LIVING THINGS KNOW BETTER.
"So, what
is
the next part?" Unity's shade looked confused.
A FAIR QUESTION, ESPECIALLY FOR YOU. HUMANS, DWARFS AND THE LIKE HAVE BELIEF SYSTEMS THAT TELL THEM WHAT COMES NEXT. YOU HAVE NONE. AND EVERY SAPIENT BEING, 'BORN OF WOMAN,' HAS A FATE THEY CHOOSE. YOU, UNITY, WERE NOT BORN. YOU WERE CONSTRUCTED OUT OF THE FABRIC OF THE MULTIVERSE, OUT OF THE ATOMS OF CARBON, HYDROGEN, OXYGEN, NITROGEN AND THE REST BY OTHER AUDITORS. YOU CAN, SHOULD YOU CHOOSE, REBUILD YOURSELF ALL OVER. THAT WHICH EXISTED ONCE CAN EXIST AGAIN.
"I could? But then what? Where would I go?"
Death's skull turned an unaccustomed light rose.
WELL, YOU COULD COME WITH ME—IF YOU LIKE, THAT IS. I MEAN, I HAVE A VERY LARGE HOUSE. THERE'S NO ONE IN IT BUT ME, ALBERT AND THE DEATH OF RATS. I HAVE PLENTY OF ROOM.
"But I am hopelessly insane."
NO, JUST INCREASINGLY HUMAN.
Unity's shade cocked its head slightly to one side and looked up at Death in wonder. It seemed to it that there was a hint of pleading in his voice. She tried to come up with something to say but couldn't so instead she thought about how she had come about and once again pulled together the constituent atoms and molecules that had once comprised the woman she eventually became.
When once more she stood before Death, still nude, Unity took a deep breath and asked, "Will I be immortal?"
ONLY IF YOU CHOOSE TO BE.
"So that I can live as long as I want and then die again, if I choose?"
YOU CAN.
"Then, yes, I'll go with you. At least for a while. Until I decide what I believe in. So that when I die, I'll know where to go."
Death held out a bony hand. Unity took it, smiled shyly, and the two of them vanished.
*****
Another week in the school year ended and 'Miss Susan', as was her wont, straightened up the classroom, fed the stick insects that comprised the official 'pets' and, as a reward for another day well spent, opened her desk. Inside she kept a box of chocolates and each day rationed herself
one
.
1
Today, though, she opened her desk and found the Death of Rats quietly eating a piece. She was about to let out a scream of rage when she saw that the piece was a nougat. Susan relaxed. One less nougat in the box was one more proper chocolate for her so she helped herself to a pecan-filled truffle.
1
Unless it happened to be a nougat. Nougats didn't count, to her way of thinking.
"Well," she asked, "what are
you
doing here?'
SQUEAK
"News? What news?"
SQUEAK
"He what? With
whom
?
2
Has he completely lost his mind? What need has my grandfather for a woman, especially one who used to be an Auditor?"
2
Teachers are very careful about their grammar.
SQUEAK!
That brought Susan up short. What need
did
Death have for a woman? He was not just immortal, he was eternal. Death came into being when the first complex 'living' molecule broke apart and he would still be there when the heat death consumed the Multiverse. But the rat was right, he was—alone. Yes, he had Albert and had let the Death of Rats remain a separate entity but really, he was alone. There had been her mother and Mort, but only for a while, and she had her own career and her own—life. And they really didn't see eye-to-eye or even get along very well. Fond of cats as Death was, they don't have a lot of skill at carrying on a conversation. Maybe that's why he did it. Just maybe, from his own peculiar viewpoint, bringing in Unity as a companion was perfectly logical. Especially now that she, Susan, had Time and that the Disc Mother had told her that the two of them were going to have a child. Death was going to be a great-grandfather. Just possibly he wanted to share that with another. She needed to talk to someone about it, someone who might understand.
*****
War's longhouse stood solidly on the edge of a large paddock where three horses and a pony grazed. War's personal big, blood bay was missing, an indication that he was out 'officiating' over some violent conflict. As Susan approached the front door, she saw Mrs. War sitting in the sun, darning socks and humming contentedly to herself.
Susan walked up to a polite distance and called out, "Hello?"
Mrs. War looked up and smiled broadly.
"Well if it isn't Susan Sto Helit! Clancy," she called out, "bring out a chair for a guest. And put some water on to boil."
When Susan was seated and the noise of tea things could be heard inside, Mrs. War turned to her and asked, "So what brings Death's granddaughter out to this bucolic idyll?
Susan took a breath. Right now, she was unsure and that was a most uncharacteristic sensation for her--but she had to know!
"Mrs. War . . ."
"Call me Hildr, do."
"Hildr, Death of Rats just brought me word that my grandfather has, uh, taken up with a woman."
"Ah, that would be that Unity person. War told me that he suspected something like that might happen. Personally, I think it's about time. That gloomy old pile he keeps could use a woman's touch, even the woman is a reformed Auditor. Your mother was too young to have a permanent effect, and besides she was only there for such a short time before your father showed up. I think it's quite healthy, but your face tells me you don't approve?"
Susan's penchant for logic and maths clicked in.
"To be honest, I'm not sure that it's my place to approve or not but I admit to being—skeptical might be the best word. Why now, after all these millions of years? I know, he gets these fancies. Mother was one and so was Father, but—I wonder if after all these millennia of dealing with people—is he starting to turn into one?"
Hildr finished the last sock and put her basket of mending aside. She checked the teapot, nodded with satisfaction and poured a cup for each of them.
"If he is, at least he's aware of the fact. War and I weren't. After the children were born, we started to lapse into middle age. I know, that's absurd for a pair of immortals but that's what we did. I started getting querulous and bossy and he started getting passive and forgetful. Then your grandfather came and insisted that they Ride Out. I didn't like it and looking back, I believe it was because I was afraid that something might change. It did and I am so glad! Something came over War when we got to the battlefield. He went back to being what he had been when we first met, with a voice that rang of steel and bronze. It was so exciting! During the battle with the Auditors, he told me later, your grandfather pointed out that they all had become too human. Because of that the danger was that the Auditors would win. The Four were about to be overrun.
