The Darkside Of The Sun

walked out of the room and along a broad, deep-carpeted corridor. Isaac led the way through several large, over-furnished halls until they reached a pair of silvered doors. Two men in brown and gold livery opened the doors hurriedly and stood to attention as they passed through; Dom heard a mechanical growl in Isaac’s throat.
    A circular table with a central well filled the room. Dom’s gaze first caught Joan; she dominated the room, as usual, in a long midnight-purple dress and a black wig that matched her skin. She smiled faintly. Next to her was a tall, fat man, built almost on drosk lines; Dom recognized him as the Emperor Ptarmigan. Next to him was Keja, even at this moment rising from her seat before racing round the table to embrace Dom. By her sat a boy about Dom’s age, regarding him thoughtfully. The rest of the table was made up of the usual run of Board directors and senior planetary management.
    Keja embraced Dom and kissed him.
    ‘I knew you’d turn up here! Dom, you’re green...’ she gasped. ‘Have you been fishing?’
    ‘Sort of,’ he said.
    ‘Come and join us, we were just starting dinner. Tarli, could you move along? If you crush up a bit Isaac can find room, too,’ she added brightly.
    ‘Sure,’ said the boy, grinning at Dom.
    ‘Me, madam? Dine with humans?’ said Isaac coldly, gazing fixedly at the liveried men standing behind the diners.
    ‘Don’t be embarrassed – we’re all one big integrated circuit here,’ said Keja.
    Dom leaned close to the robot and murmured: ‘Sit down and look pleasant or I will personally disassemble you with nails, teeth and toes.’
    Dom ended up sitting between the Emperor, who greeted him politely before turning back to Joan, and Keja. Many of the diners were watching Dom with frank disbelief. There were several phnobes around the table, with Hrsh-Hgn hissing amicably to a very important-looking alpha-male.
    ‘Do you always dine like this?’ he asked.
    ‘Oh, yes,’ said Keja, ‘Ptarmigan prefers to have people where he can see them.’ She raised a finger and the waiters moved forward.
    ‘Uh, Keja, how long have I been here?’
    ‘Since yesterday night. You’re famous, little brother. According to Ptarmigan half the galaxy is out looking for you. You’re supposed to be leading us all to Jokers World. What do you think we’ll find there?’
    ‘On present showing, a damn great bomb.’ He saw her flinch. ‘Sorry, I didn’t mean that. Famous, eh?’
    ‘There’s a dozen ships in orbit, most of them Terra Novaean and Whole Erse. More turn up every hour. Ptarmigan is very angry about it. I haven’t quite understood it all, but I gather that everyone wants to kidnap you. Is it true that you’ll discover Jokers World in five days’ time, whatever happens?’
    ‘I expect so. How come everyone knows?’
    ‘Well, you haven’t been keeping it a secret, have you? United Spies are in on it too. Ptarmigan has to send special squads out every hour to sweep up those little robot insects they keep dropping on the palace. One got into the kitchen and opened the oven on a soufflé, and that’s outside all the rules!’
    ‘Is one of the ships Creapii?’
    ‘I don’t know.’
    Tarli leaned round his young stepmother and nodded. ‘My apologies, O Dom, but I have been overhearing the conversation—’
    ‘Eavesdropping,’ said Keja sternly.
    ‘—and as a matter of fact one of the ships is a Crepii VMFTL squareship, Chain Stars registration.’
    ‘Chain Stars, eh? Oh, boy.’ A thought struck him and his hand flew to his belt. ‘Keja, was there a bottle—’
    ‘It’s safe. My maid said one of the security men told her that it contains the Water of Life. Not that I’m prying, of course.’
    ‘Of course not. In the last few days I’ve nearly been killed, overdrawn at the Bank, I’ve breathed for an hour underwater, I’ve got into orbit by a very bawdy method, and I’ve had a swim on the surface of a star. Oh yes. And I walked out of the Maze on Minos even though my chest was smashed up. Life is one gay round. Someone ought to start writing my biography now, before it’s too late!’
    ‘Try him, then,’ said Keja, indicating a diner on the far side of the table. Dom recognized the scarred man and his battered robot.
    ‘That’s Charles Sub-Lunar, isn’t it? The one they call the Renaissance Man?’
    Keja saw the man and the robot looking at them, and raised her glass and smiled. Under cover of this she said: ‘Yes, and Joker