“Breathing!” he exclaimed.
“When you breathe, you exchange molecules of your substance with those of the air. The longer you breathe, the greater amount of foreign matter you incorporate.”
“I never thought of that! Of course you are right.”
“I have had a long time to ponder the aspects of my failure,” she said with a wan smile. “It is not surprising that some of my realizations are new to you. I would have told you this had we remained trapped, and the dragons would have noted your reaction and seen that I was impressing you.”
“And if you succeeded in winning my confidence, you might learn from me how to cross the Modes,” he said. “I see their logic. But you succeeded too well.”
“That was my desire. I think now that I could have addressed you directly without trying to mask it with nonsense syllables; the dragons are not highly vocal and do not really understand the versatility of it. But I was determined not to squander my only chance for escape.”
“So your body is mostly of the dragon Mode,” he said. “But I am aware of no actual attraction of a Mode. I do not find myself sliding back to my anchor Mode when I relax. Why should it pull you back?”
“It may not,” she admitted. “But it could work in this way: if I became separated from you, I would be unable to cross Modes toward your anchor. But I might be able to cross them toward the dragon realm, because it is as it were downhill for my present substance. Since the Virtual Mode intersects only a narrow segment of each Mode, I would inevitably stumble across and be moved back. Certainly I would not reach your anchor. My fear is that even a brief separation would prevent you from finding me, for you would not know in which Mode to search, or where within it.”
“Needle in a haystack,” he agreed.
“I do not follow your reference.”
“It is a saying I learned from Colene. They use fine needles for stitchwork, as I understand it, and should such a needle fall into a pile of hay, it would be exceedingly difficult to find.”
“That is apt. So I prefer to take no risk, being sensitized by my long captivity. I shall do my best to repay this inconvenience for you. For example, I may be able to show you how to cross Modes more safely, so that you run no further risk of being trapped.”
“That would be a great help!”
“When we reach your anchor, and I am safe there, I will fetch you mirrors. It should be easy to make a structure to hold a set of them, one reflecting to the other. When the forward mirror is poked across the border of Modes, its light could be reflected through a closed tube to the backward mirror. I think you could then see in the backward mirror the image from the forward one, not overwhelmed by the images of the Mode in which you stood.”
Darius was intrigued by the concept. “If light can be reflected across the border, why can’t we just look across?”
“I think we could if we were not attuned to the Mode in which we stand. We need to isolate our sight from that, just as we need to isolate our flesh from it if we wish to depart it. Perhaps I am mistaken. It is a concept I played with, and I would like to discover whether it works.”
“I will certainly try it!” he said. “If it protects me from walking into a net, this delay will have been worth it.” Then he reconsidered. “I do not mean to imply that it is not worthwhile to rescue you.”
She laughed. “I understand perfectly!”
She surely did. She was older than he, and not beautiful (though not ugly), but she had a good mind to go with her excellent power. He was adjusting to the notion of marrying her, when he returned with Colene. That would indeed give him love and advantage in his post, though not in the same woman. It would make his foray onto the Virtual Mode a success.
Having assimilated the water, they moved on across the Modes. Darius was now conscious of a resistance in his body, as if the foreign molecules were dragging behind. But it was so slight as perhaps to be his imagination. After all, Prima, who had twenty years’ accumulation of foreign substance in her body, was having no apparent difficulty crossing. Unless it was the resistance of her substance, in contact with his, which caused the drag.
He expected their return to be slower than his original journey, but it was faster. His familiarity with the route and her eagerness to reach the anchor made for excellent progress. They did encounter a large predator at one point, but a quick dodge back across the Mode border solved that. Prima also insisted on leading the way, so that she rather than he would catch the brunt of danger. She seemed almost fearless in her cooperation.
When they reached the point at which he had diverged from the direct route, he explained, and she agreed as to the wisdom of that course. They retraced his route across the plain. When he judged they were close to his Mode, he conjured them to the dais of the Cyng of Pwer.
Then sudden doubt assailed him. “How can I be sure it’s my anchor?” he asked. “If there are an infinite number of Dariuses entering an infinite number of Virtual Modes—”
“Each should relate to his own anchor,” she said. “Your Virtual Mode slants across Modes at such an angle that three paces separate them. When you take the final three paces, you should be at the correct anchor. My case differs; I lost my Mode, so have no such orientation and must depend on yours.”
“I hope you are right,” he said.
“And if it is a different anchor, but so similar that it accepts you, and no one can tell the difference, does it matter?”
“Of course it matters! Those awaiting my return would wait in vain, for I would be in the wrong Mode!”
“But that wrong Mode would stand in the same need of your return as your own, and your return would be as beneficial to it.”
He did not feel equipped to answer that. He just hoped it was the right one.
They reached the anchor and stepped onto the marked circle.
CHAPTER 7—UNDERSTANDING
BUT why were you calling me? Colene inquired after recovering control of herself.
I need help to escape, Seqiro replied. I felt the invitation of the Virtual Mode, and accepted it. But I must step out of my stall to utilize it, and can not without breaking it down.
I can open it for you, she said. The latch looks simple enough.
The horse twitched an ear. For your human fingers, yes. For my hoof, no.
She stepped toward it. I will do it now.
He brought his nose about to intercept her. Not yet. I will need feed and some supplies before I travel, for grazing has disadvantages on the Virtual Mode.
But I thought horses liked to graze!
We do. But the food of other realities is difficult to assimilate, and best avoided until the journey is complete.
She was surprised. What’s wrong with it?
When you cross realities, what you have recently eaten remains behind, for it is not of your reality.
She had packed supplies because she had been uncertain what she would find along the way. Now she was very glad she had done so!
I’m going to find my lost love, Darius, she thought. Where are you going?
With you.
But you may not like it in his reality!