"Anthony, Piers - Adept - 02 - Blue Adept" - читать интересную книгу автора (Anthony Piers)

"That's one thing I don't quite understand yet. If only a
person whose double in the other frame is dead can cross
the curtain that separates one frame from the other, what
about me? Do I have an alternate self here who died?"

Stile considered. "Thy tenure in the other frame of Pro-
ton was for twenty years. Was thy family there before
thee?"

"No. I came at age fifteen for my enlistment. My time
would have been up in a few more months. My family

Blue Adept 7

never set foot on Planet Proton. They live fifteen light
years away."

"So thy existence on this planet stems only from thy
tenure as a serf," Stile concluded. "Thou hast no natural
existence in this other frame of Phaze. There is no alter-
nate self to fill thy place in the alternate scheme. So thou
art free to cross the curtain."

"So I was not murdered," Hulk concluded. "That's a
relief."

Stile smiled. "Who could murder thee? Thou couldst
pulp any normal man with the grip of one hand."

"Except thee, when we played the Game."

"The fortunes of chance," Stile said. "How could I
match thee, in fair combat?"

Hulk laughed good-naturedly. 'Tease me not, little
giant. Thy stature is as mine, in martial arts."

"In mine own weight-class," Stile qualified. It was good
to talk with someone who understood Stile's home-world
and the Game.

They started off within the hour. Stile played his har-
monica, accumulating his magic, then sang one of the
spells he had worked out: "By the power of magic vested
in me, make me blank so none can see." He was unable to
heal himself or cure himself of illness, but he could change
his aspect before other people. He held up his hand, then
waved it before his face: nothing. He was invisible.