Anni, for short.Anni, for short." "You're kidding," I said. "Not at all. Although the Queen Stevves requested your presence at the signing of the treaty, I was informed by friends I have in the court that it was Anlestin who asked for you." "Any idea why?" I asked. "None." Two hours ago, by 'my' watch, I had laid back into my couch and closed my eyes, and when 'I' opened them, 'I' was lying in a similar couch in the Pendor Consulate of llerkin. I'll stop with the 'I's. It was me, as far as I could tell. I scratched my arm and it felt right. Arraon rose from his couch smoothly and walked over to the door. "I guess you're used to this," I said. "I've been on llerkin for as long as six days before getting out of my couch, and I've been at it for six months. Yeah, I guess you could say I'm used to this." He scratched himself behind the ears. "Let me?" I asked. "What? Oh sure," he said, smiling. I reached up and scratched the back of his head vigorously, and he sighed in response. "Better?" "Yeah. I still don't understand why my android body itches there." "Let's go." We dressed in local clothing and went out to meet the neighbors. The main capital of llerkin, the one we were in, was called Fhan, and it was a magnificent city, laid out strictly for pedestrian traffic, no independent vehicles. Handsome, somewhat ziggurat-shaped buildings were the backbone of their architecture, and the pedestrian courseways were raised over the bases of the buildings. |