Fractal Mode

Chapter 26

"Oh, forget it," Colene said. "They don"t care about our bodies." She extended her hand toward the man in white, and immediately a green cloak landed on it. She stepped out of her clothing, except for her b*a and panties, and dropped the cloak over her head. It was light and silken, pleasant enough to wear, and had a green sash she tied around her waist. Green slippers appeared before her, and she donned them too. The cloak seemed designed for a larger person, as it reached right down to her ankles, but she was satisfied.

Darius had averted his gaze as she changed; it was one of the little ways he had about him, both frustrating and endearing. That was more than could be said for the black- clad old man; he had stared at Colene"s body. She wasn"t sure whether to be angry or flattered.

Now Darius changed too. On him the cloak reached to the knees. The man stared at him too, so "at least it wasn"t s****l.

Provos was in between, the tunic falling to her mid-calves. The man stared at her body too, or as much of it as showed around her long, loose green corset. What was it about their bodies the man found so odd?

For Seqiro there was a double collar, yellow and green. Colene put it on him. They"ll probably separate us, she thought. But we"ll be in touch anywhere in the castle. For his telepathy could reach her anywhere on a planet; they were attuned to each other. That gave her great comfort, especially in a strange situation like this.

Appropriately garbed, they were conducted across the open section to the inner gate. Here another black-cloaked man came to lead Seqiro away, surely to a stable. They had been through this before; it didn"t bother the horse to be considered an animal, though it irritated Colene.

The three were admitted to an interior court. Here several men and women sat in comfortable thronelike chairs. All the men were in black tunics, and the women in white tunics. Color coding, Colene realized. Stave had worn blue, and Nona red, which could be the colors for the theows. The green was probably reserved for visitors of either s*x. It made sense, for a highly regimented society: nobody had to think about status.

The old man came to stand between them and the seated despots. He gestured. A picture appeared in the air over his head: himself. "Hobard," he said, and the figure glowed momentarily. He touched himself. "Hobard."

That was clear enough. It was his name. Seqiro was making progress on getting into the man"s mind. Colene depended on that; she would have been suicidally tense without the assurance of the horse"s ability and support.

A picture of Darius appeared. "Darius," Darius said.

Then pictures of Provos and Colene, both of whom gave their names. This was an efficient introduction!