze seven years into one, and work with a life-form they understood only imperfectly. It would be about as easy to teach a dolphin to speak Greek. But with the help of another dolphin who understood their purpose, and was friendly with the one they had to train, maybe it was possible.
They walked on around the outer wall of the city, gazing out of the floor. The ground came into view, seeming to be like a vertical wall; the gravity inside the city related to the city, not the planet outside. A glassy covering extended over the region surrounding the bright shell, and through it Jack could see what appeared to be exotic foliage.
"Is that a greenhouse?" he asked. "Where you grow the soybeans?"
"Please clarify your reference."
"You're feeding us reconstituted things, or adapted from something you grow. I'm sure it isn't what it appears to be, because this isn't Earth. We do a lot with a plant called the soybean, and maybe other plants, too."
She smiled. "Why, yes, Jack, you are most perceptive." Despite his knowledge that she was following a script which he himself had just revised, he found himself warning to her. He liked being flattered by a beautiful woman.
"Let's go down there."
She shook her head. "No, Jack. That would not be wise."
"Why not? Those plants aren't going to eat me, are they?"
"Not physically. But they are of rather special breeds, capable of adapting rapidly to unusual conditions, such as the light of thousands of suns, and of producing particular nutrients as required.
They are responsible for the air you are able to breathe, which is poisonous to most creatures of the galaxy, and they refine your essential fluid, water. We select those aspects of their production which are appropriate. There are other aspects which are not appropriate .
More was falling into place. The planet of the honkers was similar to Earth in its atmosphere and gravity, so human beings had been able to colonize it. How they had come there-well, he could ask, and would surely receive an answer, but he preferred to wait and find out for himself. So the Gaol recruited human minions to serve in that region, and perhaps elsewhere, but humans were no more significant than goldfish in a bowl.
Except that this time the Imago had chosen a goldfish as host.
What a kettle that was!
"Just what would happen to me if I went among those plants?" he asked.
"Physically you would not suffer; the plants have been attuned to your biology. But your mind and emotion might be affected by their pheromones. We have no direct information, but our references suggest that your perception of reality could be distorted, changing your nature significantly."
Real! is a dream. Jack remembered those sleep-talking words of Tappy's. Did they relate?