'Forgive me,' Prime's voice said, 'I am afraid that certain exigencies have prevented me from greeting you in person. I will be joining you shortly, however, and until then I've provided-'
'Where's Carl?' I shouted.
'I'm sorry?' A pause, then: 'Oh, yes. It seems the young man has gotten himself lost. That is a very easy thing to accomplish in this place, I'm afraid. Please don't worry. He also will join you very soon. He's quite safe, I assure you.'
'We're concerned,' I told him.
'Of course you are, and I don't blame you in the slightest. You are in a strange place and have quite naturally assumed that there is potential danger here. I fully appreciate your prudent distrust of me. I could very well be an enemy. And I also realize that you must have grave reservations concerning any assurances I might give to the contrary. After all, you know very little about me. Now, what I ultimately want you to understand is that your fears about me are not justified. I bear you no ill will and mean you no harm. As time goes on, this will become apparent. Having said this, however, I want to warn you that your natural caution about this place is justified.
There is indeed potential danger here, both inside this structure and on this planet, though the perils outside these walls far outstrip those within. Let us deal with the proximate variety. There are in and about these rooms and towers numerous artifacts, which, if used improperly, may be a source of trouble. Also, the dangers of getting lost here are quite real. This structure has certain-shall we say-architectural peculiarities, which, until they are understood and taken into account, can cause accidents. In short, you would be wise to use discretion and be generally circumspect in your movements until you get used to your surroundings. I hope I have made myself clear.'
I said, 'You mentioned something about dangers outside.'
'Of those you will learn more later. They would be difficult to describe without my giving you an extensive briefing on the situation here.'
'Okay, but I take it you aren't alone on this planet: There are others. Correct?'
'You might say that.'
I was suddenly annoyed. This guy had a knack for answering questions with an unambiguous maybe.
'Thanks for the info,' I said. 'You said something about lunch. Also something about straight answers to our questions.'
There was an indulgent smile implied in the voice. 'I understand your impatience. But perhaps you need time to think about your questions first.' A chuckle, then: 'You are very intelligent and resourceful creatures, of that I have no doubt. Intelligent enough, perhaps, to realize that what you face here is entirely strange and new to your experience. You will be exposed to ideas and concepts which may be difficult for you to grasp. Ultimately, the goal of complete understanding might lie beyond your capabilities. I very much doubt that, but that is one proposition which must be put to the test. In any case, the learning experience itself should prove rewarding. This is why I contend that you need time. Impatience is counterproductive at best. And here on this world-constructwhich I propose we call Microcosmos, for want of a better name-it could conceivably prove lethal.'
I nodded. 'Okay, fine. I'm sure I speak for all of us when I say we're eager to learn. And you can bet we'll be careful.
But frankly, the suspense is already killing me. And I'm hungry.'
Prime gave a gentle laugh. 'No doubt. Just a moment.' We waited maybe a quarter minute. Then, out of an archway to our right, came a glowing green sphere floating about two meters off the floor.
'What you see is rather hard to explain technically,' Prime told us, 'but its function is simple. It will guide you to the dining hall, where, if you are still amenable, we will have lunch. Please follow it there. I will join you shortly.'
'I hate to keep pestering,' I said, 'but what about Carl?' No reply.
'What about Carl?' Lori shouted. 'Answer us!'
The green sphere bobbed, then receded through the archway and into a dark corridor running tangentially to the circular chamber. There it paused, as if waiting for us.
'Lead on, MacDuff,' John called to it as he started forward. He halted and looked around at everybody. 'Well?' Susan was still nursing her middle. 'I can't think of food right now, but maybe if I forced something down…'
'Right,' Roland said, 'then I'll take you for a ride on the magic ramp again. We'll look for the one that goes down this time.'
'Ulp.'
We followed the green sphere.
Prime hadn't been kidding about the architectural oddity of the place. Everything was goofy. Walls curved and canted vertiginously, floors sloped at odd angles. Weird perspectives tricked us at every turn. Even so, the place had a bizarre beauty to it. Rather stark, though. The walls were smooth and unadorned. No pictures, carvings, or decorations. No tapestries, weapons, or shields emblazoned with colorful heraldry. Not a proper castle after all. The floor was everywhere black with a deep shine, looking like a dark mirror. Here and about, though, stood odd thingamabobs, no doubt the artifacts Prime had warned us about. Some looked like pieces of machinery, others could have been sculpture, or for all we knew, alien hat racks.
'This place is a damn museum,' Susan said.
'I was just about to say that,' John told her.
I said, 'Yeah, it does have the feel of one.'
An odd one, though. There didn't seem to be much organization to it. Some things were lying about haphazardly; they weren't necessarily on display. Nevertheless, I got the distinct impression that this was a collection, a bunch of stuff that had been obtained at various places and carted here for storage.
We soon came to a high-ceilinged hall featuring a large centrally positioned table of irregular shape. Uniformly constructed seating appliances-the term chairs would tend to connote that one could easily sit in them-were arranged around the table, but what was on the table wasn't strange; it was food, and it all looked good. There was a huge whole baked ham, assorted roast fowl, fish, various cuts of beef, one or two of pork, and maybe one of veal. These entrees were flanked by vegetable dishes, casseroles, fruit arrangements, baskets of bread, tureens of soup, bowls of salad-and on and on. There was other stuff I couldn't readily identify, but it looked very familiar. All in all, this was something more than lunch and slightly less than a state dinner for a visiting foreign dignitary. The eating utensils looked alien but serviceable, as did the glassware.
We looked it over. Meanwhile our shining guide drifted away, exiting through an arch and into darkness.
'Quite a spread,' Susan commented.
'How're your insides?' I asked.
'Getting better.'
We all stood about gawking until Prime entered the hall through an archway to the left. Smiling, he strode to the approximate head of the table and stood. 'Welcome. I'm glad you came. Please be seated.'
We chose places around the table. Along with the rest of the gang, I regarded the 'chair' on which I was to 'seat' myself. It was pink, shiny, and looked somewhat like a formation of coral. The prospect of actually using the thing as a seat involved the possibility of having an autcerotic experience-or a painful one, depending on how careful you were.
'I think you will find-' Prime began, but a shout from Lori interrupted him.
She had tried sitting but had immediately sprung to her feet. 'It moved!' she told us.
Prime chuckled. 'The chairs will automatically reform themselves to accommodate your bodies. Simply sit down and…'
Gingerly, I sat. The damn chair did that very thing, and it did it almost before my buttocks had,touched down.
'There, you see?'
'Interesting,' I said as the chair made some further adjustments, these very subtle and done much more slowly. I sank into the thing a little and stopped. It was strange, but I was comfortable.
When everyone had settled in, Prime poured himself a glass of amber liquid from a carafe. 'I think you'll find this wine very insouciant and a bit immature, but compatible with almost everything here.' He indicated a similar decanter near. John, who was seated to his right. There were several around the table. 'Please serve yourselves. I must apologize for the lack of servants-the only one I have is engaged at the moment.'
