'Habit, I guess.'
'Ri-i-i-ght.' Hochstader 108 nodded sagely.
'But I still gotta get back to my variant castle,' 3, went on. 'I mean, both of us can't be here.'
'Nope, it'd be confusing. And they'd miss you back at your place.'
'So, what do we do?'
'Well…' Hochstader 108 turned to the terminal. 'We have to summon a portal first.'
'I have a question,' Max said as he came back from a self-guided tour of the mainframe computer.
'Fire away,' said 3. 'Er, I mean…'
Max was still holding the minitranslator. He looked at it and smiled. 'Don't worry. I'm not a violent person. It's just that I felt pushed up against the wall.'
'I kind of understand. What's your question?'
'Which one of you is the real Hochstader? Or is neither of you the real one?'
Hochstader 108 nodded to Hochstader 3. 'You take it.'
'An interesting question,' said 3. 'But I'm not sure it has any real meaning.'
'So all your variants are equally real?'
'Could be.'
'I doubt it,' said 108. 'It's like holding up a mirror to a mirror. You get a startling effect, and you can't tell a reflection from the real thing. But as soon as you quit playing with mirrors, all the reflections cease to exist.'
Hochstader 3 smiled. 'Yeah, but exactly who ceases to exist and who remains real.'
'Only time will tell, pal. Okay, check the portal.' Hochstader 3 rose and went to the curtain. He was about to move it aside when he looked back at his double with suspicion.
'Hey, it just occurred to me to ask why you have this curtain up if you haven't been fiddling with portals.'
'I told you I was thinking about opening up a door to Earth here. Wanted to duck back sometime. But there's still a warrant out for me, you know.'
Hochstader 3 grinned: 'And you were going to search for an Earth where there wasn't a warrant out. Right?'
Hochstader's reciprocating grin was a trifle sheepish. 'I suppose the notion was floating around in my mind.'
'Such as it is,' 3 said with a wink. He peeked through the curtain.
'The office is here. Now, just how did you do that?'
Hochstader 3 shrugged. 'Just lucky, I guess.'
'Oh, sure. But I'm confused now. How do I get back to my variant of the castle?'
'Try going through and waiting a bit. I'll tune out, and something should replace my variant with another. With any luck, it ought to be yours.'
'Yeah? I don't understand….'
'Listen, try relying less on technology and more on your magic talents.'
'Magic isn't my strong suit.'
'Use what talent you have. Castle people never lose their talents, once they get them, and they never lose the castle. You can always find your way back somehow.'
'I guess you're right,' said 3. 'Well, okay.'
Max watched the well-dressed Hochstader disappear behind the curtain.
'Say, where does that leave me?'
Hochstader 108 was busy at the terminal. After a few typistly flourishes, he poked a final key. 'Press `Enter,' ' he said with satisfaction.
Max walked to the curtain and looked behind it. Stone. He turned to the remaining Hochstader with a distrusting frown. 'What's the idea?'
'Screw him.'
'Why?'
'Not only is he a nogoodnik, he's not so smart.'
'What happened to him?'
Hochstader shrugged. 'Who cares? He's gone, lost in the quantum flux of possibilities.'
Max raised the minitranslator.
Hochstader eyed it calmly. 'That probably won't work in here.'
'I wasn't going to use it.' Max tossed the weapon on the counter of the work station. 'You don't care about your twin?'
'He wasn't a twin. He was a reflection. Besides-' Hochstader 108 put his stockinged legs up on the counter. 'I'm the real Jeremy Hochstader.'
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
The huge chapel was empty save for a few servants sweeping up. The guests had departed, as had the priests and the choir. The altar held innumerable candles, all now snuffed out, wax drippings frozen and hard.
The bride, dressed in white, sat alone on the steps of the altar. The veil and the bouquet lay at her feet.
Melanie came walking across the great stone floor. She approached Linda cautiously.
She asked, 'Are you all right?'
'Sure.'
'This is absolutely… I mean, it's absolutely terrible.'
'I'm relieved.'
'What?'
Linda grinned. 'I'm relieved Gene didn't show up.'
Melanie was incredulous. 'You are? But really, when it looked as though he wouldn't show, we should have called it off.'
'Nah. I wanted to go through with it. There was a good chance he would have showed up in time.'
Melanie frowned, skeptically. 'You're not at all upset?'
'Oh, I'm good and ticked off at Gene. I'm going to punch him.'
'He deserves it.'
'Yes, but he didn't mean to hurt me. He's just that way. Got tied up in some war or revolution, something big and important, and he couldn't get away. He may even be in trouble.'
'Oh.' Melanie sat on the steps. 'Well, when you put it that way…'
'I'm still going to deck him. He shouldn't have left in the first place.'
'What a rotten thing. I'd be upset as hell.'
'Don't worry about it. Gene's going to take a verbal licking from everybody, especially Deena. I get to play the injured party, and the wedding is off indefinitely, and that suits me fine.'
'Really? You've finally decided that getting married is a bad idea?'
'Not in principle,' Linda said. 'With Gene, it just might be a bad idea. Besides, something else has come up.'
'Oh? What?'
Linda smiled slyly.
Melanie said, 'Uh-oh. Someone else?'
'Yup.'
'Oh. Well, in that case- Uh, I guess I'm not going to get it out of you, huh?'
Linda, still smiling, shook her head.
'I thought so. Congratulations, I guess. Anyone I know?' Linda kept up an enigmatically self-satisfied smile. 'You can't even tell me that? Someone off in some aspect, maybe?'
'Let's just say he's a very important man.'
'Great. Good for you. I hope you're happy.'
'I am. I'm his official mistress.'
