"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.
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11/7/2000 10:46:58 AM
Extending Enabled
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