Jack L. Chalker - Ninety Trillion Fausts (The Quintara Marathon , No 3)

For the late and much underrated
Mark Clifton,
one of whose books convinced me that anything was possible,
and, of course,
a special tip of the hat to
the late, great Eric Frank Russell,
as always.

TOBRUSH HAD TAKEN HIS INNER, REAL SELF OUT of their mind-link, but Josef had still been able to follow the Mycohl masters physical actions, which seemed quite ordinary. This made the sudden freeze in all systems all the more inexplicable.

Tobrush decided to kick in on the intercom so that all of them could be reassured.

We are under the control of my own kind, it assured them. No measurements or recordings are permitted in this place.

There was a slight jar and the ship shuddered.

That is a shuttle for me, Tobrush told them. You cannot come, but you will be safe and guarded here until I return.

We have always been a team! Josef protested. Why cant we go with you?

You could, the Mycohlian responded, but only your body would return. By keeping you here, I hope to preserve you. Somehow, I still believe that all of us are essential to the success of our operation. Now, stand clear, I am coming down.

Josef met Tobrush at the hatch. How long will you be gone? he asked.

I do not know. There are sufficient supplies on board, and I will arrange for the tanks to be serviced and the lost air reserve replaced. As for me, it might be hours, it might be much longer. If it is too long I shall send word. The decision on what to do next will shortly be out of my hands, and I will be following orders. In the meantime, the mind-link will allow me to monitor you here. No harm must come to anyone aboard this vessel while I am gone, Josef. You, as commander of the vessel, are responsibleand accountable. You are right on the edge, Josef, of either again becoming the responsible top officer with great potential you were, or tipping over into Kalias mental realm. Much depends on how wisely you decide.

The hatch opened, and the Julki body oozed through it and down into the shuttle below.

Gun Roh Chin sat at the quartermasters table in the bubble and picked up a stylus. Putting it to the white-surfaced table, he drew a small design which the table then showed in stark black and white outlines.

He moved above it and drew:

Below it, he drew yet another shape, the same as the second but reversed:

Im missing something, he muttered to himself. But what? To the right of the star he sketched:

He stared at them, certain that what he was looking for was now in front of his eyes, but, somehow, he couldnt make the jigsaw fit.

He heard someone come up into the bubble and turned to see who it might be. It was Modra.

She had a lot of bruises and some scratches, but still somehow appeared softer than in the descent and the city, as if all the hard edges, the toughness, the fight, as it were, had gone out of her.

She said nothing right away but came over behind him and just looked at what he was drawing. Finally she said, Sorry if Im interruptin, in a lower, sexier voice than shed used before the last few days. It was almost as if she was consciously trying to turn herself not into Grysta but into the original Molly.

No, no, not at all, he responded. There seemed little else to do but sit and think right now.

Yeah. Josefs suddenly got himself sealed up in the cockpitsaid he had to sort some things out, whatever that meansand Im a little scared of Jimmy right now.

Overall, Id say Jimmy is more dangerous to himself right now than to anyone else, he commented. Deep down, hes a very good, very moral man with too much ego and not enough will to resolve his problems on his own. He needs help, but his ego stands in the way of accepting that, and his ego is all hes really got left.

She sighed. I threw my ego over the side days ago and Im sleepin better than I have in months.

Krisha tried that, and the result was so empty it nearly destroyed her. Each person is very different.

Yeah, I know about Krisha, and I think shes nuts. Being the wife of a freighter captain, living on board, seeing different places that dont try to kill you while havin all the peace and quiet you want, thats perfect. If you ever want a replacement, Im available. She started, massaging his neck and shoulders.

Youre married, he reminded her, but the massage felt too good to tell her to stop.

A temporary thing, if I ever get back there, and if he hasnt already declared me dead anyway, she told him. Hes a very sweet man, but it was a marriage on impulse, without either of us even knowin the other. Besides, I didnt say you had to marry me.

We dont do such things in the Mizlaplan. The whole system is designed to create a uniformity of thought and behavior. Im beginning to believe its a kind of long-term defense. The Church, synthesized out of countless other religions of the races incorporated into the Mizlaplan, evolving to meet its needs but always strict, makes it nearly impossible for cults tied to the Quintara and what they stand for to exist, at least for very long. I doubt if youd like or accept those rules. Besides, with your current multiplicity of talents, theyd haul you in and make you a priestess like Krisha. As long as all the talents are in the priesthood and out maintaining the system, large-scale rebellion and conspiracies are next to impossible.

Yeah? You ever been married, Captain?

Me? No. To commit to marriage Id have to know the woman well, first, and my life and profession do not lead to many long-term associations with ordinary folks. Im not against it, its just one passion of mine ruling out other passions, as it were.

Oh, come on! Youre no virgin, Captain! Youre a real gentleman and a charmer, but you know your way around. And you didnt lose your chastity in the empire you describe.

He smiled. You are correct. As a matter of fact, I lost it at the age of twenty-two on my first military assignment as assistant arbiter in a treaty dispute with the Exchange. To a Mycohl, in fact. I rather think she was a spy. I certainly hoped so, since she was so intent upon seducing me.

She had to laugh. And thats when you do it? When you put in for foreign duty?

Well, most of the time. There are some people one can have in the Mizlaplan if you must, or are in a situation like mine. To keep you sane, to bleed off your worst impulsestherapeutic sex, you might say. They are barren, so there are no complications, and for one reason or another they have no other thing to do. You might say that their job is to keep people like me on the straight and narrow, as it were. They are pleasant folk, usually, and, believe it or not, they work out of the medical branch.

She found the concept hilarious, although she could see that it embarrassed him to talk about it. I will admit, she said when she got hold of herself, that theyve thought of everything. And there is proof, if any is needed, that a solid religion can rationalize anything. No offense, Captain.

No offense taken. To me the system is practical, considering the hundreds of life forms and thousands of worlds involved.

You should come over to the Exchange, Captain, when this is over. Theres no limit to what a man like you could become there.