Sning advised him when he arrived at his own time. He set the sand on green and reached for the sun. His hand caught a sunspot, and the sun clicked and swung outward, showing the walls beyond. He stepped out and closed the door behind him.
Dursten, Excelsia, the Alicorn, and the Bemme were there, watching him. They looked the same, but their surroundings did not. The walls were props, painted and buttressed, and outside the immediate stage area the paraphernalia of the set were visible.
He beckoned the Bemme, and she slid forward for a private dialogue. “I have penetrated the illusion,” he told her. “Do the others know?”
“No.”
“Would it be kind to tell them my version of reality?”
“No.”
“May I visit any of you again, after this?”
“Since you live opposite to us in time, such opportunity is limited. We have to be briefed for each new act, because you return before we experience the last one. Soon we shall be beyond the time of your accession to office, and you will be able to visit us only discamately.”
Norton found himself mildly shaken. Of course they could not have experienced his three visits in the same order he had! So they would proceed next to his Alicorn adventure, and finally to the space adventure, never telling him. Truly, he did not belong here! “Then I will bid appropriate farewell now,” he decided. “I thank you, Bemme, for your invaluable advice.”
“I only play my role according to the rules,” she said. “You played and won when you had the wit to select me for advice and to fathom truth in the third chamber.”
“All the same, I would like to call you friend.”
“Friend,” she agreed. “I do not have many of those among your kind. I understand you will do me a favor.”
“Favor?”
“In the third act. Saving me from destruction by the spaceman. My briefing suggests something of the sort.”
“Oh. Yes,” Norton agreed awkwardly, remembering how he had talked Dursten into adopting the orphan. But he also remembered the cause of the Bemme’s orphaning and winced. It was all a play, yet... “I wish I could take you away from this.”
“You do have that power, Chronos. But that would be pointless, for my service to you is finished from your perspective, and, if I departed this frame, who would take care of Dursten? When the occasion is appropriate, I will depart of my own accord,”
She made uncompromising sense. “Good-bye, then, friend,” he said sadly, shaking her tentacle.
He turned to Dursten. “Bat, I have found the way back to my planet of Earth. I thank you for risking your gallant life to help me, and wish you every success here.”
“Shucks,‘ (weren’t nothing,” the spaceman said, abashed in his handsome, rough-hewn, manly way. His eyes flicked toward the woman. “You ain’t coming back?”
In a sense he was, since his space scene was in Dursten’s future. But that wasn’t the essence. “I’m not coming back,” Norton agreed. “I’m trusting you to keep an eye on Excelsia.”
“Shore will!” Dursten said enthusiastically.
Norton turned to the Alicorn. “Thank you for carrying me those two times,” he said. “Without that help, I couldn’t have made it through.”
The Alicorn snorted, swished his tail, and fluttered his wings, embarrassed. Then he nuzzled Norton’s ear with his velvety-soft nose. Trot well, good man!
Now it was Excelsia’s turn. Norton took her in his arms and kissed her. She was a bit like Heaven itself, though her destiny lay closer to Hell; but, as with Orlene and Agleh, he knew he could not continue with her.
The Damsel smiled through her tears as they separated. That was all; she understood.
Then he turned and walked along the wall until he came to the edge of the prop. He circled it and found himself in a motion-picture studio, with cameras, workmen, a director, and a general atmosphere of rushed chaos.
An attractive, mature woman approached him. “You were a fine star, Chronos,” she said. “I am only sorry the play did not reach its climactic scene.”
“The confrontation with-?”
“The Eviler Sorceress,” she said. “Yours Truly. I was to seduce you and strip you of your magic ring so you could not escape my clutches. I’m not sure the latter would have been successful, but the former would have been intriguing.”
Indeed it might have been, for she had a figure very like his Hourglass and was obviously an experienced star. “Better luck with the next leading man,” he said.
“It’s hardly luck,” she breathed. “It’s magic.”
He moved on past the personnel and props, finding the exit. When he left the building, he turned back to read the sign above it: SATANIC STUDIOS. Yes, that was what he had thought.
This was Hollywood, of course, where Satan could field excellent actors and facilities and be able to operate freely without interference. Probably there were some pretty good motion pictures released under the Satanic imprint, for he was certainly adept at invention. It had been quite an experience, and the Father of Lies’expertise was impressive, but now Norton had broken free of the deception and would be able to balk whatever plot the Prince of Evil had brewing.
He turned the sand of the Hourglass yellow and traveled spatially to his mansion in Purgatory. What a relief to be home!
But he couldn’t rest yet; he had to find out what the Father of Lies was up to, which made the absence of Chronos so important. “Summon Lachesis,” he told the butler. “I’d like to talk to her at her earliest convenience.” He noted that the mansion clock showed him to be back at the time he had started the third antimatter adventure; the three-person limitation had prevented him from living those hours a third time and slid him smoothly past them.
“Immediately, sir,” the butler said.
Indeed, a spider was swinging down along a thread when he entered the sitting room. She expanded and formed into Lachesis as Norton sat in his easy chair. “Something special on your mind, Chronos?” she asked.
“I’ve been away a few hours,” he told her. “I understand Satan is planning something, and I hurried back to balk his mischief. Do you know what it is?”
She glanced at him with evident perplexity. “Why should Satan do anything to disturb the status quo?”
“Are you teasing me? He wants to win political power on Earth!”
“But he already has the inside track on that. All he needs to do is wait.”
“He has it? When did he get it?”
“Sometimes it is difficult for me to untangle my skein enough to isolate significant threads. But the key is political. In about two years there will be a crucial vote in Congress-and though it will be close, it seems Satan has the votes to prevail. From then on, things will go his way, and there is nothing we can do that won’t simply make the situation worse. Satan knows that, which is why he isn’t worried.”
“But what about Luna? She won’t support him, and- “
“Who?”
“Luna. Senator Kaftan. Thanatos’woman.”
“Oh, her. I had forgotten her name. Yes, that woman does keep company with Thanatos, but she’s no Senator. She runs a magic shop in Kilvarough.”
Norton stared at her. “Not a Senator?”
“Never was. Never held any political office at all. Are you sure you have the right name?”
Norton realized that something was seriously amiss. “I must have misremembered. I’m sorry I bothered you for nothing.”
She smiled and became Clotho, in a revealing gown. “You don’t need to use a pretext, Chronos. I understand your situation.”
Oops. “This time it was an honest confusion. Let’s postpone it for a few hours. I have an errand of business I must attend to first.”
“Business before pleasure,” she agreed. “I have a backlog of my own, and no excuse now not to get to it.” She shifted back to arachnid form, ascended her thread, and vanished.
Luna not a Senator! Satan must have struck-but how could he have done this without the aid of Chronos?
He traveled to Kilvarough and knocked on Luna’s door. The two griffins ignored him; it seemed he would be here often enough in his future, so they knew him.
Luna was home, and looked pretty much as he remembered her. “Why, welcome, Chronos!” she exclaimed. “Thanatos isn’t here at the moment- “
“I don’t want to intrude, but I must verify something- “
“By all means. Come in.”
Inside, he asked her point-blank: “When did you leave political office?”
Her brow furrowed. “I never held political office, Chronos. You know that.”
“You forget I live backward, when not deliberately phasing in to your frame, as now.” He indicated the green sand. “I do not know your past.”
She considered. “Well, I did run for office eighteen years ago. But a tremendous campaign of vilification was waged against me, so that I lost, and I have never cared to repeat the experience. That was my closest approach to office.”
Eighteen years ago! “Luna, I know this will sound strange to you, but not long ago I knew you as a Senator destined to balk Satan’s major ploy for political power on Earth. Can you believe that?”
“Naturally,” she said. “See, the Truthstones support you.” She gestured at small gems on the mantel, which were glowing pleasantly. “But I assure you, this is not my reality.”
“Reality seems to have changed,” he said. “Satan must have done it. If only I could figure out how!”
“Satan was surely behind the campaign against me,” she agreed. “But that was so long ago, and he has ignored me since.”
“He must have sent another minion back in time to set things up. But how, without my cooperation?”
“You mean that if he had not done so, I might have won that election and commenced a political career?”
“I mean exactly that! You would today be a prominent Senator. And somehow I must restore that career to you, for the sake of humanity! But first I must figure out how he did it. Then I can act to cancel his ploy.”
Luna went to a cupboard and fetched another stone. “Perhaps I can help. This is an evil-detector, very sensitive to the presence of the artifacts of Satan.” She brought it near him, and it flickered. “There has been evil near you recently, or it will be near you soon, but it is not present now.”
“I was in Satan’s environment in your near future- “
“No, this is a specific thing you carried with you, close to your body.” She moved the stone. It flickered more brightly near his folded Hourglass.
He opened out the Hourglass again so she could inspect it-and the stone flickered more brightly yet. “There was a demon associated with this,” she said. “Or will be. It seems to have hidden in the base for a while.”
The illusion of color change-a demon had been there, doing it! Naturally Satan had not been able to follow him on his tour of eternity; Norton had to have carried a minion there. And he had never noticed! “It-must have had a spell of invisibility,” he said, appalled. “So that I took it whenever I went-and I went the full length of time itself!”
“That would seem to cover the situation,” she agreed. “Satan’s demons can be very small, like pinheads. There could have been a dozen or a hundred here-and some dropped off at a selected spot in prior time, while others remained to preserve the spell.”
“That must have been it,” he acknowledged ruefully. “I finally abolished the spell in the farthest future-but I did travel backward in time first. Satan tricked me again!”
“He is the master of guile,” she pointed out.
“So he managed to drop at least one demon off to give the demons of that time the word-they do cooperate with one another-and they destroyed your chance to get elected. I’ll have to go back and intercept- “
“There could have been a dozen demons dropped off there,” she reminded him gently. “If you have intercepted one of Satan’s minions before and neutralized it, I’m sure he would be more careful on his next attempt. You could never intercept them all-not with the three-person limit. Some would get through.”
“You’re probably right,” he said glumly. “But I can’t just let him win!”
“Perhaps Thanatos can advise you better than I can,” she suggested. “Or one of the other Incarnations. Lachesis is wise in the ways of- “
“I’ve already talked to her. The other Incarnations have been affected by the new reality; only I am aware of the change.”
“And Satan,” she said. “He surely knows the nature of his mischief.”
“Yes. He surely does, damn him!”
“Have you talked to Mars?”
“Mars, the Incarnation of War? No, I haven’t met him.”
“It occurs to me we are at war-and war is what Mars best understands.”
Norton smiled grimly. “Good point, Luna. I will seek him out. Only- “He hesitated. “I don’t know how.”
She smiled. “Here is a stone attuned to him. It will glow as you approach, and fade as you move away from him. Take it and use it, Chronos.”
He accepted the stone. “You are a very helpful woman, Luna.”
Again she smiled, and the moonstone she wore at her neck glowed. “So Thanatos informs me.” She was about Norton’s own age or a little older, beyond the joy of youth, but her features were finely structured and she was a handsome person with excellent poise. She credited her magic stones with providing her an understanding of his situation, an understanding no other person in this reality would have had, but it was more than that. She was a woman of special qualities, experience, and tact. The sort of woman that he, Norton, would have liked to build a relationship with-that perhaps Orlene would have become at this age. The sort that he, Norton, could never have a continuing relationship with.
Once again he felt the burden of his office. How little he had understood the subtle sacrifice of Incarnation! But he could not afford self-pity at the moment; he had a job to do. “Thank you, Luna; I hope Mars can help.”
He walked in a circle, watching the stone. When he had determined the direction of brightest glow, he turned the sand yellow. “Farewell!”
She waved, and he was off. He zoomed across the face of the Earth, through buildings and mountains as if they were illusions, becoming more skilled in spatial motion, zeroing in on the Incarnation of War.
He found Mars on a battlefield in mountainous terrain somewhere on the Eurasian continent. Norton hadn’t kept track of the landmarks, and the location really didn’t matter; he just wanted to talk to the Incarnation.
Tanks were charging a mountain retreat that seemed to be guarded by Oriental dragons. Science against magic- and the two were surprisingly similar. The dragons spurted fire-but so did the flamethrowers of the tanks. There were airplanes, too-but flying dragons were meeting them. The sides seemed even.
Mars was perched on a ledge, watching with detached interest. He was a small man, dressed in faded fatigues. Norton was surprised; he had somehow anticipated a robust giant in Roman-style armor.
Norton phased in beside Mars. “If you have a moment- “
The man looked around. “Oh, hello, Chronos. I always have a moment for you, you know that. What’s up?”
“Urn, from my view, this is our first meeting.”
“Oh, sure, you live backward. I didn’t realize this was your beginning.” He put out his right hand, and Norton took it. “I’m Mars, Incarnation of War. You’re Chronos, Incarnation of Time. We have a long and benevolent association, with mutual respect, ever since you helped this stutterer get started.”
Stutterer? Mars wasn’t stuttering now! “I- “
“I don’t suppose you want to hear my rationale for war as a necessary cauterization of society and stimulus to progress, so I’ll spare you that this time. If you’re ill at ease, don’t be; we’re old friends.”
“That’s nice to know,” Norton said awkwardly.. “I really haven’t gotten the whole hang of living backward yet, though at least the other Incarnations seem to understand.”
“Yeah, I guess it’s hell on romance; when you’re coming, she’s going.”
Aptly if unkindly put! “I think I need your advice, if you have the time.”
Mars squinted at the tanks and dragons. “You have the time, no pun; you can freeze the world and leave just the two of us to talk. But this is a minor and inconclusive operation. Pointless, really-but where there’s battle, I have to supervise. You know how it is. Spill the beans.”
“Uh, yes.” And Norton, somewhat haltingly, explained the situation. “So Luna thought you might have a better insight, since this is a war with Satan,” he concluded.
Mars nodded. “I have fought Satan myself, and I fear his deviousness prevailed. I am well aware how formidable an opponent he is. I can’t tell you how to reverse what he has done, for this is not my MOS, but- “
“MOS?”
“Military-Occupation-Specialty. But I can suggest broad principles of battle strategy that may apply.”
Norton had hoped for something more specific, but took this in stride. “Maybe that will help.”
“First you have to analyze the patterns of strength- yours and the enemy’s. That way you can arrange to attack his weak flank with your strongest force. Force is vitally important and must be understood in detail.”
“Force,” Norton agreed without much enthusiasm.
“Force,” Mars repeated emphatically. He gestured toward the indecisive battle. “See how those fools are opposing force with similar force? They’re slaughtering each other and destroying equipment and animals pointlessly. If either side had approached the issue with proper professionalism- “He shook his head sadly. “I hate to see things bungled by amateurs. War is too important for bungling! Now you-you are up against a real professional, the ultimate Master of Deceit, who has already won the battle. It is your task to reverse the outcome after the fact-and that is a considerable challenge.”
“Amen!” Norton agreed.
“But you are by no means powerless. You must use what you have-and you have the single most potent tool that exists.”
“But- “
“You doubt? Watch.” Suddenly a monstrous sword was in Mars’hand. He swung it at Norton. Norton, without thinking, blocked it with the Hourglass.
The blade rebounded. Undismayed, Mars put it away. “To others, your instrument is without substance, but my Sword represents the essence of war and can not be blunted or avoided. Therefore the two instruments meet and balk each other; neither can hurt the other. Force against force, pointlessly. But, properly applied, my Sword is matchless-as is your Hourglass. Not even Satan can stand against these tools, or against the Scythe of Thanatos or the Threads of Fate or the Will of Gaea-if they attack his weaknesses. Only by guile did he nullify my effort to balk his plot to assume political power on Earth, and only by guile did he foil you.”
“True. But- “
“You talk too much, Chronos,” Mars said with a smile. He produced a clipboard and pen and began marking the sheet of paper. “Now, we know there are only five intrinsic forces in our reality. Let’s list them in nominal order of strength.” He printed: NUCLEAR STRONG, ELECTROMAGNETIC, NUCLEAR WEAK, GRAVITY, MAGIC. “If you set the first at unity for convenience, or 10°, the others are 10-3, 10-5, 10-38, and 10--.”
“Now, wait!” Norton protested. “The whole universe is dominated by gravity; it is the single most compelling factor in the evolution of matter! How can it be rated so weak in comparison with the others? And magic- “
Mars smiled, as if a feint had been effective. “That does seem odd, doesn’t it! But sometimes the last shall be first, and the meek do inherit the Earth. Range is the key. The strong nuclear force has a range of about the diameter of a neutron. If another neutron were just one millimeter distant, it would never feel that force, any more than your Hourglass would feel the impact of my Sword if it were just out of range of my swing. That force binds our most basic substance together, and is indeed essential to the integrity of matter, but on our macroscopic scale we don’t even feel it. The weak nuclear force is even more limited, having a range only one-hundredth as far. Yet the disruption of these forces leads to nuclear explosions or lethal radiation. They are potent in their proper applications. Electromagnetic force falls in between the strong and the weak nuclear forces in power-but its range is infinite, so we can experience it on our scale. Indeed, we use it for our vision, radio, electricity, magnetism-our civilization would collapse without it.”
He gestured toward the ongoing battle. “The motors of those tanks utilize magnetism for their power, for example. But it has one critical limitation: it acts as a force only on charged particles. The most potent magnetic field has no direct effect on wood or human flesh. So magnetism is limited though infinite. Gravity, in contrast, not only has infinite range, it is accumulative and acts on all matter. So, despite its low rating-and 10-38 is almost unimaginably small-on the scale of the universe it becomes the overwhelming force, as you pointed out. The last has become first, because of its nature. Of course the ratings are distorted; if the significance of range was factored in, gravity would be the strongest, if most diffuse, force.”
“Yes, I have seen it in action,” Norton replied, thinking of the black holes and the way they governed the universes. What was a black hole but a gravity sink? “So its effective force- “
“Effective force,” Mars repeated. “There is another key concept. Think of a tiger and a million ants. The tiger has much more force than any ant, or any hundred or thousand ants. But the tiny force of the ants is accumulative and cooperative; together they swarm over the tiger and destroy him, as gravity swarms over the universe. Effective force-you must retain that concept, for it certainly counts most in battle.”
“Urn, yes, I suppose.” Norton was not entirely satisfied with this argument, since it seemed that his Hourglass was the tiger and the minions of Satan were the million ants. “But then magic- “
“A thousand times as feeble as gravity! So weak that for a time scientists doubted its existence!” Mars chuckled, as if it were a great joke. “Can you imagine that? Not believing in magic, simply because you can’t detect it in a single molecule? It’s pretty hard to detect gravity in a single molecule, too, but they never doubted gravity! The magic in the molecule is overwhelmed by the gravity there; that doesn’t mean the magic doesn’t exist. But magic has a range of about 107 meters, or about the diameter of Earth. So we can experience it quite conveniently on our scale, without noting any effect on the larger universe. It’s like the strong nuclear force, acting only on the neutron touching it; but since all of us are touching Earth, we’re in its range. It is true it is weak in absolute terms, but not only is it accumulative, it is focusable, so that the magic inherent in a cubic kilometer of the planet can be brought to bear in concentrated form at a microscopically small point. Think of it as sunlight being focused by a magnifying glass, able to burn holes in solid wood. Thus its malleability causes magic to become, when properly applied, a force more potent than even the strongest of the other forces. The right magic, concentrated 1042 times, can separate the nucleus of an atom nonexplosively, which accounts for the transmutation of lead into gold; or it can interfere with the internal workings of a small black hole.” Mars paused to waggle his finger in mock warning. “Now don’t you try it with a large black hole! Anywhere the magicons can reach- “
“Don’t you mean‘ magicians’?” Norton asked. “I do not. The strong nuclear force is carried by gluons, the weak by intermediate vector bosons of several varieties, the electromagnetic by photons, gravity by gravitons, and magic by magicons. Of course, all these basic forces are united by the Reunified Field Theorem- “
“You’re getting too technical for me,” Norton protested. “I never did understand nuclear physics very well.”
“Certainly. My business is force, so I understand forces; your business is time, so you understand aspects of time that would baffle me. It is enough for you to accept that, for you, time is force. Your Hourglass focuses magic more potently than does any other instrument. The Hourglass has the power to balk Satan-if you use it properly.”
“That’s good to know! But how should I use it?” Mars spread his hands. “That I can not tell you, for time is not my specialty. I can only assure you that the potential is there. My force analysis makes this quite clear.” He showed Norton the paper, now filled out with a neat chart of the five intrinsic forces with their strengths, ranges, and carrier particles. “Take this with you; maybe it will help your strategy of battle.”
“Uh, thank you,” Norton said, uncertain about that.
“Remember, Chronos: fight, never give in, and you shall win. You have the instrument Satan can not overcome. He is Goliath; you are David.”
“I’ll try,” Norton agreed weakly and moved out. If he had to bet on a return match, he would bet on Goliath.
He went back to his mansion in Purgatory, deeply troubled. Mars had expressed confidence in him-but was it justified? It hardly mattered how powerful the Hourglass was or how vulnerable Satan might be-if he did not know how to apply his force to Satan’s weakness, what good was it?
When he entered, the butler informed him that he had a caller. No rest for the weary! It was Satan, the last entity he wanted to see at the moment. “Get out, Beelzebub!” he snapped.
“Now, don’t be that way. My dear associate,” Satan said graciously. “I have glimpsed an alternate reality in which we had a very stimulating encounter. Now it is over, and there need be no hard feelings. I am really not a bad fellow, when you give Me a chance. For example, there is lagniappe for you.” He gestured to the television set, and it came on, showing a woman with a healthy baby.
Norton stared. The woman was Orlene! Alive and well!
“In this reality, she survives,” Satan said. “Gaea was more alert and refused to do the favor for the foolish ghost. Her baby is not flawed, favors you, and will live to inherit the estate. You may readily verify this for yourself. Go to her, Chronos; she loves you.”
With that, Satan opened his suit jacket, revealing emptiness inside. The emptiness expanded as he drew the lapels back around him, until only his two hands holding the lapel remained; then they, too, disappeared, and he was gone.
Orlene! After Norton had given her up for lost-to have her back! To have joy return to his life!
Then he wondered whether it was right. It was true that he loved her, she loved him, and their baby had a fine future awaiting him. But Satan was actually proffering a bribe-settle for this reality and have this reward. At what cost? If he went along with it, he would be acquiescing in Satan’s victory on Earth. In fact, because he, Chronos, had unwittingly enabled Satan to bring about this reality, he had become one of the agents of the Prince of Evil.
He watched Orlene’s image on the screen as she cooed to her baby. How he wanted her and wanted her to be alive and happy! But could he accept these things-as payment for facilitating evil?
He stood, and slowly his vision blurred; an intangible yet terrible weight settled upon him. “Forgive me, Orlene,” he whispered. “I can not.”
The television snapped off. She was gone, in every sense. Norton stared at the blank screen, feeling a wash of grief for what might have been. He had thought he was over Orlene; now he knew he would never be over her. Yet he had denied her. He would have to live out his life with the knowledge that he could have saved her-and had not. He had condemned her back to agony and death. What price, conscience?
That was assuming he found a way to reverse what Satan had done. Did he really want to do that now? Knowing what was right was not the same as completely desiring it. But even if he found no way, and this present reality stood, he would always know that he had in the end rejected the woman he loved. She had not, in the final analysis, been the most important thing in his life. He had chosen principle instead.
Principle tasted like ashes.
Satan had found a fiendish way to torture him, by showing him Orlene! Satan certainly knew how to exploit a person’s weakness.
Then he had another thought-why had Satan bothered? Surely the Prince of Evil had worse things to do than torment a defeated foe. Satan had a world to organize, preparing for his final victory on Earth just a few years hence. It did not make sense for him to trouble himself with trifles.
Unless he was not teasing Norton. Suppose the bribe was real-that it had definite justification, by Satan’s logic? That it was necessary to change the outcome of a battle that was not yet quite over? This suggested that Chronos could indeed reverse what Satan had done, and Satan knew it. So Satan was trying to sap Norton’s will to fight.
Mars had told him to keep fighting and never give up. Mars had believed Chronos could win, because of the supreme potency of the magical force he controlled. Was Mars a fool? Surely not about battle!
Norton brought out the chart Mars had made. There was magic, the weakest of the intrinsic forces, yet the strongest when properly utilized. Here was the Hourglass, capable of utilizing magic most properly. Satan was Goliath, seemingly all-powerful; Norton was David, with only one weapon. But it was the one weapon that could do the job.
It seemed that Goliath knew of his own vulnerability, so he had tried to bribe David not to use his weapon. “Here, David, you’re a plucky lad-let me give you this beautiful woman Delilah for that little sling of yours.” No, Delilah was from another legend, and Orlene was no temptress. Still, it fitted. Satan wanted him to quit. Therefore he should fight on. His enemy had confirmed his power.
Now another thing occurred to him. He could not have Orlene anyway, for the same reasons as before; he lived backward and, if he reversed himself to join her, he would soon come up against the date of his acquisition of the office of Chronos and have to leave her. So Satan’s offer was largely illusion, anyway.
Norton was glad he had made his decision of conscience before realizing that. It made him feel a little better about himself.
Of course, it would be better to have Orlene and the baby alive than tragically dead. Or would it? What kind of life would they have in a world dominated by Satan? The Prince of Evil had been proceeding carefully, not interfering unduly in the affairs of the world until he could consolidate his power. Evil had infinite patience! But once the critical nexus passed and he was victorious, what then? Surely he would change everything to suit himself, and it would be literally Hell on Earth. Oriene would suffer that, and her baby, and everyone else. Evil would triumph everywhere, making all decent people miserable. No, Satan had offered no bargain at all!
If only it could be possible for every person in the world to see the future Satan offered-to remember his future as he remembered his past, and to appreciate how that future declined as Evil gained. That would shake things up and make Satan’s victory impossible. But that could not be done.
Or could it?
Norton brought out the Hourglass and contemplated its flowing white sand. He lived backward; the future was familiar to him, as far as it went. But the Hourglass could also affect others when he willed it to. It could transport others in time, or even cause the whole world to live backward for a few hours. Truly, it was the most potent of all magic instruments, as Mars had said. But could it make ordinary people see a future they had not yet experienced?
Squeeze.
“Sning!” he exclaimed. “I forgot you! How I need your advice now!” He realized that, though he had called others friends and loved a woman, Sning had been his truest companion throughout, the one who was best able to share his experience.
Squeeze.
“You say the Hourglass can make others see the future?”
Squeeze, squeeze, squeeze.
Um. He had to narrow down the circumstances. “It can, but it’s limited? Such as to-to the time I assumed the office, since I have no worldly power beyond then?”
Squeeze.
But that was only a few days. Not much good. He needed a decade or so. In fact, he needed eighteen years- the time since Satan had foiled Luna’s entry into political office.
Squeeze.
“We can do it-for eighteen years?” he asked excitedly.
Squeeze.
“I can go back to that time-Just before she loses the election-and show the world what it is heading for?”
Squeeze.
But now he saw a serious flaw. The world had not become a horror in those eighteen years. The horror would not occur until Satan could assume power openly-and that was after (before) Norton’s assumption of office. He could not show the world that, and certainly Satan would not make his mischief known before then. The Father of Lies wanted complete order and peace until he was ready, just as a hunter wanted no disruption until the wild animal he stalked came within his sights. All Norton could show people was a fairly normal progression.
Squeeze.
“But that won’t work! Because there’s no horror.”
Squeeze, squeeze.
“It will work?”
Squeeze.
“You’re sure?”
Squeeze.
“Okay, Sning. Your information has always been good before. How do I do it? Do I turn the sand a new color?”
Squeeze.
“Which color? Purple? Gold? Plaid? Orange? Gray? Violet? Brown?”
Sning had not squeezed at any of the colors, but after brown he squeezed three times. Norton scratched his head. “None of those, but brown does have its points?”
Squeeze.
“But I’ve really guessed all the basic colors and several shades. You act as if no color or combination- “
Squeeze.
“No color? But you said- “
Squeeze.
“Ah-no color! Transparent. Clear.”
Squeeze.
“Representing the future, not for living but for seeing. Or remembering, the way I do. The veil of opacity made permeable.”
Squeeze.
“Well, let’s try it!” he said, excited.
He turned the sand to yellow and traveled in space to the spot on Earth where Sning indicated Luna would be found after the election. This was in the city of Kilvarough, at her estate.
“Her estate?” he asked, surprised.
Squeeze.
“Um, let me do one thing, then, before I get on it.” He turned the sand green and knocked on her door.
She answered immediately. Naturally she wasn’t away from home much, since she had no office to attend to. In the other reality she had been Senator, but had arranged to be home to meet him; Lachesis had surely facilitated that. Behind her, this time, stood Thanatos-and Mars, Atropos, and Gaea. “My stones informed me you were going to try,” she said. “We wish you success.”
He had thought he was about to inform her; obviously there had been no need. “You understand-if I succeed- you will no longer exist as you do now. You won’t even remember this life. None of you will.”
“We understand, Chronos,” Luna said. “Your power in this respect is greater than any other.” She took his hand, drew him forward, and kissed him on the cheek. She was not young, but she was a lovely woman.
Norton brought out the Hourglass. “Well, farewell, all,” he said awkwardly.
They merely waited expectantly. He was touched by their acceptance of this significant change that could abolish their past eighteen years of experience. Surely it was not easy!
He turned the sand blue and willed himself into the past.
Sning gave a warning squeeze as he neared the date and another as he came to the hour. Finally he settled on the minute and stopped, turning the sand green.
Luna stood there, Thanatos beside her. She was wiping her face, evidently repairing the damage wrought by tears. She was eighteen years younger than he had seen her a moment ago, about half her prior age, or at any rate in her early twenties, and stunningly beautiful despite her misery. Her dull brown hair was now bright chestnut, shoulder-length and luxurious, and her eyes were like windows on Heaven. She was breathtakingly slender and well formed, in a green gown reminiscent of her namesake, the luna moth, and her bright moonstone shone at her bosom. A jewel she wore-and a jewel she was, surely! She looked up, startled, as Norton manifested.
“Chronos! Certainly you don’t wish to share this unfortunate moment!”
“Not exactly,” Norton said.
“She is about to go out to make her concession speech,” Thanatos said.
“I-I would like to address the world first,” Norton said, conscious of how preposterous this sounded.
“You?” Surprise did not register well on the Deathhead. “This is not your concern, Chronos!”
“I’m afraid it is my concern,” Norton said. “I was inadvertently responsible for Luna’s loss. Now I must try to undo the damage.”
Thanatos shook his head. “Her reputation has been sullied beyond repair. The minions of Satan have used innuendo, outright lies-even ballot-box stuffing. Satan’s work-but the people were fooled, and now it’s over.”
“I beg your indulgence,” Norton said. “Let me try to undo what I can. If I fail, she can still concede.”
Luna put her hand on Thanatos’shoulder. “See the Truthstones,” she murmured.
Indeed, the stones on the mantel were shining like little stars. “I yield,” Thanatos said.
They went outside to the front gate, beyond the range of the griffins. Television cameras and a magic mirror were set up there. The world was watching-or at least that minor portion of it that cared to tune in on this particular concession speech. Most people were probably more interested in Luna’s beauty than in her politics, anyway.
Luna stepped up to the focus of the media. In this year, mechanical microphones were still in use for sound pickup. “Before I speak, my friend Chronos will address you,” she said.
“Hey, what’s this?” a man protested, pushing forward. His eyes blazed with the inner fire of the possessed-an agent of Satan. “We came to hear the harlot drop out!”
Thanatos started forward in cold fury, but Norton moved first. He shoved the Hourglass in the possessed’s face. The man fell back, stunned.
“The minions of Satan have wronged this fine woman,” Norton said. “Now I will show you your future if this wrong stands.”
He turned the sand transparent and willed it into action, to embrace the whole world. He felt the immense power channeling through the Hourglass, the weakest force becoming the strongest. Nothing changed, physically; this was magic of the mind only.
There was a hush as the effect took hold. Then a cameraman lurched away, dropping his camera. “I’m gonna die!” he screamed. “Next year, covering a hostage crisis, bomb goes off-I remember! I’m getting out of here!”
A female reporter turned and slapped a news director. “You’re going to throw me over for that hussy!” she cried indignantly. “Well, you can just forget about tonight, you sneak!”
The director could not deny it, for he remembered, too. Indeed, he seemed preoccupied, seeing farther into his own future. “AIDS?” he said, bewildered and horrified. “Me? But I’m not part of that culture!”
“Evidently the hussy is,” the driver next to him said. “That stuff’s spreading fast, now that it’s out of the special groups. My uncle’s gonna get it, too, and die- “He broke off, horrified as he realized what he was saying.
“Leukemia?” a bystander asked, chagrined. “How can I remember having that, when it’s five years in the future? I’m going to do some research and change that before it happens!”
In moments the street was empty, as every person attending the concession speech sought to avoid the horrors of his own future. Each person in the world was going to suffer tragedy and death sooner or later-and no person enjoyed the prospect. Everyone was trying to change his life to avoid the mischief he foresaw-and, of course, that changed his future and that of those he interacted with and gave him new visions of the inevitable. Humanity was in chaos.
Satan himself arrived. Most of his minions could not take solid form on Earth, but he himself was an Incarnation, as real as the others. “Give over, Chronos!” he cried, fire showing inside his mouth in lieu of a tongue. “I sought no quarrel with you!”
“Not this year,” Norton said. The sand remained clear. “But in a future year- “
“You are generating utter chaos!” the Prince of Evil protested, smoke rising from him.
Norton glanced up and down the street. “Am I?”
“It’s impossible for anyone to function in this!”
“Even you, Satan?” Norton inquired pleasantly. He was coming to understand the impact of his action. Satan’s ultimate evil did not need to be manifest within eighteen years; the ordinary lives, loves, and deaths of people sufficed. The sudden knowledge of the specific circumstance and time of his own misfortune or death drove the average person into a frenzy like that of a drowning man. The veil that shrouded the future was in fact a blessing, and now it had been rent.
“I am a Creature of order!” Satan said. “I have plans- “
Norton merely looked at him inquiringly.
“I can’t accomplish anything if they remember- “
Norton waited.
“What do you want, Chronos?” the Prince of Evil demanded.
“Need you ask, sirrah?”
Satan stomped about, his horns turning red with frustration and emitting sparks. “All right, Chronos! The bitch shall have her office!”
“The who?”
The sparks became larger, and a small zap of lightning flashed between Satan’s horns. “The good woman!”
Norton allowed the sand to return to its underlying green. Sometime he would have to explore the mechanism that enabled him to remain in the green while the sand turned clear, but there was no hurry; obviously there were sophistications of the Hourglass that would require careful study for full comprehension, but which protected him in his ignorance. “I trust you to honor your word, my dear associate,” he said.
“Your trust is misplaced, fool!” Satan said, gesturing.
Abruptly the two of them were in Hell. Opaque smoke surrounded them, obscuring the details, but there was no question about the location. “Now try your little trick,” Satan said grimly. “I’m sure My demons will enjoy seeing their futures.”
Norton lifted the Hourglass-but now the sand was fogged out by smoke, and he could not see the color. It wasn’t illusion; it was genuine smoke; he couldn’t abolish it by concentrating.
Satan couldn’t hold him, of course. The Prince of Evil was merely setting up another diversion, trying to salvage his campaign to win power on Earth. The three-person limit would prevent Norton from returning here; he had to accomplish his mission now.
Norton had had enough of this. He owed Satan. Suing, he thought. Can you help me fix him once and for all?
Squeeze.
What color? Transparent?
Squeeze, squeeze.
“Did you really think you could oppose me, Chronos?” Satan asked, sneering. Sulfurous smoke was curling up from his nose.
Black?
Squeeze, squeeze.
Desperately he tried the color they hadn’t used before. Brown?
“Enough of this,” Satan said. His arm shot forward, his hand landing on Norton’s. There was a jolt of current-and Sning was in Satan’s grasp. “This rogue demon is Mine!”
Norton felt as if he had been skewered. He had lost his most vital adviser! Satan could not touch the Hourglass, but Sning had no such protection.
Norton willed the sand brown, the color of Luna’s hair, knowing the Hourglass would respond, though the smoke obscured it.
Satan paused, surprised. The smoke was curling down to his nose.
Norton was similarly surprised. What had he done? Satan turned about abruptly. Flame shot into his mouth, and sparks zapped from the air to his horns. He lashed his tail. “?lie eht tahW” he demanded.
He was living backward! But no one else was; the demons of Hell showed through the smoke now, glancing at their Master with curiosity. The brown sand reversed time for Satan alone.
The Father of Lies would break out of this predicament soon enough. That was not the point. Norton had shown Satan that Chronos could make him just as uncomfortable as he could make Chronos.
Norton reached for Satan’s hand to take Sning back. Satan tried to snatch the ring away, but his reversed reflex caused him to shove it directly at Norton instead. Norton took the snake and returned the ring to his finger. Sque-he-he-heze! Sning seemed to be laughing. Norton walked away-and Satan’s illusion dissolved around him. He was still on the street, and Thanatos and Luna were waiting. “We saw the smoke, but decided to let you deal with Satan in your own way,” Thanatos explained. “Every Incarnation must come to his own terms with Satan.”
“True,” Norton agreed. He turned to face Satan, who was now on the street but still locked in reverse. “I trust you will behave now. Lord of Flies. I wouldn’t want to have to invoke my power again. Or is my trust misplaced?”
Satan became so hot he suffered a phenomenal implosion of flame and winked out like a reversed nova.
Norton experienced a great relief and satisfaction. He had at last faced Satan directly and held him off! Mars’advice to him had been right; all he had needed to do was keep fighting.
He turned to Luna. “Notice of the recount should be broadcast soon, and your reputation will be restored. You have begun your political career.”
“Thank you, Chronos,” she said faintly.
Thanatos stepped forward, extending his skeletal hand. “I knew you had power, Chronos; I never suspected its extent.”
“Neither did I,” Norton said, accepting the hand. He knew this was not the occasion to discuss his first encounter with Thanatos, eighteen years hence. “Farewell, both.”
He turned the sand red and returned to his present. He landed on the street outside Luna’s estate.
Satan reappeared, horns red-hot. “How dare you- “
Norton lifted the Hourglass and turned the sand brown. Satan vanished.
He steadied the sand on green and turned to the front gate. All the Incarnations were there, and Luna herself. “My stones told me to appear for this meeting, though I have pressing political business,” she said. “Now I remember: I owe not only my life but my office to you. You helped me win my first election as a representative, and later my election as Senator. I am deeply in your debt.”
“And I in yours,” Norton said. “Just do what you have to do when your crisis looms. We all must strive constantly to keep Satan at bay.”
“Yes, of course,” Thanatos agreed. “But I wish we could reward you for your special effort- “
“There is no need,” Norton said, thinking of the bleakness he now had to return to, living his life opposite to them and the world, not even speaking of this matter as he moved into their past, lest that somehow change the course.
“I will attend to his reward,” Atropos declared, shifting to Clotho. “Keep the sand green, Chronos, until we reach your mansion, so I won’t forget.”
Norton looked at her. She had evidently prepared for this occasion, for she was ravishing. And she understood! He realized that there were, after all, compensations to his lonely office.