"What do you want to know?" "Where am I?" "On Pendor."What do you want to know?" "Where am I?" "On Pendor." "I know that! That's more square klickage than all of the rest of the inhabited galaxy together, so that doesn't do me much good. So, where am I?" "Why don't you step outside and take a look?" The old Shardik came on-line. "Because I've been invited to dinner by a beautiful young lady, and I'm not about to step out on her to see the weather." She smiled. "You probably won't recognize it. We're pretty far from either of the major inhabited sectors, and we're not close to the Farside colony, either." At that moment, a kitchen droid, real old-fashioned type on wheels, no less, came out and began to distribute dinner to the two of us. It was a well done bird, turkey, I'd have guessed, and was quite delicious. We continued the conversation as we ate. "So you're not going to tell me where I am?" "Nope. I'm not even going to give you the sector number." "Oh well. So, am I a prisoner here?" "A guest. You've got free rein to the place." "Even access to the kitchen?" She smiled, a small, wan, smile. "Yes, even access to the kitchen. And I won't hide the knives." "I appreciate the gesture, but I don't think that's necessary." "Then you won't try again?" There was a sudden hope in her eyes, like a flash. "I didn't say that. But remember, you said your job was to let me make my own decisions. Tell me, Brieanna, are you my savior?" She smiled thinly. "Nothing like that. Your... savior... simply thought that you'd made a rash decision and decided to let you try and look at whatever questions and problem you had again." I sat there and stared at her, trying to absorb what she'd said, and still trying to figure out who and what she was. Dinner was apparently over. I excused myself, asking for directions to a washroom and permission for leave. She gave both graciously. Dark fell as suddenly as it always does, and a wild wind whipped past the house as I sat in my room. |