Unpopular Science

Chapter 42

“What potion will you pour in his gullet?” Chiun asked bitterly.

He hated her, this woman who dared tantalize him with hope when he knew there was none—and yet she believed in herself. Certainly this woman’s ancestors were acquainted with the greatness of Sinanju. But to dare claim to have saved the life of a Master was outrageous.

Sarah Slate sat on her legs in a child’s pose, rested her hands on her knees and, with a wave of her hand, indicated Chiun should take his seat across the limp body of the Reigning Master of Sinanju.

“Tell me about this man,” she said.

“No,” Mark said, standing off to the side.

“What would you learn?” Chiun asked. “Already you know he is Master of Sinanju.”

“That is not the all of him,” Sarah Slate replied. “He has a past and a future. He has known love and loss. In this he is like all human beings.”

“You don’t know what you’re asking, Sarah,” Mark Howard said. “There is knowledge you cannot have.”

“For what purpose would you know these things?” Chiun demanded.

“He is lost. He is beyond the Void. Masters have ventured there before.”

“Never by choice,” Chiun said. “Never to come back.”

“Yes. Some came back,” Sarah said. “At least one did. A master who called himself Go.”

“I know of Master Go,” Chiun said. “Go did not travel beyond the Void. Our histories are carefully kept.”

“As are ours,” Slate replied. “Master Go was in search of gold when he met Andrew Slayte, an ancestor of mine. My ancestor also sought the gold. In Spain they met a mesmerist who tricked Go and drained him of all his thoughts.”

Chiun stared. “This is a fairy tale.”

‘It is in the history of my family.”

“That does not make it true.”

“Andrew Slayte was more than a partner to this Master Go—he was a friend.”

“Phah!” Chiun waved the air away as if it smelled bad.

“Andrew knelt by the side of Go and used his voice to entice Go out of the emptiness beyond the Void. He reminded Go of all the wonders of Sinanju. He reminded Go of a girl Go loved, back in the village. Even, he reminded Go of the vipers’ nest outside the village where Go loved to play when he was a boy, teasing the snakes for entertainment. Go heard Andrew Slayte’s voice and recovered.”

“This is too simple a cure,” Chiun protested.

“But it is all that is needed,” Sarah said gently. “Master Chiun, you do not bear the responsibility of bringing him back to our world. All you must do is light a tiny flame of remembrance in him. Any memory at all, if it is potent enough to reach him, will be light enough to see by, and then he will see all of it, everything that was wiped away.”

Chiun was silent as stone. Sarah said, “Tell me of this man, Master Chiun. Tell me about something or someone he loves. What gives him great joy?”

Chiun looked over Sarah, at the black slashes of her symbol of the House of Sinanju.

Chiun spoke in the voice that was so gentle and beautiful that Mark Howard swore it came from someone else. “There is a beautiful girl,” said Chiun. “She is Freya. With hair like gold. It is his daughter, who loves him, and he loves her.”

Sarah Slate smiled, as if she, too, knew joy at this recollection. Sarah leaned close to the prostrate Master and spoke in a gentle, soothing voice. “Remo, do you see Freya? She’s with you. You love her with all your heart, and she loves you. She has hair of gold. She is beautiful. She is the most beautiful girl in the world.” Mark Howard was silent, but the words were reaching him, too. Yes. The most beautiful woman in the world. He didn’t know if he was thinking about Sarah Slate or Freya, daughter of Remo Williams, and for a moment it didn’t matter.