It blurred again, and the yellow was lost, but he was able to guide her back. Then she went to 10,000 X, and then to 100,000 X.
In a moment the color formed into a scene like that of a valley viewed from the top of a mountain. “It's there!” he said. “A forest, I think, and a valley. And a lake!"
"What of the yellow?"
"I lost that."
"I will move it very slowly."
The flying resumed. “Yellow! Now I have clear detail. It is a vent, spewing dust on either side. It goes on forever."
"Confirmation!” she cried, thrilled.
They went to one million X, and much more detail appeared. Throe saw shapes moving at the fringe of the yellow region.
"I'll take it to ten million,” Ini said. “That's my limit; I don't have the magic for a larger reflector."
But that magnification was enough. It was as though he floated a hundred or a hundred and fifty feet above the ground, and he could see everything. The shapes turned out to be trees and animals, and they were weird.
"Tell me!” Ini cried.
"I haven't seen anything like these,” he said as he moved slowly across the landscape. “One is a—a giant snail with three antenna, sliding along at a respectable speed."
"An uncatalogued species,” she breathed.
"And here is a wheeled creature. It has four, no five legs, and each ends in a wheel. It lifts one or two wheels at a time over obstructions, always having good balance on three wheels on the ground. And there's a flying creature—it seems to have one wing whirling overhead, lifting it."
"A vertical wheel, perhaps,” she said. “Counter Charm has wheeled creatures!"
Then the scene fuzzed out. “You lost focus."
"No, it's a cloud. Obscenity!"
Throe removed his eye from the lens. She was right; a cloud had cut off their view. “I'm sorry."
"I'm not,” she said, coming to him. “We have made so much progress, it will be all I can do to record it accurately before the view is clear again. I spoke intemperately, but a moment suffices to restore my perspective. Oh, I could kiss you!"
"Affirmative.” They came together and kissed. Ini no longer seemed plain to him; she was the essence of explorative discovery. Who could have believed that he would so suddenly see so much of the world that had mystified him all his life!
"We have some time to spare. This is where my initiative fails. I know I am not a seductive creature."
For a moment he was blank. “Seductive?"
"So I must be blunt. Let's do it now, before the cloud passes,” she murmured.
No need to ask what. He was supposed to have sex with her. Actually, the excitement of viewing the companion planet made him passionate. Ini's essence was not in her appearance, which she did not deign to enhance by illusion, but in her joy of discovery, and he was sharing it. They hurried into the house, stripped, and piled onto the bed. “A new world—up close,” he said as he penetrated her.
"Three new species already!” she agreed as she clasped him closely to her.
The sex was satisfying, if rushed, but both were eager to get back outside and be ready for the passing of the cloud. Soon they were looking again, discovering a plant or animal like a huge moving sponge, and a creature like one of the legendary dinosaurs. Then more clouds came, and they had to end it for the day.
"Oh, I meant to make a good meal for you,” she said. “I got so carried away, I forgot."
"I don't care about that. I'll eat whatever you have, and meanwhile let's write down those discoveries before we forget any details."
She hastened to comply, and they gobbled it down while chronicling the telescope experience. Throe was able to remember more details as they reviewed it, and the scene clarified and solidified for him as he did. He had actually noticed a lot more than he had realized at the time.
"I feel as though I saw them myself,” Ini said half wistfully.
"Can you teach me to guide the telescope, so that you can look?"
She shook her head. “This requires a complex exercise of the mind, to shape and orient the intensely specific illusion. You would have to be Air Chroma yourself."
Throe had a notion, but preferred to let it percolate a while before broaching it. “Will Jamais do it?"
"If he marries me."
"So he understands that part of the price of you is to support your research."
"Yes. We have agreed that I would not hold him to more than an hour a day. That should suffice; I will have many notes to make at other times."
"Why do you wish to marry him? I mean, you could surely get competent assistance without having to marry anyone."
"Oh, yes, I could, and I will, if he does not marry me. But there's something about him. None of us can go elsewhere until we know he is settled. So we are agreed: he will choose one of us, and the others will not begrudge her. All of us have other prospects, once we know that Jamais is committed."
"I find this unusual. First that three of you should compete so amicably for a single man—"
"Four, actually. But Ino refuses to compete."
"Oh. She's the fourth.” That said volumes; she would be at best a half sister. “Second, that you should do so in such a manner. Requiring a stranger to judge you, even to the extent of—"
"Especially to the extent of,” she said, smiling. “I fear I was abrupt with you, in my distraction of the observation."
"I was as eager as you to get back to the observation. I will remember it for all my life. I have never before seen such sights."
"Because there are no such sights on Charm. Today we have verified that the life on Counter Charm is different. Oh, I am jealous of your experience!” She shrugged. “But it is as it must be. I should not have pressed you into such service. We must retire to bed, and can go again, at proper leisure. I can use illusion to make myself more interesting, so that it is not arduous for you."
"It was hardly arduous! We were both so excited by what we had seen that this seemed to be a natural alleviation."
"It is kind of you to say so. Nevertheless—"
Throe came to a decision. “I realize that you need to show me what you can do there, so that I can come to a conclusion for Jamais, and I don't want to deny you that. I admit to being intrigued by the prospect of experiencing what you can do when buffered by illusion. But I think it would be a waste."
Her face became blank. “You have already decided?"
"No. I can't do that until I have visited the third sister. But though I doubt that you can match what Ina did in bed, I know that you are probably a better potential wife than she is. You do not need to extend yourself for me."
She gazed at him. “I am not a stupid woman.” She paused while he choked back his laughter; that was a considerable understatement. “But I think I do not understand the basis of your conclusion."
"Ina gave me a night of such sexual fulfillment as I have never had elsewhere, even in my more ardent youth; I doubt anyone else can match it. She can surely do the same for Jamais. But despite your agreement to compete in this aspect, I can't agree. A marriage is more than sex, and you should not let that one aspect determine the decision."
"But the other aspects are even. Jamais finds us equivalent in other respects. So it must be the deciding factor."
"No! It must be a compatible factor, not the deciding one. Ina will not be as impressive when she ages. The long term must be considered as well as the short term."
She nodded. “You make appealing sense. Still—"
"In this respect, I have the advantage of experience. But that is not my point of the moment. It is that it would be a waste to take your time in bed, when I may be able to give you time looking at Counter Charm."
"I think I have learned better than to dismiss your notion without ascertaining its specifics. But I confess extreme doubt."
"I am telepathic. I don't use it much, and I have not read your mind. But I may do so, with your permission, so as to draw from your mi
nd the expertise to guide your telescope. I would not need to learn it myself, merely to channel your ability though my own mind. If that is possible, we would do better spending the night viewing Counter Charm, than wasting it in bed."
She came to him and kissed him, and such was the passion thereof that he knew he had been right to broach this notion. They went outside, and the clouds had not abated, but they practiced with the telescope. Throe sat at the second eyepiece, which turned out to be dual, so that the eyes could coordinate, and Ini reviewed the mental mechanism of controlling the intense illusion. It was dark, but that did not matter; Counter Charm's face was locked to Charm's, and vice versa, so was always visible. Throe did not understand her complexly channeled thoughts, but did not need to; they coursed through his mind, and enabled him to control the telescope. For the present it was as if he were a clone of her, able to draw on her mental resources.
The clouds passed, and they were doing it seriously. Throe continued with the telescope, following her thoughts, and Ini peered though the single lens—and saw the detail and creatures of Counter Charm. He felt her overwhelming thrill as she explored the planet directly. Her dream of a lifetime was being realized.
Then the clouds closed in again, this time so solidly that it was obvious that they were there to stay. But Ini was satisfied; she had seen what she had seen. The two of them reentered the house.
Ini said no word. She flung her arms about him, kissing him fervently. He carried her to the bed, and shed his weapons and clothing, and this time they made love in a manner that did indeed rival what he had experienced the night before. The rapture of her breakthrough outside suffused her mind, and she associated him with it, and had great joy in him, and that delight spilled over to his mind and made the experience unique.
Panting, they fell apart and lay beside each other on the bed, still too worked up for sleep. “Oh, I forgot the illusion!"
"You had no need of it. You are as much of a woman as any, and outward form becomes irrelevant."
"You have a way of putting it that delights me."
"I did learn something in the course of a long marriage. There are many qualities contributing to a relationship."
"Nevertheless, you flatter me."
"Negation."
"You were married,” she said after a pause. “But now you are not. Tell me of your other women."
Throe was surprised. “Why should you care about them? They have no relevance to you."
"Yes they do. They made you sensitive."
She might be right. “After my marriage ended, I was busy on the King's business, and pretended that Oblige was still at home for me, though I knew she was gone. Then King Deal was murdered, and King Havoc came to be, and he had a special way with women. The elder ones mothered him, and the younger ones longed to be his mistresses, and some of them succeeded. King Deal's mistress was a woman of your Chroma, slowly losing her invisibility, so that some of her internal organs showed. She couldn't do much illusion in the nonChroma zone, but covered up with competent clothing, body paint, and I am not sure what else. Her name was Symbol, and she thought to seduce King Havoc, and I opposed it, not trusting her. It was my job to protect him, you see, and I believed her to be a danger to him. I did not approve of her, and said so. Maybe she took that as a challenge, for she set out to seduce me, and soon enough succeeded, and for a time we were a couple."
"How could she seduce you, if you did not like her?"
"Approval has little to do with sex. I did not trust her with the King, but I was expendable. She was extremely good at her trade, and I must confess she eased my regret about the passing of my marriage. The King approved; his woman Gale joined him, and he liked to see those around him matched up. But as time passed I came to know Havoc's oath-friend Ennui, a woman of my own generation, her appearance no more than yours, no offense."
"And you loved her!"
"We were compatible in subtle ways, and slowly came to appreciate each other's qualities. And I found true love at last, when I least expected it."
"That's so romantic."
"It wasn't romantic at all. We had to coordinate to properly serve the King, and there came a time when we realized that we had another interest. We both were beyond our youth, seeming to have little personal future. But the King supported us, so we endured. Then with the advent of the telepathy we knew each other's hearts, and we were together. That was all there was to it."
"One of the appeals of you is that you love and are loved."
"I don't know how you could have known that."
"I am a woman."
The same thing Ina had said. There was evidently more to being a woman than he fathomed.
They slept, and Ini did not wake him for further bouts of sex, but she was comfortable to be with. He realized that it was, indeed, because of his recent associations. He had been with an Invisible Chroma woman, and with a plain one, and Ini was both.
In the morning Jamais came, and Ini made no special gestures of parting; their business together was done. But her eyes flicked to the table where their notes about Counter Charm remained, and he knew that she would always be his friend.
The path wound on toward the volcano. “How is it that the sisters are on the route we need to travel?” Throe inquired.
"There are many routes; I chose the one that passes them. Ina needs minimal illusion, being naturally lovely, so resides near the fringe. Ini needs more, to craft her lenses. Ine needs most for her effects."
"What is Ine's business?"
"She is in training as a sorceress."
"A sorceress!"
"It is a necessary trade, like any other."
"Is it? All Chroma folk do magic, and nonChroma folk get along well enough without it. Why should anyone do magic for magic's sake?"
"Why have a King?"
Throe was surprised by the seeming non sequitur, but he answered. “There is a problem of organization, for equitable distribution of supplies and regulation of trade, so that there will not be quarreling or war between Chroma. The King heads the governing apparatus. Also, it is essential that the human kind remain united, rather than fragmenting into a number of different species. The King is the symbol and authority of that unity."
"In short, there is a job to do, so the King does it."
"Yes, the job of governance, assigned to a nonChroma person because the Chroma couldn't agree to let such power fall to any single Chroma. The King must have the consent of the Chroma, having no magic of his own."
"There are magic jobs also, that are beyond the capacity of ordinary citizens. Those who have aptitude train for them, at any Chroma. Have you ever been floated across a Chroma zone?"
"Yes, often. The King has connections, as do established caravans."
"Ordinary folk may run them, but it requires more detailed magic to make them. Sorcerers do that, and other projects for the common good."
"Embarrassment. I never thought of who might fashion floating transport."
Jamais smiled. “Negation. Most folk don't think of it, and neither did I, until I met Ine. She educated me rapidly."
"I think I have seen how that works,” Throe said. “Am I allowed to discuss my contacts with the sisters?"
"Not until you have your decision. That would be meaningless if I influenced it."
"Then let's just say that I have learned much, and suspect I will learn more."
"And let me just say that they are impressive, all three of them. I remain sorry I can't marry them all."
That was a sentiment Throe could appreciate. He had seldom been as quickly impressed by women as had happened recently. “I understand there are four."
"I never met the fourth. I conjecture that she, being a half sister, lacks the qualities of the others, and prefers to remain invisible, as it were. She is the youngest, and the others are protective of her."
Throe's feelings were mixed. He had not sought any such assignment, but his encounters with two sisters had shown him that th
ere was much to experience in the Air Chroma. How much more would he have learned had there been a fourth girl to evaluate? Yet his real business was to reach the coordinates and fetch the object there; all else was distraction.
The surrounding scenery became wilder. The trees assumed irregular shapes and colors; some actually seemed to consist of floating foliage without trunks to support them. There were flowers galore, some huge, some tiny, some merely odd. Throe realized that most people lived in the outer ring of the zone, and shaped appearances to please themselves. Deeper in, the wild plants and animals had more influence. Still, he found the shapes and colors appealing in their individuality, and wondered how close they came to matching the realities they covered. Why should plants care how they looked to others?
The question brought the answer: some plants needed to protect themselves from being grazed, harvested, or infested. They would make themselves look inedible. Others wished to attract insects for pollination or grooming, and illusion could make a far more spectacular flower with much less effort than real growth. Some might prefer to remain invisible, but that could complicate encounters with their own kind, so compromise was necessary.
"Now we come to a tunnel,” Jamais said.
"We must pass through a mountain?"
"No, this is more apparent than real. It is a flux of magic that blots out illusion as well as external light. I know the path, so this will not impede our progress, but you will have to walk with me without flinching."
"That should not be difficult."
"The path is narrow, girt in spots by jagged escarpments. You could hurt yourself if you jerked into them, especially with your face. The demons may try to make you do that."
"Demons?"
"They exist in every Chroma, though most prominent in the Red. They seldom interfere directly with human activities, but their attention can be mischievous. Ignore them and they will generally go away."
Throe had had some limited experience with that. “I will try."
"Take my hand. Proceed exactly by my side. Do not stop or turn. We will not be able to talk. It will not endure long."
Throe took the man's right hand with his left, and matched his step. The way ahead seemed open and unthreatening.