Brendan nodded. 'OK. I, uh . . . I'd rather not call you Demogorgon, though.' That made the man smile. 'That's no more correct than Jana was, is it? I'd like to be known as Li-jiang, from now on.'
Sealock's lips twisted in a parody of a grin. 'That doesn't really fit your appearance too well either.'
'No.' Li-jiang laughed in a light, pleasant baritone. He closed the remaining distance to Brendan and sat down at his side. The other man seemed to squirm away from him slightly, as if avoiding his touch. Li-jiang slid his arm around his shoulders and said, 'I need to talk to you, Bren .' Sealock tried to force his tightening muscles to relax, but they kept getting away from him, one winding up as another loosened. He gave up and sat there, stiff, looking steadfastly at the book. 'What do you want?'
Li-jiang looked up at him, at the scarred irregularities of his face. What do I tell him and how do I begin? he wondered. 'I thought I'd come in here and tell you that I loved you,' he said, 'but I can see that's not it. . . .'
Brendan's face turned to look at him, a bland mask. 'That's probably a good idea. Jana was in love with John. Demogorgon . . .' He turned away again.
'That's not so. Jana loved no one. She was trying to fool you all, and accidentally got killed in the process. This is a new person beside you.'
Brendan nodded slowly once again. 'If you want to become, uh, Li-jiang, well, think about it in any way that makes sense to you,' he said. The man put his other arm around him, embracing the thick barrel of his chest. Brendan ruffled a hand through the sleek black hair, nuzzling him softly. 'We can't do this, you know.'
'Why not? Jana was no heterosexual, but she could be physically moved by some men, and Demo . .
.' Li-jiang thought about the dreams that had accompanied his resurrection and felt a touch of the madness return: if only I had my old body back, I'd know how to use it now!
'It's not that.' He paused, holding the man tight up against him. 'It's no use. Doing this would hurt
'I'm sorry....'
'So am I. You deserve better than this. We all do.' He began leafing through the book again with his free hand.
Li-jiang relaxed and slowly released his hold on him. 'What are you doing?' It seemed like a good time to talk of other things: Jana and Demogorgon had both understood pain.
'I'm working on a solution to Demo's little problem.'
'Is that possible? I thought he was all tangled up in the ruins of Centrum.'
'He is. So was I, and here I am.'
Li-jiang felt a little stab of terror, night and death threatening to return. 'But . . . he's got no body to return to! I mean ...' Will they put me back?
Brendan laughed softly. 'Don't worry, we won't erase your soul. I've got something a little better in store for him than what we came up with for you.' He contemplated the symbols he was marking among the pages, then said, 'Look, why don't you go find some of the others to talk to, learn to find your way among people again? I think you have unfinished business with John.' Li-jiang nodded. 'I do.' He rose, stood gazing at Brendan for another little while, then turned and left without another word or a backward glance.
Brendan sighed and continued working. After a while he began to whistle a Parisian street song that Demogorgon had taught him long ago. Someday I'll just be a sentimental old fool, he thought. The program swiftly took shape.
Hours later, Tem and Brendan sat before their equipment boards again, getting ready to play out a final act of their prolonged saga. The Selenite thought he understood what they were going to try but felt a need to talk it over nonetheless. Sealock's schemes seemed to grow ever more complex and so incomprehensible.
'Once again: do you really think this is going to work? I thought Centrum's problems, going off course and all,stemmed from a gradual breakdown of its equipment with the passage of aeons. How can Demo live on in there?'
'All that's true only in a limited sense. What broke down on it was the evolution and development of the Seedees. It lived off them, relied on them for correcting the deficiencies of its self-wired circuits. When they fell, it did too. Most of what was in the Mother Ship was life support for the crew, if we can call it that. Most of the ship's actual machinery along the axial core, the propulsion units and so on, are probably in pretty good shape. Once we send down some good programs, things can probably be made to work again.'
Tem looked dubious. 'If you say so.'
