The First Wish

The Never Ending Quest - Episode 14030

"I understand that, Master. You realise that you could achieve the dragon's defeat simply by framing a suitable wish?" "Yes, I do realise that, but it somehow seems almost as though it would be cheating to accomplish my quest in such a fashion. However a thought has just occurred to me. What would happen to you if I, your 'Master', were to be killed by the dragon?" "I do not know for sure, Master. A master-less djinn is almost a contradiction in terms. The situation would be highly unstable. It is possible that the effect of your death would be the same as if you had used all of your three wishes, and that I and the lamp would be transported somewhere else to wait for a new master. Or I might simply cease to exist."

"If there's a risk of that, I shall have to set my chivalrous scruples aside. It occurs to me that it might be best to wish that the dragon had never existed, so that all the evil he has done would never have happened." "I am afraid that such a wish is not possible, Master, as it would involve changing my own status. Had the dragon never existed, I would never have come to the Northern Caves - to you, the Southern Caves. Thus I would not have found the lamp nor have become Astra the Djinn. You see the paradox? However, a wish that the dragon should drop dead is possible."

"Then that is what I wish: that the dragon should drop dead this instant." "Your wish is my command, O Master," Astra said, in words that Fred guessed were an unavoidable part of the ritual. Just for a moment, her body seemed to take on an insubstantial quality, but then she resolidified.

  1. "It is done, Master," she said. "The dragon is dead."
  2. "Master, this djinn has failed you," she said. "The dragon's own magical defences are so powerful, that I could not penetrate them."
  3. "Master, you did not specify which dragon should die. To my surprise and distress, I found that I was compelled to kill the wrong one."

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11/7/2000 10:46:58 AM

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