" Her voice was infinitely patient with me." Her voice was infinitely patient with me. "That's impossible. The year said it was '57." "It is." "Then we're still in the Pocket Realm. You can't be from outside, yet, there is no contact with the outside. The Gate is closed, and will be until '94." "I'm from here. I'm just not anyone you ever worked on." I looked at her. "Then where did you come from. Everyone here is someone I worked on, except for one person, and you are not she." "Oh, no? Why couldn't I be Oenone?" "Because Oenone reeks of magic, and you, my dear, are exactly what I see in front of me, nothing more, nothing less. You are not Paris' paramour." "That's true. Stupid bastard, she should have killed him when she had the chance." "Brie...where am I?" "The mansion." "Sounds ominous, like number 2 pronouncing I'm in 'The Village.'" "Not that bad, but the maps won't tell you where you are, and there's no place to go beyond the mountains, anyway." "Then I am in 'The Village,' at least in that I'm not leaving anytime soon. Am I number 6?" "No, no, nothing like that. You're Ken, and that's all." "Are we alone?" "For the most part, it's just you and me in this house. There's an SI, too." "Not an AI?" "Nope. The only person you have to talk to is me. Sorry." "Don't be sorry. It's okay. So." I sat up, slowly. "Are you going to tell me where you're from?" "No. And I probably won't for a while. Just take it for granted that I'm here, and that I'm a friend of a friend of yours, and I'm your friend as well." "So. Why am I here?" "I'm not sure about that. I think that's for you to decide." "And you're here to help me make that decision." "Well... yes." "Are you going to help me make my own decision, or the 'right' decision, in the eyes of your... friend." "Your own. At least, I hope I can. We're pretty independent out here. It's just you and me. And the animals down in the stable." "Yeah, I saw that. Is that a 'ganic, or what?" "It's a real unicorn, trust me. |