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"I don't mind. I suppose I'll have to get used to that sort of thing, too."
Later, when she and Im'ran went into her room, Ercy helped make up a bed for
him on her sofa, shoving some old magazines out of the way underneath it. It
never occurred to her to wonder why there seemed to be so much extra room
under the sofa. She was overwrought and exhausted, and nothing seemed the same
to her anymore.
Over the next twenty-four hours, the few hundred members of Zeor who could
make the trip arrived at Rialite by train, chartered bus, and even helicopter,
with an occasional party on horseback making a vacation camping trip out of
the occasion. With them arrived the press with cameras and recorders aplenty.
Soon they had cables laid out to be tripped over by Gens, and they were
endlessly posing questions to any passerby.
The pavilion came to life, decked out in fresh flowers and
brightly colored streamers. Ercy greeted each and every member of her House
standing at Digen's side, saying over and over again that she felt only as if
she were coming down with a mild flu. The headache came not from incipient
changeover, she told herself, but from trying to keep the faces together with
the names she had learned from the family tree her mother had given her to
memorize.
At the formal banquet in the pavilion, Digen overheard some members talking
about Rellow's recent behavior toward Ercy and asking each other who they
would put up to challenge Rellow if for some reason Ercy didn't make it.
It gave him a renewed chill to realize just how thin a thread Zeor's future
depended on. But there were flashes of uplifting conversation, too, such as
the botany professor, Ramirze, marveling over Ercy's tomatoes and cucumbers.
The whole Farris family of Zeor was seated at one long table facing the many
small tables filled with over four hundred of the members of the House. Digen
had made sure that Halimer Grant was seated beside him.
The place of honor at the center went to Ercy, with Im'ran on one side and
Digen on the other. Next to Im'ran was Mora, and next to her, her son and
Im'ran's, Shirus, who was Ercy's renSime half brother though not a Farris.
Beside him sat Rellow. On the other side of Grant was Digen's sister Bett and
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her husband, Sels Farris. The only Farrises missing from the gathering were
Landar, Bett's other son, and Sceneta, the distant cousin Digen was still
struggling to have assigned to Rialite. But so it ever was in the Tecton Digen
could not remember the last time the whole family had been together.
Throughout the meal, Ercy sat with her hands curled around her tea glass, the
smell of food killing every shred of appetite she might have had. From time to
time, Digen attempted to zlin her more closely through the chaotic ambient
nager. He was very much aware that Grant's presence upset his previous time
estimates because of the peculiar interaction between his daughter and the
Gen.
As the meal came to an end, Digen rose to address Zeor. First he introduced
Halimer Grant, saying, "Hal is not pledged to Zeor. Yet for technical reasons,
which I'll be glad to explain to anyone interested, I have chosen to attempt
this breakstep with him." And then he launched into an explanation of why he
was timing the breakstep and disjunction completion with Ercy's changeover. "I
will accept Ercy's pledge, if feasible, after her
breakout but before her First Transfer the Sectuib's Pledge which hasn't been
seen in Zeor since my father's pledge well over fifty years ago.
"I will then offer my pledge to her, relinquishing my position in Zeor to
her." There was a rising murmur of dismay and Digen held up his hands,
tentacles spread in a plea for attention.
"With Ercy's permission, I will continue as Regent. However, any competent
administrator could handle the business in the event of my sudden death."
.here was a sense of shock in the pavilion, but no real surprise. Everyone
knew how precarious Digen's life had always been, but precarious situations
which endure for over thirty years are perceived as stable.
"This," said Digen, "concludes "
"No, it does not conclude this discussion!" Rellow was on his feet at the end
of the long banquet table.
Digen and Ercy both turned to see him holding three notebooks which Ercy
instantly recognized. Digen said, "I believe we have concluded our discussion,
Hajene Rellow Farris." He wanted to get Ercy out of there quickly, for her
field had begun to plunge as she used selyn in changeover.
"You believe incorrectly, Sectuib Digen Farris," answered Rellow. He turned
to the members. "I have here three notebooks, all carefully dated, in Ercy
Farris's handwriting, pertaining to the use of the stars and phases of
themoon!  in a serious attempt to grow amahogany trinrose!''
In the stunned silence, Rellow added, in dramatically softened tones, "We are
about to pledge to a Sectuib who is practicing magic."
Everyone began talking at once. Ercy, however, was suddenly overwhelmed by a
terrible weakness that swept out from the pit of her stomach. In the moment
she knew she was going to be sick, she tried to rise, and managed just to turn
away from the table when she collapsed, retching.
Only one thought possessed her.This is it. Changeover for real.
Chapter 8
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Outside the pavilion, the members of Zeor were milling about. Inside, workmen
removed the tables and set up for the party. Ercy had been taken away by
Im'ran to dress for the occasion. Digen had appointed a committee to examine
the notebooks and listen to Rellow's charges, and they had retired to
deliberate. Digen himself was caught between the discussion of Rellow's
charges against Ercy and demands for the "technical explanation" of his choice
of Halimer Grant rather than one of Zeor's Own Donors.
At one point, he became separated from Grant, and the Gen was set upon by
reporters. Working his way back to his Donor, Digen overheard the tail end of
the questioning Grant was fending off.
"And is it true Sectuib Digen Farris intends to resign in favor of his
daughter on this very occasion?"
"I am not pledged to Zeor, but I do regard the proceedings of a House as
privileged to that House " He broke off as Digen arrived and the reporters all [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]