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would have jumped, had he been alive. He had not even known the woman’s name before Nepe gave it! What mischievous game was the child playing?   Then a signal flashed. “The Citizen will see you now,” the secretary said. “Nepe will remain here.”
    “Of course,” Mach said, though he did not like this. He knew better than to counter any directive of the Citizen, but if Nepe were subjected to any ill treatment, even purely psychological, Mach would be in an extremely difficult position.  
    “I’ll be okay. Uncle,” Nepe said brightly. “Tsetse’s nice.” Mach hoped so. He braced himself and stepped through the opaque force-curtain into Citizen Tan’s inner office.   Tan was standing, garbed as usual in his tan robe, his hair tinted tan, and his eyes matching. He was actually a fairly handsome figure of a man, and Mach suspected that the lovely new secretary really did not mind the uses to which he surely put her. But he was arrogant in the manner of most Citizens, and ruthless, and he used women as he used men: with complete indifference to their sensitivities.
    “Sir,” Mach said respectfully.
    “You have the information?”
    “Yes, sir.”
    Tan smiled with genuine warmth. “We are very close, after a tedious delay. This may be the batch that puts us over.”
    “Yes, sir.”
    “Because once we have enough basic information from the Book of Magic in Phaze, and the Oracle here is able to compile it, we shall finally have the mechanism to achieve key leverage in the monetary arena. It is amazing how closely magic parallels financial dealings! You know what that means?”
    “Yes, sir.”
    “State it in your own words.”
    “The Contrary Citizens will be able to use their wealth to control the government of the frame of Proton, and Citizen Blue and his allies will no longer be able to prevent this.   Thus victory for you.”
    Tan rubbed his hands together. “It has been long in coming! Blue has used every conceivable mode of interference and delay. But under the terms of the agreement he had to allow you and Bane access to the Oracle, and that has made the difference.”
    “For the precise hours that his grandchild visits him,” Mach agreed. For that had been the nature of the hard-fought compromise: Oracle for Nepe, in Proton, and Book of Magic for Flach, in Phaze. That was why the Citizens and Adepts put no obstacles in the way of these visits. Indeed, they would be glad to allow more time.
    “In two hours you will have your session with the Oracle, and obtain the translation of your information,” Tan said. “I believe that this will indeed mark the turning point. The matter will therefore no longer require my personal attention. I will assign an associate to work with you.”
    “As you wish, sir,” Mach said, surprised. Citizen Tan had always evinced keen interest in this project, despite his enmity to Mach and Bane.
    “I shall turn this matter over to her now,” Tan said. He snapped his fingers.
    A young woman entered the room. She was a serf, for she was naked, and well formed. Mach’s gaze traveled to her face—and he stifled his dismay. “Tania,” he said.  
    “Naturally I trust my sister to represent my interests competently,” Citizen Tan said. “You have some objection?”
    “No, sir,” Mach said quickly. But this was a meaningless denial, as the others knew; he preferred to remain well away from this dangerous woman. He had snubbed her other self in Phaze, and made mischief for her here in Proton, when he was helping Fleta escape. Tania had a score or two to settle with him.
    “How nice,” Tania said, approaching him. Her eyes, hair and skin were tinted tan like those of her twin brother; she was naked but clothed in this color. “I’m sure we shall get along intimately.” She came to a stop immediately before him, and put her arms around him, and pressed in closely.   Mach was a robot, and he was in his own body now. That meant that he had complete control over