The Second Randall Garrett Megapack. Randall Garrett

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СКАЧАТЬ shambled quietly over to a couch near Mars. He lowered himself onto it, and slowly slipped from a sitting position to a reclining one.

      “Well,” Hera said to Zeus, “we’re ready, dear.”

      “Oh,” Zeus said. “Oh. Certainly. I declare this meeting—I declare this meeting fully met.” He cleared his throat with a rumble that shook the air. “We’re here, as I suppose you all know, to consider the problem of William Forrester. But first, I am reminded of a little story I picked up on Earth, and in the hopes that some of you here might not have heard it, I—”

      “We’ve heard it,” Hera said, “and, anyhow, this is neither the time nor the place.”

      Zeus turned to look at her. He shrugged. “Very well,” he said equably. “Let us return to William Forrester, as a possible substitute for Dionysus. The first consideration ought to be the psychological records, wouldn’t you say?”

      “I would,” Hera said through her teeth.

      “I believe Athena is in charge of that department, and if she is ready to report—”

      “Of course she’s ready,” Hera said, “dear.”

      Zeus nodded. “Well, then, what are we waiting for?”

      Athena got up and faced the company. “In general,” she began at once, “I think we can pass the candidate completely on the psychological records. The Index of Subordination is low, but we don’t want one too high for this post. Too, the Beta curve shows a good deal of variation, a Dionysian characteristic. There is, perhaps, a stronger sense of responsibility than is recorded in the Dionysian index, but this may not be a handicap.”

      “By no means,” Hera said. “Responsibility is something we could all do with more of, around here.” She shot a poisonous glance at Morpheus, whose eyes were now completely closed.

      Forrester, busily wondering what his Beta curve was, and why it varied, and what he would do if he lost it and had to get another one, missed the next few words of Athena’s report. The word that did impinge on his consciousness did so with a shock.

      “Sex,” Athena said. “But, after all, that is not quite in my department.” She looked as if she were very glad of the fact. “In general, as I say, the psychological tests present no insuperable barriers.”

      “Fine,” Hera said. She dug Zeus in the ribs again.

      “Oh,” Zeus said. “Yes. Fine.”

      “Next,” Hera said.

      “Yes,” Zeus said. “By all means. Next.”

      Mars got up. He was now scratching the hair on his chest. He looked around at the others with a definitely unfriendly expression.

      “The physical department is mine,” he said. “The candidate can handle himself, all right. There isn’t much doubt of it.” He burped, wiped his mouth with the back of one hand, and went on: “Of course, he’s let himself run to fat a little here and there, but it isn’t really serious. Mainly a matter of glandular balance or something like that, as far as I understand Hermes’ report.”

      Forrester began to feel like a prize chicken.

      “And physical training,” Mars said. “Well, there hasn’t been any training, that’s all. And that’s bad.”

      “He is not being considered for your position,” Vulcan said. “One muscular brainless imbecile is enough.”

      Mars took a deep breath.

      “Please,” Hera said. “Continue the report.”

      The breath came out in an explosion. “All right,” Mars said. “Discounting the training end of things, and assuming that Hermes can fix up the glandular mess, I think he can pass the physical.”

      Forrester wasn’t sure that he liked being referred to as a glandular mess. On the other hand, he asked himself, what could he do about it? He stood quietly, wondering what was coming next.

      His worst fears were fulfilled.

      Venus stepped forward and gave her report. Basically, it was a codicil, of a rather specialized nature, to the physical report. While it was going on, Forrester glanced at Athena. She looked every bit as embarrassed as he felt, and her face wore a look of sheer pain. Once he thought she was going to leave the room, but she remained grimly seated until it was all over.

      Forrester couldn’t figure out, when he thought about it, how the Gods had managed to give him all these tests without his knowing anything about it. But, then, they were supernatural, weren’t they? And they had their own methods. A mortal didn’t have to understand them.

      Forrester wasn’t sure he was happy with that idea, but he clung to it. It was the only one he had.

      When Venus finished her report, there was a little silence.

      “Any other comments?” Hera whispered to her husband.

      “Ah, yes,” Zeus said. “Other comments. If anyone has any other comments to make, please make them now. Now is the time to make them.”

      He sat back. Morpheus stirred slightly and spoke without opening his eyes or sitting up. “Sleep,” he said.

      Hera said: “Sleep?”

      “Very important,” Morpheus said slowly, “the candidate sleeps pretty well—soundly, as a matter of fact. The only trouble is that he doesn’t get enough sleep. But then, no one on this entire crazy world ever does.” He yawned and added: “Not even me.”

      Forrester passed a hand over his forehead. He realized, very suddenly, that he had come to a conclusion somewhere during the meeting. He was, he told himself, definitely sane.

      That left another conclusion. He was not dreaming anything that was happening. It was all perfectly real.

      And he was about to become a demi-God.

      That in itself didn’t sound so bad. But he began to wonder, in a quiet sort of way, just what was going to happen to William Forrester, acolyte and history professor, when Forrester/Bacchus had became a reality. With a blunt shock he knew that there was only one answer.

      William Forrester was going to die.

      It didn’t matter what the verdict of the Gods was. There were more tests coming, he knew, and if he failed them the Gods would kill him quite literally and quite completely.

      But, he went on, suppose he passed the tests.

      In that case he was going to become Forrester/Bacchus, a substitute God. Plain old Bill Forrester would cease to exist entirely.

      Oh, a few traces might remain—his Beta curve, for instance, whatever that was. But Bill Forrester would be gone. Somehow, the idea of a revenant Beta curve didn’t make up for the basic loss.

      On the other hand, he reminded himself again, what choice did he have?

      None.

      He forced himself СКАЧАТЬ