DoOon Mode

  THREE

  Doe

  Darius continued to be surprised by the things Colene came up with. She was a vessel of dolor, and that was significant mischief for his home Mode and their long-term relationship. But she had other assets that bid fair to compensate. She was learning telepathy, and perhaps magic also. She was young, but she was pretty. And, unfortunately, he loved her.

  Now she had persuaded the dragon to make peace with the Felines. Nothing like this had been done before on this planet; that had become clear. What else would she accomplish, as her odd mind wrestled with their captivity in this dread Mode?

  They retired to their chamber in the house in the feline village. They shared a bed, but not sex, to his regret. They were married, but she simply wasn't ready yet.

  "What a day!" she exclaimed, lifting her face from the basin and toweling her wet hair. She was in dishabille, wearing a bra he thought unnecessary and panties he still found shocking. "What do you think?"

  "You are lovely," he said.

  She paused, glancing at her wild hair in the mirror. "I look a fright."

  "But a lovely fright." Actually he found the wild hair appealing. Yet there was that dichotomy.

  "I'm not going to wear a damned diaper!"

  She was referring to the traditional garb of women of his home Mode: the voluminous adult diapers that masked the untoward aspect, so as to prevent lascivious notions on the part of men. Colene's culture confined diapers to babies; she found the costume demeaning. He had seen her world, and so had come to understand this difference in costume, but he still wasn't entirely used to it. She had the present aspect of a woman who was about to indulge sexually. Yet he knew she had no such intention.

  She must have picked it up from his mind. "I'm sorry, Darius. I'll put something on."

  "Perhaps that is best."

  "You know I will do it, if you—"

  If he forced her. She would not resist, but would be rigid with revulsion. It would seriously damage their relationship. "No."

  "Well, we can still snuggle, can't we?"

  "Yes." He knew she liked being close to him, in every way but that. He didn't know how to get around that last barrier.

  "I don't think there is any nice way," she murmured as she came to him.

  That was what he feared. He stroked her damp hair and massaged her back, and she melted. He kept his hand well clear of her bottom.

  "But maybe if you did—"

  "No."

  "Oh—the dragon told me that the Caprines will arrive tomorrow."

  "The whats?"

  "The Caprine nulls. You know, the ones the Felines wanted to help."

  He remembered. "We requested them as additional servants."

  "Yes. But we won't treat them that way. Pussy says they are good creatures."

  "You are getting along well with Pussy."

  "Yes, now that I can read her mind, and know that she has no intention of seducing you. She's okay. Especially now that the felines are so grateful."

  "But they serve Ddwng."

  "Yes. But now they love us. Nona was sure right about that. They would do anything for us that doesn't conflict with their orders."

  "Colene, we can't let Ddwng have the Chip."

  She sighed. "I know."

  But she wished they could find some compromise, so their party could get back on the Virtual Mode. She hadn't been able to reach Seqiro mentally, and without the powers of the horse, feared they had no chance to escape this Mode.

  "Yeah," she agreed. "But meanwhile, we have to send someone to fetch in the Caprines. Because the ship won't land in the same place, this time. It's a two-day walk. They'll never find us, without guidance."

  "Can't they ask the natives?"

  "No. The different types of nulls don't necessarily get along on this planet. They don't have the protection of the government." Then she reconsidered. "Well, they do get along, but that would delay them interminably."

  "I don't think I understand."

  "I asked Pussy what the Bovines and Equines were doing here, that night. Turns out that there's some intervillage fraternization."

  "I still don't understand."

  "Yes you do. The nulls can't make out with any of their own persuasion. But it's fine with other persuasions. So when they want a hot time, they visit other villages, where they're in big demand. If the dragon hadn't struck and ruined the mood, those Bovines and Equines would have made out with the whole Feline village. They like recreational sex."

  Now at last he understood. "So one of our Felines with the beads can go."

  "We need our Felines here to translate for us. I need to stay, to keep track of minds; the villagers aren't really convinced the dragon's change is for real. So I guess it's you."

  "I don't know my way around this planet."

  "You don't have to. The dragon will take you there."

  "The dragon!"

  "It's like this, Darius. If the villagers see you go with the dragon, and come back with the Caprines, they'll know the dragon can be trusted when I'm not around. Not near it, I mean. That's important, because this deal has to last when I'm gone."

  "And if the dragon can't be trusted?"

  "It can, Darius. Honest. I know its mind. It wants an intellectual environment."

  "Do you? How can you be sure the dragon didn't make up a story, to get some prey alone?"

  "I wish you could read minds, Darius. Then you'd know. There is no deception in mind reading."

  He wasn't sure of that, but did know that she would never knowingly put him at risk. "Then I will go with the dragon. But if I die before I possess you, I shall be most annoyed."

  She laughed. "Oh, Darius, that's so nice!"

  In the morning Darius walked out of the village. The dragon met him. He couldn't talk to it, but Colene had said it knew the score. That was her way of saying that things were in order. Belatedly he wondered how the dragon could have known about an arrival on a faster-than-light spaceship that hadn't yet occurred. Did dragons know such schedules? Evidently so.

  The dragon slithered rapidly into the forest. Darius had to jog to keep up. But he was out of condition for this, and soon was puffing. They had to make a two-day trip in this one day? He would not make it.

  The dragon halted. It looped around him, then abruptly flung its massive body against his legs. Darius, surprised, fell halfway across it. Then he realized that the creature was offering to carry him. He flung a leg over to bestride it, and lifted his feet.

  The dragon moved forward, carrying Darius along. The huge body flexed, hardly needing the stubby legs, and made remarkable speed. Darius did not have to hang on; the ride was more like that of a magic carpet.

  Now it was clear how they would traverse two days' distance in less than one day. The forest was fairly whizzing by. This was almost fun.

  In due course the dragon paused at a river. Both of them drank, and Darius plucked fruit from a tree to eat. The dragon evidently wasn't hungry at the moment.

  They resumed, crossing the river. If there were any water predators, they stayed clear.

  In the afternoon they came to a large open field. The dragon deposited Darius, then undulated away.

  Alone, Darius waited for the space ship to arrive. The dragon hadn't eaten him, but he did not feel comfortable. Suppose no ship came?

  Then something appeared in the sky. It was the ship, floating gently down. It landed before Darius. A portal slid open. Three Caprine nulls emerged. They were in their natural state, without clothing. The portal closed, the ship floated up, then vanished into the sky.

  "Hello, Darius," the neuter null said. "I am Goat, and these are Buck and Doe. I have not recovered from my injury, so my pace will be slow. Doe will go ahead with you, so you can arrive on schedule."

  "But how will you find the way?"

  "The same way Doe will: we shall sniff the trail you made coming here."

  "But my scent won't be on the ground. I rode a dragon."

 
All three stared at him. Then Buck put his nose to the ground. "It is true," he said. "The trace of dragon is very strong."

  "This will require some formidable explanation," Goat said.

  Darius wasn't sure he should tell them about Colene's telepathy. "We made a deal. But the dragon's gone now."

  "A deal with a dragon!" Doe said. Then her eye fixed on his necklace. "Ah—you have beads."

  "Beads," Goat repeated. "That of course explains it."

  That hardly explained the half of it. But Darius didn't want to get into the complications at this time. He lifted the necklace from his neck and proffered it to Goat. "The dragon knows me, but may not know you. Wear this for protection."

  Goat accepted it. "Thank you. We shall follow, avoiding villages where possible."

  Darius understood why: the null females would be after Buck to stay the night. The Caprine might enjoy the diversion, but it would take them much longer to reach the Feline village. "I will tell them you are coming," Darius said, turning toward the slight trail left by the dragon. This seemed abrupt, but the alternative was to wrestle with concepts he preferred to leave to Colene. Her telepathy was after all her business.

  He set off walking, and Doe paced him. She was a well-formed female, but of course all the nulls were. Her legs terminated in solid hoofs, and she had pointed furry ears, nascent horns, a solid nose, and a small beard, but was otherwise human. Except for the light fur that was her only covering, evidently serving in lieu of clothing. It was smooth and fairly glistening, like a form-fitting gown, concealing none of her body features.

  "As I think you know, we nulls exist to serve," she said. "But it will help me to serve as we travel if I am better acquainted with your situation and preferences. Do you prefer dialogue or silence?"

  Darius hadn't thought of that. "Whichever you prefer."

  She smiled. "You are from another Mode, so are perhaps not fully familiar with our ways. I therefore presume to clarify in the way Goat would that the preferences of a null have no bearing with respect to a master. There is no other way but yours."

  He considered for a moment. "I am, as you say, from another Mode. There are no nulls there. Women do have a somewhat subservient status, but they are not servants. I have also traveled to other Modes, and seen other societies, so have perhaps been liberalized. Since we are alone, you have no need to be subservient."

  "If I understand correctly, you prefer that I express preferences when they do not conflict with your own."

  "Such expression would be meaningless. I would prefer to know that when you agree with me, it is a true reflection of your state."

  "But that would require occasional difference, and that is not in our nature."

  Darius was intrigued. "We have about two days' walk ahead of us. I would much prefer a good argument to automatic agreement."

  "But master, I would never presume to—"

  "Call me Darius. Goat did."

  "Goat may be your intellectual equal. I am not."

  "We don't know that. In any event, assume that you are."

  "This is not easy, Darius, but I will try."

  "Is there anything you would like to know about me or my situation, or any related matter?"

  "Yes."

  After a pause, he realized that she had answered his question literally, without presuming further. "Then ask me, and continue asking until you are satisfied."

  "Why have we Caprines been summoned here?"

  "You made a deal with the Felines, and they felt you would be better off here than wherever you were. You are nominally to be servants, but actually to be on vacation."

  "Vacation? This term is not in that portion of your language we studied."

  "You will have no assignment, and serve no people. You will be allowed to relax without obligation."

  "But we have to serve! And to do a specific favor for our master each day."

  "You are released from that obligation, as the Felines have been." But Darius remembered how it was with the Felines. "If you suffer by being unable to do us favors, consider that you are doing them constantly. You will be sniffing out the trail when I lose it. When we get there, you can help us work with the Feline villagers to promote their cooperation with the dragon. There will be plenty to do. You have no need to seek anything beyond that."

  She nodded. "This is reassuring. But there is another aspect. We female nulls are normally at the sexual service of our masters. But we were cautioned during training not to do this freely. Does that caution remain?"

  "Yes. I am married to Colene, and she expects my fidelity. Do not make any effort to seduce me."

  "I will not," she agreed. "But neither am I capable of opposing any such desire on your part."

  "I will try to behave," he said wryly. Colene's attitude in this respect was something of a burden on him, as sexual limitation was not a feature of a relationship in his home society. It was worse because he could not indulge with Colene, either.

  "The dragon," she said. "We have always been prey to the dragons, and never allowed to oppose them. How did this shift come about?"

  "A dragon took a Feline villager the first night we were there. Colene did not like it. So she talked to the dragon, and it agreed to spare the villagers and prey on rats instead, if they would provide it with intellectual society."

  Doe walked for a time, evidently pondering. Then she spoke, hesitantly. "I do not wish to offend you, Darius, but this is not easy for me to believe."

  "The villagers don't believe it either. That's why there is some work to do. But it is true. The dragon played with the children of the orphanage, and ate none, and today it carried me here."

  "I would not ever say or imply that you are guilty of a confusion, but there must be some error in my understanding. No dragon ever behaved like this to nulls. Sometimes one of us would go out to the dragon's lair, as an act of suicide, and the dragon always consumed that one. There was never any intellectual communication. We nulls of all persuasions have always been prey for the dragons; this is the natural order."

  "You could not talk to the dragon, and have it listen?"

  "I believe it would listen, but then it always ate the talker. All it ever desired was our flesh."

  Darius saw that Colene had done something special, something not encountered in this Mode before. Doe was right to be skeptical. He would have to tell her the truth.

  "Doe, I think I must tell you something, but it is important that it not be told to others. Can you keep a secret?"

  "I can," she said. "Are you asking me to?"

  "Yes, so I can explain what happened."

  She turned her face to him. Beneath the ears and beard and nose it was beautiful, and the eyes were especially large and lovely. Colene had mentioned something she had read in her Mode's literature, describing an ancient queen as ox-eyed. Oxen had large, placid orbs. So, it seemed, did Caprines. "I will keep your secret," she said. "Give me a chain."

  "A chain?"

  "On our world, the making of an oath is signified by donning a chain. When I take your chain, this signifies a private commitment which binds me apart from my duty as a null. It is binding until the giver takes it back. No one will question it; all will understand."

  This interested him on another level. "I had heard about the chains, but had thought it to be more symbolic. It really is binding?"

  "Yes. When you wore the bead necklace, that was another type of chain that committed you to Ddwng, thus protecting you from all possible enemies here. Anyone who molested you would be destroyed. Even the dragons; they know. You passed that protection on to Goat, a generous act. There are many types of chains, and they confer benefits as well as commitments. The taking of a chain is a serious matter."

  "Then why should you take my chain lightly?"

  She gazed at him again, and her eyes seemed yet more lustrous. Now he became aware of her hair, which was silky long and light. She was, he realized, strikingly beautiful, regardless of persuasion; her Caprine q
ualities could not mask it. "Darius, I do not do so."

  "But I just suddenly asked whether you would keep a secret, and you agreed you would. You did not debate it or think about it, you simply agreed."

  Her level gaze was compelling. "This is not so. Do you wish further information?"

  "Yes, I do."

  "We studied you—the Feline trio and the Caprine trio, the two who had won the privilege of serving you when you appeared. We learned your language and customs to the extent they are known in our Mode. We learned that the girl, Colene, is devious and not to be trusted."

  "That's not so!"

  "Allow me to rephrase. She is true to her own friends and beliefs, but is not ethically limited when dealing with those she perceives as enemies. She will deceive others, and find ways to overcome them. Her loyalty is only to her own, not to any higher principle. Therefore her enemies cannot afford to trust her."

  Darius gazed at her, impressed. This was indeed a fair description of Colene. "I apologize for my denial. You are correct. And what is your judgment of me?"

  "You, in contrast, are unalterably honest. You will keep your given word regardless of to whom it is issued, even if it is given under duress. Therefore you can be trusted, and you are the one whose commitment we must have. Colene will betray others, but will not betray you. Your word will bind her too."

  "But I gave my word when we were in the Mode before, and it was invalid."

  "That has been analyzed. It was concluded that you kept your word, but that unbeknownst to you, the girl arranged to void it, and so caused the anchor to be loosed. She had never acquiesced, and was in opposition to your decision. But you may now, if you choose, clarify that: did you approve Colene's action?"

  "I did not. We had a serious difference about that. I thought I could not love her, because of that dishonesty. But the deed was done, and could not be undone."

  "This was our conclusion. She betrayed us, not you. Therefore we cannot trust her, but can trust you. But now that you have broached that matter with her, she will abide by your decision. Is this not correct?"

  Colene had actually won that argument, their first serious difference. But he knew she would not put him in such a position again. "It is correct. You have analyzed us well."