| The Crystallic has interpreted "Probe and those people who are around
him" to mean anyone who was within ten metres or so of the avatar. That
includes Probe himself, Dredrick, Fred 1, Lady Champlaine, Fredrina, Zular,
two guards and two female servants. Not surprisingly, at first there is
great confusion. Zular cries: "What sorcery is this?" He draws his sword
and the guards do likewise. "Peace," says Inquirer. "You are in no danger
here. Please listen, and I will explain how you come to be here."
Inquirer runs through all that has happened. Most of the former inhabitants
of the castle even manage to understand the explanation. When the Duchess,
Lady Champlaine, asks how this can explain her daughter apparently rising
from the dead, Probe and Inquirer manage to work out that two separate
analogs must have somehow become mixed up with one another. Fredrina is
from an alternative reality to Champlaine and Zular (and Dredrick). That
is quite a shock for Fredrina, but she cheers up when it becomes apparent
that Fred 1 is truly her brother. Whilst Dredrick is happy enough to treat
both Fred 1 and Fred 2 as his sons, and to take Fredrina as his daughter,
and he and his wife are naturally overjoyed at being reunited, Lady Champlaine
wants to see Fred 2, her real son. Inquirer uses her Crystallic to bring
him to Ethiopia from Walants, and there is a touching reunion, though it
is rather marred for Fred 2 by learning of the death of his sister.
Whilst all this is taking place, Probe receives word from the fleet
that the castle has disappeared, leaving no trace. They had got out just
in time.
Fredrina has lost the handful of notes that she dropped on the castle
floor, but she can recall most of what was in them. "No time like the present,
when I've got everyone together," she thinks. "Duke Zular," she says, "I
have evidence that you have plotted to seize the throne of Allaria, and
also that you falsified the map of the caverns that my brother used." It
is no longer strictly true that she has any corrobative evidence, of course,
but if it should come down to her word against Zular's she is confident
that she would be believed. Zular is a cool customer, however. "But, if
I understand things aright, that was my - what was the word - 'analog',
not me. I can assure you that I only have the best interests of Allaria
and the D'Honaires at heart." "He's right," Fred 1 concedes, "that was
his analog." "Too bad," he thinks. "The analog worlds are close enough
that it's very unlikely that this Zular is pure as the driven snow.
As far as I could make out, Fred 2 had an identical map to me, too, but
that's not proof that Zular was responsible. I also wonder if the death
of the other Fredrina was as innocent as my mother - correction, Fred 2's
mother - apparently accepted. Zular will need watching."
Meanwhile, not far away, after their tiring day Fred and Astra 5 are
taking the chance to relax in the suite that has been allocated for their
use. "It's odd," says Astra. "What is?" asks Fred. "Even allowing for the
fact that I'm expecting septuplets, I shouldn't be this big. I look getting
on for six months gone, but by my calculation it's not much over two weeks
since conception. Even allowing that the first week or so was spent as
a demifox, it still doesn't add up."
"Well, I have a theory about that," Fred says. "Hearing Fred and Astra
4 describe what happened to them when they were ambushed by Moreau got
me thinking. We just assumed that it was the next morning after conception
when we came back to our senses and found Malachi looking down at us. What
if we were actually out of it for a couple of weeks? A fox pregnancy is
only about seven weeks. Assuming a demifox pregnancy is the same, you'd
be something like halfway through it when the Crystallic turned us back.
Assuming that the Crystallic preserved the relative stage of the pregnancy,
that would just about work out."
"Could be, but I don't think so," mused Astra. "I rather think that
'our' Crystallic has a weird sense of humour. I suspect that when I was
turned back to human, it set me to about four to five months pregnant.
Then when Rift used it on me, I think I gained another month or so. Fortunately
for me, using one for transport rather than transformation doesn't seem
to have had the same effect - whether it's transport between realities
or just an ordinary journey - seeing as one has been used on me twice more
today."
-
 Meanwhile, it is time to
catch up on what the ghost of Dr Vincent and his two allies are up to.
[4032]
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