Null–A Three

CHAPTER 7

Dutifully—in at least one meaning of the word—Gosseyn followed the boy emperor across a large, tastefully decorated room. But noticed that here, also, as in his Palomar apartment, the elegance, which was here much greater, was nevertheless modified by the requirements of space flight.

The settees, and chairs, and tables, were built-in: everything was locked in position. And, through the carpet under his feet, he could feel the no-give metallic floor below.

He was surprised that the boy seemed to be alone. There were no visible servants, no sign of the mother, and no guards. There were several closed doors; but not a sound was audible from the rooms they presumably led into.

… Himself and the young emperor heading in a specific direction toward what seemed to be a decorated wall. He was not too surprised when the decoration turned out to be the field of play of the game, scroob.

What am I doing here? he wondered, ruefully.

But, of course, he knew. He had saved himself from a confrontation with a mad boy by, personally, introducing the game element. And so, that same boy was now eager to introduce him to a shining surface on the wall, whereby, when you pressed a small decoration, that part of the surface changed color. They were most of the colors that he knew; and the idea was that if you could be the first to line up one color the length of that surface either up, or sideways, then you were the winner.

When a game was won, the pattern was restored for a new game by pushing a decoration that was off to one side: a control button whereby a computer promptly set up a new, hidden, winning line and winning color.

There were supposed to be clues, as the young emperor explained it, in the color sequence that turned on whenever a decoration changed color. If you were smart you could eventually read the clues, and decide which color would be the next winner, and which direction it would win.

Gosseyn was smart, and, after he lost three games to a delighted younger winner, he saw how he could win the fourth game. After a momentary hesitation, he, in fact, decided to win it.

The boy’s reaction to the victory of his opponent was… he whirled. He ran across the wide part of the floor, dodging tables and chairs. Moments later, he was pounding on a beautiful blue door in one corner, and yelling: “Mother, mother, he beat me at scroob!”

There was a pause. And then the door opened; and a young woman emerged. Or, at least, Gosseyn assumed that the blonde individual, who was dressed in a man-like uniform, with trousers, but with only a colored shirt over the upper part of the body, and no jacket… that this fine-faced individual was, in fact, the mother, so urgently summoned moments before.

And, indeed, when she spoke it was a woman’s musical voice. What she said, was, “Sir, Enin told me about you. He doesn’t seem to remember your name clearly.”

Gosseyn pronounced it for her, and added, “I think I can show the emperor what the clues are, that lead to the winning condition.”

He continued, “He knows some of them, but there are a few special signals.”

As he made the explanation, he was noticing her slim form, and, her even-featured, distinctive face. And his judgment was that the emperor’s mother would be a real beauty, properly arrayed in silks, or in dresses, generally.

He also noticed the name she had called her son: Enin… I’m really getting fast information on this big ship, and from top echelon people—

It could be that that had to continue to be his purpose: learn, find out, get details.

The woman was speaking again: “No more games right now, Enin. It’s time for your lessons. Off you go, dear.”

She leaned over, and kissed him on the right cheek. “Leave Mr. Gosseyn here. I’d like to speak to him.”

“All right, mother.” The boy’s voice sounded subdued. He thereupon turned to Gosseyn, and said in an almost beseeching tone: “You’re not going to be a problem of any kind, are you, Mr. Gosseyn?”

Gosseyn shook his head, smiling. “I’m your friend and fellow game player from now on.”

The small face lighted up. “Oh, boy! We’re going to have a great time.” He turned happily to the woman, and said, “You treat him right, mother.”

The woman nodded. “I’ll treat him just like I did your father.”

“Oh, my gosh!” The boy trembled. The blue eyes widened. “You mean—maybe you and Mr. Gosseyn will go into your bedroom, and lock the door, and won’t come out for an hour, the way you and dad used to do?”

Before she could answer, he turned to Gosseyn. “Sir, if she takes you into her room, will you tell me afterwards what the conversation was?”

“Only with your mother’s permission,” Gosseyn replied, “will I ever reveal anything about a private conversation?”

“Oh, damn!”

“That,” continued Gosseyn, “applies also to anything you and I discuss in private. And, as one example, I won’t tell anyone that I beat you at one game of scroob—without your permission.”

“Oh!” Pause. The face looked acceptant. Then: “I guess that makes sense.”

The mother was taking her son by the hand. “All right, darling, off you go.” Whereupon, she led him to a brown door at the far right, opened it, and called out to someone who was evidently there: “Your pupil has arrived. Time for lessons.”

It was a little difficult for Gosseyn to visualize the teacher’s reaction to those words. Whoever it was might not be anymore happy about this pupil than, for example, Breemeg and his fellow courtiers. Unless—

Could it be that here in The Place, it was a normal family life that the boy emperor lived? Here, with his mother as an accepted and beloved guide.

But as for himself, and his progress toward anything that mattered—he could see nothing… I’m being shunted around from one minor situation to another. Basically, it was a zero situation.

Standing there, he couldn’t even imagine anything that he should do. He was a prematurely awakened, duplicate Gilbert Gosseyn. It still seemed true that there must be a significant reason for his being discovered by the Dzan. But it was also likely that Gosseyn Two could handle all necessary investigations relating to the arrival of these people in this area of space.

Unfortunately, now that he was conscious, the idea of deliberately returning to the space capsule—which was certainly one of the options—was not something he cared to contemplate.

So here he was, an unneeded Gosseyn, who presumably—if he could help it—would be around for a while. But he had better leave the serious business to his predecessor.

“… How about that, Gosseyn Two?—”

The reply, as it came into his mind, seemed to have a smile associated with it: “My other self, you are in the center of the biggest event in the space-time of this galaxy; and I’m way out here with a few important friends, watching from a distance. I should tell you that Enro seems to be the most disturbed by what has happened, and would like to use our transport method, personally, to come over there, and talk to these people. So far I have resisted the idea; but even Crang would like to visit with you on the command ship. Perhaps, now that you are on friendly terms with both the emperor and his mother, something could be arranged.”

Gosseyn Three replied mentally, “For all I know, they would be interested in having visitors. But maybe not right now.”

Gosseyn Two’s reply was: “It isn’t settled in our minds here that it would be a good idea at all. So we’ll discuss it later.”

Gosseyn Three did not pursue the matter. It had been a swift mental conversation. But even as it was, the woman had had time to close the classroom door, had turned, and started in his direction.

It seemed to be a perfectly normal moment in time and space. As Gosseyn watched her coming towards him, he had a simple, unsophisticated thought; and so he said, apologetically, “Madam, I imagine I should now have someone take me back to my assigned apartment until your son has further need of me.”

The young woman had paused while he was still speaking. And now she stood gazing at him with an odd expression on her face. The expression included a hint of a smile. Then:

“That will be in a little over an hour,” she said. And added, “The lesson, I mean.”

She was the Greatest Lady of this realm; and so the naming of the time lapse had no significance for Gosseyn; made no personal connection. What did strike him once more was the perfect use of English. But even that mystery was something he had no intention of discussing with her. That was for scientists to deal with. Later.

Again, considering all that he had heard, he deduced that the boy’s father had somehow died in his late twenties or early thirties. The age, of course, was an earth comparison. But, presumably, imperial widows of Dzan did not succeed their husbands in power and position.

And that fleeting thought, also, ran its rapid, unsuspecting course.

The… unexpected… came instants later, as the young woman said, earnestly, “You’re the first man to whom Enin has responded as a boy might to a father. And I’m wondering, now that I’ve seen you, if you would marry me, and try to do for him what no one else apparently can do?”

A faraway thought floated into Gosseyn’s mind. It was a thought he had had before, but it came now with a special impact: “At this moment, I am utterly surprised. I feel as if I have been taken off guard the way no one with General Semantics training ever should be.”

The reality was that he was not prepared for such a proposal.

… Would a refusal or even hesitation in answering be regarded as a mortal insult? There was, of course, a type of man who would instantly accept all the opportunities of this situation. But men trained in the General Semantics orientation were not such a type.

Aloud, he offered his first barrier: “Your majesty, the honor which you offer me, may not be a wise action on your part. It is possible we should discuss what might be the repercussion of such a marriage for you and your son.”

The young woman smiled. There was no sign that she realized that she had, in effect, been rejected. She said, “That’s a very thoughtful remark. But it does not take into account that it is now two years since my husband and lover, was killed. Therefore, before we have any discussion about the long run situation, I wish you to come into my bedchamber, which, as you know—” she nodded toward the blue door at her left—“adjoins this sitting room.”

She went on earnestly, “I need very badly to be made love to by the first man I’ve met since his death, who has instantly and automatically aroused in me feelings of desire. Come!”

She had paused about eight feet from him. Now, she walked over and put her hand on his arm. As Gosseyn unresistingly allowed himself to be led in the indicated direction, there were more of those fleeting thoughts;

… The problem of the man-woman relationship were not obviously the subject of General Semantics discussion. Men had from time immemorial on earth had a strong need for sexual release. Presumably, this could be and in some instances was, satisfied by many women. But mostly the individual male found himself attracted specifically to a female of his own age, or younger, who, according to psychological theory, reminded him at some deep of his being, of his mother. So, essentially, a young woman who elicited a love response, brought about a fixation in him. And she had to do numerous unmother-like things before the feeling of need diminished. There were, of course, many instances whereby, presently some other woman reminded him even more strongly of his mother. And so, in due course, he was over there.

The Gosseyn bodies had never had a mother in this galaxy. No doubt, a million or more years ago, before the Great Migration, a child had been born in the traditional fashion. And it could even be that that child’s early relationship with that long, long, long ago mother still permeated his subconscious memories. But it would be a little difficult to determine which of his feelings related to an ancient mother, and which were product of his acceptance that a man should eventually have a relationship with a woman.

Incredibly, his first opportunity to have such a relationship already had hold of his arm. And, as he went with her, he could see once again that she had unusually good features, and a splendid female body. At the very instant that he noticed that—again—she made a remarkable statement. She said: “You remind me of my father. So I feel completely confident that I have found the man most suitable, not only for Enin, but for me.”

Moments after that they were through the open blue door; and she was pushing it shut behind her.

Gosseyn heard the click of a lock catching.