Unicorn Point

“Aye,” Neysa said. Then she became Nessie. Now ‘Corn understood why Citizen Blue had hired this older alien from Planet Moeba; he had been facilitating the parallelism, so as to be ready for this mergence, if it came. Flach’s granddam, Nepe’s grandmother: had one been offplanet at this time, there could have been a bad disruption.

‘Corn/Al remembered something. “What of Tania?” he asked. “She did more than anyone to make this possible, and she loves Mach/Bane, and we owe her—“

Fleta/Agape looked up. “It be true. We owe her,” she said sadly. “Mayhap she loved power as much as the man, wishing to unite with an Adept or Citizen and so gain back her own, but an we have the debt, needs must we—“

The music of the Flute finally stopped; the mergence was complete. Clefs job was done. Rejuvenated, exhilarated, he lowered the instrument and stood there, smiling and handsome. Slowly he turned to Tania, with a questioning glance.  In two steps she was in his arms, kissing him with a passion verging on ferocity. A light flickered about them.  Now ‘Corn appreciated the phenomenal impact the playing of the Flute must have had upon the woman. She had started it, guided by Clefs expertise; then she had experienced the unparalleled magic of his playing. Power? Clef was the leading Adept of the age, because of the Flute. Tania had known that her love for Mach or Bane was futile; now she had discovered all that she longed for—power, Phaze and a matchless man—in Clef. It was true for both Tanias; they had unified cleanly, and evidently had no internal conflicts. The suddenness of her change of love was no more amazing than the magic of the mergence of the frames.

"Come, we have much to do," Stile/Blue said. "Let's hope that folk like Merle are satisfied with their new powers in lieu of other payment, and that our other allies are well off, while the Adverse allies are similarly badly off." He glanced at 'Corn. "Thy folks may remain ensorceled, Al. Needs must we check on the Red Demesnes. Mayhap with 'Corn's folks offworld, there will be a complication we must abate."

"Me too!" Nepe cried. "Come on, 'Corn-let's meet Al's folks! She ran across and took his arm.

Corn, dizzy, realized that the prospects were still opening up. Maybe, as with Flach and Sirelmoba, Nepe looked forward to a different partner when grown than when young! He had to admit, things were looking better.

AUTHOR’S NOTE

For those readers who have inquired what happened to the Author’s Notes in these novels, an answer: THERE HAVE NEVER BEEN AUTHOR’S NOTES IN THE ADEPT SERIES. But, having established that, here is an exception, because I have a couple of credits to give, an explanation to make, and a question to hedge.

My thanks to “Cutter John” Griffith, whose comments on USENET helped me organize the Adepts; I was having trouble remembering who was which.

Likewise to Thornas A. McCloud, for the Dragon Duel notion and the Add-a-Game device; I adapted from his in formative letter to assemble that sequence.

For those interested in structure, yes, it is true: there are eighteen different viewpoints in this novel, one for each chapter. They move rhythmically across the three generations: elder, middle and younger, so that every third chapter relates to the same generation. Also, the odd chapters relate to Phaze, and the even ones to Proton, except for Chapter 6 when Nepe breaks the rule. Nepe is irrepressible!  Now the question that some others will be asking: is this the end of the series? Certainly there remains much to tell, as the kinks are worked out of the merged frames and merged characters. One reader suggested that the Brown Adept be given a romantic interest; indeed it is possible that she has had a richer life than has been seen here. There is also the possibility of a new generation of children with extraordinary science and magic abilities. The rest of the Galaxy can hardly be ignorant of the advantages of magic; an invasion for pur poses of ruthless exploitation seems likely. This would of course have to be resisted. So yes, there may well be more, in due course. Don’t rush me. I will get to Phaze Doubt when I’m ready.