Robot Adept

Agape suffered herself to be guided into the castle, but she glanced askance at the Lady. Didn’t Bane’s parents oppose this union?

The Lady laughed. “I see that thou dost have concern o’er thy status here. Agape. Do thou make thyself comfortable, and we shall have a female talk ere my husband return.”

Agape did that. She was glad that she had learned how to take care of this body, so that she was able to clean up and empty her wastes without complication;

In the afternoon, after a meal and a nap, she joined the Lady for their talk. The geis remained on Agape; the Troll had been right about its lasting effect! Thus it was pretty much a one-way conversation, with Agape merely nodding agreement at appropriate intervals.  “The opposition o’ factions o’ Adepts be longstanding,” the Lady said. “Adept ne’er liked Adept, till Stile came on the scene. Then he did what was necessary to separate the frames, for by their interaction they were being despoiled, and so he evoked the enmity o’ the despoilers. That be the origin o’ the Adverse Adepts; they liked each other not overly much before, and very little now, but they league in common interest. One did he befriend, Brown, and one did he replace, Red; all others be ‘gainst him, to lesser or greater extent. But Stile, who be also the Blue Adept, be strongest o’ Adepts, save for the one he promoted, Trool the Troll, who has the Book o’ Magic. So did he prevail, and the frames were parted.”

She looked at Agape, and Agape nodded. She had learned some of this from Bane, before, but knew that the Lady was merely establishing the background for her point.

“After the parting, the force o’ magic in Phaze was reduced by half,” the Lady continued. “Because o’ the transfer of Phazite to Proton, to make up for the Protonite mined there, that had caused the dangerous imbalance. But since the reduction was impartial, affecting all alike, it made no difference in the relative powers o’ Adepts, and things seemed much as before. But the Adverse Adepts resented this wrong they felt Stile had done them, and conspired ‘gainst him. They stifled his programs for better relations between man and animals, and wrought mischief in constant devious ways. Gradually their power increased, for they were many and we few. We knew that we needed new magic to hold them off, and our great hope was in our son, Bane, who showed early promise. An he grow, and marry, and have an heir like himself, belike we could hold off the Adverse Adepts indefinitely, and maintain a fair balance in our land, that evil not o’ertake it.” The Lady sighed. Agape wanted to speak, for she had known of this too, and understood, and intended to act to free Bane for that future his parents wished for him. But the geis constrained her, and she only nodded again.

“But there were no suitable young women,” the Lady said sadly. “The village girls were poisoned ‘gainst our kind; e’en I, a generation ago, would ne’er have married Blue an circumstances not been unusual. The only truly eligible woman is the daughter o’ the Tan Adept—one o’ the hostile ones. Bane played with animal friends, but o’ course these were not suitable for marriage. It be not that we be prejudiced ‘gainst the animals, for many be fine creatures, and we work closely with them and like them well. It be that they cannot breed with man. Therefore the future o’ our good works came into peril. It seemed we would have to deal with Tan, and be compromised accordingly; but the alternative was to lose all. It were not a happy position.” This was new to Agape. She kept her mouth shut and listened.

“Then the boys made their exchange, and Mach came to our frame, and Bane went to thine. We had not believed such possible, and were caught unprepared.  We saw that the exchange was but mental only, not o’ the bodies. Mach became attached to Fleta, the unicorn, and Bane to thee, the alien. We understand; there be not a finer person than Fleta, and we know our son would bestow not his love on an unworthy creature.  But we opposed such union, because it meant the loss o’ all we planned on, and incalculable damage to the frame, owing to the lack o’ the continuation o’ our line.

“That were our error. We appreciated not how true Mach’s love was. Fleta understood our position, and resolved to disengage—but she knew what we did not, that only her death would accomplish it. So she arranged to die—and Mach came to her, and spake her the triple Thee, and such was the force o’ it he overrode Adept magic and saved her.”